Prawn Salad with Bacon Avocado Lime & Jalapeno dressing
Simple summer salad
Skater has been gone for days on end, leaving me to quietly perspire in the oppressive heat of a Sydney summer, and drown in my own thoughts. Our house is quiet and we no longer need to worry about our smallest family member huffing and puffing in the heat. It’s a bit of a relief in that respect because she did hate the heat. Before she got so terribly sick, or even maybe because she was so terribly sick, I took to showering her with one of those hand shower hoses in the bath to cool her off. Even though she was so hot and exhausted, panting and languishing on the floor stretched out, she lumbered up each time I went from room to room. Just to be with me, because that’s the kind of love it was.
It is hard to be here at this moment in time when she is not, and so I can’t blame Skater for filling in extra time at his girlfriends. I can’t bare to think that she was probably in pain for some time and I didn’t realize it or know. It just never mattered to her as long as her family was home. There is an empty place in our house and our hearts and we will just have to get used to it. Come winter when her faux red fur coat is still hanging on the hook in the laundry we will be saddened again by her absence.
I decided to treat myself last night with something simple. I have not had the inspiration or inclination for much in the last few weeks , so I bought some large green Australian Banana prawns from the fish market near me. I don’t buy them nearly enough. They make such an incredible quick meal. I always think of them as being a little expensive but of course they aren’t compared to buying other meat.
Light and simply delicious
I really just used what I had in the fridge. Vine ripened tomato, bacon, baby coz lettuce, avocado and jalapeno peppers and home grown herbs. Couldn’t be simpler or tastier.
Ingredients for prawn salad
The fridge empties and fills as the weeks pass and life goes on. There are some characters that also come and go in our lives both people and cherished pets, filling us with the love we need to sustain us through the ups and downs.
Prawn Salad with Bacon Avocado, Jalapeno dressing
Ingredients
- 500 gram prawns large ( approx 12) peeled
- 1 clove garlic small
- 1 whole lime zest
- 40 ml olive oil 2 tablespoons
- 200 gm bacon, rashes
- 1 tomato very ripe, cut into cubes
- 1/4 bunch chives chopped
- 1/4 cup mint leaves torn
- 200 gm lettuce, washed, Coz or iceberg
Dressing
- 1 whole Avocado
- 50 gm yoghurt 1/4 cup, Greek
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 60 ml lime juice 3 tablespoons
- 6 slices jalapenos but it's best to serve them with the salad
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons fried shallots Asian section of the supermarket
Instructions
- Put the prawns in a bowl with crushed garlic, lime zest and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Heat a large nonstick frypan add 40 ml oil and add the bacon. Fry till he bacon starts to cook, softening and smelling fragrant. Then add the prawns tossing for 5 to 8 minutes or until they are pink. The bacon will be more coloured and the prawns just cooked,
- Pour into a bowl, add the chopped tomato.
- Wash and separate the cos lettuce, mint leaves and chopped chives.
- Toss the salad together. You can add a squeeze more lemon or lime and another tablespoon of olive oil salt and pepper and toss through as well. I like a very well dressed salad. Add 4 slices of Jalapeno. Place onto a serving dish or individual dishes.
Avocado Jalapeno cream
- Put the peeled deseeded avocado into a blender (best) or food processor. Add the 3 Tablespoons of lime juice, a pinch of salt, yoghurt, dijon & 2 slices Jalepenos and blitz till very smooth and creamy. Taste for seasoning .ie: is it salty enough, does it taste nice and limey?
- Serve this on top of the salad sprinkled with fried shallots for crunch.
Enticing and simple
I really feel for you Tania. Our fur-kids form such integral parts of our family and it just feels so empty when they are gone. The time will come where memories of her gorgeous face will bring a smile to your face rather than tears, I promise. Hang in there hun xxxxx 🙁
Beautiful post, darling. It was lovely to see you the other day…hang in there.. xx
You’ve brought tears to my eyes, Tania. What sadness. As you know, I’m a huge fan of dogs as being our best and most loyal and most selfless friends. They just love us unconditional and never complain about their own aches and pains. Like you say, as long as the ‘pack’ is altogether, all is well. It must be hard finding the house so empty – dogs, as small as they are, really do fill a home. I’m so sad for you and I guess you’re just having to take things one day at a time. I love the look of your very Asian looking dish and that glass green bowl is gorgeous xx
It’s so terribly lonely when a little friend leaves us Tania. I’m sure she loved all the special attention she received while she was alive. We’ve been hosing our doggie down several times a day in this heat too, he’s way too big to come inside with the air conditioning!
Your prawn dish looks likely indeed, perfect for this appalling heat xox
They leave such a huge void in our lives, don’t they? Big hugs from me to you.
You’re right about prawns… dinner is always ready in a jiffy and it feels really special.
I can only imagine how heartbroken you are darling. *BIG HUG*
A basic summer dish with an awful lot of personality 🙂 ! The bacon and the Dijon kind’of tell the tale 🙂 !
I basically desperately NEED that jalapeno dressing in my life!
A perfect salad for summer. And I love the green serving bowl. Gorgeous!