We love our seafood in Australia. We also have a great variety of fresh seafood, freshly caught available to us to enjoy at home or on the barbecue.

Whilst a bit of lemon, salt, pepper, butter and some fresh parsley or dill is all we need to enjoy our seafood, a slight spicy twist can add a refreshing vibrancy to the next meal.

A Mexican twist on seafood, using chipotle in adobo.

Adding spicy Mexican-inspired flavouring to seafood is one way to add a little zing, while serving up something light, like prawns in a taco or tortilla with salad, helps bulk up the meal and enjoy it even more.

A chipotle, is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chilli used for seasoning. Chipotle is a common ingredient or flavour in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex.

This recipe suggests using chipotle in adobo, a thickened sauce readily available in jars or canned in most grocery stores. The sauce is made by adding the chipotle chilli to a sweet and tangy puree of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and other spices like paprika. The heat of the chipotle in adobo can be lessened by using less, or by adding yoghurt.

Where can you find native finger lime?

Native finger lime isn’t crucial to the dish and alternatives can be used, however using native ingredients in everyday cooking shouldn’t be a stretch, especially when they are grown locally.

Finger limes are similar to other citrus in flavour and nutrition, however their appearance is similar to a small green banana, and the edible buds are shaped like caviar, giving little bursts of zingy flavour. Pemberton Finger Limes are an award-winning producer, growing finger limes in the Southern Forest Region, Western Australia.

Chipotle Prawn Tortilla with Native Lime.

Preparation: 20-30mins Cook time: 10 mins Serves: 2 – 4

Gas tip! You can do this on your barbecue or on a gas cooktop. If you don’t use gas in your kitchen, you can prepare it on your barbecue. Just make sure you’ve got the Kwik-Gas ready to go.

Ingredients

Tortilla filler

• ¼ head of green cabbage, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup coriander leaves with tender stems, coarsely chopped
• 8 corn tortilla (this recipe works using tacos too! Follow all steps, but heat the taco’s in the oven instead of in a frypan)
• 2 native limes (for serving and garnish or use standard lime.)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Prawns

• 2 tablespoons of chipotle chilli in adobo
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 450g medium prawns, peeled, deveined

Garlic Crema

• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 small garlic clove, grated
• 2 tablespoons of water
• Salt to season

Pickled red onion

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced (cut in half lengthwise, then thinly slice)
• 1 lime, cut in half
• salt

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, add prawns, chipotle sauce, honey, and salt.
2. Mix until prawns are evenly coated with sauce. Set aside while you prepare the toppings.
3. For the garlic crema; mix mayonnaise, water, and garlic in a small bowl. Season with salt, and stir to combine.
4. Toss together, cabbage and coriander.
5. For the pickled red onion, squeeze out the juice from the lime halves into a small bowl. Add sliced onion and a pinch of salt.  Massage with your hands until the onion begins to soften.
6. Heat frypan to medium-high heat and pour in 2 tablespoons of oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add prawns mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until prawns turn pink and cooked through, 1–2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
7. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high. Working with one at a time, warm tortillas in the pan until pliable and starts to darken, 30–45 seconds per side. Transfer tortillas to a piece of foil and wrap tightly to keep warm.
8. Unwrap tortillas and build tacos with prawns, cabbage, garlic crema, coriander, and onions.

For more kitchen inspiration and tips and tricks on using gas, check out our Kleenheat Kitchen recipes.

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