Cajun Prawn Curry.

All creative minds should remember - know your audience.

It's no good posting a piece of Cameronite propaganda in The Grauniad, nor is suitable to try and impress  with a wonderfully spicy and aromatic cajun prawn curry if one's stomach isn't up to the challenge.  If your audience is greater than one, then careful consideration is integral to the success of the dish!  There is much to be said however regarding the seasoning of food - for better or for worse.

"...Last time I struck her she broke a plate across my head.  I still have the scar.  Look.  The old man leant forward and indicated something invisible upon his forehead.

Well, you shouldn't beat her anyway, said the doctor.  They just find more subversive ways of getting at you.  Like oversalting the food.  My advice is be nice to her."

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Unfortunately, this time I was trying to demonstrate skill and prowess in the kitchen; demonstrate a passion for food and great flavour; demonstrate an eagerness to please and delight; and demonstrably cocked it up.  Apparently in life, there are some who find even Cornish Pasties a little too - ahem - 'spicy.'

Bollocks.

But true, apparently.  Anyway, I cooked a fierce cajun prawn curry in white wine, and I thought it was delicious.  Recipe as follows:



Serves Two


King Prawns - uncooked is best, as they will take on more of the marinade that way.
Marinating Spices - Smoked Paprika, Mustard Seed, Chili flakes, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, Salt.
1/2 tablespoon of Tomato Puree
1/2 tablespoon of  Olive Oil
1 table spoon of White wine.

1 Red Onion
1 Red or Yellow Pepper
4 Cloves of Garlic
White Wine (Pinot Grigio)
Turmeric

1. To begin, create the marinade by combining the spices with with the oil and tomato puree.  Add a table spoon of white wine and mix together with the prawns, enough for two people.  Leave this in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, or even overnight.
2. In a deep frying pan or wok, fry the garlic, the onions and the peppers, all chopped, in a little oil and half a tablespoon of turmeric, a pinch of salt, and a good few chili flakes (to your own taste.)  Cook on a low heat for about 40 mins, until the vegetables have broken down.  Stir in a large glass of white wine and allow to reduce.
3. Pour the prawns and marinade into the pan and stir together.  It should turn form a bright yellow to a rich red colour.  Cook until the prawns turn pink - usually about 5 or 6 minutes.  If you were to use pre-cooked prawns, half the time would suffice.

Et voila!  I served this with rice.  I'd recommend putting the rice on a few minutes before adding the prawns, and plate it all up at the same time.  The majority of the liquid for this dish comes from the white wine, so it's important to break the vegetables down, as they too can contribute to the sauce, as opposed to everything sitting in white wine. 

The wine and turmeric bring a wonderfully subtle sweetness to the prawns, while the cajun spices bring out a tingling sensation on the taste buds.

Please Enjoy!

Food for the flock.

I am a firm believer in the significance of eating together. Whether it's around a dinner table with the family following a busy week, or perhaps a first date that'll take you on an unrelenting rollercoaster; people come together over food. At least that's how it is for me, and the people around me. I've made some good friends over the dinner table, but what I really love about food is that I've made some great friends around the stove.

For the first time last night, my brother and I prepared a Shepherd's Pie. In fact, for the first time ever last night, we prepared a meal together. A statement such as this would usually be followed by 'without messing it up,' 'without arguing,' or 'without serious knife inflictions.' Alas, this was the first meal we prepared together, period. This may not strike the average reader as an obscurity, but coming from a family that always encouraged us as children to cook, I think it is a little out of sorts.

What struck me was how easy it was too. Perhaps I'm giving a bad impression of the relationship I have with my brother, but that's not my intention I assure you, but having both been away from home for such a long time, this was a good opportunity for the two of us to catch up.

Now I'm told that a Shepherd's pie should be made with lamb - hence the name, and once made with beef is known as a cottage pie.  Nonetheless, my brother and I have always called it shepherd's pie, even with mince beef.  I feel it's apt to demonstrate that here.

Shepherd's Pie.

What better way to catch up than over some good, homely food?

Ingredients.

Lean mince beef

Onions

Veg - in this case, we used peas, carrots and green beans

Olive oil

Plain flour

450 ml of Beef stock

Potatoes

Milk

Butter

Cheese

Method.

In an oven-proof casserole-dish, fry the onions in the oil until they turn translucent, or, if you like your onions a bit chunkier, as I often do, wait until they brown at the edges, and then pop the mince in the pan to brown as well.

Stir in a tablespoon of flour, soaking up all the juices to produce a rather unattractive, stodgy looking concoction.  

Add salt, pepper, thyme and a bay leaf too, and stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the stock at this point, stir it all together and then add the veg.

(Sometimes I'll add a bottle of ale here instead of the stock, it makes for an amazing aroma and really warms the heart!)

Allow this to simmer on the hob for another 20 minutes or so on a medium heat, reducing the mix.

In the meantime, boil the potatoes until they are soft enough to mash.  You want to be able to slide a knife into them without too much force, but without them falling to pieces either.  I find this normally takes about 15-20 mins.

Drain the water, and returning the potatoes to a low heat, add a good nob of butter and small dash of milk and begin to mach and mix together.  A good pinch of salt, and another of pepper does the trick here too.  (Incidentally, this is how I make all my mash, maybe with a bit of mustard and cheese mixed in too.)

Taking the meat off the heat, cover the mixture with the mashed potatoes nice and evenly, using a fork to spread the mash out.  Top with cheese, and put on a preheated oven at about 180°C until the pie turns nice and crispy.

This is a very simple recipe, but tastes so good, it seemed to be a perfect way to start this blog.  Let me know what you think!