Squid with Tomatoes and Peas, Tuscan Style

Ingredients

For 4 to 6 servings

• 2½ pounds small to medium whole squid OR 2 pounds cleaned squid, sliced into rings
• 1½ tablespoons onion chopped very fine
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1½ teaspoons garlic chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• ¾ cup fresh, ripe tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped, OR canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with their juice
• Salt Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
• 2 pounds unshelled fresh peas or ten-ounce package frozen peas, thawed

Method

If cleaning the squid yourself, follow these directions. Slice the sac into rings a little less than ½ inch wide, and separate the cluster of tentacles into two parts. Whether cleaning it yourself or using it already cleaned, wash all parts in cold water and pat thoroughly dry with cloth or paper towels.

Put the onion and olive oil in a large saucepan, and turn on the heat to medium.

Cook and stir the onion until it becomes colored a pale gold, then add the garlic. When the garlic becomes lightly colored, add the parsley, stir once or twice, then add the tomatoes. Stir thoroughly to coat well and cook at a steady simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the squid to the pot, cover, and adjust heat to cook at a slow simmer for 35 to 40 minutes. Add a few pinches of salt, some grindings of pepper, and stir thoroughly.

If using fresh peas: Shell them, add them to the pot, stir thoroughly, cover, and continue to cook at a slow simmer until the squid feels tender when prodded with a fork. It may take another 20 minutes depending on the squid’s size. Taste a ring to be sure it is fully cooked. If using frozen peas: Add the thawed peas when the squid is tender, stir thoroughly, and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes.

Taste and correct for salt and pepper, transfer to a warm, deep serving platter, and serve promptly. Ahead-of-time note You can stop the cooking at the end of Step 3 and resume it several hours or even a day later. Bring to a simmer before adding the peas. You may even complete the dish a day or two in advance, reheating it very gently before serving. It tastes sweetest, however, when prepared and eaten the same dJuice

Comments

Very simple and tasted excellent! Certainly do again. Good value for money as well.

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Rosemary, Garlic, and White Wine

Ingredients

For 4 servings

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• A 3½-pound chicken, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 or 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary broken in two OR ½ teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
• Salt
• Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
• ½ cup dry white wine

Method

Put the butter and oil in a saute pan, turn on the heat to medium high, and when the butter foam begins to subside, put in the chicken quarters, skin side down.

Brown the chicken well on both sides, then add the garlic and rosemary. Cook the garlic until it becomes colored a pale gold, and add salt, pepper, and the wine. Let the wine simmer briskly for about 30 seconds, then adjust heat to cook at a slow simmer, and put a lid on the pan, setting it slightly ajar. Cook until the bird’s thigh feels very tender when prodded with a fork, and the meat comes easily off the bone, calculating between 20 and 25 minutes per pound. If while the chicken is cooking, you find the liquid in the pan has become insufficient, replenish it with 1 or 2 tablespoons water as needed.

When done, transfer the chicken to a warm serving platter, using a slotted spoon or spatula. Remove the garlic from the pan. Tip the pan, spooning off all but a little of the fat. Turn the heat up to high, and boil the water away while loosening cooking residues from the bottom and sides with a wooden spoon. Pour the pan juices over the chicken and serve at once.

Comment

Simple and classic recipe but ended up making a mess of it by putting on too much salt! Try again.

Red pepper soup

Yellow bell peppers also work very well in this soup, but green peppers are not sweet enough. You can even make two batches of soup, one red, one yellow, and ladle them into bowls for a yin-and-yang effect.

Ingredients

• Heat, in a heavy-bottomed soup pot: 1 tablespoon olive oil Add and cook, stirring often, over medium heat: 1 large onion, sliced fine 2 red bell peppers, cut in half, seeds and veins removed, and sliced fine Salt
• When very soft but not browned, add: 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped 6 thyme sprigs, leaves only Cook for 4 minutes more, then add:
• ¼ cup short-grain rice 4 cups chicken broth 2 cups water 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar Raise the heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, and then purée in a blender until very smooth and velvety. Thin the soup with broth or water if it is too thick
• Taste for seasoning, adjust as needed, and serve hot.

VARIATIONS Add some fresh or dried hot chiles to the soup. Garnish bowls of the pepper soup with crème fraîche and chopped herbs such as chives, basil, or parsley. Cut the peppers into medium dice, omit the rice, and use all chicken broth. Serve without puréeing.

Comments

Rather surprisingly this was quite disappointing. Difficult to say what went wrong as well but it might have been using very old and not so great chicken broth. Worth another try with better broth given there seems to be no reason why it shouldn't work.

Source

Art of simple Food

Celery and Potatoes Braised in Olive Oil and Lemon Juice

Ingredients

For 4 to 6 servings

• 5 medium potatoes
• 1 large bunch celery
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

Peel the potatoes, wash them in cold water, and cut them in half or, if large, in quarters.

Trim the celery stalks.

Choose a heavy-bottomed or enameled cast-iron pot that can subsequently contain all the ingredients, put in the celery, olive oil, salt, and enough water to cover, turn the heat on to medium, and put a lid on the pot.

Simmer the celery for 10 minutes, then add the potatoes, a pinch of salt, and the lemon juice, and cover the pot again. Cook until both the celery and potatoes are tender, testing them with a fork from time to time. It may take about 25 minutes. (Sometimes the celery lags behind while the potatoes are already done. Should this happen, transfer the potatoes with a slotted spoon to a warm covered dish, and continue cooking the celery until it is tender.)

When the celery and potatoes are both cooked, the only liquid in the pot should be oil. If there is water, uncover the pot, raise the heat, and boil it away. (If the potatoes have been taken out of the pot earlier, put them back in after the water—if there was any—has been boiled away. Cover the pot again, turn the heat down to medium, and warm up the potatoes for about 2 minutes.) Taste and correct for salt, and serve promptly.

Comments

Simple and unusually good considering the basic ingredients. Healthy and an useful variation on the normal sides.

Solomillo de cerdo encebollado Fillet of pork in an onion sauce thickened with almonds.

Ingredients

• 790g/ 1 ¾ lb pork fillet, preferably ibérico, in a piece
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons lard
• 2 onions, quite finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme or a sprig or two of fresh
• nutmeg to taste
• 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
• oil
• 2 dozen almonds, blanched and peeled
• 1 good pinch saffron

Method

Trim the pork fillet carefully of all fat or it will buckle while it cooks. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the lard in a large cazuela or similar, and brown the fillet all over.

Reduce the heat and add the chopped onions and 4 crushed cloves of garlic. Let them soften around the meat.

