Posts tagged coconut

Keralan Fish Curry (and a lime flavoured discovery)

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Keralan Fish Curry (and a lime flavoured discovery)

 

Coconut is definitely up there in my top 5 favourite ingredients…go ahead and strand me on a dessert island with nothing but this hairy white fleshed treat (FYI..coconut oil also makes a great hair conditioner….I diverge). Keralan curries are notoriously flavoured with coconut along with the stereotypical scents of whole and ground spices. The curries here are different from the Northern region and much fresher for my tastes anyway. This fish curry is spicy but feels light and cleansing. Not stodgy and firey like some can often be.

As for my lime discovery. Once n a while I’ll have a foodie discovery and find an ingredient or cooking tool that just makes me smile and feel inspired. To name a handful off the top of my head…my first taste of black pudding, my first chai tea latte and perhaps (weirdly) my first devils-on-horseback one Christmas eve. I’m unsure whether its the low expectations of a food that make it all the more magical or the moment in which you eat it when you are desperately hungry which make it all the more enjoyable but everyone can name a few times they’ve eaten something memorable. So, fresh Kaffir lime leaves. I’ve only ever used the dried variety as often specified in recipes. After forking out my hard earned pennies for a tiny pot of these dried and parched leaves packaged pretentiously in fancy packaging, I pleasingly discovered the fresh type. Oh my. What a difference one green and chlorophyll packed leaf can make to a dish. I bought a packet of fresh lime leaves from my local Sainsburys (not cheaply when you think you’re buying leaves?) But WELL worth it. Popping just one (be gentle, their powerful) into my simmering and creamy coconut curry sauce for a matter of 15-20 minutes infused it with a fragrant, fresh and amazing flavour. After cutting up a lime for garnish, I aptly threw it aside- not needed here!

So my foodie followers. Find fresh leaves where you can and don’t skimp on them if you want the amazing flavour.

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 tumeric
  • Bunch coriander, chopped
  • 400ml coconut milk
  • 200ml water (or see tip below for a light stock*)
  • 1 Kaffir lime leaf OR ½ juice of a lime
  • Handful of desiccated coconut
  • 400gor about 2 white fish fillets, chopped into large 2inch chunks
  • 12 raw tiger prawns (if bought in their shells- see tip below*)
  • 1 tsp tamarind paste
  • Handful of sugar snaps/mange tout/green beans enough for (3-4 people)
  1. 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.
  2. Add the chopped onion and fry on a lowish heat for about 5 minutes until really soft and infused with the spicy flavour.
  3. Once soft, add the chilli and cook for a few more minutes before adding the ginger and doing the same.
  4. Add the dry spices and cook out for 1 minute or so.
  5. Add the coconut milk, the stock and that magic lime leaf.
  6. Simmer gently for about 10-15 minutes. You want to allow enough time to infuse the flavours of the spices and the lime but reduce the sauce until thicker and creamy.
  7. 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.
  8. Throw in your vege but don’t overcook- keep it crisp.
  9. Add the fish and turn the heat down to a low simmer so you don’t boil it. Poach the fish gently in the sauce for about 3-4 minutes (don’t be tempted to overdo it- fish will cook so easily, you could even take it off the heat and leave it and it would cook). Add the prawns for the final few minutes until the fish turns opaque and just begins to flake. (If not using a Kaffir lime leaf, squeeze in ½ the juice of your lime here)
  10. Serve warm in large bowls with rice or naan bread. Garnish with extra chopped coriander and sliced spring onions if you like. A handful or two of cashew nuts wouldn’t go amiss here either.

