Apple Fest Chutney

As the days become shorter and the air gets a bit colder, autumn is a wonderful time to shift gears. Yesterday at the Portobello Road Apple festival we did just that. As the sun and temperature began to dip we shifted away from some apple based salads and into sampling of our preservables: pickled fennel made with apple cider vinegar and the crowd favourite camelized fennel and apple chutney. We served the chutney on slices of award winning Braeburn, Gala, Jonagored, and Cox Apples from the National Fruit Show. Serving up a nice chutney was a great way to strike up a conversation with some of the thousands of people who tasted our food at the Festival. A chutney elicits strong reactions from its often strong flavours. Strong memories of grandmotherly made jars of chutneys, pickles, and compotes from years gone by. Try this chutney, can a few jars, and get prepared for enjoyable meals during the cold dark and cozy months ahead...

CARMELIZED FENNEL AND APPLE CHUTNEY

Serves ALOT ( be prepared to can and/or give to neighbors and friends)

WHAT YOU NEED

2 T English rapeseed (vegetable) oil

7 Fennel Bulbs (or onion), stalks and core removed, thinly sliced

15 Bramley apples, washed, seeded, and sliced

125g brown sugar

1 t

2 lemon, zested and juiced

2 lime, zested and juiced

1T cumin powder ( or toasted cumin seeds)

50g fresh ginger, grated

1/2 bunch mint leaves, washed and finely chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

WHAT TO DO

1. Heat large saucepot over medium heat, then add rapeseed oil.
2. Add fennel to pot and slowly cook down till wilted and well browned, adding splash of water as necessary to prevent sticking.
3. Add sugar to sauce pot and melt. Then add sliced apples and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
4. Add all other ingredients except mint into pot.
5. Put on very low heat and stir carefully/occasionally until apples are cooked.
6. When ready mix in mint and adjust Seasoning.

MORE DISHES TO WASH

· Serve this with your favourite roast pork or turkey dish.

· Can or freeze the chutney to preserve for the months ahead.

· A great accompaniment to your Ploughman’s!!!!

GETTIN THE LAST CRUMBS FROM OUR APPLE CRUMBLE

Day one of the Portobello Road Market Apple Fest is over and what a wonderful day. Needless to say we ate a few apples, served thousands of people samples and cant wait till tomorrow to try out a few more recipe surprises. Hats off to all the volunteer, from cooks from Flavour Gateway in Tower Hamlets ( check out their food at Weavers Field in Bethnal Green) to Masters in Food Policy students at City University who helped make it all happen.

Today was not just about apple and squashes. It was actually about saving local jobs, local fruit and veg, local cultural history, and reconnecting people with the flavours of the season. Not the flavour one finds in the freezer aisle of the supermarket, or the jarred apple sauce we feed our infants. No. I am talking about the flavour of home made food that is made with skill, but more importantly with lots of love.

Below is a very simple recipe for a wonderful dessert that anyone can make for their friends and family. Give it a try; cook with your loved ones both young and old, and enjoy the process and the "fruits" of your labour!!!!

Apple Crumble

Serves 6

WHAT YOU NEED

Filling

4 large Bramley apples (or other apples/stone fruit) washed and seeded

1 lime (or other citrus) zested and juiced

4 T raisins (or other dried fruit)

1t mixed spice (or just plain Cinnamon)

Crumble

75g whole meal flour

25 g oats

50 g sugar

50 g butter

1 t mixed spice

WHAT TO DO

1. Heat oven to 190 Celsius/375F/Gas mark 5
2. Thickly slice apples and toss with zest and juice of lime, raisins, 1t mixed spice, and place in baking tin.
3. Rub butter into the flour, stir in sugar, oats and mixed spice and rub till crumbly.
4. Cover apples with crumble mixture and press firmly to create a sealed layer over the fruit.
5. Bake in oven for 40 minutes until brown and let rest 10 minutes before serving

MORE DISHES TO WASH

Try serving this with natural yogurt instead of custard.

Try to make a different fruit based crumble for each season.

Mix up your dried fruits, your spices, and your citrus with each crumble.

