Prawn and sweet corn fritters

These prawn and sweet corn fritters hail from Southeast Asia (in Malaysia they're known as cucur udang. Or something like that.) and they've become one of my kitchen's favourites - they've won me fans all the way in Middle East, too! For gluten-free treats use rice flour. In any case I think you'll find these will be snapped up in no time!

Depending on the size this recipe yields 24-30 fritters

Prawn and sweet corn fritters:

150 g sweet corn

200 g king prawns (cooked) 

1 green chilli

1 spring onion stalk, chopped

Handful of coriander leaves (1 tbsp when chopped)

2,5 dl ice cold fizzy water

3 dl flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 generous tsp curry

1 generous tsp salt

Oil for frying

Combine the dry ingredients and pour in water, whisking quickly. The consistency should be thick. Add drained corn, roughly chopped prawns, spring onion, coriander and chilli. Heat oil in heavy pan , using 2 tablespoons drop in the fritters and and fry them in batches until golden and crispy. Drain on kitchen towels and serve immediately.

Serve with lime wedges... or dip! Such as mango, chilli and ginger dip or the dip I served with the asparagus tempuras.

Mango, chilli and ginger dip:

1 dl mayonnaise

1 dl Greek yogurt

1 small babyfood jar of mango purée

about 1 cm piece of ginger, finely chopped

1 small red chilli

the juice and finely grated zest of 1/2 lime

1 generous tbsp chopped coriander leaves

salt

Combine everything else but salt to a smooth dip and let sit in the fridge for about an hour. Check the taste and season as needed.

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Vietnam on a plate

As the weather consistently fails to get even remotely summery I've been poring over a fellow blogger's photos from her recent trip to Vietnam and dreaming of a holiday. A long one. Somewhere far away. But I've got a while to go before my summer holiday so I have to make do with travelling on a plate instead. Luckily there has been progress in this part of the world too and you can pick up ingredients for all sorts of exotic dishes at your own supermarket!

In Vietnam these crunchy pancakes are known as banh xeo and make for a wonderfully summery street food treat. The pancake batter is gluten-free and you can get as creative as you like with the filling. Like, skip the prawns and go all veggie! Wrap them in a salad leaf, dip in the bright (sweet and sour and hot all at the same time) Nuoc Cham- sauce and enjoy! Or, as they say in Vietnam (according to Google Translate anyway...): tận hưởng!

Depending on the size of your frying pan this makes 4-6 pancakes

Hoi An- pancakes:

2,5 dl rice flour

a little less than 2 dl cold fizzy water

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp salt

Combine the dry ingredients, pour in water and mix quickly to a smooth batter. Let rest in room temperature for an hour.

Filling:

250 g (king)prawns

1 small chilli

the juice of 1 lime

2 cloves of garlic

salt, black pepper

1 small carrot, peeled and grated

½ box bean sprouts

3 spring onion stalks, chopped

to serve: fresh herbs (coriander, mint and/or Thai basil), salad leaves

Thaw and peel the prawns. Cut them in half lengthwise and remove the vein if needed. Combine the ingredients for the marinade and let marinate for about half an hour. Drain, season with salt and pepper and quickly fry them. Peel and grate the carrots and squeeze out excess liquid. Chop the spring onions. 

Heat a couple of tbsp oil in a pan. Pour in 1/4 (16 if using a small frying pan) of the batter to an even layer (mix the batter between batches as it tends to separate!). Fry for about 5 minutes until the edges start getting crispy and curly. Then spoon 1/4 (or 1/6) of the filling and continue frying until the bottom is golden and crunchy. Fold the pancake in half and, if needed, drain on kitchen towel. Cut in slices and serve wrapped in a salad leaf with soe fresh herbs.

Nuoc Cham- dipping sauce:

1-2 small red chillies (depending on how fiery you like yours)

2 cloves of garlic

a couple of cm opiece of ginger, grated (generous t tsp)

3 tsp sugar

the juice of 2-3 limes (generous 3/4 dl )

generous ½ dl fish sauce

Combine the ingredients and check taste. Add more sugar or chilli as needed.

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Soup Sunday: laksa

As the days get greyer and the germs even more resilient this soup becomes a fixture in my kitchen, every year. This is also one of The Gentleman's all time favourites in my repertoir. This will keep that flue at bay!

