Supplemental #74

Another weekend, another eighty or so recipes to add to your scrapbook.

Veg heavy

I rather like it when recipes make vegetables the star, but aren’t framed as ‘suitable for vegetarians’; more that they’re just good in their own right. Take Diana Henry’s baby gem recipes in The Sunday Telegraph’s ‘Stella’ magazine, for example. Braised baby gems with carrot purée would be a satisfying meal in itself (no need for meat with all the charred then braised veg, plus a sweet purée), though if you were desperate for protein, no doubt the roasted bream with griddled baby gems and smoky aioli would sort you out.

Jane Baxter and Henry Dimbleby’s feasting column in the guardian’s Cook theoretically focused on a ceviche. But, for me, it the side dishes for that stood out – baked sweet potato with chilli sauce and crème fraice and corn fritters.

On a similar note, Tomos Parry’s recipes in The Sunday Times were generally meaty, but among the steak, lamb ribs and pork chops, the one that stood out was a BBQ’d cucumber, charred new potato, yoghurt and mint salad.

Nigel Slater often bigs up humble veg, and this was a week for that – it’s aubergine time, apparently. I liked the idea of baking aubergines, removing the flesh, mashing it up and mixing with chickpea, sesame seeds, red wine vinegar, before putting back in the skins, cooking for another 15 minutes then scattering with fresh herbs.

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Tuscan memories in the guardian were kinda vegetarian: tomato heavy pappa al pomodoro, schiacciata with grapes and fennel seeds, and some interesting deep fried things called coccoli – which you eat with mozzarella and, oh, prosciutto. A little bit of cured pork’s OK, right?

Also, there I was, writing about food writers in the Cook supplement and passing on a couple of recipes (spiced aubergine stew; tomato, fennel and tapenade tart). And now here I am, writing about food writers in the supplements, passing on recipes and noting that I was in a supplement writing about food writers and their recipes. This is so meta I fear the internet might implode.

Sweet teeth

How about we skip to dessert to take your mind off all those worthy vegetables?

Another tempting set of recipes in Ruby Tandoh’s baking column: blueberry cheesecake ice cream is a simple idea and a lush one at that; and I thought the idea of pushing brownie mix into a muffin tray, to basically create an edible ice cream bowl is ace.

Jamie Oliver was back in The Sunday Times with a recipe for plum and rosemary frangipane tart, finished with limoncello drizzle. A really Jamie Oliver Inc. recipe this one, but that’s no bad thing.

On Saturday, The Times invited their readers to breakfast with Marcus Wareing. I’m not sure that’s a relaxing prospect, but I’m always a sucker for caramelised banana pain perdu. Technically more savoury, but I suspect still quite sweet, was a mighty tempting recipe for chorizo jam – to go with avo and egg on toast.

Though Honey & Co’s four ways with ricotta for Cook was technically fifty per cent pre–dessert material (lovely lamb kofta, and a roasted courgette, tomato and ricotta salad), you’d do well to look up and recreate their blueberry, hazelnut and ricotta cake and strawberry and semolina muffins.

I really enjoyed the Kylee Newton’s pickling and jamming guide for The Telegraph: good hints and tips and also some intriguing ideas, not least two tone peach and blackberry jam; pear and lavender jam; and pink pickled radishes.

The rest

There were a couple of gems among Donna Hay’s 30 minute meals in Saturday’s Times Magazine: I’d take down a Thai coconut, broccoli and coriander soup; and a kale and Swiss chard ‘tabouleh’ with a ripsnorting lemon juice, horseradish and walnut dressing could be excellent. Or not.

Some good mezze recipes in The Telegraph. Though maybe you’ve seen similar things before. Also some anti-ageing nonsense anti ageing nonsense – fish curry, pizza and pecan pie to make you look younger (I personally find an overnight mask of beef dripping and ricotta works wonders for my crow’s feet and frown lines).

Mark Hix’ annual mackerel column for The Independent included some fresh ideas, not least a mackerel and green tomato ceviche and a really interesting one for moroccan spiced mackerel which comes wrapped in a filo blanket.

A day later, Bill Granger’s Indy on Sunday theme was BBQ chicken. Miso drumsticks with sesame slaw ought to go down well. Though I can imagine wings with fiery romesco would be finger licking.

Thomasina Miers’ sea trout with preserved lemon, black olive and raisin dressing might well be something you should think about for supper over the next few days.

But I can’t stop thinking about Jacob Kenedy’s ‘fusion’ dumplings in the Financial Times. Specifically that cotechino and mostarda Xiao Long Bao could be absolute genius (just don’t tell any Chinese or Italians). I suspect kimchi tamales will be good too (but generally get bored of making them about half way through the first one) and ricotta potstickers will certainly work.

On the Internet 

Great British Bake Off started last week. I was surprised none of the weekend recipes tagged on to it – perhaps it was done to death mid week. You might’ve read that one of the contestants has a blog. And like me, you might’ve gone to that blog and seen that it was mighty pretty. Impressive baking and photography skills Flora Shedden.

#Supplemental Cooking

I satisfied my sweet tooth by whipping up a batch of the Honey & Co strawberry, semolina and ricotta muffins. That batch is now being rapidly eroded as I write this. As seems par for the course with their recipes: super easy and utterly delicious.

Weekend Menu, 1 and 2 August 2015

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Cotechino and mostarda XLB

Jacob Kenedy, The FT Weekend Magazine

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Crisp mackerel, orange and pea salad

Mark Hix, The Independent

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BBQ’d cucumber and new potato salad

Tomos Parry, The Sunday Times

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Plum and rosemary frangipane tart

Jamie Oliver, The Sunday Times

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