Mediterranean Fish Pasta

Omri brought this tasty, and yet so simple, dish to my attention. He saw it on Jamie Oliver's food channel, where it was a guest post by Gennaro. This is for 2 people and adapted to easy lunch cooking.

Ingredients >  150 gm pasta >  1 Tblsp olive oil >  3 anchovy fillets broken up into small pieces >  1 clove garlic, thinly sliced or chopped >  1 small red chilli, sliced >  1 Tblsp capers, rinsed >  10 cherry tomatoes or 2 regular, roughly chopped >   2-4 fish fillets (whatever amount or type you have) >   Salt and black pepper >   2/3 ladle of water from cooking pasta >   Handful of fresh parsley, chopped >   Squeeze of lemon juice

Steps 1.  Boil water, add salt and start cooking the pasta. 2.  Heat the olive oil in a large pan (I use the wok), and add the anchovies, garlic, chilli (or Togarishi), and capers. 3.  Stir and let cook while you roughly chop the tomatoes. 4.  Add them to the pan and cook on a low heat for a few minutes. 5.  In the meantime, slice the fish fillets and then add them to the pan.  6. Stir, add a bit of salt and pepper, and 2/3 ladle of water from the cooking pasta. 7.  Let the fish cook, about 5 minutes, and then add the parsley, a bit more oil if you think it necessary. 8.  Add the pasta, stir well and squeeze fresh lemon juice on top (not much). 9.  Serve with a green salad.

Vegan carrot cake

This is the first time that I have baked a vegan cake. I checked on the Internet and found this carrot cake. It came with a nut icing, but we prefer un-iced cakes, though I think it would have added something.

Ingredients >  2 1/4 cups flour (I used half whole, half white cake flour) >  3 teaspoons baking powder >  1 teaspoon baking soda >  3 teaspoons cinnamon >  1/2 teaspoons nutmeg >  1 teaspoons salt >  1/2 cup applesauce >  1 cup soy/almond/whatever milk >  2 teaspoons vanilla essence >  1 cup sugar >  1/2 cup (melted) coconut or canola oil (I used canola) >  2 cups grated carrots (about 450gm) >  Optional: 100 gm walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped, or ground if very young kids are eating it

Steps 1. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C. 2. Grease a 9x13 inch (or similar) baking pan 3. Grate the carrots finely. 4. Sieve all the dry ingredients (first 6) into a bowl. 5. In a large bowl, whisk the apple sauce, almond milk, vanilla essence,      sugar and oil. 6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. 7. Gently stir in the carrots and nuts (if used). 8. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, level it and place it in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  9. If you want the icing recipe, let me know.

Leek, Peas and Mint Soup

A few months ago I went to a vegan restaurant and fell in love with their leek and pea soup. I tried to reconstruct it (and failed as now I see that they used Persian lemons), but it came out delicious. I added a tiny amount of Togarashi to lift it, and kept adding mint leaves until I got the taste I wanted.

Update: This time I added lemon juice, and the result was really great. 

Ingredients >  4 large leeks, white and light green part >  1 large onion, peeled >  2 medium potatoes, peeled >  2 Tbsp vegetable oil (olive or canola) >  Salt and freshly ground black pepper >  400 gm peas (can be frozen) >  1.75 litre vegetable stock >  5 Tbsp mint leaves, chopped >  1/8 tsp chilli powder or Togarashi (completely optional) > 1/2 - 1 squeezed lemon (optional)

Steps 1. Cut each leek in half lengthwise, then slice in 1/2 cm slices. 2. Chop the onion and potatoes into cubes. 3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. 4. Put in the leeks, onions, and potatoes, add salt and pepper, cover the pot and sweat the vegetables for 15 minutes. 5. Add the chilli (if using), peas and stock, stir and bring to the boil. 6. Turn the heat to its lowest and cook for a further 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. 7. Turn off the heat and stir in the mint, and if used lemon juice. 8. Puree the soup using a hand blender stick. 9. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Spicy Vegetables

I love this dish. It is mildly spicy, with a mix of whole and ground spices.

