(or Rice with Prawns and Chorizo to you and me!)
Prep Time: 25 mins (or less if you buy pre-prepared prawns)
Cook Time: 35 mins
Serves 4
Olive Oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 gloves of garlic, finely minced
1 red chilli, finely chopped
75g chorizo sausage, sliced thinly
Small bunch of dill, roughly chopped
Small bunch of lemon thyme, roughly chopped and/or a dash of lemon juice
500ml fish stock
Gulg of white wine (optional)
440g tin of chopped tomatoes
250g risotto rice (like arborio or carnaroli)
400g prawns, peeled, shelled and lightly seasoned.
1. In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, warm a gulg of olive oil over a medium heat.
2. When the oil is hot, add onions and fry with a little salt until they begin to soften. (ALWAYS use salt when frying onions – it brings out their flavour beautifully)
3. Add the minced garlic, chopped chilli and chorizo. Cook for another couple of minutes until the chorizo has released its lovely oily red colour and paprika flavour.
4. Add the tinned tomatoes, herbs, wine and lemon juice (if using), followed by the fish stock.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. When the stock/tomato mixture is hot, add the rice and stir well.
7. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid.
8. Finally, turn up the heat and add the prawns.
9. Cook for just a few minutes, until prawns are pink and no longer translucent.
Serve immediately.
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Wholemeal Irish Soda Bread (Serves 4)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 50 mins
Ingredients:
180g wholemeal flour
50g plain flour
50g pinhead oatmeal*
25g wheatgerm
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon white sugar
1¼ teaspoons salt
280 ml buttermilk
1 egg, preferably free-range
(* Feel free to mix the pinhead oatmeal with other pre-cooked grains such as rye or pearl barley. If you live in the UK, Waitrose stocks a great four-grain mix of spelt, pearl barley, rye and wholemeal grains in their new ‘love life’ range, which works really well in this recipe.)
You will also need a small (1lb) loaf tin, slicked with a little butter.
1. Preheat oven to 190C / 375F / Gas 5
2. Place all the dry ingredients into a large-ish bowl.
3. Lightly beat the egg into the buttermilk.
4. With a fork, combine the buttermilk and egg mixture with the dry ingredients.
5. Spread the mixture into the greased loaf tin.
6. Cook for 50 minutes, until bread is golden-brown and emits a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.
7. Allow to cook on a wire tray, while you enjoy the delicious smell of fresh-baked bread that has filled your kitchen!
It really is as simple as that!
Like most homemade breads, this one should be eaten fresh on the same day – but in the unlikely event that there is any leftover, it makes amazing toast for up to 3 days!
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My Grandmother’s Eve’s Pudding (Serves 4)
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
For the apple base:
2 – 3 large cooking apples, like Bramley
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp cold water
2 tbsp caster sugar
20g unsalted butter
Sprinkle of ground cinnamon (optional)
For the topping:
100g self-raising flour
100g caster sugar
75g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2 large eggs (preferably free range), lightly beaten
Tiniest pinch of salt
You will also need a lightly greased pudding or gratin dish (preferably ceramic or Pyrex), with a capacity of 900ml and 5cm / 2in deep.
1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4.
2. Peel, core and slice or chop the apples.
3. Put in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with lemon juice, water and cinnamon if using. Cook over a medium-to-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples soften (but are still retaining their shape).
4. Reduce the heat slightly and the add butter and sugar. Cook for another minute or two.
5. Pour into pudding dish and spread the mixture around the bottom. Allow to cool, while you get on with the topping.
6. Cream the butter and sugar, either by hand or with a hand-held mixer, until fluffy and light in colour.
7. Sift the flour and salt into a separate bowl
8. In alternate spoonfuls, carefully fold in the butter/sugar and the eggs, until the mixture is fully incorporated.
9. If the mixture is very stiff, add a spoonful of hot water.
10. Spread the topping over the apple base and bake for 30-35 minutes until sponge is fluffed up and golden brown.
Serve warm with a sprinkle of icing sugar and a sizeable dollop of vanilla ice-cream.
