Prawns with Tomatoes, Chilies and Pepper

Sorry, I have been adrift in the bush with no internet connection. More about that later.

I nicked this Thai recipe from the Seattle Times. It is quick and defintely a keeper. It also was scoffed up before I could get a picture. (camera was still in my luggage) Try it, you will like it.

Ingredients.

60 ml of vegetable oil

30 ml minced garlic

2 red bird's eye chilies, chopped

1 teaspoon of tomato paste

12-16 jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, with tails on

3 tablespoons of sugar

1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

75 ml Asian fish sauce

100 ml fish stock or water

1/2 ripe tomato, diced

1 spring onion, sliced

1 small handful of cilantro leaves, minced

Then do the following:

Place the oil, garlic and chilies in a wok over medium heat; stir-fry until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste, shrimp and sugar. Toss to combine. Add the pepper, fish sauce, fish stock and tomato. Increase the heat to high; heat to a simmer. Cook until shrimp are cooked through and turn pink, about 2 minutes.

Transfer the shrimp to a serving platter; cook the sauce to reduce, about 2 minutes. Pour over shrimp. Garnish with spring onion and cilantro.

Makes: 4 servings

Pan Fried Salmon with creme fraiche and horseradish

This is a delightfully easy mid week supper dish, you can get this on the table in less than ten minutes with a little bit effort. I served this to Lovely Wife with a small bowl of buttered new potatoes tossed with chives and a simple green salad.

You will need:

4 salmon fillets, skin on
200ml crème fraîche
3 tsp creamed horseradish
Juice from ½ lemon
Splash of tabasco
1 tbsp chopped chives

And then you need to:

Lightly score the skin of the salmon. This will stop it contracting when fried. Generously grind sea salt on the skin and leave it for a couple of minutes.

Heat a frying pan over lowish-medium heat, add 1 tbsp EVOO and when hot place salmon in skin side down. You will cook the salmon for about 80% of the time on the skin side. Fry gently for about 6 or 7 minutes, flip over and cook the other side for about 2 minutes.

Whilst fish is cooking mix together the crème fraîche, horseradish, lemon juice, Tabasco, chives and salt and pepper.

Place a spoon of the creamy sauce in the middle of a plate and place the salmon fillet on top. Serve with the extra sauce in a bowl on the table.

Caramelised Apple Tart

This utterly divine soft set tart is something you might find in Normandy. In fact, whilst the recipe doesn’t call for it, the judicious use of calvados, that divine Norman spirit, at just the right time would be a winner here. You might even consider putting some in the tart as well.

This tart will feed 8.


You will need:

(For the sweet pastry)

225g plain flour
150g unsalted butter, softened
1 level tbsp caster sugar
2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tbsp cold water
Pinch salt

(for the filling)

900g Cox or Granny Smith apples
1 cinnamon stick
50g lightly salted butter
110g granulated sugar
200ml crème fraiche
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract


You also need a deep, fluted tart tin about 23cm in diameter.

And then you need to:

First make the pastry. Chuck all the pastry ingredients into a food processor and whizz until the mixture forms crumbs. Tip out and bring it together by hand, don’t overdo it though, light touches required.

Pop the pastry into a plastic bag and chill in the fridge for 45 minutes. The pastry, not you.

Once rested roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a circle at least 30cm diameter and carefully lift into the tart tin. Press gently into place and trim the edges.

Chill again in the fridge for a further 20mins. Heat the oven to 200C/400F

Line the pastry case with baking paper and fill with baking beans or uncooked rice, and bake blind on a baking sheet for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and the beans/rice and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Meanwhile prepare the apples. Peel and core them and chop into eighths. Place half of them in a saucepan with the cinnamon and 1 tbsp of water. If you have used granny Smiths also chuck in a small tsp of sugar. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until softened.

Remove the cinnamon and beat the apples to a puree.

Then melt the salted butter in a frying pan, add the sugar and allow to bubble together to form a fudgy caramel sauce, then continue to cook it over a lowish heat until it darkens to a rich toffee colour. Add the remaining sliced apples and toss them to coat. It will go a bit messy at first but as the apples release their juices it will all go smooth again.

Cook for about 5 minutes then set to one side.

Spread the apple puree over the pastry base, then lift the apple slices out of the caramel sauce and arrange over the apple puree. In a separate bowl whisk together the crème fraîche, the egg and the vanilla extract, then add the caramel sauce. When well mixed pour over the apples in the tart.

Bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes until the filling is softly set and golden on top. Allow to cool a little before serving.

Yummo!