Sprinkle in the thyme and a good grating of fresh nutmeg. Stir in the vinegar and enough water (or white wine) to half-cover the meat. Cover and leave to simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Check the seasoning. While the meat is cooking, heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the almonds and two whole cloves of garlic until brown. Drain them and pound them to a paste in a mortar with the saffron. Add the paste to thicken.

Comments

Great list of ingredients but the end result was a little below expectations. Worth another try.

Quarter of an hour soup Sopa al cuarto de hora

A popular quick fish soup originating from Cádiz, though not quite as quick as the name, ‘quarter-of- an-hour soup’, would suggest. As with all such soups there seem to be as many recipes as there are cooks, the chief differences being in the combination of fish and shellfish used. All contain rice, however, are unmistakably flavoured with serrano ham and are finished with chopped hard-boiled egg. Here is one comparatively cheap version.

Ingredients

• 8 mussels 450g
• 1lb small clams
• 1.5 litres/ ½ pints fish broth, unsalted
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 120g/ 4oz serrano ham, diced
• 120g/ 4oz rice
• 400g/ 14oz filleted hake or similar white fish, in medium-sized chunks
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

Method

Wash the mussels and clams, removing any dead or broken specimens. It is not necessary to scrub the mussels. Place them in a wide pan, cover and place over a medium heat. Very soon the shellfish will open, releasing their juices. Set them aside as they do so. When they are all open remove the flesh from the shells and reserve it. Strain the juices through a fine sieve into the fish broth.

Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the ham quickly for a couple of minutes. Add the rice and stir it around with the oil and ham until it starts to go transparent. Pour in the broth and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes before adding the fish. Taste for salt at this stage, though enough should be provided by the ham and shellfish.

Simmer for 10 minutes more. Add the egg, mussels and clams and heat through briefly. The rice should be more or less tender, and certainly will be by the time everyone is seated and served.

Comment

Simple and great taste. Quite a rich flavour as well so not really an every day dish. The Serrano ham probably adds a lot. Well worth making again and experimenting with it.

Roasted eggplant caviar

Ingredients

Serves 4 • Roasted and mashed with olive oil and lemon juice is a common and delicious way of eating eggplants, often described as “poor man's caviar.” Use firm eggplants with a shiny black skin.

• 2 eggplants, weighing about 1½ pounds total
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Juice of ½ lemon, or more to taste
• Salt

Method

Broil or roast the eggplants (see page 63). Peel, letting the pieces fall into a colander with tiny holes, then chop with a pointed knife and mash to a puree with a fork or a wooden spoon, so that the juices escape through the holes of the colander.

Transfer the eggplant to a bowl and beat in Dor the oil and lemon juice and some salt.

Variations • For a Syrian flavor, mix in 2 tablespoons pomegranate concentrate or molasses (see page 45) instead of lemon juice, 2 crushed garlic cloves, and 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley.

For a spicy Moroccan version, add 1 crushed garlic clove, ½ teaspoon harissa (see page 464) or a pinch of cayenne and h teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, and 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro. • For an eggplant salad, add 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, 2 chopped tomatoes, 4 chopped scallions,

Comment

A little boring in the basic version but not bad. Worth doing some of the variations.

Bacalao de cuaresma Lenten salt-cod.

The name summons up dour, forbidding images but in fact this is a bright, colourful dish with a sauce of raisins and pine-nuts, and decorated with quartered hard-boiled eggs.

Salt-cod was formerly cooked in many guises during Lent – with rice, for example (page 176). This particular version comes from Cataluña.

Ingredients

• 550g/ 1 ¼ lb salt-cod, cut into 8 pieces and soaked
• flour for coating
• 6 tablespoons oil
• 4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 100g/ 3 ½ oz seedless raisins 60g/ 2oz pine-nuts
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered

Method

Drain the cod well and dip the pieces in flour. Heat the oil and fry the cod quickly until browned. Remove and set aside. In the remaining oil cook the tomatoes, garlic and parsley until set. Add the raisins, pinenuts and cod, cover and cook gently for 20 minutes. Decorate with the hard-boiled eggs and serve.

Comments

Didn't soak the salt cod long enough and tasted very tough and not good at all. However basic recipe was great and very interesting. Certainly try again using Japanese salted cod instead of the mediteranean version.

Made this a second time with non salt cod and the result was fine as well. Pretty easy so worth making regularly!

Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad

Ingredients

Salad 4 SERVINGS

Cherry tomatoes and beans come in many sizes and colors. Mix them all together. You can include shell beans, too. The beans can be cooked and cooled in advance. Snap off the stem ends (and pull off the tails, if dry or tough) of

• ½ pound green beans (haricot vert, young Blue Lake, Kentucky Wonder, or a similar variety) Cook until tender in salted boiling water. Drain and immediately spread them out on a sheet pan or plate to cool. Stem and cut in half:
• ½ pound cherry tomatoes
• Stir together in a large bowl: 1 small shallot, diced fine 1 tablespoon red à vinegar Salt and fresh-ground black pepper Taste and adjust if necessary. Let sit for 15 minutes or more.
• Then whisk in: ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil Adjust the acid and salt as needed. Toss the cherry tomatoes with the vinaigrette. Taste.
• Add the green basil

Comments

Very simple but very good!  Certainly make part of the regular repertoir.

Judías verdes con champiñones Green beans sautéed with mushrooms.

Ingredients

• 450g/ 1 lb French beans, topped and tailed
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 225g/ 8oz mushrooms, wiped and thickly sliced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons home-made tomato sauce (see page 131), or tomato puree

Method

Cook the beans for about 5 minutes in boiling salted water, drain and quickly refresh them under the cold tap.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the garlic until it browns.

Add the mushrooms, parsley, lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Let them cook gently for about 5 minutes, then add the beans it all simmer for another 5 minutes or so, and serve.

Comments

Seemed to take more effort than expected and while the result was not bad it was not so special either. Worth trying again as a regular though.

Chicken and vegetable egg lemon soup

Ingredients

• 250 grams of chicken each, poached
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 large potato diced
• 2 carrots diced
• 25g chopped fresh parsley
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

Remove and discard the skin from the chicken. Cut the meat off the bones and finely chop the meat.

Strain the reserved cooking liquid and pour 4 cups or one litre into a large pan.

Add the butter, potato and carrots, season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cook over a medium heat for about twenty minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Add the chopped chicken and parsley and heat through.

Whisk the egg and lemon juice together in a bowl, then gradually whisk in 4-5 tablespoons of the soup. Pour the egg lemon mixture into the pan and stir gently or shake the pan to distribute it. Do not let the soup boil. Remove the pan from the heat and serve.

Comments

Seemed pretty good to me but not so popular with the rest of the family - allegedly too sour.

