Prawn Curry

I'm told this tastes like an old fashioned birds-eye packet prawn curry. I'm also told this is a compliment.

1 pack king / tiger / etc / prawns

2 medium onions

1 tin tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

4 chillies (or less, if you're not into quite so many chillies)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garam marsala

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp tamarind concentrate (or the real stuff if you can get it)

2 tsp sugar

1 sachet creamed coconut

oil for frying

Fry up the onions slowly until translucent. Crush the garlic and add along with the chillies. Add the spices except the tamarind & sugar. Fry for another minute.

Add the tamarind, and stir in the tomatoes. Add the sugar to taste. Grate in the creamed coconut.

Cook for about 10 mins.

Add the prawns and cook for a little while (or until pink if using fresh).

Serve with Rice.

Serves 2.

Quick Creole Jambalaya

1 pack of Prawns

1 Chicken Breast

2 Jumbo Frankfurters (Herta are good)

1 large onion

1 green pepper

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 cup long grain & wild rice

1/2 litre of stock made from 1 fish stock cube & 1 tsp of veg stock

Garlic Italian Seasoning

Cajun Seasoning

Grapeseed oil

Chop the veg up into small pieces.

Chop the sausages into 5-6mm rounds

Chop the chicken into small pieces

Fry up the chicken until starting to brown. Then add the sausages and turn the heat down. Fry for another few minutes, and add the onions & pepper. Sprinkle a fair portion of the garlic seasoning over. Fry up for 10 mins or so on a low heat, but be careful when stirring as the sausages are a bit fragile.

Add the tomatoes and a good covering of cajun seasoning. Stir up and cook down until the sauce is starting to thicken.

Add the rice, prawns and stock. Mix well, and cook down until the rice is cooked (15-20 mins) and the sauce is all but gone. Don't stir too much; just enough to stop it sticking to the base of the pan.

Serves 2, generously.

Herby Crust for Baked Chicken

As an twist on this, a simple change.

1/2 Ciabatta roll

1 egg

Parmesan

Mixed Herbs

Turn the bread to crumbs in the blender, add herbs and grated Parmesan (a fair bit of each). Mix. Add the egg, and beat with a fork, and then mix in thoroughly. Use the mixture to cover the top of the chicken.

Cover in foil very loosely (or the crust will stick to the foil) and bake for 1/2 an hour at 200C. After 10-15 mins open the foil up to let the crust brown nicely.

Mediterranean Sausages

Sort of like glamorgan sausages, but different.

Makes 6 - so serves 2 or 3.

2 crusty bread rolls - something exotic by preference

3/4 jar half-dried tomatoes (it's from Sainsburys)

125g grated cheese

1 egg

Oil for frying

Tear up the rolls, and reduce to fine breadcrumbs in the blender. Put in a large bowl, and blend the tomatoes until all chopped. Add to the breadcrumbs. Add the cheese and mix well. Break an egg into the mix, beat and mix in well. Clump the mixture together with your hands (yes, messy I know), and divide into six. Get them as close to the same size as you can. Squeeze the mix portions until quite compact, and shape into a sausage (the back of a large knife is handy here).

(Making them into flat sided shapes will make frying easier)

Refrigerate for half an hour or more.

Fry over a medium-low heat. Let them cook, but not burn - don't keep fiddling with them or they will fall apart. Should only take a few minutes per side.

Serve with carrot & coriander puree, mash & gravy.

Cajun Prawns with Peppers

1 large onion

2 Bell Peppers - 1 red, 1 yellow

2 cloves garlic

2 tsps veg buillion made up to 1/2 pint.

1 pack tiger or other large prawns.

Rice / white wine

thyme

Cajun Seasoning

tabasco

Oil for frying

1 cup long grain & wild rice (Sainsbury's do a good one, the Tesco offering is poor)

Serves 2

Chop the onions into small pieces and fry until almost translucent. Slice the garlic finely and chop the peppers into small chunks (about 5-7mm a side). Add to the onions and cook over a low heat for a few minutes. Add enough wine to cover the bottom of the pan, and turn up the heat, bringing the wine to a boil. Sprinkle thyme over the lot, generously. Stir. Add the buillion, stir again. Sprinkle a fine covering of cajun seasoning over the lot. Careful here - put too much in and it can come out quite spicy! Add 0-4 drops of tabasco to taste.

Get the rice started - cooking as per packet.

Let the sauce cook down until there is only a little liquid left.

Serve over the rice.

Seafood Pasta

1 tin of white crab meat

1 pot crayfish tails

1 (v small) pot of dressed lobster

1/2 large onion

4 dessert spoons (heaped!) of thick cream. Or probably about 100ml of double.

1 egg yolk

1 spring onion, chopped

Cream sherry

Butter

Olive Oil

(Fresh) Pasta

Serves 2

Chop the onion very fine. Melt a slice of butter in a large pan. Add a little olive oil. Once the butter has melted, fry the onions slowly over a low heat until translucent.

