Halloumi and Prawn Kebabs

Served over cous-cous & salad

1 pack Halloumi

1 pack peeled prawns - the large ones tiger or king

1 lemon

1 yellow pepper

4 small mushrooms

1 red chilli pepper

4 cloves garlic

oregano (I used mexican - not sure if there is a difference)

olive oil

white wine vinegar

Also:

Cous-cous (50g per person)

Lemon & Herb cous-cous seasoning

Gem Lettuce

2-3 tomatoes

2-3" cucumber

1 shallot

Chop the pepper into eighths, and each eighth into 3 roughly square pieces

Chop the halloumi into 12 squares

Make up 4 kebabs from the peppers, mushrooms, halloumi & prawns. You'll probably have some peppers left over.

Take 2 slices out of the middle of the lemon, chop in half and put on the end of the kebab.

Squeeze out the juice of half the remaining lemon, add a little white wine vinegar, and enough olive oil to equal in volume the lemon & vinegar. Add the garlic (crushed) and the chilli (finely chopped, and deseeded if you don't like it hot). Add a generous sprinkling of oregano and mix well, until the oil & acids are well mixed.

Brush half the mixture over the kebabs.

Cook the cous-cous according to the pack, and stir in the seasoning and a little olive oil.

Chop the shallot, tomatoes and cucumber into small pieces. Add some olive oil, and the juice of the remaining half of the lemon. Sprinkle over a little oregano and mix well.

Arrange the outermost leaves of the lettuce 4 to a plate. Spoon the cous-cous over the center. Form a well in the cous-cous and spoon in the tomato mix, including the juices.

Cook the kebabs in the grill. Once the halloumi is browned, turn and brush the rest of the garlic chilli & lemon dressing over the other side. Turn another 2 times to brown all 4 sides of the halloumi on the kebabs.

Serve the kebabs crossed over the centre of the plates.

Serves 2 (2 kebabs each) somewhat generously.

Cheats Sausage Casserole

3-4 Jumbo Herta hotdogs

1 small (1/3 size) tin of baked beans

1 small (1/2 size) tin of kidney beans

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

Frozen sweetcorn

3 handfuls of pasta (fusilli)

1 chicken oxo cube

lea & perrins

garlic Italian seasoning

Cajun seasoning

Chop the sausages into large rounds. Fry them up until they are starting to brown.

Add the contents of the three cans. Don't drain the beans first; the goop makes a good saucy consistency.

Add a generous shake of the two spices, crumble the oxo cube directly into the pan, and give a good splash of Worcestershire.

Stir and cook for a minute.

Add half a pint of water and the pasta. Bring to the boil and simmer until the pasta is cooked. NB: it will take longer than it says on the packet.

5 mins before it's ready add the sweetcorn - amount to taste.

Serves 2.

Fish Mornay

[[This from Lisa]]

For two; scale up as appropriate.

Pack of two hickory smoked salmon fillets.

1 pack prawns

½ a tub of crème freche

100g ish of gruyere

1 dried chilli

1 large spring onion

Knob of butter

A level teaspoon of vegetable boulion powder.

Ground arrow root.

Paprika

Milk

Serve with steamed charlotte potatoes, broccoli and peas.

Place salmon fillets in bottom of a deep narrow oven proof dish, you want the space to be mostly filled with the fish and prawns.

Place prawns on top (make sure the prawns/fish are fully defrosted if they have been frozen)

Trim roots and take outer skin from the spring onion. Slice crossways very thinly all the way up through the green shoots.

Melt butter in small sauce/milk pan and sweat the spring onion – do not cook on a high heat as they will catch.

Remove seeds from chilli, chop finely and add to the butter and onion.

Add paprika – a level teaspoon ish but to personal taste and stir.

Add crème freche and milk to achieve suffificent sauce to cover the contents of the oven proof dish.

Add boullion powder to taste – remember this is very salty so should not require additional seasoning.

Chop cheese into small lumps, add to sauce and allow to fully melt whilst stirring – you don’t wan tthe cheese to sink to the bottom and burn.

To thicken take a little arrowroot, dissolve in water and add to sauce stirring constantly whilst bringing to the boil, add more is sauce needs more thickening just as you would with cornflower.

