Ethiopian omelette

I haven’t had much time to cook this week. It’s the first few days after the summer holidays, and so much work has piled up that I’m practically glued to my computer screen, replying to hundreds of emails and trying to get on top of things. You know the feeling well, right?

To be honest, I haven’t really cooked anything interesting worth sharing this week – except for this omelette. I first tasted the omelette – known as enqulal t’ibs – when an Ethiopian chef I once interviewed served it to me for brunch. She told me it could be eaten alongside ginfilfil, a spicy stew made from torn up, leftover injera bread – the soft, fermented flatbread of Ethiopia with a slightly tangy taste.

I have never made that stew – or indeed the bread – at home, but I do like to order it in restaurants. I like making this omelette for supper when I have little time to cook as it takes about 10 minutes from start to finish. As for the dried garlic and ginger – I wasn’t being lazy or too busy to use fresh: this traditional recipe really does require them to be dried and powdered.  Eat the omelette with some hot chilli sauce if you like, accompanied by baguette or crusty bread and a tomato-based green leaf salad. Serves 1.

2 large free-range organic eggs
2 tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper
1 shallot or very small onion, trimmed, peeled and finely chopped
½ small green bell pepper (or a mild chilli), trimmed and finely chopped
½ small red bell pepper, trimmed and finely chopped
¼ teaspoon dried powdered garlic
¼ teaspoon dried powdered ginger
¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds, freshly crushed in a mortar
2 tablespoons corn, groundnut (peanut), or sunflower oil

1.    Lightly whisk the eggs with the milk until fluffy. Add all the remaining ingredients except oil and beat well.
2.    Heat the oil in a medium frying pan. When hot, add the egg mixture and cook for a few minutes until the omelette is set.
3.    Finish the omelette under a grill if desired. Serve hot.

 

Tofu burgers with Asian flavours

These light, nutritious and colourful tofu burgers are far removed from the mundane, ready-made supermarket variety in terms of taste and texture.

Serve them either in a bun with sliced onions, tomatoes, lettuce, alfalfa sprouts and a little chutney or ketchup or, alternatively, accompanied by brown rice and stir-fried green leafy vegetables. They also taste great with a deep-flavoured mushroom sauce, along a side helping of potatoes, grilled tomatoes and sautéed spinach. For a variation of flavour, add a pinch of curry powder to the tofu mixture.

If you don’t eat eggs, you may substitute the egg – which only acts as a binder in this recipe – with a tablespoon or two of cornflour (cornstarch), though to be honest I have not tried this myself.

Panko – which are available in Japanese grocers – can be replaced with ordinary dried breadcrumbs if you can’t find them. Remember to go easy on salt because it’s already added to soy sauce and panko, and you don’t want your burgers to become too salty. Makes 6 to 8 burgers/ Serves 3 – 4.

1 lb/ 450g firm plain tofu
5 tablespoons corn or groundnut (peanut) oil
3 spring onions, trimmed and very finely chopped
4 large shiitake mushrooms, stalks removed and finely diced
3 oz/ 75g carrot, trimmed, peeled and finely diced
2 tablespoons celery, trimmed, peeled and finely chopped
1 or 2 green chillies, finely chopped
4 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 medium egg, beaten
Around 8 to 10 tablespoons panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1.    Place the tofu between several layers of kitchen paper, and weigh it down with a heavy kitchen utensil or a bag of sugar. Leave for about an hour to drain off excess water so that you get the dry texture that’s necessary for this recipe to work.
2.    In a large bowl, crumble and mash the tofu with your fingers until it resembles fine soy mince.
3.    Heat a large frying pan (or a small wok) on high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil, and stir-fry the spring onions, mushrooms, carrots, celery and chillies for about 3 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked through. Let them cool a little.
4.    Tip the vegetables into the crumbled tofu. Add the coriander, soy sauce, and a little salt and pepper. Mix well.
5.    Add the egg and about 5 tablespoons of the panko, or enough to make a mixture that can be formed into patties. Mix well, and adjust the seasoning.
6.    Shape the tofu and vegetable mixture into 8 round burger-shaped patties.
7.    Spread the remaining panko in a thin layer onto a large plate. Roll the burgers in the panko so as to cover them lightly on all sides, including the edge. (If you are not cooking the burgers immediately, you can refrigerate them for up to 3 to 4 hours).
8.    A few minutes before you are ready to eat, heat a large, non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in the pan and, when hot, put in the burgers 2 or 3 at a time. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until they are well browned.
9.    Drain on kitchen paper. Serve immediately.

 

Mexican watermelon ice

So, summer is drawing to a close. I first realised this when I saw plants and bushes slowly shrivelling, ready to turn into skeletons, marvelled at apple and pear trees already heavy with fruit, and experienced the crunch of brown leaves under my feet. Actually, it dawned on me even sooner: when my brother got his ‘A’ level results, I started seeing ‘back to school’ notices everywhere, and somebody invited me to an end-of-summer ball.

This simple, 3-ingredient watermelon ice is typical of what you would buy from a street vendor in Mexico. Everywhere in Mexico you see vendors proffering fresh fruit, from the mundane to the paradisiacal. The fruit may be peeled, sliced and ready to eat, or pureed and blended with mineral water for liquid refreshment, or even poured over crushed ice and served as a slush in a wax-paper cone. Whatever the form, the basic notion is essence of fruit. Watermelon ice is delicious served with cookies for a dessert: Mexican wedding cookies (available in some delis), lime cookies or chocolate cookies are all ideal.

The tequila is optional, but it does more than add flavour: the alcohol prevents the mixture from freezing so solid that you can’t spoon it out without completely defrosting it. You can use cantaloupe, honeydew or any other type of melon in this recipe, or even substitute mangoes or berries. However, the watermelon gives it a richly seductive, sinful scarlet colour. And why not? This may be your final fling of the summer: the sunny season’s last hurrah. Until next year, of course…. Serves 4.

4 lb/ 2 kg ripe watermelon (weight after removing rind and seeds)
2 oz/ 50g to 3 oz/ 75g caster (superfine) sugar, depending on the fruit’s sweetness
3 tablespoons tequila (optional)

1.    Roughly dice the watermelon and puree it in a food processor.
2.    Transfer the puree to a large bowl. Stir in the sugar to taste, and the tequila, if using. Mix well to dissolve the sugar.
3.    Place the fruit mixture in the freezer and chill for about 2 hours, or until it begins to freeze around the edges and across the top.
4.    Remove from the freezer and whisk to break up and mix in the ice crystals. Return to the freezer and chill for about 2 hours more.
5.    Once again, remove from the freezer and whisk again, breaking up the ice crystals and remixing into an evenly granulated mixture. Cover with a plastic wrap and return to the freezer until frozen through – from another 2 to 3 hours, up to several days.
6.    Remove from the freezer 45 minutes before serving so that the ice softens enough to spoon it out. Serve in attractive glasses, sundae dishes or paper cones.

 

Grilled vegetable and butterbean gazpacho

I first fell in love with gazpacho when I visited a small Andalusian village on the hills as a child with my parents. Some years ago, watching the hit Pedro Almodovar movie ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown’ (in which gazpacho plays a significant part) cemented my passion for the chilled Spanish tomato and raw vegetable soup.

Over the years I have tasted several variations, including white gazpacho made from almonds and grapes, and the newly fashionable (at least in the UK) watermelon gazpacho, which is a little too sweet and insubstantial for my taste.

This recipe started life as simply grilled vegetable gazpacho, which I prepared one lunchtime from leftover barbecued vegetables, including roast potatoes. More recently, when I made the soup again, I substituted the carb-laden potatoes with protein-rich butterbeans. It worked perfectly well as the beans provided the creamy texture just as the potatoes had done. This soup is rather like salmorejo – the thick Andalusian tomato and bread soup – in texture. It is at once hearty, tangy, savoury, refreshing and redolent with tastes of the Mediterranean summer.

The butterbeans I use in this recipe are the large Mediterranean variety called ‘gigante’. They’re available in delis, health food stores and department stores’ food halls. (In the UK, you can often buy them in jars from Sainsbury’s ‘Special Selection’ section). You may use regular butterbeans, or even chickpeas (garbanzo beans) which are common in Spanish cuisine.

Use any combination of Mediterranean vegetables – adjusting the solids to liquids ratio accordingly – and hand around a good variety of toppings so that your guests can choose what they like. Just make sure that your summer tomatoes are very red, ripe, juicy and packed with flavour, otherwise the soup will be insipid.

I often serve regular red gazpacho at the start of a barbecue, but this recipe is substantial enough to be almost a meal by itself. Serves 4.

8 medium tomatoes, halved
1 medium red bell pepper, trimmed, seeded and halved
1 medium green bell pepper, trimmed, seeded and halved
1 medium courgette (zucchini), trimmed and thickly sliced
1 small baby aubergine (eggplant), trimmed and cut into chunks
6 spring onions, trimmed
Approx 4 tablespoons cooked gigante butterbeans (large lima beans), drained
2 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
4 fl oz/ 125 ml tomato juice, chilled
12 fl oz/ 350 ml vegetable stock, chilled or at room temperature
3 tablespoons olive oil (Spanish, if you have it)
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar, or more to taste
A pinch of paprika
A pinch of ground cumin
A pinch of cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
Fine grain sea salt
Ice cubes

Optional toppings (Prepare a few of the suggested garnishes for your guests to choose. Don’t use them all though, otherwise the flavours will clash or dominate!):

Very finely chopped red onion
Very finely chopped yellow bell pepper
Very finely diced cucumber
Diced avocado, drizzled with lime juice
Finely sliced celery
Finely sliced pickled gherkins
A few pickled green peppercorns in brine, drained
Smoked paprika
Handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves
Whole almonds, blanched, skinned and lightly toasted
Hard-boiled egg, shelled and finely diced
Croutons

1.    From tomatoes to spring onions listed above, barbecue, roast or grill all the vegetables until tender.
2.    Once cooked, peel and core the tomatoes and peel the peppers. Roughly chop all the vegetables and allow them to come to room temperature.
3.    In a liquidizer or food processor, combine the chopped grilled vegetables with the cooked beans, garlic and tomato juice and blitz for a few seconds.
4.    Add the stock, oil, vinegar, spices and seasoning and blitz the mixture until it is smooth but still retains plenty of texture. Add a little cold water if the texture is too thick.
5.    Refrigerate the soup for 1 or 2 hours. Serve chilled with ice cubes, and hand around optional garnishes of your choice.

 

Italian tomato tart

This Italian tomato tart – crostata di pomodoro – is so amazingly easy that even my 11-year old niece, Ellie, can make it. In fact, she just did! It’s simply made from puff pastry topped with fresh tomatoes, garlicky olive oil, basil and toasted pine nuts. It’s very light as there is no cheese – though you may add some if you want a pizza-like flavour.

Because the recipe is so simple, it is more than usually important to use only the best-quality ingredients. Buy puff pastry from a good bakery. (Although when I’m in the UK, I always keep Jus-Rol brand’s ready-rolled puff pastry in the fridge. With tomatoes from my garden in the summer, I’m able to whip up this tart in no time at all).

I have suggested Italian plum tomatoes to be authentic – they are fleshy with fewer seeds and ideal for this recipe – but you can use multi-coloured tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, or any variety of top-quality tomatoes. Use only the finest, sunniest, plumpest specimen you can find – it really will make a difference to the taste.

You can, of course, add other ingredients like olives, onions and so on. But I think less is definitely more in this recipe, and I like allowing the uncluttered tangy, grassy, herby, fruity taste of summer tomatoes to shine through.

This tart is perfect for picnics and light lunches, served with a salad, or wonderful cut into small squares and served with wine as an appetiser. Serves 4 – 6.

4 tablespoons Italian extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
7 medium Italian plum tomatoes
1 sheet uncooked puff-pastry, rolled to approx 12 by 12 inches
1 medium egg yolk, beaten
Small bunch basil leaves, torn
2 oz/ 50g pine nuts, lightly toasted in a small saucepan

1.    Combine the olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper and set aside.
2.    Thinly slice the tomatoes, removing as many brown cores and seeds as you can. Leave to drain on paper towels.
3.    Place the puff pastry square on a lightly floured surface. Cut ½-inch strips of pastry from all four sides.
4.    Brush the egg on the edges of the pastry square and arrange the strips along the top edges. Press down gently with a light hand – you should be left with a square puff pastry case.
5.    Lightly prick the bottom of the pastry case with a fork. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
6.    About 10 minutes before you are ready to cook, pre-heat the oven to 400F/ 200C/ gas mark 6.
7.    Bake the pastry case for 10 minutes, or until it rises and turns light golden-brown.
8.    Let the pastry cool a little, and brush the inside with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and garlic mixture and sprinkle with half the basil. Arrange the tomato slices over the top. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and garlic mixture.
9.    Bake for 10 minutes until the pastry is golden-brown and the tomatoes have softened but are still intact.
10.    Cool the tart slightly. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and the remaining basil. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Lavender, gin and honey ice cream with lavender biscuits

August is one of my favourite times of the year. I try to take a break from my relentless work-related travelling, even if it’s just for a few days, to spend quality time with family and friends. My Aunt Christina owns an enormous farmhouse in a breathtakingly beautiful, tiny village in Provence. All the siblings and cousins have a great big pre-Christmas get together throughout the month, travelling in from all over the world. Some, like my cousin Amy who is a recently-qualified doctor, can only stay for a couple of days, while others, like all the little nephews and nieces, stay for several weeks, typically running riot. It’s one heck of a party.

My aunt’s farmhouse is surrounded by acres of picturesque lavender and sunflower fields. The distinctively musky perfume of lavender is heady to the point of being overwhelming.  This year I was determined to make cooking with lavender a success. This is no mean feat: use too much lavender and your dish will taste like shower gel (or “dear old Victorian ladies’ undergarments”, as my cousin Jonathan put it – an image I would rather not linger on for too long); too little and it will taste like an unfulfilled promise: all fragrance and no flavour. The trick is in getting the balance of floral flavour right.

My attempts at raspberry and lavender preserve, lavender bread and butter pudding, and lavender crème brulee have ended in disaster in previous years. So would I get it right this year? Well the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. The ice cream and biscuits were polished off within minutes.

This isn’t really a French recipe. I have simply taken Provencal lavender, which grows abundantly in most English gardens anyway, left it to dry for a couple of days on strings and, with the addition of gin, I’ve concocted a sort of English summer garden recipe. Or maybe it’s Anglo-French. Oh, I don’t know. All I know is that the recipe – or rather, recipes, as I have done two this week – tastes pretty spectacular. You can, of course, eat the ice cream or biscuits on their own, but together they’ll seduce you with sunshine-infused magic that will linger in your memory for days. Makes 2 pints/ 1 litre ice cream and approximately 25 – 30 small or 12 – 15 large biscuits. Serves around 6.

For the ice cream:
5 tablespoons gin
1 level tablespoon dried lavender flowers
6 medium egg yolks
¼ pint/ 150 ml honey (ideally lavender or other flower honey)
½ pint/ 300 ml double (thick) cream
Fresh lavender flowers to garnish (optional)

For the biscuits:
9 oz/ 225g unsalted butter, plus a little more for greasing
4 oz/ 100g white caster (superfine) sugar
I medium egg, lightly beaten
7 oz/ 175g self-raising white flour
1 level tablespoon dried lavender flowers

To make the ice cream:

1.    In a small saucepan, warm the gin slightly, and then pour it over the lavender flowers in a small bowl. Cover tightly with cling film, and leave to infuse for an hour or so.
2.    Sieve the lavender-infused gin through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the flowers against the sieve with the back of a spoon to extract all the flavour. Discard the flowers. You should end up with about 3 tablespoons of strongly-flavoured gin. If it is a little under, top it up with some plain gin from the bottle.
3.    In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with an electric whisk (or a wire, balloon-type whisk) until they are very light and fluffy.
4.    Heat the honey in a small saucepan until it reaches the boiling point, then remove from the heat.
5.    Pour the hot honey in a thin, steady stream over the egg yolks, whisking continuously. Keep whisking vigorously until the mixture has cooled and the yolks have increased in volume. This should take about 2 – 3 minutes if you’re using an electric whisk, or 5 – 10 minutes by hand.
6.    Add the flavoured gin and stir thoroughly to combine.
7.    Whip the double cream into soft peaks. Carefully fold it into the egg yolk mixture, blending everything well.
8.    Pour the mixture into a bowl or container and freeze for 8 hours. There is no need to remove the ice cream at regular intervals and beat it (as is the case in many freezer ice cream recipes) – simply leave it be. Just before serving, garnish with fresh lavender flowers, if using.

To make the biscuits:

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 350F/ 180C/ gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with lightly buttered non-stick baking paper.
2.    Cream the butter with the sugar (this is easily done in a food processor). Add the egg and beat well.
3.    Add the flour and mix thoroughly. Mix in the lavender flowers, and stir with a light hand until well-blended.
4.    Place small teaspoonfuls of the mixture on the prepared baking tray, shaping them in circles with the back of the spoon and allowing plenty of space around for them to spread. (Alternatively, place tablespoonfuls of mixture on the tray, and shape them into medium-sized oblong or rectangular shapes).
5.    Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until the biscuits are pale golden in colour (be careful not to let them get too brown). They will not feel crisp to the touch until they have cooled.
6.    Allow the biscuits to cool thoroughly on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve with the ice cream. As both the ice cream and biscuits are very rich, serve in small, European portions!

 

South Indian green beans with coconut

My South Indian friend, Thiru, is renowned for his lavish weekend brunches, when he cooks up a large variety of traditional dishes that he learnt from his mother: spongy white rice cakes known as ‘idli’, accompanied by ‘sambhar’, a spicy lentil and vegetable gravy, along with the popular rice and lentil pancakes called ‘dosa’ and a plethora of green and red chutneys, pickles and dips. He often puts vividly coloured, quickly cooked vegetable dishes on the table, too – this being one of them.

I spent a recent weekend morning watching Thiru speedily whip up all these dishes, and wrote down the recipe for green beans exactly as he dictated it. My friend tells me that it can be made from other vegetables, too, such as green cabbage, carrots, beetroot (beets), green bananas, or other varieties of green beans like runner beans. In fact, I’ve tried a version of this dish in upmarket Indian restaurants in the UK made from asparagus, which I’m going to have a go at cooking next.

If you don’t have a well-stocked Indian larder, a trip to an Indian grocer will be necessary – or at least a visit to the ‘ethnic’ section of a large supermarket. Yes, the mustard seeds need to be black, not the more commonly found yellow, and the mild red chillies could be ones labelled as ‘Kashmiri’. Lentils are often used in South Indian cooking as a spice. If you can’t find urid dal – which is a type of white lentil with a distinctively nutty, ever so slightly smoky taste – then use ordinary red lentils. They’re there to provide crunch and texture, so it doesn’t really matter which type of lentil you use.

If you can’t get hold of fresh curry leaves and fresh coconut – both of which are also available frozen in Asian grocers – it’s not really worth attempting this recipe. Well, you can reconstitute dried desiccated coconut in boiling water before use, but the dish won’t taste as it’s meant to. Asafoetida is a type of powdered resin with a strong, pungent aroma (which mellows after cooking, giving the dish a distinctive taste), so it should be used sparingly.

I was a bit hesitant about posting this recipe, as it requires so many specialist ingredients. But I don’t believe in adapting recipes to suit western kitchens – it’s patronising and, after all, speciality ingredients are widely available in most large cities if you know where to find them. (If you don’t, ask members of the particular community whose recipe you’re cooking, and they will be more than happy to advise you). Besides, I would be assuming that all my readers live in western countries, which is not the case – one of the best things about having a blog, especially a global recipe blog such as this, is that you have readers from around the world!

This dish doesn’t have a sauce or gravy, and it needs to be cooked quickly (especially steps 2 to 5) to prevent burning. Don’t be daunted though – it’s light, refreshing, nutritious, flavour-packed, and easy to cook.

Serve the green beans with plain rice, plain yoghurt, poppadams and an Indian ginger pickle. The dish won’t keep long because of the fresh coconut, so leftovers would be delicious stuffed in warmed pita breads or toasted sandwiches, or turned into half-moon shaped pasties made from ready-rolled puff pastry. Serves 4.

1 lb/ 500g fresh fine green beans
4 tablespoons corn or sunflower oil
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
Dried large, mild whole red chillies, to taste
1 tablespoon urid dal (or red lentils)
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
8 – 10 fresh curry leaves
¼ teaspoon asafoetida
Salt
2 oz/ 50g finely grated fresh coconut
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
A squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice (optional)

1.    Trim the green beans at both ends. Either leave them whole, cut them in half, or chop them small. If you leave them whole or halve them, steam the beans for 3 to 4 minutes until tender but still crisp. (You won’t need to follow this step if you chop them small, as South Indians do, as they will cook quickly).
2.    Heat the oil in a frying pan. When very hot but not smoking, add the mustard seeds and remove from the heat immediately. Cover the pan with a lid and let the mustard seeds pop. They should become dark grey, but must not burn.
3.    Once the mustard seeds have stopped making the popping noise, place the pan back on the heat, and immediately add the dried chillies and urid dal. Stir once or twice.
4.    When the chillies turn a couple of shades darker and the urid dal starts turning pinkish-brown, add the sesame seeds and curry leaves. Stir again.
5.    Finally, when the curry leaves become crisp and turn a shade or two darker, and the sesame seeds start turning pale brown, remove the pan from the heat, and add the asafoetida. Let everything sizzle for just a few seconds.
6.    Place the pan back on heat, immediately add the green beans and coat them evenly in the spice mixture. Add the salt, and let them cook with the lid on until the beans are tender but have still retained their bright green colour.
7.    Top the cooked beans with coconut and coriander, and stir a couple of times. Add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice if you wish. Remove the red chillies and curry leaves before serving – or let your guests fish them out from their own plates, as South Indians do – and eat immediately.

 

Moroccan vegetable kebabs

The versatile chermoula serves as a sauce and a marinade in a wide variety of Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian dishes. Although traditionally used with seafood, it is also mixed with pureed tomatoes to create a delicious sauce for green beans, broad (fava) beans or carrots. Recipes vary widely, often containing ingredients like finely chopped pickled lemons. In this dish, my Moroccan-recipe chermoula imparts a wonderful flavour to fresh vegetables. Serving little saucers of ground cumin on the side is the tradition in Morocco.

Serve the kebabs with plenty of couscous flecked with saffron, finely chopped herbs such as parsley and mint, and sliced nuts like almonds and pistachios. If you are serving the kebabs as part of a barbecue spread, you can also grill freshly made or shop-bought flatbreads on the barbecue, along with skewers of cubed white cheese. A big bowl of green salad, and a side salad of sliced oranges, red onions and black olives would be perfect, along with little saucers of pickled lemons and harissa or chilli sauce on the table. Serves 4.

For chermoula:
½  pint/ 300 ml virgin olive oil (Moroccan, if you have it)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon saffron strands
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 teaspoons ground dried ginger
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
Small bunch fresh coriander (cilantro), trimmed and minced
Fine grain sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the kebabs:
1 small cauliflower, trimmed and separated into florets
1 medium aubergine (eggplant), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 small fennel bulbs, trimmed and quartered
1 courgette (zucchini), sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 red and 1 green pepper (bell pepper), trimmed and cut into 1-inch squares
12 tiny baby onions, trimmed, peeled and left whole

To serve:
2 tablespoons cumin seeds, lightly toasted and coarsely crushed

1.    To make the chermoula, combine all the chermoula ingredients in a small bowl and mix until well-blended. Set aside.
2.    To make the kebabs, blanch or steam the cauliflower, aubergine and fennel for 5 – 7 minutes. They should be fairly soft, but not falling-off-the-fork tender, otherwise they will become mushy. Drain and cool.
3.    Place the par-boiled and raw vegetables together in a large bowl. Add the marinade, gently rubbing it all over the vegetables so that they are evenly coated. Cover and set aside for between 30 minutes to 4 hours, tossing the vegetables occasionally.
4.    About 15 – 20 minutes before you are ready to eat, heat up the barbecue or grill (broiler). Thread the marinated vegetables on metal skewers, reserving the marinade for basting.
5.    Barbecue or grill the skewers, rotating them carefully and basting the vegetables several times until lightly and evenly browned.
6.    Serve hot with the crushed cumin on the side.

