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Asian Salmon & Coconut Rice

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Asian Salmon & Coconut Rice

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 first made this recipe in 2013 and have been cooking it almost weekly ever since. It’s become such a comfort dish and one that I always crave after a busy day. This rice would even make a great match to a sliced mango as an alternate breakfast!

The recipe hasn’t changed at all over the years but being one of top 5, it needed a revamp and certainly a new image from my student digs days where it offered a LOT of comfort. I have also had to finally admit that white rice makes a much better base for a creamy coconut rice. I will use brown, Thai, wild or any other wholegrain rice in my cooking normally as it has a tastier nuttier flavour and more bite than a bland white equivalent. However, the gelatinous nature of the white rice makes it an obvious choice here. Cook the rice as you would normally cook if you’ve a go-to technique just use coconut milk with a slight dilution due to its thickness instead. Secondly, do NOT forget that lime at the end – you will be amazed how vital that is and how it brings everything together.

This recipe also works well as a base for roasted, soy flavoured veggies or tofu for the vege and vegans.

Serves 2

  • 140g (approx) white rice
  • 1 x can coconut milk
  • 1 lime
  • 2 salmon fillets
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 knob ginger, grated
  • 2 spring onions, chopped
  • 1 bunch coriander, chopped
  • 1 small handful basil, chopped
  • Green vegetables to serve
  1. Mix the soy, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger and the spring onions in a bowl. Add the salmon and leave to marinate for as long as you can – around 2 hours but I often only get time for 15minutes!
  2. Preheat the oven to 220.
  3. To make the rice, heat the can of coconut milk in a saucepan with half a can of hot water. Bring to the simmer gently (watch out as coconut milk will bubble over if not watched). Once simmering add the rice and simmer for about 8-10 minutes stirring often.
  4. Line a baking tray with foil and spoon a few tbsp of the marinade onto the lining. Add the salmon, sin side up.
  5. When the rice is a few minutes away from being ready, put the salmon in the oven for 7 minutes. Don’t be tempted to cook it for longer, this timing will give you just pink & cooked in the middle and a crispy soy skin.
  6. Check the rice is cooked – at this stage the majority of the liquid should have absorbed giving a creamy rice. If you’ve had to add water during cooking to stop it drying, just simmer the liquid off.
  7. Add the juice of 1 lime to the coconut and a handful of the coriander, saving a bit for serving.
  8. Remove the salmon from the oven. Serve each fillet on top of some rice with a spoonful of the marinade from the tin if left.
  9. I like to serve mine with roasted al dente broccoli.

Easter Lamb Shanks in Isolation

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Easter Lamb Shanks in Isolation

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appy healthy Easter where ever you are…likely and I hope at home.

I’ll breeze over the obvious and get straight to the recipe. Lamb at Easter is an absolute essential for me growing up. So two lamb shanks hidden in our freezer were a winner. I bought them back from a visit home to Wiltshire a few months ago so with some classic vegetables and a special bottle of wine from the archives, we indulgenced elegantly for Easter this year and talked relentlessly about how lucky we are.

The sun was just a bonus on a glorious Easter in our cosy Brixton flat. The balcony was showing at its best and the perfect setting for our late Easter lunch. This lunch feast is a simple one to put together with minimal ingredients.

Serves 2

Lamb

  • 2 x lamb shanks
  • 1 red onions, sliced
  • 2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1 large carrot, roughly sliced
  • 1 sprig rosemary, chopped
  • 1 lamb/beef stock cube
  • 250-350ml red wine
  • Dill & mint to serve (optional)
  • Mint sauce to serve (optional)

Potatoes

  • New potatoes – enough for 2 appetites

Vegetables

  • A mixture of greenery. I used 1 leek, asparagus and a handful peas for 2 people.
  1. Start with the lamb. Preheat the oven to 160.
  2. Heat a little oil in a heavy based casserole pan (like a Le Creuset). Season the lamb shanks and then sear in the pan until browning on the outside – just a few minutes, don’t spend too much time here. Remove and set aside.
  3. Add the onions to the pan and gently brown for about 10 minutes.
  4. Add the garlic, carrot and rosemary and cook for a few more minutes.
  5. Add the lamb back to the pan and increase the heat.
  6. Add the wine and simmer for a few minutes.
  7. Crumble over the stock cube and then top up with boiling water until the liquid just reaches about 3/4 way up the shanks. Not fully submerged.
  8. Cook with the lid on for 1 hour then remove the lid and continue to cook for another 1 hour 30 minutes.
  9. About 30 minutes before the lamb is done turn the oven tup to 190. Cut the potatoes into halves and spread on a baking tray. Season and drizzle with some sunflower oil. Roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes until golden and crispy keeping an eye on them.
  10. Once done, turn the oven off and let everything sit and wait while you finish the veggie. Boil the vegetables for only 2-3 minutes, drain and then season well and add a knob of butter.
  11. To serve, sprinkle some chopped dill and mint over the lamb and the potatoes.
  12. Enjoy!

