Red lentil, tomato and orange soup

I am writing this recipe watching ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ and eating some mars bar rice crispie, could literally not be more food now if I tried.*

This is my Mum’s recipe. It is one of the most comforting, warmest and most delicious soups on the planet. It is also surprisingly uncomplicated to make.

This recipe gets a bit non-linear. I know that is not so acceptable with recipes and food writing, but it is just how my brain is working at the moment. (I’ve been thinking about Kurt Vonnegut a lot lately).

Serves probably 6

Ingredients

225g red lentils

1 large carrot, sliced

1 onion, sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 orange

400ml veg stock (you might need to add more water)

salt and pepper

goes really well with a crunchy garlic-y crouton

Method

Peel the orange with a vegetable peeler. take care when doing this as oranges are strange things to peel, and so some finger stabbing/peeling may occur (it is worth it though). Use a pointy-ish teaspoon or similar implement to scrape the white pith out of the back of the orange peel. This is the only tedious bit of this recipe, and in the right frame of mind, it can be oddly satisfying. Juice the orange and save the juice for later.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and lightly fry the onion slices. If you start this off before you start scraping the orange peel pith, then by the time you are done, the onions should be lightly browned, and ready to go. Add the garlic when you are about halfway through the orange peel.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except the salt and pepper), bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 30-45 minutes, or until the carrots and lentils are cooked. Check it periodically and add a bit more water if needed.

Add the orange juice, blitz the soup, and season to taste.

*of course one can always be more foodie

Courgettes stuffed with lemon rice

Adapted from Honey and Co: Food from the Middle East

This is a recipe of favourites. This cookbook is possibly one of my favourite cookbooks, from one of my favourite restaurants, and Instagram feeds. And as you know, risotto is one of my favourite things to eat, lemon is my favourite flavour, and courgettes are fast becoming one of my favourite vegetables. So it is an all-round win.

The preamble to this recipe is also probably one of the best in all of my cookbooks. It makes it hard to write this blog to be honest, because I don’t have a really charming story about vegetarian BDSM, or at least, not one that I want to share as publicly.

It’s a simple recipe – usually I am so guilty of over-complicating, and taking things too far. But with this recipe I have held back - I haven’t added anything to it, other than tinkering with the quantities. I considered adding garlic, or preserved lemon, or toasted almonds, but it is so good just like this. And also otherwise all of my food would probably taste the same.

This recipe seems complicated but it is actually really easy. I always appreciate recipes that you can just leave in the oven to do their thing, and that can be left hot for a while without getting ruined. I’ve made this quite a few times now. It is vegan and gluten-free without being obviously or annoyingly so, and uncomplicated enough that it will supplement any other dishes being served.

Serves 5 - 6 as a main meal, or a generous 8 if serving with other dishes too

Ingredients

5 – 6 even-sized courgettes, as straight as possible (depending on how big they are, and how big your tray is – see below)

2tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, or two large echalion shallots, finely diced

1 tsp (level) each of cinnamon, allspice and turmeric

½ tsp cayenne pepper

225g risotto rice

70g currants

zest and juice of 1 large lemon

750ml water

6-10 cherry tomatoes, halved (you could also use a few roughly chopped big tomatoes, but it won’t look as fancy)

1 small bunch of parsley, pick out the large stalks and chop medium-fine

Salt

Method

You will need a roasting tray with high sides for this one. Slice the courgettes in half lengthways and use a teaspoon to scoop the seeds out, creating a hollow. This is a very satisfying activity. Line them all up in the roasting tray (how many courgette boats will fit in the tray may also affect how many you make).

Pre-heat your oven to 200c, or 180c if you have a fan oven.

Heat the oil in a very large frying pan, turn the heat down low and add the shallots. Fry for a few minutes and then add the spices. Fry gently for a few minutes and then add the rice and stir to coat and toast slightly. Add the currants, lemon and water, season with a teaspoon of salt, and turn the heat up. Let the rice boil for about a minute, and then empty the frying pan into a colander sitting over a large bowl – keeping the rice and all the liquid. Mix the cherry tomatoes and parsley into the rice.

