Ingredients
Serves 4-612 raw prawns, peeled and deveined, heads reserved
2 bay leaves
35g besan (chickpea flour)
50g plain flour
1tbsp finely chopped coriander
1tbsp finely chopped parsley
2tbsp finely snipped chives
400ml olive oil for deep frying
Sea salt flakes to sprinkle
Method
Place the prawn heads in a saucepan with the bay leaves, a pinch of salt and 300ml cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, strain the stock and discard the solids. Pour the stock into a clean saucepan and bring to the boil.
Meanwhile, finely chop the prawns. When the stock comes to the boil stir in the chopped prawns and cook for 30 seconds, then remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.
Sift the besan (chickpea flour) and plain flour into a bowl. Whisking continuously, gradually add the hot stock mixture to the flour mixture until a thin batter forms. Stir in the chopped herbs and leave the batter to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan or wok to 190ºC or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 10 seconds.
Working in batches, gently ladle 60ml of the batter into the hot oil, ensuring you get an equal portion of the prawn meat. The batter will spread quickly so use the bowl of the ladle to even out the fritters and bathe them in the hot oil as they cook. Fry for 1 minute or until golden then turn and cook for another minute on the other side. Drain on paper towel, sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve immediately.