White gazpacho

Ingredients

• 90g/ 3oz stale French bread
• 450ml/ ¾ pint water or milk
• 120g/ 4oz almonds, blanched and peeled
• 3 cloves garlic salt
• 150ml/ ¼ pint oil
• 2-3 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Method

Soak the bread in the water or milk, then liquidise with the almonds, garlic and some salt until fairly smooth. Gradually beat in the oil and then season well with the vinegar. Thin the soup down with more water if it seems too thick. Chill well before serving, with a little extra vinegar if liked.

Comments

Ajo blanco a la malagueña, also spelt as one word, ajoblanco. Peeled and seeded moscatel grapes are its traditional accompaniment when in season. Chunks of melon are good too.

Peel the almonds by blanching for one minute and then popping out of the skin - in fact very, very easy to do.

Not the same variety of taste as the red gazpacho so certainly use good quality olive oil. A more sophisticated, delicate alternative.

Zabaglione

Broccoli sauted with garlic and parsley

Shaved fennel salad

Andalucian Chicken - Pollo a la andaluza

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic
• 15-20 almonds, blanched and peeled
• 4 tablespoons oil
• the heads from 6 sprigs parsley
• 900-1125g/ 2-2 ½ lb chicken, cut into small pieces
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 onion, chopped
• 250ml/ 8fl oz dry sherry
• 1 bay leaf 750ml/
• 1 ¼ pints chicken stock
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 good pinch saffron

Method

Fry the garlic and almonds in the oil until brown. Just before you remove them throw in the parsley which will immediately crackle and go crisp. Remove all three to the mortar.

Season the chicken, dip in flour and fry in the oil until browned.

Remove, and add the onion to the oil. Cook until softened.

Return the chicken to the pan and pour over the sherry. Let this bubble away for a minute or two, then add the bay leaf and stock.

Add the yolks of the eggs to the contents of the mortar along with the saffron and pound it all down to a paste. Thin it with some of the stock from the chicken and stir it into the pot.

Leave it all simmering about half an hour. Then sprinkle over the chopped egg whites and serve.

Chicken with sherry, saffron, almonds and garlic. Nothing could be more Andalusian – hence the title.

Notes

Worked really well - the parsley did crackle like predicted. MIght have added a little too much saffron, so watch out next time. A bit of messing around but not too difficult and certainly do on special occasions.

Marinated eggplant

Ingredients

• 3 small eggplants cut into half centimetre slices
• 3/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 fresh chili seeded and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon drained rinsed chopped capers
• 10 fresh mint leaves
• Salt and pepper

Method

Place the eggplants in a colander, sprinkle with salt and let drain for about thirty minutes. Heat a heavy bottomed nonstick skillet. Rinse the eggplants, pat dry and brush with some of the oil. Add the eggplant slices to the skillet in batches if necessary and cook over high heat until golden brown on both sides.

Combine the chili garlic capers and mint in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Make a layer of eggplant slices in a salad bowl, sprinkle with a tablespoon of the chilli dressing and continue making layers until all the ingredients are used.

Poor in the remaining olive oil and let marinate in a cool place do at least six hours. This dish may be served as a first course in summer.

Notes

Quite a lot of trouble and the result was a little disappointing. Probably used too much chilli and too much garlic. Worth another try but shame not much better.

Gazpacho

Ingredients

• 4-5 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 60g/ 2oz stale French bread, crusts removed
• about 780g/ 1 ¾ 1 b fresh tomatoes
• 1 or 2 green peppers, depending on size
• 2 cloves garlic salt
• 150ml/ ¼ pint oil
• 300ml/ ½ pint water

Method

Pour the vinegar over the bread and leave it to soak in.

Peel and chop the tomatoes roughly. Chop the peppers. Peel and slice the garlic.

Place the bread, garlic, tomatoes and peppers in the liquidiser with some salt and process until smooth. With the motor running gradually pour in the oil.

Then do the same with the water. Taste and adjust the amount of salt and vinegar if necessary.

Pour the soup into a bowl, cover it and leave it to chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Add more water if it seems too thick. For an even smoother soup sieve it before chilling.

Serve with some or all of the following: finely diced cucumber, onion, green peppers, tomatoes, hard-boiled egg, cubes of bread (fried if you wish).

Notes

Easy and works fine. Only issue - given the garlic is raw check that not bitter or too much added.

Grape salad [ insalata di uva ]

Ingredients

• Choose two or three leaves such as radicchio, escarole, curly endive, chicory, rocket, lamb’s lettuce.
• SERVES 6 300g salad leaves
• 500g seedless black or white grapes
• 1 dessert apple, peeled and sliced
• 200g Fontina cheese or gruyère, cut into thin strips
• 12 or more walnut halves, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Spread the salad leaves in a flat, wide serving dish. Arrange the grapes, diced apple, cheese and walnuts on top. Make a dressing with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and pour over the salad.

Notes

Great salad - works perfectly every time!

Chickpea and bulgar salad page 102 Mediterranean Harvest

Ingredients

• ¾ cup medium or coarse bulgur
• Salt
• 2½ cups cooked chick peas
• 1 bunch scallions, white and most of the green parts, chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh mint
• 5 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
• (optional) ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Method

1. Place the bulgur in a bowl, toss with ½ teaspoon salt, and pour on hot water to cover by an inch. Let sit for 20 minutes, then drain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Press the bulgur against the sieve to release water.

2. Toss the bulgur with the chick peas, scallions, mint, parsley, cinnamon, tomatoes, lemon juice, oil, and pepper to taste. Taste and adjust salt.

Cover and allow to stand for about 30 minutes before serving, so that the flavors will emerge. Toss again and serve in a bowl or on a platter, surrounded by the lettuce leaves.

ADVANCE PREPARATION: You can make this several hours before serving. The reconstituted bulgur and the cooked chick peas will keep for 5 days in the refrigerator.

Squid with peppers, wine tomatoes - Spanish

Ingredients

• 120g/ 4oz oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 green peppers, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 900g/ 2lb squid, cleaned and cut into rings, the feet chopped
• 120g/ 4oz red wine
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons paprika

Method

Heat the oil in a large, wide frying pan. Add the onion and garlic and let them soften.

Add the peppers and 5 minutes later the tomatoes, and cook until they too have softened.

Add the squid and stir until it changes colour. Pour in the wine and sprinkle in the parsley and paprika. Season and simmer for about 30 minutes – the whole thing should be thick, with no watery juices.

Spinach with anchovies, raisins and pine nuts

Ingredients

• 60g/ 2oz seedless raisins
• 900g/ 2lb spinach
• salt
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 anchovy fillets, chopped
• 60g/ 2oz pine-nuts

Method

Pour boiling water over the raisins and leave them to soak.

