Gourmet Express
Ainsley Harriott's Gourmet Express
by Ainsley Harriott
Prawn and chilli ginger cakes
A photo-essay by
Here's a little photo-essay of me making these!
Photo 1
I've assembled all the raw ingredients. (Not my usual method – I normally just bung things in as I go along.)
Dave got the prawns from the local market a couple of hours ago and they're still intact. It took about 20 minutes to decapitate, de-shell, and clean them. You'd save a lot of time if you could buy ready cleaned raw prawns – frozen perhaps?
Photo 2
Here's everything prepped up and ready to go. It didn't look like there'd be enough chillies so I added another one. We like spicy food.
Photo 3
Next the ingredients go into the blender and are pulsed until mixed. Here's the result. The mixture looks wet and unlikely to make the desired result…
Photo 4
…but I pop it into the wok anyway, a spoonful at a time. You can trust Ainsley. Meanwhile I get the salad garnish ready.
Photo 5
Here they are coming out of the wok and onto kitchen paper to drain.
Photo 6
The finished result! And I have to be quick with the photos before Dave scoffs them all. They're pretty good, though I say it myself. I've also put a bit of chilli jam on the side – from another Ainsley recipe (from Ainsley's Big Cook Out). He describes the chilli jam as "…always a winner. Once you've tried it, you'll be back for more – and it goes with absolutely anything." He's right! Try it on a cheese sarnie. Wow!
There are loads more wonderful recipes in Gourmet Express. I've maybe done it a disservice by choosing one of the more complicated ones, especially with all the prep involved in cleaning prawns, but I can't emphasise enough how great this book is. Apparently there's now a Gourmet Express Book 2 available. I can hardly wait to check it out.
I hope you'll buy this book because it could improve the quality of your life for not much effort. Crikey! You'd think I was on commission or something for trying to sell it. I just love it!
Read Kay's review of Gourmet Express
Read Ainsley's recipe for prawn and chilli ginger cakes
Ainsley Harriott's Gourmet Express
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Ainsley Harriott
Hardback, 178 pages
2000, BBC Worldwide
ISBN 0 563 55179 8
RRP: £16.99
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