Classic Prawns Bretonne

This has to be one of my favourite ways to eat prawns, it’s gorgeous, rich and divine bretonne sauce is very easy to make and a little like hollandaise and so, so delicious.  Choose really lovely fresh prawns (not frozen tiger prawns).

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 20-28 fresh prawns, raw preferably but if not, then cooked is fine (approx – depending on size)
  • 25g (1oz) butter
  • Bretonne Sauce
    • 2 egg yolks
    • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (at the cookery school, we often use the green Maille Verte aux Herbts)
    • 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
    • 2 generous teaspoons finely chopped herbs, I like a mixture of parsley, tarragon, fennel and chives or just parsley
    • 75g (3ozs) butter

To Serve

  • toast
  • wedges of lemon

Method

  1. First, make the sauce.
  2. Place the egg yolks in a bowl, add the mustard, wine vinegar and the chopped herbs.
  3. Melt the butter and allow to boil.
  4. Slowly and gradually pour the melted butter on to the egg yolks, whisking all the time so that the sauce emulsifies and thickens.
  5. Keep warm by placing the sauce in a bowl or jug and sit in hot water.
  6. The sauce will keep perfectly like this if sitting in hot but not boiling water for a couple of hours – keep heating up the water if it cools down.
  7. Peel the prawns, heat a frying pan until hot.  Add the butter and allow to brown ever so slightly, add in the prawns and toss over a medium-high heat (wheather they are cooked already or not, they should be tossed in the butter) for a couple of minutes until opaque all the way through.
  8. Arrange the prawns on warm plates and drizzle each plate generously with the bretonne sauce (or place in little bowls on the plates). 
  9. Serve with toast and wedges of lemon.