Stephen McAllister can be seen frequently on television when he's not in the kitchen of 'Citron', the restaurant in the Fitzwilliam Hotel. He's best known as the head chef in RTE's reality show, 'The Restaurant', and is now the resident chef on The Afternoon Show. I first encountered his cooking in Dalkey's 'The Vico', where I was impressed by his versatility and ability to experiment with tastes. That was the first time I ever ate smoky bacon ice-cream. Here's a simple but tasty recipe from Stephen that's easy to do.

Marinated prawns with avocado cream, tomato and lime.

36-48 prawns.
1 lime, juiced. Save a spoonful for the tomato and lime oil.
1 teaspoon of chopped flat-leaf parsley.
A pinch of sea-salt.

For the avocado cream.
1 avocado
lemon juice
500ml cream, lightly whipped

For the tomato and lime oil.
1 large beef tomato, skinned, seeded and sliced.
1 teaspoon of lime juice.
50ml of extra virgin oil.
1 teaspoon of sesame seeds, lightly toasted.

For the filo discs

1 egg.
A drop of milk.
2 sheets of filo pastry.
Sesame seeds.

Method.

Ahead of time slice the prawns as thinly as possible and place on grease-proof paper. Sprinkle half the lime juice on top and keep refrigerated until needed. Slice open the avocado and scrape out the flesh. Place the flesh in a food processor and blend into a fine puree. Add lemon juice to taste. Mix the avocado and lightly whipped cream and reserve in the fridge. Add the tomato to the teaspoonful of lime juice, olive oil and toasted seeds.

To serve.

Portion the prawns onto the plates, gently heat the tomato and lime oil, add the chopped parsley and spoon over the prawns. At the last minute spoon the avocado cream on top of the prawns and season with a pinch of sea salt.
Pre-heat the oven to 175 centigrade, or 350 Fahrenheit, gas mark 4. To make the filo disks mix together the milk and egg to make an egg wash. Brush the filo sheets with the egg wash and stick one on top of the other, then sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Cut out disk shapes and bake for 5-7 minutes until golden. When cool, place on top of the avocado cream to add a finishing touch