The Vegetable Kitchen Diaries

2009-02-20T06:38:00.000-08:00

Maldivian Squash Curry

I've been enjoying this book, which I had for Christmas. It has lots of the kind of recipes I like to eat in the week - spicy, quick and easy. The restaurant in Covent Garden is supposedly a hippy, big-bowl type joint. We have already enjoyed a couple of recipes from this: sweet potatoes in a peanut sauce and this Maldivian curry. The original features mango but we substituted that for sweet potato and extra lime juice. It was a good excuse to try my new Steenbergs set, too - elegant glass pots of fresh new spices. The result was delicious.

However, this is why I am not a food photographer. I hope it does not deter you too much. If you like korma then you'll enjoy this version.

Adapted from World Food Cafe 2

4tbsp butter
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece ginger, grated
10 curry leaves
1dsstsp brown mustard seeds
1tsp coriander seeds
1/2tsp ground cinnamon
1/2tsp ground cardamom seeds
1/2tsp turmeric
225g squash (prepared weight), in 3cm cubes
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup black-eyed beans, cooked
200ml coconut milk
125ml plain yoghurt
Squeeze lime juice
Salt and coriander, to taste

Melt the butter and saute the onion, garlic, ginger and curry leaves. When the onion is soft add the spices, squash, tomato and sweet potato and stir, cover, and cook 5 minutes (gently). Add the coconut milk, 1/2 cup water and the beans, then simmer gently until the squash is just tender (be careful, as it disintegrates quickly after this point) - 15-20 minutes. Stir in the yoghurt, lime juice, salt and coriander to taste.

2008-12-08T07:32:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth David's 'Hebrew Soup'
From Summer Cooking

Out of season and a bit odd, I know, but this soup is quite interesting. We pulled up the last of our beetroots only a week or so ago - they'd grown huge and intimidating. I barely scrubbed them, just put them in a big pot with water and boiled until tender, then lifted them from the dirty water and peeled thickly.

What to do with them? I have put some aside to make beetroot falafel, but used the rest to make this Hebrew Soup from Elizabeth David's Summer Cooking.

The instructions are simple and characteristically vague. Chop cooked beetroot (250g) and put into a pan with 1.5 pints water and a splash of vinegar (abour 1tbsp) and some salt. Boil until the beets are tender, then pour over a beaten egg and press the concoction through a sieve (I blended before sieving, to help it along a bit). Chill thoroughly.

Elizabeth David says the soup is to be served cold, but I just couldn't do it (and after I'd followed her recipe so faithfully too!). So I reheated it ever so gently, having steamed a handful of new potatoes (from the plot, in November!) and added a bit of butter to their pan. Then put a ladleful in each soup bowl and spooned over a few potatoes. (ED says, serve each guest a bowl of soup and a saucer of hot potatoes, probably so the potatoes don't all go cold at once because they were added to the soup.)

It was really good - strange but filling and unique. (ED describes it as "ambrosial".) I wouldn't go that far, but... hmm, this beetroot is growing on me.

2008-10-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Caramelised Chilli & Rosemary Nuts

You could toss any combination of nuts in this gorgeously sticky, spicy, crunchy glaze and the result would be equally or more wonderful.

I am mildly obsessed with finding the best recipe for this kind of warm, spicy nuts. I have tried a few different recipes but by far the best technique, I think, is to warm the sugar and spices in a large pan - the melted sugar bubbles and browns and sticks everything to the nuts, giving a good balance of flavour on every nut. Other recipes usually suggest warm butter to act as spice glue... but I find this always ends up in a big heap of butter and spice at the bottom of the dish. My way gives out crunchy nuts that are evenly coated - and suitable for storing in an airtight jar, ready for pulling out (and perhaps warming briefly on a baking tray) when visitors arrive. (and making you feel like a truly perfect hostess, despite the dust on the fireplace.)

500g mixed nuts - I buy these separately (macadamia, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts) - skinned. (To skin hazelnuts, toast in a low oven, then rub them in a tea-towel.)

2tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2tbsp brown sugar
2tsp Maldon salt
1tsp Chipotle chilli flakes
2tsp pink peppercorns (or 1/2 tsp black pepper)

Grind the salt, chilli and pepper in a pestle and mortar and mix in the rosemary. In a large pan, warm up the sugar slowly until it starts to melt on the surface. When at least half of it has melted, you can add the nuts. Toss quickly then sprinkle over the spice mix, and continue toasting in the pan until the sugar is caramelly and the nuts are starting to brown here and there. Tip into a bowl or baking tray to cool, then put into an airight jar. The sweet, salty, spicy combination is addictive!

2008-10-21T02:04:00.000-07:00

Butchart Gardens, late Sept (for Alicia)

2008-10-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

Smashing Veggie Squeak

Look, I know it's not exactly a culinary sensation, and it's not the healthiest dinner in the world, but here's the thing: if you feel like chips or chocolate, or you have a cheese craving, this is a fix that will make you feel far less guilty. It feels like a treat - and, containing just a splash of olive oil and a sprinkling of cheddar, it's not quite so bad as a giant Dairy Milk. But you'll feel equally rewarded.

Eat with fresh bread and butter!

Smashing veggie squeak
For 2

2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cubed (1")
1 cup fresh borlotti or other haricot-type beans
1tsp Marigold vegetable bouillon
2 cobs of sweetcorn, kernels removed
1tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely sliced
1tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2-3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
Plenty of salt and pepper
Large handful cheddar cheese, grated
OPTIONAL: also good would be mushrooms, sweet potato, red pepper, spinach.

Put the potatoes and beans into a pan and just cover with water; sprinkle over the stock, bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes; add the sweetcorn kernels and continue for another 2 minutes - until the potato pieces are knife-tender. Drain in a colander.

In a wok or large frying pan, heat 1tbsp olive oil. Toss in the onion, the rosemary, and then the drained vegetables. Season very generously with both salt and pepper. Stir-fry on a high heat for about 4 minutes, getting lots of golden crunchy bits. Preheat the grill. Add the tomatoes and continue for 1 more minute. Taste for seasoning (I seasoned again here - lots of pepper and salt is GOOD).

Dish up into large bowls or plates and sprinkle over the cheese, then put under the grill until melted. Serve.

2008-10-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

How to cook chestnuts

First, I wanted to show you some gratuitous pumpkin porn. But now it's onto the chestnuts, I promise.

These pictures of mine are TERRIBLE. But maybe if you shut your eyes a bit and squint at them, they will come slightly into focus? No? Oh well. Humour me.

Here are some chestnuts, fresh from the grass. You can tell they're chestnuts because they have that tuft at the top - unlike conkers (horse chestnuts) which are fully rounded.

Officially, you should slit each one before dropping it into a pan of cold water. I don't bother, thus risking eighty-nine miniature explosions that will send soft shards of chestnut flying all over my kitchen. Luckily, I am not the nominated Kitchen Cleaner in our house, so I don't let miniature explosions bother me too much. So - drop them in, and remove any chestnuts that float to the top. They're bad'uns.

Bring rapidly to the boil, and boil until the nuts feel tender. If they are freshly fallen, this could take just 5 minutes - yours could take longer, so keep an eye on them.

Now remove a few nuts from the pan and put them on your chopping board, ready for the hell to begin. They are easier to peel while hot, so it's best to tackle a few at a time. You will want to clear the nearby rooms of any family members who have done nothing to deserve your wrath.

So - see that brownish lump on my chopping board (brownish background)? It's a chestnut, after boiling. It does not look very different to the way it did pre-boiling, except that I have slit open the top with a knife and peeled away the outer (glossy brown) and inner (the paler brown) skin. Only another eighty-eight nuts to go. Best put on some soothing music - that'll help with the impending chestnut rage...

After what feels like six years, you will be looking at a small heap of the nuts that are now your least favourite nut in the entire world. Your back will ache. Your knife will be dull. And all appetite for these lovely little scamps will be lost. But that's okay. Because you saved a couple of pounds and a trip to the grocer. Now don't you feel good about the world?

Okay. So it will take you some time to feel good about the world. Until then, put these peeled monsters into the fridge or freezer, and try to forget about them. Or throw them immediately into a Mushroom & Chestnut Stroganoff, and destroy the evidence by mouth. Yum!

2008-10-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

Wipe your feet and come on in

I am in fierce competition with our nextdoor-but-one neighbour when it comes to window displays. Here is my autumn sill. I expect she will top it with an enormous display of dried fennel heads and elegant foliage. Mine always look a bit on the... hm, rustic side. But I prefer to think of them as 'cute'.

PS. Our cottage was built pre-1800, and the Planning officers "prefer us to fix, not replace" the windows. So yes, you are looking at draughty, peeling, rotting, cracked old windows, but at least their history is intact. Be glad you don't get our heating bills.

Welcome to my kitchen. Charlie rules the roost in this house, and she likes to remind us. She especially likes to climb anywhere that she can look down on us. She is doubtless planning a surprise attack of some sort. See how she is sharpening her claws on the ancient wooden beams?

The walls are a fetching swamp-monster green. That's what my husband called it when I painted splodges from trial pots. But now he loves it. Further proof, if needed, that I am virtually always right.

Indulge me. This is my cooker. I often stand in the doorway and gaze lovingly at it. I saved up for this darling and it makes my cooking better in every way. (I am not crying. yet.) And can you say that about a race bike that lives in the shed for 300 days of the year? No. You cannot. Do you think those tins are real antiques? I don't know either. I don't mind, anyway. In case my husband reads this, especially the bike part, I should also point out his lovely white silicone around the worktops and tiles. Beautiful work, yes?

You may be getting the sense that this is a slightly censored kitchen tour. That perhaps I chose a good moment to take pictures... to prove otherwise, here is the sink, complete with dirty dishwater and undried plates.

This dresser was especially sawn up, I mean adapted, for my kitchen. It is loaded with jars and things I have no other place for. But that's what it's for, yes? Charming mess.

Just in case you didn't get a good look at the card in front of the tea caddy: yes, it really does say that. There is no low to which the woman will not stoop to secure her first grandchild. I plan to make her wait a LOT longer, or at least that's my story.

2008-10-15T06:02:00.000-07:00

Finding food for free

Our mortgage lender is one of those banks that has gone bankrupt (the irony). I don't understand much of the economic stuff, and I am not very good at economising, either. I have very expensive tastes. Lovely husband is constantly amazed at my unique skill - I can walk into any shop or aisle or look at any catalogue page and instantly pick out the single most expensive item with a firm "I want". Knitwear, shoes, TVs. We often check the prices to see if I have missed something with a bigger price tag! and I haven't failed once!

But one place I do economise - for pleasure more than relief - is in the kitchen. I like to make our own pizza bases and jam, hummus and biscuits, because I know what went into them. I am very fortunate to work at home, which gives me the little extra time to boil pulses or start dough in advance of dinner.

And speaking of blessings... we live in the country, and we have an energetic dog who must be walked for an hour ever day, whether it's hailing or baking. In the last three years I have thus learnt a lot about finding food for free!

At the moment there are a few things for the taking, and I thought I'd give you a quick tour. First of course are the easily recognised Blackberries (pictured above) - which are wonderful combined with windfall apples (any type - a mixture is good) in a crumble or cobbler. (They are also nice simmered gently and pressed through a sieve to make a coulis for vanilla ice-cream, cava cocktails, or cheesecake.)

Elderberries - which are just coming to an end (just! but if you hurry you'll find some clinging on!) - can be used to make a cordial full of Vitamin C. It does taste a bit like cough syrup, mind you, so what I'd suggest is... make a note of where you saw them, and return in late spring for the flowers instead!

Rosehips - the oval red berries (avoid the round ones as, with the exception of haws, the varieties I see are inedible) - supposedly make a tomato-like soup, according to Edible Wild Foods (Grub Street 2007) but are more commonly used for syrup or a crab apple jelly.

And finally, chestnuts - which deserve a post all of their own, and will get one. Before I do, take a walk and look for some chestnuts. Don't confuse them with horse chestnuts (conkers) which are rounded. Sweet chestnuts have little tufts at the top, a bit like small punks. They are ready just about now so, instead of buying them at the grocer, go out and find some!

2008-10-14T01:52:00.000-07:00

Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder

And why not have soup for dinner? Especially if you polish off an entire French stick alongside it. This lovely soup makes the most of some seasonal ingredients, and bay leaves and rosemary from the garden. I'm sure it must count as a couple of our five-a-day. It's particularly cheap if your husband has been pilfering sweetcorn "windfalls" from a nearby field. But if you're not this way inclined, sweetcorn is available widely and (comparatively) cheaply at the moment.

For 2

2 slender leeks, finely diced
1tsp butter
2tsp chopped rosemary
1 sweet potato, in 1cm dice
1 cob of sweetcorn, kernels stripped into a bowl
1 cup stock made with Marigold Bouillon (1tsp)
Salt and pepper
1tbsp milk mixed with 1tsp cornflour
3tbsp milk

Soften the leeks in the butter, then add the rosemary and potato and stir gently for another couple of minutes. Tip in the stock. Bring to a simmer and let it simmer very gently for 6 minutes, then add the corn, simmer for another 2 minutes and switch off the heat. Stir in the cornflour paste, and leave until you are ready to eat. Now taste and season generously, add the extra splash of milk and very, very gently raise the heat until the soup is steaming but not boiling. Check it's hot enough and serve.

2008-10-06T03:09:00.000-07:00

Southwestern Succotash and Griddled Polenta

It's been a long time - I know. I have started an allotment blog (www.theallotmentblog.co.uk) and am failing to keep this or that updated. But both have been very useful to me, as memory aid and inspiration, so I'm going to do my best to keep them going.

We have just returned from a trip to Canada - where we ate so much good food! Tofino, Vancouver and Victoria in particular are great places for foodies. All of my holiday shopping was food-related, and included 'smoky southwest' seasonings, chocolate for cooking, a madeleine tray, cookery books and new table napkins for autumn. When oh When will Williams-Sonoma open a store in the UK? Preferably in Exeter...

This recipe is based on a southwestern ratatouille that I ate at Coyote's Grill in Banff (PICTURED ABOVE). It was served with polenta, which was cooked a bit more softly than I've decided I like. I also took inspiration from the recipe for Lima Bean and Corn Succotash in Bon Appetit, which I read and then lost at Calgary airport (and am now subscribed to both Gourmet and Bon Appetit - there are so many wonderful food magazines in Canada!). The bean, corn and squash combination is the '3 Sisters' from the allotment and this dish makes the most of all three, which are now - of course - in season. (I loved the roadside pumpkin patches on Vancouver Island!) Anyway - less talk, more eating.

POLENTA
1 cup polenta (Merchant Gourmet)
4 cups warm water
Pinch vegetable bouillon
1tsp salt and pepper
1tsp butter
100g feta

Cover a small baking tray with cling film and set close by. Bring water + bouillon to a rolling boil and tip in the polenta, stirring. Now protect your hands as the thickening polenta bubbles madly! Ouch! Stir frequently (but not constantly) over medium heat for five minutes. Stir in the butter, seasoning and feta, crumbled, and smooth the mixture into a slab on the baking tray. Cool for about an hour. This makes enough for 4 people. To finish, cut into 8 triangles (toast-sized slices) and put onto a hot griddle that has been brushed with oil. Griddle for about 20 minutes until golden and crunchy on both sides - surprisingly good!

Succotash
1/2 butternut or other sweet squash, diced 1cm
2 small corn cobs, corn removed
1 cup borlotti, broad or soya beans
2 tomatoes, chopped
1tsp tomato puree
Pinch sugar, salt and pepper
1 jalapeno, diced
1tbsp each basil and coriander, sliced
Squeeze lemon juice

Simmer the borlotti for about 20 mins in light stock, adding the corn 5 mins before the end. Warm some olive oil and cook the squash gently for 30 minutes, adding the tomatoes, puree, seasonings and half a cup of water 5 mins from the end (for quite a dry result). Stir in the beans and lemon juice, turn heat to high and warm through; add herbs and serve.

2008-05-19T03:09:00.000-07:00

Go Broad Beans Go!

Oh. my. word. The first broad beans - the size of my smallest fingernail - are out. This is somewhat premature. I know. But the many books that are piled up beside my bed are always saying how wonderful it is if you grow your own beans, as you can pick them young and tiny, rather than huge and leathery.

Of course, the disadvantage of picking them young is that you get less podded weight (if you see what I mean) - a couple more weeks would allow them to fill out more. I mean, will allow them to fill out more. Because we do intend to let them grow properly now for a bit, before attacking them again.

But we couldn't resist a bagful on Saturday. Softened in butter with pine nuts and chopped sage, then stirred through spaghetti with crumbled feta, they were absolutely wonderful. Some wilted rocket would be a good addition to this.

2 handfuls broad beans - podded
1tbsp butter
2tbsp chopped sage
2tbsp pine nuts
100g crumbled feta
Spaghetti for 2 scant portions - cooked

Soften butter, throw in sage and pine nuts, then broad beans (pod alongside the pan). When the beans begin to change colour, immediately add the cooked spaghetti and stir to heat. Finally crumble in the feta - it will melt and vanish - and serve at once on hot plates.

Small they may be, but (if you make the effort to pick out a single bean while eating) each one tastes like Essence of Broad Bean. All the flavour's here: it just hasn't spread out into a larger surface area yet. Yum, yum, yum.

And this isn't intended to become a blog about growing, but I must also tell you about Oriental Saladini. We have tried growing lettuces before - Cos, Lollo Rossa, Arctic King, and numerous others - with no success whatsoever. But this Saladini mixture has come up trumps. It's Cut and Come Again, so you only need a strip of soil - sow thinly, and wait about 6 weeks before the first cut (possibly less time, now it's warmer). (If growing in the garden, try to choose a spot without nearby rocks or nooks where slugs gather. And surround each row, diligently, with used coffee grounds - this really works!) It's a lovely mixture of leaves, some soft and buttery, some peppery, some lime-green, some red. Alongside, if any more space is available to you, I'd recommend Swiss Chard - one of the coloured varieties - beautiful with its sunny stems. Then Rocket, any type, which is a truly trustworthy choice that never fails.

Okay. that's it. No more gardening stuff, at least until my pictures are downloaded!

2008-05-14T09:28:00.001-07:00

Jane Grigson free on Google?

I see it's not there in entirety, but there are rather a lot of pages from her Vegetable book available for viewing on Google. How would one go about finding her other works in the same place? And, how come, when I searched Google Books for food, I didn't find this one? Are some of the other classics on there? Eek, am I missing hundreds of wonderful cookery books on Google? Why did I not already know about this? Must hurry back.

Plus, now I can direct you to the source of Fasoulia*, the blissful bean dish that has come the closest I've found to Odyssea's heavenly Gigantes. We ate this alongside husband's roast shoulder of lamb (rubbed with olive oil and seasoned; seared in a hot roasting tray; scattered with rosemary sprigs and garlic cloves, and baked in the oven at 170 for 3 hours). Steamed potatoes and broccoli on a platter beside, and the table was groaning. Cooking the beans in a frightening cupful of olive oil before adding the tomatoes and water makes all the difference. Isn't it clever?

*cited by Jane Grigson, originally committed to paper by Elizabeth David.

2008-05-14T09:19:00.001-07:00

Apple-Mint Mojito

Ahh, there's nothing like a 5pm Mojito to get the creative sparks flying. It's refreshing, it's mintily Cubalicious, it's escapism in a cocktail glass.

