Ultimate autumn food bowls
Chicken and prawn laksa with sweet potato noodles
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 x 400ml cans coconut milk
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 250ml chicken bone broth or store-bought stock
2 organic skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
2tbsp fish sauce
2tbsp lime juice
1tbsp raw honey
8 large raw prawns (shrimp), shelled and deveined, tails left on
250g bean sprouts
2 large handfuls coriander (cilantro) leaves, picked
1 large handful Vietnamese mint leaves, picked
1 large handful mint leaves, picked
1 lime, cut into wedges
Spice paste
2 tsbp coconut oil
2 purple shallots, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
40g macadamias, coarsely chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, coarsely chopped
3 long red chillies, coarsely chopped (seeds in)
2 coriander (cilantro) roots, coarsely chopped
2cm knob of ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1tsp ground turmeric
Sweet potato noodles
1 sweet potato, peeled
Method
To make the spice paste, blend all of the ingredients together using a small food processor and make a smooth paste.
Heat a large saucepan over a low-medium heat. Fry the paste for 2 minutes, or until softened and fragrant.
Add the coconut milk and lime leaves and bring to boil. Decrease the heat and gently simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the oil separates from the milk and floats to the surface. Pour in the broth and bring to boil. Decrease the heat and gently simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile to prepare the sweet potato noodles, use a spiraliser to cut the sweet potato into noodle-like lengths. Alternatively, using a mandoline, thinly slice into long strips.
Add the chicken, fish sauce, lime juice and honey to the broth and stir to combine. Gently simmer for 5 minutes, until the chicken is almost cooked.
Add the prawns and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the prawns turn pink and are just cooked through.
To serve, divide the noodles among four deep serving bowls and top with bean sprouts. Ladle the broth over the top, distributing the chicken and prawns evenly.
Garnish generously with coriander, Vietnamese mint and mint. Serve with lime wedges.
The Beauty Chef (£25.00) by Carla Oates is published by Hardie Grant Books