I have just spent a gloriously sunny weekend living la vida loca in London with friends - and eating my way around the city.
What I really love about London is the melting pot of cultures in each different district, and the melange of cuisines they bring with them.
Highlights included gigantic cakes from a Greek bakery on Camberwell High Street, deliciously crisp pizza from Pontis in Covent Garden (one of the cheapest and best in the area), and a decadent and thigh-wobblingly chocolatey miniature gateaux from Boulangerie Jade in Blackheath - I was litererally drooling (well, not quite drooling).
A must for foodies visiting the city is a trip to Blackheath. This was my first time in the area and I was taken there by a friend who lives nearby.
We picked-up lemony houmous, piquant olives, crusty bread, vegetable crisps and samosas from the local shops and walked for about 10 minutes past the kite-flyers and lobster-coloured topless men enjoying the sun, to Greenwich Park - surely one of the most breathtaking in the city.
This really is the ideal spot to sit, eat, chat and watch the world go by - oh, and you could make sure you're watch is bang on time at the Observatory too.
I didn't lift a finger to cook during the weekend, except for preparing breakfast for host Yelena and other friends Marina and Lu who were staying. You can take the cook out of the kitchen but you can't take the kitchen out of the cook....as they say.
I rustled-up cheese pancakes with confit tomatoes (1 punnet of tomatoes roasted until gooey with lots of chopped garlic, basil and black pepper) and roasted mushrooms - plus crispy parma ham on top for the meat eaters.
Feeling knackered and blistered after having lugged my considerably heavier suitcase back to Suffolk, I had to have a barbecue and take dinner outside.
We had delicious marinated chicken, wilted greens with fresh garlic and roasted Jersey Royals with fennel and red pepper. mmmmm.
You just HAVE to try this chicken recipe - the end result tastes something like kebab house chicken kebabs - but in a good way.
Ingredients
500g boneless chicken pieces
1tsp paprika
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1tsp salt
1tsp black pepper
handful fresh oregano and thyme
1tbsp olive oil
Do it:
Just mix it all together and grill on the barbecue until cooked through - about 10 minutes.
Serve with salad and pitta or middle eastern flatbread.
Ingredients
Monday 24 May 2010
Wednesday 12 May 2010
Lower cholesterol bolognaise/ragu-type sauce
This is not bolognaise in the Italian sense, but more akin to what we Brits call spag-bol.
The little Greedy Gluts love this sauce and it’s a great way to stuff lots of protein, vegetables and even calcium into them in one sitting without them making a fuss.
Of course, it tastes good to adults too.
Plus, the addition of turkey mince instead of beef mince means the dish is lower in cholesterol and packed full of those minerals that turkey is known for.
Ingredients
450g or 1lb of turkey mince- the best you can afford
A miniature bottle of red wine
1 onion finely chopped
3 rashers of unsmoked bacon finely chopped
1 stick of celery finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tin of tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp fresh thyme or 1/2tsp dried
1 bay leaf
100ml milk
1/2tsp salt
A few grinds black pepper
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
Serves 4
Do it:
1. Heat about 1tbsp of oil in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic, onion, celery and herbs and cook on a medium heat until translucent.
2. Turn the heat up to full and add the bacon, then the turkey mince.
3. When the mince is browned add the rest of the ingredients.
4. Simmer for 20 minutes or longer to develop the flavour.
5. Serve
NB: This tastes fantastic the day after if reheated.
The little Greedy Gluts love this sauce and it’s a great way to stuff lots of protein, vegetables and even calcium into them in one sitting without them making a fuss.
Of course, it tastes good to adults too.
Plus, the addition of turkey mince instead of beef mince means the dish is lower in cholesterol and packed full of those minerals that turkey is known for.
Ingredients
450g or 1lb of turkey mince- the best you can afford
A miniature bottle of red wine
1 onion finely chopped
3 rashers of unsmoked bacon finely chopped
1 stick of celery finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tin of tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp fresh thyme or 1/2tsp dried
1 bay leaf
100ml milk
1/2tsp salt
A few grinds black pepper
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
Serves 4
Do it:
1. Heat about 1tbsp of oil in a medium saucepan. Add the garlic, onion, celery and herbs and cook on a medium heat until translucent.
2. Turn the heat up to full and add the bacon, then the turkey mince.
3. When the mince is browned add the rest of the ingredients.
4. Simmer for 20 minutes or longer to develop the flavour.
5. Serve
NB: This tastes fantastic the day after if reheated.
