Hamilton Squash

I went out for lunch the other day and had a very delicious stuffed butternut squash, which reminded me of a similar dish eaten many years ago courtesy of Jamie Oliver. It was so long ago, Jamie was pre-Sainsbury’s, pre-kids, pre-school lunch crusading and pre-paella controversy. Love him or hate, he does keep himself busy.

Anyway, I decided to dig out said recipe and cook it for a friend who was coming over for supper. She’s watching the calories too, so I thought this was a pretty healthy, but filling meal. We won’t mention the accompanying wine which, as we all know, is calorie-free on Friday nights.

It can be served on its own (I’m working on how to present it elegantly…will keep you posted) or as a side dish if you have more friends than me. Think of it as a risotto in its own serving case. I’m sure some fancy London restaurant wouldn’t bother with crockery and serve it as is, or on a piece of bark or something. I’m sticking to bowls and a smile.

Hamilton Squash

Ingredients:

A smallish handful of dried porcini mushrooms
1 butternut squash, halved lengthways and seeds removed
Olive oil
1 red onion
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon pummelled coriander seeds
A pinch or two of dried chilli flakes
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped
5 sun-dried tomatoes
Salt and pepper
100g basmati rice
1/2 a handful of lightly toasted pinenuts

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 220ºC (200º for fan oven, but they do vary)

Soak the porcini for about 8 minutes in half a mug of freshly boiled water.

Using the sturdiest small spoon you can find (I actually use an ice-cream scoop — a proper one, not one with the half-sphere on it), score and scoop out some of the flesh the squash, leaving two hollowed-out halves.

fullsizerender-4Hamilton Squash

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because I’m too lazy to ‘finely chop’ the onion, I put the scooped flesh, the onion, garlic, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, the coriander seeds and the chilli flakes into a blender and blitz them, before frying them for about 4 minutes with a decent drizzle of garlic oil (plain olive oil will do, of course).

When they are softened, add the porcini with their soaking water and also the rice. Cook for a further 5 minutes before adding salt and pepper to taste.

Rub the skin of the squash with a little olive oil and place the halves on a large piece of foil. Stir the pine nuts through the mixture and then pack it tightly into the 2 halves of the squash. Press them together, like a big sandwich.

Wrap it in foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 1hr and 15 minutes.

As usual, I completely forgot to take a photo of the finished dish because I was too busy scoffing it. It’s not pretty, but it is very tasty.

 

Tomato and Coconut Cassoulet

anna jones a modern way to eatRecently, I was sent some recipes from a new vegetarian cookery book that is going to be published this week. It is called ‘A Modern Way to Eat’ by Anna Jones. Anna trained with Jamie Oliver at Fifteen and has an impressive CV. Her book sounds right up my street as it has lots of healthy, tasty vegetarian recipes that are easy and quick to make. Even if you’re not a vegetarian, I think more and more people are eating veggie once or twice a week for health and cost reasons and there is always the quandary of what to cook for the veggie guest who comes to dinner. For this reason alone, and the thought of not having to have pasta/risotto/peppers again, I am thoroughly excited to see what the rest of the recipes are and might gently direct my friends and local bistro pubs to its contents. To whet your appetite, some of the recipes in the book are popcorn tacos, pistachio, mint and courgette polpette, cherry poppy seed waffles, full of greens fritters, double chocolate cloud cake and banana, toffee and coconut cream pie.

Anyway, the recipe I chose to cook, from the ones I was sent, was Tomato and Coconut Cassoulet. I have recently returned from a visit to France and so the cassoulet caught my eye and my taste buds!

caas

The recipe was not fussy – not too many ingredients and not a lot a cooking skill required (phew!). However, I did manage to mess up the beans on first attempt. Regular readers will know that whilst I love cooking, it doesn’t always love me.  First of all Waitrose didn’t have any tinned haricot beans *tuts* so I had to buy dried beans. Which you need to soak overnight. They are basically baked beans without any sauce and NOT haricot verts as my husband thought…

Ah, first attempt, thwarted.

