Rapid Retro

30/03 Part 1: P-COCK-TAIL

This is the first part of my super easy - campishly retro - instant suppers. I know that both of them may make some people squeam in their chairs reading, if only for the raw factor. Trust me i have gone much farther, raw meat. But if thats not your thing, not to worry.

To be honest the prawns are pre-peeled, pre-cooked and pre-packed. This makes them laughably easy to pre-pare. But there is something about either of these simple and quick plates that is so nice to sit around and pick at with a glass of wine and some delicious reality show to indulge.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

200g Peeled Cooked Prawns
2 tbls Tomato Sauce
2 tbls Mayonaise
1tsp Japanese Chilli Powder
1 spritz lemon juice

What I did - 

This hardly constitutes a recipe. In fact it is just a matter of opening a packet (don't feel any shame) and squeezing out some sauces.

Scatter the little pink bodies of the prawns on a plate and give them a light spritz with a lemon quarter. In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise and the sauce until you have a bowl of pink 70s kitch. Sprinkle the chilli powder over the pink sauce.

Have a dry martini at hand and slowly make your way through this little camp dinner.

JG

Part 2: SAH-SHIMI

This is the less glamorous sister of the prawn cocktail, and a decade later. Now enter the aggressive, fast-talking falseness of the 80s. Sashimi - instant, delicious, expensive to buy out. Super cheap and easy to make at home. Just please make sure the fish is good quality and fresh. No one likes that kind of fish fingers.

I have since discovered Tuna which makes a far nicer dinner. Also there is a strength to the flesh which cuts much easier than salmon. So in this case use this recipe more like a guideline then an actual rule.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

300g Salmon
50g Okra
Wasabi
Light Soy Sauce (preferable salt reduced)
Chilli Powder
Salt + Pepper
Sesame Oil

What I did* - 

Again this is hardly a recipe. But a simple, easy and overwhelmingly delicious supper. Take the tuna or salmon steak and lay if on a chilling board so that the grain is fanning away from you. Slice the fish as thin as possible without tearing it. Lay it gracefully (more than pictured) on a plate and drizzle very lightly in sesame oil.

In a very small bowl spread two or three (tolerance depending) smears of wasabi and top up with soy. Also good with that incredible Japanese chilli powder, you know the one in every Japanese restaurant. Serve with something picky, crunchy and salty - in this case small pieces of over roasted okra. Cook small chunks with liberal amounts of salt until there is no trace of moisture left.

*I mean no offence to anyone who knows better, this is just what I usually do as an instant supper.

JG

Leeked

06/03 LEEKED

This has taken a long time to come around, simply because life gets in the way and cooking sometimes becomes a by product. A sad thought, food is not fuel. Well it shouldn't be, and this recipe is a testament to time. It takes a slow pottering to prepare, a slow bake and then a slow picking to eat.

This tart is the edible equivalent of a long ramble - be it verbal or wandering. It is calming, simple and provides a small comfort when your world has hurried past. Caramelised into the pastry floor, these leeks succumb to their secret sweetness leaving you calm and contemplative. The world is big, but then we are very small.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

2 Leeks
125g Salted Butter
125g Plain Flour
75ml cold water
1 tsp Caraway seeds
1 tbls Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbls Olive Oil
1 tsp brown sugar
Salt + Pepper

What I did - 

While not difficult, it does involve some calm and time. If you really can't be bothered then use frozen puff pastry... but do go with me. Start by rubbing the butter into the flour until completely crumbled into buttery sand. Add the fennel seeds. Make a small well in the centre of the flour, pour the water in and mix together with your fingers until it combines. Work into a dough, patiently and messily, that isn't dry not its it hard and over worked.

It may look less than perfect at this stage, but chill it cling filmed in the fridge for half an hour. While it's chilling prepare the leeks but stripping their ouster layer and washing them thoroughly. Cut them into inch lengths and arrange on the base of a tart tin (solid so it can be turned out). Dust them in the sugar, vinegar, oil and seasoning. Roast in a 180 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until they just start to brown.

Back to the pastry, take it out of the fridge and knead it for a few turns to loosen it. Roll it out to a length 2 to 1. then fold into thirds. Roll the long way again, repeat folds. Do this a couple of times until the pastry is pliable. Then roll out into a large disc, trim the edge to roughly the size of the baking tin. Take the leeks out of the oven, blanket them in the pastry. Use a fork to poke holes in the surface.

Bake again for another 30 minutes. The pastry will be truly golden, verging on tan. The tart is ready! Take it out the oven. Let it stand until you feel confident to place a plate upside down the top and flip the whole fiasco. Tap the bottom (now top) of the tin to loosen the leeks. Slowly raise it to unveil the marvel that is the leaky upside down pastry creation!

JG