I love spicy food. And when I say spicy, I don’t just mean chilli heat that burns your tongue off. I mean food that is really rich in spices, with flavours that have tantalising layers and aromatic depths.
So, admittedly, it’s quite tragic that I fell in love with Japan where flavours are clean, simple and precise – with an emphasis on minimalism to bring out the essence of the original ingredient.
Summer is a wonderfully fleeting thing in the UK. So if you haven’t already adopted carpe diem as your life motto, you probably should – at least for this season.
Now is the one and only time it’s a good idea to throw an outdoor party in the UK (anyone had frostbite on Guy Fawkes Night?). And there are a couple of things that summer parties need – aside from pretty dresses and some kind of floral decoration. These essentials are obviously cocktails and canapés. Continue reading “Summer cocktails and canapés at Hixter (recipes included!)”
Butternut squash and feta tagliatelle served with steamed spinach
I don’t often blog recipes because I rarely take the time to cook something spectacular, and when I do, I’m rarely satisfied with the outcome. I never live up to my own incredibly high standards but I’m working on it. Slowly.
This, however, is an exception: this dish is really quite special and friends have been begging me to blog the recipe for ages. It’s an adaptation of a dish that my mother cooked a few years back, but no-one in the family was an enamoured with it as me.
You see, whilst I wasn’t a fussy eater as a child, I had one big dislike. Potatoes. Ugh, how I hated potatoes. And before you think “Ah, but come on, all kids love crisps. All kids love chips.” You are wrong. I HATED chips. Continue reading “Recipe: Butternut Squash & Feta Tagliatelle”
When I need a recipe, I call my mum who runs her memory through her extensive cookery book collection and self-invented recipes to provide something that might come to my rescue. As it happened, my father had recently bought her The Hairy Bikers’ The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight. My father is one of those remarkably unromantic people, who either completely fails to buy gifts or buys something that he secretly wants himself. Hairy Bikers’ diet food certainly appealed to him as he’s been a bit weight conscious since having a heart attack.
Fortunately though, the book also appealed to my mother, despite her initial reservations. She has raved about every recipe she has made – and trust me, it takes a lot to please my parents. So it must be good.
My mum recommended that I try a lamb tagine recipe. I was a little concerned because I sometimes find the sweetness of tagines overwhelming , and this recipe contained sweet potatoes, apricots, cinnamon and honey! However, the sweetness was very mild and the overall flavour was rich and delicious. This is one to try. And it’s from a book to buy! (I just tried a traditional chicken stew recipe from it this week and it was amazing!)
Lamb Tagine (from The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight)
Serves 5
750g lean lamb leg meat (or steaks)
2 tsp grnd cumin
2 tsp grnd coriander
1/2 tsp grnd cinnamon
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 med onions, halved and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
400g can of chopped tomatoes
500ml cold water
3 tbsp runny honey
400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 lamb stock cube
1 med sweet potato (about 250g)
75g no-soak apricots, halved
flaked sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
fresh flat-leaf parsley and finely grated lemon zest, to serve (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/ Fan 160 degrees / Gas 4. Trim the lamb of any hard fat and cut into rough 3 cm chunks. Season all over with salt and pepper. Mix the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and chilli powder in a small bowl.
Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or saucepan. Add the lamb, onions and garlic and stir-fry over a high heat for 1 minute until lightly coloured. Sprinkle with the spices and cook for 1-2 minutes more, tossing constantly. Take the pan off the hear as soon as the spices begin to give off a strong aroma.
Tip the tomatoes into the casserole dish and add the water, honey and chickpeas. Crumble the stock cube over the top and stir well. Bring to a simmer on the hob, stirring a couple of times, then cover the dish with a lid and put it in the preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour.
Just before the lamb is due to come out of the oven, peel the sweet potato and cut it into rough 2.5 cm chunks. Carefully remove the casserole from the oven and stir in the sweet potato and apricots. Put the lid back on and return the casserole to the oven. Cook for another 45-60 minutes or until the lamb is very tender.
Serve the tagine sprinkled with some roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley tossed with a little very finely grated lemon zest if you like. The zest adds a little extra spark of flavour.
457 calories per portion … guess it depends on your portion size though 😉
Adaptations:
I don’t have an oven so I cooked the tagine by slowly simmering it on the hob and it was absolutely fine.
I found the spice too mild so I would up all the quantities, particularly the chilli powder.
I absolutely love this recipe for several reasons. Firstly, not only is it really, really delicious, but it’s so ridiculously cheap that I feel justified eating out for dinner if I’ve had this for lunch (I was obviously never meant to live life as a student). Also, forget vegetarian – this dish is vegan! So super-healthy and a step towards eating a more sustainable diet. I eat so much meat after all… Finally, the dhal takes only 40 minutes to cook, most of which time you just have to keep an eye on a boiling pot. One-pot meal = one-pot to wash up.
