Sweet Potato and Pak Choi Laksa

Adapted from Nigel Slater’s Tender (Vol.1)

 

This is a really flavourful and delicious soupy noodle dish, it looks complicated, but it is actually really easy and quick to make.

I made this with udon noodles, I love their slippery-slurpy-ness, but you could use whatever noodles you want. This is one of those meals where you cant really work out what cutlery or chopsticks you should be using, and you will inevitably get splashes of soup down your front. But it will be worth it.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the spice paste:

1 fresh red chilli (seeds in)

2 cloves garlic

About an inch long lump of ginger

2 stalks lemongrass

Handful coriander leaves and stalks

2 tbsp sesame oil

For the soup:

1 very large or two smaller sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into large-ish chunks

2 clusters of pak choi, chop the stalks

2 spring onions, sliced

1 red pepper , sliced (optional)

600ml chicken or vegetable stock (cube or powder is fine – I used fake chicken powder)

400ml coconut milk

2tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla) – vegetarian/vegan option – ½ tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce (you may need a little more if you are not using fish sauce

Juice of 1 lime (throw the zest in too if you like it super lime-y)

2 portions noodles – egg, rice or udon, cooked if they need pre-cooking

Handful fresh coriander leaves

Method

Roughly chop all of the ingredients for the spice paste, and them blitz them to a paste using an immersion blender, food processor, or pestle and mortar.

Put a large saucepan on a medium heat and dry-fry the spice paste for a minute or two. Add the stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil. Add the sweet potato and simmer for 10-15 minutes, and then add the nam pla (if using), soy sauce, lime juice and pak choi stalks. Simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the sweet potato is cooked through, and then add the pak choi leaves and noodles. Stir together until the leaves are wilted and the noodles are warmed through, and serve in deep bowls with fresh coriander leaves scattered on the top.

Raspberry Custard Cake

Adapted from http://www.bakersroyale.com/custards/blackberry-custard-cake/

This recipe is dedicated to Suzy, who got married yesterday. She is always inspiring me to push myself with my cooking and try new things.

This cake is like no other cake I have made before. A pudding-y kind of cake, the batter separates into layers as it cooks, creating a light baked top, and thick custardy base. When it is baked it doesn’t look all that inspiring, sunken, brownish and a bit lumpy on the top. But when you cut into the cake it is revealed as a rose-pink squidgy slice of heaven.

I saw this recipe on an American blog, but have converted all of the measurements into metric. American measurements really bother me – the vagueness of cups is just so problematic, and ounces seem like an entirely foreign concept. Bee Wilson discusses it really well in her excellent book Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat, which I highly recommend if you are a nerdy foodie like me.

Freeze-dried fruit powder is brilliant. It adds all the flavour of fruit without adding any extra moisture. Fruit powder can be found in Whole Food Market and other similarly poncey foodie shops, or you can do what I do, any buy it online from Healthy Supplies. 

Be aware that the batter for this cake is a bit tricky and lumpy, and a lot runnier than cake should be. The first time I made this I thought it was going to fail completely, but it came out really lovely.

Probably makes about 9 servings

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated (at room temperature)

1 tbsp water

150g caster sugar

110g butter (or margarine) melted

40g freeze-dried raspberry powder (or use another kind of fruit powder, like cherry or blueberry)

115g plain flour

500ml warmish milk (I used almond milk)

2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees (150 with fan)

Whisk the egg whites until stiff.

In another bowl, beat the egg yolks, sugar, water and vanilla until pale and creamy. Then add the melted butter and mix for another minute. Sift in the raspberry powder and flour, and mix until fully incorporated.

Add the warm milk and mix again. Gently fold in the eggs whites (as best you can, its tricky). Pour the batter (which will be very liquidy) into a greased baking dish (either 20 or 23 cm - I used a circular lose-bottomed cake tin).

Bake the custard cake for 50 -60 minutes, or until the top is golden and there is just a slight jiggle in the cake. Cool the cake in the pan for three hours before un-moulding.

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.  

Apple cloud pudding from heaven

From Florence Greenberg’s Jewish Cookbook (first published in 1947)

Happy Passover (Pesach) everyone! Is anybody else really craving a sandwich or a big bowl of pasta right about now?

This is definitely (in my opinion) the best specifically Pesach dessert of all time. I mean, there are other good desserts to have during Pesach, like pavlova and chocolate mousse, but as this one has matzo meal in, it is only really made at Pesach – who would want to cook with matzo meal at other times (except for schnitzels or fried fish)?

I’m posting this recipe now because there are still a few days of Pesach left – I really do urge you to make this if you can. It is seriously wonderful. This pudding is kind of like an apple kugel, but much lighter, and supremely apple-y. If I was Nigella Lawson I would call it a ‘slightly slumped soufflé’.

