Seafood paella

The joy of a freezer!  Didn't know what to do for dinner, and lots of people here, so had a ferret about in the freezer - frozen squid, seafood salad, king prawns, red peppers and peas ... well, that was pretty much decided then - seafood paella.

Olive oil
spring onions
celery
garlic
mixed herbs
turmeric
paprika
short grained rice (1 small handful per person)
white wine
roasted red peppers
water/stock
tinned chopped tomatoes
squid
seafood salad
king prawns
ginger
chili

Allow all frozen things, except peas, to thaw.

You need two frying pans - one enormous for the paella, and one smaller for the prawns.

1.  Put olive oil in both pans, but only put the heat under the big one.
2.  Saute the spring onions and celery in the big pan, for a few minutes.  Then add crushed garlic - add a clove of crushed garlic to the cold oil in the other pan now too, it saves faff later.
3.  Add turmeric and mixed herbs to the softenned veg, turn over a time or two.
4.  Add the rice, and turn over in the oil to make sure that every grain in slightly coated.
5.  Splash in white wine and simmer until it is absorbed.
6.  Add chopped peppers, paprika and some stock or water.  Simmer until absorbed.  Repeat for about 12 minutes.
7.  Add squid rings.
8.  Turn heat under the other pan and grate in small piece of fresh ginger and chuck in a good pinch of chili flakes.
9.  Add the seafood salad to the paella, and the prawns to the garlic mixture.
10.  Add the peas to the paella, and take off the heat.  Allow the rice to suck up the rest of the juice for a few minutes.

Serve, scoff ... gathered people will be impressed.

I'm sorry, I don't add amounts, as I measure by eye - just use common sense, and what is available!

Sea bass, braised celery and fennel and asparagus

Upmarket fish and chips for Good Friday - thank you Paul the fish from Todmorden market for excellent fish - as usual.

This takes about an hour and a half - start to finish.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Leeks
Fennel
Celery
Garlic
White wine
Sea bass
butter
Asparagus

1.  Cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces, and put them on to boil.
2.  Chop leeks, fennel and celery, crush garlic - sautee in olive oil for a few minutes, splash in a glass of white wine and simmer briefly.
3.  Transfer veg to an oven proof dish, with a lid and put it in the bottom of a medium hot oven (180 C).  At the same time cover the bottom of quite a bit roasting dish with olive oil, and put it in the oven to heat up.
4.  Drain the potatoes, and add to the hot oil.
5.  Sit about chatting for about an hour, turn the potatoes over once in the middle.
6.  Heat olive oil and butter in a  frying pan, and put some water on to boil, to steam the asparagus.
7.  Prepare asparagus by removing the woody end.
8.  Season the fish and fry the fish fillets, skin down first in the hot oil - put the asparagus in the steamer.
9.  The asparagus should be ready when the fish is fried.  This should be about 5-6 minutes on the skin side - and a minute or two once turned over.
10.  Serve, scoff and receive fulsome praise.

St Patrick's Day tea - colcannon and bacon

A nod in the direction of the green isle for St Paddy's Day.  We don't (often) drink guiness (other stouts are available), and I wasn't in the mood to start on the soda bread - but I did think a great big plate of steaming mash and cabbage, with loads of butter - good bacon, and our own eggs would be an appropriate recognition.  It was good, and I am full.  (Haloumi was fried for the veggie version).

Spuds
Cabbage
Butter
Olive oil
Bacon
eggs
Haloumi

1.  Peel and cut potatoes into chunks, boil.
2.  Shred  cabbage and steam over the potatoes.
3.  When the potatoes are nearly done, start the frying process - cheese, and bacon, then eggs.
4.  Mash potatoes with loads of butter and seasoning, and beat in cabbage.  Keep warm until the rest is ready.
5.  Scoff.

Turbot! roast potatoes and sweet potatoes

Paul the fish had turbot!  I have never eaten turbot, but I have heard how fabulous it is.  And, oh, it is lovely!  Firm, but delicate, really tasty.

We had run out of potatoes (well, nearly) so I added sweet potatoes to the mini roasties, and we had it with simple peas... delish.

Par-boil bite sized pieces of potato and sweet potato, the roast in olive oil with garlic for an hour(ish).

10 minutes before serving pan fry the turbot in hot oil and butter, skin side down - and start the water for the peas.

2 minutes before serving turn the fish over to finish the flesh side ... drain the peas... it really is as simple as that ... and award winningly gorgeous.

Soya mince spag bog

This is a dish you have to start in advance.  The soya mince needs soaking, then boiling, then simmering... and then you start the spaghetti sauce!  To get a depth of flavour into the sauce you need to simmer it all for a good 40 minutes plus.  The 3 stage process is tasty, but if you want a quicker fix - I would go with lentil spaghetti.



