Delectably divine!

My tour of the fish market in Auckland continued on to me buying some prawns! I had to take my time scooping them into the bag because I was very tempted to go overboard with the amount I was getting. I had spotted a recipe by Annabel Langbein which I was very keen to try.

Lemon Chilli Grilled Prawns

Recipe

500g raw prawn tails

1tbsp sweet chilli sauce

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp chopped red chilli

Freshly grated rind of 1/2 lemon

Method

Mix prawns with chilli sauce, garlic, chilli and lemon rind. Chill until ready to cook (they can be kept up to 12 hours in the fridge). Lightly oil a barbecue hot plate and cook prawns about 2 minutes each side until they turn pink (of course I was kind of missing the barbecue hot plate so I stuck mine under the grill and the time does not really change that much and the smell that was emanating was driving me crazy) Eat as they are or serve on Avocado and Snow Pea Salad.

Of course I very much liked that suggestion.........

Avocado and Snow Pea Salad

Recipe

200g snow peas

200g sugar snaps

1/2 telegraph cucumber, cut into 4cm long batons

1 large spring onion, finely sliced

2 just-ripe avocados, cut into chunks

Dressing

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce

2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander or mint

Method

Pour boiling water over snow peas. Drain at once and chill briefly in cold water. Just before serving combine all the dressing ingredients and toss with snow peas and other ingredients. Divide between serving plates and top with prawns.

I think the the sweet chilli sauce really makes this menu and is a relatively new ingredient to me...I had a hard time choosing which one I wanted to get at the supermarket....so I think I will have to start experimenting and trying different ones to decide my favourite now. I chose 'Golden Sun' this time round and made enough dressing for a week of salads :) Trust me we were sopping it up with the bread and licking our fingers.

It was a delectably divine experience.

Spiced Bean Quesadillas with only slight adaptations

Even when you reach the end of the shopping week or month there is usually a few ingredients left in the fridge or cupboard to do something...well you hope anyway...so what great fortune I had to realise that I could still make a lovely dish of Spiced Bean Quesadillas courtesy of Annabel Langbein:

Ingredients

Splash of Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2tsp cumin

1tsp chilli powder

310g can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1/4cup sweet chilli sauce

salt and ground black pepper

1 cup grated tasty cheese

2tbsp chopped fresh coriander or spring onions

4 fresh flour tortillas

Method

Heat oil and gently cook garlic, cumin, and chilli powder for about a minute. Roughly mash beans and mix in spice mixture and chilli sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Spread 1/4 of the mixture on a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and coriander and place in heated frypan. Top with another tortilla and cook until golden then turn to brown other side. Makes 2 'sandwich' quesadillas.

OK all sounds good but I had to make some slight adaptations. Fresh herbs never last very long in our house I hate to admit but I had a lonely spring onion sitting in the fridge so I added the little fella to the mash beans mixture. I did not really have a bottle labelled sweet chilli sauce but in the fridge was a bottle of tasty Wahawera kiwifruit (which makes the sauce have a slight sweet flavour) and habanero sauce so I added a teaspoon of it. We bought this sauce actually during our time in the Bay of Islands. Hubby loves his hot sauces so when we find something new he jumps at the opportunity to get it so he can try it! One of his favourite things!

Of course I don't have that non stick frying pan remember so I fill and fold my tortillas, making a total of four, and put them in a baking tin and smack them into the oven for around 10-15 minutes, you know when they start smelling good. I also had some dregs of passata left in the fridge so I put some of that on top which also makes them seem a bit more like a main course rather than a snack.

All in all very yummy for my tummy!