 

Mexican green pea soup

I love shelling peas – somehow it makes me feel like a proper, grown-up cook. I imagine Elizabeth David used to shell tender peas in her garden on warm sunny days, pick a few herbs and sauté her green treasures together in unsalted butter. Simple but, I’m sure, utterly delicious.

I unfortunately made the mistake of declaring to my friends and family members how much I love shelling peas and how therapeutic I find it – because now, almost every time they see me in the summer, they give me a big bowl of peas to shell.

A couple of weeks ago, my neighbour Laura went one step further. We were sitting down watching tennis during the Wimbledon Championships, when she put an enormous BUCKET of pea pods in front of me and asked – in a terribly polite, gentle, unassuming British manner – whether I would very much mind shelling them. It took me two hours to get through the lot – thankfully, it was a five-set match – and once I was done, she asked me to cook with them!

This is the soup I made with some of the peas (the rest were subsequently used in pasta, risotto and curry). The soup is known as sopa de chicharos, and versions of the recipe, often made with dried green split peas, are found all over Mexico as well as Cuba.

Laura and I wolfed down the vibrant emerald-hued soup with sweetcorn and red chilli muffins straight from the oven – but it goes equally well with cornmeal bread, wholemeal pumpkin seed bread, or tortilla chips. Serves 4 – 6.

2 oz/ 50g finely minced flat-leaf parsley
3 oz/ 75g butter
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1 medium egg
2 medium onions, trimmed, peeled and thinly sliced
2 pints/ 1 litre well-flavoured vegetable stock
1 lb/ 450g fresh green peas (shelled weight)
1 large avocado, peeled, halved, stoned and thinly sliced

1.    Mix the parsley with 1 oz/ 25g butter, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
2.    Lightly beat the egg and combine well with the parsley butter. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
3.    Heat the remaining butter in a large saucepan, taking care not to burn it. Fry the onions until soft but not browned.
4.    Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Add the peas, lower the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes with the lid on.
5.    Remove the lid, and carefully drop in the parsley mixture one teaspoon at a time.
6.    Cover again with the lid, and cook for 10 or 15 minutes or until the peas are tender.
7.    OPTIONAL STEP: If you want smooth-textured soup with a glossy sheen, blend the soup using a hand blender. Otherwise leave it as it is. (This is my own preference – a clear soup with whole green peas and fluffy, eggy bits floating on top – but many people prefer it blended).
8.    Season the soup to taste. Serve in bowls garnished with the sliced avocado.

 

Chilled Japanese buckwheat noodles

This simple, austere, no-frills dish – known as ‘zaru soba’ in Japan – is perfect for hot weather. Well, it’s simple if you shop in Japanese stores regularly, or have all the ingredients on hand – otherwise a trip to a Japanese food emporium is absolutely necessary. The noodles are traditionally served on square wooden zaru soba dishes, but woven bamboo plates or chilled china plates are also suitable.

Use all the ingredients exactly as specified – do not substitute, say, ordinary ramen noodles for the soba, red radish for the white radish, and so on. Not only will it not taste the same, but the dish will lose its distinctive identity. If you’re not used to cooking Japanese food, this recipe is a good excuse to play around with unfamiliar ingredients and flavours. Ready-made dipping sauce and instant vegetarian dashi are perfectly good in this fuss-free, easy-to-make dish, but if you do want to make your own, I have given the recipes below.

Chilled buckwheat noodles are best eaten as a snack or for light lunch in the garden, accompanied by a bowl of clear, delicate miso soup, some chilled silken tofu or a few pieces of tempura (which can be dunked into the same dipping sauce). It’s also fun to make, and the presentation over ice adds a touch of drama and a talking point. Serves 4.

14 oz/ 350g dried soba (Japanese buckwheat) noodles
4-inch piece white daikon/ mooli radish, peeled
8 spring onions, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal
2 teaspoons wasabi (Japanese green horseradish) paste
4 sachets ajitsuke nori seaweed, finely shredded with scissors
One 330 ml/ approx 11 fl oz bottle of tempura-tsuyu dipping sauce (I like the ‘Yamasa’ brand which is delicious and suitable for vegetarians), chilled in the refrigerator

1.    TO PREPARE SOBA NOODLES IN THE AUTHENTIC JAPANESE WAY FOR THIS RECIPE: Bring plenty of water to boil in a large saucepan. When it’s boiling rapidly, add the soba noodles. Return to the boil. Add a mug of cold water and bring to the boil again. (If you want to be a purist, repeat the process twice with a further two mugs of cold water). Lower the heat and simmer rapidly without the lid for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles are just cooked. Remove the pan from heat, drain the noodles, and plunge them in a large bowl of cold water under a running tap. Stir gently to separate the strands, and drain again, very thoroughly. When the noodles have cooled, cover and chill them in the refrigerator. Just before you are ready to eat, place the noodles on a decorative platter over a large container/ bucket of ice.
2.    Finely grate the daikon radish and leave on kitchen paper to drain. Do not squeeze.
3.    To serve, divide the noodles between four square wooden zaru soba dishes (or on bamboo sushi mats arranged on pretty Japanese pottery). Sprinkle nori seaweed strips over each portion. Neatly arrange a mound of spring onions, a dab of wasabi, and a small cone-shaped portion of grated daikon around the noodles. Give each person a small dipping bowl filled with chilled tempura-tsuyu dipping sauce.
4.    To eat, mix the wasabi, grated daikon and spring onions into the tempura-tsuyu dipping sauce. Using chopsticks, take a portion of noodles and submerge them into the dipping sauce before eating.

TO MAKE YOUR OWN TEMPURA-TSUYU DIPPING SAUCE:

12 tablespoons dashi, or light vegetable, mushroom or seaweed stock
4 tablespoons mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
4 tablespoons sake (fortified Japanese rice wine)
4 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until the mixture just comes to boiling point. Remove from the heat immediately, and allow to cool at room temperature. For the zaru soba recipe above, chill in the refrigerator. (Otherwise this dipping sauce is eaten warm or lukewarm with tempura).

TO MAKE YOUR OWN VEGETARIAN DASHI:

Follow either of my two vegetarian dashi recipes: the more complex one incorporated into the Vegetarian Oden recipe posted on 7th January 2009, or a simplified version that’s part of the Agedashi Tofu recipe written on 31st October 2008.

 

Sweet potato and pumpkin soup with toasted sweetcorn

Sweet potaoes, pumpkins and sweetcorn…. these beautiful, somewhat underrated vegetables echo the very colours of autumn leaves and spectacular sunsets. They happen to be very much in season right now, making it a perfect time to try this earthy, flavoursome soup. The recipe serves 4.

3 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon corn oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 medium orange-fleshed sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
Small butternut squash, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small potato, peeled and roughly chopped
A little salt
2 bay leaves
1.5 litres/ 3 pints vegetable stock
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
Approx 2 – 3 oz sweetcorn
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
Handful fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons Spanish paprika
Black pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice

1. Heat 3 tablespoons oil, add the garlic, and stir for a few seconds, taking care it doesn’t brown. Add the vegetables.
2. Add salt, stir, cover with the lid, and sweat the vegetables for approx 15 – 20 mins until tender.
3. Add the bay leaves and stock, bring to the boil, and simmer for approx 30 mins until the vegetables are mushy.
4. Meanwhile, toast the cumin and coriander seeds, and finely crush in a mortar.
5. In a small frying pan, sautee the sweetcorn on high heat in 1 tablespoon oil until dark brown patches begin to appear, and some of the corn begins to make a popping noise (bit like popcorn!). Add chilli powder. Cool, mix with coriander leaves, and set aside.
6. When the vegetables are cooked, blend the soup using a hand blender until well amalgamated, but with still a few pieces intact to give it a rustic look.
7. Add the spices and lemon juice, and heat through.

8. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, top with the sweetcorn mixture, and amalgamate before eating.

Tip: Delicious served with melting, gooey Cheddar cheese on toast, topped with finely chopped tomatoes and green chillies.

 

Lebanese aubergines with garlicky yoghurt

I love aubergines: I’m seduced by their shiny, plump purple skin, and melting, almost meaty flesh. This simple but surprisingly yummy Lebanese dish is ideal for lunch or supper, and serves 4.

8 fl oz/ 225 ml plain yoghurt
4 fat cloves of garlic, minced
Salt
2 fl oz/ 50 ml olive oil
4 medium aubergines
4 medium tomatoes, quartered
3 peppers – 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow, cored, seeded and roughly chopped
Black pepper
2 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley

1. Whip the yoghurt with garlic and salt, and set aside while you make the rest of the dish.
2. Slice the aubergines. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, and fry the aubergines on both sides until they’re golden brown and cooked through.
3. Remove the aubergines and place in a heated serving dish.
4. In the remaining oil (add more if necessary), fry the peppers until cooked. Add the tomatoes and stir for a few minutes until softened.
5. Add salt, black pepper and parsley.
6. Pour the pepper and tomato mixture over the aubergines, and top with the garlicky yoghurt. Serve hot or at room temperature with pitta bread.

 

Feta, black bean and mango salad

The piquancy of salty Greek feta marries well with the earthiness of black turtle beans which are widely used in Latin American cooking. Serves 4.

8 oz feta cheese, diced
2 cups cooked black turtle beans
1 small, ripe but firm mango, diced
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
1 red and 1 green pepper, diced
1 oz/ 25g mint leaves, torn or shredded by hand
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Chill for a couple of hours before serving with warm, crusty bread.

 

Sweetcorn and chilli pancakes

Pancakes are not just for Pancake Day! This delightfully different idea for lunch or a light dinner is livened up with a touch of chilli. Makes around 20 small pancakes.

225g/ 8 oz plain flour
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Salt
340g/ 12 oz medium cornmeal
240 ml/ 8 fl oz milk
115 ml/ 4 fl oz plain unset yoghurt
90 ml/ 3 fl oz corn oil
170f/ 6 oz canned sweetcorn, drained and rinsed
1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Half teaspoon cumin, dry-roasted in a pan and crushed in a mortar
1 tablespoon coriander leaves, finely chopped
2 red birdseye chillies, finely sliced

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl.

2. Heat a large frying pan, and drop 2 tablespoons of batter, flattening it with the back of your spoon in a circular motion as you go. Flip over and cook the other side. To speed up the cooking time, cook 3 or 4 pancakes at a time. Serve hot, accompanied by a salad.

 

Spicy Mexican pumpkin seed pate

This earthy-tasting pate, pepped up with spices, is finger lickin’ good with crusty bread and a green salad. Serves 4.

170g/ 6 oz pumpkin seeds
2 green chillies, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 large tomatoes, skinned, deseeded, and roughly chopped
4 tablespoons tomato puree
4 tablespoons fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
6 spring onions, finely chopped

1. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a frying pan without oil, and let them cool.
2. Grind them coarsely in a food processor.
3. Add all the other ingredients one by one and continue blitzing, putting in the spring onions last.
4. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.

 

Turkish delight

Making Turkish delight – also known as locum – is complicated and labour-intensive, and many traditional recipes are closely guarded secrets of Turkish confectioners, whose families have followed them for centuries. This simplified recipe may not be as good as that served to the ladies of a Sultan’s harem, but it is much lovelier than commercial Turkish delight. Do try it! Makes 24 pieces.

12 fl oz/ 350 ml water
4 fl oz/ 100 ml orange juice
Juice of 1 lemon
½ teaspoon agar agar or vegetarian jelly crystals
1 lb/ 450 g sugar
A few drops of pink or yellow food colouring (optional)
1 oz/ 25g pistachios, skinned and finely chopped (optional)
1 oz/ 25g almonds, skinned and finely chopped (optional)
Icing sugar for dusting

1. Heat the water, orange and lemon juices in a heavy, non-stick saucepan.
2. Add the agar agar or vegetarian jelly crystals, and stir on a gentle heat until they have dissolved.
3. Add the sugar and food colouring, if using, and increase the heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the nuts, if using.
4. Remove from the heat and cool the mixture, stirring from time to time until it comes to room temperature.
5. Pour the mixture into a square or rectangular dish, and place the dish in a basin of ice-cold water. Cover the dish with a cloth, and leave it in the fridge until the Turkish delight has set.
6. Remove from the fridge and bring it back to room temperature. Cut into 24 squares using a greased knife, and dust with icing sugar. Store in an airtight container, or wrap in cellophane, tie with a colourful ribbon, and give to someone you love as a gift.

 

Caribbean ackee-stuffed avocadoes

Ackee is a popular Caribbean vegetable that resembles scrambled eggs in terms of looks, taste and texture. It is often combined with avocadoes. This dish would make an impressive starter, or a light lunch or supper dish if served with salad. Serves 2 to 4.

1 oz/ 25g butter
1 tablespoon corn oil
1 small onion, finely copped
2 cloves garlic, minced
A little bit of scotch bonnet pepper, chopped (optional)
1 stick celery, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons red pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons green or yellow pepper, finely chopped
1 tomato, skinned, deseeded, and chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon fresh chives, snipped
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon allspice berries, crushed in a mortar
540g/ 19 oz can ackee, drained and roughly chopped
225g/ 8 oz savoury, vegetable, or coconut rice, kept warm

1. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan. Add the onion, garlic, scotch bonnet pepper (if using), and celery. Fry until the mixture has softened, but hasn’t browned.
2. Add the peppers, tomatoes, and lime juice. Season with salt, pepper, herbs, and allspice. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the ackee and cook on low heat for a further 5 minutes. Let the mixture cool.
4. Peel, stone and halve the avocadoes. Stuff with the ackee mixture, and serve on a bed of flavoursome rice.

 

Japanese grilled mochi rice cakes with red soybean miso

This Japanese snack uses specialist ingredients that are widely available in oriental stores and the ‘posh’ sections of supermarkets. It’s an easy, tasty and sophisticated dish that goes well with chilled oriental beer. Serves 1 to 4 – just increase the quantities if you are feeding a crowd.

2 tablespoons red miso (fermented soy bean paste)
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine used in cooking)
1 tablespoon sake (Japanese rice wine)
Salt
1 egg yolk
2 spring onions, finely sliced on the diagonal
4 mochi (rice cakes)
1 tablespoon white and black sesame seeds, lightly toasted

1. Mix together miso, mirin, sake, egg yolk, spring onions and salt.
2. Place the mochi on a greased baking tray, and grill on both sides under a moderate heat until they are puffed up and golden brown. Take care not to burn them.
3. Spread each mochi with the miso mixture, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
4. Return the mochi to the grill, and cook until the miso mixture is heated through. Serve immediately as a hot snack.

 

Ethiopian spicy green lentils

This dish is normally served during Lent, when many Ethiopians give up meat. Serves 3-4.
300g/ 12 oz green lentils
1 cup corn or groundnut oil
1 tablespoon yellow mustard powder
3 medium limes, juiced
4 Anaheim green chillies, very finely sliced
3 medium red onions, very finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger powder
Salt
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper

1. Wash the lentils and boil until cooked (no need to soak).
2. Let the lentils cool, then mash them with the back of a large spoon or in a food processor. The texture should be somewhat coarse.
3. Add the oil, mustard, lime juice, chillies, onions, ginger and seasoning, and mix thoroughly.
4. Refrigerate until chilled, then remove from the fridge and bring back to room temperature. Serve with Ethiopian injera bread (available in ethnic or African grocers) or wholewheat bread, along with lettuce, tomatoes, and fresh white cheese – such as cottage cheese, ricotta, paneer, feta, or labneh.

 

Moroccan apple milk drink

Perfect for after dinner, or for lazy weekend afternoons. Serves 2.

2 red apples, peeled, cored and quartered
1 tablespoon rosewater or orange flower water
2 tablespoons sugar
¾ pint/ 450 ml cold milk
ice cubes
A few pomegranate seeds (optional)

1.    Place apples, flower water, sugar and milk in a blender, and blitz for 15 – 20 seconds.
2.    Serve in small decorative glasses with ice cubes, topped with pomegranate seeds, if using.

 

Hyderabadi green pea curry

Hyderabadi cuisine is one of the most delicious and complex of Indian cuisines. You’ll love this recipe! Serves 4.

2 onions, quartered
1-inch piece ginger, cut into 4 pieces
4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
2 to 4 green chillies, halved
4 black peppercorns
2 cloves
1-inch stick cinnamon
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon white urad dal (available in Indian grocers) or ordinary lentils
6 fresh curry leaves
125g/ 5 oz tomatoes, peeled, deseeded, and finely chopped
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
Salt
125g/ 5 oz fresh green peas
2 tablespoons yoghurt
Half cup water
4 tablespoons coriander leaves, finely chopped

1. Finely grind the onions, ginger, garlic, chillies, peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon in a food processor.
2. Heat the oil in a lidded saucepan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal (or lentils) and curry leaves until the seeds begin to pop, and the lentils and leaves become a couple of shades darker. This will only take a minute; be careful not to burn the spices.
3. Add the onion mixture, tomatoes, turmeric, salt, peas, yoghurt, and water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer with the lid on until the peas are cooked.
4. Add coriander leaves, and serve hot with chappaties.

 

Lebanese potatoes in tahini sauce

This simple dish is ideal for lunch. And yes, you really do need all that lemon juice! Serves 4.

8 large potatoes, boiled
1 cup tahini (sesame paste)
4 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 8 lemons
½ cup cold water
1 level tablespoon paprika
Salt and pepper
½ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1. Peel the potatoes and cut into chunky dice. Place them in a serving dish.
2. Make tahini sauce by mixing the tahini with garlic, lemon juice, water, paprika and seasoning. Combine well until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy.
3. Pour the sauce over the potatoes, and garnish with parsley.
4. Serve with pitta and a big bowl of salad.

 

Georgian cheese bread

This rich Georgian cheese bread – known as khachapuri – is offered to guests as a snack or eaten as fast food in Georgia. It is always served straight from the oven. It is made in a variety of shapes and can be stuffed with different types of cheeses – but sheep’s milk cheese and fermented yoghurt is one of the most common combinations. Serve with pickled vegetables and chilled vodka. Makes 8 individual breads.

500 ml/ 18 fl oz plain unset yoghurt or fermented yoghurt
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
600g/ 1 lb 5 oz plain flour
2 level tablespoons baking powder
500g/ 1lb 2 oz cheese (such as cream cheese, feta, Danish Havarti, Port Salut, Emmenthal, Edam, Cheddar, etc), crumbled or grated
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper
100g/ 5 oz butter, melted

1. Place yoghurt, egg yolk, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl, and mix well.
2. Add the flour and baking powder and knead together into soft dough, adding more flour if the dough is sticky. In a warm spot in your kitchen, leave to rise for at least 1 hour.
3. In another bowl, combine the cheese with the egg and seasoning, and mix well.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/ 400F/ gas mark 6.
5. Divide the dough into 8 portions. Roll out each portion in turn on lightly floured surface into 5 inch/ 12 cm rounds.
6. Put a couple of tablespoons of the cheese mixture into the centre of each round, then bunch up the sides and twist the tops to seal, flattening them slightly.
7. Roll each dumpling-shaped stuffed dough into 6 inch/ 15 cm rounds on a floured surface. Repeat with all 8 portions. Place on a greased baking tray and bake for 15 minutes.
8. Brush the hot bread liberally with melted butter before serving.

 

Instant Japanese ramen noodles with green vegetables and tofu

This recipe is perfect for those chilly days when you come home from work, you’re too tired to cook, but still crave something nutritious. It’s made in a jiffy! To reduce cooking times even further, boil the water in a kettle and use frozen vegetables and ready-fried tofu pieces. It won’t be quite as good as the recipe below, but it will still taste better – and healthier – than supermarket ready meals. I have given a combination of vegetables that I particularly like in this dish, but you can also use carrots, spinach, peas, shiitake mushrooms, or baby corn. Serves 2.

3 tablespoons groundnut, corn or other vegetable oil
250g/ 10 oz tofu, drained, cubed, and pressed between kitchen paper to remove excess moisture
16 fl oz/ 400 ml water
125g/ 5 oz broccoli, chopped small
125g/ 5 oz mange tout, sliced on the diagonal
1 pak choi, quartered
2 packets instant ramen noodles with sachets of soup mix
6 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced on the diagonal
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Schichimi togarashi (Japanese 7-spice pepper), or red chilli flakes

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the tofu cubes on all sides until lightly golden in colour. Line a plate with kitchen paper and drain the tofu while you get on with the rest of the dish.
2. Boil the water in a saucepan, and add broccoli, mange tout and pak choi. Bring the water back to boil and add ramen noodles, stirring to separate them. Boil for 2 minutes.
3. Bring back to boil, and add the fried tofu, spring onions and the packet soup mix. Boil for another minute.
4. Serve hot in large shallow plates, drizzled with sesame oil and a generous sprinkling of schichimi togarashi or chilli flakes.

 

Sri Lankan cashewnut curry

Sri Lankan curry powder is found in Indian and Sri Lankan grocers – in London, there are many in Wembley and Tooting. Or alternatively, you can make your own (recipe given below). Curry leaves, too, can be found in Asian grocers. This spicy, unusual dish is ideal for dinner parties. Serves 6.

125 g/ 5 oz whole unsalted cashewnuts, soaked for at least 6 to 8 hours
2 tablespoons corn oil
1 large red onion, minced
20 fresh curry leaves
4-inch stick cinnamon, halved
2-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 green chillies, finely sliced
1 heaped tablespoon Sri Lankan curry powder (see below)
1 tablespoon desiccated coconut soaked in 300 ml/ ½ pint can coconut milk
300 ml/ ½ pint water
½ teaspoon turmeric
Salt
50g/ 2 oz frozen peas
Juice of 1 lime
Large handful coriander leaves

To make Sri Lankan curry powder, roast and grind together:
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 teaspoons desiccated coconut
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 dried red chilli
1 teaspoon rice
20 fresh curry leaves

1. Drain the cashew nuts in a colander.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onions, curry leaves and cinnamon, and cook until they are a couple of shades darker. Add ginger, garlic, chillies and curry powder and cook gently for 2 – 3 minutes.
3. Add the cashewnuts and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add half the coconut milk mixture together with the water, turmeric, salt, and peas. Bring to the boil and cook, covered, on low heat for 20 minutes until the cahewnuts are tender.
5. Take the lid off, add the remaining coconut milk mixture and simmer, uncovered, for another 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the lime juice and coriander leaves. Serve with vegetable pilau rice.

 

Hot and sour mushroom soup

This classic Thai soup will warm you to your bones in cold weather, and will also stimulate appetite like nothing else. Vegetarian tom yam paste is available from oriental stores and, in UK, specialist delis such as the Selfridges food hall. Or you can make your own by roasting red and green chillies together with garlic and shallots, and grinding the mixture with lime juice, soy sauce, salt and sugar. Serves 2.

24 fl oz/ 720 ml instant vegetable or mushroom stock
1 heaped tablespoon vegetarian tom yam paste
2 sticks lemongrass, finely sliced
1-inch piece galangal, peeled and finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
6 kaffir lime leaves, halved
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Juice of 1 lime
4 oz/ 100g mixed oyster, shiitake and button mushrooms, wiped with a wet cloth and halved
4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal
2 birdseye red and green chillies, slit vertically

To garnish:
A handful of fresh basil and coriander leaves

1. Bring the stock to boil in a saucepan, and add the tom yam paste.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients one by one and simmer, uncovered, until the mushrooms have cooked but are still a little crunchy.
3. Pour into soup bowls and garnish with coriander and basil leaves before serving.

 

Ukranian potato dumplings filled with soft cheese and sour cherries

These moreish dumplings – also known as pampushki – are served as street food in Ukraine, Bulgaria and Russia. They are usually sweet and made with a yeast dough – rather like doughnuts – but this sweet-savoury version is made from potatoes and is homely and hearty. Serves 4.

1 lb 10 oz/ 750g potatoes, peeled
12 oz/ 300g cooked mashed potato
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

For the cheese and cherry filling:
4 oz/ 100g cream cheese
3 oz/ 75g dried sour cherries
1 teaspoon caster sugar
Grated rind of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon fresh dill, finely chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper

1. Coarsely grate the potatoes in a food processor.
2. Place in a colander, press down with the palm of your hand, and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
3. Put the grated potatoes in a large bowl, and mix well with the mashed potatoes and a little seasoning.
4. Make the filling by combining cheese, cherries, sugar, lemon rind, dill if using, and seasoning.
5. Grease your palm with a little oil, and place a dollop of the potato mixture, spreading it slightly. Put a teaspoon of the cheese and cherry mixture in the middle of the potato round and fold over the edges. The dumplings should be sealed properly, otherwise the filling will leak out, making a mess.
6. Repeat the process until you have used up all of the potato and cheese mixtures. Place the finished dumplings on a tray and cover with a damp tea towel while you are working so that they don’t dry out.
7. Heat the oil, and when very hot, deep-fry the dumplings until they are lightly golden brown.
8. Serve hot as a snack with jams or preserves.

