30 g coriander
30 g parsley
30 g mint
250 g thickest Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seed
8 cardamom pods' seeds
2 garlic cloves
2 seeded chilis
Toast the spices all together, then turn to powder in spice grinder. Strip herbs off stems and pulse the leaves in food processor. Add the yogurt, garlic, chilis and spices, and blitz until smooth. Salt to taste.
80 g coriander
40 g parsley
1 Tablespoon coriander seed
2 Tablespoons cumin seed
1 teaspoon fennel seed
8 green cardamoms' seeds
4 garlic cloves
4 chillies, seeded
Blitz the herbs just a bit in the processor. Toast the spices in a small pan over medium heat, then grind them. Add the spices, garlic and chillies to the chopped herbs. Add a healthy glug of olive oil and some salt, and blitz again until smooth. Mix with yogurt for a spicy cool sauce.
150 g peanut butter
75 g coconut milk
30 g soy sauce
15 g tamarind paste
8 g honey
big clove garlic, chopped
galangal or ginger powder
chili powder
75-100 g warm water
For dinner, use the rest of the coconut milk to make rice pilaf with onions. Steam some broccoli and toast some sesame seeds.
Serves 4
250 g cauli
250 g mac
250 g chee
1 big tin (410 g) evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
salt and pepper
1 egg
8 cream crackers
Boil the pasta in a very large pot. Add the cauliflower for the last 5 minutes. Strain and return to the pot. Add milk, cheese and spices. Correct seasoning, then mix in the egg. In a small pan, melt a giant piece of butter. Crumble in the crackers and stir them around to soak up the goodness. Butter a square, red casserole, pour in the pasta, top with the crumbs, and bake at 180 C for 40 min.
3 egg whites
170 g sugar (1/2 granulated, 1/2 icing)
salt
cream of tartar
Bake on middle shelf at 135 for 2 hours, then leave it in the oven.
pack of ricotta
spoonful of yogurt
olive oil
lemon juice
aubergine
courgette
a few cherry toms
basil
Cut the aubergine and courgette into large dice. Leave the tomatoes whole? Roast them all in the oven. In a food processor, blitz the ricotta and yogurt with oil and lemon juice, scraping down the sides, until it's perfectly smooth. Salt to taste. Spread the whipped ricotta on a plate, and grate over some black pepper. Pile on the roasted veg and garnish with leaves of basil. Serve with tortilla chips. Upside down veggie nachos.
4 romano peppers
200 g feta
50 g cheddar
4 slices bread
2 onions
4 garlic cloves
1 chilli, deseeded
fresh herbs
Gently simmer the peppers in a big pot of water until they are soft but not tender. If they split, you overdid it, damn it. Drain them and let cool. Cut the tops off and take out the seeds. Blitz the onions, garlic and chilli with a bit of oil to make a puree. Put this with the cheese and bread and herbs in a food processor and blitz. It should be a smooth paste. Stuff -- don't overstuff -- the peppers and bake at 180 for 30-45 min.
Inspired by My Greek Dish
190 g flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
255 g oats
candied orange peel or raisins
In a food processor, blitz the butter and sugar until it creams. Then put in the eggs, treacle, vanilla and zest, and blitz again to combine. Sift together the flour, bicarb, spices and salt into a very large mixing bowl. Add the sugar-butter and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the oats and dry fruit and mix. Let it set in the fridge for 45 min. Preheat oven to 180. Roll the dough into balls of 50 g. Bake 8 at a time for 16 minutes.
Credit to Sally's
1 egg
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
salt and lemon juice
1 egg per person
2 extra eggs
1 big mushroom per person
fresh tarragon and chives
Put an egg, oil and mustard in a blender jar and blitz to make mayonnaise. Season with salt and lemon juice. Hard boil the other eggs. Shell them and dice them, saving the yolks of two eggs. Pass the reserved yolks through a sieve to use for garnish. Moisten the chopped eggs with mayo. Add chopped tarragon and chives. Check seasoning.
