fried rice in prawns, no egg no pork shocker

Go to, dead easy, pick up the ingredients on the way home from the market for next to nothing, delicious and pretty healthy to boot. This fried rice recipe is an easy knock up at home version of ubiquitous staple, always a very popular dish. This one doesn't include eggs or pork on purpose; instead its all about the prawns and vegetables.

Prawn fried rice
 
Serves 4 with plenty other dishes. Or on its own. You do what you want.

1 tblsp olive oil
500g fresh prawns, peeled and de-veined
50g shiitake or button mushrooms, halved
1 courgette, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
50g green beans, cut into 2.5cm pieces
a handful of corn kernels
500g hot steamed rice
2 tsp shoyu sauce
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 spring onion, thinly sliced, to serve

Heat the oil in a wok or a big non stick sauté pan and stir-fry the prawns for barely a minute over a high heat.

Remove and set aside. Add the mushrooms, courgette, carrot, green beans and corn and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Stir in the hot rice and shoyu sauce, season with pepper and mix thoroughly.

Return the prawns to the pan and stir-fry the rice mixture for a couple of minutes. Serve sprinkled with the spring onions.

 

the home style chicken curry

You can't really go wrong cooking this curry unless you leave the pot on the stove and go on off to Sri Lanka on holiday expecting to be ticking away nicely upon return. I've found this always best with pieces of thigh meat, still on the bone; if it has to be boneless, again thigh meat will yield better results. Adding the ginger toward the end is a sweet and unique step that does nothing less than to enhance the flavour. I have cooked variations of this this recipe a thousand times - and it just keeps getting better. I brought back some incredible garam masala from my latest visit to the Indian Ocean, with 22 different spices, and most of them still whole. This mixture crushed just before use releases the most incredible headspace of aromas and flavours; something similar is well worth seeking out where possible.

 

Home style chicken curry

 

Serves 4

 

3 tsp vegetable oil
1 bay leaf
4 green cardamom, 2.5cm cinnamon stick, 10-12 black peppercorns, 1 tsp cumin seeds and 2 cloves all pounded together with a pestle and mortar
250g onions, finely sliced
½ tsp garlic, minced to a paste
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
100g tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tsp tomato paste
600g chicken, cut into 2.5cm chunks
½ tsp garam masala
2 tsp coriander leaves, chopped
1 tsp ginger, finely chopped

 

Heat the oil in a pan, add the bay leaf and pounded spices, and stir until the spices crackle and they change colour. Add the onions and sauté until golden brown, then add the garlic paste. Stir continuously and keep scraping the bottom of the pan to avoid the mix getting burnt.

 

Add the powdered spices, but not the garam masala. Mix quickly without letting the spices get burnt at the bottom.

 

Add salt, the tomatoes and the paste and cook on slow heat, stirring slowly. As the tomatoes melt to form a sauce, add the chicken and cook on a slow heat for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is almost cooked.

 

Sprinkle on the garam masala and simmer to finish cooking. Add coriander and sprinkle over ginger.

daal in the lanka

Every time I attempt to make this incredibly simple and fragrant Sri Lankan dish, I make it ever so slightly differently. Not because I'm in the pursuit of fancy, it just happens like that. Every time Nalaka makes it, it's exactly the same, which is brilliant. Sometimes I put ground chilli in, sometimes green and red chillies. Occasionally some crispy fried garlic shavings, maybe some mint and coriander too. Great with rice, great as a replacement to rice, great on its own, better the way he does it.

Daal, the way Nalaka makes it, I think

Serves 2

200g yellow split peas
1 small onion
6 garlic cloves
2 small, hot green chillies

2 tsp cinnamon bits
1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp curry powder
salt and black pepper

12 curry leaves

1 rampa leaf (pandan)

200ml thin coconut milk

200ml thick coconut milk

 

Rinse the split peas in cold water. Peel and finely slice the onion. Peel and cut the garlic in half, chop the chillies into little strips.

Put the peas, onion, chilli, garlic, cinnamon, turmeric, curry powder, leaves, salt and black pepper in with the peas and cover with the thin coconut milk. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid then simmer for 15-20 minutes until the pulses are softening.

 

To finish, add the thicker coconut milk and bring back to a faster simmer with the lid off, cooking until all the milk has absorbed.

 

You can always peel and finely slice more garlic, cook till golden and lightly crisp in a shallow pan with oil, then stir into the daal with a handful of chopped coriander leaves. Nalaka doesn't, so there we have it.

 

kottu roti, or is it kothu, or koththu?

There's this quite particular Sri Lankan roti called Godhamba roti and it's this all chopped up and griddled off on a flat top with vegetables, egg, plenty spices and the option of bony meat or not that has to be the thing of the moment this week.

 

Found in roadside glass fronted shops the island wide, and something that really only kicks in after about 5.30 in the evening, it really is the simplest things that give the most pleasure.