Serves 4

3 lemon grass stems

1-2 chillis

3 large garlic cloves

7 dl water

1 vegetable stock cube

5 cm piece of ginger

3 kaffir lime leaves (or small bay leaves)

1 can coconut milk

1/2 dl fish sauce

1/4 dl soy sauce

1/4 dl brown sugar (or palm sugar)

2 carrots

150 g mangetout

60 g pack of noodles

50 g shiitake mushrooms

to serve: fresh coriander leaves, spring onions, lime wedges

First make the stock. This gets the flavours out of lemongrass and such without you having to spit them out later on in that dreadfully unladylike fashion (yes, a lady swallows.) Measure the stock, finely sliced ginger, chilli, garlic and kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass into the pot. Cut about 10 cm piece of the lemongrass (the root end) and cut it in half and bash it a couple of times with the coconut milk can. This gets the flavours going! Let simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Then run it through a sieve, return to the pot and add fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar. The add the veggies and mushrooms, thinly sliced as well. The trick to  make this easy with carrots is first to shave them lengthwise with a cheese grater and then julienne them. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add prawns. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes until the prawns are done and then add noodles you've boiled (cut into shorter strips if you wants) and serve.

You could use any old veg you have lying around and this is equally good made with chicken!

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Fish pie a.k.a. how to win over mother-in-law

Dating an older man has its perks. But unless the said older man is in his eighties, there's a chance that even he comes with mother-in-law.

The diet of mine seemed to consist mostly of Silk Cuts, but in an attempt to win her over I decided to have her over for dinner. I cooked for hours and in the process chopped off my fingertips (accidentally, mind you - I'm not a serial killer on the run from FBI, desperately trying to get rid of my fingerprints!) But with Scandinavian stoicism (and a plastic bag wrapped around my bleeding hand) I soldiered on and managed to get the food on the table. And what did she do? She brought her own food. In a zip lock bag. Didn't want to "be any trouble", you see.

Since then she (too) has dared to try my cooking. And actually liked some of it. Such as this British classic: fish pie.

If you want, you can substitute orange zest with lemon zest but I find orange gives fish dishes a lovely warmth. If you prefer a fishier taste, instead of milk you could make the sauce with shell fish stock, in case you've been busy making some. 

Depending on the serving size this feeds 3-4

Fish stew:

2 tbsp butter

1/2 onion
1/2 tbsp grated orange zest
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt, white pepper
2 tbsp flour
5 dl milk
1 tbsp lobster fond
1 tbsp tomato pure
1 dl cream
1 tsp dill
50 g peas

300 g firm fleshed white fish
4 small squid tubes cut to 1/2 cm rings (about 1 dl)
12 king prawns
3 slices of cold smoked salmon

Mashed potatos:

8 potatos
6 generous tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped chives
hot milk
salt, white pepper

Boil or steam the potatos. Mash with butter adding milk (if needed) for right consistency.Add chives and season. Let cool until ready to bake.

Finely chop the onion and sauté in butter until soft. Then add flour and keep stirring for a couple of minutes. Then add (hot) milk and stir until smooth. Keep cooking over moderate heat for about 10 minutes. Then add lobster find, orange zest, tomato concentrate, chilli and cream. Check the taste and season as needed. Then add fish and seafood in the order of cooking. First fish, cut into strips of a couple of cm thick, a couple of minutes later king prawns and a couple of minutes after that the squid and the peas. Cook, covered for a little while until everything's done.  Divide into bowls and let cool for a bit.

Top with strips of cold smoked salmon. Then spread the mash on top (for an even finish, use the back of a spoon dipped in hot milk!). If you want, you can decorate using a fok. If you really want to go to town with it, you can use a piping bag, but in that case you'd better double the quantity of mash.

Bake at 200° until the pie starts to colour a bit.

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Red fish curry

My love of seafood has probably become obvious to everyone reading this blog. So, any given time my freezer is packed with some sort of oceany delicacies. One of my favourites is calamari and I usually buy it in bigger lots which I then clean and freeze in batches ready to be be used. On a moment my delusional mind has probably perceived as organizational my brain has devised a classification system. "A, B, C", I hear you ask? Or perhaps something as logical as "1,2,3"? Nope. I am currently the proud owner of several little bags labelled with the following codes: I, B and R. What the letter stands for I'm not sure even a Dan Brown novel could make sense of. But there must be some logic behind them, right...?

