Saffron Rice with Prawns, Peas and Coriander

While I must admit I did miss "The Darlings" life in the food department was somewhat simpler.  I could make one dish - and make what I liked without worrying what I would make for them.  They are not that keen on prawns so whenever we have them I have to come up with something simple that I can make at the same time for them.

This dish caught my eye in the latest edition of Good Food Magazine - it is basically a simple paella - all the flavours of the paella - rice and saffron, but only one meat involved (or should I say seafood!).  This was an incredibly easy, tasty, quick dish to make, and if you love the concept of paella you will love this dish.

Saffron Rice with Prawns, Peas and Coriander
Adapted from Good Food Magazine, October edition

Serves 4

3 cups chicken or fish stock
large pinch of Spanish Saffron
2tbs olive oil
2 onions, coarsely chopped
1 cup long grain rice
1 red capsicum, cut into strips
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1kg green prawns, peeled, deveined, tails intact
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
lemon wedges to serve

Heat the stock and saffron in a large deep frying pan on low, until just simmering.  Set aside for 5 minutes, to infuse the flavours.  Transfer to a large heatproof bowl, and cover to keep warm.  Wipe the frypan clean.

Heat the oil in the same frypan over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened.  Add the rice, capsicum, and garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring well until coated.

Add the hot saffron stock and increase heat to high.  Bring to the boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently, covered, for 10 minutes or until the rice is almost cooked.

Add the prawns and peas, pressing gently down into the rice.  Cook for 12 minutes, covered, until the rice is tender.  Remove from the heat and stand covered for an extra 5 minutes, or until the prawns are just cooked.

Scatter with the chopped coriander.

Serve with the lemon wedges.

Yum..... this was too easy, and went oh so well with a lovely cold glass of white wine after a hard day at work.

Kaffir Lime and Chilli Pilaf with Blue Eye Cod

The theme for this fortnight's Cookbook Challenge is blue!  I have thought long and hard about what I could cook that was blue.  I googled "blue recipes" - didn't have huge success there - lots of recipes for blueberry this and blueberry that - so I figured that would be what most people offered, but not me.  I could go the route of making a cake that was blue - but I didn't really fancy that idea too much.

So what did I do?  I decided to think outside the box.

Growing up in the 60's and 70's there wasn't the huge array of fish available at fish shops that there is today.  My dad was a salesman and used to travel and dine out a bit.  Whenever he went to a "fancy" restaurant (remember this is the 60's and 70's) he would more often than not order "blue eye", and then come home and tell us how good it was.  During these times it was probably one of the few fish that was served thick - like a steak!  Once blue eye became more popular we would often have it at home.  Somehow, over the years I have neglected buying this fish - I always tend to steer towards salmon or ocean trout.  But.... for this challenge I am revisiting Blue Eye - it may not be actually blue - but it does have blue in it's name!!!

Kaffir Lime and Chilli Pilaf with Blue Eye Cod
Adapted From Taste.com.au - Recipe by Emma Braz

Serves 6

60ml canola oil
1 brown onion, halved, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbs finely chopped ginger
1 stalk lemon grass (white part only), finely chopped
1 red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
5 kaffir lime leaves (2 leaves joined = 1), centre vein removed, thinly cut (use scissors)
2 cups (400g) brown rice, rinsed drained
4 cups (1800g) water
60ml (1/4 cup) soy sauce
100g toasted slivered almonds
1/4 cup continental parsley, coarsely chopped
2 tbs red curry paste
6 blue eye cod fillets
lime wedges to serve

I am going to make this using the thermomix - so I will give two methods.  I am also going to halve the recipe.  So the Thermomix version reflects the changes in amounts.

Conventional:
Heat 1 tbs of the oil in a large heavy based saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, chilli, coriander and lime leaves, and cook, stirring for 3 minutes, or until onion softens.  Add the rice and stir to combine.

Stir in the water and soy sauce, and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 50 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat.  Stir in the almonds and parsley.

Thermomix:

Add the onion, garlic, ginger, lemon grass and chilli to the TM bowl, chop for 3 seconds on speed 7, or until chopped to desired consistency.  Add 1 tbs of oil to the TM bowl and saute for 2 minutes at 100 degrees on speed 1.  Add the rice (200g) and stir using reverse, speed 1 for 30 seconds.

Add 900g water and the soy sauce (1 tbs).  Cook for 50 minutes at varoma temperature on speed 4, or until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.  Make sure the MC is not in place, cover hole with a piece of paper towel.

Add the almonds and parsley and mix using reverse, speed 1 for 30 seconds.

