Grilled Cajun Prawns, Sweet Potato Mash & Holy Trinity Veg

Unlike Julie who supposedly posted every other day, I seem to do it a little farther apart....or a lot.
Which I am very sorry about and am here to change it, but with all the schoolwork I barely have time to cook, let alone post (I am so prioritizing the cooking though!).
Besides that, I had a lot of problems with my blog host site, which I am very happy to announce are all solved thanks to my mom's graphic designer. Now I am totally on "first-name basis" both with the site, the photos and text. So prepare for an avalanche of recipes!

XY days late, I am here to present a marine specialty from pg.120 in the Fish section, the Grilled Cajun Prawns, Sweet Potato & Holy Trinity Veg.
It was my mom's birthday at the end of October (whoops, gave myself away there) so I partly made the meal in her honor, since she loves prawns there wasn't much to ponder on.

I must admit how most of these meals are very summery, refreshing and light ones which may not be the best choices for the upcoming cold Croatian winter months since everyone here seems to be using the excuse: "during the winter, heavier meals must be eaten because the body needs more nutrients and fat to keep warm". However I deem these very beneficial for my diet as a student since they really do boost my metabolism and fill my body with very nutritionally good substances. But I must admit I will choose more filling meals in the future, for the sake of my eternally dissatisfied family.

This was only my second recipe and upon looking back I can remember the constant confusion and needed assistance backed by enthusiasm and excitement. Oh how I have grown :'). Back to the recipe.
I am a big lover of prawns, they are probably my favorite seafood, probably because my mom used to make her famous prawn dish every single Sunday which drove me suicidal but also started this love. Of course I want to try every prawn recipe in the cookbook, but this one just blew me away. I haven't realized this until I have actually sat down after an hours and a half hard work (yes, and hour and a half, not fifteen minutes, Jamie!) and tried this gorgeousness. The lovely grilled veg with specifically chosen spices to really enhance the flavors were divine when combined with the sweet potato. I haven't ever really consciously eaten sweet potato, and so this came as a delightful surprise. No one would expect, or at least no one who grew up with traditional cuisine, for such a typical (salty) vegetable to taste so good in such a sweet combination. When the prawns mixed with the three, it was like dessert in my mouth. But in a good way of course, because everyone looks forward to a second helping of dessert. This is what I came up with:  

As for the process, it actually is quite simple and demands fewer products and processes than many of the other recipes. I firstly washed the sweet potatoes with the skin on, and then very roughly cut it just to fit in the pan. Then I cooked them by covering them with water and a pinch of salt, boiling the kettle and pouring that in too, just to make the process faster (Jamie's 15 Minutes!). While that was cooking away, I dealt with the vegetables. This step is supposed to come last, but if I tended to the prawns at this point, they would either burn or totally cool down till lunchtime, so I would recommend this way. I took my trusty red grill pan out and laid out the sweetcorn, two different colored peppers, spring onions, and half the chili. I just seasoned it with salt and pepper and moved it every couple of seconds until nicely charred, not burnt! The potatoes were done somewhere at this time, so I took 'em out, peeled them (and the skin comes of beautifully after staying in boiling water, with one swipe), and mashed them. I set the potatoes aside and tended the prawns, which I popped in the same grill pan and sprinkled Cajun seasoning and the garlic. I didn't have fresh thyme so I used dried thyme, and I'm also not a huge fan of lemon in meals, so I left that out, but I'm sure it would taste accordingly. I kept mine on for about 5 minutes on each side and then took them off. I really went to really fast re-heat the mashed potatoes, and this time added the shredded cheese which melted beautifully but when I tried it, it was sort of bland. So I went to the spice cabinet, and found this spice my mom bought a million years ago from a spice shop in Amsterdam (oh, all the spices I could find there). For anyone Dutch that is interested, it is called "Patat Kruiden" and you can find it on Kinkerstraat 142 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. This just gave the potatoes and even sweeter taste, very oriental. When everything was hot and ready, I hurried with the pictures and dug in! 

For anyone who wants to try it, which I highly recommend, the recipe is as follows:

*Ingredients out *Kettle boiled *Oven grill on high *Food processor (thick slicer) *Large lidded pan, high heat *Large frying pan, medium heat

Serves 4, 396 calories

Ingredients

Mash
800g sweet potatoes

40g Cheddar cheese

Prawns
16 large raw shell on tiger prawns
3 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 a bunch of fresh thyme
1 lemon

Vegetables
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
2 sticks of celery

5 spring onions
1/2 a fresh red chili 
1 big handful of sweetcorn (cheated on that one a bit!)
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika

Start cooking

Wash the sweet potatoes and slice in the processor. Put into the lidded pan with a pinch of salt, then cover with boiling water and the lid. Put the prawns into a roasting tray, squash over the unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher, then toss with the Cajun seasoning, olive oil and the thyme sprigs. Spread out in a single layer and pop on a high heat for a couple of minutes to crisp the bottoms of the prawns up, then place under the grill until the tops are sizzling, golden and crispy.

Deseed and roughly chop the capsicums and put into the frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Trim and slice the celery, spring onions and chilli, and add to the pan along with the corn and paprika. Season with salt and pepper and keep things moving.

When cooked through, drain the sweet potatoes in a colander. Return to the pan and mash well. Grate in the cheese, mix well and season to taste. Scatter the veg  over the mash and serve with the crispy prawns and lemon wedges.

Bon appétit!