Crab Cakes Recipes

Ingredients

500 g fresh or frozen crab meat

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ small onion, chopped

2 large eggs

1½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt flakes

1 teaspoon hot paprika

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 spring onion, sliced

2 slices firm white sandwich bread, crusts removed, torn into small pieces

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

60 g butter

Method:

1. Pick over the crab meat to remove any bits of shell and cartilage, being careful not to break up the lumps of crab.

2. heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a pan over medium heat and cook the onion without colouring for 5 minutes. remove the pan from the heat and cool.

3. Whisk together the eggs, Worcestershire sauce, salt, paprika, pepper and cooled onion.

4. Gently mix in the crab meat, spring onion and torn bread. at this stage the mixture will be quite wet.

5. Press the mixture into 6 even-sized crab cakes, each one 2 cm thick. line a tray or dinner plate with plastic wrap and sprinkle with half of the bread crumbs. set the crab cakes in one layer on the top of the crumbs and sprinkle with the remaining bread crumbs. cover the crab cakes loosely with more plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. This is important to help set and hold the crab cakes together when cooking.

6. Melt the butter and the remaining olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium–high heat until the butter begins to foam. Cook the crab cakes until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, bowl, cup, spoon and weight measures, wooden spoon and sauté pan.

* Crab cakes are an American favourite. They can be as simple as fresh crab meat, bread crumbs, eggs and seasoning to something a bit more complex. They can be grilled, baked, pan-fried or deep-fried.

* Make the crab cakes smaller and serve as an appetiser or finger food at your next party. Make them well ahead of time and panfry once the guests arrive.

* Serve crab cakes with aïoli or tartare sauce as well as a simple green salad.

* To reduce the fat content, spray the crab cakes with oil and pan-fry instead of cooking in butter and oil as mentioned.

* Crab meat is readily available at most fish shops. Always pick over the crab meat as often it has bits of shell in it.

* The best option is to cook and pick over the crab yourself to guarantee freshness.

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Fish Fillets, pan-Fried Recipes

Ingredients

4 x 200g white fish fillets, skin left on

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt

Method:

1. use a sharp knife and lightly score the skin on each fish fillet at 1-cm intervals.

2. rub fish with olive oil and season with salt.

3. Place the fish fillets, skin side down, in a medium–hot nonstick pan and cook without moving for 3 minutes. see hints and tips for cooking times especially if the fish is quite thick.

4. When the skin is crisp and lightly browned, turn fillets over, reduce heat to low and cook for a further 3–4 minutes. (The fish is cooked when any juices run clear; if the juices are cloudy, it is still slightly undercooked; and if the juices solidify and turn hard white, the fish is overcooked.)

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, spoon measure, sauté pan and spatula.

* The time taken to cook fish depends on the thickness of the fish fillet. From the head end where most of the bones will be, fish fillets will be quite thick and on a low temperature the fish will take 7–10 minutes to cook through. From the tail end where there are no bones, the fillet is half the thickness and may only take 5 minutes to cook through.

* The protein in fish is very delicate, similar to that of egg whites. Egg whites are best cooked over a gentle heat. Fish is the same. I tend to cook the skin side over high heat to impart colour and texture to the skin, I then turn the heat down to the lowest setting and cook it gently and slowly for as long as it takes for the proteins in the fish to just set.

* Fish need only be seasoned with a light sprinkling of salt. If you are a fan of pepper, wait until it is served and then grind some fresh pepper over the top. Black specks of pepper on the soft white flesh of the fish fillet are unappealing and pepper tends to burn in a pan and become bitter. Try white pepper instead.

* To avoid excess smoke in the kitchen or on a barbecue, rub the fish with oil rather than adding the oil to the pan or hot plate. This minimal amount of oil is less likely to send a plume of smoke through the house.

* Do not be scared to slightly undercook fish. If you have ever eaten sushi or sashimi—Japanese staples using raw fish—then the notion of fish a bit underdone should set your mind at ease. Undercooked fish will not make you sick unless the fish was old before it was cooked.

