Thai Red Curry Soup

Ever been to Wagamama's and had Chicken Itame? I have it every time when I go there, possibly because I don't know what most of the other things are! Wagamama's describe it as 'rice noodles in a spicy green coconut and lemongrass soup topped with stir-fried chicken, beansprouts, chillies, red and spring onions, bok choi, peppers and mushrooms. garnished with coriander and lime.'

This is my variation of it, with red curry paste.

One day last year I was sat in a lecture on a Friday afternoon, craving Chicken Itame, so I spent the last few minutes of the lecture (oops!) googling recipes but couldn't find exactly what I wanted. I found some similar recipes, so decided to start with them, and I made a shopping list. Since then, I have made it many times, and it is one of my favourite meals to cook, as its so easy, filling, healthy and tasty! I always make big portions, and can freeze the leftovers.

-Turkey/chicken breast (like the photo below)
-For a seafood version - prawns/mussels/calamari rings/crab sticks/seafood sticks (like the photo above)
-Mushrooms
-Aubergine
-Courgettes
-Onion
-Chilli
-Beansprouts
-Red/yellow/green peppers
- Red Thai Curry Paste (or lemongrass paste, ginger paste, chilli paste and garlic paste)
-Coconut milk (either a 400ml can or a carton, but a carton is not as rich)
-Noodles (egg noodles, rice noodles, wholewheat noodles...take your pick!)
-Spinach/Bok choi
-Lime (not necessary, but finishes it off perfectly)

1. I cut the meat into bite sized pieces, then cooked them in a little olive oil in a large frying pan/wok. If you are making the seafood version, don't add the seafood yet, as it only takes minutes to cook and will have a strange texture if you overcook them.

2. I chopped and added all of the vegetables (not the spinach/bok choi leaves) to the pan, and let that cook for a few minutes.

3. When everything looks cooked, add the Thai red curry paste. If you are making your own paste out of chilli, ginger, lemongrass and garlic, then mix them together in a small pot, you will want at least half a tablespoon of each. You can alter the taste of it to suit you. I love lemongrass, so I always add extra lemongrass! Cook this on a high heat for a few minutes, you don't want it to burn but you want the spices to release their flavour and fill the air with their aroma!

4. Add the coconut milk. You can either get rich coconut milk in a can, or thin coconut milk in a carton, which will be near the soya and almond milk at the supermarket. The carton milk is low in fat and a good alternative to dairy, so perfect if you are on a diet. I have used both, and they both taste good.

5. If you are using noodles, seafood or spinach/bok choi leaves, you should add them now. 

6. Bring the soup to a boil, then simmer until the noodles are cooked.

7. Take off the heat, serve the soup in a bowl and add a squeeze of lime juice.

To make it cheaply, I buy frozen seafood, spinach and peppers. You can even buy frozen diced onions. Bulking it out with veg makes it a lot healthier, more filling, and more portions.

I hope you enjoy this!

Zoe x

Farfalle Alfredo with Salmon

One of my coursemates asked me to make something with an Alfredo sauce, as it is her favourite at Frankie & Benny’s. Co-Op have salmon on offer at the moment (£3.75 for 360g, rather than £7.50). One of my favourite restaurants, an Italian in Dubai, does pasta with salmon in an Alfredo sauce, so I am re-creating it.

You don’t have to have salmon, chicken, bacon and mushrooms would be really nice, but cook them first, then add them to the sauce.

Recipe:

- 400g pasta (75-100g per person)

- 175g salmon (2 fillets)

- 55g butter

- 250ml double cream (they come in 284ml cartons, I used the whole thing)

- 1 garlic clove (I used 1/2 tsp squeezy garlic)

1. Cook the pasta for 10-12 minutes in a large pan of boiling, salted water.

2. Put the salmon fillets in a glass dish, splash a little milk over them (like in the picture above), then cover the dish with cling film and put a few holes in it. Put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. Take them out of the oven, and cut into a fillet to check it is cooked in the middle, if not, cook for another minute or so. Discard the skin, then break up the salmon with a fork.

3. Melt the butter in a medium pan. When it is completely melted, add the garlic and the cream. Bring it to a boil and simmer it for a few minutes. Add the cheese, and the sauce with rapidly thicken. When the sauce has thickened, add the salmon.

4. Drain the pasta, put it back into the large saucepan and pour the sauce over and stir them together.

 5. When you serve it, top with some more grated Parmesan.

Zoe x