Showing posts with label shrimp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shrimp. 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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Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Sesame Noodles with Spicy Peanut Sauce #FoodieExtravaganza

Chinese egg noodles with shrimp and crispy vegetables make a tasty, nutritious meal when tossed with savory peanut sauce. Great room temperature or cold.

Food Lust People Love: Chinese egg noodles with shrimp and crispy vegetables make a tasty, nutritious meal when tossed with savory peanut sauce. Great room temperature or cold.

I grew up eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And peanut butter cookies. You know, the homemade ones that have a crisscross made with a floured fork. I remember vividly the first commercials on television where choosy mothers chose Jif and friendly collisions got peanut butter in someone’s chocolate. And chocolate in someone’s peanut butter.

It took a trip to Indonesia when I was 18 years old to introduce me to a new use, a new savory love of peanut butter: Satay dipping sauce. Succulent bits of chicken or beef, marinated in special spices and grilled over an open charcoal flame by the dusty roadside, were meant to be dipped in a savory, spicy peanut sauce but I would just spoon that stuff over, full coverage being the fundamental goal. However delicious the satay, it was still primarily a conduit for the peanut sauce.

Ever since, I have been on the lookout for other peanut sauce conveyances, in addition to the handy spoon. I first found this wonderful noodle dish a couple of years ago on one of my favorite blogs, Magnolia Days – you might remember me mentioning it recently when I was making sticky cinnamon figs for a guest post in that genteel space. Renee had adapted a recipe from the Mom 100 Cookbook and created a main course from a side dish. Or maybe salad. Doesn’t matter. What’s important is that the whole fabulous mess was coated in a savory, spicy peanut sauce. I don’t think I ever told Renee that I had made it then, or any time since, which is very remiss and ungrateful of me. Because it is good. And I am grateful.

This month’s Foodie Extravaganza theme is peanut butter so I figured it was time to share these delicious noodles. Over the last couple of years, I’ve made adaptations of my own, adding other vegetables that I have on hand, like bean sprouts, or substituting chicken for the shrimp. I like to put fresh red chilies and crunchy peanut butter in the sauce. This is a great dish for mixing things up and using what you have, as long as you keep the peanut butter in the mix. Because that’s my favorite part. I hope it will be yours too.

Many thanks to Kaylin from Keep It Simple, Sweetie, our Foodie Extravaganza host this month. To see more delicious Foodie Extravaganza treats or learn how to join the party each month visit us here. And make sure to scroll down to the bottom to see all 19 of the sweet and savory peanut butter dishes we have for you this month!

Ingredients
For the sauce:
1 piece (2 1/2 inches or 6.3cm) fresh ginger
4 large garlic cloves
1-2 small red hot chili peppers (You know I used two!)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup or 140g crunchy peanut butter
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
4 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

For the noodles:
Salt for the boiling water
Almost 9 oz or 250g dried Chinese egg noodles
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
4 ounces or 115g haricot verts or fine green beans
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 medium carrot
1/2 small head Napa or Savoy cabbage (about 11 oz or 310g)
2 small or one medium onion
1 pound or 450g shrimp (Mine weighed 12 1/3 oz or 350g when peeled and deveined)

To garnish:
1/4 cup or 25g sesame seeds
Green onion tops

Method
Peel the carrot and cut it into sticks. Top and tail the green beans. Slice the cabbage finely as you would for coleslaw. Do the same with the onions.

Put a large pot of lightly salted water on to boil.

Peel the ginger and garlic. Chop the ginger into small pieces and cut the stems off of  the chilies. Put the ginger, garlic and chilies in the food processor and process for a quick minute.

Add in the rest of the sauce ingredients and process until they are well mixed. Leave them in the food processor and get on with the rest of the dish.



Add cold water and ice cubes to a medium-sized mixing bowl and set it in readiness next to your stove.

When the pot of water is boiling, put the carrots and green beans in for just a couple of minutes. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put them into the bowl of ice water.



Add the noodles into the pot of boiling water and cook as per packet instructions. Some take longer than others so following the manufacturer’s recommended time, perhaps minus a minute or two, is your best bet.



When the noodles are almost cooked, scoop out 1/4 cup or 60ml of the noodle water and add it to the sauce in the food processor. Process to combine.

Pour the cooked noodles into a colander and rinse them with very hot water. Put the noodles in a large mixing bowl and toss them with 1 1/2 tablespoons of sesame oil.

Now pour the peanut sauce in the food processor over them and toss again to make sure the noodles are well coated.



