Great Vegtable Side

My prize for 'best new cookbook 2009' would have to be split between Ottolenghi and Claire Clark's 100 Perfect Desserts. Ottolenghi contains receipes from the restaurant of the same name in London owned by two guys from Isreali and Palestinian backgrounds and their food contains all the flavours of the region. In particular there are some great salads and veggie sides.

Green Beans and Mangetout with Hazelnut and Orange
serves 6

400g green beans
400g mangetout
70g unskinned hazelnuts
zest of one orange
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp hazelnut oil
S+P

• top and tail the beans and mangetout, keep them seperate
• blanch beans for 4 mins and refresh - under cold running water (or a bowl of iced water)
• blanch mangetout for 1 mins and refresh
• dry both sets of vegtables
• heat an oven to 180 deg C and roast the hazelnuts on a baking tray for 10 mins
• rub nuts in a clean towel to remove most of the skin and then chop roughly
  
• mix all ingrediants together in a bowl and serve at room temperature
  

Remember nut oils go rancid quickly so buy in the smallest size available and store in a dark place.

Grilled Summer Vegetables

There are a couple of Farmer's markets here in Houston. My favourite is the Bayou City Market, it's a producers only market and everything must come from a 150 mile radius. As a result the produce is truly seasonal, on our first visit every veg stall was teaming with courgettes and squash of all shapes and sizes. This dish of summer grilled vegetables quickly became a favourite in our house. I usually make a full batch and then mix half with some grilled chicken and cooked pasta for the following day's lunchboxes.


Grilled Summer Vegetables

Serves 4 as a side dish

500g courgette / small squash
olive oil
2 peppers

Dressing:
mix together the following ingredients in a large shallow bowl:
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp mint, chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

• grill the peppers until the outsides are black and charred, this can be done under the grill but I just place them directly on the gas hob. Don't be nervous, they should be black all over.
  
• place the peppers in a Ziploc bag (or a cling-film covered bowl), seal and leave too cool
• slice the courgettes and squash lengthwise into 2-3mm thick slices
• brush with olive oil and season
• heat a ridged pan over a high heat, brush with olive oil
• griddle the courgettes and squash in batches until charred on both sides
• as you remove them from the pan place straight into the bowl containing the dressing
• remove the charred skin from the now-cooled peppers, chop and add to the bowl
• toss well to coat everything in the dressing
  

Meatless Feast

The word feast usually conjures up images of the traditional 'fatted calf' slaughtered to welcome home the prodigal son. However I think the picture above sums it up better - simply family and friends sharing food, wine and conversation.

On a recent visit home we wanted a 'feast' but having consumed rather too many heavy dinners of late I decided to forgo the meat element of the feast. Of assistance here was my new favourite book from 'Ottolenghi'. I have a rule that a cookbook, however nice, must bring something new to my kitchen before I can justify its purchase and this has certainly earned its place on my shelves of late.

We ate:

Roasted Butternut Squash with Burnt Aubergine

1 large butternut squash
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds
10g sliced almonds
salt and pepper

for the sauce
1 medium aubergine
150g Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
(1 1/2 tsp pomegranate molasses - I left this out I couldn't get any in Wexford but I imagine it would complement the smokiness of the sauce)

• cut squash into wedges, coat with 2 tbsp olive oil and roast in a 220 deg C oven for 30 mins
• reduce oven temp to 180 deg C, toast seeds and almonds for 8-10 minutes - Watch carefully these burn easily
• place the aubergine under a very hot grill for about an hour, turning occasionally, until the skin dries and craks (alternatively this can be done in 15 mins directly on the flame of a gas hob)
  
• scoop the flesh out and place in a colander to drain for 10 mins
• stir together all the sauce ingrediants and place in a bowl in the centre of a serving platter
• surround the bowl with the squash, scatter over the nuts and seeds and drizzle the remaining olive oil
  

Courgette Cakes

Marinated Sweet Peppers with Mozzarella

6 sweet peppers
120 ml olive oil
3 tbsp corainder, chopped
3 tbsp parsly, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 tbsp cider vinegar
large ball mozarella
salt and pepper

• preheat the oven to 200 deg C
• drizzle 2 tbsp olive oil on peppers
• roast for 15 mins
• mix together herbs, garlic, vinegar, 80ml oil
• put warm peppers in a bowl and pour over marinade
• leave a room temperature for a minimum of 2 hours
• lay peppers on a serving plate, tear up the mozzarella and scatter over

We also had a tomato and advocao salad, some olives to nibble on and this bread, which was good - but I think I could do a little better so you'll have to wait for the recipe.

Something to Warm Those Toes

My go-to source for substantial, comforting soups has always been the first Avoca book and this one certainly hits the spot on a cold winter's day.

