It's been so long since I last posted , I'd be amazed if any one was still checking in on this poor little blog! If you are, thanks, and sorry for neglecting you.
It's been a bit of a busy time for us - we've moved out of our little pad, been homeless for a bit whilst we made our new home habitable, screwed up my visa application so I was almost deported and FINALLY moved in couple of weeks ago.
So to christen the new kitchen in true Lily and Chew style, I have attempted to make savoury hot cross buns to commemorate the crucifixion of the big JC. All you need is a decent white bread dough recipe. Add a good handful of chopped chives and as much mature cheddar cheese and you can be bothered to grate, then leave to prove for about 20 minutes before separating into bun-like balls. With the tip of a sharp knife, mark a cross into the top of each one and sprinkle a little more cheese on top before baking for around 20 minutes at about 200 (our new oven is gas and I still have to get my head around the whole conversion thing).
Yippee! Tomorrow we are heading out to Kent to stay at the Keeper's cottage on the grounds of Leeds Castle, but first, I must conduct my pre-holiday ritual of using up what's left in the fridge. Take out would probably be a more practical option considering that with a toddler in tow I'll have to pack half the flat - but I really hate waste and quite enjoy the challenge of a clear-out dinner. Plus it's nice coming home to a fridge that doesn't smell like bin juice.
I have:
a bunch of carrots
mint
cherry tomatoes
a courgette
buffalo mozzarella (OK, so I cheated a little and bought this earlier in the day)
The plan is to make a souped up insalata caprese, the ingredient that really ties this dish together is the gorgeous buffalo mozzarella with its weird cooked chicken-like texture. Never ever use a knife to cut it! Ripping up a ball of buffalo mozzarella is a strangely satisfying activity that should be enjoyed whenever possible.
The do
Slice the courgette thinly and chop the carrots into bite sized pieces.
Fry the courgette with a little oil and salt in a frying pan until soft and a little charred. While this is happening steam or boil the carrots until they are just done, you don't want them to be too mushy. When everything is done, lay it all together into a big plate and sprinkle a couple of chopped mint leaves on top. Top with a some pinenuts, a handful of halved cherry tomatoes and the buffalo mozzerella, then drizzle a generous amount of good olive oil on top.
Enjoy with some super crunchy ciabatta and a big glass of red wine before you attempt the packing.
Having been born and bred in the scorching climes of the land Down Under where 25 degrees is considered cardy weather, I'm rather ashamed to admit that I found today's temperature of 24 degrees a little uncomfortable in old London town. By uncomfortable I mean walking around our stuffy flat quoting Will Ferrell in Anchorman ("it's soooooo hot....milk was a baaaad choice") and not feeling hungry - which I find most bothersome of all. It's too hot to turn on anything that emits heat in the kitchen so tonight's dinner is going to be a smorgasbord of fridge scraps...and I think we haven't done too badly.
Our too-hot-to-cook scraps board Tallegio - an Italian cheese, semi- soft, creamy and a little stinky. I could eat this 'til the cows come home. Pineapple, pear, capsicium strips and some grapes The last of the Jar Club chutney and some of my home made piccalilli Nairns oatcakes. A pantry staple. Their buttery oatiness pairs brilliantly with any cheese.
Last time I visited Borough market on a Saturday I had a nervous breakdown trying to hack through the hordes of tourists lining up for samples. On a Thursday afternoon, however, it's an entirely different story. Having just restored my field of vision by having my fringe cut, I wasted no time collecting a few of my old faves; organic eggs and oakcakes from Neal's Yard Dairy, Comte cheese, saffron from Brindisa and pesto from Borough olives.
So this morning, with these exciting ingredients at hand, I whipped up what I guess could be a Borough market burrito.
Note: These oatcakes are not the biscuity kind - they are floppy and spongy, about the size of a side plate, and look like a crumpet that has been run over by a steam roller several times. If you can't handle the crowds, or live in Australia, the usual Old El Paso-style small tortilla wraps will do perfectly fine.