Clean the mushrooms and cut out the stems. Poach them in salted water for 10 (?) minutes until just tender. Drain them well and pat dry. Pile on egg salad and garnish with the sieved yolk and some chopped chives. Serve on a platter with parsley and flowers.
1 kg lamb mince
10 g salt
2 garlic cloves
fresh coriander and fenugreek
2 teaspoon (?) ground spices: cinnamon, cumin and cardamom
amchoor or lemon juice
2 eggs
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons milk
Mix up the meat and seasonings, etc. Check flavour by frying a micromeatball; correct seasoning. Roll into 40 g meatballs. It should make about 24. Put them in a lined roasting tray and bake at 200 for 10 minutes. Take them out and put a dollop of tamarind glaze on each meatball. Shake the pan to roll around the meatballs so they're evenly coated. Bake for another 5 minutes (?) until internal temp is 70. Maybe deglaze the tray to make sauce?
3 cups rice
3 onions
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Steep the saffron in 1 cup of hot water. (Rinse the rice in several changes of cold water?) Chop the onions and sweat them in butter and oil in a saucepan. Add the rice and a tablespoon (?) of salt. Add the saffron water and another 3.5 cups water (less if rinsed?). Cover and bring to simmer on hob. Finish in oven at 200 for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, toast the almonds. Fluff them in when the rice is ready.
2 bunches collards
2 onions
5 cups milk
bay leaf
8 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon (?) keshk
1 pack feta
cream crackers
butter
Rinse the greens. Cut out the ribs and discard; slice the leaves in wide ribbons. Blanch in salted water until al dente, then shock with cold water. Drain well.
Dice the onions. Sweat them in butter in a large saucepan. Heat the milk with a bay leaf in a small saucepan. Add the flour to the onions and let it cook a few minutes. Pour in the hot milk and scrape up all the flour. Simmer for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the keshk and a spoonful of hot sauce. Pour this back into the sauce. Add salt and lemon juice to taste. It should be pretty punchy. Blitz with a hand blender.
In a big bowl, mix together the greens, sauce and feta chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Butter a large glass casserole and pour in the greens mixture. Crumble over the crackers and dot with butter. Bake at 200 until bubbly and browned. Serves 8-10 as a side dish.
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
111 grams butter
2 teaspoons of baking powder
Heat oven to 190. Melt butter in a 9-in baking dish in the oven. Mix flour, sugar and baking powder with a pinch of salt in a big bowl. Beat in the milk. Slice some peaches or rinse some blueberries. When the butter is very hot in the dish, pour over the batter. Place the fruit on top, away from the edges. Bake for 45 minutes.
Filling
150 g sugar
21 g cornstarch
13 g zest
42 lemon juice
21 g butter
Frosting
43 g butter
112 g chocolate
200 g sugar
Soak the mushrooms for a while. Dredge the beef in flour and spices. Brown the meat in butter in a dutch oven. Chop the mushrooms. In their broth, dissolve the tomato paste and marmite. Pour this over the beef, adding the mushrooms, herbs and salt. Simmer for 2 hours. Meanwhile peel the shallots: top and tail, then douse in boiling water for 2 minutes to loosen the skins. Square the sides of the carrots and cut them into nice dice. Half an hour before the end, add the onions and carrots. Ten minutes before the end, add the peas. Pour this into a large glass casserole and top with biscuit dough. When the biscuits are golden, pour over some melted butter.
330 g butter
660 g flour
10 eggs
600 mL double cream
625 g mushrooms
500 g baby spinach
15 g tarragon
Make 48 tartlet shells and bake blind. Slice the mushrooms and saute, seasoning with lemon juice and black pepper. Sweat down the spinach. Beat the eggs with the cream and chopped tarragon. Check seasoning. Put a mushroom or two and some spinach into each tartlet shell. Pour the egg mixture on top. Try not to let all the tarragon pour into the first five tarts. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 180.
1 cauliflower
pack of green beans
1 tin tomatoes
1 onion
1 carrot
laoganma
Make a thick tomato sauce: sweat the onion and carrot in a small saucepan, then tip in the tomatoes and add a splash of water. Stir in a tablespoon of laoganma. Put the cauliflower florets in a dutch oven with a bit of water over medium-low heat to let it steam. When it's half cooked, add the green beans and steam them as well. When it's all cooked, add in the tomato sauce and simmer for a minute. Serve with potatoes.
