Green Curry Fish and Prawn with Coconut Rice

During the last half hour I spent in the office today it looked very bleak outside, it was rainy and I really was not looking forward to running out to the car and getting wet, it must have dampened my spirits as I rang Jo and asked her to stop by on her way home so I could take her out for dinner.

Stopping somewhere in Northbridge on our way home for dinner has become a fairly regular event, often it will be my favourite Vietnamese Vinh Hong, not only because I love the food, but also because of Jo’s love for the wine bar next door, it is a nice way to end the day, especially  after being busy at work.

Well that was the plan anyway, however by the time I left the office it had stopped raining, and Jo was still stuck on the freeway, so I told her to continue on home and I’d cook for her after all, I had started driving myself by this time and was formulating an idea in my head to cook a green curry chicken.  That was until I turned the next corner and the traffic was at a stands still, so after a quick U turn, I was heading back from whence I began and looking for a quicker route home, that route took me through North Perth, straight past our local fish monger, an ordinary chicken curry had now been elevated to a fish and prawn curry.

After a quick stroll through Coles, I was headed home with my snapper and king prawns, a yellow capsicum, a handful of green beans, a bunch of chives and a red chilli, with this and a few items from the pantry dinner was on its way!

I make my own green curry paste from green chillies, lots of coriander, shrimp paste, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, shallots, galangal, ginger, garlic, Kaffir lime leaves and lemon grass, it is absolutely the best, when I make it I make enough so as to make a couple of curries and then to fill an ice cube tray for later use, I used 3 cubes tonight from my last batch. 

I cooked the rice in coconut milk using the absorption method that takes 30 minutes to cook, having prepared the curry ingredients in the first 10 minutes of that time, left me 20 minutes to cook the curry, such an easy dinner to make and oh so YUM YUM to eat, really did leave me wanting more, but that would leave Jo without lunch tomorrow and we cannot have that now can we!

Bouillabaisse - Happy Easter

Bouillabaisse [bujabes] - a traditional Provencal fish stew originating from the port city of Marseille

It is Good Friday morning and I am in the kitchen preparing to celebrate this important Christian event with my sons, daughter in law and grand children, I have Bouillabaisse and Pavlova on the menu, which we will sit down together and enjoy this evening.

Bouillabaisse is my favourite all time dish to make, it does not feature very often on our menu for a number of reasons, it is an expensive dish to make, you need time to make it properly and you need a crowd to sit down and enjoy it together.  Being that it is Good Friday, it fits the “no meat” brief perfectly and it is such a special dish, the day is deserving of it, being the very special day it is. 

There is another fantastic thing about this dish, you can do all the hard work early having everything ready so that when your guests arrive all you need do is reheat the beautiful seafood stock/soup, add the seafood piece by piece and it is ready to eat in around fifteen minutes, spoon it into bowls, dish out large servings of toasted bread and your good to go, love it.

I am 3 hours into my cooking, and just as I was about to strain the stock off, a damsel in distress put out a call for help, her car had a flat battery and as luck would have it, she had not found out until after she had packed the car to the hilt for a trip down south for a family holiday.  I simply turned the stove off and took off to assist her, job done I returned home and picked up where I left off, now how many dishes can you do that with? Again the fact it is a holiday and I have plenty of time made a big difference.

You begin making the stock by sautéing a sliced up leek with an onion, fennel bulb and half a bunch of garlic, cooking for about 6-7 minutes, then adding a can of chopped tomato, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, a few sprigs of thyme, a couple of bay leaves, some peppercorns, a couple of teaspoons of  cumin seeds, a few star anise and the grated rind of an orange, this is stirred while it cooks until the volume reduces by half, the aromas whilst cooking this are amazing.

Now you add in two crabs that have been cleaned of the dead man’s fingers and broken into 3 or 4 pieces, put the whole crab including the mustard in its head, the mustard has lots of flavour, cook for 5-6 minutes then add in some fish bones, I brought two whole fish for this dish, which I filleted, the carcasses when into the stock.

The flavours in Bouillabaisse are magnificent every mouthful as you eat meal makes you yearn for more, there is so much depth in the finished broth, it truly is a wonderful experience to sit with a bowl of this gorgeous seafood stew and a chunk of toasted crunchy bread, heaven.

After cooking the vegetables and seafood down you add a full bottle of white wine to the pot, Jo could not believe it as she watched me pour the contents of the whole bottle into the brew, the wine is mixed in well with the vegetables and then cooked on a simmer until reduced by half, then you add 2 litres of water, bring the pot to the boil, then reduce to simmer for an hour.

Whilst the stock is simmering away you have time to skin the fish fillets, trim the legs of the prawns and de-beard the mussels that will be included just before serving, there are also potatoes to steam, steaming the potatoes before adding them to the broth makes them more receptive of soaking up the YUM YUM, steam them with the skin on, peel them when cooked and straight into the pot.

After the stock has simmered for that hour, strain the solids off, pound the crabs to a paste, I used my pestle and it worked well, you could bung it into the food processor but why create extra work when a bit of elbow grease will do the job!  Once they’re crushed down add the stock back mix in well and then strain the solids off again, this is done to extract as much flavour as possible from the crabs, fish and vegetables, the solids are then discarded.

