Pineapple Prawns

 Doyle’s Fish Cookbook, Alice Doyle, 1989 Sydney

Pineapple Prawns

Serves 3-4

2 tblspn vegetable oil; 1 brown onion, finely chopped; 1 tspn salt; freshly ground pepper; 2 large stalks celery, strings removed and chopped finely; ½ capsicum (green pepper), chopped finely; 1 cup tomato sauce; 1 cup canned crushed pineapple; 1-1.5kg (2-3lb) cooked prawns, shelled

Heat oil in a large pan, add onion and cook until tender, being careful not to burn the oil. Add the salt and pepper, celery, capsicum, tomato sauce and pineapple, stir well. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the prawns, mix well, and heat through, remembering that the prawns are already cooked.

Serve over a bed of rice.

Mrs Doyle’s recipe was quite delicious. I followed the recipe exactly but I did add some chili for a bit of a kick. It was close to an old fashioned Australian sweet and sour except the vegetables were cut smaller. I left the capsicum a bit larger because I was afraid the whole thing would look like mush otherwise. It actually was very sweet with the pineapple and so much tomato sauce but the sauce was vinegary so that counteracted the sweetness. Steamed jasmine rice was a good foil, Ann

Ann's favourite pineapple curry

Pineapple Magic: delicious, easy recipes for a family on the go, Golden Circle online, Queensland 2010

 

file:///C:/Users/Annie/Downloads/HEINZ.GC.pine.c-book.web%20(1).pdf

 

Thai Prawn and Pineapple Curry

Serves 4

 

2 tbsp Thai red curry paste; 400ml can coconut milk; 3 kaffir lime leaves, torn; 1 tbsp grated palm sugar; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 150g green beans, trimmed and cut into thirds; 16 green prawns, peeled with tails intact; 440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces in Juice, drained; 8 cherry tomatoes, halved; steamed Jasmine rice, to serve; basil leaves to garnish, optional

 

1. Add curry paste to a hot frying pan and cook 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, lime leaves, palm sugar and fish sauce and bring to a gentle simmer.

 

2. Add green beans and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the prawns, pineapple and cherry tomatoes and simmer for a further 2 - 3 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked through.

 

3. Remove lime leaves and transfer curry to serving bowls. Serve with rice and garnish with basil leaves if desired.
 

Red Curry Paste

 

1 tblspn coriander seeds; 2 tspn cumin seeds; 1 tspn black peppercorns; 2 tspn dries shrimp paste; 1 tspn ground nutmeg; 12 dried or fresh red chillies, rough chopped; 1 cup French shallots, chopped; 2 tblspn oil; 4 stems lemon grass (white part only) finely chopped; 12 small cloves garlic, chopped; 2 tblspn fresh coriander roots, chopped; 2 tblspn fresh coriander stems, chopped; 6 kaffir lime leaves, chopped; 2 tspn grated lime rind; 2 tspn salt; 2 tspn turmeric; 1 tspn paprika

 

1. Place the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan and heat for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan constantly.

 

2. Place the roasted spices and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or clean coffee grinder and work them until they are finely ground. Wrap the shrimp paste in a small amount of foil and cook under a hot grill for 3 minutes, turning the package twice.
 

3. Process the ground spices, roasted shrimp paste, nutmeg and chillies in a food processor for 5 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and process for 20 seconds at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula each time, until the mixture forms a smooth paste.

Makes approximately 1 cup. 

 

 

 

Ann's friend Brad found these fabulous spoons from Hawaii and Brisbane for her for Christmas.

Polynesian Pineapple

101 Ways to eat it with Coon Cheese, prepared by the Home Economists from the Kraft Kitchens, Kraft Foods Limited 1980 Melbourne

Polynesian Salad

1 can 425g pineapple pieces, drained, reserving 2 tblspn liquid; 3 cups cooked rice; ¼ cup chopped green pepper; ¼ cup chopped red pepper; 1 cup chopped prawns

Dressing: ½ cup KRAFT Mayonnaise; 1 tspn turmeric, salt, pepper, curry powder and reserved pineapple liquid, mix thoroughly, pour over salad ingredients; chill. 

Before serving place salad in a lettuce lined bowl and serve with Cheese. Makes 6 servings.

I made the Polynesian salad from 101 Ways to Eat it with Coon Cheese. 