1 great big potato
cumin seed
fennel seed
fenugreek seed
smoked paprika
ground turmeric
2 flour tortillas
3 eggs
fresh chilli
2 green onions
big tablespoon mayo
big tablespoon yogurt
big teaspoon chutney
chopped parsley or coriander
Cut the potato into small chunks. Boil in salted water until well tender and then drain. Dry toast the cumin and fennel seeds in a nonstick pan, then put them in the spice grinder. Toast the fenugreek next; it won't take half as long. Put the fenugreek with the cumin and fennel and grind them all to powder. Mix this with the ground paprika and turmeric. Toss the potatoes in the frying pan with a bit of oil over medium heat. When they are hot through, toss them with the spices, check seasoning and set them aside.
Chop some parsley. Make a sauce with mayo, yogurt, chutney and herbs.
Beat three eggs with a bit of water. Chop the chilli and the green onions. Sweat them in butter in the pan over medium-low heat. Add half the eggs and lay a tortilla over them. Wait about 30 sec and flip the whole thing. Spread half the sauce over it, line up half the potatoes across the middle and scatter over some chopped herbs. Slide this out onto a board and roll it up. Repeat with the rest of the eggs and other tortilla.
After Nadiya Hussein. Kinda like a kati roll.
1 leek
dried marjoram
3 spring onions
500 g green beans
1 teaspoon white miso
Sweat the leek for a minute in a dutch oven. Then add a big splash of water and a big pinch of marjoram, cover the pan and lower heat. Let it simmer until the leek is completely soft. Uncover and stir in the green onion and blend in the miso paste. Let the water mostly cook off, raising the heat if necessary. Remove from heat when you have a nice goop. Cook green beans separately, either by steaming or blanching. To serve, toss the beans with the leeks and reheat if necessary.
2 kg wild plums after pitting
400 g sugar
lemon zest and juice
star anise
Put on to boil and stir regularly until it is thick enough.
carrots peeled into ribbons
pink pickled onions
toasted sesame seeds
chopped mint
olive oil
Mix it up and season to taste. Use plenty of onions for the punch. Garnish with a little pile of more pickled onions. How civilised.
600 mL milk
200? g soft goats cheese
6 eggs
bay leaf
40 asparagus spears (for 8 ppl)
Greek yogurt
sour cream
tarragon
dill
parsley
honey
Scald the milk with the bay leaf, then let it cool a bit. Put the goats cheese in a large metal bowl. If the milk is still hot, add it to the bowl a little bit at a time so the cheese doesn't curdle. Beat in the eggs one by one. Season to taste. Pour into a well-buttered one-liter souffle dish, and bake in a bain marie in the oven at 160 C for about 55 minutes. The internal temp should be 80 C. Meanwhile, mix up a sauce of yogurt, sour cream, honey and herbs, with water to thin. Then peel and cook the asparagus. When the timbale is done, unmold it on a serving platter and garnish with lamb's lettuce and flowers. Spoon some sauce on the top and serve the rest in a dish. Pass the asparagus around.
This is a vegetarian combine of Lowcountry red rice and hoppin' john. Serves 12-16.
1 lb field peas
2 bay leaves
4 black peppercorns
4 onions
2 celery stalks
4 cups rice
6 cups bean cooking water
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 small tin tomato paste
fennel seed
cumin seed
mustard seed
celery seed
chopped onion and celery
6 cloves garlic
ground ginger
madras curry
smoked paprika
Rinse and pick over the field peas, or use black-eyed peas in a pinch. Boil them with one bay leaf and peppercorns for 20-30 minutes until they're just tender. Take off heat and let them cool in the liquid. They can be stored overnight in their liquid in the fridge.
