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A Recipe For Roasted Butternut Squash Salad, With Jewelled Quinoa & Tahini Dressing.

July 25, 2018

Vegan Butternut Squash Salad

 

One of my many mottos in life is to never arrive empty handed. Whether it be flowers, wine or some kind of baked treat, I like to arrive places having made an effort. A psychologist would probably say it had something to do with a desire to be liked, but I can tell you quite definitely that isn’t high on my list of essentials. I just really like to cook.

This weekend over on Instagram I posted an image of my addition to a ‘low-key’ BBQ. The first thing you should know about me is that ‘low-key’ doesn’t really wash with me. The story resulted in so many messages asking for the recipe I decided to apply some quantities to it and write it up here. The recipe is a great vegan or vegetarian option for a BBQ and can be made ahead, making things much easier. Enjoy.

Ingredients

For the quinoa
300g quinoa (soaked in cold water overnight)
Vegetable stockpot or cube

For the dressing
4 tablespoons tahini 
1 clove of garlic, crushed
Salt & pepper
Juice of half a lemon

For the salad
1 butternut squash
Olive oil
Salt & pepper
Pomegranate seeds
1 small tin of sweetcorn
80g kale – tough stalks removed

 

Cooking the perfect quinoa:

Soak your quinoa (in a jug to make it easy to pour into a sieve later) in cold water overnight.

Before using it, pour out the water and rinse it thoroughly under the cold tap. In a small pan mix freshly boiled water with a vegetable stock cube/pot, add the quinoa with a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for around 10-12 minutes. Soaking the quinoa reduces the cooking time needed so keep checking on it, it should be unravelling into spirals but still have some bite when you taste it, it shouldn’t be mushy.

When it’s done, tip out of the water and then leave in the pan, with a clean tea towel or kitchen paper draped over the top before placing the lid on. Pop to one side to cool.

For the salad:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (175 fan).

Slice your butternut squash into 1cm rounds, removing the seeds as you get to the bulbous part. Slice each in half to make half moons, leaving the skin on. When the rounds are thin this easily cooks and adds some texture.

In a bowl toss them with olive oil and seasoning before spreading out on a baking tray. Spread them out as much as possible to allow them to roast. Pop in the Center of the oven and roast for twenty minutes. In the bowl you used to toss the squash add the kale and do exactly the same, lightly coating the kale in any remaining olive oil and seasoning, strewn about the roasting tray with the squash and return to the oven for five minutes.

Watch carefully as the kale can so easily burn, you want it crispy, almost like a crisp or seaweed. When it’s ready remove and leave to cool.

Tip the drained tin of sweetcorn into a preheated griddle pan. You shouldn’t need any oil. You want the corn to begin to blacken and Char at the edges, so keep shuffling around in the pan before leaving to one side when done.

For the dressing:

Add the tahini, crushed garlic, seasoning, oil, juice of a lemon and water to a bowl and mix together. Add more water and mix thoroughly until your dressing is pourable. If it looks like it’s curdled just add more water and keep mixing.

To serve fork through the quinoa and pile onto your serving plate, strew with squash, kale, and charred sweetcorn before drizzling the dressing over liberally. Finally add the pomegranate seeds and dig in.

 

Vegan Butternut Squash Salad

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Ate, Food

A Recipe For Lemon, Thyme & Pistachio Bundt Cake.

June 3, 2018

Lemon & Thyme Bundt Cake

 

The tableware and linen used in this post were kindly gifted by The White Company.

I don’t know that any taste signifies the arrival of summer quite like the sharp, fresh kick of lemon. Combine that flavour and vibrant colour with a cake and you’ve got yourself the perfect addition to a sun-drenched weekend. Perfect for making ahead for a leisurely picnic, this play on the traditional lemon drizzle cake combines the subtle taste of fresh thyme with the satisfying crunch of pistachio.

