Two tins, one small jar, a bag of frozen prawns and it’s a dish fit for a king. Prawn stew with chickpeas, flavoured with ‘nduja.
A prawn stew and it’s not boring
This is a fantastic dish – now firmly on the menu in my house. It’s marvellously easy, it uses store/freezer staples with one exception, and it’s a huge return on a minute effort. Such a great find from Great British Chefs!
You might think a prawn stew would be boring, veering towards Indian cuisine which is better sampled in curry houses rather than at home. You couldn’t be more wrong. It has chickpeas in it but it’s more of a British Italian fusion – and so delicious for it!
The stew base is onions and garlic, cooked with some tomato paste and pulp, with a key ingredient: ‘nduja. And raw prawns and tinned chickpeas are added to that base, cooked together briefly and hey presto: a supremely tasty bowlful beckons.
What is ‘nduja?
‘Nduja (pronounced ‘en-DOO-ya’, and often spelt without the apostrophe) is a type of Calabrian spreadable sausage. The name probably comes from the French ‘andouille’, a type of sausage made from pork tripe, which is however meatier and less spicy.
‘Nduja is the typical poor man’s food, as it’s traditionally made with pork trimmings, offcuts and lots of fat, spiced up to good heavens with hot chillies to mask the fact that it’s the lowest shelf meat.
Which doesn’t make it at all less tasty. ‘Nduja is delicious whether spread on bread, added to sauces, stirred into pasta or dotted on pizza. Good ‘nduja comes in a sausage casing, shaped like a sausage, but in supermarkets you can buy jars of this ‘red Nutella’ as it’s sometimes called. And even in those jars there will be a true flavour bomb, capable of transforming a boring stew into a feast.
Which prawns are the best to buy?
For almost a year now I have exclusively been buying frozen prawns, ethically and responsibly sourced whenever possible. Fresh prawns, unless you live in Redruth or Cromer, are hugely expensive and usually previously frozen anyway, as big prawn trawlers routinely freeze the catch on board.
I find the so-called ‘easy peel’ prawns are the best: deveined, headless and shell-on (I'm not paid by the brand!). No faff cleaning and beheading them, while the partial shell ensures the flavour is retained.
How to defrost prawns?
And they are easy to handle. Straight from the freezer into a bowl of cold water, it will take a couple of hours in the kitchen to thaw them, or in the fridge overnight. And if you add some salt and some bicarbonate of soda to the water, it will make them extra plump, firm and tasty.
That treatment works both for shell-on, easy peel and peeled ones. In case of the former two, once thawed, drain them and slip off the shells (or remove heads and veins as well if they are whole). Peeled, they will keep in the fridge for up to 8 hours easily.
How to make the stew base
We’re starting classically, by chopping a large onion and sweating it in a little olive oil, in a large saucepan. After about five minutes the garlic, pressed or grated, joins in.
And then tomato paste is stirred in and cooked for a minute or two with the aromatics.
If your ‘nduja is a posh, solid sausage, cut it into chunks and add to the pan; the one out of the jar should be spooned straight in. It will melt in no time and colour everything vibrant red.
The last thing is a tin of chopped tomatoes and about two-fifty millilitres of stock. If you’re dedicated and have peeled your prawns, simmering the shells (and heads) with some aromatics will render the loveliest shellfish stock. Us mere mortals can use vegetable, chicken stock cubes or Japanese dashi powder dissolved in hot water.
The base now simmers, covered if possible, for about forty-five minutes until it’s thick, unctuous and wonderfully flavoursome.
Taste it at this stage: it needs to be quite fiery and verging on over seasoned, as both chickpeas and prawns bring in no flavour whatsoever. So add a little more ‘nduja if needed, and salt.
Finishing the stew
Once the base is cooked, and it can be made days ahead and kept in the fridge or even frozen, simply add drained chickpeas and prawns straight from the fridge. Stir it well, bring it to a bubbling simmer and when the prawns have all turned pink, it’s ready.
For garnish, a pinch of lemon zest and some finely chopped parsley will look well and add to the taste.
More prawn recipes
Juicy garlic miso prawns served over quick puy lentils make an easy, protein-plus-fibre weeknight dinner, using frozen prawns and pouch lentils for a maximum flavour with minimal effort.
Chicken and prawn paella, an absolutely foolproof recipe. For best results use paella rice, Bomba or Calasparra and an ordinary large frying pan.
Prawn Creole for two served with plain rice is my signature special main dish these days. Easy sauce base and roux, and homemade Creole seasoning recipe included.
More chickpea recipes
Moroccan style minced beef and chickpea stew, harira, is amazingly easy to prepare, frugal and delicious, spiced with Ras el Hanout, ‘best in shop’ spice mix. Make it as a stew to serve with rice or as a soup.
Tomato and chickpea tray bake with chunks of feta roasting upon the vegetables, spiced and sweet with honey and chilli dressing. An easy vegetarian meal.
Crispy and spicy roasted chickpeas with grilled peppers, a wholesome vegetarian lunch or dinner as chickpeas are an excellent source of protein and fibre.