Use a spoon to distribute the rice evenly between all of the courgette boats, and then carefully pour the liquid into the tray around the courgettes. The liquid should come roughly halfway up the sides, so add a little more if you think it needs it, but be aware that the courgettes will also release a lot of liquid. Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on top of the courgettes, and then seal completely with foil (the greaseproof paper helps them to steam). Bake in the oven for about an hour – you can check them halfway through the cooking to see if they need a baste, but its also fine to just leave them to do their thing. And that's it!

Cornbread with cheese and seeds

This is technically the third variation of this recipe on the blog, but I do feel like they are all valid, and delicious in different ways. This is the only version that is fully gluten free, and baking it as a loaf makes the cornbread much fluffier and more decadent.

Serve with a hearty Southwestern style stewy thing, like a beany thing, or a chilli con/sin carne. Heston Blumenthal says, and I agree, that cornbread is a much nicer accompaniment to a chilli than a crispy taco shell.

Ingredients

230g fine polenta/cornmeal

100g gram flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp each cumin, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, nutmeg

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ grated sweet potato or carrot (optional but interesting), or alternatively 1 cup sweetcorn

300ml/ ½ pint milk, or dairy-free alternative

1 large handful grated cheddar cheese

A few cherry tomatoes, halved (if you have some spare)

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds

1 tbsp nigella seeds

1 tbsp olive oil

Makes 1 large loaf

Method

Preheat the oven to 200c.

Drizzle the olive oil into the loaf tin, and put it in the hot oven. The oil needs to be hot when you put the batter in, so it might be worth doing this before you weigh out the ingredients and get everything ready.

In a large mixing bowl mix together the dry powder ingredients, add the eggs and milk and mix until you get a smooth batter. Then mix in the veggies (if using) and cheese.

Take the loaf tin out of the oven (be very careful of the hot oil) and pour in the batter. Scatter the seeds and cherry tomatoes (if using) over the top, and bake for about 35-45 minutes, until risen and golden. The cooking time is an estimate as my oven is not the most predictable, so maybe check the cornbread after about half an hour, the classic cake technique of poking with a knife or skewer will work just as well for this.

Almond and blueberry pudding

From Second Helpings of Roast Chicken by Simon Hopkinson

Here is another Passover (Pesach) dessert recipe, a totally new one that I have only just discovered. I made it on Friday night for the first time (with help from the wonderful Emma) and everyone went mad for it. Hot berries – is there anything better?

I discovered this recipe as I was using this cookbook to score a game of cards that I was playing with my Mum. We always use cookbooks when scoring card games, with a joker to mark the page - whenever a player (usually me) accumulates points, they have to read out the recipe the joker has landed on.

This recipe was found three points in, in the chapter on almonds. It is always very exciting to find a pesach dessert recipe that doesn’t involve separating eggs and whisking egg whites. It sounded so delicious, and easy to make that I wanted to make it straight away. And I am so glad that I did.

The pudding will go a bit cake-y on the top and a bit custardy on the bottom, stained dark blue and purple with berries. It will sink a bit if not serving immediately, but it doesn’t really matter if it does, it is still really delicious. Simon Hopkinson recommends serving it with cream, but I don’t think it needs it.

Serves 5-6, or 4 if everyone wants seconds (which they probably will)

Ingredients:

100g butter or margarine (if you need it to be dairy-free), softened – plus a little extra for greasing the dish

350g blueberries – we used 260g blueberries (that was all we had) and then made the weight up with raspberries. I’m sure this recipe would work very well with other berries too.

100g sugar – plus a little extra for sprinkling on top

2 eggs

100g ground almonds

1 tbsp amaretto liqueur – or similar – we used kosher for Passover triple sec

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (170 w/fan)

Grease a wide and shallow baking dish with a bit of butter or margarine. ‘Strew’ with the berries.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (this works well with a spoon too). Then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing them in thoroughly. Fold in the ground almonds and the amaretto (or similar).