To cook the fish:
Meanwhile preheat a large frypan on high heat.  Combine the remaining oil and curry paste in a bowl.  Brush both sides of the fish with the curry mixture.

Cook the fish for 2 minutes each side, or until just cooked.

Spoon pilaf on serving plates, and top with the fish.  Garnish with lime wedges.

So there you have my contribution to the Blue Theme.  A little bit tricky???  Does it qualify??  You tell me.

Christmas Eve at our house

My approach to Christmas is to do as much preparation as possible in advance and try and enjoy the day.  Each Christmas Eve there is usually a multitude of jars and small containers in the fridge - they  contain all the chopped up ingredients, sauces, dressings that will be needed the next day.  This year we are all heading to my brother's house for Christmas Lunch - so I have it easy - I only have to take the salads - and yes I have all the prep. done for those already - I want to be able to get up in the morning and enjoy the kids opening their presents.  Sure I still have a couple of things to do to get the salads ready - but the fiddly stuff is done.

Tonight I am making "our" Christmas - well really it is only for the grown ups - "The Darlings" will only partake of the salmon, and plain rice please, but that is the norm here anyway so it doesn't faze me at all.  Christmas just isn't Christmas to me unless we have prawns - so tonight we are having Coconut Prawns, to be followed with some lovely barbecued salmon tails.  I am using 2 large salmon tails - these are great to throw on the BBQ - they only have one bone in the middle - and they are cheaper than buying fillets.  These tails were only $17.99 per kilo which is a considerable saving.  Investigate at your local fish shop and see if you can get them - they are well worth it!!

Coconut Prawns with Chilli Lime Mayonnaise
From Taste.com.au The Ultimate Guide to Christmas

1 cup whole egg mayonnaise
1/4 cup lime juice
1 large red chilli, seeded, finely chopped
1 cup rice flour
3 eggs, lightly whisked
250g shredded coconut
1kg green prawns, peeled leaving tails intact, deveined
vegetable oil to deep fry

Combine the mayonnaise, lime juice and chilli in a small bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until needed.

Place the rice flour, egg and coconut in separate bowls.  Holding the prawns by the tails, dip them one at a time into the flour, shake off excess.   Dip into the egg, then press firmly into the coconut to evenly coat.  Transfer to a plate.

Add enough oil to a saucepan to reach a depth of 6cm.  Heat to 170C over medium high heat (you can test this with a cube of bread - it will turn golden in 20 seconds.)  Add several prawns at a time to the oil and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until golden.  Use a slotted spoon to remove from the oil, transfer to a plate that has been lined with a paper towel.  Repeat with remaining prawns, reheating oil between batches.

Serve prawns with Chilli Lime Mayonnaise.

Asian Style Salmon Tails

4cm piece of ginger, peeled
4 cloves garlic
1 large red chilli, seeded
1/2 bunch of coriander, including stems
1 pice of lemon grass - remove hard outer husk
1 tbs palm sugar
1 tbs fish sauce


2 x salmon tails that have had several sharp knife cuts placed over the skin.


In a food processor (or Thermomix bowl) place all the ingredients.  Process until a finely chopped consistency.  In Thermomix process for 20 seconds on Speed 7.

Place the marinade in a large ziploc bag along with the salmon tails.  Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour - longer if time permits.

Cook on the BBQ for approx. 20-25 minutes, turning once, or until cooked through.

Jewelled Rice Salad with Apricots and Almonds
From Good Taste Magazine - December issue

750ml hot water
1/2 tsp saffron threads
2 cups basmati rice
1 orange
3/4 cup flaked almonds
3/4 cup dried apricots, thinly sliced
3/4 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup chopped pistachios

Combine the water and saffron in a saucepan over high heat.  Bring to the boil.  Stir in the rice.  Reduce heat to low.  Cook covered, for 10 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed.  Set aside, covered for 10 minutes to stand.  Use a fork to separate the grains.  Set aside for 30 minutes to cool completely.

Meanwhile use a zester, or a vegetable peeler and a small sharp knife to cut the orange rind into thin strips.

Cook the almonds in a dry frying pan for 1-2 minutes over medium high heat until golden.

Add the orange rind, almonds, apricots, and cranberries to the rice.  Stir until well combined.  Season with salt and pepper.


...........MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!

Summer Salmon Kedgeree

Being a food blogger is not as easy as it seems on the surface.  Sure you get to eat lots of great food, but there are the down sides.

You have to be extremely organised - you can't blog about the food unless you have a photo - herein the problem is twofold.  First of all you have had to cook the food to get the photo, and then comes the second part of the problem - you have to quickly take the photo before you can send the food to the starving masses at the table!!

