Posts tagged sesame

Poached Pears in Pastry

October 3, 2020 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

hese adorable little pears make for a really impressive dinner party dessert and are much easier than you think. They are super light and not too sweet. If you like something a bit sweeter for dessert, feel free to drizzle with a little caramel or chocolate sauce.

Poached pears are endlessly versatile and don’t just have to be wrapped in pastry. If you halved the pear, they’d be delicious served as a savoury cheese pudding with some whipped honeyed goats cheese or on a cheese board with some stilton. You can also wrap half a poached pear in pastry and bake like a tarte tatin. If you’re pushed for time, just poach and serve in a shallow bowl of really creamy vanilla custard.

*I was a little worried the party swirls might ‘melt’ and slip down the pear when baking. They didn’t – hurrah – but to avoid make sure you do the following: Use plenty of egg wash on the pear; keep your pastry fridge cold until ready to use; make sure your oven is hot and to temperature before baking your pears; work quickly and once coated, egg wash and bake. If they do slip down, just bake for longer until the pastry is cooked and serve the lovely pears in their messy pastry bowls. Style it out as rustic, they will still be delicious.

Serves 4

4 pears – variety if up to you, I used conference (important that they are perfectly ripe. Hard and they won’t absorb the flavour, overripe they will be mushy)
300ml dessert wine/sweet wine (you can use just water if you like here and add a bit more sugar)
100g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod
1 cinnamon stick
1 packet puff pastry (ideally a sheet not a block already rolled for ease)
1 egg
Sesame seeds, honey, ice cream to serve

Start by preparing the pears. Cut about a 1 /2 cm off the base of the pear so that it sits flat. Peel the pear. Using a melon baller/teaspoon to cut out the core.
Tip the sweet wine, sugar, cinnamon and the seeds from the vanilla pod into a large saucepan. Add the pears. Top up with enough water to just cup up at least 3/4 of the way up the pear. (You can use just water here if you want).
Bring to a gentle simmer and simmer for about 15 minutes until soft. If your pears were a little on the ripe side, simmer for 10.
Once done, leave to cool completely in the poaching syrup. Remove once cool.
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 200 and prepare a lined baking tray.
Whisk an egg in a small bowl and set aside.
Roll the pastry to about 1 pound coin thickness into a large rectangle if using a block. If using a sheet, unroll. Cut 4 small round discs out of pastry the same size as the pear base and place on the baking tray. Brush the pastry circles with beaten egg and place a pear on top.
Carefully brush the pear all over with beaten egg.
Cut long strips of pastry, about 1 cm wide. Starting at the bottom wrap the pastry around the pear in a swirl making sure to stick the unjoined ends together as you go using a little more egg if needed. Complete with all the pears.
Brush the whole pastry wrapped pear with egg gently and scatter over some sesame seeds.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until golden.
Remove from the oven, drizzle with some honey (or caramel), some extra sesame seeds and a good dollop of vanilla ice cream. Serve!

Udon Chicken Noodles

July 1, 2020 Comments Off read Poultry, Vegetables and Salads

his was a really quick dinner! I rarely ever cook noodles but with 7 nights of guaranteed meals to experiment with lately without the interruption of that 2019 fad we called socialising, I’ve more time to test!

My fiancee said his stomach was happy after this meal so I think job done! One note for next time was perhaps to make a sticker glaze…

The recipe below is how I cooked it…I’ve listed a second option for a sticky glaze below that which is taken from this recipe (Sticky Soy and Sesame Pork) which would also work well with udon instead of rice.

If you want to make this vegetarian/vegan – toss in some tofu and mushrooms!

