Tom Yum Noodle Soup (pescatarian or vegan option)
Maybe this is an odd memory to associate with Dublin. You’d think oysters, Guinness, champ. But I used to catch an early plane to Dublin on a regular basis and meet colleagues in the airport. I’d been up so early, the meal felt like lunch to me and I didn’t fancy bacon and eggs, so we used to gather at the food court, and indulge in a Tom Yum soup. The combination of spice and creamy coconut, Thai red curry and coriander, tender prawns and juicy mushrooms was exactly right to re-set my inner clock and perk me up ready for the afternoon meetings. I still find that a home made version makes an energising and easy lunch, if you keep a few staples around. I like the base made with chicken stock, of which I usually have a plentiful supply in the freezer, but you can make it with vegetable stock and use a stock cube. Infusing the stock with the aromatics is a key part of the recipe but you could do this ahead of time, reduce the stock again and keep it in the fridge to assemble the meal with only a few minutes notice. A combination of prawns and chicken is traditional but you can change around the protein and the vegetables to suit your tastes and what you have in the house. Some chopped mushrooms add that chewy texture and contrast very nicely with the slippery rice noodles, so mushrooms, courgette and spring onion would make a good vegan option, maybe with some sliced baby corn for the protein. Try it and leave me a comment, I’d love to hear other versions. Serves 4 Timings: 1 hour
Heat up your stock and add the infusion ingredients. Let it simmer for a few minutes and then leave to cool down with the spices in the liquid. Strain the stock, discard the spices. As above, you can poach the chicken breast in the stock while you do this. Warm up the stock in your soup pan, add the Thai red curry paste and stir in well. Add the chopped green vegetables, the mushrooms and most of the spring onions, simmer for a few minutes. Add the prawns and the chicken pieces. Add the fish sauce and the lime juice to the soup, bring to a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk to the pan and bring to a slow simmer – do not boil vigorously as this can curdle the milk. Add the rice noodles in, stir and simmer for 2-3 minutes to soften the noodles, they don’t need a lot of cooking. Taste and adjust the seasoning, you might need a touch more lime juice or a little shot of soy. Sprinkle with coriander and the remaining chopped spring onions to serve.
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Refried Beans (vegan)
If you’re thinking of the Mexican restaurant meal where you don’t eat the refried beans, then think again; you won’t push these to the side of your plate! Home-made refried beans are superb, so much better than the tinned or packet version. They really make a genuine addition to a home cooked Mexican meal, are so easy to make and of course offer a vegan alternative to the meaty filling of tacos so you can cater to all tastes in one meal. Use them as a side dish to your meat meals, or stuff a wrap or a taco with them along with some cheese, or lettuce and a salsa. Great for a light lunch with a friend or for school holiday lunches at home. Serves 6 as a side to a Mexican meal Timings: 30 minutes 1 x medium onion, about 150g, peeled and chopped quite finely ½ yellow pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped 1 x mild jalapeno chilli, chopped finely. 1 x clove garlic, squashed with salt 1 x 400g tin black beans, drained Ground spices: ½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon mild paprika, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika. Henderson’s Relish and a teaspoon of marmite. Vegetable oil to cook. Juice of ½ lime. Handful fresh herbs chopped – you could use coriander, or parsley or chives. Fry the onion, pepper, chilli and garlic in the vegetable oil for a few minutes until tender. Add the ground spices and fry to release the flavour. Add the black beans and ½ tin of water. Stir up and allow to simmer. Add the Henderson’s Relish and the marmite, stir in and simmer for a few minutes. Using a potato masher, mash the beans into the sauce quite roughly. They will release their starchiness and make a thick puree. Add the lime and adjust the seasoning, you might want a little more salt or some ground pepper. Add the fresh herbs just before you serve. Banana Daiquiri
This recipe is from my Christmas in the Caribbean menu which will be published in full shortly. Have a look at the Cake de Ron from August, and look out for more recipes in the series. Of course, a Banana Daiquiri is appropriate at any time of year, so don't restrict yourself to the colder months. Creamy, delicious and fruity. The original Daiquiri, invented in Cuba in 1900, consisted only of lime juice, rum and sugar combined with shaved or crushed ice. It must have been very like the original Mojito too, but now the two cocktails are delightfully different. Along the way, some genius decided to add fruit to the blended mixture and the Daiquiri we know and love was born. You can use many fruit flavours, but banana was made in heaven to pair with rum and gives such a lovely creamy texture, it has to be the best. You can make up a jug full by multiplying the quantities; stir well on serving to mix up the layers as it might separate if left to stand. Although it seems unlikely that any party with interested guests is going to let this jug of wonder stand for any length of time. It’s a deceptive cocktail. Feeling gentle and fruity, it slips down easily; if you wanted to reduce the alcohol content you could substitute another shot of sugar syrup for the Cointreau. Makes one Daiquiri
Simply blend all the ingredients together until a smooth creamy liquid can be poured out of the blender into your tall frosted glass. |
Some Changes - April 2022
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