Alan was voted as one of the top ten favourite TV chef presenters of the world.  He is a regular guest presenter on BBC UK Food "Great Food Live" and "Head to Head" on Sky. 

“It wasn’t until recently when a friend was diagnosed with having prostate cancer that made me realise how close everyman on this planet is living with this deadly timebomb.

Fortunately my friend was diagnosed in the nick of time thanks to the research and development that has been taking place within this medical field.  Unfortunately the realities are that not everyone will have an outcome this fortunate.  An enormous amount of work and awareness is greatly needed to continue saving lives and improving the lives and treatment of those suffering. 

We can all hope that none of your friends or even yourself has to undergo the trauma of such diagnosis, but if we do it is always good to know that professional help, and medical advances can assist in giving us hope and save many lives in the process.”

Thai Papaya Salad
Fresh/healthy and very very tasty
 
I picked this salad up from a trip in Thailand, where apparently no two salads ever taste the same.  The skill in making this is ensuring that you have fresh and tasty ingredients.
The rest is putting it into a bowl and serving!
 
Serves 4-6
 
1 lettuce eg…Cos or little gems
2 papayas [peeled, seeded and thinly sliced]
2 fresh vine ripened tomatoes [thinly sliced]
175g peeled, cooked shrimps or prawns
1 clove garlic [finely chopped]
2 fresh green chilli peppers [de-seeded and finely chopped]
4 tblsp lime or lemon juice
2 tblsp fish sauce [nan pla]
1 tblsp soy sauce [light]
2 tblsp Ancient Greek Vinaigre
2 tblsp-roasted peanuts [lightly crushed]
 
Method
 
1] Make a bed of lettuce on individual or communal serving bowls
 
2] Combine the papayas, tomatoes, shrimps or prawns, garlic and chilli in a bowl.
 
3]  In a separate bowl, mix the lime or lemon juice, fish sauce, sugar, vinegar and soy sauce until the sugar has dissolved…and pour over the papaya salad
 
4] Toss the salad and arrange the top of the leaves.  Sprinkle with the roasted peanuts and drizzle with a little of the remaining dressing.
 
Serve immediately
 
 
My Tip
 
When making a salad, avoid mixing it with the dressing until just before serving otherwise the acid will start to cook into the more delicate salad ingredients..
 
 
Prawn and Mango salad with Spiced Ginger Dressing
Serves 4
Fresh and healthy lunchtime salad
 
For the Salad
 
2 Mangoes  [peeled and the stone removed]
400g  Oily fish eg Smoked Mackerel
12 fresh garden mint leaves
½  Cucumber [peeled and sliced]
 
For the Vinaigrette
 
2 inch piece if fresh ginger
Juice of one lemon
½  chilli pepper. finely chopped
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Wheatgerm oil
2 tbsp hazelnut oil
 ½ tsp fresh ground pepper.
1 tblsp toasted hazelnuts
1 tblsp Alan`s Historic Roman vinaigre
 
For the salad
 
1)      Slice the mangoes into thin manageable slithers and place into serving bowl and add the slices of cucumber
 
2)      Add the smoked mackerel and gently mix together
 
3)      Prepare the vinaigrette by mixing the ingredients together blending with a whisk
 
4)      To serve the salad drizzle over the dressing and lightly mix together
 
Sprinkle with fresh chopped mint and serve