Serves 2 hungry people (or 2 with leftovers)

300g chicken breast diced (or 2 chicken breasts)
400g ready to eat udon noodles
1 red pepper, cubed
Handful green beans, chopped in half
Bunch spring onions (about 6), chopped
1 red chilli (I used birds eye), chopped
1 large knob ginger, chopped (the more ginger, the better if you’re a fan)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp runny honey
Handful coriander, chopped

Marinade the chicken in a large bowl with the ginger, garlic, chilli, soy, 1 tsp sesame oil and the honey and leave for about 30 minutes.
Heat a tsp of oil on a medium high heat in a large frying pan and gently fry the pepper and green beans for about 8 minutes until beginning to soften.
Next, add the chicken and its marinade and cook until the chicken is just cooked but don’t let it overcook or it’ll dry out. It doesn’t take long!
Meanwhile while the chicken is cooking, put the noodles into a bowl and pour over some boiling water to loosen the strands. Gently mix until the noodles come apart. Drain well and drizzle with the other tsp of sesame oil to keep them from sticking.
Once the chicken is a a few minutes away from being ready, add the spring onion and cook for the final few minutes.
Add the noodles and stir everything well making sure to coat them in the juices – add a splash more soy if needed.
Remove from the heat, sprinkle over the coriander and serve! You can even toss in some salted peanuts if you like.

Sticky Glaze option

1 heaped tsp cornflour
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

Marinade the chicken as above.
Combine the cornflour with about 2 tbsp cold water in a mug. Add the rest of the ingredients for the glaze and stir.
Cook the recipe above up to completing stage 5.
At this stage, add the sticky glaze and stir quickly well. If it gets too thick, add a splash of cold water and stir until smooth.
Add the noodles and coat everything well. Loosen with a touch of cold water or soy if needed.

Sprinkle over your coriander!

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

May 21, 2018 Comments Off read Poultry, Vegetables and Salads

his recipe was required on a warm summer evening when a healthy dinner was the priority but sustenance was a must. I took inspiration for this from one of the simplest and freshest salads I greedily devoured at an Asian supper club I went to last year. If you haven’t been to or heard of Uyen Luu and her culinary adventures then I highly encourage you to head over to her website (see here). But not yet…read my blog post and cook this recipe first!

This recipe is all about the freshness, variety and abundance of herbs – these are vital and will either make or break the dish. Uyen’s version is far cleaner, using poached chicken that she shreds and stirs throughout the salad. This is ideal as a fresh starter but my hunger and craving demanded something crispier and oiler so I opted to fry my tender succulent chicken strips. I also opted for a punchier dressing, using lime, sesame and soy, than Uyen’s simpler version but both are eqaully as delicious.

One thing we do share is the need for prawn crackers here. Personally if you can’t get hold of the big, golden ones they offer in the best Thai restaurants, then the cheaper the better! And I suggest you buy 2 bags as if you’re anything like me the first bag gets demolished during cooking.

Tip – If you really want to make this salad to its best (and generally for a must-have in the any keen cooks kitchen pantry) then I strongly recommend you buy a julienne peeler noted below. They might occasionally shave your fingers off (beware – they’re sharp!) but hey…its worth it for such a great salad.

Serves 2

Salad

2 chicken breast, cut into thin strips
2 carrots
2 courgettes
Large bunch basil, leaves picked
Large bunch mint, leaves picked
Large bunch coriander
Large handful salted, roasted peanuts, lightly crushed.
Prawn crackers to serve

Picked Onions

1 red onion, sliced
3 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tsp caster sugar
Salt and pepper

Dressing

1 large garlic clove, crushed
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 large red chilli, finely chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp runny honey

Start with the onions. Combine the vinegar and sugar in a shallow bowl and add the sliced onion. Season, combine and set aside for 20-30 minutes.
To make the dressing, combine the ingredients in a jam jar and shake well. Taste. This is vital as everyones soy sauce is different (low salt, normal, high quality, low quality etc) so all dressings will taste different. Add more lime/soy/fish sauce to taste. Don’t be afraid to go punchy as it will need to told its own when applied to the salad.
Make the salad. (Using a julienne peeler will give you the best results here (see here), but if you’re patient, then you can very very finely slice the carrots and courgettes into strips. Alternatively, you could use a courgetti machine but it won’t give you quite what you want here.) Julienne the carrots and courgettes into a large bowl. Chop the herbs roughly together and add 3/4 of them to the bowl. Add the roasted, chopped peanuts.
Drain the onions after 20-30 minutes of steeping and add all but a handful of these to the salad. Mix all to combine well and set aside while you cook the chicken.
Heat a frying pan until hot and add a splash of vegetable/sunflower oil. Season the chicken strips and fry on a high heat until just cooked and golden but still moist.
Remove from the heat and use forks to pull the chicken into strips.
Dress the salad quickly with the dressing.
Divide the salad between two bowls and top with the succulent chicken (or you can stir the chicken throughout the salad). Scatter over the raminaing handful of red onions and herbs.
Serve with prawn crackers and devour with chop sticks.

