Avocado, pancetta and prawn salad
This spiced avocado, pancetta and prawn salad is one of my favourite recipes because it’s so easy to make, yet it’s perfect for a celebrity lunch es all year round ( Anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day etc) or it fits well as a starter in a festive menu (during Christmas or Easter). I also serve it often on New Year’s Eve and at other parties during the year. At Easter I add some boiled eggs – at Christmas I scatter some chopped nuts over the salad, on Valentine’s day some pomegranate seeds jazz it up. It’s gluten-free and dairy-free too.
Ingredients
Method
- Deseed, then finely chop the chilli. Chop the garlic and zest & juice the lemon.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the lemon zest & juice, garlic and chilli with the prawns, then season with salt and pepper. Marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Put the pancetta slices on a baking sheet and grill them until crispy. Let them cool and break them into small pieces.
- Arrange the salad leaves on 6 plates or on one large serving plate.
- Peel the avocados, cut them into thin slices, then squeeze some lemon juice over them to prevent browning. Arrange them on top of the lettuce.
- Heat half of the oil in a frying pan. Drain the prawns and set aside the marinade.
- Fry the prawns on both sides for 2-3 minutes until they just have turned pink.
- Place the prawns on top of the salad.
- Reduce the marinade in the remaining oil for a couple of minutes, then drizzle it over the salad.
- Finally, scatter the pancetta pieces all over the prawns and you’re ready to serve.