Soya mince

Olive oil
Onions
Garlic
mixed herbs
Carrots
Celery
Courgette
Black pepper
Tinned tomatoes
Tomato ketchup
Red wine
Bouillon
American mustard

Gluten free spaghetti

1.  Follow the instructions on the packet for the soya mince - rinsing, soaking and simmering in my case ... or buy some frozen stuff and start at 2.
2.  Sweat chopped onions in olive oil, add other chopped veg (could have used peppers, aubergine, mushrooms, green beans etc) and herbs ... contine to sweat for a little.
3.  Add drained soya mince, turn over and fry a little.
4.  Add tomatoes, wine, stock and mustard ... simmer for a good while (30 mins?)
5.  Boil pasta according to packet instructions.
6.  Drain pasta, stir in a tiny smidge of sauce to stop it sticking ,,, then serve and scoff

So far it's all GF and vegan ,.. but a really good parmesan adds flavour ... and there is no need for pasta to be GF unless your diet requires it!

Bruschetta

Recipe?  No, of course not!   Too easy to call it a recipe!  But, is it delicious?  Yes, yes, absolutely!  I sell all 3 ingredients from my stall - the ciabatta is imported (frozen) from Puglia (yes, normally I would frown on the air miles, but this bread is really delicious, so ... I am sorry, I will continues ot buy it) ... the olive oil is greek and very peppery (though any good olive oil would be great) and the garlic is the best french rose garlic.  This was the loveliest late night snack imaginable.

Bread
Olive oil
Garlic

1.  Toast the bread.
2. Drizzle with olive oil
3. Cut a clove of garlic in half, and run the cut end onto the hot toast.

Baked trouts with almonds

Welcome back to the 70s!  I seem to be on a roll with this fish baking malarky at the moment, tonight's was trout circa 1973 with the addition of flaked almonds!

Still simple as .....

Olive oil
Potatoes
Celery
Carrots
Courgette
White wine
Garlic
Trout
Flaked almonds

1.  Wash and chop potatoes, par boil and then roast in olive oil, in a hot oven.  The potatoes will take about an hour - the fish 30 minutes tops.
2.  As the potatoes are roasting prepare the veg - peel and chop and toss in crushed garlic and olive oil.  Place in the bottom of another roasting pan.
3.  Lay the fish on top of the veg and drizzle with olive oil, splash a little white wine on the veg so that it helps create some steam.
4.  Bake fish for about 15 minutes, fling on flaked almonds and bake for 15 more minutes.

Scoff.  Absolutely delicious - check the fish after 20 minutes, you don't want it over cooked - the veg being al dente is no bad thing.

Baked hake with potato and fennel gratin

Well, I call it gratin but there is no cheese involved, so really it's just a bake.

This is a gorgeous meal, with every single item available from Todmorden market - every single one!

So, from The Mediterranean Pantry ...

olive oil
garlic
salt and pepper

from Paul the fish

Hake

from Gary the veg

Potatoes
Onions
Fennel
baby plum tomatoes

(If you haven't got roasting dishes or a sharp knife, they are also available from the iron mongers!)

1.  Wash and thinly slice potatoes.
2.  Thinly slice peeled onion and fennel.
3.  Splosh a little olive oil in 2 roasting dishes.
4.  Squish some garlic, mix into a few tablespoons of olive oil.
5.  Arrange the sliced potato, fennel and onion in one of the dishes - season each layer, and splash in a little of the garlic oil.
6.  Stick potatoes in microwave for 10 minutes, then transfer to a medium hot oven for 40 minutes.
7.  Meanwhile, in the other roasting dish, roast halved tomatoes.
8.  After 20 minutes (ie. 20 minutes to go) add the fish to the tomatoes.
9.  Serve, scoff, receive adoring praise.

Chickpea curry pie with purple sprouting broccoli

A truly terrible picture - but actually a delicious dinner.  Open fridge - see mushrooms, celeriac and some carrots - and purple sprouting broccoli ... ponder ... how about a kind of, but not, cottag-ie pie type thing, but with some spices.

potatoes

olive oil
onion
garlic
fennel seeds
cumin seeds
turmeric
celeriac
carrots
mushrooms
chickpeas
vegetable stock
chilli flakes

Purple sprouting broccoli.

1.  Chop potatoes into quite small dice and boil.
2.  Seat down onion and garlic in olive oil, add fennel and cumin seeds, and a little turmeric.
3.  Peel and dice carrots and celariac, and add to onions.
4.  Add chopped mushrooms to the other veg, a little stock and simmer gently.
5.  The potatoes should now be done - take off the heat and drain.
6.  Add a tin of drained chickpeas to the veg, with a pinch of chilli flakes, and a little more stock if it looks dry.
7.  Heat the beans through, then mash slightly with a potato masher.
8.  Put the "crushed" veg mix and in an oven proof dish, and tumble the potatoes on top.
9.  Drizzle the top with a little olive oil and bake for about 30 minutes, until the top is beginning to turn golden brown.
10.  Steam the broccoli for about 10 minutes before serving.
11.  Employ photgrapher who knows what they are doing - I obvs failed at this bit...

Scoff