Duck & Watermelon Salad

September 26, 2017 Comments Off read Meat, Poultry

‘

‘ve a list of recipes that just catch my eye for one reason or another that I immediately add to my ‘to cook’ list. Those reasons could be the choice of ingredients, the vibrant colours or just a mood and craving but all contribute to the creation of this list. Shamefully the list has been growing faster than it has even had a chance to be depleted this summer! However an easy Tuesday this week called for this vibrant and fuss free salad. Not much cooking here – just a lot of chopping and fancy scattering. Studded with pomegranate gems, hidden with crispy morsels of duck supported by a solid foundation of juicy watermelon bricks.

Having just this week returned from a bootcamp-esque paradise holiday in Greece filled with wake boarding, yoga, volleyball (I could go on), this recipe offered the perfect balance to continue the health kick while fantasising about being back in the turquoise oceans and white sands of my much beloved Greece.

It has been adapted by a recipe from ‘The Londoner’. Adapted with an alternate dressing more heavy on the lime and some extra hidden gems – roasted peanuts in any dish are rarely a bad thing. But what we do share is our appreciation for the hot duck – cold melon combo that is just so refreshing and de-wicious.

*[Alex and Alice – if you’re reading (which I hope you are), put this on your ‘to cook’ list too before summer is completely over!]

Serves 2

1/2 large watermelon, chopped into chunks
2 duck legs
4 spring onions, chopped
1 red chilli, finely diced
Bunch of mint, leaves picked and chopped
Bunch coriander, chopped
Handful of salted, roasted peanuts
Handful pomegranate seeds
1-2 limes, zest and juice
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Extra Virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Season the duck and roast in a tray for an hour.
While the duck is cooking, chop your watermelon into big chunks and add to a large salad bowl big enough to contain the whole salad.
Add the chopped spring onions, red chilli and chopped herbs.
Add the peanuts and pomegranate seeds (as many as you wish to balance the rest of the salad) and combine well.
Combine the juice of 1-2 limes (depending on how juicy they are!) and the zest in a jam jar. Add almost the same measure of extra virgin olive oil, but a touch under so its more ‘limey’.
Add the soy, sesame and some seasoning. Place the lid on the jam jar and shake well to combine. Taste and adjust to your liking. The last thing you want to do is add a bad dressing to your wonderful salad!
When the duck is ready, quickly shred the meat and crispy skin. It cools quickly so in order to maintain the hot/cold vibe you’re trying to create here, pop it back in the oven for a final blast of heat to warm.
Once hot, add the shredded duck quickly to the salad bowl and coat the salad and duck liberally in the dressing and combine well.
Serve immediately!

I served mine with a nice fresh rocket and cucumber salad and some homemade coconut flatbreads. But this is still a good and healthy meal in itself. A few chunky roasted croutons would not go a miss here however. Just sayin.

Crispy Asian Beef

January 7, 2016 Comments Off read Meat

f you’re intending on sticking to or continuing to stick to a healthy diet this month after the indulgences of Christmas then I recommend Asian food as a good go to. It packs a reliant punch on flavour without compromising on health and nutrition. Not to mention that this is a really quick recipe and can be served out in about 20 minutes.

As a passionate cook and appreciator of food I have always been the type to savour my meals either for flavour or appreciation for the time and effort spent creating it – either by myself or more importantly a fellow cook. However, I can’t help but notice that many of us eat too fast. Not only does this encourage us to be unappreciative of the food, time and effort that has gone into making it but you cannot appreciate and savour the flavours. Sticking to the topic of nutrition and health this month, on a nutritional side the faster you eat the more chance you have of overeating. Eating slowly allows your stomach to register satiety at the right time. It also helps improve your digestion. Hand in hand with this I also recommend chewing your mouthfuls more to aid speed and digestion. Just putting down your fork (or chopsticks) after eat mouthful to enjoy, talk to your dinner friends and take your time is such a great habit to get into.