This is the main reason I grow mint in our garden. Apart from the occasional raita, it's called into service for mojitos only, and I love the fact that my favourite cocktail calls for a quick stroll into the sun. I am a keen mixologist, although I usually never have the right ingredients in the house, so it's more often an eccentric blend of whatever-we-have. A splash of Venetian Limoncello; a sploosh of pomegranate syrup; milk and caramel syrup. I do, though, keep a continuous stash of limes in the fridge. Lime, mint, and rum= a taste of heaven. Made just a little bit more wondrous with a sploosh of Monin's Apple Syrup. Somebody stop me!

Apple-mint mojito

3parts white rum
1part apple syrup
1part fresh lime juice
3-4 sprigs fresh mint

Best made ahead: steep the rum, lime, and mint in a shaker in the fridge. Using a spoon, press the mint against the inside of the shaker to bruise and release its oils. (This mix will keep for a whole weekend, if you can keep from it.) Add the syrup, tasting, when you're ready to serve. Pour into ice - half-filling a cocktail glass (this is heady stuff) - and top up with lemonade, mint sprigs, and optional extra lime. You'll soon have it just the way you like it.

For a classic mojito, just leave out the apple syrup.

2008-05-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

DROOLING OVER THE BROAD BEANS

It's our first year growing our own, and among the very earliest crops are the Broad Beans. They're getting tantalisingly close to readiness now; we've split and shared a few pods already. The beans cushioned inside are about quarter of the size of my thumbnail - teeny weeny little greens with an amazingly intense broad-bean flavour, and soft as if they'd been cooked. I wouldn't compare them with peas because it's a more savoury sweetness, a bit like parmesan somehow.

they're surprisingly high-yielding, too (at least I think they will be) - we've planted two rows of 12ft (30cm apart); each small, dry bean has produced two or three sturdy stems which flourished in the early spring and are preparing to provide us with two dozen pods each, I should think. And so, if you have a little space in your garden, this is one of the first crops I'd recommend. Broad beans, being one of the earliest producers, have all the excitement that surrounds our first summer veg (asparagus and new potatoes being similar). And - I'm ahead of myself - but they're already delicious.

So yes: please find a space for some next year. Sown in autumn, they are spectacularly low-maintenance - they'd grown big enough to keep the weeds from growing underfoot in spring - and promise much.

I'm flipping through books for recipes, now, and have bookmarked Broad Bean Pilaf from 'Vegetarian Dishes from the Middle East'. Think that Nigel Slater has a bean puree with flatbreads in The Kitchen Diaries, too. And Moro East will surely have something exciting for me to try. But I think these wonderful beans are best scantily adorned: maybe mashed with olive oil and wet garlic to spread on focaccia. Or, for this first harvest, perhaps we'll have a salad of just-steamed-and-shelled beans with freshly-cut Oriental Saladini and rocket. And guess what? We could even pull up some miniature potatoes, if we were feeling naughty. We accidentally discovered that they're already forming - even if they are pea-sized - and I am soooo tempted to sample them.

Photos coming very soon, really. I'm borrowing a cable this weekend, so prepare to be swamped with photographs of very clever little peas and gooseberry plants. They are my baby substitutes, but better, because I can alternate between having favourites.

2008-05-02T06:26:00.000-07:00

Wasting time

Take the Quiz here!

2008-04-29T03:28:00.000-07:00

Food Shopping

Online food shopping seems, to me, a difficult area to investigate. I was searching for Hungarian Paprika the week before last (thanks for the obsession, Diana Henry) and I was quite surprised to find that the results were mainly for small, amateur-looking spice sites and there wasn't one of the big-bucks, well-designed, user-friendly ecommerce sites that you'd usually get for every other kind of shopping. Perhaps online food shopping isn't such big business yet?

Of course, just so's you don't think I am an eco monster, I buy into the whole farm-shop-local-economy-food-miles-carbon-footprint-yada-yada message. I get it. I buy in. I'm tired of all the trendies talking about it. I'm just saying.

But you can't get Hungarian paprika at my local barn shop. (You can get ostrich feather dusters, but that's a whole nother story.) And I can't get special schnapps or coffee syrups or gold dust for fairy cakes. Or jam jars, baking tins or retriever-shaped cookie cutters. (I live in a village with two shops, you know.) Hence the occasional online forays.

The Spice Shop
This is one of those sites that came up in my search for Paprika. I dismissed it at first: poor design, no pictures, no supporting copy, and (later) nonexistent customer communications. However. This website is the online presence for The Spice Shop in Notting Hill, where renowned spicy lady Birgit blends and dispenses hundreds of interesting spices and mixtures for posh foofdies like Nigella and Jamie. Once I heard this, I had to give it a go. 15 days later, I'm still waiting for my parcel, but I'll keep you updated.

The Drink Shop
This is a more slick site with lovely moreish Monin syrups and a frighteningly enormous range of whisky (close eyes amd point at screen, best method). Delivery charges are a bit hefty (because they charge you what it costs, instead of a nice friendly flat rate) but service is personal and I've had a good experience with these guys. And I'm back for more Monin soon - our Toffee Nut has run out!

Jane-Asher.co.uk
Very poor navigability on this site and small pictures, but once you get past the user issues, it's got an overwhelming stock of sugarcraft supplies. Actually though, since I only wanted the gold lustre, I wound up researching at Jane Asher and then ordering from eBay - kinder delivery rates for just the one little tube.

Think I'll bookmark this post and add to it in the future. If anyone has used any other food sites, and can recommend them, I'd really love to hear from you.

2008-04-29T03:09:00.000-07:00

A new kind of squash stew, and meatballs (the horror!)

Having roasted a whole shoulder of lamb for three people on the weekend, my dear better half left the remains in the kitchen for me to deal with*. I hate wasting food. So I searched online to find out what other people do with leftover cooked bits of meat. Husband won't eat the same thing twice and he turns up his nose at cold meat sandwiches. I found lots of ideas: moussaka, lamb crumble, shredded lamb with spices and flatbreads, and rissoles. I decided that rissoles seemed the easiest way to use up the lamb as an addition to a vegetable stew that I was planning. So this concoction was born.

The vegetable stew I'd planned was a variation on Deborah Madison's squash and spinach stew, which she flavours with a base of almonds (say 12 for two people), dried chillies (3), a tsp of cumin and a few sesame seeds. She toasts and grinds these to add to softened onions and form an aromatic base for the stew.

It doesn't sound like much but it's a deliciously original combination of flavours, and it really lifts an ordinary tomato-and-vegetable stew. So I have started using the almond-chilli-cumin base as the starting point for almost any combination of vegetables and lentils. Yesterday's had a few coriander seeds added (and rosewater would have been good, if I'd thought of it). Softened onions, ground spices, then chunks of squash and cooked (leftover) courgette slices, a couple of scoops of (no-soak) red lentils, a tin of tomatoes, and simmer for 20 minutes. Ta da! Simple, low fat, and highly flavoured. It's sort of like chilli, I suppose, but the almonds give it a more unique taste.

On top of his, husband had these delicious-smelling meatballs:

In mini chopper or food processor, mince:
2 packed cupfuls cooked lamb
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 fat clove garlic
Juice of 1/4 lemon
1tbsp finely chopped mint
1tbsp finely chopped coriander stalks

Season, then add a beaten egg. Chill for as long as poss. Flour your hands and squeeze firmly to make smallish meatballs, and fry in very little olive oil until brown and crusty on both sides. Top with yoghurt/lemon juice/mint if liked.

* I am a vegetarian, of course, but not one of the unbearably squeamish or preachy sort. No crying over bones for me.

2008-04-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

SQUASH, LEEK, & FETA FRITTATA

I am reading such a great book at the moment: 'Vegetable Heaven' by Catherine Mason. There's plenty of inspiration - vegetables with new partners and flavours - without anything too complex or demanding. Probably one reason why the recipes all sound so great is that a lot of them revolve around cream and cheese - an important source of protein when your diet is mainly veg, but not exactly heart-healthy. She describes a tart made with feta, cream and squash, and when I was looking in the fridge last night for something fast, I decided that feta and squash probably was a happy partnering.

I just pared down the fat a little and served it with some steamed potatoes. This isn't low-fat all the same, but for a weekend indulgence that's quick and easy, it's perfect.

1/2 medium squash, roasted with 1tbsp chopped sage
2 slender leeks, sliced
5 eggs, beaten with 2tbsp low-fat creme fraiche
75g feta cheese, crumbled

Serves 2

Saute the leeks in a frying pan, just until they soften - not brown - maintaining the bright green colour. Throw in the squash and turn it for a moment to warm up. Now make sure the veg are evenly distributed, then tip in the egg and creme fraiche mixture. Preheat the grill to high. Swirl the pan to make sure there are no gaps and scatter the feta evenly over the top. Keep over a med-high heat for a couple of minutes, until browned underneath (peep using a spatula). Slide the pan under the grill until it's set on top and serve in wedges.

2008-03-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Red Dragon Pie
with sweet potato mash

2 cups just-cooked Aduki beans
1 onion, finely diced
1tsp olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1tsp plain flour
1tbsp sundried tomato puree
1tbsp soy sauce
2 bay leaves
1 pint made-up Marigold vegetable bouillon
Good splash Tabasco
Pepper

Potatoes - sweet and ordinary, half and half, peeled and chopped into chunks.
2oz cheddar, grated

Soften the onion in the olive oil over a very low heat; add the carrots and cover, then leave to soften for another 10 minutes. Scatter in the flour and stir for a minute. Dissolve the tomato puree and soy sauce in the stock, and pour over the vegetables; add the bay leaves and Tabasco, and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add the cooked beans and stir to incorporate; pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish, removing the bay leaves.

Boil the potatoes together until tender, then drain and mash with half the cheddar. Season to taste; then spread over the bean mixture. Start from the edges and work the potato into the centre, to avoid the filling escaping at the sides. Finish with the remaining cheddar, then put straight into a preheated oven at 160 dg C for 20-30 minutes (until golden on top and steaming right through).

Eat with mixed salad or crusty bread.

2008-03-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

This isn't intended to become a blog about cookery books, but I have been reading some luscious ones lately.

Diana Henry's book, 'Roast Figs, Sugar Snow', does not seem to be widely available in the UK - I've only seen her earlier publications in bookshops and even Amazon does not sell it directly.

Which is a shame, because this is a truly wonderful book. It's a very personal collection of cold-weather food, gathered by the author during trips to Vermont, Russia, and Scandinavia. The recipes are grouped according to themes like "The Colour Purple" (figs and plums) or "Winter On Your Tongue" (sour cream and herbs), with additional chapters on pumpkin and beans.

I've borrowed it from the library and am now obsessing about a trip to Scandinavia - who cares where, as long as they have dumplings and plum vodka. (We very much enjoyed eating in Prague, where dumplings figure prominently on the menus and cocktail bars are staffed with waiters who will make you specials in a jiffy. (Sigh.))

What I particularly love about the book is the introductions to each chapter, which are a rich source of information about the various countries' cuisines. Scandinavian food makes up most of the book. This cuisine isn't big on vegetarianism, I have to say. But what it does do well is winter food. The very thought of steamed potatoes smothered in sour cream and dill... or peppers stewed in Hungarian paprika... cheese pies with feta and mozzarella... or shortbread squares topped with glossy plums... is making me extremely hungry.

As usual, I am on a diet, and as usual, I am reading books about cream and baking. But I am turning down pages for weekend experiments, and will definitely note my adaptations here. Many of the meat dishes could well be adapted for vegetarian cooking. I am going to start with Lecso - a cream-free dish using Hungarian paprika, which must be one of my favourite spices. And I'll keep you posted - if you haven't already bought the book in the meantime.

2008-02-04T08:17:00.000-08:00

We have been having a hard time lately. In our idyllic cottage in Devon, we more often have reason to celebrate than to slump around like Eeyores. But that is what we have been doing for the past week - all four of us. One has a cut throat (literally), one has work overload, another of us has unreasonable overtime and the last one of us has toilet troubles.

Plus, it's grey and dreary and we can't go to the beach in the rain. There, I'm done grumbling now. Sometimes it feels good to talk. And there is plenty of the good stuff on its way to brighten things up. Like my birthday (which is very soon indeed, but I won't tell you when, because of ID fraud and things.) (Oh yes, and take this, everyone who mocked me when I left Facebook 'cause of fraud: SOMEONE IN LONDON IS USING A FAKED-UP VERSION OF OUR CAR! With a fake numberplate and all. I know because I have been receiving his parking penalties. Who's laughing now, doubters? Me! Okay, not so much.). My birthday, on which I am hoping to be ridiculously spoilt. Um, then there's Valentine's, and as an unashamed romantic this is just an excuse to festoon the house and pets in red ribbons and paint chocolate on every plate. And guess what else? A birthday trip to Harrods soon, too. Mmmm....

See, there's so much good stuff, when you pause and think on it. In the meantime, in case you are living in a house of Eeyores, here is my recipe for White Chocolate and Pistachio Cookies, oh so buttery and oh so smartly irresistibly i-can't-only-eat-one delicious. You can feed these to anyone you like, no matter how posh they are. Oh but please be careful to just-cook them: they are best pale and tender.

love, a not-so-grumpy-after-all-me.

BUTTER COOKIES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE AND PISTACHIO

3oz butter
2oz caster sugar
4oz self-raising flour
2oz white chocolate
1oz pistachios

Vanilla pod (optional)

Cream the butter and sugar as well as you can before your arm starts to hurt. Sift in (or just tip) the flour and stir it with a fork, gently amalgamating. The mixture will look fairly crumbly. Never mind: on a chopping board, set to the chocolate and pistachios, chopping to rough chunks. Add them to the bowl, with the vanilla seeds if you have any. Bring the mixture together gently with your hands: it will start to stick together as your warm hands melt the butter a little. Form into balls - about 12 - and flatten on baking parchment-lined sheets. Bake at 160 degrees for 10 minutes and cool on a wire rack. If you happened to have a tube of gold lustre in the drawer, it would look terribly graceful brushed over the tops when they come out of the oven. Or, just shovel and munch: it doesn't matter much.

2008-02-01T04:03:00.000-08:00

In times of trouble I turn to wooden spoons and softened butter. It's not that I want to eat the goodies so much as that I simply want to be cocooned in a warm kitchen, spoon in hand, weighing and beating and cutting chocolate into pretty shards. I wonder why it's so therapeutic? Some days I can barely stir myself to rustle up dinner, but when I get really busy and panic-ridden, I just can't wait to get in the kitchen and make a buttery, floury, chocolately old mess. And leave the dishes.

Top of my list right now is Bill Granger's peanut butter cookies (soft in the middle, with less-than-overpowering peanuttiness). Mind you, everything looks great in his kitchen - the kind of sunny, open space that you could spend a whole lifetime.

Speaking of kitchens, I took some photographs of mine. We had it ripped out and replaced last year - goodbye 1960s electric oven that chooses its own temperature, hello brassy range oven and shiny tiles. Goodbye dirty white walls and red-painted concrete floor (huh?), hello swamp-monster green and flagstone tiles. And it is now officially the best place in the house, so I decided to photograph it. As soon as I get me a PC-camera lead, you can take a look.

One final thing before I go - and it's an English-style Sausage and Bean Hotpot. I know they make sophisticated versions of this in Tuscany, but our Heinz Bean and Frankfurter version is still my favourite. I made it more complicated for myself, by boiling Haricot beans from dry and adding treacle and mustard to get... a taste that is suspiciously like Heinz. Anyway, I don't care, because I know exactly what went into those babies.

The sausage and bean stew would be great on its own, with bread or mash, but I topped with a Lancashire Hotpot crust. This is not for guests. It is, though, perfect for weeknight scoffing with a fork and some ready-sliced bread.

SAUSAGE AND BEAN HOTPOT
2 cups Haricot Beans, soaked and boiled for about 30 minutes
1 cup Marigold Vegetable Bouillon (made up)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1tbsp treacle
1tsp wholegrain mustard
0.5tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Good pinch salt
2 small leeks, shredded
3-4 medium carrots, diced
4 Frankfurter Sausages (the vegetarian kind, which tastes smokey and authentic as well as being low fat!)
Handful peeled potatoes

Boil the frankfurters for 2 minutes and drain.

Smear a large casserole with olive oil and begin to saute the leeks and carrots, gently, without browning. In a blender, whiz the tomatoes, stock, treacle, mustard, vinegar and salt. When the vegetables are soft add the sauce and bring to a gentle simmer. Tip in the beans and cover, then simmer for another 20-30 minutes (until the beans are only JUST cooked). Meanwhile, slice the potatoes into £1-thick pieces, tip into boiling water, and set a timer for 9 minutes.

Heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Chop roughly, then stir the sausages into the stew along with a good grinding of black pepper. Drain the potato slices and arrange them on the top. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, and shove into the oven. Leave for around 20-30 minutes for the potatoes to brown on top.

2008-01-18T02:49:00.000-08:00

TOFFEE NUT DRINKING CHOCOLATE
Hurray hurray hurray! I have been asked to start adding to the content on www.chocolatexpert.co.uk - and help build it into a baking, eating, drinking resource all about chocolate. Can you think of anything better? Okay, I am often to be found writing for a website - one day about finding work in Newcastle, the next about selling scrap gold online - but rarely are they as close to my heart! I can think of no better way to spend a Friday.

And while I'm here, and we are talking about chocolate, would you like a recipe for the Starbucks winter special? Well, not the official recipe, but an extraordinarily close approximation. Here's what happened: I walked past a Starbucks. The "Toffee Hot Chocolate" advertisement called to me. I stopped. It carried on yelling, with all its creamy, toffee-coloured might. "I'll come right back," I promised. And I did.

And seriously, could I get addicted to those things. Fortunately, as I wrapped my hands around the warm brown cardboard and sipped, I remembered that I had recently bought some Caramel Sale (Toffee Nut) Syrup from an online drinks store. It was, in fact, sitting in a dusty corner of the kitchen (with its friends Green Apple and Gingerbread) as I drank. So the next day, I whipped up a couple of Toffee Nut Chocolates for us, at home. Whipped cream optional...

Per person, you'll need:
3tbsp real drinking chocolate (I used 'Liquid' by Hotel Chocolat)
1mug-full of milk (measure in the cup and then tip into saucepan or jug)
2tbsp Toffee Nut (Caramel Sale) Monin Syrup

Having measured and emptied your milk into a saucepan or jug (depending how you plan to heat it), put the drinking chocolate and syrup into the bottom of your mug, add a splash of the cold milk from the pan, and stir it to a paste. In a saucepan over the hob, or in a microwave (go slow), heat the milk to just below boiling. Pour it over the mixture in the mug, and stir well. Using a handheld frother or the steam spout on a coffee maker, froth up the top of the milk, and sprinkle with cocoa to serve.