Spoon the almond sponge mixture over the fruit in the baking dish. Sprinkle with a little extra sugar and bake for 40-45 minutes, until puffed up and firm on the top.  

Red berry granola

Adapted from http://www.cannellevanille.com/gluten-free/my-basic-granola-recipe/

Hello folks, happy autumn. How was your summer?

I know that ‘how was your summer’ can be a pretty loaded question. Summer is that magical time where you are supposed to have adventures, and yet somehow expectations and reality never seem to match up. Well, for me at least. Maybe things are turning around though, because this year I actually had a really brilliant summer, and seeing as I didn’t even go on holiday, I think that is quite an achievement.

In mid-August, I went away with a group of 18 friends to a yurt camp in an organic farm in Cirencester, and I think it was one of the best weekends away I have ever had.

What I loved was how we all came together to create incredible food for the whole weekend. With an epic roast chicken Friday night dinner feast, and Becky’s incredible shakshouka with eggs from the farm, and baba ganoush with aubergines roasted in the campfire. One of the best experiences for me was a moment on Saturday night, where we had all forgotten to make dinner before it got dark. Standing in the field kitchen as curry genius Gavin’s sous-chef, stirring two giant pots with a headlamp and two boys hanging out of a tree above my head dangling lanterns over the stove, was definitely surreal, but absolutely brilliant – I felt like the kitchen queen.

One of my contributions to the weekend was granola that I made for breakfast time. I had never made granola before, although I have it for breakfast for most days. I was amazed at how much better homemade granola is – it was a revelation. Served with almond milk (uht and perfect for camping), it went down really well.

When we went to the yurts, I made the granola using gluten-free large rolled oats, and it was perfect – the oats stayed separate, perfectly crunchy and it didn’t go stale despite making it a week before. I’m sure it would have lasted another week, had we not finished it so quickly. When I came back, I made another batch using regular rolled oats (Quaker brand), and it didn’t work at all – the oats lost their shape and clumped together – it didn’t stay as crunchy and went stale very fast. I’m not sure if it was the gluten-free-ness of the first lot of oats that made them so perfect, or just the fact that they were better quality.

Makes a big box-full

450g large rolled oats (gluten-free if you can get them)


1 cup blanched almonds, roughly chopped

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped

½ cup pumpkin seeds

¾ cup apple and raspberry juice
(I used Coppela brand)

¾ cup maple syrup

90 ml coconut oil


1 level tsp ground cinnamon


1 level tsp fine sea salt


¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
 (seriously)

1 cup dried cherries

1 cup dried cranberries

½ cup dried apricots (diced)

Preheat oven to 160C. (150 with fan)

Combine the oats, nuts and seeds in a big bowl (save the fruit for later).

Put the apple and raspberry juice, maple syrup, coconut oil, cinnamon, sea salt and black pepper in a small saucepan. Gently heat until coconut oil is liquefied, and the salt is dissolved. Don’t let it boil.

Pour the warmed liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and quickly stir it all together. Spread the mixture evenly in a flat layer over two baking sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes, take the granola out of the oven and stir everything around. Put back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes, take out and stir again.

Depending on the heat of your oven, you will need to bake the granola for another 10-15 minutes after that, but you should be able to judge how quickly it is toasting after the second round of 15 minutes. So in all, the granola will take 40-45 minutes until it is golden and toasted, and all the moisture is gone.

Let the granola cool completely in the trays before you box it. It will become crunchier as it sits. Stir in the dried fruit when completely cool. Store in an airtight container for a few weeks. Serve with milk or yogurt, or use to crumble over desserts.

Of course I have my eyes closed...

Lime & Basil Macaroons

With a chocolate hazelnut variation.

These macaroons come from Ottolenghi, one of my all time favourite cookbooks – see previous post.

