When it comes to seafood at Christmas, prawns reign supreme. They pop up in nine of delicious.com.au’s top 10 seafood dishes, as cooks search for other ways to feature them beyond that big platter of orange-shelled beauties with lemon wedges and a cocktail sauce. With this in mind, here are further ways to make the prawn the king of the holidays:

PRAWN HELPERS

If you’re looking for a cooking task to keep the idle hands of your children, grandchildren or lazy housemates busy, then making our pork dumplings filled with sausage meat and prawn meat are the task to set. Then all you need to do is make the simple broth to cook them in. The dumpling noodle soup you’ll end up with is a sure-fire winner for a light supper. If you feel that this sounds all a little ambitious and the prospect of cleaning up after helpers is just too horrendous to bear, then may I turn your attention to Ian Parmenter’s old-school seafood bisque – another of those top 10 seafood dishes. Prawns, mussels and a selection of other seafood bob in a tomato, paprika and cayenne-spiked bisque rich from the late addition of a touch of cream. Unencumbered by superfluous others in the kitchen, you should be able to knock this up in under half an hour if you can get a wriggle on.

PRAWN PIZZA

Quick-cooking prawns also work well on a pizza that can puff up in a matter of minutes. The most popular version is a prawn, chilli and rocket pizza, where more time is saved by using a shop- bought spicy arrabbiata sauce spread over the pizza base first.

ANOTHER PRAWN SALAD

Yes, I know there is something rather gauche and Barbie-world ’90s about mango in salads. Just seeing them on a menu makes me think of getting a shag cut and wearing pastels. The trouble is that once I get over myself I have to admit the creaminess of the avocado with cooked tiger prawns go rather well with mango, if you’ve got some chilli heat and lime-y pep in your dressing to remind everyone we are also in savoury town.

The prawn, mango and avocado salad has all that, but I’d probably leave out the honey and add some fish sauce for funk instead. Serve in lettuce leaves topped with another whole prawn or two – it’s a way of serving prawn cocktail elements in a lettuce cup like san choy bao. Think of these as a new style of prawn cocktail – minus the martini glass or halved avocado.

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PRAWNS ON THE BARBIE

Sending those you share your life with out of the kitchen and off to the barbecue as their contribution to dinner is another time-honoured tradition – one that combines the benefits of load-sharing with getting them out from under your feet. (Are you getting the impression I don’t like sharing the kitchen when I cook? You are right!). Barbecuing prawns is also quick, so they must be watched at all times. Or at least tell them that. Now, we’ve previously discussed the ease of turning prawns that are skewered in groups for simple grilling – seen in Jamie Oliver’s Asian style BBQ prawn racks featured in delicious.com.au’s recent list of most popular barbecue recipes. It also appears in our top 10 seafood dishes for December. The other barbecue prawn dish you’ll find in that list is our prawn cocktail salad, for which large grilled prawns are served on a mix of lemony sorrel, cucumber and avocado alongside a jug of prawn cocktail dressing.

THE BEST FESTIVE FISH PIE

My mother’s Christmas fish pie was a much-dreaded part of the whole festive ritual growing up, but fresh local seafood and plump local prawns have almost convinced me that it could return to

the menu at our house without me going into open revolt. While adding loads of dill, quartered hard-boiled eggs and plenty of prawns to a mash-topped pie is one way to go, I reckon Matt Moran’s fish and prawn pie with tarragon and spinach is sexier. It partners underrated smoked cod with salmon, snapper and prawns in a creamy sauce flecked green with spinach and tarragon. And it’s topped with crumpled crispy buttered golden filo pastry. Scrunchy and delicious.

SPEEDY PRAWN PASTAS

Perhaps simplest of all, and earning the accolade of our most popular seafood dish, is the garlic and chilli prawn pasta that can be made in 15 minutes. This has only ever garnered five-star reviews from those who have made it. The speed comes from making the sauce while your linguine is cooking.

You fry parsley stalks, minced garlic, chopped anchovy fillets and diced chilli with black pepper for 30 seconds until fragrant and then throw in chopped tomatoes and a little tomato paste. Then, finally, the prawns and a little wine. By the time the pasta is drained and ready, the sauce is done and just needs to be given a lovely velvety edge by stirring in a little butter. The delicious. kitchen team has sanctioned the use of parmesan on top of this one, but if you are an Italian traditionalist who sees this as a culinary sin to rival drinking milky coffee after dinner or eating gelato before 11am, then our prawn and lemon pasta (also in the top 10) is just as quick and easy.

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