Strain the beans from their liquid, reserving 6 cups for cooking the rice. Bring this liquid to boil in a saucepan with the chopped tomatoes and paste. Meanwhile, chop the onions and celery, setting aside a handful for the tarka later. Sweat the rest in oil in a large dutch oven. Then fry the rice until it turns translucent. Add the hot bean-tomato broth and a bay leaf, scraping up the rice from the bottom of the pan. Add a scoop of salt, stir once and cover. Cook it in the oven for 30 minutes until the rice is ready.
Spread the drained peas on a large baking sheet and pop them in the oven for 10 minutes. Then stir them around and cook for another 5-10. The goal is to toast them lightly, so that they don't go to mush when mixed in with the rice.
In a saucepan in hot oil, temper the seeds and spices, following the order above. Be generous with the paprika to bring the smoke. When the tarka is cooked, mix it with the beans. When the rice is ready, fluff in the beans.
tin of black beans
tin of cannellini
3 heads of black garlic
mustard seeds
cumin seeds
dry thyme
dry marjoram
Temper the mustard and cumin seeds in hot oil. Reduce heat and add the beans and some of their liquid. Bring to a simmer and add the herbs and garlic. Simmer for 15 minutes.
2 onions, chopped
1 teaspoon tamarind paste (from 1 inch cube of dry tamarind)
1 tablespoon marmite
soy sauce
black pepper
Cook the onions slowly in a dutch oven over low heat, stirring regularly, for 45 minutes until they are much reduced and rich brown. Meanwhile, steep the dry tamarind in hot water for a few minutes and then pass it through a sieve to make the paste. Thin out the marmite with some hot water. Mix in the tamarind, soy sauce and black pepper. When the onions are done, blitz them together with the marmite liquid.
1 Tb fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion
6 anchovy fillets from a tin
1 tin tomatoes
chilli sauce
2 cucumbers
Heat some olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat, then add the fennel and cumin seeds. When they are beginning to brown, add the chopped onion and turn down the heat to medium. When it's soft, add the anchovies and break them up with a spoon. Let everything brown for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes with a splash of water and some chilli sauce. Bring it to the boil, cover and let it cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, deseed the cucumbers and cut them into batons. Add the cucumbers and cover again. Simmer for 15 or 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep it from catching. The sauce should get thick. When the cukes are tender, serve them with boiled potatoes.
2 cups blackeyed beans, soaked
kvass (or beer and sugar)
bay leaf
2 uda (grains of Selim)
marmite
breadcrumbs
black pepper
for the tarka:
caraway seeds
cumin seeds
3 garlic cloves
smoked paprika
ground coriander
dried fenugreek
Soak the beans for 7-8 hours. Strain them and put them in a pot with enough kvass and water to cover. Add a bay leaf and 2 uda and bring to boil for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour. In a separate small saucepan, temper the spices in oil, starting with the seeds, then garlic, then spices, then herbs. Stir this into the beans along with 2 teaspoons of marmite and salt to taste. In the small saucepan, toast some breadcrumbs in oil with a lot of black pepper so they're nicely spicy. Serve the beans over rice, garnished with breadcrumbs and chopped celery leaf.
2 onions (300g)
fresh ginger (15g)
1 sweetheart cabbage (500g)
1 cup arborio (220g)
3.5 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon gochujang
2 garlic cloves
frozen peas (100g)
Sweat the chopped onions and ginger over medium heat in a dutch oven. Cut the cabbage in wide strips and cut it again into biggish squares. Toss in the cabbage and let it wilt for 3-4 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with oil. Add the garlic, tomato paste, gochujang and boiling water. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent sticking and adding more water if needed. Stir in the peas for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Serve with cheese or chopped herbs.
2 large aubergines
1 onion
1 celery stalk
2 garlic
100g walnuts
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 roasted red peppers
1 stick cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon paprika
50g breadcrumbs
Roast the peppers in advance. Cut the aubergines lengthwise and score the flesh. Sprinkle with oil and salt and bake them cut side down on parchment paper in a hot oven for 30 minutes until they are quite tender. Grind the spices and the walnuts separately. Sweat the onion and celery until soft. Add the walnuts and the garlic. Add the chopped peppers and spices. Add the breadcrumbs, saving some for topping. Loosen with a splash of water if necessary and season to taste. When the aubergines are ready, pile the stuffing on top and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Drizzle on a bit of oil and return to the oven to brown. Garnish with chopped herbs.
