Hearty and warming, this prawn and tomato stew with fregola is a comforting bowl, with the contemporary pesto brightening each chunk. It pairs superbly with a crisp, aromatic, quick-pickled vegetable salad; the freshness cuts by way of the richness of the stew completely. I’ve at all times beloved leafy, energetic salads, and I might actually eat one with each meal, day by day.
Prawn and tomato stew with fregola and coriander pesto (pictured high)
Prep 20 min
Cook dinner 50 min
Serves 4
220g cherry tomatoes
60ml olive oil
1 massive onion, peeled and finely chopped (180g)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2cm piece contemporary ginger, peeled and finely grated (15g)
1 inexperienced chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all
1½ tsp coriander seeds, flippantly crushed in a mortar
1 tsp cumin seeds, flippantly crushed in a mortar
6 cardamom pods, flippantly bashed
15g dill, finely chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
Salt and black pepper
120g fregola
400g frozen king prawns, defrosted, or contemporary, peeled and deveined
For the coriander pesto
20g coriander, roughly chopped
1 inexperienced chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all
35g pine nuts, flippantly toasted
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, zest finely grated to get 1½ tsp, then reduce into wedges, to serve
Put a big saute pan on a excessive warmth. Toss the tomatoes with a teaspoon of oil and, as soon as the pan may be very sizzling, add the tomatoes and prepare dinner, shaking the pan a number of instances, for about 5 minutes, till blistered and deeply charred throughout. Take away from the pan and put aside.
Put one other two tablespoons of oil in the identical pan and return it to the range on a medium-high warmth. Add the onion and prepare dinner, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, till softened and flippantly browned. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, spices, dill and tomato paste, and prepare dinner for one more two minutes, till aromatic.
Add the tinned tomatoes, 300ml water, one and three-quarter teaspoons of salt and a very good grind of black pepper. Carry to a simmer, then decrease the warmth to medium and prepare dinner for 25 minutes, or till the sauce has thickened and the tomatoes have fully damaged down.
Whereas the sauce is cooking, prepare dinner the fregola in loads of boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain, put in a bowl then toss with a little bit of olive oil to stop the fregola from clumping.
To make the pesto, put the coriander, chilli, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon zest and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt in a meals processor and pulse a number of instances to make a rough paste.
When the sauce is prepared, stir within the cooked fregola, prawns and charred tomatoes, cowl and prepare dinner on a medium warmth, stirring often, for one more 5 to 6 minutes, till the prawns are cooked by way of.
Serve straight from the pan or spoon into broad shallow bowls. End with a number of the pesto and serve directly with lemon wedges and the remaining pesto in a bowl alongside, in addition to the herby quick-pickled vegetable salad under.
Herby quick-pickled vegetable salad
Prep 10 min
Cook dinner 20 min, plus cooling
Serves 4
90ml apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp caraway seeds
Salt and black pepper
1 small pink onion, peeled and thinly sliced (60g)
1 small golden beetroot, peeled and really thinly sliced (180g)
½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced lengthways (150g)
2 medium purple carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal
3 tbsp olive oil
2 dolce romaine lettuce
5g picked dill fronds
5g basil leaves
5g picked coriander leaves
5g picked mint leaves
Put 50ml of the vinegar in a small saucepan with the sugar, coriander and caraway seeds. Add a teaspoon of salt and convey to a boil over excessive warmth. Add the sliced onion and beetroot, then flip down the warmth to medium and prepare dinner for 2 minutes. Take off the warmth, depart to chill down fully, then drain.
Put the fennel, carrot, and cooled onion and beets in a big bowl. Add the olive oil, the remaining vinegar, a teaspoon of salt and a very good grind of black pepper, and toss so all of the greens are coated. Separate the lettuce leaves, then wash and drain them nicely.
To serve, prepare the lettuce, greens and herbs in layers on a platter, and drizzle any remaining dressing on high.
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