Lorraine Pascale - How to be a Better Cook

Roasted Rajun Cajun Cashews

Whilst I do not profess to be one of the Cajun cooking cognoscenti, I can claim to have a big love of Cajun fiery food. Sadly, my only visit to New Orleans, where the restaurants and streets are bursting full of fun and flavour, was when I was a young twenty-something model. Not really thinking about food at the time, I was more inclined to dine on salads (no dressing) and possibly, as a treat, a steamed piece of fish. Needless to say, I missed out on so many wonderful foods. I have since done lots of catching up and hope you enjoy my take on these southern American-style tasty cashew nuts.

Makes

500g

2 tsp sunflower oil

1 egg white

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp cayenne pepper

Leaves from 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, finely chopped (to give about 4 tsp)

400g raw cashew nuts

100g blanched almonds

Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C, (fan 180C), 400F, Gas Mark 6. Brush a large baking tray with the oil.

Put the egg white in a large bowl with the paprika, cayenne pepper, 3 teaspoons of the thyme, a pinch of salt and a few twists of black pepper. Whisk up a little and then tip the nuts in, giving them a good stir to make sure everything is nicely covered. Tip them onto the baking tray, arrange in a single layer and bake in the oven for 1012 minutes, tossing them about halfway through. They should just be catching colour and be rich and shiny.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and leave for a few minutes until cool enough to handle. Then, while still warm, toss the remaining teaspoon of thyme through and season with a little more salt, if necessary.

Tip the nuts into a bowl and serve whilst still a bit warm. They are just as delicious served at room temperature, but pass them back through the oven for a few minutes to warm up again for serving, if preferred.

These can be prepared up to a week ahead of time and stored in an airtight container once cool.

Top tip

The nuts are also delicious served with a tablespoon of honey drizzled over them and tossed through.

Cucumber and Feta Bites with Dill and Pomegranate

Whenever there is a party and little canaps are being handed around, they are usually yummy morsels of cheese, sticky sausages and other delicious comfort food fare. I wanted to come up with something that was lighter on the tum than the traditional bite-sized treats, but still wanted lots of flavour, texture and colour. These cucumber bites are really rather tasty. And if you are not entertaining any time soon, try these flavours in a salad using a base of spinach or pea shoots instead.

Makes

1618 bites

1 cucumber

75g feta cheese, drained

1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped

tsp freshly ground black pepper

3 tbsp pomegranate seeds

Top, tail and then peel the cucumber. Cut into 1.52cm thick slices to give about 16 to 18 in total. Using a melon baller, small teaspoon or a teaspoon measuring spoon, scoop out enough of the seeds from the middle to give a cup that has a border about 5mm thick, making sure you dont go right down to the bottom. Arrange them on a large platter and set aside.

Break the feta cheese into a small bowl and mash it with a fork until as smooth as possible. Add the dill and season it with the pepper (but no salt as feta is already salty), stirring everything together well. Divide the feta cheese mixture into the cucumber cups. Arrange a little pile of pomegranate seeds on top of each one and serve.

Scary Mummy Sausage Rolls

These sausage rolls are really for the children, but if you are a big kid like me, then they will be an awesome centrepiece for your Halloween party. I find ready rolled pastry quick and convenient to use, but you can use a block of pastry of the equivalent weight if preferred. Just roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 23 x 38cm rectangle, about the thickness of a quarter of a 1 coin.

Makes

12 using sausages or 15 using chipolatas

2 tsp sunflower oil

12 sausages or 15 chipolatas

320g ready rolled puff pastry

1 beaten egg, to glaze

75g American mustard

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a low heat and gently fry the sausages or chipolatas for about 8 minutes, turning often, until lightly browned all over. Transfer to a plate and leave for about 20 minutes until cool.

After this time, preheat the oven to 220C, (fan 200C), 425F, Gas Mark 7.

Unroll the ready rolled pastry, leaving it sitting on its plastic wrapping. The pastry should be about 38cm long and 23cm wide (or trim with a knife or roll to this size with a rolling pin if not far off). Using a long knife or pastry cutter, cut out 38 x 1cm wide strips across the width (so they will be about 23cm long).

Now, simply wrap the strips around the cooled sausages or chipolatas like mummies bandages, leaving a gap near one end for the mummies eyes to go on later. Use three strips per sausage or two and a half strips per chipolata. There will be the odd bit left over, but just add them onto a sausage or chipolata to use them up. Dont worry if the pastry strips stretch or break as you wrap, just patch it up and keep wrapping. The mummies are best looking rustic anyhow. Place them down on a baking tray as you go, eye side up. If at any time you find the pastry is getting too soft, then pop it in the fridge for 10 minutes or until firmed up.

Once all wrapped, brush the pastry with the beaten egg. Place them in the oven to cook for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the sausages are fully cooked through. Transfer to a serving platter. Using the end of a teaspoon, place two dots of mustard on the exposed sausage of each one to create eyes. Serve at once with the remaining mustard for dipping.

Prawn, Prosciutto and Rosemary Skewers with Avocado, Ginger and Lime Salsa

I had planned to do a prawn cocktail, but could not get it to look pretty enough, so I started to thread prawns onto rosemary skewers rather than wooden and was quite happy with the way they turned out. To add some extra flavour to this, the salsa really packs a lively punch.

Serves

Prawn, Prosciutto and Rosemary Skewers

2 slices of prosciutto

16 sustainably caught raw peeled jumbo king prawns, de-veined (defrosted if frozen)

8 stalks of fresh rosemary, leaves removed from all but the top of each stalk

1 tbsp olive oil

Lemon wedges, to serve

Avocado, Ginger and Lime Salsa

2 perfectly ripe avocados, peeled, de-stoned and sliced

2 limes (1 quartered, the other juiced)

2 large tomatoes, deseeded and diced into 1cm pieces

5 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced

12 red chillies, deseeded for less heat if preferred, very finely diced

3cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small bunch of either fresh coriander or basil, roughly torn or chopped (to give about 2 tbsp in total)