To live by the sea must be a
never-ending pleasure! Did you know that Ava Gardner once said the following:
“When I’m old and
gray, I want to have a house by the sea. And paint. With a lot of wonderful
chums, good music, and booze around. And a damn good kitchen to cook in.”
It
really makes you think about the little and important things in life, giving
some sense to it all. The sad news, my dear friends, is that Ava died aged 67
while living in London and never got that house or that life she imagined. A house
by the sea means many things, it means sunshine and flowers and light clothes
in bright colours, but when a house by the sea is related to food, then it
means one thing and one thing only; a house by the sea opens us to a world of
the most beautiful and fresh seafood. When you try a fish just caught, you get
to feel the real taste of nature. The sunbeams on your skin, the fresh, light
food in front of you and perhaps a nice wine too give this dark world of ours a
shine that we have to create in our lives in order to enjoy them. My late grandparents loved the sea; they loved the sea and everything it gave so much,
they built a house with their bare hands by the Adriatic Sea so that they could spent most of the year there. It was a different time, when they weren’t
the only people building their own house, but just think of the spirit of it!
When at sea, we swim, we stay active, we sit in the fresh air, smell olive
trees and eat fresh healthy food. Some can argue it, but it sure seems magical
to me.
However,
we don’t always have that luxury. Many of us have to stay in dark, cold cities
going to school or work and in the few moments we have to daydream we can plan
the perfect getaway. Luckily, for people like me, a good getaway is also my
kitchen. Flavours can take you so many places, if you just let them. If you
wanted to bring the seaside to you, get that fish in your pan and take yourself
on that trip. Now, as you may have figured out, I love travel and I may feel
most at home when I am not home, as silly as that sounds. That is the spirit of
wanderlust and the burden of third culture kids like me. However, if I must
carry any burden, this is one I am proud to have. When you see many cultures
and meet many different people you start wondering about their everyday
lives... Do they always dress this way? What do their weddings look like? What
do their schools look like? How formal are they to strangers? Do they kiss when
greeting? And what is their everyday food? What is their national cuisine, that
thing they stuffed themselves with, every time they visited grandma. Because,
cultures may vary, but I like to believe that, at the end of the day, most
grandmothers stuff their grandkids and most grandkids can eat way more at
grandma’s house than anywhere else.
These
thoughts made me want to try food I haven’t eaten, from places I haven’t been
to. Curries are one them and I love curries, not too spicy ones, I think that
takes more years of training your stomach than I have, but they can be
heavenly. Furthermore, I love Italian food and by now you must be thinking I am
mad, introducing you to this little fusion angel, but it is a perfect
compromise for our fast modern lives. It has the fish to make sure you are
eating the right kind of fats, it is a sort of a „quick“ curry that gives it a
homey feel and it has spaghetti, because pasta is one thing you should always
have in your house, especially when you need to make something beautiful and
make it quickly. The story of long-cooked curries and bolognese is a different
one I am very aware of, but this little Fusion Pangasius Curry is all you will
need to make you happy when really hungry and in need of a quick meal.
Fusion Pangasius Curry with Spaghetti
Difficulty: Easy
Time: prep 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
2 Pangasius fillets*
(you may use another type, if you prefer)
1 red onion
300ml coconut milk
2 lemons (juice)
Fish sauce
2 grated carrots
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon gound
ginger
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 teaspoon dry parsley
(or a handful of fresh parsley, if available)
*if working with frozen fillets, make sure to get all the water out of the fillet with a paper towel before seasoning
Season fish with salt and cayenne pepper. Cut fish into bite-sized cubes and dice a red onion. Add oil to a pan and let it heat well. Sauté the onion and carrots for 2-3 minutes and then add the fish leaving it on the heat for about 2 minutes before adding ground ginger, coriander, cumin and turmeric, stirring quickly and adding in the fish sauce. Fry for 5 minutes before adding the juice of 2 lemons and parsley. Add coconut milk, stir and add cornstarch dissolved in a little bit of water. Leave on the stove for another 5-10 minutes on a low to medium heat, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, cook your spaghetti and mix together once all is done.
