Sunday, 28 March 2010

Lemon Meringue Pie

I was craving this and determined to make it, not sink to the depths of buying a Sara Lee lurid yellow and shaving foam meringue pale imitation. But I couldn't find a decent recipe in the books I have! The Hummingbird bakery have a recipe in their book but I pulled a face when I read condensed milk needed to be added to the lemon (er I think not!). So in the end I found one in my trusty Rose Elliott New Simply Delicious book. And it was simply delicious. I remember my mum making this for pudding on a sunday, and all of us liking the combination of the light, slightly chewy fluffy meringue and the dense, sticky, sour lemon. Heavenly!

For about 6 portions you need:
Pastry:
300g plain flour
150g butter
cold water to bind

For the lemon curd:
Juice and zest of 3 lemons
3 egg yolks
450ml water
6 tbsp cornflour
45g butter
90g caster sugar

For the meringue:
3 egg whites
180g caster sugar

Make the pastry by blitzing in a food processor and then leaving to rest for about 30 mins. The roll out and line a pie dish. Prick, line with baking beads and bake for 20 mins at 180 degrees. Leave to cool.

For the lemon mix the cornflour with a bit of the water to slacken it and then place the remaining water in a pan with the sugar and bring to the boil. Once the sugar has dissolved add the lemon juice, zest and cornflour to the sugar syrup. Return to the heat and stir till thickened. Remove from the heat and add the butter and egg yolks. Leave to cool.

For the meringue whip the whites till really stiff then add the sugar. Mix till glossy.

Pour the lemon into the case and top with the meringue. Make sure you spread the meringue right to the edges of the pie case or it'll go soggy.

Bake in a moderate (160 degrees) oven for about 45 mins. Try not to eat it all on one day.

Cous cous with almonds, pine nuts and cashews

This is another recipe which isn't really a recipe, it's more common sense. But I'll blog it anyway...

For 4-6 portions you need:
1 cup cous cous
2 cups boiling water
1/2 tsp stock powder
2 tbsp pine nutes
2 tbsp flaked almonds
1/4 cup cashews

Soak the cous cous in the stock till fluffy. Toast the nuts in a pan and then top the cous cous with them just before you serve. This is a nice plain side dish to counter the richness of other dishes.

Toasted Pitta with Zatar

This is a lovely crispy accompaniment to houmous and other dippy things. Be careful not to cook it too much however or it will burn. And watch your teeth too - it's very very crunchy!

Cut pittas in half and then split the halves. Sprinkle over zatar (a blend of herbs, spices and sesame seeds) and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in a hot oven for 5-10 mins depending on the thickness of the bread. Yum.

Arabic Salad

This is based on Nadia Sawalha's recipe in @bbcgoodfood magazine this month. But I have added corriander, left out the pepper (as this was used in the chilli, feta and parsley salad) and done different toasted pitta. It's a lovely light and refreshing salad and makes a good contrast to the zaalouk.

For 4-6 portions you need
1 red onion, finely sliced
juice 1 lemon
2 tomatoes, diced (leave out the core and harder middle if they're not as ripe as you'd like)
1/2 cucumber, sliced
1 small romaine lettuce, thickly shredded
1/2 bunch parsley and corriander, chopped
4 sprigs mint, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil

Place everything into a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Zaalouk (v)

This is my favourite ever aubergine dish. It's so delicious it's hard to describe. Yes it is a but of a faff to make but OMG it is soooooooooo worth it! And the recipe makes loads so you can over indulge to your hearts content. If you have argan oil it makes all the difference, but I am not sure where you can buy it from here (suggestions gratefully received as I am down to my last 1/4 of a bottle!). If you can't get argan then good quality olive will do fine :)

For 4-6 portions you need:
2 large aubergines
6 tomatoes
1 large onion
5 cloves garlic
1 bunch corriander, chopped
1 bunch parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
2 large tbsp good quality harissa
juice 1 lemon
4 tbsp argan oil
4 tbsp olive oil

Begin by pricking the aubergines and roasting them in a hot (200 degrees) oven. Slice the tomatoes in half and place in a baking dish, drizzled with the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Roast the toms and aubergine for 45 mins till soft. Meanwhile saute the onion in a pan with a little more olive oil.