Green Harissa & Cauliflower

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Green Harissa & Cauliflower

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his surprising condiment needs little introduction.  A fridge of left over herbs and a quick google search led me to this ever so pleasing and fiery paste. Taken from one of my favourite food magazines ‘bon appetit‘ for which makes me wish I was American (there are not many things that make unpatriotic), this recipe needed no amendments.

Fiery, spicy, fresh and packed full of flavour. I can’t wait to devour this on cream cheese laden toast or add it to my next batch of guacamole.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 2 jalapeños, sliced
  • 2 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • Bunch fresh coriander
  • Bunch fresh flat leaf parsley
  • Juice from 1 large lemon
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  1. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a hot dry frying pan until fragrant and set aside.
  2. Add all the ingredients (except the oil) to a food processor and blend to a puree. With the motor running, add enough olive oil to get a nice loose but not too runny consistency. It should be thick like jam.
  3. Store in a jar in the fridge for a week or so. The options are endless…

Uses: Rub for fish, spread on toast with cream cheese, pimp out your guacomole, use in place of pesto for a spicy kick, stir into yoghurt to top soups, refried beans, roasted with vegetables….which leads me to my next point.

Roasted Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients (Serves 3-4 as a side dish)

  • 1 whole cauliflower, florets picked and chopped if large
  • 1 big sweet potato (add another if cooking for hungry guests), peeled and cubed into dice size
  • 1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
  • Handful flaked almonds
  • 2 x little gem lettuces
  • 1 tsp each ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, flaked chilli
  • Juice 1/2 lemon
  • Green harissa
  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
  2. Mix the chopped cauliflower, sweet potato and onion on a large flat baking tray.
  3. Sprinkle over the ground spices and drizzle with a good glug of sunflower oil. Season and stir to combine and coat everything well.
  4. Roast for about 20 – 30 mins or so in the oven until crisp and deliciously golden. Blast them at 220°C for 5 minutes at the end if you want them really crisp.
  5. While they are roasting, toast the flaked almonds in a dry frying pan until beginning to turn golden. Remove and set aside.
  6. Finely chop the little gem lettuce into thin shreds and scatter oven a large serving dish. Squeeze over the lemon juice. Add a few small spoonfuls of green harissa and mix the lettuce to coat in the paste.
  7. As soon as the vegetables are ready, remove from the oven arrange on top of the salad leaves.
  8. Scatter with the almonds. Finally, add small spoonfuls of green harissa across the roasted platter ensuring that each bite receives some spicy sauce! Serve with some lightly fried fish, or some tender chicken.

Roasted Spicy Chickpeas & Smashed Avocado

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Roasted Spicy Chickpeas & Smashed Avocado

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t is only in writing this now that I realise how few ingredients are in such a winning recipe and one that also looks so aesthetically pleasing and tempting to devour. This recipe is so time efficient and labour friendly but it is a really lovely mix of flavours and textures. Not to mention (again) that it is rather pretty with all the colours. A great quick and pleasing fix for an impromptu guest of a date night that you’d rather be buying take-out for.

I sometimes end up cooking with ingredient combinations simply because they look beautiful together. And this one helpfully also taste amazing. Creamy rich and vibrant avocado topped with crunchy and spicy ‘pop corn’ like chickpeas.

I’d also highly recommend making a double batch of chickpeas and keeping some aside for lunches or snacking when these cool and crisp up. They make a good nibble with a glass of bubbly. The avo/guacamole mixture and the chickpeas also makes a great open sandwich topping on toasted rye or soda bread. Or simply with friend halloumi or stuffed in a burger bun. The options are endless!!!

