A Chorizo and Prawn Risotto Recipe.

Ingredients (for one hungry person or two small portions):

• 70g Arborio (risotto) rice.
• 8cm piece of cooking Chorizo sausage.
• 12 prawns.
• 500ml vegetable stock.
• 1 small onion.
• 1 chilli.
• Tomato puree.
• Frozen peas.
• Quarter green pepper.
• Sea salt.
• Butter.
• Olive Oil.
• Glass of red wine (optional.)
• Parmesan cheese (optional.)

Method:

Add the stock to a saucepan and heat until hot but not boiling. Keep it hot on a low heat.

Add butter and olive oil to a medium sized frying pan. Heat until the butter melts. Add the chopped onion, chopped chilli and the thinly sliced Chorizo. Fry gently for 8 minutes and add the rice. Toast the rice for 2 minutes and then add a couple of ladles of stock until it covers the ingredients. Add the red wine (optional) and a good squeeze of tomato puree. Stir well and simmer gently for 5 minutes. As the rice absorbs the stock, add more to keep the mixture wet so it doesn’t burn. Add the chopped pepper and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, adding stock as necessary. Add a handful of frozen peas and cook for another 3 minutes. Finally, add the prawns and cook until the prawns are pink. The final consistency of the risotto should be thick and runny. Check the seasoning; add a knob of butter and some grated Parmesan (optional.)

A Thai Green Chicken Curry Recipe.

This is rapidly becoming a real favourite. It's a rich, creamy dish without being too hot. Try substituting the chicken for seafood, or make a vegetarian version with tofu pieces.

Ingredients (for two people, or one greedy b*****d):

• 1 large organic chicken breast.
• 1 small red onion.
• 2-4 tsp Thai green curry paste.
• Half a fresh chilli.
• 2 stalks of lemon grass or 1 tsp of lemon grass paste.
• 300 ml coconut milk.
• 1 tsp lime juice.
• Half a fresh green pepper.
• 1 garlic clove.
• Quarter tsp ground coriander.
• 1 small piece of fresh ginger.
• Good bunch of fresh coriander leaves.
• Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and olive oil.
• For the garnish - a few coriander leaves.
  

Method:

Finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Pre-heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a saucepan and gently fry the onion, garlic, ginger and curry paste over a low heat for 5 minutes. Cut the chicken into strips and add it along with the ground coriander. Fry gently for another 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, chopped chilli and the lemon grass. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the roughly chopped pepper and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Season and add the lime juice. The curry sauce should be the consistency of single cream - add water if it looks too thick or reduce it over high heat if too thin. Finally, add the fresh, roughly chopped coriander leaves and give it all one last stir.

Serve with boiled organic basmati brown rice and a few whole coriander leaves sprinkled over the top.

A Chicken Jalfreze Curry Recipe.

I like to cook, and one of my signature dishes is a jalfreze-style chicken curry. I've fed this to a few friends in the past and they seem to like it. On a couple of occasions, I've written out the recipe for people so it seemed like a good idea to post it on the Web. Here it is:

Ingredients (for two people, or one greedy b*****d):

• 2 organic chicken breasts.


• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes.


• 1 garlic clove.


• 1 small piece of fresh ginger.


• 1 red onion.


• Half a fresh green pepper.


• Half a fresh chilli.


• Quarter tsp ground cumin.


• Quarter tsp ground coriander.


• Half tsp medium curry powder.


• Bunch of fresh coriander leaves.


• Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and olive oil.


• For the garnish - a few coriander leaves and a fresh tomato.

Method:

Finely chop half the onion. Pre-heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a saucepan and gently fry the onion over a low heat with a lid for 15 minutes until the onion caramelizes and goes brown. Add the finely chopped garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the ground cumin, ground coriander and the curry powder and fry for 1 minute (don't worry if it looks a bit dry.) Add the tin of tomatoes and a cup of water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and add salt or pepper as required. That's the sauce complete.

Cut the chicken into rough chunks. Cut the pepper into thick strips and finely chop the fresh chilli. Cut the rest of the onion into chunky quarters and add everything to the sauce. Cook gently, stirring occasionally until the meat is cooked. Just before the end, add a good bunch of chopped fresh coriander leaves. Check the seasoning once again, adding a little water if the sauce is too thick or reducing it over a high heat if too thin.

Serve with boiled organic basmati brown rice and a fresh tomato chopped into quarters. Sprinkle a few whole coriander leaves over the top and serve.

You can vary the curry powder and chilli quantities to taste. The above amounts produce a hot, but not overpowering curry. It freezes well and can be converted into a vegetarian version by substituting the chicken for any diced hard vegetables (Bev likes carrots and potatoes.) You can add a handful of lentils or cashew nuts, too.