2008-01-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

"SO EASY, A MAN COULD DO IT"
Fannie Cradock (TV chef)

I've been spending a happy half-hour (of work time, naturally) with The Greens Cookbook. How come nobody told me about this before? It's practically the Vegetarian's Bible. I keep spotting recipes that I've seen other veggie books or restaurants plagiarise. Like Rose Eliot (who gave birth to the Nut Roast), Deborah Madison was a forerunner of today's vegetarian cookery. She really knows her flavours, combining surprising ingredients that I suspect would work every time. I'm a cookbook pro, and I've seen a million recipes for chestnut bourgignonne and mushroom stroganoff. So I am DEEPLY shocked to be surprised by a recipe. In a really good way. Buying this yet? If you aren't clicking through to the online shop right now, then maybe you WANT to only eat cauliflower korma and penne arrabiatta for the rest of your life? (Hm, should do another post on great veggie books - wouldn't that be fun? For me, at least.)

ANYway, this Vegetarian Bible contains probably hundreds of recipes, and each one manages to be innovative. I have already tried some of its ideas - stolen from other chefs who stole them from Madison - and so I can tell you that Rosemary Linguine with Caramelised Onions and Walnuts is an incredible combination of flavours. Or that Red Onion and Goat's Cheese Pizza really, really does work. (Thanks for tempting me, Pizza Express.)

Which leads me on to the recipe. It's hardly even a recipe: just a suggested combination of ingredients for a quick dinner. Deborah Madison includes snipped sundried tomatoes, green olives and shredded mozzarella on top of hers. But we ate it fast and simple, with a green salad. And I didn't even cook it. Anything that gets my husband in and out of the kitchen this quick is definitely worth a try! Here's our rustic version of Deborah Madison's 21st-century classic.

RED ONION & GOAT'S CHEESE PIZZA
1 pizza base (buy, or make your own)
2-3 red onions
1-2tsp red wine vinegar
1 log mild goat's cheese
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Stretch out the pizza base as thinly as you can on a large baking sheet, and preheat the oven to about 180 C. Set the base aside, and slice the onions very thinly. Soften them on the lowest possible heat with a slug of oil and red vinegar, for at least 15 minutes. Taste to adjust the balance of flavours - adding salt, sugar, pepper and vinegar according to your liking. (The onions should be quite sharp and sticky to work with the mild cheese.) Spread them all over the pizza base, top with crumbled goat's cheese (and optional mozzarella), and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes and serve with green salad.

2008-01-04T05:31:00.000-08:00

Dreaming of spring...

Okay, much as I love mashed potato and celeriac, I have now officially Had Enough of winter. The worst part is, it's only getting started - soon we will be cowering beneath stormy January skies and skating on icy February paths.

I have retreated to my seed catalogues, to choose all the new produce for next year - including some climbing beans especially for drying and storing (such as the purple-flowered bean above), and plenty of green things. Although salad is scarce right now, salad is just exactly what we feel like after the heavy Christmas eating. So, I am trying to grow Arctic King (for early spring lettuce) and planning red chard and perpetual spinach for next year. (Both can be cut and eaten young, and will keep on producing.)

Here is one of my favourite ways to use up the leeks that arrive, every week, in our vegetable box. This is good with a green salad, or maybe with a fresh coleslaw - shredded carrot and cabbage dressed with vinaigrette - and some bread if you like; it's a good source of protein. It looks pretty boring, but it tastes fantastic.

LEEK AND BUTTER BEAN GRATIN
2 cups dried butter beans
1 large leek
1 cup creme fraiche OR 1 cup double cream with a squeeze of lemon in it
2tsp grain mustard
1tsp sea salt

Soak the butter beans in boiling water, in a heavy casserole with a lid, for as long as you can (at least one hour). Drain the water and fill with fresh water, then bring to the boil and simmer the beans for about 30 minutes (but keep an eye on them - don't let them turn squidgy - aim for beans with bite). Drain the beans immediately into a colander and run some cold water over them. Now pull off the skins. It's a boring job but worthwhile. If the skins are soft and not hanging off you don't need to take them all off. Put the skinned beans into an ovenproof dish. Now finely shred the leek and mix it with the beans, adding the rest of the ingredients too. Cover with foil and bake at 160 degrees for twenty minutes, removing the foil for the final five.

2007-11-30T08:43:00.000-08:00

I am not a bread maker. I am a pastry maker (oh, wait until you try my pastry), I am a cake maker, I am an improvisator. But bread, no. It always goes wrong - the yeast doesn't fluff or the dough doesn't rise or the freezer destroys it completely. (Yes, who is foolish enough to put amateur dough in the freezer?)

But I have a machine. Such a clever, trusty machine: I weigh, it kneads, warms, and bakes to perfection. So now I can have the baking-bread smell without so much as a minute of hard work. I do love domestic rewards, and all the more when I've hardly lifted a finger.

This is my recipe for wholewheat walnut bread. I don't do anything special except throw everything at the clever machine, and push a couple of buttons. It's extremely delicious with soup. And isn't this just the weather for it?

WHOLEWHEAT WALNUT BREAD

1.5tsp instant yeast (I use Hovis)
1.5 cups strong white flour (Dove's organic)
1.5 cups wholewheat bread flour (actually you can use any interesting brown flour here, including soft grain and other country rye-type blends. The proportions mean that the white lightens the load.)
1.5tsp salt
3tbsp walnut oil
2tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 cup warm water

... and that's kind of it. Throw everything in the machine (in this order), select the wholewheat option (not rapid, please) and wait for the scent of bakeries to tell you it's ready.

2007-11-30T08:38:00.000-08:00

When I got my first garden five years ago, I knew what I wanted to grow in it – and that vegetables should have just as big a part as flowers. Baby corn turned the patio into a jungle, spinach grew into unwatched trees beside the paths, and carrots twisted grumpily in their miniature, growth-preventing tubs. Space was always my trouble: too little for my dreams. I knew I should, but I could not resist the curly tendrils of runner beans, the glamour of dressed corn sheaves, the ruby-red strawberry. In they went. Meanwhile roses, sunflowers, tulips and sweet peas proliferated in the gaps – so that my home could smell delicious and look fabulous, all the time.

It’s this susceptibility to pretty things that leads me towards certain vegetables. Every autumn I’ll buy armfuls of winter squashes, their mud-dusted emerald and amber hues brightening the kitchen (and this year, the living room too). This has meant that the squash has come under my culinary scrutiny more often than it might like. When I’d stretched the limits of pumpkin soup (although we can never get enough of the coconut-chilli version) I thought up new ways to get the squashes off the shelf and into the pan. Risotto, curries and tortillas followed… but oh, when you discover roasting, you don’t look back.

Visitors to our house know that they'll get cooked some unusual things. But when I told our guests one night we would be eating pumpkin pasta, they wondered whether to nip home for a snack. Unlike the butternut, pumpkin isn’t trendy, it isn’t gourmet, and most people prefer to bin it than eat it, but this recipe became a firm favourite in my kitchen and theirs. I make it every autumn, and I think that you should, too.

PARMESAN-ROASTED PUMPKIN WITH ROCKET PESTO & TAGLIATELLE
Serves 2
Pumpkin – roasted to the pinnacle of tender, crusty-edged beauty, then turned in fine Parmesan for extra crunch – is the star of this show. The main thing to remember is to move the pieces politely and gently from the tin - don’t throw them straight into the pasta pan and bash them into smithereens. Once you’ve roasted the pumpkin, you’re bound to find new ways with it: perhaps roast it in a slick of chilli oil and serve on a pile of salad leaves. Or roast it in two halves, filling the seed cavity with some sautéed leek and fresh goat’s cheese in the last five minutes. We are just picking the very last of the rocket from the garden - it's bitter as it gets old (hee hee), so pesto is the best thing for it.

800g pumpkin, skinned and chopped
1tbsp olive oil
Black pepper
2tbsp parmesan, finely grated
50g fresh rocket
1tbsp pumpkin seeds
2tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp white wine vinegar
1tbsp grated parmesan
Dried tagliatelle pasta
100g soft, mild goat’s cheese

Spread the pumpkin on a large roasting tray, and sprinkle with olive oil and pepper. Roast at 180°C for around 40 minutes. Remove it from the oven and very carefully toss the pieces in the grated Parmesan, before returning to the oven for another 15 minutes (slide in the dinner plates after 10).

To finish: put the seeds, rocket, vinegar and olive oil in a blender, adding more oil to achieve a drizzlable puree; then stir in the parmesan. Cook the tagliatelle, drain, and toss it with a little pesto in the warm pan. Dish up: top the green pasta with crumbled goat’s cheese, the pumpkin, and a drizzle of rocket puree.

2007-11-23T02:54:00.001-08:00

PHOTOGRAPH SHORTAGE...

I have dozens of gorgeous pictures on the camera, but no lead to transfer them! Eek. I've been photographing chestnuts, Christmas cakes, dried lavender, fresh holly and pumpkins, sprouting broad beans, my new kitchen, autumn in Devon, and all sorts of other lovely things. And I am desperate to share some of these with you... so please bear with me (you might want to make yourself a cup of tea) while I rummage in attic and shoe-cupboard, and come back soon for new recipes - with pics!

PS If you're taking a coffee break (good work), you could do worse than checking out some of my favourite food blogs - new addition on the right. See? >>

2007-11-19T02:52:00.000-08:00

Cooking spree...

I have had an unusually productive weekend, trying to organise as much as possible for Christmas... our next few weekends are tied up, so I have been feeling a bit stressed. My mental 'to do' list gets longer and longer. The cure is work: and lots of it. So I worked super-hard on Saturday. As well as freezing some cute puffs (below) I managed to make a huge pan of soup for the week and even wrote for a couple of hours and cleaned the house. (I was on my own - husband was called in to the hospital - and I am always more efficient when it's just me!)

Then - after a trip to the farm shop on Sunday - I even got our Christmas cake baked and stored. I used Nigella's Chocolate Fruit Cake recipe, which turned out really beautifully - rich and full of that gorgeous Christmas-baking scent. I am going to try making a delicately vanilla-flavoured marzipan to go on top, and if I find time to order metallic gold lustre... all will be perfect!

It has made me feel a bit too smug and complacent this morning, though. I am trying to kick-start the day but I still have this all-wrapped-up feeling. And I have soooo much left to do, and everything is soooooo not all-wrapped-up. Not in the slightest.

We did have a yummy butternut squash and spinach tart on Saturday, which I might write up, but, I mainly wanted to post this really lovely soup recipe. Will be eating it with seedy brown bread later tonight. It's not very strongly flavoured, but quite simple and warming. Also a great source of protein and see-in-the-dark vitamins!

SPICY CARROT AND RED LENTIL SOUP

400g carrots, washed and chopped
2 onions, chopped
4oz (4 heaped tbsp) red lentils
1tbsp curry paste (from a jar)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1" ginger, chopped, if available
1-2 pints Marigold vegetable stock

Gently soften the onions, ginger and garlic in the curry paste, with a lid on, in a large casserole. After about 5 minutes add the carrots, without stirring, and replace the lid. Leave to sweat for another 10 minutes, then stir well. Finally tip in the lentils (no need to rinse) and stock, season gently, and replace the lid (leaving a gap). Simmer for at least 20 minutes, then put the lid on properly and leave to cool slowly in the pan. When you're ready, blend thoroughly, and serve with a sprinkle of chopped coriander - or toasted almonds - and warm bread.

2007-11-19T02:40:00.000-08:00

SPINACH PUFFS

This is adapted from a Claudia Roden recipe: I made her Lebanese Spinach Pies on Saturday, then decided they would be even nicer rolled in egg and parmesan. I've also added pine nuts and garlic to the basic mixture.

We didn't eat these (okay, so I baked and tested one) - they were frozen on a tray (managed to find an inch of space in the runner-bean-stuffed freezer), then bagged up and tied. Ready to be thawed, brushed, rolled and baked for Christmas holidays - they will be perfect snacks to serve with drinks. I am busy collecting cocktail recipes too!

200g flaky or puff pastry
300g spinach or chard, washed
1 small onion, chopped finely
1tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small handful pine nuts
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Salt and pepper
Parmesan and 1 egg

Pack the spinach into a saucepan, and set over a gentle heat, turning until it's all wilted. Press into a sieve with a fork, and then your hands, to remove water. Remove to a chopping board, and chop finely.

Heat the oil in the pan, and add the onion. Turn the heat to low and allow the onion to slowly turn golden, adding the garlic and pine nuts after about 10 minutes. When the nuts are toasted, take off the heat, and stir in the lemon juice, seasoning, and spinach. If there is any liquid, return the pan to the heat to evaporate it. Now let the filling cool.

Roll the pastry as thinly as you dare and cut out 10cm circles with a fluted cutter. Brush the edges of each one with beaten egg, then put a teaspoon of filling in the centre of each one, and bring over one side like a miniature Cornish pasty.

To cook: brush the thawed puffs generously with beaten egg. Make a pile of finely-grated Parmesan on a chopping board, and roll each puff in it, to give a generous coating. Bake for 15-20 minutes in a preheated oven and cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.

2007-10-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

WHITE BEAN SOUP WITH TRUFFLE OIL

On a recent visit to London to see my lovely brother and his lovely wife, we had lunch at Carluccio's on Putney riverfront. After platters of olives, peppers, Italian-style greens and aubergine caponata, we were distracted by the shop. Okay... it was me. I was distracted by the shop. I managed to avoid the temptations of the fresh and bakery counter, since we still had to travel home. But the array of cupboard goodies was too much to resist... and I picked up a few things that I knew I'd seen in recipes somewhere... or that I knew I could make something delicious from... so, rose-scented chocolate... Italian Limoncello... and white truffle oil. Well, a few months later, we happened to be served a white bean and truffle soup in a local restaurant. It was one of those mini-courses, you know, they arrive between starter and mains, and they're almost always way too small and leave you wishing you'd ordered a whole dish and nothing else. (Actually, this day, our mains were even better than the tiny espresso-cup of white soup, so we left happy.)

So I finally had an excuse to pop open the truffle oil. I licked a bit that dribbled out as I poured, and it knocked my socks off. This is one of those ingredients that just takes over any dish, I think. It's a luscious flavour of mushroomy, earthy, garlicky, richness, for simple dishes, and you only need a drop - maybe a tablespoon for a four-person soup (in proper bowls). I added a bit at the beginning but all it needed was a splash at the end. Now I'm off to hunt for more truffle recipes to try out,... I have my eye on a brie and truffle tarlet...

WHITE BEAN AND TRUFFLE SOUP
1 slender leek, finely sliced (discard the green)
1tbsp butter
3 cups cooked butter beans, shelled
1-2 cups Marigold vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
Seasoning
1tbsp white truffle oil
Snipped chives, to garnish

Soften the leek in the butter ever so gently, with a lid on, for at least ten minutes. Stir in the butter beans to coat and turn up the heat, then add the stock and bay leaf, and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, then cool. Season generously before liquidising, making sure the soup is nice and smooth (and not too thick) before adding the truffle oil and whizzing briefly to combine. Serve topped with the chives and if you like, hand around the oil to drizzle.

2007-09-26T03:13:00.000-07:00

Baked Butter Beans in Two Sauces

2 cups dried butter beans, soaked overnight

1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 head celery, finely chopped
1 head fennel, finely chopped
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1tbsp sundried tomato puree
1 cup vegetable stock
1 slice brown bread, grated into breadcrumbs
2tbsp finely-grated parmesan

1tsp cornflour
1/2 pint milk
1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1tbsp parsley, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Bring the butter beans to the boil, and skim off froth. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour or more, until tender. Drain and refresh, then set to one side.

For the fennel and tomato sauce: Saute all the chopped vegetables in a large casserole over a low heat. Add tomatoes and turn up the heat; when it starts to sizzle, stir for a couple of minutes, then tip in the stock and puree. Transfer to an oven at 140 deg C for an hour. Remove and cool.

For the parsley and mustard sauce: Warm the milk in a pan, and add a paste made from cornflour and a splash of milk. Stir it in and continue stirring until the milk thickens. Remove from the heat, add mustard and, after it's cooled, stir in the very finely-chopped parsley.

To assemble: use two shallow baking dishes. Put half the beans in each; top one with the parsley sauce and the other with the tomato sauce, stirring well. Cover the tomato dish (and the parsley, if you like) with breadcrumbs and parmesan. Bake both at 140 deg C for 20-30 minutes, cool 5 minutes, and serve (with veggie kievs, potato dauphinoise, or baked ham).

2007-08-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

LENTIL & PORCINI SOUP

This is really a thick, rich mushroom stew - the lentils and onion providing a complex savoury background to woodland porcini. You would want to eat this on an autumn day after conkering - or a bleak August day blackberrying, as I've just done! It was a recipe that, upon reading and even upon sniffing the simmering pan, I doubted would come together so well as it did. Lentils and mushrooms just make sense, in theory, but this didn't really come together until the very last stages.

I should also say that I have adapted this from a recipe in 'Fagioli'; Judith Barrett's version does not feature ordinary mushrooms. I am serving this with farmhouse bread (picture to follow) and spiced plum crumble. Having soup is a great excuse to eat pudding! This serves two at dinner or four as a starter.

1/2 cup lentils verde, washed and checked over
1 onion, finely chopped
2tbsp olive oil
2 large bay leaves
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 cup porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
1 cup finely-diced chestnut (ordinary) mushrooms
3 cups hot water

First soak the porcini and set aside. In a soup pan, warm the olive oil and add the onion and bay leaves; stir to soften and sizzle. After a couple of minutes - or when it's ready - add the chopped tomato and mushrooms. Continue to stir until most of the liquid has gone and the vegetables are soft. Drain and finely-chop the porcini and add it to the pan with the green lentils and 4 cups of warm water. Bring to a fierce boil, lid off, and set the timer for 10 minutes. After that, turn the heat down to a gentle putter, and cook for another 35 minutes. You may want to add a little more water to reach the right consistency.

Make sure it's hot, remove the bay leaves and, if you like, garnish with a swirl of cream - it's rich enough to take the dilution - and chopped chives. Or a swirl of truffle oil and chopped rosemary... or whatever you have to hand... if you haven't already started eating!

2007-08-02T05:08:00.001-07:00

SPICY RED PEPPER HUMMUS

The super-sweet red pepper brings something special to hummus, with a throaty kick at the very end. Serve it with raw carrot and toasted pitta, cut into strips. Or you could serve a big dollop with a plate of roasted vegetables - squash, aubergine, tomato - as a simple dinner.

1 can chickpeas, drained (equivalent to 200g cooked chickpeas)
2 heaped dessertspoons Tahini (sesame seed paste, from supermarket)

Juice of 1 small lemon

3 cloves garlic, peeled

3 "Peppadew" peppers (from a jar)

2tbsp olive oil

1tsp salt

1tsp pepper

Using a food processor, blend the lemon juice, tahini and garlic with a few of the chickpeas, ensuring the garlic is finely pureed before continuing. Add the olive oil and most of the chickpeas, and blend to a smooth puree. Now add the seasoning, and the rest of the chickpeas, and the peppers, and pulse-chop until you get a textured hummus. Taste to see if it needs more lemon juice or seasoning. If it's too thick, add extra olive oil or a bit of warm water, and pulse to combine.

2007-08-02T04:45:00.000-07:00

RED WINE & SAUSAGE PENNE

An oven-simmered tomato sauce, enriched with red wine, stirred into fresh penne and sliced sausages - just the thing for an autumnal sort of summer day. Eat with fresh bread.

