Pasta with Anchovy Sauce

I'm just going through lots of photos on my computer and have realised that there's quite a few recipes that i've done that i haven't done an entry for.  It may take some digging in my memory for what they were like, but i remember this one clearly - it was horrible and this time i'm not sure it was the fault of my cooking.  Just a bad recipe - so bad that i'm not even going to re-produce it here!

Harissa

This was great to make - much simpler than i thought, although it does take quite a lot of time to de-seed 20g of dried chillies.  I ended up adding a lot more spices than nigella recommends compared to chillis, because it was plenty hot enough for me.

- De-seed 20g dried chillies and cut into thin slices.
- Cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 1 hour.
- Dry roast 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, in a hot, oil-less frying pan for a few mins.
- Add to a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder, then add to a processor.
- Pound 2 cloves garlic together with a desert spoon of coarse sea salt, then add this to the processor.
- Add 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar and the drained chillies to the processor, then process together.
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the mixture and blitz again so that you have a thick liquid.  If its too thick, add some of the water the chillies soaked in.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Onion mush

I made this the other night for dinner to have with the steak and kidney pie and it was okay, but nothing amazing.  Nigella said she has it on toast, but not sure this is for me.  For onion lovers though, one to try out.

- Slice 1kg onions thinly, preferably using a processor, and cook on a very low heat in 4-5 tablespoons olive oil.
- Spirnkle some salt over, then add 100ml marsala and 75ml boiling water.
- Cover with tin foil, only just above the surface of the onion, forming a tight, low lid, then add the real pan lid.
- Cook on a very low heat for 2 hours, checking after 1 hour.
- When sticky and cooked, turn up the heat to cook off any remaining liquid.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Petit pois a la francaise

I had run out of of petit pois, so this is really  "soya bean a la francaise".  Not sure i've ever cooked lettuce before, but this was good and something i'd definitely do again.  Very simple and quick to do as well.

- Melt 3 tablespoons butter, and stir in 500g frozen petit pois, 1 small lettuce, shredded and 6 chopped spring onions.
- After a couple of mins, coating everything in butter, add 50ml boiling water,  teaspoon sugar, salt and pepper.
- Cover and stew for about 20 mins, season to taste, then serve sprinkled with parsley, basil or mint.
-

-

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Apple and walnut crumble

Here's charlie serving up the apple and walnut crumble, which we had with the tokai, pictured, given to us by emily and andrew.  Seeing as they were over for dinner as well, it seemed only fair!  tokai has to be my favourite dessert wine - this one was a very good 5 puttonyos (scale of 1-6)  I've just checked this on wikipedia and there's no entry for Puttonyos!  A quick 15 min break and i've now written one.

- Cover 25g raisins/sultanas with 3 tablespoons of marsala that has been gently warmed.
- Sieve 100g flour into a bowl and rub in 50g butter, cut into small cubes.
- Add 60g finely chopped walnuts and then stir in 45g brown sugar.
- Store in a cool place, while peeling, coring and slicing 2 cooking apples.
- Heat the apples in a saucepan together with 1 tablespoon of sugar and add the marsala soaked raisins.
- Cook with the lid for 5 mins until soft.
- Put the apples in a pie dish, cover with the crumble mixture and cook for 25 mins at 190C.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Chick pea and sour cherry couscous

Tara hates savoury couscous that has fruit like raisins in it, but i think that sour cherries are the answer.  They bring a similar morrocan feel to dishes, but are much less sweet.

- Pour 450ml vegetable stock in a pan and bring to the boil, add salt.
- Mix 350g couscous with 50g sour cherries, 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and cumin, then add the pan of stock and remove from heat.
- Heat a tin of chickpeas, and when the couscous has absorbed the stock, add the chickpeas, then stir in 30g butter.
- Toast 60g pinenuts, add half of the couscous and sprinkle the other half over the top when serving.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Rhubarb ice-cream

Wow - delicious!  Once again it proves the rule that anything tasty can be even tastier by just putting it in an ice-cream maker.  The mixture itself was good, and as ice-cream, even better.  We were going to have it with the rhubarb jelly below, but it took too long to set, so we just had it by itself.