A few tips

  • Keep the fish chunky as you don’t want it to break up too much. Please don’t be tempted to cook the fish for too long. You want it just flaking but still moist.
  • Similarly, don’t cook the hell out of the prawns. Overcooking can turn the juiciest and biggest of prawns into tiny, shrived and dry mouthfuls. They only need a minute or so until just turned pink
  • ***If you buy your prawns shelled, don’t throw the shells away! Use that amazing flavour. Feel the shell (and heads if you’re lucky) from the prawns and set them aside. Fry the shells in a little oil until turning pink. Add a splash or white wine and simmer. Add some boiling water and simmer for about 5-10 minutes until fragrant. The amazing flavour from the shells will really make a difference. Sieve and discard the shells and use 200ml of this stock for your curry.
  • Buy fresh Kaffir lime leaves- see above for reasons
  • Use whole spices- they’ll really make a difference
  • Use full fat coconut milk- it will be creamier and more indulgent. Light will work too but it may need further reduction.

And finally, enjoy…and don’t rub chili in your eye like I’ve just done.

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Fig, Coconut and Chocolate Tart

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Fig, Coconut and Chocolate Tart

 

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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

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  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 26cm, deepish tart tin.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Reduce the oven to 170°C.
  6. 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.
  7. Scatter the chopped chocolate over the base of the pastry case and top with the coconut-egg filling.
  8. Bake for about 30-35 minutes until set and golden. Leave to cool in the tin.
  9. 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!

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Green Chicken Curry

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Green Chicken Curry

 

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Its been a busy few weeks and the pantry has been in shameful neglect and I miss it badly. No work on a Sunday so it cannot possibly steal me from my apron and wooden spoon. I love this dish and these flavours. I hate the fact that amongst my travels, I haven’t ventured anywhere where I have been able to master and learn the art and recipe for an authentic Thai green curry paste that would put the salty and sugary rubbish you can buy in a supermarket jar to shame. Therefore with a little research, my (hopefully) good instinct and palate and a huge bomb proof granite pestle and motar this can be appreciated as a good English alternative. Feel free to use different vegetables, more herbs and it is absolutely open to adding a splash of whatever you think it needs. This recipe worked for me (this time) but I find it changes everytime depending on the strength and type of coconut milk, chilli or even the chicken. In this recipe, its important to taste as you go along!

Serves 4

Paste

  • Large knob ginger, peeled and sliced roughly
  • 2 red chillis, deseeded
  • 2 kaffir lime leaves
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 stick lemongrass
  • 4 spring onions, chopped
  • Bunch of coriander

Sauce

  • 400ml thick coconut milk
  • 200ml chicken stock
  • 1tsp fish sauce
  • 1tbsp soy sauce
  • 50g desiccated coconut
  • 200g sugar snap peas/green beans/mini baby corn
  • 8 chicken thighs, boned (optional)
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • Handful of basil, coriander,and 2 spring onions to garnish
  • 2 limes (1 for serving)
  • 6oz wild/brown rice
  • 4 cardamon pods
  • Popadoms to serve
  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
  2. Start with the paste. Using a pestle and mortar, firmly pound together the ginger and the chilli. Add the lime leaves and repeat.
  3. Add the garlic, the lemon grass and the spring onions and pound everything together firmly until you form a really mashed and blended paste. Add the coriander leaves and pound in. Reserve your paste to a bowl.
  4. Heat a heavy based pan or casserole dish with a splash of sunflower oil over a high heat. Season the chicken thighs and fry skin side down until a really crisp skin forms.
  5. Add the sesame oil and remove them from the heat. Remove from the pan and reserve to a plate
  6. Over a medium low heat now, add the curry paste and fry for a few minutes until fragrant. Add 2-3 tbsp of the coconut milk and mix. Add a splash more coconut milk and mix in before adding the rest. Add the fish sauce and soy sauce and stir together. Bring to the boil and add about 200ml of hot chicken stock to form a thickish sauce.
  7. Return the chicken to the pan, try to keep the skin above the liquid to retain the crispy skin but don’t panic if not it can be crisped up later.
  8. Cook for 25 minutes in the oven, uncovered. While cooking, cook your rice with the cardamon pods thrown in or a cinnamon stick if preferred.
  9. Once the chicken is cooked and tender, remove from the dish from the oven. Remove the chicken from the pan and, if the skin isn’t crisp, place on a baking tray under a hot grill and crisp it up while you deal with the sauce. Alternatively, remove to a warm place to rest.
  10. Place the sauce over a medium high heat on the hob and bring to a simmer. Add the sugar snaps (or vegetables being used) and the coconut and simmer for a few minutes. Add the juice from ½ lime and taste. Adjust the taste as needed, adding soy for seasoning.
  11. Return the chicken to the pan. Scatter with chopped basil, coriander and thin slices of spring onions. Squeeze over the juice from the other half of the lime and bring to the table to serve with the rice.