PORTOBELLO MARKET APPLE FEST PREPARATIONS!!!! THE MAKINGS OF TEN GALLONS OF HARVEST SOUP

One day till the Festival and we began the big preparations. What does that mean? It means dozens of squash to roast, onions and apples to sweat down, seeds to season and roast, vegetable stock to simmer...and generally speaking playing with lots of wonderfully local and seasonal English produce.

If you are in London tomorrow or Saturday, stop on by the Portobello Market and get some free samples of the luscious fruits of our labours...apple crumble ( tomorrows blog recipe), Harvest Squash soup (recipe below), baked apples (yesterdays blog), and of course lots and lots of award winning apples to sample....

HARVEST SQUASH AND APPLE SOUP

Serves 6

WHAT YOU NEED

1 butternut squash, halved and seeded

1 acorn squash, halved and seeded

50g honey (maple syrup or brown sugar can substitute)

1 large onion, peeled and finely diced

1 shallot, peeled and finely diced

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

2 English eating apples, peeled, seeded, and roughly chopped

200ml white wine (or substitute apple juice or apple cider)

1 Litre vegetable stock

1 T English rapeseed oil (or other vegetable oil)

Cinnamon and Salt

WHAT TO DO

1. Heat Oven to 190 C/375 F.
2. Place squash in a roasting pan cut side up.
3. Pour 250ml water in bottom of pan. Pour honey and salt in cut side of squash.
4. Cover pan with aluminum foil or lid and roast till cooked (roughly 1 hour)
5. At same time, sweat onion, shallot, garlic and apple in oil till translucent.
6. Add white wine to onion pan and cook till almost evaporated
7. Peel cooked squash and put the flesh in with the onion mixture.
8. Add enough vegetable stock to cover the squash
9. Simmer for 30 minutes
10. Puree soup till absolutely smooth
11. Finish with cinnamon and salt. Add a splash of lemon juice if necessary.

MORE DISHES TO WASH

· Try making your own stock by cooking down clean trimmings from vegetables and fruits for an hour in a large pot of water...strain and use the liquid for soups and sauces!!!

· Try using different types of squash and pumpkins for this recipe

· Lemon juice and other acidic ingredients can often help balance the flavour of a soup or sauce!!!

APPLE FEST and early am oat inspired confessional

Easy...tasty...and worthy for breakfast, lunch or dinner!!! What could it be but baked apples...

WHAT TO DO

Cut some big ole bramley apples in half...Toss with a bit of mixed spice, a pat of butter and sprinkle of honey or sugar and bake for 1/2 hour at 375 F in a pan spread with 1/2 inch of water or cider. That's it...have with ice cream for dessert. Have with yogurt and walnuts for breakfast. Mash with chopped pickled onions and have a bit on whole meal bread with mature cheddar cheese for a cheese and quick chutney sandwich!!!!

All week I will be blogging apple based recipes. Why? Well come on down to the Apple Fest at Portobello Road market that I am helping to run this weekend and find out how eating apples and other local produce can help your local economy, save a farmer, better your health and enjoy the wonders of local and seasonal products!!!!

MORE DISHES TO WASH ( AKA early morning confessional)

Alright, I only put my soaked oats, yogourt, and baked apple on that nice plate for the photo...I then foolishly tossed it all in a bowl to have as i normally do with a cup of tea and the nytimes online before I ride my bike to work. The truth is good food is worth a bit of effort. But usually like these tasty apples, it takes hardly any effort at all. The only effort is when we all try to get a bit poncy with our food...so slow down, enjoy the apples, eat em if ya got 'em, and if you dont come on by the Portobella Road Market this weekend to get some!

FLAT BREAD PIZZAS

So often what we need is right in front of us. So often our cravings take us to eating that which is unhealthy. The unhealthiness is not of function of the food, but the process and processing that takes place in making the mass produced variety of it...think burger, think kabob, think chicken and chips. Do they all need to be unhealthy, are they by nature unhealthy....NO.

I need pizza. Not the cardboard and canned variety so often seen across my present city, but a healthy one with home grown veggies and a bit of flavour. I live in the U.K.. Don't get me wrong, I love London and its amazing farmers markets, the bounty of seasonal food, the temperate climate. But pizza....NO. Not a fan of the things that pass for pizza here.

