Fried prawn cakes...on a bed of watercress. Served with a glass of cold beer.

Before this turns out to be a blog about the weather, let me just clarify about the kind of weather we have here in Sydney during the summer months. Whilst we can have traditional "hot" days, with blazing sunshine and high temperatures we also experience sub tropical weather. Think sticky, humid and thunderstorms. Its quite unique and something I still cant bear. I find myself showering three times a day during the humid months. But I digress... I wanted to showcase some more summer recipes. Primarily, food that you can enjoy with a glass of cold beer. Admittedly you will be frying these lovely morsels but I promise it won't be too long.

I found a recipe for fried prawn cakes made by the domestic goddess herself. They're very easy, very simple and you won't be able to stop at just one. They have a bit of a Spanish influence with the addition of sherry but you could easily "Thai" them up! (We'll get to that in a second). I have to admit to two things here. Firstly, I'm not a big fan of Nigella but these looked too good to pass up. And the recipe turned out quite nicely. Secondly, I'm not a big fan of deep frying. I have no patience waiting for the oil to get to the perfect frying temperature. But I am learning as I go along. I wait for the oil to heat up on a medium temperature and that way it ensures everything is cooked evenly and not too quickly. Once they're cooked enjoy them with a glass of your favourite cold brew. Perfect tropical eating...



FRIED PRAWN CAKES RECIPE (Adapted from Nigella Lawson's "How to eat")
500 g of shelled, cleaned and deveined prawns finely chopped (thats shrimp to our North American cousins)
2 garlic cloves finely minced
4 spring onions finely chopped
1 tsp of dried chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste
50 ml of sherry
120g of plain flour
sunflower oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients together with enough water to make a batter. Look to make a "thickish" batter. Let it stand for a few hours covered with plastic wrap. Once your oil has come to a nice cooking temperature, drop teaspoonfuls of the batter into the oil and fry evenly. Drain the cakes on a paper towel. Serve sprinkled with sea salt and lemon wedges. Aioli would also work well as a dipping sauce for the prawn cakes.

You may also want to make a Thai version of these as well. I thought about his after I had made them. Perhaps substituting the sherry for fish sauce and adding some coriander, lime juice and a small portion of palm sugar. Its fun to play around with food ideas isn't it? Now where's that beer?..

Tags:Canapes party foods Seafood Summer recipes

Soba noodles in chinese spoons

I do hope everyone is enjoying this series on party foods. These little morsels may seem a little labour intensive but I guarantee you your guests will walk away impressed. Another simple yet effective (and tasty!) option is serving canapes in chinese spoons. The spoons are fantastic as they hold a bit of depth and can be easily filled with a number of ingredients to create that perfect mouthful. I love soba noodles and they are quite versatile because they can be eaten hot or cold. They're wonderfully refreshing served as part of a cold salad on a hot day. Once they've cooked and cooled down, dress them in an asian inspired dressing and you have instant gratification. This is another easy recipe to prepare and serve at the last minute at your next function. Go ahead! You'll create instant impact.

SOBA NOODLES
I bought mine at the local Asian deli in Chinatown. They don't take long to cook at all. Bring some water to the boil, throw in your noodles and once the water begins to come to another boil, place in a cup of cold water. Leave for another few minutes and then drain in colander. Rinse them under cold running water and let them drain again. Let them cool down.

DRESSING
This is the fun part. I love Japanese flavours, so I chose those to go with the soba. I mixed about 1/4 cup of Japanese soy with some finely minced ginger, garlic and chili. To that I added a few drops of toasted sesame oil and a good splash of Japanese rice vinegar. I then tossed this mixture through the noodles and let it do its magic. A very flavourful result. At the last minute I added some toasted sesame seeds for garnish.

Make the dressed noodle mixture the day before and leave it in the fridge overnight. Take it out about 30-45 mins before you serve it and drain the dressing. Twirl the noodles around a fork and gently palce on the spoon. Top with tosted sesame seed garnish and serve. Expect to hear "oohs and aahs" from your guests.

Tags:party foods recipes Canapes

Mushroom on Crostini with Ricotta

Continuing in my series of xmas party foods, I present another simple, delicate creation. Mushrooms on crostini with ricotta. Crostini are basically pieces of sliced bread that have been toasted. You can use a baguette to do this and each piece is perfect for your guests to pick up with their fingers. You can also get creative with the toppings. Just be mindful about flavours and not sticking too many items on the toasts.

