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.
Dining In
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There are some books I routinely peruse. Alison Roman’s debut, Dining In, is one of them. The sudden heatwave made me want to cook any and every fruit recipe. The problem is, I don’t love fruit. I only really enjoy it with meat and cheese, which is problematic as someone […]
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.
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.
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.
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.
Enter Yotam Ottlenghi’s recipe for Burrata with chargrilled grapes and basil. If grapes are marinaded in vinegar and aromatics, grilled and served with cheese then, naturally, I’m all for it.
Claire Ptak claims not to like Banana Bread or Carrot Cake and both were left off her bakery menu for a long time despite them being the most requested items. I can only say that consumerism works because I am so grateful that Claire relented and gave us a banana bread recipe.
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.
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.