When sauce is ready pour over the mixture in the dish. Any left over can be served in gravy boat with the meal.

Wrap dish in baking foil and cook at about 200c for about 30 minutes. You want the sauce to be bubbling through the fish not merely warming it – this is why it is important the fish be fully defrosted before you start.

Whilst this is cooking steam your potatoes for about tem minutes ( make sure chunks are no bigger than 1 ½” or they will take longer to cook) add the broccoli to the steamer and cook for a further 5 minutes, add the peas to the steamer and cook for a final 5 mins or until cooked potatoes and broccoli are cooked to personal preference.

Serve.

Spicy Vegetables & Smoked Salmon

This is basically a variant on a thai red curry.

2 Lightly smoked salmon fillets

1 medium onion

1 carrot

6 florets of broccoli

2 pak choi leaves

10 leaves of thai basil

6 quarters of preserved tomato

1 fish stock cube made up in 1/3 pint water

1 small jar of coconut cream.

rice wine

7 spice

lea & perrins

Cook Art Sea Salt & Asian Spices

Oil

Butter

Thai Rice

Take to sheets of tin foil, and drizzle a little oil on the centre of each. Place the salmon fillet on the oil, and place a very thin slice of butter on each fillet. Wrap the foil around the fillet to form a loose parcel and bake in the oven at 200 C for half an hour. Then take out, open the parcels, sprinkle a little of the Cook Art Salt on each fillet and put back in the oven for 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile...

Chop the onion and fry up until translucent, then add the tomatoes. Fry for another minute, then add enough rice wine to all but cover the onions. Splash in a little lea & perrins, and a little of the 7 spice. Cook until the wine has reduced down then add the stock. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Cook the rice according to the packet

10 minutes before the salmon is ready, add the creamed coconut, broccoli, basil and carrots. Cook hard to reduce down the sauce. 5 minutes before ready add the pak choi.

Serves 2.

Chicken & Swede Tagine

2 Chicken Breasts

1 very large pepper, or 2 normal ones.

2 onions

3 handfuls of mushrooms

1/3 large swede

1/2 litre of chicken stock (2 oxo) made up in boiling water

2 tsp garam marsala

1 tsp ground coriander seed

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chilli powder

3 tsp acacia honey

1 tsp very lazy garlic

1 tbsp creme fraiche

Chop the veg - onion into small pieces, swede about 1.5 cm cubes, pepper about 2 cm cubes, mushrooms into quarters if large.

Chop the chicken into rough cubes - about an inch to a side.

Fry the onions until translucent. Add the swede and cook for a while over a low heat. Push the lot to half the pan, add a little more oil, and fry the spices (inc garlic), mix in with the veg, and clear to half the pan again. Brown the chicken on all sides and mix in with the veg. Add the pepper and fry for a bit more.

Add the lot to the tagine. Add the mushrooms, and stir in. Add the stock, and enough extra water to cover everything in the tagine. Add the honey and stir in.

Leave in the oven at 120 degrees for 3-4 hours.

Take the top off the tagine, add the creme fraiche, and cook for another 1/2 an hour or so, reducing the sauce - but keep an eye on it to make sure it dosen't dry out.

Serve when the sauce is starting to thicken, with cous-cous.

Serves 2-3

Crab

File this under "Best left to a restaurant"

More trouble than it's worth.

Smoked Salmon Pasta

1 Pack of Smoked Salmon. As much as you fancy.

1 small pot of single cream

1 medium onion

1 small gherkin (about 4 cm long) sliced finely

2 slices of picked green jalapenos, chopped finely

1 medium tomato chopped finely

A little rice or other white wine.

Parmesan

Dill

Mixed Herbs

Tagliatelle (5 nests, or personal preference)

Chop the onion finely, and fry up in a little oil until translucent. Add the tomato, jalapeno and gherkin. and fry for a few minutes. Add the wine, mix well and cook until the wine has reduced. Sprinkle dill over the pan, and add a little mixed herbs. Stir in the single cream. Turn the heat right down and simmer gently.

Prepare the pasta as per the pack.

After only a minute add the salmon (sliced roughly). Stir occasionally. Grate in a little Parmesan (about 3/4 cm off a block). Stir and cook until the pasta is done.

Once the pasta has cooked, mix in with the sauce and serve.

Serves 2.