Having soaked said beans; the next evening I started again and managed to let the beans boil dry (much to the mirth of my children). I now have one very blackened Le Crueset pan and no credibility with the kids…

Second attempt, thwarted.

Third time lucky, more bean-soaking and three days later I was finally to task! (note: this is all my fault. And Waitrose. Grr) It really was a very simple dish to cook and, for the diet-driven amongst you, easy on the calories. It involves tomatoes, beans, some veggies, coconut milk and sourdough bread which is cooked within the dish and absolutely divine for it. Really tasty as a meal and great for a Saturday supper with friends. It serves six easily and looks great on the table to be served up. It also is baked for half an hour in the oven which means you don’t have to be tied to the kitchen, cooking, while all your friends are quaffing wine and chatting.

cassoulet

My husband and I had it for supper and then I popped in some more sourdough and basil and reheated for Saturday lunch where we absolutely did not polish the entire lot off in one go.*

To make Anna’s Tomato Cassoulet:

You will need:
1 leek, washed and roughly sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1cm thick piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
400g tin of tomatoes
4 tablespoons of coconut milk
400g jarred/tin haricot beans, drained. (or DIY from dried beans like I did)
500g vine or cherry tomatoes, halved
Bunch of fresh basil
4 slices of sourdough bread (I prefer a grained one but white is good too)

To make:

Preheat oven to 180°C

Heat an ovenproof wide pan on medium heat and add a glug of olive oil. Put in the leek, garlic, chilli and ginger with a pinch of salt then turn the heat right down and cook for 10 minutes (checking that nothing is burning!), until the leeks are soft. Add the tinned tomatoes, milk and beans and simmer for a couple of minutes then remove from the heat.

Scatter over the fresh tomatoes, then the basil and next tear up the bread and push chunks of it in between the tomatoes. Drizzle the whole lot with olive oil and cook in the oven for 30 minutes – the tomatoes should have shrunk and the bread crisp and golden. Serve with green salad.

 

*We did.

Yum

How do I make…..Pesto?

DSCF5242I know, I hear your cries. Pesto Schmesto.  I make that all the time.

Well, I don’t.  I tried it once before, forgot to secure the lid on the liquidiser and had bloody pesto EVERYWHERE. Over the ceiling, the worktops, the carpet (yes, IN the kitchen – it was my first flat) and pesto all over me.

It’s a bugger to clean up and very easy to buy in a jar, so since then I have never tried.  Until now.

I bought a tub from M&S and thought…hang on a minute, surely I could give it a go….again.

So, I researched recipes and OMG are there lots! Salt, no salt. Garlic, no garlic. Parmesan, Pecorino. Extra virgin olive oil, or normal?

So I went with a basic recipe from Felicity Loake and adapted it to what I had. As such, I do NOT attribute this to her, or anyone.  But, this is how it went:

basil

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsps pine nuts

Pinch (or 3) of salt

125g basil leaves

30g Parmesan

125ml Extra virgin olive oil

First of all you need to lightly toast the pine nuts in a dry pan and leave them to cool.  Now, I was supposed to crush everything up in a mortar and pestle, but I gave up within 2 minutes and switched to the food processor. Sorry.

So, add the pine nuts, basil and cheese to the food processor and whizz up (I pulsed).  Through the funnel thing, dribble in the olive oil until you have….well, pesto!  Hey Pesto!  (Sorry. Again)

Pop it into a jar and drizzle a little oil over the top to seal.  It should keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.

DSCF5239

VERDICT

Well, mine tasted like it needed more salt.  Perhaps because half the cheese was meant to be pecorino and I didn’t have any.  Well, my Tesco local didn’t sell any.  So, I added a couple of pinches more and it was better. BUT still not as good as the pot I bought from M&S.  Also, next time I would use regular olive oil rather than extra vrigin as the taste was strong.

So, when I have harvested a bucket load more basil I will try a variation.  However, it is perfectly nice and will be scoffed on some beautiful, home-made pasta BUT it could be better.  But, hey. If this blog was all about how marvellous I am at cooking…well, it would be a big fat lie.  I am ‘adequate’ at cooking, but trying to get better.  That’s what this blog’s about.  Share and share alike.