I crave thin crust, I crave a bit of homemade sauce. I crave it now. What I crave often leads to late night bad food choices here in London, but this pizza craving is so easily taken care of.

We are talking about flat bread pizza. No fiddling around with rising doughs... just quick simple kneading dough since i need pizza!!!! Flat breads can be made in a pan, in your oven, or as we do on the BBQ. Combined with a BBQ inspired sauce and some cheese and you have pizza faster than it takes for your family to decide on a pizza to order and have it delivered!!!

WHAT YOU NEED

200g ( roughly 1 and 2/3 cups) strong whole-wheat flour

200g (roughly 1 and 2/3 cup) strong white flour

2 pinch salt

60ml ( 1/4 cup) olive oil

240ml (1 cup)water

1T dried mixed herbs

WHAT TO DO

1. Heat pyramid pile of coals in your BBQ and continue recipe (Do not cook over BBQ till coals are glowing grey and you have flattened the pyramid out, banking coals to one side to create a high and low heat area in your BBQ area so you can control your cooking).
2. Sift flours into bowl, add salt, and make a well in the middle.
3. Add oil and water into the “well” and slowly incorporate into dry ingredients.
4. Shape dough into a soft (not sticky) ball, adding bit of water or flour as necessary.
5. Knead on floured surface (or in mixer with dough hook) till smooth and elastic (5 minutes)
6. Let rest for 30 minutes (if you have the time and are not in a pizza frenzy as i can be).
7. Roll out ½ cm/ 1/4 inch thick.
8. Clean and oil the grill rack.
9. Place dough on BBQ for 30 seconds to 1 minute till lightly browned on one side.
10. Flip dough over to uncooked side, quickly brush with sauce and toppings, and cook covered for 30 seconds to one more minute.

MORE DISHES TO WASH

For softer pizza: Place toppings on pizza once dough is placed on BBQ during step 9.

For indoor pizza, crank up your oven to 200 Celsius ( 400 F) and cook with same method albeit a longer cooking time.

Funky summer pizza: roast whole beet root bulbs with fennel seeds, splash of olive oil, and dash of balsamic vinegar. When finished, peel and puree. Saute the beet root greens. On your flat bread pizza spread the beet sauce, layer the greens and then sprinkle with Stilton cheese...

Having a curry, make some of this flatbread pizza better known as Chapatis!!!

Are you gluten free...easy, sub gluten free flour and add a teaspoon of xantham gum to the liquid mix.

Toppings...come on of course use the grill...meatballs, portabella's, courgettes, peppers...you name it...

We almost forgot the easiest sauce ever....on the grill while you are rolling out your dough place a half dozen halved tomatoes ( a splash of olive oil and a crack of black pepper never hurts), and one large onion...cook till charred and soft. Puree this with a garlic clove, a couple tablespoons of tomato paste ( puree) and some fresh herbs...DONE and ready for the BBQ again!!!

So the truth of the matter is in summer, its hot ( okay warm here in London) and I seem to crave real flame focused food. Often beer induced, charcoal crusted cooking outside on the BBQ. No pots to wash, no pans to clean up, just me and the BBQ cooking everything from sauce to dough, side dishes to desserts ( have you marinated a peach ever with lime and lime zest and grilled it??? Try it and serve with some Greek style yogurt with mint!!!!) Crank up the heat and enjoy the BBQ now, today, before the air turns chilly and your cravings turn to the hearty fare of winter....

"GET AT DEM BEANS"

After the fourth of July has passed and its shocking lack of festivities here in London...I started thinking about "American" foods and my brain turned to thoughts of sustainable food staples from other times and places.

Humble foods like Bangladeshi dahl with rice (see blog post from June 2009) or Malian peanut sauce with millet ( see blog post august 2009). Simple, tasty and good old fashion black beans came to mind and all their south of the border convoluted and maladapted influences made me really hungry. The end result was me making one of my favorite summer comfort foods.....black beans served simply with tortillas, salsa and guacamole.

