Prawn and Chickpea Stew with Leeks and Lemon
- Nigel Barden
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
by Fiona Sims from A Year on the River: A Boater’s Guide to Growing, Foraging, Storing and Cooking (Adlard Coles/Bloomsbury) Photography: Gary Latham & Fiona Sims
This fresh, vibrant seafood stew is so much more than a sum of its parts. It’s simple to make yet delivers layers of flavour – and is particularly satisfying when you’ve got some fresh crusty bread to mop it all up. All it needs is a bright, zesty white to wash it all down – think Spanish Verdejo, or Italian Verdicchio, and you’ll have this on repeat. Best are those Bold Bean Co chickpeas you get in jars in supermarkets, but regular tinned chickpeas are just fine, or indeed any tinned white beans. To keep costs down, you can use supermarket bags of frozen raw king prawns, letting them defrost as you cart them back to the boat if you’re cooking them that day.
FOR 4 SERVINGS
Ingredients:
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 tsp smoked (mild) paprika
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and black pepper
450g raw jumbo king prawns, peeled
50g unsalted butter
2 large leeks, trimmed, finely sliced and washed
2 x 400g chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 litre vegetable stock
A handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Crusty bread for mopping up the juices (optional)
Method
Combine zest, paprika, garlic, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper in a bowl. Add the prawns and toss to coat.
In a large pot, melt the butter over a medium heat, add the prawns and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the prawns to a plate and set aside.
Add the leeks, season with salt and pepper and cook with a lid on over medium heat until the leeks are soft, about eight minutes.
Add the drained chickpeas and the stock and bring to a simmer, then cook for five minutes.
Stir in the prawns and any juices from the plate, plus the parsley and the lemon juice.
Season, then serve with the bread, if using.
Drinks tasted on air, alongside the dish:
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