This recipe came about with wanting to use up half a can of coconut cream and half a sweet potato that were lurking in the fridge, the resulting soup is so delicious that I have been making it ever since.
For 4 portions
750 ml light stock – either vegetable or chicken
500 grams sweet potato – peeled and cut into small cubes
80 ml coconut cream
1 teaspoon smoked picante paprika/pimenton
1/2 teaspoon coarsly ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 a small lime
sea salt
Fresh coriander leaves – roughly chopped
Put the sweet potato, a little salt and the stock in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for about ten minutes until the potato is cooked and soft.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Take the pan off the heat and purée the soup with a hand blender until smooth.
Reheat the soup. Check the seasoning adding more salt if necessary.
In this summer heat, lunch for your friends wants to be a light and fresh affair, Watermelon Gazpacho followed by three salads served with freshly homemade bread. To finish a small pot each of intense dark chocolate sorbet and crispy ginger biscuits.
BEETROOT & RADICCIO SALAD WITH PURPLE BASIL
The beetroot was roasted for an hour with whole cloves of garlic, a generous splash of balsamic vinegar, sprigs of fresh oregano and olive oil, season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Let the beetroot cool before mixing with shredded chicory and purple basil leaves.
LENTIL & POMEGRANATE SALAD WITH FRESH CORIANDER
His salad is cooked green lentils, a good amount of the little pomegranate jewels that I have plenty of in the garden this year, then finely chopped cucumber, tomatoes and celery. Add a generous amount of roughly chopped coriander leaves and dress lightly with lime juice and olive oil.
I’m a fan of soaking dried grains so that when you come to cooking the grains are already re moistened in the centre, and so require less cooking. Pour boiling water over the lentils and leave an hour or so to steep before cooking until just tender. Drain the lentils and let them cool before adding them to the salad.
SALAD OF FRESH FIGS, ROASTED RED ONIONS AND HAZELNUTS
This is a Yotam Ottolengi recipe which has a lovely contrast of flavours with the sweet roasted red onions and figs, and the peppery watercress and rocket. His recipe uses radiccio rather than rocket, but as I have both I decided that the more peppery rocket suited this recipe better. I was surprised to find that what I thought was weeds in my vegetable patch is actually rocket, and it hasn’t become overly peppery in the strong Spanish heat. I haven’t used roasted red onions in a salad before, and I have to say, I’m a total convert. I shall be roasting a tray full regularly so that I have them at the ready in the fridge.
This amount serves 4
2 small red onions – peel them and cut each into 6 wedges
50 grams hazelnuts with skin / or ready dry roasted unseasoned hazelnuts
1/2 small head of radicchio / or a similar amount of rocket
good bunch of fresh basil – either the green or purple
bunch of watercress with the stems removed
6 ripe fresh figs, cut into quarters
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
Roast the onions drizzled with olive oil at 180 C for 30 minutes. Leave to cool.
If you are roasting hazelnuts, turn the oven down to 140, and once it has reached this temperature, spread the hazelnuts in a shallow pan and roast for 20 minutes. Leave to cool then break up into pieces with a pestle and mortar. If you are using the ready roasted hazelnuts break these up as above.
To put the salad together, start with the leaves, rip them into pieces and put in a large bowl, add the onions and figs.
Dress with the oil and vinegar and gently toss. I like to do this with my hands as it’s more gentle than using implements.
I’ve had a tray of peas sprouting on the kitchen windowsill for the last few days, and now the shoots are ready for cutting. The flavour of them is stronger than I expected, and stronger than that of the sweet peas I have, so I thought the two together would make a well flavoured sauce for the swirly maccheroni I have. And it did…….
For 2 portions
200 grams maccheroni
1/2 onion – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
250 grams tomatoes -either fresh or tinned – peeled and chopped small
120 grams tomato Frito or passata
400 grams sweet garden peas – either fresh or frozen
bunch of pea sprouts – cut in half if long
4 large sprigs of fresh basil – roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil for drizzling
Heat plenty of water seasoned with salt and olive oil, and when boiling add the pasta.
Once back boiling, turn the heat down to a brisk simmer and leave the pasta to cook to al dente. For this pasta it was about 12-15 minutes.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and add the onion and garlic. Fry gently until translucent.
