Grilled sesame prawn toast, served with pickled cucumbers, from Homemade Takeaways by Rob Allison. Photograph: Kris Kirkham
This has to be one of the worst represented dishes on the Chinese takeaway menu. Too often you open your container to reveal greasy-spoon-style fried bread with a hint of prawn spread over the top, all topped with a concrete layer of sesame seeds. We seem to eat the toasts out of habit and a craving for that omni-flavoured oil they are fried (destroyed) in. Not only are these prawn toasts far healthier, they are also so simple, yet so delicious, that you will find yourself wondering why you ever dialled the takeaway’s number.
Serves two
10 good-sized raw prawns, peeled (check the provenance of your prawns)
1 egg white, lightly whisked until just frothy
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp finely chopped chives
1cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 clove garlic, finely diced
2 thick slices of white bread, toasted
2 tbsp sesame seeds
Place the prawns on your chopping board and using a sharp knife, mince them as finely as possible. This takes a bit of time, but is worth doing. You may be tempted to use a food processor, but I find doing it by hand results in a better texture.
Place the minced prawns in a bowl along with the egg white, sesame oil, cornflour, soy sauce, chives, ginger and garlic.
Mix all of the ingredients until they are thoroughly combined.
Preheat your grill to a medium-high heat. Using a spoon or knife, spread the prawn mixture on top of the toast, dividing it evenly.
Spread right to the edges, and don’t be afraid to spread it thickly. Sprinkle each piece with a generous amount of sesame seeds and place under the grill.
Grill the toasts for 5–6 minutes, by which time the sesame seeds should have turned a lovely golden colour and the prawn mixture should be cooked all the way through.
If you are unsure if the prawn is cooked then cut a toast in the middle – the flesh should have turned a light shade of pink.
Soup with benefits: Nigel Slater’s roast tomato soup with caramelised
onions, chilli toasts, goat’s curd, basil oil and roasted garlic recipe.
Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for the Observer
I make two tomato soups. The first is little more than crushed cherry
tomatoes and basil spiked with red-wine vinegar. The other is more intense,
smoky and sweet-sharp from roasting the tomatoes first with olive oil, rosemary
and garlic, then crushing them and their blackened skins to a coarse, textured
purée.
It is the latter I made this week for two lunches, laid out on the rusty
garden table, where I passed around bowls of mussels and fried pancetta,
tarragon oil and toasted bread with lemon and pepper for everyone to stir into
their soup as they wished.
The second batch, two days later, came with caramelised onions, hot chilli
toasts and spoonfuls of cool, white goat’s curd. We finished both lunches with
white peaches, sliced and left to marinate in glasses of lightly citrus
Kahlenberg Riesling. A dessert as fragrant as it was simple.
Roast tomato soup
Serves 4 tomatoes 1.5kg onions 2,
chopped olive oil 60ml garlic 1 whole
head rosemary sprigs 2 red-wine vinegar
2 tsp
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Peel and chop the onions, then transfer them
to a roasting tin. Discard the stalks and stems from the tomatoes, then cut them
in half (or use whole cherry tomatoes). Pull the needles from the rosemary and
mix them with the onions and tomatoes. Pour over the oil, tossing everything
together. Place the whole head of garlic, unpeeled, among the tomatoes.
Bake the tomatoes and onions for an hour, with the occasional stir, until the
onions are soft, sticky and lightly coloured and the tomatoes have darkened.
Remove from the oven and transfer the tomatoes, onions and the roasting juices
to a blender or food processor.
Break the garlic into cloves then squeeze the soft, inner flesh of each clove
into a small dish. Add half the garlic to the tomatoes and reserve the other.
Process the onions and tomato mixture until you have a coarse purée. Season with
the vinegar, salt and black pepper and set aside.
