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Dukka Spiced Mackerel, Parsley Lentils, Roasted Hazelnuts

July 12, 2014 Comments Off read Seafood

Mackerel isn’t everyone’s first choice when choosing fish from the supermarket counter. A brownish muddy coloured complexion doesn’t exactly win any beauty competitions and ball your over with a sense of freshness and health. Although popular these days as being cheap people often give it grief for being a ‘dirty fish’. However…its full of excellent healthy oils, is reasonably priced and can importantly handle bold flavours such as Thai marinades, soya sauce and curried spices. Crusted in dukka and served on some nutty lentils here made a satisfactory Friday night supper.

Serves 2

2 mackerel fillets, scored on the skin side
1 tbsp dukka (see here, leave out the mint)
4 oz Puy lentils
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
Very large bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
½ lemon
25g hazelnuts
Mint leaves for garnish
Coconut/light olive oil

If large, cut your fillets in half and season in a shallow bowl. Scatter over the dukka and add a slash of olive oil and massage the spices over the fish. Set aside until ready to cook.
Simmer the lentils for about 18-20 minutes until tender but still with a bite/texture and the drain.
Meanwhile, roast the hazelnuts in a very hot oven for about 8 minutes until toasted and the skins are beginning to peel off. When cool enough to handle rub off the skins and chop roughly into halves and set aside.
Saute the crushed garlic in a little oil in the pan you cooked the lentils in until soft. Return the lentils to the pan and season generously. Add the parsley and lemon juice and mix to combine the flavours. Cover the pan to keep warm and set aside while you cook the fish.
Heat a frying pan with a little coconut or olive oil until hot. Fry the fillets scored (to prevent them curling up) skin side for about 3 minutes until crisp. Turn for the final minute or so to finish the cooking and add the chopped hazelnuts to the pan at this stage also. (The mackerel will take a matter of minutes so don’t overcook of they will dry out)
Serve the lentils topped with the mackerel fillets and scattered with the toasted hazelnuts and a few sprigs of mint. Could do with a dollop of lemony homemade mayo and some wilted greens.

Sweet Potato, Cashew and Coconut Curry

April 2, 2014 Comments Off read Vegetables and Salads

With half a can of coconut milk left over in the fridge, some potatoes and not much else but a stocked pantry and an unwilling motivation to delve into my skinny looking purse I threw together a vegetarian (and equally as satisfying) version of my Keralan Fish Curry.

Serves 3-4

1 large onion
1 small red chilli, chopped finely
2cm piece of ginger, grated finely
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
Bunch coriander, chopped
400ml coconut milk
200ml water
1 Kaffir lime leaf OR ½ juice of a lime
Handful of desiccated coconut
2-3 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tsp tamarind paste
Large handful of cashew nuts
Few large handful of sugar snaps/mange tout/green beans

Par boil your sweet potatoes until just cooked but still a little firm. Drain and set aside.
Heat a little oil in a heavy based pan. Add the mustard, fenugreek and coriander seed and fry until beginning to pop and smell fragrant.
Add the chopped onion and fry on a lowish heat for about 5 minutes until really soft.
Once soft, add the chilli and cook for a few more minutes before adding the ginger and doing the same.
Add the ground dry spices and cook out for 1 minute or so.
Add the coconut milk, the stock and the lime leaf
Simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes until thicker and creamy.
Once nearly at the desired consistency, add a handful or two of dessicated coconut and a handful or chopped coriander, saving most for garnish. Add the tamarind paste for sweetness.
Add the sweet potato, the cashew nuts and throw in your vegetables for a few minutes.
(If not using a Kaffir lime leaf, squeeze in ½ the juice of your lime here)
Serve with rice or naan bread. Garnish with extra chopped coriander, sliced spring onions if you like and an extra handful or two of cashew nuts.

Plum and Five Spice Duck

January 21, 2014 Comments Off read Poultry

An archived recipe I should have posted back in Autumn…pretend its Autumn and read on…

Slow cooked to perfection – plums are fashionably in season at the moment and duck is frankly deliciously tasty. It was a cold Autumnal evening. Need I say more….?