1 punnet plum tomatoes (about 500g)

1 onion, sliced

1tsp olive oil

175ml red wine (a rich one like Shiraz)

175ml vegetable stock

4 vegetarian sausages - I like Cauldron's Lincolnshire

2 handfuls penne

Parmesan and fresh bread, to serve

Start a few hours before tea, or the night before. In an ovenproof casserole, soften the onion in the oil very slowly, until translucent. Add the tomatoes, crush with a wooden spoon, then add the lid and leave on a low heat for a few more minutes. Finally tip in the wine and stock, bring to a bubble, then replace the lid. Now you can either leave it on the hob on the lowest heat, or put the casserole into the oven at about 120 deg for anything up to two hours. Either way, keep checking: you want to slowly achieve a thick, reduced sauce with onion pieces that melt into the goo.

You can keep this aside now - until ready to eat. At which point, grill the sausages, then slice roughly, and add to the pan, returning it to a gentle heat. Bring another pan of water to the boil and throw in the penne, then cook for 10 minutes. Finally combine the drained pasta with the sauce, stir well, and serve onto warm plates.

Garnish generously with freshly grated parmesan.

2007-07-23T04:33:00.000-07:00

Homemade beansprout slaw

For serving with those veggie beanburgers, in homemade floury baps, to show those carnivores what they're missing... and being far, far healthier too. We ate this with guests on the weekend and they thoroughly enjoyed it. Beansprouts are small and inoffensive - a really great way to add vitamins and protein to any vegetarian meal. Add them to sandwiches, stir-fries, salads, even hummus.

1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp mustard powder
2 egg yolks
8-10floz olive oil
1-2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 carrot
1 box beansprouts

In a pestle and mortar, crush the salt and mustard powder until yellow and refined. Beat in the egg yolks. You might want to transfer to a larger bowl now. Using an electronic whisk or a wooden spoon (harder work, more reward), beat the eggs again. Add a drop of oil and beat. It's very boring but you have to be patient and add a couple of drops at a time, beating thoroughly. (I don't know why.)

After your hand starts to feel like it will never move again, the mixture will be a bit thicker, and now - hurray! - you can speed up a bit, and tip in a bit more oil. I get bored and start pushing my luck, rashly tipping in oil (it doesn't curdle quite as easily as others may have you believe). You can add 1tsp vinegar now, too. At the 8floz mark, or even sooner, when it starts to look like mayonnaise - thicker than helmann's - you should taste and add more vinegar if you like. Probably no need to add 10floz oil. To thin it out a little, add a small splash of water, and beat it all together again. Put it into a clean jar and it will keep for a week.

For my super-slaw, grate one large carrot into a bowl, and fill with beansprouts. Add mayonnaise - a little more than you first think - until the slaw will drop off a spoon.

2007-07-20T04:08:00.000-07:00

FENNEL AND TOMATO GRATIN

At the farmer's market last week, as he was packing my bag of fennel, the farmer asked: "What will you DO with this much fennel?"
"Put it in a casserole, or braise it, or roast it," I told him.
"Oh!" (not convinced). "I never know what to do with it!"

Fennel is one of those strange vegetables that most people despise or don't know what to do with, I think. I am always frustrated when we receive just one bulb in our vegetable box. What are you supposed to do with just one? Roast it with peppers and onions and it kind of fades into the background. I want to taste the fennel in whatever-it-is, and it deserves to be the star. So here it is. We gobbled this up and now I'll have to make a quick trip to the market for more.

3 large bulbs fennel, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
2 large tomatoes, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup vegetable stock
1 slice fresh white bread
1tbsp finely grated parmesan

Warm up the oil in a large pan, over a gentle heat, and then arrange the fennel so it fits neatly in one layer, if possible. Put the lid on, leave the heat low, and allow it to start to soften and brown slowly. After about 10 minutes add the garlic, stir a couple of times, then add the tomatoes in one layer on top. Season with plenty of pepper and a little salt, then pour on the stock. Cover tightly, turn the heat to its lowest, and leave to bubble gently for another 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. There should only be a little liquid left.

Tip the whole lot into a small baking dish, then chop the bread into crumbs, mix it with the parmesan, and sprinkle over the top. Bake at 160 degrees C for about 20 minutes, or until piping hot and crusty on top.

Serve with roasted red potatoes and red onions, and salad if you like a bit of green.

2007-07-12T08:48:00.001-07:00

Baked Butter Beans, Baked Gigantes Beans, Ful Medames...

.... oh, they have my heart. Ever since I discovered Odysea's Baked Gigantes there's only been one bean for me. Fortunately, they're available in Sainsbury's; unfortunately, they cost £3.49 for a jar that contains about five minutes' worth of urgent, fridge-side gobbling.

So I have tried to recreate them at home. How I've tried... with tomatoes (chopped and real), dried herbs and fresh ones, dill and parsley, olive oil and vegetable stock. According to my web research these babes should be oven-cooked slowly in a mass of tomato and olive oil. Matthew Fort, another addict, generously gave his recipe to the Guardian - that's my next test. But reading his ingredients doesn't make my heart pound. Celery? Onion? I fear he's no closer to the Real Thing than I am.

In my hopeless mission I have just bought a new book on Lebanese cookery. yes, yes, I know they're Greek not Lebanese, but there is a Middle-Eastern version being touted by trendy mid-east restaurants - Ful Medames - that is suspiciously similar.

Unfortunately, the book's recipe for Ful Medames has no tomato (damn you). Mind you, I am quite distracted now by the wonders of lentils-dill-and-rice, stuffed chard, aubergine in sesame sauce, and a lovely herby potato salad. We had dinner in a Lebanese restaurant once and it was incredible. Good place for a vegetarian holiday, I think.

Continuing my quest, I looked up Fagioli - Italian for beans - wondering if they have a similar recipe. They do. Hundreds. It will take me months to try them all. (Sigh). However, now you're looking at it, this is a very delicious book indeed. It has lots of variations on the Roman speciality pasta e cecci (pasta and beans) plus bean-centred bruschetta, a potato and chickpea whip, and some of those gorgeous Tuscan oven-baked bean stews. All of which will, I think, be very scrumptious. But....

...... they're not baked gigantes. (Sigh.......) The bean goes on.

2007-07-12T08:12:00.001-07:00

SPICY BEANBURGERS

I am quite happy to admit that when it comes to burgers, vegetarians are left on the sidelines, chewing a bit of cardboard. There's not a bean in the world that could tempt a carnivore to pick up a beanburger at a barbeque. Apart from the texture, it's very difficult to get a good, intense flavour that can stand up to barbequing, followed by the onslaught of floury baps and puddles of ketchup. Most veggie-burgers sort of morph into a vaguely vegetably slodge, if they haven't already collapsed over the barbeque grill. Shop-bought burgers are fine, although they're basically chopped vegetables in breadcrumbs, and don't you know it when you bite into that bun. How are we supposed to compete with a generous beef-burger, oozing its own fatty juices, that actually gains in flavour sitting on the barbie?

And don't give me vegetable kebabs or pretend-meat burgers. I want good, honest flavour, and lots of it. So, although I know nobody wants it, here's my best beanburger recipe. I've done a pretty good job of selling myself out. But if you're a vegetarian, and you fancy slapping some homemade burgers on the barbeque next time you're entertaining al fresco, perhaps you'll enjoy these. Add as much seasoning as you like, and pile the bap high with extra goodies.

SPICY BEANBURGERS
(makes 6)

1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1tbsp sunflower oil

Saute the vegetables in the oil until soft, then add:

¾ cup red lentils
1 cup vegetable stock

Simmer for 10 minutes, on a very low heat, lid on.

In a bowl combine:
1 cup cooked/tinned kidney beans
1slice bread, chopped finely into breadcrumbs
1 beaten egg
1tsp paprika
1tsp chilli powder or Tabasco
1-2 tsp soy sauce
2 heaped tsp tomato puree

Add the mushy lentil mixture and then put into the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Flour your hands generously and shape into burgers (it will be sticky but firm).

Fry in a little oil, sear on a hot-plate, or bake in a medium oven for 25 minutes (they will be drier if you bake them).

Serve with different toppings – be imaginative, and pack in extra flavour. Try home-made mayonnaise, onion rings, rocket, and beansprouts!

2007-07-05T03:13:00.001-07:00

BROAD BEAN BRUSCHETTA

They do look weird, but these slices of green-smudged toast are much-beloved of the River Cafe chefs, Nigella, and Mr Slater. With all those admirers, they're definitely worth a try...

Here's my version, but the basic blueprint - shelled beans, herbs, grated cheese and olive oil - translates into a whole platter of delicious variations.

SERVES 2

1 French stick, sliced diagonally into 1" slices
500g broad beans, podded
25g basil
25g grated parmesan
Good slug of olive oil

Drop the beans (in their grey skins) into boiling water and simmer for 1 minute. Drain in a colander over the sink and run cold water over them until cool enough to handle. Slip the skin off each bean, revealing a luminous green bean inside. Drop the skinned beans straight into a large bowl.

Finely grate the pamesan into the bowl and then shred the basil and add this. Use a fork to mush and slightly amalgamate the beans with the basil and parmesan - they'll probably be warm enough to melt it just slightly. Drizzle in enough olive oil to give a good, bright green mush. I make this on the rustic side with pieces of bean, but you can also whiz it in the processor for a finer puree (like hummus).

On a griddle brushed with olive oil, toast the slices of bread. Whip quickly onto a plate and top with the green beans. Drizzle with extra oil, if you like ("It's what they do in Italy!" insists husband, pouring spoonfuls over his). Serve straight away or at room temp.

VARIATIONS: Exchange the pamesan for feta; swap the basil for mint, or use a mixture of both. Puree in a processor for a smoother paste. Top with garlic or pea sprouts.

2007-07-04T08:50:00.001-07:00

SPANOKOPITA
Greek spinach and feta pie

It might not be warm but it's summer, and the Mediterranean chefs know how to use these seasonal vegetables better than we ever did. I mean, what did the British ever do with courgettes and spinach before gratefully borrowing Ratatouille and Spanokopita? I don't mean to sound unpatriotic - it just seems to be the case that we eat more British food in the winter, and Mediterranean food in the summer. Probably because they know all about fresh alfresco-style dinners.

I've adapted this from a recipe by Sophie Grigson, whose book (Vegetables) I would highly recommend.

1 pack Filo pastry, defrosted
1 large bag spinach - around 500g raw
200g feta cheese
1tbsp olive oil
1/2 bunch of spring onions, finely sliced
2tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 eggs

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Wash the spinach and remove the big stems - a boring job, but worth it to rid the spinach of the characteristic bitterness. Put it straight into a large saucepan, cover and steam gently for about 5 minutes - until the spinach has collapsed in a sorry heap at the bottom of the pan and you wonder if you have cooked enough.

Drain the spinach in a colander, pressing it hard against the sides with a spoon to get rid of moisture. Slide it onto a chopping board and shred finely. Return it to the pan with the tablespoon of olive oil, dill, and the spring onions, and soften very gently for a couple of minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool while you start layering pastry.

Take 1/3 sheet of filo and lay it on a 10cm tartlet tin (or you could make one 30x20cm pie). Using a brush and a cup containing a scant tsp of olive oil, keep brushing and layering pastry and oil, building up perhaps 8-10 layers. There should be plenty of overhang on each one. (And don't worry, the pastry is fat-free, so the olive oil is the only thing to worry about, and you can brush very scantly). Do this for 4 tins.

To the saucepan, which is now cool, add the feta, and beat it in with a spoon. Finally add the eggs and beat it all together well. Use this to fill the pie(s). Now you can gather up the overhanging pastry and crumple it prettily over the filling, covering it completely. Brush with a few more dabs of oil, and whisk into the oven for 20-30 minutes. Serve with green salad and roasted cherry tomatoes.

2007-06-27T03:21:00.000-07:00

Chickaleekie soup

People should eat more pulses, I think! They're so cheap (especially if you buy dried ones) and nutritious, a good source of protein and vitamins, not to mention fat-free.

They are though, I think, still avoided by people - they're not trendy, TV cooks don't use them often, and they're associated with old-fashioned farmhouse cookery even now. But they're so yummy and easy to use. Start with easy beans like chickpeas (delicious stir-fried with green beans, tomato, cumin, coriander and garlic - or blended with tahini to make hummus) and haricot beans (brilliant in a cassoulet in the oven - just add chopped vegetables, tomatoes, red wine, rosemary and bay leaves. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and cheese in the last ten minutes for a crusty topping). Kidney beans make a fantastic chilli pasta bake: combine with a jar of salsa, a mug of good stock, a chopped pepper, and a couple of handfuls dried pasta - bake in an oven topped with 1 carton creme fraiche, 2 eggs and 1 handful cheddar (whisked together). I could go on, but I won't.

No potatoes in the house, and some leeks to use up, plus I have a tummy bug and want something good and easily digestible. So, on this midsummer day, I have a pot of soup simmering. Chickpeas make a good potato substitute here - higher in protein and lower in hip-unfriendly carbohydrate. If I had the bread I'd add some crunchy brown croutons to this soup at the end - and, maybe, just a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesan.

Italians have a lot of recipes for pulse-based soups; thick and stewy, with green vegetables and a final dousing of olive oil. The River Cafe and Jamie Oliver have recipes for this type of soup, which sometimes also has small pasta shapes in it. This is my version.

2 leeks, washed and chopped roughly
1tsp (generous) butter
1 tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1tsp Marigold Veg Bouillon
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper

Soften the leeks in the butter until transparent (not brown). Add the chickpeas, bouillon, and bay leaves; cover with hot water and simmer 20 mins. Puree in a blender - cover your ears and leave it running for as long as you can bear! Return to the pan, season to taste, and serve hot from a mug.

2007-06-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

RHUBARB JAM AND RAINY DAYS

The sudden rainstorm has brought unexpectedly welcome hot food, pasta bakes and mash potatoes, and being stuck inside always sends me back to the kitchen. It's some kind of nesting instinct, I think. In my continuing mission to turn into a country grandma before my time, I had my first go at jam-making on Monday night. I washed and chopped strawberries and rhubarb (half and half), added 2/3 of their weight in sugar, a good squeeze of orange and lemon juice (1 of each), and boiled the whole lot in my biggest pan. (To test for set, you just put a saucer in the freezer, then remove and drop a teaspoon of jam in the middle. You can see the set once it cools a little.) It took around 20 minutes (and more lemon juice) to set, softly, and made four jars. I'm not going to post the recipe yet. I think I need another try, with less sugar, and perhaps adding some extra strawberries near the end, so that they stay whole.

We ate my ruby-glowing jam with scones (Delia's decades-old recipe works wonderfully, despite modern versions with fancy-pants buttermilk) and clotted cream. It's a good way to shake off a grumpy mood, and there seem to have been a few of those in our house lately.

We're cooking for our friends tomorrow night - I think I'll try out the jam on them, even though they don't like rhubarb; Steve is going to cook his Quorn Stroganoff, which takes him all of about fifteen minutes. To add to the table (and fend off hungriness - I always worry that guests will be hungry at the end of the evening) I think I might also make some feta and sundried tomato bread, depending on how organised I feel tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, I'm drinking my low-cal hot chocolate, and watching the rain...

2007-06-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

PENNE WITH BROAD BEANS AND PESTO

1lb broad beans, podded
1 large bunch basil
1tbsp pine kernels
1tbsp parmesan, finely grated
1tbsp olive oil
Fresh pepper
Penne (enough for two)
1tbsp single cream
Extra parmesan to shave over the top

Put the broad beans into a pan of hot water and bring to the boil. When they reach simmering point, leave for about 20 seconds, then switch off. Tip the beans into a colander over the sink and leave to cool.

Make the pesto: you can use a food processor, but this is how it's traditionally done. (Make sure the basil is really, really fresh and fragrant - if the scent doesn't waft out of the bag, put it to use decorating a different pasta dish*, or shred it into an Italian salad.) Pound half the pine kernels with half the basil in a pestle and mortar, then remove to a plate. Pound the remaining basil and kernels, and put the first batch back into the bowl. Add fresh pepper, a good slug of olive oil, and the finely grated parmesan, and stir until it looks like pesto.

Drop the penne into boiling water and simmer as per packet. While it's cooking, shell the broad beans, pinching off the greyish-green skin, and dropping them into the pesto. As soon as it's just cooked, drain the pasta, and return it to the pan. Stir in the cream, then add the pesto and broad beans, and mix gently. Serve with extra parmesan for those who want it.

*Steve's easy penne is good - roast a punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved. Boil penne and add a splash of balsamic vinegar, a splash of cream, the tomatoes, the shredded basil, and plenty of salt and pepper.

2007-06-07T01:58:00.000-07:00

A quick bit of gnocchi...

Just to get us back into the garden more quickly...

Drop 1 packet Sainsbury's fresh gnocchi into boiling water for a couple of minutes, and drain. Warm 1tsp olive oil and add 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved. Fry until they begin to come apart. Meanwhile, crush 25g fresh basil in a pestle and mortar with 1 handful pine kernels and 1tsp salt. To the pan add 1tsp balsamic vinegar, 1dsstp single cream, and then tip in the rustic pesto (crushed basil). Add the gnocchi and heat through; serve with grated parmesan.

2007-04-18T05:34:00.000-07:00

Fresher, Brighter and Lighter: Risotto and Smoothies

All this sunshine is rousing the earth and lightening the step. I'm becoming impatient for full-blown summer: I want to eat freshly podded peas, wickedly bitter rocket and cheery tomatoes - outdoors, with a cold glass of wine. Eating with the seasons feels natural: right now I'm yearning for light dishes and fruit smoothies, while in winter it's perfectly instinctive to tuck into a big bowl of mashed celeriac. Just one of the reasons I love our vegetable box.

Last Friday our box brought the last of the pears with Spanish oranges (they do sneak in a few imports now and again) and mangoes. Smoothies are so brilliant, I don't know why we don't make them every day. It's utterly rewarding to drink a glass packed full of fruit and nothing else.

MANGO, ORANGE AND PEAR SMOOTHIE

2 oranges
1 large, ripe mango
1 eating pear
Ice cubes

Lazily peel the pear and mango, and chop both roughly. (No need to labour over it.) In an empty blender jug, juice the oranges, getting every last bit of juice out. Plop in the chopped fruit, then whiz until smooth (if too thick, add a little apple juice or the juice from another orange, if you have one). Add a couple of ice-cubes and whiz briefly to break them up a little. Drink in the sunshine!

NO-STIR RISOTTO PRIMAVERA

Primavera, "first green" in Italian, is the name used to describe a whole rainbow of spring pasta and rice dishes. Think of it as a celebration of spring; Primavera always contains plenty of fresh vegetables, like asparagus, wild garlic, fresh peas, broad beans, artichokes and other lovely new greens. Ideally made in May with baby asparagus spears, it should always be abundantly green with a good splash of white wine: fresh, light, and a delicious way to celebrate the season. I use Delia's oven-bake method for this risotto.

SERVES TWO

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 courgette, roughly chopped
1 handful peas
1tsp butter
200ml carnaroli rice
200ml white wine
400ml vegetable stock
2tbsp finely grated parmesan
1 large handful wild garlic, washed and shredded

Set the oven to 150 deg C.

Saute the onion in the butter until translucent, then add the courgette and continue to soften for about 5-10 minutes. Add the peas halfway through. Now stir in the rice and mix thoroughly, heating it so it glistens. Add the wine and stock, bring to a simmer, then put the whole lot into a warmed oven dish and slide into the oven.

