Garlic prawns have always been a favourite, but add slivers of fresh ginger and a good sprinkling of fennel seeds, serve them on slices of sweet cantaloupe melon with warm sauteed leek and fennel bulb and the old favourite takes on a fantastic new guise.

Ingredients

• 150 grams unsalted butter or ½ cup light olive oil
• 2 tsp Lucknow or best quality fennel seeds
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
• 2 cm piece fresh ginger, finely sliced
• 500 grams green prawns, shelled
• salt to season

To Garnish

• leek, trimmed and washed well and very finely shredded
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed of the core and very finely shredded
• 25 grams butter or 3 tblsp olive oil
• 2 tblsp chopped fresh fennel or 1 tblsp dried
• salt and pepper to season
• ½ cantaloupe melon, deseeded and thinly sliced

Method

1. Heat the butter or oil in a deep frying pan and add the fennel, garlic and ginger and cook over a moderate heat for 1 minute until fragrant.
2. Add the prawns and cook them tossing regularly so that they are coated in the flavoured butter or oil. Once the prawns turn from green or white to pink, season with salt, set aside and keep warm.
3. Prepare the garnish. Heat the butter in a frying pan and quickly pan fry the sliced leek and fennel and just when wilting, stir in the chopped fennel and season with salt and pepper.
4. Arrange a few slices of cantaloupe on 4 plates, top with equal amounts of the leek mix and arrange the prawns on top. Enjoy with crusty bread to mop up the juices.