Fettucine with Spicy Seafood Sauce Recipe
Day 13 - Healthy Eating Plan
For tonight's meal I am again looking towards fish but this time it's seafood, sorry if people out there aren't big fish eaters but I absolutely adore the stuff, in fact I don't think I've come across any fish or seafood that I don't like, although I hate fish where you end up with a mouthful of bones which destroys the enjoyment of eating, I don't like to have to fight with my food, it should be a total pleasure.
Why am I so in love with fish? What's not to love?
Fish is tasty, low in fat, full of Omega 3 fatty acids, minerals and vitamins, a great protein source, full of taste and quick to prepare - those are the highs. The lows tend to come in the form of whether or not the fish you buys is eco-friendly and they're not being over-fished. With so many different types of fish it's hard to imagine over-fishing but with our peculiar reluctance to try different types and the fish and chip shops in the U.K. mainly just offering two types; cod and haddock it is in our own best interests that when we're choosing and cooking our own fish that we try different types.
There has been a huge campaign recently promoted by some our favourite top U.K. chefs concerned that vast quantities of fish are caught and then have to be thrown back into the sea dead because of fishing legislation, please use this link to go and sign the campaign against this dreadful waste of the Earth's resources; Hugh's Fish Fight.
One of the other issues is that of over-fishing certain types of fish, particularly Cod, and an easy way of combating this is for us to eat a wider variety of fish, with that in mind I recently discovered a frozen tasty dish produced by Birds Eye; Bassa in Chilli and Lemongrass, the Bassa is steamed in foil bags placed in the oven, we've tried this a couple of times now and have encountered no bones, just delicious plaice-like white glorious fish, go on give it a try.
MENU FOR DAY 13
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Breakfast
Fat Free Danone Activia Peach Yoghurt poured over fresh Fruit Salad consisting of melon, banana, apple and tangerine segments.
Comment: I really like the peach version of this yoghurt and added to the lovely fruit salad it's a lovely way to start the day.
Lunch
2 slices of Co-operative Oat Bread thinly spread with Flora Lighter Than Light, slices of wafer thin Turkey, Lettuce, Beetroot strips, and Cress.
1 small Red Cox's Apple.
DINNER - FETTUCINE WITH SPICY SEAFOOD SAUCE
Tonight's dinner is low in fat, high in taste, and is delicious meal that you can enjoy without piling on the pounds.
Ingredients to serve 4:
350g / 12oz Fresh or Cooked Prawns
175g / 6oz Dried Tagliatelle or 350g /12oz of Fresh Tagliatelle
2 x 400g cans of Chopped Tomatoes
1 Organic Red Onion
1 Organic Red Pepper
1 Red Chilli
1 Organic fat juicy clove of Garlic
150ml / 5oz Red Wine for the recipe and a glass for the chef to drink while cooking
1 tablespoon / 15ml of Sun-Dried Tomato Paste
½ teaspoon / 2.5ml Ground Coriander
½ teaspoon / 2.5ml Ground Cumin
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
Seasoning; freshly ground Sea Salt and Black Pepper
Finely chopped Parsley to serve
Method:
- Slice the red onion.
- De-seed and finely chop the red pepper; an easy way to do this is push the top stalk down and into the pepper itself and then pull the pepper in two, all the seeds and core will now be separate - very quick, very clean.
- Finely chop the chilli - I normally put on a pair of rubber gloves (that I keep specially just for doing this job) it's much safer and you don't end up rubbing your eye with chilli fingers and crying with the pain.
- Crush the garlic, an easy way to peel the garlic of it's outer paper is to cut the large end off the clove, place the knife blade horizontally on the clove and with the flat of your hand give it a firm slap, now take the tip of the clove between your fingers and the outer peel will just slide off.
- Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a large non-stick saucepan and add the onion, pepper, chilli and crushed garlic - after a brief stir, cover and cook for about 7 minutes, making sure that the onion is translucent and soft.
- Add the cumin, coriander and tomato paste, and let these cook into the vegetable mixture for 1-2 minutes, stirring gently.
- Pause for a drink of your wine and then slowly add the 150ml of wine to your pan, bring everything to a boil, and let it bubble to reduce by half and this will also let all the alcohol burn off as the flavour intensifies.
- Reduce the heat and add the tomatoes and seasoning and let it simmer gently, uncovered for about 30 minutes until your sauce is further reduced and has thickened.
- About 8-10 minutes before your sauce has finished cooking is when I like to put my pasta into slightly salted boiling water, once cooked, drain and set aside while you finish off your sauce.
- If you are using the cooked prawns add them to your sauce and heat through for 1-2 minutes only. If you are using the fresh prawns (my personal favourite) then cook these until they turn from grey to pink which will only take a couple of more minutes than the ready cooked ones. So many people overcook prawns and they become like little lumps of rubber, you want them cooked and tender.
- Adjust your seasoning.
- Now stir your sauce through the pasta.
- Spoon into bowls, sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.