4 eggs, lightly beaten
about 6 cherry tomatoes, cut in slices
a few thin slices of Comte cheese (or tasty cheddar would work well too)
a small handful of chives, chopped
The do
Lay the Comte on the oatcakes and grill until the cheese melts. While this is happening, scramble the eggs in a small pan. When the oatcakes are ready, distribute the chopped tomato on each one and then pile the eggs on top. Garnish with the chives, then roll up like a cigar.
Yikes! Is it really Easter already? I've been a busy bee since I last blogged, which explains the lack of posting activity...but hey, four whole days with Carters around sure makes it easier to do a bit of catching up.
To kick off the Easter bank holiday we enjoyed a fried egg on toast with piccalilli. The quickest and most delicious breakfast, lunch or can't-be-arsed dinner.
What you need piccalilli an egg some cheddar cheese toast
The do Heat a fry-pan, drizzle some oil and crack an egg into the pan. While this is happening, put on some toast and thinly slice a couple of pieces of cheddar and lay on to the toast. When the egg is done, place it on top of the cheese and then spread a teaspoon of piccalilli on top.
After breakfast we visited the totally amazing John Soane museum - be sure to go early in the day, as the queues get pretty long in the afternoon. There is also a nice cafe around the corner called the Fleet River Bakery that does decent coffee and other treats.
Today I decided to make a sweet root vegetable gratin of potato, pumpkin and sweet potato. Seemed like a simple enough idea...until I discovered that my sweet potato was one of those white yammy ones (SO inferior to the orange ones). Grrr! Nevertheless, I soldiered on, lovingly applying thin slices of a third of a pumpkin, 1 red onion, 6 small potatoes, 1 sweet potato (imposter) and thyme to a baking dish. Then in a measuring jug I whisked up with a fork 200ml of milk and 200ml cream, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 crushed garlic clove and a big handful of grated Parmesan, poured this over the top and sprinkled a layer of breadcrumbs over the top and a bit more Parmesan for good measure. Then I baked this at 180 for about 1-1 1/2 hours.
The thing about my personality sometimes is that while I can be quite meticulous in constructing a dish I can be equally careless when it comes to oven handling. I pull things out of our oven one-handed in the most precarious and dangerous fashion. Usually when I pick it up I know it's going to be fine, but sometimes I know I'm in trouble and I still don't stop...
Voila!
The 5-second rule prevails, plus it didn't even touch the floor anyway, so I scraped it up and re-baked it with a new breadcrumb layer. And it was delicious - creamy, earthy vegetables with hints of thyme and Mr Muscle.
The hours before dinner have been blissful with the gang either in the lounge room or front garden enjoying some reading time with a nice cold beer. It's so quiet all you can hear the babbling of the brook running through the back of the house and the song of woodland birds. Then suddenly...
The fire alarm is going berserk. I race up to our bedroom to find Jasmine still sound asleep (I swear, once that girl actually gets to sleep not even a death metal band turned up to 11 can wake her) I look out the window and there is smoke streaming out from the kitchen windows below. While the techies in our group try to figure out the code to turn the alarm off, everyone else races around the building opening windows and fanning the air with whatever comes to hand. I head down into ground zero - site of the burning quiche - and find Kim in the kitchen enjoying a fine glass of red, a picture of detached calm amid the chaos...
At some point the peace and quiet was restored, the smoke cleared and we enjoyed a delicious spread then played petanque until the midges and mosquitoes chased us back indoors.
The do 1. Line a 25cm/10in flan tin or dish with the pastry. Place in the refrigerator to chill. 2. Heat the oil and the butter in a pan until melted. Add the onions, leeks, sugar, garlic and thyme and cook gently until they have started to turn golden brown and are soft. Allow to cool slightly. Fold in the flour and add seasoning. 3. Beat the eggs and cream together and add to the onion mix. Fold in half the parmesan and the Stilton cheese. 4. Spoon the mixture into the flan case and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Bake in a preheated oven at 190C/375F/Gas 5 for about 50 minutes until golden brown and set.