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Fish pie Recipes

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

800 g sliced onions

400 ml fish stock

200 ml cream

Salt and pepper

800 g white fish fillets

1 tablespoon truffle oil (optional)

2 spring onions, sliced

1 packet frozen puff pastry, defrosted

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten, for glazing

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.

2. For the sauce—Heat the oil in a pan over low heat and add the sliced onions. Cover and sweat gently until very soft and translucent, even a little bit of colour is fine. add the fish stock and reduce by half. add the cream and reduce by half or until a thick consistency is reached. Remove from the heat and puree.

3. In the bottom of each pie dish, place some of the sauce and about 200 g fish, some of the spring onions then another layer of the sauce. Repeat in each dish.

4. Cover the dish with the puff pastry, brush with egg yolk, set in the fridge for 1 minute and re-coat with egg yolk.

5. Bake for 25–30 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven until the pastry is golden and puffed.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, weight, spoon and liquid measures, saucepan, 4 x 12-cm diameter, 5-cm deep pie dishes and pastry brush.

* This is a beautiful pie recipe and is in stark contrast to the easy-to-make tuna bake.

* To make this really special, use the quick puff pastry—although more effort is required, the results are well worth it.

* If you are concerned about bones when buying fish for this dish, request pieces of fish from the tail end as a guarantee of no bones. Or you could ask your supplier to take the bones out and dice the fish for you—at a possible extra charge.

* Instead of the puff pastry lid, try topping the pie with mashed or crushed potato. Cut some butter into small dice and sprinkle over the mash topping before baking—same temperature and time. Or you could sprinkle grated cheese over the mash topping.

* From fish pie to seafood pie—use the combination of seafood mentioned in the recipe for seafood crepes.

* Any number of vegetables can be added to this pie, the most common being peas. Adding vegetables is not necessary and if serving with a good salad, there is no need to worry about a lack of greens with this dish.

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Garlic prawns Recipes

Ingredients

10 large green tiger prawns, peeled

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons crushed garlic

200 ml thickened cream

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method:

1. remove the vein from the back of the prawn by slicing with a knife and scraping out the dark waste tract running the length of the prawn. you can also remove the head of the prawn if you like—if you do, refer to hints and tips.

2. heat the olive oil and butter in a sauté pan. When the butter begins to foam, add the prawns and cook for 1 minute either side. remove from the pan and set aside.

3. add the garlic to the pan and sauté without colouring for 30 seconds then add the cream. simmer, and reduce the cream by one-third. return the prawns to the sauce for 2 minutes, remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and serve.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, paring knife, spoon and liquid measures, sauté pan, tongs and wooden spoon.

* When talking prawns, ‘green’ refers to them being raw, not their colour. Green prawns can be purchased whole or already peeled and any shop selling seafood knows this term.

* It is worth investing in steel soap (a piece of stainless steel in the shape of a soap ‘bar’); it never wears down and it removes the smell of seafood, garlic and onion from your hands without stripping them.

* If you do remove the prawn heads, you can add them to a fish stock, or freeze them for when you get around to making the stock. This can be made with 1 onion (roughly chopped), 1 carrot (roughly chopped),

1 celery stick (roughly chopped), 1 kg fish heads or bones, 1 cup dry white wine, 12 peppercorns, 1 bay leaf and enough water to cover in a large pot. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer for 1 hour. Strain and either use straightaway or freeze in various-sized containers so you don’t have to defrost the lot and waste any.

* Fresh green prawns should be consumed the day they are purchased or defrosted; after 24 hours although still edible, they tend to oxidize and blacken.

* Fresh green prawns are best but the frozen variety can be used. The frozen prawns are sold as green prawn ‘cutlets’ and should not be mistaken for a crumbed prawn cutlet. The frozen variety is good in that the prawns are snap-frozen while on the fishing trawlers out at sea, guaranteeing an almost perfect fresh/frozen product.

* You can use either basil or coriander instead of parsley.

