Tag Archives: prawns

Nov24

easy prawn and mussel #curry

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easy prawn and mussel #curry

This took me just over 15 minutes to make. Easy and delicious.

Prawn and mussel curry edited 800

Prawn and mussel curry
1 tin of diced peeled tomatoes
1 large garlic clove, grated
5 ml fresh ginger, grated
15 ml olive oil
10 ml of strong curry powder (all depends how strong you like it)
8 prawn heads
2.5 ml salt
8-10 medium prawns
15 mussels in shells

Cook the tomatoes, garlic, ginger, olive oil, salt, curry powder and prawn heads over medium heat for +-8 minutes. Stir constantly. It must have a thickish consistency. Add the prawns and mussels, cover your pot with a lid and allow to simmer for a further 8 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. If you want you can add a dash of cream but I love it just the way it is.

Dec20

prawn + chicken skewers on the #braai – #ShareTheOriginal

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prawn + chicken skewers on the #braai – #ShareTheOriginal

Chicken and Prawn Skewers

To celebrate a 100 years’ of Sedgwick’s Old Brown, I made summery prawn and chicken skewers – marinated overnight in a Sedgwick’s marinade. It was a delightful combo of flavours with the sweet marinade giving the skewered chicken and prawn a deep and enchanting taste. I also made a crunchy salad with a lovely dressing. The result… a perfectly, light yet satisfying summer lunch. Scrumptious, healthy and just irresistibly delicious.

The Original Sedgwick’s Old Brown has been part of the South African history and culture for a 100 years now. No, it’s not a ‘60’s thing or a 70’s thing… it is not something that just your folks used to enjoy. Ask your grandparents…I bet they will be able to tell you a Sedgwick’s story or two…and such stories go back generations to 1916. At that time World War I was going on; the light switch was invented and Albert Einstein completed his formulation of a general theory of relativity. Since 1916, The Original Sedgwick’s Old Brown has become part of our heritage.

#ShareTheOriginal
In my student days, come June every year, we made the trek to the Grahamstown Festival. And those who know the Eastern Cape … well June is freezing cold. We used to stay in tents on the outskirts of the town, in the evenings we huddled around the fire, old faithful Sedgwick’s kept the conversation going – and kept us warm at night. I remember the many hours we sat around the fire mesmerized by Johannes Kerkorrel en die Gereformeerde Blues Band and Johnny Clegg. We also could not stop talking about the talent of Paul Slabolepszy and Andrew Buckland. More often than not, the length and depth of those conversations, depended largely on how many bottles of Sedgwick’s we had… 🙂 Those were the days.

Sedgwick's Old Brown
Prawn and chicken skewers on the braai
Serves 6
18 prawns
500 g chicken, big chunks
Marinade
100 ml Sedgwick’s Old Brown
60 ml red wine vinegar
5 ml salt
1 garlic, grated
45 ml coriander, chopped
juice and grated peel of ½ lemon
2 pinches smoked paprika (optional – I just love the smokey flavour)
5 ml chilli flakes (optional – I also love a bit of a bite)
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together and marinade the prawns and chicken for at least 4 hours. I left mine to marinade overnight. Thread chicken and prawns onto skewers (soak wooden skewers in water first to prevent scorching on a braai or grill), leaving a small gap between each piece for even cooking. Season with salt and pepper. Braai for about 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the prawns have turned bright pink.

Crunchy vegetable salad
Serves 6
500 ml cabbage, sliced
2 large carrots, grated
200 g green beans, thinly sliced
200 g baby corn, thinly sliced
100 g unsalted cashews, crushed
2 spring onions, chopped diagonally
a large handful coriander, chopped
Salad dressing
30 ml sugar
30 ml Sedgwick’s Old Brown
45 ml vinegar
15 ml sesame oil
30 ml sunflower oil
15 ml soy sauce
1 red chilli, chopped

Chop and grate all the fresh ingredients. Mix all the salad dressing ingredients well. Mix everything together.