Caramelised onions, chillli toasts and goat’s curd and basil oil
For the caramelised onions: onion 1,
large olive oil 2 tbsp golden caster
sugar 2 tsp red-wine vinegar 1 tbsp, mellow
Peel and finely slice the onion, then cook it for a good 15-20 minutes in the
olive oil in a small pan. Keep the heat low to moderate stirring regularly, so
that the onion softens then starts to caramelise. Scatter the sugar over the
softened onion, let the sugar melt then, just as it starts to turn brown, stir
in the balsamic vinegar.
For the chilli toasts: butter 50g red chilli
1, medium sized ciabatta 4 slices sea
salt flakes
Melt the butter in a small pan. Halve, seed and finely chop the chilli, then
stir it into the butter. Using the oven at 200C/gas mark 6 or an overhead grill,
toast the ciabatta on one side then place them on a baking sheet, uncooked side
up and spoon over the chilli butter. Toast until the butter starts to sizzle and
the bread colours, then sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve with the
soup.
For the goat’s curd and basil oil: goat’s curd 4 heaped
tbsp olive oil 150ml basil
20g roasted garlic 5 cloves
Pour the olive oil into a blender or food processor, add the basil leaves and
the garlic cloves and a pinch of salt, then process to a brilliant green oil.
Pour into a small jug or bowl.
Serve by ladling the soup into bowls, pass around plates of the hot chilli
croutes, a bowl of the goat’s curd and a jug or bowl of basil oil. Add a large
spoonful of curd to the soup, a spoonful of the onions, then trickle over some
of the basil oil. Float the croutes in the soup as you serve.
In the red: roast tomato soup with pancetta, mussels, tarragon oil and
lemon croutons. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin for the Observer
Pancetta, mussels, tarragon oil and lemon croutons
For the tarragon oil: parsley 15g tarragon
leaves 10g olive oil 150ml
Put the parsley leaves, tarragon and olive oil in a blender. Process to a
vivid emerald oil and set aside.
For the lemon croutons: butter 50g lemon
1 ciabatta half
Melt the butter in a small pan. Grate the zest of lemon and add to the
butter. Season with black pepper. Tear the ciabatta into small pieces, then dunk
in the lemon-zest butter. Bake the ciabatta at 200C/gas mark 6 for 7-10 minutes
until golden.
For the pancetta and mussels: pancetta 200g, in the
piece olive oil 2 tbsp mussels 400g, in
their shells, scrubbed parsley 4 tbsp, chopped
Cut the pancetta into small dice. Warm the oil in a pan, add the pancetta and
fry until golden. Add the mussels, cover for 2 or 3 minutes then, as soon as the
shells open, add the chopped parsley and tip into a bowl.
Serve by ladling the soup into bowls. Pass around the fried pancetta and
mussels and let everyone add them to their soup. Scatter lemon croutons over the
soup, then trickle the tarragon oil over the croutons and mussels.
As you can imagine, summer cocktail week came with joy and pain in equal
measure. There’s rarely a better way to spend a sunny evening than outdoors,
drink in hand, with friends and family; however grateful they were on the night,
though, the blame for fuzzy heads laid firmly at my door the next day. All more
than worth it, of course, to test these stellar cocktail recipes.
Proceedings began with Angela Dawson’s rhubarb and custard; the sweet syrup
and heady vanilla vodka was perfectly balanced by the bitterness of tonic water;
aromatic and delicate, it dispelled any preconceptions of it being as sweet as
the name suggests. Next came withmustard’s vodka thyme lemonade; I failed to
track down the citric acid, so rimmed the glass with the sugar and thyme mix
instead. The result was an impressively sophisticated drink with minimal fuss -
definitely one for the recipe scrapbook for all year round. The masala chai and
mint rum infusion from binnyshah made for something deliciously complex, worth
trying for the wonderful smell of the infused rum alone. Fadime Tiskaya’s
pomsecco took a little longer to prepare, but would be a great welcome drink for
any guests you might have this summer, the sharpness of the lime and tonic
offsetting the sweet peaches, pomegranate and prosecco, something altogether
more interesting than the usual bellini. A grapefruit tea with whiskey from
TwinnyDip, filled with bitter and smoky notes, was super-refreshing on a warm
day, as was Paddy MacLachlan’s take on the Mexican michelada. Tomato juice, beer
and soy sauce may not be to everyone’s taste, but personally, I could drink it
by the gallon.
