Unintended tapas party

As any food blogger will know, getting carried away in the moment and forgetting to take photos is disastrous. Worse still is waking up bleary eyed the next morning and looking at the photos you did take, the image quality almost as blurry as your head. There were many pretty and delicious courses in this meal, but only a few have equally pretty images to match. The 'unintended' comment is because what was supposed to be a BBQ became an indoor event due to rain, each course simply handed over as it was completed with everyone standing at the breakfast bar. The whole meal, actually, was different than planned, the 3 hour line up to buy live spot prawns simply too daunting. 

Menu

Kale buds pan fried with saffron and butter

Green beans with soy, chili, garlic and sesame

Potatoes cooked in coconut milk with Thai spices

Potatoes with lemon, garlic and oregano

Dover sole with cilantro, coconut and chili

Halibut cheeks with saffron and chives

Prawn sugar cane skewers

Recipe : Green beans with soy, chili, garlic and sesame

A simple recipe whipped up by Juenessa using condiments in the fridge.

2 cups green beans, topped and tailed

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp Hunnan brand chili sauce

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 tsp sesame oil

Place the green beans in a bowl and add all other ingredients and mix well. (You can eat them raw like this if you want to). 

Leave the beans to marinate for about 30 minutes allowing all the flavours to mingle and then tip everything into a frying pan with about 1 tbsp oil and cook over medium heat until crisp tender, about 7 minutes.

Recipe : Potatoes with coconut milk

1 bag (about 2 lbs) of small baby potatoes or medium pots cut into small chunks

1/2 can coconut milk, shaken well first

1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

1 tsp chili powder

Extras that I wish I had used:

1 - 2 tbsp fish sauce

1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 - 4 kaffir lime leaves, shredded

Preheat the oven to 425oF.

Place the potatoes in a baking tray large enough for a single layer and pour the coconut milk on top.

Add the other ingredients with the extras if you wish and stir well.

Bake for about 45 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the dish is very fragrant

Recipe : Potatoes with lemon, garlic and oregano

1 bag potatoes as above

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Juice of one lemon plus 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, peeled but left whole

2 tsp dried oregano

4 bay leaves

1 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper

Follow the instructions above for oven temp and placing potatoes in baking tray.

Mix the oil and lemon together in a small bowl until amalgamated and pour over the potatoes.

Nestle the garlic cloves and bay leaves amongst the potatoes, sprinkle over the oregano and season well.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

Kale buds. At first, when I spotted these beauties, I became momentarily excited at finally finding what I thought was purple sprouting broccoli, but, alas no. At $14.99 per pound, the price alone suggested the rarity of these over-wintered flower buds. Of course I had to buy some, first boiling for a few minutes and then sauteing with a little saffron and Pernod butter. They tasted delicately of kale with less chewiness but I suspect the novelty value outweighed any significant improvement from regular kale leaves.

Recipe : Dover sole with cilantro, coconut and chili

In the UK, Dover sole is a very expensive fish, usually reserved for special occasions. My confusion, therefore, was entirely fitting when I saw it for sale in a supermarket here. It was really cheap. A little Googling helped clear things up, see here.

6 pieces of Pacific Dover sole or other white fish

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste or 3 tsps each finely minced garlic and ginger

3 tsp sweet chili sauce

1/2 tbsp cilantro chutney

Mix the coconut milk, garlic - ginger mix, chili sauce and chutney together in a bowl and add the fish. Marinate for 30 minutes and then either grill, (broil), or oven bake at 425oF for about 20 minutes until the fish is opaque and cooked through. You can use some of the marinade to baste the fish a little while cooking also.

Recipe : Halibut cheeks with saffron and chives

No photo for this one, but as the Dover Sole was cheap, this Halibut was expensive. Thinking maybe the label cheek was something of a misnomer, I was surprised that it is actually fish face. Regarded as a delicacy, they are extremely meaty, reminiscent of a scallop, so much so that my fish eating vegetarian friend commented that they would be a good substitute for anyone craving the texture of meat.

4 halibut cheeks

a little olive oil

a sprinkling of salt (I used chive and citrus salt)

1 tsp of butter per cheek (I used saffron butter)

Simply bake or grill the fish for about 15 minutes until tender. Sprinkle with salt and dot with butter. They are sweet and meaty with a texture that shreds slightly as you cut into it.

Recipe : Sugar cane prawn skewers

These sounded so appealing in the book I cherish, savoury and salty prawn molded around a stick of sweet sugar cane to be sucked and bitten while eating to release all the sweet juices. They took a fair amount of work, but they were worth it, although I suspect the barbecue would render them slightly more crisp and caramelised than my standard broiler.

Adapted from The Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen

1 lb of shrimp

1 clove garlic, minced

1 scallion, chopped finely

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp oil, preferably peanut

1 tsp hot sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 pieces sugar cane

First, peel the sugarcane which can be quite difficult. Use a sharp knife and take your time. Cut each piece into four lengthways.

Combine the other ingrdients in a food processor until you have a smooth mousse. Transfer to a bowl, cover and chill for 2 hours.

When ready to cook, take an eighth of the shrimp mixture and flatten out onto your lightly oiled palm. Place a piece of sugar cane on top and mound the shrimp around the cane. You'll find that it should stick together quite well. Repeat with the others.

If you want to barbecue these, grill over high direct heat for about 2 - 3 minutes per side until firm and golden brown. If broiling, as I did, simply place under a preheated high grill until also golden brown and firm. Let cool a little before serving. Remember to bite and suck the cane to release some sweet juice while eating.