(Adapted from Jamie O)

Serves 4

4 duck legs
4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tsp five spice
2-3 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red chilli, chopped
16 plums, halved and stoned
1 tbsp demerara sugar
2 spring onions, sliced
Handful coriander, chopped
8 oz wild/brown rice
1 lime

Marinade the duck legs in the soy, five spice, oil, star anise and cinnamon for as long as you can.
Preheat the oven to 200°C and get a roasting tray ready.
Place the chopped chillis, plums and sugar in the tray and drizzle over the marinade and mix well. Top with the duck legs, skin side up.
Roast for 1-½ hours, turning the heat down after about 20-30 minutes once the skin is crisp and the fat has rendered a little. Alternatively, roast at a low 160-170°C for about 2 hours until the meat comes away from the bone and is tender.
Meanwhile cook the rice. This is also lovely made with coconut milk (see here).
Once the duck is ready, taste the sauce and adjust with soy to season and remove the cinnamon and star anise. Serve the rice topped with a duck leg and the roasted plums. Scatter with the sliced spring onions and coriander and a generous squeeze of lime.

Fig, Coconut and Chocolate Tart

October 20, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

This is another gem of a recipe that I’d hungrily bookmarked too long ago from a fairly vintage and thumbed copy of Vogue’s ‘Entertaining and Travel’. Being unavailable in the UK, I’ve only a prized handful of these gorgeous and teasing magazines from a friends visits to Dubai. However, the recipes are a pleasing port of call for inspiration and I shall attribute the belated testing of this recipe to ‘savouring’ of my limited supply.

With a punnet of figs putting on a brave face in the face of an over-ripe death sitting safely in the fridge it seemed like an Autumn pleaser. With the added bonus that I ADORE anything with coconut it certainly was pleasing…

Makes 1 large tart (or use smaller ones if preferred)

Pastry

225g plain flour
2 tbsp icing sugar
125g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 egg

Filling

200g desiccated coconut
300ml weak, cooled tea
5 eggs
220g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Grated zest 1 lemon
100g dark chocolate, chopped (Min 70%)
6 figs
Honey to glaze

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 26cm, deepish tart tin.
For the pastry, place the butter, flour and icing sugar in food processor and blend until you get a breadcrumb-like texture (or rub together by hand). Add the beaten egg and combine until you form a smooth dough, being gentle when handling. Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Roll the chilled pastry onto a floured surface and line the greased tart tin. Place on a baking tray and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Line with baking paper and fill generously with baking beans and bake blind for 15-20 minutes until the edges are a light golden. Remove the beans and return to the oven to allow the base to cook and turn pale gold. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
Reduce the oven to 170°C.
Place the coconut in a large bowl and cover with the tea. Whisk the eggs, sugar, vanilla and lemon together in another bowl before adding the soaked coconut.
Scatter the chopped chocolate over the base of the pastry case and top with the coconut-egg filling.
Bake for about 30-35 minutes until set and golden. Leave to cool in the tin.
Slice the figs into circles and place on top of the cooled tart in concentric circles. Warm a few tbsps of runny honey in a sauce pan and use a pastry brush to glaze the figs. Scatter with more coconut and serve with a large spoonful of lime/lemon scented mascarpone if you like!

Caribbean Rice Salad

August 1, 2013 Comments Off read Vegetables and Salads

Today is ‘forage in the pantry’s’ 1st Birthday! It been a delicious year of cooking and blogging. Looking back on my first entry, ’The Best…Peanut Butter Cookies’, I feel compelled to make something peanut infused! However, with all this fantastic hot weather we’ve been enjoying and with today being yet another scorcher, the cleansing flavours of the Caribbean seem appropriate. Cold rice salads are totally underrated as rice is normally associated with curries and hot meals. This delicious one comes courtesy of Ottolenghi- the salad king. I always eat brown wild rice or Camargue as its healthier and full of flavour and adds a welcome component to a meal. This salad definitely needs the Camargue rice as it adds colour and an amazing nutty flavour. Even cooking it infuses the kitchen with its tasty aroma. Don’t use white rice here as it just won’t work….on any level.

While this is devoured, its time to crack on with a proper birthday cake…..

