Blog – Page 56 – The Food Wife

Prawn Summer Pasta

1st August 20181st August 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 1

The Food Husband went out for the evening which called for seafood for me!

The hotter weather weâ€™ve been having recently means I want something lighter than my Prawn Linguine with its rich tomato sauce. Instead I want the pasta to be coated more in a dressing and this is achieved from the peppery olive oil and lemon juice. Using fresh tomatoes and spring onion gives a speedy and simple base to this dish and the fennel enhances the prawns beautifully.

Ready from start to finish in 15 minutes this is fresh fast food and whilst this serves one, you can just scale-up as required.

Ingredients:
75g pasta (the shape of your choice, I chose gemelli. If making this gluten-free make sure you choose a suitable pasta)
2 medium tomatoes, diced or 2 small handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved or a mix of the two
2 spring onions, sliced
1 tsp of fennel seeds
150g raw prawns, peeled and deveined (I used tiger prawns)
1 fat clove of garlic, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced (zest optional)

Step 1: Cook your pasta according to the packet instructions.

Step 2: Whilst your pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and add the fennel seeds, tomatoes and spring onion.

Step 3: After 2 minutes add the garlic and stir and then add your prawns. Stir or toss the pan every so often until the prawns are just cooked through.

Step 4: Add your drained pasta, along with a little of the cooking water and toss in the sauce along with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5: Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (and a little of the zest if you like).

You could also add a little fresh or dried chilli in step 3. I also threw in a few freshly torn basil leaves as I served which complements the anniseedy fennel seeds. This is nice served with a green salad.

Caramelised Onion and Cheese Quiche (with a gluten-free cheese…

30th July 201830th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 6-8

Whilst cheese and onion is a classic combination, caramelising the onions with a little balsamic vinegar adds a beautiful sweetness. Enhancing the pastry with cheese and wholegrain mustard gives an extra flavour kick and helps liven up the gluten-free crust.

Now, if you are looking for a quiche recipe and donâ€™t need it to be gluten-free, then by all means make a regular shortcrust pastry by omitting the xanthan gum, replacing the gluten-free plain flour with regular flour, leaving out the eggs and just using a little water to bind it.

I used a vintage gruyere in the pastry and as half of the cheese topping. I used vintage cheddar in the filling and as the other half of the topping. You donâ€™t need to use a mix, but I would recommend using a strong hard cheese to make sure the flavour comes through.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
350g gluten-free plain flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
125g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
25g gruyere, grated (or other hard cheese of your choice)
1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
2 eggs, beaten

For the caramelised onions:
2 tbsp olive oil
4 small or 2 medium red onions
Pinch salt
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

For the filling:
4 eggs
150ml milk
60g grated vintage cheddar
Pinch of salt and white pepper

For the topping:
50g grated cheese (I used a mix of gruyere and vintage cheddar)
Pinch of thyme

Step 1: Make the pastry. Rub the butter and cheese in to the flour and xanthan gum until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Step 2: Add the mustard to the beaten egg and pour in to the breadcrumbed flour. Mix with your hands until combined and then roll or press out until about 4-5mm thick.

Step 3: Butter a loose-bottomed flan tin (20-25cm) and press the pastry into it; the gluten-free pastry is likely to tear, but patch it up to ensure there are no gaps.

Step 4: Leave to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Whilst this is chilling, caramelise your onions.

Step 5: Put the oil in a frying pan on a medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions and cook gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 6: Add a pinch of salt and continue to cook for another five minutes on a gentle heat.

Step 7: Add the balsamic vinegar and stir for two minutes.

Step 8: Turn off the heat and allow to cool.

Step 9: Preheat the oven to 180c. Place baking parchment on top of the pastry along with baking beads or dry rice and blind bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 10: Whisk the four eggs with 60g of grated cheese, the milk, a few of the thyme leaves, and the salt and pepper.

Step 11: Remove the pastry from the oven and carefully take out the beads and paper.

Step 12: Spread the cooled caramelised onions over the base and sprinkle over a few of the thyme leaves.

Step 13: Carefully pour over the egg mixture and return to the oven for 20 minutes.

Step 14: Sprinkle over the 50g of grated cheese(s) and the remaining few thyme leaves. Return to the oven for 15 minutes.

This can be served hot, warm or cold. If you make it in advance but would like to serve it hot, reheating it at 160c for 20 minutes should do the trick.

Sweet Potato and Spinach Curry

27th July 201827th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Serves 6-8

Creamy, sweet and spicy, this is a lovely curry that is cheap to make and is really satisfying. As well as tasting great, it is rich in iron from the spinach and vitamin C from the sweet potato. Using coconut oil and coconut milk rather than ghee and cream or yogurt keeps this vegan-friendly and is not bad from a diet point of view either as the quantities of these between the portions are small.