Monday 10 May 2010
Scones, naans and stew
Sunday was a strange day weather-wise we me and the hubby (and the majority of our neighbours) doing the washing dance – hanging it out, bringing it in, hanging it out, bringing it in…..you get the picture.
One minute it was baking hot and eye-streamingly sunny, and by the time we’d dug out the deckchairs and donned our shades it was pouring with rain. Typical British weather.
Stuck in a limbo of not knowing whether to stay in and grudgingly do housework or brave the great outdoors, I chose to stick the kids with Mr GG for a while (please don’t feel sorry for him – he was fishing on his own for most of the weekend!) while I had a baking day.
I dug out my weathered copy of Leith’s Baking Bible and set to work.
This cookery book really is a bible for all baked goods. From cakes, cookies and croissants to artisan breads and delectable tarts, there is no area that this tome doesn’t cover.
Rushed for time and still in sleepy Sunday mode I decided to make a batch of scones. Scones are so easy to make that even an amateur cook could put them together in five minutes. And they’re relatively low in fat too – until you get to the part when you top them with cream and jam!
I didn’t have any buttermilk as required in the recipe, so instead had to settle for organic semi-skimmed from the fridge – but to be honest this is what I would normally use anyway.
Buttermilk isn’t as widely available as we are lead to believe in cookery books, and the same effect can be achieved by simply adding the juice of a third of a lemon to the quantity of liquid required. This acidity activates the raising agents in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and makes for the lightest, softest scones in exactly the same way that buttermilk does.
The recipe says it makes 6 but feeling greedy and working on the unfounded ethos that a few smaller scones is healthier than a big on, I managed to get about 12 little scones out of the mixture – all of which were glossy, soft and light as air.
I don’t really go in much for cream, so while Mr GG and the little ones slathered theirs in butter, I topped mine modestly with a smear of Duerr’s organic strawberry preserve – which is one of the fruitiest and juiciest strawberry jams around. I also love and often have in the cupboard, Asda’s Extra Special strawberry conserve which has around 50% fruit and tastes like summer.
Scones out of the way and it was time to move onto dinner.
Now, I am a devout meat eater and I love a good piece of steak drowned with peppercorn sauce, or a hunk of lamb shank as much as the next carnivore, but recently I have felt the need to bring more vegetarian dishes to the table.
So instead of the usual roast belly of pork or pot-roasted chicken for dinner I decided to make a Moroccan-style vegetable stew, served with a generous portion of brown rice and Leith’s coriander and onion seed naan breads – followed by rhubarb, straight from my dad’s allotment- how healthy!
The stew was a resounding success and we all felt full for bursting – plus I discovered that my kids’ appetite for chickpeas knows no bounds. A real winner for a filling family supper.
Moroccan-style vegetable stew
Ingredients
2 tins of chickpeas, drained
2 tins of chopped tomatoes (preferably organic)
1 courgette, diced
2 carrots peeled and diced
2 large potatoes peeled and chopped into 2cm pieces
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsps sea salt
2tsps cumin
1 tsp coriander
2 tbsps runny honey
1 chilli, chopped
A large handful of chopped fresh coriander
A large handful of chopped parsley
1tsp dried mint
Do it:
It's easy. Put it all (apart from the fresh herbs) in a large saucepan and cook on a medium heat for 1 hour. Add the fresh herbs at the end.
Serve with couscous or rice.
One minute it was baking hot and eye-streamingly sunny, and by the time we’d dug out the deckchairs and donned our shades it was pouring with rain. Typical British weather.
Stuck in a limbo of not knowing whether to stay in and grudgingly do housework or brave the great outdoors, I chose to stick the kids with Mr GG for a while (please don’t feel sorry for him – he was fishing on his own for most of the weekend!) while I had a baking day.
I dug out my weathered copy of Leith’s Baking Bible and set to work.
This cookery book really is a bible for all baked goods. From cakes, cookies and croissants to artisan breads and delectable tarts, there is no area that this tome doesn’t cover.
Rushed for time and still in sleepy Sunday mode I decided to make a batch of scones. Scones are so easy to make that even an amateur cook could put them together in five minutes. And they’re relatively low in fat too – until you get to the part when you top them with cream and jam!
I didn’t have any buttermilk as required in the recipe, so instead had to settle for organic semi-skimmed from the fridge – but to be honest this is what I would normally use anyway.
Buttermilk isn’t as widely available as we are lead to believe in cookery books, and the same effect can be achieved by simply adding the juice of a third of a lemon to the quantity of liquid required. This acidity activates the raising agents in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and makes for the lightest, softest scones in exactly the same way that buttermilk does.