Serves 4  - could potentially serve more, but everyone will want second helpings

Ingredients:

450g cooking apples

3 eggs, separated

100g caster sugar

3 tbsp fine matzo meal

1 tbsp ground almonds

zest and juice of 1 lemon

½ tsp cinnamon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190c

Use a bit of butter or margarine to grease a deep-ish baking dish.

Peel the apples and the grate them – don’t core them first, but rather grate around the core (to save you from grating your fingers off). Mix the grated apple with the lemon juice and zest immediately to stop it from discolouring.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff.

Beat the egg yolks with sugar until pale and creamy. Add the lemony apple, matzo meal, ground almonds, and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly, and then fold in the egg whites (it will look a bit gross at this stage).

Pour the apple mixture into the baking dish, and bake for 1 hour. When it is ready it will look cake-y on the top, and light and wobbly in the middle. It isn’t the prettiest of desserts, but it is so ruddy delicious that no-one will care.

Courgette and lime loaf cake

Adapted from How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.

This is the sixth recipe that I have made from How to be a Domestic Goddess, which is good-going for me (I have a habit of buying cookbooks and not cooking from them at all). Other recipes I have made from the book include chocolate cherry cupcakes (see the recipe here), and burnt-butter cupcakes (which I will write up soon).

I made this cake because I had a lot of courgettes. Or rather, I had some courgettes, and one thing led to another, and they multiplied, considerably (next time I buy two courgettes I will have to separate them). So I have been eating courgettes for days. But I’m not sick of them, because they are brilliant, and as this cake proves, so versatile.

I love the simplicity of an un-iced loaf cake. It seems more acceptable to be eaten throughout the day. Nigella’s original recipe was for a filled and iced cake. When I first made this cake I did make the icing, but even though I reduced the sugar from the original (as I always do with Nigella icing) it was still tooth-achingly sweet, and the wrong consistency. So I decided just to go without, the cake is sweet enough on it’s own and doesn’t need it.

Due to the dampness of the courgettes and the use of oil instead of butter this is a very moist cake – squidgy and delicious. The cake will continue to get more squidgy and delicious each day after it is made.

Ingredients

250g courgettes – this will range from between 1-3 courgettes, depending on how big they are. Weigh before you grate.

60g raisins or sultanas

2 large eggs

125 ml vegetable oil (or other flavourless oil)

150g caster sugar

225g self-raising flour

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

Zest of 1 lime with about 1 tbsp lime juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 with fan).

Grate the courgettes unpeeled – not too finely, you want strands, not mush. Put the grated courgette bits into a sieve and leave it sit over the sink while you prep the rest of the ingredients, to allow the excess liquid to drip out.

Beat the eggs, oil and sugar together in a bowl until light and creamed together. Then add in the self-raising flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Mix well, and then add the raisins, lime zest and juice, and grated courgette.

Pour the cake mixture into a lined or greased loaf tin, and bake for 45 minutes, or until it is risen and golden. 

Test to see if the cake is ready by inserting a cocktail stick or skewer into the centre of the cake – it should come out clean.

Roasted butternut squash macaroni cheese

I probably shouldn’t be writing about macaroni cheese in April. With butternut squash, sage and

hazelnuts, this macaroni cheese is definitely a winter dish. Seeing as how the sky has been completely grey for weeks, I think it is ok, even if not legitimately macaroni-cheese weather. Ultimately, all that really matters is that it is completely delicious, perfect comfort food for any time of year.

Macaroni cheese is a special kind of dish. I have spoken to a few people and it seems that macaroni cheese is the one exception to aversions to processed food. When I had my first job and was spending all my money on rent and hair dye, I would sometimes buy Sainsburys Basics Macaroni Cheese for dinner (75p). Feel free to judge me, but at the time it was delicious. Of course homemade is much better, made in the oven not the microwave.

There is less cheese in this recipe than other macaroni cheeses, and also more vegetable, so I would like to think that is somewhat healthy, relatively speaking. The use of butternut squash also makes it pleasingly orange coloured. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 medium sized butternut squash – on the smallish side of ‘medium’. Peel and cut into roughly 2cm sized dice.

1 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt

250g pasta (approx). I actually never make macaroni cheese with macaroni - somehow it always has to be called macaroni cheese though, I guess that ‘conchiglione rigati cheese’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Make sure you choose a pasta type that has a hollowness, or other texture conducive to this kind of sauce.