Serves 4-5 easily (Adapted from Ottolenghi’s Plenty)

150g Camargue rice
100g wild brown rice
Bunch of basil, shredded
Bunch of mint leaves, shredded
Bunch of coriander, shredded
1 red pepper, sliced thinly
2 spring onions, sliced
1 fresh red chilli, chopped (seeds and all if you like it hot)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Juice ½ lime
1 mango, cubed into 2cm dice
60g roasted salted peanuts
50g desiccated coconut
Salt
1-2 tbsp oil

Boil the rice for about 20 minutes until cooked. Drain and spread out onto a large plate to cool.
Mix all the other ingredients in a large bowl apart from the lemon and lime juice and the oil.
When the rice is cool, add to the other ingredients and gently toss together until combined. Squeeze over the lemon and lime juice and add enough oil to moisten the salad to your liking- I only added about 1 tbsp but add more if you like.

Note: This would be lovely with my Asian Salmon recipe!

Banana and Brown Sugar Ice Cream

July 25, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

While banana bread or my banana muffins (see here) are my go-to for any over-ripe, senescent bananas aging ungracefully in the fruit bowl, this is another alternative idea for their use. Additionally, I always freeze any really ripe bananas that won’t get eaten in time so if, like me, your freezer is also always stacked with frozen bananas then they can be used here too! This is another David Lebovitz recipe as he really is the king of the perfect scoop! I’ve just made a basic banana recipe here but next time (and there will be a next time as its so good) I think I’ll try adding some extra flavours which are endless here. See NOTE below for details or ideas but if you’re a banoffee pie fan then this base recipe would be a great start.

600g very ripe bananas (fresh or frozen)
135g light brown soft sugar (or dark brown for a deeper flavour)
500ml coconut milk
1 tsp dark rum
Pinch salt
½ tsp vanilla

Heat the brown sugar with about ¼ of the coconut milk in a pan until smooth and simmering. If using fresh bananas, cut into small-ish chunks and add to the mixture with a pinch of salt. If using frozen, allow to thaw slightly until soft but not sloppy and crumble or chop in.
Stir and cook to soften the bananas for a few minutes
Add the rum and vanilla and then puree the mixture in a processor until smooth. Chill
Churn in an ice cream maker for about 30 minutes until set

NOTE: This recipe would be great with anything added too. The options are endless but a few ideas include:

Grated coconut
Rum soaked raisins
Swirl in a few tablespoons of peanut butter
Any form of toasted nuts e.g. brazils, hazelnuts, walnuts
A swirl of toffee sauce and some crushed biscuits for an authentic ‘banoffee’ pie ice cream

Coconut Layer Cake

June 5, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

This is my dream cake and the second year running I’ve been treated to it for my Birthday and the second year running that my mum has cursed my name in the kitchen as she tries defiantly to ‘simply grate the coconut flesh’ that the recipe calls for. Never having made my own birthday cake (which would be a little depressing) I’ve never been lumbered with this task but I hear its tricky. The grating seems to be less demanding if you have a good food processor and grater attachment but the mission is getting the coconut flesh out of the shell….I suggest smashing forcefully.

This is a faithful Delia Smith recipe from her ‘How to Cook, Book One’ and I agree with her when she says it really makes a difference if you use fresh coconut….it’ll be worth the grated fingertips and broken floor tiles honest!

Cake

175g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
175g unsalted soft butter
175g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1 coconut, flesh grated

Icing

250g mascarpone
200ml creme fraiche
1tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 170°C and line 2 cake tins (about 20cm).
Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the beaten eggs, butter, caster sugar and vanilla extract and mix using an electric hand blender until smooth. Alternatively cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs and flour etc.
Mix in 75g of the grated coconut and divide between the two cake tins
Bake for 30-35minutes until cooked then remove from the oven and leave to cool
Make the icing by combing all the ingredients and 40g of the grated coconut.
Once the cakes are cool, use a serrated knife to slice each one horizontally in two so you end up with 4 slices. Now place one slice on your serving plate followed by a layer of icing. Build up the cake with this layering in the same way.
Use the remaining icing to coat the sides and the top of the cake and then cover with the remaining grated coconut. You can add some dessicated coconut here if you want too.

Giant Coconut Lime Muffins

May 28, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

This batch was giant I tell you….maybe a little too giant? But non-iced they’d be amazing toasted for breakfast with nutella like a bounty bar! This is a pretty basic muffin mixture so feel free to add fruit or chocolate as you please….