That said, a great way to get into this habit if using chopsticks! Not only is it fun and authentic but if you’re anything like me and still learning you can’t help but eat slowly…if at all. So obviously have a fork ready to hand to prevent starvation.

NOTE: Quite without meaning to I’ve created a gluten free meal using my stash of ‘Clearspring Gluten Free Brown Rice Noodles’. Asain food is a great go-to is your are gluten free. As I say, it packs a punch on flavour without compromising nutritional requirements.

Serves 2

250g beef mince
1 thumb size knob ginger, finely shredded
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1/2 red chilli (hotter the better here)
1 star anise
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1tsp fish sauce
Bunch coriander, chopped
Bunch basil, chopped
4 spring onions, chopped
100g ‘Clear Spring’ ‘Gluten free brown rice noodles’
1 tsp sesame oil
Juice 1 lime
Serve: I recommend a nice lime juice covered fresh crispy salad e.g. Cos lettuce, grated carrot, bean sprouts, cucumber etc

Submerge and soak the noodles in boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Set aside kept warm until ready to serve.
Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan or wok on a high heat. Add the beef mince and use a spatula to break up the pieces into chunks. then add the star anise. Fry on a high heat for about 5 minutes until the mixture begins to brown well and crisp up. Keep an eye on it moving the mince around continuously.
After about 5 minutes when well browned add in the ginger, garlic and red chilli and continue to fry on a high heat until the meat is really browned and crispy as below.
After about 5-10 minutes add the soy sauce, sesame oil and fish sauce and stir to combine. Cook until really dark and crispy to your liking.
Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped spring onions, coriander and basil
Drain the noodles and squeeze over the lime juice and add the sesame oil
Serve the noodles in warm bowls and top with your crispy beef piece and a lovely crunchy fresh salad.

Tofu, Mushroom and Seaweed Kale

September 8, 2015 Comments Off read Vegetables and Salads

vegan dish was a palatable challenge for me I’ll admit. In a world where butter dominates the foundations of my recipes like culinary cement; I was skeptical. No butter? You heard correctly…no butter? However, with a goodie bag of Japanese inspired ingredients from Clearspring, whose vast array of cultural delicacies regularly glare at me temptingly from their own region of the supermarket, I thought I’d experiment and I can safely say that butter wasn’t missed here!? With the divergence in diets and intolerances infiltrating our British habits in what is perhaps a foodie fad or otherwise, I thought I’d better jump on the diary and meat free band wagon and see if soya and tofu could satisfy my taste buds. With fish and vegetables dominating my diet already I was keen to see what the removal of dairy would have to offer. I enjoyed this meal twice this week which is surely enough said. One evening using nutty pearl barely and the other using some of Clearspring’s gluten free brown noodles. Both delicious and fresh.

Gluten, diary, meat and nut free I think this one deserves the intolerance crown.

Serves 2

1 box mushrooms (250g). Mixed such as shitake, oyster or chestnut
1 small handful dried mixed wild mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for 15minutes then chopped roughly
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sunflower oil
80g pearl barely/80-100g brown rice noodles
200g kale
100g peas
4 spring onions, sliced
1 tbsp Clearspring seaweed flakes OR Welshman’s caviar
1 tbsp Soy sauce
Handful of coriander leaves, chopped
100g cubed tofu (optional)
1 tbsp black sesame seeds (optional)

Start by either soaking your noodles in hot water for 30 minutes covered or simmering your pearl barely for 25-30 minutes in hot water under tender. Drain well and drizzle with the sesame oil and keep warm.
Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Gently soften the sliced spring onions for about 5-8 minutes until just beginning to brown and season. Once softened, place in a bowl and set aside keeping warm if you can. These will be combined with the cooked kale later.
Heat the same frying pan again until hot. Add the sunflower oil. Chop the mushrooms roughly into hearty chunks and gently fry for about 10-15 minutes with plenty of salt and pepper to cook and crisp up the mushrooms. They will release a little moisture so keep frying to evaporate this off and brown and crisp them up slightly.
Meanwhile, cook your kale in a pan of boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Add the peas and bring back to the boil. Once boiling remove from the heat and drain well allowing all the moisture to drain.
Tip back in the pan, add 1 tbsp soy sauce and the seaweed flakes. Add the reserved spring onions and mix. Place the lid back on a keep warm while you finish the mushrooms.
When the mushrooms are ready, crisp and delicious add the garlic and allow to cook for a few more minutes. Then turn up the heat and add the chopped rehydrated dried mushrooms, the noodles or pearl barely and fry for 1-2 minutes to reheat and combine the flavours.
Optional here, add some cubed tofu and heat through and scatter with the coriander.
Serve the mushrooms on top of the kale and garnish with black sesame seeds if you like