The recipe says it makes 6 but feeling greedy and working on the unfounded ethos that a few smaller scones is healthier than a big on, I managed to get about 12 little scones out of the mixture – all of which were glossy, soft and light as air.
I don’t really go in much for cream, so while Mr GG and the little ones slathered theirs in butter, I topped mine modestly with a smear of Duerr’s organic strawberry preserve – which is one of the fruitiest and juiciest strawberry jams around. I also love and often have in the cupboard, Asda’s Extra Special strawberry conserve which has around 50% fruit and tastes like summer.
Scones out of the way and it was time to move onto dinner.
Now, I am a devout meat eater and I love a good piece of steak drowned with peppercorn sauce, or a hunk of lamb shank as much as the next carnivore, but recently I have felt the need to bring more vegetarian dishes to the table.
So instead of the usual roast belly of pork or pot-roasted chicken for dinner I decided to make a Moroccan-style vegetable stew, served with a generous portion of brown rice and Leith’s coriander and onion seed naan breads – followed by rhubarb, straight from my dad’s allotment- how healthy!
The stew was a resounding success and we all felt full for bursting – plus I discovered that my kids’ appetite for chickpeas knows no bounds. A real winner for a filling family supper.
Moroccan-style vegetable stew
Ingredients
2 tins of chickpeas, drained
2 tins of chopped tomatoes (preferably organic)
1 courgette, diced
2 carrots peeled and diced
2 large potatoes peeled and chopped into 2cm pieces
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsps sea salt
2tsps cumin
1 tsp coriander
2 tbsps runny honey
1 chilli, chopped
A large handful of chopped fresh coriander
A large handful of chopped parsley
1tsp dried mint
Do it:
It's easy. Put it all (apart from the fresh herbs) in a large saucepan and cook on a medium heat for 1 hour. Add the fresh herbs at the end.
Serve with couscous or rice.
Brilliant burgers
I’m not really a great fan of supermarket burgers, having a severe gut-churning reaction to gristle – ick.
So if we’re having a BBQ or a lazy burger supper I like to take a trip to my local butchers (Andrews in Hadleigh) for their delicious versions, or I make them myself.
The secrets to a great burger are as follows:
1. Choose top quality meat for the best flavour and texture
2. Choose meat with some fat content otherwise you’ll end-up with a grey, rubbery shot-put to eat.
3. To use plenty of seasoning – nothing’s worse than a bland burger.
4. To not overwork the mixture. I used to make these in the food processor but they were way too heavy. Now I mix the mince very lightly and pack the burger patties loosely. This way when you bite into the burger it melts in your mouth.
Here is my recipe for what I think are some pretty damn tasty burgers that to slide into a bun with relish and salad. I love serving mine with Waitrose Spicy Onion Relish or Stokes Spicy Tomato Ketchup.
Ingredients
450g/1lb minced beef or minced steak
1tbsp unsalted butter melted (if using minced steak)
Fine breadcrumbs from 1 slice of white bread
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 onion, very finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp English mustard
Dash Worcester sauce
A few grinds of black pepper
1 beaten egg
½ beef stock cube or 1tbsp gravy granules (I use Kallos Organic) finely crumbled
Do it:
1. Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and sweat the onions and garlic for about five minutes until lightly golden.
2. Mix the egg, mustard, stock cube, pepper, salt, and Worcester sauce together to combine.
3. Place the mince in a bowl – add the butter now if you are using steak mince, it creates richness and helps to add moisture to the meat.
4. Add the egg and spices mixture and the breadcrumbs to this. And mix lightly until just combined – do not crush too much.
5. Lightly form the mixture into burger shapes, without pressing too much.
6. Cook the burgers for 3 minutes per side under a hot grill, in the oven at 220c for 10 minutes or in a frying pan. If cooking on the barbecue I would pack the burgers tighter and start them off in the oven to prevent them from falling apart. A quick and delicious way I’ve found to cook these is in my panini press, which takes about 3 minutes in total for burgers that are about 1.5cm thick.
So if we’re having a BBQ or a lazy burger supper I like to take a trip to my local butchers (Andrews in Hadleigh) for their delicious versions, or I make them myself.
The secrets to a great burger are as follows:
1. Choose top quality meat for the best flavour and texture
2. Choose meat with some fat content otherwise you’ll end-up with a grey, rubbery shot-put to eat.
3. To use plenty of seasoning – nothing’s worse than a bland burger.
4. To not overwork the mixture. I used to make these in the food processor but they were way too heavy. Now I mix the mince very lightly and pack the burger patties loosely. This way when you bite into the burger it melts in your mouth.