May17

malay infused seafood soup

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malay infused seafood soup

malay infused seafood soupThis is my all-time favourite winter soup recipe. It lies very close to my heart for two reasons – I was introduced to this recipe by my wonderful chef friend, Louis Verwey (the recipe was very different then and I developed it as I went along into what it is today) and secondly this recipe took me through to the Top 50 of Masterchef SA and earned three overwhelming and resounding yes’s from judges Andrew, Bennie and Pete. My Masterchef journey was an incredible experience, it was an amazing roller coaster ride of emotions, nerves and sheer excitement but the best part was meeting all the fantastic people who all share a common passion – cooking! This adventure re-ignited in me the fire and a burning desire to learn and share in the fun, frivolity and sheer pleasure that comes with cooking and everything culinary. I am very proud to have made it into the Top 35 only to be booted out on the potato challenge. Needless to say I have not cooked or peeled a potato again – but that is a story for another day…enough about me…back to this exquisite soup …

malay infused seafood soup
 
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Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • For the stock
  • 1 celery stick, chopped (with the leaves)
  • 1 onion, cut in half (I keep the skin on - I only peel the onion if I want to make a clear stock)
  • 1 carrot, chopped (…again keep the skin on – didn’t we learn that all the nutritional value lies in the skin?)
  • 5 black pepper corns
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 1 clove of garlic cut in half
  • 1 small bunch of parsley
  • 350g white fish – I use small whole hakes which I cut into chunks
  • 800ml water
  • 1 clove garlic, finely grated
  • Seafood
  • 24 mussels in ½ shell
  • 400 g kingklip (or any other firm white fish), cut into cubes of +- 2.5cm x 2.5cm
  • 12 de-veined prawns with shells – I love to keep heads on – if you do take the heads off, don’t discard these….add them to your stock
  • Other ingredients
  • 30g butter
  • 45 ml flour
  • 10 ml masala (I mix my own from the following ground ingredients: 15 ml turmeric, 15ml cumin, 10 ml coriander, 10 ml fennel, 15 ml hot “curry powder” this you can get from your local spice shop or supermarket)
  • 30 ml tomato paste
  • 1 ½ chicken stock cube, crumbled
  • 2 large tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
  • Juice of ½ small lemon
  • For the gremolata
  • 30 ml chopped parsley
  • 1 clove garlic, finely grated
  • Zest of one lemon
  • One big squeeze of lemon juice
  • 30 ml olive oil
Instructions
  1. Prepare your stock by adding the first 9 ingredients in a pot and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
  2. Take the mussels and place them in a sieve and then put it in the stock to cook for 2 minutes. I do this to infuse the juices in the stock (and to defrost if still frozen). Take out and leave aside.
  3. Repeat the same process with the prawns – leave to simmer for about 3-4 minutes in the stock. Take out and set aside
  4. Take the stock and strain through a very fine sieve. Set aside. (You can discard the stock ingredients but it does make for a very nutritious and fishy treat for my two canine children!)
  5. Add the finely grated garlic to this stock.
  6. Now, melt the butter in a pot. Add the flour to make a roux. Stir for about 2-3 minutes. Then add the tomato paste and masala. Stir well.
  7. Add the warm stock - ladle by ladle - whisking briskly to make sure it does not form lumps. Once you have added the stock, bring it up to simmer - you will see that it has now thickened.
  8. Add the stock cube and the chopped tomatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes. Stir well.
  9. Now add the raw fish and let it simmer for +-3 minutes, then add the prawns and mussels.
  10. Add the lemon juice and stir lightly – be careful not to break the fish! Season for taste by adding salt and pepper, lemon juice.
  11. Simmer for a 5-10 minutes.
  12. Lastly, mix the last 4 ingredients together to make the gremolata and set aside
  13. To serve – in the bottom of a soup bowl put a dollop of the gremolata. Take the prawns out of the soup and place 2 prawns on each plate, add 3 or more pieces of fish. Strain the fish soup through a sieve and pour in the bowl around the fish and prawns. Add 3-4 mussels on top.
  14. Garnish with a few drops of gremolata on top. Serve immediately.