Creamy Pasta with Prawns and Broccoli

A great thing happened in my kitchen the other day...the Wonderboy ate prawns for the first time! Hooray and hurrah! He said they tasted "like fish and peas" which, weirdly, is kind of right. Once again, I have learnt to never underestimate the sophistication of a child's palate.

This makes for a handy emergency dish, as it requires very few ingredients and I even used frozen prawns and frozen broccoli. Simply put some pasta shapes onto boil (I used rigatoni). Add the broccoli for the last 3 minutes of the cooking time. Now drain the pasta and broccoli, making sure to retain some of the cooking liquid seperately for later.

Return to the pan. Now add the prawns, a couple of tablespoons of creme fraiche, some freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used half a lemon for 2 adult-sized portions), and plenty of salt and pepper. Put over a low heat, stirring until hot. This is where you can add some of the cooking water back to the pan if the sauce is a little thick.

Stir through a fresh herb of you have some-I used basil, though I think mint or parsley would also work well.

Then just act super casual, like it's no big deal and "hey all 4 year olds eat seafood, chill out man", and see if your little one digs in..

Tagliatelle with Pesto and Pan Fried Scallops

Dinner last night was quick, simple, yet delicious. And if you think scallops are too extravagant for a weeknight, I urge you to start buying your fish and seafood from Morrisons (if you live in the UK, obviously). I know this sounds like a real housewifey tip, or that they're sponsoring me, but honestly their fish section is really reasonable and great quality. I think my packet of scallops was about £3, and there was some leftover for another meal. Can't really argue with that.

Prawn Jacket Potato!

Here's a simple one, but a goody nonetheless. I was inspired to rustle this up after seeing it on my friend Rene's blog http://www.renehumphrey.blogspot.com/

Basically pop a jacket potato in the oven (after pricking all over, and smearing with olive oil and sea salt) for 1-1/2 hours.

Meanwhile put a 150g packet of cooked, peeled king prawns into a bowl. Add two generous tablespoons of creme fraiche, the juice of half a lemon, just under a handful of chopped dill, and season. Mix it all together then pop back in the fridge.

Serve with the potato and some salad. This amount of prawns will serve two, but I kept half and had the rest on a toasted bagel for lunch today. Delish!

Spaghetti with Prawns in a Chilli and Tomato Sauce

What do you cook when you're by yourself, it's a cold blustery Saturday night, and you want something warm, indulgent, and full of carbs? THIS.

I made a quick spicy tomato sauce by gently frying 1 chopped garlic clove in some olive oil, adding 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes, and cooking for a minute. Then I poured in almost a whole tin of chopped tomatoes, brought to the boil, then reduced the heat and simmered for 10 minutes or so. I tipped in a handful of frozen prawns, left it simmering for 5 another minutes, then threw in some frozen peas and cooked for about 3 minutes more.

Meanwhile, I had a pan of organic spaghetti bubbling comfortingly away, and some garlic bread in the oven...you know this makes sense.

Drain the spaghetti, then add to the sauce, also adding a little of the cooking water if the sauce has become too reduced.

Top with some fresh rocket, shaved parmesan and a drizzle of your best olive oil.

Best accompanied with pyjamas, slippers and perhaps (if you're feeling really trashy) a wee bit of X Factor!

Easy Prawn and Spinach Thai Curry

I had the girls round yesterday for an evening of X Factor, gossip, hugs, wine and my Prawn and Spinach Thai Curry! I adapted this from a recipe I scribbled down from somewhere ages ago, adding a few tweaks along the way. The result is a spicy, coconutty coriander-y sensation! Haha.

So you'll need (to serve 4):

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small potato, peeled and cubed

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 tsp grated fresh root ginger

1 heaped tbsp thai red curry paste

3/4 of a 400g tin chopped tomatoes

400ml tin light coconut milk

400g frozen raw king prawns

A few handfuls of fresh spinach

Half a small punnet of cherry tomatoes

Fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan or deep saute pan. Tip in the potato,onion, garlic and ginger and cook for a few minutes until softened. Stir in the curry paste, then cook for 1 minute more until the paste releases its fragrance.

2. Pour over the tinned tomatoes and most of the coconut milk, bring to the boil, then leave to simmer for 5 minutes. You can add a little more of the coconut milk if the mixture appears to be getting too thick.

3. Tip in the prawns and cherry tomatoes, then cook for 10 minutes more, adding the spainch for the last 5 minutes.

4. Serve with some plain boiled rice and sprinkle generously with coriander.

For dessert, we had this divine Duchy Originals Organic Lemon Tart (available from Waitrose). It was just the right balance of sweetness and sharp lemon-perfect to have after a spicy main.

Thanks for a great night girlies! And Zoe, it was lovely having you as my little house guest for the night. Stay tuned for the recipe for my Feta, Brocolli and Tomato Fritatta that we had when we got up this morning! Hope you all had a great weekend x