Muttar Paneer

There is nothing better then a curry, whether it be homemade or takeaway, each has a time and a place. Their simplicity and throw-it-all-in-and-see-what-happens style makes them the perfect choice for the experimental cook. In regards to the curry recipes I’ve seen in cookery books, my top choice is Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic, as one reader commented, not the most trust worthy of names, but she sure does have some lovely and more unusual recipes. You may remember her Afghan Yoghurt Curry I made a few months back, well it was delicious, and I had high hopes for the Muttar Paneer Curry that I tried next.

Now my knowledge of vegetarian curries stretches little further then the obligatory butternut squash variety, which is great and all that, but gets a bit boring after a while. This curry uses paneer as the star ingredient, an Indian cheese with a squeaky likeness to halloumi. The cheese is fried until golden brown and then added to a delicious homemade curry paste (so simple to make and useable as a base for any curry) as well as peas. The mild sauce allows the sweetness of the peas to burst out with every mouthful and the cheese adds texture, making it a great alternative to tofu. Gizzi also suggests serving the dish with a naan rather then rice, a welcome change in my opinion.

Slightly adapted from Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic

Serves 2

1 tbsp vegetable oil

125g Paneer cheese

2 ripe tomatoes, chopped

150ml vegetable stock

150g frozen peas

naan bread

-For the Curry Paste-

1 tbsp vegetable oil

½ onion, peeled and chopped

1.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

pinch of garam masala

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1. Put all the ingredients for the curry paste into a blender and mix to a paste.
2. Add the oil to a pan over a medium heat, then fry the paneer until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on some kitchen paper.
3. Add the paste to the pan and fry for 5 minutes, until it starts to brown a little. Add the stock and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened. Add the paneer and the peas and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Season, and serve with naan bread.

Avocado Stuffed Tomato Tortillas

!!Frugal Student Tip Alert!! Rent cookbooks out from your local library for free!!

I can’t tell you how excited I was when I discovered Brighton Library had cookbooks to rent. Now although they don’t have all the newest releases or the more unusual of titles, they do have a large selection of the more popular names (think Ramsay, Lawson, Oliver and Slater) as well as some really useful reference books. And all for FREE!!

On this occasion I went for Jamie’s America, not something I would really be interested in buying myself (I’m not all that keen on the whole Jamie Oliver brand), but I am interested in learning about American cuisine. This book has opened me up to a really delicious and colourful range of recipes which go far further then the obligatory burger and fries. Crammed into this photo heavy, and perhaps a little self indulgent book (think Jamie Brokeback style around the campfire) is a huge variety of recipes with Mexican, Jewish and Navaho influences amongst others.

I found 14 recipes that I really wanted to try in my first flick, but went for the Stuffed Tomato Tortillas first. After making the tomato sauce and avocado mixture, you just need to wrap it up, pour it over, and in the words of Jamie Oliver, bang it in the oven for 15 minutes. Pukka. 

Adapted from Jamie’s America

Serves 2

-For the Sauce-

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

½ lime

1 spring onion, finely chopped

salt and pepper

-For the Tortillas-

2 ripe avocados

1 lime

4 tortillas

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and sliced finely

small handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

75g grated cheddar cheese

2 tbsp soured cream, plus more to serve

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Gently fry the garlic in the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the tomatoes and lime juice and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down low, season and simmer for 10 minutes, until the sauce has slightly thickened.
2. Meanwhile, halve, peel and stone the avocados, then mash with the lime juice and a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Pour a small amount of the tomato sauce into an appropriately sized baking dish, just to cover the bottom. Divide the avocado between 4 tortillas and sprinkle over the spring onion and chilli and some of the cheese and coriander.
4. Place in the baking dish and pour the rest of the tomato sauce over, then dollop on the sour cream and sprinkle over the remaining cheese.
5. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and gone golden and crispy on top. Serve with a green salad.

Banana Fudge Layer Cake

I write this while sitting in the kitchen of my wonderful friend and fellow food lover Rose, at the second of our newly founded lunch dates (last week I cooked Naan Pizzas, this week I am being treated to Leek and Potato Soup). She’s very kindly allowing me to abuse her internet as much as I like, I have no internet until the 26^th, and she’s giving me yummy food to boot. This has provided me with the perfect excuse to check up on my favourite food blogs and update you with my most recent culinary conquest.