Full credit to Meera Sodha.
3 medium potatoes
2 big spring onions or 1 small brown onion
10 eggs
turmeric
tin of tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 onion
1 celery
garlic
herbs or seeds
Peel the potatoes, cut them into medium pieces and boil them until tender, then drain.
Make the tomato sauce by sweating an onion and celery in a small saucepan. Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste, cover and simmer over medium-low heat while you prepare the frittata. Ten minutes before it's done, add the minced garlic. Smash the sauce with a potato masher.
Beat the eggs with salt, pepper, a splash of water and a pinch of turmeric for colour. Sweat the onions in a nonstick skillet. When they are soft, add the potatoes and bash them around a bit. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the beaten eggs and cook over a medium heat until it looks cooked around the edges. Put the pan under the grill -- be mindful of the plastic handle -- and let the top brown for 5-10 minutes. It should not wobble in the middle when you shake it. Let it cool in the pan before sliding it onto a chopping board. Cut it into wedges and serve each slice with a spoon of tomato sauce and garnish with chopped herbs or sesame and nigella seeds.
1 cup speckled or Puy lentils
half cup dried mushrooms
2 celery stalks
1 onion
1 punnet fresh mushrooms
parsley
3 eggs
vinegar
oil
Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for a half hour. Then drain, reserving the liquid, and chop. Simmer the lentils in the mushroom water with a bay leaf. Start checking at 20 minutes. They should not get too soft. When they're done, strain them and keep the liquid for soup or something. Chop the fresh mushrooms coarsely. Dice the celery and onion and sweat them in oil. Add the mushrooms and let them brown. Toss together in a big mixing bowl with the lentils, reconstituted mushrooms, some chopped parsley and an oily 3:1 vinaigrette. Hardboil the eggs. Cut them in quarters and arrange on top of the lentils.
1 tin marrowfat peas
1 red chilli
garlic
quarter of a lime
coriander
Peel and dice the butternut. Slice the fennel into fat strips. Toss them together with oil, salt and smoked paprika. Roast in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes until they're slightly charred and the fennel has a nice chew. Simmer the beans with a bit of garlic and some ground cumin and coriander.
Drain the marrowfats but reserve the liquid. Blitz them in the food processor with the other ingredients, adding enough of the pea water to make a guac-like consistency.
Build the burritos with cheese, beans, roast veg, and green stuff. Roll them up snug and they will keep, covered, for a while. To serve, toast them on two sides over medium-low heat in a cast iron skillet with the lid on so that they heat through. They should get light brown and crispy.
3 sheets kombu
small handful dried mushrooms
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 big onion, chopped large
1 celery stalk, chopped large
fresh ginger, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 big carrots, chopped large
1 teaspoon miso
3 handfuls pearl barley
half a pointed cabbage, chopped large
half a lemon or more
Simmer the kombu and mushrooms in a saucepan to make the broth. In a soup pot, heat some oil over high heat and add the fennel seeds so that they crackle and brown. Before they burn, add the onion and celery and ginger. Remove the kombu from the broth, but leave the mushrooms. When the onions are translucent, add the carrots and the broth. When it comes to boil, add the miso and the barley. When it boils again, add the cabbage. Reduce heat to medium and cook about 20 more minutes, until the barley and the veg are tender. Season with salt and lemon juice.
3 celery 3 garlic cloves
90 g dried toms
500 mL double cream or cashew cream
1 lemon zestsalt and pepper
500 g short pasta 1 packet runner beans (180 g)
1 packet asparagus
small bunch spring greens or kale (200 g)
1 big carrot peeled into ribbons
1 cup frozen peas (200 g)
chopped parsley
parmesan
Sweat the celery and onion in oil or butter in a very big saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped garlic and a splash of water, then turn heat to low and cover for 5 minutes. Add the cream, tomatoes and lemon. Season well enough for all the pasta.
