Tiger Prawn Risotto

Upgrade your frozen prawn risotto to this mouth watering fresh fish delight. Don’t get me wrong, i do use frozen prawns for fish pies, thai noodles etc, but its nice to treat yourself every once and a while to some fresh shellfish.

Luckily we are living next-door to the Auckland CBD harbour so there is always fresh fish. Last sunday we went on a beautiful walk along the harbour side and whilst we were there i couldn’t resist a look in the fishmongers. The tiger prawns looked so big and fresh i just had to get some, that night we had a rich and creamy tiger prawn risotto. See below for the recipe, enjoy!

 

Ingredients

• 6 large fresh Tiger Prawns
• 1 Cup of Risotto Rice
• 1 Cup of Peas 
• 3 Cloves of garlic
• Large handful of fresh chopped Parsley 
• 1 onion
• Salt and Pepper
• 100g Butter
• Olive oil

Serves 2

Directions

Chop the onion and garlic. Pop into a deep based pan with olive oil then fry in a medium heat until soft and translucent.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, put in the uncooked prawns and fill with water so that they are well covered. Add a tsp of salt and bring to the boil. Once cooked turn off the heat. This will become the flavoursome stock.  

Tip in the risotto rice into the pan of onions and garlic. Stir. Cook for a few mins until the rice has started to turn translucent. add more oil if needed.

Take a ladle of the prawn stock and pour it on to the rice. Stir until all of the liquid has been absorbed, repeat the process until the rice has cooked through.

When the prawns have cooked through and are a beautiful pink, remove from the stock and place into a bowl and cover. 

Tip the peas and half of the parsley into the risotto and stir in. Season to taste. I added a hefty amount of black pepper, yum! Once you are happy with the texture of the risotto. Add the butter and stir in, this gives it the rich and creamy taste. 

Serve with the remaining parsley and the prawns with the shells on or off.

 

True Italian Tomato Sauce

Here is an absolutely delicious recipe using simple key ingredients that we all know and love, made irresistible.

It’s so easy to grab a jar of ready made tomato sauce whilst doing your weekly shop, but this quick and healthy substitute recipe will convert you into a bellissimo cook-from-scratch chef in no time. You will find that probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboards at home already!

 

Ingredients

• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 2 cloves of Garlic
• 5/6 Sun-dried tomatoes + 2 TBSP of the oil they are kept in.
• Herbs of your choice. 1 Handfull of fresh basil if you have it. Otherwise dried italian herbs are a good substitute (1 TBSP).
• 1 onion
• 1 TBSP of brown sugar
• Salt & Pepper

Serve with pasta and cheese.

Serves 2  |  Suitable for Freezing

Directions

Fry chopped onions in the sun-dried tomato oil until they become translucent. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic, fry lightly until they start to gain some colour. Tip in dried herbs and stir. If you are using fresh herbs, add to the sauce before serving.

Tip all of the contents from the pan and the tin of chopped tomatoes into a blender and blitz until a smooth and silky. Transfer into a pan and heat the sauce through.

If you like a chunky textured sauce, skip the blender and add the chopped tomatoes straight into the pan of onions and sun dried tomatoes, simmer for 10 – 15 minuets until the sauce has thickened. 

Stir in a tsp of brown sugar (and the fresh herbs) a minuet before serving. The sugar is optional, it helps adds sweetness as the tomatoes can be quite acidic. 

Add cooked pasta to the sauce with a splash of the pasta water. The water helps combine the sauce and the pasta and stops the dish from drying out. Stir in the pasta until it is completely coated, this is the traditional way of serving pasta in Italy.

To finish add a handful of your favourite cheese, mozzarella is recommended for an authentic Italian taste. 

 

 

Banana Flapjacks

So easy, so delicious & so moreish!

Ingredients

• 250g Porridge Oats
• 125g Butter
• 125g Brown / Caster Sugar
• 4 TBSP Golden Syrup
• 1 Ripe Banana (mashed)
• Large handful of Dried Banana Chips

Pre-heat the oven to 180c. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. In a pan on a medium heat, add the sugar, syrup, butter and mashed banana. Stir and simmer until it has dissolved into one. Take off the heat and tip in all of the porridge oats. Stir until the oats are completely covered. Tip into the lined tray and flatten with the back of a spoon. Pop the flapjack into the oven for roughly 15 mins until is golden brown and smells absolutely delicious! Take out of the oven and leave to rest until completely cooled. Once cooled, cut into even squares and top with a blob of sticky golden syrup then a banana chip on top. Keep in an airtight container for up to a week.. if they last that long!

Sweet Tooth

Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the ‘Titanic’ who waved off the dessert cart.
– Erma Bombeck