Gordon Ramsay’s prawn tostadas are king prawns marinated in garlic, chilli flakes and olive oil, fried for 2 minutes in a smoking hot pan, then piled on dry-toasted corn tortillas with a fresh salad of avocado, radishes, cherry tomatoes, spring onions and coriander dressed in lime. Ready in about 15 minutes.
The recipe is from Ultimate Home Cooking, where Ramsay says “these are all about the contrast of textures: succulent prawns and soft, ripe avocado mixed with crisp radishes and served on a lovely crunchy tortilla base.” In the video he calls it “a delicious yet very humble prawn tostada,” which is exactly what it is because there is nothing complicated here, just good ingredients put together properly.
His key move is toasting the corn tortillas in a dry pan rather than deep frying them, which he says “works just as well and makes them much healthier.” The dry heat makes them crispy enough to hold the salad without going greasy, and they stay firm under the weight because corn tortillas are sturdier than wheat ones. You can watch him build them in his Prawn Tostada video.
Gordon Ramsay Prawn Tostadas
Course: StarterCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes5
minutes310
kcal15
minutesPrawn tostadas from Ultimate Home Cooking. King prawns marinated in garlic and chilli, fried fast and served on dry-toasted corn tortillas with a fresh lime and coriander salad. A quick Mexican-style starter or light supper. Source: Ultimate Home Cooking (Hodder & Stoughton, 2013).
Ingredients
400g (14 oz) raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
1 tsp chilli flakes, or to taste
Olive oil
1-2 ripe avocados, peeled, stoned and diced
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
1 red chilli, seeded and finely sliced
8-12 radishes, trimmed and quartered
8-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
Juice of 1 lime
2 baby gem lettuces, shredded
Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
4 corn flour tortillas
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Marinate the prawns: Put the prawns, garlic and chilli flakes into a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix well and set aside.
- Make the salad: Put the avocados, spring onions, chilli, radishes and cherry tomatoes into another bowl. Season with salt, pepper and half the lime juice, then stir in the shredded lettuce and coriander. Set aside.
- Cook the prawns: Heat a dash of olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan until very hot. Fry the prawns for about 2 minutes on each side until just cooked through. Sprinkle with the remaining lime juice and stir.
- Toast the tortillas: Toast the corn tortillas in a dry pan until nicely coloured and beginning to crisp up.
- Assemble: Divide the salad equally between the toasted tortillas, top with the cooked prawns and serve immediately.
FAQs
How hot does the pan need to be for the prawns?
Ramsay says “anything less than that sizzle when you put the first prawn in there, don’t put them in,” which is the test for whether the pan is ready. He also says “I’d rather cook them quicker in a hotter pan than slower in a colder pan, the difference in taste is night and day,” because high heat gives you colour and flavour in 2 minutes where a cool pan just steams them grey.
That fast sear is the same approach he uses for the spiced grilled prawns from Bread Street Kitchen, where the toasted cumin, paprika and cayenne paste needs direct high heat to caramelise rather than just warm through. That hot-pan-first approach runs through every prawn recipe he has written.
Can you deep fry the tortillas instead of dry toasting?
Ramsay says “in Mexico the tortillas are normally deep fried in oil, but I find toasting them in a dry pan works just as well and makes them much healthier.” Deep fried gives you a puffier, crunchier shell, so it is more traditional if you want to go that route.
Either way, you need corn tortillas not wheat, because wheat ones go floppy when loaded with salad while corn stays rigid. He also mentions you can bake them in the oven at 180C for 10-15 minutes if you are making a big batch and the pan method takes too long.
How do you stop the tostada going soggy?
Assemble them right before serving, because the salad has lime juice and avocado in it which will soften the tortilla within 10 minutes. Toast the tortillas, pile the salad on, add the prawns and eat immediately.
Ramsay says “that base will stay nice and crisp” as long as you time it right. If you are making these for a group, toast all the tortillas and keep them warm in a low oven while you fry the prawns, then assemble at the table so everyone builds their own.
What is the best way to plate the prawns?
Ramsay says “I like to keep the tails in to the centre and lay the round part of the prawn on the outside,” which fans them around the edge of the tortilla so you see the seared side facing up. It looks better than just dumping them on top, and it means every bite from the outside gets prawn with it.
This is a dish that looks impressive for how little effort it takes, which makes it a strong starter for a dinner party before a heavier main course.
Can you use this as a starter or a main?
As a starter, one tostada per person with three or four prawns on each is plenty, which is how Ramsay writes it. For a main, double the prawns and give everyone two tostadas with rice or black beans on the side.
If you want a more traditional British starter using the same prawns, the prawn cocktail from Great British Pub Food layers them in glasses with shredded iceberg, avocado and a brandy-spiked Marie Rose sauce. Completely different mood but the same quality of prawn.
What else works on a tostada besides prawns?
The salad base of avocado, radish, tomato, lime and coriander works with almost any protein. Ramsay has a black bean tostada in Ultimate Cookery Course for a vegetarian version using the same dry-toasted tortilla technique. Shredded chicken, grilled fish or even just the salad on its own with crumbled feta makes a solid lunch.
For a lighter prawn option without the tortilla, his prawn salad uses king prawns on cucumber and baby gem with a spicy yoghurt and fish sauce dressing that works cold straight from the fridge.