Meanwhile start cooking up the pasta.

Once the onion is ready, add enough enough sherry to cover the pan to about 5mm. Increase the heat until the sherry boils and simmer for 2 mins. Take off the heat, and add in the cream. Mix well. Whisk in the egg yolk. Add the crab & crayfish. Stir well. Heat until the sauce is thickening - will take longer if crab / crayfish not drained properly.

Once the pasta is cooked, add to the sauce, and stir together. Add in the spring onion, and mix well. If still watery, cook down until the sauce covers the pasta.

Serve with the lobster on top of the pasta as a garnish.

Chicken Gravy

1/2 large onion

1 clove garlic

2 mushrooms

olive oil

butter

2 sage leaves

3 sprigs of winter savory

1 tsp English mustard

rice or other white wine

2 chicken stock cubes made up in 3/4 pint boiling water

Sauce (fine) flour

olive oil

butter

Juices from a roast chicken

Chop onion finely. Warm a pan with about 1 tbsp olive oil & a similar amount of butter. Once the butter has melted add the onions and cook over a low heat until transparent.

Meanwhile chop the mushrooms finely, and chop the herbs very finely.

Once the onions are transparent, crush the garlic into the pan and cook for another minute. Add the mushrooms, and cook until they are soft. Then add the herbs and cook for another minute. Keep the heat low the whole time - the onions must not brown.

Sprinkle a fine dusting of flour across the mixture in the pan, and stir in. Add enough wine to cover the pan to about 1 cm, and bring to the boil. It should start to thicken. Add the stock and bring back the the boil. Add the mustard. Cook it for about 40 mins, adjusting the temperature so that at then end you have a nice thick gravy. Probably need a strong simmer.

Just before serving add in the juices from the roast chicken (if you have any) and whisk over the heat to ensure they are well mixed in.

Glamorgan Sausages

From the BBC Website:

NB: Cook slowly over a low heat

Italian Steak & Sauce

Fillet Steak.

1 tin tomatoes

1 cup cooking wine

3 cloves garlic

1/2 jar roasted pepper antipasti

1/4 jar wild mushroom antipasti

10 green olives, chopped

5 pieces green jalapeno, chopped

Beef stock cube

Lea & Perrins

Dijon mustard

Ketchup

Mixed Herbs

1 handful of pasta (twists, etc)

Cornflour (if needed)

Double Cream

Add the wine to the tinned tomatoes, garlic, ketchup, lea & perrins and a good sprinkling of mixed herbs. Cook hard and fast (stirring often to stop it burning) until a thick sauce. Then add the mustard & beef oxo cube.

Chop all the bits of antipasti down to a small size, and add to the sauce with the rest of the vegetables. Cook over a medium heat.

Put the pasta on to boil and cook as per instructions. Add to the sauce once cooked.

Turn the sauce down to a minimum, but thicken as necessary. Don't overcook the pasta

Fry the steak as desired. Once half way through, add a little cream to the sauce, and keep warm.

Serve the steak over the sauce, accompanied with focacia bread.

Serves 2, or maybe 3.

Sweet and Sour (Chicken)

It's taken a few attempts to get this basic dish right, but I think I've nailed it this time. The meat & veg is less relevant than the sauce, but this is what I did.

Sauce

1/3 cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup white wine vinegar - I'm told that rice vinegar works better.

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon (or so) ketchup

1 tablespoon rice wine

1 heaped teaspoon sugar

2 heaped teaspoons cornflour.

The Rest

1 chicken breast, diced (smaller than you might)

1 large onion, roughly chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, roughly chopped

Most of a pack of baby sweetcorn & asparagus - sweetcorn halved, asparagus chopped

2 handfulls mushrooms

small tin of pineapple chunks in juice (see above - this should be 1/3 cup)

Thai 7 spice

1/2 cup rice per person

(Apologies for the cup measures, I'm not going American, but they work well here)

First, fry up the chicken in a wok with a little oil & 7-spice. It's not going to get cooked much more after this, so make sure it's cooked all the way through. Should start or almost start to brown. Remove & set aside.

Add a little more oil to the wok and fry the onions slowly until they start to go translucent. Take off the heat once done if need be.

While that's going on, start the rice off. (As per pack).

Meanwhile, put all the sauce ingredients except the cornflour in a small sauce pan and mix well. Put it on the hob for a few minutes, until the vinegar is getting right up your nose. No need to boil!

Mix the cornflour in a little water until a thick liquid. If it's too watery it won't work, so be careful.

Mix the cornflour in with the sauce, stirring all the time. Should thicken quickly! I used a whisk here. You probably don't want to do this over the heat, although do return it to the heat for a little to ensure all the cornflour is cooked. Put to one side.

Once the rice is 5 mins from finishing, add all the veg and the chicken back into the wok. Stirfry over a high heat for three minutes, then add the sauce, stir thoroughly, turn the heat down and cook for another 2 minutes.

Serve with prawn crackers.