As with most ice-creams, you just make a custard with eggs, sugar and cream, then add the fruit, and put in the magic ice-cream machine!

- Cook 1 kg rhubarb in a dish with 300g sugar, covered with foil, for 45-60mins at 190C.
- Drain, keeping the juice, and beat the fruit with a fork until smooth.
- Beat 2 egg yolks with 45g sugar.
- Heat 280ml single cream to just before boiling point, and add to the egg yolks.
- Put the mixture on a low heat and stir constantly, until it thickens to a custard.
- Plunge the whole pan into cold water, to cool it down, keeping stirring.
- When its cool, stir in the rhubarb pulp, then add 280ml double cream (lightly whipped).
- Add sugar to taste, one tablespoon at a time.
- Add vanilla before putting in the ice-cream maker.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Little gem salad

A slightly strange salad, that i'm not i'd do again.  I think it would be better without the potatoes, but there's lots of flavours in the dressing.

- Boil 200g new potatoes, and when cool, thickly slice.
- Pound 4 anchovies , then whisk together with 2 tablespoons milk, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 6 tablespoons of creme fraiche, until smooth.
- Slowly add 8 tablespoons olive oil, still whisking, then stir in 1 finely chopped spring onion, 3 tablespoons chopped tarragon and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley.
- Season to taste and then add to 4-6 little gem lettuces in a bowl, combining with the potatoes.
- Put on a large plate, add 18 cornichons and sprinkle over 2 tablespoons parsley.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Grilled pepper salad

This is the last time i'm going to make this - much as i like peppers, the pain of removing all that skin is not worth it!  This is just yellow and red peppers as Nigella never uses green peppers in anything and tara agrees with her apparently.

- Chargrill 4 red and 4 yellow peppers under the grill until slightly blackened.
- Peel them over a bowl to catch the pepper juice.  (Alex said putting them in bag to steam first helps get the skin off).
- Cut the peppers into strips and put in a shallow bowl.
- In a pan, heat 5 tablespoons olive oil and add 2 cloves minced garlic.
- After 1-2 mins, add 3 finely chopped anchovy fillets heating until they've melted into the oil.
- Take off the heat, add juice 1/2 lemon and pour over the peppers.
- Leave to macerate in the fridge until ready to eat.
- Should be enough for about 6 people.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mostarda di Venezia

Nope, I've never heard of it either, but is apparently eaten all over italy as a relish to have with cold meats.

- Peel, core and chop 1.8kg quinces and put them in a pan covered with 750ml white wine.
- Cook for 40 mins until soft, then puree in a mixer.
- Weigh, and add the same weight of sugar (about 1 kg).
- Dissolve 6 tablespoons english mustard powder in a little hot water, then add to the mixture., together with 1 teaspoon salt and 250g candied peel.
- Cook gently for about 20-30 mins until the mostarda becomes dense and deep-coloured.
- Bottle and keep for a month before eating.

I haven't tried it yet but here's hoping.

Mushroom udon soup

I increasingly like making eastern style soups since they are so healthy and tasty.  You do need some unusual items in your store cupboard though.

- Soak 5g shitake mushrooms in 300ml hot water for 10 mins.
- Strain the water into a pan, add a few drops of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon instant dashi (japanese stock apparently) and then the mushrooms.
- When the water boils, add 50g udon noodles.
- When cooked, pour into a serving bowl, add a few drops of sesame oil and sprinkle with coriander.
- Should be enough for 1.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Lentil and olive crostini

These were delicious crostini - the lentils really soften the olive tapenade, which is perfect for me because i find olives a bit aggressive by themselves.

- Cook 60g puy lentils in 500ml salted water for 35 mins.
- Drain the lentils, reserving 75ml water, and let cool.
- Puree the lentils with 3 tablespoons of tapenade, adding 40-75ml of the cooking liquid to taste.
- Remove to a bowl and stir in 1 teaspoon brandy.
- Serve on toast with chopped cherry tomatoes.