* Chopped chilli can be added with the seeds removed.

* This recipe can be served as a pasta sauce with long pasta like fettuccine or linguine.

* Alternatively, serve with steamed rice or simply with crusty bread and a crisp white wine.

* You can omit the cream and add 1 cup white wine for a lighter version, but allow several minutes simmering for the wine to reduce. Or use a light cream instead of the heavy cream suggested.

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Prawn cocktail Recipes

Ingredients

1 iceberg lettuce, very finely shredded

24–36 fresh cooked prawns, peeled with tail intact

2 lemons, sliced into wedges

Cocktail sauce

250 ml mayonnaise

60 ml Worcestershire sauce

60 ml brandy

120 ml tomato sauce

1 tablespoon grated horseradish salt and pepper

60 ml pouring cream, lightly whipped

Method:

1. for the cocktail sauce—Mix all ingredients except cream. When combined, fold in the whipped cream. refrigerate, covered, until needed.

2. To assemble—There are several ways to put this dish together. The old way uses prawn cocktail glasses probably available at a ‘trash and treasure’ market on any given sunday. The new way is to form a small mound of shredded lettuce in the centre of a plate, prop the prawns against the lettuce and drizzle with cocktail sauce, serving each with a lemon wedge.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, paring knife, bowls, liquid and spoon measures and the equipment needed to make mayonnaise.

* The prawn cocktail was a dinner party hit in the 70s and early 80s, and made a tasteful comeback in some Restaurants in the late 90s. It still appears now and then, and if done well will be one dish that will never quite go away.

* Depending on the size of the prawns, 4–6 per person for an entree is enough. If this is to be more of a substantial dish, then use as many as would fit in the dish.

* Always check prawns for freshness, and ask when they were cooked and if frozen, how long they have been frozen for. Waterlogged or tired, old prawns will make this dish horrid.

* At a dinner party, wrap half a lemon in muslin or cheesecloth and tie neatly. This will prevent seeds from getting into the salad.

* Shred a small handful of flat-leaf parsley and mix into the lettuce to give the iceberg lettuce some lift.

* Make bite-sized prawn cocktails as finger food by using the inner leaves of cos lettuce as an edible cup—shred some of the outer leaves, chop up the prawns and drizzle with the sauce and serve in the smaller inner leaves.

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Salmon patties Recipes

Ingredients

3 cups mashed potato, room temperature

415 g can pink salmon, drained

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon salt freshly ground black pepper

½ cup bread crumbs or plain flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

Method:

1. In a bowl, mix the mashed potato, salmon, spring onions, parsley, eggs, salt and pepper until thoroughly combined.

2. Shape into patties using a ½ cup measure—this will ensure the patties are all the same shape and size. Place on a tray lined with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour to allow the mixture to set before cooking.

3. When ready to cook, dip each patty in bread crumbs or flour.

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat, add the salmon patties and cook until golden brown, flip and repeat on the other side.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, 2 bowls, frying pan, cup and spoon measures.

* This recipe yields about 12 small patties.

* Serve salmon patties with a simple green salad and mayonnaise.

* To make salmon croquettes—roll the mixture into small log shapes, dip in plain flour, then dip in beaten egg and roll in dried bread crumbs. Set on a tray until all are done. Leave in the fridge for 1 hour or so before deep-frying. If you’re not comfortable with deep-frying, then shallow-fry in plenty of butter. Great as finger food served with a tartare sauce or a simple mayonnaise.

* Try adding ½ cup corn kernels and ½ cup frozen peas to the mixture.

* Use leftover roasted vegetables from the previous night’s roast instead of the mashed potato. It will add an extra richness to the patties and is an alternative to making bubble-and-squeak.

* As a healthy option, place the patties on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in the oven at 220ºC for 10–15 minutes or until hot. This way you avoid the excess oil or butter and make the most of the omega 3 from the salmon.

* As a cocktail food, halve the size of the patties, fry as per recipe and top each with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of dill.