Cut the cooked aubergines in half and scoop the flesh out of the skins. Chop roughly. Scoop the toms out of their skins and chop. Add both to the onions along with the oil the toms were roasted in.

Add the harissa and garlic and cook for about 5 mins. Add a little water if it looks too dry. Turn off the heat and add the corriander, parsley and lemon. Check the seasoning adding more lemon or salt if needed. Pour into a serving dish and pour over the argan oil. Serve with toasted pitta and olives. Close your eyes and imagine the sun on your face!

Chilli, Parsley and Feta Salad

This is a Ghillie Basan recipe. And it's amazingly good!

For 3-4 people as a side dish you need:
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 pepper, sliced thinly (I used orange as I don't like the green which was suggested)
1 chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bunch flat parsley, chopped
1/2 pack feta, crumbled
2 large tomatoes, chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
juice 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
Barbere seasoning to serve

Place everything onto a plate and top with the feta. Drizzle over the oil and top with the barbere seasoning. Leave to settle for about 30 mins before serving.

Moroccan Feast

I love Moroccan food, and ever since we visited there a couple of years ago I like trying to recreate the food we ate. Especially when it's cold here!

We had the following feast for lunch today. I'll blog all the recipes separately to make them easier to search for later.

Chilli, parsley and feta salad
Zaalouk (aubergine and tomato salad)
Arabic salad
Olives
Toasted pitta with zatar
Cous cous with almonds, pine nuts and cashews
Houmous

Followed by melon and of course mint tea!

Am pogged now! And have plenty of leftovers for lunch next week. Yum.

Sunday, 21 March 2010

Root Vegetable Butter Masala

I am getting a bit fed up the last remnants of the winter root veggies, so fell back on my old friend curry to cheer them up a bit. This was OK. I wouldn't rush to make it again but I think that was more to do with too much passata and a not that amazing curry paste. N seemed to like it enough...

For 6 portions you need:
3 carrots, diced
2 parsnips, diced
1/2 celeriac, diced
1 onion, chopped
4 large new potatoes, diced
1 carton, passata
250ml water
1/4 jar curry paste
2 inch piece ginger, grated
50g butter
75g ground almonds

Saute the veggies for about 10 mins then add the curry paste. Heat for 5 mins or so. Add the passata and water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer (uncovered) and cook for about an hour until the carrots and potatoes are done. Add the almonds and butter and heat gently for a further 5 mins. Serve with rice etc.

Corriander, Cucumber, Tomato and Mint Salad

This is also very good with anything Indian themed. It's delicious on poppadums and is also nice as a side to a hot curry as the tomatoes and cucumber cool down the heat of the chilli in the curry.

For about 6-8 portions you need:
1/2 cucumber, sliced thinly (skin on)
1 red onion, finely diced
1 cup corriander, chopped roughly
1 tsp dried mint
1-2 tomatoes, chopped (no need to de-skin)
juice half lemon

Mix everything together and serve. Yum.

Coconut, Corriander and Chilli Chutney

I love this - it's salty, tangy, searingly hot from the chilli and yet cooling at the same time from the yogurt. It's the perfect partner for the onion bhajis or just some poppadums.

For about 500ml you need:
200ml natural yogurt
100g coconut
1 cup corriander
3 chillis
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Lob everything into a food processor and blitz till smooth. Pour into a bowl and scoff with whatever you fancy.

Onion Bhajis

Actually I'm not sure if these constitute bhajis more than pakoras but frankly who cares. They taste yummy, are a piss of, well you know, to make and everyone seems to like them, result.

For about 12 bhajis you need:
4oz sifted gram flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
about 2 large onions, thinly sliced with the pieces separated
1/2 cup chopped corriander
1 tsp chilli powder
salt
oil for deep frying

Mix everything together with some cold water to form a batter. Heat the oil and when hot drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the oil. Make sure they don't sit on the bottom of the pan or they will catch and burn. Cook, turning once, for about 8 mins till puffed up, crispy and golden brown. Serve with relish or chutney. Delicious!