I’ve opted for a painfully Instagram-worthy bundt tin, but it will work just as well in a large springform tin too if you’ve chosen to live life without a bundt. I however love a good bundt. Excellent word that, bundt.

 

Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon Drizzle Bundt Cake

 

Lemon, Thyme & Pistachio Bundt Cake

450g Plain flour
200g Soft unsalted butter
3 Unwaxed lemons
45g Roughly chopped unsalted pistachio kernels
290g Caster sugar
Fresh thyme
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 large eggs
250ml buttermilk
150g icing sugar

2.5 litre capacity bundt tin, or a 20cm cake tin

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees / 170 degrees fan. Place a baking sheet in the oven at the same time; you’ll place the bundt tin on this when it goes in. This little tip comes courtesy of Nigella herself, so it’s an essential.

Grease your bundt tin with sunflower oil dabbed onto some kitchen towel. Make sure you get the oil into every last crevice of the bundt tin. You can also use a spray oil. If you’re using a regular circular tin, line with greaseproof paper as you would normally.

Take a healthy bunch of fresh thyme and remove the leaves from the stalks. I won’t lie, it’s a fiddly job. I suggest taking a large bowl to the sofa and settling down to watch some Ina Garten whilst you work. You’ll need around 4 tablespoons of leaves, plus extra for decoration.

Once back in the kitchen add the sifted flour, bicarb and baking powder to a bowl and combine.

In a second bowl add the butter, 250g of the caster sugar, thyme leaves and the grated zest of two lemons, reserving the third for decorating the cake later. Using an electric mixer mix the butter until creamy.

Take the eggs one at a time and mix into the sugar mixture until fully combined and creamy. Now it’s time to add in the buttermilk and flour mixture. Do this in stages, a third of the flour, followed by a third of the buttermilk, mixing thoroughly between each third. When everything is combined add in the juice of one of your lemons and mix.

Pour the mixture into your tin and gently tap this on the work top to remove any air pockets. Place in the oven on top of the hot baking tray for one hour.

When the cake has been in the oven for forty minutes start making your drizzle. In a pan place the remaining 40g of caster, the juice of your second lemon and a splash of water. Heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture begins to bubble and thicken.

At the hour mark check on the cake, inserting a skewer or small knife to check if it’s done. If the knife comes out clean, it’s all done.

With the tin resting on a wire cooling rack gently slide a skewer or fine knife into the cake repeatedly to create small holes. Don’t go too deep, you shouldn’t reach the top of the cake, but make sure you go at least 3/4 into the cake. Now spoon over the drizzle, concentrating on the holes you’ve created. It’s likely there will also be a central crack running along the cake, perfect for spooning more drizzle down. If you’ve gone for a regular cake tin just create holes in circular patterns throughout the base. Leave to cool.

If you greased the tin well the cake should easily slide out when you flip it on a wire wrack. (Fingers crossed.) Zest your remaining lemon and pop to one side. Slice and juice the lemon and combine with the icing sugar in a bowl, adding water in small amount until you have a thick yet pourable icing mixture. Use a spoon to pour this over the bundt cake, letting it trickle down the sides.

Scatter over the remaining thyme leaves, lemon zest and chopped pistachio kernels as the finishing touch and leave to one side whilst the icing sets.

Serve with Earl Grey iced tea.

 

The White Company Summer Collection

|1| Artisan Side Plate, £10 |2| Striped Cotton Napkins, £25 |3| Oversized Handmade Platter, £55 |4| Jute Woven Placemat, £12

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Ate, Cook, Food, Recipe

A simple recipe for banana & oat bread.

April 22, 2018

Simple banana bread recipe

 

It’s come to my attention over the years that folk are rather peculiar when it comes to bananas. The single hint of brown upon their skin and half the population is repulsed and couldn’t possibly consider touching them. Package those browning bananas in the form of a cake however and they’ll happily gulp it down. This banana bread recipe never fails to find a happy audience.