Will serve 3 or 4 probably. There was certainly more than 2 helpings!

Salsa Piquante

A hot salsa, suitable for spicing up those meals made with people less able to enjoy chillis in mind.

2 shallots

1 salad spring onion - white part only

2 tomatoes

5 tablespoons olive oil

5 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoon dried jalapeno

1 teaspoon dried habanero

Mexican Oregano

Boil a little water an put the chillis in to soak for 5 mins.

Finley chop the onions & tomatoes.

Vigorously whisk the oil & water together to form an emulsion. Whisk in the oregano.

Place the onions, tomatoes & chillis in a blender, and pour over the oil & vinegar. Blend to a fine paste.

Cover, and leave in the fridge for an hour.

Makes quite a bit!

Red Pepper Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts, chopped into ~1 inch cubes

1 medium onion

4 cloves of garlic

2 bell peppers (red & orange?)

8 small mushrooms

1 leek

10-12 new potatoes

Cheddar Cheese (only a little)

Parmesan (even less)

2 chicken stock cubes in 1 pint of boiling water

1 large teaspoon of smoked paprika

1 small teaspoon of mild chili powder - Ancho

Lea & Perrins

Tomato puree

Mixed herbs

Groundnut Oil

Chop the onion finely, then put it through the food processor until all but a paste. Chop the peppers into large chunks - ~1" square. Half the leek and chop that into large pieces.

Put a large amount of groundnut oil in a large pan with a lid. Heat, then add the paprika, chili powder & a good sprinkling of mixed herbs. Stir to keep from burning, but keep the oil hot. After a minute or so, add the chicken, and cook until browned, not that you will be able to see!

Add the onion and garlic, and keep stirring.

Put the potatoes and leeks in a steamer & cook for 15-20 mins (once boiled).

After frying the onions for a few minutes, add the stock, a good few dashes of Lea & Perrins, and a medium squeeze of tomato puree. Stir and bring to the boil. Add the mushrooms and put the lid on for 15-20 mins. The take the lid off and reduce down, thickening with cornflour if needed.

When the potatoes are done (hopefully well before the chicken), place on a baking tray covered with foil, and mix in with the leeks. Crush the potatoes open with a masher, but don't make too much of a mess. Grate the cheddar over them, and then a fine bit of Parmesan on top.

Place under the grill for 5-10 mins until the cheese is browning nicely.

Serve the chicken in sauce alongside the potatoes.

Serves 2.

Chicken with Tomato sauce

2 Chicken breasts, skin on.

5 large round tomatoes

8 green olives, pitted & sliced

butter

lea & perrins

zest from 1/6 or so of a lemon

thyme

mixed herbs

garlic Italian seasoning

chicken stock cube, in 1/2 pint boiling water

Tomato puree

level teaspoon of sugar.

Place the chicken breasts, skin on on tin foil. (Even if you don't eat skin, cook them in it). Cover with finely sliced butter and sprinkle with mixed herbs. Wrap the foil into a loose parcel and place in the oven @ 200 degrees for 1/2 an hour. 20 mins in, open the foil up so that the chicken browns slightly.

For the sauce, skin the tomatoes (score a cross in the base, cover with boiling water for 5 mins, then drain, and cover with cold water for 2 mins), and chop them crudely.

melt a thick slice of butter (about 20g) in the bottom of a small saucepan. Add the tomatoes and olives once fully melted. Cook vigorously, stirring often.

Add in the garlic Italian seasoning (a little), the thyme (generous), lea & perrins (good few dashes), puree (good squeeze), sugar and the lemon zest. Reduce the heat and add the stock in small amounts to stop the sauce getting too thick and burning. It will need attention. Once all the stock is in, turn up the heat again, and cook down until thick and saucy. Turn off the heat and add another slice of butter (thin slice). 

Serve the chicken with the sauce poured over it, with leeks, carrots, broccoli & new potatoes.

Serves 2.

Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta

4-6 large slices smoked salmon

1 medium onion

2/3 small pack chestnut mushrooms

1 small (1/4 pint) pot of double cream

capers (2 teaspoons)

green jalapenos - from jar (3 slices)

white peppercorns (6) Crushed.

Lea & Perrins

Parmesan

Vermouth (extra dry)

Dill

2 handfuls of pasta.

Chop onions and fry until starting to turn translucent. Slice mushrooms and add those. Roughly chop the salmon and add that once the mushrooms are staring to cook and the onions turn translucent. Fry for another minute.

Add capers & jalapenos (finely chopped).

Grind peppercorns and add. Add a good dash of Lea & Perrins and a good sprinkling of dill.

Splash a little vermouth in the bottom of the pan, and turn up the heat. Liquid will come out of the salmon & mushrooms making it hard to reduce down, so just wait until it starts to boil. Pile up the salmon etc in the pan and add the cream, slowly, stirring through the salmon.

Cook the pasta according to the packet.

Once the sauce is cooking nicely grate in some Parmesan. Reduce down slowly.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the sauce.

Serves 2.