Celebrating nationalism with cheese

For those of you not well acquainted with the minutia of fine Canadian cuisine, one meal stands above the rest: a dish beloved by all as a symbol of our fair land. The Scots have Haagis and the Australians have Vegemite. We have Kraft Dinner, or, to use the the parlance of our times, KD. 

Although more aptly described as pan-North-American, KD is a meal-in-a-blue-box favoured by single moms, children and college students. It contains about a serving of macaroni pasta and a pouch containing powdered processed cheddar cheese. The idea is to cook the pasta and then combine the cheese with butter and milk. The effect is a pasta covered with an orange sauce that resembles that nacho cheese stuff that comes out of the pump at 7-11. 

To those not raised on KD, it is also absolute and total shite. 

However, with Canada Day behind us, I have been craving comfort food. As KD is not available in the UAE, there has been only one recourse -- to resort to the Joy of Cooking. In that tome of all things traditional, I have learned to reconstruct the dish from its most primitive origins, using actual non-chemical ingredients. 

So, dear readers, I present. 

Highbrow KD

Ingredients:

-two cups of macaroni pasta

-two tablespoons of butter

-two tablespoons of flour

-one cup of milk

-two cups of grated cheese (cheddar, or as you like)

-spices: salt, pepper, bay leaf and paprika. 

-one clove of garlic

 

Method:

First, get a casserole dish about six to nine inches across. Take a clove of garlic and spread around the dish's sides. Preheat the oven to about 350. Boil the pasta. Remove from heat and drain when it is just a little short of Al Dente. 

In a pot, create a classic white/béchamel sauce. Take two tablespoons of butter and melt. Remove from heat and add the flour. Add back onto heat and add the milk, stirring constantly. Add salt, pepper, paprika and a bay leaf (All optional) and stir over low heat until the sauce thickens to the consistency of mushroom soup. 

Include two cups of grated cheddar cheese (Orange cheddar to be traditional. White cheddar to be classy). I've also been known to add other cheese sitting around and in need of use ie; leftover feta, mozerella or gouda works well. I imagine Brie would too.  

When combining the cheese with the bechamel, use a low heat and spend as little time as possible letting the cheese melt, otherwise it may become grainy. Take the cheese sauce off the element. Make sure the pasta is well drained and then mix with the cheese sauce until well coated. Put into the casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and more cheese. Bake in the oven until the pasta is bubbly and the top is brown and crispy, about half an hour to 45 minutes. 

Enjoy with crusty french bread. To get all Canadian, pair with a light beer. If you can't find Canadian beer, just take a German one and water it down. 

Classic sandwiches 5 - The Hamburger

The strange thing about hamburgers is that few people really think about them, though they are arguably the most consumed single item on earth. (let's leave India and China out of that equation) And they are probably the most ill-treated food as far as care in preparation is concerned. So let's give it some consideration.

Opinions about hamburgers are like *noses*, everybody has one. The general consensus, though, is that the patty should be crusty on the outside and rosy on the inside. It should be made from freshly ground beef, not ground scraps, with a fat content of about 15-20%. Use enough salt, beef needs more salt than you think.

The best way to get that crusty outside is on a very hot surface, like a cast-iron frying pan. Just sear it on the outside, and then finish cooking in the oven at 190° (a toaster oven will do) To prevent it from ballooning while cooking, make a dimple with your thumb in the centre. You could squash it down with a spatula, but then you lose all the juice. The bun to meat ratio by volume should be 1.5:1, and the bun should be light and fresh with a crackly thin crust. Toasting it will do that for you.

Anything else you put in there, like lettuce, pickles or tomato, should be fresh crisp and tasty.

Here's my version: It seems like a lot of trouble, but the result is not your Mickey D's mystery burger.

For each burger:

Enough freshly ground beef (for good flavour use 50% skirt steak and 50% top round, you may have to add some fat) to make a patty 2.5 cm thick that fits the bun.

One fresh hamburger bun made from brioche dough (or whatever kind you like) cut in half.

2 Iceberg lettuce leaves.

1 large slice of tomato (1 cm), or enough smaller one to cover the bun.

Ketchup, mayonnaise or mustard to taste.

Salt & pepper.

1 slice of your preferred cheese (0.25 cm), optional.

Get your cooking surface very, very hot. Season the beef, mold the patty into a flat round without handling it too much, and make a dimple in the top with your thumb. Oil the griddle. Sear until you have a crunchy crust, flip, do the other side. If you are using cheese, drape it over the top, place the patty in a toaster oven at 190° for 3 minutes, this should bring it to medium rare. Experience will tell you when it is the way you like it. In the meantime toast the bun halves, spread with your condiment(s) of choice. Place the lettuce, pickle and tomato on the lower half, salt & pepper, top with the meat, the other bun half and that is it.