What can I say?  

It was a 1970s curried rice salad with some rather delicious Australian tiger prawns.  And pineapple.  And cherry tomatoes instead of red capsicum.  Unfortunately the cheese, in my view, was not necessary, it added nothing except a boost to Kraft sales.  The salad was better without it.  As a matter of interest I used a whole green capsicum and a quantity, maybe two handsful, of tomatoes which was more than the recipe called for and it was an improvement I think, Ann.

And here's another couple of Polynesian style pineapple and prawn dishes in a photo found on Google Images by our friend, Alex.

Pineapple and Prawn Curry

Pineapple Magic: delicious, easy recipes for a family on the go, Golden Circle online, Queensland 2010

file:///C:/Users/Annie/Downloads/HEINZ.GC.pine.c-book.web%20(1).pdf

This pineapple curry was delicious.  I made a red curry paste using the recipe in Family Circle Step-by-Step Thai Cooking Murdoch Books 1996. Then I followed the recipe from the Golden Circle website, home grown tomatoes of course.  I always use the freeze dried coconut milk powder, it gives a good result.  And lots of fresh basil added at the end,  Ann.

Thai Prawn and Pineapple Curry

Serves 4

2 tbsp Thai red curry paste; 400ml can coconut milk; 3 kaffir lime leaves, torn; 1 tbsp grated palm sugar; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 150g green beans, trimmed and cut into thirds; 16 green prawns, peeled with tails intact; 440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces in Juice, drained; 8 cherry tomatoes, halved; steamed Jasmine rice, to serve; basil leaves to garnish, optional

1. Add curry paste to a hot frying pan and cook 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, lime leaves, palm sugar and fish sauce and bring to a gentle simmer.

2. Add green beans and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the prawns, pineapple and cherry tomatoes and simmer for a further 2 - 3 minutes, or until the prawns are cooked through.

3. Remove lime leaves and transfer curry to serving bowls. Serve with rice and garnish with basil leaves if desired.

Red Curry Paste

1 tblspn coriander seeds; 2 tspn cumin seeds; 1 tspn black peppercorns; 2 tspn dries shrimp paste; 1 tspn ground nutmeg; 12 dried or fresh red chillies, rough chopped; 1 cup French shallots, chopped; 2 tblspn oil; 4 stems lemon grass (white part only) finely chopped; 12 small cloves garlic, chopped; 2 tblspn fresh coriander roots, chopped; 2 tblspn fresh coriander stems, chopped; 6 kaffir lime leaves, chopped; 2 tspn grated lime rind; 2 tspn salt; 2 tspn turmeric; 1 tspn paprika

1 Place the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan and heat for 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan constantly.

2 Place the roasted spices and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or clean coffee grinder and work them until they are finely ground. Wrap the shrimp paste in a small amount of foil and cook under a hot grill for 3 minutes, turning the package twice.

3 Process the ground spices, roasted shrimp paste, nutmeg and chillies in a food processor for 5 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and process for 20 seconds at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula each time, until the mixture forms a smooth paste.

Makes approximately 1 cup. 

Pineapple the Miss Australia way

Miss Australia Cookbook, Cookery Editor Elizabeth Sewell, Sydney 1971

Pineapple and Prawn Salad contributed by Helen Newton (Miss Australia 1968) who grew up on a pineapple farm, at Woombye, Queensland.

Serves: 6

1 1/2 kg prawns, cooked; ½ cup white vinegar; salt and pepper; 2 X 350g tins pineapple pieces, drained and chilled; 1 cup Mayonnaise; 1 lettuce; sprigs of parsley and tomato wedges for garnish

Shell the prawns, remove black vein and cut in halves. Place in a bowl and mix with the vinegar and salt and pepper, chill. Add the pineapple and Mayonnaise to the prawns and mix together thoroughly. Arrange on crisp lettuce leaves and garnish with sprigs of parsley and tomato wedges.

Fresh cooked tiger prawns

Home made mayonnaise, home cooked Australian tiger prawns, fresh iceberg, yummy canned pineapple.  For a dinner party you could serve it in glasses like a prawn cocktail.  Personally I would use a marie rose sauce, the olive oil in the mayonnaise was a bit overpowering for the prawns, Ann.

