Hotate (scallop) Don
(have you noticed I make a lot of don? Fewer dishes for me to wash!)
12 scallops
1 tablespoon cooking sake
20ml soy sauce
2 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
a pinch of salt
chili powder
some toasted nori (seaweed)
Season the scallops with salt and pepper. Beat the eggs with the sugar and a pinch of salt, scramble them and set aside. Fry the scallops on both sides in a little oil. Pour over the sake, then put a lid over and allow them to steam cook. Remove the lid and add the butter and soy sauce to the pan, turning the scallops over to coat. Serve the scallops over a bowl of rice, with the scrambled egg, sprinkle with a little chili powder, and garnish with some shredded nori.
Over recent months I've spent so much time trying to cook things that my meat-eating family will enjoy, with very little thought to myself. So I have resolved to at least occasionally cook something that we can all tuck into as a family, and first up is a veggie shepherd's pie :-) As well as being extremely healthy and tasty (this will now be making a regular appearance at our dinner table, there were absolutely no complaints about this dish), it was also very cheap to make!
Veggie Shepherd's Pie
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced
2 large carrots (500g/1lb 2oz in total), peeled and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped
200ml red wine
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 vegetable stock cubes
410g can green lentils
950g sweet potatoes , peeled and cut into chunks
25g butter
85g grated cheese
Heat the oil in a frying pan, then fry the onion until golden. Add the carrots and all but a sprinkling of thyme. Pour in the wine, 150ml water and the tomatoes, then sprinkle in the stock cubes and simmer for 10 mins. Tip in the can of lentils, including their juice, then cover and simmer for another 10 mins until the carrots still have a bit of bite and the lentils are pulpy. Meanwhile, boil the sweet potatoes for 15 mins until tender, drain well, then mash with the butter and season to taste. Pile the lentil mixture into a pie dish, spoon the mash on top, then sprinkle over the cheese and remaining thyme. Bake at 190c for 20 mins if cooking straight away, or for 40 mins from chilled, until golden and hot all the way through.