Tomato, Lentil and Orange Soup

50g butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 orange, zested and flesh chopped
50g red lentils
1 x 400g tin tomatoes
300ml vegtable stock ( I use Marigold boullion)

• melt butter and cook onion for approx 10 mins until soft
• add garlic for 1 min
  
• add orange zest and flesh, lentils, tomatoes and stock
• bring to the boil and simmer for 20 mins
• puree, adding more stock if it is to thick
  

Courgette Cakes

Sunday brought sunshine and a party in the park (more of which anon). By evening time we wanted something to nibble on but weren't quite up to a full dinner. I rustled up these cakes from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries and they really hit the spot. I used the fine setting on my mandolin and the cakes held together well and were no problem to turn over.

Courgette Cakes with Dill and Feta
6 cakes - serves 2/3 depending on how hungry you are!!
500g courgettes
1 onion
1 clove garlic
3 tbsp plain flour
1 egg, beaten
150g feta, crumbled
small bunch dill

• grate the courgette thinly - using a mandolin is best
• place into a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 mins
• heat the olive oil and saute the onion and garlic
  
• squeeze the excess liquid from the courgette and add to the onion
• saute for 2-3 mins
• add the flour for 3-4 mins until cooked
• stir in the beaten egg, crumbled feta and dill
  
• season
  

• fry the cakes for 2-3 mins on each side until golden
  

Squish Squash

Among the pile of newspapers, magazines and books beside my bed I unearthed an unread copy of February's Delicious magazine. While browsing through I came across this recipe for an unconventional 'risotto' made with pearl barley. We are making a concerted effort in this house to broaden our carbs from the usual pasta, spuds and white rice so I thought I'd give this a try. And the result? This is definitely a keeper, the barley retains a nutty bite which contrasts well with the sweetness of the squash - although I did alter the proportions slightly to increase the squash to barley ratio.

Pearl barley risotto with roasted squash, red peppers and rocket (adapted from the Feb 08 edition of Delicious)
serves 2
350g peeled butternut squash, cubed
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
175g pearl barley
750ml hot vegtable stock
flat-leaf parsley
2 handfuls rocket
Parmesan

• Preheat oven to 180°
• Coat squash and peppers in oil and season, roast for about 35 mins
• Heat 1 tbsp oil and add onion, garlic and thyme leaves and cook till soft
• Add barley and cook for 1 min
• Add one ladleful of stock, stir and simmer until absorbed
• Continue adding the stock one ladelful at a time until it is all absorbed (this should take about 40 mins) and there is still a 'bite' to the barley (I then needed an extra 100ml of water to cook the barley to the texture I wanted)
• Stir in the parsley, squash and peppers
• Serve topped with rocket and Parmesan
  

Now this left me with half a butternut squash so I used the foodblogsearch (see below) to find myself a soup recipe. I found this lovely one for 'Roasted butternut squash with smoked paprika' from glutenfreegirl and just made a half portion. If you read her instructions she advises straining it through a mesh sieve. Boring though it may be this really is needed as the initial blended mixture has a texture like baby food. I only strained half of mine before I got bored - this was enough for a pourable soup but if I was making it for guests I would strain the whole lot. It's a lovely soup, the smoked paprika adds some depth and takes the edge off the sweetness of the squash.

Gnocchi di ricotta e salsa di gorgonzola

Ricotta and nutmeg dumplings with gorgonzola sauce - sounds better in Italian doesn't it?

The Doc gave me a copy of Ursula Ferrigno's 'Complete Italian Cookery Course' for Christmas. On my first glance through these jumped out at me but I took a while to make them as I was wondering what to serve them with. In the end I decided a simple lemon roast chicken would be best - the gorgonzola is such a strong flavour I didn't want it to be overwhelmed. It was the right decision, although the dumplings themselves are quite light the sauce is rich and you will only eat a few.

The original recipe is for 6, I halved it but mine was still to sloppy to be called a paste and I ended up adding twice as much semolina flour in order to make it possible to roll out. I suspect the reason for this is something to do with the difference between supermarket pre-packed ricotta and that available in Italy.

Dunplings:
250g ricotta
1 tbsp grated parmesan
2 medium egg yolks
5 tbsp semolina flour
fresh ground nutmeg - a pinch
salt and pepper

• Mash all ingrediants together to form a paste
• Roll into a log 1cm thick
• Cut into 2cm pieces
• Place in a pan of boiling water - after about 2 mins they should rise to the surface
• Gice them another 30 seconds in the pan then remove and drain

Sauce:
10g unsalted butter
2 tbsp cream
100g gorgonzola, mashed

• Melt together butter and cream
• Add cheese and blend well

Place dumplings in an ovenproof dish, pour over the sauce and bake for 15-20 mins at 180 degrees.

Real Food Again

I’m bored of rice pudding but not quite able to chew yet so I searched about for something yummy but yet easy to eat and I found it here. I’ve made this risotto from Lorraine’s site a few times and it has become one of the weekday favourites in our house.

People think that risotto is difficult, it’s not. It does require you to be around your kitchen for a good 30 minutes but it does not need the slavish attention that you might think. After a stressful day I find that some repetitive stirring is exactly what I need to calm my mind!

Check this recipe out – it’s really good.