I say tomato...

The Cat and I were being ladies who lunch… on our lunch break from work, this Thursday. We headed to our usual hot spot of the falafel stand in Tachbrook street market (scroll down to a previous post about the best falafel in London Town). Whilst queuing, we both spotted some vibrant jewels of yellow cherry tomatoes out of the corner of our eyes. These we had to have.

So, last night I had to decide what to do with these gems (The Cat had eaten half of hers on her train journey home on Thursday). Wanting them to ‘speak for themselves’, I decided on a very simple tomato, avocado and mozzarella salad, garnished with beautifully fragrant fresh herbs of greek basil and oregano and dressed delicately with balsamic vinegar.

Although, whilst slicing these tangy and sweet jewels in half, it became apparent I had more of the gems than I could eat all by myself in salads. I then decided that I needed to preserve them. In this case, I lined the bottom of an oven tray with halved cherry tomatoes, seasoned and sprinkled over two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 2 cloves garlic crushed, two crushed dried chillies with a bay leaf and cinnamon stick and added plenty of the afore mentioned greek basil and organo and roasted to dry for an hour and a half at 110C.

I then placed the roasted tomatoes in a sterilised jar and topped up the gaps in the jar with rapeseed oil (yes we have converted from olive oil). I’ll be having these tomatoes for an easy pasta dinner this week, topped with lashings of grated parmesan or as a pizza/bruschetta topping.

Whilst, I was doing the above, Gipsy spread used the yellow tomatoes in his baked cod parcel, which also included capers, bay leaf and fresh herbs poached in white wine.

Dinner in 10 minutes?

These aren’t all my recipes, but I thought I’d share five (it’s just a nice number)of my 10 minute after work quickies. Now, I know Jaime Oliver does it in 30 minutes and manages to make three courses, but I don’t think all of that is necessary every night for dinner and in fact, is very likely to make you obese if you ate one of his full 30 minute meals every night. He also has a billion gadgets on the go, which would then need washing up.

 

I guess I should also confess that these 10 minute meals, might actually take a little bit longer, but my point is that you shouldn’t really need to be chopping, stirring or tending to stove for longer than 10 minutes in total. These meals are generally for two and I mostly cook by eye, so don’t really measure. My frame of reference is therefore usually spoon size.

 

 

1) Green bean, beetroot and feta salad (this one is Olive magazine)

This is so simple and delicious and looks so pretty. Simply blanch a packet of green beans for 2-3 minutes in boiling water. Quarter some vac-packed beetroot and then crumble over the feta cheese. Dress with a white wine vinaigrette (3/4 oil to ¼ vinegar–ish), I of course add chilli flakes to mine, and some lemon thyme.

 

   2) Artichoke and lemon spaghetti

This is a really light and refreshing pasta dish for summer. No calorific sauces here. Put enough spaghetti for two onto boil. Drain and quarter a tin of artichokes (you can use artichokes from a jar, but I don’t like that they are often drenched in oil). Drain the pasta, reserving a couple of spoons of the water and return to the pan. Add the artichokes, two cloves of crushed garlic, salt, a teaspoon of chilli flakes (or to taste) and the juice of one lemon. Stir through for a minute to heat through. Serve with lots of grated parmesan and lemon thyme and fresh basil. This is a store cupboard saviour.

 

3) Butterbeans and halloumi (this one is Bill's from Cook, Eat, Smile)

     This is one of my favourite dinners. I could eat this all day every day. It is also so simple to prepare. Add a drained tin of kidney beans and one of butter beans to a pan. Add salt and a teaspoon of paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon and 1/2 a teaspoon of turmeric and put onto to heat. After a minute or two, add a tin of chopped tomatoes and the juice of half a lemon, 2 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce and I add a teaspoon of omega 3 seeds (I think Bill suggests some other seed). Let all of this heat though and reduce for about 10 minutes. In the mean time, slice and grill your halloumi. Serve the beans with 3-4 slices of bubbling and brown halloumi. This meal never fails to satisfy my hunger on a cold winter’s night, without the need for any carbs!