One of the most important things about Passover for me is the sense of nostalgia and tradition that comes with the bringing out of the kosher for Passover crockery, the accoutrements for the seder, and the seder itself.  They just aren’t the same without our silly jokes, actions, arguing over page numbers and awful singing (all to different tunes, different words, different speeds).  Tradition can of course be a bad thing; sometimes its easier for things to stay the same even though they aren’t particularly good, then to try something new.  In this respect I am of course referring to traditional Passover cookies.  This year I made the radical decision to do away with the traditional altogether, no coconut pyramids, and no standard macaroons. These had been an integral part of our family’s Passover (and im sure everyone elses) since records began.  They just aren’t that nice.  When I found the recipes for Florentines and French-style macaroons in Ottolenghi I knew what had to be done.  There was a mini Passover cookies revolution, and Evelyn Rose went back on the shelf (not that anyone objected, change isn’t as scary as most people think).  Those macaroons, 2 delicate meringue-like disks, sandwiched together with just the perfect amount of filling, quite possibly the best things ever.

This is how my love of real macaroons began (or should I say, macarons).  About a year and half ago when I was unemployed and things were pretty bleak I would cheer myself up with trips to the Royal Academy.  Anish Kapoor was on and I would pretend that I was the kind of elegant Londoner who went to art galleries in the middle of the day: I would wear pearls, matching clothes and everything. Window shopping in Burlington arcade added to the fantasy until one day I forgot that I was completely skint and I went into Ladurée and bought some macaroons. And they are the best in the world for good reason.

In Ottolenghi’s introduction to macaroons, they refer to Ladurée as being the ultimate in macaroon gastronomy, and these versions are seen as a more home-made version.  I read somewhere that Laduree let the macaroons sit for 2 days after being made before they will sell them, and mine too tasted much better with every day after they were made.  It is however, pretty hard to resist eating them all in a few sittings, or putting them in pretty little boxes to give as smug gifts to friends and grandparents.

A word on piping: Most of the time when I see the word ‘pipe’ in relation to cooking I tend to ignore it completely, or replace it with ‘blob haphazardly with a spoon’ in this case however, I really think it is necessary.  What is so wonderful about these macaroons is how perfect they look, and how amazing they taste, it would be a shame to diminish them by making the shapes all wonky.  And from a practical point, they need to fit together in neat little sandwiches, so some uniformity in their size and shape is a good thing.  Once you get the hang of it, piping the mixture is actually much easier and quicker than spooning it.  My medium of choice is a ziplock bag with a little corner snipped off (obviously, don’t cut anything until the mixture is in the bag).  When filling the bag fold the top half down completely so that the outside stays clean and no drips of mixture are wasted.

Makes about 20 time: about 1hr ¼ (including resting and baking) difficulty 3.5/5 taste 5/5

Ingredients:

2 egg whites (60g)

110g icing sugar

60g ground almonds

40g caster sugar

zest of 1 lime

5 large basil leaves, finely chopped

For the buttercream filling (enough for about 2 batches):

100g unsalted butter or margarine, at room temperature

45g icing sugar

zest of 1 lime, and juice

5 large basil leaves, finely chopped

1.   Sift the icing sugar and almonds into a clean, dry bowl.

2.   Whisk the egg whites and caster sugar until they have formed a thick, aerated meringue, firm but not too dry.  If you have one, whisk them in a stainless steel bowl, for some magical reason it is much easier than in a regular bowl.  The whisking will take about 15 minutes using a hand-held electric whisk.

3.   Take a third of the meringue and fold it gently into the almond/sugar mix.  Once incorporated, add another third and continue until all of the meringue has been added and the mix is smooth and glossy.  At this stage fold in the lime zest and basil.

4.   Take a sheet of baking parchment (or silicone paper – I highly recommend, see previous note) and glue it to a baking sheet with a tiny amount of the macaroon mix.  Pipe the macaroon mix onto the lined tray using a piping bag into uniform shallow disks, about the size of a £2 coin.  To assist you, you could draw little circles on the paper first.

5.   Once all the macaroons are piped hold the tray firmly and tap the underside hard.  This should help to spread out and smooth out the biscuits.  Use a wet finger to poke down any pointy bits. Leave the macaroons out uncovered for at least 25 minutes before baking (use this time to preheat the oven, to 170 degrees - 160 w/fan).