Here is my recipe for what I think are some pretty damn tasty burgers that to slide into a bun with relish and salad. I love serving mine with Waitrose Spicy Onion Relish or Stokes Spicy Tomato Ketchup.
Ingredients
450g/1lb minced beef or minced steak
1tbsp unsalted butter melted (if using minced steak)
Fine breadcrumbs from 1 slice of white bread
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 onion, very finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp English mustard
Dash Worcester sauce
A few grinds of black pepper
1 beaten egg
½ beef stock cube or 1tbsp gravy granules (I use Kallos Organic) finely crumbled
Do it:
1. Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and sweat the onions and garlic for about five minutes until lightly golden.
2. Mix the egg, mustard, stock cube, pepper, salt, and Worcester sauce together to combine.
3. Place the mince in a bowl – add the butter now if you are using steak mince, it creates richness and helps to add moisture to the meat.
4. Add the egg and spices mixture and the breadcrumbs to this. And mix lightly until just combined – do not crush too much.
5. Lightly form the mixture into burger shapes, without pressing too much.
6. Cook the burgers for 3 minutes per side under a hot grill, in the oven at 220c for 10 minutes or in a frying pan. If cooking on the barbecue I would pack the burgers tighter and start them off in the oven to prevent them from falling apart. A quick and delicious way I’ve found to cook these is in my panini press, which takes about 3 minutes in total for burgers that are about 1.5cm thick.
Saturday 8 May 2010
Asian feast for four
After spending last night eating my own body weight in Thai food, I was left drooling for Indian food for dinner tonight.
We've had some bad experiences with takeaways recently (I won't go into the gruesome details) so my craving meant I had to get into the kitchen and cook up a storm.
Dinner ended-up being spiced butter chicken, chickpea, potato and coriander patties, fennel and onion seed naans and lentil daal, followed by homemade popcorn (which exploded across the kitchen like mini metorites) and marshmallows dipped in chocolate - all devoured in front of Britain's Got Talent with Mr GG and the little ones. Yum
Spiced Butter Chicken
Ingredients
600g chicken pieces
Marinade
1/2tbps lemon juice
1/2tsp garam masala
1tsp turmeric
1/2tsp cumin
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
1/2tsp salt
2tbsp double cream
Sauce
300ml passatta
100ml single cream (or milk)
30g unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1tsp finely chopped ginger
1tsp garam masala
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp cumin
1/2tsp turmeric
1tsp salt
1/2tsp sugar
Do it:
Marinate the chicken in the marinade ingredients for 30 minutes, then cook under a hot grill for 8 minutes per side until lightly charcoaled. Set aside.
Add some oil to a medium saucepan and heat, add the garlic and ginger and sweat for a couple of minutes.
Add the spices and cook out for a couple of minutes until the aromas are released.
Add the cream, salt, sugar, passata and butter to the saucepan and cook on a very low heat. Add the chicken and heat through.
Serve.
Chickpea and potato patties
Ingredients
1 large potato (400g) peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
200g tinned cooked chickpeas
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 chilli seeded and finely chopped
bunch coriandar finely chopped
1tsp garam masala
1/4tsp allspice
1tsp salt
pepper
1/2tsp turmeric
3tbsp gram flour
1 tsp ground cumin
Do it:
Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a medium sized pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook on a low heat until softened.
Add the spices, salt and chilli, then the potatoes and 1/2 mug water. Cover and allow to steam cook for 10 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking blitz the chickpeas in a food processor until smooth.
When the potatoes are cooked and soft and no liquid remains add the chickpeas, gram flour and some freshly ground pepper as well as the chopped fresh coriander. Turn off the heat.
Form the mixture into small patties and place on a well oiled baking tray in a hot oven 220c, turning over after 10 minutes and cooking for a further 15.
Fennel and onion seed naan
Ingredients:
450g wholemeal flour
2tbsp vegetable oil
1tbsp dried yeast
1tbsp sugar
180ml warm water
1tsp nigella/onion seeds
1tsp fennel seeds
Do it:
Mix all of the ingredients together and knead to a soft dough.
Allow to rest for 30 minutes and then split the mixture into 6 and roll into naan shapes.
Place the naans on baking trays, top with a small knob of butter and a sprinkle of salt.
Bake the naans on 200c for 20 minutes.
We've had some bad experiences with takeaways recently (I won't go into the gruesome details) so my craving meant I had to get into the kitchen and cook up a storm.
