Free Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson Page A

grill.
    Makes about 10 skewers.

SEAFOOD LAKSA
    I love a laksa, that noodly hot, sweet stew, somewhere between a soup and a curry. I know there are a lot of ingredients, but the cooking itself is not labour intensive. If you can’t find little red Thai shallots, then just use the same number of spring onions, chopped roughly before being put into the processor for blitzing. You can presume, as always, that the fish stock is not intended to be made from boney scratch. The regular bouillon concentrate will do fine.
    2 long red chillies, deseeded
    2cm ginger, peeled
    1 teaspoon shrimp paste
    8 Thai shallots, peeled
    1 teaspoon turmeric
    2 tablespoons groundnut oil
    1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
    1 litre fish stock
    1 lemongrass, cut into 3
    1 teaspoon tamarind water
    2 teaspoons sugar
    2 tablespoons fish sauce
    250g medium raw prawns
    250g cleaned squid tubes
    125g beansprouts
    250g medium flat rice noodles
    bunch of coriander, chopped
    Put the chillies, ginger, shrimp paste, shallots and turmeric into a food processor and blitz to a paste. Heat the oil in a wide saucepan and tip the mixture in, frying gently to soften but not colour.
    Add the coconut milk, fish stock, lemongrass, tamarind, sugar and fish sauce, and bring to the boil.
    Butterfly the prawns by cutting halfway through the inside curve of each prawn so that they fan out. Cut the squid into bite-sized squares and score them in a hatch pattern, taking care not to cut them all the way through. Add the seafood to the laksa, and then soak the beansprouts for a few seconds in boiling water and the noodles for a little longer until they rehydrate. (Check the packet instructions for the noodles you are using.) When the prawns and squid are cooked, in about 5–10 minutes, add the beansprouts and noodles and take the pan off the heat.
    Ladle into bowls, sprinkling some freshly chopped coriander on top.
    Serves 4–6.

MARINATED SALMON WITH CAPERS AND GHERKINS
    I first ate this sitting under a shade on a small, unpeopled Ibicencan beach bar a few summers ago, and just had to make it, or a version of it, myself once back. It’s not what one might automatically think of as Spanish food; the fish, the way it’s prepared, as well as the dill that’s sprinkled on top remind me far more of northern European cooking. Still, let’s be realistic; the influx of Germans over the years (while it hasn’t reached Mallorcan levels of teutonisation) must account for its inclusion on the menu in the first place.
    But derivation is of academic interest only. This is wonderful: light and refreshing and very, very easy to put together. It does, however, need to be cooked, if that’s the word, at the last minute; any more than 10 minutes’ steeping and the lime juice denatures and bleaches the salmon too much. Though if the idea of uncooked salmon spooks you – though why? – you can turn the slices quickly in a hot, oilless frying pan first.
    If you get the salmon from a fishmonger, ask for it to be sliced like smoked salmon; otherwise just buy escalopes. I have to say, though, that I love it unmarinaded: that’s to say, left fleshily raw and coral still; you don’t have to change anything about the way you prepare it, you just take it to the table the minute everything’s on the plate.
    Dill is one of those herbs which you love or detest; feel free to substitute chives or coriander or, indeed, leave it herbless.
    juice of 1 lime
    1 x 15ml tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    Maldon salt
    white pepper, only if you have it to hand
    325g salmon, sliced very thin
    6 baby gherkins
    4 tablespoons capers
    fresh dill for sprinkling over
    Squeeze the lime juice into a jug and fork in the the oil, salt and pepper. Using a pair of scissors, cut the salmon pieces into rough raggedy strips and arrange them on a large plate or a couple of plates. Pour the lime juice mixture over, cut the baby gherkins into slender slices lengthways and toss them, along with the capers, on top.
    Sprinkle with dill and