 

Simple banana bread recipe

Simple banana bread recipe

 

Over the years I’ve tried and tested many, many banana bread recipes. As is the way with most recipes, this one has evolved over time to include bits and pieces of others, hints and tips lifted from everywhere from Martha Stewart to BBC Good Food. Along the way I decided to add in the oats and cinnamon although neither are required if you’re averse to either. I’ve also used everything from buckwheat flour to brown rice flour to produce the loaf, all with great success. The only flour I wouldn’t recommend using is coconut due to its habit of draining just about every last drop of moisture out of anything it comes into contact with.

After the loaf is baked and the flat smells of beautifully sweet bananas and cinnamon I tend to slice it straight away, sending all but three slices to the freezer in a zip lock bag. Three always seems like the appropriate amount to leave for yourself. Saturday, Sunday and the Monday pick me up. The loaf freezes perfectly and can just be defrosted slice by slice as you need it.

 

Simple banana bread recipe

 

Whilst it may seem a very odd thing to do, I recommend serving it toasted and slathered in peanut butter. I know, toasted banana bread may sound a little obscure, but I promise you it’s heavenly. Drizzle with honey, stew some fruit in a pan with some maple syrup to make a simple compote, or lightly toast and butter it. It’s up to you.

 

Banana & Oat Bread

4 Ripe Bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
3 tbsp coconut oil – melted and left to cool slightly
110g coconut sugar
2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
180ml almond milk, unsweetened
130g ground almonds
110g oats
200g spelt flour
3 tsp baking powder

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees (160 degrees fan) and line a standard 9×5 inch loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

The bananas should be as ripe as possible, brown speckled and soft. Break them into a bowl and mash them with a fork. Add in the honey, vanilla, egg, coconut oil, coconut sugar, salt, cinnamon and almond milk and combine until you’ve got a lovely banana-scented glop.

Add in the oats, spelt flour, ground almonds and baking powder and mix until combined. The mixture won’t be your usual smooth cake batter due to the oats and lumps of banana, so don’t worry. Tip into the loaf tin and pop into the centre of the oven for an hour. It may need a little longer but keep checking from the hour mark. The cake should be golden brown on top but still nice and moist (awful word and rather repulsed to be using it here, but I am all the same) inside.

If you want to check slide in a skewer or knife, it should come out relatively clean, although not perfectly clean as it might for your regular sponge cake. Transfer, in the tin, to a cooling tray and leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin and leaving to cool completely.

 

Simple banana bread recipe

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Ate, Food, Recipe

A Recipe For Cashew, Coconut & Date Energy Balls.

January 10, 2018

Cashew, Date & Coconut Energy Balls Recipe

 

January can be a little tough on the old soul. After the buzz and lights of Christmas it can seem a drained. Everyone seems to exist in the a constant state of remorse for each and every chocolate, piece cake and cocktail that passed their lips in December. There’s no judgement here, I’m one of those who uses January as a way to kick start a better way of eating too.

Life shouldn’t be without the joy and comfort or a sweet treat, especially not come a cold January evening. That’s why these energy balls are perfect. To clarify, they won’t shrink your waist line, remove the bags under your eyes or cause you to become a supermodel over night. They will however provide a little something if your steamed fish and slippery mound of spinach hasn’t quite hit the spot.

You will require a modicum of self restraint, that should also be clear. They might be free from refined sugar and anything nasty, but they’re still a treat. (That means one or two. Not eight.)

I’ve made these energy balls before with the zest of a lemon and can confirm they’re just as good, if you find yourself more inclined to sharper flavours.

 

Cashew, Date & Coconut Energy Balls Recipe

Cashew, Date & Coconut Energy Balls Recipe

Cashew, Coconut & Date Balls

90g raw, unsalted cashew kernals
7 Medjool Dates (or 10 normal dates)
4 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 generous tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp chia seeds (optional, naturally)
Pinch of salt

There’s no real science to the making of the balls; melt the coconut oil gently in a pan and leave to one side to cool. Start with your cashews in the food processor and blitz them until they form a lumpy rubble but aren’t quite ground.