 

Cypriot-style pumpkin and bulgur pilav

Scented with cinnamon, this dish has an Arabic flavour, and is delicious served with alongside courgette and feta fritters. Serves 4 – 6.

4 tablespoon olive oil
2-inch piece cinnamon
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
9 oz/ 225g pumpkin or butternut squash flesh, diced
3 oz/ 75g coarse bulgur wheat
Salt and pepper
6 fl oz/ 175 ml water
1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 scant teaspoon icing sugar (optional)

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, and fry the cinnamon stick for 10 – 15 seconds.
2. Add the onion and fry for 2 minutes until lightly brown. Add the garlic and stir.
3. Add the pumpkin and seasoning and cook with the lid on for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the water and bulgur wheat and bring to the boil. Add parsley.
5. Cover and cook on low heat for 20 – 25 minutes. Take the lid off, and cover the pot with a tea towel. Put the lid back on and set aside for 20 minutes.
6. Fluff gently with a fork, and sprinkle with icing sugar (if using) before serving.

 

Lemongrass and ginger panna cotta

Panna cotta – literally ‘cooked cream’ – is often cloying, heavy, dull, and not to mention ubiquitous. However, this version is light and refreshing, and suitable for vegetarians as it’s made with vegetarian gelatine. Serves 4.

40g/ 13 oz can coconut milk
150 ml/ ¼ pint double cream
8 sticks lemongrass
Grated rind of half a lime
4 tablespoons caster sugar
7g packet vegetarian gelatine, such as Vege-Gel

To make syrup:
4 tablespoons caster sugar
4 tablespoons water
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
Juice and grated rind of 2 limes

A few small lemon balm, lemon thyme, or mint leaves to decorate (optional)

1. Heat the coconut milk in a saucepan, along with cream, lemongrass, and lime rind. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Cover the saucepan and leave aside to cool.
2. Once cooled, remove the lemongrass from the coconut milk and discard. Add sugar, and sprinkle in the gelatine. Stir quickly and continuously to prevent lumps from forming.
3. Place the saucepan back on low heat, and stir the coconut milk continuously until it is just starting to boil, then immediately remove from the heat.
4. Pour the coconut milk mixture into 4 individual ramekins, levelling the top. Leave in a cool place to set, but do not refrigerate.
5. Make the syrup by gently heating sugar, water, ginger, and lime rind and juice in a small saucepan until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from the heat and set aside.
6. When the panna cotta has set, carefully turn it out onto individual serving plates, and drizzle each portion with the ginger syrup.
7. Place panna cotta in the fridge until ready to serve. Before serving, garnish with the scented leaves if using.

 

Agedashi tofu

This subtly flavoured main course is a classic Zen Buddhist dish, found in most Japanese restaurants. Serves 4.

For the vegetarian dashi stock:
1 sheet konbu seaweed
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 litre/ 1.74 pints water

For the tofu:
600g/ 20 oz silken tofu, evenly sliced in oblongs fingers
6 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons mirin
4 tablespoons plain white flour
Corn or groundnut oil for deep-frying
2-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely shredded
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced on the diagonal
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

To make dashi:

1. Wipe the konbu with moist kitchen paper and cut into strips.
2. Steep the konbu and shiitake in a saucepan of water and let soak for at least one hour, preferably overnight. Then bring gently to boil over low heat.
3. Just before the water reaches boiling point, the konbu will rise to the surface. Remove it and discard.
4. Increase the heat and boil the stock quickly for 2 minutes.
5. Set aside to cool at room temperature. Then remove the mushrooms, and strain the liquid.

To make agedashi tofu:

6. Drain the tofu on kitchen paper for 30 minutes to 1 hour, taking care not to break it. The pieces should be thoroughly dry.
7. Heat the dashi, soy sauce and mirin in a saucepan, but do not boil – keep the mixture simmering at a very low heat, just below the boiling point. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside.
8. Sprinkle the flour evenly on a plate, and roll the tofu slices until they are evenly covered with the flour.
9. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep-fryer until very hot but not smoking. Fry the tofu until golden brown, and drain on kitchen paper.
10. Place the tofu in 4 individual serving bowls, and ladle over the dashi.
11. Garnish with ginger, spring onions and sesame seeds, and serve hot with rice, vegetables and Japanese pickles.

 

Spicy Indian paneer fritters

Paneer is Indian cheese that is widely available in supermarket cheese sections. Besan or chickpea flour is also now available in the larger supermarkets. Both can, of course, be bought from Indian grocers – and, in fact, you might also find chickpea flour in Italian and French delis. This hot spicy snack is ideal served with chilled beer on a cold evening. Serves 4.

200g/ 8 oz block of paneer, cut into 8 large cubes
½ teaspoon red chilli powder
½ teaspoon salt

For the spice paste:
½-inch piece ginger, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
4 black peppercorns
2 cloves
Seeds of 2 green cardamoms
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, lightly roasted in a pan
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, lightly roasted in a pan
½-inch piece cinnamon
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon white poppy seeds
2 tablespoons water

For the flour coating:
4 tablespoons besan (chickpea flour)
2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
1 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
½ teaspoon black onion seeds

Groundnut or corn oil for deep-frying

1. Sprinkle the paneer with salt and chilli powder, mix gently so that the paneer doesn’t crumble and set aside.
2. Grind all the spices into a paste in a mixer or coffee grinder.
3. Marinate the paneer pieces in the spice paste, cover and refrigerate for at least half an hour.
4. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot but not smoking.
5. Mix together the ingredients for the flour coating. Sprinkle on the marinated paneer, and rub the flour mixture in gently, making sure that the paneer pieces are evenly coated.
6. Deep fry 2 paneer cubes at a time until golden brown, and drain on kitchen paper.
7. Serve with Indian coriander and mint dip, some plain yoghurt or tomato ketchup, accompanied by onion rings, lemon wedges and green salad.

 

Roasted butternut squash, bean and pasta soup

This Italian-style soup is cheap, nutritious, filling, and very tasty. It’s easy to make, and a sure crowd-pleaser for a bonfire night party! The cinnamon gives it an intriguing background flavour. Serve with warm ciabatta or rustic country-style bread. Serves 4.

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and diced small
6 medium tomatoes, quartered
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
10 sage leaves
2 sprigs rosemary
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons Italian extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing and drizzling
2 litres vegetable stock
100g/ 4 oz very small pasta shapes
½-inch stick cinnamon
1 level teaspoon red chilli flakes
100g/ 4 oz cooked cannelloni or borlotti beans (from a tin)
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
4 tablespoons vegetarian Pecorino cheese, coarsely grated

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C/ fan oven to 180 degrees C/ or gas mark 6.
2. In a greased baking tray, place the squash, tomatoes, onion, garlic, sage and rosemary, spreading everything around evenly. Season to taste, drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and toss the vegetables lightly so that they are evenly coated.
3. Place the baking tray in the oven and roast for 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft and beginning to brown.
4. Once cooked, let the vegetables cool slightly, then take the peel off the tomatoes. Discard the tomato peel, garlic, sage and rosemary. The garlic and herbs are only used to infuse the squash with flavour – you won’t need them in the soup as they will be somewhat coarse and bitter on the tongue.
5. Heat the stock in a soup pan and bring to the boil. Add the pasta, cinnamon and chilli flakes, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
6. Add the roasted vegetables and beans, and simmer for a further 5 minutes until the pasta is cooked. Add more seasoning to taste.
7. Ladle the soup in individual bowls, and sprinkle with parsley, cheese and, if desired, a little more olive oil.

 

Kenyan hot and spicy vegetable and lentil stew

This fiery dish is not for the faint-hearted! You can substitute black-eye beans for the lentils. Serve with plain steamed rice or bread, accompanied by creamed yams, fried plantains, or cornmeal pudding. Serves 6.

2 tablespoons groundnut or corn oil
25g/ 1 oz butter
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 red birdseye chillies, chopped
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot red chilli powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
8 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
4 oz brown or green lentils, washed
2 litres unsalted vegetable stock
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
125g/ 5 oz spring greens or other greens, shredded
Salt and pepper
2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and quartered lengthways
2 unwaxed lemons, quartered lengthways

1. Heat the oil and butter together in a large, heavy saucepan, and cook the onions and garlic until soft but not browned.
2. Add the chillies and the dry spices, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the spices give off their aroma. Take care not to burn the spices, or they will taste bitter.
3. Add the tomatoes, lentils and vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Make sure the stock is unsalted, or the lentils won’t cook easily.
4. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the lentils have cooked.
5. Add the potatoes and carrots, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the greens and the seasoning, and cook with the lid on for a further 10 minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
6. Garnish with egg and lemon wedges, and hand around extra chillies for those who are feeling brave.

 

English vegetarian sausage, mushroom, Marmite and Guinness casserole

This richly-flavoured, hearty casserole is quintessentially British. It makes a filling meal on a frosty or foggy night. Serves 6.

2 tablespoons sunflower or rapeseed oil
12 vegetarian sausages, such as Lincolnshire or Cumberland style
4 medium onions, peeled and sliced
2 celery sticks, peeled and sliced
1 medium carrot, trimmed, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons plain white flour
2 tablespoons tomato puree
330ml bottle Guinness, or another dark ale or beer
300 ml/ 11 fl oz vegetable or lightly-flavoured mushroom stock
10 oz/ 250g chestnut mushrooms, halved
1 level tablespoon Marmite
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1.    Heat the oil in a heavy casserole over medium heat. Fry the veggie sausages evenly on all sides until brown. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Alternatively, you can grill the sausages while you are getting on with the rest of the dish.
2.    In the same oil, fry the onions, celery and carrots. Cook for around 7 minutes until the vegetables are soft but not browned.
3.    Add the flour and tomato puree, and cook for a minute.
4.    Pour in the Guinness, bring to the boil, and cook for 2 minutes until the liquid is reduced slightly.
5.    Add the stock, and bring back to the boil. Add the cooked sausages, mushrooms, Marmite, thyme and seasoning.
6.    Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are cooked and the sauce has thickened.
7.    Garnish with parsley, and serve with mashed potatoes and steamed winter vegetables, such as savoy cabbage, swedes, brussels sprouts, kale or broccoli.

 

Malaysian savoury rice porridge with accessories

Savoury porridges – called congee – are widely eaten by the Chinese (and other Asians) for breakfast. In their plain, bland form, they are also given to the sick, the elderly and children. However, this humble peasant dish transforms itself into something altogether sexier when served with a variety of flavourful accessories. Here, the Malaysian-style congee is accompanied by traditional garnishes, but you can experiment and use any toppings you like – such as sautéed mushrooms, cooked red aduki or black soy beans, fried tofu pieces, and so on. Comfort food has never been more colourful.  Serves 2.

For the porridge:
1.2 litres/ 2 pints lightly flavoured unsalted vegetable stock
450 ml/ 15 fl oz measuring jug filled with short-grain Chinese rice
1 tin coconut milk, well-stirred
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sesame oil

For the accessories:
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely shredded
½-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely shredded
4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal
1 fresh red chilli, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons coriander leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon chilli oil
100 g/ 4 oz tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
25g/ 1 oz roasted peanuts, crushed
2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled, and cut into 8 pieces each

1.    Boil the stock in a large saucepan and add the rice, coconut milk, salt and sesame oil.
2.    Bring the mixture back to the boil and stir. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes until the rice is cooked and the mixture has thickened. Stir the porridge occasionally during the cooking process to prevent from sticking. Add more water if necessary – the porridge should have the consistency of custard.
3.    Ladle the porridge into pasta bowls. Surround the bowls with the accessories in little individual dipping plates, and add them in according to taste.

 

Caribbean ginger beer

The key to the success of this recipe is the quality of ginger. Use very fresh, young pink Caribbean ginger that is sometimes available in supermarkets, or else buy it from African and Caribbean grocers or markets. Makes 6 to 7 x 70cl bottles.

4.5 litres/ 1 gallon water
100g/ 4 oz fresh ginger, peeled
1.5 to 2 lb/ 675g to 900g white or light brown sugar
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 teaspoon uncooked white rice

1.    Bring the water to the boil.
2.    Meanwhile finely crush the ginger in a mortar or a food processor and place it in a bowl. Add the sugar, and lime juice and zest, and mix well.
3.    Pour the boiling water over, and add the grains of rice.
4.    Place the mixture into a stoneware jar, and allow to stand in a cool place for a week. Give the liquid a vigorous stir or shake once every day.
5.    After a week, strain and bottle the ginger beer.
6.    Refrigerate for 1 or 2 weeks.
7.    Serve in tall glasses with lots of ice, slices or lime and, if you like, a splash of rum.

 

Chilli verde with green vegetables and black beans

This is vegetarian chilli verde – a version of chilli con carne using green vegetables and black beans. I don’t claim that it is authentic – but it is as healthy and hearty as it is tasty. Serve alongside cumin-flecked sweetcorn and tomato rice. Serves 4 to 6.

2 green peppers
2 to 4 green chillies
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and roughly chopped
6 green or red tomatoes, peeled and quartered
225g/ 8 oz fresh spinach, stems removed and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons corn oil
2 large onions, peeled and finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
100g/ 4 oz chestnut mushrooms, sliced
400g/ 1 lb can black turtle beans, rinsed and drained
1 pint/ ½ litre vegetable stock
100g/ 4 oz broccoli florets, steamed for just 2 minutes
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon red chilli powder (optional)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried oregano

To serve:
Chopped fresh coriander
Sour cream
Lime wedges
Diced avocadoes
Tortilla chips
Pickled sliced jalepeno peppers
Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

1.    Grill the green peppers and chillies until their skins are charred. Remove their skin. Halve the peppers and chillies, remove the seeds, and coarsely chop.
2.    Place the peppers and chillies in a food processor, along with spring onions, tomatoes, spinach and seasoning. Blend to a puree, with a couple of tablespoons of water if necessary.
3.    Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan, and fry the onions and garlic until soft but not brown.
4.    Add the mushrooms, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the beans, stock, and the green vegetable puree, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
5.    Add the broccoli and dried spices and herbs, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
6.    Ladle into individual bowls, and serve with as many of the suggested accompaniments as desired.

 

Creole-style sweet potato pudding

Thanksgiving hasn’t quite caught on here in the UK – although I’m not sure why because we seem to celebrate every other festival! This easy recipe is dedicated to American readers and my American ex-pat friends in the UK. You can adjust the amount of spices according to taste. Serves 6.

2 oz/ 50g desiccated coconut
2 eggs
½ lb/ 225g light brown sugar
2 medium tins evaporated milk
3 oz/ 75g self-raising flour
2 oz/ 50g unsalted butter, softened
4 oz/ 100g golden sultanas
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice berries, freshly crushed in a mortar
½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
¼ teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1 ½ lb/ 675g sweet potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
2 oz/ 50g flaked almonds (optional)

1.    Heat the oven to 190 C/ 375 F/ gas mark 5.
2.    Soak the coconut in a few tablespoons of hot water for at least half hour, then drain on kitchen paper. This will ensure that the coconut is soft in texture rather than coarse.
3.    Beat the eggs thoroughly. Add the sugar, and beat well again. Add the evaporated milk, and continue beating well until the sugar is dissolved.
4.    Add the flour, butter and sultanas, and mix thoroughly.
5.    Add the spices, vanilla extract, grated sweet potatoes, and the drained desiccated coconut. Once again, mix thoroughly.
6.    Pile into a buttered baking dish, and even the top surface with the back of a palette knife. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 – 50 minutes until golden brown. During the last 10 minutes of cooking time, sprinkle with flaked almonds, if using.
7.    Cut into squares or wedges. Serve hot or at room temperature with thick cream, custard, ice cream, or a portion of tropical fruit salad. The pudding also tastes delicious all on its own.

 

Acorn squash stuffed with aromatic Moroccan rice

I wasn’t going to do another squash recipe: there are, relatively speaking, too many on this site already – as compared to, say, kohlrabi or turnip recipes. But squash is a sexy, popular, versatile vegetable that lends itself well to different types of fillings. So it makes a great centrepiece for a special occasion dinner table.

Ras el hanout is a wonderfully fragrant, traditional Moroccan spice mix, made up from a very wide range of whole spices freshly crushed together. It might include cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, rose petals and so on – the recipe varies throughout Morocco; each spice stall and family has its own version. Getting good-quality ras el hanout is key to this recipe. In the UK, you can obtain it from large supermarkets, food halls, speciality spice shops, food markets, and Mediterranean delis. Experiment with different spice blends for this recipe. Ras el hanout has a punchy, distinctive flavour, so if you are using a particular blend or brand for the first time, use sparingly – and hand out harissa (Moroccan hot sauce) on the side for extra flavour, if at all needed. Serves 4.

For the squash:

2 medium acorn (or another variety) squash
Olive oil for greasing
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
½ teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper

For the filling:

6 oz/ 150g white, brown and wild rice mix
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil (Moroccan, if you have it)
1 small leek, trimmed and finely sliced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 very small green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
4 to 6 small button mushrooms, halved
1 oz/ 25g pine nuts, lightly toasted in a small pan
1 oz/ 25g ready-to-eat apricots, finely chopped
1 heaped tablespoon ras el hanout
¼ teaspoon saffron, crushed in a mortar and soaked in a tablespoon of water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
6 large green olives, stoned and chopped
4 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
Salt and pepper

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 200C/ 400F/ gas mark 6.
2.    Cut the squash in half vertically through their stems. Do not peel the squash or remove the stems. Scoop out the seeds and discard (or dry them in a very low oven for later use as a snack).
3.    Mix a little oil with garlic, paprika and seasoning, then paint the insides of the squash with this mixture using a pastry brush.
4.    Place the squash on a greased baking sheet, cut side down, and bake for 30 minutes until tender.
5.    Meanwhile cook the rice according to the packet instructions. Once cooked, let it cool thoroughly.
6.    Heat the oil in a pan, and cook the leek, carrot, pepper and mushrooms for 5-10 minutes until soft.
7.    Add the cooked, cooled rice and stir. (You may be wondering: what’s the point of cooling the rice first if it’s going to be added to a hot pan anyway. Well, the reason is that if you add the hot rice, the grains will break down and the filling will become mushy. If the rice is allowed to cool down first, the grains will remain intact and separate).
8.    Add the pine nuts, apricots, ras el hanout, saffron, lemon juice, olives, coriander and seasoning. Mix gently.
9.    Stuff the squash cavities with the rice mixture, pressing down the filling lightly but firmly.
10.  Serve immediately, or cover with foil and keep warm in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

 

Korean cucumber noodles

If you’re looking for a dish that’s light yet perks up your palate, then this is ideal. The mixture of hot chilli and cool cucumber is irresistible. Gochuchang is available in Asian grocers or Chinatown. If you can’t find it, don’t leave it out as it’s an essential flavouring in this dish – use miso paste, which is more widely available, instead, combined with red chilli powder to taste. Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature – all give different textures and are equally delicious. Serves 4 to 6.

1 lb/ 450g fine wheat or egg noodles
4 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
½ pint soy sauce
2 fl oz white rice vinegar
1 teaspoon caster sugar
4 level tablespoons gochujang (Korean soybean and red chilli paste)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal
4 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for minimum 30 minutes
1 very large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and julienned
4 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and sliced
Small red radishes, decoratively cut into flowers
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
A little cucumber peel, finely shredded

1. Cook the noodles according to packet instructions. Then drain, rinse in cold water, and place them a large bowl. Immediately add sesame oil, and toss around with a fork and a spoon to ensure that they don’t stick.
2. In a separate bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, gochujang, garlic and spring onions.
3. Drain the shiitake mushrooms, carefully removing any grit, and slice them. Add the sauce, mushrooms and cucumber to the noodles, and toss gently until everything is mixed thoroughly.
4. Pile the noodles in the centre of a large serving platter. Surround them with egg slices and radish flowers for decoration, and top with sesame seeds and shredded cucumber peel before serving.

 

Carrot and courgette cake

A variation on the much-loved carrot cake, this recipe is easy to make, even if you are not used to baking.

Until recently, carrot cake was somewhat derided here in the UK. It had a hippy-dippy image, and was associated with health food shops with clunky wooden furniture, and the tie dye-and-sandal wearing brigade (who makes up all these stereotypes anyway?). I guess, on the whole, people’s tastes were pretty conventional and they were wary of doing something as wacky as putting vegetables in their cake!

Then something changed. Either it’s because we started becoming more health-conscious, or maybe everyone simply woke up to the delights of fragrant, earthy carrot cake en masse, I don’t know – but if you ask anybody in the UK now what their favourite type of cake is, chances are they’ll say ‘carrot cake’. All of a sudden, it’s the nation’s darling.

I have added courgettes (zucchini to American readers) to make it even healthier and more colourful. Serves 6.

250 ml sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
8 oz/ 200g caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs
9 oz/ 225g self-raising flour
5 oz/ 125g carrots, coarsely grated
5 oz/ 125g courgettes, coarsely grated
1 oz/ 25g golden sultanas
1 tablespoon honey
¼ teaspoon each cinnamon powder, ground cloves, and freshly grated nutmeg
1 oz/ 25g unsalted butter, softened
12 oz/ 300g cream cheese (unsalted, if you can find it)
1 oz/ 25g icing sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C/ fan oven to 160 degrees C/ or gas mark 4. Line a medium cake tin with greaseproof paper and grease the surfaces evenly on all sides.
2.    In a bowl, mix together the sugar with the oil and whisk. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each egg.
3.    Sift the flour into the bowl, then fold it in gently, taking care not to over-stir.
4.    Add the carrots, courgettes, sultanas, honey and spices, and fold them into the mixture.
5.    Pour the mixture into a cake tin and level the surface with the back of a palette knife. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes until well-risen and golden brown. Set aside to cool in the cake tin.
6.    Meanwhile, mix the butter and cream cheese in a bowl until fluffy. Add the sugar and orange zest, and mix thoroughly.
7.    When the cake has cooled, remove from the tin, and slather over the icing, spreading it evenly.
8.    Cut into 6 wedges or 12 squares, and serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Mexican hot chocolate

I don’t know about anywhere else, but it’s absolutely freezing in the UK. It’s been snowing for the third time this season – very unusual, considering it rarely snows in this country anymore. People are talking about the possibility of a White Christmas for the first time in years. And what better way to warm up in cold weather than with a steaming, slightly spicy mug of hot chocolate? Come to think of it, this is my first chocolate recipe on this site. As I love top quality gourmet chocolate, I can’t help wondering: what took me so long?

Here I am giving an express version of Champurrado – Mexican hot chocolate drink that is traditionally made with masa (tortilla dough). It’s served during fiestas, accompanied by tamales (savoury tortilla dough pasties). You can, of course, also serve it with sweet pastries or confectionery. Moreover, its rich, indulgent taste makes it ideal as an afternoon or bedtime drink. Serves 4.

1 pint/ 550 ml full-fat milk
2 heaped tablespoons good-quality dark chocolate, finely grated
2 level tablespoons cornmeal
4 teaspoons light golden brown sugar
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
Small pinch ground cloves
Small pinch mild red chilli powder

Optional garnish:
Cream
Chocolate flakes

1. Whisk all the ingredients together and cook in a non-stick milk pan on low heat for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. Alternatively, cook in a double-boiler: pour all the ingredients in a bowl and cook over a saucepan of simmering water for half hour. The drink should be quite thick, with the consistency of custard.
2. Pour into cups, top with cream and chocolate flakes if desired, and serve hot.

 

Nepalese pickled eggs

These Nepalese eggs are not really pickled – well, not in a brine, in the way that they would be understood in the West. They are coated in a spicy yoghurt paste and served chilled as a relish or side dish. Nepalese cuisine draws from Indian and Chinese/ Oriental flavourings – so here you will find Chinese Sichuan pepper and Oriental lemongrass alongside Indian mustard oil and fenugreek seeds. It’s well worth hunting down the speciality ingredients from Asian grocers to give this simple dish its distinct and traditional Nepalese flavours. Serve the eggs with vegetable curry and plain or pilau rice. Serves 3.

