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Prawn, Chorizo and Courgette Spaghetti

A gorgeous summery dish perfect after a hard day.

Serves 2

A lovely dish, with a light delicate flavour, for summer evenings, preparation time 25 minutes. 

Ingredients

200g spaghetti
100g chorizo
200g courgette, diced
half a teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
6 medium-sized tomatoes
2 teaspoons of tomato puree
a small glass of white wine
200g cooked and peeled prawns
Juice of half a lemon
a few leaves of basil (for garnishing)

Method

  1. Place a large pan of water on the heat ready for your spaghetti.
  2. Peel the chorizo and cut it into mouth-sized chunks. Place in a heavy based frying pan on a medium heat. As the oil begins to seep from the chorizo, add the diced courgette and fry gently for 10 minutes.
  3. Blanch your tomatoes in the water you will later use for the spaghetti and carefully remove their skins and most of the seeds. Chop finely and add to the sauce along with the wine and continue to simmer.
  4. Throw in your spaghetti and boil for 12 minutes.
  5. 3 minutes before your pasta is cooked, add the prawns to the sauce to warm through, check your seasoning, I find this sauce benefits from a liberal grind of black pepper.
  6. When your pasta is cooked, remove the sauce from the heat and squeeze in the lemon juice.
  7. Drain the pasta and, in the cooking pan, combine the pasta and the sauce. To serve, sprinkle with basil and eat immediately. 

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Rocket and almond pesto pasta with courgettes and pan-fried salmon

July 2013

Healthy, hearty and a great idea when you need to use up some of the multitudinous courgettes we all accumulate in July. Serves 4. Preparation time 35 minutes

Ingredients

500g of courgette
1 pepper
1 onion
A small handful of fresh rocket plus extra leaves for garnish
30g almonds
50mls olive oil plus extra for vegetable roasting
50g grated parmesan cheese
1 clove of garlic
Juice of one lemon plus wedges to serve
350g penne pasta
4 skin on salmon fillets

Method

  1. Chop the vegetables into bite sized cubes , season with salt and pepper, place in a roasting tin and roast in a 180 degree oven for 30 minutes stirring occasionally.
  2. Heat a large pan of water ready for your pasta later.
  3. While the veg is roasting make the pesto, add the rocket, almonds, olive oil, lemon juice, grated cheese and garlic to a food processor and blend to a smoothish paste.
  4. Fifteen minutes into the veg cooking time and it’s time for the salmon. Pat the skin dry with a paper towel and season with salt. Place in hot frying pan skin side down for 5 minutes until golden. Flip the salmon fillets and place the pan in the oven with the vegetables for the last 10 minutes of cooking. Finishing fish and meat off in the oven cooks it more evenly ensuring a succulent end product with the crispy skin you get from frying.
  5. Now it’s time to boil your pasta. When it is done to your liking, drain and return to the cooking pan. Mix through the pesto and tender roasted veg
  6. Serve in a bowl topped with your perfectly cooked salmon, extra rocket leaves and lemon wedges. Lovely.

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Rhubarb and Lemon muffins with Cinnamon Crumble topping

Rhubarb and Lemon muffins with Cinnamon Crumble topping

Ingredients

For the Muffin mixture
175g light muscovado sugar
175g rhubarb, diced into half centimetre cubes
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
1 egg, beaten
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
125mls of milk
200g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
 
For the crumble topping
50g muscovado sugar
50g cool butter
50g porridge oats
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
 

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C and place 9 muffin cases in a muffin pan ready for your mixture.  
  2. Place the crumble ingredients in a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers; you can use a food processor for this but that can result in a finer texture and some of your oats may suffer for it. 
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, rhubarb, lemon, oil, egg, vanilla and milk. 
  4. Sift on the flour and raising agents. Stir the mixture 10 times. You will get gloriously light muffins as an end result but currently the mixture will look horrifying – probably with a few patches of flour remaining un-combined – Don’t Panic!
  5. Spoon your mixture into the muffin cases (around a tablespoon in each) and sprinkle on your crumble topping.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes until bouncy to the touch.

