Seafood fortnight, time for a second helping of fish this week

The boxes go back aboard the Nellie after what what described as an "uncomfortable" trip owing to the unseasonal weather by skipper Stephen Nowell as Uncle Roger glances back at the boat before heading off up the quay for his supper.....
with the paint job on the Sapphire all but complete, its time for the beam trawl's chain mat to re-built.....
the conveniently labeled 'shopping order' has been delivered for the Twilight....
down the end of the quay the Crystal Sea II has just put ashore their latest trip into the back of a lorry......
driver Steve quickly gets the doors closed to keep the temperature on the fish down and then....
hops aboard the boat for a brew while he waits.....
for the crew to drop the landing gear before moving the boat to make way for the Geordie boys aboard the Valhalla who are due in any moment....
As it is Seafood's '2 week' fortnight, here is tonight's menu, a Thai red curry sauce shellfish dish......
using mussels......
and some not-so-local prawns. Try varying the ingredients according to what's in the fridge and veg box for this classic quck and pretty simple dish.

To start with, you'll need a few garlic cloves, half a dozen almond or macedonia nuts and a couple of lemon grass stalks ground up together and dry-fried gently. Add a teaspoon of shrimp paste near the end and mix. Add this to the sauce.

For the sauce, you could look up the recipe for making your own authentic Thai red curry - don't bother, just track down a shop (in Penzance, that is Chan's off the top of Causewayhead) that sells the Mae Ploy brand - they use exactly the right ingredients with no artificial ingredients or preservatives; this will save time and effort and better still, a tub will keep in the fridge for ages. Cut the corner off the sachet of sauce and squeeze out a lump the size of a walnut - don't follow the amounts they suggest on the tub or you'll blow your head off!

In a wok, quickly fry a finely chopped onion till golden, add the curry paste and heat through before adding a tin of coconut milk. At this stage, add any additional veg that takes your fancy - chopped - peppers, corn, celery, courgette etc and cook through. Only at the end would you add a roughly chopped pak coi or similar leaves and some parsley. Takes about 15-20 mins to cook through gently.

Near the end, add the mussels to a pan of boiling salted water 2cm deep and cover - 2 mins is all you need. Add the shelled (or not - personal preference) mussels to the sauce along with a handful of prawns - a single small squid (in rings) would would really make this dish! Garnish with chopped parsely or coriander and serve on a bed of brown rice.