Turkey Piccata

Piccata is one of those dishes where the name refers to the method of its preparation. In this case where meat is sliced, coated, sautéed and served in a scant sauce. Of course it originated in Italy using veal (veal piccata) whereas in the US where it is also very popular the best-known variant is chicken piccata. I chose to use turkey escalopes, primarily, if I’m honest, because flattening...

Read More »

Pork Adobo

There are basically as many recipes for Philippine adobo it seems as there are cooks of it.This should actually, for authenticity, be made with palm or coconut vinegar but I couldn’t think where to get some without a special trip to an Asian supermarket so I went with a mix of cider vinegar and white rice vinegar instead. Decent substitutes I trust: I’d seen both used in other recipes online....

Read More »

Creamy Prosciutto, Lemon & Basil Linguine

A tasty and light - despite the creaminess - pasta that is perfect for mid-week dinners as it is ready and on the table in just a fraction longer than the time it takes for the pasta to cook.The truffle oil I used is strictly optional although it added a lovely extra layer to the sauce. If you don’t have any you could try garlic infused oil, or failing that olive oil will be absolutely fine.Creamy...

Read More »

Sauté Pork with Tomatoes & Sweet Peppers

Another recipe borne out of necessity to use up vegetables in the fridge (often the best kind of recipes of course), in this case mini sweet peppers.This, inspired by a recipe here is actually a little bit like the venison and sour sweet peppers I have posted previously but with a little more of an Asian flavour owing to the inclusion of black vinegar and rice wine.The slightly sweet sour goes...

Read More »

Moussaka

Moussaka is one of those things that I have wanted to cook for absolutely ages (well since I decided that I quite like aubergines after all) and have just never got around to. I must have been in a particularly nostalgic mood recently as similar to the last recipe I was inspired by my holiday in Corfu with friends and while researching recipes wanted to try and replicate the one I had there...

Read More »

"Saganaki" Prawn Fusilli

This is largely inspired in part by a prawn dish that I ate a couple of years ago while holidaying in Corfu with friends, saganaki prawns, as you can see here:

Saganaki (σαγανάκι) actually refers to various Greek dishes (usually meze) prepared & served in a small two-handled frying pan, itself called a sagani - prawn saganaki is one of the varieties, typically feta-based with a spicy tomato sauce.

I felt that the ingredients and flavours would lend themselves well to being served with pasta as a more complete meal, with the fresh sweetness of peas complementing that of the prawns and so this was born. Enjoy!


“Saganaki” Prawn & Pea Pasta
serves 2

160g fusilli
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1 red chilli, finely sliced
olive oil
140g tiger prawns
100g frozen peas
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
40ml pastis (or ouzo if you have it!)
1½ tsp tomato purée
40g feta, crumbled

Cook the pasta, in a large pan of boiling salted water, according to packet instructions.

Meanwhile fry the garlic and chilli in a large frying pan with a glug of olive oil over a medium heat.

Fry until lightly golden, then add the cherry tomatoes and cook until they are starting to break down a little.

Pour in the pastis or ouzo and reduce a little then stir in the prawns, peas and tomato purée.

Once cooked, drain the pasta, reserving a cupful of cooking water.

Stir the feta through the sauce and season carefully.

Toss in the pasta, mixing it all together and loosen the sauce with a little more pasta cooking water if necessary.

Serve immediately - you can sprinkle on a little more feta if you're so inclined.

Read More »

Ultimate Fish Pie

Fish pies are one of those dishes that you can really change and mix up depending on what you can get your hands on, fish-wise, and what you fancy generally in the taste department. I wanted a mixture of plain white fish, smoked fish and shellfish in this particular one but any two of even just one of these would work excellently. Anchovy essence (I think it just helps bring out the inherent...

Read More »

Fish-fragrant Aubergines

I’ve mentioned in a previous post that "Fish-fragrant" (yu xiang) is one of the classic flavour combinations of Sichuanese cookery, rather than being so-called because of any inherent fishiness in either flavour or aroma. The flavours work perfectly with aubergines and this is one of my very favourite ways to cook and eat them: addictively good. If at all possible try and get hold of some Chinese...

Read More »