Category Archives: Food for One

Sweetcorn Fritters with Pickled Salad

14 Tuesday Jan 2020

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Not much is better than a sweetcorn fritter. They can be made with several types of flour, although I prefer them made with either buckwheat or chickpea four, which add protein to the dish. The addition of onion and garlic gives a more savoury taste to balance the sweetness of the corn, and of course a little finely chopped fresh chilli goes well.


Per person

50 grams flour – buckwheat/chickpea/wheat

90 grams sweetcorn – either cut straight from the cob/ frozen/or tinned – keep any liquid from the tin

10 grams green pumpkin seeds

1 teaspoon finely chopped onion

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

salt and freshly ground black pepper

oil for frying

Mix the flour with the sweetcorn, pumpkin seeds, and onion and garlic.

Add enough water, including any water from the tin if using tinned corn, gradually to make a thick but spreadable batter.

Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the oil in a frying pan until quite hot then add a tablespoon of the batter to make a smallish fritter. I like to make a trail one to check that the batter is not too thick or thin. If the batter is a bit thin there is no problem adding a little extra flour at this stage to thicken it up. Likewise add a small amount more water if it seems too thick.

When you are happy with the consistency of the batter, go ahead and make several smallish fritters.

When the critters are brown and crispy on one side, turn over and cook the other side. Once done remove and drain excess oil onto kitchen paper.

Braised Lettuce & Peas

09 Thursday Jan 2020

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A dish that is so simple but the combination of ingredients tastes better than you would imagine. This used to be a springtime dish that celebrated the first and sweetest peas and lettuce of the season, now with frozen tiny sweet peas and year round lettuce from this warm region of Spain it can be made any time of the year.


Per person

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or the same amount of butter

1 spring onion

1/2 spring garlic

1 small lettuce

150 ml small sweet peas

100 ml vegetable stock

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the onion and garlic in diagonal slices

Warm the oil or butter in a shallow pan that has a lid.

Add the onion and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes until translucent.

Cut the lettuce into quarters and add to the pan then add the peas and the stock.

Cover and leave to cook on a low heat for 3-4 minutes.

Carefully turn over the lettuce to ensure even cooking.

Let cook a further 3-4 minutes, by which time the lettuce should be wilted but still with a bit of bite.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Smoked Tofu with Crispy Ginger

04 Saturday Jan 2020

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I have come back from Christmas in Valencia with some oriental goodies found in Chinatown. There are two types of fresh enoki mushrooms, which feature in the next post, and two types of smoked Tofu, one dark and the other more golden.

I’m something of a novice with tofu dishes, especially the smoked type, so this dish was a bit make it up as you go along, hence the black beans appearing in the photo of ingredients, which I decided not to use. This tofu has a delicate flavour, not of smoke exactly, more fragrant like a very lightly smoked tea, so it felt right to complement the delicate taste of the tofu rather than adding strong flavours.

Per person

100 grams dark smoked tofu

sunflower or peanut oil

piece of fresh ginger about 2 cm square

1 spring onion

1 spring garlic

1/2 green pepper – the long thin variety

juice of half a small lime

1/2 teaspoon light soy or fish sauce

Drain the tofu and wrap in tea towel or kitchen roll to dry it thoroughly. Once it’s dry, cut into thin slices.

Cut the ginger into short julienne

Cut garlic and onion into slanted slices

Cut the pepper into long thin slices

Warm a tablespoon or two of oil in a wok. Add the ginger and fry slowly until light brown and crisp. This will take five to ten minutes.

Add the garlic, onions and peppers. Continue frying tossing the vegetables constantly.

Add the tofu and stir fry until warmed through.

Season with the soy sauce or fish sauce and the lime juice.

Serve with plain rice.

Red Winter Salad

03 Friday Jan 2020

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For this salad hot stock is added as a dressing which blanches/cooks the ingredients and helps combine their flavours. This jewel bright salad has a Christmassy feel for me, with it containing cranberries, pomegranate and apples.

Enough for 4 portions

1/2 a medium sized red cabbage

sea salt and black pepper

250ml unseasoned vegetable stock

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

40 grams dried cranberries

1 pomegranate

1 red apple

2 tablespoons of olive oil

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

Start by slicing the cabbage as finely as you can. If you have a mandolin use that.