2 oz/ 50g sesame seeds
1 level tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon Sichuan pepper
4 tablespoons thick, creamy yoghurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons mustard oil
¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
About 6- to 8-inch piece lemongrass, finely sliced
1 to 4 green chillies, sliced
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon red chilli powder
6 hard-boiled eggs, shelled
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

1. In a small frying pan, dry roast the sesame and cumin seeds and Sichuan pepper until the spices are fragrant and a couple of shades darker, taking care not to burn.
2. Let the spices cool a little, then grind them in a mortar or spice grinder. Add yoghurt, lemon juice, salt, and water. Mix well, and set aside.
3. Heat the oil until hot, then lower the heat and one by one add fenugreek seeds, lemongrass, green chillies, turmeric, and chilli powder. The spices should sizzle, and turn no more than a shade darker. Pour the mixture into the yoghurt and spice paste, and mix well.
4. Halve the hard-boiled eggs, and coat each half gently with the spice paste.
5. Transfer the eggs into a serving dish, and garnish with coriander leaves.
6. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

 

Moroccan chickpea, bean and lentil harira

Harira is a classic lamb and bean soup that is eaten by Muslims when breaking the Ramadan fast. Each family has its own recipe. This vegetarian version is filling, nourishing and packed with earthy flavours and seductive aromas. The quantity of spices may seem a little extravagant – but the recipe serves a lot of people, and remember that pulses on their own tend to be quite bland. This dish is somewhat time-consuming to make, but well worth the effort – especially if you’re cooking for a crowd. The cooking time is greatly reduced if you use tinned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), white beans and tomatoes, and hot water boiled in a kettle.

If you don’t like the idea of adding raw eggs, simply make a plain omelette, cut it in small squares, and add it to the soup just before serving.  Traditionally eaten with flatbreads accompanied by dates and dried figs, you can also serve harira with sesame-studded flatbreads and a simple mixed-leaf salad. Serves 6 to 8.

4 tablespoons virgin olive oil, preferably Moroccan
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 sticks celery, peeled and sliced
4 oz/ 100g chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained, OR 1 tin chickpeas, drained
4 oz/ 100g haricot beans, soaked overnight and drained, OR 1 tin haricot beans, drained
5 pints/ 3 litres water or lightly flavoured unsalted vegetable stock
½ teaspoon saffron, crushed in a mortar and steeped in 1 tablespoon water
1 level tablespoon cinnamon powder
1 level tablespoon cumin powder
1 level tablespoon coriander powder
Salt and pepper
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 oz/ 50g uncooked white long-grain rice, such as Basmati
2 oz/ 50g brown or green lentils, washed and drained
1 lb/ 450g fresh tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped, OR 1 large tin chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoons plain white flour
6 fl oz/ 175 ml cold water
2 eggs, lightly beaten (optional)
Juice of 1 lemon
Paprika and lemon wedges, to serve

1.    Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan, and sauté the onions, garlic and celery for a few minutes until soft and translucent but not browned.
2.    Add chickpeas, haricot beans and 5 pints/ 3 litres water or vegetable stock (make sure the stock is unsalted, or the beans won’t cook easily. I like to use the water I have soaked the pulses in – though if you’re using tinned pulses, do not use the water they come with). Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the chickpeas and beans are very soft and tender. Depending on how old the peas and beans are, this could take 45 minutes to an hour.
3.    Add the spices, seasoning and parsley (reserve a few leaves for garnish). Then add the rice, lentils, and tomatoes, cover, and cook until the rice and lentils are thoroughly cooked. This may take 20 minutes.
4.    Make a roux by slowly mixing the flour with 6 fl oz/ 175 ml cold water, making sure that there are no lumps. Add to the soup and cook for a further 15 minutes.
5.    Adjust the seasoning, and add more water or stock if the soup is too thick.
6.    Stir in the eggs, if using, and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
7.    Remove from heat and, just before serving, add the lemon juice. Ladle the harira into individual soup bowls, sprinkle with paprika, and serve with extra lemon wedges.

 

Italian chestnut pudding

I’ve been doing Christmas shopping on Oxford Street where, at this time of the year, the distinct aroma of hot roasted chestnuts pierces the frosty winter air. This simple, indulgent dessert, also known as Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco, is an Italian classic. It is named after one of the highest peaks in the Alps, and is made to resemble a snowy mountain – making it perfect for winter. Using fresh chestnuts, although time-consuming, gives the best flavour, texture and colour. Good-quality chestnuts are also available in vacuum packs or frozen in large supermarkets, so do experiment. Mont Blanc is often served with meringues and strong black coffee. The non-traditional optional garnishes I have suggested would probably make an Italian person blanch, but they add do variation. Serves 8.

700g/ 1.5 lb fresh chestnuts OR 2 x 400g/ 1 lb tins whole chestnuts
Water
A little salt
125g/ 5 oz caster sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
150 ml/ ¼ pint double cream
150 ml/ ¼ pint whipping cream
Icing sugar and cocoa powder for dusting
Optional garnish: chocolate flakes, fresh fruit pieces, or colourful sugar sprinkles

1.    If using fresh chestnuts, pierce each chestnut with a knife or skewer, and place in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain, rinse, cool, and remove the shells and skin. If using tinned chestnuts, simply rinse and drain.
2.    Place the chestnuts in a food processor, and blitz a little at a time until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Alternatively, you can mash the chestnuts using a potato masher. Add the sugar and cinnamon, and mix gently.
3.    Pass the crushed chestnuts through a potato ricer so that the mixture forms into shreds.
4.    Pile the chestnut shreds onto a serving dish, and carefully shape into a pyramid with your hands.
5.    Whip the two creams together until stiff, and spoon on top of the chestnut pyramid, smoothing down the sides so that it looks like a snow-capped mountain. Refrigerate for 3 hours.
6.    Sprinkle with sifted icing sugar and cocoa powder just before serving. Garnish if desired.

 

Barley, bean and beetroot salad

To the three Bs I would like to add a fourth B – Big flavour. This is a healthy East European-style salad, based on everyday homely dishes commonly found in Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary. Barley is available in health food shops, supermarkets, and East European food shops and delis that have recently been springing up in every street in London. If you can’t find it, use the more widely available wheat berries. Serves 4.

For the beetroot dressing:
2 large fresh (not pickled) beetroots
1 oz/ 25g walnuts
A long strip of lemon zest
2 cloves garlic, peeled
9 fl oz/ 250 ml thick, creamy yoghurt (East European, if you can find it)
Salt and pepper

For the salad:
6 oz/ 150g barley, soaked overnight
6 oz/ 150g dried butter or haricot beans, soaked overnight OR 1 x 400g can
2 oz/ 50g currants
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
2 oz/ 50g walnuts, roughly chopped
2 oz cucumber, finely diced
4 oz/ 100g green salad leaves or baby spinach leaves (stems removed)
Salt and pepper
½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1.    Start by making the dressing. Boil or steam the beetroot for 20 minutes or so until soft. Cool, peel, and cut in quarters.
2.    In a food processor or mixer, blitz the walnuts, lemon zest and garlic until finely crushed.
3.    Add the beetroot, yoghurt and seasoning to the mixer bowl, and blitz again until everything is well amalgamated. Chill the dressing if you have time.
4.    Meanwhile cook the barley according to packet instructions until al dente.
5.    Cook the dried beans in unsalted water for an hour or so until tender; or drain and rinse the canned beans.
6.    In a large salad bowl, combine the drained and cooled barley and beans with currants, herbs, walnuts, cucumber, salad or spinach leaves, and seasoning. Toss gently.
7.    Sprinkle with the smoked paprika, and serve each portion with a dollop of beetroot dressing.

 

English winter vegetable and butterbean pie

I was wary of doing another white bean recipe so soon after the recent two. But when you are vegetarian, there’s no such thing as ‘too many bean recipes’, right?

This pie is very typical of what vegetarians in the UK eat at around this time of the year. Similar pies also feature on the menus of the British restaurants that are currently very trendy (yes, many of us Brits are re-discovering how delicious properly made regional British dishes can be – and falling in love with grandma-style hearty pies, stews, breads, cakes and puddings all over again!).

Artisanal virgin cold-pressed rapeseed oil (as opposed to pale, bland supermarket imitations) is worth hunting down. It has delicious, slightly sharp and herby flavour. It’s no wonder it’s currently all the rage: produced in the English countryside, it has been hailed by many as ‘the new olive oil’.

This recipe is wonderful served English-style with well-flavoured gravy and plenty of side vegetables. Serves 4.

PLEASE NOTE: I will post a Christmas-friendly recipe on this blog every day until 23rd December.

6 oz dried butterbeans, soaked for a few hours, OR 1 x 425g can
4 tablespoons rapeseed oil (if you want to be truly English about it) or vegetable oil
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
4 celery sticks, peeled and thickly sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 level tablespoons plain white flour
½ pint/ 300 ml vegetable stock
¼ pint/ 150 ml pale beer, or lightly flavoured mushroom stock
2 dried bay leaves
1 level tablespoon Marmite
1 heaped tablespoon wholegrain English mustard
Salt and pepper
9 oz/ 225g carrots, trimmed, scraped and thickly sliced
9 oz/ 225g swede or pumpkin, peeled and chunkily diced
9 oz/ 225g leeks, trimmed and thickly sliced
9 oz/ 225g baby turnips, trimmed, peeled and halved
4 oz/ 225g chestnut mushrooms, wiped with a wet cloth and halved
4 oz/ 100g small pearl onions, peeled and left whole
Scant tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Scant tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
Scant tablespoon fresh sage leaves, chopped
Scant tablespoon fresh marjoram, chopped (optional)
2 heaped tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
12 oz/ 400g fresh ready-rolled puff pastry
Beaten egg whites, cold milk or cold water to glaze

1. Soak the butterbeans for 3 or 4 hours. There is no need to soak them any longer otherwise, whilst cooking them, you’ll find yourself with pearlescent water – with no sign of the butterbeans! Cook for 30 – 45 minutes or until tender. Alternatively, rinse and drain canned butterbeans.
2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the onions and celery, and sauté until the vegetables are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and let it sizzle for a few seconds.
3. Lower the heat, sprinkle in the flour, and stir for a minute or so until it becomes a couple of shades darker and gives off ‘cooked’ aroma. Pour in the vegetable stock, beer or mushroom stock, and bay leaves, and cook until the liquid has thickened slightly.
4. Add the Marmite, mustard, seasoning, carrots, swede or pumpkin, leeks and turnips. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and cook for 10 – 15 minutes until the vegetables are al dente.
5. Add the mushrooms, baby onions, all the fresh herbs except parsley, and the cooked butterbeans. Cover and cook for another 10 minutes until all the vegetables are tender, and the beans have absorbed the flavours of the sauce. The vegetables should look chunky and not turn into a mush, so do keep an eye on the cooking time.
6. Add the parsley, adjust the seasoning, remove the bay leaves, and leave the mixture aside to cool. It should be somewhat runny but not too liquid – you don’t want the pie to be too sloppy or too dry, so it’s essential to get the consistency right.
7. Heat the oven to 200 C/ 400 F/ gas mark 6.
8. Lightly roll the pastry sheet once or twice with a rolling pin. Measure it against the top of a medium pie dish and cut around with a sharp knife, leaving a generous 1-inch edge all around that’s a little bigger than the dish. Cover the pastry lid with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out, and set aside.
9. Scrunch the excess remaining pastry into a ball, then roll it out until you have a thin pastry sheet. Cut this sheet into long, narrow strips.
10. Brush the rim of the pie dish with egg whites, milk or water. Brush the pastry lid and the pastry strips with the same.
11. Lightly grease the pie dish, and place the vegetable filling inside, levelling it out evenly. Arrange the pastry strips around the top of the rim, pressing down firmly.
12. Then carefully place the pastry lid on top, pressing it down firmly around the edges so that the pastry strips and the pastry lid fuse together. This is important, otherwise the filling will ooze out of any gaps in the pastry. Crimp the sides if you like, and make decorative designs on top if you wish. Pierce a tiny hole in the pastry lid to let the steam escape.
13. Bake the pie in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes until puffed up and golden brown.
14. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges. Serve with a red onion or mushroom gravy, if you like, alongside mashed or roast potatoes and steamed green vegetables like brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale or seasonal green cabbage like January King.

 

Roquefort, celeriac and hazelnut souffle with cranberry sauce

I love soufflés. I love the fact that they’re light and fluffy, yet have a distinctly ‘special occasion’ feel to them. For someone to make an effort to make you soufflé, they must really love you. Which is why my advice is: don’t be nervous of making soufflé. So what if it sinks? Your friends and family will adore you all the same.

The secret of a successful soufflé lies in folding in the egg whites correctly – with long and semi-circular movements with a palette knife – and in not stirring the mixture too much, certainly not in heavy-handed way.

This recipe is very French in its influence – though the cranberry sauce is a non-French festive touch. You can leave it out if you wish, and simply serve the soufflé with steamed baby vegetables, or a crisp salad made from sliced apples, rocket (arugula), chicory and red radicchio.

This recipe is dedicated to those vegetarians who are looking for something light yet indulgent, and would never go near a hale and hearty nut roast! Serves 6.

For the cranberry sauce:
7 oz/ 175g cranberries
5 oz/ 125g white caster sugar
Juice and finely grated zest of ½ orange
1 teaspoon allspice berries, finely crushed in a mortar

For the soufflé:
2 oz/ 50g hazelnuts
2 oz/ 50g unsalted butter + extra for greasing
2 oz/ 50g plain white flour
8 fl oz/ ½ pint whole milk (not low fat)
2 dried bay leaves
4 oz/ 100g roquefort cheese, crumbled
3 eggs, separated
4 oz/ 100g celeriac (celery root), peeled and finely grated
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
Salt and pepper

1. Start by making the cranberry sauce. Wash the cranberries and, with just the amount of water clinging to them, heat them in a saucepan on gentle heat for 10 minutes until they are soft.
2. Add the sugar, orange juice and zest, and ground allspice. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes until the sauce acquires a jelly-like consistency. Set aside to cool.
3. To make the soufflé, pre-heat the oven to 375 C/ 190 C/ gas mark 5.
4. Grease 6 individual ramekins. Toast the hazelnuts in a small frying pan without any oil or butter. Cool, and coarsely grind in a small mixer. Lightly coat the base and sides of the ramekins with half of the ground hazelnuts.
5. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and cook for a minute, stirring continuously.
6. Pour in the milk and bay leaves and cook until the sauce thickens. (You will need to stir the mixture frequently to make sure that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan, and also to avoid lumps from forming). Cook for a couple of minutes, then cool slightly.
7. Add the roquefort, egg yolks, grated celeriac, thyme leaves, seasoning, and the remaining hazelnuts, and stir gently.
8. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Fold them into the celeriac mixture.
9. Remove the bay leaves, and pour the soufflé mixture into the prepared ramekins. Place the ramekins into a roasting pan and add enough boiling water to reach two-thirds of the way up the sides of the dishes.
10. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until well risen and golden. Serve immediately with a little of the cranberry sauce.

 

Saffron and champagne risotto

This is essentially the classic Italian risotto alla Milanese, given a festive touch. Not only does it taste delicious, but the dramatic presentation I have suggested can be something of a party trick! Serve with steamed or roasted asparagus, or a spinach and avocado salad. It can also be eaten Italian-style as a first course. Serves 4.

2 pints/ 1 litre well-flavoured vegetable stock (ideally home-made)
4 oz/ 100g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good-quality virgin olive oil
4 large shallots OR 2 small white onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 very small bottle champagne
14 oz/ 350g vialone nano risotto rice
¼ to ½ teaspoon top-quality saffron strands, crushed in a mortar
Salt and pepper
4 oz/ 100g vegetarian parmesan (or similar hard Italian cheese)
4 tablespoons single cream
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves

To serve:
Gold leaf (optional)
1 normal-sized bottle champagne, chilled

1.    Bring the stock to a boil, reduce the heat to very low and keep it just below the simmering point.
2.    Meanwhile, melt the butter and oil together in a saucepan. Add the shallots and sauté for 5 minutes until soft but not brown.
3.    Add 6 tablespoons of the stock to the shallots, along with the contents of the small bottle of champagne. Heat until the mixture is reduced by half.
4.    Add the rice and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring continuously.
5.    Add the saffron and seasoning. Then add the stock a ladleful at a time, stirring the rice between each addition. Make sure that the rice absorbs the liquid and that the liquid reduces in quantity before you add the next ladleful. This process takes patience as you have to constantly stand at the stove, stirring the rice as you go. Do not be tempted to tip all the liquid into the rice at the same time. The rice should take about 20 minutes to cook. The consistency should be soupy, and the grains of rice should be tender and mushy.
6.    Remove from the heat, and stir in the cream and some of the parmesan and parsley. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
7.    To serve the risotto: Working quickly so that it doesn’t get cold, pile the risotto onto a large, heated serving platter. (Use a black one for dramatic effect). Garnish the risotto with gold leaf, if using. Make a small ‘well’ in the centre of the risotto. Wipe the bottle of champagne with a dry cloth, and place it in the ‘well’. Then carefully uncork the bottle while it’s still standing on the platter, so that the bubbles drip down into the risotto beneath. Once your guests’ ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ have died down, scoop the risotto into individual serving dishes and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and parsley. Pour the remaining champagne into glasses and drink it with the risotto.

 

Glogg

This potent drink is the Swedish version of mulled wine or gluhwein. It is served in small glasses at festive parties, alongside saffron and raisin buns or gingerbread with blue cheese. Water is not normally used to dilute it, but you can add a cup if you wish. For a non-alcoholic version, follow the recipe using blackcurrant or red grape juice. Serves 6.

1 bottle inexpensive, medium-bodied red wine
6 tablespoons unflavoured Schnapps, vodka or brandy (optional but good)
1-inch piece whole dried ginger (or fresh ginger, peeled and bruised)
2 sticks cinnamon
2 cardamom pods, bruised
6 cloves
1 long strip dried orange peel (or fresh, if you can’t find it)
6 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste
6 tablespoons raisins
6 tablespoons almonds, blanched, peeled and left whole

1.    Place the wine, Schnapps/ vodka/ brandy, all the spices and orange peel in a non-metallic saucepan or bowl. Leave to marinate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
2.    When you are ready to serve, divide the almonds and raisins between 6 mugs.
3.    Add sugar to the wine mixture, and heat it gently until it is almost boiling. Do not let it boil, or the alcohol will evaporate. Use a cooking thermometer if you want to be accurate.
4.    Taste the hot wine to ensure that it has the right amount of sugar and spice for your taste; then dilute the wine with water, or add more alcohol or sugar if you wish. Pour the wine through a small sieve into individual glasses. Serve immediately.

WISHING ALL THE READERS MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

 

‘Designated Driver’ tropical fruit punch

I was thinking of offering a special occasion recipe for new year’s eve – but I gave plenty of festive recipes in the run up to Christmas, so I thought I would take a break! So here’s an easy exotic fruit punch instead.

Actually, winter is the ideal time to buy tropical fruit as there’s such little choice of native fruit in the market anyway. This Caribbean-style non-alcoholic drink will bring the taste of sunshine to the greyest of days, and will make designated drivers at your new year’s eve party feel special. If there’s any left over, it also has the advantage of being a healthy drink to kick-start your new year’s day.

Buy tropical fruits from ethnic greengrocers as they will be fresher and cheaper, and you will have more variety to choose from. Add lemon/ lime juice and sugar according to taste (it depends on the ratio of sweet and sour fruit you use).

If possible, buy artisanal lemonade (which is pale, milky yellow) and ginger ale, available from delicatessens. These are drinks produced by small companies that have less sickly-sweet, more home-style taste than the larger commercial brands. Serves around 10 to 15.

2 lb/ 1 kilo fresh tropical fruit – mixture of pineapple, mango, papaya, guava, kumkquat, mangosteen, star fruit, persimmon, lychee, banana etc (as many varieties as you like)
Pulp of 4 passion fruits
Juice of 6 ortaniques or oranges
1 large or 2 medium bottles lemonade, chilled
1 medium bottle ginger ale, chilled
Juice of lemons or limes, to taste
Lots of crushed ice
Caster sugar, to taste (optional – you’ll only need it if you’re using too much sour fruit)

1. Trim, peel, and slice or dice all the fruit fairly small. Set some aside for garnish (say, a few slices of star fruit, for instance).

2. Place all the ingredients in a large punch bowl and mix well. Pour into glasses and garnish with the reserved fruit.

 

Syrian-style spicy noodles with lentils

What will be the first dish that you eat on New Year’s Day? Will it involve fresh truffles, rare cheeses, dark chocolate or champagne? Or will you be using (out of season) strawberries, asparagus or morel mushrooms?

My first dish is always the same: a mixture of lentils and noodles. So why am I choosing such mundane ingredients in favour of luxurious ones? There are two reasons.

The first and foremost reason is: noodles represent longevity in Chinese and other Asian cultures and are always eaten at new year; whereas lentils are believed to bring good luck by people of Italy and other Mediterranean countries, and are traditionally eaten at new year, too. So if you combine noodles and lentils, you are bound to receive a double dose of longevity and luck. Not a bad start to the year!

The second reason is simply that after all the rich, heavy foods consumed during Christmas, this simple, down-to-earth, unpretentious dish brings me comfort and keeps me grounded. And if you have a reasonably well-stocked larder, you won’t have to do any shopping either.

The spices help to kick-start the post-festive jaded palate. I use rather a lot of spices, onions and garlic in this recipe – otherwise it would be plain and bland, as it has no main ingredients other than starch – but you can adjust the quantity to suit your taste.

Like Syrians, I like to eat this dish as it is. However, you can add fresh tomatoes while cooking; or serve it with a simple tomato sauce (not one with too many herbs), or plain yoghurt mixed with some fresh parsley. You may add a squeeze of lemon too, if you like. (If you use any of these suggested embellishments, you might want to reduce the quantity of spices – otherwise there could be too many clashing flavours).

Accompany with a bowl of soup and a crisp mixed salad; or serve with a platter of grilled Mediterranean vegetables – aubergines go especially well. Serves 4.

7 oz/ 175g whole brown or green lentils OR 1 x 16 oz can
1 level tablespoon cumin seeds
1 level tablespoon coriander seeds
2 cloves
1-inch piece cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon allspice berries
½ teaspoon hot red chilli powder or chilli flakes
8 oz/ 200g Middle Eastern rishta noodles (or thick vermicelli, egg noodles, wheat noodles, spaghetti, linguini or fettuccini)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, peeled and chopped or finely sliced
8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Salt and pepper
2 oz/ 50g butter, melted
Chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

1.    Wash the lentils, cook until tender (between 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how old they are), and drain. If using tinned lentils, rinse and drain thoroughly.
2.    In a small frying pan, toast the cumin and coriander seeds, cloves, and cinnamon until they are just a few shades darker and become aromatic. Take care not to burn them. Let them cool a little, then crush them in a mortar or pulverize them in a spice grinder, along with allspice berries (which don’t need toasting). Add the chilli powder or flakes to the spice mixture, and set aside.
3.    Cook the noodles according to packet instructions, drain and plunge in cold water to prevent them from cooking further.
4.    In a wide, heavy saucepan, heat the oil on medium heat and cook the onions until they are golden brown. Turn the heat to very low, add garlic and spice mixture, and stir for a few minutes until it perfumes your kitchen. Make sure it doesn’t go too dark in colour, or it will taste bitter.
5.    Add the cooked lentils, noodles and seasoning. Mix gently and thoroughly so that the noodles and lentils are evenly coated with spices.
6.    Pour over the melted butter and garnish with parsley before serving.

WISHING ALL THE READERS A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

Korean beansprout soup

Nutritious, low in calories, filling, tasty, easy to make, and widely regarded in Korea as the perfect hangover cure – this is the ideal recipe for those of you who are detoxing.

Buy long, plump soybean sprouts from Korean or Japanese shops, where they come with their brown, stringy roots already removed – so you don’t have to go through the mundane and time-consuming process of doing it yourself. You can use mung bean sprouts if you can’t find soybean sprouts – but, please, not the insipid, watery variety sold in sweaty supermarket plastic bags.

For the best flavour, use homemade Asian stock – made from a few Asian vegetables such as dried shiitake mushrooms and fresh daikon (mooli) radish. Most Western-style stocks will interfere with the flavour of this dish (unless you can get a plain, neutral-tasting one. In the UK and Europe, Marigold brand is suitable).

