Under the Weather

As I said, I have been really ill. I had a serious bronchial, chesty cough and felt really under the weather. I really do believe that you crave what is good for you. Along with my desperate craving for chocolate, I had a yearning for Thai Spicy Sweet Potato Soup.

I know that it is fairly obvious to long for something hot and warming when are ill and we all know that chillies are great for colds. They are known to act as a decongestant, expectorant and pain reliever all at once. But I think it was the Galangal or Ginger, in my homemade red curry paste, along with the mix of fresh and vibrant other herbs and spices, that I was really craving. I could not believe it when I looked up its health benefits, and along with many other great things, Galangal and Ginger are proven to reduce respiratory problems. They are a natural expectorant, are effective in removing mucus from the throat and lungs and combating various respiratory problems such as colds, coughs, flu, bronchitis, asthma, and shortness of breath.



As for sweet potatoes – super high in vitamins C and A as well as B6, magnesium and potassium they also are packed with anti-oxidants and act as a powerful anti-inflammatory.
So once again, I have effectively self-medicated myself,  with nothing more than a delicious bowl of soup.



Spicy Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup This red curry paste is really delicious and you will probably have quite a bit left over. If you love fresh coriander like I do, it may not be so much red, as green. The paste will keep in the fridge for about a week, or freeze it in an ice cube tray and use it as you need.
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
750g (2 medium sized) sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

Red Curry paste
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
4 red birds eye chillies, roughly chopped
2 sticks lemon grass, roughly chopped
6 fresh Kaffir lime leaves, roughly chopped
Large chunk of galangal (or ginger), peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic clove, peeled
1 tsp. salt
Small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. Naam Pla (fish sauce)
1 small can 400ml coconut cream
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 lime

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook gently for 5-10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile put all the ingredients for the red curry paste in a beaker and blend with a hand blender until smooth. Add a little coconut water from the tin of coconut milk to help achieve a smooth paste consistency. Add a large tablespoon of the curry paste to your saucepan and fry for a few minutes. Just cover the sweet potatoes with water and add a large teaspoon of salt. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the sweet potato is completely soft. Remove from the heat and whiz up the soup with the hand-blender. Check seasoning and add more curry paste if required and cook for a minute more.  Add the coconut milk and re-heat. Do not re-boil as it will kill the taste of the coconut milk. Add a squeeze of lime if you like.

Spring Clean

 My cupboards are fit to bursting.  I am forever buying a new sort of noodle, sauce or spice for some dish or another and it is taking its toll on my already incredibly cramped storage space.  To top it off my Dad has just done his annual Passover trip to Golder's Green, when he feels an over-whelming urge to buy a glut of random food products, simply because they are "Kosher for Passover".  Why a bottle of lemonade or a jar of raspberry jam should ever have been in contact with "Chumetz" (anything which may ferment) in the first place, I have no idea, but he returns triumphant from "the North" with his bounty and distributes it - heaps of boxes of Matzos, several different varieties of pickle cucumber and a selection of arbitrary products, upon my Mother and each of his children and their families. 

I know it is a story of poor Jewish boy done good. I know he sees it as a Mitvah (a good deed). I know he misses shopping for his Mum.  She lived on a measly pension and would have really appreciated him schlepping up to Hendon every week and making sure that she had enough to eat, although she probably never said so.  Nothing makes one value "having" like "not having" and as a child, my Farther would have known what is was like to have gone without.  So I try to appriciate this annual offering of strange things, that I have nowhere to put in my tiny house and every year, about this time I go through my cupboards to see what space I can find.  I like to think of it as a Spring clean. This year on the discovery of several packets of Japenese noodles, I felt much akin to religious Jewish families searching their houses from top to bottom for anything containing wheat or yeast and I simply had to use them up before Passover began.

I had made some chicken soup in my pledge to use up all the chicken bones from out weekly roast chicken, which I now freeze until I have an impressive enough collection to make soup.  Every country in the world seems to have it's own version of chicken soup but one involving Soba Noodles could only be Japanese.  I added some vegetables, dried mushrooms, a little ginger, sesame oil,  miso and chilli.  I found a packet of dried seaweed in the cupboard as well.    Really simple, really quick. A really clean, healthy, restorative soup which will give you a Spring clean as well. 