As hard as it was to pick a winner, once my powers of reasoning were
restored, Clairetweet’s ruby gin fizz ticked all the boxes. Using seasonal
fruits with a refreshing zip of lime and a few generous splashes of gin, it’s an
unmistakable taste of summer that’s as easy to make as it is to
drink.
The winning recipe: ruby gin fizz
Really, nothing could be easier than a gin fizz. Also, you’ve got to get your
five-a-day from somewhere, so why not from
cocktails? Clairetweet, via GuardianWitness Makes 6-8For the syrup300g red
berries 200g sugar For the cocktails6-8 shots of gin 2 limes,
juiced Soda water Ice 1 To make the fruit syrup, put the fruit and sugar in a
saucepan over a low heat, then bring to a gentle simmer and cook for around 5
minutes, until the fruit has broken down and the sugar has dissolved. Push
through a sieve to remove the seeds and pulp, then chill. 2 To make the drink, put ice cubes in the bottom of your
glasses, top with a generous amount of syrup, a good squeeze of lime, followed
by the gin. Top up with soda water and decorate with raspberries and lime to
serve. BinnyShah’s pic, uploaded to GuardianWitness, of a masala
chai mint rum infusion.... Photograph:BinnyShah/GuardianWitness Photograph:
GuardianWitness
Masala chai mint rum infusion
Add a chai teabag to rum with a few spices and mint leaves, and voila: a
spicy cocktail! Binnyshah, via GuardianWitness Serves 22 shots spiced rum 1 chai tea bag 1
cinnamon stick Soda water 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp garam masala Juice of 1
lime A handful of mint leaves 1 Pour the rum into a glass or jug, then infuse the teabag
and cinnamon stick in the rum for around 20 minutes. 2 Remove the teabag and cinnamon stick, then pour the rum
into a cocktail shaker and add soda water, sugar, garam masala and a dash of
lime. Give this mixture a good shake and strain into two glasses. Add a handful
of mint leaves, then serve.
Rhubarb and custard
There was a recipe for a rhubarb cocktail in the Guardian recently, and as we
grow more rhubarb than you can shake a stick at, I tried the cordial from said
recipe. I’ve been making it regularly ever since, as rhubarb cordial has a
wonderful flavour, a brilliant colour and keeps well for a week or so in the
fridge; we’ve mixed it with gin and cava before now, but this is our favourite
creation. Angela Dawson, Taunton Makes enough cordial for 8 drinksFor the
cordial400-450g rhubarb, chopped 250g sugar Juice of ½ a
lemon 500ml water For the cocktails1 part vanilla vodka (which you can
buy, or make by steeping a vanilla pod in good quality vodka for a couple of
months) 2 parts rhubarb cordial 3 parts tonic water 1 Put the rhubarb, sugar, lemon and water in a pan, bring to
a boil, then simmer until the rhubarb has disintegrated. Cool, strain through
muslin into a jug for a few hours and chill. 2 To make the cocktail, mix 1 part vanilla vodka to 2 parts
cordial and 3 parts tonic water, pour into glasses with or without ice, then
serve.