Wash the spinach thoroughly, sprinkle it with salt and pack it into a large saucepan. Cover it and leave it over a medium heat for a few minutes. Remove the lid and you’ll now see that the spinach has collapsed dramatically. Drain it in a colander and leave until cool enough to handle (longer than you think). Press out all the water and slice it up.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Gently sauté the crushed garlic and the anchovies for a few minutes. Add the pine-nuts and drained raisins and leave to sizzle for a couple of minutes.

Add the spinach and stir it over a low heat until heated through. Serve at once.

Zuccini with onions, garlic and mint

From Claudia Roden's Middle Eastern Food. Unusual in that you mash up the zucchini after boiling it in water to make tender.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8 This is as good cold, when it is served as an appetizer with bread, as it is hot as a side dish. It is the kind of thing people make with the leftover insides of hollowed-out zucchini when they stuff them.

• 2 pounds zucchini, cut into large pieces
• 3 ½ cups chicken stock (page 143) (or use 2 bouillon cubes)
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
• Salt and pepper
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges (optional)

Method

Boil the zucchini in the stock for about 15 minutes, or until soft. Drain, mash, and chop them in a colander to get rid of the excess liquid (drink the stock—it has a lovely vegetable flavor).

In a large frying pan, fry the onions in 2 tablespoons of the oil until golden. Add the garlic, and stir until it just begins to color. Add the zucchini, mint, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring and mixing well, for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the remaining oil and serve hot or cold with lemon wedges.

Variation

Stir in 2 cups natural or thick Greek-style strained yogurt before serving, or pass the pot round for people to help themselves.

Fish soup with tomatoes and potatoes - brudu bil hout

From Claudia Roden's Middle Eastern Cookery. Another great recipe from this

Ingredients

Serves 4

• For this spicy and aromatic Tunisian soup, use any firm white fish, like cod or haddock, and serve it as a main course.
• 4 tomatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 pound potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 4½ cups water
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• V4-½ teaspoon harissa (page 464), or
• good pinch of ground chili pepper and
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½-¾ teaspoon cumin
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound white fish fillets, skinned
• ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley or cilantro
• 3 or 4 sprigs of mint, finely chopped

Method

The method is remarkably simple! Well worth making a batch of this and keeping for the next day.

Put all the ingredients except the oil, fish, and herbs together in a pan. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the oil and add the fish. Cook another 10 minutes. Then gently break up the fillets into smaller pieces, add the parsley or cilantro and the mint, and serve.

Remember to add enough salt early on - this was my one mistake this time.

Chickpeas with Tumeric

In Morocco it is poor food eaten hot with bread. A grander version with saffron is served as a first course. You may use canned chickpeas. The same can also be done with white cannelini beans, dried or canned.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 ½ cups chickpeas, soaked overnight, or two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup chopped cilantro or flat-leaf parsley

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion until golden. Add the garlic and stir for a moment or two. Stir in the turmeric and add the drained soaked chickpeas. Cover with water and simmer for 1 ¼ hours, or until the chickpeas are very tender, adding salt and pepper when they have begun to soften, and water to keep them covered. Reduce the liquid at the end so that you have a thick sauce. If using canned chickpeas, drain them and add ½-1 cup water and cook for about 20 minutes, to allow them to absorb the flavors. Stir in the cilantro or parsley and cook 5 minutes more.

Variations

Use ½ teaspoon crushed saffron threads or powder instead of the turmeric.

Add the juice of 1 lemon.

Cannelini beans, dried and soaked overnight, or canned ones, drained, can be used in the same way as chickpeas.

For different, spicy chickpeas, omit the turmeric and add ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon cumin, and ¼ teaspoon ground chili pepper.

For another Moroccan version, omit the turmeric, put a chili pepper in the cooking water, season with salt and pepper when the chickpeas have already softened, and add chopped cilantro at the end, when the water has almost evaporated.

Notes

Despite being so simple this was absolutely excellent and really delicious. Worked perfectly with canned chickpeas as well.

Roasted red peppers with anchovy and caper sauce

A very classic Italian dish. These peppers are often served as as a topping on crostini.

Ingredients

SERVES 6

• 4 peppers
• 6–8 anchovy fillets in oil, finely chopped
• 1–2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 heaped tablespoon capers, finely chopped
• A sprig of oregano, finely chopped
• 4–5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method

Roast the peppers in a preheated 200ºC/180ºC fan/gas 6 oven for 25 minutes, or until they are soft, then put them into a plastic bag, close it tight and leave for 10 minutes for the skins to loosen. Peel the peppers, remove the seeds and cut each into 4 pieces or into strips. Mix well with the rest of the ingredients.

Notes

On reflection serving them on toast would really have added a great deal to this even though they were fine my themselves. Remember this next time.

Peppers were roasted in the oven rather than on a direct gas flame. Problem was that the cooking was uneven meaning that on one side the skin was easy to remove but the pepper was overdone on that side while on the other side the pepper was a little underdone and the skin difficult to remove. Best to rotate from time to time while roasting in the oven.

Tomato and bread salad - panzanella

Use a coarse-textured, tasty bread for this popular rustic salad, known as pan molle (soft bread). This is the basic salad that is served in trattories in Florence.

Ingredients

• SERVES 6
• 250g coarse firm white bread, crusts removed
• 600g ripe tomatoes, cut into cubes
• 1 red onion, diced
• ½ cucumber, peeled and diced
• 2 stalks celery, finely sliced
• A bunch of basil leaves, torn into pieces
• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

method

Tear the bread into small pieces in a salad bowl and sprinkle with cold water so that it is well moistened but not soggy. Add the vegetables and the basil. Dress with the oil and vinegar, salt and pepper and toss well. Leave for 30 minutes for the bread to absorb the dressing. VARIATIONS: Add any or all of these to the dressing: 1 crushed garlic clove, 1 seeded and finely chopped chilli pepper, 2 tablespoons capers preserved in brine, 12 chopped anchovy fillets.

Notes

Made originaljly with fresh bread. Perhaps could have been toasted. Nice but not as special as hoped.

Chicken with white wine and mushrooms, tomato sauce - pollo ai funghi

A very easy recipe and tasted pretty good. Large amount of mushrooms shrunk down fine. From Claudia Roden Italian Cooking

Ingredients

SERVES 4

• 4 boned and skinned chicken thighs
• 15g butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 500g mushrooms, sliced
• 4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• A sprig of marjoram or thyme
• 120ml dry white wine
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Sauté the chicken pieces briefly in a mixture of butter and oil, turning them to brown them lightly all over. Add the mushrooms and tomatoes and the sprig of marjoram or thyme, pour in the wine and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 25 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.

Spinach with raisins and pine nuts

This is a traditional Italian dish but the recipe I used comes from Martha Stewart - sauteed spinach with pine nuts, raisins.