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Salt and pepper Squid Recipes

Ingredients

1 kg squid tubes, halved lengthways

250 g rice flour

200 g cornflour

3 tablespoons salt flakes

4 tablespoons ground white pepper

2 teaspoons caster sugar

4 egg whites, lightly beaten vegetable oil, for deep-frying (approx. 2 litres) lemon or lime wedges, for serving

Method:

1. open out the squid tubes, wash and pat dry. Place on a cutting board with the inside facing upwards. score a fine diamond pattern on the squid, being careful not to cut all the way through. cut into pieces about 5 cm x 3 cm. alternatively, keep the tubes whole and slice into rings or cut open as above and slice into strips.

2. combine the rice flour, cornflour, salt, pepper and sugar in a bowl. fill a deep-fryer or large saucepan one-third full of oil and heat to 180ºc (350ºf), or until a small cube of white bread dropped into the oil turns golden brown in 15 seconds.

3. Dip the squid into the egg white and then into the flour mixture, shaking off any excess. cook batches of the squid for 1–2 minutes, or until the flesh turns white and curls. Drain on paper towels. serve with lemon wedges.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, 2 bowls, weight and spoon measures, and a deep-fryer or large, heavy-based pot or wok for deep-frying.

* Squid and calamari are in fact two different creatures but are as close as cousins. In this recipe ‘either or’ should be your motto. Try also using the very tasty cuttlefish, a stumpier version of the aforementioned. Never use frozen squid tubes, especially large ones; they are watery and tough and you’d do better with a bag of rubber bands.

* Other pepper can be used in this recipe; replace the white pepper with 2 tablespoons black pepper (crushed and ground) and 2 tablespoons Sichuan pepper. It is recommended that the salt and peppers are drytoasted in a pan for several minutes, cooled on a tray and then pound in a mortar and pestle or a spice/coffee grinder to enhance their fragrance.

* To check the temperature of the oil—other than dropping a piece of bread into it—use a sugar thermometer.

* To dispose of used deepfrying oil, there are several steps that need to be followed.

 1. Allow the oil to cool completely, preferably until the next day.

2. Make sure you keep the container and lid in which the oil came or have an alternative container (like a used milk container with screw-cap lid).

 3. If the oil can be used again, it will need to be strained. This can be done through a paper towel-lined sieve, which is placed on a funnel directly over the storage container.

4. If the oil is being kept, keep it in the fridge until it is needed again. This keeps it out of the light and the coldness will keep the oil from turning rancid too soon.

 5. If the oil is to be thrown out, pour the cold oil straight into the bottle, fasten the lid and place in the bin.

 6. Or, if you deep-fry often, speak to your local council as they may have a collection depot nearby where you can drop off used cooking oil which they then on-sell to companies that make truck fuel or soap—true.

* Other flours can be used instead of the rice and cornflour mentioned in this recipe. If there is only plain flour in the pantry and the recipe must go ahead, then use plain flour. Selfraising flour will also work. In fact, any type of flour can be used with only minimal difference to the final outcome.

* Other seafood can also be adapted to this recipe. Try thinly sliced white-fleshed fish, or whole scallops. Some fish may not work quite as well and these include most oily fish like salmon, tuna, marlin and swordfish.

* Serve these tasty seafood morsels with a dipping sauce. Tartare sauce, thousand island dressing, sweet chilli, soy sauce or shoyu are all recommended. Accompaniments like lemon, lime, fresh chilli and

coriander can also be served on the side.

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Tuna bake Recipes

Ingredients

800 ml mornay sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced

2 celery sticks, diced

1 red capsicum, diced

1 cob corn, kernels removed

310 g can creamed corn

425 g can tuna in spring water, drained and crumbled

3 cups cooked pasta or rice

¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

salt and pepper

200 g fresh bread crumbs grated zest of 1 lemon

½ cup grated parmesan

Method:

1. Place the mornay sauce in a bowl and set aside.

2. heat a nonstick pan over medium heat, add the oil, onion and celery and cook without colouring for 3 minutes. add the capsicum and corn and cook for a further 2 minutes.remove from the heat and cool.