Sticky Soy and Sesame Pork

May 9, 2015 Comments Off read Meat

peedy and delicious. If you get embarrassingly excited at the idea of sticky sweetly glazed tender strips of pork on soft oozing coconut rice then I suggest you give this recipe a try. Another long week at work, Friday nights recipe choice had high expectations to satisfy a variety of needs. I craved nothing more than comfort, flavour and relative speed. If you serve this on plain rice then you’ll have an even speedier dinner in minutes but I can never resist a coconut infused creation. Except coconut water. Whats the fad about? Dishwater disguised in a eco-friendly carton. Having been found on numerous occasions unashamedly desperately corkscrewing a hole into a fresh coconut only to slurp the fresh juicy ‘milk’ from inside with a straw this is a far healthier (economical) and dramatic way to get your coconut hit! Its fresh and delicious. Plus you get the joyful task of angrily throwing the empty coconut onto a hard floor (outside recommended) to crack it open to access the meaty pure white flesh. Perfect for grating into curries, porridge, use in cakes (see here) or into your coconut rice!

Serves 2

Sticky Pork

1 pork fillet, sliced into thumb sized slices
1 knob ginger, chopped
1 small red chilli, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
1 bunch coriander, stems and leaves chopped separately
1 heaped tsp cornflour
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp rice wine vinegar
Sunflower oil
2 tbsp sesame seeds
50g salted peanuts, crushed lightly

Coconut Rice

4 oz brown rice
1 can coconut milk
Good handful desiccated coconut
1 lime, zest
Handful chopped coriander to serve
Green vegetables to serve

Begin with the rice. Warm the coconut milk in a saucepan with about ½ cup of water (you may need to add more water as it cooks). Bring to a light simmer but be very careful as the milk will boil over if left unattended on a high heat.
Let it simmer on a fast simmer for about 25 minutes. You want to end up with cooked rice that has absorbed mostly all the liquid but is still loose so it oozes on a plate. Keep an eye out and add more water if it dries out before fully cooked.
When cooked and still oozing, add the desiccated coconut, chopped coriander and lime zest and keep warm.
Start on the pork which is a pretty speedy process so have your green vege and warming plate ready to go not soon after!
Combine the cornflour with 2 tbsp of cold water in a jug. Add the soy sauce, sesame, vinegar and honey and mix well.
Heat a frying pan or wok on a medium high heat. Quickly flash fry the chopped chilli, spring onion, garlic, ginger and coriander stalks in a splash of sunflower oil until softened. Add the pork and turn up the heat to get a nice colour on the outside.
Fry for about 5 minutes or so until the pork is just cooked but still soft and not dry. Immediately add the soy mixture and stir quickly.
This will thicken and bubble and glaze the pork. If it turns too thick too quickly loosen with a splash more water!
Remove from the heat to prevent it overcooking and add the chopped peanuts and sesame seeds.
Serve atop your coconut rice scattered with extra coriander, any spare sesame seeds alongside your green vegetables with a wedge of lime.

Seabass in a Fragrant Coconut Sauce

February 11, 2015 Comments Off read Seafood

As an avide foodie I crave and adore nothing more than a night in with a new recipe, ingredient, technique or guest to experiment on for the blog! Cheaper, more fun and far more relaxing. However, since moving to London the expanse of diverse, exciting and vibrant culinary pop-ups, restaurants, cafes and bars has stolen part of my attention which had been held hostage to the blog for a long while. I rarely eat out, only really on occasion. And then, nothing pains and bruises me more than ordering (or eating!) something I could have made myself. Be it better, warmer, larger or cheaper! Hence, I choose my dining locations carefully and my menu choices with thought.