In the now empty noodle pot, sauté the sliced onions in one tablespoon of peanut oil. Add in the sliced cabbage and cook briefly. You want it wilted a little but still crunchy.

Add the onions and cabbage to the noodles and stir well. Cover the bowl and allow it to hang out for 30 to 45 minutes so the noodles can absorb the flavors of the sauce.



While you are waiting for the noodles, you can lightly toast your sesame seeds in a small non-stick skillet on the stove and chop some green onions for garnish, if desired.



When the noodle sitting time is almost up, once again, use your same pot to cook the shrimp with a little peanut oil and a light sprinkle of salt, just until they turn pink.



Drain the carrots and green beans and cut them into bite-sized pieces with your kitchen scissors. Add them to the noodles along with the shrimp. Toss well to mix.



Serve with a generous sprinkle of the toasted sesame seeds and some chopped green onions, if desired.

Food Lust People Love: Chinese egg noodles with shrimp and crispy vegetables make a tasty, nutritious meal when tossed with savory peanut sauce. Great room temperature or cold.


This dish is supposed be served at room temperature but it is also quite tasty cold which makes it great lunchbox fare.

Enjoy!


Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month.

Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

Savory Dishes
Sweet Treats

Food Lust People Love: Chinese egg noodles with shrimp and crispy vegetables make a tasty, nutritious meal when tossed with savory peanut sauce. Great room temperature or cold.




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Posted by at 8:00:00 AM 0 comments
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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Ceviche - As it should be

Many a thing is called ceviche out in the world of restaurants. Some add tomatoes or avocado or mango or other abominations. I’ve even seen grapes! This dish is made exactly as I remember it from my childhood time spent in northern Peru, with fresh seafood, fresh lime juice, purple onions, cilantro, salt and chili peppers. That’s it. And boiled yucca on the side. 

About a year after my parents divorced, my father moved from Venezuela where we had all been living together, to a small oilfield company town in northern Peru called Negritos. If you’ve been in the mountains and the rain forests of Peru but never ventured to the northwestern coast, you might be surprised to find sand dunes to rival those in my current home, the United Arab Emirates. Negritos is set near the most western point of mainland South America, Punta Pariñas, with a beautiful coast in front and a massive desert at its back. I spent every summer there for several years, until Daddy moved again.

I don’t know that it was much of a place for being an adult but it was heaven for a child. I’d take off for hours, exploring rocks and sand dunes and crevasses, finding shells and fossils, building forts with the neighbor kids and “tightrope” walking on the pipes between the enormous town water tank and, well, town. (Shhhh! Don’t tell my father – the pipeline was strictly off limits.) My older sister and I shared a little blue Honda 70 motorbike and sometimes I’d ride the dunes on it, but most days, exploration was on foot and I’d often carry pen and paper, in case inspiration struck and I needed to write something down. I was deep into my Harriet the Spy phase then. Returning home, I’d drive my stepmother to distraction by taking off my shoes and socks and making two little piles on my bedroom floor with the sand that had accumulated in them. It was fun to see how big the piles were some days, as if it told me how far I had walked somehow. In retrospect, I must have been a strange child.

A big treat - I’m telling you it was a small town! – was to go to the small airport in the next town over and eat in the restaurant there. I’ll let you absorb that. We went to the airport just to eat. Watching the planes take off and land was a bonus. I always, and I mean always, without fail, ordered the shrimp ceviche. It was perfect. A healthy plateful of shrimp, swimming in lime juice with lots of sliced onions and just enough chili. The resulting liquid is called leche de tigre or tiger’s milk and when all the shrimp were gone, I’d sip it with a spoon and nibble on the boiled yucca that was always served alongside.

My father’s company also had a very rustic, open plan brick house on a beautiful beach called Punta Sal, which we were able to use on weekends and holidays. It was even farther north, in fact, about halfway to the Ecuadorian border. There we’d make our own ceviche, with fresh grouper hooked from the water by a local fisherman called Polo. Burnished and wizen by too many years in the fierce sun, Polo lived in a makeshift shanty right on Punta Sal and made his living fishing off of a raft of old logs bound together by frayed rope and luck. He'd come door-to-door with his daily catch and often let the more adventurous boys (my husband among them) "help" him fish.

When I eat this ceviche and I close my eyes, I can hear the waves crashing, smell the sea breeze and feel the dried crusty salt left behind by the water, tight on my sunburned skin. Hope you do too. (Sometimes I even smell jet fuel, but that one's probably just me.)