3. add the creamed corn to the mornay sauce, and mix with a wooden spoon. Then add the tuna, cooked pasta or rice, parsley, salt and pepper to taste and the cooled onion mixture, stir until well combined and place in a deep baking dish.

4. in a separate bowl, mix the bread crumbs, lemon zest and parmesan and mix until well combined. sprinkle over the tuna mixture and bake at 180ºc for 30 minutes.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, weight, liquid, spoon and cup measures, saucepan, bowls, baking dish and wooden spoon.

* The simplest version of tuna bake is to omit all the vegetables and just mix tuna, cooked pasta or rice and the mornay sauce, place in a baking dish, top the lot with grated cheese and bake for 20 minutes—for

teenagers and those who can’t be bothered, it can be that easy, if somewhat boring, so maybe try adding frozen peas and drained canned corn for colour.

* Easier again is to not make the cheese sauce, just mix the tuna, cooked pasta, 500 g sour cream and 250 g grated cheese together and bake.

* An alternative topping is to cut the crust off a bread stick or ciabatta and roughly chop into pieces, sprinkle over the top and bake.

* Try mashing 1 kg potatoes mixed with butter and cream and spreading over the filling before baking.

* If you don’t like tuna, then try crispy fried bacon; use 8 rashers, chopped and fried, for this recipe. If you don’t eat meat, omit it altogether. But without tuna it simply becomes a pasta bake of any sort.

* Use short pasta for this recipe—like orecchiette, shell, macaroni or fusilli.

* Try adding leftover roasted vegetables, chopped and stirred into the mixture before baking.

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Seafood crepes Recipes

Ingredients

100 g butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

500 g white fish fillets, diced

12 green prawns, peeled, de-veined and sliced

12 local mussels, cooked and removed from shell

250 g crab meat, cooked

½ teaspoon crushed garlic

100 ml white wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

salt and pepper

1 recipe quantity mornay sauce

12 savoury crepes

Method:

1. heat the butter and oil in a pan. as the butter begins to foam, add the fish and prawns. When almost cooked, add the mussels and crab meat. sauté for another 2 minutes on high heat.

2. add the garlic, sauté quickly without colouring and then pour in the wine, sprinkle in the dill and season. remove from the heat and drain juices into a bowl.

3. Mix the seafood with the mornay sauce, adding some of the seafood juices if too thick.

4. spoon into crepes and roll, folding in the ends as each crepe is being rolled. Place on a tray lined with baking paper, and bake in a hot oven (220ºc) for 3 minutes.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, large pot, wooden spoon, weight, spoon and liquid measures, baking tray, baking paper and equipment needed for making crepes and mornay sauce.

* There are 3 recipes required for this dish so take your time and use the experience for a special occasion.

* The crepes can be made well in advance and kept frozen until the day they are needed.

* The mornay sauce is best made and kept warm ready for the seafood. The warm sauce and the hot seafood will be easier to mix together, providing an evenly dispersed seafood filling.

* The crepes can be filled and refrigerated the day before they are to be baked. Do not freeze as the mornay sauce will become watery.

* Dill can be substituted with fennel tops. If either of these herbs cannot be found, then parsley, chervil, tarragon, chives or lemon thyme could be used.

* Crab meat is available already picked from seafood shops. I recommend picking over the meat as the prepicked stuff will almost certainly have some shell in it.

* You will notice the cooking time of the seafood is minimal. Adhere to the quick cooking time to avoid overcooking the seafood when baked in the crepes.

* Leftover seafood filling can be used to make a seafood pie. Use pre-made puff pastry from the freezer section of the supermarket. Place the filling in individual ceramic dishes, top with a disc of puff pastry, brush with beaten egg and bake at 180ºC for 20 minutes or until the pastry is flaky and golden brown.

