Copper Pot's Savoury Prawn Rice

100 g butter

5 cm piece English cucumber, cut into small cubes

1 rib celery, finely chopped

i/2 red pepper, finely chopped

100 ml sliced button mushrooms 100 ml cooked corn kernels

1 tomato, blanched, peeled, seeded and finely cubed

100 g peeled prawns, well drained

on kitchen paper (weigh after shelling) 500 ml cooked rice

30 ml chopped fresh parsley

salt and milled black pepper

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the cucumber, celery, red pepper, mushrooms, corn and tomato and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes (the vegetables should still be crisp).

Add the prawns, cover and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the rice and parsley, season with salt and pepper and heat through.

Serves 4

Jake's Portuguese Rice

olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

30 ml chopped fresh parsley 1 clove garlic, crushed

250 ml rice

15 ml tomato paste

salt and milled black pepper 375 ml water

Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan and fry the onion until translucent.

Stir in the parsley, garlic, rice and tomato paste, season with salt and pepper, then add the water.

Cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes until the rice is cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed.

Serves 6

Bayfront Blu's Kitali Rice

butter

1 onion, diced

1 red pepper, seeded and diced

1 green pepper, seeded and diced 100 g button mushrooms, sliced salt and milled black pepper

750 ml cooked basmati or white rice

Heat butter in a medium saucepan and fry the onion until translucent. Add the red and green pepper and the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper.

Cover and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Mix in the rice and heat through.

Serves 4

Mussels a la Provençal

2 kg (about 48) black mussels, scrubbed and debearded

200 g butter

1 onion, finely chopped

250 ml white wine

1 sprig fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

15 ml crushed garlic

2 ripe tomatoes, blanched, skinned and chopped

60 ml chopped fresh parsley

Heat 60 g of the butter in a large pot and fry the onion for about 2 minutes until golden.

Add the wine, thyme and bay leaves and bring to the boil. Add mussels, cover and boil until they open wide. Discard any which remain shut. Strain the sauce into a clean pot. Deshell the mussels and gently pull out any beards that remain.

Heat the remaining butter in a clean frying pan and gently fry the mussels. Add the garlic, tomato and parsley, and heat through. Serve hot with new potatoes. Serves 4

Stuffed Calamari a la Marseillaise

1 kg whole calamari (with tentacles),

well cleaned

olive oil, salt, milled black pepper

2 onions, finely chopped

100 g white bread

1 litre milk

2 ripe tomatoes, blanched, skinned

and diced 3 egg yolks 15 ml crushed garlic

60 ml chopped fresh parsley

250 ml white wine

125 ml water

100 g fresh white breadcrumbs

Set the oven at 180° C. Grease a baking dish. Cut off the calamari tentacles and chop finely. Clean the calamari tubes ready for stuffing.

Heat a little olive oil in a medium saucepan and fry the onion and calamari tentacles until golden.

Place the bread in a bowl, pour over the milk and soak.

Squeeze out the excess milk, and add the bread to the pan with the tomato, egg yolks and half the garlic and parsley. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Fill the calamari tubes with the stuffing and sew closed with string, or fasten with skewers.

Place in the baking dish, pour in the white wine and water and season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil and heat the oven grill. Mix together the breadcrumbs, remaining garlic and parsley, sprinkle on top of the calamari and grill until golden brown. Serves 6

My Favorite Seafood Dish

Smoked Snoek Pâté Parcel with Chive Beurre Blanc

Ready-made smoked fish pâté is available at many good supermarkets and delicatessens.

Heat the remaining butter in a clean frying pan and fry the mushrooms over high heat until tender. Add the garlic and fry until the excess liquid evaporates. Mix in the onion-herb mixture and cool. Add the pâté.

120 g-150 g smoked snoek pate

100 g butter, extra melted butter

1 onion, finely chopped

100 ml white wine

salt, milled black pepper, mixed herbs

200 ml cream

freshly squeezed lemon juice

300 g brown mushrooms, finely sliced 1 clove garlic, crushed

200 g roll phyllo pastry

Harvey's Beurre Blanc

small bunch fresh chives, chopped

Heat half the butter in a medium saucepan and fry the onion until translucent. Add the wine, season with salt, pepper and mixed herbs and boil uncovered until no liquid remains.

Add the cream and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes until thickened. Flavour with lemon juice.

Braised Linefish with Roasted Hazelnut

Beurre Blanc and Almond and Anchovy Butter

4 x 200 g-300 g portions filleted linefish

Court Bouillon (page k9)

vegetable oil

400 ml Harvey's Beurre Blanc

balsamic vinegar

100 g hazelnuts, deep fried in hot oil or roasted in a dry frying pan

milled black pepper

Set the oven at 180°C. Grease six muffin tins. Unroll the pastry and cut corner-tocorner into two triangles. Keep covered with a damp cloth while making theparcels. Place one piece on a working surface and brush with melted butter. Place another piece on top in the shape of a star. Place 30 ml filling in the centre and enclose by pinching the points together. Place in a muffin tin. Repeat the procedure to make six parcels. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the pastry is golden.