WHAT YOU NEED

2 slices of bacon, fine diced

1 carrot, peeled and fine dice

1 bulb fennel, trimmed and fine dice ( use extra onion if you don't have fennel)

1 stalk celery, washed and fine dice

1 onion, peeled and fine dice

1 pepper, washed and fine diced

1 bay leaf

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2T tomato paste( puree)

2T cumin seeds (toasted if you can)

1 chile pepper, seeded and fine diced

1 tomato fine diced

1/2 bunch coriander, washed and separated into fine diced stems and fine diced leaves

2 cans black beans ( or 2/3 cup dried and then soaked and boiled till soft)

1/2 can or bottle of beer

1 lime

2 stalks, spring onion, washed and finely diced

WHAT TO DO

1. In a sauce pot, sweat bacon over medium heat till fat renders out and bacon is crispy.
2. Add carrot, fennel, celery, onion, pepper, bay leaf and garlic to the bacon and sweat down slowly for 10-15 minutes till soft and translucent. If pan starts to brown donate a splash of beer to it!!!
3. Add the tomato puree and cumin seeds and cook further 3 minutes.
4. Add chile pepper and chopped tomato and cook further five minutes.
5. Add coriander stems and let simmer till this mixture is very dry, soft and roasty looking.
6. Add cooked beans and beer and let simmer 20 minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper if necessary, a squeeze of lime and garnish with the reserved spring onion and coriander leaves.

MORE DISHES TO WASH

As I eluded to at the beginning...beans are a great staple item...cheap and plentiful, and if you do your homework or care to wonder...they are very sustainable in comparison to that big old feedlot beef many think is a staple to their diet. So make them a integral part of your weekly menu is a variety of ways...

1. Served cold and tossed on your salad and eaten with some tortilla chips,
2. Old school London style beans on toast( maybe add 1 T molasses to the finished product)
3. Fry up the leftover beans and mash up for refried beans
4. Roll beans up into a burrito with rice, shredded fresh carrots and onion, salsa, and a splash of cheese
5. Use as a healthy side dish for your grilled pork or lamb chops
6. Serve with some grilled corn and a fresh salad
7. Add some vegetable broth and fresh spinach to the dish and turn into a hearty healthy soup
8. Served with salsa, guacamole and some fresh tortillas

In other words, in the immortal words from Cool Hand Luke....GET AT DEM BEANS!!!!

FRESH and SIMPLE SARDINES

If you are lucky enough to be close to the sea then this is another season to enjoy. Close to London, in Cornwall and elsewhere, the sardines are coming in plump and tasty. This is what I cherish, nice local fresh and tasty fish that gives me all the omega fatty acids i need without buying a silly fish oil pill!!! Sorry, but its true, the fish cost 4 pounds for a kilo, which is ridiculously cheap, and if you buy the pills shipped in from New Zealand or wherever, they cost much more and you still need to cook yourself some dinner...I prefer to swallow my medicine one forkful at a time!!!!

So as part of a nice fresh Friday night meal all on the BBQ, as it was too hot to cook indoors,we made two fish courses...firstly, grilled/BBQ sardines with herbs and then we threw a big ole squid, some peppers, and mushrooms on the BBQ and served that with grilled feta, home made tortillas, and a salsa vinaigrette...

Below is the simple method for grilling sardines on your BBQ:

WHAT YOU NEED

1 kg( 2 pounds) fresh sardines, gutted and rinsed ( head and tail on please)

4 T olive oil

2 sprigs green onion ( or fresh onion and garlic)

1/3 bunch coriander ( or your favorite fresh green herb)

1 lemon ( or any other citrus you desire)

salt, pepper

WHAT TO DO

1. Heat BBQ till mound of coals are grey and hot, push them to one side to form a hot side and a cooler side.
2. While BBQ is heating, rinse sardines, pat dry and sprinkle liberally with salt.
3. In mortar and pestle (or food processor) add chopped up green onion( stems and bulb), coriander, juice of half the lemon and 2 T olive oil...blend till rough paste.
4. After grill is ready, rinse salt off sardines, drizzle with olive oil and fresh salt and cracked pepper.
5. Make sure grill is clean ( with a wire brush or wad of aluminum foil!!!) and then rub some vegetable oil over grill rack to prepare for the fish.
6. Place fish on a moderately hot section of grill and let cook for 2-3 minutes depending on sizes of fish.
7. Flip each fish, brush with a bit more olive oil and finish cooking for 2-3 more minutes.
8. Place on platter with fresh lemon and herb relish and serve immediately.