Dinner ended-up being spiced butter chicken, chickpea, potato and coriander patties, fennel and onion seed naans and lentil daal, followed by homemade popcorn (which exploded across the kitchen like mini metorites) and marshmallows dipped in chocolate - all devoured in front of Britain's Got Talent with Mr GG and the little ones. Yum
Spiced Butter Chicken
Ingredients
600g chicken pieces
Marinade
1/2tbps lemon juice
1/2tsp garam masala
1tsp turmeric
1/2tsp cumin
1/4tsp cayenne pepper
1/2tsp salt
2tbsp double cream
Sauce
300ml passatta
100ml single cream (or milk)
30g unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1tsp finely chopped ginger
1tsp garam masala
1tsp ground coriander
1tsp cumin
1/2tsp turmeric
1tsp salt
1/2tsp sugar
Do it:
Marinate the chicken in the marinade ingredients for 30 minutes, then cook under a hot grill for 8 minutes per side until lightly charcoaled. Set aside.
Add some oil to a medium saucepan and heat, add the garlic and ginger and sweat for a couple of minutes.
Add the spices and cook out for a couple of minutes until the aromas are released.
Add the cream, salt, sugar, passata and butter to the saucepan and cook on a very low heat. Add the chicken and heat through.
Serve.
Chickpea and potato patties
Ingredients
1 large potato (400g) peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
200g tinned cooked chickpeas
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 chilli seeded and finely chopped
bunch coriandar finely chopped
1tsp garam masala
1/4tsp allspice
1tsp salt
pepper
1/2tsp turmeric
3tbsp gram flour
1 tsp ground cumin
Do it:
Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a medium sized pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook on a low heat until softened.
Add the spices, salt and chilli, then the potatoes and 1/2 mug water. Cover and allow to steam cook for 10 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking blitz the chickpeas in a food processor until smooth.
When the potatoes are cooked and soft and no liquid remains add the chickpeas, gram flour and some freshly ground pepper as well as the chopped fresh coriander. Turn off the heat.
Form the mixture into small patties and place on a well oiled baking tray in a hot oven 220c, turning over after 10 minutes and cooking for a further 15.
Fennel and onion seed naan
Ingredients:
450g wholemeal flour
2tbsp vegetable oil
1tbsp dried yeast
1tbsp sugar
180ml warm water
1tsp nigella/onion seeds
1tsp fennel seeds
Do it:
Mix all of the ingredients together and knead to a soft dough.
Allow to rest for 30 minutes and then split the mixture into 6 and roll into naan shapes.
Place the naans on baking trays, top with a small knob of butter and a sprinkle of salt.
Bake the naans on 200c for 20 minutes.
Monday 3 May 2010
Spiced lentil stew
We seemed to have somewhat of a vegetarian week last week, culiminating in this delicious, savoury, spicy stew - very healthy, very tasty and packed full of fibre.
Lentils are a massive favourite in our household, and this dish (thrown together in a dash) will definitely be a feature at mealtimes in the future. It's suitable for vegans and filling and flavoursome enough to entice any meateater into vegetarianism.
Buy it:
250g puy or green lentils (dried)
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2tsps cumin
1tbsp paprika
2tbsp Marigold bouillon or 1 vegetable stock cube
1/2tsp cayenne pepper
1/2tsp cinnamon
1tsp thyme
1tsp oregano
1tsp salt
big handful coriander, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1tbsp vegetable oil
Do it:
1. Saute the peppers and garlic together until soften and set aside.
2. Saute the onions in the same pan until soft and add the rest of the ingredients, plus 2 mugs of water.
3. Bring the mixture to the boil and then simmer for one hour.
4.Serve with brown rice or noodles, or even in tortilla wraps with cheese.
Lentils are a massive favourite in our household, and this dish (thrown together in a dash) will definitely be a feature at mealtimes in the future. It's suitable for vegans and filling and flavoursome enough to entice any meateater into vegetarianism.
Buy it:
250g puy or green lentils (dried)
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 tins chopped tomatoes
2tsps cumin
1tbsp paprika
2tbsp Marigold bouillon or 1 vegetable stock cube
1/2tsp cayenne pepper
1/2tsp cinnamon
1tsp thyme
1tsp oregano
1tsp salt
big handful coriander, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1tbsp vegetable oil
Do it:
1. Saute the peppers and garlic together until soften and set aside.
2. Saute the onions in the same pan until soft and add the rest of the ingredients, plus 2 mugs of water.
3. Bring the mixture to the boil and then simmer for one hour.
4.Serve with brown rice or noodles, or even in tortilla wraps with cheese.
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