Ingredients >  1 Tblsp olive oil >  1/2 tsp fennel seeds >  1 tsp cumin seeds >  1 tsp coriander seeds >  1 onion halved and sliced thinly >  1 tsp grated ginger >  2 cloves garlic, crushed >  1/4 tsp ground cumin >  1/4 tsp ground coriander >  1/4 tsp chilli powder or Togarashi seasoning (what I use) >  150 gm tin of chopped tomatoes >  1/2 cauliflower, cut into small florets >  1 large carrot, peeled and then cut into strips >  120 gm green beans, sliced on the diagonal into 3-cm pieces >  3 Tblsp water >  Ground salt to taste

Steps 1.  Prepare all the ingredients as mentioned on the left before you start cooking, putting each group of spices in small dishes. 2.  Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan, and add the fennel. cumin and coriander seeds. Stir-fry until the seeds start to pop. 3.  Add the onion and cook for around 4 minutes until the onion is soft and golden. 4.  Add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes. (If you have the time and a stick blender, make them into a paste with a drop of water beforehand). 5.  Add the ground cumin, coriander and chilli powder (or equivalent), stir for a few seconds and then add the tomatoes.  6.  Cook for about 1 minute and then add the cauliflower and carrots.  7.  Add 3 Tblsp water, stir the mix and then cover the wok and cook for 2-3 minutes. 8.  Uncover and add the green beans and salt. 9.  Continue cooking, uncovered, until all the vegetables are cooked but still crunchy. Serve with rice. It looks better with white rice, but we only eat whole grains.

Easy-peasey Flapjacks

These are fail-safe flapjacks, so quick to make and even quicker to devour. The original recipe comes (I think) from Mary Berry. She used golden syrup, which I cannot get here, so I substitute it with date syrup. The recipe also calls for margarine. I wanted to swap this with oil, but so far have failed to get it right. It tastes good but crumbles more.

Ingredients > 100 gm margarine or 6 Tblsp vegetable oil > 100 gm brown sugar (I use demerara) > 1 Tbsp date syrup (or other sweet syrup) > 150 gm porridge oats

Steps 1. Pre-heat the oven to 160°C.  2. Grease a smallish square or oblong tin. 3. Melt the margarine in a pan together with the sugar and syrup.  4. Stir in the oats and mix well. 5. Turn the mixture into the greased tin and press flat. 6. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. 7. Remove from the oven and mark into squares, but leave in the tin until cold. 8. When cold, remove from the tin and store in an airtight container.

Braised Soy Sauce Chicken

Many many years ago, my mother subscribed to a set of Time-Life books 'Foods of the World'. This recipe has been taken and adapted from the China cookbook. The brilliant thing about this recipe is that the sauce the chicken cooks in is a 'master sauce'. I freeze it and then use it as required when cooking chicken breasts, or a quick roast chicken. 

Ingredients >  1 large chicken >  3/4 pint cold water >  3/4 pint soya sauce >  3 Tbsp dry sherry or Chines rice wine >  5 inch stick of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced >  1 whole star anise, or 8 sections >  5 tsp granulated sugar  >  1 tsp sesame seed oil

Steps 1.  Wash and dry the chicken. 2.  Bring the water, soya sauce, sherry/wine, ginger, and star anise to the boil in a saucepan that the chicken just fits in. 3.  Add the chicken. The liquid should reach half way up the side of the chicken. 4.  Bring back to the boil and then reduce the heat to moderate, and cook covered for 20 minutes. 5.   With 2 large spoons, turn the chicken over. 6.  Stir the sugar into the liquid and then baste the chicken thoroughly. 7.  Simmer 20 minutes longer. 8.  Turn off the heat, keep the pot covered and let the chicken continue cooking for another 2 to 3 hours. 9.  Cut the chicken up and baste it with the sesame oil and 3 Tbsp of the sauce. 10. Let the sauce cool and then pour it into a storage container and place it in the freezer. It keeps for as long as you need it.

Bean and Barley Soup

This is perfect for a cold winter’s evening. 

Ingredients §      5 Tbsp pearl barley (+ boiling water) §      1 large onion, finely chopped §    250 gm carrots (~ 2 large), diced §      The white and light green part of 3 - 4 leeks, cut each in half and then into 1/2 cm chunks §      ½ celeriac root, grated (optional) §      2 Tbsp olive oil §      1.75 litre strong vegetable stock §      3 rounded Tbsp of frozen white beans §      A few sprigs of parsley (optional) §      Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps 1.     Put the barley into a small bowl, add boiling water to cover, turn it immediately into a sieve and rinse well in running cold water. 2.     Prepare all the vegetables. If the leeks are large, cut each half again length-ways. 3.     In a big soup saucepan, sauté (fry gently) all the vegetables for about 8 minutes. 4.     Add the vegetable stock to the vegetables. 5.     Add the barley, beans, parsley, salt and pepper. 6.     Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to its minimum so that the soup is barely bubbling, and cover the pot. 7.     Simmer for 3 hours. The barley will have thickened the soup.