Pomsecco
This cocktail is inspired by two of my favourite fruits: I love pomegranate
in every possible way; peach on the other hand was my favourite fruit as a child
(and still is). The combination of the two with the prosecco makes a wonderful
grown-up drink. It is fresh, colourful, zingy and just perfect for warm summer
days. Recipe Swap regular Fadime’s pomsecco (pomegranate and
peach) cocktail. Photograph: Fadime Tiskaya/GuardianWitness
Serves 4200ml pomegranate juice (from 1 large
pomegranate – see below for method) 60g caster sugar 1 cinnamon stick 3
ripe peaches, stoned and chopped 4 tbsp lime juice 280ml prosecco,
chilled 140ml tonic water Ice cubes, to serve 1 To make the pomegranate juice, remove the pith as you work
your way in to get all the seeds out. Discard the pith and outer skin. With a
potato masher, mash the seeds in the bowl and sieve them over a pan, pressing
with a ladle to get as much juice as possible. Discard the seeds. 2 Transfer the juice into a saucepan, add the sugar and
cinnamon and bring it to boil until the sugar dissolves. Take it off the heat
and let it cool, then chill in the fridge. Discard the cinnamon stick. 3 Puree the peaches with a hand blender, then push through a
sieve to get a smooth puree.
4 Mix all ingredients together and serve.
The Michelada – a Mexican favourite
Extremely refreshing, this is either a fancy shandy or a bloody mary with
beer instead of vodka, depending on your view. Makes 12
large ice cubes 1 lemon wedge 1 bottle strong brown beer, at least
6.5% Tomato juice Worcestershire sauce, to taste Soy or tamari soy
sauce, to taste Sriracha or hot chilli sauce 1 Take a half pint or pint glass, then put the ice cubes and
a good squeeze of lemon in it, then drop the wedge into it too. Pour the beer
all the way to the top, then slowly add tomato juice – you’ll be surprised at
how much you can fit into an apparently full glass. 2 Add the Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and sriracha, or
any other hot chilli sauce. Enjoy! TwinnyDip’s grapefruit ice tea laced with whiskey (and a
cucumber collins). Photograph: TwinnyDip/Instagram
Grapefruit ice tea with whiskey
While hot oolong tea is commonly drunk with or after a meal for its perceived
digestive quality; cold oolong tea is a great summer cooler. Slightly smoky, it
pairs really well with the citrussy, refreshing flavour of grapefruit in this
whiskey-based cocktail. Serves 1200ml grapefruit
juice 100ml oolong tea, cooled 1 tsp brown sugar 40ml whiskey Ice,
for shaking 1 grapefruit, for peel and wedge decorations 1 Mix the brown sugar in the grapefruit juice until
dissolved. Place the grapefruit juice, oolong tea, whiskey and ice into the
cocktail shaker. Shake until the shaker gets very cold. 2 Peel a strip of grapefruit skin, then, using a chopstick
or the handle of a fork, curl the grapefruit peel around it. Place it on top of
the drink, and garnish with a wedge of grapefruit at the top.
Vodka thyme lemonade with sherbet
Warm and earthy thyme reminds me of the sunbaked landscapes of Provence or
Andalucía. It grows wild there, scenting the thick, heavy air of midday. Thyme
goes very well with lemon. And the sherbet? That’s just a bit of fun and you can
leave it out if you like. withmustard’s vodka-thyme lemonade – with sherbet ‘just
for fun’. Photograph: withmustard/GuardianWitness Makes 1For the sherbet1 sprig of
young thyme 1 tsp citric acid 100g caster sugar For the cocktail1 unwaxed lemon, cut into wedges 1½
tsp granulated sugar 2 sprigs of thyme 1 shot vodka Sparkling or soda
water to top up Ice 1 For the sherbet (excess may be kept in an airtight
container for up to a week), place the sugar and thyme into a pestle and mortar.
Grind until the leaves are macerated and incorporated with the sugar. Add the
citric acid and mix thoroughly. 2 To decorate the glass, place the sherbet on to a saucer.
Run a wedge of lemon around the rim of a glass, and then dip into the sherbet,
shaking off any excess. 3 To make the drink, muddle the lemon wedges, sugar and
thyme. Add the vodka and sparkling water (about 2 parts). Shake some ice into
the mix and strain into a sherbet-rimmed glass.
