Tag Archives: Fish

Fishy, Recipes, Spicy

Prawns with a spiced cream sauce

Hello everyone! I am so sorry for my absence from the land of Butisittasty over the past few months – as well as recovering from my jaunt in hospital I have been finishing my MA (now done – YAY!) which took up a lot of my time and all of my energy. But I’m here now so all the tasties can be had!

Although I am still very tired.

Anyway…

One of the things about recovery is that little things really can make a difference, and I found myself looking for dishes that were not only simple (well, maybe with the exception of the Pigs Trotters on Toast!!!) but which were comforting. Old cookbooks were dug out and old favourites were re-discovered.

This dish is based on a brilliant Madhur Jaffrey recipe for spicy hard boiled eggs. My parents used to make a version of this every time we had a big party of friends over for a curry-fest and it was always the first to be gobbled up. Although it is good with eggs, the prawns add a wonderful flavour which, combined with the cream, create a decadent and almost bisque-like curry. You can substitute the cream for yoghurt if you like but you’ll be missing out – it’s totally worth the extra calories. You can use fresh prawns too if you prefer – just reduce the cooking time slightly.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1fresh green chilli, finely chopped
  • 125ml single cream
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • ¼ tsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp tomato puree
  • 75ml chicken stock
  • Salt and pepper
  • 200g frozen prawns
  • 1 tbsp (or more) finely chopped fresh green coriander

Method

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, non-stick frying pan then add the onions. Stir and fry until the pieces are just beginning to brown at the edges then add the ginger and chilli and stir fry for a minute or so.

Now add the cream, lemon juice, cumin, cayenne, garam masala, tomato paste and chicken stock. Stir to mix thoroughly and then bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary, then add the frozen prawns and stir the whole lot together.

Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, spooning the sauce over the prawns until they are cooked through. By this time the sauce should be fairly thick. Garnish with the fresh coriander and serve with steamed rice and/or a load of flatbreads for dipping.

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Camping, Fishy, Recipes, Spicy

Camp-side Kedgeree

This is one of my all-time favourite dishes to have for breakfast. It was created whilst camping in the glorious Vale of the White Horse a couple of years ago when my good friend Rich and I were musing on how we could posh-up our morning meal – we came up this and it is an absolute corker. In our humble opinion anyway.

There are lots of recipes for kedgeree and I’m sure several are similar to ours – afterall, how many different ways can you make curried rice and smoked fish? We use hot smoked mackerel instead of the traditional haddock so we don’t have to worry about poaching the fish – likewise, packets of pre-cooked rice save time and washing up. This is a one-pot version (we only have a single gas stove when ‘under canvas’) but you can add as many processes and pans as you feel necessary – we sometimes get organised and hard-boil the eggs the previous evening but most of the time we do it this way. Whichever you fancy.

Serves 2.

Ingredients

1x250g pack of pre-cooked rice (pilau or similar)

2-3 fillets smoked mackerel, skin removed, flaked

1 small onion, finely sliced

1 clove garlic – chopped

2 eggs

2-3 tsp curry powder

150g pot plain natural yoghurt

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped coriander (optional)

 

Method

Fill a saucepan with boiling water over a medium heat and pop in the eggs – cook for 6-10 mins depending on how runny you want the yolk to be. Remove the eggs and set aside to cool then empty the pan and return to the heat.

Put a good slug of oil into the pan and heat gently then add the sliced onion and garlic, frying until soft and translucent but not too coloured. Add 1tsp of the curry powder at this point and stir vigorously until the onion and garlic are completely coated – if the pan seems a bit dry at this point add a touch more oil to loosen.

Add the remaining curry powder to the pot of yoghurt, mix well, and set aside.

Once everything is nicely curried, reduce the heat slightly and add the packet of cooked rice and mix the whole lot thoroughly then add the flaked mackerel and stir well. Keep an eye on the rice – a bit stuck at the bottom is fine but it will easily form a big, burnt mass if you’re not careful!

By now your eggs should be cool enough to peel and chop – slice as fine or as chunky as you like and add them to the pan, stirring through to combine and then add the spicy yoghurt to the pan and combine the lot – seasoning to taste.

Serve immediately – scattering chopped coriander as a gesture towards presentation if you wish!

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