As long as your baby likes spices, this is great for them too; just siphon theirs off before seasoning at the end, and you could blend it before serving. You could add a little cooling full fat yogurt stirred into their curry if needed.

Ingredients:
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
4 green cardamom, seeds only (pod removed)
1 dsp coconut oil
2 onions, halved and sliced
2 inch piece of ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 heaped tsp garam masala
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes
300ml veg stock
Large pinch of dried curry leaves
250g spinach, washed
165ml coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste.

Step 1: Toast the coriander, fennel and cardamom spices and then blend in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar.

Step 2: Add the coconut oil to a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onions and cook gently for 10-15 minutes until softened, but not browned.

Step 3: Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further two minutes, stirring frequently.

Step 4: Add the freshly ground spices and cook for another five minutes, stirring frequently.

Step 5: Add the chilli powder and garam masala and stir, cooking for a couple of minutes.

Step 6: Add the cubed sweet potato along with the stock and curry leaves . Cover with a lid and cook for ten minutes on a gentle simmer.

Step 7: Add the coconut milk, replace the lid and simmer until the sweet potato is softened (about another ten minutes).

Step 8: Add your spinach, stir, and replace the lid for two minutes.

Step 9: Season to taste and serve.

I served this with nutty brown basmati rice and some spiced homegrown green beans. I simply blanched the beans until tender in boiling water and then lightly fried them for a couple of minutes in a little coconut oil, a teaspoon of brown mustard seeds and a teaspoon of ground cumin, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end.

My Ultimate Rocky Road

25th July 201820th August 2018
by thefoodwife

Makes 15 generous pieces

This is chocolate overload, but in a good way. Iâ€™ve done away with some of the usual gems in a rocky road and replaced them with the next level of deliciousness, hence the â€˜ultimateâ€™ in the title. Maltesers, mini Kitkats and honeycomb (homemade or shop-bought) are present along with the obligatory soft marshmallows (although if youâ€™re going vegetarian leave these out or use a vegetarian alternative).

Iâ€™ve topped it with drizzled white chocolate, just in case there wasnâ€™t enough chocolate in the first place.

I probably would have bought pieces of honeycomb, but I couldnâ€™t find any in the shops at the moment, and didnâ€™t want to use crunchie bars as I feared they would just dissolve when the melted chocolate was poured on top. Instead I made my own using this Good Food recipe and put roughly a third into the mix.

This recipe has been taste-tested by Mr Food Wife, plus lots of my yoga-mummies at our get together this week, and it gets their seal of approval.

Ingredients:
300g dark chocolate
100g unsalted butter
2 tbsp golden syrup
100g mini marshmallows
100g maltesers
100g kitkat bite-size pieces (or regular ones broken into one-inch pieces)
100g honeycomb, broken in to bite-size pieces
100g white chocolate

Step 1: Melt the dark chocolate, butter and syrup in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water (ensure the base of the bowl is not in contact with the water).

Step 2: Once melted, remove the bowl and leave to cool for a couple of minutes.

Step 3: In a separate, large bowl, measure out the Maltesers, Kitkats, marshmallows and honeycomb.

Step 4: Pour the molten chocolate mix over the Maltesers and co and stir gently.

Step 5: Pour into a traybake-sized tin and place in the fridge whilst you melt your white chocolate.

Step 6: Place the white chocolate in a clean bowl over simmering water and gently melt.

Step 7: Remove the rocky road from the fridge and use a metal spoon to drizzle the white chocolate over the top.

Step 8: Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge until set.

Step 9: Cut into 15 pieces and try not to eat all at once!

Harissa Hummus

23rd July 201828th July 2018
by thefoodwife

Weâ€™ve always got a tub of hummus in our fridge at the moment because itâ€™s one of the Food Babyâ€™s favourite things to eat.

This weekend I decided to make my own, and I took the opportunity to make it, as youâ€™ll spy from the ingredients list, without any added olive oil, so as to be diet-friendly for me. You can, of course, add olive oil to your own, but try adding a tablespoon at a time and tasting as you go.

Likewise, I decided a kick of spice was in order so added harissa paste; again, this is optional and could be left out or replaced with a flavour of your choosing (why not try a spoonful of pesto, a roasted red pepper, a few sun dried tomatoes or some toasted cumin).

Once made this will last a few days in the fridge.

Ingredients:
1 heaped tbsp tahini
Juice of one lemon
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 tin of chickpeas, drained
2 tsp harissa paste
1 pinch of salt (leave out if this is for baby)
40-100ml cold water

Step 1: Blend the tahini, lemon juice and garlic in a food processor (or with a stick blender).

Step 2: Add the drained chickpeas and blend again until smooth (to make it extra smooth you could skin the chickpeas, but I think life is too short for such things!)

Step 3: Add the harissa paste (or flavourings of your choice) and salt and blend again, and add the water as you do so (add gradually to get your desired consistency). Add any oil at this stage if you so wish.

Store in a sealed container in the fridge.