 

 

 

4) Yoghurt and feta pasta (in Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem)

I had picked this recipe out of ‘Jerusalem’ as one to try and was re-inspired to make this after our Turkish holiday and sampling the Turkish stuffed pasta dish manti, which is also served in a yoghurt sauce. This is also very simple. Put the pasta (shells in this case) on to cook in salted water. In the meantime blend together 5-6 heaped tablespoons of yoghurt with 2 cloves of garlic and 2-3 heaped tablespoons of peas. Reserve a tablespoon of cooked peas to dress the pasta with. In a frying pan, add a couple of good glugs of olive oil, fry off a teaspoon of chilli flakes and a tablespoon of pine nuts until the pine nuts brown and the oil turns red.

 

 

Add the yoghurt sauce to the drained pasta slowly so it doesn't split, along with the peas and heat through. To serve, drizzle over the chilli sauce and pine nuts; add crumbled feta and plenty of fresh basil. Delicious.

 

If you are a massive Ottolenghi fan like me, you might also find this FT article interesting.http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7698ad52-d2ee-11e2-aac2-00144feab7de.html

 

I have to admit... I do Ottolengh!

 

 

5) Cheese and sweet corn fritters.

Cheese and sweet corn is a classic combination, the salty cheddar offset by the sweetness of the corn. Another store cupboard saviour means simply opening a tin of sweet corn (of course frozen or indeed fresh could be used), chopping an onion and grating some cheese. Bind the lot together with a couple of tablespoons of gram flour and enough water to make a pancake batter. I add whatever extra spices or herbs I fancy at the time. Then fry the batter in small circles for a couple of minutes each side until they bubble and brown. I like to eat these with a tangy and refreshing tomato salsa.

This method also works with various other fillings such as leek and feta or tomato and mozzarella.

 

 

The first three are part of Gipsy Spread’s repertoire for when I’m at yoga because of their simplicity; alongside the baked potato dinner. Don’t get me wrong, he does like to cook, but usually not after work. He likes to keep it ‘manly’, his preference being the more time consuming (and messy) likes of pasta making.

 

 

So, moving swiftly from cooking myself to having others cook for me, I’m heading to Cinnamon Soho next week, so will let you know what I find. I have high expectations, already being a fan of the Cinnamon Club in the old Westminister Library. You can get a taster of the menu here http://www.cinnamon-kitchen.com/Soho-Home. 

 

One of the most versatile store cupboard ingredients

Well, I said I'd get round to my five favourite pulses next and just as it happens, today was the day.

I opened up my fridge earlier to start thinking about dinner. I found that there was not much in there (which I did kind of already know), other than a couple of aubergines, several types of cheese (of course!), yoghurt, cucmber and tomatos. The easy option here would have been to go in for the melanzane parmiagana, but I fancied something different, making use of all my fresh ingredients (I hate vegetables going off - it's such a waste). I have a cupboard full of spices and another full of flours, vinegars and syrups, so inspiration struck.

So what did I do and what will you need?

Aubergine fritters
1 aubergine
Salt
2 tablespoons of gram flour (chickpea flour)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon of amchur(mango powder) or dried pomegranite
Chopped fresh coriander and chopped green chillis to taste (and optional)

I sliced my aubergine into 1/2 cm thick rounds (about 15-20) and salted and left at room temperature to sweat (this was to prevent it being rubbery). In another bowl I added two heaped tablespoons of gram flour, the salt, all the spices and the coriander and chillis. I added water, a little bit at a time to turn the flour and spices into a medium-thick batter, then tossed the aubergine through this. You might need to get your hands dirty to ensure the aubergine is covered.

Once this is done, fry the aubergine in oil for a couple of minutes on each side until soft on the inside and delightfully crispy and brown on the outside. I did this in the frying pan with the oil about half a centimetre deep.

I'll be serving the aubergine with a cucumber raita and tomato salsa, along with a side of herb salad (we are currently growing greek basil, oregano, mint (and peppermint) and parsley - along with thyme, lemon thyme, sage, rosemary and coriander - which also need using up!). I could happily have served up the above with some crumbled salty greek feta and luminous pearls of pomegranite with the raita, sans cucumber.


Cucumber raita
Slice and chop quarter of a cucumber. Add to a bowl with a heaped tablespoon of yoghurt, salt, a splash of lemon juice and a a clove of crushed garlic. Mix together and top with half a teaspoon of cround cumin.