 

The clanging of metal choppers against each other on the heated plate each evening as the kottu are being chopped and heated together is quickly becoming the dinner gong of the moment. Love it here.

mackerel season and the oily fish right thing to do

What's not to love about doing a spot of fishing for the likes of seabass? Of course its a top fish we all want, a prize catch if ever there was. Undoubtedly though, if bass is the target, the likelihood of hitting a run of mackerel at this time of the year scores pretty high, so being prepared for it will always come in quite handy. The way things are going out there on the high seas also brings to mind the fact that little oily wonders in the shape of mackerel should really be in our baskets, on our plates and in our bellies when they're coming out the water in relative abundance. Dead healthy, really quick to prepare, even quicker to cook. What's not to love about a fresh mackerel indeed?

 

Seared mackerel fillet with red onion marmalade

 

Serves 4

4 mackerel fillets, about 100g each

Olive oil, for brushing the fish

1 lime

Small bunch of chives, to garnish

 

For the onion marmalade

50g salted butter

Splash of olive oil

4 red onions, finely sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

150ml sherry vinegar

25g dark soft brown sugar

50g pomegranate seeds

 

To make the onion marmalade, melt the butter with the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onions together with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until well softened, being careful not to allow the onions to burn or colour too much.

 

Add the vinegar, sugar, and pomegranate, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and then simmer gently for about 30 minutes, uncovered, or until the marmalade comes together as a mass. Turn out into a dish and keep warm at the side of the hob.

 

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Heat an ovenproof frying pan to very hot, brush the mackerel fillets on both sides with a little olive oil and lay in the pan, skin-side down. After 3 minutes, sprinkle the flesh side of the fillets with a little salt and pepper and transfer the pan to the oven for 2–3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, until cooked through.

 

Cut the lime in half and then cut four thin slices from the middle. Make a slit in each slice from the centre to the outside edge and give each a half twist. Finely pare the zest from the remaining lime.

 

Place one mackerel fillet onto each serving plate, squeeze the lime juice over and sprinkle with a little of the zest. Place a spoonful of the onion marmalade alongside and garnish with 2 or 3 chives and a twist of lime

barbecued flatbreads

If you’ve got a spanking hot oven and an array of just about any food that can be scooped, spread, grabbed or rolled, then you’re going to need a stack of these coming out hot and fresh. The whole notion of fresh bread straight from the oven is the very same the world over, in any language, associated with every food type. Breaking the stuff is as important as eating is, and such a satisfying task to master in the kitchen. These breads are perfect with anything grilled, with or without the spicy glaze

Barbecued flatbreads

Serves 6

250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
250g strong white bread flour
5g easy-blend yeast
10g salt
1 tblsp good-quality olive oil (plus extra for glazing; optional)
325ml hot water or an equal mixture of hot water and natural yogurt

For the glaze
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
20g unsalted butter
2 tblsp olive oil
A good pinch of smoked paprika

If you want to make a glaze for your flatbreads, start with that; otherwise, skip this and go straight to the next paragraph. Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat, and when hot toast the cumin and coriander seeds for a minute or so until they release their fragrance. Grind with a pestle and mortar. Melt the butter, whisk in the olive oil, the ground cumin and coriander, and the paprika. Brush the glaze over the breads just before putting them on the grill, or do so just after they come off the grill - both approaches work well.

To make the flatbreads, mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Tip the water (or the yogurt/water mix) into this well, pour in the olive oil, and mix together. Knead the dough until smooth, silky and elastic, then brush it with oil, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size. Deflate the dough, then leave to rise a second time, again until almost doubled in size.

Tar off pieces of dough the size of small lemons. Using plenty of flour on both your hands and the work surface, shape them into rounds and roll out to 3-4mm thick. Leave each one to rest for five minutes or so.

Brush the flatbreads with the seasoned butter glaze or olive oil (both optional), then cook over a hot barbecue for four to five minutes, turning once, until puffed up and just beginning to char. Serve right away, no delay, no nonsense.

 

the romance of a steak tartare, no really

It all sounds terribly romantic, but when I’m stuck and can’t come up with anything to prepare for a meal at home, I often turn to what has now become the reliable steak tartare. Well, that is on the abnormally rare occasion where the charm of instant noodles don't overwhelm me. This is a no cook piece of genius that is both simple and elaborate. It holds a lot of ingredients but can easily impress through the lack of cooking. The only thing to be careful about is the quality of the ingredients, spanking fresh beef and good eggs kind of speak for themselves really.

Steak tartare

Serves 4

1 large onion
5 cornichons
1 tablespoon capers
2 sprigs Italian parsley
1¼ pounds sirloin steak, preferably organic and grass-fed
4 very fresh organic egg yolks
Tabasco sauce to taste (lots)
Ketchup to taste (more than you think)
Fleur de sel and freshly ground pepper

Finely chop the onion. Separately do the same to the cornichons, capers, and parsley. Place them in small serving bowls and set aside.

Using a very sharp knife, trim the sirloin, removing as much fat as possible. Cut the meat into ¼-inch dice.

Divide the meat among 4 individual serving plates. Shape the meat into a dome, make an indentation in the centre, and nestle the egg yolks in it.

Serve with the onion, capers, cornichons, parsley, Tabasco, ketchup, fleur de sel, and pepper on the side for each guest to season the tartare according to their taste. Serve with a green salad and chips, should the occasion merit a fryer on the go.