The ones classified as "R" found their way into this dish, along with the king prawns, mussels and fish left behind from Spaghetti Nero. This also provided a convenient way to give a new lease on life for some herbs and such by turning them into a red curry paste! The original recipe came from here though it did get modified a bit. I did not have shrimp paste, so I had the choice of either rushing to the Asian supermarket across the town or substituting it with lobster fond. Guess which one I opted for?

Asian supermarkets are such treats - any foodie finds him/herself giddy there as a kid in a candy store. Not only are they superb for all Asian spices and such, they also tend to have the most amazing (and superbly affordable!) seafood selection. In Helsinki there's no place like Vii Voan in Hakaniemi.

This portion of curry paste makes enough for 4 person. Or two 2 person's portions - the leftover paste can be frozen.

Red curry paste:

1 shallot or small regular onion

4 cloves of garlic

2 lemon grass stems 

2-3 red chillis (depending on their size and your palate)

1 heaped tsp grated fresh ginger (or ginger paste)

2 tbsp tomato concentrate

3 tbsp fish sauce or soy sauce

1 tsp lobster fond

1 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp gound coriander seeds
3/4 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp sugar (or more, depending on your taste)

Grind the ingredients to a paste either in a blender or using a pestle and mortar. Start with the tougher, more fibrous ones such as lemon grass and ginger. If needed, add a dash of water to get a smoother paste - any excess liquid will evaporate when it hits the hot pan. Check the taste and season with salt as needed.

Red fish curry (serves 2):

2 generous tbsp red curry paste (half of the amount above)
1/2 red chilli
1 tsp grated ginger
1 garlic clove
1 can coconut milk (thick and creamy - none of that watert low-fat variety)
200 g firm, white fish (I used pangasius)
10 king prawns
10 mussels
4 squid tubes (á appr. 15 cm) 

fresh lime, rest of the chilli and coriander leaves to serve

Heat the wok/ frying pan. Add finely chopped chilli, ginger and garlic. Toss them in a little bit of oil and then add curry paste. Add coconut milk, stir until smooth and bring to boil. Then reduce the heat and start adding the fish and seafood in the order of cooking. 

First add fish, cut to strips of a couple of cm thick. Cook, covered for about 5 minutes and then add prawns (if you're using raw ones). Keep cooking for 5 minutes longer until the prawns are done. Then add mussels and the squid, chopped to 1/2 cm thick rings. If the prawns you're using are cooked, thaw them first and add at this point. Cook for a couple of more minutes and throw away mussels that haven't opened (the beauty of using pre-cooked frozen ones is that there's no risk of them all being dead). Check the taste and add fish sauce, soy sauce or salt if needed. Serve with dash of freshly squeezed lime juice, rest of the chilli and loads of chopped coriander leaves.

In England where The Gentleman is originally from, this weeks marks the National Curry week so have a happy, fragrant and only marginally pungent and finger-staining week, everyone!

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Spaghetti Nero

I´ve been amusing myself my comparing the contents of my and the neighbourhood's British tourists' shopping baskets. Well, based on the content of theirs (packet of hot dogs, bottles of whisky, vodka and gin, 6-pack of tonic, giant bag of crisps and a canister of Coke) I've taken the liberty to assume they're Brits anyway.

Then there's mine. All the seafood that's been available that day - often with no idea what to do with them. But this is one of the best uses I've come up with. Black spaghetti is available in some supermarkets, but in case you get hold of squid ink, you can make your own.  Provided you have a pasta machine... In case you use regular pasta (the way I did) add the ink into the cooked and drained pasta. There's no point adding it to the water (as I learnt after 4 sachets)  as it won't absorb properly. Dying couscous or rice with squid ink is based on them absorbing the water they're cooked in. One 4 g sachet is enough for approximately 250 grams of pasta/ rice/ couscous.

Since the black colour gives this dish fairly dramatic look, I wanted to let the colour do all the talking and didn't want to distract it with cream- or tomato-based sauce. Instead I tossed the pasta in butter and white wine instead. Simple, but (as those clams in Benalmadena showed) so delicious!

