These recipes use green prawns as the primary ingredient and are full of lots of fruit, herbs and delicious flavours. And best of all they are light, luscious and healthy.

To totally misquote Shakespeare, “a bread by any other name would taste as good”. By that I mean that I have suggested tortillas as the wrap for your Spicy Prawns and Salsa in the ingredient list. However you could use chapattis, lavash bread or pita bread instead.

500g green prawns, shelled and deveined

1/2 lemon, juiced

1tsp ground cumin

3tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

2 red chillies, seeded and chopped

1 tsp olive oil

tortillas

1 peeled avocado, stone removed

1tbsp lime juice

1 small red capsicum, seeded and finely chopped

3 green shallots, thinly sliced

a pinch of dried chilli flakes

2tbsp fresh coriander leaves

1 ripe mango, peeled, deseeded and diced finely

250g pawpaw, finely diced

1tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

Freshly ground pepper

(1) In a glass bowl (metal may react with citrus juice) place the green prawns, lemon juice (or any citrus really – pick your favourite taste), cumin, coriander, chopped chillies and oil. Mix well to ensure the prawns are thoroughly coated with the mixture and allow to marinate for about five minutes.

(2) Heat a heavy based frypan over a medium high heat. When the pan is heated, spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Add the marinaded prawns to the pan and stir fry for a few minutes until the prawns are cooked.

(3) To make salsa 1 and 2 simply place all the ingredients of your chosen salsa in a glass bowl and tumble gently to combine.

(4) To serve, place a generous portion of prawns onto a tortilla and top with a tablespoon or two of your choice of either salsa, roll and enjoy.

This delicious version of garlic prawns uses olive oil instead of butter and cream.

50ml olive oil

500g green prawns, peeled

4 cloves garlic, finely grated

1/2tsp ground cumin

1-2tsp sweet paprika

I lemon or lime, cut into half

2tbsp fresh coriander leaves

(1) Devein the prawns by nicking along the back of the prawn and removing the black vein

(2) Heat the olive oil in a large heavy based frypan. Add the green prawns to the pan and sauté for a minute or two. Add the garlic, cumin and paprika to the pan and continue to sauté, tossing the prawns over in the pan several times until cooked.

(3) Sprinkle the prawns with the lemon or lime squeezed over the top and coriander leaves. Serve with crusty bread.

Once upon a time, back in the day, I may have served these prawns with a full-bodied mayonaise. But looking for a healthier option, I decided to fiddle a bit and use low fat Greek yoghurt as the base for the dressing, and wow, it’s absolutely delicious. Actually I make my own yoghurt these days using an Easiyo yoghurt marker available from both Coles and Woolworths.

I have used wholegrain mustard in my dressing because I like the texture of the mustard grains in the blend, but please feel free to use any type of prepared mustard that you like. Old English Mustard gives a super kick if you are that way inclined.

1kg large green prawns

1 large red chilli, deseeded

1tbsp wholegrain mustard

1 cup low fat Greek yoghurt

3-4 tbsp fresh coriander leaves

2 limes

olive oil spray

freshly ground black pepper

(1) To barbeque the prawns in their shells, you need to devein them without removing the shell. I learned how to do this at the Spirit House Cooking School. There is a small spine at the top of the prawn’s tail and by gently but firmly twisting and pulling on this spine, the dark vein in the prawn should pull all the way out.

(2) To make the dressing: chop the chilli very finely and place into a glass bowl. Add the mustard, most of the coriander leaves (reserving a few for garnish) and the yoghurt to the bowl and stir gently to combine. Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. This waiting time will allow the flavours to blend.

(3) Heat the barbeque or grill plate. Spray the prawns with olive oil spray and dust with some freshly ground black pepper.

(4) Cook the prawns until just pink and then remove them from the heat. Don’t over cook them on the hot plate, as they will continue to cook for a little while even after being removed from the heat.

(5) Serve the prawns on a platter with a bowl of chilli and coriander dressing on the side. Garnish with a sprinkling of coriander leaves and lime wedges.