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
- First, make the sauce.
- Place the egg yolks in a bowl, add the mustard, wine vinegar and the chopped herbs.
- Melt the butter and allow to boil.
- Slowly and gradually pour the melted butter on to the egg yolks, whisking all the time so that the sauce emulsifies and thickens.
- Keep warm by placing the sauce in a bowl or jug and sit in hot water.
- 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.
- 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.
- Arrange the prawns on warm plates and drizzle each plate generously with the bretonne sauce (or place in little bowls on the plates).
- Serve with toast and wedges of lemon.