Spinach, mushroom and ricotta quiche with sauteed spinach (from BBC food)
What you need For the quiche butter, for greasing 400g/14oz ready-made shortcrust pastry 350g/12oz flat mushrooms 3 sprigs thyme, leaves only 2 tbsp olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper 500g/1lb 2oz baby spinach leaves freshly grated nutmeg, to taste salt and freshly ground black pepper 250g/9oz ricotta cheese 1 tbsp grainy mustard 3 free-range egg yolks 300ml/11fl oz double cream salt and freshly ground black pepper For the spinach 25g/1oz butter 1 garlic clove, lightly crushed 500g/1lb 2oz baby spinach leaves salt and freshly ground black pepper
The do 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/465F/Gas 4. 2. Grease a 25cm/10in loose-bottomed tart tin with butter. 3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to line the tart tin. Cover with cling film and place into the fridge to chill for 15 minutes. 4. Remove the pastry tart case from the fridge, cover with greaseproof paper and fill with baking beans. Transfer to the oven and bake blind for 10-15 minutes. 5. Remove the beans and greaseproof paper and return the tart case to the oven to bake for a further 3-5 minutes, until golden and just cooked. 6. Turn the oven temperature up to 200C/400F/Gas 6. 7. Meanwhile, place the mushrooms onto a baking tray, sprinkle over the thyme, drizzle over one tablespoon of the olive oil and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place into the oven to bake for 5-6 minutes, or until the mushrooms are beginning to soften. Remove and set aside. 8. Heat a large frying pan until hot and add the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil and the spinach and cover with a lid. Cook until the spinach has just wilted, then remove from the pan and drain. 9. Season the spinach well with freshly grated nutmeg and salt and freshly ground black pepper. 10. Place the ricotta into a bowl. Add the grainy mustard, season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well. 11. Spoon the mustard and ricotta mixture into the bottom of the tart case, top with the wilted spinach, and carefully place the roasted mushrooms on top. 12. Place the egg yolks and cream into a bowl, season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and whisk together. Pour the egg mixture into the tart case. 13. Transfer to the oven to bake for 40 minutes, or until golden-brown and bubbling. Remove and cool slightly before serving. 14. For the sautéed spinach, heat a frying pan until hot. Add the butter and swirl the garlic clove around to flavour the oil. 15. Remove the garlic clove, add the spinach and sauté until wilted down. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 16. To serve, cut slices of quiche and place onto plates with a spoonful of sautéed spinach alongside.
Yesterday we celebrated our first year of marriage by making a lasagne and watching Flight of the Conchords while Jasmine slept. A good test for any relationship is how long you can last in a small hot kitchen together and I think after living together for a few years we may have finally mastered it, sort of.
I haven't attempted a lasagne since I dropped the one Adam and I made about a year ago, so this time I was VERY careful when taking it out of the oven.
Anniversary lasagne
What you need 1 jar of good quality tomato pasta sauce 1 eggplant, sliced 5mm thin 2 red capsicums 2 courgettes, sliced 5mm thin 1 bunch chopped, cooked and drained spinach 1 bunch asparagus Adam's homemade pasta dough (we used 500g of '00' flour and 5 medium eggs) 1 mozzarella ball mature cheddar cheese handful of pine nuts
The do Heat up a griddle pan until super hot, and grill the veg - if you don't have a griddle pan a fry pan will also do the trick. Set aside. Roll out the pasta into sheets with the pasta machine until you get to the number 4 setting. Cut the sheets to size and cook two at a time for a few minutes in a big pot of salted boiling water. Fish out with tongs and throw into a big bowl of cold water. In a 30cmx20cm baking dish, pressing each layer down firmly as you go: - spread a thin layer of the tomato sauce - then a layer of pasta - courgette and half of the spinach - layer of pasta - tomato sauce - eggplant - layer of pasta - capsicum and the rest of the spinach - layer of pasta - asparagus then cover with grated mature cheddar cheese and mozzarella. Sprinkle pine nuts on top. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Dollop on some of the tomato sauce. Bake in oven for about 45 minutes or until heated through and brown on top. Serve with rocket leaves dressed with a little balsamic and olive oil.