6.   To bake, place the macaroons in the oven and leave for 12 minutes, although they may take a little longer, depending on your oven (mine took about 14).  The macaroons are ready when they come freely off the paper when lifted gently with a palette knife (if you are using the silicone paper, you can just use a finger).  Whatever you do don’t over bake them, they should be light and delicate.  Leave them aside to cool down completely before you fill them.

7.   To make the buttercream filling, beat the butter and icing sugar together until pale and light.  Add the lime juice, zest and basil and mix until incorporated.  Cover the buttercream with cling film and leave in a cool place (not the fridge).

8.   To assemble the macaroons, use a small spoon or piping bag to place a pea-sized amount of filling on the flat size of half the biscuits.  Sandwich together with another half, pressing gently.  Try to make sure you match the macaroons in size and shape.  Leave them to set, either at room temperature or in the fridge.  Do not serve them straight from the fridge, allow them to come back to room temperature.

Chocolate and Hazelnut variation

2 egg whites

110g icing sugar

50g ground hazelnuts (or almonds)

10g cocoa, as good quality as you can find (sift this in with the ground nuts and icing sugar)

40g caster sugar

for the chocolate ganache (or just use nutella)

65g dark chocolate

15g unsalted butter or margarine

50ml double cream

2 tsp dark rum

I wish I had taken better photos...

Almond & Orange Florentines

Whats good about this post is that I am actually going back to my original concept (see my first post) of cooking recipes from a cookbook I own! I think of all the posts I have done, only about 2 actually do so.  This recipe comes from the wonderful Ottolenghi, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (an Israeli and Palestinian who run the very successful Ottolenghi and Nopi delis/restaurants).  I am sure that at this point someone very intelligent could say something also very intelligent and witty about the middle Eastern peace process being solved through food.  Suggestions on a postcard, or comment, best one wins points.  International relations aside, it is a fantastic book, with inspiring recipes, prose and photographs.  The Middle Eastern style is both comfortingly familiar and exotic.  It is also very easy to follow and so far, foolproof.

As far as I am aware, the best Florentines in the world are made by my grandmother.  Parkways are pretty good too.  I am not trying to do any kind of Florentine coup d’état with these, as you will see from the recipe, they are different (and suitable for Passover, which was a nice surprise).  Traditional Florentines are condensed milk/caramel-y based and filled with lovely treats like pink glace cherries, crunchy around the edges, piled and squidgy in the centre.  These ones are much simpler, they are not pretending to be the real deal, nor a cheating version.  They are delicious though, and on the ease vs. taste scale, they score incredibly high.  They look beautiful, taste complex and indulgent, and are incredibly easy and quick to make.

In my family Passover is pretty much the only time that we make cookies, and so we have a few sheets of silicone paper, cut to fit oven trays.  Essentially it is like the best greaseproof paper ever, and it is washable.  The Florentines and macaroons (recipe to follow soon) came off the paper with the slightest nudge, fantastic!  If you do not have this use the vegetable oil method as described in the recipe below.

Makes about 20 time: 25 mins difficulty 2/5

Ingredients

260g Flaked almonds

2 egg whites

Zest of 1 orange (or more, if you want)

100g icing sugar

About 75g dark chocolate (melt the chocolate very carefully.  whatever you do, do not allow the chocolate to seize at all, you want a perfectly glossy finish).

Preheat the oven to 150c.  Line a heavy baking tray with baking parchment and brush lightly with vegetable oil.  Next to you have a small bowl of water.

Put the egg whites, icing sugar, flaked almonds and orange zest in a bowl and gently mix together.  Dip your hand in the bowl of water and pick up portions of the mix to make little mounds on the lined tray, well spaced apart.  Dip a fork in the water (or use a finger) and flatten each biscuit very thinly.  Try to make them as thin as possible without creating too many gaps between the almond flakes.  They should be about 8cm in diameter. 

Place the tray in the oven and bake for about 12 minutes, until the Florentines are golden brown.  Check underneath one to make sure they are cooked through.  Allow to cool, and then remove gently using a palette knife if you need to.

The recipe suggests brushing them with some melted dark chocolate as an optional extra, I say that it’s a must.