For the sauce:

1 pint milk

50g butter

50g flour

Handful grated cheddar. Throw in a bit of crumbled blue stilton (or similar) if you have it

A few grinds of fresh nutmeg

¼ tsp English mustard

3 -4 sage leaves, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the topping:

Approx 1 ½ tbsp breadcrumbs

1 tbsp parmesan (or vegetarian equivalent)

1 tbsp toasted hazelnuts (I used the ready-chopped ones for this)

About 2-3 sage leaves, chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Arrange the squash cubes on a baking tray, toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 30-45 minutes, until cooked through and caramelised in parts.

To make the sauce melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and stir to make a roux. Cook the roux for a minute or two, stirring continuously, to remove any ‘raw’ flour taste. Add the milk about half a ladle-full at a time, stirring continuously to prevent lumps and ensure everything is completely amalgamated.

Once all of the milk has been incorporated, add the nutmeg, sage, cheese, mustard and seasoning (taste to make sure it is seasoned properly). Then take about half of the roasted butternut squash cubes and mash or blend them into the sauce. I used a potato masher for this, which worked really well.

Cook the pasta for about 3 minutes less than packet instructions. Drain it and mix with the cheese-y squash sauce (use a bit of the pasta cooking water if it the sauce is too thick) and the remaining cubes of roasted squash in an oven-safe relatively deep dish. As I was using a ‘stuff-able’ pasta, I used a spoon to wedge some squash cubes into each pasta shell.

Mix together the topping ingredients and scatter them over the top of the macaroni cheese. Bake at approx 200 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until the bake is bubbling and the top is golden and crispy.

Spiced black bean soup

For T.O.M

As I have written before, I have a bit of an obsession with Mexican culture. I have realised since writing that first post that it isn’t just about the gory history and the beautiful art, its about death. Or rather, about life and death – by acknowledging death, life can be really noticed, and appreciated much more. Colours are brighter and more saturated, music is louder and flavours are stronger and more vibrant.

This soup is adapted from Thomasina Miers’ book Mexican Food Made Simple. This is the third recipe I have made from that cookbook, the others being warm corn salsa and ceviche, and I definitely think it is wonderful. Mexican recipes can be tricky, the ingredients aren’t necessarily that easy to get hold of in the UK, and it is quite pig and shellfish focused, not that easy if you are vegetarian or kosher. This book however is really accessible and contains loads of suitable and delicious authentic recipes.

When I first made this soup, known in the book as ‘sopa azteca’, I was completely blown away by how delicious it was – I did not expect something so simple to make to taste so complex. It is rich and deeply savoury – it tastes almost meaty even though it is vegan.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

Two 380g cartons cooked black beans – don’t drain

2-4 fresh plum tomatoes, depending on how big they are

3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

½ onion, or a whole one if it is smallish, diced

1 tsp chiptle paste

500ml chicken or vegetable stock

juice of 1 lime

salt and black pepper to taste.

Garnishes: (optional – it is very nice on its own too)

Tortilla chips, broken up

Feta or goats cheese, crumbled

Tomato salsa

Sour cream

Diced avocado (tossed with lime juice to stop it discolouring)

Method

First you need to toast the tomatoes and garlic. Heat a frying pan (no oil needed) and when its really hot, add the tomatoes and garlic cloves. Let them blacken on all sides (charred splotches is fine, don’t worry about blackening them completely) and remove. When they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins and roughly chop. Don’t worry if you can’t get all the skin off the tomatoes.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the diced onion and sauté for about 5 minutes until translucent. Then add the garlic, tomatoes and chipotle paste, and fry off for about a minute before adding the beans with their water, stock and lime juice.

Let the soup simmer for 20 minutes, blend, and season to taste. Serve on its own, or with some of the garnishes suggested above.

Sorry again about the lack of photo – have a poem instead.

FRIDA KAHLO COMES TO DINNER
Christine M. Strickland

Frida Kahlo has come to dinner,
Late, as usual, a little drunk, as usual,
Scattering fag ash like confetti,
Partnered by her perpetual pain
Whose grim claws she wears as lightly
As the ribbons on her dress.
Undefeated, her thirst for life unquenched,
There is more energy in her hair
Than in my entire body.
The brass band of her beads and bangles
Transforms her limping steps
Into a fiesta dance, all rainbow skirts
And flashing teeth and eyes.
Frida Kahlo has come to dinner,
Though eating frankly bores her,
Gets in the way of talking, drinking,
Smoking, making love.
Aware of this I give her tiny pastries
Olives, nuts, morsels of spiced meat;
Fuel for her flame, swallowed without tasting.
Frida Kahlo has come to dinner
And the carnival never stops.
Her long hands are two kites,
Trailing coloured tails of laughter,
Sketching, in the smoky air between us,
Whole galleries of portraits.
Frida Kahlo has been to dinner
And is now gone, taking the party with her,
Leaving this withered Puritan
Faded, dusty, unbearably alone.