Seafood Risotto, with Mussels, Prawns and Squid

I rarely escape Morrison's fish section without buying something. Yesterday I bought some fillets to go into the freezer, and also a selection of seafood which I thought might be part of a curry. I changed my mind, and decided on a risotto.

First I prepared diced vegetables - carrot, half a courgette, and half a yellow pepper. Plus two crushed cloves of garlic. Boiled for around twenty-five minutes under glass. Drained and set aside.

The rice was prepared next - cooked in boiling water for about 12 minutes, which is a bit longer than how long you would cook basmati if you were serving it with a curry. I wanted a sticky texture to the rice for this risotto. I used a quarter cup of rice for this dish.

The seafood was already cooked, so it was a matter of reheating it. I did this in a bowl in a steamer. Five minutes is enough, if the steamer is already steaming.

While the seafood was being heated, I added the vegetables and the rice together in a pan. I added lots of freshly ground black pepper to the mixture, and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce for heat. I added the seafood when it was ready, and stirred together. Then I decanted it onto a serving plate.

A really satisfying risotto, which disappeared from the plate very quickly!

Penne Pasta with Mussels and King Prawns

Sea food from Sainsbury's. Penne pasta, with squid rings, mussels, prawns. Cooked with red onion and garlic, and dressed with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. The pasta was cooked in salted water, along with olive oil.

The onion and garlic was cooked in two knobs of butter for three or four minutes. Then the seafood was added, and stir-fried frequently at a high heat, for a further four minutes or so.

Add the sea food and the pasta together, and then decant into a pasta dish. Dress with Parmigiano Reggiano, or some similar grated cheese. Serve with lots of white pepper.

No herbs, no spices (apart from the white pepper). Delicious as it is.

Sea Food, with Crispy Noodles

Sea food, with squid rings, mussels and prawns, cooked in a steamer with oyster sauce. The sea food was precooked, and bought from Sainsbury's supermarket. Steamed for 12 minutes. The noodles were soaked in boiling hot water for seven minutes, drained, and then cooked in a saute pan with sunflower oil for ten minutes, to make the base of the noodles crispy. No herbs, no spices. Add a layer of dark soy to the plate before serving the crispy noodles.