tuna steak, around 150 g
1/2 cucumber
1/2 red chilli pepper, sliced into thin rings
11/2–2 cm root ginger, minced or grated
1 ripe avocado, cut in half and sliced
soy sauce, to taste
Combine the juice of half the lime, the olive oil, the salt and chilli flakes, and marinate the tuna in this mix for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the salad. Halve the cucumber lengthways and pull a teaspoon down the middle to scoop out and remove the seeds. Cut the cucumber into thin slices and place them in a bowl. Add the chilli rings, ginger and avocado. Sprinkle with the remaining lime juice to taste. The salad should be quite hot and sour. Lastly, add a tiny bit of soy sauce (around a teaspoon) and a pinch of salt.
Heat a griddle pan over a high heat until it’s very hot, then add the tuna steak. Griddle for 1 minute on either side until griddle marks appear but the tuna is still pink inside.
Transfer the tuna to a plate and spoon the salad alongside.
Tagliatelle with prawns & smoky whisky–tomato sauce
Preparation Time
15 minutes
100–125 g (fresh) tagliatelle
200 g raw prawns, peeled (but with the tail left on) and deveined
olive oil, for frying
a splash of whisky
1 small garlic clove, crushed
a pinch of chilli flakes
2 vine tomatoes, finely chopped
a knob of butter
a small handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to season
Cook the tagliatelle in boiling water until just tender, according to the packet instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, sprinkle the prawns with a little salt. Heat a small splash of olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the prawns over a medium–high heat for a few minutes until they’re pink and cooked through, then add the whisky to the prawns over the heat. Shake the pan a bit and if you’re using a gas hob the contents will ignite on their own. Stand back and let the flames die down, then turn out the prawns on to a plate.
Put the pan back over the heat, add a little more olive oil, if needed, and sauté the garlic and chilli flakes for a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook until they soften and get a little sauce-like, around 3–5 minutes. Add the prawns and the butter, and season with salt and pepper. Add a tiny splash of the pasta cooking water to the sauce, then drain the pasta in a colander.
Add the tagliatelle to the sauce, stir to coat in the sauce, then heat through for another 20–30 seconds. Tip out on to a plate and sprinkle with parsley.
Lemon couscous with salmon & cherry tomatoes
Preparation Time
20 minutes
80 g instant couscous
a small handful of frozen peas
juice and zest of 1/2 unwaxed lemon
a small knob of butter
150 g salmon fillet, with skin
olive oil, for frying
150 g cherry tomatoes (cut any big ones in half)
a small handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper, to season
Put the couscous, frozen peas, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, the butter and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Pour in 125 ml boiling water, cover the bowl with a plate or cling film, and allow to swell for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper. Heat a small splash of olive oil in a frying pan and cook the salmon fillet, skin-side down, for a few minutes over a medium–high heat. Turn over and cook for another 1–2 minutes. Make sure you don’t overcook the salmon – the middle should still be coral coloured.
Remove the fish from the pan, add the cherry tomatoes to the same pan and cook for 2–3 minutes until soft, shaking the pan occasionally.
When the couscous is ready, fluff it up with a fork then stir in the parsley and taste to see if it needs more lemon or salt. Turn it out on to a plate, place the salmon alongside and spoon over the softened tomatoes.
Salad of butter beans, tinned tuna & shaved fennel
Preparation Time
10 minutes
1 small shallot, sliced into thin rings
1 small tin (about 200 g) of butter beans
1 small fennel bulb
a small handful of rocket leaves
2–3 fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp capers, rinsed, or 1 tbsp finely chopped peel from a preserved lemon (lemons preserved in salt)
juice of 1/2–1 lemon
a splash of olive oil
1 small tin (120 g) of tuna in olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper, to season
Sprinkle the shallot rings with a little salt and let them stand for a bit. Rinse the butter beans under cold running water and drain. Clean the fennel and shave it paper thin on a mandoline, or slice it very thinly with a knife. Squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the shallots.
Mix together the beans, fennel, shallots, rocket, mint and capers or preserved lemon peel, and dress the mixture with lemon juice, a splash of olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper. Drain the tuna and flake it over the salad in large chunks.
Preparation Time
15 minutes
1 shallot, sliced into rings
a small splash of red wine vinegar
1 entrecôte steak (around 150 g)
1/4 baguette or a crusty bread roll
1–2 tsp Dijon mustard
11/2–2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 head Little Gem, leaves separated
salt and freshly ground pepper, to season
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6. Put the shallot rings into a small bowl, add the red wine vinegar and let it sit for 10 minutes.
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