Showing posts with label Starters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Starters. Show all posts
My Todd really loves King Prawns. I don't cook them for him often enough. I confess, I can't eat them due to an allergy, but every once in a while I do cook some for him and he thoroughly enjoys them I have to say.
We get beautiful King Prawns from the people at Seafresh Quality Foods. Seafresh is an on line fish monger which sells quality fish, seafood,
poultry and meat. I have always been incredibly impressed with both
their product and their delivery service! I have never had a bad experience. You can read about my first experience here!
Today I gave them somewhat of a Spanish flair with a recipe I adapted from the Delicious magazine website. It was meant to be used as a romantic starter for two people for a celebratory dinner.
Todd enjoyed them as a main with some brown rice. I didn't cook the sauce down as much as the original recipe called for so I would have plenty of sauce to spoon over his rice.
The smokiness comes from the use of smoked paprika, or Pimentón which is its proper name. It is a really fabulous ingredient with a lovely smoky flavour and is most often used in Spanish Cooking. It is what helps to give Spanish Chorizo its fabulous colour and flavour.
What are the origins of Spanish Paprika or Pimentón?
Paprika is made from ground, dried red chile peppers originally from the Americas. So important is paprika to Spanish cooking and so demanding are the Spanish of quality paprikas that there are Denominations of Origin (D.O.) for paprika. One of the D.O. is located in Murcia, a province on the Southeastern coast of Spain, between Almeria and Alicante. (Ariana is from Alicante.) The other and more famous is La Vera, which is located in Cáceres, Extremadura, southwest of Madrid. Both of these areas are warm and dry in the summer, which makes them perfect for growing peppers.
It is widely believed that Christopher Columbus brought it back to Spain from the Americas. There are three varieties of Pimentón.
- Pimentón Dulce or Sweet Paprika: Round red peppers make this mild, light orange paprika.
- Pimentón Agridulce or Medium Hot Paprika: Longer, dark red pepper make a medium-hot paprika.
- Pimentón Picante or Hot Paprika: Made from any of several different types of long red peppers.
The one I used today is Pimenton De La Vera. Calidad: Picante, which means it is fairly hot. Todd likes spicy things. Myself, not so much, which is just as well because I was making these for Todd.
I can see where the dish would make for a romantic starter for two, with its bright colour and bold flavour . . . the squeezing of the lemon wedges over top . . . crusty bread to mop up all the juices.
There are two cloves of garlic in it so you do want to be sharing it with your partner if you are doing this as a romantic dinner so that you both smell like garlic, lol.
The sauce itself, takes about half an hour to make, but once the sauce is done, it goes rather quickly.
The prawns cook in 3 to 4 minutes. Any longer and you risk them turning rubbery. For a romantic meal you can make the sauce ahead of time and then just reheat and add the raw prawns a few minutes before you want to serve them.
As well as garlic, there is onion and a quantity of chopped fresh coriander, very Spanish I would say. Cilantro is another name for Coriander. If you are not fond of it, and I know many are not . . . you could use fresh flat leaf parsley.
Smoky Tomato & Garlic Prawns
Yield: 2
This was touted as a great starter for a romantic dinner on the Delicious site. Todd enjoyed it as a delicious main with some brown rice on the side. This was very quick and easy to make.
ingredients:
- 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle
- 1 medium brown onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika (pimenton)
- 400g tin of chopped tomatoes, in tomato juice, undrained (14 1/2 ounces)
- splash of balsamic vinegar
- pinch of sugar
- 125g raw king prawns (1/4 pound)
- handful of fresh coriander, washed and chopped (cilantro)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- lemon wedges to serve
- sliced green chilies to serve (If you like things hot)
instructions:
How to cook Smoky Tomato & Garlic Prawns
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook gently over low heat, for about 10 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic and smoked paprika. Cook and stir for a further 3 to 4 minutes until very fragrant. Add the tomatoes, vinegar and pinch of sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer and then cook over low heat, stirring often, until the tomatoes have reduced and the sauce is rich and thick. Taste and season with salt and pepper as required. Stir in the raw prawns. Stir around in the sauce to coat and cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes, just until pink. Stir in the chopped coriander along with a drizzle of olive oil. Scatter with the sliced chilies (if using) and serve with wedges of lemon to squeeze over top. Crusty bread goes well to mop up all of that delicious sauce.
