Dining In

58 posts

Tofu and French beans with chraimeh sauce | Yotam Ottolenghi (Ottolenghi Simple)

Tofu and French beans with chraimeh sauce | Yotam Ottolenghi (Ottolenghi Simple)

So chraimeh a river…
So to quote Yotam, ‘Chraimeh is a piquant sauce from Libya. It keeps well in the fridge for at least a week so make double or triple the quantities, It also works as a sauce for chicken or fish or just as a dip with bread before supper’. In practice, it’s a chilli sauce with a bit of musty cumin and caraway and the sourness of lime.

Harissa Black Bean Ragout | Sabrina Ghayour (Bazaar: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes)

Harissa Black Bean Ragout | Sabrina Ghayour (Bazaar: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes)

With only a handful of ingredients and very little prep, the Harissa Black Bean Ragout seemed like an excellent meat-free Monday option. The black beans are even cooked straight in the pot, no soaking required. The total cooking time was about an hour and a half but most of that time was spent idly pottering around letting the pot do all the hard work.

Vegan Frittata Elly Pear Curshen The Pear Cafe Green cookbook Socca

Vegan Frittata | Elly Pear (Green)

My poor, long-suffering other half has had to eat many a food experiment over the years, complying with all of my culinary whims and wishes. The one dish that I have never been able to convince him to eat is frittata or omelette – its a textural thing. So when I found a recipe for vegan frittata while perusing Elly Pear’s latest veggie/vegan cookbook, Green, the reception wasn’t exactly rapturous. I sold it as more a chickpea pancake quiche. I suppose it isn’t far off Socca – the French chickpea flour pancake. He wasn’t convinced.

Shallot Blossoms with paprika crème fraîche | Sabrina Ghayour (Bazaar: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes)

Shallot Blossoms with paprika crème fraîche | Sabrina Ghayour (Bazaar: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes)

These deep-fried Shallot Blossoms are so worth the chore. The savoury batter, spicy creates a delicious crispy coating that I’ve missed since KFC left my life. The shallots cook till they’re soft enough to eat and have lost that raw onion punch. If you think onion rings (x10,000) then you’re on the right track.

Broad bean & ricotta dip | Sabrina Ghayour (Bazaar: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes)

Broad bean & ricotta dip | Sabrina Ghayour (Bazaar: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes)

For all I read of Nigella – and seemingly everyone else – enjoying the mundaneness of peeling broad beans, I just cannot get on board with it. I buy the frozen broad beans that are already out of their pods, but to then have to cook and cool the beans and remove the ‘tough’ skin. I’m sorry but no.

Claire Ptak Egg Yolk Chocolate Chip Cookies The Violet Bakery Cookbook

Egg yolk chocolate chip cookies | Claire Ptak (The Violet Bakery Cookbook)

I have always found a chocolate chip cookie a bit overrated. They were always either too bendy, like those 5 for a pound, supermarket bakery cookies that almost bend in half before they snap, or too brittle like a classic pack of Maryland Cookies. Despite never being a huge cookie fan, I bought Claire Ptak’s The Violet Bakery Cookbook for this recipe.

Diana Henry Roast potatoes with chilli, mint and preserved lemon Simple

Roast potatoes with chilli, mint and preserved lemon | Diana Henry (SIMPLE: effortless food, big flavours)

You will have to give me the benefit of the doubt with this recipe. The UK is currently experiencing what we call a heatwave, but is probably just our sad, brief excuse for a summer. I am literally sat with the windows open, fanning myself as I write this. Yet somehow I find myself roasting potatoes.