Powerful pil pil prawns - dragons claw and Pan con tomato without a pan
Baby led weaning, 10 month old lunch with daddy [confession: mummy doesn’t like prawns]. Prawns are great, low mercury and full of nutrients - for a fussy toddler be inventive and call them a dragons claw! Bigger prawns are better for younger (6-9 months so they got something to grip, but once their pincer grip has developed they may prefer smaller prawns they can pick up and gum in their entirety. Pil pil is a secret Spanish spice mix only found in Malaga region – this is my take on it. Tomato con pan (bread) without a pan, a quick delicious Spanish breakfast staple - but we r having it 4 lunch! No pan (cooking) needed for this, tell a lie you need to toast some bread! Tomatoe bread is a Spanish staple breakfast, best served with a shot of anise del mono in a strong coffee, and top the bread with Iberian jamon…. Just saying.
Powerful pil pil prawns – a dragons claw anyone?
Enough for 1 grown-up and a little one
Ingredients
½ tsp paprika (the pimenton (hot) one is best, but the more common sweet paprika will work)
200g pre-cooked prawns
peel from ½ lemon
Juice from ¼ lemon
1 garlic clove crushed
½ red chilli finely chopped
1 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp olive oil
80 ml water
Method
1. Coat prawns with flour – just gently toss them in the flour.
2. Mix water and lemon juice in a separate dish.
3. Heat oil in wok, add prawns, stir and heat on low-medium heat for 3-5 mins.
4. Add paprika, lemon rind, garlic, chilli – turn up heat to high – stir –add water/lemon juice (the process should be quick – you want to release spice flavour but not burn, you need the heat to release oils from lemon rind…turn heat to medium and cook for a further mins, the sauce should thicken up!
Top tips
Pull out your babies portion and then add salt to yours to taste. Zahara can just about manage these, I chop them up, she sucks them, chews a little and swallows! For a younger baby I would prob use big prawns – so they can knaw/suck!! You would be amazed at the nutrients they get from sucking prawns.
If your cooking these for a fussy toddler be inventive – call them maggots of the ocean, little monsters, nemos secret friends, dragons claws….i loved olives when I was kid, I would take them to school and scare other kids saying they were dragons eyes, no one knew about olives in the uk back then!
Facts
Pil pil is a Spanish secret spice mixture – you can only buy it in the Malaga area! It's a mixture of different things, this is my take on it, if you have the spice then just sub it for the paprika, lemon rind; and just add water (no lemon juice). Also, grown ups – use white wine rather than water! Also, if it's for grown-ups add some hot chilli flakes too.
Pan con tomato without a pan
Tomatoes – standard tomatoes (ideally Spanish big and sweet tomato – but works just as well with standard salad tomato )
Garlic clove - peeled
Olive oil
Bread – toasted
Method
1. Cut tomatoes in half, and corse grate from the open side, discard skin – do this over a bowl. Tip grated tomato pulp into a sieve and place over bowl – leave for a few mins.
2. Cook toast, prick holes in toast with fork – do around 5-6 stabs!
3. Rub garlic clove on bread – gently unless you want a strong garlic taste.
4. Drizzle olive oil on bread.
5. The excess liquid from tomato should have drained away, spoon pulp on bread. Done! No pans where dirtied in the making of this toast!
Tips
I use crispy French stick for grown-ups and add salt, for little one standard white bread toast in fingers works best. It's great for breakfast, with a full English – eggs, sausages, hash browns.
Facts
Pan con tomato is a Spanish staple breakfast best served with a shot of anise del mono in a strong coffee, and top the bread with Iberian jamon…. Just saying.