Now add a heaped teaspoon of saffron, some salt (be generous with the salt) and some cayenne pepper to taste, bring back to a simmer and the stock is now ready, you can leave it here and reheat later or continue on and begin adding in the fish, potatoes and other seafood.

I added the potatoes and then turned the pot off, coming back to check the taste about every fifteen minutes thereafter, not that I needed to, it tasted great, hence the several consequential checks!

Garlic and capsicum mayonnaise served with the Bouillabaisse which is spread on the crusty toasted bread, the mayo is made from a little baked potato, red capsicum, garlic, egg yolks, lemon juice, saffron threads a pinch of cayenne pepper and olive oil, all the ingredients are blended together to make this rich creamy mayonnaise, it is beautiful.

Having everything prepared including the Pavlova and its topping by three o’clock, gave me time to lay down for an hour for a poppy nap, very relaxing way to spend the afternoon after a busy morning.

The fish I choose to use included a Red Throat Emperor, a Red Coral Rock Cod, Exmouth King Prawns, Shark Bay Prawns, Blue Swimmer Crabs, Mussels, and a little Squid.

You add the seafood to the simmering stock starting with the fish that will take the longer cooking time adding the other pieces within the cooking time of the first, get it right and everything will be beautifully cooked, I added the squid and smaller prawns a little early, so they had shrunk by the time they hit the bowl, but overall I was happy with the final result.

While we waited for my son Ryan to arrive, Jo readied the bread grilling one side then buttering the other side and then grilling that, by the time he arrived there was a huge plate full resting in the oven, when it came to the table I thought there is no way we’ll get through that, but I had forgotten just how good it is soaking up the broth with the crunchy bread and before we were done I was cutting more bread for the table.

I learnt on the night the only seafood my daughter in-law likes is fish, I knew she did not eat prawns but mussels and crabs came as a surprise, given the broth was based on a crab bisque had her plate looking very grim with only fish and potatoes to eat, however as it turned out even she loved the flavours and when offered more fish, she requested that it come with some of the broth and a slice of bread, I wasn’t at all surprised when her bowl was emptied and she was complaining of having eating too much, that’s just the way it is with Bouillabaisse!

Son In-Law Eggs and the best Salmon EVER!

Well it was nice to get back in the kitchen today and do some cooking, though I am suffering a little now with a sharp pain in my back!  But you get that so I won't sook too much.  I have most of the afternoon preparing food for during the week, a beautiful lamb curry I cooked from scratch, as I could not be bothered looking for a recipe and it has tuned out just as I had hoped, we'll enjoy that come Monday night.  I've also made a zucchini slice, which will be for lunches and maybe the odd breakfast too, I left it in the oven a few minutes too long and the onions seem to have started to caramelise, it smells awesome and can't wait to try that out too.

It is funny how when you start to tire, little errors start creeping into the kitchen, the slice was the first of it, I had decided earlier in the day to prepared a three course dinner for Jo tonight, it was a sort of a challenge as we are in a healthy eating mode attempting to shed a few pounds.

Jo is trying to keep her calorie intake below 1200 a day and I knew she was sitting at about 440 after her lunch, so the three courses needed to be less than 760, though I was told it had best be a little less than that.  I am happy to say I managed to pull it off, and whilst I am feeling like a stuffed pig right now, at least I met the target.

And the three courses where awesome, we started the meal with Son In Law eggs, a Thai dish, one we tried in Melbourne a few months back at Ginger Boy, a very trendy alleyway bar style restaurant that serves the best food.  I had a small disappointment in that I cooked the eggs a wee bit too long, I wanted soft gooey yolks, not soft boiled, just gooey, I didn't get them, but they tasted fantastic anyway, Jo insisted she was only having one and i think she regretted it in the end as they were good, instructions have been left to do them again.   I have entered the recipe for these into a site called SparkRecipes click the link and have a crack at them, well worth the effort.

For main course I prepared some Tasmanian Salmon from a recipe from the same site, and the comments the dish had received had me wanting to try it instantly, having made it and enjoyed it, all the while listening to Jo almost reach boiling point with Ohh's and Ahh's, I have to agree it was so YUM YUM YUM, so much so i wished I had brought more salmon so we could do it a gain tomorrow, really is that good.  I made up a fried rice to go with this, and whilst I thought I might try plain steam rice next time, Jo was of the opinion that the rice I prepared was the perfect accompaniment.

We finished the meal with some low cal Yoplait yoghurt and Raspberries, very refreshing and yummy too!

Just made it!