I used king prawns, mussels and octopus. The big ones I used for Pulpo a la Gallega and those cocktail-potatos too. They are available frozen at big supermarkets. As the cooking is a bit of a time-consuming process, I usually cook a bigger batch and freeze them for later use. Obviously you can use calamari rings too, or the kind of seafood mix I used for Ensalada Rusa.

Serves 2

2 portions of pasta (spaghetti or linguine)

16 king prawns
10 mussels
about 200 gr octopus
1 garlic clove
1/2 chilli
the zest of 1 lemon
A couple of tbsp butter
1,5 dl white wine
salt, pepper
handful of parsley

If the mussels you're using are pre-cooked, thaw them first.

Cook the pasta according to instructions on the packet. In the meanwhile make the sauce. Sauté thinly sliced garlic, grated lemon zest and chopped chilli in butter. If you're using uncooked prawns, peel them (you can leave the tail on) and add into sauce now. As they start to turn pink, add white wine, mussels and octopus. Let simmer under lid for a couple of minutes. If the mussels you're using are fresh, at this point throw away the ones that haven't opened. Check the taste and season as needed.

In case you're using squid ink, add the content of the sachet into the cooked and drained pasta carefully as it tends to colour everything else that gets in its way too. Pour the sauce on top, sprinkle the parsley and serve.

And if you can't get squid ink, don't worry - the dish tastes fine with regular spaghetti too. And you can always switch off the lights - in the dark any spaghetti looks black!

Deviled eggs

Today's treat: deviled eggs. Though apparently somewhere in the American Bible belt these are known as eggs mimosa, salad eggs or stuffed eggs because of the connotations of the name.

This treads the fine line between kitsch and retro, but good they are in any case. And wonderfully versatile  - they're equally tasty as starters as they are as cocktail treats. 

Imagination is the only limit for the stuffing - today's versions featured salami and Thai-spiced prawns.

Together they are enough for 6 eggs which make 12 halves.

As religiously as I try to pen the recipes and exact amounts in my trusty little notebook, I somehow managed to lose it. So check the desired amounts as you go along...

The stuffings also make good fillings for sandwiches or wraps.

Salami stuffing

1 good mayonnaise
3 egg yolks
1/2 tsp finely chopped chili
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
6 slices of good quality salami or chorizo, finely chopped
salt (carefully), pepper

Prawn stuffing

1 dl good mayonnaise

3 egg yolks

3/4 dl finely chopped prawns

1/2 tsp grated lime zest

1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic

1/2 tsp grated ginger

a couple of tsp of finely chopped coriander leaves

salt, pepper

Boil the eggs until hard. Chill in ice water and peel. Cut them in half lengthways and pop out the yolks. Mix them with rest of the ingredients and stuff the eggs, using either teaspoon or piping bag.

Lemony risotto with asparagus and prawns

The asparagus theme continues - today's entry: risotto. Sure, risotto isn't necessarily the lightest dish for summer... but let's face it: it is gooooood.

If the prawns you're using are the whole, raw variety, you might want to cook some shellfish stock from the shells and use it for the risotto, continuing with some fish/seafood stock or fond (2 tbsp for 1/2 liters of water). Remember to keep the stock hot in a pot as you cook the risotto.

For 3-4

3,5 dl risotto rice

9-12 dl fish/ seafood stock

3 shallots/ 1 small onion/ 1/2 of a bigger kind

1 large garlic clove or 2 small ones

1 generous tbsp butter + more to finish

1 bundle of asparagus (appr. 500 g)

500 g king prawns

1 dl white wine

the zest of 1/2 lemon

1 generous tbsp chopped chives

Fry finely chopped onion and garlic in butter. Add rice and stir until translucent. Then add wine. Once it has been absorbed, start adding hot stock, one ladle at a time. Keep stirring. The texture of the finished product should be loose.

Once the rice is almost done (around 20 minutes) fold in the prawns and let the heat cook them.  OR (if using raw ones) grill them until done separately after having tossed them around in a bit of oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice).

Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus, chop them into a couple of centimetre long pieces and and steam them or cook them in a little water until done (about 5 minutes). Fold them into the risotto too. Before serving add a knob of butter into the risotto, along with chopped chives and grated lemon zest. Season to taste and serve. With some chilled white wine. On a sunny terrace. Ooooh, summer...

Toast Skagen

In Stockholm our Saturdays tend to follow a pattern. Design district for The Gentleman, a couple of vintage shops for me and lunch invariably at Östermalm Market Hall. Most likely at Lisa's. This restaurant at the heart of the hall specializes in fish and seafood and is always packed, though well worth the wait. Toast Skagen, so loved by the Swedes is one of the menu favourites and for a reason. And the perfect accompaniment for this classic is aquavit which there are many varieties of. 

Today Toast Skagens were fashioned into mini versions suitable for appetizers or canapés to go with drinks. The bread baskets are the same we made for the tea party. 

These king prawns weren't as masisve as the ones we've used in the past. You can use any size prawns for this of course - depending on the size you'll need 24-32 of them.

Some of the mayo ( 1/3 or 1/2) could be substituted with Turkish yoghurt, too.

makes 8

8 slices of toast

24 king prawns
dash of lemon juice
a little oil
1/2 chilli, finely chopped
salt, black pepper

4 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tsp dill
salt, white pepper

Prepare the bread baskets according to the instructions here. Let them cool.

If using uncooked prawns, shell and de-vein them (leave the tail on for 8 prawns you'll need for decorating). Brush lightly with oil, sprinkle wiith some lemon juice and a little bit of chilli. Season and cook - either in a pan, on the grill or in the oven (175°) for a couple of minutes until done. Let cool.

Chop the cooled prawns into chunks (remember to save those 8!) and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Spoon into the baskets and serve!

Drunken prawns

One of the restaurants in Tallinn I've discovered on the recommendations of a friend of mine The Wine Authority is Fish & Wine. One summery afternoon I retired there to enjoy some lunch (and sample the praised wine list). I had pasta with vodka and prawns, which today was put to test in the home kitchen. And oh, how Tallinn is calling me back...

It is such a treat to have friends like that - to have people to compare notes with and discover new destinations. Thanks to their recommendations Tallinn never ceases to surprise!

Pasta is a world onto its own, and for this dish bucatini would be the best choice.  Though I only seemed to have linguini... As this was made back home in Helsinki, I didn't have that home-made shellfish stock and I "had to" make do with lobster fond (which from now on is a pantry staple!) The end result was so yummy that even though I claim the recipe feeds 2, today it only fed one extremely greedy food blogger...

For 2

150 g pasta of your choice

400 g king prawns

1/2 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 chilli

(again, adjust based on your palate and the variety of chilli you're using - mine wasn't very hot)
1 tbsp tomato concentrate

1/2 dl vodka

2 tbsp lobster fond

2,5 dl cream
1 tbsp dill

salt, pepper

To serve: sour cream, roe, dill

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Fry the onion, finely chopped chilli and garlic in some butter. When they've softened a bit, add the tomato paste and vodka along with the lobster fond and cream. Cook for a bit longer and add dill. Add prawns and cook for a couple of more minutes until they're cooked through. Season and serve. Be careful with salt as there's some in the lobster fond and roe. Fold the pasta into the sauce and serve with a dollop of sour cream and roe.

Gambas pilpil

Early spring in Andalusia can be every bit as fickle as a woman. In the throes of PMS. At the Boxing day sale in Harrods. 

In the morning there's a promise of summer in the air: freshly cut grass and all sorts of scents that one normally has to wait until June to have in Finland. Then, towards the evening  the air is heavy with the sort of misty goodbyes that I associate with late autumn evenings when it's time to realize that summer is once again well and truly gone.

So, in the course of one day it's perfectly possible to burns one's face in the sun and come down with a flu. As yours truly did just the other day, having sweated through my PJs, Gentleman's robe and the thick down-filled duvet under which I had fled in my Eskimo gear.

 And condition like this calls for chilli. And garlic. Gambas pilpil to the rescue!

This is one of the most legendary tapas classics and one of our all time favourites. At least as crucial an ingredient is a huge pile of bread with which to mop up every last drop of the garlic and chilli- infused oil. This is a great opportunity to put those Godfather-taught lessons on slicing garlic to use...

