Cheesy Polenta with Spiced Prawns (4-6)
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Heat 600ml water and the milk in a large saucepan – polenta ‘blips’ as it cooks so needs plenty of room – and, when the mixture is boiling, quickly add the polenta, stirring or whisking all the time. Turn down the heat. Season and leave to cook for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
  2. For the prawns, heat ¾ tbsp of the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion and pancetta or bacon together until the onion is soft and the pancetta/bacon is golden. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes, then transfer the mixture to a bowl.
  3. Dry the prawns using kitchen paper – just blot them (wet prawns steam when you try to fry them, dry ones will get a good colour with little patches of gold).
  4. Add the sweetcorn to the polenta along with the butter and cheeses. Stir everything together to help the cheese melt, then check the seasoning. Take the pan off the heat and cover it.
  5. Back to the prawns, heat the butter in the frying pan you used for the onions, and add the remaining oil. Cook the prawns until they’ve turned from grey to pink then add the cayenne and spring onions.
  6. Quickly add the onion and pancetta/bacon mixture to the pan too and heat through. Taste for seasoning and squeeze on a little lemon juice.
  7. Check the polenta is still warm and heat a little if you need to. Spoon the polenta into bowls and add the prawns – with all their buttery juices – on top.