Put the cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle over the salt and pepper. With your hands crush the seasoning into the cabbage breaking it up a little as you go. Leave to soften for half an hour.

Put the coriander seeds in the stock and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and leave to steep for half an hour.

Once the cabbage and the stock have steeped, continue finishing the salad.

Remove the seeds from the pomegranate and add to the cabbage together with the dried cranberries.

Cut the apple into small slices and add to the salad.

Dress the salad with the oil and vinegar. Mix well.

Bring the stock back to a boil and pour over the salad. Mix well.

The salad is ready to eat, but will taste even better the next day. If you store it in the fridge, get it out early enough to let it come back to room temperature before eating.


Pad Thai – today’s version

21 Saturday Dec 2019

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There are many versions of Pad Thai, so it’s one of those dishes that can happily adapt to what you have in your fridge as long as you include the core ingredients, these being flat rice noodles, peanuts and bean sprouts. The flavourings are of course key. Galangal or ginger, red chillis, tamarind, soy sauce and Nam Pla, the Thai fish sauce.

Today I have spring garlics, green and red peppers, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, edename beans and Swiss chard leaves, plus of course some peanuts.

Per person

  • 45 grams flat rice noodles
  • 35 grams raw peanuts
  • 35 grams edename beans – in Spain you can now buy these frozen in Mercadona
  • red and green peppers
  • broccoli
  • alfalfa sprouts
  • Thumbnail sized piece ginger
  • 1 clove garlic or 3 small spring garlics
  • red chilli
  • teaspoon sized piece tamarind paste or 1 dessert spoon tamarind sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Nam Pla fish sauce – you vegans will have to leave this out, although for me Thai food just doesn’t taste the same without it.
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • oil for cooking – either sunflower or olive oil

Firstly put the noodles to soak in cold water at least an hour before starting to cook.

Shell the peanuts and pod the edename

Cut the peppers into short strips

Wash the chard and cut into thin strips

Cut the broccoli into bite sized pieces

If you are using tamarind paste, which you buy in Asian stores in the uk, separate off a teaspoon sized chunk and put it into a small container with 2-3 teaspoons boiling water and mash the paste into the water to make a sauce. You can use tamarind ready made sauce if need be, but this tastes better.

Finely chop the ginger garlic and chilli

You are now ready to start cooking.

Boil the kettle, drain the noodles of the cold water, return to their container and cover with boiling water.

Heat a wok and add a couple of tablespoons of oil. Add the ginger, garlic and chills. Stir round and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the peppers to the pan. Stir round and cook for a couple of minutes.

Do the same with the broccoli.

Now the chard.

Put in the peanuts, bean sprouts and beans.

Drain the noodles and add to the wok.

Add the tamarind, soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice. Stir well to mix everything. Taste to see if you are happy with the balance of flavours and adjust accordingly if you are not.

Enjoy.


Grilled Vegetables with Romesco Sauce

20 Friday Dec 2019

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I love grilled vegetables, especially grilled broccoli. This method of cooking seems to concentrate the flavour of each vegetable. I crush a clove of garlic with some coarse salt with a pestle and mortar, and then add olive oil to make a garlicky oil with which to paint the vegetables.

Romesco Sauce originated in Tarragona, Cataluña and traditionally is served with fish, but can make a great dipping sauce for vegetables. It is slightly spicy, garlicky and almondy.

Per person

  • 35 grams almonds
  • 1 clove garlic
  • olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon sweet and sour smoked paprika
  • 1 tablespoon chilli jam
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons vegetable stock or water

Lightly toast the almonds in a thick bottomed pan on a low heat, stirring from time to time until light golden. Remove to the bowl of a small food processor.

Finely chop the garlic and fry in olive oil until golden brown. Add to the almonds.

Whizz these until the almonds are finely chopped

Add the rest of the ingredients except the stock or water, only add a tablespoon of this and whizz the mix again until a thick mayonnaise consistency.

Add a little more stock or water if the consistency is too thick.

A Warm Winter Salad

16 Monday Dec 2019

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A base of sweet garden peas and steamed chard topped with braised butternut squash and lemony, garlicky red peppers – what’s not to like?

Let’s do the butternut squash first. The amounts are per person so just multiply or expand if you are mega hungry.

Half a butternut squash – peeled and de seeded then cut into chunks.

