Supper Club: 3 Donal Skehan recipes to see you through the week

Griddled blackened prawn tacos with mango salsa, pickled red onion and coriander lime crema

The prawns here are topped with quick pickled pink onion slices and a coriander and lime “crema” which is basically a zhuzhed up shop-bought mayo to finish. The perfect balance of smoky, sweet, sour and aromatic flavours all wrapped up in a torched tortilla. Track down corn tortillas if you can, but flour tortillas will do the job too. Place all the components on the dinner table and let everyone build their own – proper summer-style eating. – Donal Skehan

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 400g king prawns, deveined
• 1 tbsp fajita seasoning
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
• 30g butter
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• For the mango salsa:
• 2 mangoes, peeled, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 avocado, peeled, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped
• Handful of coriander leaves

Method

Place the prawns, fajita seasoning and vegetable oil into a bowl with a pinch of salt, mix and set aside.
2. Mix all of the ingredients for the mango salsa together in a bowl and set aside.
3. For the pickled red onion, place the thinly sliced red onion in a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Mix the salt into the red onions, massaging in with your hands then pour over the lemon juice. Set aside to pickle.
4. For the cream, blitz the mayonnaise, jalapeño, coriander and lime zest and juice together in a small blender. Add to a bowl then stir in the sour cream and season to taste. Set aside in the fridge.
5. Toast the corn tortillas over a gas hob, or in a pan if you have an induction or electric hob and set aside covered in a tea towel to keep warm.
6. Place a large frying pan over a medium high heat and add a drizzle of oil. Add the prawns and fry, fiercely, for a couple of minutes on each side until charred and cooked through – depending on your pan size you may need to do this in batches.
7. Add the butter and allow to melt before serving the prawns to the table with the mango salsa, pickled red onions, coriander-lime crema, tortillas, iceberg lettuce and lime wedges.

Chicken salad open sandwich

A classic sandwich topper and an old reliable particularly if you have leftover chicken is chicken salad tartines – Dijon mustard, mayo and plenty of herbs and lemon juice provide a great pep to any cooked chicken and throw in capers and cornichons if you want crunch and saltiness. Spread it generously on toast and you have lunch! – Donal Skehan

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 75g capers
• 200ml vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 100g greek yoghurt
• 50g mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Handful of parsley, finely chopped
• Handful of chives, finely chopped
• Handful of dill, finely chopped, plus extra to serve
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 4-6 slices Tartine sourdough bread
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 butterhead lettuce, leaves separated
• A few radishes, thinly sliced
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. To deep fry the capers, place the capers onto some kitchen roll and dry well. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat until shimmering then toss in one caper to test if it’s hot enough – the caper should sizzle immediately. Once the oil is hot enough, add the rest of the capes to the hot oil and fry, for anywhere between 2 – 3 minutes, until the capers start to burst and turn brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. They will crisp up as they cool. Allow to cool completely.
2. Place the shredded chicken meat into a bowl with the yoghurt, mayonnaise, Dijon, lemon zest, chopped herbs and some seasoning and mix together until well combined.
3. Lightly toast the bread then drizzle with a little olive oil and rub with the garlic clove.
4. Place a few leaves of butterhead on top of the toasts and top with the chicken mixture.
5. Garnish with the thinly sliced radishes, deep fried capers and some extra dill fronds.

Mint and pea pesto gnocchi limone

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 250g gnocchi
• 50g butter
• 200ml double cream
• 50g Parmesan, finely grated
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon

For the pesto:

• 125g frozen peas, thawed
• 40g mint, leaves roughly chopped, plus extra to serve
• 75g blanched almonds, toasted
• 80g Parmesan, plus extra to serve
• ½ garlic clove, grated
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 100ml olive oil

Method

1. Blitz all of the ingredients for the pesto together in a blender until you have a chunky paste and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the gnocchi according to the packet instructions.
3. Add the butter to a frying pan over a medium heat and let it melt before adding the double cream, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice.
4. Simmer for a few minutes to thicken then add the cooked gnocchi and toss in the sauce.
5. Warm the pesto in a separate pan over a medium high heat with a little of the gnocchi cooking water until hot.
6. Serve the gnocchi into bowls for serving and drizzle with the pesto. Garnish with mint leaves and a bit more Parmesan.