Slippery slope

And so, less than a month in to the new year, I’m already behind on EVERYTHING. Not least blogging. There’s been a lot of pasta-eating going on round here, but not all of it lowbrow: for my birthday several months ago, I was lucky enough to receive a delicious hamper full of foodstuffs (including the best chutney I’ve ever tasted, gooseberry and coriander) from a very charming man. In addition to four types of cheese, Yorkshire parkin, lemon curd, caramel sauce, olive oil, balsamic syrup, fruit cake, and other goodies, it included this fancy pasta:

I’ve been saving it for a special occasion, but so far no such occasions have been forthcoming, and so Friday night seemed good enough. It was beautiful and delicious, coated with a courgette, dill, almond, and goats’ cheese pesto. My poor photography does not do it justice…

In other news, I have mainly been eating Chocolate and Zucchini’s cauliflower, hazelnut, and turmeric soup with parsley, Ottonlenghi’s two potato vindaloo (from Plenty) and Hugh F-W’s sweet potato and peanut gratin (made with coconut cream rather than dairy cream) over the last few weeks, all of which proved very tasty. I also managed to rustle up a big batch of my favourite broccoli coconut curry with tomato and tamarind chutney (recipe to follow soon), which is the best winter comfort food you can find.

I can’t get enough of Indian food at the moment. Maybe it’s a regression thing — I grew up in New Delhi, eating as many chapatis and aloo parathas as I could get my grubby mitts on. Living where I do means that it’s virtually impossible to eat “proper” Indian food unless you make it yourself, as the restaurants here are all Bangladeshi or Pakistani. Nowt wrong with that, unless you want something other than a greasy mattar paneer and an overpuffed naan bread. It’s a tough life.

Anyway, the other week I made a very exciting discovery: a “Sri Lankan and Indian” spice shop tucked away in a nondescript area on the edge of town. I picked up some mustard oil, nigella seeds (kalonji/onion seeds), and the amchoor and urad dal I should have used when I tried to make these lentil dumplings. So far so good with the DIY approach –  who doesn’t love having their hair, soft furnishings, and laundry smell of garam masala? It definitely tastes good though: at the moment I’ve got a big pot of okra, tomato, and chickpea curry stewing away, and it smells amazing….

Bon Ap!

It has never occurred to me to prepare cauliflower this way (and I eat a lot of cauliflower). I think I’m in heaven…

Bon Appetit’s cauliflower steaks with olive relish and tomato sauce

 

Hot damn Yotam!

Definitely going to be making this artichoke pie sometime soon:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/dec/30/pithivier-rice-noodle-ottolenghi-recipes

New Year’s Eating

Time to get back in the game, with two new (and easy) recipes:

Winter Salad

• 1/2 celeriac
• a tasty, firm-ish pear
• a medium sized beetroot
• chopped roasted hazelnuts and/or pumpkin seeds
• juice and zest of one lemon
• walnut or hazelnut oil (olive is fine)
• handful of curly parsley
• optional extras: red endive, fennel, red cabbage, rocket or watercress

With the oil, lemon juice and zest, finely chopped parsley, and some salt and pepper, make a basic dressing in the bottom of your salad bowl.

Using a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice the vegetables as thinly as possible. Combine and toss to coat in dressing. Sprinkle with hazelnuts/pumpkin seeds, and serve.

NYE Pie

• shortcrust pastry, either from the shops or home made – approximately 450g
• one small butternut, diced
• 300g shiitake mushrooms
• brown onion, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cups mixed red quinoa, white quinoa, and cracked wheat
• small block smoked tofu, cubed (optional)
• sage (fresh is best but dried will do)
• vegetarian stock
• vegetable oil, olive oil, or butter
• soy sauce
• one egg

Roast the butternut until cooked through but still firm. In the meantime, grease a pie dish and line with the shortcrust pastry, leaving enough in reserve for the pie lid.

