Quick tiger prawns (shrimp) with pinot grigio, fresh tomato and basil sauce

It's always a struggle to think of something quick and delicious to make for a mid-week supper. This easy Italian-inspired recipe from my book Cooking With Wine solves the problem.

Serves 2

3 tablespoons of olive oil
200g/7oz raw fresh or frozen tiger prawns (shrimp)
1 small onion or 2 shallots, peeled and very finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
A small glass (about 100ml or half a cup) Pinot Grigio or other crisp dry white wine
4 medium sized or 2 large vine-ripened tomatoes (about 350g/12oz), peeled* and roughly chopped
6-8 basil leaves
Salt, sugar and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan or wok, add the prawns/shrimp and fry briefly until they turn pink. Remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the pan and fry the chopped onion for a couple of minutes without browning. Add the garlic, stir then pour in the white wine and cook until it has almost evaporated. Add the tomatoes and their juice and cook for about 4-5 minutes, breaking them down with a fork or spatula to make a thick sauce.

Season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper and a small pinch of sugar. Roughly tear the basil leaves and stir them into the sauce. Return the prawns and any accumulated juices to the pan and heat through. Serve with rice and some peas or courgettes/zucchini.

Recommended wine match: the same wine you use to make the dish - a Pinot Grigio or other crisp dry white.

See also: Wine and seafood: the best pairings for prawns or shrimp

* to peel tomatoes make a cut in the skin with a small, sharp knife, put them in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them stand for a minute then drain and refresh with cold water. The skins should slip off easily.

Veal chops with oysters

If you're not one for hearts and flowers but still feel like cooking up a special meal for Valentine's night this recipe from Will Beckett, Huw Gott and Richard Turner's Hawksmoor at Home* would fit the bill perfectly.

After all it does contain oysters which as you know are an aphrodisiac . . .

Huw writes: After a weekend in Vienna (during a depressingly England-less Euro 2008), we returned home with a newfound respect for schnitzel. Back at Hawksmoor, where the world revolves around a real charcoal grill, we decided to grill the veal and use the schnitzel’s breadcrumbs to coat oysters instead. It appealed to our inner food geek – the Victorians loved to pair oysters with beef, why not with veal? And it seemed like a good excuse to pile on the deep fried oysters – we love their crunch and soft milky, saline interior (part sea, part sex, part chicken nugget).

Veal needn’t be a cruel meat. Although crating has been banned in the EU a number of other unsavoury practices are still common. Your best bet is to buy British rose veal from a reputable supplier like Percy and Ben Weatherall’s Blackface Meat Company who produce great quality ethical veal from their Ayrshire dairy herd in south-west Scotland.

serves 2

2 British rose veal chops (3–4cm thick)
Maldon sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
12 oysters
75g seasoned self-raising flour
2 lightly beaten eggs
100g fresh breadcrumbs
vegetable oil for deep-frying
2 lemon wedges to serve

For the mayonnaise:
50g line-caught tinned tuna
100g mayonnaise (Hellmann’s is fine)
10g capers, rinsed
50ml double cream

To make the mayonnaise, whizz the tuna, mayonnaise and capers in a blender and sieve into a small bowl. Stir in the double cream and set aside.

Open the oysters, remove the meat and pat them dry.

Dip them in the seasoned flour, then the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F/Gas 3. Heat a ridged grill until almost smoking. Season the veal chops well and sear both sides until well coloured, then place in the oven for 5 minutes to finish cooking. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside to rest.

Heat an electric fryer or a deep pan of oil to 180°C/350°F. Dip the oysters in the breadcrumbs a final time and deep-fry for a couple of minutes until golden brown.

Serve the chops with a pile of fried oysters on top and a large spoonful of the mayonnaise.

NOTE: You can also use a barbecue to cook the chops.

What to drink: You could drink a lightish red like a red burgundy with this but I'd be inclined to go for a Chablis because of its association with oysters - maybe a vieilles vignes or a premier cru - or even grand cru - given the fact that the veal is grilled.

*which is owned by my son Will, in the interests of full disclosure! But the profits go to Action Against Hunger.

Seamus Mullen's kale salad with apple, toasted pecans and yoghurt and dill vinaigrette

I've never really 'got' kale but this delicious salad would convert anybody. AND it's healthy too!

I've added some notes about how they've adapted the recipe at Mullen's restaurant Sea Containers. Given that fresh herbs are scarce and expensive at this time of year you might also want to cut back on the number you use (apart from the dill).

Kale salad, apple, toasted pecans and yogurt and dill vinaigrette

Serves 4

1 bunch Cavalo Nero, Dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale

A handful of dandelion leaves if available

1 oz spiced, caramelized pecans*

1 apple, thinly sliced (they used Golden Delicious, apparently)

1 small serrano chile, sliced as thinly as possible

1/2 an avocado, cut into 1/2” pieces

2 oz yogurt and dill vinaigrette (see below)

a good handful of fresh herbs - Mullen recommends cilantro (coriander), basil, dill and mint. Gus, his sous chef, used chives, parsley and chervil

For the yogurt and dill vinaigrette:

1/2 cup (4 fl oz) full fat yogurt or kefir

1 clove garlic, grated

6 tbsp fresh dill

zest and juice 1 lemon

1 tbsp champagne or moscatel vinegar

1 tsp honey

1 cup (8 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil

salt

fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients except oil, whisk together, then drizzle in oil until emulsified.

