Cajun Prawn and Avocado Salad

Ingredients

• 500g raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 sweetcorn cobs
• 1 garlic clove, finely grated
• 1 tsp runny honey
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 limes, juiced
• 20g fresh coriander, leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped
• 300g ripe vine tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 red onion, finely sliced
• 2 ripe avocados, halved, stoned and sliced
• 8 small soft corn tortillas, to serve
• 150g sour cream, to serve
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
• hot sauce, to serve

Method

1. Pat the prawns properly dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no char. Toss with the smoked paprika, garlic powder, oregano, cayenne, cumin and olive oil until every prawn wears the spice mix evenly. Season generously with salt and pepper and leave to sit while you get the corn going — the spices will bloom into the prawns as they cook, but the oil is already starting to wake them up.
2. Get a griddle pan or heavy frying pan over a high heat until you can feel the heat rising off it and a flick of water dances. Rub the sweetcorn cobs with a teaspoon of olive oil and lay them on. Griddle for 10–12 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, until you've got proper blackened patches on every side — you want char, not a gentle tan. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. While the corn works, whisk the lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, grated garlic and honey in a small bowl until it pulls together into a glossy dressing. Stir through the chopped coriander and season to taste — it should be sharp, sweet, and a little bossy.
4. Stand each cob upright on the board and slice the kernels away in firm downward strokes. Tip into a large bowl with the drained black beans and toss with 2 tablespoons of the dressing so the warm kernels drink it up.
5. Add the sliced red onion and chopped tomatoes and toss gently — you want everything coated, not crushed. Arrange across a large platter or divide between four bowls.
6. Wipe the pan clean and return it to a high heat with the last drop of oil. Cook the prawns in a single layer for 2–3 minutes, turning once, until pink, curled and charred at the edges. Work in two batches — crowd the pan and the prawns sweat instead of searing, and you'll lose the Cajun crust you just built. As they hit the hot pan the ground spices will bloom in the oil and smell properly fragrant; that's the cue they're cooking, not just sitting there.
7. A note on the garlic in the dressing: it's raw and grated fine, so it sharpens rather than burns — but if you ever cook garlic in this kind of spice mix, keep it to 30 seconds and pull it pale gold. Burnt garlic turns the whole bowl bitter.
8. Lay the avocado slices over the salad, pile the hot prawns on top, and drizzle over the rest of the dressing. Taste one last corner of the salad — adjust salt now, not at the table, and add a final squeeze of lime if it needs lifting.
9. Bring it to the table with the warm corn tortillas, a bowl of soured cream, lime wedges and hot sauce alongside, and let everyone build their own.