After about 15-20 minutes (when the rice will be almost cooked), remove from the oven and stir in the sliced wild garlic and the parmesan. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes, checking, then serve with crusty bread and mixed salad leaves.

If you make a note of the cooking times for this in your particular oven, it will be even less demanding next time.

2007-03-09T03:11:00.000-08:00

CANNELLINI CASSOULET
with leek and butternut squash

The traditional French cassoulet contains pork or sausages, combined with white haricot beans and baked for a long time in the oven. It's easy to adapt this recipe - a splash of red wine, some tomatoes and vegetables, cannellini instead of Haricot - and it always tastes fantastic. Eat with traditional French bread (what else?!). Dried cannellini, by the way, are really easy to cook - as long as you remember to soak them overnight - they take just 40 minutes boiling with a tsp of bicarb. (You can still use them if you forgot to soak: put them into cold water and bring to the boil, then take off the heat and leave for a few hours before cooking.)

1 leek, finely shredded
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
250g slice butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped
200g cooked cannellini beans (100g dried)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1tsp dried sage
1tsp red wine vinegar
1tbsp sundried tomato puree
0.5tsp brown sugar
1 slice old white bread, chopped into breadcrumbs
1tbsp parmesan

Preheat the oven to about 14o deg C.

Saute the leek and squash in 1tbsp olive oil, warmed in a large casserole dish. Add the garlic and stir for a minute before adding the beans, tomatoes, sage, vinegar, puree and sugar. Stir everything together, cover, and bring slowly to a simmer. Add the cooked cannellini beans, and put into the oven for 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven, take off the lid, stir, and add a splash more water if necessary (you want a thick stew here). Sprinkle the breadcrumbs and then the parmesan over the top and return to the oven for 20 minutes. Stand for 10 minutes before dishing up - and serve with crusty bread.

2007-03-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

Cooking for St David...
Happy St David's day! Here are some favourite ways with leeks, goat's cheese, lamb and cake... stalwarts of Welsh eating...

Leek & Goat's Cheese Quiche
Make up a batch of wholemeal pastry (Weigh out 4oz wholemeal flour, 4oz plain flour, and a pinch of salt; rub in 2oz butter, 2oz vegetable fat, and add iced water to mix) and pop into the fridge while you prepare the quiche. Soften 2 leeks (washed and chopped) in a frying pan with a dab of butter, then season, and set aside to cool. In a jug, whisk 2 eggs with 2tbsp grated cheddar or parmesan, 100ml double cream and 100ml milk, seasoning generously and adding chives if you like. Now assemble the quiche: roll out the pastry to fit a 20cm flan tin, and scatter the leeks over the bottom. Carefully pour on the egg mixture, scatter 100g crumbled Welsh Goat's Cheese over the top, and slide into a moderate oven. Bake for about 40 minutes, then rest before serving.

Roast Squash with Leeks and Pine Nuts
The squash is an easy all-in-one dinner: just cut in half, then scoop out and discard the seeds, and also cut out some of the golden flesh - cube it and set aside. Put the squash shells on a roasting tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Roast for around 30-4o minutes, until tender and golden. Meanwhile prepare the filling: saute the cubes of flesh with 1 chopped leek, stir in 1tbsp Parmesan, and continue to fry until toasty. Cram the filling into the cooked squashes, scatter pine nuts and extra Parmesan over the top, and return to the oven for 10 minutes to get gold and crunchy on top. Straight from God's land to the fork!

Rustic Goat's Cheese Bread with Thyme
I have this baking in the machine as I type! I can't wait to eat it this evening with the roasted squash (above). Delia offers a hand-baking recipe for goat's cheese bread with thyme which is already a favourite in our house (with the addition of potato - it's bliss!), but I'm afraid work demands a less time-demanding recipe at the moment!

So - this comes from sumptuous book 'Traditional Breads for your Breadmaker'. In a breadmaker, combine 1.5tsp instant yeast with 2 cups white flour, 1 cup country grain flour, 1tsp salt, 1tbsp sugar, 2tbsp sunflower oil, 50g crumbled goat's cheese, 1tsp fresh thyme, and 1 cup warm water. Set to the 'white' programme... (recipe by Karen Saunders)

If it's cold or rainy and you want some comfort food, try traditional lamb stew - cawl (quick popty-ping version here) and Welsh cakes!

2007-02-27T02:00:00.000-08:00

Five-Step Korma
The easiest vegetable curry on record...

ONE: In a large frying pan (choose one which has a lid), warm 1tbsp groundnut oil, and soften 1 onion (diced) with 1 red chilli (deseeded and finely chopped).

TWO: Using a pestle and mortar, pound a 1" piece of peeled ginger with 2tsp of flaked or blanched almonds and 1 generous tsp of sea salt.

THREE: To the pan add half a head of cauliflower (broken into florets), one potato (peeled and cubed) and one courgette (chopped into 2cm chunks), then stir in the ginger mixture and 1 loaded tablespoon of Patak's Korma Paste.

FOUR: Pour in one can of low-fat Coconut Milk (available in the oriental section of supermarket), cover the pan, and leave to simmer gently for 20-30 minutes.

FIVE: Serve!

2007-02-27T01:44:00.000-08:00

ROASTED PUMPKIN HUMMOUS

Roasting is my favourite way to treat a pumpkin; the edges turn gold and crusty and the interior loses its watery lacklustre. You get intense flavours and an interesting texture - I can eat this stuff cold, on toast, with goats' cheese, or... ooh, any which way.

Okay, so this is one to try if you're a hummous addict like me. I make this chickpea dip in some guise every week, sometimes adding chopped roast pepper, lime or coriander, but always stuffing it into pittas with mixed leaves and chutney or pesto for my favourite lunch in the world. This is a bit of a weird way to perk up hummous but it worked beautifully, and makes a cracking sandwich with some rocket and pumpkin seeds on top.

8 pieces roast pumpkin (1" cubes)

75g dried chickpeas, cooked (soak overnight, then boil for 1.5-2hours)

2 cloves garlic

1tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)

Juice of half a lemon

2tsp salt

About 150ml warm water

The pumpkin wants to be cubed and roasted in olive oil for about 40 minutes (put it in the oven while you're cooking something else). Put the pumpkin, garlic, lemon juice and a little water into a blender or processor and whiz until smooth. Now add the salt, tahini, and about half the chickpeas; now whiz until grainy, adding water to help the process. Finally add the remaining chickpeas and give the briefest of whizzes, to maintain some nice chunks. Add water to get the right consistency (if the peas or pumpkin were warm, then the hummous will firm up a bit more as it cools).

Sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds and cayenne pepper to serve.

2007-02-26T03:32:00.000-08:00

Hitipitiiiiiii
Greek red pepper and feta dip

This isn't a recipe of mine - it's from the brilliant 'Vegetables' by Sophie Grigson - but we ate it for lunch yesterday - with fresh focaccia and pumpkin hummous (recipe and piccy to follow) - and it was just sublime. We were actually fighting for the last scoop of the dish.

In fact, this is the first time I have cooked with feta cheese, and I plan to find a lot of new ways with it! If you get a red pepper in your veg box, if you like cheese (even a little bit), if you have a penchant for salt, if you love bread - do try this dip. If no bread in the house, cut up carrots or cucumber - whatever you need to do...

1 large red pepper
100g feta cheese, crumbled
2tbsp olive oil
0.5tsp paprika
Juice of 0.3 lemon

First, you need to roast the pepper - take off the top and the seeds, and roast in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes or until starting to blacken. Sophie says to remove the skins, but I didn't as I like the added smokiness. Tip into a blender and add the cheese, oil, lemon juice and paprika. Whiz to a grainy puree and spoon into a serving dish, scatter with extra paprika, and serve. Heaven in a bowl!

2007-02-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

PORCINI RISOTTO WITH LEEK AND ARTICHOKE
Serves 2

Getting frisked at customs for smuggling over these dried Porcini from Italy was totally worth it.

This risotto is oven-baked, so it's really easy - put some garlic bread or focaccia in at the same time, and all you need is salad on the side. Carnaroli rice makes a better-textured risotto (firmer, more distinct grains) than Arborio (squidgey, rice-pudding grains).

1tbsp butter
1 large leek, finely chopped
0.5 oz dried porcini mushrooms
6oz jerusalem artichokes (unpeeled weight)
200ml carnaroli rice
150ml white wine
2oz grated parmesan
Salt and pepper

To finish:
1 tbsp butter

Turn on the oven - about 300 deg F, 180 deg C - and put in an ovenproof dish.

Melt the butter in a wide pan over a gentle heat, and add the leeks. Put the dried mushrooms in a jug and pour over 1 pint of boiling water, then leave to soak. Now peel and chop the artichokes very, very finely, tipping into the pan quickly so they don't discolour. Keep stirring the pan, allowing the vegetables to sweat gently and soften.

After half an hour's soaking, remove the dried mushrooms (saving the liquid) from the jug - soft and juicy now - and chop them finely. Scrape them, and the juice, into the pan with the leeks. Now add the rice and stir it well until buttery. Pour in the white wine, add a good old grind of black pepper, and a teaspoon of salt. Add the liquid from the mushrooms and turn up the heat to bring the whole lot to simmering point.

Pour it all into your ovenproof dish, and slide into the oven for about 20 minutes. After that, take it out, stir it well, and sprinkle in the Parmesan, stirring it through. Dot the butter all over the top and return the dish to the oven for another 5 minutes, with two dinner plates.

Dish up and serve immediately.

2007-02-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

I was pleasantly surprised by this cheesecake, which I invented for a dinner party last week. Because I let the food processor whiz and whiz and whiz the cheese mixture (while I mucked about doing something else), the filling turned out exceptionally light and airy. It's not a rich cheesecake, instead divinely light and whipped-creamy, so next time I'll experiment with the topping - perhaps a sharp, puce, raspberry puree, or some dark chocolate drizzled over the top as it cools.

12oz Philadelphia Light (2 packets)
2 eggs
3floz double cream
2tbsp caster sugar
6oz white chocolate
1tsp vanilla extract
2/3 packet digestives
1tbsp cocoa
2tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 150 deg C / 250 deg F.

Start with the base. Melt the butter in a small pan while you whiz the biscuits in a processor to a fine crumb (or, like my mum does, put them into a plastic bag and attack with a rolling pin). Add the cocoa and whiz/mix to blend. Now pour in the melted butter and stir together. Press this mixture very firmly into an 8" round tin, applying enough pressure to pack it very tightly. Put the tin into the freezer for the crust to firm up.

Next, break up the white chocolate and put it into the pan you used for the butter. Add the double cream and set over a low heat to melt.

Now for the cheese: put the Philly, eggs, sugar and vanilla extract into the food processor and whiz plentifully - let it become smooth and thicken slightly.

The white chocolate should melt fast - stir until it's a smooth, creamy mixture, then scrape the whole lot into the processor. Whiz again until the mixture is quite thick and smooth. Remove the tin from the freezer and pour the cheese mixture on top. Slide carefully into the oven (middle shelf) and leave for 45 minutes. Then turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool inside the oven.

Top with whipped double cream, coulis, fresh raspberries, dark chocolate, etc (see above).

2007-01-26T08:48:00.000-08:00

WELSH HOMITY PIE

I'm not really obsessed with leeks and potatoes, it's just that they're all we're getting in the box right now. Well, those plus cabbage and broccoli. And carrots. I like carrots, but they're not very inspiring when it comes to recipes. Although the New Covent Garden Soup Company has a great recipe for carrot and cardamom soup. And I don't mind a carrot risotto with garden thyme, either.

I'm hungry, in case you didn't notice. I am about to go and whip up a pumpkin lasagne using yesterday's goat's cheese and some leftover spinach pesto (from Sainsbury's). Well, it won't be whipping-up so much as hacking-up, I suppose, which is why I'm not desperately keen to start. I do love pumpinks (interesting spelling) but they're not for ladies to chop up, are they? Sigh.

You're probably hungry too. Here's the pie. Ordinary Homity Pie is made with onion, potato and cheese; my Welsh version uses the symbol of God's land - the Leek. Just like everything else, the Homity pie is better in Welsh.

PASTRY

4oz wholemeal flour
4oz plain white flour
Pinch salt
2oz Trex
2oz butter
Iced water

Weigh out the butter and Trex, dice them, and put in the freezer for twenty minutes or so. Weight out the flour, and rub in the cold fats. Then add a pinch of salt and enough iced water to bind the pastry. Wrap in cling-film and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

WELSH HOMITY PIE

2 small leeks, sliced
4 medium potatoes, sliced thinly
1dstsp butter
1tbsp plain flour
0.4 pint milk
0.5tsp mustard powder
2 large handfuls (about 2oz) grated mature cheddar
Plenty of ground pepper

Preheat the oven to about 180 deg C.

First slice up the leeks and put into a little hot water, then bring to the boil briefly. While this is happening, slice the potatoes as finely as you can. Drain the leeks and then put the sliced potatoes on to simmer for about 10 minutes, just until tender to the point of a knife (watch to make sure they don't fall apart).

Set aside the vegetables to cool a little. Make the cheese sauce: melt the butter, take the pan off the heat and stir in the flour and mustard powder with a wooden spoon, to a yellow paste. Add a little milk and return to a gentle heat, then continue to add the milk, a splash at a time. You're aiming for a very thick white sauce, so stop when it reaches a thick, sloppy stage. Add the cheddar and allow it to melt. Set the sauce aside to cool a bit.

Now roll out the pastry to fit an 8-10" tart tin, leaving plenty of overhang. Prick the base with a fork. Pop this into the preheated oven for 10 minutes to dry out a little.

Press the leeks with kitchen paper to get rid of excess moisture and then spoon them into the pastry case to cover the bottom. Add a spoonful of cheese sauce. Now arrange the potato slices prettily on top in two layers, adding ground pepper and cheese sauce in between. Finish with the remaining cheese sauce, or as much as you can pour into the gaps.

Bake for about 30 minutes until golden brown, and serve with steamed broccoli.

2007-01-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

HOLLY'S FAVOURITE

Lots of good things go into these dog biscuits, and you can add all kinds of extra ingredients. Home-made chicken stock is a good idea (if available), and I've seen recipes recommending the addition of peanut butter, bananas or cheese. These biscuits are a lot cheaper than those in ready-made packets, which always seem to have ash or scarily vague 'meat derivatives' in them. Okay, I'm a bit precious, but Holly adores these. And they have a lovely, fresh-baked smell, which even a vegetarian can appreciate! No wonder she'll sit patiently in the kitchen, watching as I make, roll and cut them out. She'll follow me out to the kitchen to check on their progress in the oven, and then she'll wait longingly for them to cool so she can have one. Just to test it, you understand.

HOLLY'S DOG BISCUITS

3 cups bread flour (white or a combination of brown and white)
1tsp dried yeast
1tsp caster sugar
0.5tsp salt
2tbsp skimmed milk powder
2tbsp olive oil or bacon fat
1 egg, beaten
1 cup (200ml) chicken stock

Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm stock (which has come to hand temperature), and let it rest until bubbles are starting to form. Stir in the olive oil and the beaten egg. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, and add the wet ingredients. Knead well for 10 minutes, then leave to rest for about an hour or until doubled in size. Knock the dough back, roll out to about 0.5cm thick, and cut into biscuit shapes. (Holly's are heart-shaped.)

Bake in the oven at 160 degrees C for about 20 minutes - they should be golden and crisp. Allow to cool before tasting! (This part is very important, Holly!)

These keep for a month in an airtight container.

2007-01-22T08:38:00.000-08:00

QUICK GNOCCHI GRATIN WITH CHARDONNAY

Sounded fairly unpromising: a packet of Sainsbury's fresh gnocchi, a handful of Jerusalem artichokes, and a leek... but thirty minutes later, this scrumptious English-Italian hybrid was on the table. Served with cold chardonnay and hot garlic bread, it's a sophisticated, lazy-Saturday marvel.

QUICK GNOCCHI GRATIN WITH CHARDONNAY

500g Jerusalem Artichokes, peeled and sliced

2 leeks, washed and sliced

1tsp butter

125ml chardonnay

250ml stock from 1tsp Marigold bouillon

100ml single cream

1 packet fresh gnocchi

2tbsp grated parmesan

Saute the leeks and artichokes in the butter gently for 5 minutes. Add the wine and allow the alcohol to evaporate a little bit, then stir in the stock and let the whole lot simmer for about 15 minutes. Strain the liquid into a bowl, and put the vegetables into a jug.

Return the liquid to the saucepan, bring to a simmer, add the gnocchi, and poach for 2 minutes. Remove the gnocchi straight into an ovenproof baking dish. Continue to simmer the stock until it's halved in volume. The little flour left behind by the gnocchi will make the stock become slightly syrupy.

Add the cream to the saucepan and pour the sauce over the gnocchi in the dish. Sprinkle with grated parmesan, and put under a hot grill until golden.

Serve with garlic bread and/or salad.

2007-01-18T07:05:00.000-08:00

BEST-YET CHOCOLATE CAKE

Under commission to research and write about "making the perfect chocolate cake", I've been living, dreaming and perspiring chocolate cake for the last fortnight. After hours poring over recipes and making a shortlist, at the weekend I managed to make my two finalists for the title of Perfect Chocolate Cake.

Finalist no1 (above) was a recipe belonging to a friend of the family, using a combination of yoghurt and sunflower oil. Having made Nigella's sour cream chocolate cake last year, I was hoping this new recipe would produce a slightly lighter, less intense cake. I swapped the yoghurt for half-fat creme fraiche (which I had leftover from chilli, in any case). After two trips to the shop (forgot the cocoa the first time), I blended everything in the food processor, and put it in the oven. An hour and a half? I was dubious, and checked after thirty minutes. The cake was black on top. Much cursing and oven-fanning later, the middle was cooked, and the edges were blackened. I took a knife to it on the wire rack, and sawed off the black.

It came out okay. In fact, a lot better than okay. The texture was heavy and moist, and the chocolate flavour was excellent. Two things could improve it: one, being spiked and drizzled with a thin coffee syrup as it came out of the oven (like my fabulous lemon cake), and two, being smeared with a milk chocolate ganache. The dark chocolate ganache I chose (an addict to the core, me) was a little bitter.

Finalist no2 fared better. I decided to do a traditional cocoa-flavoured sponge. I inspected recipes by Delia, Mary Berry and Sophie Grigson. Then I decided to make up my own. Basing it on the wonderful lemon cake that always turns out fluffy, I whizzed cocoa, flour, eggs, marg and milk in a food processor and threw it into the oven. It took me 10 minutes. 30 minutes later, the cake was cooked and cooling. I warmed 4floz of cream in a saucepan and melted 4oz of Galaxy chocolate in it. Then I put this into the fridge, and waited impatiently to assemble. Instead of waiting for the ganache to cool properly, I poured it over the cake until it was dripping onto the plate.

Despite the drippy ganache, the result was heavenly. I'd only made one half, since we'd already eaten enough chocolate cake to feed a large family, and nextdoor had received groaning platefuls. Next time I need a chocolate cake, this is the one I'll be making. Medium fat, light and fluffy, relatively easy on the waistline. Perfect!

