Two Of My Favourite Things Come Together - Prawn Couscous

Two Of My Favourite Things Come Together - Prawn Couscous

   October 25, 2020       Vussey

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 Versatile, Tasty, One To Share.

This is such a great recipe because it is so versatile, and I love anything where I can switch it around depending on what I have or how I’m feeling, and this is exactly that kind of meal.

The Prawns can be baked in the oven as I have done here, I prefer them done that way, though be careful to not overcook them, or pan fry them if you prefer, it really doesn’t make much of a difference to the final result. I prefer to keep them in the same dish, marinade them, then pop them straight in the oven.  That’s easier and also less washing up! Plus, you get to drizzle on all those lovely juices. If you want to devein the prawns, you can do this either before the marinating process, which I do as this allows the marinade to get deeper into the prawn itself, or you can do this as you eat - this is entirely subjective.

The couscous too can be changed for anything else you might prefer, salad would be a nice alternative. I personally, love couscous, it is one of the easiest and quickest dishes to prepare in the kitchen which means it’s great for a mid week meal when you’re busy.  With the couscous, I have added some pretty basic flavours, however you can add anything you fancy, anything which compliments the prawns, which of course, asparagus does.

Now you might have wondered why my recipe mentions asparagus ends? Whether it was a mis-print and no it wasn’t. I love to use as much of the food I buy as possible with very little wastage. To this end, asparagus is a perfect example. Like most people, I snap off the ends and use the tips in most recipes, however I don’t then chuck those ends, but put them in the fridge for another meal like this one for example. So for this, I take those ends, peel them, and thinly slice from the best end until I get to the very dry and woody part. That’s good for stock.

So those are my asparagus ends - still sweet and lovely and great to cook with.

And this, this is a great dish, try it.

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As A Nation We Hanker For Good Food, Yet Do We Know What It Is?

As A Nation We Hanker For Good Food, Yet Do We Know What It Is?

   October 11, 2020       Vussey

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 Let Me Ask, Do You Dilly-Dally In The Deli?

I love them myself, always have, and I can’t resist walking into one wherever they are, but the problem I have is that I’m nearly always, if not always, disappointed.  They are never quite what I’m expecting, or hoping for. They never have what I want, and they never surprise me, which for me is the most disappointing thing of all. Frankly, I rarely dilly-dally, and if I do, it’s nearly always because I’m, dare I say, awkward as I have walked in there and am now going to have to walk out with nothing and it’s definitely not going to go unnoticed because invariably I am the only person in there!  That’s another thing about these deli’s here in the UK, they are nearly always empty. Just how do they continue to survive?

Keep Trying

However as a nation, we keep trying, we open up yet another, I always see one on the high street, and again get excited (what the hell for I don’t know), so I’m guessing the research must be there. 

In my opinion we all like to think we want to eat good food and we all like to think we know about good food, yet when it comes down to it, neither is true of the majority of the British.  If you have ever had the opportunity to visit a deli in any other county in Europe then you will understand where I am coming from. When you step into a deli here in the UK your heart starts to sink when you catch a glimpse, immediately upon entering, of those familiar products and you sigh under your breath, thinking to yourself, ‘here we go again’! 

The produce

What we are looking for when we go in is produce which is fresh, new, interesting, pure, tasty, unique and both local & international. What we see when we enter is a cabinet filled with exactly the same kinds of cheese we can source at the supermarket, only less of a selection. There are the plastic vacuum packed meats we can get anywhere, along with the usual suspects in the meat counter. We see bags upon bags of pasta of all shapes, sizes and colours, there are tins and jars which upon first glance might appear interesting, but which are in fact easily sourced from the specialist sections at any large store.  Boring! All so predictable and boring!

The cost

There is one thing I do find unique when shopping at these deli’s - that’s the price!  They purely overcharge for everything, I should imagine to pay for their overheads. These are invariably independent sellers, so If they’re selling the same goods as the supermarket, you can’t expect them to be able to sell it at the same price?  Exactly the reason why they need to offer something different - give the customer something unique and you’ll not only give them a reason to shop with you, but you can charge them accordingly as they can only purchase that product from you in that area. Be different. Be deliciously delicatessen for a change!

If you know of a good, different deli in your area which you would recommend, then let me know as I would love to visit them, be surprised and delighted, and if I am I will add them to My Recommendations.

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Another Old Favourite, Chilli Con Carne

Another Old Favourite, Chilli Con Carne

   October 10, 2020       Vussey

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 Some Like It Hot!

But here’s my version, and it is less hot, but really good.  In my household, I have to cater for many tastes, some like it hot, and some not so, therefore, I give my Chilli Con Carne a bit of a kick, so it defines the dish, but for the more discerning fire eaters, I lay the table with some Jalapeño’s to top it off. I also like to serve with small sides of homemade salsa, and guacamole.

As always, I like to use really good ingredients in this Chilli, and the tinned tomatoes are not only tasty, but are the perfect consistency. I use these ones from Mutti you can get them from good supermarkets. The smokey tomato and hot chipotle chilli pastes are from the Marks & Spencer Cook With range, its a fabulous collection. I notice that more and more cooks are adding chocolate now to their chilli, though I have used chocolate in my recipe for as long as I have been making it. It adds the depth of flavour and a richness that you can’t get from anything else when you’re making the flavours from scratch, it really is not the same without it. I use mostly Galaxy which is soft and silky and melds into the dish perfectly, and when I can’t get hold of it, I will use a good Belgian chocolate, but always milk chocolate.

So here it is, try it!

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