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Cooking whole fish

Ingredients

1 whole fish, about 1.5 kg cleaned weight

100 ml olive oil

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

6 sprigs fresh lemon thyme

½ lemon, in wedges

2 garlic cloves, finely sliced

½ bird’s eye chilli, seeds removed and finely sliced

100 ml white wine

½ punnet grape tomatoes

125 ml water

12 black mussels, de-bearded and shells scrubbed

¼ cup torn fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c.

                    

2. first, ensure all the scales have been removed from the fish. Wipe dry inside and out with paper towel. Rub with a little of the oil and fill the cavity with the herbs and lemon wedges, then seal shut with several tooth picks.

3. score the skin with a sharp knife making 4–5 incisions along the thickest part of the fish (not the tail end)—this allows the heat to penetrate the skin and the fish to cook more evenly.

4. heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a sauté or frying pan over low–medium heat, and fry the garlic and chilli without colouring. add the fish and white wine.

5. cook for a further minute, add the tomatoes, water and mussels. Place in the oven for approximately 15–20 minutes.

6. remove from the oven and carefully lift the fish on to a serving platter, add the parsley to the pan, stir well and pour the sauce over the fish.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, large sauté pan or frying pan, spatula, wooden spoon and cup and liquid measures.

* This is just one recipe for cooking whole fish—it can be grilled, steamed, baked or poached—but the recipe is a good basic start.

* Ingredients can be added or left out of the recipe, depending on taste. The mussels in this recipe are optional; however, they not only add an additional protein source, but will also create great flavour in the

sauce itself.

* It is a growing trend in good restaurants to use a meat probe (thermometer) when cooking fish and other meats to ensure that the item is cooked perfectly every time. Even though many years of experience will tell you when it is ready, a meat probe is still flavoured when dealing with the ever-increasing expense of fish and other meats and the desire to not waste it by overcooking. For most fish, an internal temperature of 45–55ºC is ideal.

* The most important tip to consider with this recipe is the freshness and quality of the fish. See Fish in Really Useful Information.

* A very common practice for cooking whole fish is wrapping it in foil with a bunch of aromatic herbs and vegetables. The fish is either baked in the oven or cooked on a barbecue grill plate.

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Vegetable And Barley Soup

Ingredients

300 g pearl barley

100 ml olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 leek, white part only, sliced in half, washed and chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 pale inner celery sticks, chopped

1 fennel bulb, cut into

1-cm dice

2 carrots, scrubbed and cut into 1-cm dice

1 cup celery leaves, also from the centre, shredded

1 teaspoon dried basil

2½ liters vegetable stock or water

1 bay leaf

2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut into

1-cm dice

800 g can diced tomatoes salt

100 g spinach leaves, shredded

Method:

1. soak the pearl barley in hot water for 45 minutes, drain and rinse.

2. heat the oil in a large pot, fry the onion, leek and garlic without colouring for 5 minutes over medium heat.

3. add the celery, fennel and carrot and cook for a further 5 minutes. Then add the celery leaves and basil, cook for 1 minute.

4. add the stock or water and bring to the boil. Add the barley and bay leaf, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. add the potatoes and tomatoes, simmer for 15–20 minutes, making sure the potatoes are soft and the barley is cooked. add more stock or water if necessary. Just before serving, season with salt and stir in the spinach.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, paring knife, vegetable peeler, bowls and cup, liquid, weight and spoon measures.

* For vegetable soup—omit the barley and add extra vegetables. To the basic recipe, add 2 large potatoes (peeled and diced chunky), 300 g pumpkin (peeled and diced chunky), 2 zucchini (diced), 150 g cabbage (diced), 100 g green beans (tailed and sliced into 2-cm lengths), 75 g spinach leaves (chopped). Add the potato and pumpkin when the stock is added. Add the zucchini, cabbage and green beans with 5 minutes remaining. Stir in the spinach just before serving.

* There is not too much difference between this soup and a minestrone. If anything I would tend to simplify the vegetables in this soup, keeping to mostly root vegetables and perhaps a bit of chopped parsley at the end.