Put the pasta in a boiling pot of salted water. When the water returns to boil, add the toughest veg. Add each veg sequentially and hope to get everything al dente at the same time. Reserve a cup of cooking water and drain the rest. Toss the pasta and veg in the saucepan with parsley and cheese. Use reserved pasta water to loosen if needed. Check seasoning.
200g raw cashews
250 mL water
Soak the cashews overnight. Drain them and put them in a blender with the water. Blitz until smooth, adding more water to get the desired consistency. Season with salt and lemon if you like.
Credit to The Full Helping
120 g chickpea flour
375 mL water
turmeric
paprika
cumin seeds
green onions
chile
salt
Whisk the flour into the water to form a smooth, thin batter. Heat a nonstick pan over medium flame and wipe it with oil. Cook the pancake until the edges pull away from the pan and you can slide a spatula underneath. Flip it and cook two minutes more. Keep warm on parchment paper in the oven. Makes 4-5 pancakes.
Credit to Vegan Richa
75 g coffee coarsely ground
1160 g boiling water
Make in a large stainless cafetiere for about 5-6? cups.
teaspoon cumin seeds
teaspoon mustard seeds
1 onion
1 celery stalk
1 thumb of ginger
teaspoon madras curry
half teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tin full fat coconut milk
Tablespoon tomato paste
4 carrots
2 handfuls red lentils
2 small potatoes
1 small sweet potato
1 bunch of spinach, chopped
Temper the seeds in hot oil. Add the onion, celery and ginger; sweat until translucent. Add the dry spices and stir for a minute, then tip in the coconut milk and pour a tin of water in too. Mix in the tomato paste and bring it up to simmer. Add the carrots and lentils. When it returns to simmer, add the potatoes. When it returns to simmer, add the spinach.
2 onions
ginger
sesame seeds
1 courgette
3 garlic cloves
1 pack kimchi
2 green onions
gochujang
2 packs instant udon
Slice the onions and fry them in sesame oil with the minced ginger. When they are translucent, add the sesame seeds. When the seeds start to pop, add the sliced courgette and the garlic. Once the courgette gets some colour, add the kimchi, green onions, a spoonful of gochujang and a splash of water. Put the noodles in a colander and pour over them a kettleful of boiled water, just to soften them up. Then add to the kimchi and toss to combine. Garnish with green onion tops and sesame seeds.
Half a kabocha
2.5 cups arborio
4 small beets
1 onion
thumb of ginger
3 sheets kombu
3 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon miso
2 tablespoons tahini
balsamic
Seed the kabocha and cut it in wedges, then oil and roast until tender. Peel the skin and reserve the flesh. Simmer the kombu for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and let it infuse for another 30 minutes. Cut the beets into big chunks, dress with vinegar and black pepper, and let them marinate. Sweat the onion and ginger, then add the garlic and the rice. Stir until the rice goes translucent, then start ladling in the dashi, adding enough to cover the rice completely. When it is absorbed down to the top of the rice, stir the miso into the rice before adding enough dashi to cover the rice again. When the rice is al dente, stir in the tahini and squash and season with salt. Serve in a bowl with the beets piled on top.
head of cauliflower
chilli black bean sauce
1 big purple sweet potato
1 regular potato
watercress
pink pickled onions
blue poppy seeds
Cut the potatoes into pieces and boil until tender. Mash them together with some olive oil and salt. Cut the cauli into florets and steam until tender. Sprinkle the watercress with a bit of oil and pile some onions and toasted poppy seeds on top. Serve alongside the cauliflower, drizzled with a little chilli sauce, and the potatoes.
4 medium onions
brine of preserved lemon
bay leaf
fennel seeds
breadcrumbs
thyme
Cut the onions in half lengthwise and peel the skin. Place cut side up in a baking tray. Spoon a tablespoon of brine over each half and a bit of black pepper. Pour a cup of water in the bottom of the dish and cover with foil. Bake for 45 minutes. In a small saucepan, temper some fennel seeds in plenty of oil. When they brown, add the breadcrumbs, thyme and a pinch of salt. When the onions are tender, take off the foil and pile some breadcrumbs on each piece. Bake another 10 minutes.