Now although I did little cooking in the last month I did invest in two new fantastic cook books (its becoming an addiction), one being Mad Hungry, my first proper American cookbook complete with cup measurements, and the other being The Great British Bake Off: How to Bake, a baking book made to accompany the brilliant BBC2 series (with 50% off at Waterstones now I couldn’t resist!). This week Ben started working at the Tic Toc Café in Brighton, where he now prepares food and makes coffee, and asked me to bake a cake for the first evening opening of the café. I was more then happy to oblige, partly to make a good first impression but mostly because I couldn’t wait to get stuck into my baking book. After a quick flick of the Cake section I went for the Banana Fudge Layer Cake, having all but a couple of the ingredients in the kitchen. Now I speak from experience here, use an electric mixer. Creaming butter with a wooden spoon for a sustained length of time gave me blisters, not cool. Luckily, the injuries where worth it. The cake tasted great, the sponge light and the fudge and banana slices making each mouthful deliciously sweet. Making the fudge was surprisingly easy too, and I plan on using the same recipe to make blocks of fudge wrapped in cellophane as presents. Yum.

Adapted from The Great British Bake Off: How to Bake

Makes one 20.5cm cake

- For the Sponge -

175g unsalted butter, softened

25g light brown muscovado sugar

175g self raising flour

1 tbsp milk

150g caster sugar

3 large free-range eggs, at room temperature, beaten

½ tsp vanilla extract

- For the Filling and Topping -

175g light brown muscovado sugar

75g double cream

1 ripe banana

150g unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease two 20.5cm sandwich tins (lining the bases with baking paper). Beat the softened butter in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until creamy. Add the two sugars and beat well until the mixture is light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add the egg, beating after each addition. Add a tablespoon of the flour with the last portion of egg to stop the mixture from curdling.
3. Sift in the remaining flour and fold into the mixture with a metal spoon.
4. Mix the vanilla extract and milk before folding into the mixture.
5. Divide the mixture equally between the two prepared tins and spread evenly. Bake in the oven for 18 to 20 minutes until the cakes are a light golden colour and just firm enough to the touch. Turn out the sponges on to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. Meanwhile, make the fudge by heating the butter, cream and sugar in a medium pan over a low heat. Stir frequently until the butter has melted. Increase the heat a little and simmer for 3 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the mixture from catching.
7. Remove from the heat and stir vigorously for 30 seconds. Leave to cool, stirring gently occasionally. It will gradually thicken and is ready to use once it has become spreadable (You may need to put it in the fridge for a few minutes).
8. Spread the fudge evenly on to each cake, swirling the fudge on the top cake with the back of a spoon or round bladed knife. Arrange the thinly sliced banana slices on top of the fudge on the bottom cake before sandwiching the two cakes together.
9. Store in an airtight container for up to four days.

Honey Glazed Sausages with Root Veg Mash and Onion Gravy

I’m not going to lie, I’m more of a Winter person then a Summer one, partly because I’m obsessed with Christmas, and partly because I love Winter-y comfort food. Bangers and mash is one of my favourite tasty and warming suppers and when Ben’s mum gave me some fantastic homegrown vegetables I really couldn’t resist making this hugely simple and always delicious dish.

There really is nothing better then eating food that came out of the ground just a few hours before, I think you’ll agree it tastes so much better then what you buy in the store and is such a treat. Plus, you might even get a parsnip that looks like a person – win!!

I baked my sausages in the oven according to instructions, adding a tablespoon of wholegrain mustard and one of runny honey for the final five minutes to create a sweet and sticky glaze. The root veg created an earthy mash, that made a nice change to the more familiar potato version, and the gravy kept everything from becoming too dry.

Serves 2

4 to 6 sausages

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

½ onion, chopped

200ml beef stock

knob of butter (plus more for the mash)

1 ½ tbsp plain flour

Various root vegetables, chopped (I used 1 swede and 2 parsnips)

1. Bake the sausages according to instructions, stirring in the honey and mustard for the final five minutes of cooking. Soften the onion in butter before stirring in the flour, a little at a time, and adding the beef stock. Leave to thicken on a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, boil the root vegetables for around 25 minutes, before mashing with a wedge of butter.
3. Serve with greens. 

Kedgeree

Aren’t food memories the best? I think probably most of my memories revolve in some way around food. Whether it be ‘Cosy Tea’ when I got home from school, eating turkey dinosaurs after Nursery, that duck we ate for my big 18^th Birthday dinner, or that first takeaway pizza on day one at University. This Kedgeree is no different, for it really reminds me of Mum and when she’s being extra lovely and treating me to one of my favourite suppers. Billed as a breakfast (and it does taste amazing the next day heated up) we always seem to have kedgeree as an early supper before an evening out, on this occasion to the theatre.

Kind of like a biryani I suppose, Kedgeree is an Indian dish brought back to England by the Victorians and enjoyed as a hearty breakfast ever since. Consisting of flaked white fish, onion, rice, peas, boiled egg, lemon juice, curry powder and turmeric, which gives it its slightly radioactive yellow colour, it really is very simple make. More importantly, it tastes amazing too, the tang of the lemon and punch of the curry powder complimenting rather then over powering the more delicate flavour of the fish. I always have seconds and I’m sure you will too!!