This post is about two months late, but better late than never I guess!
My last post featured our excellent Christmas cheese board, and I just wanted to share with you our boxing day breakfast - raclette-style cheese on toast. All you have to do is grill some sliced bread on one side, then on the un-grilled side pile on the raclette cheese and some sliced picked onions and cornchions. Put back under the grill until browned on top.
Posting this halloumi means admitting to the fact that I have watched Jamie At Home...but what the hell, it just looks too great to not rip off. Jamie Oliver used a basil leaf on his, but I've chosen to go with mint on mine because it echoes the mint flavour in the cheese nicely and basil isn't in season right now.
Cut 1 cm thick slices and squeeze with a little lemon juice. Shake some ground coriander over the top, turn and repeat on the other side. Lay a mint leaf over the top. Put a frying pan on medium to low heat, and splash in a little oil. When the pan is hot, carefully place the halloumi in the pan leaf side up. The key is to fry the cheese slowly over a low heat, allowing it to develop a delicious golden crust. When ready, carefully turn and repeat on the other side.
It's been quite an international week here at Lily and Chew! With all this jetsetting, the immune system can take quite a hit when jumping from different climates and nothing is better for you than some dark leafy greens. Proper big spinach is hard to find if you are relying on the big supermarkets - it's just so unfashionable at the moment. This weekend at the farmer's market I managed to score two big bunches of Popeye's vegetable of choice at a much more manageable size than the mega spinach I bought a few weeks ago.
For a quick iron fix - chop it up, throw into boiling water for a few minutes. Drain, crumb some feta over the top and give it a generous drizzle of good olive oil. A squeeze of lemon and some pepper and you're done. I'm going to eat mine with some of Carter's leftover homemade pasta.
There's definitely something about clean cold air that makes you hungry all the time. Especially when you've been busy hiking about in the woods and taking in amazing views, then rewarding yourself with refreshing German ale. Oh, life can be so rough.
What better way to finish off the day than with some hardcore German stodge. With discussions of Lily and I going vegan for a month, my heart fluttered as Nicky listed the ingredients of Kässpätzle to me.
"Lots of butter, eggs, onions, flour and three types of cheese. You don't skimp on the fat stuff"
Kässpätzle translates to 'cheesy sparrows' in English. Although I reckon a more appropriate name would be 'big coronary'. Cholesterol aside, one of the most interesting things about this dish is how it is made. You need a contraption called a Spätzle Hobel, which looks like a holey mandolin without the razor sharp finger-slicing capability. Another thing I really liked was the teamwork involved in getting it all together. It took four of us to make it happen, one slicing and frying the onions, another grating cheese, and two on Spätzle duty. It just makes it so much more satisfying when you're all chowing down on it together. Go Team Kässpätzle!
What you need A Spätzle Hobel Eggs (1 egg for every 100 grams of flour) sifted flour (we used about 1 kg) Milk A few big pinches of salt white pepper 10 onions, mixture of red and white - sliced roughly a big pat of butter 3 wedges of your favourite melting cheese, grated (Emmental, Romadur, Bavarian Bergkase or a little bit of Gorganzola wouldn't go astray too)
The do Heat the oven to about 150 degrees C and preheat the biggest and deepest baking dish you have (you will need depth of at least 12cm). Sift flour into the biggest bowl you have. Break eggs into the flour, add a few pinches of salt and mix hard with a wooden spoon, slowly adding milk until you achieve a runny cement-like consistency with doughy bubbles bursting on the surface. Let it drop from the spoon - if it clings to itself as it falls, it's just right. Set aside.
Put a big pot of salted water to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Grab a big fry pan, throw in a big chunk of butter (about 3 tablespoons worth) and when melted, add the onions. Fry until dark and soft. Remove from heat.
Take out the baking tray and melt half a tennis ball's worth of butter. Do not skimp on the butter. Return to oven.