MORE DISHES TO NOT WASH

1. These are small fish and the spine should pull off in one flick of your fork.
2. Try this method with lots of fish this summer....grilling/bbq with simple fresh herbs and citrus is a great way to enjoy a hot summer.
3. Think ahead and BBQ some veggies as well...asparagus, peppers, bok choy, tomatoes....and serve with a simple vinaigrette ( lemon, herbs, olive oil, s,p)
4. We made fresh tortillas and often make flat breads on the grill...i will save this for an upcoming post...but any bread on the BBQ/grill with a splash of olive oil is a wonderfully easy treat!!!

GOOSE BUMPS

WHAT AM I THINKING???
I hide away for nine months, incubating food thoughts, training hundreds of school chefs, young moms, nutritionists, social enterprise managers, and the like, and I return to the blog with a picture of goose fat taken on a vacation last month in Budapest ?!?!?!?!

Am I having recollections of the goose that laid the golden fat...or am i trying to remind us of the real look of what we love( deep deep down within). Admit it, we all have a bit of a vice ... we all love it...saturating our cheese, creating our mayonnaise, layering our cakes, filling our sundae's, oiling even our omega favoured fish, scooped out of our avocados, and being used each and every day in hundreds of ways. So what gives?

I overdosed...yes...the fat was just toooooo much...the goose platter of goose cracklins, goose liver pate, goose fat spreads, and then the goose oozing out of me as I sat in the steam rooms of the Budapest spas...But even as we try to cut back, I am not cutting cold turkey(or goose) or attempting to eliminate fat nor flavour from food. But how to make a simple sauce, richly flavoured , creamy textured, but healthy with lower fat and lowered salt?


WHITE SAUCE/BECHAMEL/CREAM SAUCE... call it what you will, we will make a basic quick and easy, cheap and cheerful item that can be your goto pasta white sauce, your lasagna filling, fish or chicken finishing sauce and so much more. This is the recipe I have passed on to hundreds of chefs...not a new creation but a remembrance of old school methods long forgotten. Working with school chefs each and every week, not only teaching, but creating dialogue of what can be done with the food and the future generations that they feed, how to make it simple, tasty, cheap, and healthy. Making the sauce with no gluten, lowering the saturated fat, no added salt, and lots of added flavour all within five minutes...i may have O.D.ed on the fat, but i am not having hallucinations...trust me.


WHAT YOU NEED

2 Tablespoons corn flour ( corn starch)
300ml/½ English pint semi skimmed(2%) milk
50g/2 oz/ mature cheddar ( or your other strong cheese), grated
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard (or less if too spicy)

WHAT TO DO
1. Put corn flour/starch in measuring jug
2. Add a little cold milk to make a paste
3. Add the rest of the milk and stir.
4. Pour into saucepan and bring to a low boil . Turn stove top to low heat, stirring sauce continuously with a whisk or wooden spoon. If the sauce thickens too quickly, add a few teaspoons of milk or water to thin out again. As it thickens, take off heat and continue stirring.
5. Add the mustard and grated cheese and cover with cling film (to prevent skin from forming)

MORE DISHES TO WASH:
This is a great simple white sauce to use with pasta and your tuna past bake( tuna noodle casserole for those on the west side of the Atlantic!), the binding sauce for a old school fish pie, for lasagna or with so many easy adjustments to use with what you have at hand, such as....

Follow Steps 1 - 4 of the recipe and then add one of the following to flavour the sauce:

• carmelized onions and garlic
• saute of mushrooms deglazed with red wine
• home made pesto
• simply fresh herbs and good grind of black pepper

Or for dessert, after step four of the recipe ...add 1 tsp vanilla essence and 2 Tablespoon sugar to make a vanilla custard sauce, add cocoa powder as well for a chocolate sauce...all with semi- skim milk !!! Great with crumbles, cakes, and cookies!!!

A lower fat sauce with no gluten, no annoying step of making a roux, no time, no problems and an ability to make sauce for dinner and dessert at the same time...that's a no brainer! Enjoy the new recipes, review last summers blog entries for ideas, and get into the summer swing of things with lots of slowfood and fast cookin...