Chicken Soba Noodle Soup
You can use all sorts of green leafy vegetables in this soup including all sorts of Choi, cabbage or spinach. As for the mushrooms, I used black fungus which don't have much taste but have a great texture but you could use Shiitake.  If you do not have a Japenese supermarket near you, such as Atari Ya, then you can buy most products made by Clearspring in the speciality section in a large supermarket.  Finally, if you are vegetarian, 
just omit the chicken stock, add a little more Miso and you will still have a delicious soup.
2 pints rich chicken soup
A large knob of ginger, julienned
A few teaspoons of soy
1/2 packet Soba Japanese buckwheat noodles
2 bok choi, cut into quarters lenghthways
6 oz. dried Asian style mushrooms
Small handful of dried seaweed (Wakame)
1 tablespoon Miso
1 bunch spring onions
1 fresh red chilli, very thinly sliced
1 lime
Sesame Oil
Togarashi

Heat up the chicken soup with the ginger juice to infuse and season with soy and salt to taste. Add the noddles and Bok Choi and simmer for about 5-7 minutes until cooked. Add the mushrooms and seaweed and simmer until re-hydrated (this takes a matter of minutes). Add a squeeze of lime and a drizzle of sesame oil. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Top with spring onions and chilli. Divide the soup between bowls and add a dash of Togarashi if using.

Phở Good

Vietnamese is the new Thai.  Restaurants such as Pho Cafe and Bahn Mi 11 are popping up everywhere. With their use of lots of fresh vegetables and herbs, the food is somehow even cleaner, fresher and zingyer than Thai.  From the Goi Cuon (Summer Rolls), which are like a salad, rolled up in rice paper to the" Pho", Vietnam's national dish, a delicious broth with flat rice noodles,  flavoured with spices and finished with loads of fresh herbs and chilli, it is all really exciting and vibrant.  


Phở (actually pronounced fuh) is traditionally a beef based broth made with left over bones including leg bones with plenty of marrow, charred onion, charred ginger and spices including cinnamon, star anise, black cardamom, coriander seed, fennel seed, and clove. The broth takes a few hours to cook and is finally served with lots of accompaniments including flank steak, beansprouts, spring onions, fresh coriander, mint, Thai basil, fresh chillis and finally, a squeeze of lime.  These garnishes are added by the dinner, which is what keeps the whole dish so fresh and lively. The Vietnamese are also fond of adding the famous "Rooster Sauce" (to use it's more polite name), to their Pho, as well as Hoi Sin Sauce which seems a bit of a shame considering the lengths they go to to make their super tasty stock. But what really attracted me to this dish in particular is that it was so good at using up left-over bones.  Roast chicken is a family favourite in our house. A good medium free-range bird is about £5.00 and can still feed my family, with two smallish kids, very generously.  But the thought of getting another meal out of the scraps, always makes me happy.  My mother of course, would have religiously made Chicken Soup with any left-overs and don't get me wrong, nothing can beat it, but sometimes you fancy a change.  


Every culture seems to have a variation on making the most of an expensive luxury, such as meat and in our current situation of economic downturn many of us are looking at ways to make the pennies go further.  With a hint of spring in the air, I am pining for cleaner, fresher flavours but still needing a damn good kick of heat to warm me up, in this somewhat bracing start to March and take my word for it, nothing is more perfect than Pho.

Phở Gà (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup)
Makes enough for 4
Broth
1 left over organic free-range chicken carcass plus any bones
1 large onion peeled and cut in quarters
1 large head of garlic, cut in half
Very large knob of fresh ginger, sliced in half lengthwise
roots and stems of 1 bunch of coriander
2 whole star anise
8 cloves
1 stick of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

3 Black cardamon pods
1 teaspoon palm sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
salt (or to taste)

for serving
16 ounces dried phở noodles
4 spring onions, chopped
Large handful of beansprouts
Coriander, freshly chopped

Mint, freshly chopped

Thai Basil, freshly chopped

Fresh Red and Green Chillis

Limes
Sriracha hot chili sauce
Hoisin sauce (optional)


Pick of all the nice bits of meat from your chicken and shred it up. Put into the fridge. Place the onion, garlic and ginger in a roasting tray and put under a full grill, turning often. You want the surface to be partly blackened as it adds a wonderful smoky flavor to the soup without making it bitter.  Just before they are ready, add all your spices and toast lightly.  Place the chicken bones into a large saucepan.  (You can use a slow-cooker set for 8 hours on slow). Add all the other ingredients for the soup around the chicken. Add water until the top of the bones are just covered. Bring to a boil over high heat. When the water comes to a boil turn right down and cook very slowly for 3 hours. Soak the dried pho noodles in warm water for about 30 minutes to rehydrate them. Chop up your condiments and have them ready. When your broth is done, strain it through a fine mesh sieve and skim off any excess fat. Taste the soup, add more fish sauce if necessary and then check for salt. Add more as necessary.

Drain the noodles and add them to the hot soup. Split the noodles between 4 bowls and top with the chicken and then ladle on the hot broth.

