spaghetti with crab, lemon & chilli

We're all so busy these days, have you noticed? Too busy to call, too busy to relax, and certainly too busy to cook a meal. Thank The Lord that this dish only takes 10 minutes then!

Simple, tasty, healthy (and my god, moreish), this pasta meal only uses pasta & just a handful of other ingredients, plus the obligatory olive oil of course! Have it for supper, or pile it up as a main course; either way you'll make it again & again!

Ingredients

• 300g white crab meat
• Large handful of freshly chopped parsley
• 1 red chilli, de-seeded & finely chopped
• Zest & juice of 1 lemon
• Large clove of garlic, finely sliced
• 200g spaghetti
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente (around 8 minutes) and drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan (or sauté pan). Add the crab, parsley, chilli, garlic & lemon zest, and fry gently for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly to mix together & warm through.
3. Add the remainder of the oil and the lemon juice and cook for a further 2 minutes.
4. Add the pasta & mix well until coated with the crab sauce.
5. Serve, eat, say yum a few times...

Serves 2

seared tuna with tuna tartare, scallops and pak choi salad

When we talk about cooking with tuna, many of us think of the tinned stuff, in oil, or water, or (more trendy) olive oil. Now, that type of tuna is pretty cool in its own right of course; it's cheap, it's versatile, and it makes a great addition to a salad, stirred into a tomato pasta sauce, or just mixed with some mayonnaise and thrown on toast with tomato & cheese for a quick & comforting classic tuna melt.

For dinner however, the fresh option will give you a whole different experience. Full of essential nutrients, fresh tuna really is something else! The texture is just amazing (the fresher the better), and can even be eaten raw (think sashimi), and the fish lends itself brilliantly well to Asian flavours.

Price-wise, it clearly costs more than the tinned variety, but is worth every penny, and really won't break the bank - and why should it?! A little goes a long way, and I've designed this recipe to show off a couple of ways to make the most of tuna and its beautiful qualities. As a light lunch or a swanky starter, it's all good. Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the seared tuna

• 1 piece of fresh tuna (around 350g is plenty for 4 people)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

For the tuna tartare

• 150g fresh tuna, diced into very small pieces (the smaller the better)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• ½ lime, juice only
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• ½ green chilli, finely chopped
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the scallops

• 8 scallops, corals removed
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the pak choi salad

• 2 pak choi, cleaned and thinly sliced
• ½ lime, juice only
• Small handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ green chilli, finely chopped
• Handful of beansprouts
• 3 or 4 radishes, very finely sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp clear honey

Method

1. First make the marinade for the tuna. Whisk the soy sauce, honey & sesame oil together in a bowl and place the tuna in, ensuring it gets a good coating. Leave for at least 5 minutes to soak up the flavours.
2. Next make the dressing for the salad. Mix everything together apart from the pak choi (reserve a small amount of coriander for garnish). Set to one side.
3. For the tuna tartare, mix all the ingredients together, seasoning to taste.
4. To finish the seared tuna, remove from the marinade and coat in the sesame seeds. Heat a griddle pan (or non-stick frying pan) until hot, add a small amount of olive oil and carefully place the tuna in the pan. Sear on all sides and remove to rest for a couple of minutes. The whole cooking process there should only take around 2-3 minutes in total, and don't panic of some of the seeds  burn a little; they just add to the flavour & textures!
5. For the scallops, season lightly with salt & freshly ground black pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot and cook the scallops for 30 - 60 seconds on each side, until they colour & start to caramelise slightly.
6. Finish the salad by adding the pak choi to the dressing, making sure everything gets a good coating.
7. To serve, place a small pile of salad on a plate. Next, slice the tuna into pieces no more than 1cm thick and place on top of the salad. Put 2 good spoonfuls of the tuna tartare on the plate and place a scallop on top of each. Finally, spoon over a little of the salad dressing and sprinkle over some of the reserved coriander.
8. Take photos, eat, smile, wonder how you didn't make this earlier...

Serves 4.

Special mention once again to the guys at Kish Fish for supplying the tuna & scallops. You rock!

monkfish wrapped in prosciutto with scallops, wilted spinach and tomato & basil sauce

Easter was upon us last weekend, and that all kicked off with Good Friday. Now for me, Good Friday is a bit of a tale of two stories. On the one hand the pubs are closed and we can't get hold of a pint during a long weekend, which just seems plain unfair. On the other hand though, we can stick with tradition and eat fish! Thanks yet again to the guys at Kish Fish, and even more so actually, as monkfish was one of their weekly specials!

Monkfish is just great; one of my definite favourites, and lovely and meaty, so it can take a good roasting, yet is still light enough to handle a strong sauce. I wrapped mine in prosciutto ham, but you can use serrano, parma ham, or even good old streaky bacon.

