My taste buds are particularly ‘alive’ right now as I have just returned from the warmer climes of Malaysia. What an incredible culinary adventure it was. This month’s recipes reflect my sunny mood. April has finally arrived and spring has officially started, so I think it’s only fair to reward ourselves with some fresh flavours!.. These recipes aren’t spicy hot, instead, they rely on the depth of flavour created from a combination of well-balanced spices. They’re dishes which all the family will enjoy – even those with younger taste buds!..

Menu One is ‘Fresh Turmeric and Peppercorn Curry with Prawns and Asparagus’. This is a wonderfully fresh curry with delicious aromatic flavours. The recipe is from Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, ‘Comfort; whilst I must admit that I’ve found the recipes in this book rather ‘hit or miss’, this one is an absolute winner! Menu Two is ‘Moroccan Chicken with Tomatoes and Saffron-Honey Jam’, it’s yet another fool-proof recipe from one of my favourite cookery book writers, Diana Henry. It’s actually from one of her early cookbooks published around twenty-two years ago; ‘Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons’, has recently been updated and the new edition is a wonderful reminder of how some recipes have ‘staying power’. This is one of those recipes that should never be forgotten – the sauce is a delicious dream!..

Hopefully these recipes will reawaken your taste buds for the spring. Enjoy!

*Looking for some uplifting tunes for your kitchen?.. why not check out ‘Music to Cook to…Menu Music Fourteen’ – a refreshing mix of Motown and soul tracks!

Menu Mistress will away next week…

I will be back 15th April with a Tuesday Treat!..

Menu One

Fresh Turmeric and Peppercorn Curry with Prawns and Asparagus (Serves 4)

This is a wonderfully fresh curry with delicious aromatic flavours. The recipe is from Ottolenghi’s new cookbook, ‘Comfort’; whilst I must admit to finding the recipes in this book rather ‘hit or miss’, this one is an absolute winner! The tangy ‘cucumber and ginger relish’ is a very important element to this dish – don’t be tempted to omit it.

145ml tin coconut cream

1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk

25g palm sugar, roughly chopped (or light soft brown sugar)

20ml fish sauce

500g asparagus, cut into 3cm lengths, keep the tips separate

500g peeled prawns

Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Cucumber and Ginger Relish:

125ml rice (or other white) vinegar

80g caster sugar

½ cucumber, quartered lengthways, deseeded and thinly sliced (200g)

20g ginger, peeled and julienned

1 red chilli, halved , deseeded and thinly sliced

10g coriander, stems finely chopped, leaves roughly torn

1 lime cut into wedges, to serve

Salt

Spice Paste:

3-5g dried chillies, more if you like it hot (I used Kashmiri dried chillies)

½ teaspoon whole white peppercorns, toasted and coarsely ground

2 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and coarsely ground

2 shallots (60g), roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

20g coriander stems, roughly chopped

10g fresh turmeric, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon coconut cream

1. First of all make the relish, this can be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated. Put the vinegar and sugar into a small pan along with 60ml water and ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring to the boil, the simmer for a minute, stirring once or twice, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and, once cool, add the cucumber, ginger, chilli and coriander stems (not the leaves), transfer to a sealed container and keep in the fridge. Just before serving stir through the coriander leaves.
2. To make the spice paste, place the dried chillies in a small bowl, cover with boiling water and set aside for a few minutes. Put the ground white peppercorns and coriander seeds into a small bowl of a food processor, along with the shallots, garlic, coriander stems, turmeric, coconut cream, soaked chillies and 1 tablespoon of the chilli soaking liquid. Blend to form a smooth purée, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times.
3. Put the 145ml coconut cream into a medium saucepan and place on a medium-high heat. When it begins to simmer, add the spice paste and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently until thick, clotted and oily – it will appear split. Add the coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce  and ¼ teaspoon salt. Stir gently, then bring to a simmer. Add the asparagus stalks, cook for 4 minutes, then add the prawns and asparagus tips. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, until the prawns are just cooked through.
4. Serve with jasmine rice, the cucumber and ginger relish (with the coriander leaves stirred through) and a wedge of lime.

Menu Two

Moroccan Chicken with Tomatoes & Saffron-Honey Jam (Serves 4)

This is yet another fool-proof recipe from one of my favourite cookery book writers, Diana Henry. It’s actually from one of her early cookbooks published around twenty two years ago. ‘Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons’, has recently been updated and the new edition is a wonderful reminder of how some recipes have ‘staying power’. This is one of those recipes that should never be forgotten – the sauce is a delicious dream. It’s very simple, but do make sure you allow time to reduce the sauce so that it becomes really jammy – yum!

1.7kg chicken, jointed into 8 pieces, or 8 chicken thighs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1½ teaspoons ground ginger

800g tomatoes, roughly chopped

275ml chicken stock or water

½ teaspoon saffron threads

3-5 tablespoons runny honey

1 teaspoon orange flower water

25g flaked almonds, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan

Small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Season the chicken pieces and quickly brown them all over in the olive oil.
2. Set the chicken aside and cook the onion in the same pan until soft and just colouring. Add the garlic, cinnamon and ginger and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.
3. Tip in the tomatoes, mix everything together well, reduce the heat and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.
4. Boil the stock or water and dissolve the saffron in it. Pour this over the vegetables and bring the whole thing to the boil. Set the chicken pieces on top, together with any juices that have come out of them, and spoon the liquid over them. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, cover and cook until the chicken is tender; it should take about 30 minutes, but check after 25.
5. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside, cover and keep warm. Now bring the juices to the boil and simmer until well reduced to a kind of cream – it shouldn’t be at all sloppy. Add the honey to taste and continue to cook until well-reduced and jam-like. Check the seasoning and add the orange flower water. Return the chicken to the pan and warm through.
6. Serve scattered with the toasted almond flakes and chopped coriander, with rice, couscous or flatbreads on the side.