Southwest Citrus Chipotle Prawns

"It's always been a big passion of mine. My great-grandmother owned a restaurant in Cambria called 'Anita's.' She studied (food preparation) in Germany and also attended culinary school for baking in Paris. My grandmother passed all that on to us," said Sutter Surgical Hospital—North Valley executive chef Heather Platter, explaining where her love for food and her talent for serving tasty, nutritious meals to the patients at the Yuba City facility came from.

Heather, who transitioned into the hospital position in November after working for four years at Hillcrest Catering, said that one of the first meals her kitchen prepared for the patients was the dish she chose to share during my visit to the hospital: Southwest Citrus Chipotle Prawns Served Over Black Bean And Corn Salsa.

"This dish doesn't taste low-cal, but it's just 188 calories without salad," she said. "It's sweet and spicy with a Latin flair, and with the black beans and corn salsa, just gives it that extra protein."

The chef said that there are a couple of keys to ensuring that the dish is a success: First, use the freshest ingredients you can; and second, marinate the prawns a minimum of four hours or overnight, if you have the time. Why? Because, "The longer you marinate something, the better it tastes."

When making the prawns, Heather said to start with the marinade. What she does is combine extra virgin olive oil with orange juice — with or without pulp — lemon juice, garlic, chopped chipotle peppers (be careful because they're spicy), kosher sea salt and pepper. She said she always uses kosher salt, because, "Table salt's for the table, and kosher salt is for cooking."

Heather next turned to the bean and corn salsa. For this, she used drained and rinsed canned black beans, freshly diced tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, avocados and fresh or frozen corn. She said she doesn't like to used canned corn because it has a different flavor and it retains a lot of water.

For Heather, the cilantro and lime juice are important to the salsa because both add a little extra zip to an already tasty dish.

Not overcooking the prawns is a vital step in the preparation process, she said. Explaining that while they'll still taste all right, the prawns will be tough. What she recommends is to cook them over a very hot fire for only about a minute to a minute and a half on each side for smaller shrimp, or about two minutes for larger prawns.

Heather said that while the prawns go wonderfully on the bean and corn salsa, they can also be eaten alone, with a little cocktail sauce or any other way you like them.

The final steps are to place the prawns onto the salsa. Then squeeze on a little extra lime juice and add a few sprigs of cilantro and thinly sliced avocado for both eye appeal and taste. Plus, they're good for you, she said.

"I add a fresh squeeze of lime juice, because I like my food zesty and refreshing, and the cilantro because that too gives the dish a little extra bite," she said.

• SOUTHWEST CITRUS CHIPOTLE PRAWNS SERVED OVER BLACK BEAN AND CORN SALSA

Serves six

Ingredients

24 U15 prawns (may use smaller prawns)

For marinade:

1 cup orange juice, with or without pulp

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup sweet and sour mix

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 chipotle peppers in adobo

Salt and pepper, to taste

For salsa:

2 cans black beans (15 ounces each), rinsed and drained

2 cups fresh or frozen corn

1/2 cup diced tomatoes

1 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 ripe Hass avocados, thinly sliced

Putting it together

Peel and devein prawns and set aside. Meanwhile; mix all marinade ingredients in a bowl. Toss prawns in marinade. Seal tightly and marinate for at least six to eight hours, or overnight, in your refrigerator.

While prawns are marinating, you may begin to assemble your salad. Take black beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro and lime juice and toss in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for at least three hours in the refrigerator.

Take marinated prawns out of refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Preheat barbecue grill. When grill is hot, place prawns on the grill. Grill large prawns about two to three minutes on each side, being careful not to overcook. Smaller prawns require less grilling time.

Set aside cooked prawns. On a plate, place 1 cup of black bean and corn salsa. Lay 4 prawns on top of salsa. Garnish with 3 avocado slices. Serve immediately.

• • •

Heather, who was born and raised in Gridley, is married to her husband, Curtis Platter, and together they have two sons, Triston and Harley.

Her culinary education began at home continued at Butte Culinary Academy on the California State University, Chico, campus, where she studied under Michael Iles, who is now the executive chef for Sierra Nevada Brewery.

Heather's duties at Sutter North include more than just the kitchen. "As dietary manager and executive chef, I'm in charge of all the (purchase orders), patient care, hiring, writing all the policies for the department while still getting more schooling." She said that she's working to become a certified dietary manager and will be taking the certification exam in October.

One thing she's brought to the hospital is an emphasis on the importance of using the freshest — and organic, if possible — ingredients in the patients' food. She said the better the ingredients, the tastier the dishes and the healthier it is for the patients.

To that end, the hospital is starting a program with local farmers, where they bring in fresh produce at least once a week. "We're really looking forward to working with the local farmers," Heather said.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter John Hollis at 741-2400 or jhollis@appealdemocrat.com.