Ingredients

• 200g piece of monkfish tail
• 3-4 slices prosciutto ham (or an alternative - see above)
• Olive oil
• 6 scallops, corals removed
• Knob of butter
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the spinach:

• 2 bags baby spinach
• Olive oil

For the sauce:

• 1 small punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3-4 spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• Half a dozen fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C (fan 200C) / 425F / gas mark 7.
2. Carefully wrap the monkfish in the ham & season with black pepper.
3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in an oven-proof frying pan until hot, add the fish and brown on all sides (around 1 minutes on each side should do it).
4. Transfer the pan to the middle shelf of the oven and roast the fish for around 8 minutes or so, until the fish is cooked all the way through.
5. Remove from the oven (be careful, it'll be very hot), place on a board and cover loosely with foil to rest for 5-7 minutes.
6. While the fish is resting, make the sauce. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over a medium high heat and add the garlic & spring onion. Fry for a couple of minutes until softened.
7. Add the cherry tomatoes and basil, and cook for around 3 minutes. The tomatoes will start to break down and go mushy.
8. That's the sauce done & can be served as it is, but I blitzed mine with a hand blender until smooth - entirely up to you!
9. Place the spinach & oil in a saucepan over a medium heat, place the lid on the pan and cook until wilted down, stirring every 30 seconds or so. Drain through a sieve or colander.
10. For the scallops, add 1 tbsp olive oil to a small frying pan along with a knob of butter, and heat until hot (but not smoking). Season your scallops with a little salt & freshly ground black pepper and add to the pan. Cook for 30 - 60 seconds, until they start to brown & caramelise, then turn and cook for the same time on the other side.
11. To serve, place the spinach in a neat pile in the centre of the plate, lay slices of the monkfish on top and drizzle a little sauce over. Put 3 more small dollops of sauce around the plate and sit the scallops on top.
12. Eat, smile, tell all your friends...

Serves 2.

prawn & asparagus risotto with seared scallops

I think we all feel a bit on the glum side at the moment, stuck in the midst of this ridiculous weather. Wet & windy is not what we want! It is, however, what we've got, so this weekend I went down the comfort food route, and made Ms Chefilepsy & I a risotto. Quick, simple, hearty, and tasty enough to take your mind off what's outside, just for a little while at least.

I got hold of some lovely peeled fresh prawns from the guys at Kish Fish on Saturday morning (as well as half a dozen scallops, but then I just can't resist scallops!), and had some asparagus kicking about, so that decided what was going in the dish for me! You can stick in pretty much anything you want; the basic risotto is usually the same each time, with your main ingredient of choice just being stirred in towards the end.

Ingredients

• 200g peeled prawns (cooked or raw - I used raw)
• 350g risotto rice, such as Arborio or Vialone Nano
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 glass dry white wine
• 2 litres warm chicken or vegetable stock (I went for a 50/50 split)
• 20 asparagus spears, blanched in boiling slated water for 4 minutes, drained & cut into 
• 12 scallops, corals removed (optional)
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A few knobs of butter
• Handful of freshly chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

1. Heat a large saute pan over a medium heat and add 2 or 3 knobs of butter. Once melted, add the shallots & fry gently for 4-5 mins until softened.
2. Add the rice and stir to coat. Cook for around 3 minutes then add the wine.
3. Reduce down a little over 2 or 3 minutes then add the first 3 ladles of stock.
4. Stir gently (but constantly) with a wooden spoon until you can 'draw' a line in the rice without it filling up with liquid (think of Moses parting the sea!).
5. Keep adding the stock, a ladle or two at a time, and follow step 4 until the stock has all gone. It WILL all fit, trust me!
6. Before you add the last ladle of stock, stir in the prawns and asparagus, until the prawns are cooked & warmed through, which should only take a couple of minutes.
7. Season to taste with salt & pepper, take off the heat and stand with the lid on for 2-3 minutes.
8. The risotto should be lovely and creamy, not stiff & sticky, and you should stir in a few more knobs of butter at the end to increase the richness.
9. Finally stir in the parsley & serve, garnished with 2 or 3 additional asparagus spears and 3 scallops per serving if you have them.
10. If you've gone for the scallops option, just season them on both ends with salt & pepper, heat some butter in a pan until melted & hot (but not burnt), and fry the scallops on each end for around 1 minute, or until seared.

Serves 4.

scallops with pea & mint purée, black pudding & rocket salad

I just love scallops! Sweet, soft, indulgent-tasting flesh (not too 'fishy' for those of you who don't like fish to taste of fish!), and really good for you too! Not only that but this luxurious seafood has really come down in price recently, and finally, they're REALLY easy to cook, meaning you can have a swanky restaurant regular in your own home without too much trouble!

Paired with some thing meaty (but not too meaty!), the succulence of scallops is highlighted even more, for the ultimate surf 'n' turf. Great with pork belly (or the more expensive venison) for a main course, or as a starter with something lighter, such as the black pudding I've paired with it here. It's a classic combination, and for one good reason: it tastes fantastic!