Korean chilli powder and chilli threads are available in some Korean delis (in the UK, a few in New Malden stock them). If you can’t find chilli threads – which taste quite mild and ever so slightly smoky – use red chilli flakes instead.

This is such a simple recipe that its success depends on top quality ingredients. Serves 4 to 5.

2.5 pints/ 1.25 litres Asian-style vegetable stock or water
2 lb/ 1 kilo soybean sprouts, trimmed
4 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely shredded
1 tablespoon dark toasted sesame oil
½ teaspoon Korean chilli powder, or any other chilli powder
Salt to taste
8 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and sliced
Korean chilli threads, to taste

1.    Boil 1 pint/ 0.5 litres of the stock or water in a large saucepan. Add the beansprouts, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes.
2.    Add soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, chilli powder and salt. Then add all the remaining stock or water, and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for another 10 minutes.
3.    Add the spring onions, and simmer for 2 more minutes.
4.    Ladle into soup bowls. Snip the Korean chilli threads with scissors, and garnish each bowl of soup with a few. Serve hot.

 

Vegetarian Oden

This is a vegetarian version of the classic Japanese stew that’s normally made from meat, seafood, vegetables and tofu. It is ubiquitous in Japan during winter months and sold everywhere from street stalls to smart shops, where there might be a pot bubbling away behind the counter. I’m surprised it’s not better known in the West – or, at least, it is virtually unknown in the UK.

Don’t be intimidated by the ingredients, as the stew itself is simple to cook. Admittedly, it is time-consuming and involves several components, so a leisurely weekend would be the best time to prepare it. To cut down on the cooking time, you can use prepared mustard paste (available in little tins or tubes in Japanese shops); and, instead of making your own dashi, use mildly flavoured vegetable stock or instant vegetarian dashi powder (though the latter is not easy to find – you’ll have to make sure it doesn’t contain bonito fish flakes).

A very simple version of dashi can be made from soaking dried shiitake and kombu, and using the strained soaking water as stock. However, if you make Japanese food – or even only miso soup – regularly, it is a good idea to make your own dashi in large quantities and freeze it in ice cube trays for future use. Which is why I am giving a recipe here.

Konnyaku is speckled grey, gelatinous root of the ‘devils tongue’ plant. It is believed to be extremely low in calories, and regularly used by the Japanese for detoxing. Numerous health benefits are associated with it.

All the specialist ingredients can be bought from Japanese shops, but if you can’t find them, substitute vegetables such as baby turnips, baby pak choi, sweet potatoes, Japanese kabocha squash, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, etc. Stick to oriental roots, starches, greens or mushrooms as much as you can (rather than using, say, bell peppers, courgettes, etc). Indeed, aburage, fu, and konnyaku are used more for texture than flavour. You can make a simplified version of this dish using only two or three ingredients, and it will still taste good.

Oden is a unique combination of hearty and filling, yet light at the same time. It can be eaten on its own, or with plain white rice and pale pink Japanese ginger pickle. It should always be eaten with hot mustard, which is essential for this dish (it just won’t taste the same without it).

Here in the UK, the weather continues to be absolutely freezing – with snowfall and sub-zero temperatures all around – so the combination of ginger and mustard would certainly help clear the sinuses! Serves 4.

For the mustard condiment:
4 tablespoons Japanese (or English) mustard powder
Approx 12 tablespoons cold water

For the vegetarian dashi:
Approx 10-inch piece kombu (kelp) seaweed
6 dried shiitake mushrooms
4 pints/ 2 litres cold water
1 oz/ 25g tororo-kombu seaweed (or use nori if you can’t find it)
4 tablespoons sake (rice wine)
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine)
½ teaspoon sugar
5 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce

For the stew:
6 sheets aburage (flat sheets of fried tofu), or fu (small pieces of dried gluten)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 oz/ 250g firm tofu, drained on kitchen paper and cut into triangles
3 pints/ 1.5 litres vegetarian dashi (as above)
4 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
4 tablespoons mirin
½ teaspoon sugar
2-inch piece kombu
2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced chunkily
8oz/ 200g daikon radish, peeled and sliced chunkily
8oz/ 200g konnyaku, cut into triangles (similar to the tofu)
6 oz/ 150g fresh or prepared lotus root, sliced horizontally
4 large hardboiled eggs, shelled and left whole
Salt

1.    Prepare the mustard condiment first. Combine the mustard powder with water, making sure that the consistency is thinner than you would like (as it will gradually thicken). Set aside.
2.    Next make the dashi. Clean the kombu with dry kitchen paper to remove any grit, but do not wash otherwise it will lose its flavour. Snip into large pieces with scissors.
3.    Steep the kombu and dried mushrooms in a saucepan of water, and set aside for 3 or 4 hours.
4.    Gently heat the saucepan until the liquid reaches just below the boiling point. Remove the kombu and discard.
5.    Add tororo-kombu to the pan, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
6.    Add the remaining dashi ingredients. Again bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
7.    Drain through a sieve, and discard the seaweed and mushrooms. Set the dashi aside. It should have a pure, clean taste.
8.    Now make the stew. If using the aburage sheets, steep them briefly in boiling water to remove excess liquid. Rinse in cold water, squeeze between the palm of your hands, drain, and cut into 1-inch squares.
9.    Heat the oil in a small wok, and fry the tofu triangles until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.
10.    Heat the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, sugar and kombu in a large saucepan, and bring to the boil. Add potatoes and carrots, and bring to the boil again. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes until almost tender.
11.    Add the daikon radish, konnyaku, and lotus root, and simmer for another 10 minutes.
12.    Add tofu, aburage (or around 16 pieces of fu), hardboiled eggs and salt, and simmer for 5 minutes. Check each vegetable for doneness, and adjust the seasoning.
13.    Remove the piece of kombu and discard. Carefully lift out each egg, cut it in half, and place the halved eggs back into the stew.
14.    Ladle the oden into individual bowls, and serve with small quantities of hot mustard.

 

Sicilian-style potato croquettes

This is comfort food, plain and simple. And anyway, when is the last time you made croquettes? Potato croquettes are found all over Italy (and other parts of Europe), but the addition of chilli flakes is a typical Sicilian touch. These flavourful specimens are a fry cry from the bland, greasy abominations that go in the name of ‘vegetarian croquettes’ in supermarket chiller cabinets.

Don’t use your best extra virgin olive oil for this recipe – use a combination of light olive oil (which is more suitable for frying) and a mild vegetable oil, such as sunflower. Use a good quality potato variety with floury (rather than waxy) texture.

Serve with salad for a simple lunch or supper; or with plain steamed spinach, buttered sweetcorn, and grilled tomatoes for a more substantial dinner. Makes 8 croquettes/ serves 2 (for main meal) to 4 (as appetiser).

1 lb/ 500g large potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 oz/ 100g parmesan, pecorino, or locatelli cheese, grated
1 oz/ 25g mozzarella cheese, grated
1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper
4 oz/ 100g plain white flour or semolina
5 oz/ 125g fresh or dried unflavoured breadcrumbs
Mixture of olive oil and sunflower oil for frying

1.    Boil or steam the potatoes until very tender. Drain in a colander, and cool a little.
2.    Mash the potatoes until they are creamy, making sure that there are no lumps. Cool thoroughly.
3.    Beat one egg and add it to the mashed potato, along with parsley, garlic, the cheeses, chilli flakes, nutmeg and seasoning. Mix thoroughly with lightly greased palms, and divide the mixture into 8 pieces. Roll the mixture into cylindrical croquette shapes.
4.    Sift the flour onto a large plate. Roll the croquettes in the flour so that each side is coated evenly.
5.    Beat the second egg and pour it into another plate. In a third plate, spread the breadcrumbs. Lightly roll each flour-coated croquette in turn in the beaten egg, and then in the breadcrumbs.
6.    Pour the oils in a frying pan so that they cover about ¼ inch of the base. Heat on medium heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Fry the croquettes in batches of 2 or 3, turning them from time to time so that they are evenly browned on all sides.
7.    Drain on kitchen paper. Serve hot.

 

Lentil and root vegetable stew with Middle Eastern flavours

This recipe isn’t authentically Middle Eastern – but it’s authentically credit crunch-friendly. And, let’s face it, we could all do with a few of those right now!

Normally, when I go out for food shopping, I automatically reach for green leaves and brassicas (which I simply can’t get enough of), or buy glamorous veggies like aubergines, artichokes, asparagus or wild mushrooms. So my rather idiosyncratic new year resolution is to try and incorporate more root vegetables in my diet. After all, they are tasty, healthy, filling, and economical.

The tempering technique used here is found in Middle Eastern as well as Asian cuisines. So if you want this stew to have, say, Indian flavour, omit the thyme and parsley, and replace them with fresh coriander leaves (cilantro). Then cook in water rather than vegetable stock, and add a little red chilli powder and garam masala to the onion-garlic mixture. Again, not totally authentic, but delicious nonetheless.

In fact, that’s what I like about this recipe – that you can change its identity completely by changing the flavour profile. Which just goes to show how connected cuisines from different parts of the world are, and how historically they have influenced each other.

Eat the stew with warm pita bread, and some green salad if you like. Serves 3 to 4.

1.5 lb/ 750g mixed root vegetables: choose any combination of potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, swedes (rutabaga), kohlrabi, and celeriac (celery root)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, trimmed, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 sticks celery, peeled and sliced
150g/ 6 oz dried split red lentils, rinsed and drained
1.5 pints/ 750 ml vegetable stock (instant is fine)
2 dried bay leaves
8 oz/ 200g tomatoes, peeled and chopped (canned ones are fine)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (optional)
Salt and pepper
Juice of half a lemon

For the tempering:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, trimmed, peeled and finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 level tablespoon ground cumin
1 level tablespoon ground coriander

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Lemon wedges, to serve

1. Trim, peel and dice the vegetables in even-sized pieces, so that they all cook together consistently. (You can boil the discarded peel and trimmings with water to make vegetable stock – or not, as you prefer).
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, and cook the onions until they are slightly golden. Add the garlic and celery, and sauté for a few minutes, taking care not to burn.
3. Add the prepared vegetables and lentils, and sauté for a further 5 minutes.
4. Add the stock, bay leaves, tomatoes, and thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, cover the pan with a lid, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and the lentils cooked.
5. Meanwhile, for the tempering, heat the oil in a small frying pan on medium heat. Add the sliced onion and fry for 5 – 10 minutes until it’s golden brown.
6. Add the garlic until it’s tinged with light brown colour. Add the spices, and let them sizzle for a few seconds until they are cooked and they perfume your kitchen. Remove from the heat immediately and set aside.
7. Add the seasoning and lemon juice to the stew, and mix well. Then pour in the spice tempering (or, alternatively, the tempering could be poured onto individual servings). Garnish the stew with chopped parsley, and serve with lemon wedges.

 

Caribbean coconut, sweet potato and pistachio cake

I have a friend who maintains that drinking is good for him – because he only drinks organic wines and beers. I feel similar way about this recipe – it’s packed with vegetables and nuts, so surely it must be good for you… even if you are detoxing?

Traditional Caribbean cakes are scented rather heavily with sweet spices and essences. While they are delicious – especially with a cup of coffee made from freshly ground Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans – I have reduced the amount of spices that would normally be used in this cake, and have made the essences optional. This suits my own personal tastes but you can, of course, be more liberal with them if you wish.

For the best flavour and an appealingly moist texture, use freshly grated coconut. However, if it isn’t readily available or is too much of a hassle to prepare, desiccated coconut (sweetened or unsweetened) will still be delicious. You may reconstitute it in hot water, if you wish – though this is not strictly necessary for this recipe. If you use dried desiccated coconut, the cake will keep longer than it would if you were to use fresh or reconstituted coconut.

Use any kind of nuts you like – cashews, almonds and walnuts are all traditional, and I often ring changes by using different varieties in this recipe. If using pistachios or almonds, you may want to dip them in boiling water for a minute or so and remove their coarse skins – but again, this is not strictly necessary.

This is an old-fashioned cake recipe that’s quite forgiving – you can put as much or as little effort into it as you like, and the end result should still be finger lickin’ good. The only thing you have to remember is not to be heavy-handed in mixing the cake mixture, and not to over-cook the cake. Serves around 6.

9 oz/ 225g orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
Juice and finely grated zest of ½ lemon
4 oz/ 100g fresh grated or desiccated coconut
3 oz/ 75g sultanas
3 medium eggs
4 oz/ 100g white or pale brown caster sugar
6 oz/ 150g unsalted butter, softened
9 oz/ 225g wholemeal flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
¼ teaspoon allspice berries, freshly ground
A couple of drops natural almond or vanilla extract (optional)
2 oz/ 50g unsalted, shelled pistachio nuts, chopped

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ gas mark 4. Grease a deep, 8-inch round cake tin, and line the base and all the sides with lightly buttered greaseproof paper.
2. Just when you’re ready to bake, peel and grate the sweet potatoes (not too far ahead in advance, otherwise they’ll start turning grey-black). Combine them with lemon juice and zest, coconut, and sultanas.
3. Beat the eggs, and whisk in the sugar and butter. Add to the sweet potato and coconut mixture, and mix well.
4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and all the spices, and fold them into the cake mixture. Add the almond or vanilla extract, if using, and the chopped pistachios.
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Bake for 1¼ to 1½ hours. Pierce a skewer or knife into the centre of the cake to make sure it comes out clean. If not, place the cake back into the oven until done, taking care not to overcook.
6. Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack to cool before serving warm or at room temperature.

 

Hong Kong-style broccoli with tofu

I realised with some alarm that I hadn’t yet done a broccoli dish on this site. This is most unusual, as my passion for broccoli borders on obsession. This pretty emerald-coloured vegetable is the ‘default’ item that I put in my shopping basket whenever I haven’t worked out my menu plan, because I know that I’ll always find a use for it. If I don’t eat broccoli at least once or twice a week, I’ll start having serious cravings for it. I cook the vegetable in many different ways – but because I cook it so frequently, I’m always on the lookout for new broccoli recipes, so if you know any good ones, do let me know!

This authentic Chinese recipe is one of my favourite ways of cooking broccoli. It’s based on two cooking techniques commonly used in Chinese cookery: stir-frying and braising. I adore tofu, too – especially its texture – and in this recipe, it absorbs the sauce, giving it a lot of flavour.

Use light soy sauce for a lighter colour, as the addition of dark soy sauce will give it a darker colour and denser flavour. Using preserved black soy beans will give the dish an earthy depth; but go easy on the quantity, otherwise the dish will taste ‘muddy’. (About 7 times out of 10 when making this dish, I omit the black beans).

Use any sort of broccoli you like – Chinese (gai lan), ordinary, or tenderstem – but not purple sprouting, as its taste and texture is too coarse for this dish. I have tried numerous variations over the years – mixing the broccoli with cauliflower, pak choi or cashew nuts, for instance – but I always come back to this basic combination. I have to admit that I’m a little precious about this recipe – which is why my cooking instructions are more than usually detailed.

As it is so delicious, I cook this dish frequently. I like eating it with plain, steamed white basmati rice. I know Chinese short-grain rice would be more authentic, but I like the way the intense earthy savouriness of the dish plays off with basmati’s floral, exotic perfume. Serves 4.

For the sauce:
3 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)
12 fl oz/ 350 ml mild vegetable stock made with instant stock powder
2 tablespoons Chinese shaohsing wine (rice cooking wine), or dry sherry
2 tablespoons Chinese light soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon preserved Chinese black soy beans, rinsed and chopped (optional)

For the broccoli and tofu:
9oz/ 225g broccoli
9oz/ 225g plain firm or silken tofu (both will give a different texture)
4 tablespoons groundnut (peanut) or corn oil
2-inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 or 2 fresh red birdseye chillies, sliced (optional)
6 spring onions, trimmed and sliced widely on the diagonal
Salt

1.    Start by making the sauce. In a bowl, place the cornflour and gradually add 4 fl oz/ 125 ml of the vegetable stock (leave the rest for the braising that’s required later in the cooking process). Mix well, making sure there are no lumps. Add the wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, and black beans if using. Combine thoroughly and set aside. (Incidentally, this basic sauce is wonderful for any vegetable stir-fries).
2.    Cut the broccoli flowerets in medium pieces. Peel the stalks, and chop them in similar-sized pieces to the flowerets.
3.    Drain the tofu on several layers of kitchen paper, then cut into cubes, long slices, or triangles.
4.    Heat a wok on medium heat. When it’s hot but not smoking, lower the heat and add the oil. Then add the ginger, garlic, and chillies (if using), and let them sizzle for a few seconds. They should not become brown or burn.
5.    Add the spring onions and broccoli, and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. Add the remaining 8 fl oz/ 225 ml stock and salt, and bring to the boil. (Go easy on the salt – because the vegetable stock and soy sauce are already salty, you won’t need much – if at all). Lower the heat, and simmer with the lid on for a couple of minutes until the broccoli is tender but still al dente. Do not overcook – the broccoli should preserve its vibrant green colour.
6.     Remove the broccoli from the wok with a slotted spoon and set aside. (Some of the spring onions clinging to the broccoli will come out, too – this is okay!).
7.    Turn the heat to very, very low, and add the tofu pieces to the remaining liquid. (If you’re using silken tofu, handle it gently as this is the point where it’s likely to break up).
8.    Once the tofu is heated through, give the cornflour-based sauce a stir and pour it in. Mix very gently. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken and reduce in quantity.
9.    Add the cooked broccoli back to the wok. Once again, mix gently and thoroughly, so that the broccoli and tofu are coated with the sauce.
10.    Once the sauce has thickened, remove the wok from the heat. Serve immediately.

 

Swiss-inspired fruit and oat breakfast pancakes

This recipe isn’t traditionally Swiss – but the original, rather plain and straightforward version (simply comprising Swiss muesli, eggs and milk) was given to me by a Swiss chef in Switzerland. Hence ‘Swiss inspired’. I have adapted it quite a bit, adding fresh and dried fruit. I have suggested apricots and figs to keep with the ‘Swiss muesli breakfast’ theme, but use any dried fruit of your choice.

The batter for these pancakes should be fairly thick, but add a splash or two of more milk if you think it needs it. The pancakes are similar in concept to drop scones. They are ideal for a leisurely weekend breakfast, especially when you have guests staying over. Serve with fresh fruit or fruit compote, honey, or thick creamy yoghurt. Makes around 24 small pancakes/ serves 6.

2 oz/ 50g medium oatflakes
1 large egg, beaten
5 fl oz/ 150 ml milk
Small pinch of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 ready-to-eat dried apricots, chopped
2 ready-to-eat dried figs, chopped
2 tablespoons sultanas or raisins
1 tablespoon chopped mixed nuts
1 small apple, cored and coarsely grated
1 small baby carrot, trimmed, peeled and coarsely grated
Small pinch of cinnamon powder

Mixture of unsalted butter and light, unflavoured oil for frying

Icing sugar for dusting

1.    Combine well all the ingredients for the pancakes in a bowl. Leave the mixture to rest for 30 to 60 minutes, so that the oatflakes have a chance to plump up.
2.    Heat a mixture of butter and oil in a non-stick frying pan, a little at a time. Turn the heat to very low. Drop in the pancake batter by tablespoonful, two or three at a time. Flatten the pancakes into circular shapes with the back of a spoon. Cook gently for approximately 3 minutes until the edges begin to set. Flip over and cook the other side until lightly browned. Repeat the process until the mixture is used up, working as quickly as you can (use another frying pan if necessary).
3.    While you are making the pancakes, place the cooked ones on a warmed plate, and wrap them in a clean tea towel so that they don’t go cold.
4.    Dust the pancakes with icing sugar. Serve as warm as possible.

 

Citrus-spiked Chinese noodle salad

As it’s the Chinese New Year – the year of the Ox – I wanted to share a recipe for Chinese noodles. Uncut and unbroken noodles are eaten during the New Year in China as they symbolise longevity. Here they are coated in a spicy lemon and orange sauce and served at room temperature. Leftovers are excellent for lunchboxes, or eaten straight from the fridge.

If you can’t find Chinese sesame paste in Asian grocers, use tahini, peanut butter, or 1 teaspoon pan-roasted sesame seeds, crushed and blended with 1 tablespoon cold water. Cider vinegar can be substituted for the rice wine vinegar; and the chilli oil should not be the sort of chilli-infused olive oil found in supermarkets. Sichuan peppercorns have a distinctive, subtly hot, spiky flavour and fragrance – but if you dislike their grainy texture, use ordinary black pepper.

The addition of oranges and lemons to the aromatic sauce will brighten up the greyest of winter days. Serves 2 as light meal, or 4 as appetiser/ side dish/ snack.

For the sauce:
Finely grated zest of 1 medium organic orange
Finely grated zest of 1 organic unwaxed lemon
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon groundnut (peanut) oil
1 heaped tablespoon Chinese sesame paste
4 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon Chinese white rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Chinese dark soy sauce
¼ teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns, finely crushed
1 tablespoon Chinese chilli oil
½ teaspoon red chilli flakes
A pinch of sugar, to taste
Salt to taste

For the noodles:
9 oz/ 225g dried egg noodles, OR 1 lb/ 500g fresh egg noodles
1 tablespoon dark toasted sesame oil

Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves for garnish

1.    To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Set aside, or chill until ready to use.
2.    Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain and plunge in cold water to prevent further cooking. Drain again, and toss in sesame oil. Set aside until ready to use.
3.    Just before serving, toss the noodles with the spicy citrus sauce. Garnish with coriander leaves Serve at room temperature (or chilled).

 

Honey, citrus and nut baked pears with hot fudge sauce

Ok, so you’ve been good all month. You’ve eaten healthily… most of the time. You’ve kept to all your new year resolutions (well, you have, haven’t you?). So you certainly deserve a little treat.

This is a slightly elaborate dessert of pears stuffed with dried fruit and nuts, bathed in a sweet spice-infused honey and citrus sauce, dolloped with hot chocolate fudge sauce. What’s more, the heart-shaped fruit is perfect to feed your loved one on Valentine’s Day. Tempted?

So how does this healthy but indulgent treat fit into the concept of ‘global veggie’? Well, it’s loosely inspired by the poached pear desserts of Italy (I also make those), the stuffed baked apple puddings of England (I spent my childhood making those), and the classic Pears Belle Helene of French cuisine. But to be honest, I never need an excuse to whip up a sweet treat.

Ideal for dinner parties, these pears can be served with the sauces on their own, or accompanied by double cream, mascarpone, or vanilla ice cream for an extra flourish of extravagance. Serves 6.

For the pears:
6 ripe but firm, unblemished pears (any variety)
2 oz/ 50g hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped
2 oz/ 50g almonds, toasted and finely chopped
2 dried ready-to-eat apricots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon apricot jam
Amaretto liqueur, to taste

A little softened butter, for greasing

For the honey and citrus sauce:
5 oz/ 125g aromatic honey (such as orange blossom)
3 fl oz/ 100 ml orange juice
Juice of 1 lemon
3 fl oz/ water
2 cloves
1-inch piece cinnamon

For the hot fudge sauce:
3 oz/ 75g unsalted butter
1 oz/ 25g good-quality cocoa powder
1 oz/ 25g good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped or grated
6 oz/ 150g white or light golden brown sugar
3 fl oz/ 85 ml evaporated milk
Small pinch of salt
A few drops vanilla essence

Edible flowers for garnish (optional)

1.    First, prepare the pears. Peel them, but leave the stems intact. Using a corer, carefully remove the cores from the bottom end of the pears.
2.    Mix together the nuts, apricots, jam and liqueur. Stuff the mixture into the pears, packing in firmly.
3.    Grease a baking dish that’s just large enough to hold the pears. Arrange the pears so that they are closely huddled together, stem side up.
4.    Heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ gas mark 4.
5.    Combine all the ingredients for the honey and citrus sauce in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil.
6.    Pour the honey and citrus sauce over the pears. Cover the dish with a lid or a piece of aluminium foil, and bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 40 to 50 minutes. The pears should be tender, but not falling apart. Take the baking dish out of the oven every 15 minutes or so, and baste the pears with the sauce.
7.    Meanwhile, make the hot fudge sauce. Melt the butter in a non-stick saucepan, add the cocoa powder, and whisk until smooth.
8.    Stir in the chocolate, sugar, and evaporated milk. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously so that it doesn’t stick. Remove from the heat immediately.
9.    Add a pinch of salt and a few drops of vanilla essence, and mix well. Cool a little.
10.    Place the pears in individual serving dishes along with any remaining honey and citrus sauce, and pour the hot fudge sauce over each pear. Garnish with edible flowers, if you like.