PERFECT CHOCOLATE CAKE

8oz self-raising flour
3tbsp cocoa
2tsp baking powder
8oz margarine
8oz caster sugar
4 eggs, beaten
10tbsp milk

Method:
Sieve the first three ingredients into a bowl (or processor bowl), then add the margarine, caster sugar, beaten eggs, and milk, and beat until combined. Tip into two well-greased 8” round baking tins, and bake at 160 degrees C for about 50 minutes. Test with a skewer – when it comes out of the cake clean, the cake is done. Cool on a wire rack, and finish with icing of your choice.

2007-01-16T08:54:00.000-08:00

d Bleeding Heart Shortbreads d

Okay, so I'm not really a cynic, not when it comes to love, anyway. But what other name do you give to jam-filled hearts? These biscuits were the result of three factors: one, I was given some heart-shaped cutters for Christmas (and everything, from eggs to dog biscuits, has since been heart-shaped). Two, I was given the lovely Apples for Jam for Christmas, which has a recipe for jammy shortbread inside. Three, January makes me feel depressed. These gorgeous, romantic and sugar-dusted biscuits are just the thing to see off the Mean Reds! (If you get the Mean Reds, you'll know what I mean.)

BLEEDING HEARTS (makes 6-8)

2oz butter, softened

2oz caster sugar

4oz plain flour with a dash of baking powder

Merest pinch of salt

Half a beaten egg

Plenty of raspberry jam

Beat the butter and sugar til pale and creamy. Fold in the sifted flour, salt and baking powder, then add the egg and combine carefully. Wrap in cellophane and put into the fridge for half an hour. Preheat the oven to 160 deg C. Roll the dough on a floured board, cutting out hearts and re-rolling the scraps.

Bake for about 10 minutes, watching carefully!

Remove to a wire rack, and sandwich the hearts together with plenty of jam while still warm. Press together, leave to cool, and dust with icing sugar.

2007-01-16T08:39:00.000-08:00

MIXED BEAN CHILLI

Having been on a life-long quest to perfect my vegetarian chilli, I admit I am a bit obsessive about this. For perfection, I will usually soak and cook the beans before turning them into this rich, thick and spicy chilli. When it comes to spiciness, hotter is always better - cooling down is what the lime-scented creme fraiche is for!

Madhur Jaffrey offers a (hopefully authentic) Texan Chilli recipe in World Vegetarian. It's good, but lentilly. I like lots of different shaped beans in this, dotted with bright green and red pepper chunks. Linda McCartney's recipe is good, but I think the addition of Tabasco and paprika makes mine shout louder. Oh, but the great thing Linda McCartney taught me is how to serve bean chilli. Ladle it onto hot, deep plates, surrounded by rice or nachos (preferably both), sprinkle with good grated cheese, and zap under a hot grill. Another great idea from Linda is to sprinkle roasted chunks of sweet potato (or even squash) over the chilli, before the cheese. You can adapt this and serve bowls of chilli with platters of squash wedges, nachos, wild rice and creme fraiche on the table. A feast fit for a carnivore.

BEAN CHILLI

2 onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1.5tsp paprika

1tsp dried or fresh thyme

1 red pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 tin tomatoes

2tsp tomato ketchup or puree

A good splash of Tabasco sauce

Sprinkle (0.5tsp) chilli flakes

200g cooked kidney beans (or 1 tin)

200g cooked chick peas (or 1 tin)

1tsp cornflour dissolved in cold water (optional)

Saute the onion, garlic, paprika and thyme very gently; add the peppers and allow to soften without browning. Add the remaining ingredients, and let the whole lot simmer for a good, long time. Taste for seasoning. It may need a pinch of sugar, a squeeze of lime juice, or extra Tabasco.

Serve with LIME & CORIANDER CREME FRAICHE: Tip a tub of creme fraiche into a pretty serving bowl. Beat it with the juice of half a lime, a pinch of salt, and a good tablespoon of finely-chopped coriander.

Dish up the chilli into bowls, sprinkle more coriander over the top, and serve with nachos, wild rice, guacamole, and creme fraiche. Or just bread. Who cares when the chilli's this good?!

2007-01-15T02:11:00.000-08:00

ROMAN POTATO FOCACCIA

On honeymoon in Rome, we bought and ate slices of this potato-topped focaccia, bought from a little take-away pizzeria tucked behind one of the squares. It was cold out, but we wrapped up and strolled along with this hot bread, and I wondered how I could make it at home.

Although the pizzeria was selling this alongside lots of other huge, square pizzas, cut into slices and served in napkins, the base was fluffier than the stone-baked dough we'd been eating at dinner time. I tried it at home with a focaccia base and it seemed about right. The Roman version was sprinkled generously with spikes of rosemary and plenty of rock salt, but we like finely-grated Parmesan on ours too.

This made a marvellous Saturday lunch after we'd spent the morning working in the garden.

Focaccia Base

3 cups strong white bread flour

1 cup warm water

3tbsp olive oil

1tsp rock salt

1tsp yeast

Topping

4 medium potatoes, washed and checked for eyes (peeled if very dirty)

1dstsp chopped rosemary (optional)

Olive oil

1-2tsp rock salt

1-2tbsp parmesan

Start the focaccia off hours before you need it. Put the water, one cup of flour, the olive oil and the yeast into the bread pan, and cover with a clean tea-towel dampened with hot water. Leave for 1-5 hours, or at least until bubbles start to appear. (NB: If very pushed for time, leave for as long as you can manage - as long as you put it into a hot oven, the bread rises on contact. But I think the dough starter guarantees good results.)

Add the salt and the remaining 2 cups of white flour. Set to PIZZA or DOUGH on the breadmaker. (Or, of course, you can knead by hand - thoroughly, until the dough is soft and spongy when prodded, and then leave to rise in a warm place for an hour.)

While it's rising, thinly slice the potatoes, and put into a pan of hot water. Par-boil them for only about 5-10 minutes: not so they're falling apart, but to achieve tenderness. Drain thoroughly.

The dough will be risen after an hour or so. Knock the dough down a little and stretch and punch it into a floured baking tray, pulling it into a loose rectangle. Cover again with a warm tea-towel, and put in the warmest place you can find. (Be careful! Putting it into a preheated-and-turned-off oven is a BAD idea.... it kills the yeast and you get flatbread! I know!) After about half an hour, turn on the oven and preheat it to about 180 degrees C (300 deg F).

After another hour or more, finish the focaccia: arrange the slices of potato over the top, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with rock salt and chopped rosemary (if you have any). Bake in the oven for about half an hour. It should be risen and starting to turn gold. (See below.)

Bring it out of the oven, sprinkle with the Parmesan, and put under the grill to melt - and make the potatoes extra crispy. (First picture.)

Serve. Who needs anything else but a glass of wine?

2007-01-11T04:28:00.000-08:00

TWO WAYS WITH BEETROOT

We had a bag of beetroots in the box on Friday and it has taken me too long to do something with them. I toyed with a Borscht soup (vibrant with vodka), a roast beetroot salad (too summery), or Beetroot Stroganoff (which I am convinced would work, but worried about the colour).

In the end I just threw them all in the oven at about 200 degrees, skin and all, to roast - maintaining all the colour and vitamins - then split the batch in half. With half of them (4 medium-small beetroots) I made a version of Sophie Grigson's Beetroot Dip, which follows below. It's only been a couple of years since I discovered that beetroot are marvellous, whichever way you eat them.

BEETROOT, PHILLY AND RED LETTUCE ON WALNUT BREAD
The other half I sliced and quickly sauteed in olive oil with a splash of good Balsamic, to eat in an open sandwich of walnut bread, full-fat cream cheese and crunchy, red lettuce (pre-dinner snack). So simple, but surprisingly wonderful.

RAVISHING MIDDLE-EASTERN DIP
4 medium-small beetroot, roasted for an hour, peeled and chopped
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp coriander seeds
1.5tbsp creme fraiche
Juice of 0.25 lemon
0.5tsp salt
Several twists of pepper

Dry-fry the cumin and coriander seeds until aromatic (be brave - leave in the pan until slightly dark). Crush with a pestle and mortar. Throw the chunks of warm beetroot into a blender or processor with the creme fraiche, spices, lemon juice and seasoning - the result is startlingly puce. Tip into a serving bowl and garnish with chives. Serve at room temperature with breadsticks and crudites... This would also be nice served alongside hummous, falafel, baba ghanoush, and flatbreads.

2007-01-10T06:46:00.000-08:00

BREADMAKER WALNUT LOAF

Mm, this is baking right now and I am dying to have a warm slice with cream cheese and maybe some caramelised onion pickle. Or beetroot? Well, anyway, I am looking forward to lifting it out of the tin, all warm and bready, like a proper domestic goddess. I've improvised this from the regular wholewheat recipe, which makes a light wholewheat bread with a very crusty crust. Walnut oil isn't as expensive as you might expect - mine was £1.50 from Sainsbury's.

If you don't have a breadmaker, the January sale is the time to buy one! Even if you don't eat bread on a daily basis, it's worth the cost for weekend toast alone. I use the timer to have bread ready, the smell wafting upstairs, on a Saturday morning. Slice, toast, and add egg or jam. I also use mine for pizza and focaccia, a crowd-friendly tear-and-share bread that already has fans in my family.

1.5tsp dried yeast
1.5 cups wholemeal flour
1.5 cups strong white flour
2tbsp walnut oil
1tsp caster sugar
1tsp rock salt
1 cup warm water
Large handful chopped walnuts

Add the ingredients to the bread pan in the order above. Put the walnuts in the fruit/nut compartment (or add when the machine orders you to). Set to BAKE RAISIN on the wholemeal setting.

2007-01-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

PARSNIP AND CAULIFLOWER KORMA

Or, yuck and yuckity korma. I am a terrible vegetarian. I am not keen on vegetables, really, very much at all. I have managed to work on my tastebuds in the last few years, and have expanded my will-eat list. I can even (if in polite company) eat a mushroom when pushed. Cheese, too: my OK-then list is also getting longer. Brie, for example, isn't as vile as it looks, and if you pick the right sort of goat's cheese, it doesn't taste as gut-wrenching as you first think. Here are a few of my least favourite things:

Mushrooms
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Swede
Olives
Cucumber (raw)
Tomato (raw)
Parsnip
Brussel Sprouts
Cheddar
Blue Cheese
Eggs

Good list, huh, for a veggie and keen food-eater? Well, the good news is that I can eat most of them, in various guises. I would simply rather prefer not to. The following recipe was designed as a disguise for horrid cauliflower and parsnips. It works pretty welll. You can easily change the vegetables for nice ones. I am making this tonight with broccoli and carrot in place of the parsnip (none left, hurray!).

VEGETABLE KORMA
1 onion, sliced
1 green chilli, de-seeded and chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1" piece of ginger, crushed
1 tsp olive oil
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 cauliflower, broken into florets
1tbsp Patak's Korma paste
2oz ground almonds
1 tin coconut milk
Flaked almonds and chopped coriander

Saute onion, chilli, ginger and garlic in the olive oil for a couple of minutes, then stir in the vegetables and curry paste. After a few more minutes' stir-frying, add the ground almonds, stirring until they are well incorporated (like flour). Finally, tip in the coconut milk, and let the whole lot simmer - lid on - for about 20-30 minutes, depending on how firm you like your cauliflower.

Garnish with coriander and flaked almonds, and serve with Nan breads.

2007-01-08T08:06:00.000-08:00

HUNGARIAN STEW WITH DUMPLINGS

We think of stew as very British, but it's also eaten a lot in Eastern Europe. When we went to Prague last year, there were lots of beef goulashes and dumplings on the menus (along with soured-cream heart-attack pancakes for vegetarians). And don't start me on the cocktails. Anyhow, seems like we're not the only nation to seek comfort in stew at this time of year.

Last week we were invited for dinner next-door, to the promise of "vegetable stew". Made with potatoes, tomatoes, soy sauce, good stock, carrots and peppers, and served with dumplings, it was plate-clearing good. I didn't have the recipe, but I took it into my head to try it - and I also had a goulash recipe floating around, so I decided to combine the two, and make a goulash stew with sour-cream dumplings.

Don't you love the word dumpling? That's enough of a reason to make this.

THE STEW
1tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
Handful of mushrooms, halved
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
0.5 red pepper, chopped
0.5tbsp plain flour
0.5 tin tomatoes, chopped (I do this in the tin with a knife!)
1tsp smoked paprika
Vegetable stock (enough to cover)
Salt and pepper

THE DUMPLINGS
4oz self-raising flour
2oz grated vegetable suet (sold as TREX)
1 tbsp sour cream
Up to 2tbsp water
1tbsp chopped chives (optional)
Salt and pepper

For the stew: soften the onion in the olive oil, and add the rest of the chopped veg. Cover, turn down the heat, and allow everything to soften for about 10 minutes. Stir in 0.5tbsp flour and stir until it's all gone. Now add the paprika, and stir through. After a minute, pour in the chopped tomatoes and cover with vegetable stock. Replace the lid and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Make the dumplings: Combine the flour and grated suet. Season and add the chives, if using. Combine the cream and water in a cup, then gradually stir it in, stopping when the dough is soft and pliable. Shape into 6 dumplings, and put them on the surface of the stew. Replace the lid and simmer for another 20 minutes, then check a dumpling for doneness.

Dish up into deep bowls and eat with crusty bread.

2007-01-08T07:51:00.000-08:00

Go on, give it a try... ARTICHOKE RECIPES

Jerusalem artichokes may not be in your vegbox - they're special order only with my scheme - but they're available about now. And it's ABOUT TIME! This unpopular, windy vegetable is entirely unattractive but, like the celeriac or the sweet potato, their beauty lies within. Although I only discovered it a couple of years ago, I thought I'd post some of the ideas I've tried, and encourage you to try it too. You might hate it, but you can always throw it in the bin and go to the chippy.

CARROT AND ARTICHOKE SOUP

This is Delia's favourite soup - she says she likes to keep people guessing regarding the 'secret' ingredient!

450g carrots, peeled and chopped
700g jerusalem artichokes, peeled, chopped, and dropped into a bowl of lemon-scented water
1tbsp butter
2 pints stock made from Marigold bouillon
Salt and pepper

It's easy as pie. Saute the carrots and artichokes gently in the butter for about 10 minutes on a low heat (avoid browning). Add the stock and simmer for about 20 minutes, then cool, puree, and season generously.

LEEK AND ARTICHOKE SOUP

This is a totally fabulous soup and possibly the best place to start with artichokes. You'll be instantly convinced, I know it. Replacing the potatoes of Vichysoisse with chopped artichoke was a stroke of genius - resulting in a velvety, rich, and glam-looking white soup. Garnish with croutons or snipped chives. Just please, please try it...

2 leeks (white part only - be strict!)
500g Jerusalem artichokes
1 scant tsp lemon juice
1dsstsp butter
2tsp Marigold Bouillon powder
0.5tsp salt
1tbsp single cream

Chop the leeks roughly, and put them with the butter in a large saucepan. Sprinkle the lemon juice into the pan and now prepare the artichokes as quickly as you can. Peel and chop one at a time, stirring it into the lemony, buttery pan straight away. This prevents the artichokes from discolouring, which they'll do very quickly if left on the chopping board. (It doesn't alter the taste but this soup is such a lovely white colour if you take care!)

Saute the leeks and artichokes very gently in butter, letting them soften and become buttery but not brown. Next, add the stock powder, cover with water, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Cool, add the single cream, then puree, add some salt, and serve with snipped chives.

ARTICHOKE AND POTATO GRATIN

I didn't weigh the quantities here: look at your gratin dish and judge accordingly.

Peeled and sliced artichokes and potatoes (half-and-half)
0.5 pint milk
0.5 pint vegetable stock
Butter

Boil the potatoes and artichokes very briefly - about 5 minutes max - and drain, running cold water over to stop them crumbling. Layer them carefully in your dish, seasoning between, and then pour over the milk/stock mixture. Dot the top with butter and bake on a medium heat for about 1 hour. (Cover with foil if you don't like the crunchy brown bits on the top.)

More ways with artichokes...
Abel and Cole suggest sauteeing with butter, then braising them in white wine with a sprig of rosemary, and adding a splash of double cream at the end. You can also add some chopped artichoke to your mashed potato pre-mashing, like celeriac.

2006-12-12T06:43:00.000-08:00

RUSSIAN VEGETABLE SOUP

Doing lots of cooking at the moment, because work is winding down ready for Christmas hols (ours start on Friday!). On the weekend we had Good Food's scrumptious Pumpkin and Parsnip Cassoulet (great way to disguise horrid parsnips - why oh why did I order 2kg extra last week?!). Yesterday we had this wintery vegetable soup.

Because we're leaving on Friday, I am trying to use up the veg from the rack. This soup makes good use of plenty, and tastes much more interesting than the recipe suggests. It's adapted from Cranks Vegetarian Restaurants' recipe - I've added Russiany herbs to give it a distinctive flavour. Yum!

SERVES 3

1 onion, chopped finely
1tsp butter
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 medium parsnip, peeled and sliced (core and all)
2oz (a handful) white cabbage, shredded
3 small/medium carrots, sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 pints vegetable stock
Pinch nutmeg
1tsp dried dill
1tsp dried tarragon
Generous pinch salt
Generous grinding of pepper

Melt the butter and saute the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables and cover the pan; leave for about 15 minutes on a low heat until they start to soften and get a golden glow. Add the garlic, herbs, seasoning and stock. Simmer gently for a further 20 minutes. Cool, then puree in a blender. Reheat and serve with fresh bread.

2006-12-05T03:51:00.000-08:00

The Perfect Margharita

I've been testing and trialling pizza recipes for ages and finally got it right. Crispy, fluffy base, juicy tomato sauce, slices of stretchy mozzarella. Even Steve doesn't mind the absence of meat. Here it is.

MARGHARITA PIZZA

6oz plain flour
1tsp dried yeast
1tsp salt
0.5tsp sugar
1tbsp olive oil
100ml warm water

Combine the ingredients and mix to a dough. Knead for 10 mins, then leave to rest in a warm place. Return to it after an hour and knead and stretch it into a pizza shape on a baking tray. Cover with a tea-towel dampened with hot water, and put in a warm place (I use the bottom oven). Leave for as long as you can bear (about an hour at least).

Tomato Sauce:
4 large tomatoes, chopped
2tsp balsamic vinegar
Splash water
Pinch sugar
Pinch salt and pepper

Put everything in a saucepan and simmer on a very low heat, for maybe 40 minutes, checking often. By the end it should be thick and almost dry.

To assemble:
Spread the tomato sauce over the pizza, and add some thinly-sliced tomato if you have any left. Slice a ball of fresh, organic mozzarella and put over the top. Finally, grate a scant handful of cheddar over everything. Serve with mixed salad and white wine (capers optional).

2006-12-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

What's a Vegetable Box Scheme?

It's a farm-organised scheme, and there are lots running all over the country. You register with a supplier and receive a box of organic vegetables once a week or once a fortnight. Your box will include only what's in season, and, because the farm can decide what goes into the boxes each week, prices are kept low (about 60% less than supermarket organics). You'll get some staples (usually potatoes, carrots, and onions), some greens, and some interesting things each week!

Joining a box scheme is a great way to:
1. Keep food miles to a minimum
2. Eat what's in season
3. Support the local economy
4. Get more organic veg for your buck.

We get ours from Riverford Farm, paying £9.00 for a small, £11 for a medium, or £13 for a fruit-and-veg each week. But there are plenty of farms offering the boxes - and some milkmen deliver vegetable boxes on their rounds, too!

