The Lake District: Currying flavour

Curry night: Lauren and Theo

Whooo! A most excellent hearty curry banquet complete with specialist beers (Cobra). A rare treat to be able to indulge in Indian cuisine without feeling like I've eaten my body weight in ghee and MSG.

Pumpkin & Apple Curry (serves 4)
What you need
Vegetable Oil
large onion
500g of pumpkin/squash, cubed
800g of baking potatoes, cubed
1 large cooking apple, cubed
2 tsp curry paste
1 tsp turmeric
root ginger (2.5cm)
bay leaves
500 ml vegetable stock

The do
Heat oil in pan. Add onion and brown.
Add chilli, curry paste, turmeric, ginger, bay leaves, apple, pumpkin, potato to pan.
Immediately after add vegetable stock.
Bring to boil and then simmer for 20 minutes until cooked.
Serve with fromage frais or yoghurt.



Easy Tofu Curry (serves 4)
What you need
good swig of vegetable oil
Tofu, diced
Seasonal veg - I like to use broccoli & green beans
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp mild curry powder
2 medium fresh green chillies, thinly sliced
5 cm chunk of ginger, grated
2 onions
1 can tomatoes
1 can coconut milk (use light coconut milk if you want a healthier option)

The do
Start by browning the tofu pieces in a pan until brown.
In another pan, heat the oil and add your spices and ginger.
Fry for a few minutes, then add the onions and fresh chilli.
Cook for another 5 minutes then add the tofu and tomatoes.
Simmer for 10-15 minutes then add your favourite veg (broccoli and beans are yum!)
Finally, add the coconut milk and simmer for a final 5 minutes.
Season and serve with basmati rice, raita, mango chutney and fresh tomato salad.

Fresh Tomato Salad (serves 4)
What you need
6 medium tomatoes, diced
Small onion, thinly sliced
Fresh Coriander
Juice of fresh lemon

The do
Combine the ingredients and season with lemon juice to taste

Tune
Sung Tongs Animal Collective

A mushy salve for the daily grind

Just like Chew I am looking to squash to calm work frazzled nerves (you can even use the leftover squash from her tomatillo recipe here). My last couple of weeks have been so filled with torment (i.e. too much work) that cooking has practically been wiped off the radar. It's a real shame. Super long work days leave no time for proper shopping but then when I do drag my withered self back into the flat, I crave something healthy, comforting, tasty and home made.

If any of you want to share your fast cooking fall backs, I'd love to hear them. In the meantime, hooray for pilaf! It is easy, tastes just as good on day two and can use any vegetable floating in the fridge. It is also a great leftovers lunch for desk slaves. As for squash, they are so flavoursome right now and their sweet, warm, sunny gooeyness is reassuring in times of low morale.

Squash, Pea & Mint Pilaf

1 chopped onion
1 small butternut squash, cubed
A couple of big fistfuls of spinach
peas
fresh mint
a small bunch of fresh sage leaves
A bay leaf
About 300ml veggie stock
170g Basmati rice
Balsamic glaze to garnish (if you want)

Making it

Gently fry your onion in olive oil until soft, then add the squash and fresh sage leaves. You want to get the squash to give in and break up a little (you can cook with a lid on if it helps). If the pan is drying out, add a splash of wine or water or stock. Squash is great in a pilaf because it disperses so well, sticking to the rice and making every forkful sweet and full of flavour. When the squash has softened, add your rice and toss it until coated. Add the bay leaf and veggie stock and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer with a tight fitting lid for about 15 minutes. (Resist the temptation to lift the lid for a peek because you'll upset the whole steamy process.) In the last couple of minutes, add the spinach and peas before shutting the lid again. Then let the pilaf cook off the heat for another 5 minutes. Once on the plate, top with torn mint leaves and a drizzle of balsamic glaze if you want.

To counter the forlorn self pity that can accompany the over tired and over worked, the pilaf rice-plumping minutes give you enough time to wash your face, get into your jim jams and select a program on the BBC iPlayer (the squirrel's nuts for those of us without a tele). I watched a brilliantly made Storyville documentary (All White in Barking) that had me glued to the screen. It was just the ticket for taking my mind off the day's crud and providing a little something outside my own world to ponder. Even if it's the wrong side of 11pm when you settle down, if you can't have a tasty dinner in front of the tube at the end of a long day, it's all too easy for the 'work, eat, sleep, repeat' model of living to become far too depressing to bear.

Taking it out on the tomatillo

Tonight I'm suffering from a residual case of The Rage, something I picked up from a very frustrating day in the office. I find the best cure for this is to get out my knife and start chopping stuff into very small pieces.
The victims: those two tomatillos and a whole load of other stuff.

What you need
2 tomatillos, diced finely
half a big red chili, diced finely
2 shallots, diced finely
2 spring onion stalks and green bits, diced
1 small bunch of coriander
1 butternut squash, halved lengthways and de-seeded
olive oil



The do
Chop the top part of the squash off, cube and throw into the roasting tray. Rub the inside of the squash "bowls" with a little salt. Drizzle everything in a little oil and bake until you can stick a fork into it.

While the squash is in the oven, combine all the ingredients by chopping them on a board and keep on chopping until the pieces are as small as you can get them. Feel that Rage subside!
When the squash is done, fill the squash bowls with the chopped mixture, drizzle liberally with some good olive oil and return to the oven. Pack away the squash offcuts and use for tomorrow's salad or risotto.



When it's all sizzling and heated through it's done - around 15-20 minutes at 180. Cover with chopped coriander leaves.
Ahhhh. Serenity now.

The tomatillos are tarty little buggers - they need a little bit of cooking time, but they marry well with the sweetness of the baked squash, chili and shallots.

Note: For the observant types out there who may be lying awake tonight pondering the lifespan of the tomatillo, I should probably mention that I started this post a few weeks ago, and didn't finish it until right now...sorry!

Also! Thanks to everyone who participated in the tomatillo quiz. Without you, those puppies would have shriveled up at the back of my fridge!

Expect the unexpected

Last Sunday we went to the farmer's market and then went home to cook lunch for what Carters told me would be a few people. With celeriac and butternut squash in abundance, I decided to make Lily's Celeriac soup and a roast butternut and sage risotto. Whilst making the soup, I noticed the doorbell buzzing a few more times than I had anticipated and we soon had more guests than chairs.

Mental note: always press Carters for details

I decided to change my risotto plans (bulk risotto always seems to end up gluey), and after a quick scrounge around in our overstuffed pantry, made a salad with Orzo pasta instead.


ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH, CELERY AND FETA ORZO SALAD

What you need
2 small butternut squash de-seeded and cut into cubes (I left the skin on but you might prefer to remove it)
3 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
a few handfuls of baby spinach leaves
good olive oil
thyme
feta, cubed
6-7 cloves of garlic
walnuts, roughly chopped

The do
Throw the cubed butternut squash into a baking dish with few sprigs of thyme, the garlic (whole, unpeeled) and a good splash of olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake at about 200 degrees Celsius until the cubes are soft and golden.
Boil the pasta and drain.
Using your fingers squeeze out the baked garlic from their skins into a big salad bowl. Toss with the drained pasta, butternut squash, celery, feta, walnuts and spinach. Dress with a liberal amount of good olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.



Take your apron off, pour yourself a glass wine and join in the party. We all had a lovely afternoon (except for the kitten who struggled with her first encounter with a boisterous child), great food, great booze and great conversation. That's what it's all about, innit?