Recommend me a starter.

[Dandred]

Making a simple dinner but don't know what to do as a starter.

Main dish is red and yellow peppers fried with chopped bacon onion and garlic then mixed with spinach and cream and a dash of chile powder.

What can I do as a starter? Winter here I've ruled out a salad.

 

[Maurice Picarda]

Ortolans

 

[Dandred]

Not into killing small birds.

 

[Maurice Picarda]

Oh. Partridge? They're medium sized.

 

[Dandred]

Not available in South Korea, might do some Jamaican Jerk chicken, good idea!

 

[kabbes]

Prawns and squid in a ginger and lime marinade, skewered and griddled.

 

[ricbake]

Vegetable tempura

 

[Onket]

Prawn Cocktail

 

[Epona]

Salt & Pepper squid.

I can't actually find the recipe I use, it has been a while since I needed to refer to it. You can use prawns if you don't like squid, but I like squid.

The batter should be very light, I use cornflour, egg, and a little water, seasoned with szechwan/sichuan pepper and salt. (the batter should actually be quite dry when you do the coating, so it is more like putting on damp eggy-cornflour, rather than dipping stuff in wet batter - at least that is the way I find it works best). And fry at a high heat in a wok or similar heavy-based pan.

Garnish is finely chopped red chillies and garlic and shredded spring onions (put those garnish items in the pan at the last minute). The dish should be spicy hot, a bit salty, a bit of a crunch on the very light batter, and squid absolutely tender (it only needs 2 minutes on a high heat to cook to perfection if cut into strips or rings as for this recipe).

 

[Onket]

Brown Windsor Soup.

 

[Pickman's model]

i can give you a starter for ten

 

[Epona]

Brown Windsor Soup.

Not a bad idea, although I have always thought the term 'soup' was a misnomer, it is (when it comes down to it) just a beef stew. I do like beef stew though!

Something a bit lighter but along similar lines would be a French Onion Soup, full on proper job with the cheesy croutons and everything.

 

[Epona]

Or, hollow out some large tomatoes (something like beef tomatoes), and place in a roasting tin, put the tomato innards that you have scooped out in the tin. Put a small amount of tomato juice in the bottom of the tin. Pour something like half a tsp of olive oil in each tomato, and over the dish grind some pepper, sprinkle some salt, and sprinkle some thyme leaves, and squeeze half a lemon over.

Put in the oven for 15 minutes, on about 190.

Then take them out and (depending upon your taste) fill the empty tomatoes up with either shredded mozarella or crumbled goats cheese - spoon a bit of the tomatoey/oily stock from the pan back into each tomato and put back into the oven for 10 minutes.

I have been using that recipe for ages but am pretty sure that I didn't make it up myself, due to the recipe I suspect I originally got it from an Ottolenghi column in some Sunday paper or something like that. It is fucking lush though.

 

[Cid]

Your main would make a good starter.

 

[mr steev]

I'd do grilled goats cheese on caramalised red onions with a few toasted pine nuts of walnuts sprinkled over, mainly because it is fucking lush

Or a mushroom soufle (there's a recipe online somewhere for some very easy ones which you can make in advance irrc*) If your main isn't going to be too creamy maybe baked camembert with some nice bread

*eta: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4979/makeahead-mushroom-souffls

 

[Sirena]

Skip the starter and just have more food in your main course...