Add in the salt, chia seeds (if using), 2tbsp coconut, coconut oil and pitted dates. If you want to add in the lemon, grate in the zest here also.

Give everything a good blitz until it starts to form a sticky rubble. Grab two plates, on one spread out the remaining 2 tbsp of desiccated coconut and on the other top out the rubble and begin shaping it into balls by pressing tightly and rolling them in your hands. The mixture should make around 20 in total. Try to make them about the size of a large truffle.

Roll each date in the plate of coconut to fully coat them. Pop the energy balls in the fridge for an hour or so before sampling the fruits of your minimal labour.

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Ate, Christmas, Made, Recipe

A Last Minute Gift. Lemon, Thyme & Pistachio Biscotti.

December 19, 2017

Last year I made a pact with myself to start making more of the presents I was giving in an attempt to reduce the amount of things I bought at Christmas. It’s not that I don’t love the huge array of things out there to buy, but that it just feels so much more satisfying to give someone something you’ve had a part in creating. It doesn’t need to be something grand or all that elaborate, I think it’s just nice for it to be something you spent time on.

 

Pistachio Biscotti Recipe

 

Each year I make large batches of chutney to include with my friend’s and family’s Christmas presents. I try and do this a few months in advance to a) get it out of the way, b) make use of particular fruit being in plentiful supply and c) allow the flavours to mellow. As Christmas starts to draw closer and the presents start to be given I like to add some kind of baked good in there too.

Through trial and error over the year I’ve settled on biscotti being the perfect gift. Some years I’m in the mood for something citrusy and others for something involving a little more chocolate. (Next year’s is going to be chocolate orange, I’ve already decided.)

 

Lemon, Thyme & Pistachio Biscotti Recipe

 

It keeps perfectly well for days and when combined with a tin of tea leaves, a bag of freshly roasted coffee or a bottle of something is the perfect last minute gift for someone. No matter how hard we try there’s always someone we didn’t think we’d see but now seemingly will or maybe even someone who got you a present you entirely weren’t expecting. This is where the biscotti and the coffee come in.

This year I played around with adding herbs to the mix before finally settling on Lemon, Thyme & Pistachio. When you’re done simply add a good handful to a bag, tie up with string and add a label.

 

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas

 

These little brown paper bags are from IKEA and perfectly match the wrapping paper I went with this year. If you’re into your wrapping you can take a closer look at that here.

 

Lemon, Thyme & Pistachio Biscotti Recipe

Lemon, Thyme & Pistachio Biscotti

150g plain flour

125g caster sugar

2 tsp baking powder

Zest of 2 lemons

100g dried apricots

150g unshelled (and unsalted) pistachios

A handful of thyme sprigs

2 eggs

2 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees fan.

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and lemon zest. Once this is done set it to one side and roughly chop the apricots and pistachios – you want to be able to see the colours from both as you slice the biscotti. Pick the leaves from the sprig of thyme and add them to your flour mixture and stir in the apricots and pistachios.

In a separate bowl lightly beat eggs and milk together before adding to the dry mix. Fork through until it starts to clump together before getting your hands in and bringing together into a dough. If it feels a little too sticky add a fraction more flour.

Tip the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and need briefly to make sure all of your fruit and nuts are combined. Split the dough into two equal balls, roll into a fat sausage and place each on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Once it’s on the sheet you can perfect the shaping, don’t worry. You’re looking for them both to be around 20cm long and 6cm or so wide. The mixture should be playable so shape as you will.

Bake the biscotti in the oven for 25-30 minutes. In this time you’ll see it will have risen and spread out slightly, along with taking on a soft golden colour.