130g flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
30g melted butter
150g milk
1 egg
4 more eggs
cheddar cheese
marmite
Sift the dry ingredients together. Melt the butter and mix with 1 egg and the milk. Combine the wet into the dry and stir only a few times without overbeating. Never mind the lumps. Let the batter rest an hour if possible. While the eggs are baking below, cook four pancakes and spread them thinly with marmite.
Beat four egg whites until very stiff. Add finely grated cheddar and pepper. Preheat the oven to gas 7. Spoon four mounds of meringue onto baking paper, making a well in the top of each. Bake for about 7 minutes. (Now make the pancakes.) When the meringues are showing some colour, pull them out for a moment and slip a yolk into each well. Reduce the heat to gas 5 and bake another 5 minutes. Serve on top of the pancakes, drizzled with melted butter.
1 packet of salt fish
7 potatoes
olive oil
Soak the salt fish overnight, changing the water several times. Cook it in simmering water for 5-10 minutes or even in the microwave for 2 minutes until it flakes easily. Boil the potatoes until they are tender and easy to mash. Blitz the fish in the processor with a plastic blade on the slowest spin, adding olive oil to make a coarse paste. Mash the potato separately and then add the fish. Add more oil and season with salt and pepper. Put it in an oven dish, sprinkle with olive oil, and heat in the top of the oven until the top goes crispy. Serve with broccoli and tomato sauce.
2 big aubergines
4 handfuls of okra
1 onion
tin of tomato
fresh turmeric
mustard seeds
cumin seeds
smoked paprika
garlic clove
10 curry leaves
Chop the onion, reserve half, and sweat the other half in a generous amount of oil a dutch oven. Add the peeled and diced aubergine, and push it around until it is starting to brown. Add the okra and continue to stir through the slimy stage. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tin of tomatoes, another tin of water, and a pinky-sized piece of turmeric, chopped to bits. Bring it to boil and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes. In a small pan temper the spices: mustard and cumin seeds, the other half onion, paprika, garlic and the curry leaves. Stir this tarka into the dutch oven and simmer for another 10 minutes. Serve with jasmine rice.
4 endives
vinegar
1 leek
big knob of butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
bay leaf
nutmeg
mustard
cheese
thin sliced ham
Blanch the endives in a covered pan of boiling water with a splash of vinegar for 10-15 minutes, or until tender, then drain. Sweat the leek in a good bit of butter. When it's soft, sprinkle the flour on top to make a white sauce with 4 tbsp flour and 2 cups milk; it must be thick because the endives will exude water when baked. Add a bay leaf and nutmeg and simmer for 5 min. When it's cooked, add in some grated cheese and mustard. To assemble, squeeze any excess moisture from the endives and if they're very large, cut them in half. Wrap each portion in 3-4 slices of ham. Put some sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, arrange the wrapped endives snugly, and cover with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the top with more grated cheese and bake for 45 minutes, until the top is golden. Serve with sweet potatoes and something green.
120g tahini
180g warm water
20g miso
1 lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
ground ginger
tabasco
Water must be warm but not boiling. Grate the garlic into the mix. The sauce should run smoothly off a spoon. This makes about 4 servings. Nice with steamed kohlrabi and beets.
2 turnips
2 potatoes
2 white sweet potatoes
2 tin coconut milk
star anise
fennel seeds
ground turmeric
tomato sauce
turnip greens
Toast the fennel seeds in a dutch oven before adding the coconut milk and root vegetables. Add a tin of water and bring to simmer with the star anise and turmeric. Stir in some tomato sauce to make it a nice pink. When the roots are nearly tender, add the chopped greens and finish cooking. Season with salt and lemon juice.
150g flour
400g milk
2 eggs
40g melted butter
pinch salt
Cook over medium heat. Makes 7 or 8.