There were so many recipes I wanted to share with you via this blog - but I just haven't got to cooking them all yet!!  Today's recipe is one that just can't go "unblogged" - it is too good - especially at this time of the year when there is entertaining to be done.

I came across this recipe many, many years ago - not sure where now,  but I seem to recall it was a Delicious magazine recipe.  Needless to say I have probably modified the recipe to suit me over the years, so here is my version of whatever that recipe was.


Summer Salmon Kedgeree


Serves 8-10

3 x 375ml fish stock
250ml dry white wine
4 fresh bay leaves
4 lemon slices
4 salmon pieces (approx 250g each)
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tbs medium heat curry paste
500g basmati rice
1tbs turmeric
125g sultanas
125g roasted salted cashews
2tbs coriander, finely chopped
2tbs continental parsley, finely chopped
4 hard boiled eggs, cut into quarters to garnish

Place stock, wine, bay leaves, lemon slices and into a deep frying pan.  Bring the liquid to the boil.  Reduce the heat to low, and add the salmon.  Simmer gently for 4-5 minutes.  Remove the salmon from the stock and set aside to cool.  Strain the stock mixture and reserve 4 cups.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Gently fry the onion and curry paste for 5 minutes.  Add the rice and turmeric, stir until the rice is glossy.  Add the reserved stock and bring to the boil.  Cover and then simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.

Skin and flake the salmon, discarding any bone.  Stir salmon into the rice mixture along with the sultanas, nuts and herbs.

Cover and set aside for 5 minutes to warm through all the ingredients.

Serve topped with the hard boiled egg quarters.

As an accompaniment I like to serve a form of raita - which is just plain yoghurt with chopped coriander, sweet chilli sauce and salt and pepper.

You also must serve with with a side dish of mango chutney.

This is really an incredibly easy dish - and perfect for entertaining on a warm summer's evening.

Oven Baked Chicken Paella

This recipe is in the current edition of Super Food Ideas magazine.  Liss from Frills in the Hills recently blogged the same recipe.  I had been tempted to try it, and after seeing her blog, I decided to give it a go.  Me being me, in my usual style, did make a few modifications - the recipe I am giving you is my take on the recipe printed in the mag.

Oven Baked Chicken and Sausage Paella


Serves 4-6

1/2 tsp saffron threads
2 tbs boiling water
4 cups chicken stock *
2 tsp olive oil
3 sliced sausages **
1.2kg drumettes (this will give you approx 20 drumettes)
2 tbs paprika
2 onions, finely diced
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup frozen peas
chargrilled capsicum ***

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place saffron threads in a small heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water, and set aside until needed. (This will allow the flavours to develop).

Heat your stock until it is boiling.  Set aside (covered until needed).

Heat a large frypan over medium high heat.  Add the sausage slices, and cook on both sides until browned (2-3 minutes each side).  Transfer to a plate.  Add the chicken drumettes to the pan, sprinkle with half the paprika, and cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until browned on all sides.  Remove from pan, and place with cooked sausage.

At this point I wiped out the frypan with paper towels to remove the excess oil.

Add the olive oil, and then add the onions and garlic, cook stirring for 3 minutes, or until softened.  Add the rice, remaining paprika and saffron mixture.  Cook, stirring for 1 minute, to coat the rice.  Transfer the rice mixture to a large roasting/casserole dish.

Pour the stock over the rice, stir to combine.  Add the chicken drumettes and sausage to the dish, make sure to push the chicken down in to the stock mixture.  Pour over the peas, and chargrilled capsicum.

Cover the pan tightly with several layers of foil.  Bake in the oven for 50 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let sit for a further 10 minutes, just to let the steam finish the cooking process.

Now you may like to top this with chopped tomatoes, and parsley - but I thought it was fine as it was.

* For the chicken stock I used the concentrated stock that I made with the Thermomix - I used 3 tbs of stock concentrate added to 4 cups of boiling water.

** The recipe actually called for chorizo sausages, and I thought I had some in the freezer, but once I had thawed them out and cut into them I found that they were actually cheese kranskys.  Not to worry, these turned out probably better, as they were not as spicy for "The Darlings".  So use whatever kind of sausage you like I say!!

*** I had a bottle of chargrilled capsicum in the fridge left over from making pizzas - use as much or as little as you like of this!

All in all this was a very good, easy, family friendly dinner.  Of course those that know "the Darlings" well will already know that they had to arm themselves with a spare plate to remove any "green" objects (peas) to!!  I pray for the day to come when they will eat a vegetable without gagging!!!  I live in fear that their wives are going to berate me for the rest of my days because they are such fussy eaters!!  Lord knows I try - but they continue to remove, or gag!!!

