- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 large fresh prawns, preferably Santa Barbara spot prawns, cleaned, peeled, and deveined
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1/4 cup Pernod
- 1/4 cup fish or vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
- 1 tablespoon quick preserved lemon zest , julienned
- Squeeze of lemon
- Pinch of crushed red chili
- Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 pints sweet cherry tomatoes, blanched, shocked, and peeled
- 1 teaspoon chopped fennel fronds (optional)
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and at the first sight of smoke, carefully add the prawns. Sear the prawns on one side for 30 seconds. Turn the prawns, add the smashed garlic cloves, and sauté until golden. With no fear, add the Pernod and flame off all the alcohol; this will happen very quickly. Add the fish stock and reduce to half, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and lemon zest, and turn off the heat. Swirl the pan until all the butter is incorporated into a sauce.
- Finish the sauce with a squeeze of the lemon, a few flecks of crushed red chili, and sea salt and pepper. Toss in the tomatoes at the last moment, and garnish with a few chopped fennel fronds, if using. Serve immediately.