Tapas style Crevettes (Jumbo prawns) with Tomato and Lemon

We love a bargain, especially when you find amazing produce in the reduced section of the supermarket. Today was one of those days, hubby came back with a massive bag of cooked crevettes that should have been over £7 reduced to £2, a perfect ingredient for lunch. After shelling them, I was left with at least 20 jumbo prawns to cook, I also had 1/3 of a gluten-free tiger loaf left.

I wanted to cook something that had some sauce to mop up with the crusty bread.

Tip - A quick way to freshen the bread is to pop it in an oven Gas 6 for about 10 minutes, this will warm it through and give it a lovely crust, so I did this once I started cooking the prawns.

Ingredients

4 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
large prawns
juice 1/2 lemon
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
salt and black pepper

Method

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat, add the shallots, garlic and chilli and gently fry until soft (about 3 minutes). Add the smoked paprika and prawns, fry stirring often for about 2 minutes, add the lemon juice and tomato, season with freshly ground salt and pepper and continue cooking, frequently stirring (3 mins). Taste and adjust seasoning. Sprinkle over the parsley, stir well and serve with chunks of crusty bread.

Read More

Paella

If you want a special dinner, then this makes a great dish. There are quite a few ingredients, but I've discovered some quick cheats when shopping to make this easier.

Ingredients

Sofritto:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/2 chorizo chopped (can buy ready chopped pack)
1 large pinch of saffron
1 teaspoon paprika
1 pack of chicken pieces
1/2 packet of paella rice
1 chicken stock pot made up to 1 pint with boiling water
1 pack of frozen mixed shellfish (M&S contains, prawns, squid and scallops defrosted)
Frozen peas
1 tablespoon flat leaved parsley, finely chopped
1 lemon cut into wedges.

Method

In a non-stick frying pan, gently fry the sofritto together until the olive oil starts to separate from the mix, this can take 10 minutes.
Move the sofritto to the side of the pan and add the chorizo to the other side of the pan, let this fry off and release it's wonderful oils, add the paprika and chicken pieces, cook for 5 minutes stirring the chorizo side of the pan separately from the sofritto, cook until you have browned all the chicken. Mix everything in the pan together. Now sprinkle over the rice and stir in well to the mixture. Pour over the stock and add enough water to cover the chicken with liquid. Stir well and reduce to a simmer.
Stir gently occasionally, cook for 20 minutes. If the pan is drying out, you may need to add more boiling water.
Check the rice, you want it to be just soft and the chicken is cooked. Add the seafood and the frozen peas, stir well and continue to cook for another 5 minutes (add liquid if necessary), the prawns should be pink when fully cooked.
Sprinkle over the parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

Read More