The Early Bird and All That Jazz!

I thought I'd get in early with this weekend's menu ideas. In truth, I'm so frustrated...I've been searching all morning for a couple of 'floppy discs' and have failed to find them. Crazy as they have to be on or within this desk, somewhere! At least, one good thing has come out of my fruitless searching...my desk is tidy! A chore that needed doing badly but not necessarily this morning! So while I regain my composure and patience, I'll share a couple of recipes with you.

Garlic Prawns Enchiladas: Fry 500g coarsely chopped, shelled and tailed green prawns with 1 small onion, chopped and 4 cloves finely chopped garlic cloves until they just start changing colour. ('color' for a certain American gentleman I know!). Add 3 cups dry white wine. Poach gently until prawns are cooked...don't overcook! Remove mixture from pan, add 2 cups cream and reduce by half. Return prawn mixture, reheat and season to taste. Soften 8 corn tortillas individually by totally submerging in a shallow level of hot oil for an instant: quickly pat dry with paper towels and while still malleable, place one-eighth of prawn mixture and a small amount of grated cheese on the centre. Fold filled enchilada into a fat cigar shape. Place seam side down in an ovenproof dish large enough to hold eight. Repeat process,. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top of the assembled enchiladas. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese has melted. Top with Diablo Sauce: Combine in a food processor 425g can tomatoes, 1 sliced onion, 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder, 1/2 teaspoon each ground cumin and coriander, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and ground pepper to taste. Process until smooth.

Roast Leg of Lamb Vermouth: Have your butcher bone 1x2kg leg of lamb, leaving the shank bone in (or do it yourself...it's easy). Place lamb in large bowl with 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice. Add 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced. Leave to marinate for a few hours (overnight, preferrably). When ready to cook, baste the lamb with its marinade in a roasting pan and cook at 180C for about one hour or until cooked as desired. Remove from oven, strain pan juices and reserve. Return lamb to the turned-off oven while preparing the sauce. Pour 1/4 cup of the pan drippings into saucepan, add 2 tablespoons flour, stir until combined and cook, stirring for a few seconds. Add remaining pan drippings, 1/3 cup dry white wine, 1/3 cup dry vermouth, 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon honey and stir until sauce boils and thickens. Reduce heat. Add 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind, 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary and whisk in 60g butter until the butter is melted. Add 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves and season to taste. Remove lamb from oven and slice. Arrange on serving platter and spoon over the sauce.

Banana Fritters: Combine 200g desiccated coconut, 100g brown sugar, 100g sticky rice flour (from Asian food stores...use cornflour if you can't get the rice flour), 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1 beaten egg and 20g sesame seeds. Cover 4 bananas with the mixture and deep-fry in plenty of light vegetable oil until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain and serve immediately with ice-cream or whipped cream (or both if you're daring!)