Prawns & Spicy Lentils - and - Rice & Seafood Soup - 1 - $

My stove blew up this week! A loud bang, a flash of the house lights and that was it - gone!
I'm secretly glad because the oven thermostat was shot and if I have to have an electric cooking appliance then I want to be able to at least choose which one - and now I can! The only downside of course is having to spend a Sunday trawling the suburban horror that is THE HOMEMAKER CENTRE (insert scary music and shudder) and forking out the required cash. So I am focusing on the positives and looking forward to all the delicate baking I can try, once I am the proud owner of an oven that knows how to behave itself and stay at the temperature that is required.

Luckily I have these recipes up my sleeve to share with you in the meantime. A few weeks ago I was poo pooing a certain magazine and then low and behold I find two cracker - albeit similar - recipes that I think are worth sharing.
So without further ado, here's some I prepared earlier!


Spanish Prawns with Spicy Lentils - Ingredients (serves 4)

1tbs olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 chorizo sausage, chopped
1tbs harissa
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 cans lentils, rinsed and drained
220gm jar of roasted red peppers, drained and sliced
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
500gm green prawns, peeled and tails left on
chopped flat leaf parsley
crusty bread to serve

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and chorizo and cook stirring until the onion is soft and chorizo crispy. Stir in harissa, cook for another minute and then add the tomatoes, lentils, peppers and stock. Bring to the boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every so often.
Season the prawns and add to the pot. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve.


Rice & Seafood Soup - Ingredients (serves 4)

60ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 chorizo sausage, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 litres chicken or fish stock (I used chicken)
1 can chopped tomatoes
75gm calasparra or aborio rice
200gm skinless salmon fillet, cut into 2cm pieces
2 squid tubes, cleaned and cut into rings (I cheated and bought a handful of calamari rings at the fish mongers)
12 green prawns, peeled with tails left on
1tsp orange zest
chopped flat leaf parsley

Heat 2 tbs of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, chorizo, carrot and zest and cook for 10 minutes or until onions and carrots are soft. Add stock, tomato and rice and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is al dente.
While the soup is simmering, add the remaining olive oil to a fry pan and cook the seasoned seafood in batched over a high heat for about 1 minute.
Stir the partly cooked seafood into the soup and simmer for another minute or until it's cooked through. Stir through the parsley and serve.
There's no need to have any bread with this dish as the rice fills up your tummy. And as with most dishes of this nature it's even more super tasty the next day.

Enjoy!