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

Sesauliflower!

13/07 SESAULIFLOWER

When a craze takes hold is it hard to shake - at the moment a craving for sesame oil and hunting Pokemon. With the world suddenly obsessed with Japanese pop culture - at a level not seen since the millennium - this hybrid evolved. This is all the power up you will need to go out into the night for hours on end to hunt down creatures all over the city.

Not hard to make, this only need a couple of ingredients - vegetable drawer leftovers. The cauliflower has been transformed by the extreme heat of the iron griddle. A most underrated kitchen weapon. The sesame seeds and oil boost the flavour to its maximum. You only need to add chilli and salt to taste then get out there, gotta catch 'em all.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

1/2 Cauliflower
1 Cos Lettuce (smallish)
2 tbls Sesame Oil
2 tsp Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Chilli Powder (or to taste)
Salt

*I made this again for 2, doubled the recipe and added an any-way-you-like-egg on top


What I did - Oven preheated to 200degrees

The only rule of the griddle is you never oil the griddle. Slice the Cauliflower into 1cm(ish) slices, the smaller pieces will crumble off but no matter. Lie them flat on the top of the iron ridges. Liberally snow large flakes of salt over, followed by 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds then the red heat of the chilli powder. Finally lubricate lightly with 1 tablespoon of Sesame oil, just to force the heat through the white tufts. Blast in a 200 degree oven for about an hour until the white vegetable has transitioned through a warm ivory to a pale gold.

Cut the lettuce into slices and break the green leaves apart into a welcoming bowl. Place the delicate burnished cauliflower across the top. Make sure to scrape the burnt, salty shards and seeds from the iron griddle - cooks treat. Add the remaining sesame seeds and oil to the top with a final sprinkle of salt.

Let it sit for a couple of minutes to let the oil filter down each leaf to the depths of the bowl. Grab a fork. Recharge. Gotta catch 'em all.

JG