Remove from the oven and careful transfer the loaf to a chopping board by just picking up the greaseproof paper. With a serrated bread knife cut the loaf diagonally into 1cm thick slices.

When both loaves are slices, lay the pieces out flat on the baking trays and return to the oven. As you do turn the temperate down to 130 degrees fan and bake for 10 minutes before flipping the biscotti over and baking for a further 5 minutes.

When you take the biscotti out of the oven it should be firm and crisp but when pressed still retain a slight toast-like texture when pressed. Transfer to a rack to cool down before packaging up the biscotti in little bags or glass jars.

 

Lemon, Thyme & Pistachio Biscotti Recipe

 

 

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Ate, Cook, Made

A Sunday In September.

September 10, 2017

Nigel Slater's Sticky Fig Chutney

If I were to take December and its connotations of Christmas out of the equation, September would be unequivocally my favourite month of the year. I’ve always had more of an affinity with the colder months, I put it down to the fact I was born in a snowstorm. September is the month that bridges the gap between the final days of summer and the undoubtedly soggy October that lies ahead. There’s a fresh nip to the mornings but a blazing sunlight to the afternoons. The light manages to hold on until the early evening as the mornings slowly but very surely get that little bit darker with each passing day. We all know it’s coming, but September breaks it to us gently.

Ultimately autumn is about comfort. Spending entire days in doors, hiding out from the showers and keeping warm. Catching up on all those little things you’ve been meaning to do all summer but haven’t quite got round to yet. Those books you never got round to reading, or the film you keep saying you’ll watch but never seem to be able to settle enough to put it on. The term ‘hygge’ seems to be a little too commonly used of late, but nonetheless belongs in these time of the year. Find something to do, take it slowly and most importantly, enjoy it.

Nigel Slater's Sticky Fig Chutney

And so to chutney. September is fig season, potentially the best of all the fruit seasons. For those of you who have more important issues than to spend a Sunday contemplating your favourite fruit harvest, I can assure you it’s a good one. Figs find their way to my toast and onto my granola, grilled with honey and almonds and served with coconut yoghurt, caramelised with balsamic vinegar and tossed into a salad; in short, I can find a home for them just about anywhere. Nothing is quite as satisfying as making a warm sticky fig chutney however.

There’s something so peaceful about chopping onions I find. My eyes have become so accustomed to it now I don’t even emit a sniffle, let alone a tear. Chopping the onions and layering them beneath mounds of sliced figs, dolling out lashings of all spice and gently smashing peppercorns to pieces for the final flourish before dousing the whole thing in vinegar – it’s a Sunday well spent.

Sticky Fig Chutney

As a child my Grandma had to hide the bottle of vinegar in the highest of cupboards, I was known to try and drink it. Yes, I’m aware it’s quite bizarre, but even now as a pool of balsamic vinegar sits at the bottom of my salad bowl, I know I could drink up every last drop if I wanted to. That sweet, spicy smell of the vinegar mingles with the all spice and juicy sultanas to result in the most comforting of September feelings. It’s not quite the baking of the Christmas cake, but it’s a very close second.

I always turn to a Nigel Slater recipe for my fig chutney, taken from potentially my favourite cookbook of all, The Kitchen Diaries II. Whilst several blogs have chosen to write up the Sticky Fig Chutney recipe, I can’t help but feel that isn’t right? If you’d like to make it the recipe is easily Google-able; my only amendment to the genius of the original recipe is to throw in some bay leaves. If you don’t have the book – I whole heatedly recommend it.

Sticky Fig ChutneyAutumn Fig Chutney

The jars are now neatly lined up on my the shelves awaiting some kind of minimalist labelling technique that I’ve yet to fathom. I recommend sloshing it on crusty sourdough, topped with goat’s cheese.

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Ate, Food

The Second Sunday.

August 25, 2017

The Second Sunday. A Bank Holiday weekend should be a thing of glory. A three day weekend filled with brunch, coffee, indulge and a little bit of luxury.

