Dhal, darling?

Pin It Now!

When I want comfort and a bit of spice I often make dhal. It's simple, it's tasty and best of all all the ingredients are part of my kitchen staples, so I usually don't have to worry about shopping for ingredients. There are plenty of different recipes if you google dhal and I have various different versions in my cook books as well.

This is quite a basic and quick recipe as uses red lentils, which cook quickly, so that I can have it on the table in just half an hour after coming in from work. This dhal is a bit soupy, so if you like your dhal thicker and a little drier just increase the amount of lentils or reduce the water (just watch that it doesn't stick and burn).

Serve it with our without rice and some chapatis for a comforting and warming meal, perfect for these cold, dark and (at least in Manchester) wet autumn nights.


Sorry about the poor picture. It's about time I dug my proper camera out again, especially now that it's getting to that time of year where I'm mainly having to rely on artificial light again.


Dhal (serves 3-4)


1 cup (250ml) red lentils, rinsed well
3cm fresh ginger, chopped finely
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbs butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garam marsala
1/2 red chilli, chopped finely (I left the seeds in, but that's up to you)
3 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2-1 tsp salt
a handfull of chopped fresh coriander

Put the rinsed lentils, chopped ginger, bay leaves and cinnamon stick in a large sauce pan and add 3 cups (750ml) of cold water.

Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cook for 12-15 minutes until soft, stirring regularly to stop them from sticking.

Take out the cinnamon stick and bay leaves and set the cooked lentils aside.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. 

Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. You want it to soften but not colour. 

Add the garlic, turmeric, cumin, garam marsala and chilli and fry for a further minute or two, until fragrant.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add the spiced onions and lemon juice to the lentils and stir well.

Bring back to a simmer and cook for another 5 minutes or so. The lentils should become quite creamy, but still hold some of their shape. It will need to be stirred regularly to stop them from sticking.

Stir in coriander and serve with rice and/or chapati.

Enjoy!

Yottam Ottolenghi's Cod Cakes in Tomato Sauce

Pin It Now!

I know I have been singing Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's praises a lot lately, but Yottam Ottolenghi is another chef who rarely disappoints and whose recipes often get me very excited, wanting to run to the shops for (the admittedly often long list of) ingredients right away. I still owe Yuri a pork belly dinner for giving me his duplicate copy of Ottolenghi - The Cookbook and now I want to buy Jerusalem by Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, too.

This recipe was published in last weekend's Guardian Weekend and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to try it. I love fish cakes anyways, but what really excited me about the Cod Cakes in Tomato Sauce was the lack of the usual mashed potatoes to bind and fill. These cod cakes are mainly just that, cod. Or in my case Haddock.



It takes a bit of time to prepare, but comes together easily and to be honest, most of what looks like a fairly substantial list of ingredients are staples and spices that I always have in my kitchen anyways. The fishacakes are delicate, moist and well seasoned. The tomato sauce is sweet with a very subtle hint of heat from the chili.

I served them with rice and the only thing I might criticize a little is that it would have been nice to have a bit more sauce. I guess I could have added a little extra water in the last step though. Here is my adapted version (no parsley in my kitchen, sorry). The original recipe can be found here.



Yottam Ottolenghi's Cod Cakes in Tomato Sauce (serves 4)

For the fishcakes:
3 slices good white bread, crusts removed
600g sustainably sourced cod (fillet, or halibut, hake or pollock), skinless and boneless
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
60g coriander, finely chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
1½ tsp salt
2 large free-range eggs, beaten
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

For the sauce:
2½ tbsp olive oil
1½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 medium onion, chopped
125ml white wine
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp caster sugar
Salt and black pepper

Start with the tomato sauce:

Chose your largest frying pan with a lid and heat some olive oil.

Add the onion and spices and fry, stirring regularly for around 10 minutes, until soft.

Pour in the wine and continue to simmer for three minutes or so.

Stir in the tomatoes, chilli, garlic, sugar, half a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper to the pan.

Continue to simmer over medium heat for around 15 minutes. The sauce should be quite thick at that point.

Check the seasoning, adjust if necessary and set the sauce aside.

Whilst the sauce is simmering away you can start on the fishcakes.

Blitz the bread in a food processor till you have breadcrumbs.

Chop the fish very finely and place it in the bowl, together with the breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, corriander, cumin, salt and beaten eggs.

Use your hands to mix well and then shape it into 8 fishcakes. They should be about 2cm thick and 8cm wide.

They will be quite wet and loose. Refridgerating them for half an hour will help firm them up if needed. Or if like me you are prepping ahead of time you can stick them covered in the fridge for a few hours.

Heat the olive oil in non-sticking frying pan and fry the cakes for three minutes on each side in two batches, adding oil as necessary. This is just to give them some colour and seal the outside a little, not to fully cook them.

