Prawn or shrimp risotto

This is Monday night risotto for 4
2 veretblspns oil
4 banana shallots or 2 onions-chopped small
1 leek -chopped small
1 head of fennel-chopped small
1 courgette (zucchini )-grated
1 chilli or  half tspn dried chill
100 ml white wine
1 fish stock cube dissolved in 1 litre hot water
3 tbspn nam pla (fish sauce)
240 gram spelt pearl barley
200 gram frozen petis pois
2 pots Morecombe Bay potted shrimps
Or 200 gram small prawns

Sauté the onion gently in oil for 5 minutes
Then add the leek and fennel and cook a further 5 minutes a
Add the grated courgette and chilli
Then add the pearl barley spelt and stir until covered in oil
Then add wine and allow to evaporate befor adding nam pla and fish stock
Simmer for about 20 minute until the pearl barley is soft stirring often
Then add the peas and prawns 5 minutes before serving.

This dish can all be made with risotto rice-arborio- but then the stock needs to be added a little at a time and the stirring.must be continuos and the dish is heavier,nice though.
Sometimes I use veggie stock and more veggies instead of the prawns Aspaaragus is good.
There is also a leek and marscapone risotto on this blog and that is pretty yummy too.

Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges(discovered by Alex)

Spiced Potato Wedges

Alex found this recipe and they are really yummy with sea bass( cooked Thai Style lemon grass ginger spring onion toasted sesame oil coriander tamari soy sauce) and broccoli a la Ottolenghi (blanched for 2 minutes and griddled and then anointed with chilli and garlic olive oil.)

1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayennepepper
1 tsp oregano
1 kg sweet potatoes
olive oil
salt and black pepper

Heat oven to 200 C

Toast coriander seeds in a dry pan over a medium heat until aromatic
Transfer to a mortal and ground with a pestle until broken up.
Add salt and pepper and remaining spices and oregano.Mix well

Cut the sweet potatoes longways into wedges about 2.5 cm thick
Place in a roasting tin.drizzle with olive oil and toss.
Sprinkle with spice mix and toss again
Roast for 15 minutes and then turn with a fish slice and roast for 15 minutes more
until tender.
Very tasty!

Tom's Spelt Pancakes

Tom's Spelt Pancakes

Pancake Day today and Tom made us these spelt pancakes for breakfast.

This is for 4 but 3 of us ate the lot happily!

170 ml milk
1 tblsp lemon juice

an alternative to the above is 185 ml buttermilk

100g spelt flour
1tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp bic of soda
1beaten egg
1tbsp butter or olive oil
butter or olive oil for cooking

Combine the milk and lemon.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt ,baking powder and bicarb.

Add the egg and butter or oil to the milk.
Stir to combine and then add to the dry ingredients,
Be gentle ,the mixture will be lumpy.

Heat the frying pan over a high heat and cook a ladle of batter until
the bottom of the pancake is set and brown.Flip and cook another couple
of minutes

Enjoy with maple syrup(rich in anti-oxydents)and limes!.

Fruit and Vegetable Tagine recipe from Penny

Fruit and Vegetable Tagine

INGREDIENTS

1 onion (I use two or three large shallots)
2 tbsp olive oil (I use as much as I seem to need)
2 garlic cloves
1 heaped teaspoon of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of ground saffron (this is what the recipe says, but I used
a few strands of saffron)
400g can of chopped tomatoes
4000 ml good vegetable stock
400g sweet potato, peeled and diced
8 baby carrots
8 green olives - pitted
8 dried apricots
1 tbsp of chilli sauce
1 tbsp of runny honey
2 cinnamon sticks
400g courgettes, sliced
8 medjool dates - pitted.  (I took the stones out myself as I couldn't
seem to find stoneless ones)
Sea salt and pepper

Chop and slice onion or shallots finely.  Heat the olive oil in the
frying pan and gently cook the oven for ten minutes, stirring well. Add
the tomatoes, stock, sweet potato, carrots, olives, apricots, chilli
sauce,honey, seat salt, pepper, and two cinammon sticks stirring until
starting to 'bubble'.  Cover the pan and simmer for twenty minutes.

Add courgettes (sliced) and dates and simmer for a further twenty minutes.

