Creamy Saffron Potato Soup with Grilled Prawns
Golden saffron-infused potato soup finished with tangy sour cream, crowned with herb-crusted grilled prawns. Shallots and mealy potatoes form a silky base, simmered in vegetable bouillon then pureed. Prawns are threaded on skewers, coated in parsley oil, and quickly pan-fried until tender. An elegant two-component dish balancing earthy spice with briny shellfish.
Ingredients
- ½ tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp sour light creamcreme fraiche1:1neutraldairy-free
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- 8 shrimp, shelled, raw
- 2 shallots
- 1 ¼ lb mealy potatoesfloury potatoes1:1neutral
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- 1 tbsp flat-leaf parsleychives1:0.75mild onion flavor
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- 4 wooden skewers
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 0.0 oz vegetable bouillonseafood stock1:1conf:4
- 10 saffron threadsturmeric0.25tsp per threadcolor only
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- salt(optional)
- pepper(optional)
- ¾ tsp sea salt
Instructions
- 1
Heat butter in a large pan and sauté the shallots.
- 2
Add the potatoes and continue cooking.
- 3
Pour in the vegetable bouillon and add the saffron threads.
- 4
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer over medium heat until potatoes are soft, approximately 20 minutes.
- 5
Puree the soup and season with salt and pepper.
- 6
While soup simmers, thread 2 shrimp onto each wooden skewer.
- 7
Mix olive oil with the flat-leaf parsley.
- 8
Coat the shrimp with the parsley oil mixture.
- 9
Heat the frying pan and fry the shrimp for approximately 1.5 minutes per side.
- 10
Salt the shrimp.
- 11
Plate the soup, top with sour light cream, and garnish with saffron threads.
- 12
Serve the skewered shrimp alongside the soup.
Tips
Use mealy potatoes for best puree texture; waxy varieties may result in gluey soup.
Toast saffron threads briefly in the hot stock to enhance flavor extraction.
Do not overwork the soup when pureeing to avoid overheating and breaking emulsion with sour cream.
Pan-fry prawns just before serving to ensure they remain tender and juicy.
Good to Know
Soup stores refrigerated up to 3 days; prepare prawns fresh. Puree can be frozen up to 1 month without cream.
Prepare and puree soup base up to 1 day ahead. Reheat gently, add cream and garnish just before serving. Prepare prawn skewers and oil coating up to 4 hours ahead; fry to order.
Ladle hot soup into bowls, top with cold sour cream, garnish with a few saffron threads, and place a warm prawn skewer across the rim or alongside.
Common Mistakes
Do not skip pureeing to avoid gritty, unrefined texture.
Do not overcook prawns beyond 1.5 minutes per side to avoid toughness.
Do not add sour cream before cooling soup slightly to prevent curdling.
Do not use soft/waxy potatoes as they will not puree smoothly.
Substitutions
Dairy-Free Swaps
General Alternatives
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