Serves 2

  • 1 x can chick peas
  • 2 x ripe avocados
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 large bunch coriander, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, chilli flakes
  • 1 large handful pumpkin seeds
  • 2 x salmon fillets
  1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
  2. Start by draining the chickpeas and rinsing. Dry off as much excess moisture as you can and pat dry with kitchen towel (don’t worry too much about this).
  3. Tip them into a bowl and add the ground spices, salt and pepper and a good splash of sunflower oil and toss to combine.
  4. Tip onto a roasting tray and roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes (cooking time will depend on the size of peas). Check during cooking and toss them around. They should be roasted, golden and turning crisp.
  5. Meanwhile, mash the avocado in a bowl until smooth. Add all but a handful of the coriander, the juice of half the lemon and some seasoning. Mash together then set aside.
  6. When the chickpeas are ready, remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.
  7. Heat a frying pan until hot and add the pumpkin seeds (dry pan). Toast until they start to turn brown and make a popping sound. Remove from the heat when this happens and add them to the chickpeas. Heat the pan again hot, almost smoking. Season the salmon and then add to the pan skin side down to crisp the skin. After 30 seconds or so, turn to sear the flesh side. Sear the edges too then pop the salmon into the oven and cook for 7 minutes.
  8. Add the final handful of coriander to the chickpeas when they have cooled slightly.
  9. When the salmon is ready, plate up! Place half the avocado in the middle of your serving dish and top with half the chickpeas. Add the salmon on top and serve with a good wedge of lemon for squeezing. (You can also serve this with a dollop of yoghurt if the spices are a bit punchy).

 

‘forage in the pantry’ Summer Supper Club

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fter a successful first supper club earlier in the year, the excitement, delight and adrenaline of the event left me hungry to plan and host another! And with that, 3 apprehensive months later my summer edition arrived with a spice packed menu to tempt my next set of 30 greedy foodies.  And what a sunny and  special one this continued to be. Complete with the tuneful soothing and mesmerising sounds of my beautiful singer Doll Duncan…

For this summery occasion the menu was themed around spice from around the world in an original and eclectic mix of flavours and dishes to reflect my style. The sun was beaming as guests arrived to be welcomed with a crisp glass of sparkling Nyetimber to ease us all in to what I hoped to be an evening not to be missed. I began the menu with a fresh colourful starter of warm feta, pea, mint and dill fritters topped with a quenelle of beetroot and walnut humus. Served alongside this, some warm crusty bread and my homemade smoked salt and fennel butter! And who’d have thought, after all the flavours and tastes the evening offered I had more comments and astonished delight at my flavoured butter! On par with my truffles for simplicity, flavoured butter truly is an amazingly simple and easy addition to create which adds a brilliant twist to a meal (recipe to follow). With the taste buds awoken, I followed the starter with a generous oozy and velveting spoonful of my creamy spiced take on a lentil dahl (I did’t hold back on chilli, I’m told….). My ‘hug in a bowl’ dahl was then topped with a curry roasted cauliflower salad flecked with crisp spring onions, chopped mint and coriander. This miniature mountain of flavour was finally topped with a juicy and lovingly warm shredded handful of duck coated in a fresh zesty lime dressing…..

Jess - Dahl and Cauliflower duck

Jess - Butter

Fennel and Smoked Salt Butter

  • 250g unsalted butter (Softened)
  • 1 heaped tsp fennel seed
  • 1 tsp smoked salt
  1. Dry toast the fennel seeds in a pan until fragrant. Leave to cool before grinding in a pestle and mortar.
  2. Tip into a bowl and then grind the salt flakes to a fine powder too.
  3. Add about 1 tsp each of the ground fennel seed and the salt to the butter and stir well to combine evenly throughout. Add a little more fennel or salt dependant on taste.
  4. Spoon the butter onto a piece of cling film in an oblong shape. Roll into a cylinder and tie up the end tightly like a cracker. Place in the fridge to harden before slicing into rounds.

With satisfied tummies, my lovely diners were relieved momentarily from their eating duties digest and embrace the gorgeous and charming sounds of my dear talented friend Doll Duncan who took to the piano like Beyonce to the stage. With a mix of unique covers (including a fantastic version of Billie Jean) and her own thoughtfully written lyrics she captured the room, and all thoughts of food, stomachs and wine were banished as she distracted our senses.

A short moment of sadness followed as she signed off with her last song but souls were comforted with the arrival of dessert! A very English and seasonal affair. A stick sweet ginger and treacle tart topped with a (ironical festively) spiced apple puree and a spoonful of my homemade rhubarb crumble ice cream. Happy diners.

As the evening darkened and many a late night punter strolled past the open windows curiously wondering what they had missed out on, my velvety homemade dark chocolate truffles teased the room only to be accompanied by coffee, teas and late night tipples from Market Porter’s fantastic range. We drank, talked and relaxed into the wee hours…

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Hosted once again at the charming Porter at Embassy Gardens, nothing sums up the evening better than the video snapshot above, created and shot by the talented Keith Hammond.

 

 

My first Supper Club…

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or anyone who knows me they’d have been aware of my longstanding but parked dream of launching my first supper club on behalf of ‘forage in the pantry’. A live blog if you will. During university I very nearly undertook the challenge but the devils of revision, a busy lab schedule and an unhealthy bank account were not the ideal ingredients for a successful supper club. So only around 4 years later I have finally accomplished one of my many foodie ambitions that has stood tall and proud on my new year resolution list for some time now.