This week our small box includes: Butternut squash, celeriac, box of mushrooms, brussels sprouts, onions, potatoes, broccoli, and carrots. Yes, we usually get through it all, although I can go online and swap the box for a mini or medium depending on whether we are running low or high on vegetables! It does dictate what you eat, but that's a good thing - plenty of variety and challenges. Eating what's in season is naturally better for our bodies, since imported exotics have only been arriving for the last few decades.

We've been receiving a box for a few years and so I'm used to working out the weekly menus according to what appears - not as hard as it sounds, especially in winter, when you get used to eating a lot of root gratins and bubble 'n' squeak!

2006-12-01T06:29:00.000-08:00

LEEK AND BROCCOLI PENNE WITH CRUNCHY TOPPING

1 leek, chopped into large chunks
1 head broccoli, broken into florets
1tsp butter
0.5 pint cheese sauce (either white sauce with cheddar melted into it, or ready-made)
250g fresh penne
Two slices bread, chopped or whizzed to make breadcrumbs
Handful grated parmesan

Saute the leek in the butter over a medium-high heat; add the broccoli florets and stir briefly to soften. Add the cheese sauce and stir on a low heat until it's hot. Meanwhile, cook and drain the penne. Turn penne and vegetables into an oven dish, and stir to combine. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and finely-grated parmesan, and put under a hot grill until toasty and bubbling on top. Serve with garlic bread.

2006-11-29T01:23:00.000-08:00

SAUSAGES IN RED WINE WITH NAN'S REDCURRANT JELLY

Scrumptious wintry dinner served with bubble 'n' squeak - or broccoli and mash. This is one of Delia's recipes, which I've adapted to suit vegetarian sausages. Pick a good red wine though, and don't season until you've tasted it - sometimes the wine needs a squeeze of lemon to sharpen it, and sometimes it doesn't need any extra salt.

4 Cauldron Lincolnshire sausages
6 baby onions or shallots
Handful chopped mushrooms (optional)
1tsp sunflower oil
1tbsp plain flour
200ml red wine
200ml vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1tsp chopped, fresh thyme
Splash soy sauce (optional)
1tsp redcurrant jelly

Heat the oil and brown the sausages and onions slowly. Add the mushrooms and stir until softening. Stir in the flour until absorbed, then pour in a little of the red wine. Stir until thick and add the rest slowly. Add the stock, bay leaf and thyme. Stir all the brown bits off the bottom, and bring to a gentle simmer. Allow to simmer away for about 20 minutes, then taste. If it's a bit tanniny, add a squeeze of lemon juice; if it needs seasoning, use the soy sauce. Add pepper and the 1tsp of redcurrant jelly. Stir and check seasoning again.

Serve with mashed potato and something green. Lick plates clean...

2006-11-02T09:14:00.000-08:00

AUTUMN EATING

Click here for my Natural Collection feature on autumn seasonal eating. Links to recipes for apples, beetroot, kale and pumpkin - from the professionals!

2006-11-02T09:07:00.000-08:00

SESAME PAK CHOI NOODLES

Pak choi time... you could add lots of things, like bean shoots or cashew nuts, to this recipe to make it more substantial. Or eat it with some sweet and sour tofu on the side. I love Chinese cooking - it's so easy and fool-proof...

2 portions noodles, briefly boiled and drained
1tbsp groundnut or sunflower oil
1 head pak choi, chopped
1tbsp sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2tsp rich soy sauce
2tsp toasted sesame oil

Heat the oil and throw in the pak choi stalks and the sesame seeds. After a few minutes on a high heat, add the pak choi leaves and the garlic. Stir for a couple more minutes, then add the soy sauce and noodles. Stir and heat until hot and almost dry; drizzle over the sesame oil and serve in hot bowls. Better than a Pot Noodle any day of the week.

2006-11-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

ROASTED PUMPKIN WITH TAGLIATELLE AND GOAT'S CHEESE

This deceptively simple recipe is just so delicious, I could eat it all year. Which is just as well, since we still have 4 pumpkins to use up....

Even if you don't think you like pumpkin, or goat's cheese, give it a try; you will be surprised. (Tesco's Welsh Goats Cheese is a good, mild version that isn't remotely offensive.)

FOR TWO
0.5 pumpkin or large squash (or thereabouts - you will probably nibble it from the tray before it goes in the pan, so make extra)
Olive Oil
Salt and pepper
1 handful pine nuts
2tbsp chopped Sage
1 dstsp butter
Tagliatelle
1 log Goat's Cheese (or Brie), crumbled into large pieces

Peel (oh heck), de-seed and cube the pumpkin or squash. Spread on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil,salt and pepper. Roast at about 180 degrees C for around 40 minutes (thereabouts), until browning and scrumptious. (this is where I start picking at it. Yum!) Put dinner plates in the oven, switch it off and close the door.

Take a large pan and boil the pasta briefly - don't overcook -undercooking is better. Put it in a colander and rinse with cold water. Then return the pan to the heat, melt the butter and add the pine nuts and sage. Allow to gently brown, then throw in the pasta and stir to coat and reheat. When all hot, add the cheese and pumpkin and toss gently.

Dish up onto the hot plates and eat..... ooh, bliss.

2006-09-22T03:02:00.000-07:00

CHOW MEIN
with carrot, cashew and tofu

2 carrots, sliced into batons
2 courgettes, sliced into batons
1 block tofu, diced
Handful cashew nuts
Groundnut oil (1tbsp)

Stir-fry the above in order of cooking time: start with the tofu and fry until starting to brown. Add the cashews and vegetables, and continue cooking until lightly crunchy.

Meanwhile, boil two portions of thick egg noodles. Set aside.

For the Sauce:
1.5tbsp soy sauce
1tsp tomato puree
1tsp sesame oil
2tbsp vegetable stock
0.5tbsp white wine vinegar
1tsp sugar
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Mix together and pour over the vegetables in the pan. Add the noodles and heat through. Serve!

2006-09-15T04:49:00.000-07:00

LEEK AND POTATO PASTIES WITH SAGE
This is rather a prized recipe of mine, and I post it with some reluctance, having spent a lot of time perfecting it. Delicious hot with beans and equally good cold, with ketchup. It's a good use of the leeks that arrive all autumn, and I always keep a pot of sage in the garden.

Makes 6
1 leek, finely chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled, chopped and boiled
1 handful spinach, shredded (optional)
0.5 tub of creme fraiche
2tbsp chopped sage
1tsp Marigold bouillon
2tsp wholegrain mustard

Pastry - either Delia's wholewheat shortcrust, or ready-made shortcrust or puff.

Put the leek and spinach in a saucepan with a drizzle of olive oil, and leave to saute for a few minutes. Put the potatoes in a bowl with the creme fraiche, sage, bouillon and mustard, and mash together. Season generously.

Add the spinach and leeks to the potato mixture and set aside.

Roll out the pastry quite thinly and cut into rounds (using a saucer). Place on a baking sheet. Next, brush the edges with beaten egg, and put a tbsp of filling on each circle. Bring the sides together to form a half-moon pasty, and pinch the edges together firmly.

When they're ready, brush with the egg, and put into a preheated oven at about 180 degrees C for 20 minutes, until golden.

2006-09-07T08:08:00.000-07:00

REASONS TO EAT CHOCOLATE
As if you need them. Having undertaken comprehensive research, I'm pleased to present...

Five Excuses to Eat More Chocolate

Got a cough?
Take chocolate. Researchers at Imperial College, London discovered that chocolate is 30% more effective than codeine, which is the most common cough-medicine remedy. Theobromine, found in cocoa, was tested on volunteers with cough symptoms and didn’t show any of codeine’s side-effects, either.

Planning an adventure?
Take chocolate. Mountain-climbers, trekkers and serious adventurers are always advised to take chocolate. It’s been said to have saved the life of many a weak walker.

High blood pressure?
Take chocolate. Its polyphenols slow down the oxidation of cholesterol (which is what leads to blocked arteries) and it’s also suspected to prevent blood clotting. In fact, Mars is so convinced of its health-giving properties, it’s just launched CocoaVia: high-cocoa bars for people suffering with blood and heart problems. Mars claims the bars promote platelet activity (for good circulation) and improve blood flow.

Prone to anaemia?
Take chocolate. This trick is familiar to many women who suffer mild anaemic symptoms once a month. If you’re menstruating, dark chocolate is a useful iron supplement, and cheers you up too.

Need extra vitamins?
Ditch the pills and take chocolate. The humble cocoa bean is 3.5% vitamins, including calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium, phosphorous, vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin.

2006-09-06T05:30:00.000-07:00

COURGETTE, LEMON AND TARRAGON TART

Sunny herbs and lemon make courgettes ever-so-much-more interesting. Serve with potato salad and green things, plus a bottle of chilled rose - perfect!

2 courgettes, finely sliced
0.5tbsp olive oil
1tsp tarragon, chopped
Squeeze lemon juice (about 0.25 of a lemon)
Salt and pepper
Puff pastry - half a packet (won't catch me trying to make this)!

Slice the courgettes very thinly and leave in iced water, then drain, dry and soften gently in a large frying pan. Remove and toss with the olive oil, lemon and tarragon, then leave to infuse. Roll out the pastry and put onto a baking sheet. Score around the edge, leaving a 2cm gap. Now arrange the courgettes prettily over the pastry. Sprinkle the seasoning and remaining marinade over and add extra tarragon if you like it.

Bake for about 20 minutes until the pastry is golden and the courgettes are lightly tinged. Serve with new potatoes and rocket salad.

2006-09-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

RIVER CAFE BEANS ON TOAST
(for one)

One good (or bad) thing about working from home is having the time and space to whip up something interesting for lunch.

The River cafe recipes are always more amazing than they sound on paper. Beans, spinach and white wine - what's great about that? Try it and see.

You will need some prepared tomato sauce: I sometimes have a batch in the freezer (handy for pizzas), made by stewing tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and olive oil for up to an hour until dark red and mushy. The River Cafe's tomato sauce is much the same - made with tinned tomatoes, plus chopped onion - but in the absence of either, a jar of Italian tomato sauce will do fine. Make sure it's a concentrated one, with lots of tomato.

RIVER CAFE BEANS
Cooked chickpeas or butter beans: about half a tin's worth (about 40g dry)
Swiss chard or spinach: 100g
Onion: a quarter
Carrot: a small one
Olive oil: 1tbsp
Tomato sauce: 0.5tbsp
White wine: 2floz
Pinch salt, pinch pepper, pinch dried chilli flakes (crushed together)

Warm the oil and soften the onion and carrot until both are tender (not brown). Add the seasonings and the white wine and reduce until almost all gone. Add the tomato sauce, the beans and the spinach or chard, cover, and simmer gently until the spinach/chard is cooked.

Cool slightly before serving (this is also scrumptious scooped cold from the fridge!) on toast, or with focaccia.

2006-06-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

SEASONAL EATING FOR SUMMER

Here's my Natural Collection article on seasonal eating, summer - made me terribly hungry writing it all up:
http://www.naturalcollection.com/organic/seasonal-eating-summer.asp?bID=3582414

2006-06-06T02:29:00.000-07:00

LOW-FAT BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

9oz self-raising flour
1.5tsp baking powder
2oz margarine
3oz caster sugar
1 punnet blueberries, washed
Juice of half a lemon
2 large eggs
235ml milk

Makes 12

Sieve flour and baking powder twice. Add the marg and rub gently until it resembles breadcrumbs; stir in the sugar and berries. Whisk together the eggs, milk and lemon juice. Add this to the dry mixture and stir briefly (enough to combine but leaving it lumpy).

Plop into 12 muffin cases and bake at 200deg C for 20-25 minutes. Eat warm with cappuccino!

2006-06-01T05:12:00.000-07:00

OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES AND PEPPERS

Perfect for summer! Serve these gorgeous little things outside, with focaccia, hummous and a bottle of wine. Or eat in pitta with hummous, like I am right now. Toss through salad. Or just serve on a plate as part of antipasto.

Organic tomatoes and peppers, in season, produce the most astounding flavour. Better than shop-bought any day!

1 small punnet cherry tomatoes (from organic box)
1 large Romiro pepper (the pointy sweet one - from box)
2tbsp olive oil
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to about 100deg C (200deg F). Halve the tomatoes and the pepper (and de-seed the pepper). Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and vinegar. Put in the bottom of the oven (poss when something else is cooking) for about an hour, then leave to dry out in the oven.

The tomatoes should only be semi-dry and the pepper should be soft. Chop the pepper into chunks, put the whole lot (scraping the tin's juices) into a small pot, and cover with olive oil. Refrigerate until needed.

2006-05-17T04:13:00.000-07:00

CREAMY LEMON CHEESECAKE

After much testing, I've finally settled on a definitive lemon (or orange) cheesecake recipe. Cheesecake recipes vary hugely, but this simple baked cake includes no gelatine, no strawberry jelly, no annoyingly gritty zest, and no fancy amaretti biscuits.

We ate it topped with orange chunks, but raspberry coulis would be divine poured over the top. There are lots of oranges arriving in our fruit bag from the farm at the moment, so we will probably be having an all-orange version next!

There is a gorgeous photograph of a lemon cheesecake on the cover of BBC Good Food this month. It is served outdoors, with a glass of white wine - perfect lunch if you ask me.

MAKES A SMALL CHEESECAKE (7" tin)

2oz digestive biscuits, whizzed to crumbs
1/3 cup ground almonds
1oz butter

1lb (400g - two boxes) cream cheese
2/3 cup caster sugar
4 eggs
4floz liquid, made up from 1tbsp lemon/orange juice and the rest double cream

Whiz biscuits and almonds, melt butter and stir together. Press into tin, wrap bottom of tin in foil, and put into freezer.

For the topping, blend the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and cream thoroughly in a processor. It will look sloppy but that's good -- pour onto the base and carefully slide onto the middle oven shelf.

Bake at 140 degrees C (275 F) for up to about an hour, checking often - the centre will be wobbly but just set. Cool in the tin - it will firm more as it cools. The centre will be the creamiest bit!! In fact, I think this cheesecake would benefit from minimal cooking - so will try to catch it sooner next time.

2006-05-11T02:14:00.000-07:00

ASPARAGUS QUICHE

When the asparagus is becoming woody (say, because someone you know bought it and didn't use it early enough!) and you can only use the tips, try this - a different way to combine the classic flavours of asparagus, lemon and cream.

Pastry:
4oz flour
1oz Trex
1oz butter
1oz parmesan
2tbsp cold water

Pastry: weigh out ingredients and combine with a knife, chopping the fat into small pieces. When relatively crumbly, start to add the water and pull together with a metal spoon. Finally, push the last remaining dry bits together, form into a rough ball and wrap in cellophane. Refrigerate for at least 30 mins.

Contents:
Asparagus tips (about 12)
Splash of stock
2 cloves garlic, crushed
6floz double cream
4 floz milk
Squeeze lemon juice
Salt and pepper
1 egg and 1 egg yolk

Steam/boil the asparagus tips lightly in a pan containing a splash of stock: bring to boil, cover and allow asparagus to absorb stock. Roll out the pastry in a quiche tin. Arrange the asparagus tips in a starburst pattern.

Blend the milk, cream, lemon juice, garlic and seasoning in a jug. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat well. Pour gently over the asparagus, and put into the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with grated cheese, then return for another 10 minutes.

2006-05-10T02:15:00.000-07:00

POTATO AND LEEK GRATIN
with wild garlic

We picked some wild garlic from the woods! Check out that foraging instinct! You see, who needs a fancy marketing job and organic supermarkets when you can write from home and pick your own dinner? Hmm?

Didn't get poisoned, neither. Am so country-girlish. (The next urban chic, you know. Primal Scream says so.)

3-4 medium potatoes, sliced thinly
2 leeks, sliced
Big handful wild garlic leaves, shredded
3 cloves of normal garlic, chopped
Tbsp butter
100ml double cream
100ml milk
1tbsp grated parmesan
Salt and pepper

Melt the butter and soften the leeks. Add the garlic leaves and cloves, and stir briefly. Add the parmesan, milk and cream and bring to the boil. Tip in the potatoes and mix well. Season generously.

Tip the lot into an ovenproof gratin dish and cover with foil. Bake at about 180 deg C (dunno, got an ancient Farenheit oven so I just guess) for an hour. Remove the foil, sprinkle with more Parmesan, and allow to brown for a few mins. Serve - delish!

2006-04-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

SPICY CAULIFLOWER SOUP

If you don't like cauliflower, try this lovely soup - it's creamy and spicy with a coconut finish. And even if you think this sounds peculiar, please try it - in all honesty it was a last resort, Ready-Steady-Cook style, but turned out beautifully.

The cooked soup needs plenty of extra blending, to make sure all the little grainy cauliflower bits are smoothed out. Serve with thick pieces of wholemeal bread... bliss.

1 cauliflower, leaves separated, florets chopped
1 onion, sliced
2tsp korma curry paste
Large pinch salt
Half a tin of coconut milk

First, simmer the cauliflower leaves in hot water for about half an hour (while getting the veg ready). Strain it through a sieve - this is a basic stock.

Rinse the pan and put the sliced onions in, along with the curry paste. Let soften gently for about 5 minutes, then add the cauliflower florets. Cover and leave to soften for another 5 minutes.

Pour in the coconut milk, and enough of the hot 'stock' to cover the vegetables. Bring to a simmer, cover, and leave to plip-plop for anything up to half an hour.

Once it's cooled slightly, blend for a loooooooong time. I want this super-silky-smooth. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Reheat gently (not to boiling point).

2006-04-26T05:32:00.000-07:00

QUICK COURGETTE PASTA BAKE

Even people who like cooking don't always WANT to cook, you know - specially after a hard day's procrastination. But needs must... I invented this pasta bake last night, wanting something I could throw in the oven and leave while we walked Holly. Which was a far nicer way to spend a warm spring evening.

2 large courgettes, chopped into chunks
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tin tomatoes
Sprinkle balsamic vinegar
Sprinkle sugar
Salt

Ricotta (about half a tub)
1tbsp margarine
1tbsp plain flour
0.5 pint milk
Sprinkle parmesan (optional)

Penne or fusili pasta, cooked in boiling water (about 2 handfuls)

Saute the courgette and onion for 10 mins until golden, then add the garlic, stir briefly, and add the tomatoes, balsamic and sugar. Simmer for a minute and then turn off the heat. Mix with the cooked pasta and put in an ovenproof dish.

Melt the butter in a clean pan and stir in the flour, to make a paste. Stir in a drop of milk until blended, then add the rest of the milk slowly. Bring to a gentle simmer until the sauce has thickened. Whisk in the ricotta and parmesan. Spoon over the courgette/pasta mixture, and sprinkle with extra cheese if you like.

Bake in the oven for about half an hour.

2006-04-26T04:01:00.000-07:00

Please check out my feature on spring eating at the Natural Collection website...

What's Cooking - Spring

2006-04-25T02:18:00.000-07:00

THREE-CHEESE GNOCCHI WITH ASPARAGUS AND HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

A posh recipe, loosely based on some scrumptious pan-fried gnocchi which we also ate at Jack-in-the-Green. I swapped my veg box for a fruit-and-veg box this week, because the fruit-and-veg boxes promised asparagus and I can't get through April without some asparagus. This recipe serves 2.