Saturday, 20 March 2010

Roasted Squash Soup with Harissa and Canolleni Beans

@riverford delivered a *beautiful* sweet mama squash this week and I knew I had to make this! It's an unctuous, velvety, delicious soup with a pleasant warmth from the harissa.

For 4 portions you need:
1 squash, cut into chunks (no need to peel) and deseeded
1.25l vegetable stock
1 rounded dessertspoon harissa
2 tbsp finely chopped corriander
2 tbsp roasted pumpkin seeds
2 tsp roasted pumpkin seed oil
2 pinches moroccan seasoning
salt and pepper
2 tbsp good quality olive oil

Begin by roasting the squash: lay the unpeeled chunks on a baking sheet, season well, add the moroccan seasoning and the olive oil. Roast in a moderate oven for about an hour. Leave to cool for a bit and then scoop the flesh from the skin.

Place the cooked flesh in a pan and add the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins. Blend. Add the drained beans and harissa and gently heat. Serve in bowls garnished with the toasted seeds, corriander and oil.

Plain Chocolate Brownie

Plain as in just chocolate, not as in not nice. This is the recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery. And very nice it is too. The only difference I have made is to reduce the amount of butter as imho it's too greasy with the full amount and I've added some vanilla as I think it enhances the taste of the chocolate.

For about 16 portions you need:
200g good quality plain chocolate
125g butter
150g plain flour
325g caster sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate and butter. Once melted and cooled slightly, mix in the other ingredients. Pour the batter into a lined swiss roll tin and bake at 160 degrees for about 30 mins. Yum yum yum yum!

Spiced Creme Caramel

This is utterly delicious. It's a Rick Stein recipe that was published in Good Food ages ago. It sounds complicated but it's not. Bar watching the caramel cook it
doesn't require much looking after at all.

For about 6 portions you need:
Custard:
500ml milk
small stick of cinnamon
1/2 vanilla pod, split (I use a whole one)
1 cardamom pod, crushed (I use two)
4oz white caster sugar
3 large eggs
2 additional egg yolks (make a pavlova or some macaroons with the left over whites)

Lob everything bar the eggs into a pan and bring to the boil then leave to
infuse for 60 mins.

Meanwhile make the caramel. Heat gently 6oz white caster sugar (this is
important cos I have used golden in the past and it doesn't work nearly as well) and
180ml water in a pan till the sugar has dissolved (should take about 10
mins) DON'T STIR IT!!!!! Then bring to the boil and boil rapidly till the
liquid has gone an amber colour again NO STIRRING!!! Immediately it turns
amber (light colour) pour into a shallow baking dish that can hold 1.5
litres.

Once the milk has infused, add the beaten eggs and yolks then strain onto
the caramel. Bake in a bain marie for 40 mins or so then leave to cool and
chill overnight. Absolutely delicious.

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Wild Garlic, Mushroom and Mascapone Pasta

The @riverford veg box arrived today. Cue a dither about what to have. We both fancied stew but there wasn't really enough time to make that, so I came up with this instead after spying a lush, dark green bag of wild garlic sitting on the top of the box.

For 2 portions you need:
200g pasta
2/3 tub mascapone
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 small leeks, finely sliced
1 cup mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp grated parmesan
1 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp paprika

Begin by sauteeing the leeks in the oil. After a few mins add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook for a further few mins and then add everything else aside from the pine nuts and parsley. Cook out to wilt the wild garlic and melt the mascapone.

Meanwhile cook the pasta. Once al dente drain, not worrying too much about all the water being drained away. Mix in with the sauce. Serve in bowls topped with cheese, parsley and pine nuts. Sit back and marvel at how amazing you are to cook a dinner like this, in under 20 mins on a work night. Quaff more wine and become even less modest.

Sunday, 14 March 2010

Sweet Potato and Normal Potato Wedges with Blue Cheese and Herb and Garlic Dip

Lex requested wedges for dinner tonight. Which kinda left me in a bit of a spin cos I had no idea what to serve with them to make a complete meal... So I decided to do the sweetcorn soup and two types of wedges with different dips.