 

Mexican green rice

This delicious recipe is for the classic Mexican arroz verde – a wonderful accompaniment to all kinds of tortilla and bean dishes. Or, if you are like me, you can make a meal of it with the addition of some protein such as fried eggs or grilled white cheese, accompanied by a few slices of avocadoes.

I like to use serrano chillies in this dish, but you may use anaheim, which are milder. Grilling the vegetables tones down their fieriness and earthiness, and gives them a smoky, succulent flavour that contrasts beautifully with the fresh, spiky grassiness of the herbs.

Over the years, I have always cooked this rice with lettuce, but I have suggested spinach as a substitute for those readers who think the idea of putting salad leaves in a cooked rice dish might be a little strange.

Today, UK has had the biggest snowfall in – according to some reports – nearly 20 years. All around me is decked out in thick tapestries of gleaming, milk-white snow. I can’t wait to get into the kitchen and cook up a spicy, hot Mexican fiesta to bring forth the promise of colour, warmth and sunshine. Serves 4 as an accompanying side dish.

8 oz/ 200g long-grain white rice
1 medium onion, trimmed, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1 medium green pepper (capsicum or bell pepper), deseeded and quartered
2 green chillies, trimmed and halved
3 large Cos lettuce leaves (or a handful of spinach leaves), roughly chopped
1 oz/ 25g fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 oz/ 25g fresh coriander (cilantro)
½ to ¾ pint/ 275 to 450 ml water
Salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons corn oil

1.    Pre-heat the grill on medium heat.
2.    Wash the rice until the water runs clear. Soak in absolute minimum amount of cold water while you prepare the ingredients for this dish.
3.    Place the onion, garlic, green pepper and chillies under the grill, turning them from time to time with tongs, until they are soft and blistered and have black patches on their surfaces.
4.    Remove from the grill, and cool a little. Peel off the skin from the green pepper.
5.    In a food processor, finely grind the grilled vegetables with the lettuce, parsley, and coriander. Add the water and seasoning, and whizz until you have a fairly thick sauce of pourable consistency. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning. (Bear in mind that it should have a little more salt and pepper than you would like because you haven’t added the rice yet).
6.    Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Drain the rice thoroughly and add it to the pan. Sautee until the grains are shiny and translucent.
7.    Add the green vegetable sauce to the rice, and mix well.
8.    Lower the heat to minimum, cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, and cook the rice for around 20 minutes. Do not open the lid while the rice is cooking, do not disturb the rice, do not fluff it up, do nothing – just leave it be.
9.    After 20 minutes or so, check to see that the grains have absorbed the sauce and indentations have appeared on the surface of the rice. If not, leave it on very low heat for a little while longer.
10.    Remove from heat, and let the rice stand with the lid on for 10 minutes. Then fluff it up, and serve hot.

 

Spanish chickpea, vegetable and vermicelli soup

This is my inauthentic vegetarian version of cocido, the classic soup-stew from Madrid. Cocido is one of Spain’s national dishes – old-fashioned fare that harks back to medieval times, with origins in a Sephardic Jewish recipe. It is made with a range of meats and sausages, combined with chickpeas and vegetables; and each region has its own variation. A Spanish person would argue at length as to what constitutes real cocido.

Traditionally, cocido is served elaborately in two or three courses. First, the broth is separated and cooked with rice or vermicelli and served as a light soup. Next, the chickpeas and vegetables are served separately; and finally, the meat is eaten on its own. The soup used to be ubiquitous in Spain, but nowadays is served mainly on special occasions. In Madrid, it is often sold in restaurants on Tuesdays – though I have not been able to find out the significance of this tradition.

I have retained the authentic combination of vegetables, but the herbs and spices are my own touch. They give the soup a bright, sprightly flavour. (If you want a denser, meatier flavour, omit the saffron and mint, and add a couple of cooked, sliced vegetarian sausages along with a little bit of smoked paprika. If you go down this ‘meaty flavour’ route, serve the soup with cornichons and pickled vegetables).

The cooking technique is somewhat unusual in that everything is boiled together, with olive oil added only at the end for a rich mouthfeel (rather than frying the vegetables in oil first, as is the case with many recipes). Many soups around Europe use this technique.

Cocido is a meal by itself, but you may serve it with Spanish bread, garlic bread, or any other bread of your choice. Serves 4.

350g/ 14 oz chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
4 pints/ 2 litres water
4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1 large onion, peeled, trimmed and sliced
1 large leek, trimmed and thickly sliced
1 large potato, peeled and chunkily diced
1 large carrot, trimmed, peeled and chunkily diced
2 small turnips, trimmed, peeled and quartered
1 very small cabbage, trimmed and cut into 4 or 8 wedges
2 oz/ 50g green string beans, trimmed and halved
1 level tablespoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon Spanish saffron, crushed in a mortar and soaked in a tablespoon of water
Bouquet garni made by tying together several sprigs of fresh parsley, thyme and bay leaves inside a piece of muslin (cheesecloth)
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil (Spanish, if you have it)
Salt and pepper
4 oz/ 100g fine vermicelli, lightly broken if preferred
A few fresh parsley and mint leaves to garnish
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling (optional)

1.    Soak the chickpeas overnight, or for several hours. When you’re ready to cook, rinse and drain the chickpeas.
2.    In a large soup pot, cover the chickpeas with the water, and boil them for an hour or so until tender.
3.    Add all the vegetables to the saucepan, including garlic and onions. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, and add paprika, saffron, bouquet garni, olive oil, and seasoning. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or so until all the vegetables are tender.
4.    Towards the end of the cooking time, add vermicelli and cook, uncovered, for the length of time stated on the packet instructions (usually between 2 to 5 minutes).
5.    Add more stock if you wish.  Adjust the seasoning to taste. Remove the bouquet garni.
6.    Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Garnish with parsley and mint leaves, and pass around the extra olive oil for drizzling on top.

 

Spiced tomato vodka jelly

I was so keen to give you a pretty, passion-coloured Valentine’s Day recipe that I decided to ignore the fact that it’s too cold in the UK to eat jelly, and that tomatoes are out of season.

This recipe is influenced by English and French cuisines – and cocktails – and feature East European and American ingredients, too. So it’s a truly fusion affair.

You can buy vegetarian gelatine from most supermarkets; and vegetarian Worcester sauce (without anchovies) is available in health food shops or vegetarian stores. Select a brand of horseradish sauce that’s little more than grated horseradish with cream, if you can – no mean feat, as most are packed with mayonnaise, additives and too much sugar.

I won’t bore you with clichés about how this recipe might spice up your love life, but it will certainly provide an interesting start to your evening. Whether or not you serve it on Valentine’s Day. Serves 2 generously as appetiser.

14 fl oz/ 400 ml tomato juice
1 teaspoon vegetarian gelatine (such as Vege-Gel)
2 scant tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons vodka
2 teaspoons vegetarian Worcester sauce
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons very finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons very finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons very finely chopped green pepper (bell pepper or capsicum)
1 tablespoon horseradish sauce
3 tablespoons single cream

Optional garnish (one or more of):
A little extra finely chopped red onion and celery
Fresh parsley
Watercress
Lettuce or lamb’s lettuce

1. Place the tomato juice in a saucepan, add the vegetarian gelatine, and stir until it has dissolved.
2. Then put the saucepan on low heat and gently bring the tomato juice to the boil.
3. Once it has reached the boiling point, remove from the heat immediately. Add the lemon juice, vodka, Worcester sauce, Tabasco, and seasoning. Stir the mixture thoroughly.
4. Place the chopped vegetables evenly in a heart shaped mould (or divide between two bowls or glasses).
5. Pour the tomato jelly on top and leave to set for 30 minutes. Leave the jelly in a cool place, but do not refrigerate.
6. When you are ready to serve, carefully unmould the jelly (if it has been set in a mould). Just before serving, mix the horseradish sauce with cream, and swirl some on top of the jelly. Garnish with extra onion and celery, if you like, and/ or fresh parsley. You can also serve the jelly on a platter lined with watercress or salad leaves, if you wish.

 

Passion fruit muffins

These American-style muffins are quick and easy to make, and infused with a distinct tropical fragrance: the sweet, sharp, and hauntingly elusive tanginess of passion fruit will instantly transport you to a far-off island. They are ideal for breakfast for the day after Valentine’s Day…

You can make the muffins more elaborate by adding a splash of orange juice, a little finely grated orange zest, and a pinch of freshly ground allspice berries. You can ice them, too, with fresh orange or passion fruit flavoured icing if you like. I prefer them plain, however, accompanied by tropical preserves, and extra passion fruit pulp squeezed over the top.

I have suggested you remove the seeds from the fruit because I personally don’t like the crunch of the seeds in this recipe – but you can leave them in if you wish. Makes 12 muffins.

6 passion fruits
2 oz/ 50g softened butter, plus extra for greasing
10 oz/ 250g plain white flour, sifted
1 heaped tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 heaped tablespoon sugar
8 fl oz/ 250 ml milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 220C/ 425F/ gas mark 7. Thoroughly grease 12 large paper muffin cups.
2.    Halve the passion fruits. Scoop out the pulp, and put through a fine mesh sieve, pressing it down firmly with the back of a spoon. You should be left with only pulp and juice. Discard the seeds.
3.    In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, and mix well.
4.    In another bowl, mix together the passion fruit pulp with milk and egg.
5.    Tip the liquid ingredients into the dry ones. Mix everything together quickly with a light hand, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not beat the mixture.
6.    Divide the mixture between the greased muffin cups, and place each in a 12-cup muffin tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until they are well-risen, and a skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean.
7.    Remove the muffins from the tray, and leave them (in their paper cups) on a wire rack for 2 or 3 minutes to cool.
8.    Serve warm or cold with butter and preserves (particularly Jamaican guava jam, if you can find it, or pineapple or papaya jam). Fromage frais, or thick creamy yoghurt with extra passion fruit pulp poured over it, goes well with the muffins, too.

 

Peruvian pickled black beans

This is the traditional Peruvian dish, frijoles negros escabechados: spiced black beans marinated in red wine vinegar. The black beans to use here are black turtle beans. Chinese black soy beans, Japanese black aduki beans, or Indian black urad beans are not really suitable for this recipe.

Black turtle beans have only been available in the UK for the past few years and, sadly, they are under-utilised. This is a shame because they have a sweet, floury earthiness that makes them very versatile.

I don’t normally like the combination of sweet and sour flavours, but I really enjoy the sweet, tart and deeply savoury tastes in this recipe. So much so that I always try to sneak this dish into the menu whenever I’m cooking Latin American food.

Serve the beans at room temperature with plain, steamed white rice, as Peruvians do. Alternatively, they are excellent as a salad or side dish, served on a bed of shredded lettuce and accompanied by avocado slices. Serves 4 to 6.

6 oz/ 150g black turtle beans, soaked overnight, or for several hours
4 oz/ 100g raisins
¼ pint/ 150 ml red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons corn oil
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon red chilli flakes (or to taste)
2 large onions, trimmed, peeled and finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
Salt and pepper
4 oz/ 100g pitted black olives
2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and quartered

To serve:
Cooked white long-grain rice

OR

Shredded lettuce
Avocado slices

1.    Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Cover them with fresh water, bring to the boil, and cook vigorously for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse again thoroughly to remove any toxins. (It is believed that some varieties of beans contain toxins, so this procedure is recommended when cooking black turtle beans). Cover with more fresh water, bring to the boil, and cook for an hour or so until the beans are tender. Now drain the cooked beans and set aside.
2.    Meanwhile, soak the raisins in the vinegar.
3.    Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the cumin seeds and chilli flakes, and let them sizzle for a few seconds until they are a shade or two darker.
4.    Add the onions, and fry until lightly tinged with golden brown colour.
5.    Add the garlic and raisins (leave the vinegar aside) and sauté for a few minutes.
6.    Add the cooked beans and seasoning, and mix well.
7.    Pour in the vinegar in which the raisins have soaked. Add some water if necessary. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. The dish should be fairly moist – neither dry, nor too sauced. Adjust the seasoning.
8.    Garnish with black olives and hard-boiled eggs. Serve at room temperature.

 

Baked chickpea flour pancake

In the UK, 24th February 2009 is Shrove Tuesday or ‘Pancake Day’. Is it celebrated in your country? What sort of pancake will you be eating? Well, here it’s becoming increasingly popular – and commercialised. There are several fun pancake races in the morning, and many restaurants offer pancake menus. Speciality pancake restaurants – which are increasing in number – also hold pancake making demonstrations and competitions.

Pancakes are one of those foods that are found in some form or other in all countries and cultures. I’m sure you are familiar with the usual egg and flour versions, so I’m giving a recipe for socca – the legendary thin, crepe-like chickpea flour pancake from Nice. It happens to be vegan, probably gluten-free (though I don’t know for sure, so it’s best to check with a medical advisor if you have a gluten allergy), and baked in the oven rather than cooked on the stove top.

There are countless versions of socca all over Italy, India, and other parts of the world, too. So chickpea flour is available in large supermarkets, Indian stores, and Italian and French delicatessens.

In Nice, socca is eaten as a fast food snack wrapped in a newspaper – much like fish and chips in Britain, except that it is much healthier. My recipe is for a plain pancake, but you can add finely chopped fresh herbs (particularly a little rosemary) if you wish.

Socca is packed with protein, and makes excellent accompaniment to ratatouille, lightly braised vegetables such as fennel and chicory, and delicate stews made from haricot and flageolet beans. Or it can be eaten on its own with a hot or cold drink as a snack. Serves 4 as snack or accompaniment.

5 oz/ 125g chickpea flour (garbanzo flour)
8 fl oz/ 200 ml water
½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
4 tablespoons virgin olive oil (Provencal, if you have it)

To serve:
Coarsely ground rock salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1.    Pre-heat the oven to 220 C/ 425 F/ gas mark 7.
2.    Place the chickpea flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Add water, and whisk the flour and water together until well amalgamated.
3.    Add salt and 2 tablespoon of the olive oil. Mix thoroughly. If necessary, strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps, pressing down firmly on the mixture. (Alternatively, steps 2 and 3 can be followed using an electric hand blender to make the task easier). You should be left with smooth, thin chickpea flour batter.
4.    Swirl the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy, non-stick round baking pan or gratin dish. Heat the oiled dish in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes.
5.    Then remove the dish from the oven, and pour in the batter evenly, taking care not to splatter in the hot oil. Bake the pancake for about 10 minutes. Do not overcook. Meanwhile, pre-heat the grill (broiler) on medium heat.
6.    Remove the pancake from the oven, and place under the grill until the surface is dotted with a few brown spots.
7.    Remove from the grill, and let the pancake cool in its pan for a couple of minutes. Cut into wedges, and sprinkle with coarsely ground salt and black pepper. Serve hot.

 

Sesame-studded pan-fried date, honey and almond cakes

If you like sweet, sticky Middle Eastern sweets but don’t want to spend too long in the kitchen preparing them, you’ll enjoy these quick and easy pan-fried date cakes. The flavour is reminiscent of the sweetmeats found in Lebanon and Morocco.

If you are vegan, substitute butter with light, unflavoured oil like sunflower, omit the honey and add a splash of orange juice with a little finely grated orange rind instead.

Add orange flower water only if you have it on hand: no need to buy it especially for this recipe, which will taste good without it anyway. Serves 4.

6 oz/ 150g plump, juicy, smooth-skinned dried dates
4 oz/ 100g whole almonds
4 oz/ 100g plain white flour
1 tablespoon orange blossom honey (or other honey)
2 teaspoons orange flower water (optional)
3 oz/ 75g butter, melted, plus more for greasing
1 oz/ 25g sesame seeds

To serve:
Plain yoghurt, double cream or vanilla ice cream
Honey

1.    Remove the stones from the dates. You should be left with approx 4 oz/ 100g date pulp.
2.    In a food processor, pulverise the almonds until they are coarsely crushed but still retain some texture. Add in the dates, and whizz again.
3.    Add flour, honey, orange flower water if using, and about half of the melted butter and whizz once more. Make sure everything is mixed thoroughly, but do not overprocess as the little cakes will lose their texture.
4.    With lightly greased palms, shape the date mixture into medium-sized patties. You should have around 10 to 12.
5.    Spread the sesame seeds on to a plate, and roll the patties in them until they are evenly coated.
6.    Heat the remaining butter in a non-stick frying pan. Fry the patties for 2 or 3 minutes on each side until lightly golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
7.    Serve hot with yoghurt, cream or ice cream, and a drizzle of honey. Some sliced fresh or grilled bananas (or grilled oranges) would also go well with these cakes.

 

Welsh teabread

I have never before posted two sweet recipes back to back on this blog. However, I had already prepared Welsh teabread and had planned to write about it next week, when I realised that 1st March is St David’s Day – Wales’ patron saint’s day. So I decided to swap my schedule around and put up this post this week, in case any of you are looking for traditional Welsh recipes for the weekend.

This is a simple and straightforward take on the famous Welsh teabread known as ‘bara brith’ – which simply means ‘speckled bread’. There are many versions, some made with yeast. Sweet, warm pudding spices, candied peel, and chopped nuts are often added; and sometimes the top of the bread is covered with crushed sugar cubes before baking. However, I prefer this unfussy version. In this unyeasted form, the bread will keep longer than yeasted loaf.

Variations of this bread are found all over Britain. In Scotland, you’ll find Selkirk bannock, and in Ireland, the barm brack – both are similar.

This recipe is easy to make even if you are unaccustomed to baking. If it sinks a little or there are cracks on top, it doesn’t matter – just make sure that the bread isn’t too hard, which is the only important bit.

Butter generously and eat with a pot of tea on a leisurely weekend afternoon. Accompany with plum jam or orange marmalade if you like. Makes one 2lb/ 1 kilo loaf.

6 oz/ 150g currants
6 oz/ 150g sultanas
8 oz/ 200g light muscovado sugar
10 fl oz/ 300 ml strong black tea, freshly made
A little softened butter, for greasing
10 oz/ 250g white self-raising flour
1 medium egg, beaten

1.    Start the preparations the night before, or a few hours in advance. Place the dried fruit and sugar in a bowl, pour over the hot tea, and leave overnight or for several hours.
2.    When you are ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 150C/ 300F/ gas mark 2.
3.    Lightly grease a 2 lb/ 1 kilo loaf tin. Line the base and the sides with lightly greased greaseproof paper.
4.    Add the flour and egg to the fruit and tea mixture. Mix thoroughly.
5.    Place the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, and level the surface.
6.    Bake in the pre-heated oven for 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes until well-risen and firm to the touch. A skewer or knife inserted into the centre should come out clean. If not, place the loaf back in the oven a little while longer, making sure not to overcook.
7.    Allow to cool in the tin for 10 – 15 minutes. Then turn out on a wire rack and cool completely.
8.    Slice and spread with butter (and preserves, if you like) before eating.

 

Spicy Thai vegetable salad

This recipe is for Thai ‘dry yam’ – a type of strongly flavoured dish that’s a cross between a salad and a relish. There are dozens of regional variations all over Thailand. This recipe is pretty flexible, and you can increase or reduce the quantity – providing you roughly keep to the suggested ratio of vegetables and dressing.

You may use any vegetables you like, and either cook them or leave them raw – or combine both. Two or more of the following would be good: oriental broccoli (gai lan), fresh or (reconstituted) dried mushrooms (ideally oyster, enoki, or shiitake), baby corn, baby pak choi, white or red cabbage, water chestnuts, bamboo shots, beansprouts, carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, spring onions (scallions), wing beans, ‘yard long’ beans, Thai ‘pea’ aubergines (eggplants), and so on.

You can add fruit, too, if you wish: pineapple, star fruit and pomelo go particularly well with the spicy dressing.

This salad is very strongly flavoured, and is meant to be eaten as part of a meal – not on its own – accompanied by other dishes, such as plain jasmine rice, a tofu dish, a curry or a stir-fry, and a soup. Alternatively, you may serve small quantities with alcoholic drinks, particularly spirits, as Thais do. Just place miniature quantities of the salad in small individual dipping plates, egg cups, or paper cones, and give everyone a small spoon or pastry fork to eat.

If you’re eating the salad as part of a meal, leave the vegetables chunky; or chop them very small if you’re serving it with drinks.

Add chillies according to taste. I like using 2 or 3 birdseye chillies in this recipe, but if you’re not used to spicy food, start with a quarter or half a chilli (birdseye chillies are very, very hot). You may deseed them if you wish. In Thailand, around half a dozen or more chillies would be used in this recipe. Serves 2 as part of meal, or up to 6 as accompaniment to drinks.

For the dressing:
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
Fresh red or green birdseye chillies, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons light soy sauce
Salt and pepper

For the salad:
8 oz/ 200g mixed vegetables (see note above)

To serve:
A few lettuce leaves
1 tablespoon peanuts
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2 shallots (preferably red or banana shallots), peeled and finely sliced into rings
Fresh coriander, or Thai green or red holy basil leaves for garnish

1.    Start by making the dressing. Pound the garlic and chilli in a mortar or spice grinder. Mix in the sugar, lemon juice, soy sauce, and seasoning. Try some of the dressing, and adjust it according to your taste – for instance, some people may prefer a little more sugar. You can thin down the dressing with a little groundnut (peanut) oil if you wish.
2.    Prepare the vegetables: trim, peel, slice or dice the raw vegetables, and lightly steam the ones you want cooked. Mix all the vegetables well and set aside.
3.    Dry roast the peanuts and the sesame seeds separately in a small frying pan. Let them cool a little, then crush coarsely in a mortar or spice grinder.
4.    When you are ready to serve, line a serving platter with the lettuce leaves. Pile in the salad in the centre. Pour over the dressing. Sprinkle with crushed peanuts and sesame seeds. Top with shallot rings, and garnish with coriander or basil leaves. Mix gently at the table before serving.

 

Armenian-style blackeye beans with mixed nuts and vegetables

Beans, nuts, vegetables… what could be healthier? In this version of a traditional Armenian dish that’s normally made only with blackeye beans and nuts, I have added a few vegetables to make it more colourful, interesting and nutritious. This dish doesn’t have a sauce – it’s meant to be sort of mushy, with some crunchiness coming from the nuts.

Eat with flatbreads along with some yoghurt mixed with fresh herbs and garlic; or Western-style, with baked/ mashed potatoes, accompanied by a green, leafy vegetable or a lemony salad. Any leftovers would be great as sandwich filling, or turned into veggie burgers. Serves 4.

150g/ 6 oz blackeye beans (blackeye peas)
100g/ 4 oz unsalted mixed nuts of your choice: almonds, brazils, cashews, walnuts
4 tablespoon groundnut (peanut) or corn oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 medium leek, trimmed and sliced
1 medium carrot, trimmed, peeled and chopped
1 medium green pepper (bell pepper), cored and chopped
4 medium mushrooms, quartered
4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped (tinned ones are fine)
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
Salt and pepper
4 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1.    Soak the black-eye beans for several hours. Cook in boiling water for 30 to 45 minutes until very tender. Drain.
2.    Coarsely chop the nuts in a food processor. Make sure the nuts retain some texture.
3.    Heat the oil in a saucepan, and cook the onion until slightly brown. Add the garlic and let it sizzle for a few seconds.
4.    Add the leeks, carrots, green pepper and mushrooms, and cook with the lid on until all the vegetables are tender.
5.    Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, cinnamon powder and seasoning. Cook for a further 10 minutes. For this recipe, the vegetables should to be soft to the point of falling apart – not al dente.
6.    Add the chopped nuts, beans, and parsley. Mash some of the beans with the back of a wooden spoon as you go. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.
7.    Adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve hot.

 

Lebanese aubergine sandwiches

Fed up with your regular sandwich and looking to ring changes? Then look no further. These Lebanese sandwiches can be as simple or elaborate as you want. At their simplest, plain slices of aubergines can be grilled or cooked on a charcoal and stuffed inside hot flatbreads, sprinkled simply with coarsely ground salt and pepper. This is a more dressed-up version, which is a meal by itself.

Use any Middle Eastern flatbreads: the choice available in supermarkets and Middle Eastern delis these days is astonishing. I’m particularly fond of the sesame-studded variety. You can peel the aubergines if you like, as many Lebanese do. Peeled aubergines have an elusive, meat-like texture – though personally I’m happy to leave the peel on. Eat warm. Serves 4.

