SIMPLE THAI SEAFOOD CURRY

Cheating is something that I do a lot during the week when it comes to cooking family meals.  I'd love to have the time to cook everything from scratch but that's just not practical when you work full time.  I don't mean cheating in a ping it in the microwave sort of way, I mean using ready made or prepped ingredients that are going to aid in a speedy dinner.

One of my favourite things to have in are these herb and spice paste tubes from Sainsbury's that you keep in the fridge ready to give a flavour boost to your dish.  I'm always buying fresh herbs for things, using half then scraping them from the bottom of the salad box.  These tubes last for a month in the fridge once you've opened them.  I always have the chilli and ginger tubes in but for this recipe I've tried the Thai Herb Paste.

Everything I used in this recipe were things I either had in the fridge of store cupboard and it took less than half an hour to put it all together - didn't someone write a book about recipes like that!   My other convenient ingredients were a tin of coconut milk and a bag of frozen mixed seafood that you cook straight from the freezer.  You can freeze the remaining coconut milk for next time.

Getting the veg ready was probably the most time consuming. I served mine with a stir fry of pak choi, spring onions, red and orange peppers and carrot but there's no reason not to buy one of those ready prepped stir fry packs.



Mixed Seafood Thai Curry

(Serves 2)

1 tbsp Oil
1 tsp Sesame Oil
200g Frozen Mixed Seefood
2 tbsp Thai Herb Paste
1/2 Tin Coconut Milk
1 tsp Fish Sauce


Put your rice on to cook whilst you make everything else.  In a pan or wok heat the oils then add the seafood and herb paste, keep string till the prawns turn pink then add the coconut milk and fish sauce.  leave on a very low heat to keep warm while you cook the veg.

Heat a pan or wok with 1/2 tbsp oil and 1 tsp sesame oil.  When it starts to smoke add your stir fry veg.  This takes just a couple of minutes to cook and they should be slightly charred and still a little crisp.

Serve everything with a scatter of fresh coriander.

We ate this with a Vino Verde, also from Sainsbury's which went superbly with seafood.  It had a light fresh summery taste that calmed the heat from the curry perfectly.  I'm no expert on wine, but those who are have given it 3 awards recently

. It's also a winner on price at just £4.75

EASY EASTER & EASTER NESTS

Oh my goodness, I just love these.  They are the easiest treat to make for Easter, and perfect for making with children.  They take no time at all so can be made and eaten within 1/2 an hour.

The only tricky bit is getting hold of the kataifi pastry.  It's a Greek pastry made from shredded filo pastry and looks like shredded wheat.  I usually find it in Mediterranean supermarkets in the freezer section but you can also buy it on line.

150g Kataifi Pastry

20g Butter

20g Sugar

Pinch Mixed Spice

Nutella

Chocolate Mini Eggs

Melt the butter and sugar in a pan and stir in the mixed spice.  Pull apart the pastry and stir it into the melted butter to coat as much as you can.

Now use the pastry to form nests in a muffin tray.  Make sure you push them firmly against the sides and leave a dip for your eggs in the centre.

Bake for 10 minutes at 180C Fan.  They will be crisp and golden.  Leave them to cool slightly in the tray then remove to a cooling rack.

Now put a teaspoon of Nutella in the centre and finish with mini eggs.

HAPPY EASTER