Courgette and feta fritters
Posted: April 27, 2011 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Courgette, Fritters, Spices, Zucchini 1 Comment »
Other than his very popular New Vegetarian column at the Guardian, Yotam Ottolenghi also writes for Here Is The City News. And, he doesn’t hesitate to use recipes the editor of the Guardian didn’t see fit to publish. This one had to be dropped from a section on quick and healthy breakfasts. Having tried it, I can certainly understand why. It took me a couple of hours and a dishwasher load to have it ready. It might be delicious, but it is not exactly what you need to to start the day… Unless you go to Nopi’s and order it from the menu.
Courgette and feta fritters
- 200g soured cream (I replaced it by lactose free yogurt)
- 2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 70ml sunflower oil
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- Salt and black pepper
- 3 medium courgettes
- 2 small shallots, finely chopped (but very very finely, otherwise you will feel you are chewing onions)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- Grated zest of 2 limes
- About 60g self-raising flour
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 150g manouri cheese (or feta)
In a small bowl, mix the cream, chopped coriander, half a teaspoon of ground cardamom, two teaspoons of oil and the lime zest and juice. Season to taste, cover and chill.
Chop off the ends of the courgettes, then grate the flesh into a bowl. Sprinkle with half a teaspoon of salt and leave for 10 minutes so they release their juices. Squeeze the courgettes to remove most of the liquid, then add the shallots, garlic, lime zest, flour, eggs, ground coriander, the remaining cardamom and a pinch of pepper. Mix to form a thick batter (add some flour if it’s a bit runny), then fold in the manouri.
Heat 2-3mm of oil in a large frying pan and add heaped dessertspoons of the batter (in batches, if need be), flatten a little and cook on each side for around three minutes. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. (larger portions than a tablespoon will give very messy fritters. Do not forget to flat).
Serve three fritters per portion with a generous dollop of the sauce.
Red onion confit, fresh thyme and goat cheese tartelettes
Posted: April 26, 2011 Filed under: Pastry and Baking | Tags: Finger food, Goat cheese, Herbs, Red onions, Snacks, Sugar 2 Comments »
I first saw the onion confit and and goat cheese tartelettes on Mafalda Pinto Leite’s website (here, in Portuguese). It looked easy enough, but things went South when ready-made caramelized onion the recipe called for was nowhere to be find in Zurich. The only solution was to embark on a quest for the perfect red onion confit recipe. Finally, it was C’est moi qui l’ai fait who offered the perfect method for a luscious red onion confit. And, since they had gone through all the trouble of doing their own jam from scratch, it was only fair to give it a go to their tartelette. It was a good call – the whole batch was gone in less than a sigh.
Red onion confit, fresh thyme and goat cheese tartelettes
Ingredients
- 1 roll of puf pastry
- 1 pot of red onion confit (recipe here)
- 1 fresh soft goat cheese, crumbled
- 1 yolk
- 1 tablespoon of milk
- Fresh thyme
Method
Preheat the stove to 210oC
Spread a bit of flour all over the kitchen top, and lay the pastry roll. Mix the yolk with the milk, and brush it all over the pastry surface.
Cut it in squares (4cm side), and place them on the baking tray.
Drop a teaspoon of onion confit at the center of each square (the corners should be free, so they can puff). On top of the confit, put the equivalent of a small teaspoon of cheese. Sprinkle with fresh thyme.
It is now ready to put on the stove, for about 8min, or until the pastry is golden.
Southern Right Pinotage 2007
Posted: April 10, 2011 Filed under: Wine | Tags: Wine Leave a comment »
A wine from South Africa: Southern Ring Pinotage. Not the kind of wine you would be used to have in the Old World: smoky, woody and vibrant. Best for Winter food.
Rice and spinach cake
Posted: April 6, 2011 Filed under: Rice, Vegetarian | Tags: Eggs, Rice, Spices, spinach Leave a comment »
While looking for a recipe to use up spinach, I found by chance an old rticle about rice by Fiona Becket. The recipe has proved to be ageless, and delicious. The quantities of herbs and spices had to be adjusted to current times – pinches are now teaspoons.
Rice and spinach cake
Ingredients
- 500g fresh, tender-leafed spinach
- 250g arborio or carnaroli rice
- 2 medium-sized onions
- 2 cloves garlic
- 25g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 fresh, well-born eggs
- 60g Parmesan, grated
- 2 or 3 sage leaves
- A pinch of thyme
- A pinch of oregano
- Sea salt
- A generous grating of nutmeg
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Wash the spinach several times in a sink full of cold water. Remove the stalks and imperfections from the spinach. Place a large pan of water to boil and plunge in the spinach. Quickly remove the spinach, cool in iced water and drain thoroughly. Rinse the pan, refill with water and return to the cooker to boil. Form the spinach into balls, squeezing out any excess water, then chop finely. Tip the rice into the boiling water and cook for 10-12 minutes. Drain the rice and mix with the spinach.
Peel, finely chop, and fry the onions in the oil and butter until pale and softened, then add to the rice and spinach. Pick and chop the herbs, peel and finely chop the garlic, grate in about 4 tablespoons of Parmesan, add in the eggs, sea salt and several grinds of pepper. Mix all this together, then smooth into a dish or a tin lined with liberally-buttered silicon paper. Bake the cake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden
Spiced lentils with cucumber yogurt
Posted: April 4, 2011 Filed under: Pulses and lentils, Vegetarian | Tags: Cucumber, Lentils, Spices, Yoghurt, Yotam Ottolenghi Leave a comment »
Spiced lentils with cucumber yogurt
Ingredients
- 200g split red lentils
- 1 bunch fresh coriander
- 1 small onion, peeled
- 40g ginger, peeled
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 mild green chilli
- half teaspoon of black mustard seeds
- 4 tablespoons of sunflower oil
- half teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- half teaspoon ground turmeric
- half teaspoon paprika
- 10 curry leaves
- 300g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- 2 teaspoon caster sugar
- half teaspoon fenugreek (optional)
- 1 pinch asafoetida (optional)
- Salt
- 150g Greek yogurt (I used regular lactose free yogurt)
- 75g finely diced cucumber
- half tablespoon of olive oil
- 70g unsalted butter
- lime juice
Methods
Wash the lentils in plenty of water, drain and soak in 350ml of fresh water for 30 minutes. Cut the coriander bunch somewhere around its centre to get a leafy top half and a stem/root bottom half. Roughly chop the leaves. Put the stem half in the bowl of a food processor, add the onion, ginger, garlic and chilli – all roughly broken – and pulse a few times to chop up without turning into a paste.
Put the mustard seeds in a heavy-based pot and place over medium heat. When they begin to pop, add the onion mix and sunflower oil, stir and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Add the spices and curry leaves, and continue cooking and stirring for five minutes longer. Now add the lentils and their soaking water, the tomatoes, sugar, fenugreek, asafoetida and a pinch of salt. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are fully cooked.
Before serving, whisk together the yogurt, cucumber, oil and some salt. Stir into the lentils the butter, lime juice and chopped coriander leaves, taste and season generously with salt. Divide into bowls, spoon yogurt on top and garnish with coriander.
La Miranda de Secastilla, 2007
Posted: April 2, 2011 Filed under: Wine | Tags: Spain, Wine Leave a comment »
