I’m in Antigua sitting on the beautiful 70ft catamaran, MATAU, waiting for the crew to ‘wake’ so we can go sailing – to St. Maarten.
When you cook with geniune love and passion, people can tell; there is a difference. Chef Robin Tompson loves to cook, even for the crew. Here are a couple of recipes we had on the move. More next month, as Chef Robin came 2nd in the Antigua Concors de Chef.
Happy Valentine’s Day
SIMPLE ANGEL HAIR PASTA WITH SHRIMP AND SMOKED SALMON
Prep time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 15 minutes. Serves: 6
Package of Angel Hair Pasta
½ red onion, diced
1/3 cup white wine
¼ cup cream
6 scallions, chopped
12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Smoked salmon
30 precooked small shrimp
Salt and pepper to taste
Boil a package of angel hair pasta, cool and keep to the side. In a small skillet, lightly sauté the red onions. Add white wine and reduce by two thirds. Next add cream to the skillet and mix in well. Once it begins to simmer, remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Toss the angel hair pasta with the mix and place a portion on a warmed plate. Scatter on some of the scallions and cherry tomatoes. Top with some smoked salmon and pre-cooked shrimp. Serve and enjoy.
BANOFFEE PIE
Prep time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 15 minutes. Makes: 5
1 can sweetened condensed milk
Package of Oreo cookies
3 oz. melted butter
2 bananas, peeled and thinly sliced
Whipped cream
Cocoa powder
Take the can of sweetened condensed milk, remove the label, and place in a deep pan of boiling water for two hours. Top up the water if the can is not fully underwater. Carefully remove the can from the pot with tongs and leave to cool completely. You can do this ahead of time and with multiple cans too.
Take the package of Oreo cookies (or whatever your favorite may be, personally I love to use ginger cookies) and blitz them in a food processor with melted butter. Now press the mix either into a buttered chef’s ring, or a small pie dish. Now open the cooled can of sweetened condensed milk and, using a metal spoon dipped in hot water, divide the caramel up between the chef’s rings, or spread it over the cookie layer on the pie dish.
If you are making this dessert ahead of time you can stop there and cover the rings or dish with cling film and place them in the freezer. They will be fine for several days.
To serve: Once you are ready, simply take the prepared bases out of the freezer and put them into the fridge. Thinly slice some bananas and whip some cream (or use the canned whipped cream). Take the bases out of the fridge and top with the slices of bananas. If you are using the chefs rings, take a small knife dipped in hot water and run it around the inside edge of the ring to release the dessert onto a serving plate. If you are using a pie dish, place the slices of bananas all across the top. Spoon on the whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder and enjoy!
Capt. Jan Robinson’s Ship to Shore Cookbook Collection is available at your local marine or bookstore. Visit www.ship toshoreINC.com email CapJan@aol.com Tel: 704-277-6521. Don’t miss the new cookbook added to Jan’s collection: DINING ON DECK.
