While it seems like a while between posts, I am still continuing to cook the 30 Minute Meals, albeit not as enthusiastically as I started! Maybe this is because I am finding it hard work to obtain the ingredients, especially with a toddler in toe! Some elements of the meals have been a bit of a let down which also dampens the willingness to travel to different shops and shopping centres to find just the right ingredient. As it turned out for this meal, I couldn't find Smoky Haddock so I just used Smoked Cod. I figured one large smoked fish would taste the same as another large smoked fish!
But enough of the whinge and into the recipe. Smoky Haddock Corn Chowder (sounds like something I would feed the dog) with Spiced Tiger Prawns, Rainbow Salad and Raspberry & Elderflower Slushie. Now this menu has me a little confused. I would have thought a "Chowder" is a thick hearty soup that the English would eat as a winter warmer, comfort food so to speak. So why would you serve it with an icey cold Slushie? Needless to say I bought the raspberries and then thought I could do better than just blending them up with some ice!
Then there is the Rainbow Salad. Salad and Soup?? Maybe that is a British thing but I have never heard of serving a salad with a soup. The Spicy Prawns I guess were ok as they were also seafood, but I don't really like getting my fingers dirty while eating, I figure that is why mankind invented cutlery!
So let me find something good to say about this dish. Separately, I think each component was very good. The Chowder was tasty and warmed you up on a cold night - tick. The salad on it's own - totally awesome. Well the dressing is what made it awesome, but so easy and healthy to make by shredding up raw veg and then adding a punchy dressing using fresh Tarragon, a herb I had never used before. The spicy prawns were nice, but as I said, I'm not really into peeling a hot and spicy prawn at the dinner table. As for the Slushie - well I gave that a pass and made some really nice pavlova deserts (as seen on the TV show for the Sausage Cassoulet).
Which brings me to the next recipe, another Winter Warmer comfort food dish. I call it a simple sausage casserole but Jamie calls it a Kinda Sausage Cassoulet with Warm Broccoli Salad and then desert is where more confusion sets in. The TV episode had desert as a Pavlova Shell with Lemon Curd and fresh Raspberries and the book had a Berry Custard Ripple!
We already had a friend coming over for dinner so I thought this would be a good meal to prepare for our Queensland guest. I had everything precooked except for the broccoli which I left to the last minute (and still ended up over cooking it - whoops). The reason Jamie calls it a Kinda Cassoulet is because he uses Chipolata Sausages. I think, no problems, I will go and visit my newly found awesome butcher and we will be set. "Sorry, we don't do Chipolata's, is it for a children's party or BBQ?" he asks. Feeling slightly embarrassed I try to explain that it is for a Jamie Meal and he suggests a good quality sausage instead which I take. Don't think it made any difference at all to the overall taste of the meal, just that the bigger sausages were harder to serve up, but no biggy.
I premade the tomato salsa for the broccoli and thought this would be a real taste sensation but it was only a nicer way to serve broccoli and no party in the mouth. The Cassoulet was also no great meal sensation, but just an ok weekly family dish and not really worth the running around to get special ingredients.
For desert I made neither of the suggested dishes but a Mango Icecream (from the Summer Veg Lasagna) which I served in a glass with broken up pavlova shells and some fresh strawberries from our garden. As our friend was visiting from Queensland, I thought it would be a nice taste of home.
Next meal....a Smoked Salmon Dish. Hope this is a good one!
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