We found that the following day the taste had mellowed a bit, tasting better for it.

Gorgonzola crostini

I don't really like blue cheese - i find that they are dominated by the smell and taste of ammonia.  That is until you cook with it - George once made us a stilton and broccoli soup with an entire stilton in it.  I tried it slightly nervously given my aversion to blue cheese, and this had a LOT of it in!  It was delicious - the cooking of the stilton, combined with the broccoli transformed it, taking the ammonia'ness away, and just leaving sublime flavour.  The same thing happens with this crostini - the marsala and the mascarpone take the edge of the gorgonzola, and without even needing to cook it, makes it taste great even to me.

- Chop 120g gorgonzola in a bowl and add 40g mascarpone.
- Add 2 tablespoons marsala, some grated nutmeg and mash together with a fork.
- To make the crostini, brush 1/2 - 1cm thick slices of bread with olive oil on both sides, and put in the oven for 5-10 mins at 200C.
- Add the topping and sprinkle with chopped parsley.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pea souffle

I've just made this for lunch for Tara and I. Not sure I've made a soufflé before and it went surprisingly well. It was slightly runny in the middle which I thought was quite nice - like pea version of a chocolate fondant!

- Grease a soufflé dish or casserole dish with butter and dust with grated parmesan (that what she says!?)
- Melt 15g butter in a pan and cook 120g peas in it until soft.
- Puree the peas together with 85g grated gruyere (i used cornish yarg and a french cheese i had left over)
-  Melt another 15g butter in a pan and stir in 15g flour.
- Cook for a few mins before slowly whisking in 125ml milk and cook for a further few mins.
- In a large bowl, whisk 3 egg whites until you get soft peaks.
- Beat 2 of the egg yolks into the white sauce, followed by the pea puree, followed by a dollop of the egg whites.
- Season to taste and grate in some nutmeg.
- Gently fold in the rest of the egg whites and add to the souffle dish.
- Cook at 180C for 25-30 mins.

I made it "pea-tastic" by having it with the pea, avocado and mint salad i've made before.







- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Chicory salad

The chicory salad was very simple and went well with the onion tart.

- Separate 5-6 heads of chicory into a bowl.

- Whisk 1 tablespoon sherry, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, some salt and 2 tablespoons creme fraiche in a bowl.

- Continue to whisk and slowly add 6 tablespoons olive oil, and add to the chicory

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Onion Tart

Originally uploaded by andrewhull72

Lunch was slightly behind schedule because of marni issues and 2.5 hours cooking issues, so everyone dug in before i could take a photo - here's what was left. That's some chicory salad next to the tart, in case you were wondering!

- Make a rich shortcrust pastry as outlined here.
- Melt 30g butter and a drop of olive oil and cook 500g thinly sliced onions on a low heat for 12 mins.
- Stir in 1-2 teaspoons sugar, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 20 mins.
- Slightly turn up the heat, add 4 tablespoons marsala and cook for a further 8 mins and by this time, the onions should be a lovely stewed dark brown.
- Season to taste.
- While this has been cooking, bake the pastry blind (with baking beans on foil) in a 20cm tin for 15 mins at 180C.
- Remove the beans, cover just the edges and cook for a further 5-10 mins.
- Make a custard by beating 2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 300ml creme fraiche, some grated nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Line the pastry with the onions, pour over the custard, grate over some nutmeg and cook for 30 mins at 180C.

Onions in the tart tasted delicious, but i think it would work better if you mixed the onions in with the custard mix, rather than just having the custard on top.

Minestrone Soup

We were lucky enough to have Anu, Joan and their baby daughter, Niah over for lunch, as well as Ginny and Matt.  Tara had decided to go shopping for the morning, leaving me with Marni.  So i had to look after marni, go shopping for food and then cook it.  Feeding marni - tick; putting her down to sleep - tick; trip to sainsbury's with marni - tick; mani staying asleep at sainsburys - tick; getting all the ingredients - tick; me reading recipe beforehand - not quite - managed to miss the "cook for 2 1/2 hours"!  So i had to curtail the simmering process slightly, but it was none the worse for it.  1 hour or so was fine, particularly as its just vegetables.