Serve this all the accompaniments and everybody just helps themselves.                                         

                                    

   


Tales of Pigling Bland is hosting Fuss Free Flavours' "Frugal Food Fridays" this month.  I thought this was a perfect recipe.


Being so green, I thought it fitting for an entry at Very Good Recipes for a Saint-Patrick's Day Challenge.

Winter Minestrone

Christmas is all about the children.  Every year I mentally conjure up the perfect family scene; spending quality time with the kids, sharing those moments that memories are made of - decorating the tree, wrapping presents, eating mince pies.  Every year, I end up desperately struggling to keep a calm, smiling façade, inevitably thinking - this would all be so much less stressful, if only the kids were not "helping" quite so much.  The tree looks like it has suffered a hurricane   My tasteful, minimalist colour scheme has been sabotaged.  The presents have been so constantly prodded and fiddled with, that they have finally lost any allure, mystery or magic that might have once contained and, as for mince pies and kids - crumbs, sticky fingers and mess.  Never the scene in the magazines.  

At least dinner is sorted.  There are few things that my whole family will eat, without too many complaints on any one front and in our family it is Minestrone.  There is no set recipe for Minestrone and ours has been adapted to suit the family's many likes and dislikes, until it has eventually come a household staple.  I make a huge batch and keep it for emergencies - like Christmas preparations and spending quality time with the kids.  

I save all my Parmesan rinds and chuck them in for extra flavour and also I am very generous with the Pesto.  If you have used up all your home-made pesto, that you prepared with the last of the summer surplus of basil from your garden, harvested just before the first frost came, then just go and buy some.  A good quality one should contain nothing more than basil, extra virgin olive oil, Parmesan, pinenuts, Pecorino and salt.  Check the label.  This is a very seasonal soup.  A distant memory to the Summer Minestrone that I made back in June.  Use up whatever is in your veg box, in the fridge or maybe more to the point, what your kids will eat.  I am still excited about Winter Greens at the moment and in my opinion nothing is better in a Winter Minestrone than king of all cabbages, the Savoy.

Winter Minestrone

I would love to say that I am a girl who constantly has a pot of chicken stock on the back burner, using up all those bones that would otherwise go to waste, but I am not.  If I do make stock I do usually freeze some but when I haven’t, stock cubes are just fine.  Buy a good quality one.  I use Kallo Organic.  Check the ingredients. There really should not be anything dubious in there.  Obviously they are very high in salt, but just add less to your finished soup. 

5 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve

200g smoked streaky bacon, cut into lardons

2 onions, quite finely chopped

4 large carrots cut into 1cm dice

5 sticks of celery cut into 1cm dice

6 clove of garlic, crushed

2 tins cooked and drained Borlotti beans

2 tins good quality tinned tomatoes

Parmesan rinds. (Optional - You can collect these and keep them in the fridge for a few weeks).

1.5l good quality chicken stock (or good quality stock cubes)

200g pasta, either soup pasta such as Ditalini, broken spaghetti or alphabet pasta is quite fun for little kids.

Extra seasonal vegetables of your choice, (courgettes (finely chopped), peas, French beans (cut into 1cm lengths) or Cavalo Nero or Kale (striped from its stem, washed and chopped) or 1/2 a Savoy cabbage (shredded).

180g Pesto, homemade or bought.

Grated Parmesan.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan heat the oil, add the bacon and fry until golden brown.  Add the onion, carrots and celery. Soften over a medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, without allowing them to colour.  If adding courgette, add it now and allow to soften slightly.  Add the garlic and fry for a few minutes more before adding your tomatoes.  Break up with the back of a spoon.  Add the Parmesan rinds if using.  Add the Borlotti bean and allow to cook to about 10 minutes more.  Add the stock, bring to the boil, and then turn down the heat.  Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the pasta and French Beans, Peas, Cavalo Nero, Kale or cabbage and simmer for about 15 minutes until the pasta is cooked. Check seasoning and stir in most of the pesto.  Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a grating of Parmesan and the rest of the pesto. This soup is even better the next day but you will find the pasta has absorbed all the liquid.  Just add a little more water or stock when you re-heat it.

Winter Greens

One thing I love most about Winter is that the Brassicas are at their best and along with the more obvious broccoli and cauliflower, cabbages and of course brussel sprouts the markets, and my veg box, fill up with a variety of Kales including the wonderful Cavalo Nero. Kale grow excellently in our climate as they freeze well and actually tastes sweeter and more flavourful after being exposed to a frost. Fabulously good for you, they need nothing more than stripping from their stems, blanching for a few minutes in plenty of boiling salted water, draining and leaving to cool before squeezing out any excess water. Then fry plenty of garlic slithers in lots of extra virgin olive oil (preferably Tuscan), until golden brown and add your leaves, roughly chopped if you like. A quick stir, a little sea salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Delicious! I like mine on a piece of toasted Polaine (or sourdough) bread, drenched with a little more olive oil. So simple and you have one of the best and healthiest snacks around. I have a theory, though completely unsubstantiated, that winter greens act as some sort of natural anti-depressant. Winter greens beat the blues.

