Spot Prawns with Grilled Pineapple and Tropical Salsa

And here is really exciting news for all the West Coast seafood lovers: the Pacific spot prawns are back in season. I wrote about them last summer. They are beautiful to look at, wild, sustainably caught, they fight back very little when you put them on the grill, and they are very much like lobster in taste and texture, even better. The only bad thing about them is, like lobster, you have to cook them live - once dead, their meat starts getting mushy at once.

So this time, after I got a dozen from Ranch 99 and brought them home in a cooler, I warned the boyfriend that I was going to perform an act of ultimate cruelty to seafood, and he kept his eyes closed and ears covered, in order not to hear the screams, until I yelled real loud from the grill: It's OK now, all your food is dead.

The prawns: keep them in a bowl covered with a wet napkin in the refrigerator until ready to cook. Heat up the grill. Take the prawns out of the bowl one by one with kitchen tongs, brush with olive oil, and put on a hot grill. Grill 2 minutes on each side. The pineapple: cut the leafy top and the bottom from the pineapple; stand it on the cutting board; with a sharp heavy knife off cut the skin; lay it on a side, cut into 1/2 inch slices, no need to remove the core; brush lightly with oil. Grill just until marked, about 3 minutes per side. Tropical Salsa
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 Manila mango, diced
1 Japanese cucumber, diced
1 large shallot, minced
6 cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
juice of 1 lime
salt, pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Serve with any grilled seafood, or with grilled chicken breasts.