A meal of mussels

We are very blessed to live where we do. We have great access to lots of beautiful, fresh, local produce. I feel particularly lucky to be able to visit the local weekly farmers market in our town, Torquay, to source offerings from nearby farm, field and sea.

On our latest market mission we purchased some fresh mussels, from nearby Port Arlington. They were delicious, and so simple to cook up at home.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg fresh mussels in their shells
• 5-6 fresh tomatoes, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced/ crushed
• small onion/ shallot finely diced
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• chopped fresh herbs (parsley, coriander or whatever flavours you prefer)
• 1-2 cups dry white wine
• 2 cup stock (I used chicken, but fish would no doubt be better)
• Crusty bread to serve

1. To prepare the mussels, place in the sink covered with water, discarding any open ones. Scrub any debris from the shells and de-beard the mussels (in other words, grab the hairy bit poking out of the shell and pull it off. I generally hold tight to the beard, and drag from one side of the shell to the other and it comes off without too much fuss).
2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan (one with a lid) on the stove top. Add garlic and onion/ shallot (add some chilli to if you like a little kick) and cook until onion is softened.
3. Add tomatoes, and cook for 5 minutes or until starting to form a sauce.
4. Add stock, wine and tomato paste. Add more of each of these to get the broth tasting as you like it.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add the fresh herbs.
6. Add mussels (in their shells) and toss briefly through the sauce. Cover with the lid and steam for 3-5 minutes or until the shells have come open.
7. Transfer to large serving bowl, discarding any that haven't opened, sprinkle over a little extra fresh parsley and serve with hot, crusty bread.

Perfect with a little glass of dry white wine.

xx

Prawn and wasabi nibbles

This holiday season I was in charge of a 'prawn nibble'. These little treats would be ideally suited to using pre-cooked cocktail prawns, however I pan fried green prawns in a little garlic and olive oil and served them warm so I could indulge in them as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Seaweed or Black Sesame flavoured rice crackers 
• Cocktail prawns/ Green prawn meat (depending how many you want to make get between 250-500gms) - your need as many prawns as crackers
• Half a ripe advocado
• 125gm Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1 - 2 teaspoons wasabi paste
• Good squeeze of lemon juice
• Few tablespoons good quality mayonaise

The wasabi dip is best made at least an hour before hand so it can sit in the fridge for a bit for the flavours to develop.

For the dip: Mash the advocado with a fork, and combine with the cream cheese, wasabi, lemon juice and mayonaise. The dip may need more or less wasabi, lemon and mayo, so make it up to your personal taste. 

If cooking the prawns yourself, fry them in a hot pan (they'll only need a minute or so each side) with a dash of olive oil and a clove of diced garlic and set aside to cool slightly, otherwise they'll melt your wasabi mix a bit.  

To serve:

Spoon, or pipe if you are a fancy type, a teaspoon sized dollop of wasabi mix onto each cracker and top with a prawn.

A very easy and flavoursome summer starter.

xx

Spanish Paella

My very special husband was deserving of a very special birthday dinner of late, and with the homecoming of some old friends and the recent nuptials of some others, a little dinner party seemed in order.
I do love a themed dinner so Spanish was the call of the day. Cheese croquettes to begin with all oozy and creamy on the inside and crispy crunchy on the outside, an enormous paella for mains, and a nice (non-alcoholic) Sangria to wash it all down with.
I have made paella only once before, and on that occasion I had three different recipes and my culinary whiz mother, Jen, to guide me. This time, I used the recipe that Jen and I devised on our last attempt, and the results were just as delicious.

Holly and Jen's Paella Recipe (serves 6-8 as a main)

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, chopped
• 3 chorizo sausages, sliced
• 1 red capsicum, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, diced
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 2 1/2 cups paella rice (I think arborio would probably work also)
• 7 cups chicken stock (infused with a sprig of thyme, a sprig of rosemary and a pinch of saffron), kept warm
• 1 cup of green peas 
• 15 large green prawns (I prefer to use the cutlets/ shelled version)
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• Additional pinch of saffron

Recipe:

1. Heat a little olive oil in a large paella pan (this one was about 40cm diameter)

2. Brown chorizo, then set aside.

3. Brown chicken in same pan, then set aside.

4. Add a little more oil and cook onion, garlic and capsicum until the onion is translucent.

5. Add tomatoes and paprika, and season well with salt and pepper.

6. Put the chorizo and chicken back in and stir to combine.

7. Add the rice and allow to cook until translucent.

8. Add the warm stock and additional pinch of saffron, and cook at a slight boil for 10-20 minutes (do not stir after the first 5 min, just let it sit... it's OK if it goes crunchy on the bottom, that's the way they have it traditionally).

9. Add peas and prawns on top (4 minute each side for the prawns).

10. When the rice is al dente, remove from the heat and cover completely with tin foil and leave for 15-20 minutes - Do not uncover!

11. After 20 minutes, remove foil and serve from whole pan at the table. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if desired, and serve with crusty bread.

I also made a smaller vegetarian version (adding extra green capsicum, using vegetable stock, and asparagus on top in place of prawns), and just did a third of the quantities shown in this recipe and it worked really well, so if you have less people, or a smaller pot adjust the amounts accordingly.

I hope you can enjoy this in your homes as much as we did in ours!

xx