All in all, this recipe is a gem.
I’ll give the recipe from the original book and my alterations in brackets.
Tarka Dhal
Taken from: Kris Dhillon – The New Curry Secret
Serves 4 (as a side) or 2 (as a main)
Cooking time: 35 – 40 mins
Ingredients
4 heaped tbsp split red lentils
425ml water (I find 375 is adequate. Add with caution – you can always add more)
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tomato, chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped (I used ‘lazy chillies’ in a jar – I add 1 tsp but this is very mild. Experiment to find your level)
1 level tsp salt (I don’t add this at all. Season to your taste)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (I use 2 tsp coriander paste – I think this also adds adequate salt)
Any vegetable you feel like adding. My mother recommends cauliflower. I add petit pois.
Method
Rinse the lentils thoroughly and place in pan with all ingredients, except the salt, garam masala, coriander and any extra vegetables. Be cautious with the water. Any extra veg thrown in later will add moisture.
Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cover the pan and simmer for a further 20 minutes, stirring two or three times. 10 – 15 minutes before the end, throw in any extra veg.
Stir in garam masala and half the coriander. Season to taste.
I was throwing a dinner party for Cambridge chums (yah yah) and needed to make a bit more effort than usual. To be fair to myself, cooking is difficult when you only have two electric hobs. It limits your options. A student budget also limits your options. I knew my friends weren’t expecting a feast, but I couldn’t bear the embarrassment of being a food blogger who fails at cooking. The pressure was on; I had to impress.
Little did I know that my evening was to be marked by my mother.
My mother – hero and villain.
She kindly suggested a recipe from Waitrose.com that had gone down a treat at home. Pork and sweet potato casserole. It had the right amount of sweetness, and depth from smoked paprika, which was balanced with sour cream and wonderfully finished with parsley.
It was a winner. My cooking skills didn’t desert me, and a delicious dish was born. My guests proclaimed it the best dish they’d eaten all week. I was so proud.
We had good conversation and wine. We were tucking into our plates with gusto when my phone dinged. A text message.
I’d like to pretend that I’m incredibly popular, but the fact is that I don’t get texts all that often. I believe in functional texting; I only use my phone in order to organise something.
The text was from my sister and read something like:
“Mum says you should look at my Facebook now xx”
Now, Mum knew I was having a dinner party. What could be so interesting or so important? I went on Facebook to see this:
Specimen: one labradoodle in a nappy
That’s our dog Tiptoe, who, in my absence from home, had reached adolescence. She was in season. AND SHE WAS WEARING A NAPPY.
My guests looked quizzically at me.
“Um, well, that’s my dog having a period. Let’s go back to dinner, shall we?”
Like I said. My mother – hero and villain.
Pork and Sweet Potato Casserole
Recipe from waitrose.com
Prep time: 15 mins Cooking time: 1 1/4 hours
Serves 4
2 tbsp olive oil
500g Diced Pork Leg
1 large onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
150 ml dry white wine
400g can chopped tomatoes
170 ml pot Soured Cream
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Method:
Heat oil in a large casserole and fry the pork until brown.
Add the onion and fry for 2 mins, then add the garlic, and fry both until softened.
Add the sweet potatoes, cumin, paprika, oregano and seasoning. Stir for 1-2 mins.
Pour in the wine then add the tomatoes to the pan with 100 ml cold water.
Bring to the boil and then cover the pan and simmer gently for 1 1/4 hours until the pork is tender and the sauce has thickened.
Stir in the soured cream and scatter with the chopped parsley.
Serve with steamed rice and a large green salad or steamed cabbage (personally, I found sweetheart cabbage went well).
I’m studying a Master’s at London School of Economics, and I can tell you right now that I am a novelty.
I’m a novelty because I’m British. There are close to 0 British students doing Master’s courses at LSE. Why? Well, it’s probably because LSE’s fees are about four times higher than other educational institutions in the UK. Overlooking that in the name of academic fervour, I’m a novelty Brit kid.
Which meant it was a great idea to hold a “Global Village” event at my student halls – students formed groups by countries and cooked a dish that represented their country. The diversity was phenomenal.
I was a lonely Brit but I had a Canadian and Frenchwoman on standby to help / laugh at my efforts. I decided to make Toad in the Hole. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this dish, it consists of sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter. I’ve provided some Wikipedia links for your convenience 😉
I did it my way. I worked hard and lovingly, and after three attempts, the recipe was ready. Enjoy!