On that note, if anyone has any pearls of wisdom or better recipes, PLEASE post in the comments or email me.  I would be very grateful for any tips and happy to credit you, of course!

DIY Curry Powder & Cashew Nut and Pea Curry

You know when you go to the doctor/dentist etc. and flip through a magazine only to find some swine has ripped out the article you wanted to read?  Erm, well, that might be me….

I cannot for the life of me remember which magazine I *stole* this from but maybe you’ll recognise it?  (Unless you were the person coming in after me…)

Anyway, this is a bit of a two-in-one because I am here to extol the virtues of the curry powder and go ‘Booooo!’ to the actual curry.

Since making these recipes I have gone out and bought a mortar and pestle (A bargain £7.50 in M&S).  This is because the muscles on my right arm are now larger than the left due to over an hour’s grinding/bashing/pummeling/rolling with my wooden rolling pin.  Talk about hard work!  Still, it was worth it and I have proudly made a really nice Sri-Lankan curry powder which has a lovely taste and just enough kick.  I also recommend trying to get the ingredients from a local whole-food type store rather than the supermarket as the spices are so much cheaper, having been bought wholesale and packaged up in-store.

sri lankan curry powder

Sri-Lankan Curry Powder

Ingredients:

1tbsp coriander seeds
1½tsp cumin seeds
¼tsp fenugreek seeds
½tsp fennel seeds
2½cm piece of cinnamon stick
3 cloves
5 green cardoman pods
1 dries bay leaf
2 hot dried chillies

To make:

Heat a heavy-based pan over a medium heat.  Add all ingredients except the bay leaf and chillies.  Fry until well-browned, stirring all the time.  Add the bay leaf and chillies and continue stirring until they also go brown and the other spices are a dark brown colour – but don’t let them burn!

Then allow to cool for a few minutes and grind into a powder.  I STRONGLY recommend you use a mortar & pestle (see my above comment!).  Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container.  When I made it I had 2/3 tbsp of powder.

 

Cashew Nut & Pea Curry

The curry was not a great hit – in fact Husband and I only ate a few mouthfuls each.  There were just far too many cashew nuts in it.  It tasted really nice (from the above curry powder) but the texture was all wrong, especially for a main dish.  The reason I am including the recipe is because it has potential with a few less cashews, a few more peas and as a side dish.  A dollop on the side would be perfect.  I might have another go one day, but in the meanwhile I’ll let you take it, leave it or amend it as suggested!

cashew nut pea curry

Ingredients:

300g cashew nuts (soaked in cold water for 2 hours)
½tsp ground turmeric
2tbsp oil
2 onions, halved and sliced
2 chopped cloves garlic
½ cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
¼tsp cayenne pepper
½tsp mild paprika
1tbsp Sri-Lankan curry powder
300ml coconut milk
150g frozen peas

To make:

Drain the cashews then add the turmeric and simmer in salted water for 30 mins.  Make sure they don’t get mushy.  Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok and fry the onions for 5 mins.  Add the garlic, cinnamon and bay leaves and fry for another 5 mins.  Then sprinkle in the cayenne, paprika and curry powder and fry for 30 seconds.

Add the coconut milk and a pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 5 mins.   Add the peas and simmer for a further 2 mins.

Savoury Tart (or cheat’s pizza!)

The other night I opened the fridge door with a heavy heart, wondering what I could rustle up for the old man’s supper….There were the left overs from making the kids’ pizza and half a sheet of jus-rol puff pastry.  So I went for Cheat’s Pizza or as I sold it to Husband ‘Savoury Tart’.

savoury tart cheats pizza

Take a sheet (whatever size!) of puff pastry and score the edges about 1cm in.  Spread passata over the middle section then scatter grated mozzarella over the top.  Adorn with whichever topping you please – I chose black olives and fresh basil leaves (oil them first so they don’t burn).  Drizzle a little olive oil over the top and pop onto a preheated baking sheet and into a hot oven for about 20 mins.

It is basically pizza on puff pastry but tastes lighter and just as yummy.  If you pimp it up with a little salad it makes a nice supper or make little circles of it as a starter/kids’ food!  Best thing is you can eat it cold too!

