Tagliatelle With Prawns, Bacon and Courgette...

Tagliatelle With Prawns, Bacon and Courgette

Yesterday there was a lonely courgette in the fridge and a bag of prawns defrosting on the counter. I was unsure of what to make for dinner, but bringing these two ingredients together seemed like a good plan. With plenty of pasta in the pantry, I was thinking along the lines of a big bowl of penne or linguine in a rich creamy sauce.

Looking for inspiration on the Internet I came across a fabulous site called Drizzle and Drip. Sam’s recipe for Chilli and Garlic Prawn Linguine with Bacon, Zucchini and Lemon caught my eye straight away. Of course I needed to pick up some bacon but as our local butchers has the best smoked bacon I have ever tasted, I was more then happy to make the journey. The fresh air made me even hungrier (I must confess one of their freshly made sausage rolls found it’s way into my belly).

I didn’t follow Sam’s recipe exactly but it still tasted great. This is a recipe I will make time and time again. It is light, refreshing and makes a nice change from the heavy cream sauces I tend to favour (butter, cream and cheese are the holy trinity of my sauce making).

What also appealed to me was the way the courgette / zucchini was prepared. I have grated it in pasta before but the long ribbons worked really well with the tagliatelle. I was also skeptical about adding the courgette ribbons to the pasta water toward the end of cooking fearing they would be extra watery and bland. They weren’t.

So here is my version of the recipe but please do check out Sam’s website, she has a wide range of yummy looking recipes I can’t wait to try.

Tagliatelle With Prawns, Bacon and Courgette (serves 2 with enough left over for a tasty lunch the next day)

Ingredients

350-400 grams of tagliatelle

225 grams of frozen king prawns

3 rashers of smoked streaky bacon (and one sausage roll to eat on the way home!)

1 medium sized courgette / zucchini

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp of crushed chilli flakes

2 Tbsp of double cream

2 Tbsp of lemon zest

Juice of 1/2 a lemon (you might want to do this to taste)

3 Tbsp of chopped flat leaf parsley

Splash of olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste (I only salted the pasta water – the bacon is quite salty)

Directions

Cook the tagliatelle in salted water according to the directions on the pack (go for al dente)

Using a peeler, peel the courgette into ribbons

When the pasta is almost done, but not quite, add the courgette ribbons to the water and cook with the pasta for 1-2 minutes before draining

While the pasta is cooking cut the bacon rashers into small bite sized pieces and add to a pan

Cook the bacon through and then add the drained, frozen prawns and mix well so the prawns soak up some of the bacon fat

After 2-3 minutes when the prawns are heated through and the bacon is crispy, add the crushed garlic, 1/2 tsp of dried chilli flakes, lemon juice and zest

Mix everything together well before adding a splash of double cream and the chopped parsley

The pasta (and courgette) should be cooked and drained at this point

Simply add the pasta and courgette to the pan with the bacon and prawn mixture

Toss well and serve immediately

Enjoy!

Maple Salmon with Creamed Leeks and Black Pudding ...

On a recent trip to one of my most favourite places in the world, Edinburgh I was lucky enough to be invited to a wonderful restaurant called The Dome. The building has a fascinating history that is well worth reading. If you plan on visiting the magical city of Edinburgh then definitely take note of this restaurant, located in the New Town on George Street, and make it a ‘must see’ stop on your journey. Not only were the staff warm and friendly but the food was delicious and their pre dinner martinis kicked ass. It must have been the Tanqueray No 10 Gin they used!

While perusing the menu in The Grill Room, what caught my eye right away was the Fillet of Salmon served on Spicy Black Pudding Mash with Local Mushrooms, finished with Truffle Oil. I adore salmon and mushrooms (never mind the added bonus of truffle oil!) so I knew I was on to a winner, but what worried me was that I had never tried black pudding. Feeling adventurous after the martinis I decided that spicy black pudding mash was something I needed to try.

It was the right decision!

The slightly crisp chewy texture of the black pudding worked really well in the creamy mashed potatoes. The slight spiciness also complemented the salmon and mushrooms beautifully. It wasn’t overpowering at all. Honestly it was one of the greatest meals I have ever eaten and it has been on my mind ever since.

Feeling brave even without the help of a martini (or two) I took a stroll to our local butchers and bought some black pudding. The only tip I was given was to make sure I removed the rind – otherwise I would be extremely disappointed in the overall dish and most likely would still be chewing on it several weeks later.

The salmon itself is really easy to prepare. Years ago while looking at the All Recipes website I found a recipe for Maple Salmon by one of their members – Starflower. Being a devoted lover of all things maple I knew I had to give this a try. In my recipe book this dish has 6 out of 5 stars. It is amazing. Here is Starflowers recipe for Maple Salmon from the All Recipes website page.

Maple Salmon by Starflower

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 clove garlic, minced

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 pound salmon

Directions

• In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, garlic salt, and pepper.

• Place salmon in a shallow glass baking dish, and coat with the maple syrup mixture. Cover the dish, and marinate salmon in the refrigerator 30 minutes, turning once.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

• Place the baking dish in the preheated oven, and bake salmon uncovered 20 minutes, or until easily flaked with a fork.

Salmon Fillets Marinating in Maple Syrup Mixture

To accompany the salmon try this wonderful black pudding mash.

Luna Raye’s Black Pudding Mash

Ingredients

• 5-6 medium sized potatoes (King Edward or Maris Piper are good choices)

• Black Pudding (I used 3 medium sized slices which added up to approx ½ a cup after I cut them into squares – remember to remove the rind)

• Knob of butter

• Splash of milk

• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

• Get some salted water boiling and add the peeled potatoes.

• When potatoes are about ¾ of the way done (you can just start to get a fork into them) start on the black pudding.

• Add a wee bit of butter to a frying pan and when melted add the chopped black pudding. (o.k. I was a bit nervous so I think I may have overcooked it a bit as it did start to disintegrate slightly. I wasn’t able to maintain the ‘squares’ and keep the nice, perfectly formed pieces of black pudding that I had at The Dome)

• Once potatoes are cooked, drain them and put them back in the pot.

• Add a generous knob of butter and mash.

• When potatoes are fairly mashed add a splash of butter and season with salt and pepper.

• Give it a few more vigorous stirs before gently folding in the black pudding pieces. (It actually looked like a scoop of Oreo cookie dough ice cream!)

Black Pudding

To go alongside the salmon and black pudding mash I wanted to do my old time favourite Creamed Leeks. Tasty and super quick to prepare here is a link to my previous post or you can see the recipe below

Luna Raye’s Creamed Leeks

• 2-3 medium to large leeks finely chopped.

• Add leeks to pan with a knob of butter and stir over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the leeks have softened.

• Add 2 Tablespoons of double cream and salt and pepper to taste.

Yes it’s that simple!

Maple Salmon with Creamed Leeks and Black Pudding Mash

I will definitely make Maple Salmon with Creamed Leeks and Black Pudding Mash again. It’s the perfect meal for a romantic night!

Enjoy!