FIVE A DAY FRUIT AND VEG.....CAKE

Well yes, I know I have been absent lately. Like all of us I am busy busy...so busy i could not even take a picture of my lovely carrots i pick up at Hackney city farm each week...still dirty, still tasting of the earth, still in need of lots of cleaning... So yes you got a "stock photo" But with the carrots I get...so fresh, so flavourful, it would be a shame to just make veg or chicken stock out of them...no not these carrots...with these I have been working on a fab gluten free, low fat recipe for carrot cake!!!

I know, its summer, we all try to get outside, do all sorts of activities and pack everything in before the suns goes away till next May...so why bake cakes inside when i could just eat fresh fruit and make trifles and stay in the sun...Not sure!!! I love fresh fruit, and please buy and eat as much as you can while its ripe, local and cheap...but i must say...I felt inspired to make a cake for the courses I teach...I need to do a bit of baking that not only is fresh and healthy but portionable, packable, and very kid friendly!!! So before i have my last lil bit of summer with a trip to southwest France with friends, I wanted to pass on this great, simple, and healthy carrot cake recipe that I have been working on for some of the communities I cook with/for. And how do you know its good...its been eaten too fast to take pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PREP

400g ( 3 cups) flour ( we use gluten free) SIFTED PLEASE

1.5 t baking soda ( bicarbonate of soda)

2 t baking powder

1 t salt

2 t mixed spice powder

250 g (1.5 cup) sugar

4 eggs, beaten

100 ml( 1/3 cup) vegetable oil

250 ml(1 1/3 cups) applesauce

300g ( 3 cups) carrots , peeled and grated

250g ( 1 cup) pineapple chunks, fresh

75g ( 1/2 cup) chopped nuts ( pecans or walnuts will do)

150 g ( 8oz) low fat cream cheese

150g (1/2 cup) powdered sugar

low fat yogurt

WHAT TO DO

1. Preheat oven to 190 C ( 375 F)
2. Grease two round ( or one large rectangle) baking tins.
3. Sift dry ingredients ( flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and mixed spice) in a bowl with sugar.
4. Mix eggs with applesauce, oil, pineapple, carrot and walnuts in a large bowl.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet and fold gently. Do not over mix
6. Pour cake batter into baking tin and bake for 40 minutes in center of oven.
7. Check if cake is done by putting a thin wooden skewer into cake and observe if batter sticks to skewer, if so the cake is not done. If skewer comes out dry then you and the cake are golden!!
8. Remove cake from oven and let cool in tin.
9. Combine cream cheese and sugar into your icing and you may sub in some low fat yogurt for some cream cheese to this if you want a thinner and even lower fat icing that will be looser less hard.
10. If you want to layer the icing between the cakes, let cake cool completely, make sure icing is quite stiff ( refrigerate for an hour) and then spread thoroughly, refrigerate again and then enjoy!!!

MORE DISHES TO WASH

Need a quick dessert while having a bbq...grill some peaches and then serve with honey and mint tossed yogurt.

Or as we did in our Dad BBQ cookery that I teach...slice a banana down the middle (in the skin) toss in some chunks of dark chocolate and put it on your still smoldering bbq/grill and cook till soft and gooey on inside and charred black on the skin ( I got this recipe from a friend I must confess,...but its too easy and good to not pass on!!!)...

Simple...fresh fruit and veg my friends...tis the season...eat them while you can...and can them for when you cant!!!

Old School Comfort Food ...MALI STYLE

TIGA DIGA NA...,Most of you out there are already confused, but let me enlighten you on another joy of the peanut. It is a survival food for many folks in West Africa, that which is eaten raw, roasted, made into oil, and after having spent a couple years living in Western Mali, I at times besides yearning to be back there living... simply crave my staple food...Tiga Diga Na...which translates to Peanut butter sauce. Its what I often ate twice a day, and sometimes in the village of Manantali where I lived, during Ramadan (which is what spurred this memory food) we would even have it for a quick pre sunrise breakfast.

This is a very simple protein rich meal that can be served over rice or creamy polenta( a western version of a corn meal mash called Kaba toh), but mostly I ate it every day over millet, not the wonderfully light couscous like millet we all should be eating each and every day/week since its a grain that also gives you super amounts of protein, but whole millet, unhusked and cooked down to a thick porridge consistency. Please try this recipe and serve it with whatever whole grain you have. And unlike most people eating this in rural West Africa, try to serve it with some extra veggies!!! Because unlike the folks living there, you have access to all the vegetables you NEED, and simply most of us don't WANT to eat them.