1 cup freekeh
2 cups water
Boil the freekeh in salted water over high heat for 10 minutes. Cover the pan and finish cooking in a hot oven for 30 minutes.
bunch of carrots
butter
fresh turmeric
ground ginger
ground coriander
fresh dill
Slice carrots on bias into rounds. In a saute pan, sweat the turmeric in butter. Add the dry spices. Toss in the carrots and add a big splash of water. Cover the pan and steam for 5 minutes until al dente. Use slotted spoon to move carrots to serving dish. Boil down the juice to a couple tablespoons. To serve, reheat the juice with a lump of butter, stir in the carrots and cover again until just hot through. Add the chopped dill at the last moment.
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 onions
2 teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds
100g walnuts
1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 pomegranate
bunch of coriander
The butcher should hand over the bones with the thighs. Simmer these for an hour with an onion, a clove and some peppercorns to make a light stock. Strain it and reserve. Use the food processor to chop an onion, and sweat it in butter with 2 teaspoons fenugreek powder. Use the processor to chop the walnuts, then put them in with the onion, add also the stock and garlic, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add enough water to make it saucy. Blitz it in the food processor, seasoning at the same time with salt and lemon. Return it to the saucepan for reheating and serving.
Put the chicken thighs in a wide pan of cold water with a big spoonful of salt and place over a medium flame. Turn heat to low as it comes to the simmer. Poach gently for 8-10 minutes until the internal temp reaches 165. Serve immediately with reheated walnut sauce, pomegranate seeds and big leaves of coriander; or for serving later, remove thighs to the platter and let cool, then reheat in simmering poaching liquid for 5 minutes before garnishing.
300g stew beef cut small
Teaspoon mustard seeds
Teaspoon cumin seeds
Teaspoon coriander seeds
Teaspoon madras curry powder
Chilli flakes
Full thumb of ginger
2 medium onions
1 celery
1 small carrot
10 handfuls of okra
5 cloves garlic
2 tins tomato plus 2 tins water
Teaspoon marmite
Teaspoon peanut butter
Brown beef over high heat in Dutch oven and remove. Temper
spices over medium heat, add ginger, add mirepoix and sweat. Add okra and keep stirring through its mucilaginous phase until the stringy stuff disappears. Then add
garlic and tomato and water. Stir in marmite and peanut butter. Boil for 10
minutes over medium heat, then reduce to a simmer and add beef. Cook slowly for
2 hours. Serve with rice.
2 small fennel
1 broccoli
fresh dill
Cut the broccoli into florets. Toss with oil and balsamic, salt and pepper, and spread on a baking sheet lined with paper. Roast at 200 for 15-20 minutes, stirring twice. Cut the fennel in quarters, remove the core and trim the bottom. Cut each quarter into lengthwise wedges that hold together. Toss with oil and salt and pepper. When the broccoli is cooked, put it in a bowl and spread the fennel on the same roasting pan. Back in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn the fennel and cook another 10-15 until nicely browned. Toss together with the broccoli and chopped dill. Serve with jacket potatoes and hummus.
350g black beans
1750mL water or beer
bay leaf
oil
black mustard seeds
cumin seeds
half onion, finely chopped
chilli flakes
ground smoked paprika
ground coriander
ground ginger
ground cocoa
three cloves garlic
lime juice
fresh coriander
Boil the beans over high heat for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat, partially cover and simmer with a bay leaf for 90-100 minutes until they are perfectly tender. In a separate small pan, heat a good amount of oil over high heat until it shimmers. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and stir for 30 sec; they should fizz and pop. Add the chopped onion and stir for several minutes. Lower the heat and add the chilli flakes and ground spices and cook for a minute before adding the garlic. Cook a minute more. Remove from heat. When the beans are ready, stir in the tarka and some salt. Simmer for five minutes longer. Stir in some chopped coriander and the juice from a quarter of a lime.
1 cup polenta
6 cups water
teaspoon dried sage
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
olive oil
salt and pepper
Allow 2.5 hours. Put water in a large saucepan over high heat. When it boils, slowly whisk in the polenta to avoid lumps. Lower the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring regularly. When it's done, mix in the yeast and a shot of oil; season with salt and pepper. Line a big green dish with parchment paper and pour in the polenta. Leave it a full hour to cool and set. Reheat in a 160 oven. Top with tomato sauce, cabbage, beans etc. Easily enough for 6 people.