Chicken Pie for Kids

My children exasperate me daily with their refusal to eat anything remotely diverse.  Try as I might, getting anything that could be even loosely termed ‘vegetation’ into my son is a mission I have yet to complete.  My youngest daughter is two and fluctuates between trying random stuff to only accepting weetabix.  My hope lies with my eldest daughter who does, at least, give my cooking a try.  Today I concocted some mini chicken pies for them. I know, not exactly spice fusion, but anything beyond plain pasta is an adventure for them.  My tag line was ‘They’re like roast dinner – with a lid!”.  Surprisingly both my daughters scoffed the lot.  Son ate the pastry and after bemoaning the fact I had dared to put peas in it sat for 45 minutes until I forced him to eat three chunks of chicken.  I won the fight, but lost the battle.  And then the little monkey expected pudding!

Anyway, here’s what I gave them…

chicken pie kids

Mini Chicken Pies

Heat 1 tsp oil and a small knob of butter in a pan and fry 2 large chicken breasts cut into chunks, until they are turning golden.  Sprinkle 1tbsp of plain flour over the chicken and stir so it is all coated.  Transfer to a small casserole dish and add 1/2 pint chicken stock, a generous pinch of dried oregano and 30g ham batons/chunks.  With the lid on, bake in the oven for 30 mins at 180C.  Then stir and cook for a further 15 mins with the lid off.  Stir in 2 tbsps frozen peas and divide the mixture between 5/6 ramekins.

Using a sheet of puff pastry, cut circles to fit the dishes and egg wash the rim of the ramekins to stick the pastry circles down.  Place the pastry on top and egg wash liberally for a nice shine!  Poke the middle with a knife to let the steam out and then either:

a) Freeze for use another day

b) Pop in the fridge for later

c) Bake in the oven for 20 mins until the top is risen and golden

Because they are for kids, I tend to decant the contents on a plate so they don’t burn their fingers.  A shame as they look lovely in their little pots, but I’ll leave that one up to you and how savvy your kids are!

 I am a vegetarianThis works well as a vegetarian recipe by swapping the chicken for quorn, using veg stock and leaving out the ham.  I usually stick a bit of ‘shroom or onion in to pep it up a bit.

Yum

Goats’ Cheese & Caramelised Onion Tart

This is a recipe from Simon Rimmer’s book More from The Accidental Vegetarian.  I find tarts quite tricky to get right, especially when making the pastry from scratch, but this recipe looked very do-able and I am a sucker for caramelised onions so I had to give it a try.

There is also a quirk – lavender on the pastry!  Whilst I have seen this on Masterchef, Great British Bake Off etc. I never dreamed little ol’ me might actually venture down that route, or as it was, down the front path to the lavender bush.  Anyway, you may scorn my naivety but for me, using lavender for something other than sniffing is very exciting!  I know, I don’t get out much….

onion tart simon rimmer

To make the pastry, pulse 225g plain flour and 100g diced butter in a food processor until it looks like breadcrumbs.  Then mix in 1 tbsp chopped fresh lavender and bind together with 1 large egg and about 1 tbsp of milk.

Wrap the dough in clingfilm and pop it in the fridge for half an hour to man-up.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) and roll out the pastry to line a greased 20cm tart tin (i.e. deep edges to hold all that yummy filling).  Prick base with fork and chill again for 20 mins.

Cover the pastry with greaseproof paper and weigh down with baking beans.  Bake blind for 15 mins then remove paper and beans and bake again for 5 mins.  Reduce the oven to 180°C (160°C fan).

Whilst you are waiting for it to bake you can prepare the filling.  In a large pan melt 50g butter and 1 tbsp oil and add 4 thinly sliced large onions, one crushed garlic clove, 2 tsp caster sugar and some seasoning.  Saute for about 20 mins or until golden in colour.  In a seperate large bowl whisk together 2 eggs, 2 egg yolks and 150ml double cream.  Add the onion mix and carefully  pour into the cooked tart case.  Crumble 100g goats’ cheese over the top and bake for about 20/30 minutes until filling is set and gorgeously golden brown.