WHAT YOU NEED

1 T vegetable oil

1 onion, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1/2 inch fresh ginger, smashed

1 T Tomato paste ( puree in the UK)

1 tomato chopped

1/4 of a small cabbage, sliced

1 cup peanut butter ( all natural, no added sugar or anything...just smooth nuts friends!!!)

3 cups vegetable stock ( depending on consistency desired)( can use bouillon cube with water for ease of use and its actually what everyone does in the village!)

1 Habenero chile pepper ( whole, uncut)

1 dried fish ( I actually used a smoked herring) but you could use any fish or try 1-2 cups stewing beef, lamb or chicken

Fresh lime

s,p

WHAT TO DO

In hot pan over medium heat add oil and then sweat down onion, garlic, ginger for 10 minutes till translucent ( add water if necessary to prevent burning...50 ml at a time)

Once very soft, add tomato past and cook this down for 3 more minutes.

Add tomatoes and cabbage and cook 5 minutes till softened ( again, add a bit of water as necessary)

Add dried fish to pan and coat with flavours.

Add warm vegetable stock to pan and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Add peanut butter to pan and use spoon or large whisk to dissolve it into the liquid.

Bring to simmer, add Habenero and cook over low heat for 30 minutes or until oils from your peanut butter start to separate onto the top of your sauce...

Taste sauce and finish with salt, pepper, a squeeze of lime and a dash of chili powder if you like.

Serve individually or as the photo above shows, communally with cleaned fingers ready for steaming hot goodness!!!

MORE DISHES TO WASH

Serve this dish over your whole grain and use the habenero like a sponge in reverse ( squeeze it into your area of food and push the heat onto the grain)

Often people serve with greens ...like fengruk, but you could try shredded kale or chard added in before adding the peanut butter and letting it simmer till really really soft.

One could add a small portion of dried or smoked fish to the sauce and then serve sauce with a grilled/bbq fish as well.

IF you want to use unhusked millet, soak it over night, then drain, toast the kernels and simmer one part millet to 3 parts water, until cooked and softened to your liking (you can always drain it if you don't want it too creamy and desire it more like a fluffy rice texture).

If desirous of using meat, I would add the meat (seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder) first to the pan, get it nice and browned and then continue with the recipe. The smaller the cuts of meat, the faster it will cook, the larger, the longer it will take ( this may necessitate a bit more water in your sauce to keep from burning). The key is to allow the meats to cook till fork tender, so slow and low is the tempo!!!

Na Duminike!!!!

Millet stuffed portabellas

I love millet. There I said it. Not many people love this amazing grain; and me, i am damn proud of my love. I guess a couple years living in a small village in western Mali eating it every day converted me. So honestly, I really love my millet...big millet with the husk on it cooked forever until its sticky like risotto, small lil millet that cooks like rice, fonio ( the lil -lil guys i can only find in Mali), etc.....so the other day i was searching for big old millet and no one had it ( i should have checked at a shop selling bird food a friend said!!!), except for an Indian grocer who said they sold this type to grind into flour for a type of chapati...well well...millet chapatis...soon enough soon enough...but for now let me make an new foray into millet for the non lovers of this amazing, super protein dense whole grains!!!!

PREP

1 cup pearl millet ( large grains with husk/shell still on) soaked over night in water. (or use any other leftover cooked grain such as rice, quinoa, millet, barley, and skip the grain cooking steps!!!!)