Jack's Seafood Spaghetti with Asparagus

Ingredients:
2 tbl spn olive oil, I used chilli infused EVOO YUM YUM
1 onion, diced
small red capsicum, diced
3 - 4 anchovy fillets
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch asparagus, chopped
3/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 fillet fish, diced
200g prawn flesh
100g scallops
250g spaghetti
salt and pepper

Method:

Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, once boiling add the pasta and cook as per packet directions  

Heat oil in heavy based pan on low to medium heat, once oil is hot add onions, capsicum and anchovies, sauté slowly for 8 minutes, adding garlic half way through

Add asparagus, cook for a couple of minutes, increasing heat to medium-hot

Then add wine and cook off until evaporated by about half

Add the fish and parsley, stir through and cook for about two minutes, season with pepper, test for saltiness, add some if required 

Add the prawn flesh, stir through cooking for a minute 

Add the scallops, stir through the sauce for about thirty seconds

Cover and turn the heat off, leave sitting until pasta is ready there will be enough heat in the pan to cook the scallops perfectly

Once pasta is cooked add to the pan

Combine with the sauce, put the lid back on whilst you cut some crusty bread and open a bottle of wine

Bon appetto

Wanted something quick and tasty for dinner tonight, this pasta dish filled the bill nicely, it took about 40 minutes from start to finish and it was scrumptious, I had to call into the veggie shop to pick up some fresh parsley and spotted the asparagus as I was at the check out, so glad I picked some up it went fantastic with the seafood pasta.

I loved the colours of this dish through the cooking process, hence the numerous photo's!!  Now whilst I am talking about photo's, if you click on a photo, it should open up to full size and you can easily scroll through all photo's posted, have noticed this works on most blog sites I visit.

Prawn risotto with green peas and red cabbage

I have cooked and blogged risotto here a few times now and I am about to do it again, after finding this recipe on Gourmet Traveller, and I do not hesitate to say it is the yummiest, creamiest risotto I have ever eaten.

Funnily enough though it came close to not making it onto tonight’s menu, as when I walked into the fish mongers to buy the prawns and found them at $50.00 per kilo, I was ready to walk away and find a good piece of steak to cook.  It was about then that Jo piped up alongside me to say that she was worth it, with a cheeky smile on her dial, so I relented, and I am so glad I did as they were the freshest, plumpest, yummiest prawns I have ever had the pleasure of eating!

The recipe as written, called for a kilo of the little tackers, but then it did state to serve 6, still at fifty bucks a kg a shiver went up my spine!  I did some quick arithmetic and figured a half kilo would be plenty, then on seeing what a half kilo of Exmouth King Prawns looks like, quickly took another 100 grams out of the bag and adjusted the rest of the recipe accordingly.

Having a parcel of prawns in the bag we went to shop for a few other ingredients and as it is in Perth, it is often the case you have to substitute an ingredient, tonight it was red cabbage substituted for Radicchio.  I did find a prepacked bag labelled radicchio salad, it had 3 pieces of radicchio in it, good one!  It is still on the shelf, unless someone that likes the sound of radicchio, but hasn’t a clue what radicchio is found it, I truly hope he enjoys his mixed leaf salad!

This method for cooking this risotto is very similar to the way I cook risotto, with the exception that the wine goes in and is reduced before the rice goes in.  I tried it this way and was good, but then I had also sealed the prawns in the oil and butter for 2 minutes, before the onion and garlic went in, and I think this helped flavour the dish beautifully.  I was advised by an Italian chap a few weeks ago, to always seal fish and seafood as you would meat, before adding to dishes such as this, I think this is a winner of an idea too, made sense when he told me, made sense when we ate the finished product, never had prawns quite like them before.
One other thing I do not do when cooking risotto, is to stir it, once the first ladle of stock goes in I put the spoon away and just shake the pan, vigorously and often, the result is lovely plump grains of rice packed full of flavour, stirring the rice knocks all of that out of the grains!

The link for the recipe to serve 6 is above, to serve 2 with enough left over for 1 lunch, I used

1 lt stock

70 g butter

50 ml oil

100 ml wine

250 g arioba rice

450 g gren prawns

120 g peas (used frozen)

¼ red cabbage, if you cannot find radicchio

Follow the method as per recipe, but do as Bond would, shake don’t stir!

Creamy garlic prawns with saffron rice

Went out to buy some seafood today, had in mind to pick up some blue swimmer crabs, a crayfish and some fish fillets, I came home with some King Prawns and some beaut Tasmanian Salmon fillets.  Unfortunately I was unable to find crabs anywhere and fresh (live) crays weighed in at Seventy bucks a kilo, I only needed one, but without the crabs I could not do the dish I wanted so I had to compromise.  I had a fair idea what I’d do with the salmon but none at all for the prawns, even after looking in my usual places, so I ended up turning to some forum or other and took a punt on a creamy garlic prawn recipe.  Very glad I did too, it was an absolute winner and teamed up with the saffron rice I made to go with it, made it very very yummy!

The salmon I cooked following a Manu Feidel recipe have done a bit of his stuff of late and the more I do the more I am enjoying doing them, a lot of his recipes have lots of elements to them, which makes them interesting to cook and they taste fantastic.  Tonight’s main course consisted of Crispy Skinned Tasmanian Salmon with a Tarragon Cream Sauce, Crispy Potato, Beans and a yummy baked Zucchini Flan, the flan was outstanding, as was the sauce and the crispy skinned salmon, the only disappointment for me was the plating and photographing of the main course, not sure if that was because I was hungry, therefore rushing or maybe I had too much wine with the entrée!