For the wedges you need:
4 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 8ths
4 medium normal potatoes, cut into 8ths
Salt and pepper
Berbere seasoning (from Waitrose, or chilli flakes and cumin if you can't get that)
4 tbsp vegetable oil

Place the sweet potatoes in one bowl, season, add 1/2 tsp of the berbere seasoning and 2 tbsp oil. Toss thoroughly. Turn out on to a baking sheet.

Place the normal potatoes in another bowl, season and add the other 2 tbsp oil. Toss and turn out on to a different baking sheet.

Roast the wedges in a hot oven for about 40 mins till crispy and cooked. Turn frequently. The sweet potato wedges will probably take about 30 mins.

For the blue cheese dip you need:
100g blue cheese
75g natural yogurt
2 heaped tbsp mayo

Blitz till smooth.

For the herb and garlic dip you need:
1/2 pack boursin
2 tbsp mascapone
2 tbsp natural yogurt

Mash the boursin into the cheese and yogurt.

Serve the wedges with the dips and feel virtuous that you have tricked your child into eating a vegetable mwahahaha...

Of course if you serve different dips the wedges themselves are vegan.

Sweetcorn Soup

This soup is just about as easy as soup gets, and yet it tastes blimming gorgeous. This is a Rose Elliott recipe from her New Complete Vegetarian book.

For 4 small servings you need:
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp oil
700ml stock
395g can sweetcorn, drained (about 260g drained or equivalent of fresh or frozen)
pinch paprika
pepper to season
150ml soya milk

Sweat the onion in the oil for about 5 mins. Add the corn and stock and simmer for about 15 mins. Add the milk and paprika and blend. Really lovely :)

Chocolate Easter Nests

Yes I know it's not Easter yet, but I love these and they're something Lex can make on his own too.

For about 12 nests you need:
200g milk chocolate
25g dark chocolate
100g shredded wheat (about 5 individual large wheats)
25g butter
12 mini chocolate eggs
12 jelly beans

Melt the chocolate and butter. Meanwhile crush the wheats in your hands into a bowl. Once the choc/butter is melted add to the crushed wheat and mix well. Place into cake cases and top with a mini chocolate egg and a jelly bean. Scoff and feel that they're sort of good for you as they contain shredded wheat. Never make again till next Spring!

Mock Mozzerella and Tomato Paninis

I brought some basil flavoured tofu a few weeks ago out of sheer curiosity. It looked OK, but I was a bit scared of it to tell the truth. We used it today in a mock mozz and tom panini. If I was vegan I'd say yummy. But given that I'm veggie the tofu just wasn't enough of a substitute for oozing, yummy, mozz. But if you fancy it, it's not that bad. Honest.

For 1 hungry persons lunch you need:
1 small-ish bake at home ciabatta
1/2 pack basil tofu, sliced into long strips
1 small ripe tomato, sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced
2 tbsp sun dried tomato paste/vegan pesto

Split the bread in half. Spread the paste/pesto on one side then layer up the tofu tomato and onion. Place the other half on top and heat in a panini press, making sure to press down well for even cooking. Cook for about 8 mins till the bread is brown and crispy and the filling is hot. Serve with a green salad.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

I adore this. But it's seriously not good for you. Well actually that's not true. There are so many dates in the cake bit that I am sure that should count as one of your 5-a-day. But the sauce, oh my the sauce! Nothing with that much cream, butter and sugar can be good for you can it?!

For about 12 portions you need:
Cake:
200g stoned dates (snigger)
250ml boiled water
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
85g soft butter
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
175g golden caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten

Sauce:
200g light muscovado sugar
200g butter
300ml double cream

Begin by placing the dates in a bowl with the bicarb and pouring over the water. Leave to soften for about an hour (longer if you can). After they have soaked, puree with a hand blender.

Meanwhile cream the butter and sugar together then add the eggs, flour and spice. Mix thoroughly. Fold in the date puree and pour into a lined tin. Bake for about 30 mins till springy.

For the sauce place all the ingredients in a pan and heat gently. Cook till a nice golden colour. Slice the cake into portions and place in a bowl. Pour over the sauce and enjoy. This also freezes well.