Minted Pea Soup with Mint Pesto Crostini

I made this last Thursday for a dinner party and it was a huge hit with the punters. I think I’ll do it again.

Soup is such a great starter if you are having a dinner party; it can be made way ahead, it doesn’t ruin if people turn up late (a very common occurrence in Dubai) and it’s easy to get into bowls and to serve.

I like my soups thick and creamy and although this might look like it belongs in the winter warmers category it has a really light and summery taste. This recipe is really worth giving a go.

You will need:

(for the soup)

50g butter
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
1 large leek, washed, trimmed and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped into smallish dice
½ tsp curry powder (or garam masala)
500ml good quality chicken stock
200g frozen peas
200g crème fraiche
3 tbsp chopped fresh mint

(for the pesto)

A good sized handful of fresh mint leaves
2 tbsp pine nuts
1 clove garlic peeled
20g fresh grated parmesan
4 tbsp EV olive oil
1 French baguette loaf


And then you need to:

Melt butter in large saucepan and add onion, garlic, leek and the potato. Throw in some sea salt. Cook, covered for about ten minutes over a lowish heat until the vegetables are slightly softened.

Add the curry powder and give it a good stir. Add the peas and the stock and give it another stir.

Cook, covered, at a slow simmer for about 20 minutes. Pour into a food processor, add the crème fraiche and the mint leaves. Whizz until a smooth texture is achieved.

Pour back into the saucepan and when ready to eat heat through over a low heat until very gently bubbling.

Whilst all this is going on make up the mint pesto.

Put the mint leaves, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor and whizz. Add the grated parmesan, some seasoning and with the motor running slowly add the olive oil. Scrape out into a bowl and put in the fridge.

Cut four thin slices on the diagonal from the baguette and put on a baking ttray. Place in hot oven for about 10 mins, turning them over after five minutes. Don’t forget to put on the timer!

When you are ready to serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Spread a good dollop of the pesto onto each crostini and gently place on top of the soup.

Beef Wellington Recipe #2

Alexander already has a fabulous Beef Wellington recipe on TFE but I thought I would throw in my version, which of course is soooo much more betterer than his. Hmmm.

Anyway, this is a pretty much direct steal from Gordon 'Effing' Ramsey with a few of my own add-ins.

Before I start I just want to have one little lecture. This recipe is all about MEAT, it’s showcasing beef in a very opulent and sophisticated way, and so you need to make sure that the beef you buy and serve is of the very best quality.

In Dubai the beef available to us is pretty dire so we need to make the most of a bad lot. I am very fortunate that I have access to some of the best beef I have ever tasted through a great SA chum who brings it up from home but that avenue is closed at the moment sadly due to nonsensical local custom restrictions. Anyway, you need to splurge here, get the very best beef fillet that you can afford, a nice long thick piece, tied if necessary into a good log shape. Make sure the butcher has trimmed off any membrane or fatty bits. I work on approx 175-200g of beef per person.

You will need:

700-800g beef filet
500g puff pastry
2 large Portobello mushrooms
200g button mushrooms,
3 cloves of garlic
6 slices parma ham
1 heaped tbsp English mustard
3 tbsp brandy
Flat leaf parsley


And then you need to:

Put the mushrooms and the garlic in to a food processor and whizz to a coarse paste.

Scrape out the mushrooms into a large dry frying pan (no oil) add 1 tbsp of brandy and over a medium heat cook the mushroom mixture until it is dry. Add the chopped flat leaf parsley, seasoning and put to one side.

Lay the beef fillet on a board and grind a generous amount of black pepper all over. In the same frying pan heat 2 tbsp olive oil over high heat and sear the beef one all sides. Cook it pretty quick, just sear and colour the outside of the beef.

When almost done splash in 2 tbsp brandy and set light to it. FLAMBE!

Remove the beef and set to one side. Scrape any bits and pour the juices into a small pan in which you are going to make the port wine sauce.

Brush the English mustard over the beef.

Roll out the pastry into a large rectangle on a lightly floured surface.

Lay out the parma ham in the middle of the pastry in slightly overlapping layers. With a palette knife smear the mushroom mixture on top of the ham. Lay the beef on top and roll the pastry around the beef making sure it is covered first by the ham and mushroom layer. Trim off any pastry not needed and neatly tuck the ends in and lay on a lightly oiled metal baking tray with the seam side down.

Brush the pastry with beaten egg yolk and then bake in a hot oven (400F/200C) for 40 minutes. This will produce beef medium rare.

I serve this delicious beef with these potatoes and with green beans cooked in a thick tomato paste. I also make a small bowl of port wine sauce to go with it.