Thanks again to my friends at Kish Fish for supplying the fantastic scallops!

Ingredients

• 6 scallops, cleaned & corals removed.
• 6 slices of black pudding, cut to approx. 1cm tick

For the pea purée:

• 200g/7oz frozen garden peas
• 2 sprigs of fresh mint
• Small knob of butter

For the rocket salad:

• Good handful of rocket leaves
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 1 garlic clove, crushed (or chopped very finely)
• ½ lemon (juice only)
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Bring a small pan of water to the boil & add the peas & mint sprigs. Cook for around 3 minutes, until he peas have softened & are tender.
2. Drain the peas & mint, pick the mint leaves from the sprigs (careful, they may be hot!). Add to a blender with a knob of butter & blitz until smooth. Alternatively you can of course use a hand blender.
3. For the rocket salad, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl except the rocket and stir well until thoroughly mixed. Finally add the rocket leaves by hand and mix together until well coated.
4. Heat a little oil in a frying pan until hot and fry the black pudding for around 2 minutes on each side, until cooked through and crispy ion the outside. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
5. Add a little more olive oil to the pan, heat again until hot. Season your scallops with a little salt & freshly ground black pepper and add to the pan. Cook for 30 - 60 seconds, until they start to brown & caramelise, then turn and cook for the same time on the other side. The timing will vary depending on the size of your scallops, but even the largest ones out there shouldn't take more than a minute on each side.
6. To serve, spoon 3 dollops of the pea purée onto a plate, then add a slice of black pudding, finally topping off with a scallop.
7. Dress the rest of the plate with some of the rocket salad, in any way that looks pretty!

Serves 2.

crab salad with fresh herbs & cucumber

This salad makes a good sized starter or a lovely light lunch, and is packed with flavour thanks to the combination of freshly chopped herbs. Use fresh crab meat if you can (although tinned will do just fine too!).

Ingredients (for 2 people)

• 300g white crab meat
• Handful of fresh chives, chopped
• Handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
• Handful of fresh basil, finely chopped
• Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• Zest & juice of 1 lime
• Pinch of ground white pepper
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• Olive oil
• ¼ cucumber, very thinly sliced

Method

1. Place all the ingredients (except the cucumber) into a bowl and mix gently with a fork.
2. To serve, layer the crab mixture between 2 layers of the cucumber - use a cooking ring/mould if you want to go for a bit of swanky presentation.
3. Finish with a chive or two on top of each stack and scatter chopped chives around for an even more impressive looking plate!
4. Enjoy with a nice glass of chilled dry white wine. Or maybe two. Or...

squid with lemon & chilli

This is a recipe I picked up when I was living in Spain and ticks all the boxes: It's fresh, it's cheap, it's healthy, and above all, it's tasty! And it smells fantastic when you're cooking it! Squid is low in calories and is high in nutrients such as Vitamin A, potassium and calcium. And at around only €8/kilo, it makes for an incredibly economical ingredient. So don't be scared by fresh squid, and give this a go. It's a much nicer alternative to deep fried, battered (rubbery) squid rings!

Ingredients

• 4 fresh squid, cleaned & prepared*
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 red chillis, de-seeded & sliced very thinly
• 500g new potatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Large handful of fresh mint, chopped
• Large handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Olive oil
• 4 knobs of butter
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

*To prepare my squid, I usually put slices though it, but be careful not to go all the way across. To do this safely, just lay a large knife inside the squid, and slice across with a second knife, then repeat on the other side. The knife inside the squid will act as a barrier to stop you cutting all the way through and ending up with squid rings! This technique is great for getting all the other flavours into the squid, and looks professional too!

Method

1. Place the potatoes in boiling salted water & cook for around 8 minutes, until starting to get soft. Drain and leave to dry in their own steam in the colander.
2. When the potatoes have cooled slightly, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 2 knobs of butter over a medium high heat in a large heavy frying pan, and add the potatoes, crushing down slightly with a wooden spoon or a masher.
3. When the potatoes are starting to colour nicely, make space in the pan and add a drop more olive oil, along with the red onion.
4. Cook until soft, then remove the potato & onion mixture and keep to one side in a warm dish.
5. Add a little glug of olive oil to the pan. Season the squid lightly on both sides and fry for around 2 minutes on each side; you should see the squid starting to lose it's opaque look.
6. Add another couple of knobs of butter to the pan along with another glug of olive oil and add the chilli, garlic and parsley. Toss around so all the flavours get into the squid. Pour over half the lemon juice, a little more seasoning to taste, and toss again to make sure everything gets a good coating.
7. Put the potatoes & onion back in the pan and again, toss around to make sure everything picks up the flavours of everything else.
8. To serve, place the potatoes on a large platter and lay the squid on top.
9. Finally, squeeze over the rest of the lemon juice and sprinkle with the fresh mint.

Serves 4.