Fry the onions and sage in the fat, adding the chopped mushrooms for a few minutes when they’re almost done. Stir in the quinoa mix, add some vegetable stock and a dash of soy sauce, and let simmer for about ten minutes, or until most (but not all) of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the butternut and tofu, season further if necessary, and then pour into the pastry case. Fit the pie lid, and glaze with the beaten egg.

Make a few small holes in the pie lid before baking at 180 C for 50 or so minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden brown. Leave to cool for about ten minutes before serving.

A Vegetarian Christmas Part II: Side dishes

To accompany the savoury cheesecake (see below), I’ll be serving the usual roast potatoes, parsnips and carrots, and some brussel sprouts as well (details yet to be decided). I’ll also be making some less conventional dishes, including Yotam Ottolenghi’s crusted pumpkin wedges from Plenty (Ebury Press 2010), with their deliciously crunchy stuffing-like breadcrumb topping, and his roasted aubergines with pickled walnut salsa and pomegranate seeds from the BBC’s recent Great British Food Revival.

A friend recently bought me Plenty, and I’ve barely put it down since. I’m not usually one for cookbooks, but this is, to quote Tina Turner, simply the best (dnnnn-naw, dnnnn-naw). Now that I think about it, with a few carrots chucked in, the recipe for roasted parsnips and sweet potatoes with caper vinaigrette would work very nicely on my Christmas table. If only I had complete control, rather than a minor role as token vegetarian…oh and unlimited time and a bit more cash. It’s a tough life.

With Yotam’s help, I also made a pretty delicious and ridiculously easy vegetarian gravy by sauteing chopped onions and about six diced prunes in butter for an hour, with the occasional splash of very vinegary red wine. This was then pureed up with some salt and pepper and a bit of water. Sherry would make this even better, and maybe even some chestnut puree?

A Vegetarian Christmas: Savoury cheesecake

A first attempt, based on Nigella’s London Cheesecake (Domestic Goddess 159). Largely successful, but next time I’ll try using a stronger goat’s cheese, or perhaps even some goat yoghurt. I’m also going to have a go at lightly baking the base before adding the filling, to get a crisper finish. Some toasted hazelnuts would also make a nice addition to the base. I’ll be making it again for Christmas day, when I’ll try and remember to take some photographs.

• 150g oatcakes
• 75g salted butter, melted
• black pepper
• 400g cream cheese
• 200g soft goat’s cheese, or 150g soft goat’s cheese and 50g goat yoghurt
• 3 large organic eggs
• 3 large organic egg yolks
• dash of good quality olive oil
• juice and zest of lemon, to taste
• pink peppercorns, crushed
• 145 ml sour cream
• tarragon (or herb(s) of your choice – thyme would work nicely)

Grease and line a standard (20 cm) springform tin, and then wrap the outside tightly in several layers of foil until watertight. Preheat oven to 180 C.

Process or bash the oatcakes into crumbs, then add the butter and mix in thoroughly. Season to taste with black pepper before pressing the mixture into the tin to form a base. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Fill a kettle with water and leave to boil. Beat the cream cheese and goat’s cheese (and yoghurt if using) until smooth, then gently beat in the eggs and egg yolks one by one. Add the olive oil, lemon juice and zest to taste, some salt if needed, and finally the crushed pink peppercorns. Mix thoroughly.

Put the foil-wrapped tin in a roasting dish, and then pour the filling over the base. Pour the recently boiled water into the dish, until it comes about halfway up the sides of the tin. Carefully transfer the roasting dish and tin to the oven, and bake for about 50 minutes, or until set.

Wash and finely chop the tarragon, and add it to the sour cream. Season to taste. When the cheesecake has just set, pour over this topping and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove cheesecake, and leave to cool for up to 20 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with some extra crushed pink peppercorns.

Serves about four greedy vegetarians as part of a full Christmas dinner. It goes particularly well with Ms Mather’s genre-defining nut roast, which I hope to pinch the recipe for and post shortly. Turkey shmurkey….last night was my first vegetarian Christmas dinner in five years, and without a doubt the most delicious ever.