Makes a pleasant enough change from a standard spinach saute and the pine nuts certainly taste nice but not so remarkable.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2 (1 1/2 to 2 pounds total) fresh spinach
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

STEP 1 Place golden raisins in a small bowl, and cover with warm water; set aside. Remove any tough stems from spinach, and wash thoroughly. Set aside.

STEP 2 Place a wide, 6-quart saucepot over medium-high heat, and add olive oil. Add garlic, and saute for 1 minute. Add pine nuts. Cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 1 minute. Drain the reserved raisins, and add them to pan. Add spinach, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring constantly, just until spinach has wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately.

Carrot, orange, dill and parsley soup

Excellent chilled as well as hot, this soup uses aromatic herbs rather than spicy seasonings—another good direction to take with carrots.

Ingredients

SERVES 4 TO 6

• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups diced onion
• 1 pound carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons white rice
• Salt and freshly milled pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped dill or 1½ tablespoons dried
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• 6 cups water or Basic Vegetable Stock
• Finely chopped dill, chopped parsley, or Herb Butter

Method

MELT the butter in a soup pot and add the pepper, onion, carrots, rice, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat, covered, until the onion has softened completely, about 10 minutes, stirring several times. Add a grind of pepper, the parsley, dill, orange zest, juice, and water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, partially covered, until the rice is cooked, about 25 minutes. Cool briefly, then puree all but a cup or two of the soup and return it to the pot. Taste for salt, season with pepper, garnish, and serve.

Notes

Worked out well. Possibly seemed a little watery to begin with but thickened the next day and not such a problem. Refreshing but not strong. No problem to add more dill or parsley I think - so also useful to use up dill, which went well with the orange.

Cauliflower with Olive Oil and Lemon

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic (optional)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Pepper

Method

1. Wash and trim the cauliflower and cut it into florets.
2. Boil in salted water until just tender, then drain.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a pan. Some like to soften a little crushed garlic in the oil.
4. Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper and turn the cauliflower in this over low heat. It will absorb the oil and lemon.

Notes

Somewhat disappointing for some reason. The cauliflower regrettably did not seem to absorb much flavour. Given the potential worth another try.

Yakhnit Samak bel Zafaran - Fish Stew with Onions and Saffron

Serves 4-6 • An old Arab dish, popular in Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. It is very lemony, and sometimes saffron is replaced by turmeric. All kinds of fish can be used. Serve with plain rice, or rice with vermicelli (see page 340).

Ingredients

• 2 onions, cut in half and sliced
• 4 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
• 2-4 cloves garlic, crushed
• Juice of 2-3 lemons
• ¼ teaspoon crushed saffron threads or powdered saffron
• Salt and white pepper
• 2 pounds skinned fish fillets or steaks

Method

1. Fry the onions in 2 tablespoons of the oil till golden.
2. Add the garlic, and just as it begins to color
3. add the lemon juice, the saffron, a little salt, and about 1 cup water. Simmer for 10—15 minutes.
4. Fry the fish pieces very briefly in a skillet filmed with oil over high heat, turning them over once, until lightly colored but still uncooked inside. Lift them out, drain on paper towels, and put them in the pan with the onion sauce.
5. Simmer, covered, over very low heat, so that the liquid barely trembles, until the fish is done—about 3 to 5 minutes for fillets, up to 10 minutes for steaks.

Variation

For samak bi loomi, a version from the Gulf States, use 3 tablespoons ground dried limes (see page 44) instead of lemon, turmeric instead of saffron, plus 1 teaspoon crushed cardamom seeds.

Notes

This was excellent and healthy. Make again soon as a key part of the repertoire - and remember to take a picture.

Sabanekh bel Hummus - Spinach with Chickpeas

Serves 6 The combination of spinach with chickpeas is common throughout the Middle East, but the flavors here are Egyptian. You may use good-quality canned chickpeas. It is good served with yogurt.

Ingredients

• ½ cup chickpeas, soaked overnight, or a 14-ounce can cooked chickpeas
• Salt
• 2 pounds spinach
• 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon (optional)

If you are using the dried and soaked chickpeas, drain and boil them in fresh water for 1 ¼ hours, or until very tender, adding salt when they beginto soften.

Method

1. Wash the spinach and remove stems only if they are thick and tough, then drain well.
2. In a large pan, fry the garlic and coriander in the oil, stirring, until the aroma rises.
3. Pack in the spinach without adding any water, cover with a lid, and put over low heat until the leaves crumple to a soft mass.
4. Add the drained chickpeas—cooked or canned—season with a little salt and pepper, mix very well, and cook a few minutes more. If there is too much liquid, reduce a little on high heat.
5. Serve hot or cold, with a squeeze of lemon if you like.

Variations

Fry 1 large chopped onion in 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add 2 medium peeled and chopped tomatoes and 1 teaspoon sugar and cook until reduced, then stir in the cooked spinach and the chickpeas.

White haricot or navy beans may be used instead of chickpeas.

Notes

This should have been easy but ended up making a complete mess of it overcooking the spinach. Worth another try given the combination of two of the healthiest ingredients.

Tomato and Rice Soup with Mint and Cilantro

Ingredients

• Serves 4 • With this fresh-tasting and aromatic Egyptian soup, it is best to cook the rice separately and add it just before serving, as it gets bloated and soft if it stands in the soup.
• ⅓ cup rice
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 2 pounds tomatoes 1-2 teaspoons sugar
• 2½ cups chicken stock (page 143) (or you may use 1 or 2 bouillon cubes) 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro 1 sprig of mint, finely chopped

Method

1. Pour the rice into a pan of boiling salted water and cook for 18 minutes, or until tender, then drain.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion, and fry until soft. Add the garlic and stir until the aroma rises, then stir in the tomato paste and take off the heat.
3. Cut the tomatoes in quarters and, without peeling them, blend to a cream in the food processor. Pour them into the pan.
4. Add sugar and the stock and cook for 15—20 minutes.
5. Just before serving, add the cooked rice and the chopped cilantro and mint.

Notes

One of the best three or five dishes I have made! Flavour was excellent. From Middle Eastern Cookery again. Remember to take a picture next time!

Beans, roman style

Tomato salad flavored with garlic and red wine vinegar

Mackerel with rosemary, garlic and lemon

HERE FISH is cooked by the same method one uses for making a roast of veal in Italy, and for the same reasons. The slow cooking in a covered pan keeps the flesh tender and juicy, its flavor uplifted by the fragrance of rosemary and garlic.

