The recipes feel quite light this week — not on calories, rather overall volume. I think that’s largely because of the new-ish Guardian Feast drip drip online policy, and because The Telegraph haven’t uploaded many of their’s yet. Maybe they’re trying to tell us something…
The Times and Sunday Times
Skye McAlpine offered Sunday Times readers the second of two extract from her book A Table in Venice. After last week’s breakfast cakes, this week was all about seafood — bream with figs and almonds; scallops with pistachio crumb; gnocchi with crab; and, perhaps weirdly the most appealing of the lot, prawns with crisps (I think I’d buy a pack, rather than make them from Maris Pipers as suggested).
There were pies from pie king Calum Franklin in Saturday’s Times’ Magazine. Rather than reveal the true secrets of his #analpastry handiwork, Calum suggested readers go with shop-bought short crust, puff and filo (tbf, I’d wager that was to do with word count). Good, hearty fillings nonetheless — chicken mushroom and cider; keema lamb; and a Moroccan-vibe chicken, harissa, feta and red pepper filo number.
The Telegraph
It was one of those weekends where my Telegraph subscription didn’t show obvious value, as few recipes appear to have made it online. Besides some calorie counting stuff and (conversely) tips for Yorkshire puddings, the main recipes of real note came via Henrietta Inman’s excellent book The Natural Baker.
The Financial Times
I love it when chefs publish their ‘staff food’ style recipes — those meals they throw together for the family of restaurant workers to eat before service, which are often so much more homely than any star dish that gets translated from pro-kitchen to home use. As it happens, Honey & Co’s recipes tend to work in all environments, but I did like the look of their ‘dirty rice’, which is a kind of spiced minced lamb pilaf.
The Guardian and Observer
St Patrick’s Day (week?) is done and dusted for another year, but that’s no reason to ignore Richard Corrigan’s recipes in Feast. All of which feel totally appropriate to the current cold snap. There’s Irish stew and soda bread, of course, but also crab and mushrooms on toast, garlic based oysters and colcannon soup. In similar spirit, Felicity Cloake’s ‘Perfect’ recipe is for the Irish fruit loaf barmbrack, which should keep energy levels up if your boiler is down.
Of Yotam’s dishes made from pre-prepared pulses, I liked the herby chickpea and quinoa salad the most. And Anna Jones’ tip of soaking spring onions in iced water before eating them raw is a good one for those wanting to avoid that astringent-need-to-brush-my-teeth salad moment. She served them with baby gem, plenty of herbs, and an interesting white miso and lemon dressing.
While we wait for the other Feast recipes to go on to their website, take a look at some of the material that sits there from Down Under — our Australian cousins seem to be serialising lots from British food stylish and writer Alice Hart, including this pear and Parmesan tarte tatin.
Nigel Slater’s boiled then browned salsify with golden breadcrumbs, parsley and blood orange caught my eye. Also his pork knuckle and cider dish (which, as he noted on twitter needs the oven turned down to 160C after a the first few minutes to ensure it’s soft and embracing, rather than a tight browned fist). His midweek dinner suggestion of baked swede and leek hash with a side of black pudding is a good’n too.
There was from Venice in The Observer Food Monthly, this time via Russell Norman: a simple risotto bianco, which relies on a good quality Parmesan; sweet and sour slip soles to be see at room temperature with a slice of polenta; vignole (a side of baby artichokes, board beans and chard); almond cake. Plus Claire Ptak’s baked goods for the Easter break, including: milk chocolate and bay leaf tartlets; raspberry marshmallow; hazelnut chip scones; and sweet almond turmeric cakes.
From elsewhere
Have a read of and salivate over Tamar Adler’s New York Times magazine piece on steak hache.
You may have read about, seen, or clicked on the internet phenomenon that is Alison Roman’s chocolate chunk shortbread cookie recipe. The book that it’s helped to propel to bestseller status in the US is called Dining In, and I’m keen to cook from it … but it seems mostly out of stock over here. *That* recipe, however, is available over at her old employers Bon Appetit.
Weekend Menu, 17 and 18 March 2018
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Salsify and blood orange
Nigel Slater, The Observer magazine
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Sweet and sour slip soles
Vignole
Polenta
Russell Norman, The Observer Food Monthly
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Pear and Parmesan tarte tatin
Alice Hart, The (Australian) Guardian
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