Fish Pie with Prawns

I am surprised that this Fish Pie recipe hasn’t turned up earlier on my blog. My whole family loves it and I have been making it for years as it is so delicious. It is a bit of a cheat’s pie since it uses garlic and herbs cream cheese as a base of the sauce so the flavor of the pie is sorted right from the start.

This pie can be prepared a day earlier and just baked when needed. That is why it works really well when you know you will not have time to prepare dinner the next day but you still want to serve something really tasty really quickly. So as soon as you are in your kitchen after being away from home, you can put this dish to the cold oven, put the temperature up and bake it for 40 minutes. In the meantime, you can cook some vegetables to serve it with, lay the table and get everybody gathered at the table for a delicious meal. Really convenient when you are short of time.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

800g potatoes, peeled and cut into equal sized pieces,

50g butter,

200ml milk (plus 3-5 tbsp optionally, if the potato puree is too dry),

2 tsp cornflour,

150g garlic and herbs cream cheese,

400g white fish, cut into bite size portions,

200g prawns (cooked or raw), shelled and cleaned,

salt and pepper.

METHOD:

1. Cook the potatoes in salted water till they are soft.
2. Preheat a fan oven to 160 Celsius degrees.
3. When the potatoes are cooked, add butter and mash them well, check the seasoning.
4. Pour the milk in a frying pan, add the cream cheese and gently melt it on a medium heat.
5. Add the fish, raw prawns, salt and pepper, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. If you are using cooked prawns.
6. Transfer the fish to an ovenproof dish and cover everything with the mashed potatoes; decorate, if you wish and put to the hot oven for approx. 30 minutes until the top is nice and golden. If you prepared the pie in advance and kept it in the fridge, put it to the cold oven and then turn the oven on. You will need an extra 10-15 minutes.

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Thai Style Prawns [Shrimps] Stir-Fry

Although I experiment a lot with cooking new dishes, sometimes when I find a meal we love, I tend to make it often and don’t look for other options. So when I buy prawns [shrimps] and think how I should cook them, I often go back to my Pasta with Prawns recipe. It is quick, easy to make and delicious. But I do realize that by continuing to choose this yummy but safe option, I may not cook a really wonderful but other prawn dish.

So when I bought shrimps last time I decided to cook them differently: slightly spicy in a coconut sauce. The meal took only minutes to prepare (I think the jasmine rice took longer to cook!) and was very, very good. So it is a perfect dinner idea on a busy evening but it could easily be served for a dinner party with another stir-fry as well.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

500g prawns, without heads, shells and intestines,

1 tin (400ml) coconut milk,

1 tbsp oil,

salt and pepper.

Sauce:

0.5 red chilli (without seeds), thinly sliced (you can use more chilies, if you prefer this dish to be spicier),

1 onion, chopped,

5cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated,

5cm lemon grass stalk (without the hard outer leaves), chopped,

6 blanched almonds,

0.5 tsp turmeric,

0.5 tsp salt.

METHOD:

1. Put all the sauce ingredients to a food processor, add 3 tbsp of coconut milk and process until you end up with a smooth paste.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or a large frying pan, add the prawns and stir fry for 2-3 minutes; remove from the wok.
3. Put the sauce and the rest of the coconut milk to the wok and bring to boil.
4. Stir in the fried prawns, heat up and adjust seasoning.
5. Serve with cooked jasmine rice.

This dish is inspired by a recipe from “The Complete Wok & Stir-Fry Cookbook” 

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Bavette with Prawns and Spicy Tomato Sauce

I think I must have been Italian in my previous life – I love their food. And pasta has always had a special place in my heart: whenever I am in an Italian restaurant, whether it is in Italy or anywhere else, I always order pasta and I never get bored of it. At home I have to stop myself from cooking pasta more often than once per week (only because I try to cut on refined grains - luckily I can use whole meal pasta so I have an excuse!).

This recipe is simply wonderful: very easy and only a few ingredients that work perfectly well with each other. It is so simple that it can be prepared after a long day at work without much effort but from the other hand – festive enough to be served for guests. I have tested it many times and my guests have always asked for second helpings!

INGREDIENTS (4 portions):

3 garlic cloves thinly chopped,

0.5 chilli (without seeds, quarter chopped and quarter left as one piece),

2 tbsp chopped parsley,

2 tins of tomatoes,

2 tbsp olive oil,

0.5 tsp sugar,

Salt and pepper,

100g fresh spinach,

400g prawns without shells,

400g bavette (or spaghetti),

basil.

METHOD:

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan on a medium heat; add the garlic, chilli and parsley, fry stirring constantly for a short while till aroma is released.
2. If you are using whole tomatoes, cut them into smaller pieces at first, then add to the pan and increase the heat so the mixture boils.
3. Decrease the heat and cook for 15 min. till the sauce thickens. In the meantime you can check its taste – add sugar and if the sauce is too spicy, discard the piece of chilli.
4. Cook the pasta as per the packet instruction.
5. Add the spinach to the sauce, stir.
6. Adjust the seasoning and add the prawns to the sauce. If you are using cooked prawns, just reheat them; if raw – cook them in the sauce till they change their colour to pink.
7. Sprinkle with chopped basil.

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