- Cook 3 onions, thinly sliced in 40g butter and 8 tablespoons olive oil in a large pan until soft.
- Add 5 diced carrots and cook for a further 3 mins.
- Then add the following 1 at a time, with 1 min or so in between - 2 sticks chopped celery; 300g diced potatoes; 3 diced courgettes; and 100g french beans in 1 cm lengths.
- Add 200g shredded savoy cabbage and cook for a further 8 mins.
- Add 1 1/2 litres stock and the end of a piece of parmesan if you have one.  Season to taste, cover and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours.
- Soup should be thick but with enough water to cook some pasta in it.
- Add 120g dried white beans or 400g tin cannellini beans and cook for 5 mins.
- Add 150g small pasta such as ditalini (i used Alfabeto - yes, it is small pasta letters) and cook for 15 mins.
- Take out the parmesan rind, add 40g grated parmesan and serve with a slug of olive oil.

Here's ginny demonstrating just how good it tasted!

Black Bean Soup

A lot of soups can have very flavours and textures - wholesome, earthy, etc.  This had a texture unlike most other soups you get.  This was light and fresh which surprised me for soup with beans in it.  The red peppers and lime juice lift it, and the beans are left whole.  Definitely one to try.

- Place 450g dried black beans in a pan with 2 bay leaves, cover with 2 litres water and simmer for 1 1/2 hours (or use tinned beans.which i did!)
- Saute 2 chopped red peppers, 2 chopped shallots, 2 chopped onions in 200ml olive oil for about 15 mins.
- Add 8 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon ground cumin, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, the zest of 1 lime and saute for a further 5 mins.
- Puree in a blender.
- Add the puree to the cooked beans (still should be covered in water) together with1/2 tablespoon muscovado sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and cook until tender for about 20-30 mins.
- Season and add 2 tablespoons dry sherry.
- Serve with bowls of chopped coriander, chopped red onion, quartered limes, and sour cream and tabasco, for people to add as they wish.

I made this for tara and I as a weekend lunch - an unexpected hit!

Sage and Onion Lentils

What can i say - no flash on the iPhone and only 2 megapix, so not a great picture - come back nokia, all is forgiven.  Here's the sage and onion lentils we had with the cod, although i think i'm going to recommend more sage than nigella suggests as i couldn't really taste it.  12 sage leaves in 500g lentils and 3 onions get lost a bit i reckon.

- Put 500g puy lentils in a pan, and add 3 whole cloves garlic, 2 whole peeled onions, 10 sage leaves, and 1 stick celery halved.
- Cover with cold water, bring to the boil, add 1-2 teaspoons salt and simmer for 35 mins.
- Drain and remove the lentils and add 6 tablespoons olive oil.
- When hot, add 1 finely chopped onion and 10 more shredded sage leaves.
- Cook for 10 mins, then add 2 cloves chopped garlic and teaspoon mustard.
- Cook a further couple of mins, then add back the lentils and stir well.
- Season and add olive oil and lemon juice to taste.

You can just see them poking out from under the cod...

Aubergine with Pomegranate

As ever, i have to make something special for tara when i'm having meat.  And of course, i have to eat meat more often these days because there's loads of meat recipes in nigella's book!  a good excuse, i know.

- Slice 2 aubergine's lengthways about 1/2 cm thick.
- If using a griddle (which i did) brush with olive oil, and if a frying pan, heat some olive oil in a pan.
- Fry on a high heat for a few minutes either side until the outside is crispy and inside soft.
- Remove and place on some kitchen towels.
- Halve a pomegranate and remove most of the seeds by hitting the outside with a wooden spoon.
- Arrange the aubergines on a plate and squeeze the juice of the remaining pomegranates in the shell over them.
- Sprinkle with salt, handful chopped mint and the pomegranate seeds.

Mmmm aubergine, the king of vegetables...