Showing posts with label red chilies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label red chilies. Show all posts

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Garlic Chili Tiger Prawns

You cannot beat the combination of prawns (or shrimp – let’s not debate the genetic and habitation differences, okay?) with garlic and fresh red chilies and loads of butter. Put this on the table and your family will be gathered round, close as a family can get, as they clean the plate.

You can do complicated or you can do simple. But I have found that the most enjoyed meals around a family table are often the ones that take the least prep time, especially if they also involve butter and garlic and everyone dipping crusty bread in same. I’ve made this as an appetizer, but it can also be expanded to a main if you toss some freshly cooked linguine (or pasta shape of your choice – my favorite just happens to be linguine) in the seasoned butter, in lieu of the crusty bread.

Another serving suggestion.


This week, my Sunday Supper group is celebrating the fourth anniversary of the Sunday Supper Movement with recipes that we love, as a kickoff to National Sunday Supper Month. Our mentor and the inspirational force behind the Sunday Supper Movement is Isabel of Family Foodie, who started the group when her eldest left home for the first time. When asked what she missed the most, Isabel’s daughter said it was eating Sunday supper with the family. Unfortunately in our busy lives, family meals are one of the things that often get pushed aside for other obligations. Isabel vowed to do something about that, something that would encourage others to take the time, indeed to make the time to eat together, and the Sunday Supper Movement was born.

In my growing up family, Sunday Supper was always the midday meal. As my own girls were growing up, it was often the evening meal but, still, Sundays were inviolate. One could spend time with friends all day on Saturday, even sleep away on Friday or Saturday nights, but Sundays were for family. Friends were welcome to join, of course, but I wanted my girls home on Sundays, for family day. Most of the week they ate the evening meal earlier than their father and me, because of their homework and his late hours, but on the weekends we ate together. Fridays were pizza nights. Saturday and Sunday suppers varied but often involved grilled something on the charcoal barbecue pit when the weather was good or roasted in the oven when it wasn't. The important thing was that we were together.

If you agree, and I hope you do, I’d like to encourage you to head over to the Sunday Supper Movement website and sign our pledge to gather round the family table more often in 2016.

Ingredients
3 large cloves garlic (or even more if you are so inclined)
2 spicy red chilies
Olive oil
1/3 cup or 70g butter
9 large or 330g tiger prawns, already cleaned and peeled, tails left intact (Sub more small prawns/shrimp if you can't find the large tiger ones. It's all good.)
Sea salt
Parsley, chopped, to garnish

To serve: Crusty bread, cut in slices

Method
Slice the garlic and mince the chilies.

Put a good drizzle of olive oil in the pan, then add the butter, garlic and chilies.

Sauté until the garlic is softened and translucent. Add in the prawns and give them a good sprinkle of sea salt.


Cook the prawns on one side for a few minutes and then turn them over and cook on the other side till done.



Transfer the prawns to a warm serving plate, then spoon the seasoned butter from the pan over them.

Or toss your cooked pasta in those fabulous juices.




Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley for color and serve immediately with slices of crusty bread for sopping up all that flavor.


Enjoy!

This week we have 60 delicious recipes for you! What an incredible line up for our Sunday Supper Month Kickoff!

Appetizers and Soups

Main courses

Side dishes

Desserts





Posted by at 12:30:00 AM 0 comments
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Sunday, October 5, 2014

Baked Zucchini with Spicy Tomatoes

The application of a little caramelizing heat brings out the best in these tender baby zucchini making sure they can still compete with the spicy tomatoes and feta cheese baked on top.  This dish is great as a vegetarian main or as a side dish. 

What’s your weakness?
I love a Cheeto or Dorito as much as the next person. Okay, okay, you’ve got me. I probably love them more. I’m not a big sweet eater so fatty and salty are definitely my dietary weak spots. That said, if I can add cheese to a vegetable dish – everybody saw my Sunday Supper potato chard bake a couple of weeks ago, right? – then my needs are satisfied in a much healthier manner.

This dish of baby zucchini topped with spicy tomatoes, feta cheese and crunchy pumpkin seeds was so good that we had it as a main course one night and delighted in it as a side dish the very next night. I was sad when it was gone.

The “unprocessed” challenge
This week Sunday Supper is featuring recipes that forgo the weird chemical ingredients that no one can pronounce, using just whole foods in their mostly natural state, if you don’t count things like pasteurizing milk to kill the harmful bacteria or making cheese out of it. I guess technically those are “processed” but, as far as I’m concerned, that’s in a good way. Our host this week is DB from Crazy Foodie Stunts and he got his inspiration for this theme from Andrew Wilder’s October Unprocessed Challenge. Whether you are willing to take the challenge or not, I'm sure we can all agree that if we can't say the ingredient or spell it, we probably shouldn't be eating very much of it!

These zucchini with spicy tomatoes, on the other hand, we will be eating more often.

Ingredients
1 lb 2 oz or 510g baby zucchini
1 lb 2 oz or 510g ripe tomatoes
1 small onion (about 3 oz or 85g)
2 red chilies
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
3 1/2 oz or 100g feta (I like one that is made with sheep’s milk but use your favorite.)
1/4 cup or 20g pumpkin seeds

Method
Cut the stems off of your little zucchini and then halve them lengthwise.



Chop your onions and tomatoes and mince the chilies and garlic.



Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a non-stick skillet and fry the zucchini halves until they are browned nicely on both sides.



Put them in a baking dish in a single layer.

