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Prawn and pomegranate salad

prawn-and-pomegranate-salad

Method:

This is a very simple recipe, place the prawns in a small food bag and add the ginger, garlic, lime juice and chilli.  Leave to marinate for 30mins at least.  Prepare the salad by pan frying the peppers in a pan with some olive oil, when ready remove from the pan and mix in a bowl with the rocket, pomegranate seeds and cucumber.

Bring a small pan of water to the boil and reduce to a simmer, add the green beans and on top of this place the tied bag of prawns and place the lid on top. The prawns will stream in the bag and this way you will have a natural dressing for the salad.  When ready (should only take a few mins, the prawns will turn pink), set the bag aside and open to let the prawns cool down.

Drain the water and add the beans to the salad.  Add the prawns and use the juice in the bag to dress the salad. Season to taste.

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Tuna fishcakes

Tuna and pea fishcakes

Method:

Boil the potatoes and mash. leave to cool.  Add the tuna, garlic, bread and parsley. season and mix well

Divide into 4 portions and shape into fishcakes before dipping in egg then roll in the breadcrumbs

Bake in a medium over (180oC) for about 20 mins or until golden brown

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Chorizo and potato bake

chorizo-and-potato-bake

Method:

This is easy. Slice all the ingredients and then start to layer them in an oven proof dish. Start with a layer of potatoes, then add some onion, garlic and chorizo, Cover this with another layer of potato and so on until you have several layers of the dish. If you want you can add some cheddar to each layer, also you will need to season the layers as you go along.

Once this is complete add stock so it comes almost all the way up and over the potatoes. Place in a hot oven (200C) and bake for about 30mins or until the potatoes are tender.

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Blueberry bavarois

blueberry-bavrois

Method:

To make the bavarois, soak the gelatine in a little cold water for about 5 minutes, until softened. Whisk the egg yolks and 100g caster sugar together until light and fluffy.

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the vanilla pods. Bring to the boil,remove the milk from the heat and pour it slowly over the egg mixture, whisking continuously.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over a very low heat until thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat. Squeeze the excess water from the gelatine and add to the mixture. Stir until the gelatine has completely dissolved. Leave to cool.

In the meatime add the bluberrys to a pan with a couple of tablespoons of water and 100g sugar, you can adjust the amount of sugar depending on how sweet you want it.  Heat the fruit until it cooks down to a thick sauce.  Blend the mixture and push through a sieve and leave to cool.

When the bavarois mix is cold but not set, whip the double cream until thick enough to leave ribbon trails. Fold it gently into the bavarois with the fruit and then pur the mixture into ramekins and place in the fridge to set.

When set tap the bavarois out of the ramekin, using a blowtorch if you have one to help it on its way.

This recipe would work for any fruit, I would advise not using blueberries, there is something a bit odd about eating blue food and the fruit doesn’t actually pack alot of flavour.  I would suggest trying this with raspberries.

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Pasta with tomatoes, butter beans and ricotta

pasta-with-tomato-and-ricot

Method:

Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente.

Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and add the pancetta. Fry over a medium heat, stirring until crispy. Add the garlic and chilli and fry gently for a few minutes. Next, add the butter beans and fry, stirring before adding the chopped tomato and sun-dried tomato. Allow to bubble for a minute or two to let the flavours combine. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the pasta and add to the sauce with the herbs. Mix well then drop in little nuggets of ricotta and add the parmesan. Mix gently so as not to break up the ricotta. Serve immediately.