For the marinade:
Juice of 2 lemons
4 tablespoons virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced

For the sandwiches:
1 large aubergine (eggplant)
Approx 8 tablespoons olive oil
4 large pita breads, Middle Eastern flatbreads, or ordinary sliced bread
1 medium firm tomato, finely chopped
1 small red onion, trimmed, peeled and finely sliced
Small bunch mint leaves, torn
Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
A few salad leaves (optional)
2 tablespoons red or yellow pepper, finely chopped (optional)
4 tablespoons diced or crumbled white cheese, any variety (optional)

1.    Make the marinade by combining all the marinade ingredients and mixing well.
2.    Slice the aubergine into 1-inch thick rounds. Working quickly, dip both sides of the aubergine slices in the marinade until you have used it all up. The liquid does not have to fully cover or soak the slices – just a touch is enough to give flavour.
3.    Heat the oil on low to medium heat in a frying pan, and cook the marinated aubergine slices in batches of 2 or 3 at a time. The cooking temperature is important here: too high and you’ll burn the aubergine slices and they will remain undercooked from inside; too low and they will absorb the oil, become greasy, and take a long time to soften. The aubergines should be light golden-brown and cooked through (pierce some slices with a knife, just to make sure). Drain on kitchen paper.
4.    Lightly grill (broil) the pita breads or any other bread that you are using.
5.    Stuff the breads with aubergine slices, tomatoes, red onions, herbs, and seasoning. Add the salad leaves, chopped pepper and cheese, if using. If eating as a main meal, serve with salad and a bowl of thick, creamy yoghurt.

 

Italian ricotta and coffee dessert

This traditional, elegant Italian dessert – ricotta al caffe – is so amazingly simple that I’m almost embarrassed to give you a recipe for it. However, it’s useful to have one on hand for days when you’ve spent hours slaving over a hot stove and are looking for an easy, fuss-free, but still satisfyingly indulgent dessert.

For best results, buy top quality, freshest ingredients you can find. Buy the ricotta from a speciality cheese shop, Italian deli or the supermarket fresh cheese counter – you really will be able to taste the difference. The coffee beans – or freshly ground coffee – could come from your local coffee shop. Serves 4.

10 oz/ 250g very fresh ricotta cheese
4 oz/ 100g white or light golden brown caster sugar
2 tablespoons finely ground fresh espresso coffee beans
2 tablespoons dark rum or brandy (optional)
A few drops natural vanilla extract
2 tablespoons toasted hazelnuts, finely chopped (optional)

To serve:
Double or whipped cream
Italian biscotti

1.    Remove any excess water from the ricotta. Sieve in a colander or through a piece of muslin (cheesecloth) if necessary.
2.    Add the sugar, ground coffee, rum/ brandy, and vanilla extract. Mix well.
3.    Refrigerate for at least 3 hours for the flavours to develop. The longer you leave it, the stronger will be the flavour.
4.    Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts, if using. Serve with cream and biscotti in little coffee cups. See, I told you it was simple!

 

Greek courgette, feta and black olive omelette

This omelette is best served for brunch, lunch or supper with warm pitta bread and a chunky salad dressed with a sharp, piquant dressing. Serves 2 as a main dish, or 4 as part of a spread.

2 tablespoons virgin olive oil, Greek if you have it
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 large courgette, trimmed and thinly sliced
6 large eggs
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons milk
1 heaped teaspoon Greek dried wild oregano, crumbled
100g/ 4 oz feta cheese, diced into small cubes
50g/ 2 oz black olives, pitted and halved

1.    Heat the olive oil on very low heat in an omelette pan, and sauté the garlic and lemon zest for just a few seconds, being careful that they do not turn brown.
2.    Add the courgette slices, increase the heat to medium, stir, cover the pan with a lid, and cook for a few minutes until soft.
3.    Beat the eggs, add the salt, pepper and milk, and whisk again thoroughly.
4.    Remove the lid from the pan, pour in the eggs evenly and let the omelette cook for 5 – 7 minutes.
5.    Sprinkle the omelette with oregano, and dot the surface with the feta cubes and olives, spreading them around evenly.
6.    Place the pan under a low grill for just a few minutes, until the omelette is slightly brown at the edges, a little risen and completely cooked through – but make sure that the feta pieces or olives don’t burn. Serve warm, cut into wedges.

 

Kashmiri spiced spring greens

So spring has finally sprung… at least here in the UK. It’s amazing how the days of unseasonal snow and chilled-to-the-bones weather seem a distant memory. Now bright sunlight is sprinkled over everything like free-range egg yolks pushed through fine-mesh sieve; and daffodils have been peeping through the sand cautiously, looking like Victorian women’s bonnets.

I thought all this weather talk was purely a British trait, but having read several books by American authors, I realise that it’s an American convention, too: every American book I have read recently, without exception, contains lengthy, evocative descriptions of the weather. The weather is, in fiction as in real life, always a silent extra character in the background.

Of course, a change in the weather also means a change in the way we eat. I no longer want to eat hearty casseroles and baked dishes: just give me sprightly food, ideally in grass-green, sunlight-yellow, cherry blossom-pink… and other colours of the spring. And I don’t want in-your-face flavours this time of the year either.

This renowned Kashmiri dish, known as ‘haak’, makes good use of early-season tender leaves of spring greens. Use Kashmiri spinach, if you live in a part of the world where you have access to it. I have never seen Kashmiri spinach in the UK. Spring greens (collard greens in USA), are a perfectly suitable substitute, as is ordinary spinach. Or use a combination of different types of greens – I’m sure whatever variety is local to you would work well in this recipe.

The cooking technique used here – in which the greens are gently boiled in water and flavourings, tempered with onions and chillies, and finished with aromatic ground spices – is a traditional Kashmiri way of making this classic dish. You may, if you like, simply stir-fry the shredded leaves with spices if you want to retain their bright green colour and crisp texture.

The quantity of chillies may seem a lot to those who are not used to them, but Kashmiri chillies (widely available in UK supermarkets) are mild and used mostly for their vivid red colour; and in any case, you can adjust the quantity to suit your own taste – or replace the chilli powder with paprika. If you can’t find black cumin seeds (also available in supermarkets and Indian grocers), substitute ordinary white cumin seeds; but do not use fresh ginger in place of dried ginger powder – which is an authentic Kashmiri spice, used in many savoury dishes.

This recipe doesn’t have a sauce, making it ideal to serve as an accompanying vegetable. Serve with plain steamed rice, alongside a bean, lentil or paneer (Indian cheese) dish for a balanced meal – though to be perfectly honest, I’m happy to gobble it up with plain rice all on its own. Serves 4.

4 pints/ 2 litres water
1¼ lb/ 500g tender spring greens, stems removed and shredded
1 level teaspoon turmeric powder
6 fresh green spring garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon Kashmiri (or other mild) red chilli powder, steeped in ½ cup water
Salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, trimmed, peeled and finely sliced
1 dried Kashmiri (or other mild) red chilli, slit
1 teaspoon Kashmiri (or other mild) red chilli powder
2 teaspoons black cumin seeds, crushed in a mortar or spice grinder
1 teaspoon dried ginger powder

1.    Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add spring greens, turmeric powder, minced garlic, red chilli water, and salt. Stir well.
2.    Lower the heat, cover the pan with a lid, and cook the greens until tender. There should be very little water remaining.
3.    In a small frying pan, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onions and fry until pale golden brown.
4.    Add the dried red chilli to the onions and let it sizzle until it turns a couple of shades darker. Add the red chilli powder, and give the mixture a stir.
5.    Pour the onion and chilli mixture into the cooked spring greens. Add the crushed black cumin and powdered ginger, and combine well. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve hot.

 

French asparagus soup with spring herbs

Nothing sings like springtime more than asparagus: it’s the first thing I want to eat at the start of the new season of brighter days. The subtle, grassy flavour of asparagus, so out of place on our menus any other time of the year, comes into its own in warm weather. When the last of the cold spell leaves us, I always ask myself, “Is it pasta primavera season yet?” – and then proceed to use asparagus in pastas, stir-fries, salads, and soups such as this.

This soup is made with the finest ingredients: locally grown asparagus from the farmers’ market, the freshest artisan-made unsalted butter and cream, home-made vegetable stock (or asparagus cooking water), and a shower of the sprightliest of spring herbs from the garden.

Use green or white asparagus according to preference: the French value the white variety for its superior flavour, whereas the English believe green asparagus tastes finer. Serve the soup with rustic French country bread or good-quality baguette – warmed, and smeared, if you like, with a little Dijon or wholegrain mustard. Serves 4.

2 lb/ 1 kg green or white asparagus
1 oz/ 25g unsalted butter
4 shallots, trimmed, peeled and finely chopped
2 pints/ 1 litre mild vegetable stock
2 tablespoons mixture of fresh tarragon, chervil and chives, finely chopped
1 teaspoon celery salt
Freshly ground white pepper
Fine sea salt (optional)
9 fl oz/ 250 ml crème fraiche or single cream

1.    Snap off the woody stems from asparagus spears, and discard them (or use them to make stock).
2.    Cut the asparagus into approximately 3-inch pieces. Steam for around 3 to 4 minutes. Refresh in cold water and set aside.
3.    Melt the butter in a soup pot, and sauté the shallots for 2 or 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the cooked asparagus pieces, and stir for another minute or two.
4.    Add the stock, most of the herbs (reserve a few for garnish), celery salt, and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat, cover with lid, and simmer for 30 minutes. The asparagus should be very tender. Let the soup cool slightly.
5.    Blitz the soup in a food processor until smooth, then sieve into a clean saucepan. Pour in the crème fraiche or cream. Heat gently, but do not allow to boil. Season with white pepper. Taste the soup – it should already have enough salt because of the vegetable stock and celery salt, but add some sea salt if necessary.
6.    Ladle the soup into individual bowls and garnish with the remaining fresh herbs. Add swirls of extra crème fraiche or cream if desired, and serve immediately.

 

Greek sesame-topped Easter bracelets

It’s a shame Britain doesn’t have a tradition of Easter foods. Well, we consume hot cross buns and chocolate eggs in massive quantities this time of the year – but they are not so much a ‘tradition’ as brainchild of supermarket marketing departments. At least, that’s what I think.

So for inspiration on Easter cooking, look to Italy, Greece and other countries with a strong Catholic or Christian tradition, and you will find plenty of eggs dishes and baked sweet treats.

These Greek pastry ‘bracelets’ – which are like a cross between bagels and biscuits – are a favourite with children. The dough can be shaped into large or small bracelets, rings, rolls, cigars, twists, plaits – or anything else you fancy, really.

This is a traditional recipe – it’s known as Kulurakia in Greece – so I make no apologies for using white flour and white sugar. You can substitute brown flour and raw cane sugar if you wish – I’m sure it would be fine, but it won’t have that old-fashioned rustic Greek taste.

Get children involved in making these bracelets – if you don’t have any, do what I do and borrow a gaggle of nephews and nieces. It’ll be a lot of fun, especially if you make an event of it and have an egg painting party at the same time as the bracelets are being baked. Happy Easter! Serves 4 to 6.

4 oz/ 100g clarified or unsalted butter, softened
4 oz/ 100g white sugar
½ teaspoon natural vanilla extract
2 medium organic free-range eggs
12 oz/ 300g white flour
2 level teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

For the glaze:
1 medium organic free-range egg
1 tablespoon milk

For the topping:
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds

1.    Beat the butter with a fork until it is creamy. Add sugar and vanilla extract, and beat well.
2.    Crack the eggs into the butter and sugar mixture, and once again beat thoroughly.
3.    Sift in the flour with the baking powder and cinnamon, and combine everything to make soft dough. Allow the dough to stand for approximately half an hour.
4.    Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375F/ 190C/ gas mark 5.
5.    Then break off walnut-sized pieces of the dough, and shape each into a roll about 4 inches long.
6.    Pinch the ends together to form a bracelet shape and flatten slightly. Place the bracelets on greased baking sheets, making sure you leave enough space between each to give them room to rise.
7.    Make the glaze by beating together the egg with the milk. Using a pastry brush, paint each bracelet with the glaze.
8.    Carefully sprinkle the top of the bracelets with sesame seeds.
9.    Bake in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden.
10.    Allow to cool on a wire rack. Serve warm with coffee. Store any remaining bracelets in an airtight container.

 

Italian-style flower frittata

I wasn’t planning to share another recipe until after Easter. But I made this gorgeous Italian-style sweet omelette for brunch, and was so seduced by the magical colours and delicate perfume that I decided to write it up, in case any of you are looking for special occasion brunch dishes for the Easter holidays.

There is something very charming and ultra-feminine about cooking with flowers. If you’ve never tried it before, this is a good recipe to start (yes, even if you are a guy – and especially if you are looking to impress somebody special!).

Buy unsprayed, chemical-free flowers from florists, large supermarkets, delicatessens, or some branches of Whole Foods – or just pick them from a garden (preferably your own!).

Serve the frittata with champagne (why not make it pink champagne?). Alternatively, cut into diamond shapes, and serve with afternoon tea in the garden. Serves 4.

8 large organic free-range eggs
Generous handfuls of edible flowers (any combination of unsprayed rose petals, pansies, violets, marigolds, chive flowers, courgette flowers, etc)
2 tablespoons double cream
½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
1 oz/ 25g unsalted butter
Caster sugar (powdered sugar) for dusting

1.    Heat the grill (broiler) to medium heat.
2.    Crack the eggs into a bowl. Beat them lightly with a fork.
3.    Add most of the flowers (reserve some for garnish), cream and cinnamon, and combine everything very gently.
4.    Heat the butter in a small frying pan on medium heat. Pour in the egg mixture, and turn the heat down to low.
5.    Swirl the egg mixture around the pan, and stir it with a light hand until large curds form.
6.    Now do not disturb the egg mixture, and let it cook on low heat until the frittata is firm and the top is wobbly.
7.    Finish cooking the frittata by placing it under the grill until the top is just set.
8.    Remove from heat and let it cool in the pan for a couple of minutes.
9.    Slide the whole frittata onto a serving plate. Let it cool slightly. Sprinkle with caster sugar, and garnish extravagantly with the remaining flowers. Cut into wedges before serving.

 

Persian-influenced broad bean pilaf

Regular readers must be getting bored of my enthusiastic – and prolonged – welcome to this cherry blossom season, with recipe after recipe showcasing greens, asparagus, broad beans (and in forthcoming weeks, also peas, artichokes and other seasonal vegetables) on this site. But it still feels like such a novelty after the freezing winter we’ve had in the UK for so long, and the cooking really is different this time of the year. It’s lighter, more fun and frivolous, more visual, and more colour-oriented.

I’ve been meaning to share this great-tasting recipe ever since I started this blog last autumn, but I was just waiting for the right weather: this dish just doesn’t taste the same any other time of the year. It’s the vivid orange and green colours, the lively ingredients, and the simple, fuss-free flavours that make this easy-to-prepare rice such a quintessentially springtime dish.

You can serve the rice as an accompaniment – but when it tastes so good, why let it share the limelight with another dish? Serves 4.

8 oz/ 200g white Iranian or Indian basmati rice
10oz/ 250g fresh broad beans (or mixture of broad beans, peas and runner beans)
Salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 oz/ 50g butter
1 large onion, trimmed, peeled and finely sliced
½ teaspoon powdered saffron

Optional garnish 1 (herb omelette):
1 large organic free range egg
1 heaped tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill, tarragon, or mint – or a mixture
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

OR

Optional garnish 2 (herbed yoghurt):
8 tablespoons thick creamy yoghurt
1 heaped tablespoon fresh dill sprigs, roughly torn
Salt and pepper

1.    Wash and rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Soak it for half an hour or so in barely enough water to cover it.
2.    Then add a little more water to the rice – enough to cover it up to an inch. Add salt. Cook the rice for 20 minutes until tender. This is the absorption method, and for best results the rice must not be disturbed whilst cooking. Keeping the lid on, set the cooked rice aside for 10 minutes.
3.    Then remove the lid, place the container of rice in a bowl of iced water, and let it cool thoroughly – the longer you leave the rice to cool, the better will be the texture of this recipe. Hours, rather than minutes, is what I am suggesting. . (Alternatively, use 1lb/ 500g cooked leftover rice!).
4.    Meanwhile, shell and steam the broad beans (and other vegetables, if using) for about 5 minutes until tender. (Check by crushing a couple of beans between your fingers). Cool the beans a little, and skin them if you have the time.
5.    When ready to cook, heat the oil and butter together in a saucepan, and sauté the onion for a few minutes until lightly browned. Add the cooled rice, saffron, and more salt if needed. Stir gently so that the grains of rice don’t break or go mushy.
6.    Add the cooked broad beans. (Also add cooked peas and sliced runner beans if using). Adjust the seasoning.
7.    For optional garnish 1: Beat together the egg with the herbs and seasoning. Heat the oil in a small frying pan and make an omelette. Let the omelette cool a little, then roll it up tightly and finely shred. For optional garnish 2: Mix together the yoghurt with dill and seasoning.
8.    Serve the rice hot with either one of the garnishes. Although the garnishes are optional, they enhance this dish and bring out its flavour to full effect.

 

Russian salad with lemon mayonnaise

Normally the words ‘Russian salad’ fill me with dread. Russian salad – also known as Salade Olivier or Salade Russe – belongs to that category of ‘international hotel food’ that is indistinct, safe and seemingly without borders. You know, the sort of food that’s found in every country and in most households: hummus, pasta with pesto/ tomato sauce, mushroom risotto, spaghetti bolognese, vegetable curry, rocket and parmesan salad, grilled goats cheese, omelette fines herbes, lasagne, ratatouille, chilli con carne, tiramisu, banoffee pie… you get the idea.

Moreover, Russian salad seems to be a throwback to the 1970s, when it would have graced many a ‘sophisticated’ dinner party table alongside blancmange and black forest gateau. Generally a little too ‘Abigail’s Party’ for my liking.

But, of course, my Russian salad is different. For a start, the recipe was given to me by the chef of a small, family-run Tuscan restaurant. He serves it spooned into radicchio leaves or in the cavities of cooked artichokes – so this dish is sort of vaguely Russian with an Italian sensibility. The vegetables are soft yet crisp. They are steamed rather than boiled. They retain their bright colours and nutrients. And finally, the tangy lemon mayonnaise is suffused with the anticipation of summertime.

The secret of a successful Russian salad is to add very little mayonnaise – just enough to coat the vegetables and bring them together in harmony, rather than suffocating them in gloopy, heavy, unctuous mass of unnecessary calories. What’s more, any leftovers are delicious tucked into a sandwich. Resolutely rustic with a distinct homemade feel, you certainly won’t find this version in any hotel restaurant – either side of the 1970s! Serves 4 to 6.

For the lemon mayonnaise:
1 medium organic free-range egg, at room temperature
Salt
6 fl oz/ 180 ml mild extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

For the salad:
3 small red or yellow beetroot, trimmed
2 medium potatoes
4 oz/ 100g fine green beans, trimmed and sliced
4 oz/ 100g green/ yellow wax beans or runner beans, trimmed and sliced
2 small carrots, trimmed, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons finely chopped cornichons or dill pickles
3 tablespoons small capers, rinsed
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 recipe lemon mayonnaise (as above)

Optional garnishes:
Green or black olives, pitted and halved
Lightly toasted caraway seeds
Mild paprika
Fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley, roughly torn
Very thin half-slices of lemon

1.    Start by making the mayonnaise. Crack the egg into a blender. Add salt and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the oil. Blend until the egg is pale yellow and frothy.
2.    Keep the blender running, and add the remaining oil in a thin stream. If the egg begins to curdle and the oil is not being absorbed, stop pouring in the oil and continue blending the mixture until all the oil is incorporated. Then continue to add the oil until the mayonnaise thickens.
3.    Add some of the lemon juice and zest, blend for a few seconds longer, and taste. Then continue adding the lemon juice and zest, and taste until the mayonnaise achieves the desired lemony strength.
4.    Transfer the mayonnaise into a container and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use.
5.    To make salad, steam the beetroot, potatoes, two types of green beans, and carrots in individual compartments of a steamer. Take special care to keep the beetroot separate, or it will stain other vegetables. Cook until all the vegetables are tender but still a little firm. Drain and, when cool enough to handle, peel and dice the potatoes and beetroot.
6.    Place all the vegetables in a large bowl. Mix in the cornichons, capers, olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper.
7.    Add enough mayonnaise to lightly bind the salad. Garnish with one or more of the suggested garnishes, if desired. Chill the salad in the refrigerator. Serve cold or at room temperature.

 

Old-fashioned English rhubarb fool

I get excited by flamingo-hued rhubarb: their slender, tender spears attached to plumes of attractively vibrant yellow-green leaves are a delight to behold. Rhubarb, which has fruity, tangy flavour when cooked, is plentiful in kitchen gardens, farmers’ markets and even supermarkets at this time of the year. I love turning it into jams, drinks, cakes, and puddings – like this one.

Traditionally, you can flavour any rhubarb dish with ginger, cinnamon, strawberries or orange – but I have left this basic recipe plain, and have simply perfumed it with vanilla. You can build on it as you wish.

This is an old-fashioned recipe, dating back to the era of my grandmother’s generation. It contains vegetarian gelatine, which makes the rather runny rhubarb mixture set quickly and easily. These days, fools are usually made without gelatine, and often with yoghurt rather than double cream. Although thick, creamy Greek yoghurt will work fine in this recipe (not the insipid, low-fat variety), double cream gives the necessary opulent texture. And if you don’t mind your fool being somewhat sloppier, you can leave out the vegetarian gelatine altogether (omit step 4).

For variation, add a tablespoon of rosewater for a taste of Victorian England, and then garnish the fool with a few ruby-red pomegranate seeds to bring it back to the 21st century. Serves 4.

2 lb/ 1 kg forced rhubarb
1 vanilla pod (vanilla bean), split, with seeds scraped out
8 oz/ 200g caster sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ oz/ 7g sachet of vegetarian gelatine, such as Vege-Gel
15 fl oz/ 400 ml double cream

1.    Wash the rhubarb, trim the leaves and stems, and chop into small pieces.
2.    Place the rhubarb, vanilla pod and seeds, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Do not add extra water, as the water clinging to the rhubarb pieces is enough. Cook on gentle heat until the sugar starts to melt. Simmer with the lid on for approximately 15 minutes until the rhubarb is cooked.
3.    Remove from the heat, and mash the cooked rhubarb with the back of a spoon. Allow the mixture to cool a little. (If you want your fool to have a very smooth consistency, blitz the rhubarb in a blender for a few seconds).
4.    Add the vegetarian gelatine to the rhubarb mixture, and stir thoroughly. When the gelatine has dissolved, place the bowl of cooked rhubarb over ice so that it cools and sets a little.
5.    Whip the double cream for 2 or 3 minutes. Then mix the cream into the rhubarb, and divide the fool between 4 Martini glasses, or other types of glasses or cups. Lightly cover the containers with cling film. Chill in the refrigerator for 4 to 8 hours. Just before serving, remove the cling film, and accompany the fool with a small platter of shortbread biscuits or sponge fingers to dip into.

 

Thai lettuce wraps with pineapple and tofu

According to Thai culinary philosophy, every Thai dish should be a perfect balance of savoury, sweet, sour and hot – and if any single flavour dominates, then the dish is all wrong. Well, actually I’m putting it simplistically. Thai gourmets would judge each dish in terms of the first flavour that hits the tastebuds, the second flavour and the third flavour – and how harmoniously all three work together. So I guess you’d need to know what a traditional dish is supposed to taste like in the first place before you could judge. You’d also need a finely tuned, razor sharp, educated palate – and, if you don’t already have it, the good news is that it can be developed.

All this goes to show how complex a language food is: learning to cook a few dishes from a country is akin to knowing just a few words of a foreign language, and it is only by immersing yourself in a country’s culinary heritage with an open mind and a spirit of adventure that you will learn the full vocabulary. Be respectful of different cuisines, become curious, ask questions, read up, and prepare to experiment with new ingredients, flavour palettes, and cooking techniques. Cookery is, in other words, a journey rather than a destination – and like all good journeys, along the way you will learn a lot about yourself.

This lovely, summery recipe has bland, meaty tofu pieces taking on the sweetness of palm sugar along with the savouriness of soy sauce, sharpened by a background of chilli heat, refreshed by the sour, tangy, fruity overtones of lime, lemongrass and pineapple. Cashewnuts provide the necessary crunch, and the entire dish is perked up by the effusive liveliness of fresh green herbs.