What I really love about their King Prawns from Seafresh is that they are responsibly sourced and quick frozen individually. I can take out as
many or as little as I want, which makes them very handy to use and
ideal for us as we are a small family. Also because only Todd eats
them, I can take out just enough for him to enjoy without having to thaw
out the whole pack. They are also shelled and
de-veined at the source, so, once defrosted, you can just cook them
without any messing
about.
Another thing that I love about these is that Todd really feels special when I cook something like this just for him. That makes me happy!
A few things about Seafresh:
- Same Day dispatch on orders received before 1 PM.
- All packages are carefully hand packed.
- Free delivery on orders above £50, £8 on orders below that amount.
- Responsibly and sustainably sourced.
- Air Blast Frozen at source within 4 hours of being caught.
- Wide variety to choose from.
Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Note - Although I was gifted with product free of charge for the purposes of review, I was not required to write a positive review in exchange, nor would my integrity allow me to recommend anything if I did not truly like it. Any and all my opinions are my own entirely.
Have I ever told you about the little old lady I boarded with when I left school and went out to work on my own before I got married? She made the most fantastic corn soup.
So delicious that forty some odd years later I am still thinking about it. I have yet to find that recipe, but I refuse to stop looking in the meantime on my quest for it, I came across this soup, which is equally as delicious, but in a much different way.
The recipe comes from a cookery book I have had on my bookshelf for a number of years now.
Entitled, From Our House to Yours, comfort food to give and to share, it is a compendium of favourite found recipes which are perfect for gifting, gleaned from a variety of chefs and authors. Its a great book if you can find it!
My little old ladies soup was more of a chowder in flavour, but rich and creamy. This has more of a Tex Mex savour to it, but is also rich and creamy.
It has a bit of a bite from the green jalapeno chili with goes into it, not much, just enough and a slight tartness from lime juice . . . other than those ingredients, everything else is fairly simple.
Vegetable stock (for the vegetarian), corn, celery and leek, with a knob of butter and a bit of seasoning. Simple ingredientd, but wow flavours!
Suggested garnishes were chopped fresh coriander or ripe avocado, but I come from a different school of thought . . .
For me a soup isn't complete unless there is something crisp and cheesy floating on top . . .
And so I baked some cheesy croutes to garnish this. Simply cut buttered slices of bread into whatever shape you want.
I sprinkled it with some Taco seasoning (see my side bar) and then toast in a hot oven. Top with a bit of cheese (I used Pepper Jack for more flavour) and then toast just to melt the cheese.
This was some good and a soup I will make again. It would be a great first course for a BBQ.
I can just imagine people sitting down and enjoying it beneath a leafed pagoda while the sun sets and the bees hum . . . ahhh summer pleasures.
It will be especially good when corn is in season. We don't get great corn over here, so I will never have that particular pleasure . . .
Creamy and delicious with just a bit of spark. You can use frozen corn if that is all you have, but fresh is always better.
2 TBS butter
the white part of 2 large leeks, trimmed, washed and coarsely chopped
1 large stalk of celery, trimmed, washed and diced
1 small green jalapeno chili, trimmed, seeds and veins discarded, and finely chopped
600g of corn niblets (4 cups)
660ml vegetable or chicken stock (3 cups)
the juice of two limes
440ml of whole milk (2 cups)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 ripe avocado, peeled and chopped to garnish (Optional)
chopped fresh coriander leaf to garnish (cilantro) (Optional)
Melt
the butter in a large saucepan. Add the leek, celery and jalapeno.
Cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat until softened without
colouring. Add the corn and sweat for several minutes. Add the stock
and lime juice. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and simmer,
uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Carefully blitz until smooth
in a food processor, or blender, or using an immersion blender. (My
preferred method.) Return to the stove and slowly whisk in the milk.
Heat gently until heated through. Season to taste with salt and black
pepper. Serve hot spooned out into bowls with suggested garnishes as
desired.
Note - other nice garnishes are chopped chives, sour cream, chopped roasted peppers, salsa, guacamole. Choose as you wish!
You might think its too hot for soup, and maybe where you live it is. We enjoy a lovely temperate climate here in the UK, with very few days that are overly hot like that.