I have also been working with Russel on a particular fine Chicken, Chorizo and Butter Bean Stew. I have made this a couple of times but felt it needed refining.  I narrowed it down to the quality of Chorizo which I felt was laking, so I set about sourcing some better Chorizo, which can be quite hard to find.  In the end, I got some from Brindisa, who stock many local shops, as well as of course their own wonderful shop in Borough Market.  They and are also on-line. The finally addition to lift this dish from everyday to extraordinary was some Kale and on a cold winters day, I defy you to find a better stew.

Cabbages are another Brassica that are wonderful right now and the King of all Cabbages has to be the Savoy. One of my favourite recipes is this bizarre Italian mountain soup, Zuppa di Aosta. The combination of cabbage, stale bread, cheese and anchovy, sounds nothing short of  horrid. But somehow these flavours merge together to create a harmonious yumminess that is beyond words.  It is actually a big bowl of Umami. Almost addictive, just don't tell anyone what is in it!




Zuppa d'Aosta
The original recipe that I used to use was in the first River Cafe Cook Book, but Jamie Oliver adds bacon in his more recent version in Jamie at Home and I do rather like it, so here is his recipe.  Fontina is an Italian mountain cheese from Aosta.  If you cannot find it then use Gruyere instead.

3 litres good-quality chicken or vegetable stock
1 Savoy cabbage, stalks removed, outer leaves separated, washed and roughly chopped
2 big handfuls cavolo nero and/or kale, stalks removed, leaves washed
and roughly chopped
About 16 slices stale country-style or sourdough bread
1 clove garlic, unpeeled, cut in 1/2
Olive oil
12 to 14 slices pancetta or smoked streaky bacon
100g can anchovy fillets, in oil
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked
200g Fontina cheese, grated
150g freshly grated Parmesan, plus a little for serving
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.
Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan and add the cabbage, cavolo nero and/or kale. Cook for a few minutes until softened (you may have to do this in 2 batches). Remove the cabbage to a large bowl, leaving the stock in the pan. Toast all but 5 of the bread slices on a hot griddle pan or in a toaster, then rub them on 1 side with the garlic halves, and set aside.
Next, heat a large 10cm deep ovenproof casserole-type pan on the stove top, pour in a couple of glugs of olive oil and add your pancetta. When the pancetta is golden brown and sizzling, add the anchovies, rosemary and cooked cabbage and toss to coat the greens in all the lovely flavors. Put the mixture and all the juices back into the large bowl. Place 4 of the toasted slices in the casserole-type pan, in 1 layer. Spread over 1/3 of the cabbage leaves, sprinkle over a 1/4 of the grated Fontina and Parmesan and add a drizzle of olive oil. Repeat this twice, but don't stress if your pan's only big enough to take layers - that's fine. Just pour in all the juices remaining in the bowl and end with a layer of untoasted bread on top. Push down on the layers with your hands. Pour the stock gently over the top until it just comes up to the top layer. Push down again and sprinkle over the remaining Fontina and Parmesan. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle over some good-quality olive oil. Bake in the preheated oven for around 30 minutes, or until crispy and golden on top. When the soup is ready, divide it between your bowls.  Add another grating of Parmesan.

Chicken, Chorizo, Butter Bean and Kale Stew

If you do not have a slow-cooker just cook on the stove top, covered, for about two hours.

8 Chicken Thighs or 4 Chicken legs, Free-range or Organic
Olive oil
3 sticks of celery, finely chopped
3 medium onions, finely chopped
6 fat cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
Fresh Rosemary, Thyme or Dried Oregano
200g of Chorizo, Picante, chopped into cubes
2 tins of plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 tsp Smoked Paprika 
2 tins of Butter Beans, drained
2 large handfulls of Kale or Cavalo Nero, stripped from the stem, washed and dried.

Fry the chicken skin side down in hot oil.  If you do not like the skin, then skin the chicken and place in the slow-cooker.  In a large saucepan heat a good glug of olive oil and place just a medium heat.  Add the onion and celery and fry for about 10 minutes until soft and just beginning to go golden. Add the garlic and herbs and fry for a few minutes more.  Next add the chorizo and then the tomatoes, some salt, freshly ground black pepper and the paprika.  Bring to the boil and tip the whole lot over the chicken in the slow-cooker.  Add the butter beans, put on the lid and cook for 5 hours high or 7 hours low.  If you do not have a slow-cooker, cook covered on the stove top for 2-3 hours, very slowly, checking regularly to make sure that it does not catch.  15 minutes before the end of cooking time, remove the lid and check the seasoning.  Add more salt, pepper or Paprika to taste.  Roughly chop the Kale/Cavalo Nero and add it to the slow-cooker or saucepan. Make sure it is submerged in the liquid. Cook for another 5 minutes.  Turn off the cooker leave to sit for a further 10 minutes or so before serving.