Makes 8-9 large muffins (I recommend making them smaller)

250g self raising flour
1 tsp bicarb
145g caster sugar
1 handful dessicated coconut
200ml coconut milk
2 eggs, beaten
85g butter, melted
250g cream cheese
Zest of 1 lime and the juice of ½
3 tbsp icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Mix the flour, bicarb, sugar and dessicated coconut in a large bowl
Add the melted butter, coconut milk and the beaten eggs.
Using minimal stirs to make sure the muffins are light in texture and not dense, stir until just combined (if there are a few flour lumps this is ok)
Spoon generously into a muffin tin lined with cases and bake for 20-30 minutes until cooked.
Leave to cool. Meanwhile, mix the creme cheese, lime zest and juice and sieve in the icing sugar.
Mix well and transfer to a piping bag
Only when the cakes are cool, pipe on the icing however you like and scatter with extra lime zest or coconut if you like.

Banana and Coconut Flapjacks

February 28, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

Whenever my fruit bowl is harvesting some compost worthy bananas I peel and bag them and shove them in the freezer ready when I need them when banana bread calls. So, never throw your poor bruised bananas in the bin, stick them in the freezer….consequently mine is full of bags of random bananas. I always make my standby banana and walnut loaf but with a hankering for something new this time, I tried whacking them into my flapjack recipe…..! I dabbled with the idea of ‘banoffee flapjacks’ but with a hate of banoffee pie, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. But if you’re a fan, a handful of toffee or a drizzle of caramel on top would probably be your best bet.

130g unsalted butter
50g golden syrup
50g soft light brown sugar
250g oats
50g dessicated coconut
2 ripe bananas, mashed
Pinch ground cinnamon
Pinch ground ginger

Line a baking/brownie tin with parchment and preheat the oven to 180°C.
Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan until melted and glossy.
Whisk in the mashed banana and the spices (as liberally as you like)
Tip in your oats and coconut and stir to combine before pouring into the lined baking tin. Bake for about 25-35 minutes. They should be golden on top and still soft. The banana will keep them from drying out like some flapjack recipes.

Spicy Lamb Patties, Coconut Flatbreads, Lime yoghurt – Beer

February 15, 2013 Comments Off read Meat

I love this type of food. Fresh, simple and filled with flavour this is one from the archive but is actually something I crave in the spring when the sun starts to shine! This looks like a long list but most of the ingredients will be in your pantry and all you need to do is simply throw them together! So when the Spring sun makes an appearance, take a little forage in the pantry for this perfect sharing-style meal for all your buddies with a couple of cold beers….

Spicy lamb patties

500g lamb mince
1 tsp flaky salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
½ tsp cumin seed
1tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ras el hanout
1-2 tsp smoked sweet paprika (depending on your hot levels)

Lime yoghurt

250g thick Greek yoghurt
Handful of chopped mint, or coriander
Grated zest of 1 lime
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Coconut flatbreads

250g plain flour
150ml warm water
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Large handful of dessicated coconut

Start with the lamb patties. Combine all the dry spices in a pestle and mortar and grind together.
Using your hands, take golf ball sized pieces of lamb mince and roll in your hands and slightly flatten to form mini burger-like patties (alternatively make large burgers). Roll generously in the dry rub until coated and place on a plate. Continue until you have used up all the lamb and then cover the patties with cling film and chill.
Now make the flatbread dough. Sieve out the flour and add the oil, seasoning and the dessicated coconut. Make a well in the centre and add the warm water.
Using a fork, mix to combine until you have a dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until it comes together.
Place the dough ball in a floured bowl and cover with cling film to rest.
Meanwhile make the yoghurt by combining all the ingredients and alter to taste with a bit more of anything you think it needs.
Heat a large non-stick pan over a high heat and put on the extractor fan. Now, take walnut sized pieces of dough and roll out on a floured surface until you have about 6-8 flatbreads about 2mm thick. Fry over a high heat in a frying pan for a few minutes each side.They will puff up as they cook. If the heat gets to high and they char and burn before they are cooked through, turn the heat down a little. You just want a little charring and the coconut to toast. Complete with the remaining dough, wrapping them in a tea towel afterwards as you go to keep them warm and soft.
Now heat some oil in the same pan over a high heat and fry the lamb patties for about 2-3 minutes each side until cooked through. The outside will look burnt but it will just be the spices charring and forming a crust for the juicy insides.

Serve the patties wrapped tightly in the warm flatbreads with the cool yoghurt and some fresh lemony dressed salad leaves in one small edible pouch.

Alternatively, I frequently cook this all on the barbeque in the summertime….