I like to the think of the August Bank Holiday weekend as summer’s final hoorah. The eagerly anticipated arrival of the year’s penultimate three-day weekend signifies Autumn’s soft approach. Quietly it will creep into our days, slowly staking its annual claim on our lives, but not without allowing summer to deliver us one last gloriously extended weekend.

When BONADEA invited me to join them in creating the perfect Bank Holiday weekend, I knew immediately how it would be. I have long been an advocate of treasuring the weekend, never more so than when it happens to come with a double helping of Sunday. That’s what it is you see, it’s a second Sunday. Bank Holidays allow us to live what is the greatest day of the week, twice. So I say we revel in it fully. Splash out and make something exceptional, break out the finest china your cupboards have to offer. It’s time to celebrate this rare beast in a luxuriously lazy fashion.

The Second Sunday. A Bank Holiday weekend should be a thing of glory. A three day weekend filled with brunch, coffee, indulge and a little bit of luxury.The Second Sunday. A Bank Holiday weekend should be a thing of glory. A three day weekend filled with brunch, coffee, indulge and a little bit of luxury.

For me, there’s a process to it all. An order of service if you will. Saturday involves the chores that are essential yet invariably not all that enjoyable; the washing, the cleaning, the plumping of excessive amounts of cushions and the collecting of essential supplies.

Saturday evening sees clean sheets hit the bed, a night earlier than usual it’s true, but I disrupt the system for good reason. Fresh pyjamas are pulled from the drawer, a long leisurely bath is drawn and a heavenly night of sleep is had, safe in the knowledge that the week contains that elusive extra day of peace.

When Sunday hits the event begins. Slippers on with the kettle boiling, the coffee is brewed. Filling the house with the true smell of morning, there’s nothing quite like it. Now is your chance to dust off the aforementioned Sunday best, bring out your finest porcelain coffee pot and the most elegant of coffee cups, before drifting back to bed until the first twinges of hunger mean it’s time for the morning’s main event. Breakfast.

The Second Sunday. A Bank Holiday weekend should be a thing of glory. A three day weekend filled with brunch, coffee, indulge and a little bit of luxury.The Second Sunday. A Bank Holiday weekend should be a thing of glory. A three day weekend filled with brunch, coffee, indulge and a little bit of luxury.

If you have yourself a helpful counterpart, this would be where you send them out to collect the Sunday papers, of which you will naturally only read the magazines. If there is no counterpart, I suggest a quick dash post-coffee and pre-breakfast.

At my house, crisp white table linens and slightly crumpled napkins play host to delicate porcelain and gleaming copper. When BONADEA suggested I explore the immaculately white world of Fuerstenberg’s Herzog Ferdinand collection, it became apparent we clearly went to the same school of Sunday. Our visions of the perfect breakfast aligned seamlessly. 

We all have those beautiful items we hold to one side, more than likely only for ‘guests’. Well, in my eyes that’s ludicrous. Bring them out, select your finest cutlery and set the table. 

Here would seem a good time for the second pot of coffee, whilst the papers start their soft descent into a crumpled mess and the pancake batter hits the pan. For there should be pancakes, no lazy weekend is truly complete without a pancake.

The Second Sunday. A Bank Holiday weekend should be a thing of glory. A three day weekend filled with brunch, coffee, indulge and a little bit of luxury.

Spread soft ricotta cheese atop your crisp sourdough and smother in freshly sliced cherries, drizzle with honey and strew with mint. Pour the coffee, share out the pancakes and quietly retreat to the content world of the Sunday magazine. I would suggest at the very least an hour is spent slowly eating breakfast; ensuring no coffee is left unconsumed and no page left unturned. And then? Well it’s time to go about the day, filled with the happiness only a good breakfast can really deliver.

When Monday morning arrives, the only thing you should change is your pancake topping. This is the rare second Sunday. Make to count and do it all again. 