Put the sauce in the large pan, place the fishcakes on top and add about 200ml of water to the pan, just enough to partially cover the fishcakes.

Cover with a lid and simmer on a very low temperature for 15-20 minutes. After that time turn of the heat, remove the lid and let the fishcakes sit for another 10 minutes or so.

Sprinkle with the chopped mint (I didn't read this bit of the recipe properly and added the mint to the fishcakes which worked really well too) and serve with rice, coucous, bulghur or just some fresh crusty bread.

Enjoy!

Macaroni Peas by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (aka Cheesy Peas or Cheesy Peasy Pasta)

Pin It Now!

If you follow this blog than you will know that my absolute favourite cookbook this year (or maybe even ever) is River Cottage Veg Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and here is another from it. In the book it's called Macaroni Peas, but my friend H. quickly renamed it cheesy peas and it is her favourite comfort food at the moment.

It's delicious, it's so easy and quick to make and best of all, it's one of those recipes for which I always have all the ingredients in the house. As a result it has become part of my regular meal rotation and the go to recipe when I want something quick. I have made it so many times I don't measure the ingredients any more and to be honest there is no need to be all that exact anyways.

I have tried it with both Parmesan and goat's cheese and have to say that I prefer it made with Parmesan. I think the saltiness of it works better with the sweetness of the peas. But why don't you see for yourself?If you want to see the recipe as it is printed in the book, you'll find it here.

The reason I haven't blogged it about it before is that in all the times I have made it, I have never taken a proper picture of it. Ever. Just this mobile phone picture, but it'll just have to do.........



Macaroni Peas or Cheesy Peasy Pasta (serves 4)

500g peas or petit pois (fresh or frozen)
300g small macaroni or other small pasta shapes
50g butter
1 garlic clove, chopped
25g Parmesan or hard goat's cheese, coarsely grated, plus extra to serve
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
shredded basil, to serve (optional

Bring a large pan of salt water to the boil for your pasta.

Simmer the peas for a few minutes until tender. If you are using older fresh peas this will take a little longer.

Whilst the peas are on, cook your pasta in the large pan of salt water until al dente.

Whilst the peas and pasta are cooking away, melt the butter in a pan over low heat and add the chopped garlic just for a minute or two. You don't want it to brown as that would make it bitter.
Take off the heat.

When the peas are cooked, drain them, but keep the cooking water.

Put about half the peas, the melted garlic butter and the grated cheese in a blender together with about 6tbsp of the pea cooking water and blitz until you have a smooth and loose puree. You can add more water if needed.

Add the remaining whole peas and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and mix with the hot pea sauce straight away.

Serve topped with extra grated cheese and shredded basil if desired.

Enjoy!

Rounding up the summer

Pin It Now!

I just realised to my horror that it has been over two months since I last posted, but I really did need a break from everything to recharge and ensure my continued sanity!

It's been a lovely summer, despite the more than miserable weather here in the UK. I was lucky enough to go the Olympics to witness Usain Bolt do his thing (Thanks again, R.!), I spend ten surprisingly sunny days traveling up the west coast of beautiful Scotland with my lovely sister (who would have thought that that's where summer had been hiding all along) and I followed that with more sun and fun in Catalonia with H.

Now, however, it's time to get back to normal life. Work starts back tomorrow, even though we have another two weeks before our old students return and the new ones arrive. I will also endeavor to get cooking and trying out new recipes in my little kitchen to share on here. I hope you're still with me and haven't completely given up on A Pot of Tea and a Biscuit yet!

For now here are some pictures from the last couple of months.....See you soon!

Asparagus Pizza with Ham and Goat's Cheese by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Pin It Now!

Unfortunately I have to say, that so far this summer has disappointed. Instead of BBQs and ice cream it's been all about waterproofs, woolly jumpers and even hot water bottles here in the UK. I hope you're faring better elsewhere in the world and the last couple of days have looked a little more promising here also, dare I say?!

At least some of my favourite seasonal late spring/early summer produce has been as good as always. One of the things I always look forward to, apart from riding my bike in the sunshine, having picnics in the garden or the park and getting all my dresses out of their winter storage place under the bed, is the arrival of asparagus season in May.

I know, I know I'm a little late as it's nearly July and the season is pretty much over, but I didn't want to wait a whole year to share this amazing recipe for Asparagus Pizza with Ham and Goat's Cheese by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. It was published in the Guardian a few weeks ago and as I had friends round that day I tried it straight away.