Hot and Spicy

I am determined to enter my first challenge.  I have been desperately trying to for about six months but it would appear that I am woefully ill-informed in the world of blogging and every time I hear about a challenge, it is because it has just finished.  I have a suspicion that other bloggers try and keep challenges secret, so less people enter and they have more chance of winning.  I know! Shocking!  It's a dog eat dog world, this blogging business.  You can trust no-one.  On the other-hand, maybe I am just completely paranoid.

Anyway, thanks to Farmersgirl and her great new group UK Cooking and Baking Challenges I am no longer in the dark.  Unsurprisingly however, I missed the first Sweet Heat Blogger Challenge set by Lyndsey of Vanilla Clouds and Lemon Drops fame.  But I am super-excited to say that I am in time for challenge Sweet Heat # 2 - "Spicy Soup."

This soup, interestingly enough started life as a made-up recipe for Harissa.  I make it exactly the same way as the soup, roasting the peppers, garlic, chilli, onion and cumin and then whizzing up the whole lot up with some olive oil, lemon juice (or preserved lemons) and fresh coriander.  I would use this to maybe marinade a chicken or stir into cous cous with some roast winter vegetables.  But somehow along the way this recipe evolved into a soup.  With just the addition of chickpeas it has been a winner at my Riverford lunches and a great way of using up peppers. And it is really delicious.  I made a a little extra effort for my first challenge and added some of my crispy roasted chickpeas.  I blogged about these a few weeks ago but this time I seasoned them with some delicious Ras-el Hanout from Seasoned Pioneers.  The combination of the soothing, earthy spices and the floral notes of the rose petals really enlighten this bowl of comfort.

Spicy Red Pepper, Chickpea and Coriander Soup

3 large red peppers (cut in half and de-seeded)

2 red onions (peeled and quartered)

4 cloves garlic (peeled)

1 -2 Fresh Red Chilli (de-seeded and roughly chopped)

3 teaspoons of cumin

Extra virgin olive oil

2 tins of chickpeas

Bunch coriander (roughly chopped)

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Put the peppers, onions,  garlic and chilli in a dish.  Sprinkle with cumin, salt, pepper and drizzle with a good slug of olive oil. Wrap in tin foil and put in the oven for about one to two hours until really soft.  Tip into a saucepan and cover with water.  About  2 pints.  Add the drained chickpeas and bring to the boil.  Add the coriander and give a good stir.  Liquidise with a hand blender or in a liquidiser.  Adjust seasoning to taste. 

Down Mexico Way

Unfortunately, as much as I love food writing, so far I haven't managed to make a living out of it.  In fact, I haven't managed to make a single penny. So I have to work to pay the mortgage.  One of my main jobs is working for Riverford Organics who have a huge farm based in Devon.  They operate an Organic Vegetable Box delivery all over England.  My job is to entice new customers, as well as to encourage and keep up motivation for their regular clientele.  What this really comes down to, is that I spend a lot of time cooking vegetables.  Thinking up new ways with carrots, kale and kohlrabi. 

Strangely, one of the most taxing vegetables for me recently, that is always popping up in one veg box or another, is the sweet potato. The reason for this immense challenge, is that it is so very sweet and although I have tried balancing its sugaryness in a manor of ways, I still hadn't managed to conquered the vegetable. 

I made a really nice Indian curry with chickpeas, loads of cardamon and spinach and lots of fresh green chillies.  But I felt that the sweet potato still had a sickliness to it.  I added quite a large amount of Tamarind.  It was really good, but at the end of the day, I couldn't help wishing that it just didn't have the sweet potato in it. This was rather missing the point of the whole exercise. So, I was pretty excited to find a Mexican recipe for Chipotle Spiced Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chilli. I have made Black Bean Chilli many times before but without the addition of peppers and sweet potato. I loved the idea of the dramatic combination of black and orange. It made me think of Halloween and sounded like something I like to eat.  It was!  Finally I had conquered the sweet potato.  As you may know I have been on a bit of a wrap mission recently and I have to admit that I have been making quite a lot of Chicken or Steak Fahitas. I am not going to burden you with the recipe when I know that you can get a perfectly good one from "Mad about Mexican", Thomasina Miers.  But this hot and smoky, Chipoltle Spiced Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chilli and was even better. Piled into a warm tortilla with lashings of guacamole, a delicious Pico de Gallo (tomato, chilli and coriander salsa) and big dollop of sour cream on top, it was truly delicious. The harder it is to eat, the better it is.  Add lots of grated cheese and this Chilli also makes a great filling for quesadillas. And, if you still have any left, whiz it up and it makes a delicious soup.