Add the other tablespoon of olive oil to the pan along with the onion, garlic and chilies. Sauté for a few minutes until they soften.



Add in the chopped tomatoes, the smoked paprika and the sugar. Cook for about seven or eight minutes over a medium heat until the tomatoes start breaking down.



Spoon the spicy tomatoes over the zucchini in the ovenproof dish.



Crumble the feta over the tomatoes and sprinkle everything with the pumpkin seeds.



Bake in your preheated oven for about half an hour.

It’s done with the feta is nicely browning and the dish is bubbling hot and brown all around the edges.



Enjoy!


Check out all the great “unprocessed” recipes we have for you today!

Alluring Appetizers and Snacks
Stunning Sides
Enticing Entreés
Decadent Desserts




Posted by at 12:21:00 AM 0 comments
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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup is light and flavorful with a kick of chili that clears your head and warms your body. Also, evidence may be merely anecdotal, I do believe that chicken soup is the best treatment for colds and coughs and general weariness of winter.

Food Lust People Love: Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup is light and flavorful with a kick of chili that clears your head and warms your body. Also, evidence may be merely anecdotal, I do believe that chicken soup is the best treatment for colds and coughs and general weariness of winter.

After last week’s indulgent recipes, #SundaySupper is focusing on healthy meals today!  Our host, the lovely Sunithi from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz is all about good food, made healthier.  I chose to make chicken noodle soup because it’s one of the comfort foods of my childhood.

Make sure you scroll on down to the bottom of this post to see what other wonderful healthy dishes my fellow bloggers have cooked up for you this week.  There are even some fabulous, guilt-free desserts!

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup


Ingredients to serve four
4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts – about 1 lb or 500g
Sea salt
Black pepper
8 cups or almost 2 lt chicken stock
One stalk lemon grass
6-7 stalks green onions
1-2 red chilies (depending on your heat tolerance)
Large thumb fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 medium carrot
5 1/4 oz or 150g (or more if you love them) snowpeas or mange-tout
200g fresh baby corn (about 12 little ears)
6 oz or 170g bean thread noodles

(Note: Feel free to substitute your preferred vegetables, sliced thinly.  Just about anything fresh would taste good in this soup.)

For serving:
Small bunch fresh cilantro or coriander leaves
1 lime

Method
Start by slicing your chicken breasts thinly, then sprinkle them with some flakey sea salt and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.  Put them into a bowl and give them a good stir.  Cover with cling film and pop the bowl in the refrigerator.



Put your chicken stock in a large pot.  Bring it to the boil and then turn the heat down to simmer.

Cut the root ends off of the lemon grass and the green onions and slice the white parts very thinly.  For the lemon grass discard the hard green part of the stalk or have a read here of some ideas to use it.  Cut the green part of the onions into 1 inch or 2cm lengths and set them aside to use later for garnish.




Chop your red chilies.  Peel and mince your ginger. 



Add the white parts of the lemon grass and green onions, the ginger and the chilies to the gently simmering stock.  Add in the two tablespoons of fish sauce.



The longer you simmer, the better the soup will taste, but ideally this step should take a minimum of 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, pull the tough threads off of both sides of your snowpeas and cut your baby corn into short lengths.



Cut your carrot into little matchsticks using a sharp knife, or if you have a handy tool like mine, (a gift from a dear friend who knows me very well – purchased at Lakeland) use that. (Update: Since a few people asked, I found a Google Affiliate ad for a similar julienne peeler from SurLaTable and I've added it at the bottom.  I think I earn a few cents if you buy through the link.)



Some recipes call for the chicken to be added to the stock a few minutes before the vegetables but I find that makes for a cloudy soup.  So, pan-fry your sliced chicken with a little drizzle of olive oil over a high heat until it is just cooked, possibly still a little pink inside.  It will finish cooking as it sits in the pan.  (If cloudy chicken soup doesn’t bother you, feel free to add the chicken straight into the pot.)



Cover the bean thread noodles with very hot water in a heatproof bowl and allow to soften.  This takes just a few minutes.  Drain in a colander and then cut the noodles with a pair of sharp, clean scissors.  This will make them way less messy to eat.  Set aside until ready for serving.



When you are almost ready to serve, chop your cilantro and slice the lime into wedges.


About five to 10 minutes before you want to eat, depending on how crunchy you like your vegetables, add the carrot, snowpeas and baby corn to the pot.  Turn the fire up slightly and cook until the vegetables are your desired doneness.


To serve, add some of the noodles and chicken (if it’s not already in the stock) to the bowl.  Fill the bowl with hot broth and a share of the cooked vegetables.  Top with a little cilantro and green onion.  Each person should get a lime wedge for squeezing into the soup.  

Food Lust People Love: Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup is light and flavorful with a kick of chili that clears your head and warms your body. Also, evidence may be merely anecdotal, I do believe that chicken soup is the best treatment for colds and coughs and general weariness of winter.

Enjoy!


Finish up that box of Valentines’ Day chocolates.  Go ahead.  We’ll wait.  *drums fingers and whistles*  Okay, now follow these links to make something delicious and healthy for your next meal!


Sizzling Skinny Appetizers & Soups

Healthy Skinny Mains & Sides

Guilt Free Skinny Desserts & Snacks

Pin this Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup! 


Food Lust People Love: Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup is light and flavorful with a kick of chili that clears your head and warms your body. Also, evidence may be merely anecdotal, I do believe that chicken soup is the best treatment for colds and coughs and general weariness of winter.

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