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!

The Kent Coast: Fresh Sea Food By The Sea Side....

It’s been a long difficult winter for us here in the UK and this weekend when the sun finally came out many people like myself took advantage and headed for the sea side. The English sea side is truly an amazing place; pebbly beaches, penny arcades, ‘Mr Whippy’ ice cream cones and of course fish, chips and mushy peas.

One of the most wonderful stretches of coast line is the Kent coast. Although I haven’t had the opportunity to explore all of it, I do enjoy the walk from Herne Bay down to Whitstable. Just make sure to cover up with sun screen and a hat – the breeze coming in off the water easily takes away the heat of the sun and you don’t realize until too late that you are burning. It’s hard to believe the English sun can be so strong!

My walk began at Herne Bay, which has a pier full of penny arcades – a great place to get rid of a few 1p and 2p coins and maybe even win a prize! There are also plenty of fish and chip shops. Just the thought of a portion of chips wrapped in paper and generously covered with salt and vinegar is enough to get my mouth watering. Chips are actually pretty healthy (ok minus the generous sprinkling of salt) and they are a good way to fuel up for the long but scenic walk to Whitstable.

A pretty little town, Whitstable has a fantastic fish market where you can get all sorts of fresh fish and sea food. The market sells little tubs of cockles, winkles, prawns, crab claws and roll mops which you can tuck into right away. You can also buy freshly grilled mackerel in a whole wheat roll which is delicious, especially with the addition of tomato butter. Then of course there are the oysters. Served on paper plates with ice and fresh lemon wedges, you can pay a little bit extra to have them opened on the spot (I definitely recommend this option). Honestly I was never very sure about oysters, but once I tried them on the beach accompanied by a pint of local ale (raspberry wheat beer), I was well and truly hooked!

A big part of being a kitchen witch is making sure to take time and reconnect with nature on a daily basis. Usually I will go for a walk or potter around in my garden but when I get the chance, I love my trips to the sea side. The cool salty sea breeze, rolling waves and wide open spaces refresh and energize me. It’s a real joy to see excited dogs running into the water, kids with pails and shovels digging up treasure and sea gulls swooping and diving. Despite this abundance of activity the sea side is a great place to relax, unwind and really connect with nature.

For those of you in the UK I urge you to make time to appreciate the wonderful coast lines we have in this country – our sea side truly is a magical place. For those of you planning a trip to the UK, make sure you include a trip to the sea side, you won’t regret it!

Whitstable Oysters and Crab Claws

Whitstable Kent Beach Huts

Horseradish: Where have you been all my life?...

I do know the answer to this question and shouldn’t really need to ask. Mainly because you are always there, generously dolloped on the side of my dad’s plate (or between slices of bread) every time he eats roast beef. I even remember, many years ago, the tiniest of portions being offered to me on a teaspoon so I could give it a try. Unfortunately, in giving it a cursory sniff, I foolishly stuck the spoon right up to my nose and promptly had my sinuses cleared for a year. That was enough for me to stay as far away as possible from horseradish for the next 30 odd years.

Well here we are in 2010 and for Valentine’s Day I wanted to prepare a really special and romantic starter. I looked through several recipes but kept coming back to the same one; Smoked Salmon with Prawns, Horseradish Cream and Lime Vinaigrette. The idea of covering beautiful salmon and prawns with horseradish cream filled me with dread, but I loved the look of this recipe so much that I decided it was time to confront my fear. I am so glad I did. This recipe from Mary Cadogan has been an absolute revelation to me.

• Firstly the use of smoked salmon that doesn’t rely on bagels laden with cream cheese.
• Secondly because it made me realize that even simple dishes can be stunningly elegant.
• Thirdly and most importantly for me, the use of horseradish, which I have discovered is….DELICIOUS!

The flavours of this dish are wonderful as the lime cuts through the heat of the horseradish cream bringing out the delicate flavours of the smoked salmon and prawns. It is refreshing and light with a subtle kick and it goes extremely well with a chilled white wine. Trust me this recipe is a keeper!

Since making this dish I have already worked my way through 3 jars of horseradish sauce and it is now something that is always in my fridge. This website offers some great tips for using horseradish in a variety of dishes. I have bookmarked quite a few to try. Top of my list for tonight is one of my favourite cocktails – a Bloody Mary! If you have a favourite recipe that uses horseradish I would love to hear about it.

Smoked Salmon with Prawns, Horseradish Cream and Lime Vinaigrette.

Raspberry Rose Pots De Crème: A Valentine Treat!...

As soon as I saw Giada De Laurentiis make this dish I knew it was the perfect dessert for the special Valentine day meal I am making my husband. I have been thinking about this recipe for months and am really excited to try it. I have already bought the pop rocks and today fortunately managed to find some lovely raspberries. Otherwise I would have had to use blackberries, and I really don’t know if they would have worked as well.

I will make the raspberry rose pots de crème today so they have plenty of time to set. The rest of my Valentine day menu includes a starter of Smoked Salmon with Prawns, Horseradish Cream and Lime Vinaigrette courtesy of Mary Cadogen. The main meal I am making is a classic French Canadian recipe for Tourtiere which is a meat pie. I haven’t had this dish in years and my husband has never even heard of it! I lived for many years in Quebec so thought it was about time I tried to make one of my favourite Canadian meals.

I better make my way into the kitchen to start cooking, but first I may open a bottle of wine!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I will let you know how the meal turns out! Please let me know what tasty treats you prepared for your loved ones.