Add the chopped tomato, Frito and peas. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes stirring from time to time. You want the sauce to have reduced, thickened and the flavour to have intensified, so if you are using fresh tomatoes that are watery, the sauce may need longer cooking.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper.
Drain the pasta once it is cooked.
Add the pea shoots and basil to the tomato sauce and stir in, then stir in the pasta making sure that it is nicely covered with the sauce.
Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil over the pasta, and enjoy!
T and I treated ourselves to a bit of a Thai feast to commemorate our two weeks of lockdown. We are getting into the groove now – made much easier by the emergence of the sun!
We had Smoked Tofu with Crispy Ginger – you can find the recipe on this blog – Vegetable Thai Green Curry, rice noodles with sesame oil and a little pickle of finely sliced radishes and spring onions in sweetened rice vinegar.
For this curry you can use a ready made green curry paste, but they do contain shrimp paste, so if you are being strict with your vegetarianism, you will have to make your own. It is quite difficult to get all the ingredients outside of Asia, so I’ve given options where necessary.
It is almost impossible to make a small amount of curry paste, so this amount will make 150 ml, about enough for 10 to 16 servings depending on how spicy the chillis are and how picante you like your curry to be. I recommend that you divide the paste up into tablespoon size portions and freeze what you are not using straight away. Once you have this paste handy, you will find all sorts of other uses for it, In my meat eating days I would use it for a marinade for grilled chicken. My current favourite is Indian spicy mashed potatoes, but more of that another day.
Green curry paste
45 grams fresh green chillis
30 grams lemon grass
15 grams fresh galangal/ginger
25 grams garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
grated rind and juice of 1/2 kaffir lime / 1 whole small lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 grams shrimp paste – optional
Cut the lemongrass, chillis, including seeds, and garlic into smallish pieces. Put these into a small food processor with the rest of the ingredients and whizz to a paste. Open the processor and scrape the pulp down into the bowl two or three times to ensure an even paste.
Vegetable Green Thai Curry
For 2 portions
300 ml coconut milk
1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons green curry paste
1/4 red pepper – cut into 1/2 x 3 cm strips
1/4 kohl rabi – cut as above
4 flat green beans – cut díagonally into small pieces
broccoli florets
small bunch mizuna/pack choi
juice of 1/2 a lime
As usual I’ve given you a list of the vegetables I used on this occasion, but these can be varied depending on what you have. In the vegetable garden I have a great oriental leaves mix, which contains Mizuna, Pak Choi, Red Kale and Mustard Greens amongst others, so that’s what I have used here. Also the very last of the kohl rabi, I probably won’t see another one of them until next winter.
Heat the coconut milk in a small wok.
Add the curry paste and stir well to mix in.
Add all the vegetables except the leaves and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down, cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are just cooked.
Add the leaves and lime juice. Stir round for a minute or two to wilt the leaves.
Khorasan is a type of wheat that has large grains with a rich nutty flavour, which I love in a salad. It’s a relative of durum wheat which originated in the Middle East where it is still cultivated. I buy both the grains and flour from an ecological producer here in Spain. If anyone would like their details message me and I will pass them on.
This salad is based on Tabouleh where I have replaced the normal bulgur wheat with Khorasan wheat, and then added seeds and nuts for protein and extra texture.
For 2 portions
100 grams Khorasan wheat grains
1 large tomato – diced
2 tablespoons diced cucumber
2 tablespoons diced raw kohl rabi
1 spring onion – finely chopped
1 heaped tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons crushed dry roasted hazelnuts
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
large bunch fresh flat leaved parsley, tarragon and mint – chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
The Khorasan needs to be soaked, either overnight in cold water, or a couple of hours before cooking pour boiling water over the grains.
Cook the Khorasan in salted water for 20-30 minutes until soft. Drain and let cool a little.
Put into a salad bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Check the balance of lemon and oil adding extra of either if needed. Check seasoning.
If you can manage to let the salad sit for an hour, I almost never can, the flavours will have blended and developed to a richer taste.
I decided to prepare this salad today, simply because I have some white rye and walnut bread that is bland tasting and a bit dry. Not good for sandwiches but perfect for this salad of bread and tomatoes which hails from the Tuscany región of Italy. The traditional recipe has anchovies as one of the ingredients, but if you want to make a vegan version of the salad it doesn’t suffer if you leave them out. With fresh from the garden radishes and asparagus plus a small dish of boquerones, we had the perfect lunch.
