Shrimp Paella

The Spanish equivalent of a cross between nasi biryani and sar po fan (claypot rice). Surreal but tasty nonetheless. A little bit of writer's block today so I'll let the pictures do the talking.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 150g smoked ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large onions, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in 2 tablespoons boiling water
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 600ml (or more) chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice
• 500g shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives, halved

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add smoked ham, onions, and bell pepper, and sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes.

Stir in saffron water and paprika, then 3/4 of the broth and rice. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer covered until rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes.

Arrange shrimp on top of rice, top with olives, and drizzle with the leftover (or more) broth to moisten. Cover and cook until shrimp are just opaque in center, about 6 minutes.

More for the last meal:

• Buttermilk pancakes
• Perfect scrambled eggs
• Saffron-scented pumpkin and apple soup
• Rosy borscht
• Panfried foie gras with a balsamic raspberry reduction
• Crabmeat pasta in a creamy tomato sauce
  
• Triple chocolate cake
  
• Lemon meringue pie

Mediterranean Grilled Vegetables

Zucchini is in season it seems. Saw some super fresh fat green and yellow ones at the supermarket, which means grilled veggies is the order of the day.

This stuff is fabulous. Simple, but the freshness and flavour of the vegetables come through so well. It makes a great side on it's own, or as a salad tossed with a bit of balsamic vinagrette. You can even stack them up, scatter some of your favourite cheese and tomato sauce in between the layers and grill in a hot oven till cheese melts for a mixed vegetable parmagiana.

I like to make up a big batch and store it in the fridge because they're even yummy cold.

• 1 green zucchini
• 1 yellow zucchini
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 eggplant
• 5 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• Freshly ground black pepper

Cut the vegetable into 1cm slices and toss with olive oil, oregano, salt and black pepper. Toss until the seasoning and oil evenly coats the vegetables.

Heat a grill pan on high heat. Start with the peppers because they take the longest to cook, 5 minutes on each slice. Then grill the zucchini and eggplant, 2 minutes on each side. Resist the urge to move the vegetables or flip them around constantly, so that you get nice clean grill marks.

Mediterranean Salad

This brings the best of everything mediterranean into one big-ass bowl.

The tartness of the tomatoes is complemented with the milky saltiness of the feta cheese and enhanced with the smokiness of the olives and sundried tomatoes.

You can use ready made italian dressing or any of your favourites. But if you have time, home made dressing is always the yummiest.

Here's what you need for 8 people:

• 10 - 12 ripe roma tomatoes
• 10 basil leaves, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup olives
  1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 block greek feta cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Italian herb mix (Chop or pound basil, oregano, thyme and parsley into a superfine mix, almost resembling a paste. Alternatively, you can buy the paste in tubes at Cold Storage.)

To make dressing, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, tomato paste and Italian herbs until emulsified. If you don't have a wire whisk, shaking the ingredients in a jar with a screw-on cap works just as well.

Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl, pour on the dressing and mix well with your hands.

That's pretty much it. Hassle-free and utterly deliciouso!

See the rest of the BBQ Bonanza menu here:

• Roasted garlic hummus
• Mussels in white wine broth
• Singaporean BBQ chicken wings
• Fish in lemon, butter and dill sauce
• Honey, mustard and herb beef kebabs 
• Mediterranean salad
• Roasted garlic mashed potatoes