The latest digest of recipes from the weekend papers includes: ideas for this evening’s Halloween supper, Diwali-themed suggestions for the rest of the week, and a few lip-smacking dishes to mark the start of #CookforSyria.
Halloween
The Times Weekend section housed Annabel Karmel’s favourite ‘spooky’ recipes for Halloween. Some cute ideas. But better (much better) were Claire Ptak’s meringue bones and bonfire (black treacle) toffee in the Guardian’s Cook supplement.
Thomasina Miers’ plumped for the same Halloween and Mexican ‘Day of the Dead’ theme in the Guardian Weekend mag, providing an interesting tea-smoked sweet potato salad to go with sticky pork chops, and a pumpkin and dark chocolate baked cheesecake.
My favourite set of recipes this weekend came via Rachel Roddy, who provided two cracking ways to prepare zucca (not technically Halloween, but pumpkin so I’ll take it): Roman style marinated pumpkin, where fried pumpkin sits in a puddle of olive oil, vinegar, mint, chilli and garlic; and warm, baked chunks of squash are given a similar sweet and sour treatment, so drizzled with a vinegary syrup and left to mingle for a few hours. Lush.
There were three pumpkin recipes for Telegraph readers as well, thanks to Diana Henry. For the Italophiles, roast squash with burrata and hazelnut pesto. For spice fans, Thai red pumpkin and chicken curry. And for those keen on North African cuisine, the rather delicious mix of caraway, harissa and pumpkin which makes Thurshi (Tunisian pumpkin purée) should do the trick. See also a repeat of her 2015 Bonfire column, which is at the top of the news group’s online food pages atm. (Nothing wrong with repeats — at least not when recipes include white bean soup with spinach and paprika oil, and stuffed baked apples with marmalade and Southern Comfort ice cream.)
Sweet teeth
Signalling the end of Great British Bake Off as we know it, Nadiya Hussain selected her top twenty cakes from her Times Magazine column to date (subtext: back off Candice, this slot’s mine). Of them, chocolate orange and anise tower, pear and ginger cake, and Black Forest cupcakes grabbed my attention.
Keeping things sweet, there were words from Stephen Harris on the tarte renversée des demoiselles Tatin. His version is with puff, not short crust and, more significantly I think, he reminds the reader that you should be daring with the darkness of your caramel, and use Cox apples.
Trine Hahnemann took charge of Nigel Slater’s Observer glossy mag slot. I particularly liked the raw cauliflower, prawn, radish and dill salad and wouldn’t say no to a triangle of spelt pastry tart filled with eggs, spinach, fartichokes and feta. Also, what at first I dismissed as a pancake layer cake (can’t ever get excited about that sort of thing), turned out to be multiple thin, sweetly spiced sponges piled on top of each other, with hazelnuts, apple compote and cream in between. Nice.
Other bits
Yotam Ottolenghi marked the start of a month-long initiative to raise cash for and awareness of Unicef’s Children of Syria Relief Fund. Through November you should see a host of related recipes, restaurant dishes and social media; with one of the main elements being the suggestion that people cook for friends in return for donations to the #CookforSyria campaign. It’s a great cause. Check out cookforsyria.com, and definitely consider Yotam’s recipes in the Guardian Weekend magazine if you host an event: Harak osbao looks to be a mighty tasty lentil and pasta dish; and the chicken meatballs with spinach, garlic and coriander are particularly tempting.
Maunika Gowardhan’s Times Magazine recipes pointed to Diwali, which began on Sunday, with celebrations running through to Thursday. Her timely recipes recipes included Caril de galihna, a Goan chicken curry, full of coconut, tamarind paste, ginger, turmeric and Kashmiri chillies; and an interesting looking Khumb matar malai — a vegetarian curry from northern India involving mushrooms, peas, cardamom, and soaked cashews to thicken the sauce.
The only time I’ve ever enjoyed congee was at a pop-up run by TaTa duo Ana Goncalves and Zijun Meng. They spill the rice on how to make it in Cook, along with three ways to top it.
I’m a ‘uuuge fan of polenta, and urge you to be one too. Anna Jones’ Cook recipes could help get things going: creamy polenta with portobello mushrooms and radicchio; and a really great idea for a tray bake, topped with, kale, pine nuts, rocket and squash …
To come
No sign online of whoever’s turn it was in the The FT. Was it recipe free this weekend?
On the interweb
Danny Bowien’s Mission Chinese dumpling recipe is on the Lucky Peach site. The filling is a mix of lamb, pork, dill, hoisin, salt, sugar, and a ginger, spring onion and fish sauce reduction … Fit. For more of this kind of thing, check out The Mission Chinese Cookbook.
Also, no recipes, but I very much enjoyed the same website’s illustrated guide to Winter Squash.
Weekend Menu, 29 and 30 October 2016
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Roman style marinated pumpkin
Rachel Roddy, The Guardian Cook
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Chicken meatballs with molokhia, garlic and coriander
Yotam Ottolenghi, the Guardian Weekend magazine
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Pear and ginger cake
Nadiya Hussain, The Times Magazine
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