12/04/2007

Asparagus, King Prawn and Rocket Salad with a Lemon and Honey Dressing

This tasty combination makes a colourful summer salad, which is incredibly easy to prepare but has a luxurious feel.

200g asparagus tips, ends trimmed and cut into 5cm lengths
250g baby plum tomatoes, halved
50g rocket
300g cooked, peeled king prawns

For the dressing
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp clear honey
3 tbsp lemon juice
100ml olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes until just tender. Drain and plunge into cold water to prevent it cooking further. Pat dry with kitchen paper.

2. Arrange all the salad ingredients on 4 plates.

3. To make the dressing, put the mustard, honey, oil and seasoning in a bowl and whisk well. Add the lemon juice and whisk until slightly thickened.

4. Pour the dressing over the salad and serve immediately. If serving this salad for a picnic (once the weather improves at the weekend!) store in a cool box until required, then pour over the dressing just before serving.


One-pot Lamb Casserole with Peas and New Potatoes

Ingredients (serves 4)
2tbsp plain flour
Sea salt and black pepper
650g lamb neck fillet, diced
2tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil
12 button onions or shallots
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1tsp ground cinnamon
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2tsp runny honey
400ml chicken / lamb stock
200g baby new potatoes
250g frozen peas
1tbsp mint, finely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Season the flour and toss the lamb in it. Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the lamb pieces in batches. Set aside and add the button onions and carrot to the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables are a light golden brown. Add the cinnamon and cook for a further minute.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes, honey and stock, stirring well, and bring to the boil. Return the lamb to the pan, add the new potatoes and season to taste. Cover and cook in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes, until the lamb is tender.

4. Remove from the oven and stir through the frozen peas, and a little more stock if necessary.  Cook for a further 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped mint and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Rachel Green, photo: Michael Powell


Grilled Aubergines with Chilli Peppers

Given half a chance aubergines will soak up oil like a sponge, so salting and grilling offers a lighter option than frying. The aubergine slices become charred and smoky on top but soft and succulent in the middle. This gutsy dish, spiked with chilli and mint, is wonderful served warm with a Sunday roast of lamb or with a grilled piece of chicken. It also makes a great cold salad with some crumbled feta cheese on top.

Ingredients
2 medium aubergines, about 450g total weight
Salt and ground black pepper
1 small bunch fresh mint
A good fruity olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1tsp finely chopped red chilli
8tbsp low-fat natural yoghurt
25g pine nuts

For the hummus
200g can chickpeas
2tbsp lemon juice or more to taste
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt
100ml/3 1/2fl oz tahini (sesame seed paste)
4tbsp water
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Hummus method
1. Drain the chickpeas and rinse.
2. Combine the chickpeas, lemon juice, garlic, salt, tahini, and water in a food processor, and whiz to a purée.
3. Add more lemon juice, garlic, cumin or salt to taste. Turn into a bowl and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Main method
1. Thickly slice the aubergines into chunky rounds about 1cm/1/2inch thick (if they're too thin they will just burn and stick). Make a few quick shallow slashes across each flat side then sprinkle the aubergines lightly with salt and set aside while you make the mint dressing.

2. Chop the mint quite roughly, then stir together with 2tbsp of the olive oil, the lemon juice, chilli and seasoning. Be generous with the pepper, tasting as you go. The dressing should be quite lively. Beat together the hummus and yoghurt.

3. Rinse the aubergines gently then pat them dry. Brush a baking sheet with a little oil and arrange the slices on it in one layer (cook in two batches if necessary).

4. Brush the aubergine slices lightly with oil and put them under a hot grill. When they are soft and golden and beginning to char at the edges, after about 4-5 minutes, turn them over and cook the other side for 3-4 minutes.

5. Sprinkle over the pine nuts and pop back under the grill for 1-2 minutes until toasted. Lift the aubergines off the baking sheet and onto a warmed plate. Spoon the mint dressing over and around the aubergines and serve hot with the hummus to dollop on top and a sprinkling of pine nuts.

King Prawn Puri Pancakes

Asaddar Ali, owner of Zest Indian and Bengali restaurant in North St Andrew Street, Edinburgh, loves to cook this dish for his family and customers. He says: “North Indian cooking has a lot of spices and it is essential to layer them in order to create the dish you want. The flavours of this dish are not too heavy and the spices are balanced by the puri pancakes. Curiosity is what excites me when it comes to cooking; I like to experiment with the different flavours, textures and spices. With each new dish I create, I like my family and customers to have a trial run and see if they’re happy that it becomes a new addition to the menu.”