Ingredients
6 -7 limes or more if yours aren’t very juicy. You need about 1 cup or 240ml juice.
13 oz or 370g fresh firm white flesh fish – I used Hammour or local grouper
1 large purple onion (about 3 1/2 oz or 100g, before peeling)
1 teaspoon flakey sea salt or to taste, plus more for boiling the shrimp
1 large bunch cilantro or coriander leaves (About 1 3/4 oz or 50g)
1-2 hot red chili peppers (I used two!)
12 1/3 oz or 350g fresh shrimp, already cleaned and deveined

To serve: The traditional accompaniment to a bowl of ceviche is yucca, boiled till tender in lightly salted water. Try to get your hands on some – it’s called different things in a variety of countries: Manioc, cassava, mogo, manioc and aipim, just to name a few. Peel it and wash it well before boiling. Once boiled, split it down the middle and pull out the fibrous threads before serving. Its flavor is somewhere between a potato and a parsnip and the mild taste and starchiness counterbalances the acidic, spicy ceviche.

Method
Juice your limes and put them in a non-reactive bowl. Glass does nicely.



Remove all the bones and cut your fish up into bite-sized pieces. I use jewelry pliers to get the pin bones out.



Immerse the fish in the lime juice and stir well.



Wash the cilantro thoroughly with cold water. Sometimes it takes more than one rinse to get rid of all the dirt but it’s worth taking the time to make sure it’s completely grit free. Spin the cilantro dry in a salad spinner or tied up in a dish towel. You can discard the stems but as long as they aren’t really thick and hard, I like to mince them very finely and use them. Chop the leaves roughly and set aside.

Slice your onions as thinly as you can manage and mince your red chilies.

Add the onions and the chilies to the fish along with the sea salt. Give everything a good stir and use your spoon, preferably a wooden one, to poke the pieces of fish back into a single layer under the lime juice.



Pile your chopped cilantro on top of everything but don’t stir yet. Just let it all hang out.


Bring a pot of water to the boil. Add a little salt, just as you would do for boiling pasta.

Add the shrimp to the pot and turn the heat off. Put a lid on the pot and set a timer for about three minutes. This parboils the shrimp but they will finish "cooking" in the lime juice.

When the time rings, remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon. Let them cool slightly and then add them to the bowl with the fish.



Now you can give it a good stir. Poke the bits of fish back under the lime juice.

Cover the whole bowl with cling film and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, for several hours or until the fish is completely opaque and “cooked” by the lime juice. I left mine overnight because it was going sailing with us the next day. If you are traveling with ceviche, make sure to keep it on ice until you are ready to serve it.

Serve with boiled yucca for a traditional treat. (See note with the ingredients list above.)


Enjoy!


Posted by at 9:30:00 AM 13 comments
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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Louisiana Roasted Barbecue Shrimp


In New Orleans, this dish is simply known as barbecued shrimp despite its method of cooking, which doesn’t get anywhere near hot coals or even an electric grill. I’ve added “Roasted” so you know that the oven is where the action takes place. 

I came to barbecued shrimp late in life. It wasn’t something either of my Cajun grandmothers made, at least, I don’t recall ever eating it at their houses. Fresh gulf shrimp in their hands became an étouffée or were boiled whole in spicy seasoned water along with baby new potatoes and corn on the cob. Even my mother, born and raised in New Iberia, Louisiana, is more likely to bread and deep-fry shrimp or, if company is coming, cook them in a cheesy rich Newburg sauce. Now we are going back a few years but it was my cousin, Misty, who first introduced us, me and the barbecued shrimp. It was love at first bite.

We were visiting Misty one summer at her lovely home in New Orleans and she baked the shrimp with a full cup of butter and a package of wonderful seasonings from the folks at Bolner’s Spices. You know I had to go buy a packet or two right after that. But, living as we do overseas, remembering to buy enough spice packets to keep us going from year to year often just didn't happen. It was time to figure out how to do it on my own, from ingredients I could get. This week’s Sunday Supper theme of Fat Sunday - sharing decadent or Mardi Gras inspired recipes – was just the motivation I needed. I am calling this homemade version of roasted barbecue shrimp a great success based on my husband’s comment after the meal, “We could have this again, and often.” Why, yes. Yes, we could!

Ingredients (to feed two greedy people on shrimp and bread or four normal people, if you include side dishes like potatoes and salad)
1 lb 10 oz or 750g fresh shrimp or prawns (without heads, shells still on)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic
Olive oil
1 lemon
1 small purple onion
1/2 cup or 115g unsalted butter
1/4 cup or 60ml Worcestershire sauce
To serve: Chopped green onions for garnish and French bread for sopping up the sauce. Sides of boiled baby new potatoes and salad – optional

Method
Use a mortar and pestle to grind together into a thick paste the paprika, black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, the leaves off of your sprigs of rosemary and thyme and the cloves of garlic.