However, as a fellow foodie, my willing sister and I venture out on a monthy or so basis to one of London’s restaurants to excite our taste buds, get inspiration and frankly for a girly catch up. Our list of ‘must try restaurants’ is only growning sadly. It seems that once one is ticked off another is added. We’ve had some great food but last Friday, after long frustrating working weeks, a home cooked delicious meal was in order. A few luxurious king prawns, a little love, time and attention and an aromatic riesling guaranteed and certainly delivered a more relaxing, cheaper, (boozier…..ahem…..) and enjoyable evening. This dish was delicious and hit the spot for flavour, decadence (without being time consuming I add, especially if you miss out the stock infusion at the start) and highly satisfying. Followed by a few too many scoops of my cheats salted caramel ice cream it was agreed that an evening in was far more rewarding and enjoyable than filling London’s bars and tills with our hard earned cash!

Serves 4

4 seabass fillets
8-10 large raw whole king prawns (win heads and shell) Optional – if you want to make a flavoursome stock. Raw cleaned prawns are fine if not.
2 tsp coconut oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Thumb sized piece ginger, grated
20g tumeric root, grated
1 large red chilli (heat according to taste)
350ml fish stock
400ml coconut milk
1 stick lemongrass
1 Kaffir lime leaf
2 tbsp fish sauce
Bunch spring onions, chopped
Large bunch coriander, chopped
2 limes, 1 cut into wedges to serve
Around 8oz rice – I used red Camargue rice
Greens to serve e.g. mange tout, pak choi etc.

[This first step is optional and can be skipped. It will add a depth of flavour to the dish by using the shells and heads to enrich your fish stock. Peel the shells and heads from the prawns keeping the prawns for later. Heat a little oil in a saucepan on a medium high heat and add the shells and heads. Fry for about 5-8 minutes until they turn pink and begin to release their flavour and oily orangey juices. After this time, add the hot fish stock and simmer gently for about 4 minutes.
Sieve through a fine sieve into a jug or another saucepan retaining all the liquid but then discard the shells. Keep the stock warm until needed.]
Next, heat a tsp of coconut oil in a heavy based saucepan. Fry the ginger, tumeric, garlic and chilli for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the stock and coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
Bash the lemongrass with the back of a knife a few times to open up the layers and add to the pan with the lime leaf and simmer gently for about 10 minutes to reduce the sauce and let the faours infuse.
Add the fish sauce (I suggest adding it a tbsp at a time and tasting in between as once its in you can’t take it out again!).
I made this a day ahead and I really think it benefitted from some time infusing in the pan while quietly chilling in the fridge (especially using the lime leave and lemongrass which will release thier flavours endlessly). I recommend at this stage to remove from the heat and leave to cool and infuse overnight. If not, continue as below.
Simmer (or reheat, depending on your method) the sauce until you reach the desired creamy consistency you prefer then remove the lemongrass and lime leaf and discard. Stir in the chopped spring onions and coriander. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Keep warm while you prepare the rest.
Cook your rice and add the juice of 1 lime to the drained hot grains and set aside to keep warm.
Heat a frying pan over a medium high heat and add another tsp or so of coconut oil. Cut your seabass fillets in half if you wish, and score the skin to stop them curling up on frying. Fry, skin side down for 2-3 minutes, flipping only whe the skin is crisp and the flesh is almost done which you will see when the majority of it has turned white.
While the seabass is cooking, add your prawns to the hot coconut sauce. Add them when the sauce is barely simmering to gently and lightly cook the prawns. Don’t overcook these or they will go all chewy. They need very little time and heat so a brief blast in the hot sauce until they just turn pink will do sufficiently.
To serve, divide the lime rice among large warmed soup bowls.
Top with the seabass fillets and divide the creamy sauce around the outside. Scatter with any reserved coriander and a juicy zesty wedge of lime!

To serve – I served mine with some briefly blanched sugar snap peas and mange tout. Drained and dressed quickly with a teaspoon of sesame oil while still hot and scattered with nigella seeds.

NOTE: This would also work very well with salmon. Feel free to gently poach the fillets in the coconut sauce for a different technique. Serve with any greens you like. Another addition would be to grate in some fresh coconut for added texture and taste.

WINE: Served with a lovely aromatic riesling to balance with the spice in this dish. Or a beer if you prefer! See here for some lovely suggestions.