When the venue essentially found me it was Stefan at ‘Porter at Embassy Gardens’ who’s niche, original and cosy cafe-come-restaurant charmed me on arrival within moments of stepping over the threshold. The chequered floor, the cured hanging meats, the piano or simply the smell of freshly ground coffee it wasn’t a case of shall I do my supper club here, it was when!

With Moroccan and middle Eastern cuisine having a heavy place in my culinary heart my menu was created. Tickets sold out in two exciting days so it wasn’t long before the night arrived and 30 hungry guests graced Battersea for an evening of spice, flavour and charm. And what a night it was…..

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A quick moment before the first of my guests arrived to capture the dream team girls who helped make the night what it was and for who I cannot thank enough!

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ictures say a thousand words. But nothing can quite capture how truly special this night was for me personally but for the amazing atmosphere that my fantastic foodie guests created. Excitement, hunger, intrigue and pride. The drinks were flowing, the smells of Morocco filled the room and the gentle candles silently calmed our moods and transported us far from the busy lives of London.

This evening was truly one of those moments in my life I will remember forever. I can certainly recall a handful of memories that are embedded on my metal pin bin as being so significantly memorable. Degree results, graduation, holidays and job offers. The moments that you can draw on at any low point to bring a smile to your face. And this is now one of them.

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Moroccan spiced lamb leg with Ras el Hanout and chilli, butterflied and roasted, carved and served….

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…a top a creamy lime and cardamon yoghurt and green herb bulghar wheat salad, studded with toasted almonds, juicy raisins and pomegranate seed gems…

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Followed by my favourite blackcurrant and almond tart with homemade coffee and cinnamon ice cream, and a girly scattering of rose petals.

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And if I hadn’t been smiling enough, it was the charming and simply magical tones of my dear friend singer songwriter Doll Duncan who performed what can only be described as my favourite cover of my favourite song of all time that topped off this event. What a special evening and heres to the next! There will be another, so watch this space for your tickets as you won’t want to miss it trust me!

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All photography and video courtesy of my good friend Keith Hammond at http://www.gigshooters.com

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My pals at Green & Blcks have just launched two new exciting flavours- lemon and orange! As I was packing for tomorrows warm Grecian holiday this morning, this welcome package arrived on my doorstep! Although a week away in sunny Greece is nothing to complain about, I’m not sure how I will manage waiting a week before getting back into the comfort of my kitchen to experiment with these new wonders! A week away from the blog I’m afraid but I’ll make up for it…promise! Sunbathing can be very productive when it comes to recipe inspiration. Plus, I’m not sure how well these would cope in the Grecian heat…!

ITV’s ‘Food Glorious Food’- surely any publicity is good publicity…..?

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So I was a contestant on a new ITV cookery show called ‘Food Glorious Food’ which will be airing on Wednesday 27th February…… It was ‘searching’, rather broadly, for a particular recipe at the heart of British public’s culinary repertoires. The winner gets £20,000 and their gastronomic creation on the proud shelves of Marks & Spencer. So I thought, I’m British, I can cook….why not give it a go…..? My dish was a ‘Slow roasted shredded Pork Cassoulet’ and will be hitting the ‘forage in the pantry’ recipe archive soon.

But for now, I will be a comical and cringe-worthy addition to your Wednesday night TV viewing starting in the South West regional heats in Devon so keep your eyes pealed. It will be horribly embarrassing and painfully awful but you know what they say…….any publicity is good publicity! They do say that right…….RIGHT!!?

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My favourite foodie Christmas gift….

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Naturally this year I received a range of cooking related presents for Christmas, from cookbooks to knives to a, what feels like, 20 tonne granite pestle and mortar that was ‘wrapped’ and tagged innocently with ‘Dear Jessie…..for when you get cross….’ These were all much appreciated and loved, but by far my favourite gift was from my best friend and dining partner in crime. With a creative flare she casually knocked out this little beauty……….. (For more of her amazing work, head to KV Studios)

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Its getting a little sad that the highlight of my Sunday evening is a adrenaline filled dash to my local ‘Little Waitrose’ on the triangle in Clifton where if you get in there about 10 minutes before closing you can usually bag yourself some bargains! With a whole grate of asparagus (I hate to admit, imported from Peru) I had to take a load home for dinner to save the unnecessary wastage. So for all you Bristol students out there who think you can’t eat well on a budget, get yourself to Waitrose at 5.50pm on a Sunday!