Adapted from The Breakfast Book

240g smoked haddock, cooked and flaked

240g cooked rice

2 small onions, finely chopped

2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp curry powder

Juice of 1 lemon

120g butter

2 hardboiled eggs

2 tbsp peas

1. Soften the onions in half the butter in a large casserole dish. Add the turmeric, curry powder and lemon juice.
2. Fry gently for a couple of minutes before adding fish, rice and rest of the butter.
3. Hard-boil the eggs. Keep the fish and rice mixture over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Heat the peas for a few moments.
4. Chop the hard-boil eggs and mix lightly, along with the peas, to the dish. Season and serve.

Roasted Shoulder of Lamb with an Olive and Anchovy Rub

Now that I’m working back as a waitress at the restaurant that I worked at over my gap year, the amount that I am cooking has seriously depleted. When I’ve been serving food all day the last thing I want to do is stand over the cooker trying out new recipes so supper’s have generally consisted of quick pasta dishes or having my parents cook food for me!!

This will all change when I’m moved in to my new flat back in Brighton, with its AMAZING red, shiny brand new kitchen, with a fridge taller then me (and I am 5’11) and a work surface 3 times bigger then my last, but for the moment new posts will remain less frequent.

I’m really lucky to have parents that have always cooked delicious and often unusual meals, my mum following and tweaking recipes and my dad making things more from scratch – I’d like to think my cooking style is somewhere in between. My dad is especially good at incorporating whatever he can find in the fridge and transforming it in to a delicious supper. This rolled lamb shoulder that we made together for a Sunday Roast is no exception, and although I have included ingredients and measurements much of what is listed can be substituted or tweaked to make an equally lovely rub for the meat. Using rolled lamb shoulder is cheaper then the leg of lamb alternative, and buying it de-boned and rolled makes it easier to carve. The result is deliciously tender slow roasted meat infused with the rub, and pieces of olive and melt in the mouth garlic with every mouthful providing a kick.

Serves 6-8

1.8kg rolled lamb shoulder

-For the Rub-

5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

9 anchovy fillets

12 pitted dry black olives (I use Crespo)

2 tsp seasalt, mixed with half a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs

handful of rosemary sprigs

1. Put the meat into a roasting tin. Make slits in the lamb and add slices of 2 cloves of garlic, pushing them right in. Add 5 anchovy fillets, cut into thirds, into the slits, and finally the sprigs of rosemary.
2. Crush 3 cloves of garlic, 4 anchovy fillets, olives and salt in a pestle and mortar to make a paste.
3. Rub onto the joint and in the tops of the slits, as well as into the rolled meat at the ends.
4. Pour ½ a mug of water into the tin and cover the meat with a foil tent. Leave to marinate for 2 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 200C and roast at this temperature for the first half an hour. Then turn down the heat to 170C and cook for a further 2 and a half hours, basting once or twice.
6. Take off the foil for the last 20 minutes of cooking to crisp it up. Take out of the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with roast veg and mint sauce. 

Tapas

Has any one else noticed how expensive tapas has gotten lately? Either I’m eating in the wrong places or the world has gone a little bit mad (that or I have been forever spoiled by the incredible tasting menu at El Pirata DeTapas in Wesbourne Grove). £8 for three cat bowl sized portions of decidedly disappointing and really not very authentic food? No Thank You. After one too many less then satisfactory meetings with this so called ‘tapas’, I decided to take action and make my own. It was this week’s Delia Smith/Waitrose recipe collaboration that encouraged me, who can resist heavily discounted king prawns and manchego.

I trawled Google to find suitable recipes, and stuck pretty firmly to my favourites, going for a spicy Patatas Bravas, Vodka Flambeed Chorizo, Triangular Slices of Manchego Cheese with Quince, Garlicky Griddled Sour Dough, Gordon Ramsay’s Garlic Prawns, Garlic and Sherry Mushrooms (scroll down the linked page for the mushrooms), and a selection of tasty Marinated Olives.

Yes garlic loomed large, 10 cloves of garlic in fact, but I am of the opinion that garlic is one of the best ingredients, it goes in pretty much all my food, and it’s good for you to boot.

Ben had to give me a hand with the timings, which is always my downfall when it comes to cooking. Ask me to do a roast and it’s more then likely we’ll end up having a separate meat and vegetable course… If you can get the timings right (or you have a Ben to sort them for you) this Spanish inspired feast is really very easy to make, and would be perfect made in larger quantities for a group of friends before a night out.