Position your Spätzle Hobel over the barely simmering water, pour some mixture into it and glide it back and forth. The little balls will drop out the bottom into the water. Stir them up with a slotted spoon to keep them from sticking to the bottom. When the pot starts to look crowded, transfer them with a slotted spoon to the baking dish in the oven, taking care to drain off all excess water. Sprinkle a generous layer of cheese and some of the fried onion over the top, season with white pepper and return to the oven.
Keep repeating this process until you are out of onion and dough, but make sure you reserve some cheese and onion for the very last layer. When it's all done. Put it all back in the oven and bake at about 200 degrees C for about 40 minutes, don't forget to check it occasionally.
Serve with a crunchy salad with some bitter leaves like endive or rocket and a good German beer. There should be enough for five hungry people with a little bit extra. WARNING: This dish may cause drowsiness. Avoid driving and operating heavy machinery.
* Big thanks to the lovely Leanne, Nicky and Kim for sharing their home with us for four days and showing us such a fantastic time!
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?
Some of my best cooking has happened while drunk. It's a crying shame when I wake up with a sweet memory of the tastiest early morning supper ever but no recollection of how it happened or what it was. So after returning from Ben and Kara's going-away bash a couple of Sundays ago I made a determined effort to record the meal that followed. I even left clues for myself, like a smashed plate, crumbs in my hair, a fridge ajar and half a blog post that I have only just found again. This really was bloody delicious (I think.)
What you need for a Smashed Bread and Caper Bake sort of thing Whatever's in the kitchen (in my case baby potatoes, avocado and tomato) Onion Capers Bread Cheese A couple of eggs
How you make it Pour yourself yet another glass of white wine. Finely chop the onion and soften it in a pan with the capers (if you accidentally tip your wine into the pan at this point it can only be a good thing for you and your dinner). Preheat your oven to 200. Oil a porcelain baking dish well and line it with bread. Top the bread with your stuff -- in this case, sliced avocado, halved par-boiled potatoes and slices of tomato mixed with the cooked onion. Break the egg over it all then top with crumbled or grated cheese. Bake for around 20 minutes (so the egg white isn't gelatinous anymore) then grill to brown the cheese. Serve drunk.
I'm shit, I know. For far too long I've left Chew to battle blog empathy on her own in the dandelion leaf wilderness and I haven't got a great excuse beyond failing to multitask. But more on that laters.
First, to regain some semblance of continuity, there's one more thing to say about Paris. True, the socialist city will never win Vegan Friendly Town of the Year award, but there is one vego plate you should be able to ask for, sans menu, in any Parisienne restaurant without anyone spitting with disgust into your souffle. And so to my re-entry into everything Lily & Chew -- a variation on the formidable chevre salad. (It's a lowly place to crawl back from but I've got to start somewhere...)
What you need for a toasty chevre salad 100g wheel of goat's cheese (I cut mine in half to make wheels for two) Baby spinach leaves Grainy bread (sliced thickly for toast) Baby potatoes A few fresh sage leaves 1 boiled egg for each plate Dressing (for me - red wine vinegar, olive oil, S&P)
Making it Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes then drain and toss them in some olive oil, torn sage leaves and sea salt. Roast for 15 minutes (or until the potatoes are golden and the sage crispy). Build the spinach, with wedges of tomato and boiled egg, on plates. Toast one side of bread under a grill then turn over and toast the other side very lightly before placing the chevre wheels on top. Grill until the cheese is melting, golden and a little bubbly (careful not to burn your toast). Scatter the roast potatoes and crispy sage around your salad then top with the chevre toast. Dress it up and dig in.
After spending a week in drizzly Paris, we high-tailed it out of there in style with first class train seats to the picturesque, but touristy, seaside town of La Rochelle. In terms of eating out, we experienced more of the same disappointment. But it's hard to be grumpy when the sun is shining. After perusing a popular strip of restaurants looking at each menu board - not a single one had a vegetarian dish on it - we asked a man setting up tables outside a tapas place if he knew of any restaurants that might be vegetarian friendly. His reply was "not in this town". After some wandering around, we found a cute little restaurant near the market serving simple fare such as galettes, tarts and salads. Holding a menu and being able to choose a range of things from it was quite a refreshing change.