For 4 servings

Ingredients

• 4 small mackerel, about ¾ pound each, gutted and scaled, but with heads and tails on
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• A small sprig of rosemary OR 1 teaspoon dried leaves, crumbled
• Salt
• Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
• Freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon

Method

1. 1. Wash the fish under cold running water, then pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Make 3 parallel, diagonal cuts on both sides of each fish, cutting no deeper than the skin.
2. 2. Put the olive oil and garlic in an oval roasting pan, if you have one, or a saute pan or other pot where the fish can subsequently fit side by side. Turn on the heat to medium, and cook the garlic until it becomes colored a pale gold. Put in the fish and the rosemary. Brown the fish well on both sides. Keep loosening it from the bottom with a metal spatula to keep it from sticking, and turn it over carefully to make sure it doesn’t break up. Put salt and pepper on both its sides.
3. 3. Add the lemon juice, cover with a tight-fitting lid, turn the heat down to low, and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the flesh feels tender when prodded with a fork. Serve promptly when done.

Fish pan roasted with marjoram and lemon

PAN-ROASTING—the method that is neither sautéing nor braising, but something in between—is one of the basic techniques of the Italian kitchen for cooking fish as well as meat, chicken, and smaller birds. It is more controlled cooking than oven-roasting, combining the slow concentration of flavor that takes place in the dry air of the oven with the juiciness and superior texture one can achieve on top of the stove.

The recipe below is most successful with small, whole fish, but firm-fleshed, thick fillets with the skin on can also be used.

For 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 small or 3 medium whole fish, such as porgies, bass, pompano, about ¾ to 1 pound each, scaled and gutted, but with head and tail on
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup flour, spread on a plate
• 1 teaspoon fresh marjoram leaves OR ½ teaspoon dried
• Salt
• Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Methods

1. 1. Wash the fish inside and out in cold water, then pat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
2. 2. Lightly mash the garlic with a heavy knife handle, just hard enough to split the skin, and peel it.
3. 3. Choose a lidded saute pan or deep skillet that will subsequently be able to accommodate all the fish without overlapping. Put in the butter and oil and turn on the heat to medium high.
4. 4. When the butter and oil are quite hot, dredge the fish in flour on both sides, and put it in the pan together with the garlic and marjoram. If using thick fillets, put them in skin side down first.
5. 5. Brown the fish for about 1½ minutes on each side. Add liberal pinches of salt, black pepper, and the lemon juice, cover the pan, and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish, turning the fish over after 6 minutes or so.
6. 6. Transfer to a warm serving platter, lifting the fish gently with two metal spatulas to keep it from breaking up, pour all the juices in the pan over it, and serve at once.

Saute chicken with tomato, feta cheese and green olives

This is another great greek recipe following this video.

Braised celery with tomato and pancetta

This is a remarkably simple recipe but the results were really pretty outstanding. Also a good opportunity to use celery as a very healthy and slightly unusual main vegetable.

The key secret was to shave off the stringy part of the celery using a potato peeler, leaving on the tender part behind.

Ingredients

• 2 large bunches crisp, fresh celery
• 3 tablespoons onion chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup chopped pancetta OR prosciutto
• Salt
• Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
• 2 cups Basic Homemade Meat Broth OR ½ cup canned beef broth diluted with 1½ cups water
• An oven-to-table baking dish
• 1 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Method

1. 1. Cut off the celery’s leafy tops, and detach all the stalks from their base. Save the hearts for a salad or for dipping in Pinzimonio. Use a swiveling-blade peeler to pare away most of the strings, and cut the stalks into pieces about 3 inches long.
2. 2. Bring 2 or 3 quarts of water to a rapid boil, drop in the celery, and 1 minute after the water has returned to a boil, drain them and set them aside.
3. 3. Preheat oven to 400°
.
4. 4. Put the onion and butter in a saucepan, and turn the heat on to medium. Cook and stir the onion until it becomes translucent, then add the chopped pancetta or prosciutto. Stir to coat well, cook for 1 minute, then put in the celery, salt, and pepper, toss the celery to coat it well, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. 5. Add the broth, adjust heat to cook at a very gentle simmer, and cover the pan. Cook until the celery feels tender when prodded. Test the celery from time to time with a fork and when you find that it is nearly done—almost tender, but slightly firm—uncover the pan, raise the heat to high, and boil away all the liquid.
6. 6. Remove only the celery to the baking dish and arrange it with the inner, concave side of the stalks facing up. Over the celery, spoon the onion and pancetta or prosciutto mixture still in the pan, then top with grated Parmesan. Place on the uppermost rack of the preheated oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts and forms a light crust. After taking the dish out of the oven, allow it to settle for several minutes before bringing it to the table.

Ahead-of-time note The celery can be prepared up to this point several hours in advance on the same day that you will finish cooking it.

Mushrooms with garlic and parsley

Very simple and guaranteed to be a quick and easy winner. This recipe is from The Essentials of Italian Cooking.

Method

Cut off the end of the mushrooms but not the whole stalk; slice in fairly thick slices; cut some garlic up quite finely and then add to a frying pan with the olive oil; add the mushrooms and heat until the olive oil is soaked up stirring to prevent burning; add salt and turn the heat down to cook further while the water comes out; increase the heat to boil off the water and cook for a couple of minutes; finally add a good quantity of chopped up parsley.

This can also be used as a cold dish.

Ingredients

• olive oil
• garlic
• mushrooms
• salt and pepper
• parsley

Chickpeas with orange and honey

An exotic, very healthy and all round excellent recipe from this youtube video on greek cooking.

The cooking process is very simple - just put all the ingredients into the pot and then heat at 120 centigrade for most of the day. Remember to soak dry chickpeas overnight. If still liquid the ingredients can then be reduced on top of the stove.

Ingredients

• ½ pound/250 g. chick peas
• 1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced into thin slivers
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes (canned are fine)
• 1-2 large strips orange zest
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 4 bay leaves
• Fresh strained juice of 2 bitter Seville oranges
• 2 Tbsp./30 ml oxymelo vinegar or balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup/120 ml DOP extra-virgin Cretan olive oil
• ¼ cup/60 ml Greek thyme or pine honey
• Water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. 1. Soak the chick peas for 8 hours in a bowl of cold water mixed with 1 scant tablespoon baking soda. Drain and rinse well the next day. (If they are not sold shelled, place in batches in between two clean kitchen towels and rub back and forth to remove the skins.)
2. 2. Place the chick peas in a large clay casserole dish with a lid. Mix in the onion, garlic, tomatoes, bitter orange zest and juice, bay leaves, rosemary, oxymelo, olive oil, and honey. Add enough water to come up about 2,5 inches/6 cm above the chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with the casserole's lid. If desired, make a quick dough of flour and water and seal the casserole hermetically.
3. 3. Place the clay casserole in a cold oven. Heat the oven to 140˚F/60˚C and bake for 8 hours. (You can do this overnight.)

Rakuten and other shops

Here is a list of some of the food shops that are worth checking out selling on the internet in Japan.