I use sourdough for my crostini because I love the flavour of that bread. For the mushrooms I make a basil paste in the food processor by whizzing up a bunch of basil leaves with some olive oil and a little garlic. The mushrooms I use are a combination of swiss brown,button and shitake. I fry them in a mixture of olive oil and butter and add the basil paste at the end. The mushrooms take on a different character once they have been married with the basil paste. They get all glossy, shiny and sexy! And you should smell them! The basil does wonders. For the ricotta, I simply squeeze a little lemon juice with salt and pepper to taste. I give it a good stir and let it rest in the fridge.

It's great when you serve the crostini because you can make them earlier and then top them with your favourite ingredients at the last moment. Voila! Instant party food.

Heres the recipe and instructions. (play around with the amounts to your liking. You may want less basil and more mushrooms etc...)

CROSTINI
Slice up a sourdough baguette. Each slice should be about 2cm. Place them on an oven tray and spray them using an olive oil spray. Bake them in a 180 deg C preheated oven for about 5-7 mins. Once they have toasted take them out and let them cool. Once cooled you can store them in an airtight container for later use.

MUSHROOMS
Slice up one kilo of your favourite mushroom combination. Remember they do shrink when cooked so always buy more than you think. Fry them in a combination of olive oil and butter. At the last moment toss through some basil paste (basil, olive oil and garlic whizzed in a food processor). Once the mixture has cooled you can store it in a container in your fridge.

RICOTTA
Simply squeeze some lemon juice into some fresh ricotta. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When you're constructing these for your guests make sure you're organised. Have your oven heating at 180-200 deg C. Pop the desired amount of crostini in and warm them up a little. This will ensure you bring back some life into them! Zap (yes zap!) your mushroom mixture in a microwave oven for about 45 secs to 1 min. Once they have warmed through a little they're ready. Take your crostini and dollop some ricotta over it. Top with some mushrooms and serve immediately.


Delightful, delectable morsels...

Tags:party foods mushrooms ricotta Canapes

Prawn Ceviche in Mini Tortilla Cups

It's that crazy time of the year again. Shoppers scramble to find presents for loved ones in crowded shopping centres. Children draw up lists of presents hoping that Santa will deliver them on Christmas morning. And more importantly, passionate foodies plan mouth watering menus to feed their guests. This year I have opted for a quiet Christmas day but am attending a big party on the night itself. A few days before the 25th of December I will be hosting a Xmas cocktail party. With that in mind I thought I would run through some of the canapes and other goodies I will be serving up. Each day I'll be posting a different recipe. You may even choose to serve some of these very easy party foods with drinks, to settle your guests.

In this part of the world we have hot Christmases. It's very hard for folks on the other side of the world to fathom that there will be no snow or cold weather to enjoy a "traditional Christmas". But here in Australia, we're used to it. So we tend to enjoy "festive" foods much suited to the warmer climate. Hot turkey and gravy? No thanks! I'm thinking cool, calm canapes to enjoy with my champagne. I came across this recipe a few years ago on the internet. It can be prepared a day before and just served on the day. I love it and its extremely easy. Prawn or shrimp "ceviche" in mini tortilla cups. Its not a traditional ceviche in the South and Central American sense. But it's pretty close and tastes mighty good and looks cute too. The recipes cater for about 10 or 12 guests.

For the Ceviche

250-350 grams of finely chopped raw prawns, cleaned and deveined
1/4 of a finely chopped red onion
1or 2 finely diced red chillies
a bunch of coriander leaves finely chopped
a squeeze of half or a whole lime
a good splash of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together and let it marinate for a few hours or even better leave it overnight. Watch the lime juice do its magic as it cooks the prawns and they absorb the wonderful fresh flavours.

For the Mini Tortilla Cups

6-8 large tortillas. The corn variety preferably
olive oil spray
6 inch cookie cutter
mini muffin pan

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. In a hot pan warm the tortillas on each side making sure not to overdo them or burn them. Whilst they are still hot place on a flat surface and begin to cut them using the cookie cutter. Once you have a circle cut place it in the mini muffin pan that has been pre sprayed with the olive oil. Push the mini tortillas into the pan ensuring they are covering the sides and fit snugly and neatly. When the mini muffin pan is full, place it in the oven and let them cook for a further 5-6 minutes. Remove them when done and let them cool on a wire rack. This process may seem a little fiddly but it's really quite easy. You just have to be a little fast.

Before you plate them up make sure that the ceviche has come to room temperature. Fill the mini tortilla cups with the prawn mixture and serve. You may wish to garnish them with a small coriander leaf. Sip champagne and enjoy!


Tasty canape treats...

Tags:party foods Canapes Seafood