pasta vongole

why?

Two weeks ago, a few colleagues and myself decided to have dinner at an Italian restaurant and we ordered the usual suspects like pizzas, gnochi and pasta. I was so particularly disappointed with the pasta vongole and felt like I need to rescue my taste buds or forever this dish would be condemned! Also, I discovered that clams are very affordable and cost as much as the too-often- despised cockles while grocery shopping for the ingredients. This really made me wonder why this dish cost so much in restaurants, could it be the white wine? Well, in line with the economic recession, I decided to use the cheapest white wine I could find and hope to prove that these Italian restaurants are over-pricing this dish!

success?

Absolutely! The broth was divine and the sweetness from the clams and onions brought out the freshness of the parsley and chillis superbly. I have Italian blood in me, positively! Haha... I added prawns as well, because LR does not like the texture of clams, could that be the accidental secret to fabulous pasta vongole? Also, I decided to let the spaghetti sit in the pan for about five minutes to soak in all the broth before serving. Do they do that in restaurants or Italy? I did not bother to check for any recipes online or cookbooks I own, I wanted to 'experiment' :)

failure?

Too little broth! We licked our plates dry and I was left pretty high and dry.

Step 1: Skate & Capers with lots of butter

Step 2 : In goes the beetroot, parmesan & parsley

Step 3 : Served with grilled corn

smoked salmon & potatoes

Bottom of the food chain : Chicken liver

Next on the food chain: Prawns

The hunting ground

The stove

The dinner table!

Step 1: Cooking the prawn filling...

Step 2: Mixing the roux

Step 3: Beating the egg whites till they're stiff-peaked!

Step 4: Praying for the souffle to rise in the oven....

Finale: Prawn souffle!

why?

I was home alone and hungry! So I rummaged through my fridge, freezer and cupboard to see what I could whip up. I found prawns in the freezer, tomatoes, eggs and coriander in the fridge and flour in the cupboard. I took out this ancient seafood cookbook I had and scoured through the pages and found a Prawn souffle recipe!

success?

TOTALLY!!! It was so yummy that even though I had rashes (am a little allergic to prawns), it was worth it :)

failure?

The top of the souffle looked a little burnt... think my oven is really quite powerful, need to take it down from the stated temperature!

Prawn Souffle (serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

(A)

400g of prawns cut into pieces

2 riped tomatoes diced

4 cloves of garlic

3 tbs of white wine

2 tsp of paparika

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbs of butter

A handful of chopped coriander

(B)

3 tbs of butter

20g of flour

240ml of milk

4 egg yolks

(C)

4 egg whites

1/2 tsp of cream of tartar

METHOD:

1. Grease a souffle dish well and preheat the oven at 190 degrees
2. Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour to make a roux, then add milk gradually.
3. Allow to cool and beat in the yolks until smooth.
4. Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar till stiffed.
5. Fold the mixture into the stiffly-beaten whites.
6. Melt the butter in a pan and add the garlic and fry till fragrant.
7. Saute the prawns and season with salt, pepper and paprika.
8. Simmer with white wine and tomatoes for 5 min and add the chopped coriander
9. Place half the souffli mixture in the dish, place cooked prawns on top, and cover with the remaining mixture.
10. Place in the preheated oven and bake 40 minutes.

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