The Second Sunday. A Bank Holiday weekend should be a thing of glory. A three day weekend filled with brunch, coffee, indulge and a little bit of luxury.

Peach & Goat’s Cheese Pastries

1 x Ready rolled sheet of puff pastry
Soft goat’s cheese (or ricotta cheese if you prefer)
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 x Slightly firm peaches (pears also work nicely)
1 x Beaten egg
A drizzle of honey

Take the puff pastry out of the fridge around fifteen minutes before you want to create your pastries. Once rested, slice the pastry into rectangles and place on a lined baking tray.

Take a knife and score a smaller rectangle around 1cm from the edge, creating a border. This allows the edges to puff up whilst cooking.

In a bowl mix the soft goat’s cheese with freshly cracked black pepper. Spread liberally on the centre of the pastry before arranging finely sliced wedges of peach atop.

Crack an egg into a bowl and briefly whisk, brush around the border you’ve created for a glossy finish. Finally, drizzle over a dash of honey and place in a pre-heated fan oven at around 180 degrees for around 15 minutes.

These are perfect served fresh from the oven or cold, however your lazy morning takes you.

The Second Sunday. A Bank Holiday weekend should be a thing of glory. A three day weekend filled with brunch, coffee, indulge and a little bit of luxury.

This post was produced in partnership with BONADEA. The beautiful porcelain featured throughout this post is taken from Fuerstenberg’s Herzog Ferdinand collection, available on site now.

|1.| Fuerstenberg Coffee Pot |2.| Fuerstenberg Dessert Plate |3.| Fuerstenberg Coffee Cup & Saucer |4.| Fuerstenberg Sugar Bowl

 

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Ate, Food, Recipe

Peaches & Cream.

July 30, 2017

 

When a fruit is in season, it is truy in its element. That’s how nature works. Winter strawberries never quite taste the same as luscious English strawberries do in July, plucked during their natural period and delivered to your plate exactly how nature intended. There’s a lot to be said for the benefits of eating in season, not simply taste alone.

This week I received my first organic fruit and vegetable box from Riverford Organic. When I lived in London I regularly had Able & Cole boxes delivered but sadly they appear to have forgotten ‘The North’ exists and have yet to extend their offering past the Watford gap. Riverford Organic however, are more than happy to venture into the cold, unforgiving climates of ‘The North’. Arriving freshly plucked from the earth at a local organic farm, this week’s box was to include a punnet of perfectly ripe, perfectly peachy donut peaches. Oh how I love a good peach.

I’ve nothing against eating a peach as they are, but when they’re grilled? Magic happens. Pure peachy magic.

Slice the peaches in half, remove the stones, drizzle with honey and scatter with thyme leaves. Grill until the surface starts to brown and the honey has a thick caramel-like quality to it. Mix thick Greek yoghurt – or coconut yoghurt if you prefer to go dairy free – with a good dollop of honey, spoon over the grilled peaches and roughly chop some pistachios, roughly scattering them over the yoghurt. It’s simple, yet it’s dreamy.

 

 

The few remaining peaches made their way to the following day’s breakfast bowl; sitting atop an acai berry oat smoothie. Add a banana, some frozen mixed berries, acai berry powder, oats, honey and almond milk to a blender, blitz into submission and serve with coconut yoghurt, pistachios, flaked almonds & a smattering of desiccated coconut should you desire. Again, simple yet scrumptious.

 

|1.| The White Company Porto Roaster |2.| Kelly Hoppen Zen Cereal Bowl |3.| Ferm Living Fein Brass Serving Spoons

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Ate, Cook, Food, Recipe

Zatar Roasted Carrot & Garlic Hummus.

February 14, 2017

There was a time when a tub of hummus and a stack of toasted pita breads constituted an evening meal for me. I’m rather glad to say those days are gone and I have moved on to a much more balanced diet, however, that being said… I could absolutely still do exactly that. I love hummus. In almost all of its guises, I love it. Most days it serves as a prelude to my desk lunch, with a pile of carrots serving as the vehicle for it’s salty, lemony tang.

