Little Holiday Cooks | Sunny addition to the Christmas buffet

Do the children want to participate in the preparations for the Holidays? Every week until Christmas, we offer you a simple and festive recipe that they can cook with the help of their favorite sous-chef. Today: guédilles with coconut curry shrimp.

For five years, the Palme restaurant has been offering sunny cuisine on rue Sainte-Catherine Est, in Montreal. From the Antilles to Asia via the Middle East, the Maghreb and South America, the perfumes that inspire its chef, Ralph Alerte Desamours, come from many regions of the globe. “I try to represent […] all the countries where there are palm trees”, summarizes the one who is co-owner of the restaurant with his spouse, Lee-Anne Millaire Lafleur.

Jerk chicken, mac & cheese with seafood and coconut curry shrimp are some of the favorite dishes of Palme regulars.

The chef, who was born in Montreal to parents of Haitian origin, describes his cuisine as a “fusion” between different cultures. It is in this spirit that he now offers a recipe for a coconut curry shrimp roll.

“I wanted to bring a different touch to what we know. […] I wanted to do something that could represent me well,” he says.

This dish, one of his wife’s favorites, is a beautiful marriage between Quebec and West Indian cuisines, thinks the father of three children. They also love this recipe, provided however that there is not too much mayonnaise. “My children aren’t very good with mayonnaise,” says the chef, who has been cooking since the age of 8.

Easy to prepare, these reinvented rolls can very well replace the traditional sandwiches on the New Year’s Eve menu. Something to add a sunny touch to the Christmas buffet.

Coconut Curry Shrimp Rolls

Yield: 4 rolls

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) medium prawns, tailed and cooked
• 1 green apple, diced
• 1 green onion finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. (30 ml) coconut cream
• 1 C. (15 ml) mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp. 1/2 tsp (10 mL) lemon juice
• 1 C. (5ml) curry powder
• Salt and pepper
• 4 hot dog buns
• 1 cup (250 mL) chopped iceberg lettuce
• 2 tbsp. butter

Preparation

1. Cut the prawns into 2cm pieces and transfer to a bowl.
2. Add the green apple and green onion pieces.
3. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, curry powder and coconut cream. Add to shrimp.
4. Add lettuce. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Butter the hot dog buns on both sides and toast in a skillet over medium heat.
6. Fill hot dog buns with shrimp mixture. To serve.