GNOCCHI
3 medium potatoes, peeled and boiled
1tbsp parmesan
2tsp ricotta
1tsp marscapone
1 egg
1tbsp self-raising flour
Salt and pepper

VEGETABLES
1 bunch asparagus, divided into stems and tips
Green vegetables for serving (I used broccoli)
Butter

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
2 egg yolks
1dstsp lemon juice
1dstsp white wine vinegar
4oz butter

FOR THE HOLLANDAISE SAUCE, put the egg yolks into a blender or processor with a pinch of salt and blend briefly. Put the lemon juice and vinegar into a small pan and heat to simmering point, then pour slowly onto the egg yolks while blending. Put the butter into the same pan and heat until melted and starting to froth. Pour onto the eggs slowly, blending. Set the sauce aside (it can be reheated over a pan of hot water).

FOR THE GNOCCHI, push the potatoes through a ricer into the still-hot pan and leave to dry out a little. Add the egg, parmesan, ricotta and marscarpone and beat to combine. Season to taste, then add the flour slowly until the mixture is the right consistency to be shaped. Refrigerate if there's time.

Brush a griddle pan and a frying pan with olive oil and heat both.

Put the asparagus stems into the griddle pan. After a couple of minutes add the broccoli and finally the asparagus tips. When almost ready, add a blob of butter to the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, pan-fry the gnocchi until brown on both sides.

Serve artistically, with the hollandaise drizzled around the edge of the plate, the gnocchi in a circle, and greens in the centre!

2006-04-24T05:38:00.000-07:00

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
with chilli and coconut

This soup is heavenly. I had a similar one at a restaurant - Jack-in-the-Green (Rockbeare) - on Friday and decided to try to recreate it. It was scrummy-licious! My efforts were pretty good, even if I say so myself...

1 butternut squash (large) or Sweet Mama squash (medium), peeled, de-seeded and chopped into large chunks
1 large red chilli (all the flesh and about 1/4 of the seeds)
1 onion, chopped into large chunks
1/2 tin coconut milk
Pinch Marigold vegetable bouillon
Salt
Half a lime
Flaked almonds, dry-toasted in a pan

Soften the squash, chilli and onion in a covered saucepan and leave over a low heat for 10 minutes, until golden in places. Sprinkle on the bouillon and stir.

Pour in the coconut milk, and top up with hot water. Bring to a simmer, cover, and leave to plip-plop gently for about 20-30 minutes.

Allow to cool, and blend. Season with salt and lime juice. Scatter with toasted almonds to serve.

2006-04-05T02:40:00.000-07:00

LOW-FAT OVEN CHIPS

Since we got a dog, I feel much healthier. I can climb hills without running out of breath and have even lost some weight. The diet has taken a back-seat (give me exercise over ryvita anyday) but these low-fat chips are still favourites. They have a mere fraction of normal chippy calories and they taste great accompanied with a big veggie-burger in a bun with salad and ketchup. Mmm!

Serves 2.

5-6 small potatoes
1dstsp olive oil
1tsp Paprika
1tsp Salt

Peel (or scrub) and chop potatoes into chips. Dry carefully on some kitchen towel. Put them in a roasting tray and turn them in the oil, trying to make sure they are all glossy. (This stops them from sticking to the tray.)

Sprinkle over the paprika and salt and turn them again.

Bake in a hot oven for about 40 mins (depending on how big you have cut them). Serve with hummous for dipping! Plus veggie burgers in buns. mmm.

2006-04-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

SUPER-SCRUMPTIOUS HUMMOUS

This is my own recipe for hummous, which I am rather proud of. Still, I think hummous is a rather personal thing: different folk like different garlic-lemon ratios. Steve complains if it's over-lemony but likes lots of garlic; I don't like it when the garlic starts to burn your tongue.

We both agree on lots of tahini though (sesame seed paste, available from the supermarket). So start with chickpeas, stock and tahini and adjust the rest to your own peculiar liking.

Makes a big potful.

200g dried chickpeas (cooked for recommended time)- or approx one tin
1tbsp tahini
Juice of half a large lemon, or most of a small lemon
2 medium cloves garlic
3-4tbsp olive oil
Salt

First whiz the chickpeas, 1 clove garlic, lemon juice, oil and tahini with enough cooking water to obtain the right hummousy texture. Add the salt, and start tasting. Adjust garlic and lemon to taste.

This keeps in the fridge for ages.

Serve in a thick sandwich with:
Grated carrot and lettuce leaves
Coriander, grilled aubergine slices and mango chutney
Spring onions and pine nuts
Honey-roasted aubergine and toasted sesame seeds

Also good with jacket potatoes, as a dip for potato wedges or carrots, or thinned with lemon juice and drizzled on falafel.

2006-04-03T06:08:00.000-07:00

EASY MEDITERRANEAN LASAGNE

Aubergines and courgettes arrived in our vegetable box this week, along with the first sunshine of spring! Much as I love our winter vegetables, summery mediterranean things like tomatoes, basil, courgettes and lettuces are extremely welome after a cold winter.

This lasagne is a lazy invention, and utterly delicious - we have foccacia and salad alongside. (and, of course, a glass of wine.) If no lasagne sheets are in the cupboard, the roast veggies can be mixed with the bechamel and any sort of pasta; just scatter with cheese and heat through in the oven.

for the ROAST VEG:
2 courgettes
1-2 aubergines
1 onion
3-4 tomatoes (or use tinned - see below)
2 cloves garlic
1tbsp pesto
Salt and pepper
1tbsp olive oil

Chop the vegetables and put in a roasting tray. Scatter garlic, salt and pepper on top, then stir in the pesto and oil. Roast for around 30 mins until golden. If no tomatoes are available, stir in half a tin of chopped tomatoes after roasting. This is an infinitely variable recipe - you can vary the veg and the herbs (using fresh basil in season), swap pesto for sundried tomato paste, etc.

WHITE SAUCE
1tbsp butter
1tbsp plain flour
1pint milk
2 handfuls cheese

Melt butter, stir in the flour to make a paste, then very slowly add the milk, whisking after each addition. Heat gently to simmering point and the sauce will thicken. Turn off heat, stir in cheese.

Assemble the lasagne by arranging veg, lasagne, bechamel, until all is used up. Finish with bechamel and extra cheese (veggie parmesan if you can get it).

Bake for about 30-40 mins in a medium oven.

2006-03-31T02:27:00.000-08:00

FRANKFURTER SOUP

This is one of Nigella's recipes. She is always good with comfort-food: the filling, lusciously stodgy sort. Her sour cream chocolate cake is seriously hardcore, and don't get me started on her easy danish pastry, heart-shaped raspberry cakes and piled-high pies.

So we like Nigella. This is her New Year's Day soup from 'Feast'. She says this is great hangover food. The soup is also very nice without the frankfurters: thick, golden and warming.

She uses yellow split peas, but forgot to mention that they need to be soaked overnight. So I substituted red lentils, which turn goldy anyway.

GOLDEN LENTIL AND FRANKFURTER SOUP
serves 2-3

1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 stick celery, washed and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
2 handfuls red lentils
2pts vegetable stock made with Marigold Bouillon
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper

3-4 vegetarian frankfurters

Soften the chopped veg in a tbsp olive oil for ten minutes until soft but not brown. Add the lentils and stir until they are glossy. Pour in the stock and add the bay leaf, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 mins. Blend until smooth. Season to taste.

Boil or microwave the frankfurters as per packet instructions. Chop into diagonal pieces and add to the soup.

Serve with crusty bread.

2006-03-29T01:17:00.000-08:00

APPLE AND ALMOND CRUMBLE

We all love crumble but Delia's brilliant idea to add almonds turns this into a heavenly version. I made this apple crumble for Steve's birthday last week (we were on holiday) and we can't agree whether apple or rhubarb is better. Play safe, and make both.

Now please excuse me, as I saw a 'rhubarb' sign in our village grocer and am going to HAVE to get some and make this again now I'm reminded of it...

TOPPING
4 oz almonds, flaked or whole, gently crumbled
3 oz chilled butter, cut into small dice
6 oz self-raising flour, sifted
4 oz demerara sugar

FRUIT
3-4 Bramley Apples or equivalent amount of fresh Rhubarb
1dstsp caster sugar

Peel, core and chop fruit; arrange in a deep dish and sprinkle with sugar.

Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips (or whiz in a processor if lazy like me) then stir in the almonds and sugar. If using rhubarb, you can also add some ground spices such as ginger and cinnamon (up to 1tsp each). Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and press lightly. Nobody cares if some of the apples poke out the top. It only adds to the charm.

Serve with CUSTARD! Beat 2 egg yolks with 1/2tbsp caster sugar in a bowl. Gently heat 200ml single cream with a vanilla pod (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract). When warm, pour it over the yolks, beating constantly. Tip the whole lot back into the saucepan, and bring slowly to a simmer, whisking like mad, until it's thickened. (If it starts to split, apparently you should plunge the pan into cold water - but mine's never done this.) Allow to cool, whisking, for a minute before serving.

2006-03-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

A WELSH SAUSAGE RECIPE

I miss Wales. While I was missing it, I remembered a wonderful Welsh vegetarian recipe which I haven't made for ages.

Tempted to make Welsh cakes for afters, but am on a emergency-one-week-bridesmaid-diet. (Not a very good one, but I only want to drop a couple of pounds, not a stone.)

Yes, much prefer being curvy and contented. I would have to sacrifice a lot to be skinny - sausage and mash, for one. Good thing we Welsh girls are naturally gorgeous. I couldn't live without sausage and mash.

GLAMORGAN SAUSAGES
(makes plenty - they freeze well.)

1 large or 2 skinny leeks, chopped very finely
150g cheddar
100g bread
1tsp dried sage
1tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
0.75tsp mustard powder
1tsp vegetable bouillion
Black pepper
2 egg yolks

Saute the leek gently (I did this in a splash of water to avoid extra fat!) to take away that potent onionyness. Grate the cheese, finely chop the bread into crumbs, and mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the egg yolks and stir to a thick, sticky mess. Refrigerate if there's time - makes the rolling easier.

Flour your hands. Shape into sausages and roll in egg white, then semolina (if you have any) or some more breadcrumbs. Refrigerate again, until you're ready to cook.

At Dermouths' (fab veggie restaurant in Bath) they shallow fry these until golden, but I've discovered they bake just fine. Drizzle with a little olive oil and put in oven until golden.

Serve with mash and beans... or gravy... and enjoy.

2006-03-14T01:31:00.000-08:00

PUMPKIN LASAGNE, ANYONE?

Pumpkin lasagne might sound strange, but when you have got a shelf of pumpkins leftover from the winter and nothing but an old jar of pesto in the fridge, it all clicks into place.

This started as a Cranks recipe (Nadine creates a three-layered lasagne, with a mushroom layer and a spinach layer) but I tried it once with mushrooms and didn't like it. And pumpkins & spinach aren't in season at the same time, so that isn't much good. Leeks are okay, mixed with creme fraiche or ricotta, and sandwiched in the middle layer. But nowt wrong with this just as it is.

Strange, but go with it...

PUMPKIN LASAGNE

Half a huge pumpkin, or a whole medium pumpkin
Pesto
Salt and pepper
Lasagne Sheets
1tbsp butter
1tbsp plain flour
1.5pt milk

Peel, de-seed and chop the pumpkin. This is one of the worst kitchen jobs in the world. In fact, right now I have half a pumpkin on the kitchen worktop with a giant knife sticking out of it. Couldn't get it out, and was weak from hacking.

Anyway, pumpkin chunks go onto a baking tray, seasoned, drizzled with olive oil, and roasted at high heat for 20-30mins.

When they come out, turn them gently in about 1tbsp pesto on the tray and leave while you make the white sauce.

Melt the butter, add flour and stir until it's a paste. Stir in the milk, a little at a time, whisking. When all the milk's in, increase the heat and allow to come to simmering point, stirring until it's thickened. (But not too thick - you want a light bechamel) Add the grated cheese (a good handful, or more if you like cheese a lot - and almost any cheese is fine here, like cheddar, ricotta, and particularly the vegetarian Parmesan you can get in Sainsburys)

All you do now is layer the lasagne - pumpkin, lasagne, bechamel, etc - until you get to the top, slather with the remaining sauce, sprinkle with parmesan and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes on a medium heat.

You'll need garlic bread and a mustardy salad on the side.

2006-03-13T01:33:00.000-08:00

THE GENIUS OF KEN HOM

Peppers are obligatory for a stir-fry, if you ask me. Carrots and cabbage are very well, but a stir-fry should appeal to the eye as well as the palate, which doesn't really make them suitable for winter. (I wonder why our winter vegetables are all similar colours?) Anyway, we managed to get some peppers from Sainsburys last week and have been making the most of them: sweet and sour vegetables on Friday, a couple of Indian dishes on Sunday.

The page in my Ken Hom book with this recipe is covered in splashes. We eat it a lot. It's great with tofu (fry before adding the veg, as it takes longer).

KEN HOM'S SWEET 'N' SOUR VEGETABLES
(serve with egg-fried rice for protein!)

Mixed vegetables, enough for two from the following: carrot strips, broccoli florets, shredded cabbage, sliced peppers, bamboo shoots.
Cashew Nuts, toasted
Tsp Sesame Oil
Groundnut Oil for frying

Sauce:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2tbsp tomato puree
1tbsp white wine or cider vinegar
2tbsp dry sherry (or martini!)
1tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp sugar
100ml vegetable stock

NB: I use a dessertspoon instead of tbsp, to reduce the quantities.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a cup. Heat the oil and stir-fry the veg, keeping it crunchy. Pour on sauce. Sizzle for a minute until the sauce is desired consistency. Serve, garnished with toasted cashews.

Sunday's Chana Massala (chickpeas) and Spicy Potatoes were more of an improvised event.

CHANA MASSALA starts with a few cloves, bay leaves, cardamom pods and cumin seeds being toasted in a pan; next add a paste of onion, garlic, chilli, 1 tomato, 2tsp tomato puree, 2tsp dried pomegranate seeds, and fry for a few minutes. Stir in chickpeas with 1tbsp cooking water, lemon juice, garam masala and fresh coriander to taste. This is best eaten at a temperature closer to body temp than boiling.

SPICY POTATOES was even more spontaneous, consisting of 1tsp mustard seeds, green chilli, half a green pepper, two cloves of garlic - finely chopped and gently fried - then some cubed, steamed potatoes, 0.5tsp turmeric, 1tsp coriander, 0.25tsp asaefotida, and salt and lemon juice to taste.

2006-03-09T04:09:00.000-08:00

WINTER VEGETABLE SOUP

Vegetables I don't like always end up in soup. It's marvellous how soup disguises the yuckiness, all merging together in a golden bowl. So I made a vast batch of mixed-root-veg soup yesterday, partly because the vegetable basket is overflowing and partly to give us instant lunches for the next few days. You have to throw in some things you like too, of course.

ROOT VEGETABLE SOUP
1 leek
1 swede
1 onion
3 carrots
2 parsnips
Tbsp butter
Marigold Vegetable Boullion
Salt and pepper

Throw chopped veg into a big casserole, add butter (improves the taste vastly over using olive oil) and put over a low heat, lidded, to 'sweat' (don't like that term). I left it for about half an hour like this, letting the veg become melty and tinged with gold.

Sprinkle in the bouillion (about 2tsp), dried herbs as preferred, and seasoning. Pour over about 2pts water and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Blend until smooth, and taste for seasoning (this soup can take a lot).

I also made some bread to go with it - Cheese and Herb - but it didn't rise enough. I think the ratio of flour to cheese was too low. It still tasted nice though. Shall keep trying and post it up when I get it right!!

Without a bread machine, Delia's Goat's Cheese, Onion and Potato loaf is wondrous served with soup. And there's no kneading - and no rise time. Hurrah!

2006-03-08T01:20:00.000-08:00

PYO TOPPINGS

Pizza is one of the only meals Steve will willingly take over when he gets home from work. I have no idea why - perhaps the association with fast food makes him feel it is less like hard work. Or perhaps it's just one of his favourites.

So it was lucky I'd made the dough before he got home last night, because my day took a turn for the worse when I phoned the secretary of my local Business Association (who was obviously already having a bad day) to tell him I can't make it to their conference on Thursday. He totally lost his temper with me in an unbelievably unbusinesslike, horribly personal way. I apologised for half an hour but he just carried on and on.

So all I wanted to do after that was sit down with a glass of wine and a plate of food that someone else put in front of me.

This is a great recipe: fast food without the calories. Okay, there's some olive oil, but that also makes you live longer, right?

PIZZA

6oz plain flour
1tsp yeast (dried, easy-bake stuff)
1tsp caster sugar
1tbsp olive oil
120ml water

Combine dry ingredients, add the wet in the middle and gather it into a dough.

The boring bit. Knead vigorously for 10 minutes (or use bread machine on 'Dough' setting). When it's ready the dough will be smooth and much more pliable than at first. Delia says it should blister under the surface but I can't say I've ever seen that phenomenon!

Leave to rest, covered with a tea-towel (I soak one in boiling water from the kettle, which creates humidity and seems to help the dough rise). It won't rise much, but it will be a little springy when poked.

Spread with tomato base (onions, tomatoes, balsamic and olive oil - gently sweated and then stewed at length) and add toppings.

My favourite toppings:
Spinach (raw and shredded - use more than seems reasonable)
Onion rings
Sweetcorn
Half-fat Ricotta (in teaspoonfuls)
Grated cheddar, parmesan or other cheese, but not too much.

Bake in oven for about 15-25 mins (checking frequently).

If anyone has any amusing topping ideas, let's hear them!!!
Starter for 10:
> Vegetarian Sausages, Eggs and Tomatoes

2006-03-07T02:26:00.000-08:00

A RICH POTATO PIE

I'm still on a carb-craving curve and besides, I had some pie dishes for my birthday. It seemed about time I put them to use. Although I don't need an excuse - I have been secretly making pies in cake tins for the last few months.

So I made a double-batch of Delia's wholewheat pastry (4oz wholewheat flour, 4oz self-raising flour, 2oz butter, 2oz vegetable fat, enough water to bind) - using Nigella's foolproof method, which basically involves throwing everything in the freezer, at every opportunity, before it has the chance to start melting. And a cold kitchen helps. The pastry was perfect, so I am glad I have half left in the fridge for something else later in the week.

For the filling I used Nadine Abensur's Homity recipe - she's one of those writers whose recipes can put up with lots of tinkering, and still work like magic. So the below is slightly adapted.

HOMITY PIE

600g potatoes, chopped into chunks
300g onions, chopped
100g mushrooms, left whole
2 cloves garlic
Splash tamari (soy sauce will do)
2tbsp double cream
65g cheddar cheese
Chopped chives
Salt and pepper

Saute potatoes - slowly and lengthily, until soft in the middle and golden on the outside - in a tbsp of olive oil. Add the onions and leave over a gentle heat to turn golden. Next add mushrooms and garlic, and a splash of tamari, and turn up the heat for a couple of minutes. Take off heat. Add cream, chives, seasoning and cheddar. Put aside to cool.

Roll out the pastry to fit the pie tin, and add the cooling filling. Cover with lid (optional - Nadine's recipe is an open-top pie), brush with egg and put in oven (200 degreesC) for about half an hour.

Leave to stand before eating (it gets very hot) with green, lemony salad and sunblush tomatoes.