*Creamy Corn Soup*
Serves 4
You might think its too hot for soup, and maybe where you live it is. We enjoy a lovely temperate climate here in the UK, with very few days that are overly hot like that.
This went down a real treat today when it was cloudy and a brisk breeze was blowing. They say we may get some thunder storms. I haven't been treated to a good one of those in years. Bon Appetit!
I love chicken wings and I know I am not alone in this. They are always the first thing to disappear on buffet tables, and I know that at the Chinese All You Can Eat Buffet back home, they are really hard to get your hands on. People just inhale them!
Chicken wings are a relatively inexpensive cut of chicken to buy. You can usually but big packs of them for not a lot in comparison to other cuts. Mind you they are mostly bone, but that's okay. The meat on them is succulent and delicious.
I used to buy lots of large packs of chicken wings when my children were growing up. It was one way of feeding my hungry lot for not a lot of dosh! I used to just season them all over and bake them long and slow and they were delectable.
This recipe here today is a simple one, and so tasty. It makes a great starter for those summer get togethers with your friends and family. The chicken has a lovely zippy flavour that goes wonderfully with that creamy blue cheese dressing.
You do need to start them the wings marinating the night before you make them to impregnate them with the most flavour that you can. They are spicy but not overly so. I would say they are just right.
I am not a fan of food that bites back. Your food should never be so hot or spicy that you can't tastte what you are actually eating.
These are just right. You get a nice amount of heat and spice without it being over the top. Of course if you want yours even hotter, you can add more spice if you like.
*Spicy Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing*
A starter for 4
Put the chicken into a large zip lock bag. Combine the
marinade ingredients and pour over the chicken in the bag. Zip the bag
closed and squelch the chicken around in the bag to coat. Place on a
plate and leave in the refrigerator to marinate overnight, giving them a
squelch around every now and then.
Whick all of the ingredients together for the dressing. Be judicious with the salt as the cheese is salty. Taste and adjust as required. Place into a covered dish and chill until needed.
When you are ready to cook, bring the chicken to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 140*C/300*F/ gas mark 1. LIne a large baking tray with a double layer of foil. Tip the wings out onto the tray in a single layer and poru over the marinade. Cook for 2 hours, turning them every now and again to make sure they don't stick and dry out.
Serve heaped on a platter with the bowl of dressing so everyone can help themselves.
You can also use minced a minced fresh red chili pepper if you want, just discard the ribs and seeds, prior to mincing (and wear gloves!), or you can use crushed chili pepper flakes. All work well. Bon Appetit!
We are having another week of gorgeous weather here in the UK, which is great as the children are all off on half term, well in England and Wales at any rate. I have been taking advantage of the warmer temps and preparing lots of lovely salad type of meals for us. This is a salad I had not made in a number of years, and all of a sudden I got a craving for it. Fried Halloumi Cheese, with a Lime and Caper Dressing. Fried cheese??? Yes!! Why not!
I can take no credit for this recipe. It has been adapted from one by one of my favourite cookery writers here in the UK, Delia Smith. You might not be familiar with her in North America, but over here she is at least as popular, if not more than is Mary Berry, who I know you will be familiar with due to the GBBO. In fact, Delia is so popular here that she has what might be called the "Oprah" effect on products, both in the way of food ingredients, and in cooking utensils! She was one of the first cooks over here on the Television that I watched. She is very, very good and so are her recipes. In fact, they are pretty fail proof.
What she does is take simple quality ingredients and shows you how to make the best and most of them, with foolproof methods. She has been a great example to me in that way. If Delia can cook them, then just about anyone can! I like that.
I think it can be a pretty pricey cheese in North America, however, but as a treat, well worth the price. Over here it is quite affordable, at least pre-Brexit, we will see about afterwards. It has a texture which is quite similar to a good Mozzarella or a string cheese. Its salty and tangy and quite similar in flavour to Feta I would say, but it really comes into its own when you fry it.
You end up with a cheese which has a crisp and golden crust and a semi firm centre with just a touch of goo. In short, it is unbelievably gorgeous! I just love it. This beautiful Lime and Caper Vinagrette Dressing is the perfect way to show it off.
