Prawn Curry

As far as food is concerned America has ruined me. America's value for money and choice far outweighs that here in the UK and Germany, as a rule I have to travel to two or three supermarkets to get the bits I need, where as in America I could get everything under one roof. It's not just the supermarkets though. Restaurants tend to be rubbish in comparison too, whether it's pizza, Chinese or Curry for example to name but a few. The UK and Germany just doesn't compare, the question now though is where does that leave me? Well I suppose that leaves me with two options, 1) forget it and find something else, 2) Work at finding a recipe that will replicate the meals we ate and enjoyed out in America. I’ve opted for option 2 and in the long run I am saving money by not buying takeout food that I won’t enjoy.

 

Prawn Curry

 

500g raw, peeled shrimp

1 un-waxed lemon, juice and zest

4 cloves of garlic, mashed with a pinch of salt

1tsp salt

1tsp turmeric

3tbsp Olive oil

1 roughly chopped onion

½ tsp chilli powder

1tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground cumin

1tsp garam masala

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 lime, juiced

 1.       In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, lemon juice and zest, a ¼ of the mashed garlic, the salt and turmeric, gently rub the lemony mixture into the prawns and then leave to marinate a little, about 10 minutes.

2.       Heat half the oil in your wok or skillet, add the remaining garlic and the onion, cooking for about 5 minutes. Then add the spices, cook for a couple of minutes and then add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, cover (it is likely to spit) and stirring once or twice, let it boil for about 5 minutes.

 3.       In a small skillet, add and heat the remaining oil. Remove the shrimp from their marinade and using kitchen paper pat them dry, fry the shrimp over a medium heat until they turn pink, this should only take a few minutes, over cooking them will result in rubbery chewy shrimp yuck!

4.       Finally once the shrimp are cooked add them to the tomato mixture along with the lime juice, heat through and serve with boil fluffy rice.

 

 

 

Surf and Turf meatballs

In all honesty I've no idea anymore what attracted me to this recipe, nothing about half and half mince and shrimp seems at all appealing to me. I have moments where it seems like a good idea at the time, but later maybe isn't. Anyway for whatever reason I decided that this was the recipe and I set to work making it. Truth be told apart from my usual meat blunder - resulting in mini-meat toblerones instead of balls, it's actually quite delicious and the shrimp bits add an interesting texture to the meat. The chilli flakes give this dish a little bit of a kick but it's not too intrusive on the more delicate palette, although I am not to sure how willing I would be to try this out on a small child with fussy eating habits, meatballs or not.

 

Surf and Turf Meatballs in Sweet and Sour Sauce

325g half and half mince

325g raw shrimp, shelled and finely chopped                         

½ tsp red chilli flakes

2 spring onions/scallions, finely chopped

2tbsp light soy sauce

2tsp sesame oil

1tbsp corn flour/corn starch

1tbsp olive oil

For the sauce

2 cloves garlic

½ tsp ginger powder  (you can use up to an inch of peeled and grated ginger, I don’t  because I am allergic)

¼ tsp chilli flakes

100ml pineapple juice

2tbsp light soy sauce

1tbsp white wine vinegar

3tbsp tomato ketchup

2tbsp soft brown sugar

1tbsp corn flour/corn starch mixed with 2tbsp water

 Boiled rice to serve

1.       In a large bowl mix together the mince, prawns, chilli, spring onions, soy sauce, sesame oil and corn flour. Once it is mixed really well , make divide the mixture up in to chestnut sized balls.

2.       In a wok, if you have one or a skillet heat the oil and fry the meatballs until browned all over. Now from the sauce ingredients add the garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 more minutes.

3.       Now add the pineapple juice, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for a few minutes, then add the corn flour mixture you made, stirring continuously for about 2 minutes until thickened.

 

Serve on a bed of rice.

 

 

 

Cheese filled sausages, with creamed leeks and potatoes

I would definitely class this one as comfort food, homey and delicious. It's one of the recipes from my Anthony Worral Thompson book, I am not a huge fan of the man, for various reasons, but his book is very good. I'm of the opinion that if you only read things you are a fan of, you'll never experience anything new. Life is so short and people, I am guilty of this too, spend too much time worrying about what other people will think, or not doing something because it is unfamiliar and out of their comfort zone. I think we miss out on so many things because of this, and for what, saving face? Logically it makes no sense, to learn is to evolve, but to learn we must experience everything, even the stuff we find boring, scary and hate. 

 

Brie Filled Sausages on a Bed Of Creamed Leeks and Potatoes

 

For the sausages

 

1 tbsp. olive oil

8 of your favourite sausages

225g brie

2tbsp mango chutney

8 rashers of prosciutto

 

For the leeks and potatoes

 

450g new potatoes, 1/4

450g leeks, washed and shredded

55g unsalted butter

1tsp thyme

150ml double cream

salt and ground pepper to taste

 

 

1.       To begin with you will need to heat your oven to 180˚C/360˚F.

 

2.       In a heavy based skillet, heat the oil, then add your sausages, brown the sausages but don’t cook them all the way through. Take the sausages out of the pan and set aside to cool slightly.

 
3.       Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender, then drain. Using the skillet you used for the sausages, cook the leeks in the butter and thyme, until they are softened.

 

4.       In the meantime, cut a pocket in each of the sausages and put a thin slice of brie into each pocket, and spoon a little of the chutney on top, finally stretch each of your bacon rashers and wrap them around the sausages making sure to close the open pocket, so the cheese and mango doesn’t seep out during cooking. Place them into an oven proof dish.

 

5.       Place the sausages in the oven and cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the sausages are cooked all the way through and the bacon is crispy.

 

6.       When the potatoes are cooked add them to the leeks and pour in the double cream, cook until the cream has thickened this should take about 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper.

 

7.       Plate the potatoes and leeks and top with the sausages.