Dieters, those of nervous disposition and anyone inspired by the Twilight trilogy and dreaming of career in vampyrism look the other way. This treat isn't for you. But if you want to find something good about this, it's the flavour. Dios mios, it's gorgeous!

And anyway- I wouldn't make much of a girlfriend for a garlic-phobe anyway...

Since I was home alone and not looking to get any hot French kisses from anyone anyway... I went crazy with these. Under normal circumstances this portion feeds to as tapas.

12 king prawns
4 big cloves of garlic
2 tbsp pimiento or any other mild paprika
2 heaped tbsp butter
6 heaped tbsp oil
salt, pepper

Peel the prawns. Pat them dry, season generously with salt and pepper and keep in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Heat oil and butter in a pan. As it starts bubbling, add paprika, thinly sliced garlic and chilli. Keep stirring so the garlic won't burn and turn everything bitter.

As the garlic has softened and gained a bit of colour throw in the king prawns. Let cook stirring the prawns and making sure the prawns are coated in oil - for about 5 minutes.

Enjoy with or without... no, make that with bread. 

Normally these would be cooked and served in a terracotta dish.
But that would just be too authentic for our Scandinavian aesthetics...

And today's valuable lesson was: really make sure you wash your hands after handling chilli. Really. They really don't feel nice in your eyes. Or ears. Or any other orefices.

Thai prawncakes

Today was a lighter day and I made Asian-influenced prawn cakes. The recipe yields 8 small or 4 bigger patties. You could use any size prawns for these (or fish) as long as the quantity (appr. 3 dl of chopped up prawns) stays the same.

Prawn cakes:

10 big king prawns, chopped 
2 big garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 chillis  
(as always, depends on the size - mine were small and mean)
1 tsp grated ginger
handful of chopped coriander
1 tbsp chopped mint
2 small potatos 
(boiled, cooled and mashed)
handful of spring onions or chives
the zest and juice of 1/2 lime
1 tbsp soy sauce and/or fish sauce

For breading:

3 tbsp bread crumbs
1 tbsp coconut flakes

Mix the ingredients to a smooth consistency and let rest in the fridge for half an hour. Then shape them into patties of desired size and carefully coat with the bread crumbs mixed with coconut flakes. This gives the cakes a crisp exterior but try to keep the coating as thin as possible, otherwise the taste can get too dry.

Heat some oil in a pan and fry the prawn cakes on both sides until golden brown - for appr. 7 minutes. Don't let the oil get too hot, otherwise the coating will burn and the results will be bitter. Literally.

Best when served hot. With freshly squeezed lime juice. And perhaps some sweet chilli sauce...

Avocados Abracadabra

Our neighbour has an avocado tree. Ergo we have avocados. (another neighbour of ours has chickens but I don't nick their eggs...)

And that avocado is quite something of a fruit (vegetable?). And in my Jordan-like head its luscious green colour is immediately associated with pink.

And since the last fishing trip to the supermercado's fish counter produced even bigger prawns than the ones I normally cook with, it was barbecue time. With some homemade guacamole.

And some  Albariño and some of that Andalusian sun to wash it down with.

It sure is good to occasionally take a moment and realize just how much one's got to be grateful for...

Serves 2

Prawn skewers:

12-16 king prawns (depending on their size)
2 heaped tbsp butter, melted
generous dash of lemon juice
1 chilli, finely chopped
(or less, or more, depending on the size and fieriness of your chillis)
1 big garlic clove or 2 small ones
salt, pepper

If using frozen prawns, let them thaw. Then peel them. A useful tip for buying whole, raw prawns: As you snap off the head, the vein usually follows if you pull the head off from the body carefully. Pat them dry. Mix the other ingredients together, paste the skewered prawns with the mixture and let sit marinating for about half an hour while you prepare the guacamole.

Guacamole:

2 ripe avocados
1 heaped tbsp Turkish yoghurt
the zest and juice of 1/2 lime
handful of chopped coriander
1/2 chopped chilli
(again, depends on the size of your chillis)
a pinch of cumin
salt, pepper
2 tbsp spring onions/ chives

Apart from the avocado, mix the rest of the ingredients together. Then pour the mixture on top of the avocados, scooped out of the shells and stone removed and mash lightly with a fork. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the grill or a griddle pan. Fry the prawn skewers for a couple of minutes each side and serve with guacamole.