Helen Newton said “I enjoy cooking and entertaining at home. The thought of organising and cooking for a party does not worry me, I now appreciate my training in home science subjects at high school and later at teachers Training College. I believe one of the most important points to remember when planning meals is the nutritional value of food. During the hot summer months we can enjoy crisp, cool salads and beautiful fresh fruit. Fortunately these are rich in vitamins and minerals as well as being delicious and satisfying.”

Fried Rice, with ?

Light fry in butter 1 X 440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces (drained), 1 cup chopped onion or eschallots, 1 cup chopped capsicum, 1 cup chopped celery. Add one cup diced cooked chicken or prawns and 6 cups freshly cooked rice. Flavour with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Serve in bowls garnished with strips of cooked rice.

Prawns and more prawns and pineapple

The Hayman Scramble did taste slightly better than it looked.  The salad was OK but stuck in a 1950s time warp.  Both recipes interesting from a historical perspective but not good enough to repeat, they won’t become part of my repertoire, Ann.

Hayman Scramble

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, 450g shelled prawns, 4 to 6 eggs, salt, pepper, 2 tblspns butter, soy sauce. Drain pineapple. Chop 2 slices and add to prawns. Melt butter in frypan. Add pineapple and prawns, heat slowly. Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Pour over prawns and pineapple. Cook and stir until eggs are set and lightly browned. Sprinkle with soy sauce. Fry remaining pineapple slices and serve with the scramble. Add a garnish of salad vegetables.

Pineapple ‘N’ Prawn Salad

Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces with cooked shelled prawns, potato or rice salad, lettuce, tomatoes and radishes. Goes great with crusty rolls and prepared mayonnaise.

Preparing the radish roses

“Menu planning . . . an art at which you can shine” Ruby.

I have been a real Pineapple Princess this afternoon, have made the Saucy Seafood Casseroles and the Two Crust Pineapple Pie. 
The casserole was fine, a bit heavy on the protein (fish, cheese and egg) but quite nice, I teamed it with some carrot and peas.  I used poached salmon rather than the suggested prawns or crab.
The pie looks great, I used Pampas shortcrust pastry, Ann.

 Saucy Seafood Casseroles

440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces, 1 ½ cups cooked flaked fish (crab-meat, prawns or scallops), 2 ½ cups seasoned white sauce, 2 egg yolks, salt and pepper, 1 tblspn lemon juice or dry sherry, 3 hard-boiled eggs.

Drain pineapple pieces. Chop a few pieces and add to the combined fish, white sauce, seasonings, egg yolks and sherry. Spoon into buttered casseroles. Top with remaining pineapple pieces mixed with 2 cups crushed cereal flakes and 1 cup grated cheese. Heat in moderate oven. Serve garnished with slices of hard-boiled eggs and parsley.

Seafood casserole before the oven

Out of the oven and garnished

Two-crust Pineapple Pie

440g can Golden Circle Crushed Pineapple, 2 tblspns cornflour, ¼ cup cold water, enough short pastry to line and cover 18cm plate.

Line pie plate with short pastry rolled thinly. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top. Blend cornflour in water. Place pineapple in saucepan; bring to boil, then thicken with cornflour mixture. Spoon into pastry lined plate, cover with top crust and bake in hot oven (230° F) about 25 minutes. Serve with cream or custard sauce.

Prawns Tropicana.

I made these last night, they were quite acceptable.  I used less milk in the sauce as it would have been too thin if I used the full quantity. Cooked Crystal Bay prawns worked well, just heated them through in the sauce before serving. The pineapple served the same purpose as the apple or sultanas that our mothers used in their “curries”, it added an acidic touch that was welcome, Ann.

Prawns Tropicana.

440g can of Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces, 1 sliced onion, 2 crushed cloves garlic, 2 tblspns butter, 2 tblspns plain flour, 1 tblspn curry powder, 2 cups milk, 450 kilos shelled prawns, cooked rice.

Drain syrup from pineapple pieces. Fry sliced onion, garlic and 2 tblspns pineapple pieces in butter till golden. Remove from stove and blend in flour and curry powder. Gradually add milk, blending until smooth. Return to stove and cook, stirring until sauce is smooth. Add prawns. Place the curried prawns in the centre of a heated dish and surround with cooked rice garnished with the remaining pineapple pieces.