To follow if you’re feeling like you need a Friday treat…………

Mix 1 can caramel condensed milk, 300ml single cream, 1 ½ tsp flaky maldon salt, crumbled in a tupperware. Freeze until set and then devour! NO CHURNING INVOLVED! (Crumble in some roasted hazelnuts, walnuts peanuts or pecans if you like)

Glazed Salmon, Asian Greens, Sesame Cucumber

June 10, 2014 Comments Off read Seafood

I can’t believe my birthday has come and gone yet again. With another year under my ageing belt it only seemed natural to add another cookbook to my ‘library’. It really is expanding at such a rate that I may have to develop some sort of filing system soon. I currently have them stored in a few tame and humble 6 bottle old wooden wine cases but with each eager book spilling out over the edge, oozing its glossy (some more oil splattered) pictures in front of me it may be time to move out to a magnum case…?

To cut a long story short, my birthday granted me with Bill Granger’s Everyday Asian cookbook. I love this quick and flavourful cooking but with more of a traditional palate I needed a helping hand and a point in the right direction or orientation should I say. East. And to help me along the way not only did I get this vibrant drool-worthy book that I literally want to cook every recipe of (rare I assure you) I also received a few of Bill’s Asian ‘Pantry staples’ to add to my other collection (again, yet to have its own filing system) and some beautiful serving bowls. After all presentation can be half the battle!

NOTE: for those into this style of food I really recommend Bill’s book. There may be some alien ingredients but nothing a quick trip down the ethnic aisle of Tesco can’t solve. A simply written, helpful book. And you really will want to cook everything…there just aren’t enough mealtimes in the day or days in the week unless I start replacing my morning tea with miso soup? Unlikely.

Glazed Salmon

Serves 4

4 tbsp mirin
4tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown soft sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
4 salmon fillets

Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a shallow bowl with the salmon fillets and pop in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
Preheat your grill or BBQ. Grill for about 7minutes or so until charred on the outside but still pink and very most in the middle. Don’t be tempted to cook too long. The residual heat will carry on cooking it once removed from the grill and it is better served a little pink in the middle.

Sesame Cucumber

1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp ride vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 cucumber

Use a mandolin/speed peeler to peel thin strips of cucumber into a bowl.
Combine the dressing ingredients and drizzle over the cucumber

Broccoli

1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 red chilli, sliced finely
1 shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove, sliced finely

Boil your broccoli for a matter of minutes until still al dente and bright green. Drain and set aside.
Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan until hot. Flash fry your chilli and shallots until crispy. Add the garlic slices at the end as they will burn easily and fry until golden and crispy. Scoop out from the oil and drain and allow to crisp.
Serve the broccoli, warm and scattered with the crispy garnish and a little drizzle of the infused oil

Beautiful serving dish courtesy of my sister and the Portobello markets

Dukka

August 15, 2012 Comments Off read Extras

I’ve never been to Egypt but this is how I imagine it tastes…….Dukka is a ground blend of spices and nuts and is eaten in Egypt as a pre-dinner nibble with bread and oil. The idea is to dip chunks of bread into some good quality peppery extra virgin olive oil then dunk greedily into the dry spice mix and gobble in one! However, I also add it to salads and roasted vegetables such as carrots and beets. It can also be used as a dry rub for lamb or to top fresh bread dough before baking.

I first saw this recipe in Hugh’s River Cottage Everyday book and immediately loved it! Hugh we love you but I have adapted the recipe and added some extra flavours of my own which I think go nicely. As we found out this sunny summer weekend, this nibble goes down a bit too well with a chilled glass of pinot and some jovial company….

A handful of hazelnuts OR a large handful of chopped roasted hazelnuts
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
½ tsp sea salt
Small handful shredded mint leaves

Toast the hazelnuts in a hot oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and roll them in between a tea towel to remove the skins. Add to a pestle and mortar and crush coarsely or chop into small pieces
Toast the seeds spices in a dry frying pan until fragrant and they just begin to crackle. Add the to the nuts in the pestle and mortar along with the chilli flakes and salt. Grind coarsely
Shred some fresh mint and stir into the spices.
Enjoy with oil and bread for dipping