Once again, simple ingredients done well . . . lime (both the zest and the juice), white wine vinegar, capers, good fruity extra virgin olive oil, chopped fresh coriander (cilantro), grainy Dijon, some seasoning and, ta da! Bob's your Uncle!! I like to add a touch of sugar myself, but that is just me. It takes off some of the edge from the tartness of the lime and the capers. I have also used Chinese Rice Wine Vinegar in the past with most delicious results. Make sure you have plenty of crusty bread to serve with it as well, so you can sop up all of that lovely dressing!
What you have here is a very enjoyable salad that works beautifully as a light lunch for two, or as a starter course for more people when you are entertaining. I really hope you will try it. It's fabulous!
*Lime & Caper Dressed Halloumi Cheese*
Serves 2 as a light lunch
I have done a bit of research and found that in America at least you could consider some of the Mexican cheeses which don't melt when heated, such as Queso Blanco or Asadero if you find it impossible to get Halloumi Cheese. Bon Appetit!
I was shopping in Aldi (the Which Grocery Retailer of the year 2012 and a very inexpensive shop to shop in) the other day when I picked up some British Asparagus that was marked at 50% of the regular price. And it was Asparagus tips and the thin new season tender ones to boot! Score!!
As soon as I saw it I had in mind that I wanted to make some Asparagus Tarts with it. The Toddster is a pie man and when I can disguise vegetables that aren't peas and carrots in the form of a tart I am happy, and he is happy and all is right with the world.
I normally always have puff pastry in the freezer or refrigerator. It comes in very handy. I usually buy it fresh when it's on special and then if it gets close to it's sell buy date and I haven't used it, I bang it into the freezer. My motto is you can never have too much puff pastry to hand! If you have a packet of puff pastry . . . you have a meal in waiting.
These beautiful little tarts are so very easy to make. You simply shape, brush and bake. Then you punch down the centres, spread them with a bit of salad cream, lay on cheese and the asparagus, sprinkle with some olive oil and salt and pepper and bake some more . . .
Then when the crust is all perfectly crisp and brown . . . and the asparagus is perfectly roasted crispy tender . . . you sprinkle them with a bit of Parmesan and bake them again just until it melts. I love Parmesan cheese . . . it packs a lot of punch and you don't have to use tons of it to get some flavour.
I like to drizzle the finished tart with a bit of French Dressing or some White Balsamic for some extra flavour. The end result is a fabulous tart with lovely crisp pastry, beautifully and perfectly cooked asparagus . . . easy to create, quick to make . . . and they are something which you would not be ashamed to serve to even your most discerning guests.
You can serve them on a bed of Baby Salad Greens or not as you wish . . . most impressive. They are not a lot of work, and everybody's happy. You can't ask for much more than that.
Ohhh . . . I do so love Asparagus season . . . it's very early in it now, so thankfully I have quite a few more weeks to enjoy it! Yippee!!
*Asparagus Tarts*
Makes 6
Printable Recipe
Beautiful fresh spring Asparagus atop a crisp bed of flaky pastry, salad cream and cheese. Deliciously easy! An excellent first course or light lunch.
I packet of ready roll, all butter puff pastry
6 TBS of salad cream (I used the chive and onion flavored one)
6 slices of Jarlsberg cheese
2 packets of Asparagus tips, washed and trimmed (enough to lay out
on top of each tart in even measure)
a bit of olive oil to drizzle
1 small free range egg beaten with 1 tsp water
flaked sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper
3 - 4 TBS coarsely grated Parmesan Cheese
Prepared French Dressing, or White Balsamic vinegar to drizzle
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment. Unroll your puff pastry and cut into six equally sized rectangles. Place them a few inches apart on the baking tray. Using a sharp knife, cut a thin border around the circumference of each, taking care not to cut all the way through. Using a fork prick the insides of the rectangles all over. Brush the border with a bit of the egg wash. Bake in the heated oven for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and carefully punch down the pastry in the middle with the back of a spoon. Spread each tart with 1 TBS of the salad cream and top with a slice of Jarlsberg. Lay out the asparagus evenly spaced across each tart, toe to tail. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Return to the oven and bake for about 10 minutes longer, until the pastry is golden brown and the asparagus is lightly roasted, but still crisp.
Sprinkle some of the Parmesan cheese over top of each tart. Bang back into the oven for 2 or 3 minutes to melt the Parmesan. Serve hot and drizzled with a bit of French Dressing or White Balsamic Vinegar. Delicious!
Note: you can also serve these on a bed of baby spring salad greens.
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