Prawns Flamed in Whisky with Red Pepper and Couscous Salad

35-60 prawns (5-10 per person, depending on size); shells and heads on olive oil

150 ml whisky

250 ml stoned black and green olives

6 cloves garlic, crushed

4-6 fresh red or green chillies, seeded and finely chopped

3 tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and chopped

Red Pepper and Couscous Salad 3 large, plump red peppers

500 ml water or chicken stock

50 ml olive oil

10 ml salt

500 g couscous

2 bunches spring onions, finely sliced (use green parts too)

1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

Cut the prawns open down the back and remove the vein. Leave head and shells on; dry well.

Red Pepper and Couscous Salad: Char the red peppers all over under a hot grill until the skin blisters. Enclose in a plastic bag to cool slightly, then pull off the skins and scrape away and discard the seeds. Cut into strips.

In a medium saucepan mix the water or stock, olive oil and salt and bring to the boil. Stir in the couscous. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes. Spread in a tray and mix in the spring onion, pepper and half the parsley. Check the flavour; add a dash of vinegar if you like.

Mix the remaining parsley with the garlic, chilli, 50 ml olive oil and tomatoes.

Heat olive oil in a large pan or wok and fry the prawns until they stiffen, salt lightly, turn, pour in the whiskey and flame. Add the parsley and tomato/chilli mixture and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until prawns are done and the sauce forms. If necessary, add a little water to thin the sauce.

To Serve: Spoon couscous salad onto warm plates. Top with prawns, pour over the sauce and garnish with olives. Serves 6

Dukkah-Crusted Fish with Cucumber Salad

Dukkah is an Egyptian nut and seed mixture. Eat on bread, sprinkle over salads and vegetables, or use to coat fish. It keeps well in an airtight jar, so mix a reasonable quantity at a time.

6 x 180 g portions filleted, firm white fish, skinned and sliced on the diagonal

freshy squeezed lemon juice, salt,

milled black pepper, butter

lemon wedges for squeezing

Dukkah

250 g sesame seeds

125 g coriander seeds

125 g hazelnuts, roasted and skinned

75 g cumin seeds

Cucumber Salad

1 English cucumber

salt

1 red onion, finely sliced

1 fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped 10 ml sugar

50 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

Dukkah: Roast all the ingredients separately in a dry frying pan. Grind in a hand mill or blender, keeping the mixture coarse (don't allow the nuts and seeds to become oily). Mix and store in a sealed bottle.

Cucumber Salad: Make ahead so that it can drain and chill; it is best within 2 hours of preparing. Finely slice the cucumber (a mandoline works best), sprinkle with salt and pile in a sieve. Set aside to drain for 10 minutes.

Rinse with cold water and spread on a cloth to dry. Mix in a bowl with the onion, chilli, sugar and lemon juice. Cover and chill.

To Serve: Sprinkle fish with lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, roll in dukkah and fry in sizzling butter in a non-stick frying pan, turning once. As it's thinly sliced, the fish cooks in a minute or two.

Place on warm plates and serve with cucumber salad and lemon wedges. Serves 6

Pomegranate's Pickled Fish

This is well worth making in large quantities, as it improves with keepin and has a fridge life of two weeks, if kep well covered.

1,5 kg yellowtail, kabeljou or geelbek (Cape salmon), filleted and skinned

200 ml vegetable oil

1 kg onions, finely sliced

15 ml fresh, well-made masala

5 ml fennel seeds

5 ml coriander seeds

5 ml black peppercorns

2 ml whole cloves

4-5 bay leaves, preferably fresh

125 g dried apricots

500 ml red or white wine

(red gives a deeper colour to the dish)

10 ml coarse salt 75 ml vinegar

30 ml brown sugar

Place fish in a baking dish which allows sufficient space for the sauce.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onions very slowly until they begin to colour; allow about 30 minutes, so the onion becomes nice and sweet.

Stir in the masala, fennel, coriander, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves, fry for about 30 seconds, then add the apricots, wine and salt. Simmer very gently uncovered for about 20 minutes (or longer) until the flavour is just right; the wine reduces and the oil begins to thicken the sauce; don't rush things!

Add the vinegar and brown sugar. Check and adjust the flavour if necessary.

Set the oven at 200 °C. Pour sauce over the fish, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Pierce with a fork to see if the fish is-nearly done; if not bake for 5 minutes more (cooking time depends on the oven and the baking dish, but remember that the fish will continue to cook as the sauce cools).

Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for at least a day before serving.

To Serve: Offer as is, or serve on salad leaves with home-made mayonnaise. Serves 10 as a starter or light lunch

Gazpacho with Langoustines and Courgette Quenelles

12 small langoustines, shelled and deveined 2 sprigs fresh tarragon

Gazpacho

80 g crustless bread

8 ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped '12 red pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 English cucumber, seeded and chopped 'l2 clove garlic

70 g finely chopped onion

1 egg

10 ml olive oil

red wine vinegar

Courgette Quenelles

300 g courgettes

1 leaf gelatine soaked in a little water 50 ml cream

salt and milled black pepper

Gazpacho: Place the bread in a bowl. Extract juice from the tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, garlic and onion with a juice extractor, pour over the bread and set aside for 10 minutes to soak. Purée until smooth.