I have always found it almost impossible to acquire any Mexican ingredients in London, so I cannot tell you how excited I was to discover Casa Mexico in Bethnal Green.  Unfortunately, I still haven't managed to get down there personally, as it is right across the other side of London for me, and what with the day job, I don't get much time.  But I can't wait to go.  Not only do they have the most fantastic selection of chillis, beans, moles and salsas but they also sell kitchen ware, furniture and art.  Fortunately, they also have an online shop, so I have stocked up on Mexican staples and even finely managed to get hold of some elusive Chipotle Adobado which I kept on finding, listed as an ingredient in recipes and had almost given up any chance of ever finding. 

Right, now what shall I do with that box of Kohlrabi?



Chipotle Spiced Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chilli

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large Spanish onion, chopped
4 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt
1 to 2 teaspoons crushed Chipotle Chillis
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried marjoram or handful of fresh oregano
1 bay leaf
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
Small bunch of coriander, finely chopped

Heat oil in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat; add onion and celery. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until tender. Add bell peppers and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes or so. Stir often to avoid burning. Stir in garlic, and cook about 1 minute. Add chilli, the salt, the herbs and spices.  Stir and cook 1 minute. Next add the sweet potato.  Give everything a good mix and add tomatoes and enough water to cover the sweet potato. Simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes until the sweet potato is cooked. Stir in beans, and continue to cook 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lime juice. Finally add the coriander and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Guacamole

The most important factor to perfect guacamole is using good, ripe avocados. Check for ripeness by gently pressing the outside of the avocado. If there is no give, the avocado is not ripe yet and will not taste good. If there is a little give, the avocado is ripe. If there is a lot of give, the avocado may be past ripe and not good.

2 ripe avocados

2 spring onions (finely sliced)

1 fresh red or green Serrano chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped

½ bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped

Juice of 1 fresh lime

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Freshly grated black pepper

Drizzle of Olive Oil

 Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out and put in a mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash the avocado. Add the chopped onion, coriander, lime, salt and pepper and mash some more. Chilli peppers vary individually in their hotness.  Start with a little, add more to taste. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent oxidation from the air reaching it. Refrigerate until ready.

Tomato, Chilli and Coriander Salsa (Pico de Gallo)

One clove of garlic (very finely chopped)

One Fresh Red Serrano Chilli (very finely chopped)
¼ red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
200g cherry tomatoes (quartered)
Juice of one or two limes
Bunch of Coriander (very finely chopped)
Glug of Olive Oil
Good pinch or two of salt
Freshly ground pepper

Mix garlic, chilli, lime juice and olive oil together.  Season well.  Stir in rest of ingredients. 

Iraqi Quest

It's the school holidays.  Every morning begins at 7.30 with "What are we doing today, Mum?"  And it's non-stop from there.  Constant demands and questions and squabbling.  I hardly have the time to think.

Today its the long promised trip to the swimming slides at Guildford Spectrum.  I can hardly wait!  And first I have got to get something for dinner.  Asda or Tesco on the A3?  I don't think I could bare it.  Suddenly I remember Soor Market.  Just off the A3, amongst the suburban sprawl on the outskirts of Kingston is the most fantastically stocked Iraqi supermarket.  It is so unpromising looking from the outside, yet as soon as I am inside, my spirits lift. The wonderful array of sophisticated and exotic flavours, transports me back to a golden age, an ancient civilisation, rich with culture and diversity.



Whilst the children amuse themselves choosing dates and pistachio nuts, I wonder amongst the isles. From the fantastic selection of fruit and vegetables, beautiful baby aubergines, pomegranates and chillies to the massive fresh bunches of dill, mint and coriander, everything is superb.  Aisle after isle of nuts and spices, rice, lentils, dried pulses, flower waters, breads and dried fruits.  There were about ten different types of Bulgur wheat alone and a huge selection of dried limes. 