Fry in olive oil with a lid on so it can steam. After about five minutes turn the cubes and season with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Let cook another five minutes, covered, then stir again and add a tablespoon of green pumpkin seeds. Stir in and let cook a couple of minutes more then turn off the heat.

 

Next the red peppers.

Cut them into short strips and fry in olive oil with some finely chopped garlic. Fry them on a medium heat so that they cook quite quickly and brown a bit.

When the peppers are almost cooked throw in a handful of cashew (or other) nuts and stir round and let cook until slightly toasted.

Remove the peppers to a small bowl and season with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

 

Cook the chard leaves in the same pan. The chard wants to be washed and cut into strips.

Add to the pan together with some frozen or fresh garden peas. Cover and let the chard leaves wilt.

Turn the chard over from time to time.

Once it’s cooked enough, turn off the heat. Season with salt, pepper and the juice of half a lime.

Assemble the salad with the chard and peas as the base, then scatter over the pumpkin and seeds, then top with the peppers and nuts. Yum!

Beans in spicy tomato sauce

14 Saturday Dec 2019

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As children my sister and I would regularly ‘improve’ the tinned baked beans that we had for tea. Being brought up with Eastern European food with its garlic and spices, plain baked beans were to us…..well just….plain. Nowadays I start with even plainer beans and make a tomato sauce to put them in.

This is a bit of a store cupboard recipe, which means it’s quick to make.

Per person

A tin or jar of beans – I used a jar of butter beans, but use whichever you fancy –  haricot, pinto, flageolet or lentils also work

olive oil

half an onion – finely chopped

a clove of garlic – finely chopped

1 small or half a large green pepper – cut into short slices

a few wild mushrooms – chopped

150ml tomato Frito or passata

1/3 teaspoon marmite

2 tablespoons chilli jam or sweet chilli sauce

freshly ground black pepper

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a shallow pan and add the chopped onions and garlic.

Fry for five minutes until translucent

Add the chopped peppers and fry another five minutes.

For the mushrooms, I had some fried ones left over from a couple of days ago that were already chopped and fried, so I added those with the tomato Frito. If you are adding uncooked mushrooms, do it now and fry for five minutes before adding the frito.

Add the tomato Frito and mix well.

Season with the marmite,  chilli sauce and black pepper.

leave to cook for another five minutes.

Add the drained beans, mix well and then leave to warm through on a very low heat.

Check the seasoning, I’m assuming that the beans and tomato Frito already are salted, so as well as the salt from the marmite that may well be enough.

Enjoy!

Red and green salad with quinoa

13 Friday Dec 2019

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In this salad there is –

60 ml/1/4 cup quinoa per person boiled for about ten minutes in salted water until done. Drain and run cold water through it to cool.

red oak leaved lettuce

rocket

radishes cut into wedges

cooked beetroot cut into wedges

alfalfa sprouts

green pumpkin seeds

I made a very light dressing of Pedro Jiménez syrup, a slightly sweeter variation on balsamic syrup, and lemon juice.

 

Buckwheat galette with artichokes

12 Thursday Dec 2019

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The tender new season artichokes are now on sale at the market which made me think to cook this dish.

Per person

2 rounded tablespoons buckwheat flour

6 tablespoons vegetable stock

2 artichokes

olive oil

salt

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Firstly prepare the artichokes. The tough outer leaves and the stem will need to be trimmed off, but as the artichokes are tender right now you don’t need to take too much off. When I think I have taken enough of the leaves off to get to the tender ones, I take off an extra one and bite into it to see if it is fibrous or not.

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan. Cut the top of the leaves off the artichokes and discard, then slice the artichokes thinly and immediately toss into the frying pan.

Fry the artichokes for about ten minutes, tossing from time to time, until just cooked then turn off the heat. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Put the oven on at 175 C to warm up.

Make the batter. Add the stock to the buckwheat flour gradually to make a smooth batter.
Season with salt and pepper.

You will need a shallow tray the right size to take the batter in a thin layer.

Put a tablespoon or two of olive oil in the tray and put in the oven to heat up to almost smoking point as you would if you were making Yorkshire pudding.

Once the tray is heated up, remove from the oven and quickly pour in the batter, scatter over the artichokes, and put back in the oven.

Bake for 8 – 12 minutes until light brown and crispy round the edges.

Serve with a mixed salad.