Supplemental #118

Lots of recipes this weekend. No change there, then. Do you prefer Saturday or Sunday’s offering?

(I miss the Independent and Independent on Sunday‘s food pages, btw)

Saturday

Donna Hay provided Times Magazine readers with things on sticks. Like chicken mince on lemon grass skewers; hoisin, oyster and garlic pork kebabs; miso and ginger salmon bits; tahini and harissa beef sticks. Tasty, if not revelatory. Nadia’s offering in the same supplement was a white chocolate mousse topped with blueberries. Too sweet for me.

The Times Weekend section included various meat free meals from Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney. Who’ve put their name to a book on the subject. WTF? Surely things aren’t that bad at McCartney towers?? Better to turn, if you’re a Times subscriber, to a handful of recipes I missed last week from Sue Quinn’s new book, Easy Mediterranean. What’s not to love about sizzling garlic prawns, or tomato and pistachio fritters?

There was a blueberry ‘focaccia’ in The Telegraph, which was served with blueberry ice cream and mixed berry compote. I liked the sound of it, but on reading felt the bread method odd – no proving at all. Also various Peruvian dishes by Martin Morales. Click here if ceviche is your thing.

Better things were to be found in the FT Weekend, where Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich suggested a fresh sounding, herb heavy salad of pickled peaches and pistachios – something to do if the peaches you buy turn out to be harder than you’d like.

But, really, Saturday’s recipes were all about The Guardian.

In the magazine, Yotam wrote that he’s been gloomy of late, so has been seeking solace in salads. His broad definition of that genre includes a vibrant mix of courgettes, edamame and samphire; fermented carrot, radish and kohlrabi to go with coriander, mint, rocket and apple; and a gorgeous looking Tunisian Mechouia.

Despite having popped a sprog a few weeks ago, Tommi Miers seems to still be churning out the recipes. This week it was all about artichoke hearts. Her two recipes were fore artichoke heart and summer vegetable tempura with honey saffron mayo (OUI); and a “silky” artichoke heart, pea and broad bean stew with soft polenta (again, OUI).

I’m particularly keen on Claire Ptak’s white peach open-face pie, the pastry part butter, part lard. (“open face” because you just open wide and chow down?)

Rachel Roddy repeated her breadcrumb and almond trick of last week, this time topping white fillets with the mix (plus lemon zest) before baking and serving with a rustic tomato salad. Nice.

And straight to the top of the leaderboard went Morito Hackney’s head chef Marianna Leivaditaki, with the first part of her Cook Residency. You might remember last week’s generous clutch of Morito recipes in the Times Magazine? Well, these were more Marianna than Morito, and had a specific Cretan bent. Look to the prawn and mussel saganaki with feta, fennel and ouzo. Ooof. Though I wouldn’t say no to cuttlefish stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes, anchovies, goat’s curd and sage either. Also, a note to the photographer of that piece, Elena Heatherwick, who painted the scene like a Dutch Master.

[Plus Anna Jones’ recipe isn’t online yet. To be added shortly.]

Sunday

Huge fan of Nigel Slater’s contribution this weekend. His Observer column focused on gooseberries, and ended with a gooseberry chutney, and a pig cheek terrine to go with it. Ace.

Berries and vinegar from Jamie too, though his Sunday Times dessert just a reminder of the strawberry-balsamic combo.

I was pleased to see three breakfast recipes from Michael Zee in The Sunday Times – he of @symmetrybreakfast. It would have been easy to discount Michael as an aesthetically pleasing instagram fad a year or so ago, but his cooking is clearly adventurous and is increasingly accomplished. Look at things like taro and red bean steamed buns and torta di pere e mandorle – alongside numerous snaps of waffles, pancakes, shakshuka and avocados, of course. I for one am looking forward to his imminent cookbook. Of the recipes in the paper, I was most keen on Baghdad eggs (though kept things real with a bowl of cornflakes).

Diana Henry’s been taking cooking lessons from Neil Rankin, and passed on a number of tips from his excellent book Low and Slow (one of the few or only books I’ve seen which recognises that steaks come in different thicknesses – and advises on each). I like all of Neil’s rules (fridge cold meat, heavy pan, finish in low oven), save I’m not convinced by his no resting principle. Diana’s a fan, though, and recommends sirloin with shallots and anchovies; as well as a cracking sauce chien – lime, parsley, chilli, garlic and onion.

On the internet

Check out Luiz Hara’s Mentaiko spaghetti with clams and Parmesan on Eat Like a Girl – a crazy hybrid of vongole, carbonara with chilli marinated cod roe, soy, mirin and nori thrown in.

#Supplemental cooking

None. Nada. Zilch. Those Cretan recipes from Cook bookmarked for another time, though.

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Weekend Menu, 30 and 31 July 2016

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Pig cheek terrine, gooseberry chutney, toast

Nigel Slater, The Observer

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Prawn and mussel saganaki with feta, fennel and ouzo

Sam and Sam Clark, The Guardian ‘Cook‘

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White peach open-face pie

Claire Ptak, The Guardian ‘Cook’

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