Salvador Dali's spaghetti

I'm not particularly innovative or creative cook. The wheel won't be invented in this kitchen (we'd rather call for a cab). So there's a chance this just might be the only original idea I'll ever have. But it is pretty darn genius.

Let's call it Salvador Dali's spaghetti as an homage to Spain's own son, who, at times, truly was genius. When he wasn't being just plain crazy. The name is also fitting because with his work, what you see is often not real. Same applies here. It looks like meatball spaghetti but that it ain't. 

The dish was created by an accident when I lived in Tunis. Back then my Saturday morning ritual was to head to the Central Market, where I bought the fresh fish, seafood, veggies and merguez sausages for the week ahead. After returning home, I'd pour myself a glass of rosé and start cooking lunch. The seafood selection at the market was superb and inevitably my eyes got greedier than my stomach (or fridge) could accommodate. I used to eat squid there a lot, too, and once, as I was cutting squid into rings I had, deep in my own thoughts, just continued cutting the squid- resulting in one continuous squid strip. I proceeded to cut it even thinner and voilá- carb-free spaghetti was born. 

In Tunis I used to have this stir-fried along with the rest of the seafood goodies from the market or drenched with sauce made from lamb merguez, onion, green pepper and a dollop of cream (more on this recipe later). This time I made some prawn balls to go with it and yikes and wowcha, it was goooood.

The squid I used was 20 cm x 8 cm, cut into thin ribbons. The smaller ones make for thinner (and perhaps a bit more tender?) ribbons, but you'll need more of those. One 20 cm 8 cm squid made enough spaghetti (appr. 1,5 dl) for one portion. If you can't get your hands on whole squid, you could, of course, use the frozen ready-cut rings (the plain, not the breaded kind). In that case you might want to cut them into thinner width. 

When cooking squid one must always remember that it should (depending on the size, too) be cooked either really quickly or really long. For this dish you can either cook it in salted boiling water for about one minute or flash fry it on the pan in a little bit of oil.

The prawn balls I made from those supersized king prawns I've been raving about, but you can use the smaller sized too - as long as the quantity is the same. For this recipe the quantity was appr. 2,5 dl of chopped prawns. That yields (depending on the size of your balls....) 9-10 prawn balls.

For 2

Prawn balls

10 really big king prawns

1/2 (heaped) tsp grated lemon zest

1 heaped tbsp chopped spring onions (or chives)
1 heaped tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 chilli, chopped finely
(tune it down or up depending on the fieriness of your chillis)
1 heaped tbsp bread crumbs
1,5 tbsp tomato sauce
1,5 tbsp water
salt, pepper to taste

Mix the tomato paste and water and mix with the bread crumbs. Let the crumbs absorb the liquid. Then add the chopped prawns (I chopped them with a knife, all Kamikaze sushi chef-style, but I'm sure you can use a machine) and the rest of the ingredients. Let them rest in the fridge while you make the sauce.

Sauce

1/2 small onion, shopped finely

1  tsp pimiento or any other mild paprika 1 tsp grated orange zest
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 chilli (again, adjust according to the fieriness of the chilli you're using)
1/2 tsp tomato concentrate
2 dl tomato sauce
2 dl shell fish stock
a dash of white wine (or sherry or lemon juice)
salt, pepper to taste
handful of chopped parsley

Heat some oil in a pan. Add the onion, orange zest, ginger, garlic, chilli and paprika powder. Cook, while stirring, until the onions have softened and are transluscent. Add the white wine and bring to boil. The pour in the shellfish stock and tomato sauce. Let bubble on moderate heat and check the taste. Season with salt and pepper. Now roll the prawn balls.

Roll the paste into little balls of equal size (lightly oiled hands help, though the mixture is sticky. It easier to form when it's been cooled though) and gently drop them into the sauce. Treat with care, as the texture is more vulnerable than that of the meatballs.

Cook in moderately low heat until done, about 5 minutes.

Cook the squid spaghetti, either in a pan or in rapidly boiling water. Place in a bowl and top with sauce. Scatter the parsley on top and fire away.

And if squid doesn't float your boat, the sauce and the balls are good with regular spaghetti too...