We decided to stop off at the market the next day and gather some provisions for a day trip to Ile d'aix.
What greeted us was every food lover's fantasy: a bustling market full of fresh seasonal produce. The stallholders were friendly, chirpy and above all, helpful. Considering that the only greenery that we had laid eyes upon was the mould on cheese that was given to us at Aux Lyonnais, oh, and the 'salad' (a.k.a bowl of dandelion leaves), we went a little crazy and by the time our tasting and buying frenzy was over, our shopping bag was full delicious goodies which included:
from the fruit and veg stall: raspberries strawberries fragrant and sweeeeeeeeet cherry tomatoes on the vine butter lettuce radishes flat white peaches the shape of a Breton beret and possibly my favourite fruit. Fleshy, juicy and sweet - and very, very ergonomic.
from the cheese man: 2-year-old Comte cheese an outstanding cheese. It has an Emmental vibe with a waxy texture and a hint of sweetness and nuttiness. I hadn't tried one this old before. a small wheel of goat's cheese mild with a delicate soft texture and a very slight sour edge.
from the baker: brioche buttery, crumbly and soft paprika and Parmesan biscuits like a cross between a Carr's cheesy melt cracker and a scone. Full of buttery cheesy goodness grainy baguette
We took the boat to Ile d'Aix, via Fort Boyard, and hired bikes to find a nice beach to sit on and chow down on our very successful market haul.
SIMPLE BAGUETTE
Back in London it's easy to write off bought sandwiches as a lunchtime option because, well...they're horrible. Nasty preservative-packed stale bread buttered within an inch of its life bracketing some sort of filling which is unrecognisable because of all the sandwich filler they have slapped on it. Remember the good old lettuce, tomato and cheese combination? Sounds boring - but with quality ingredients it's a taste sensation. Wherever you are - picnic, work or Ile d'Aix, it's dead simple and takes two seconds to prepare.
What you need Swiss army knife Baguette Comte cherry tomatoes lettuce
The do Split the baguette lengthways. Fill with lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes and Comte. Grind some black pepper if you have it. Tip If you are making this for later, lay the lettuce and cheese on the outer layers so the tomato doesn't touch the bread and make it soggy.
Pasta salad is misunderstood. Its vintage association with seventies barbecues and cheap salad bars have done it untold damage (I’m looking at you, Swagman).* But fuck all that because a good one is bloody delicious.
Obviously cold fusilli on its own is not the least bit exciting, which is why you need to dress it with a feisty blend of clingy flavours. Adding a little razzle dazzle on the side can distract from its smorgasbord roots (tonight's grilled and seasoned aubergines come courtesy of the River Café Cook Book) but is not entirely necessary. After chowing it all down, Adam happily declared he could eat this for dinner forever.
* If you have 30 seconds to lose, visit the Swagman link for what is sadly one of the most memorable TV ads of my childhood. Base salad ingredients (for 2 pretty large serves) 1 big cup of wholeweat fusilli pasta 1/2 a continental cucumber (chopped into small slices) 200g feta cheese 1 handful cherry tomatoes (halved) 1 spring onion, finely chopped Handful of blanched almonds Handful of fresh basil leaves
Marinated mushrooms ingredients 250g button mushrooms (halved) Japanese Soya Sauce Balsamic Vinegar A hefty teaspoon of Miso paste mixed with around 1/3 cup of water 1 clove garlic (finely sliced)
Extra dressing Olive oil Juice 1 lemon
And you’ll need 1 med-large eggplant/ aubergine.
Doing it Don't worry too much about quantities. Any leftovers make for killer next day lunch box filler.
Cook your pasta then cool it straight away in cold water and set it aside to drain. Mix all your other salad ingredients together in a large bowl (crumbling the feta with your fingies).
Dry fry the blanched almonds in a hot pan, turning frequently to prevent them burning. Once they are lightly toasted, set them aside to cool then add them to your salad.