Pheebz Eatz Crazy Toad in the Hole
Serves 2 – 3 Cooking time: 1 1/4 hours
Ingredients:
6 good quality, thick sausages
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1/2 onion (I used red, but I actually think white might work better as the peppers add enough sweetness to the dish!)
2 tbsp chopped thyme
2 cloves of garlic
Batter:
2 eggs
300ml milk
1 cup of flour
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
three sprigs of rosemary
Instructions:
Put the oven on to 240°C.
Lightly oil the base of an oven-proof dish and put it in the oven to heat.
Roughly slice the onions and peppers. Finely chop the thyme and garlic.
Remove the dish from the oven and carefully arrange the sausages in the dish, spacing them equally. Return to the oven for 5 mins.
Add the onions and peppers and thyme. Return to the oven for 10 mins.
Whilst the sausages and veg are cooking, whisk the batter ingredients together in a bowl. Finely chop the rosemary and add that to the batter.
Take the dish out the oven and quickly pour in the batter.
Leave to cook for about 40 minutes, checking frequently and turning the dish as necessary.
You might remember that I got a teensy bit excited at the BBC Good Food show and bought a lot of things.
Well, one of my scrumptious purchases was a Butternut Squash and Sage Pesto from Well Seasoned – a company that creates amazing sauces/dips from seasonal ingredients. I loved the pun, but I loved the product more.
Of course, I had to decide what to do with it. Risotto? Stuff it in pork? For me, a Buttnerut Squash Carbonara recipe won out.
I should confess that, as a child, I refused to eat potatoes. Yes, that included chips (fries) and yes, that included crips. Oh, did I hate potatoes. So my mother brought me up on egg-fried rice, “chick-a-noo-noo” (the child-friendly name for chicken noodle stir-fry), and PASTA.
I’ve almost copied Well Seasoned’s recipe exactly, but I’ve changed the quantities for two people. And yes, it really did need a whole pot of pesto for two!
As a student, it’s a little too luxurious for me to buy a Little Pot of Autumn every time, so it can be replaced by mashing up some butternut squash with seasoning, garlic, sage and maybe a bit of chilli if you like spice. Also, look out for Pheebz Eatz-original butternut squash and feta pasta recipe coming soon 🙂
Butternut Squash Carbonara Serves 2
Ingredients:
300g dried spaghetti or tagliattelli
1 Little Pot of Autumn – Roasted Butternut Squash and Sage
3 rashers, thick-cut smoked bacon (or lardons)
Crème fraiche
Egg yolk
Sage to serve, finely sliced
Instructions: 1. Boil the pasta according to cooking instructions in a large saucepan of salted water.
2. Chop the bacon into small chunks, fry until crisp, and then set aside.
3. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and return to the saucepan.
4. Stir through one whole Little Pot and keep over the heat for a minute or so to warm through. Add a dollop of crème fraiche and an egg yolk.
5. Crisp up some of the chopped sage in the juices left by lardons, then throw over the pasta just before you serve. (Seriously worth doing this – bacony sage is fantastic!)
I was invited to my friends’ for dinner and wanted to make a relatively quick and simple dessert to say thank you. So I happened upon this wonderful article in the Guardian and followed the fantastically simple Elizabeth David recipe.
Sadly, being a dessert novice, no-one told me the difficulty I would have in whisking the eggs “into soft peaks”. People subsequently said to me, “Oh yeah, that’s really hard work with just a hand-held whisk!”
To which I responded, “But I don’t even own a whisk!”
So, in case you’re as much as a novice as me, trying to use a fork will prove impossible, unless you’re built like Popeye.
AYE! I’m ready to whisk those eggs!
The result was wondrously chocolatey, but it was more a dense, chocolate mixture than a mousse. I enjoyed it nonetheless, but I felt a little sorry for my friends who graciously accepted it…
Makes 4
4 medium eggs 120g chocolate (at least 70% cocoa – I used Green and Black’s because their chocolate is fabulous in my opinion) 3 tsp sugar (or to taste)
1. Break the chocolate into pieces and put in a bowl over, but not touching, a pan of simmering water. When the chocolate begins to melt, turn the heat off. Separate the eggs.
2. Whisk the egg whites into soft peaks, add the sugar, and whisk briefly.
3. Mix the egg yolks quickly into the melted chocolate and then whisk in a third of the egg white. Fold the rest very gently into the mixture until just combined (be careful not to overmix), and then put into bowls and refrigerate for at least four hours until set
If you’re feeling fancy, grate some chocolate on top to make it look pretty.
Oh, and don’t forget to continuously sample the chocolate in the process.
Pheebz Eatz 