Angel Hair Nicoise

The first cookbook I ever bought was 10 years ago, nearly to the day. I almost wish I kept the receipt, tucked behind the back jacket flap of the book just for times like this- when I'd like to know exactly the day my life changed. Donna Hay's New Food Fast patiently taught me to cook and it's still my go to cookbook.

Donna Hay is one of the better-known names in the food biz. She's a best-selling cookbook author, food magazine editor and food stylist renowned for her fresh style, easy-to-follow recipes and amazing photography. Whenever I don't know what to make for dinner, and am feeling a little low on inspiration, I take this book off the shelf, open it to any page, and I'm taken care of.



My friend Jamie came over for dinner last night. We wanted a home-cooked meal but didn't know what. After a quick scan, I settled on a recipe I hadn't made yet. It feels good to think that this isn't a risky choice anymore. Ten years ago, maybe. We made the angel hair nicoise and it was (predictably) fresh, fast and amazingly tasty food.


Angel Hair Nicoise (serves 4)
adapted from Donna Hay's recipe

Ingredients
400 grams (13 ounces) capellini pasta
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
16 large spot prawns, peeled
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
6 anchovies, chopped
1 1/2 cups of green or yellow beans
3/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped

Directions
In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta according to package until it's tender.

Meanwhile, steam the green or yellow beans until tender, about 4 minutes.

While the pasta and beans are cooking, heat a frying pan over medium high heat, add grape seed oil and saute prawns for just a few minutes until they are no longer translucent and are white and pink in colour. Remove the prawns from the pan and place in a bowl.

Reduce the heat to low, add lime juice and anchovies and stir for about one minute. Drain pasta from the pot and place in the bowl with the prawns. Add beans, olives, parsley and two tablespoons of olive oil. Pour the warm dressing from the pan over the pasta and stir to combine.

Some of my other favorite Donna Hay recipes are her parmesan-crusted chicken and seared salmon on coconut spinach.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Parmesan crusted chicken served with ripe tomatoes and fresh basil. A classic summer recipe that takes a full flavour advantage of the bounty of fresh basil. It's a toolkit recipe.

I first tried this recipe during my first few months of becoming an aspiring home chef, nine years ago. I bought Donna Hay's New Food Fast and was determined to become a fantastic cook- in less then 40 years. Given where I was starting from, I thought it would take about that long.


There are a lot of recipes out there for Parmesan crusted chicken, and they are all for the same thing. Delicious, juicy, Parmesan crusted chicken. Try this recipe. Don't serve it with rice- take my word, chicken and rice is WAY overdone. Serve it with grilled vegetables, corn on the cob, green beans or asparagus. And, next time I try it I'm going to add some black olives to the dish. Mmmmm.


Parmesan Crusted Chicken (serves 2)
(adapted from New Food Fast by Donna Hay)

Ingredients
2 chicken breast fillets
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 ripes tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
balsamic vinegar
salt

Directions
Cut each chicken breast into 2 flat pieces. Dip each piece in the egg whites and then press the chick into a bowl with the grated Parmesan and black pepper.

Heat a skillet and add oil over a medium high heat. Add the chicken. Cook about 3 minutes on each or until golden and cooked through.

Meanwhile, dice the tomatoes and chop the fresh basil. Add into a bowl with salt and vinegar and set aside.

Serve the chicken topped with the tomatoes and basil. Grate extra Parmesan on top.
Optional: add a handful of black olives. Enjoy!

Seared Salmon on Coconut Spinach

There are a number of flavours that works very well with spinach, peanuts, garlic, chillies and coconut milk. This is one of my favorites because it's so easy to make and yet tastes like a slow Sunday evening meal. I served with caramelized cauliflower.

When buying coconut milk, a tip I've recently learned is to look at the fat content on the back of the can. The fat content can range from 10 to 26 percent. The higher the fat content, the more coconut cream it contains. Using coconut milk with a high fat content will give you the most flavour.


Seared Salmon on Coconut Spinach (serves 2-4)

Ingredients: salmon
2-4 salmon fillets
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce

Ingredients: coconut spinach
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon red chili paste
16 oz coconut milk
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 bunch spinach

Directions
Place the salmon in a sallow dish with the ginger, sesame oil and soy. Allow to marinate for 10 minutes on each side. Heat a frying pan over high and pan sear.

To make the coconut spinach, place the olive oil, garlic and chili paste in a sauce pan over medium heat and cook for 2 minutes making sure to not burn the garlic. Add the coconut milk and lemon juice and simmer for 4 minutes. Add the spinach and toss until wilted.

To serve, place some spinach on each plate and top with the salmon.