Tomato salsa
Slice and chop either a couple of normal tomatoes or a large handful of cherry tomatoes and add to a bowl with a finely chopped half an onion, salt and half a teaspoon of chilli flakes. I added fresh chives to mine (yes, I forgot if from the above list of herbs we are in the process of using up!).


So,there you go. An ideal (pulse) store cupboard ingredient that is high in protein, low in fat and GI and which can be quickly used in the following ways;

• Mix the flour with water (spices optional) to create an alternative to savoury pancakes for stuffing with your favourite filling (i.e instead of pasta for a ricotta and spinach cannelloni). The more water you add, the lighter the pancake.
• As a binder for your veggie (and why not meat?) burgers, fritters or patties instead of egg or normal flour?
• In Indian cooking to function as the pancake in a masala dosa (instead of the very laborious rice pancake) and as the sundrie bread alternative instead of a chapati or nan.
• Like the french do with their socca, as a base for other ingredients and instead of a bready pizza base.

Well, I hope that's provided food for thought. I will be off for some of the best food I get to eat tomorrow at my mum's and gran's. Gipsy Spread is usually like a pig in whoopsy and wants to try all the authentic food we eat at home, and he's lucky my feeder nature comes from my family. I'll be bringing some of the best home cooked Indian food recipes here to ensure they are not lost forever in later posts. They will, I hope, include how to use gram flour to make a 'soup' called kadhi and also the steamed breakfast snack dokhla, just like my gran makes. I have yet to perfect these myself!

An N1 institution

I had the day off work yesterday to see the Stone Roses in Finsbury Park. Making the most of the time off meant meeting friends for a spot of lunch and (several) drinks before heading off to the gig.  As the gig was so close to my old stomping ground of Islington, I suggested we head to Mem and Laz, an Islington institution for a guaranteed high quality lunch at a great price. This is by no means fine dining, but for me, it's an excellent venue for a hearty satisfying lunch in an eclectic and lively environment (celebrating a birthday here once, I was pulled up to dance to the Turkish version of 'kiss kiss').

I booked a table for the seven of us at the small, normally heaving restaurant I remembered off upper street. Booking was usually necessary to accomodate larger numbers. When I arrived, I found that they had expanded into the two buildings next door over the last twelve months. I entered the new part of the restaurant, slightly dubious. I should not have worried, Mem and Laz have created a unique dining experience without losing the feel of a family run restaurant. The front half of Mem and Laz too remains faithful to the original. The decor includes the familiar mosaics and turkish lanterns, whilst the back, has a water feature wall, with opulent chandeliers and rainbow coloured seating. Apparently, the restaurant next door is Italian and I can't wait to come back to sample the dishes there.

So, I sampled from the lunch menu, which is extensive enough not to need to review the specials. I stuck with my usual 'vegetables with cheese' and had a starter of nut crusted goats cheese followed by the spinach and feta filo parcels with sour cream and parmesan. The goats cheese was subtle and light. It was complimented beautifully by the nutty crunchy crust. The filo parcels were bursting with spinach and feta, the earthiness of the spinach working in unison with the salty feta; further balanced against the sour cream and parmesan. These are great dishes for a summer lunch. I accompanied these with a dry and fruity rose wine (why not, we off work and on our way to a gig).

 

Some of the friends who came for lunch, have been to Mem and Laz with me before, and do themselves now go on to recommend the restaurant. Others who had not been before were converted and said they would defnitely visit again. In fact one said his starter of sardines was the best sardine dish he had ever had. Great praise indeed. I, sadly cannot comment on the sardines myself and did not grill him as to why he thought they were the best. Although, he did volunteer that the skin was perfectly crisped.

All of the above can be yours for the agreeable price of £7.95 Mon-Thurs and £8.95 on Fridays and Saturdays. You can check out the full lunch menu on their website. It is extensive enough to eat here every day for several weeks, working through all the dishes and varying the combinations of starter and main. It is great to see that even with the expansion, Mem and Laz remains committed to the original ethos of the restaurant, which I am sure all their old and new customers, do and will appreciate. I certaintly did.

http://www.memlazuk.com/