Food, Music, Food, Music, Food, Music... Ad Infinitum

 Photography: Louise Hagger for the Guardian

I confess that when I first heard the recent horror stories about people getting wounded whilst trying to cut avocados I laughed. I was not being mean, I swear. I felt sympathetic to those involved in avocado-caused accidents. It 's just that the way these injuries were described was... hard to believe. Most people apparently got cut trying to flesh out the large seed. Any Cuban (or Mexican, or Brazilian) will tell you that if you quarter (there, that's a massive clue) the avocado, the seed will fall out without any further intervention.

I love avocado, which is the reason why I am posting this recipe. I am always looking for new ways of getting the best of this highly nutritional fruit. Yotam's recipe offers a new twist.

Avocado with curried prawns and lime

100ml groundnut oil
1 banana shallot, peeled and halved lengthways, then each half cut lengthways into quarters
1 red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
20 fresh curry leaves
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 limes, 1 finely shaved and juiced, the other cut into four wedges, to serve
Salt
300g sustainably sourced raw king prawns, peeled and deveined (cooked peeled prawns are a perfectly acceptable shortcut)
20g mayonnaise
80g Greek-style yoghurt
1½ tsp mild curry powder
1 tsp honey
2 ripe avocados, cut in half lengthways and stoned

Heat 85ml of oil in a small saute pan on a medium-high heat, then fry the shallot and chilli for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is golden and fragrant. Add the curry leaves, fry for 20 seconds, until crisp, then take off the heat and stir in the coriander and black mustard seeds, lime skin and a pinch of salt. Set aside for 20 minutes, to cool and infuse, then discard the lime skin.

Put the remaining tablespoon of oil in a medium sauté pan on a high heat, then fry the prawns and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt for a minute or two, stirring, until the prawns are cooked through and fragrant. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Mix the mayonnaise, yoghurt, curry powder, honey, two teaspoons of lime juice and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt in a small bowl. Finely chop half the prawns and stir into the sauce; toss the remaining prawns in the infused oil.

To serve, put an avocado half on each of four small plates and sprinkle with a small pinch of salt. Spoon in the creamy sauce, then top with the whole prawns, allowing some to fall off around the avocado. Drizzle each portion with a tablespoon of infused oil and sprinkle with the crisp aromatics. Serve with a lime wedge.

The music to go with this dish has to be equally punchy. That is why I am opening with Laura Marling. I saw her set at the recent Glastonbury and she was excellent once more. Here's Salinas.

Second track tonight comes a band I discovered only a year or so ago. The Airborne Toxic Event makes music as unusual as their name. This melody is as haunting as the emotions that probably motivated.



The last song is a classic, reworked by the flamenco singer El Cigala. Cheo Feliciano made this salsa number a worldwide hit and now it has been given a new lease of life by El Cigala. El Ratón (The Mouse). Enjoy.

Killer Opening Songs (Ghosts by Laura Marling)

Besides her highly creative album cover designs and unpredictable titles (I Speak Because I Can and A Creature I Don’t Know come to mind) Laura Marling has managed to carve a niche for herself in the always difficult music industry. She has been a trailblazer for the last five years at a moment when the UK is awash with female singer songwriters. What makes Marling different from the Adeles, Duffys and (sadly late) Amys of this world is her ability to match arresting lyrics with beautiful and innovative arrangements.

Her debut album Alas I Cannot Swim is a good example of the above. At times poetic and at other times direct, the record showcases an artist who, despite her young age – she was barely eighteen when the album came out – displays the savvy incarnation of an older and more experienced woman. Ghosts, the Killer Opening Song is a classic example. The melody starts in third person singular telling the uncomplicated story of a man en route to meet his girlfriend/lover. Listeners are invited to follow him as “He walked down a busy street/Staring solely at his feet/Clutching pictures of past lovers at his side/Stood at the table where she sat/ And removed his hat/In respect of her presence/Presents her with the pictures and says: "These are just ghosts that broke my heart before I met you. These are just ghosts that broke my heart before I met you"

Already the tone is set. This is not going to be easy; he seems to be saying to his girlfriend/lover. He has skeletons in his closet. Or rather, ghosts.

Songs like this one make Alas I Cannot Swim a unique record and one that has made Laura Marling a kind of folk pin-up for people who don’t really listen to folk. Not that she cares about labels and categories. She just wants to make music. And with four albums to her name in a very short time (Once I Was an Eagle was released this year and it is fantastic), Killer Opening Songs doesn’t believe that her immediate goal is to become the figurehead of a movement. Laura has a lot to say, write and sing about and does it in the most impressive and liberated way.

As an Introductory Track With Murderous Intentions Ghost hints at this forward thinking approach, mixed with the sensibility of old folk. On which, a quick note, if Marling is folk, K.O.S. is a master of klezmer. Her style, if anyone attempted to categorise it would have to be pop with influences from folk and prog-rock (especially in her latest album). Her songwriting owes a lot to Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, but her arrangements would not be out of place on an Emerson, Lake and Palmer LP, or even Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother (If comes to mind). At the same time Laura Marling’s sound is her own.

The rest of the record continues in a similar vein of strong vocals, accordion riffs (Crawled Out of the Sea) and sombre drums (Night Terror). What is more important: Laura Marling is addictive. Get Alas I Cannot Swim and you will be getting the three albums that followed. All thanks to Ghosts, the Killer Opening Song.

© 2013

Next Post: “Sunday Mornings: Coffee, Reflections and Music”, to be published on Sunday 30^th June at 10am (GMT)

Coffee and Music

I'm now officially on holidays and as usual the music I'll be playing on the blog will have that extra bite, like this track by the fantastic Laura Marling, accompanied by Mumford & Sons and the Dharohar Project. I hope you enjoy it.