NOTE: This can be adapted in many ways. Try topping with toasted coconut for texture of chopped salted peanuts.

Coffee and Olive Oil Truffles

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Coffee and Olive Oil Truffles

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Oh boy, these are dangerous. My mum’s friend recently provided me with a small, harmless and innocent looking bottle of ‘Coffee Extra Virgin Olive Oil’ (strange I know) with the challenge of making something with it!? On smelling it, my mind went to truffles. After a recent visit to William Curley’s chocolate sanctuary in Belgravia I felt inspired to use some of his sensational ingredient combinations. After trying his rosemary and olive oil chocolates I attempted my own version. With a packet of espresso flavoured Green & Blacks sitting on the shelf too, I thought this would add that extra kick of coffee flavour.

The oil in these, as opposed to the traditional cream, really does make  the truffles feel so much smoother without coating and cloying your mouth….they simply melt away.

Makes about 26

  • 80ml coffee olive oil OR plain Extra virgin olive oil
  • 100g Green & Blacks Espresso Chocolate, chopped
  • 125g Green & Blacks dark chocolate, chopped
  • 60g butter, cubed
  • Pinch salt
  • Cocoa for dusting/ chopped hazelnuts or mixed nuts/desiccated coconut
  1. Place the chopped chocolate, butter, oil and a pinch of salt into a heat proof bowl.
  2. Suspend over a pan of barely simmering water (do not let it touch) and heat gently until melted, stirring often.
  3. Once smooth and emulsified, pour into a clean bowl, cover and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.
  4. Remove from the fridge. Use a spoon or a melon baller to mould out your truffles. Coat them in cocoa powder, chopped nuts or coconut or whatever else you like. Keep somewhere chilled but cover tightly if you are keeping them in the fridge as chocolate absorbs fridge smells….the last thing you want is a cheesy truffle?

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Keralan Cod (Pollichathu)

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Keralan Cod (Pollichathu)

 

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This dish is cooked in a Keralan style called ‘Pollichathu’ where the fish (usually a traditional Karimeen) is wrapped in a banana leaf and cooked in a tasty marinade to keep it moist and succulent. However, I used foil for mine and cooked it under the grill but a BBQ would be a great alternative! Serve with some homemade warm chapattis and some nice cooling lime infused yoghurt!

Serves 4

  • ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • ½ lemon juice
  • 4 cod fillets/seabass fillets
  • 1 coconut, flesh grated OR 2 large generous handful of desiccated coconut
  • 8 spring onions
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 5cm ginger root
  • 1 large green chilli
  • 1 large tbsp dried curry leaves (or a handful of fresh)
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 dried red chilli, torn or 1 small tsp of dried chilli flakes
  • Small bunch of coriander

Chapattis

  • 280g wholemeal bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 200ml cold water
  1. Combine the black pepper, turmeric and lemon juice and marinade the fish for 1 hour in the fridge.
  2. Chop the spring onions, garlic ginger and green chilli and combine with the curry leaves.
  3. Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan and add the mustard seeds until they begin to crackle and then add the red chilli.
  4. Add the onion mixture and stir for a few minutes until beginning to brown but make sure it does not burn.
  5. Add the coconut and the coriander, saving a handful for garnish and season and set aside to cool slightly.
  6. Meanwhile, make the chapattis by placing flour and salt in a bowl and adding the water in a steady stream and mix with a wooden spoon. Knead briefly to obtain a sticky elastic dough and set aside in an oiled bowl to rest.
  7. Place the fish fillets in the middle of a piece of foil or a banana leaf and spoon over a ¼ of the coconut mixture. Wrap the foil up into a sealed parcel. Place on a hot BBQ or under a hot grill for about 8-10 minutes until cooked.
  8. While cooking, teach of golf ball sized pieces of chapattis dough and roll thinly. Either on the hot BBQ or in a hot dry frying pan, fry for a few minutes either side until charred and cooked. Wrap in a tea towel to keep warm and soft until ready to serve.
  9. Once the fish is cooked, serve along side the fish garnished with the reserved coriander and a spoonful of yoghurt seasoned with some lime zest and juice to taste for a nice cooling side.

