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Don’t you love salads? Ever tried Arugula? Arugula is a very tasty treat. Arugula, also known as roquette in Europe, is not a lettuce, but an herb, and is a member of the mustard family. If you can not find any, it is quite easy to grow yourself. If you really can’t find any, you could replace it with red leaves lettuce.

This recipe also uses artichoke hearts. The preserved ones come in 3 kinds: in water, brine or oil. I prefer the ones prepared in brine as I think the added acidity works well for this recipe. If you are lucky enough to be near San Francisco, you can find the best marinated artichokes I’ve had at Molinari Deli. If you are up to it, you could prepare the artichokes yourself, and you should check how to trim an artichoke to get you started. However this will significantly increase the time required to prepare this recipe.

To prepare the prawns, you have several options. You can buy them peeled and deveined, or you can do it yourself. It is not that hard. One method you can use is to do it with the Shrimp Butler. At around $30, it may sound expensive, but when you factor in the cost difference to buy the prawns ready to use, this will quickly pay for itself. A more low-tech approach is to use special scissors, or an Endurance Shrimp Peeler & Deveiner. Last resort, is to do it using your fingers after you’ve cooked the prawns. Only problem of doing it after they are cooked is that they won’t look as good, but will taste just the same though.

Here’s how to prepare the Prawn Salad with Arugula:
Per person, for a main dish (for 4 people, multiply everything by 4):

Salad

• 5 medium to large Prawns, peeled and deveined
• 6 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced in half
• 3 small tomatoes (small cluster tomatoes work best)
• 2 artichoke hearts
• 1/2 ounce goat creamy goat cheese
• 1 ounce Arugula

Dressing

• 1/2 table spoon lemon juice
• 1/2 table spoon extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation: 20-30 minutes

Remove the pits from the olives, and slice them in half, wash and rinse the tomatoes, and cut them in small chunks (remove as many seeds as you can). Cut the artichoke hearts in 4. Dice the goat cheese if it is creamy enough, otherwise crumble it.

Wash and rinse the arugula. Save a few olives and artichokes pieces that you can use later to garnish the plates. Mix everything else in a large salad bowl.

To prepare the dressing, mix the lemon juice, the olive oil, salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly.

Up to this point, everything can be prepared ahead of time. The last step is to cook the prawns in a small frying pan. Put some olive olive oil in the pan, heat it up over medium heat. When the oil is hot, put the prawns, add some salt and pepper and cook the prawns a few minutes on each side till they have a nice orangy color.

When the prawns are done, mix the dressing with the salad, and serve immediatly. You can server as an appetizer or an entree by varying the quantities.
Enjoy!