Wine

• Toscana - good looking with excellent map of Italian wine regions.
• Kyobashi wine. Looks big and came up early including olive oil etc.
• Veritas. Looks big as well.

Basic ingredients

• Shodoshima specialist olive oil shop. Looks like too much focus on derivative products though.
• A specialist spice shop from Ame Yokodo. Looks excellent - absolutely the place for lentils and spices. Also has rosewater.
• Honey shop - specialist for Japanese honey with quite a few TV appearences.
• Amelia - world wide honey.
• Hai foods Slow food specialist with very interesting looking selection - shop of the year as well.
• Chef Kuwabara - duck and foie gras specialist shop.
• Reciple - nice looking shop with many foreign ingredients.

Seafood

• Marutaka. Hokkaido based with quite a bit of history.

Italian speciality shops

• Toscana Italian speciality shop - professional looking but also not particularly cheap by any means. Look out for capers in salt
• Tanicha - seems to be associated with Azabu restaurant.

Spanish speciality shops

• Casa Spain.

French speciality shops

• It rains on the Seine - shop also in Daikanyama.

Boiled zucchini salad with lemon

Another wonderfully simple Italian vegetable recipe. Seemed to be some risk of it being somewhat crap with little flavour but worked out well and also great to use up the parsley.

Method

Soak and clean zucchini, ideally while young firm and glossy, bring water to boil and then start cooking until tender but slightly resistant - about fifteen minutes; drain as soon as not too hot to handle and cut off both ends then slice into thin rounds then toss with lemon juice, salt, ground black pepper and decent amount of fresh chopped parsley.

Alternative method has you slicing the zucchini longways, rubbing with crushed garlic, letting sit at an angle to drain off some of the liquid for 15 to 20 minutes and then seasoning with some red wine vinegar, parsley pepper and salt just before serving (to prevent them again shedding liquid).

See here for the original recipe. As also observed in this blog the taste is actually much better than the name implies - well worth another try.

Egyptian lentil salad

Pretty straightforward and also apparently a classic Egyptian dish. Basic idea is to get some olive oil together, flavour by slightly frying some minced garlic in it and then adding some spices and giving them thirty seconds to heat up and then pouring the lot over the recently cooked lentils and adding some chopped coriander and salt etc

Comes from Mediterranean Harvest location 3294. Recipe seems to be pretty much reproduced here as well almost word for word.

Method

Combine garlic and olive oil in frying pan, heat until garlic begins to sizzle and then add ground spice for thirty seconds or so and remove from heat.

Cook lentils, covering with 1 inch or so of water excess; toss with the garlic; add cilantro and lemon juice if needed; adjust amount of salt and then drizzle with the remaining olive oil.

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons of olive oil, three for sauce and two to drizzle
• 2-3 large garlic cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds
• 1 1/2 cups of brown or green lentils
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Points

In practice more difficult to do than first seems, although flavour was pretty good.

Used 1 pack 250g? of brown lentils - was fine amount for four and but probably could have increased the spices quite a bit; also be careful when adding the lemon to not have lemon dominate; taste improved after letting rest; mistake was not to immediately put on the olive oil after cooking the lentils; could also have done with more fresh coriander.

Provencal chickpea salad

Another very simply but also spectacularly good and healthy salad.

Basic idea is mix together some chickpeas, fresh parsley, raw red and green bell peppers (other colors OK of course and maybe a little more sweet), medium tomatoes with all the pieces chopped up to about the same size as the chickpeas. Then dress the salad with a dressing with red wine vinegar, lots of lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper.

Ingredients

For four to six, but sounds a bit much even for a dedicated chick pea fan.

• 1 500g of chickpeas (dry?!)
• half a cup of parsley
• 1 small red bell pepper
• 1 small green bell pepper - colour contrast is probably good but I used one large pepper in the end
• 2 medium tomatoes diced
• 3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar - seemed to go well despite one expecting white wine vinegar
• 1-3 garlic cloves
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method

Mix all together! Salad can be made quite a bit in advance as well. From location 3331 Mediterranean Harvest.

Notes

Dish was certainly better with freshly cooked chickpeas rather than canned ones, but this was also really simple despite using chickpeas that had been hanging around for a fair old while. Simply soak in advance for a decent amount of time or overnight, then boil and strain! Tasted fine.

I would tend to use more parsley, tomatoes and only one pepper at the end of the day

Chicken with bulgur, tomatoes, peppers and tarragon

This is the best dish made so far in this little exercise. The basic idea is to brown some onion for a little flavor, then saute the chicken to again brown and add some flavor and cook the sauted chicken with tarragon, diced red and yellow peppers, tomato and some chicken stock and then to soak up the cooked juices by adding some bulgar wheat.


This worked fine with three large pieces of chicken thigh. The original recipe calls for longer peppers or also spicy jalapenos but really they did not seem necessary.

• Salt the chicken at least 15 mins before cooking and make sure at room temperature.


• chop up the tomatoes and cook for a while until brown



• start to saute the chicken in butter - normal way. Make sure to remove all the onion from the pan so that you don't end up with bits of blackened burnt onion when you saute the chicken!


• saute the chicken until brown both sides - you dont have to cook right through as you are going to cook in the stock for thirty mins plus


• once the chicken is done, add the peppers and tarragon and stir for one minute- quite a lot of fresh tarragon


• stir in tomatoes and then add the onion - you can now generate some juice to cook in


• add salt and pepper


• simmer for twenty minutes covered - you want to keep covered as the bulgar will absorb the liquid at the end


• take out the chicken


• add in the bulgar and stir with the other vegetables to start absorbing the liquid


• heat up the stock and add - including boiling for a minute to get the bulgar to absorb the liquid I presume


• add back the chicken and then cover and simmer again for fifteen minutes or so. If using chicken breasts keep out at this point - they probably get too dry


• serve!

Ingredients

• onion chopped


• butter


• chicken pieces


• two diced peppers - yellow and red work well


• tarragon


• two plus peeled, chopped tomatoes


• salt and pepper


• chicken stock cubes - or make yourself


• bulgar wheat

Zucchini with tomato, pancetta

This is really a variation of the classic zucchini with tomato recipe - basically adding some pancetta and onion for some extra flavor.

Cut zucchini into 14 inch slices, toss with salt and drain; heat olive oil in dish; add bacon or pancetta cut into small pieces plus onion diced until tender; add tomatoes peeled, seeded and diced cook until start to break down; add zucchini and cook until tender; season with pepper, chopped parsley and chopped basil

1. zucchini
2. salt
3. tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
4. pancetta
5. onion, diced
6. chopped parsley

Good for using up

• pancetta

Moroccan carrot salad

Very simple but really ideal recipe in terms of exotic flavour, using up the coriander and healthy eating with the carrots

.

