Ratatouille with a fishy twist

One of our dear friends, Priya, who has been vegetarian for a long time has recently taken to eating fish as well. Usually, I would make something vegetarian just for Priya while the rest of us would indulge in meaty goodness. However, this time, I decided to make things a little easier and make one hearty dish filled with loads of veges and throw in some Tuna. A Ratatouille with fish in it!

I also wasn't really too fussed about the main meal simply because this was the same night that I was serving the Chocolate Valentino and Ice Cream tested and made for the February DB Challenge that I co-hosted.



As it is, the Fishy Ratatoullie turned out really, really well! This is what i did.

Igredients
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp oregano
2 eggplants
2 carrots
2 zuchini
2 leek
2 green capsicum
350g Button Mushrooms
4 tomatoes
1 can stewed tomatoes
3 cans tuna chunks
Salt
Black Pepper

Method
Cut all the vegetables into large chunks.
Sautee Onion and garlic till soft. Add in basil and oregano and fry till fragrant. Stir in the egglplant and lightly fry before adding in the rest of the vegetables. Mix together and cook well, seasoning with some salt and pepper. Add in the can of tomatoes, and allow to simmer till everything is cooked. Add in the tuna, taking care not to break it up too much. Mix well, allow to simmer to meld all the flavours and season with more salt and pepper.




I served this with rice and it was a very tasty and hearty meal. The kids loved is as not only had they had watched the Ratatouille Movie but they also love Tom and Jerry (the cartoon). They joked that about how Jerry had cooked the ratatouille together with a fish that Tom had caught. Obviously my warped sense of humour has rubbed off on them!

Leeking Mushrooms

Fluellen: Your majesty says very true. If your majesties is remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps; which, your majesty know, to this hour is an honourable badge of the service; and I do believe, your majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy’s day.

King Henry: I wear it for a memorable honour; For I am Welsh, you know, good countryman

That is an excerpt from Act IV, Scene VII of William Shakespeare's King Henry V. Now I'm not Welsh, have never been to Monmouth let alone Wales but I do like my Leek.

Those of you familiar with this blog would know that I love mushrooms, in particular mushrooms that come from Monmouth in Wales. No, I jest. I just love mushrooms, regardless of where they come from. For the record, I've never ever had a Welsh mushroom, you know, never having been to Wales and all that...



Some time ago, I posted about my Leeking Garlic Prawns. This time its Leeking Mushrooms simply because I like the play on the word Leek! Related to the Garlic and the Onion, Leeks have a nice subtle flavour that doesn't overpower. Generally only the white and light green parts are eaten although sometimes I use the slightly darker parts as well. It still tastes good!

This is something that's really easy to throw together and doesn't really need a recipe. This is what I did though:

200g Swiss Brown mushrooms
2 leeks
3 cloves garlic
Black Pepper
Oregano
Basil
Olive Oil
Salt

Method
Quarter the mushrooms and clean the leek, slicing it thinly. Chop the garlic and sautee with oregano, basil and black pepper in a generous quantity of Olive Oil. Throw in the mushrooms and cook till tender. Add in the leeks and continue cooking, stirring well. Season with salt.


Very, very easy to do and a great accompaniment to any dish!

Leeking Garlic Prawns

I love prawns! I love the texture and I love the taste. Or is it Shrimp that I love so much?? I'm from the Commonwealth so over here it's Prawn. To paraphrase Shakespeare, That which the Americans call a shrimp by any other name, would still taste like a prawn.
I hope the old bard isn't doing cartwheels or somersaults in his grave...

Prawns have their own flavour so I dislike prawns that are soaked in too much sauce. That's not entirely true. Its almost impossible to dislike prawns. What I mean to say is that prawns should be cooked with just a tad of seasoning. Nothing overpowering to completely overwhelm the taste of this crustacean. The only exception to this 'rule' would be Sambal Prawns - but even them the taste of the prawns still come through.

I don't often make prawns for two reasons. Firstly, they are rather expensive. Secondly, the Lovely Wife is a little allergic to prawns although she does love shellfish as much as I do. It get's particularly bad if there is a full moon. Her face gets all dark and screwed up and she starts to howl quite a bit. Sometimes the facial hair gets rather thick too. Oh, but I'm mistaken. That's not the Lovely Wife but me - especially when I dont shave. Seriously though, she does have a mild reaction to shellfish and so she tries to stay away from it.

I made this dish quite some time ago for my daughter's 3rd birthday since we were having an Under The Sea Theme. I dug up these photos since I was writing an article on Themed Birthday Parties for the Daily Tiffin - scheduled to be out this Wednesday.

So anyway, it's really very simple and very delicious. Like most of what I do, I just threw a whole lot of things together and since this happened quite some time ago, I cant recall measurements. But this is how it goes"

Lots of garlic - chopped
Lots of Prawns - shelled and deveined
Some Chilli Flakes
A little Black Pepper
about two stalks of Leek - cut into 1 inch lengths

Boil some water and add in a little salt. Blanch the leek until just tender. Drain and set aside on a serving plate.
Heat some Olive Oil and fry the garlic and chilli flakes. Add in the shelled prawns and quickly stir fry until the prawns turn pink. Turn out onto the bed of leek. Garnish with some chopped coriander.

And there you have it! Garlic Prawns on a Bed of Leek otherwise known as Leeking Garlic Prawns!