Whip together the egg and olive oil and add to the soup. Season with a dash of red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Push through a sieve into a bowl and refrigerate.

Courgette Quenelles: Peel the courgettes with a potato peeler to a thickness of 0,5 cm. Cook in boiling salted water for 8 minutes, then drain and plunge into cold water to retain the colour.

Drain thoroughly and pass through a sieve into a saucepan. Cook uncovered over low heat, stirring constantly, until the purée is dry.

Remove the gelatine from the water and dry on a towel. Mix thoroughly into the quenelle mixture and chill. Whip the cream stiffly and fold in. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the langoustines into a steamer with the tarragon and steam over simmering water for 30-60 seconds; don't overcook.

To Serve: Pour chilled gazpacho into cold soup bowls. Using two teaspoons, scoop the courgette mixture into quenelles and arrange three mounds in the shape of

a star in each bowl. Place the langoustine_sbetween the quenelles.

Serves 4

Asparagus in Puff Pastry with Warm Oysters

400 g puff pastry

8 oysters

150 ml cream

100 g butter

8 spears green asparagus

2-3 ripe tomatoes, finely diced

Pastry: Set the oven at 200°C. Lightly oil a baking tray.

Unroll the pastry and cut into four squares. Place on the baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until well puffed and golden. Whilst still warm, slit each square through the middle so that you have an upper and a lower half.

Carefully open the oysters over a bowl to retain all the juices. Discard bits of shell and grit.

Place oysters and juice into a small

saucepan. Cover, bring to the boil, and remove from the heat. Add the cream and boil uncovered for 1 minute.

Reduce the heat and stir in the butter. Set aside.

Cook the asparagus in a pan of salted boiling water until tender but still crisp. Drain. Cut the base of the spears into

small pieces, leaving sufficient length to lay on the pastry.

To Serve: Reheat oysters. Place pastry bases on warm plates. Spoon on the warm oysters, and arrange asparagus spears on top.

Pour over the sauce and top with pastry

lids. Garnish plates with diced tomato. Serves 4

Grilled Kabeljou with Roasted Pepper Sauce and Black Olives

4 x 200 g portions filleted kabeljou

(or another linefish), skinned melted butter and olive oil 125 ml stoned black olives fresh basil for garnish

Red Pepper Sauce

2 large, plump red peppers, grilled butter

60 ml finely chopped onion

5 ml grated green ginger

30 ml finely chopped spring onion 'l2 head Roasted Garlic (page 208)

250 ml chicken or Fish Stock (page 209) 5 ml finely grated orange rind

60 ml freshly squeezed orange juice 10 ml rice vinegar

sugar, salt, milled black pepper 2 ml paprika

30 ml cream (optional)

Red Pepper Sauce: Char the peppers all over under a hot grill until the skin blisters. Enclose in a plastic bag to cool slightly, then pull off the skin, and gentlyscrape away core and seeds. Purée smoothly. (If you wish, char and peel extra peppers and store in the fridge covered in oil. Use in salads or as part of an antipasto table.)

Heat butter in a medium saucepan and gently fry the onion until translucent. Add the ginger and spring onion. Gently squeeze the roasted garlic from the skins into the pan, and cook for 3 minutes more. Stir in the stock, orange rind, orange juice and vinegar, and season with sugar, salt, pepper and paprika. Stir in the cream and red pepper purée and reheat.

Place fish on an oiled baking tray and brush liberally with melted butter and olive oil (use a good tablespoon per portion). Place under a hot grill for a few minutes to brown. Turn the fish and grill until done.

To Serve: Spoon red pepper sauce on each warm plate, place fish alongside and garnish with olives and fresh basil. Serves 4

Colour Your Plate: Fight Disease and Aging with "Colourful" Food

Eat one serving daily from each of these phyto-nutrient-rich color groups to prevent disease and premature aging:

• Red. Choose apples, beets, cherries, cranberries, kidney or adzuki beans, plums, red bell peppers, radishes, raspberries, red cabbage, red grapes, strawberries, tomatoes, and/or watermelon.
• Orange or yellow. Enjoy apricots, cantaloupe, carrots, mangoes, nectarines, oranges, pineapple, pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes, yams, and yellow or orange bell peppers.
• Green. Have some asparagus, avocado, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green cabbage, celery, kale, kiwi, okra, spinach, watercress—virtually any leafy green vegetable.
• Other mixed colors, including white and purple. Add to your diet foods such as cauliflower, celery, eggplant, kohlrabi, parsnips, rutabaga, and turnips.

For each of the vegetables and fruits mentioned above, one serving is equivalent to:

• One medium-sized fruit, such as an apple, pear, or orange.
• 1/2 cup raw, cooked, frozen, or canned fruit or vegetable.
• 1 cup raw, leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, or lettuce.
• 3/4 cup 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice.
• 1/2 cup cooked or canned beans or peas.
• 1/4 cup dried fruit, such as raisins or dates.