dinner date - spaghetti & prawns

I made this spaghetti as a quick dinner for two on Sunday night but it's one of my favourite "dinners for one". I don't see occasions when cooking for myself as a reason to just have toast for dinner, rather I see it as an opportunity to have special treat... like prawns!

If you don't like prawns you could add bacon instead, or go without either for a very simple meal.

Like many pasta "recipes" its more an assembly of ingredients than a recipe. I've given rough quantities for two servings, increase or decrease as necessary.

Olive oil

1 small red onion, finely chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 red chilli, finely chopped

1 dozen raw prawns

A splash of white wine (optional)

1 can chopped tomatoes

A handful of chopped Italian parsley and/or basil

Salt & pepper

Spaghetti

Get a large pot of salted water boiling for the spaghetti & heat a lidded pan over a medium heat. Add a splash of olive oil to the pan and throw in the red onion. Cook for 10-15 minutes until soft but not browned. (Now add the spaghetti to the boiling water)

Add the garlic & chilli to the softened onion and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Turn up the heat and throw in the prawns along with a splash of white wine (if using). Stir for 2-3 minutes then add the chopped tomatoes. Cook over med-high heat for five minutes, reducing a little. Once the spaghetti is cooked, season the prawns/tomato sauce with salt and pepper and throw over the herbs.

Drain the spaghetti, then put it back into the pan and stir in a couple of spoonfuls of the sauce to cook. Distribute the spaghetti into bowls and top with prawns & tomato sauce.

Eat!

dinner date - paella

I hosted a dinner party last weekend, and when trying to think of an appropriate dish to make, my friend Debbie suggested paella. I don't recall having ever made it before, but it always seems like quite a fun meal. I did a bit of a google search and came up with this, Jamie Oliver recipe.

Chicken, prawns, bacon, chorizo, this paella has it all! It had a great smokey flavour from the paprika. I haven't really cooked with saffron before, but bought some Equagold saffron extract to use in this dish. I'm not sure it added anything (or there may have just been so many other flavours I didn't notice). A tip mum taught me, is to always buy frozen (or fresh) prawns uncooked i.e. grey rather than pink. Some cooked prawns were mistakenly bought in my household for another dish a few weeks ago and we will never do that again - they were very tough and chewy.

I'd certainly make this dish again, and it's great to make when cooking for guests, as you can do lots of the prep beforehand. Plus, it's relatively low maintenance, as it doesn't involve lots of dishes, and you can just plonk the pan onto the table to serve. Delicious!