This is one of the best recipe books I have ever bought. I have tried quite a few recipes in it, and all have proven to be utterly successful. Easy and quick to make, and very tasty!

I tried one recipe tonight, and here it is (with my own adaptation):

Spaghetti with Prawns and Chili

(Serve 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course)

Ingredients:

200g prawns, peeled

30 ml oil

4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

4 spring onions, finely chopped

8 hot chillies, finely chopped

200g sunblush tomatoes (see tips below)

125 ml white wine

50g rocket leaves

1. Cook pasta according to packet instruction.
2. Fry garlic, spring onion and chillies for a few minutes.
3. Tip in the tomatoes and the prawns, fry for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the white wine and let it bubble up. Add the rocket leaves and stir until wilted a little.
5. Drain the pasta when ready, toss in the chilli-prawn pan.

Tips:

1. I added the heads of the prawns to the sauce for extra flavour.
2. 8 hot chillies are quite a lot. Use less if you don’t like spicy food. Chillies and prawns go very well together.
3. Chopping up chillies can make your fingers feel very hot. Either chop up very quickly, or protect your fingers with gloves or plastic film. (I did none of the above then I stupidly took out my contact lenses – it really stung my eyes!!!! Don’t try it!)
4. Sunblush tomatoes are made in this way: Preheat the oven to 220C. Cut cherry tomatoes into half and sit them cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon dried thyme and 30 ml olive oil. Put tomatoes in the oven, immediately turn off oven. Leave them in the oven overnight or for a day without opening the oven door. This intensifies the tomato flavour. I totally fall in love with it!

The dish smelt so good that I couldn’t wait to eat. I forgot to take a picture of the dish. Anyway, I will make it again and I will upload a photo of the dish when I make it next time. : )

If you are interested in other recipes in the Nigella Lawson recipe book, just go the library and borrow it. After all, we pay taxes and public library is one of the few public facilities that we actually use!

Tags: Nigella Lawson, Pasta, prawns, Recipe, Recipes, Spaghetti

Prawns with Chilli, Parsley, Ginger and Garlic on Toasted Ciabatta bread.

A fusion between Italian and Thai comes to mind when you taste this quick and easy to prepare dish and it should prove to be a popular one for friends and family. It can be served as a starter or a main course – you’ll need the following ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil

1 finger-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced

2-3 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced

16 large whole tiger prawns, tails on or off (use more if prawns are small)

1-2 lemons

1 handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Sea salt and ground black pepper

4 long slices of ciabatta bread, toasted

Method: Heat a large frying pan and add 4 tablespoons of olive oil, ginger, chilli, garlic and prawns. Stir-fry for about 3 minutes, then turn the heat down and squeeze in the juice of 1 lemon. Add the parsley and add a few splashes of olive oil. Toss around and remove from heat. The sauce should be nice and juicy. It may need a little more lemon juice. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Serve immediately over the ciabatta. Enjoy!!

Tips: Keep a bottle of chilled white wine in the fridge to accompany this dish. Add more chilli if you like it spicy.

Tags: food, prawns, Recipes