Serve these light flavour bombs as appetiser or snack, or hand them around to your guests while they’re building up their appetites before a barbecue. Serves 4.

1 iceberg lettuce with unblemished leaves
12 oz/ 300g firm tofu
4 oz/ 100g cashewnuts
4 pink shallots, trimmed, peeled and halved
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 large stalk lemongrass, trimmed
1 or 2 fresh red birdseye chillies
2 tablespoons groundnut oil
4 fl oz/ 100 ml light Thai beer or mild vegetable stock
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon palm sugar or light brown sugar
Salt
4 oz/ 100g fresh pineapple, diced small
Large handful of fresh coriander (cilantro) and mint leaves
2 limes, quartered

1.    Carefully remove the whole outer leaves of an iceberg lettuce, taking care not to break them. Cut off coarse stems and scrape off any tough ribs. Wash the leaves thoroughly to remove grit, and leave in a colander to dry for several hours, or as long as possible.
2.    Drain the tofu between several sheets of kitchen paper, and cut into small pieces.
3.    Dry roast the cashewnuts in a small frying pan until lightly browned. Remove from the heat, and leave to cool a little.
4.    In a small mixer, coarsely chop the nuts – some pieces should still be visible as they will provide texture. Remove and set aside.
5.    Place the shallots, garlic, lemongrass and chillies in the mixer bowl and finely mince into a paste.
6.    Heat a wok on medium heat. Pour in the oil. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add the shallot paste. Turn the heat to low, and fry for about 5 minutes until the aromatics turn a light golden colour and perfume your kitchen.
7.    Add the tofu, and stir-fry for another 2 or 3 minutes.
8.    Add the beer or vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, and a little salt if needed. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat to very low. Simmer without the lid until the liquid has completely evaporated, stirring occasionally.
9.    Add the pineapple pieces and stir-fry until they’re evenly coated.
10.    Remove from the heat, and mix in the chopped cashewnuts. Let the mixture cool a little.
11.    Now make sure that the lettuce leaves are completely dry – wipe them with a kitchen cloth if necessary. (Wet leaves will make the dish soggy, so I’m emphasising this point). Spoon the tofu and pineapple mixture into the centre of a lettuce leaf. Top with a few coriander and mint leaves. Squeeze over a little bit of lime juice. Wrap the lettuce leaf tightly to make a parcel. Repeat until you have used up all of the tofu mixture.
12.    Serve immediately with extra lime wedges and, if you like, some Thai chilli sauce.

 

Rustic Roman spring vegetable stew

This light, simple stew – traditionally known as Bazzoffia in Rome – sings the song of springtime, but I won’t pretend that it’s not a little time-consuming to make.

For a start, I recommend you steam the broad beans and remove the skins for best results. As you’re peeling each individual bean, you will, no doubt, come up with your own version of Shirley Conran’s famous quote – “life is too short to stuff a mushroom” – perhaps something along the lines of: “life is too short to peel a broad bean”. You could be watching a movie, surfing, lying on a beach, shopping for new shoes or doing any number of interesting things, right? But a serious cook chooses to do all these mundane tasks – peeling beans, par-boiling and peeling tomatoes and so on – because he or she wants their guests only to have the best possible taste sensation. If you don’t have the time, buy the smallest, most tender-looking beans you can find and hope for the best.

Secondly, I suggest you use only fresh artichokes for this dish – it’s not really a recipe where you can get away with using ones from a can or a jar. If you have access to them, buy a bunch of tiny, ultra-fresh baby artichokes with violet tinge – they taste amazing, and don’t need much preparation.

Do not be intimidated by artichokes – for vegetarians, they are on a par with asparagus, truffles, saffron, dark chocolate or champagne when it comes to ‘posh treats’. There are many ways of trimming and preparing artichokes, depending on size and a country’s food culture. I have written up a separate section below on how to do it – though you may have your own method.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can prepare all the vegetables in advance, and cook the stew less than half an hour before you are ready to eat. Serves 4.

1 lb/ 500g broad beans (fava beans) in the pod
½ head cos (romaine) lettuce
8 tablespoons virgin Italian olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 medium white onion, trimmed, peeled, and cut into thin wedges
4 medium or 8 baby artichokes, prepared and cut into thin wedges
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced vertically
3 oz/ 75g fresh or frozen tender peas (podded weight)
Salt and pepper
Lemon wedges, to serve
Vegetarian pecorino romano cheese, finely shaved

HOW TO PREPARE ARTICHOKES FOR COOKING:

Snap back any tough leaves from an artichoke and pull them down, working your way around the layers. Stop when you get to tender, pale yellow leaves. Cut off the tops of the remaining leaves, leaving only about an inch of leaf. Use a potato peeler to trim away the dark green areas along the base. Trim off the base of the stem end, and cut off the rough fibres around the stem, leaving only the light-coloured, tender centre portion. Cut the artichoke in half lengthwise. Carefully cut away the fuzzy choke using a small knife, trying to cut just at the point where choke and heart meet. Baby artichokes do not generally have developed chokes, but they do have a layer or two of tough leaves that must be removed, and the base needs to be trimmed just as with larger artichokes. Keep all trimmed artichokes in acidulated water (water with plenty of fresh lemon juice added) to prevent discolouration until needed.

1.    Shell the broad beans. Steam them for 3 to 5 minutes until they’re nearly soft, but still al dente. If you have time, peel each individual bean. (If you don’t have time, omit this step and leave the beans in their grey-green skins).
2.    Trim the lettuce, remove any tough ribs and blemished leaves, and shred into ribbons.
3.    Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, and cook the onion on low heat until tender.
4.    Add the prepared artichokes, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5.    Add the cooked broad beans and uncooked peas, and give the vegetables a stir. Add the shredded lettuce, and sauté for a few seconds until the lettuce wilts slightly.
6.    Add just enough water to cover the vegetables, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer the stew gently for 10 to 15 minutes until all the vegetables are tender, stirring from time to time. If the stew begins to dry out, add water a little at a time until you have the desired consistency. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
7.    To serve, ladle the stew into individual pasta bowls. Drizzle each portion with a little olive oil, and top with a few slices of shaved pecorino cheese. Hand around extra cheese at the table, along with lemon wedges and good, chunky rustic Italian country bread.

 

Kashmiri morel mushroom pilau

Morel is the only mushroom to eat at this time of the year – but I’m surprised how little-known and difficult to obtain this fine delicacy is in the UK. You should be able to find morels in well-stocked delis, good health food shops and large supermarkets.

I love their honeycomb-patterned, tulip bud-like shape. What I love even more, however, is that Kashmiris refer to them as ‘gucchi’ – making their traditional ‘gucchi pilau’ sound like a designer rice dish. Suffused with saffron soaked in flower essence and studded with spices (all of which are available in Indian grocers, large supermarkets and specialist spice shops), it is indeed an exotic and aromatic dish.

Serve with plain yoghurt, raita, or a few spoonfuls of my Kashmiri Spiced Spring Greens – the recipe for which I posted on 25th March 2009. The pilau is also grand enough to eat all on its own. Serves 4 to 6.

12 oz/ 300g white basmati rice
3 oz/ 75g almonds
¼ teaspoon saffron strands
1 teaspoon pure screwpine essence (or 1 tablespoon rosewater, orange flower water, or jasmine flower water – they will all give their own distinct taste)
4 oz/ 100g dried or 6 oz/ 150g fresh morel mushrooms
3 oz/ 75g clarified (or unsalted) butter
4 black cardamoms, lightly crushed in their pods
6 green cardamoms, lightly crushed in their pods
3-inch piece cinnamon, broken into 2 or 3 pieces
6 cloves
3 dried bay leaves
A small pinch of asafoetida
1 teaspoon dried ginger powder
Salt
1 ¼ pint/ ¾ litres cold water
1 teaspoon garam masala
Fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves

1.    Wash the rice in several changes of cold water until the water runs clear. Soak the rice in just enough water to cover it, and set aside.
2.    Steep the almonds in boiling water from a kettle for 10 – 15 minutes. Drain, cool a little, remove the skins from the almonds and slice them vertically.
3.    Crush the saffron strands in a mortar, and soak in 1 teaspoon flower essence or 1 tablespoon flower water, as available. Set aside.
4.    Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth, but do not wash as they will lose their flavour. Halve them lengthways.
5.    Heat the butter in a wide heavy-bottomed saucepan, taking care not to burn it. Add the whole spices and bay leaves. Stir for a few minutes until they turn a shade darker and start to perfume your kitchen.
6.    Add the asafoetida and let it sizzle for just a few seconds.
7.    Add the prepared mushrooms and almonds, and sauté for a couple of minutes until the nuts begin to brown.
8.    Drain the rice thoroughly and add it to the mushroom mixture. Sauté for a few minutes until the grains of rice become shiny.
9.    Add the powdered ginger, the saffron mixture, and salt. Add the cold water and bring the rice to the boil. Then lower the heat, cover with a lid, and let it cook undisturbed for 20 minutes.
10.    Check to see whether the rice is cooked by pressing a couple of grains between your fingers. Remove from heat and set aside, keeping the lid on. Do not disturb the rice.
11.    Sprinkle the rice with garam masala and coriander leaves. Remove the whole spices before serving, or allow your guests to fish them out individually on their own plates.

 

Flageolets with green and yellow beans and spring onion butter

This is a contemporary take on the traditional French dish, haricots panaches, in which equal amounts of flageolets and green beans are combined and served with roasted or grilled lamb. You can eat this version as a first course, side dish, or for a light lunch – accompanied by some bread, if you like.

Flageolet beans have a pretty pistachio-green colour, and a delicate, refined flavour that is less earthy and mealy than other types of beans. Combined with vivacious, grassy, fresh bright green and yellow beans, this dish tastes luxurious, while at the same time looking like it’s been plucked from the French countryside.

Yellow wax beans, little bundles of summer savoury, and fresh, tender spring garlic with papery skin that’s tinged with green and lilac are all seasonal ingredients that are available in farmers markets, or even supermarkets these days.

This dish tastes lovely as it is, but you can liven it up by adding a splash of lemon juice and finely grated lemon zest and/ or some Dijon mustard to either the beans or the butter. Another variation to the spring onion butter is butter flavoured with chives and chive flowers. Any leftovers can be eaten as a salad, and would be ideal for picnics. Serves 4.

8 oz/ 200g dried green flageolet beans
Water
2 bay leaves
A large sprig of summer savoury or thyme
2 medium spring onions, trimmed and very finely chopped
4 oz/ 100g unsalted butter at room temperature
Fine ground sea salt (ideally French fleur de sel)
Freshly ground white pepper
6 oz/ 150g fine green French beans, stringed and left whole
6 oz/ 150g yellow wax beans, stringed and left whole
2 cloves fresh spring garlic, peeled and very finely chopped
Salt and pepper

1.    Soak the flageolets for 8 hours or overnight in plenty of cold water. Drain and rinse. Place the beans in a saucepan with water, bay leaves and summer savoury, and bring to the boil. (Do not add salt, otherwise the beans won’t cook properly). Reduce the heat to low, and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the beans are tender but have still retained their shape. Drain, leaving aside 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquid, and discard the herbs.
2.    To make spring onion butter, combine the chopped onions with butter, sea salt and ground white pepper. The butter will be flecked with an attractive emerald green colour. Refrigerate for around 30 minutes until firm.
3.    Steam the green and yellow beans in separate compartments of a steamer for about 7 minutes until they are tender but still retain some bite. Drain thoroughly.
4.    In a frying pan, combine the cooked flageolets with the 2 tablespoons reserved cooking liquid, garlic, and salt and pepper. Cook over gentle heat for a minute, stirring from time to time. Add the cooked green and yellow beans and mix well. Keep the bean mixture on very low heat.
5.    Set aside a cube of spring onion butter (about a tablespoon), and add the remaining butter to the pan of beans about 2 tablespoons at a time, heating just until the butter is absorbed. The beans will take on a shiny gloss. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
6.    Transfer the beans to a serving dish, and place the cube of butter that you have set aside on the top. Toss before serving.

 

Caribbean mango ice cream

Everyone talks about summer berries and stone fruits at this time of the year – but what about mangoes, which are in season right now? How can you possibly resist their voluptuous shapes, their vibrant sunset colours, their heady fragrance that is somewhere between flowers and honey and, of course, their seductive juiciness?

This is a rich, old-fashioned Caribbean recipe – it harks back to the time when people didn’t feel guilty about eating so much cream and eggs, and when essences used in cooking weren’t synthetic but natural. Enjoy it in that spirit – and don’t forget to use only the best quality ripe, sweet, juicy mangoes (any variety is fine), and only a touch of spice, to bring out the flavour of the mangoes and not overwhelm the ice cream. Buy fresh cream from a farm shop or farmers’ market if there is one near you – it really will make a difference to the taste.

In Britain, not only is it near-tropical weather right now (and it looks like it’s here to stay), but we also have National Ice Cream Week kicking off this week – so what better excuse to indulge in a delicious, cooling sweet treat?
Makes 2 pints/ 1 ¼ litres.

8 oz/ 200g fresh, ripe mango flesh (weight after removing skin and stones)
Around 2 oz/ 50g white sugar (optional, depending on how sweet the mango is)
3 pints/ 1 ½ litres single cream
6 egg yolks (from medium-sized organic, free-range eggs)
6 oz/ 150g caster sugar
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice berries, finely crushed in a mortar
1 or 2 drops natural vanilla extract

To serve:
Fresh mango slices

1.    Pulp the mango flesh. Add sugar if needed, and stir until it has dissolved. Set aside while you get on with the rest of the recipe.
2.    Heat the cream on medium heat, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat immediately. Let it cool a little, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin forming.
3.    Whisk the egg yolks with the caster sugar until fluffy and creamy, and gently combine with the cream. (You can use the remaining egg whites to make meringues or omelette).
4.    Mix well, and add nutmeg, crushed allspice and vanilla extract.
5.    Return the mixture to a low heat (or use a double boiler). Cook until the mixture becomes creamy custard, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir constantly to prevent lumps forming and burning. Do not allow to boil, otherwise the mixture may curdle.
6.    Remove from heat and allow to cool completely – it helps to stand the pan in ice cold water. While the custard is cooling, add the mango pulp and stir frequently.
7.    To freeze the ice cream: either use an ice cream maker, the ice cream compartment of a refrigerator or a freezer. If you use either of the latter two options, the ice cream must be taken out approximately every 30 minutes and beaten or whisked to prevent ice from forming, and to obtain a creamy consistency. Once you have done so, return the ice cream to the freezer immediately. Repeat the process until the ice cream has set and you have reached the desired texture. Serve with fresh mango slices.

 

Barbecued baby aubergines with Mediterranean yoghurt dip

Smoke, fire, stomach doing somersaults in anticipation and, if you are lucky, sunshine pouring all over the proceedings like a special blessing… Well, I love barbecues as much as the next vegetarian person, but I get bored of unimaginative offerings, often consisting of little more than veggie burgers, jacket potatoes and corn on the cob. This simple Greek-style, broadly Mediterranean recipe is guaranteed to bring sunshine into your kitchen – whatever the weather!

Serve with pitta bread toasted on the barbecue or grill, and a platter of simply cooked green vegetables or tomato and mixed leaf salad. Serves 4.

For the yoghurt dip:

1lb/ 500g Greek yoghurt, sieved through muslin (cheesecloth)
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mint leaves, finely chopped
1 small red onion, trimmed, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
4 oz/ 100g Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, lightly toasted and crushed
1 tablespoon small capers (chopped if they’re too big)
1 tablespoon gherkins, finely chopped
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the aubergines:

12 baby aubergines (eggplants)
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil, ideally Greek
Salt and pepper

1.    Make the yoghurt dip by mixing together all the dip ingredients. Set aside in a cool place to let the flavours develop.
2.    When you’re ready to eat, fire up the barbecue or grill (broiler) on medium heat. Halve the aubergines lengthwise, leaving them attached to their stalks. Using a small pastry brush, coat the cut sides with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3.    Cook the aubergines on the barbecue or grill for 3 or 4 minutes on each side, or until they are done (test each aubergine for doneness with a small skewer).
4.    Serve the aubergines with the yoghurt dip.

 

Chinese stir-fried asparagus with black bean and sesame sauce

I adore asparagus. During its all-too-brief season, I put it in pastas, risottos, soups, quiches and salads. So, being a globalveggie, I started thinking about asparagus recipes that are ‘ethnic’, spicy, or just a bit different from the usual tried-and-tested, run of the mill stuff.

Then I remembered a traditional recipe once described by my Chinese friend Jasper Lee, in which tender, leaf-green asparagus is simply stir-fried with black beans and sesame and eaten with mounds of warm, fluffy, slightly sticky rice. I tried it – adapted it a little – and instantly fell in love with it. Here is the recipe.

Preserved black soy beans in brine are available in jars in Chinese supermarkets. I prefer the dried preserved version, flavoured with ginger, which comes in terracotta or stone jars. Whichever type of preserved beans you buy, you may want to rinse them to remove their saltiness before use. The beans have earthy, slightly gritty, flavour and texture that adds substance and body to the still-tender but often chunky late season asparagus.

Chilli bean sauce is a common ingredient in Chinese cookery, and is made from the usual yellow soy beans combined with fiery red chillies. Serve this stir-fry with plain steamed rice and a tofu dish, or simply perched on top of egg-fried rice.
Serves 2.

1 lb/ 500g asparagus
1 tablespoon groundnut (peanut) oil
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely grated
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons preserved black beans, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chilli bean sauce
5 fl oz/ 150 ml light vegetable stock (instant is fine)
¼ teaspoon white sugar
4 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
1 tablespoon dark toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, lightly toasted in a small saucepan
A pinch of salt (optional)

1.    Trim the asparagus, cutting off the tough ends of the stalk at the bottom. Slice the asparagus diagonally into 3-inch lengths.
2.    Heat a wok on high heat until it is hot. Add the oil. When the oil is hot – which will only take a few seconds – add the ginger, garlic and black beans, and stir-fry quickly for a few seconds. The aromatics should turn a couple of shades darker, but must not turn brown or burn.
3.    Add the chilli bean sauce, followed by the asparagus a few seconds later. Stir-fry quickly and continuously for about 2 minutes until the asparagus is nearly tender.
4.    Add the stock, sugar and rice wine. Cook on high heat for 2 more minutes, stir-frying continuously.
5.    Add the sesame oil and sesame seeds. Stir thoroughly, and adjust the seasoning, adding a little salt if necessary. Serve immediately.

 

East European summer vegetable casserole

I must confess that I don’t normally associate the words ‘East European’ with the word ‘summer’. This cool part of the world is more renowned for its long-cooked meat stews, hearty potato dumplings and rich cabbage dishes than a sprightly summer vegetable casserole that wouldn’t look out of place on a Mediterranean table.

You could call this dish ‘East European ratatouille’ if you wish. However, the origins of this famous stew – called ‘gyuvech’ – lie in Turkey. (“Gyuvech’ is the Turkish word for a special earthenware pot in which the vegetables are cooked). From Turkey, the dish travelled to the Balkan states, and is now popular in Romania, Hungary, Croatia, and Bulgaria. Just like goulash, there are many national and regional variations, with each family adding its own signature. This is a broadly Bulgarian version of the dish – though serving it with sour cream rather than yoghurt would make it more Hungarian.

However you serve or eat it, the casserole is very simple to prepare and tasty. The key is in using the best, plumpest, freshest vegetables. Choose okra which are very tender to touch and not fibrous. Green beans, mushrooms, various types of pumpkins and squashes are also good – experiment with vegetables of your choice, varying them according to the seasons. You may omit the optional garnishes, but the yoghurt or sour cream is a must. Serves 6.

1 medium aubergine (eggplant), chunkily diced
6 tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 medium green or yellow courgettes (zucchini), thickly sliced
2 medium red onions, trimmed, peeled and cut into 8 wedges each
6 oz/ 150g okra, trimmed on both ends and left whole
1 lb/ 450g fresh tomatoes, chunkily diced (no need to skin)
2 small red and yellow peppers (capsicum), trimmed, seeded and cut into squares
1 heaped tablespoon sweet or hot paprika
Salt and pepper
A large bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Optional garnishes (use one or more of the following):
Several sprigs of fresh savoury, dill, tarragon, or celery leaves
Fried eggs, or hard-boiled eggs – shelled and cut into wedges
Feta, or other feta-like white cheese, cubed
Green or black olives, pitted

To serve:
Plain yoghurt or sour cream
Rye bread or caraway seed bread

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C/ 375F/ gas mark 5.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy frying pan. Sauté the aubergines and courgettes for around 5 minutes until they are starting to soften and become lightly browned.
3. Pour the remaining oil in a large oven-proof dish (earthenware if you have it), and place the empty dish in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes.
4. When the oil is heated through, take the dish out and put in the aubergines, courgettes, onions, okra, tomatoes, and sweet peppers. Sprinkle with paprika and salt and pepper.
5. Stir the vegetables gently so that they are evenly coated with hot oil, paprika and seasoning. Place the dish back in the oven without a lid, and bake for 1 hour. The aubergines and okra should be tender and thoroughly cooked, whereas all the other vegetables should retain some bite.
6. Remove the stew from the oven, check for doneness, and adjust the seasoning. Sprinkle with parsley and stir gently. Top with any of the optional garnishes you are using.
7. Serve hot, accompanying each portion with yoghurt or sour cream, mixing up the hot vegetables with cool yoghurt/ cream as you eat.

 

Wimbledon cake

I love tennis. Or more accurately, I love the time of Wimbledon Championships. You get glimpses of Ye Olde England – the near-mythical age of fogs and mists, men walking around in top hats and ladies nibbling on crustless cucumber sandwiches.

I must admit that, other than a few glorious heatwave-friendly salads (the one with miniature baby potatoes, fresh peas, mozzarella, wild rocket, toasted pine nuts and extravagant quantities of silky green asparagus was particularly delicious), I haven’t done much cooking since the Championships began. I have either travelled down to London to visit Wimbledon, or have been glued to my TV watching Wimbledon, or have been sitting in my garden with strawberries and Pimms imagining myself to be at Wimbledon.

Except for this cake. I wanted to concoct a strawberry and cream cake that could be enjoyed not only during Wimbledon, but on all special summer occasions – of which there are plenty. Since there’s enough cream in the filling, I didn’t put any butter in the cake (only small quantities needed for greasing the cake tin). Happily, it works. The semolina gives the cake a slightly crunchy, dense texture.

I used strawberry jam that I had made last month from tiny little strawberries that grow in my garden. I was going to post the recipe, but given that some food bloggers are sharing recipes for exotic and imaginative jams and marmalades, my own humble effort felt a little, well, humble.

Serve the cake with crustless white cucumber or watercress sandwiches, plump scones, a pot of tea, and a glass of champagne or Pimms for the taste of England in summertime. Makes one 8-inch cake.

For the cake:
Unsalted butter, softened, for greasing

3 eggs, separated
4 oz/ 100g caster (powdered) sugar
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
3 oz/ 75g semolina

For the filling:
8 oz/ 200g strawberry jam or coulis
A few fresh strawberries, finely sliced (optional)
5 fl oz/ 150 ml clotted or whipping cream, lightly whipped

To finish:
Icing (superfine) sugar
Fresh strawberries, sliced or left whole (optional)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ gas mark 4. Grease a deep, round 8-inch (20 cm) cake tin and line it with buttered greaseproof paper (butter side up).
2. Place the egg yolks, sugar, grated orange zest and juice and the semolina into a bowl and mix well until thoroughly combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are stiff but not dry, then gently fold them into the orange and semolina mixture. Pour into the prepared cake tin.
4. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30-35 minutes until well-risen and pale golden brown. The top of the cake should spring back when lightly pressed with a finger.
5. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
6. Meanwhile, heat the strawberry jam or coulis on gentle heat until it is runny. (I’m suggesting 200g, but adjust the quantity – half a jar, whole jar – to suit your own taste). Let it cool a little at the same time the cake is cooling.
7. To fill, carefully split the cake in half horizontally and fill with the strawberry jam, the clotted or whipped cream and, if using, a few sliced strawberries.
8. Just before serving, sift some icing sugar over the top and, if desired, decorate with fresh strawberries. Enjoy the cake a little warm or at room temperature – but it must be eaten on the same day as it won’t keep.