Lorraine Pascale's Hot and Sour King Prawn Soup, Crunchy Black Pepper Halloumi, and Roast Peri Peri Chicken

Throughout January Scala Radio is offering tips and advice on how to stay healthy and happy in 2021.

And a good place to start with a healthy regime is surely the food we eat.

Listen to Lorraine Pascale in her special four-part series every Sunday in January from 6pm as she combines restorative recipes with uplifting classical music.

In episode one Lorraine suggested Soothing Sag Aloo Soup, Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins, and Easy Spelt Pizza with Harissa, Mozzarella and Basil.

Recipes from the second episode can be found below.

Hot and Sour King Prawn Soup

A light, lucid soup with fragrant Asian flavours and succulent blushing prawns. Definitely one for a packed lunch.

Time from start to finish: 15 minutes

Serves: 2

Equipment: Medium pan with lid

500ml good-quality fish or chicken stock (fresh is best to use here)

1–2 red chillies (depending on how hot you like them)

1 lemongrass stalk Small handful of fresh coriander

2 kaffir lime leaves (fresh, frozen or dried) 3 tbsp fish sauce

12 sustainably caught raw king prawns, shell off

2 limes

1–2 tsp caster sugar

Method

1. Pour the stock into a medium pan on a high heat and cover with the lid (so it heats up more quickly).

2. Meanwhile, slice, deseed and finely chop the chillies, finely slice the lemongrass (the white bit only) and coriander stalks (reserving the leaves).

3. Once the stock has come to the boil, add them to the pan along with the kaffir lime leaves and fish sauce and cover again with the lid. Turn the heat down a little and leave to simmer for 4–5 minutes.

4. Add the prawns and continue to simmer for another minute or so until the prawns turn pink.

5. Then finish with the coriander leaves, juice of the limes and sugar to taste.

6. Ladle into two serving bowls and serve.

Crunchy Black Pepper Halloumi Dip Sticks with Harissa Hummus

Before I tested this recipe I had not had the privilege of cooking halloumi. I’d eaten it many times, but never felt the urge to give it a go at home. Halloumi is an eccentric-textured-and-tasting cheese which is very salty on the palate. It prefers, unlike its cheesy counterparts, to be pan-fried and grilled as it holds itself together very well once cooked.

Time from start to finish: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Equipment: Colander, blender or food processor, large frying pan, plate

Hummus 400g tin of chickpeas

1 garlic clove

100g half-or full-fat crème fraîche

1–4 tbsp harissa paste (easy to find at the supermarket)

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Halloumi

Sunflower oil

50g plain flour

2 × 250g blocks of halloumi cheese

1 lime Small handful of fresh coriander

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. First, make the hummus. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, peel the garlic and add both to a blender or food processor. Add the crème fraîche and enough harissa paste to taste (depending on how hot you like it). Blitz until smooth, season to taste with salt and pepper and add a drizzle of oil if you think it needs it. Then spoon it into a serving bowl and set aside.

2. Next, prepare the halloumi. Put three big glugs of oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Put the flour, salt and pepper on a plate and set aside. Cut the halloumi into thick sticks and then dip the halloumi in making sure it’s all covered. Cool the halloumi for 4-5 minutes until all sides are cooked and golden brown. Remove the halloumi and place in to kitchen towel to drain. Squeeze over the lime juice and serve with the coriander on the top.

Recipe: Whole Roast Perky Peri Peri Chicken

A different way to roast chicken. I have given the recipe using a 2kg (about 4½ lb) bird so that there is some meat left over for sandwiches the next day. Without leftovers, a 1.5kg-1.8kg (3¼ lb -4lb) chicken would be about enough to serve four people. If you use a different size to the recipe below, work out the cooking time based on 20 minutes per 450g (1lb), plus 20 minutes. Regardless of what size bird you use, spread it with the peri peri sauce and add the onions and potatoes 45-50 minutes before the end of the cooking time.

Prep time (before and after cooking): 30 minutes. Roasting: 1 hour 50 minutes

Serves 4

CHICKEN

1 x 2kg • 4½ lb whole chicken, preferably

free range and/or organic

salt and freshly ground

black pepper

vegetable oil for drizzling

150ml • ¼ pt water,

chicken stock or

red wine

SALAD

1 lime

1 tsp caster sugar (or a squidge of honey)

3 tbsp extra virgin

olive oil

1 bag of crisp salad leaves

PERI PERI SAUCE

5 garlic cloves

1-5 red chillies (as hot as

you dare!)

2cm • ¾ in piece fresh ginger

50ml • 2fl oz vegetable oil

25ml • 1fl oz white or red wine vinegar

3 tbsp soy sauce

1-2 tbsp Tabasco sauce (again, as hot as you dare!)

2 tbsp smoked paprika

3 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp caster sugar (optional)

1 lime

VEGETABLES

3 red onions

500g • 18oz baby new potatoes

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (fan 180C), 400F, gas mark 6. Sit the chicken in a large roasting tin, season well with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil. Place in the oven and cook for 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the peri peri sauce. Peel and roughly chop the garlic; halve, deseed and finely chop the chillies and place both in a small bowl.

3. Finely grate in the ginger (unpeeled) and then add the oil, vinegar, soy sauce, Tabasco, smoked paprika, oregano and sugar (if using). Finely grate in the lime zest and then squeeze in the juice and mix together.

4. Remove the chicken from the oven after 1 hour and tip three-quarters of the peri peri sauce on to it, spreading it all over with the back of a spoon.

5. Peel and quarter the onions, leaving the roots intact, and toss them in around the chicken along with the potatoes. Season them with salt and pepper and then return to the oven to cook for 50 (or so) minutes. At the end of the cooking time the chicken will most likely look burnt, but worry not, as this is the peri peri style.

6. To check the chicken is cooked, pierce the thickest part of a thigh with the point of a sharp knife and the juices should run clear. Check the meat has no pinkness remaining either and that it is completely cooked through. Once cooked, carefully lift the chicken from the roasting tin on to a large plate and cover it loosely with tinfoil so it can rest and become juicier. Using a slotted spoon, remove the vegetables from the tin too, transferring them to a medium ovenproof dish. Then put them back in the oven (with the oven now turned off) to keep warm.

7. Carefully pour the oil out of the roasting tin, leaving the juices and sticky bits behind. Put it on a medium heat and add the remaining sauce and 150ml • ¼ pt water, stock or red wine. Allow to simmer for a few minutes, scraping up all the sticky bits from the bottom.

8. Meanwhile, prepare the salad. Squeeze the lime juice into a mug or small bowl and add the sugar (or honey), oil and a little salt and pepper. Give it a good whisk up. Tip the salad leaves into a large serving bowl, pour the dressing over and toss the leaves about.

9. Returning to the chicken, pour any juices on the plate into the sauce before carving up the meat. Arrange on serving plates with the roasted onions and potatoes. Serve with the dressed salad and the sauce in a small jug.

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