Basic idea is to cook carrots until OK for a salad, then leave to marinade with some spices - cumin, coriander and fresh ginger - before adding a vinaigrette with lime, olive oil and some salt.

Ingredients

1. 4 carrots
2. half a teaspoon of cummin
3. half a teaspoon of coriander - doesnt really sound enough
4. one inch piece of ginger grated
5. pinch of cayenne
6. juice of half a lime
7. 2 tablespoons of olive oil
8. 2 tablespoons of coriander
9. salt

Cut carrot into batons 2inches long and 1/4 inch square; cook in boiling water until almost tender but still crisp; season with salt; mix 1/4 teaspoon cumin and coriander toasted and ground; add 1inch of fresh ginger peeled and grated and spread over the carrots and leave to marinade; whisk juice of half a lime, extra virgin olive oil and chopped coriander or parsley, pour over.

Sauté chicken with mushrooms

This worked brilliantly well if you make sure you keep to the points below...

• Make sure the chicken is at room temperature before starting to saute.
• Salt the chicken thoroughly before cooking. At least 15 minutes at room temperature. A day before if you are going to keep in the fridge.
• Cook non-skin side down first briefly until it colors over, then turn over to start to saute on the other side.
• While cooking spoon over the fat on to the non skin side so that it keeps moist and cooks at the same time. You have to carry on doing this for quite a while. The chicken should run with clear juice once cooked when pierced.
• Don't try and cook too much in the pan in the same time. You probably need two batches for four people.
• Once cooked to a nice crisp brown on the skin side then drain off the fat, turn over and briefly seal the other side
• In this dish, good to keep the chicken warm while cooking the mushrooms.

For the mushrooms, heat up some butter until frothing and quiet then add some mixed mushrooms. Heat fairly strongly until water comes out and then add finely chopped shallots and salt and cook for a short while and then return the sauted chicken in order to heat up again. Add the parsley and then stop the heat.

Finally add the special ingredient - take garlic and ground down well (for example, using the Japanese ginger grater, and mix with olive oil. Then pour over the chicken and serve straightaway.

French beans dressed with Parmesan

Very simple! Boil greens in salted water (to help keep the color) for a few minutes until tender. Drain, heat butter until frothy and then saute. Add grated parmesan at the end.

Leek with red vinegar, anchovy dressing

Very simple. Cook the leeks in boiling water a few minutes until soft, drain and try and squeeze out any excess water.

Pour over a vinaigrette made of 1 part red wine vinegar to three to four parts olive oil. Add salt to the vinegar and taste to carefully check the balance before adding olive oil. Add a couple of anchovies on top.

Piyaz Turkish white bean salad

This is a very easy salad - almost as easy to make as a greek salad - and is very healthy given its high protein content.

The basic idea is to take some white beans and soak them for a short time in vinegar. This worked fine with tinned beans after draining them, even though they were rather soft. Soaking in vinegar helped freshen them up. Then simply chop up spring onions, a large tomato and parsley. Add some salt and lemon juice and poor over a decent amount of olive oil and then mix together. Add some black olives and two boiled eggs sliced up as a garnish.

Here is an excellent video from youtube on the original.

Here is a nice turkish website with the recipe as well.

Ingredients

1. white beans, tinned worked fine
2. white wine vinegar
3. spring onions - lots - important
4. large tomato - chopped
5. salt
6. lemon juice
7. virgin olive oil
8. chopped parsley - lots
9. black olives
10. boiled eggs, quartered - good decoration

Essentials of Italian Cooking

Just found brilliant looking blog where bloggers tried cooking all the dishes in the "Essentials of Italian Cooking"!

Sweet and sour tuna steaks trapani style

Basic idea is to soften and then brown the onion in olive oil, add some salt, move the onion out of the way while you shallow fry the tuna and then make a sweet and sour sauce by adding the vinegar, white wine. salt, pepper and onions back to the dish. Then thicken the sauce and add some parsley. Make sure you scrape up all the cooked sauce from the pan

Messed it up the first time - used too much oil and used white wine vinegar instead of white wine. However basic concept seems good and pretty easy. Well worth trying again to put in the repertoire regularly.

• 2-1/2 lbs fresh tuna, cut into 1/2-inch-thick steaks
• 3 cups onion sliced very, very thin
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• 1 cup flour, spread on a plate
• Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Preparation

1. Remove the skin circling the tuna steaks, wash them in cold water, and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels.
2. Choose a sauté pan broad enough to accommodate later all the steaks in a single layer without overlapping. Put in the sliced onion, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 or 2 large pinches of salt, and turn on the heat to medium low. Cook until the onion has wilted completely, then turn up the heat to medium and continue cooking, stirring from time to time, until the onion becomes colored a deep golden brown.
3. Using a slotted spoon or spatula, transfer the onion to a small bowl. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, turn the heat up to medium high, dredge the tuna steaks in flour on both sides, and slip them into the pan. Cook them for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on their thickness, then sprinkle with salt and pepper, add the sugar, vinegar, wine, and onions, turn the heat up to high, and cover the pan. Cook at high beat for about 2 minutes, uncover the pan, add the parsley, turn the fish steaks over once or twice, then transfer them to a warm serving platter.
4. If there are thin juices left in the pan, boil them down and at the same time scrape loose with a wooden spoon any cooking residue sticking to the bottom. If, on the other hand, there is no liquid in the pan, add 2 tablespoons of water and boll it away while loosening the cooking residues. Pour the contents of the pan over the tuna, and serve at once.

Moroccan spinach salad

On the surface this is a very simple dish but after making twice seems more difficult to get right, probably because of adding too much lemon. Also it is probably easier if made in fairly large quantity given the spinach cooks down. Finally I probably didn't add enough salt.

Basic idea is to chop up spinach finely, add crushed garlic and cook in olive oil. Then add spices - paprika, cumin and cayenne pepper (perhaps red chilli if you have fresh?) and salt. Then also add lemon juice. After cooking turn out on a plate and add olives and preserved lemon.

Here is the youtube video that explained it!

Here is another recipe for the same dish...

Ingredients

• Spinache
• garlic crushed
• cumin
• paprika
• cayenne pepper
• salt
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• olives
• preserved lemon

Ceviche

Basic idea is to cut up some white fish into relatively large lumps - 1.5 to 2cms, chop up some red onion fairly finely and then marinate with lime and coriander red chilli an some salt.

Probably need more lime than you might think and also less marinating time, especially if you are using fish that could be used for sashimi.

Very easy and very tasty. Probably worth making in bulk as well. Here is a guardian article on the best ceviche. Consider also adding some orange juice for a bit of a difference.

Or here is a very good sorted youtube video.