I am not going to lie to you and tell you how welcoming the staff are.  Instead, I have to admit that they actually look somewhat surly and eyed me suspiciously as I wondered around their shop. But I was very keen to make sure that the rice dish that I was planning to cook was authentically Iraqi, so I questioned the man on the checkout in some depth.  Usually talking about food really opens people up.  Suddenly, someone you have never met is sharing intimate family recipes with you, in great detail.  This chap however, did not warm to my interrogation.  He was a man of few words, yet I could tell by his adamant nodding and shaking of his head to my questions, that he was as passionate about his food as anyone.  "Should there be any fresh herbs" - absolutely not, "Nuts and raisins?" - a definite yes, "Saffron?"- absolutely.  Finally, he warmed to me sufficiently, to suggest without me even asking, a different brand of saffron to the one I had chosen.  There was a choice of at least eight different varieties. 

I have been craving Biryani and Dal for a few days now.  I think the hint of autumn coming and a slight chill in the air has left me yearning for warming spices and filling carbohydrates.  I found a lovely sounding Iraqi lentil soup recipe.  I know lentil soup does not sound that exciting but honestly, with the blend of earthy and aromatic spices, it really hits the spot.   Next I found a really great recipe in a book called the "Iraqi Family Cookbook",  for Saffron Rice with Meat Dressing.  I give you that it doesn't sound that great.  It does however sound better in Iraqi "Timman Z'affaran".  It is in fact a beautiful rice dish perfumed with cardamom, saffron and rosewater. .  Anyway, I made a few adjustments to the recipe and served it with an Arabic Salad.  It was absolutely delicious. 

Now, what are we doing tomorrow?



I bought a spice blend called "Seven Spices Plus" which was really lovely in both recipes. It is a combination of Allspice, Nutmeg, Cumin, Coriander, Cinnamon, Cardamon, Pepper, Ginger and Clove. If you cannot find it you could make your own or try Baharat Spice Blend

Iraqi Lentil Soup

I found this recipe on the most fantastic blog "It's sooo good!™ Moti's Iraqi cuisine. He'll tell you what you can do. And you'll like it! " And I did. Don't forget the lemon. It really lifts this soup.

400 g (14 oz) red lentils
10 cups of water
1 whole onion (peeled and finely chopped)
4 cloves of garlic (peeled and finely chopped)
2 carrots (peeled and finely chopped)
6 sticks celery (chopped)
1 potato (peeled and roughly chopped)
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander (optional)
2 teaspoons Seven Spices or Baharat Spice Blend or to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt to taste

First fry the onion, carrot and celery in a some oil until soft and just beginning to caramelise. Add the garlic and spices. Fry for a minute more. Add the lentils and the water. Stir well and add the potato. Boil gently over a low heat, uncovered for about 30 - 40 minutes until the lentils and potato is cooked. Using a hand blender, purée the ingredients together with the lemon juice and coriander.Taste the soup and add any necessary salt or more spice if necessary. Serve with a garnish of coriander, yogurt, or just on its own.

Timman Z'affaran

2 cups basmati long grain rice
4 cups water
½ tsp salt
a pinch of saffron threads
4 cardamom pods, seeds removed and ground
¼ cup ghee
1/3 cup sliced almonds or pine nuts

Rinse the rice until clear and soak for 30 minutes. Drain. Pour the ghee in a pot and sauté rice for one minute. Add salt, saffron and cardamom and pour in the water. Bring it to boil. Cover and cook at a slow boil for 15 to 20 minutes. Toast the almonds or pinenuts in the oven until golden brown. Be careful not to burn.

For the lamb
1/2 pound ground lamb
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Seven Spices or Baharat Spice Blend
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2tbs rose water
1/3 cup currants

Saute meat in a little ghee in a non stick pan. Remove and drain. In the same pan add the onions with a little more ghee. Keep sautéing until the onions are golden brown. Add the garlic, salt and spices. Fry for a few minutes more. Add the currants and the rosewater and remove from the heat. Add a little water if very dry. On a large plate, dish up the rice, spoon over the meat mixture and finally sprinkle over the toasted almonds. Serve with Arabic salad.

Arabic Salad

4 small cucumbers or 2 large, cut lengthways, de-seeded, cut legthways again and chopped
4 medium tomatoes, chopped into bite size chunks
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 small finely diced red onion
1 teaspoon salt
1 medium lemon, juice of
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pomegranate seeds (optional)
Pinch of Sumac (optional)

Place diced cucumber and tomatoes in bowl. Add parsley and onion. Just before serving, add the salt, lemon and olive oil and combine all ingredients. Serve in small bowls to accompany rice dishes.

A little taste of Summer

If Spring makes me think "Italian", then Spain is Summer to me.  I don't know why.  Maybe because that is where I spent my holidays as a child, with my family.  This morning was one of the few days this year so far, that I awoke to a clear blue sky, that brings that excited feeling inside and I thought "Summer".  The next thing that sprang to mind was "Gazpacho" but that is the way I am.  Food is never very far from my mind. 