Dear Readers do you know of any children that are as fussy as mine (please tell me a story even if you don't - just to make me feel better!)?

Prawn Kalamaki with Tzatziki and Herb Salad with Greek Style Lamb and Vegetable Pilaf

With last night's meal we had a little Greek theme going.  I was inspired by last week's Master Class and George's Tzatziki.

I got myself all sorted out on Thursday - went to the fabric shop, bought the muslin and the yoghurt and started my prep for the Friday evening Greek feast!  I also decided while I was at it I would give making labne a go - that needs to "hang" for 3 days - so it's still in the pipeline!!  Stay tuned for the results.

Now if you saw the Master Class you would have seen that the yogurt and the cucumbers need to drain overnight - I did mine for 24 hours.  Following these procedures will give you the most beautiful, creamy tzatziki you have ever tasted!!  Heaven on a Greek Plate!!

So onto the actual recipe.

Prawn Kalamaki with Tzatziki and Herb Salad


You decide how many this serves - we had it as an entree - can you stop at 2 prawns each???


12 green prawns, peeled and deveined
2 tbs olive oil
several springs of thyme
1 clove crushed garlic


Salad


handful of small salad mix leaves
2tbs sage leaves
2 tbs dill fronds
2 tbs mint leaves
2 tbs chive batons
1/4 cup Japanese mayonnaise
1/2 lemon to serve


Tzatziki


4 lebanese cucumbers, peeled and grated
2 cups Greek yoghurt
1/2 clove garlic finely grated
1 small french eschalot, finely grated
1/2 bunch dill, finely chopped
1 lemon, zest only, finely grated
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 tbs Greek honey (I could not find any so I used Organic Orange Blossom Honey)
4-5 tbs olive oil

What you want to do is to take approximately 2 cups of Greek yoghurt and place it in the middle of a square of muslin.  Drawn the corners together and tie string just above where the ball of yoghurt is.  Suspend this over a bowl at least overnight.  You will be amazed at the amount of liquid that comes out.

For the cucumbers place a rack over a dish.  Place a clean chux over the rack and lay out the grated cucumber, season with a little salt.  Fold the chux over the top of the cucumber and leave in the fridge along with the yoghurt until needed.

At this stage you can also soak your bamboo skewers in water.

Next Day.....

Place the drained yoghurt in a bowl add the grated garlic, eschalot, dill, lemon zest, honey and cayenne pepper.  

Add the drained cucumbers and stir to combine.  Add the olive oil and stir well.  Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and salt.  Place in a serving bowl and top with a little more olive oil.

For the prawns, mix the olive oil and garlic together and add the prawns.  Leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Gently insert the skewer into the prawn, starting at the tail end - you want the prawn to be straightened onto the skewer.

Mix all the salad leaves and herbs, gently bind the leaves together with the mayonnaise.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place the lemon half onto the barbecue to caramelise.

You want the barbecue to be on a low gentle heat.  Throw the thyme leaves onto the heat source, and then place the prawn skewers onto the bbq rack.  The smoke of the thyme leaves will impart a lovely subtle flavour to the prawns. Very gently cook the prawns for around 4 -5 minutes, or until cooked through.

Place the kalamaki on a plate along with the salad, lemon half and a bowl of tzatziki.

For main course we had ...

Greek Style Lamb with Vegetable Pilaf

Serves 4

2 tbs olive oil

3 cloves crushed garlic

3 tbs chopped oregano leaves

600g lamb steaks 

Vegetable Pilaf

1 tbs oliv oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups basmati rice

3 cups chicken stock

1 lemon zested

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 bunch broccolini, trimmed into 2cm pieces

150g Persian Feta, crumbled

2 tbs chopped mint

** slice the zested lemon into thick slices and cook on the barbeque with the lamb - use as a garnish.

Marinate the lamb in the olive oil, garlic and oregano for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile make the pilaf.  Heat the oli in a large, heavy based saucepan over low-medium heat.  Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion is softened.  Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Ad the stock and the lemon zest, and bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat to low.  Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes.  Stir in the peas and broccolini and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the remaining liquid and steam are absorbed by the rice.

Meanwhile cook the lamb steaks on the barbeque for approximately 3 minutes each side, depending on thickness and to your liking.

Fold the persian feta cheese through the pilaf and season with salt and pepper.

Divide the pilaf among the plates, top with lamb steaks.  Garnish with the caramelised lemon slices and serve with any remaining tzatziki.

With a little ouzo, and some plate smashing (and a little imagination) you can pretend you are on a Greek holiday!!