One of my favourite pasta dishes.. Quick and simple to make, yet so incredibly tasty.. I don't like my pasta drenched in sauce, but if you do then please use more sauce or less pasta in this recipe...

Serves 3-4 persons

1 onion chopped

5 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 small red chili sliced thinly (optional)

1 cup of white wine

1 cup of peeled tomatoes (+ juice)

8 langoustines (cleaned or whole)

400g of taglioline pasta (or linguini, spaghetti, etc)

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

oilive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente (when draining, reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water).. In the meantime heat olive oil in a pan, cook onions until they are translucent, add garlic, chili and cook for a minute or so.. Add the wine and let it boil gently before tossing in tomatoes & their juices, season and simmer for a few minutes..

Add the prawns & langoustines and cook for about 2 minutes, just until tender, then toss in the pasta, reserved pasta water and simmer to combine everything.. Sprinkle with parsley and drizzle some olive oil (or spicy oil).. Serve immediately.. Voila! 

Since age two, I have been going to the south of Spain with my family.. And always loved a good juicy and sticky Paella.. So one day my hubby and I decided to do our own.. Without exaggerating it has been the best Paella I have ever had.. Not oily, not dry, a lot of seafood yet not overwhelmingly fishy- the perfect Paella- full stop.. So if you have some time to spare (about 90 minutes to be honest) it's well worth it! ☺

Serves 6-8 persons

For the fish broth:

One Fish skeleton & head

2 cinnamon sticks

6 bay leaves

1 celery stick

½ a lemon’s peel

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp saffron

For the paella:

2 large chopped onions

4 crushed garlic cloves

½ small red chili

1 can of peeled tomatoes (chopped)

1/4 green pepper chopped

1/2 red pepper chopped

1 lemon chopped (fleshy bits)

Juice of 1 lemon

2 ½ cups Arborio rice

1 tsp paprika

2 cups medium sized prawns (cleaned)

1 cup very small prawns (cleaned & de-shelled)

1 cup mussels with shells (cleaned)

1 cup mussel flesh

2 cups calamari (cut into rings)

10 large prawns (de-veined)

1 full TBL chopped parsley

Fill a pot with boiling water and all the ingredients mentioned above for the fish stock.. Bring it to a rapid boil and let it simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes.. Then remove all the ingredients, and pour the stock through a sifter.. Simmer it for another 20 minutes until it reduces, and keep it on low heat so it remains hot..

In a large pan (make sure it’s big enough for all remaining ingredients), brown the onions, garlic & chili, then add peppers, chopped tomatoes, wine, 1 cup of fish stock and simmer for a little while.. Then add the mussels with shells, lemon bits and juice.. Cook everything for a few minutes then add the rice& paprika and combine all ingredients well.. Now continue by adding a little broth as you go, just like with a risotto..

Continue stirring as you're adding the broth, and salt & pepper the paella to taste.. When the rice is almost cooked (10 minutes away or so), add the mussel flesh and the calamari.. Cook for about 5 minutes, add the large prawns, and a few minutes later add the medium prawns.. When the dish is almost ready, add the small prawns and combine one last time very well.. Sprinkle with parsley and voila! Beautiful Seafood Paella ☺

My hubby is an excellent cook.. He grew up in a home that has the most diverse & incredible food repertoire.. My mami in law, Ronnie, and Jouj are culinary queens to say the least.. So of course Phiras turns out to to be quite a kitchen star himself! The first meal he ever prepared for me was a 9kg Stuffed Turkey with sweet potatoes, chestnuts and alll, the whole shabang! I thought he would cook up some pasta and I came home to a feast for the Gods..

So after his usual fishing trip, Phiphi whipped up this beautiful lunch for us. As you will note, the picture is nicer than the previous ones I have posted, cuz he happens to be a far better photographer than I am :)

Serves 3 persons

6 fish fillets (king fish)

1 pack of small potatoes cut in half

1/3 cup olive oil

juice of one lemon

1/2 chopped lemon pieces (flesh)

3 roasted garlic cloves

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried rosemary

Preheat the oven 180C.

Roast the garlic cloves in a pan before you mash them, then add the lemon juice & pieces, herbs, oilve oil, salt and pepper to taste. Let the marinade stand for about 20 minutes so the herbs infuses with the oil nicely.

Then rubb the marinade over the fish, and place them in an oven safe dish. Add the potatoes and pour the remaining marinade over everything. Seal with aluminium foil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for another 20 minutes. Voila, Phiphi's Fish Dish :)