When I used to make this in restaurants we always used to serve separate garnishes of finely chopped red onion, cucumber, red pepper and chopped egg which was quite fun but this soup is so delicious it honestly need no accompaniment.  I personally do not add breadcrumbs to my version so I have made some little crispy olive oil fried croutons, just to add some texture. All you need is a hot summers day or evening and maybe a sunset and a glass or two of Rioja.
In South West London, I really miss having a Spanish Deli anywhere nearby.  It is a right schlep to trek to Garcia or Brindisa although both have online shops if you are stuck, so I was quite pleased to see that Unearthed had included quite a few Spanish products in their range.  I picked up some Hot Spicy Chorizo and I had some squid in the freezer which I usually pick up in Oriental Supermarkets for a really good price, so I thought I would concoct a Spanish Style Salad.  You can't beat the combination of Chorizo, Sauteed potatoes, Char-grilled red peppers, garlic, Sherry Vinegar and Squid.  If it had been Winter this combination would have made and equally fantastic stew, maybe with some chickpeas too.  But add some Rocket of Pea Shoot and you have a delicious lunch for a hot summers day.

When you do find a good Spanish Deli stock up on Sherry, Paella Rice, Almonds, Pimenton (Smoked Paprika) and Saffron, Sherry Vinegar and Navarrico Piquillo Peppers and you will have the store cupboard staples to make hundreds of amazing Spanish style dishes.  Then of course there are the wonderful hams, cheeses and salamis but these obviously do not keep.  In fact, in our house they may not even last a few hours.  

Finally don't forget that Sherry is not only fantastic for cooking but that Dry (Fino) Sherry is also very fashionable as an aperitif and a delicious accompaniment to any Spanish dish and the sweet  variety such as  Pedro Ximenez make wonderful dessert wines, ice-creams and puddings.

Gazpacho

This recipe takes no time at all.  Because you peel the ingredients before whizzing them up, there is no need to pass the soup and it has a really great texture.

1kg really ripe tomatoes

1 small red onion , roughly chopped

3 garlic cloves

1 fresh red chilli, seeds removed
3 Red Peppers, peel of as much skin as possible with a peeler, de-seed and roughly chop

1 cucumber , peeled and roughly chopped

A generous glug of extra virgin olive oil

A generous glug of sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For croutons

an old piece of rustic or sourdough white bread

some extra virgin olive oil

Make a small cross on top of each tomato with a sharp knife.  Blanch the tomatoes by placing them into a pan of boiling water for a few minutes.  Romove them and refresh in cold water.  Remove the skins.  Add all the other ingredients and either puree in a liquidizer or simply use a hand held blender.  Whizz until completely smoothe.  Check seasoning and add more salt, pepper or vinegar to taste.  Chill in the fridge.

 

For the croutons, tear the bread up into 1cm pieces and gently fry in a little olive oil until golden brown.  Remove and drain on some kitchen paper.  Season very lightly with salt. Serve the Gazpacho very cold with the garnish.

Char-grilled Squid, Chorizo and Rocket Salad with New Potatoes and Sherry Vinegar

1 lb cleaned squid
200 g small potatoes, either New or a waxy veriety. Both are nice.
100 g rocket
1 Red pepper, char-grilled and peeled, torn into strips
or 150 g Navarrico Piquillo peppers, torn into strips

150 g Cooking Chorizo, cut into bite sized chunks (I like Hot Spicy ones)
1 fresh red chilli, very finely chopped (if you are not using spicy Chorizo, or if you just like a little extra)
1 Clove of garlic, very finely chopped
Good glug of Sherry Vinegar
Good glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a frying pan, sauté the potatoes with some olive oil until golden brown on every side. Add the chilli, if using, and the garlic. Saute for a minute more and add the sherry vinegar. Toss well and remove from the heat.

Next, pre-heat a griddle over a high heat or light your barbeque. Meanwhile, prepare the squid. Slit it on one side and open it out to give two flaps (retaining the tentacles). Pat dry with kitchen paper. (It's important that you dry the squid properly, otherwise it will stew rather than grill.) Now, using a small sharp knife, lightly score it on the inside – if you score it on the outside, it won't curl properly. Score diagonally in one direction, then do the same in the other direction, to give little diamond shapes, taking great care not to cut right through the squid

When the pan or barbeque is searing hot, lightly brush the squid and the tentacles on both sides with some oil, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Only season the squid the moment it goes into the pan – if you do it in advance, the salt will draw out all the moisture. Now add the squid and tentacles in batches to the hot pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, turning halfway through, until lightly charred.

In a large bowl mix your rocket with the strips of pepper and the potatoes. The oil and vingar from the pan should provide ample dressing but check. Pile the salad onto plates and top with the squid.