But what about the New Year's parties? Canapés? Well don't worry because I have discovered a range of delicious and sophisticated organic Spanish seaweed based foods from CressUk, that can be whipped up in minutes and taste amazing!
Seaweed may not be everyone's idea for the basis of a meal but believe me, its ever increasing popularity makes it the perfect food for parties and it is low in fat so you can eat twice as much! (joke).
Seaweed is a fantastic source of protein, fibre, iron, iodine, calcium and a source of vitamins such as vitamin A. Seaweed contains substances called phycocolloids, which help intestinal motility and decrease appetite. Perfect then for canapés!
These canapes are incredibly easy to make but look impressive and taste even better with a cold glass of champagne:
Seaweed Tartar Blinis: Pack of blinis
Seaweed tartar
Salmon roe
Place the blinis on a baking sheet and warm in the oven on 150 degrees for 7-10 minutes
Remove from oven and carefully place a teaspoon of the tartar in the centre of the blini. Then add a small amount of roe on top of the tartar (I bought mine from the fantastic Moxon's fishmongers, located on Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, and branches also in South Kensington and Clapham South). Serve immediately with champagne! (Essential).
One of my favourite dishes from the impeccable C's (formerly Cipriani's) restaurant is the squid ink tagliolini which also can be found in the Harry's Bar recipe book. I have used this dish as my inspiration as it is simply divine. I used the nori pasta as I think the dark colours and flavours all complement each other.
Squid cooked in Squid Ink
675g cleaned squid
100ml olive oil
1 large celery rib, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
4 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
400ml dry white wine
125g finely chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsely, oregano and thyme)
salt and pepper
3 sachets of squid ink (approximately 12g worth of ink)
For the squid (adapted from The Harry’s Bar Cookbook): Cut the cleaned squid into small pieces, roughly 2/3 cm each. Set aside. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the celery, onion, and garlic, and cook until soft and golden but not browned. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 3 minutes. Turn the heat to high and add the squid. Stir the squid, cooking it evenly for a few minutes. Then add the wine and herbs and bring the liquid to the boil. Turn down the heat. Add the ink from the sachets, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook over low heat, partially covered, until the squid is soft and tender. This should take about 90 minutes. Stir occasionally.
When this is complete, toss in the cooked pasta and mix well. Then assemble on a plate (do this by twizzling the pasta with a fork, it looks presentable this way!).
For a lighter, less formal yet equally as delicious meal, I created an alternative pasta dish using the wakame variety. I roasted fennel and added caper berries to give it a fresher, zingy flavour. The scallop add a different texture but don't detract from or overpower the taste of the seaweed pasta.
Scallop Seaweed PastaWakame pasta
One fennel bulb,
Scallops
Caper berries
Artichoke hearts, sliced
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Furimake Japanese seasoning
season with salt and pepper
Method:
Thinly slice the fennel bulb and spread on a warm baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season, and place in the oven on 180degrees for about 15-20 minutes. To crisp them up a little grill for 5 minutes. Slice the artichoke hearts and put to one side. Cook the pasta and toss in olive oil so it doesn't stick together. While the pasta is cooking, heat a thick slice of butter in a frying pan and add the scallops. Cook for 5 minutes, turning constantly. Do not over cook them or they will be like rubber!
When everything is cooked, assemble in a warmed dish, drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, caper berries and season.
Serve on warm plates. Sounds obvious but you'd be amazed how many people put warm food onto stone cold plates and wonder why it goes cold so quickly!
Try these simple yet stunning recipes. I have made them for my human guinea pigs who were sceptical at first but pleasantly surprised by how delicious they all were!
Happy New Year!!
Eat well. Xx
Links: www.cressuk.com
www.moxonsfreshfish.com
http://www.cipriani.com/locations/london.php
Method:
Thinly slice the fennel bulb and spread on a warm baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season, and place in the oven on 180degrees for about 15-20 minutes. To crisp them up a little grill for 5 minutes. Slice the artichoke hearts and put to one side. Cook the pasta and toss in olive oil so it doesn't stick together. While the pasta is cooking, heat a thick slice of butter in a frying pan and add the scallops. Cook for 5 minutes, turning constantly. Do not over cook them or they will be like rubber!
When everything is cooked, assemble in a warmed dish, drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, caper berries and season.
Serve on warm plates. Sounds obvious but you'd be amazed how many people put warm food onto stone cold plates and wonder why it goes cold so quickly!
Try these simple yet stunning recipes. I have made them for my human guinea pigs who were sceptical at first but pleasantly surprised by how delicious they all were!
Happy New Year!!
Eat well. Xx
Links: www.cressuk.com
www.moxonsfreshfish.com
http://www.cipriani.com/locations/london.php
