starter (serves 4-6 guests)
roquamole
ingredients
125g roquefort or st agur cheese
60ml sour cream
2 ripe avocados
35g sliced pickled green jalapeño chilli peppers from a jar
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 packet blue corn tortilla chips
directions
1. in a bowl, crumble or mash the blue cheese with the sour cream.
2. mash in the avocados. if they are ripe, a fork should be all you need.
3. roughly chop the sliced jalapeños and stir them into the mixture along with the finely sliced spring onions.
4. arrange in the centre of a plate or dish, dust with the paprika and surround with tortilla chips. 5. serve in a stone dish and set on a plate. arrange the chips on a plate around the bowl
main course (serves 4-6 guests)
thai yellow pumpkin and seafood curry
ingredients
400ml tin coconut milk
1–2 tablespoons yellow (or red) thai curry paste
350ml fish stock
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar or caster sugar
3 lemongrass stalks, each cut into three and bruised with the flat of a knife
3 lime leaves, de-stalked and cut into strips
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1kg pumpkin (or butternut squash), peeled and cut into large-bite-sized chunks
500g salmon fillet, preferably organic, skinned and cut into large, bite-sized chunks
500g peeled raw prawns
pak choi or any other green vegetables of your choice
juice of 1/2–1 lime, to taste
coriander, to serve
directions
1. skim the thick creamy top off the tin of coconut milk and put it, over medium heat, into a large saucepan or casserole with the curry paste. let it sizzle and, using a fork, whisk or wooden spoon, beat milk and paste together until combined. Still beating gently, add the rest of the coconut milk, fish stock, fish sauce, sugar, lemongrass, lime leaves and turmeric. bring to a boil and then add the pumpkin. cook on a fast simmer until the pumpkin is tender, about 15 minutes, although different sorts of pumpkins can vary enormously in the time they take to cook; some squash take as little as 5 minutes.
2. you can cook the curry up till this part in advance, maybe leaving the pumpkin with a tiny bit of bite to it (it will soften and cook as the pan cools). either way, when you’re about 5 minutes away from wanting to eat, get ready to cook the seafood.
3. so, to the robustly simmering pan, add the salmon and prawns (if you’re using the prawns from frozen they’ll need to go in before the salmon). when the salmon and prawns have cooked through, which shouldn’t take more than 3–4 minutes, stir in any green veg you’re using – sliced, chopped or shredded as suits – and tamp down with a wooden spoon. when the pak choi’s wilted, squeeze in the juice of half a lime, stir and taste and add the juice of the remaining half if you feel it needs it. take the pan off the heat or decant the curry into a large bowl, and sprinkle over the coriander; the point is that the coriander goes in just before serving. serve with more chopped coriander for people to add to their own bowls as they eat, and some plain Thai or basmati rice.
dessert (makes 10-12 slices)
chocolate chestnut refrigerator cake
ingredients
500g (2 tins) sweetened chestnut purée
175g soft, unsalted butter
300g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
3 tablespoons dark rum
to serve:
crème fraîche
directions
1. beat the purée in a bowl until it’s smooth, and then add the butter, beating again to make a well-blended mixture.
2. melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly, before adding it to the chestnut and butter in the bowl. beat in the rum, and spoon the chocolate mixture into a 23 x 10cm loaf tin, lined with clingfilm, in two batches, making sure the first layer reaches the corners and sides of the bottom of the tin before you smooth over the rest. wrap the overhanging clingfilm over the cake so that it is completely covered, and put it in the fridge to set for at least four hours, but a day or so in advance if you want.
3. don’t take the loaf tin out of the fridge until you want to eat it, when you just unmould the cake, cut it into thin slices and serve with crème fraîche or sour cream.
all recipes and images from nigella lawson.
roquamole
ingredients
125g roquefort or st agur cheese
60ml sour cream
2 ripe avocados
35g sliced pickled green jalapeño chilli peppers from a jar
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 packet blue corn tortilla chips
directions
1. in a bowl, crumble or mash the blue cheese with the sour cream.
2. mash in the avocados. if they are ripe, a fork should be all you need.
3. roughly chop the sliced jalapeños and stir them into the mixture along with the finely sliced spring onions.
4. arrange in the centre of a plate or dish, dust with the paprika and surround with tortilla chips. 5. serve in a stone dish and set on a plate. arrange the chips on a plate around the bowl
main course (serves 4-6 guests)
thai yellow pumpkin and seafood curry
ingredients
400ml tin coconut milk
1–2 tablespoons yellow (or red) thai curry paste
350ml fish stock
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm sugar or caster sugar
3 lemongrass stalks, each cut into three and bruised with the flat of a knife
3 lime leaves, de-stalked and cut into strips
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1kg pumpkin (or butternut squash), peeled and cut into large-bite-sized chunks
500g salmon fillet, preferably organic, skinned and cut into large, bite-sized chunks
500g peeled raw prawns
pak choi or any other green vegetables of your choice
juice of 1/2–1 lime, to taste
coriander, to serve
directions
1. skim the thick creamy top off the tin of coconut milk and put it, over medium heat, into a large saucepan or casserole with the curry paste. let it sizzle and, using a fork, whisk or wooden spoon, beat milk and paste together until combined. Still beating gently, add the rest of the coconut milk, fish stock, fish sauce, sugar, lemongrass, lime leaves and turmeric. bring to a boil and then add the pumpkin. cook on a fast simmer until the pumpkin is tender, about 15 minutes, although different sorts of pumpkins can vary enormously in the time they take to cook; some squash take as little as 5 minutes.
2. you can cook the curry up till this part in advance, maybe leaving the pumpkin with a tiny bit of bite to it (it will soften and cook as the pan cools). either way, when you’re about 5 minutes away from wanting to eat, get ready to cook the seafood.
3. so, to the robustly simmering pan, add the salmon and prawns (if you’re using the prawns from frozen they’ll need to go in before the salmon). when the salmon and prawns have cooked through, which shouldn’t take more than 3–4 minutes, stir in any green veg you’re using – sliced, chopped or shredded as suits – and tamp down with a wooden spoon. when the pak choi’s wilted, squeeze in the juice of half a lime, stir and taste and add the juice of the remaining half if you feel it needs it. take the pan off the heat or decant the curry into a large bowl, and sprinkle over the coriander; the point is that the coriander goes in just before serving. serve with more chopped coriander for people to add to their own bowls as they eat, and some plain Thai or basmati rice.
dessert (makes 10-12 slices)
chocolate chestnut refrigerator cake
ingredients
500g (2 tins) sweetened chestnut purée
175g soft, unsalted butter
300g dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
3 tablespoons dark rum
to serve:
crème fraîche
directions
1. beat the purée in a bowl until it’s smooth, and then add the butter, beating again to make a well-blended mixture.
2. melt the chocolate and let it cool slightly, before adding it to the chestnut and butter in the bowl. beat in the rum, and spoon the chocolate mixture into a 23 x 10cm loaf tin, lined with clingfilm, in two batches, making sure the first layer reaches the corners and sides of the bottom of the tin before you smooth over the rest. wrap the overhanging clingfilm over the cake so that it is completely covered, and put it in the fridge to set for at least four hours, but a day or so in advance if you want.
3. don’t take the loaf tin out of the fridge until you want to eat it, when you just unmould the cake, cut it into thin slices and serve with crème fraîche or sour cream.
all recipes and images from nigella lawson.
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1 lovely comments:
These look yummy!
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