Wedding season is in full swing and I was Up North this weekend, so I’m afraid there was no time for cooking from the papers. But I did have a scan / scroll through on Sunday evening. For once, I’ll just go through them by publication – leaving you to decide who put up the best show.
The Independent
In Saturday’s Indy, Mark Hix told us about a crab festival he runs in Lyme Regis, and then set out four lip smacking recipes. I suspect they’re all delicious (thanks to the crab …), though, for me, crab beignets and a crab and squash curry stood out.
Bill Granger’s three Independent on Sunday recipes were also on a seafood feast theme: mackerel, crab, scallops. The thing I liked the most was one of the side salads to go with the seafood – in this case, a green tomato, apple, celery, bulgur wheat and parsley number.
The Guardian and The Observer
Nigel Slater put forward some pork recipes. I really liked a gooseberry, mint and honey relish that went with a pork chop, though I disagree the reason chops are great on the BBQ “because the fat prevents them from drying out”. Chop meat itself is lean. If you’re worried about messing up the cooking time and drying things out, go for a pork shoulder steak and brine it or marinade it in something like pineapple juice first.
Mary-Ellen McTague provided a clutch of good ideas for ways to cook and eat fennel. I particularly liked the fennel chutney to go with game pies and her suggestion to braise fennel in orange juice and chicken stock … wait, what? Does she read R&S? Great minds.
If I had been cooking, I think I would probably have tried Ottolenghi’s orecchiette with rosemary oil and chickpeas (and anchovies, ground cumin and broccoli). Puglian combos, apparently.
Are you bored of strawberries already? I should hope not – Wimbledon only gets going today. But, if you’re looking for something to do with strawberries, other than, well, just eat them, note that they’re the feature ingredient for the ‘Cook’ supplement’s ten ‘best’ recipes this week. Most of the ten recipes are a little bit quirky and a lot tempting.
The Times
Gizzi Erskine’s three light touch fish curing recipes in The Sunday Times are all good, modern suggestions. Hot splash sea bass sashimi (yuzu, sesame bits, ginger, hot oil over the top) is the one I’m likely to try.
After looking at those ideas, I swiped back a day and started checking out The Times’s food pages. But the first thing I saw was the ‘only four trifle recipes I’d ever need’ thing … and found that none of them had jelly in, nor was there a mention for quince. So I threw my iPad at the wall and send a strongly worded letter of complaint to Mr Murdoch.
The Telegraph
Don’t worry. I had a look at The Telegraph’s food pages before the whole trifle iPad incident occurred.
On Sunday, Diana Henry set out a number of enticing summer party snacks. Broad bean and nduja toasts and pea pancakes with chilli crabs stood out.
A day earlier, Stevie Parle cooked potatoes. Ordinarily, this subject wouldn’t seem particularly interesting. But, looking back over the forty odd recipes I’ve looked through this week, it’s one of the few columns celebrating carbs. Stevie’s obviously not as worried about fitting into his bikini as others are.
The Financial Times and t’internet
The FT put on a summer food special. It was golden. I suggest you browse the leading page and click on what you fancy. But to entice you in, I enjoyed recipes from the (forgivably ubiquitous) Morito and Honey & Co cookbooks, and Nick Lander’s write up of travels around China.
On the blogs, Helen Graves wants people to make a curry flavoured sandwich spread, but doesn’t think anyone will. Prove her wrong. Also, Lizzie Hollow Legs (real name – true story) put up a delicious looking, sweet and spicy Korean BBQ marinade.
And from the global papers, this New York Times recipe for soft shell crab on toast with parsley, lemon and jalepeno sauce is kinda fun.
Weekend Menu, 21 and 22 June 2014
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Crab beignets
Mark Hix, The Independent (Saturday)
and
Fennel salad with walnut vinaigrette
Mary-Ellen McTague, The Guardian
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Aroz con langosta
Sam Clark, The Financial Times
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Strawberry Portuguese custard tarts
Rosie Ramsden, The Guardian, ‘Cook’
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Your enthusiastic endorsements for the Clove club have convinced me that I must give it a try. Thanks! I like the clean, minimal lines of your blog. Keep up the great work!