Gazpacho soup with long tail shrimp

 

·          1 red pepper  peeled seeds removed and roughly chopped

·          5 large ripe tomatoes

·          1 cucumber peeled with seeds removed (slice length ways then remove the seeds with a tea spoon)

·          2 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed

·          1 large white onion peeled and chopped

·          Tabasco dash or more if you like hot food

·          Salt and pepper

·          3 shrimp peeled and cooked per serving

 

 

1.        Place a cross on the bottom of each tomato drop them into a pan of hot water for 20 seconds then remove and place in a bowl of cold water allow to cool.

2.        Once cooled remove the skin cut in half and scrape out the seeds.  In a jug place the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients apart from the prawns and blend until smooth place a few ice cubes in the bowl or jug then place in fridge for a 4 to 5 hours.

3.        Just before you serve check  the seasoning then pour into a chilled bowl place the prawns in the centre and garnish with a sprig of parsley or basil.

 

Red mullet cooked in a saffron oil served with wild  herb rice and griddled aubergines’ and courgettes  

Red Mullet

·          4 large red mullet fillets

·          0.5g of saffron powder

·          Salt and pepper

·          50mls of olive oil

 

1.        In a bowl place the saffron and the oil and mix it together well. Place the fillets skin down on a baking tray and drizzle the oil over the top.  Season lightly with the salt and pepper and bake in the oven 10 to 15 minutes  at 180c.

Wild rice  

·                         1 cup wild rice

·                        2 tsp.  Freshly chopped parsley

·                        1 tsp. Fresh thyme leaves

·                        1/2 tsp. Fresh tarragon leaves

·                         Sprinkle of ground black pepper

·                        1/2 tsp. Salt

1.       Mix all the ingredients together and place in a pan.  Pour 2 cups of water into the pan and bring the water up to the boil then allow to simmer 50 minutes.

2.      Remove pan from heat, and let sit for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

 

 

Vegetables

·          1 large courgette

·          1 large aubergine

·          30mls of oil

·          Salt and pepper

Slice the aubergines and courgettes cross ways.  Drizzle with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Place on a hot griddle pan and seal on both sides then place in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes then serve.

 

French apple tart served with vanilla and cinnamon cream

 

·          1 roll of puff pastry 230g

·          4 apples peeled and cored (slice thinly)

·          150g of sugar

·          125g butter

·          150mls of whipping cream

·          1 vanilla pod

·          Sprinkle of cinnamon

 

1.        Preheat the oven to 150c place the pastry in a cake tin lined with grease proof paper.  Prick the centre of the pastry with a fork then bake blind in the oven for 15 minutes until the pastry raises and sets then remove and set aside.

2.        In a large frying pan melt the butter over a low heat then add the sugar then the apples cook for 10 minutes until the apples are soft but still firm.

3.        Allow the apples to cool then place the apples in the pastry layer by layer in a circle then pour the juice from the pan over the apples and pastry bake in the oven for a further 15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown then remove.  Serve either hot or cold.

4.        For the cream: scrape the vanilla pod seeds into the cream along with the cinnamon and leave in the fridge for 1 hour then whip up using a whisk just before you serve.