The mushroom marinade was entirely spontaneous so use whatever you've got. I mixed a big splash of balsamic vinegar, soya sauce and diluted miso paste in a bowl then thoroughly tossed through the button mushrooms and sliced garlic. Let the mush absorb the juice for a few minutes then pour the whole lot into a hot pan and cook it until the juice has reduced to a caramely sludge. Set aside to cool.
Finely slice your eggplant and grill it on both sides then toss it in olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning.
Thoroughly mix your pasta and mushrooms (with any juice) through the salad then pile it onto a plate alongside your sliced eggplant.
CHEW: A while back Lily and I did our weekly food shop together at Borough market. Lily came up with the bonza idea of Iron Chef-ing each other - buying each other an ingredient we'd never really cooked with before.
LILY: I went for the lazy approach, picking something for Chew that I'd often bought with good intentions just to watch shrivel into a moulding heap on my kitchen windowsill because I didn't know what to do with it: Jerusalem Artichoke.
CHEW: I'd always meant to give Jerusalem artichokes a go, but for some reason I never got around to it. So when Lily, with an evil glint in her eye, handed me a brown paper bag containing this knobbly root vegetable I was secretly pleased. Never one to step down from a challenge, I then made a beeline for the weird mushroom shop, where I knew I would find something that would really freak Lily out.
LILY: Chew managed to dig out something so impossible to get to know it didn't even have a wikipedia entry. The sign said Baba de Fratta, an exotic name for a limp bunch of tentacles, like the flailing arms of green sea anemone. The first bite was weird: crunchy, salty, grassy and juicy all at once. 'Good boiled in salads,' was all I could get out of the greengrocer.
CHEW: After a little Google action, I learnt a few things about this knobbly little root vegetable. 1. It has no link to the globe artichoke 2. It is also known as a sunchoke 3. Jerusalem artichokes cause huge amounts of gas (!)
My search results yielded some salads and soups but they all lacked wow-factor. I couldn't enter a cook-off with Lily and make plain old soup. Finally a recipe for Jerusalem artichoke souffle from the Riverford website caught my eye, mainly because I've never attempted a souffle before and it sounded fancy.
LILY:On d-day I was drooling all over Carluccio's (with my seaweed in my handbag) and I thought, hell's bells, I'll kick this thing with a fancy pizza. Thin crust with baba, gorgonzola, procini mushrooms and some truffle-infused dried berries (an idea I stole from my sister in law, Mish). Surprisingly, it worked, with the saltiness of the green matching the earthier porcini and truffle (although I am sure there are far less heavy handed ways of using this green to lend an interesting flavour).
CHEW: The big day. Lily and Adam are due to arrive in an hour's time. I get all my ingredients together and turn on the scales. Nothing happens. Flashing battery icon. ARRRGHHH! Battery-operated scales seemed such a good idea. I should have known they would have a drawback.
Usually I would push on despite the setback but my limited knowledge of souffle making has taught me that precision is the key. All of a sudden it was meet-the-neighbours time. Maybe we should have done this years ago, but this being London we were afraid they'd answer the door naked with a machete. Five minutes later we knew one thing about all our neighbours - they don't own kitchen scales.
Time for Plan B. I sent my faithful apprentice to the local shop for some new provisions.
LILY:If I hadn't bumped into Mr Chew running around Sainsbury's Express like a headless chook (while I too scrabbled for forgotten ingredients), I would have been none the wiser to Chew's last minute kitchen dramas. Her Jerusalem Artichoke Dauphinoise was the ants pants, with the lemony artichokes offsetting the richness of the cream a treat. Better than its potato brethren I reckon.
CHEW: Lily really pulled out the big guns with her gourmet pizza. The crunchy/saltiness of the Barba worked in perfect harmony with the creamy robustness of the gorgonzola, and the truffle/berry combo was like a party in my mouth.