Process

Strip the leaves off the stalks and cut the kale into a paper thin chiffonade. Combine all the ingredients, season with salt and pepper and plate in a small bowl (see above. (I suspect you need to let it rest for half an hour or so to soften as you do a slaw.) Garnish with fresh herbs and fresh cracked pepper.

* in the recipe Mullen says "toasted in brown butter, tossed in sugar, cayenne, ground coriander and sea salt" but his chef Gus says he dips the nuts in whisked egg white, rolls them in a mixture of onion and garlic powder, cayenne, curry powder, salt and turmeric then roasts them briefly at 165°C. Or use any spiced nuts recipe you like. Or buy them ready made.

What to drink: I found an Austrian grüner veltliner paired very well with this but so would an apple juice. (See my pairings for kale).

Obviously the picture at the top of the page looks more stylish but yours - and mine - will look more like the dressed salad in the bowl.

Thomasina Miers' Mole Amarillo

To celebrate Day of the Dead - or maybe even Bonfire Night - here's a fabulous warming spicy Mexican stew for 10 from Thomasina Miers' Wahaca: Mexican food at Home.

Tommi writes: "We first tried this yellow mole outside Oaxaca’s 20 de Noviembre market, where it was mixed with shredded chicken plus a little corn dough and stuffed inside tortillas, baked into empanadas and served with the outrageously hot chile de agua and onion relish.

We tried it again a few days later at the house of one of our mezcal suppliers; his wife cooked it outside over an open fire and fed fourteen of us; it was so good that some actually wept!

It is not a complicated sauce to make, although I have substituted the chillies they use in Oaxaca for ones more readily available in Britain. I dream about putting this on the Wahaca menu. It is such a wonderfully rich, homely tasting stew.

Feeds at least 10, but freezes beautifully

Time: about 90 minutes

1 onion

2–3 garlic cloves

2–3 bay leaves

sea salt

450g neck of pork, cut into 2–3cm dice

1 large chicken, jointed into 8 pieces

450g new potatoes, cut into chunks

1 large acorn or butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks

450g green beans, cut in half

1 cauliflower, broken into florets

hot tortillas or steamed rice, to serve

For the mole:

6 guajillo chillies

2 ancho chillies

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

8 cloves

10 allspice berries

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 large onion, quartered

2 large tomatoes

5 garlic cloves, unpeeled

1 x 790g tin tomatillos, drained

small bunch of fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

40g lard

2 tablespoons masa harina

small handful of tarragon, chopped

Fill a large pan with water and add the onion, garlic and bay leaves, season with salt and bring to simmering point. Simmer gently for 10 minutes before adding the pork pieces. Simmer very gently for a further 15 minutes before adding the chicken pieces. Cook for 15 minutes before turning off the heat and leaving to cool.

To make the mole, toast and rehydrate the chillies (there's a useful step-by-step guide here), soaking them for 20 minutes. Now toast all the spices in the dry frying pan until they smell fragrant, about 5–10 minutes. Grind to a powder, then transfer to a blender.

Add the onion, tomatoes and garlic to the pan and dry roast, as described below*. Transfer to the blender as they cook, remembering to slip off the garlic skins. Drain the chillies and add them to the blender with the drained tomatillos and oregano and whiz for 5 minutes to a smooth purée.

Heat the lard in a pan and, when very hot, add the purée, stirring all the time to prevent it spitting. Turn the heat down and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Thin the masa harina with just enough of the chicken stock to make a smooth paste, then add to the mole. Stir in 2 cups of the stock, add the tarragon and cook for 15 minutes over a low heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Meanwhile cook the vegetables. Fill a pan with water, add a teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon then add the squash and cook until just tender. Remove with the slotted spoon then cook the beans and cauliflower in the same way, removing each when they still have a slight bite. Do not overcook or they will turn to mush in the stew.

Drain the meat and add to the mole. Heat through, adding more stock if necessary. About 5 minutes before serving add all the vegetables to heat through. Serve the stew in shallow bowls making sure everyone gets a piece of chicken and pork and some of the vegetables. Serve with hot tortillas or, if you prefer, with rice.

Note: Traditionally a plant called hoja santa is used in this recipe. If you can get hold of it finely shred 3 large leaves and add them in place of the tarragon. Mexican chillies and tomatillos are widely available now - you can also buy them online from the Cool Chile Co or from Otomi in Bristol which also has a shop in the Clifton Arcade.

* Place a heavy-bottomed frying pan over a high heat and add the onions, tomatoes and garlic, leaving the skins on. Turn the ingredients while they are roasting so they are charred all over. Tomatoes take about 15 mins, onions about 10 and garlic 5-10 minutes.

What to drink: Personally I'd go for a beer like a golden or amber ale or lager with this dish or even a dark Mexican beer like Negro Modelo. Otherwise a rich chardonnay should match well or a syrah, grenache or tempranillo if you prefer a red.

Recipe taken from Wahaca – Mexican Food at Home by Thomasina Miers, published by Hodder & Stoughton, £20. © Thomasina Miers, 2012