Caribbean Rice Salad

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Caribbean Rice Salad

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
  1. Boil the rice for about 20 minutes until cooked. Drain and spread out onto a large plate to cool.
  2. Mix all the other ingredients in a large bowl apart from the lemon and lime juice and the oil.
  3. 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!

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Coconut Layer Cake

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Coconut Layer Cake

 

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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
  1.  

    Preheat the oven to 170°C and line 2 cake tins (about 20cm).

  2. 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.
  3. Mix in 75g of the grated coconut and divide between the two cake tins
  4. Bake for 30-35minutes until cooked then remove from the oven and leave to cool
  5. Make the icing by combing all the ingredients and 40g of the grated coconut.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.

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Giant Coconut Lime Muffins

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Giant Coconut Lime Muffins

 

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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
  1. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
  2. Mix the flour, bicarb, sugar and dessicated coconut in a large bowl
  3. Add the melted butter, coconut milk and the beaten eggs.
  4. 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)
  5. Spoon generously into a muffin tin lined with cases and bake for 20-30 minutes until cooked.
  6. Leave to cool. Meanwhile, mix the creme cheese, lime zest and juice and sieve in the icing sugar.
  7. Mix well and transfer to a piping bag
  8. Only when the cakes are cool, pipe on the icing however you like and scatter with extra lime zest or coconut if you like.

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Asian Salmon and Coconut Rice

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Asian Salmon and Coconut Rice

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I’ve cooked this recipe far too many times in the past couple of weeks. With revision STILL on the go it is a fresh but really satisfying meal which is also a hopeless attempt at consuming some more oily fish to fuel my brain! I’ve been unhelpfully vague in the method as all depends on the rice, coconut milk and salmon you use which will vary the cooking time and the quantities a little. The timings will vary but use your instincts and aim for a crispy skinned dark soy salmon that is moist and just cooked with a creamy coconut rice. You may not get the timings perfect on the first shot but I guarantee you’ll make it again to get it right!

Serves 2

  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 4 oz brown/wild rice
  • 2 salmon fillets
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp runny honey
  • 2cm grated ginger
  • 1 lime, zest and wedges for serving
  • Scattering of sesame seeds
  1. Mix the soy, oils, ginger and honey together and leave the salmon to marinade in the mix for at least 1 hour in the fridge.
  2. Bring the coconut milk to the boil with a small cup of hot water and simmer the rice gently for about 20-25 minutes until cooked. The coconut milk you use in terms of thickness will vary so top up with hot water if it starts to look dry or if it is a thick variety, dilute down. What you’re aiming for is for the rice to cook in the time that it takes the coconut milk to reduce so you should end up with a creamy rice. If it is still looking drowned towards the end of cooking, turn the heat up and simmer more strongly. I like to use brown rice for its nutty flavour and texture.
  3. Once cooked, stir in the grated zest of the lime and keep warm.
  4. While the rice is cooking, preheat your grill to high and (skin side up) grill your salmon for about 5 minutes depending on thickness, until just cooked and moist with a dark soy crisp skin.
  5. Simmer the remaining marinade in a saucepan to warm and thicken.
  6. Serve your salmon on top of your coconut rice drizzled with a little of the warm marinade. Scatter with a handful of sesame seeds and a wedge of lime for squeezing. Serve with steamed broccoli.

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Banana and Coconut Flapjacks

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Banana and Coconut Flapjacks

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
  1. Line a baking/brownie tin with parchment and preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan until melted and glossy.
  3. Whisk in the mashed banana and the spices (as liberally as you like)
  4. 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.

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