Recipe for family meals :

This recipe comes from Liz Alderson who runs a UK recipe site called find-a-seafood-recipe.com <click here>

The title of the site really speaks for itself but if you would like to find out more about Liz, its creator and editor, then have a look at her page under the Biography section <click here>

This recipe has fond memories for me. I was interested in cooking from an early age and when I was about twelve years old, my parents and I went to visit some old neighbours - people we'd lived next door to when I was six.

'Auntie Connie' was a great cook. She had a kitchen full of preserves and used to make wine - her kitchen was an Aladdin's cave for me.

She had three children who were friends of mine and we used to play together quite a lot. They couldn't understand my fascination with their mother's kitchen. They saw it as a scene of chores - I saw it as a delightful place of entertainment and I used to hope that Auntie Connie would ask me if I'd like to help.

Well, on this particular visit, she served a rice dish and I asked her for the recipe. When we got home I made it for my parents and myself. To be honest, I wheel it out quite frequently- it's so versatile.

Auntie Connie served it with chicken portions and for a long time, I did the same. Gradually I have experimented and here I have adapted it as a 'one-pot' for canned tuna and optional prawns (shrimp) and I bet you can think of many ways of using it.

Ingredients

1 tbspn oil
1 onion - peeled and chopped
8 oz (225g) white long grain rice
1 can 14 oz (400g) peeled chopped tomatoes
1 tbspn tomato puree
1 vegetable stock cube
1 pint (600ml) water
2 tbspns worcester sauce
8 oz (225g) frozen mixed veg
2 cans 7 oz (200g) tuna
   or
1 can tuna and 8 oz (225g) cooked peeled prawns (shrimp)

• Pre-heat your oven to Gas Mark 5, 375°F or 190°C

• Heat the oil in a fire and ovenproof casserole dish and fry the onion until soft.

• Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil - take the pan off the heat when you do this, or the rice will burn and not absorb the liquid.

• Add the tomatoes, purée, stock cube, water and Worcester sauce, bring to the boil. Then transfer it to the oven and bake covered for 30 minutes.

• Add the frozen mixed veg, stir well and bake a further 20 minutes - if the rice looks like it's drying out at this point, then add a little water.

• Stir in the tuna and prawns and bake a further 10 minutes.

• This is delicious and it's just one pot to cook, serve and wash up. Lovely.

Serves 4

Liz Alderson

For more seafood recipes go to www.find-a-seafood-recipe.com