Lauren Farms Freshwater Prawns in the News!

My friend Regina Charboneau that owns the Twin Oaks in Natchez, Mississippi recently featured Lauren Farms Prawns in an article for The Atlantic. She is such a great chef, and an wonderful writer. We are thankful for her support!

Here's an excerpt from the article:

"Being an advocate of sustainable seafood, I am always looking out for people who are doing it correctly. In my constant search for sustainable ingredients I came across the most delectable farm-raised prawns from Lauren Farms in the Delta. To put it simply, taste is why they make the grade. But if taste is not enough, this is why I think we will all be hearing more about Lauren Farms: free range; all natural; low cholesterol; low in fat, iodine, calories and sodium; grown in fresh, pollutant and chemical-free water; fed wholesome grains; fresh from pond to table; environmentally friendly; sustainable aquaculture; and no by-catch.

The other plus for me? I hate going to the grocery store... and they come UPS."

Here's the recipe that she mentions (it is also photographed above):

Corn and Prawn Fritters

Makes 4 Servings (approximately 1 dozen fritters)

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup of 16-21 count prawns, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup fresh yellow corn kernels
• 1/4 cup minced green onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

In a mixing bowl, add flour, salt, cayenne and black peppers, and baking powder. Blend with a fork or whisk then add garlic and blend again.

16-21 count means there are approximately that many prawns to the pound. Peel and devein the uncooked prawns then cut into 1/4 inch pieces.

Separate egg yolk and white. Whip egg white until stiff but still wet.

Mix the egg yolk with the prawns, corn, green onions, and fresh basil. Do not over mix--this will bruise the corn kernels and make the batter too wet.

Mix the flour mixture and the prawn mixture with a rubber spatula.

Fold in the whipped egg white.

Use two tablespoons as tools to form one-inch fritters, and drop in heated oil. Cook evenly--the fritters should cook in two to three minutes. You can test with a wooden skewer to make sure batter is cooked through.

The fritters are good plain, or you can serve with a remoulade or jalapeno tartar sauce.

Another Recipe: Perfect for Weekend Grilling!

Bacon Wrapped Lauren Farms Freshwater Prawns with Chipotle BBQ Sauce

20 freshwater prawns, shelled (1 lb. jumbo yield 21-25 per pound)
½ pound bacon, partially cooked and cut in half
½ cup BBQ sauce
¼ cup canola oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ ounce Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
½ teaspoon red chili flakes
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon black pepper

Bamboo skewers (3 to 5 prawns per skewer)

Soak bamboo skewers in water for 20-30 minutes. Cook bacon partially, cut in half, and let cool on a paper towel. Wrap bacon around prawns and skewer with bamboo keeping bacon together.

Combine all ingredients in blender, except bacon and prawns, and puree. Separate the sauce in half, one half for basting and one for dipping.

Cook bacon wrapped prawns on grill over medium heat basting with chipotle sauce.

To cook indoors and/or without skewers, secure each prawn and bacon with a toothpick. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet lined with foil. Baste and broil until done.

Lauren Farms Freshwater Prawn Lasagna Roll-Ups

Here's another good one!

Freshwater Prawn Lasagna Roll-Ups

This recipe can easily be halved. Read the entire recipe before preparing.

8 Lasagna Noodles
2 jars (15 oz.) of Alfredo Sauce, divided (to cover roll-ups and reserve ½ cup for topping with sautéed prawns)
2 lbs. freshwater prawns peeled, divided (½ lb. chopped raw prawns in roll-ups, 1 ½ lb. cooked prawns in topping sauce)

For the filling:

15 ounces ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
½ teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ lb. chopped raw prawns

For the topping:

1 ½ lb. prawns
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Paul Prudhomme’s Blackened Redfish Magic seasoning (or Old Bay)

Cook the noodles al dente according to package directions. Drain and place in cool water. Gently pat dry when making roll-ups.

To make the filling, combine the ricotta, parmesan, garlic powder, egg, and parsley in a medium-sized bowl, and stir to mix well. Add the raw, chopped prawns and the mozzarella, and stir to mix. Set aside.

Coat a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish with nonstick spray. To assemble the prawn roll-ups, arrange the noodles on a flat surface and spread 1/8 of the filling mixture along the length of each noodle. Roll each noodle up (loosely) jelly-roll style and place in the prepared dish, seam side down. Pour the Alfredo sauce over the roll-ups. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until heated throughout.

For the topping, season the prawns with the Redfish Magic. Sauté’ the prawns in a small amount of butter until done. Do not overcook. Remove from heat. Before serving, warm ½ cup Alfredo sauce and melt ½ cup mozzarella. Add sautéed prawns to sauce and divide to top each roll-up.

You can change up the types of cheese for a different flavor.

Lauren Farms Prawn Asparagus and Pesto Fettuccine

I apologize for the lack of blogging lately! Life in the freshwater prawn world has been very busy. We are right in the middle of hatching baby prawns for our new 2009 crop. It's very time consuming, but exciting at the same time! These days, I spend most of my time looking at PH levels in steamy green houses!

Anyway, onto the food! Here's a new recipe we recently tried and loved. Enjoy!


Lauren Farms Freshwater Prawn Asparagus and Pesto Fettuccine

• 8 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup sliced jarred roasted red peppers (or 1 large fresh red pepper sliced and sauted)
• 1/4 cup prepared pesto (look for Classico basil pesto in the spaghetti sauce section)
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound raw prawns, peeled
• 1 cup dry white wine
• Freshly ground pepper and Kosher salt to taste
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• Parmesan cheese
• Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add fettuccine and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions. Add asparagus and continue cooking until the pasta and asparagus are just tender, about 3 minutes more. Reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water, drain the fettuccine and asparagus and return to the pot. Stir in peppers and pesto. Cover to keep warm.