* This great winter warmer will freeze well but is best  made and consumed on the day.

* Grate some parmesan or pecorino cheese and sprinkle over the top when serving.

* Pearl barley is more refined (polished) than hulled barley. It is less chewy and cooks faster than hulled barley, but because it has been polished further, it is less nutritious, which could be said for all grains that become more and more refined.

* I prefer to keep my grains in the refrigerator unless I know I’m going to use them within a month. Although the shelf life of barley and other grains is long—12 months in an airtight container, in a cool, dry area—the fact is that it takes one larvae and it’s finished. Also, weather permitting, the constant change can have an effect and the natural oils will become rancid sooner than you expect.

* Pearl barley doesn’t really need soaking; I do it so it really breaks open in the soup. Hulled barley needs to be soaked for several hours before cooking and needs at least an hour to cook through.

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TomaTo Soup

Ingredients

2 kg ripe tomatoes (see Hints and tips)

100 ml olive oil

1 small onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon sugar

200 ml water

300 ml thickened cream (optional)

salt and pepper

Method:

1. slice the tomatoes in half exposing a cross-section of the tomato—it is then easier to remove the seeds with a teaspoon. Dice the flesh roughly. Do not worry that the tomatoes are not peeled as the soup needs to be strained.

2. heat the olive oil in a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients. cook the onions and garlic over medium–low heat, without colouring, for 5 minutes.

3. add the chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, sugar and water, bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer until reduced by half.

4. remove from the heat and pass through a sieve using a ladle to push the pulp through. only the skin of the tomatoes should remain in the sieve. Do not be tempted to blend this soup as the skin will break up and make the soup grainy and slightly bitter.

5. return the strained soup to low heat and simmer for a few minutes, adding cream, if using, and salt and pepper to taste. serve.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, liquid, weight and spoon measures, large heavy-based pot, and wooden spoon.

* It is very important that only ripe tomatoes are used—preferably vine-ripened or hydroponic—to get the best flavoured tomato soup.

* Adding the cream is optional. The resulting soup without cream may be slightly sour in which case adds 1 teaspoon sugar. Top the soup with pesto or croutons.

* If fresh tomatoes are not around and you have an urge to make tomato soup, then use canned tomatoes. Try and find a good organic brand which should indicate good flavour.

* Use leftover roasted tomatoes to make a small serve of soup or roast the tomatoes for the soup.

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Seafood Gumbo

Ingredients

100 g plain flour

100 ml olive oil

1 litre fish stock, strained

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 celery sticks, finely chopped

1 red capsicum, de-seeded and finely chopped

500 g okra

800 g can tomatoes, drained and chopped

4 tablespoons tomato paste

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

12 green prawns, peeled and de-veined

18 black mussels

1 kg white fish fillets

1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce salt and pepper

3 cups cooked rice

6 blue swimmer crab claws, cooked fresh basil leaves fresh thyme leaves

Method:

1. Mix the flour and oil in a large saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until the flour turns ‘chocolate’ brown, about 15 minutes.

2. Stir in the stock and cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened.

3. stir in the garlic, onion, celery, capsicum and okra and cook over low heat for 5–6 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs, cayenne pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

4. Stir in the prawns, mussels and fish, and poach for 3–4 minutes until cooked.Season with Tabasco sauce and salt and pepper.

5. Spoon ½ cup rice into each bowl and ladle over the soup. Decorate with crab claws, basil and thyme.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, paring knife, wooden spoon, cup, weight, liquid and spoon measures, heavy-based pot.

* It is very important to get the flour and oil mixture (a roux) to be chocolate brown before proceeding. This adds the unique flavour that a gumbo should have.

* Finishing this soup with file powder or okra is entirely optional and any cook who suggests that it isn’t a gumbo without these ingredients must not be aware of how many hundreds of versions of this soup there really are—I’m almost embarrassed by providing just one.

* Apart from the dark roux, the other point that is very important is the use of a good fish stock in this recipe. Water, although passable, will not deliver the goods.

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