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Lemony prawn risotto with spring vegetables and rocket

Lemony prawn risotto with spring vegetables and rocket

Serves 2

This is a beautifully summery dish perfect for alfresco dining with a nice cool glass of white wine.

Ingredients

Half an onion
3 cloves of garlic
Olive oil for frying
300g Arborio risotto rice
A bunch of spring onions (around 125g)
A generous glass of white wine (Sauvignon Blanc works wonderfully)
1 pint of vegetable stock
Half a teaspoon of chilli powder
1 lemon (zest and juice)
225g best quality raw tiger prawns
A small handful of peas, fresh if you can get them
A small handful of spinach
A generous handful of parmesan cheese (plus an extra sprinkling for serving)
A small knob of butter
A small handful of rocket

 

Method

  1. Finely chop your half onion and garlic and sweat it gently in a large heavy based pan with a little olive oil.
  2. When the onion is beginning to become soft and translucent add your rice and sliced spring onions and turns up the heat slightly.
  3. Now it’s time to add the wine, from this point onwards you will need to keep a sharp eye on your risotto and stir it often so it doesn’t stick.
  4. Gradually add your vegetable stock when your risotto threatens to stick. Continue with this process for ten minutes, then add your prawns, chilli powder, peas, spinach and the zest of your lemon reserving the juice for the end.
  5. When the rice is just soft and your prawns are pink and juicy (should be another 5-10 mins) remove the pan from the heat. Add the cheese, lemon juice and butter. Adjust your seasoning, add good grind of black pepper but taste carefully before adding too much salt (the prawns, cheese, butter and stock might make your risotto salty enough already).
  6. To serve, spoon the thick oozy risotto into shallow bowls and scatter over your rocket leaves. Sprinkle on the last of your parmesan and enjoy. 

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Oven-roasted round courgette with cheese and chilli baked fondue

August 2013

Serves 4 as a sharing starter. Perfect for stress free but impressive entertaining. 

Ingredients

2 large round courgettes
A drizzle of olive oil
100g mozzarella cheese, chopped into small cubes
80g cheddar cheese, finely grated
10 leaves of basil, finely chopped
I clove of garlic, crushed
a half teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
2 heaped teaspoons of Crème fraîche
2 level teaspoons of corn flour

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius.
  2. Cut the tops off of the courgettes and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle the insides of the courgettes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven on a baking sheet for 1 hour.
  3. Meanwhile, combine all of the other ingredients in a bowl.
  4. 30mins into the courgette’s cooking time, spoon the fondue mixture into the centre of the baking courgettes put them back in the oven for the remaining cooking time.
  5. When the courgettes are tender and the fondue is melting and unctuous remove them from the oven onto a serving plate. Replace the courgette tops and surround with fresh herby salad allow a generous amount of crusty bread per person for dipping and enjoy!

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An Indulgent Lunch

My first salad harvest.

An Indulgent lunch

Harvested my first salad! By taking one or two leaves off of each lettuce plant I made a beautiful fresh salad to go with my lunch hopefully without inhibiting the growth of any one individual plant. Check out my oven-roasted round courgettes with cheese and chilli baked fondue here

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 Ele

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Herby Vegetarian Stuffing Recipe

Taken from our newsletter in December 2012

Ingredients

  • 25g Butter
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 tsp chopped thyme
  • 2tsp chopped sage
  • 75g finely chopped mushrooms
  • 110g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 4 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley
  • grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons of cream or milk

How to make it:

  1. Finely chop the onion and fry it in the butter until soft. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until moisture evaporates.
  2. Add the thyme, sage and breadcrumbs and transfer into a mixing bowl.
  3. Mix in the parsley, lemon juice and lemon rind and the egg and cream.
  4. transfer to a baking dish and cook for 30 mins until brown on top.
For a variation add a good handful of grated parmesan cheese and use the stuffing to make vegetarian sausage rolls with some puff pastry. Delicious!