Ingredients (serves 4)
2 1/2 cups plain flour
2 cups of water (at room temperature)
Pinch of Salt
1tbsp Vegetable Oil
25g Butter
12 king prawns (medium – large)
4 cloves of garlic
1 onion
Salt (pinch of)
1/2tsp turmeric
1/2tsp coriander
Cumin (pinch of)
1tsp tomato puree
1/2 cup water
4 stalks of fresh coriander

Method
1. Mix flour, water and salt together to a smooth dough. Divide into small bite-sized pieces. Roll each of the pieces with a rolling pin. The dough can at this point be cut into different shapes (such as stars, pictured) if desired. Heat a dash of vegetable oil in the frying pan. Place the puri in the pan and heat until golden coloured. Brush some butter on both sides before placing on a plate.

2. Peel the king prawns then cut into 4 pieces. Chop the onion into thin slices and then the coriander stalks, finally crush the garlic. Heat 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil in the frying pan. When hot, add crushed garlic and the finely sliced onion, fry until golden coloured. Add salt, turmeric, coriander, cumin, tomato puree, water and coriander stalks. Add the sliced king prawns. Cook 5-6 minutes on medium heat and keep the pan covered. Stir occasionally. Serve with puri pancakes, slice of lemon and fresh coriander leaves.


Fillet of Redfish with Mediterranean Veg and Rocket Pesto

Jim Cowie, head chef at The Captain’s Galley, in Scrabster, Caithness – named Chef of the Year at this year’s Seafood Awards for his use of sustainable seafood  – shares a Provencal-style recipe using fillet of redfish.

Ingredients (serves 4)
4 chunky loins of Redfish

For the Lyonnaise potatoes
4 medium potatoes (approx 700g)
1 large onion
Knob butter for onions 

For the Mediterranean vegetables
1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow bell pepper
1 small red onion
1 small courgette
1/2 small aubergine
4 bunches cherry vine tomatoes

For the rocket pesto
50g Rocket leaves from the garden
50g finely grated parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, crushed
50g pine nuts
Pinch of rough sea salt
Good pinch freshly cracked black pepper
100ml extra virgin olive oil

Rocket Pesto method
1. Put first 4 ingredients in food processor and process until chopped
2. Add the seasoning.
3. Gradually add the oil. I usually add around 50ml taking the consistency to a paste, however, for this recipe I include it in Mediterranean vegetables as a sauce, so I add more olive oil making it more like a sauce than a paste.

Main Method
1. Peel potatoes and put into a pan of boiling salted water, return to the boil and turn down to simmer for 5-7 minutes until the potatoes are par-cooked with centre still firm. Take out and set aside to cool.
2. For Mediterranean vegetables roughly chop peppers, cut courgettes and aubergine in 1cm slices, peel red onion and cut into 4 quarters, leaving part of the root on each section to help hold together, and set aside.
3. Heat small pan add the knob of butter, peel large onion half and finely slice, add the onions to the pan and sweat until soft without colour. Set aside.
4. When potatoes cool, slice to your desired thickness, (I prefer 1cm)
5. Heat a large frying pan with olive oil and a little butter, cook the sliced potatoes gently until just starting to colour, take them off and set aside, depending on the size of the pan, you might need to do this in batches.
6. Set redfish aside allowing it to reach room temperature.
7. Put a large frying pan on high heat, add olive oil, lightly season the redfish loins with rough sea salt and plenty freshly cracked black pepper, set in pan with skin side down and cook until caramelised tint, take out pan and set into  a warmed roasting tin skin side up. Put pan back on high heat, add some olive oil and add the vegetable ingredients apart from tomatoes, and sear until turning dark in edges, take off and add to the roasting tin around the fish, add the bunches of tomatoes, lightly drizzle olive oil and more cracked black pepper. Put in oven pre heated to 190C for approx 5 minutes or depending on thickness of fish, until it is properly cooked.
8. As fish is in the oven, heat another frying pan, add olive oil and knob of butter,  when butter stops bubbling add potatoes and sliced onions, cook for 2 minutes and turn, cook for another 2 minutes or until potatoes cooked and onions coloured, lightly season and mix up together.
9. To plate up, take 4 large plates, share potatoes/onion mix on middle of plate, add the Mediterranean vegetables on top, apart from the tomatoes, then put the loin of redfish on top of the vegetables, then good squeeze of lemon juice and top with bunch of tomatoes.
10. Drizzle balsamic reduction around the edge of the plate and serve.

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