For 2 servings
500 grams approximately of tomatoes
2 thick slices bread
1 garlic clove – crushed with salt
1/2 red onion – very thinly sliced
1 tablespoon capers – chopped
1 tablespoon black olives
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh red chillis
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
flat leaved parsley – coarsely chopped
fresh basil leaves – coarsely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
And if you are making the non vegan version –
2 teaspoons black fish eggs
6 boquerones/ anchovies – chopped
Chop the tomatoes into chunks and put into your salad bowl.
Cut the crusts off the bread and discard them. Rip the bread into smallish chunks and add to the tomatoes.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Let the salad sit for about an hour at room temperature for the tomatoes and onions to soften a little and the flavours to mix and develop.
This is one of those recipes that are so super simple that it’s hard to believe how tasty and rich the resulting dish is. Peppers and tomatoes are stewed in their own juices to make a rich and moist stew. I had mine today with cous cous flavoured with almonds and raisins, this goes very well with pasta too.
For 1
2 medium or 1 large red pepper – cut into 1 1/2 centimetre strips
olive oil
10 baby tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon capers
small amount finely chopped red chilli to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat a shallow saucepan or frying pan, and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and the red peppers. Cover and fry gently for 3-5 m8nutes to soften the peppers.
Add the tomatoes, capers and chilli, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to mix.
Cover and leave to stew gently for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time until you have a soft juicy stew.
Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water seasoned with salt and a splash of olive oil.
Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and add the artichokes and garlic. Fry on a medium heat turning the artichokes over regularly until they are just cooked and lightly browned. Turn off the heat.
In a small food processor whizz the hazelnuts to chop them small.
Add the milk and whizz more.
Add half the artichokes to the nut mix and whizz again to achieve a thick paste. Season with salt and pepper.
If you are using cheese add two thirds of it to the purée and pulse to mix.
When the spaghetti is about cooked, put the heat back on under the artichokes in the frying pan. Add the puréed artichokes and a spoonful or two of the pasta cooking liquid to make a thick sauce. Heat gently to warm up.
Drain the pasta from its water reserving a bit in case the sauce needs more.
Add the pasta to the artichokes and mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce.
Serve with either a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley or the rest of the cheese if using.
This Indonesian salad, as with the tofu fritters in the previous post, is from Sri Owen. As with most salads, you can vary the ingredients depending on what you have available that fits with the style of the salad.
I have used –
cucumber – peeled and cut into long wedges
red peppers – cut into long strips
red cabbage – finely shredded and blanched in boiling water for 1 minute
edename beans – I’d got cooked frozen ones that I defrosted
cooked mung beans
Other options are –
radishes
carrots – cut into fine julienne
beansprouts
french beans – lightly cooked
chinese cabbage – shredded and blanched
broccoli florets – blanched
For the dressing –
2 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh coconut
2 tablespoons thick coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh red chilli
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/4 tablespoon brown sugar
salt to taste
Mix all the dressing ingredients together and then add them to the salad and mix well.
I have been doing my kitchen spring clean and as part of this culling my, rather large, collection of cookery books. As I have been doing this I’ve found some forgotten favourites hiding amongst the other tomes, so I thought I would go through them and share with you some old favourites and new discoveries from each one. This recipe and the next one are adaptations from Sri Owens excellent book, Indonesian Regional Food & Cookery.
For 2 portions
200 grams firm or silken tofu – drained
2 spring onions – finely chopped
1 clove of garlic – finely chopped
peanut oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger or galangal
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh coriander
2 tablespoons bean sprouts – either the regular sort you can buy or, my current favourite, fenugreek sprouts, or alfalfa are good
1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped red chilli
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons rice flour ( if you haven’t got this then regular wheat flour or chickpea flour)
1/2 lightly beaten egg
Gently fry the onion, garlic and ginger in a couple of tablespoons of the oil until the onions are translucent.
Put the tofu in a bowl and mash it well. Drain the onions from the oil in the pan, reserving the oil, and add to the tofu. Mix in.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Form into 4 round patties and fry On a medium heat in peanut oil until crisp and light brown.
Drain and serve with a chilli vinegar to dip into.
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