In my quest of the perfect hummus recipe – something I have absolutely yet to find I might add – I’ve explored the world of alternative versions, with varying success. There’s thus far been everything from puy lentil editions to creamy butterbean variants. This roasted carrot version is one I shall certainly be returning to although I might add, it’s absolutely never going to replace the chickpea variety.

Roasting the carrots with the zatar spiked oil really brings out their sweet nature whilst adding a spark of flavour to the proceedings. I find also roasted the garlic in the same way produces a much more mellow tasting hummus, adding it in raw can leave a rather acrid taste in my experience, so I tend to always roast the garlic first. Serve it with some toasted pita chips (gluten free pitas will do just as well, don’t worry) and some fresh crudités like celery or chicory.

 

Ingredients

  • 8 carrots, cleaned and sliced in half
  • 4 tbsp olive oil, with more to serve
  • 2 garlic cloves, pealed
  • 1 tsp zatar
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp of lemon juice, or to taste
  • 2 tbsp of tahini

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Start by scrubbing the carrots thoroughly, you don’t need to peel them, just make sure they’re well and truly clean before slicing them in half.  

Add the carrots to a mixing bowl along with the two pealed cloves of garlic and drizzle over 2 tablespoons of your olive oil.

Next sprinkle over a pinch of salt and your teaspoon of zatar and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, give it all a good toss to make sure every piece of carrot is nicely coated and then arrange on your baking tray in a pleasantly hazard manor.

Remove the two cloves of garlic and keep to one side for now, they aren’t going to need as long to roast as the carrots. If any of the oil mix remains in the bowl, just pour this onto the carrots. 

Pop into the oven and leave to roast for around 15 minutes, at this point check on them and add the garlic to your baking tray. Pop back in the over for a further 10-15 minutes until everything looks caramelized and delectable before removing from the oven. Leave to one side to cool.

Once the carrots and garlic have cooled add them to your food processor with your lemon juice, tahini and remaining olive oil. Give it all a whizz until nice and blended, you might at this point need to add in some more olive oil if you feel the hummus is too thick. Give it a taste and season accordingly. If it’s a little sweet for you simply try adding a few further drops of lemon juice.

To serve, spoon into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil before adding a final sprinkling of zatar.

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Ate, Cook

Bitter Sweet Orange.

January 18, 2017

I like to cook dinner for people, it just makes me inexplicably happy. I enjoy a culinary challenge even more. For a number of years now my mum hasn’t been able to wheat; not a welcome ailment for someone with a sweet tooth. When she visits I like to try and cook something she won’t have had before, or at least something she won’t have had in quite some time.

This weekend my head was filled with the promise of spring, a curious thing amidst the snow and biting cold. Perhaps its simply optimism that spring is on the way or maybe it’s just because I bought myself some tulips for the dining table, but either way my head was firmly in the next season. For dessert I wanted to serve something fresh and citrusy, maybe even a little sharp. Over the Christmas period we seem to spend so long eating rich, complex flavours I felt I wanted the total opposite of for this week’s Sunday lunch.

Step forward bitter Seville orange tart. With a few adjustments to a recipe I’d bookmarked with a receipt sometime ago in Simply Nigella, the tart was made wholly appropriate for a celiac with a fondness for dessert. In lieu of a pastry crust there’s a ginger spiced biscuit crust, extra thick for a bit of texture against the creamy curd of the filling. There’s little denying that this is not one the healthier options I’ve cooked. Butter, sugar and a large quantity of eggs feature even if wheat and gluten are entirely missing. I’m not going to claim to have bettered Nigella’s recipe but I definitely don’t feel she’d scoff at the altered rendition. Short, sharp and filled with the promise of a warm spring day, the tart was swiftly demolished by all involved.

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