LILY:Chew's bloke -- vastly more patient and linguistically advanced than I -- did a more thorough google search at the dinner table and so we realised the actual spelling of my Mediterranean vegetable is Barba di Frate (friar's beard). And, yes, it does rate a mention on wikipedia after all.
IRON CHEF RECIPE 1: Jerusalem Artichoke Bake
What you need 3 big potatoes thinly sliced a handful of Jerusalem artichokes thinly sliced 1 cup of cream parmesan, grated rosemary and thyme, chopped
The do Preheat oven to 180 If you're short on time like I was, parboil the potatoes and jerusalem artichoke until semi cooked. Drain. Butter up an A4-sized oven tray and spread a thin layer of potato and artichoke on it. Splash on some cream, cheese, pepper a tiny bit of salt, then some of the chopped herbs. repeat twice. Finish off the top layer with a good layer of cheese and place in oven. It is ready when a fork goes right in and the cheese goes crunchy. Serve it like you never even heard of souffle - surround it with good green leaves and crusty bread.
IRON CHEF RECIPE 2: Barba di Frate Pizza
What you need
A pizza base (however you like it) and enough of the following to load it with: Olive oil Raisins or dried berries Porcini mushrooms (wash and soak them as directed) Fresh mushrooms – regular or you could go oyster or shiitake A sloppy chunk of gorgonzola (be sure to lick the plastic wrap clean – it’s all about keeping your rubbish green) Truffle oil That crazy baba shit
Doing It
Turn your oven on to 210C. Brush your base with olive oil. Be sure to wash your porcinis good before you soak them cos grit is shit. Place the berries in a bowl then douse them in truffle oil and mix them all about. Clean your baba, chop off its roots, dunk it in salted boiling water for a couple of minutes then rinse it with cold. Slice the fresh mush thin and put it on your base, followed by baba (probably best chopped but I went big and flamboyant). Toss your berries and porcini on top with lots of fresh, grated pepper. Slop on some big wads of gorgonzola then zap it all in the oven for… ahem, this all happened so long ago I honestly can’t remember. But, you know, cook it till it’s pizzarific. And try to keep your mouth closed while munching.
Six months of inane bureaucracy ended last week with a trip to Cyprus to get my visa processed, and for those of you who don't know - I'M LEGAL NOW!
So onto food. Cypriots love their meat - so much so, that they think a vegetarian is someone who eats fish. I decided to remain optimistic and was rewarded with some amazing dishes. I'm going to try and replicate these over the coming weeks and will post them if they are successful.
Mushroom and Halloumi Pita with Salad The halloumi in Cyprus is excellent. It was so good that I ate my own body weight's worth of the stuff. Grill it or fry it in a pan - it was soft, not too salty and even a little minty. This is so easy and would be great for a BBQ, just make a big bowl of salad, throw everything else on the grill and let everyone help themselves.
Chop up some flat leaf parsley, mint, cucumber and good tomatoes - drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Slice halloumi. Pan fry, grill or BBQ halloumi and mushrooms until brown (take care not to overcook the halloumi) Toast some pita bread and fill it with the above. * (Cooked or canned beetroot instead of the mushrooms works well too!)
With Chew off scoffing haloumi in Cyprus this week, I too have turned my mind to matters of cheese. Again. With this blog I have realised how much I cook with the blue. Maybe a little too much even. Meh. So before I banish it for a while, I am giving it one last hurrah, together with my other much loved kitchen staple, the mushroom.
This really is too easy. Alls you need to do is grab a portobello mushroom or two, lay them in an oven dish (stalk side up), sprinkle or pile them with your favourite blue (depending on how cheesy you want it) and whack em in a moderate oven for 20 minutes. The mushrooms bleed, the cheese melts, they merge as one in a sweet meeting of fatty juices. When cooked, crack some pepper over the shrooms and serve them atop a crusty bit of very fresh bread to soak up the dripping loveliness.
Which Cheese Are You?
While we're on the subject, last week Sarah sent this link to an incredibly accurate test that matches a cheese to your personality. How can I vouch so for its accuracy? Well, I got camembert and she got cheddar.