Make the beurre blanc while the parcels are baking. Add the chives just before serving.

To Serve: Place parcels on warm plates and pour a little beurre blanc around. Serves 6

Nut Butter

200 g butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes

60 g chopped almonds

2 canned anchovy fillets,

or 5 ml anchovy paste

milled black pepper, freshly squeezed lemon juice

Nut Butter: Heat a little of the butter in a medium saucepan and fry the nuts and anchovies until roasted. Cool slightly, then beat in the remaining butter bit by bit until smooth. Season with pepper and lemon juice.

Place the nut butter in a piping bag with a large nozzle and pipe noisettes on a wax paper-lined tray. Chill.

Bring the court bouillon to the boil in a large saucepan, add the fish, cover and poach gently until just cooked. Remove from the pan, cover and set aside until just before serving.

Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and sear the poached fish until golden and heated through. (The twin cooking procedures ensure your fish is moist and perfectly cooked in as little time as possible.)

Pour beurre blanc into a jug and stir in enough balsamic vinegar for a rich, marbled caramel colour.

Spoon onto four warm plates, place fish fillets on top and sprinkle roasted hazelnuts around. Top with nut butter and dust the rim of the plate with milled black pepper.

Serves 4

Polenta-Seared Tuna on Ratatouille, with

Tomato Beurre Blanc and Green Herb Oil

4 x 200 g-300 g fillets or cutlets of tuna

salt and milled black pepper

150 g polenta or maize meal olive oil

200 ml Harvey's Green Herb Oil

Ratatouille

1 onion, sliced

1 rib celery, finely sliced 10 ml dried mixed herbs 1 bay leaf

1 red pepper, seeded and sliced

1 yellow pepper, seeded and sliced

1 green pepper, seeded and sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

410 g can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped (don't drain)

10 patty pans, sliced

5 courgettes, sliced

Tomato Beurre Blanc

350 ml Harvey's Beurre Blanc

100 ml Harvey's Tomato Vinaigrette

chopped fresh parsley

Ratatouille: Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan and fry the onion and celery until limp. Add the mixed herbs, bay leaf, peppers, garlic and tomato. Simmer uncovered until the ratatouille thickens.

Add the patty pans and courgettes and cook for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Tomato Beurre Blanc: Make the beurre blanc. Mix in the tomato vinaigrette and chopped parsley.

Season the fish with salt and pepper and coat with polenta or maize meal.

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and sear the fish on both sides. Reduce the heat and cook through more gently.

To Serve: Spoon hot ratatouille on four warm serving plates. Place fish on top and pour tomato beurre blanc around. Drizzle green herb oil onto the fish and garnish with parsley.

Serves 4

Simple Seafood Dish

The Montagu's Tomato Essence

50 ml olive oil

1 medium leek, sliced

1 rib celery, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

2 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped

410 g can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped (don't drain)

50 ml tomato puree

300 ml Vegetable Stock (page 211)

5 ml chopped fresh thyme 5 ml chopped fresh basil

2 ml salt

8 whole black peppercorns 20 g (20 ml) soft butter 30 g (30 ml) cake flour

50 g soft butter, cut into small blocks

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, add the leek, celery and carrot and cook very gently until softened.

Add the fresh and canned tomato, cook for 1 minute, then add the tomato purée and vegetable stock.

Bring to the boil, add the thyme, basil, salt and peppercorns, Cover and simmer gently for 2 hours.

Strain the mixture through a fine strainer into a clean saucepan and bring to the boil.

Blend together the butter and flour and whisk in until the tomato essence thickens. Just before serving, whisk in the butter.

Serves 8

Copper Pot's Savoury Prawn Rice

100 g butter

5 cm piece English cucumber, cut into small cubes

1 rib celery, finely chopped

i/2 red pepper, finely chopped

100 ml sliced button mushrooms 100 ml cooked corn kernels

1 tomato, blanched, peeled, seeded and finely cubed

100 g peeled prawns, well drained

on kitchen paper (weigh after shelling) 500 ml cooked rice

30 ml chopped fresh parsley

salt and milled black pepper

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the cucumber, celery, red pepper, mushrooms, corn and tomato and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes (the vegetables should still be crisp).

Add the prawns, cover and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the rice and parsley, season with salt and pepper and heat through.

Serves 4

Jake's Portuguese Rice

olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

30 ml chopped fresh parsley 1 clove garlic, crushed

250 ml rice

15 ml tomato paste

salt and milled black pepper 375 ml water

Heat olive oil in a heavy saucepan and fry the onion until translucent.

Stir in the parsley, garlic, rice and tomato paste, season with salt and pepper, then add the water.

Cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes until the rice is cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed.

Serves 6

Bayfront Blu's Kitali Rice

butter

1 onion, diced

1 red pepper, seeded and diced

1 green pepper, seeded and diced 100 g button mushrooms, sliced salt and milled black pepper

750 ml cooked basmati or white rice

Heat butter in a medium saucepan and fry the onion until translucent. Add the red and green pepper and the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper.

Cover and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms are tender. Mix in the rice and heat through.

Serves 4