I adjusted the recipe, especially the amounts of ingredients in the topping as I ran out after topping 1 1/2 of the pizzas, which wasn't a problem as I just topped the rest with tomato, ham, peppers and mature cheddar, but if you want to go for all the same this should work:

Asparagus Pizza with Ham and Goat's Cheese by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

For the dough
250g plain white flour
250g strong white flour
1½ level tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra

For the topping
4 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra for trickling 
4 large onions, peeled and sliced finely
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bunches slender green asparagus spears (about 800g)
200g air dried ham like parma or serrano
plenty of hard mature goat's cheese or parmesan (or a mix of both, or some soft goat's cheese)


To make the pizza dough, in a large bowl mix the the flours with the salt and yeast.

Add the oil and 325ml warm water, using your hands mix everything until you have a rough dough.

Tip out the dough on to a clean and floured work surface.

Flour your hands and knead rhythmically for five to 10 minutes, until smooth.

Coat a large bowl with a fine layer of olive oil.

Put the dough into the bowl and cover loosely with a clean tea towel.

Place in in a warm place to rise until doubled in size – at least one hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 240C/465F/gas mark 9, if it goes that high, or at least 220C/425F/gas mark 7, and put in a baking sheet or even better a pizza stone to warm up.

While the oven is getting hot, prepare the topping.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

Add the sliced onions and a pinch of salt.

Reduce the heat to low and cook them gently.

Stir regularly to stop them from colouring. I also often cover them loosely with a bit of parchment paper which means they sweat as well as fry, which turns them nice and soft.

Fry for 20-30 minutes until really soft.

Returning to your dough,  tip it out of the bowl on to a lightly floured surface and deflate with your fingers.

Leave it to rest for a few minutes, then divide it into three equal portions.

Roll out one piece as thinly as you can.

Remove the hot baking sheet or pizza stone from from the oven, scatter over a little fine cornmeal or flour and lay the pizza base on it.

Spread a third of the onions over the dough and arrange a third of the asparagus on top. If your asparagus spears are thick, cut them in half lengthways.

Tear the ham into shreds and lay a third of it over the asparagus.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and finish with a generous trickle of good quality olive oil.

Bake the pizza for 10-12 minutes, until the base is crisp, the edges browned and the asparagus tender.

Repeat with the remaining dough and topping.

Top with finely grated goat's cheese and/or parmesan as soon as it comes out of the oven and drizzle with a little more good quality olive oil. If you're using soft goat's cheese instead of the hard variety, put it on before the pizza goes in the oven.

Enjoy!

Lucious Lemon Drizzle Cake

Pin It Now!

I have written about this cake before in this post and in this one, but it is so good I think it deserves another post.

It's funny, when I look at my blog stats the most popular post of all times is Tana Ramsey's Lemon Drizzle Cake, but this one is so much better and it is easier to make also. No creaming the butter and sugar, no heating lemon juice and sugar for a glaze and yet a perfect moist and lemony cake as a result. How can you go wrong?! Whenever I make this I get loads of compliments and requests for the recipe. So if you have come here after googling "lemon drizzle cake recipe" look no further! The recipe originally came from my friend Karen who writes Lavender and Lovage.

This one is for my students who are graduating this year. Well done to you all!



Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezie All-In-One Lemon Drizzle Cake

CAKE
5 oz self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 oz butter, softened
4 oz golden caster sugar
2 tbsp good quality lemon curd
1 large lemon, rind of, grated
2 eggs, whisked
1 tbsp water or lemon juice

SYRUP
1 juice of large lemon
4 oz granulated sugar

Preheat your oven to 175 C/Gas 3-4

Grease and line a 2 lb loaf tin or round cake tin.

Put all the cake ingredients together into a large bowl & mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon and then a hand held mixer for a maximum of 3 minutes.

Pour into the prepared loaf or cake tin & bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, make the syrup, by mixing the lemon juice and sugar together.

On removing the cake from the oven, pierce all over the top with a fine skewer or fork - keeping the cake in the tin.

Whilst the cake is still hot, pour the syrup over the top of the cake. Leave it in the tin to cool.

The syrup will leave a crunchy residue of sugar and be sticky to touch.

The quantity above can be easily doubled for a larger family cake.

The cake can also be split and have lemon curd spread between the two layers - it is then called a Luscious Lemon Drizzle Cake.

Prolonging the absence...

Pin It Now!

a little longer. Sorry.

Work-wise this is the busiest time of the year for me. My final year students have just put up their work for this year Manchester School of Art Degree Show and I'm in the middle of assessing it. It's all very exciting, but means long and tiring days at the same time.

Will be back shortly....

Danish Pastries

Pin It Now!

I'm just about to jump in a taxi to get to the airport for a short work/research trip to Denmark, but I've got a recipe for Asparagus and Parma Ham Pizza for when I get back next week!

If you find yourself in Doverodde at the Book Arts Festival stop by and say hello!