Season prawns with fresh ground pepper, Kosher salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add prawns and cook, stirring occasionally, until just done, about 2 minutes per side. Remove prawns and add wine, increase heat to high and continue cooking until the wine is reduced to about 1/2. Add the prawns and wine mixture to the pasta, toss to coat, and add the reserved cooking water as needed. Season with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley if desired and serve immediately.

Prawn Rockefeller Stuffed Mushrooms

I'm sorry for the delay in blogging recently! It's been a busy couple of months with harvesting the prawns. But, I'm back, and here's a fabulous recipe that Steve loves. Enjoy!

Lauren Farms Prawn Rockefeller Stuffed Mushrooms a' la Steve

Prepare and Roast:
24 large button mushrooms

Sauté in 1 T. Olive Oil
1 lb. prawns, peeled, cut into chunks. Salt and pepper to taste.

Combine; Add:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 T. mayonnaise
1 T. milk
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
3 T. Parmesan, grated
1 t. dried tarragon or 2 teaspoons fresh, minced
1 t. fresh lemon juice
1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. scallions, minced

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Toss Together; Top With:
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (I used a crusty sourdough roll and put in the food processor)
3 T. Olive oil
3 T. Parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Prepare mushrooms by first removing and discarding the stems. Arrange caps on a baking sheet, stemmed side up, sprinkle insides with salt, and roast 10 minutes. Flip caps over (draining liquid) and roast 5 minutes more. Remove mushrooms from oven; leave oven on.

Sauté prawns in 1 T. olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat just until pink, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and other seasoning if desired; set aside.

Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, milk, spinach, 3 T, Parmesan, tarragon, lemon juice, Worcestershire, scallions and salt and pepper, cayenne pepper if desired, to taste.

Toss crumbs with 3 T. oil, 3 T. Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Stuff mushrooms, placing 2 or 3 shrimp pieces in each cap. Top with a generous teaspoon of cream cheese mixture, sprinkle with crumbs, then bake until heated through and topping is golden, about 8 minutes. Serve immediately.

Prawn Quesadillas and Chipotle Sauce!

This is AMAZING! Who doesn't like quesadillas that ooze cheese and prawns?! My husband Steve apparently does - I could cook this every night, and it would be fine with him. This recipe is perfect for fall - especially tailgating! I love to cook this in my portable skillet - it takes minutes.

(If anyone tries these recipes, and has feedback, please feel free to leave it! I love to hear from ya'll!)

Freshwater Prawn Quesadillas & Chipotle Sauce

(To serve 2 people use about 1 lb. of prawns, 4 tortillas and prepare 1/3 of the filling.)

2 lbs. U. S. farm-raised freshwater prawns, peeled
3 cups (packed) pepper jack cheese, grated
1 ½ cups bacon, cooked and chopped roughly
3 cups spinach, washed, spun dry and shredded
12 (8 inch) flour tortillas
¼ cup vegetable oil as needed
Cilantro sprigs and lime wedges for garnish

Bring about 8 cups of water to a boil and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of salt according to taste. Add prawns and cook for about 3 minutes being very careful not to overcook. Drain and immediately immerse in ice water to stop cooking. Drain and chop chilled prawns into bite-sized pieces.

Combine prawns, pepper jack cheese, bacon and spinach. Divide the mixture evenly on the tortillas. Fold tortilla in half and press down to flatten. Over medium heat in a large skillet or on flat top (we use the electric skillet heated to about 250 which holds 4 tortillas at a time), heat 1 teaspoon or so of oil. Cook quesadillas on both sides until cheese melts and tortillas are golden brown, about 1 ½ - 2 minutes per side. Add oil as needed. Cut quesadillas in ½. Drizzle with chipotle sour cream. Garnish with cilantro sprigs and serve with lime wedges. 12 servings.

Chipotle Sauce

1 cup sour cream
¼ cup chipotle in adobo, pureed

Mix ingredients with about ¼ cup water. Pour into squirt bottle. Refrigerate.

One of the best prawn dishes - hands down!

You haven't lived unless you try this dish. I promise it is wonderful and way too easy to prepare! It's so light and healthy, and all of the flavors taste amazing when mixed together. I promise you won't be disappointed - I know my family wasn't!

(PS: This recipe is a really good way to use all of those fresh herbs that you have growing like wildfire in your garden!)

Prawn Diavolo with Lemon Parmesan Pasta

1 lb. freshwater prawns, peeled
1 to 2 teaspoons salt (Kosher salt if you have it)
1 to 2 teaspoons dried crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1-2 tablespoons
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 (14 ½ oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
¼ teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
3 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon dried, crushed)

Toss the prawns in a medium bowl with salt and red pepper flakes. (Remember that prawns are freshwater and have very low sodium. Adjust salt to taste.) Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the prawns and sauté for several minutes, turn, and continue cooking until just cooked through. Transfer the prawns to a plate and set aside.

Add the onion to the same skillet and add 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil. Sauté until translucent or about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices, wine (or chicken broth), garlic, parsley, basil, and oregano. Simmer until the sauce is reduced and thickened slightly or about 10 minutes. Return the prawns and any juice to the tomato mixture and toss. Cook for a minute so that the flavors blend. Add more salt to taste. Serve over plain pasta or lemon pasta.


Lemon Parmesan Pasta

1 lb. pasta (we used Dreamfield’s low-carb spaghetti)
2/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (or 2 to 3 tablespoons dried)

Cook the pasta in salted water until tender but still firm. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, cheese and lemon juice to blend.

Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce. If it is needed, add a little of the reserved liquid. (We did not need any liquid with the low-carb pasta and sauce. Refrigerate the liquid and use it to add moisture when reheating leftovers.) Season with salt and pepper.