Add in a couple of glugs (perhaps two tablespoons) of olive oil and stir until loosened.



Spoon the spice paste into a medium-sized bowl with your shrimp. Using a microplane or a fine grater, zest the yellow peel off of your lemon.

Give everything a thorough stir to make sure that the spices and zest are well mixed with the shrimp. Set aside.



Finely mince your purple onion. Put the minced onion and the butter into a large ovenproof pan on the stovetop. Gently melt the butter and sauté the onions over a medium heat.

When the onions are translucent, turn the fire off and remove the pan from the stove. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and allow the mixture to cool.



When the pan is cool enough not to cook your seasoned shrimp on contact, pour them in and mix thoroughly. Set aside to marinate further.



Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.  When the oven is hot, give the shrimp another good stir and pop them into the oven, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until they have turned pink and are cooked through. Squeeze on some of the lemon juice from your zested lemon.

Sprinkle with a little chopped green onion, if desired. Serve barbecued shrimp with sliced French bread to dip in the pan juices because, honestly, that’s the best part! This is a meal you will eat with your hands. It's gonna get messy but it's gonna be good!


Enjoy!








Whether you celebrate Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, the final day of indulgence before the start of Lent, or just love decadent dishes, desserts and cocktails, you are going to love our round up today, hosted by the talented Leslie of La Cocina de Leslie. I know I want to try everything on the list!

Cocktails & Other Beverages:
Appetizers:
Main Dishes:
Side Dishes:
Desserts:

Posted by at 5:11:00 AM 23 comments
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Sunday, February 9, 2014

Meyer Lemon Butter Sauce Prawns with Linguine

Meyer lemons, thought to be a cross between Eureka or Lisbon lemons and mandarin oranges, are only available for a few months at the beginning of the year. They work well in both sweet and savory dishes, especially seafood.

If you’ve been reading this space for a while, you know that last year, for the very first time, I found myself living somewhere I can buy Meyer lemons.  I brought a bag of six home and spent a great deal of time creating recipes that would let them play an important role. After all, they were not cheap. And, to reiterate, I only had six. This dish was one of our favorites and it’s just perfect for today’s Sunday Supper Valentine Recipes for Two theme.

Ingredients
1 lb or about 450g prawns or shrimp, cleaned and peeled
Sea salt
1 Meyer lemon
6-8 cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic
2 shallots
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Olive oil
2/3 cup or 155ml dry white wine
1//2 cup or 120ml cream
7 oz or 200g linguine
Generous handful arugula (rocket) or fresh spinach

Method
Thinly slice half of your Meyer lemon.  Juice the other half and set the juice aside.



Split each prawn in two down the middle with a sharp knife and give them a light sprinkle with sea salt.


Mince the shallots and garlic.

In a large non-stick skillet, pan-fry the lemon slices over a medium heat in a drizzle of olive oil.



When the slices are nicely browned, removed them from the pan and set aside. Add in two tablespoons of the butter and let it melt and sizzle.

Now toss in the prawn halves and cook them until they are all curly and just pink through.


Remove them from the pan and set them on the browned Meyer lemon slices.


Add in the last two tablespoons of butter, then the minced shallots and garlic. Turn the fire down and sauté them until they are soft and translucent.



Meanwhile put water on to boil for the linguine.

Add the wine and lemon juice to the shallots and garlic, along with the cherry tomatoes.  Stir well.

 Cook until all of the liquid has almost evaporated, keeping an eye on it and stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile put your linguine in the boiling water with a teaspoon or two of salt. Cook according to package instructions but set your timer for about one minute less than the prescribed time. When the linguine is almost done, toss in the greens, allow them to wilt.


Drain the whole pot through a colander.  Set aside.


When the shallot/garlic pan is almost dry, add the prawns and Meyer lemon slices back into the pan. Give it a good stir.



Pour in your cream and stir again.

Season with some extra salt and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.


Divide your pasta into two bowls and then share the creamy, lemony butter sauce with prawns over the top.


Enjoy!


If you are looking for special Valentine’s Day inspiration, you’ve come to the right place! We’ve got dishes for two galore today!  Many thanks to our host this week, Susan from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen, who just happens to have the perfect red Valentine kitchen.

Alluring Appetizers:
Exquisite Entrees:
Decadent Desserts and Drinks:


Posted by at 6:37:00 AM 19 comments
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