Serve hot with couscous.

I did freeze mine after the initial cooking, but afterwards wished that
I had kept the dates and apricots to put in before reheating.

The ingredients above are sufficient for six people.  I did add
everything by half as much again for eight

two brilliant blueberry recipes from ALEX

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

(Grouped into order of method and mixtures)

200 g Wholemeal Flour

170 g Plain Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

1.5 tsp Cinnamon

1 mashed Banana

100 g mashed Blueberries 

1 egg

80 g melted butter

Light Brown Sugar

Demerara Sugar

70 g Non-Fat Vanilla Yoghurt

180 ml Skimmed Milk

1 tsp Vanilla extract

1/2 Lemon juice

1/2 tsp Salt 

125 g frozen blueberries (lightly floured)

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 190-200 °C
• Get out a muffin tin and line with parchment paper (if you can fold the edges around a glass to get the deli look)
• Sift flours into large mixing bowl
• Whisk in baking soda, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon

• Make sure there are no lumps and the mixture is even

• Mash bananas and blueberries until fairly smooth
• Put mashed banana and blueberries into mixing bowl
• Mix the egg into the mashed fruit with a fork until consistent (should’t take long)
• Add the melted butter (not hot, just liquid) and mix again until consistent
• Add the sugars one at a time and mix in until consistent
• Add the yoghurt and milk then mix again
• Finally, add the vanilla extract, salt and lemon juice then mix

You now have the two mixtures

• Pour the liquid mix into a well in the dry mix
• Gently fold the mixtures together until no flour air pockets remain - Be careful not to over mix as this will make the muffins dense!
• Once fully combined, spoon mixture into lined muffin tin 

• Placing a spoonful of mix followed by a few frozen blueberries and repeat until the mix is to the edge of the tin

• Place a couple more blueberries on the top to make them appealing
• Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean
• Remove from tin and let to cool for 5-10 minutes
• Put on a plate and cut in half to see how amazing they are!
• Devour 

American Pancakes

Makes about 10
45g butter (melted but not hot)
115g plain flour
115g fine cornmeal
¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp caster sugar (possible other sugars like icing sugar)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 egg
300ml buttermilk
100ml whole milk
(Optional blueberries mashed up slight and put some in mix and some to serve on top)
(Optional vanilla extract and cinnamon)

1. Put the oven on low to keep the pancakes warm, and cook or otherwise prepare any bacon or other accompaniments. Melt the butter and leave to cool slightly.

2. Put the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl.

3. Put the egg, buttermilk and milk into a smaller bowl and whisk to combine, then stir in 2 tbsp melted butter. Then add the contents of the bowl to the dry ingredients and mix briefly until just combined.

4. Put a heavy-based frying pan on a medium heat and brush the base with melted butter. Use a large spoon to dollop pancakes into the pan (you'll probably need to do this in at least 2 batches) and cook until they begin to look dry and bubbly on top: depending on the heat of your pan, this should take about 2 minutes. Flip over and cook the other side and cook for another couple of minutes until golden. Put into the oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining pancakes, unless you have customers ready and waiting.
5. Serve and devour immediately, while they're still hot.

Barn Brack

Tom's friend Jess suggested making this Barn Brack with Rose Tea so we are trying it

6oz each of  Sultanas
                    Raisins
                     Currants
7oz soft brown sugar
3/4 pt strong tea
12oz self raising flour
I egg

Soak fruit and sugar overnight in cold tea
Next morning add beaten egg
Sift in flour
Bake in greased tin at 180* for 1 hour

Chocolate and Hazelnut Brownies

This is a Rose Elliot recipe

100g plain chocolate broken into pieces
100g butter in pieces
225g dark brown sticky sugar(mucavado or rapadura is best)
2 large or 3 medium eggs
50g self raising flour
125g skinned,lightly toasted hazelnuts roughly chopped

Heat the oven to 190 C or Gas mark 5
Melt butter and choc.
Remove from heat.
Stir in sugar, then eggs and flour.
Add nuts ,bake for 25 mins.
Cool briefly in tin.
Cut.
Enjoy!

Brilliant with the fool or vanilla ice cream or cherries or coffee....