4 portabella, stems removed ( save for stuffing)

1 small head fennel, fine dice

1 red pepper fine dice

portabella stems, small dice

1 zucchini, fine dice

2 cloves garlic

2 T tomato paste

4 T Grana Padana, or any other hard cheese, grated

EVOO

s,p

1 T toasted fennel seeds, ground

1/2 t toasted chili flakes, ground

WHAT TO DO

1. Preheat oven to 375 ( 190 c)
2. Drain your soaked millet and put in a medium sauce pan over high heat.
3. Heat 4 times the amount of water as you have millet and pour over millet( let millet get a light toast on it before adding water) cover, simmer over medium heat, and cook till water has evaporated
4. In hot saute pan add oil then sweat down the red pepper, fennel and mushroom stems.
5. After vegetables have softened, add courgette ( zucchini) and garlic and cook a further five minutes.
6. Add dried spices and toss to coat.
7. Add tomato paste and cook a further 2 minutes .
8. Check the millet, are the kernels fully cooked through ( is there still water, then drain, not enough water then add a bit more...its that easy)
9. Toss vegetables with millet. Then add in cheese and season with salt and pepper and a splash of extra virgin olive oil ( EVOO).
10. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes ( more if using unheated leftover grains) until warmed through and a bit toasty on top.

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I served this with a roast cauliflower puree (recipes on the blog, 28 June 2009) that was a combination of the recipe for roasting the cauliflower, then pureeing!!! That and a nice green salad will give you a healthy vegetarian summer meal with more protein than you could have believed ( millet truly is a super grain).

Use regular millet as you would rice. I simply heat a pan, add 1 part millet( of the yellow variety more common to your supermarkets) and once toasted, pour over just under two parts boiling water, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then fluff the grain with a fork and you have a substitute for couscous that actually is a whole grain ( couscous is merely a very small form of pasta) and so tasty.

Get your five a day...in your pancakes!!!

I have been trying so hard to get my five fruit and vegetables each and every day...and most days its not so bad...fruit with cereal for breakfast, some veg at lunch, fruit for a snack...and a couple bits for dinner...but sometimes you find a nice way to get a bunch a 'dem veggies in a way you are not expecting...in some crispy, spiced pancakes!!! Oh, so easy, so tasty...zucchini, carrot and corn pancakes...

PREP

400 grams ( 3 cups) shredded courgettes ( zucchini)

300 g ( 2 cups ) shredded carrot

200 g ( 1 cup) grilled corn kernels ( char the whole ears either by grill under your broiler, or on bbq and then slice em off...)

1 red onion shredded

1 bunch green onion, fine diced

8 T flour

1 t baking powder

3 eggs

1 T fennel seeds, toasted and crushed

1/2 t chili flakes, toasted and crushed

s,p

2 T vegetable oil

WHAT TO DO

1. Combine zucchini, carrot, and red onion and leave in a colander with a weight over it (plates with a can of beans, anything to help press out liquid) until the vegetables release some water (30 minutes is fine, 2 hours is fantastic)
2. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, spices, baking powder, and eggs. Mix to a smooth paste.
3. Add in all the corn, green onion and other vegetables and mix to coat.
4. Heat a large fry pan over medium high heat and then add enough oil to lightly cover the bottom of pan.
5. Fry vegetable pancakes (you can make very small ones, or one super size pancake...but eight average size cakes can be made from this recipe) 2 minutes on both sides till well browned.
6. Remove browned pancakes from pan and place on a baking sheet.
7. Finish cooking in a warm oven at 375 F ( 190C) or let cool, freeze and finish cooking in oven next time you are in need of a helping hand toward your five a day!!!

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Of course any vegetable that shreds can be used in these pancakes...beets would be colorful and well served to serve with a saute of beet greens...spinach can be fine chopped and tossed in and be a tasty addition to any meal...wow, you could even go back to basics and throw some potato in 'em!!!

I say, Load up the veg and serve these pancakes with a quick stew of chickpeas and Swiss chard or under a seasonal ratatouille!!!As well no one would complain if you made some roasted red pepper and chive flecked sour cream to dollop on top.

Or have them with what we had sunday night...fennel and chili crusted lamb chops on the bbq, asparagus, and a roasted pepper, corn and pickled fennel salsa. And with that you would be as happy as we were Sunday night sitting out overlooking the streets of East London and savoring our sunday pancakes for dinner!!!

Sunday chicken and a citrus jus...Part II

Now that we have made the braising liquid ( see blog post part 1 of Sunday chicken and a citrus jus) its time to cook our chicken two ways, from Sunday.

We will be using two simple techniques: braising (cooking of a product in a flavoured liquid) of the chicken legs and pan roasting (searing a product in a pan and then transferring it to the oven to cook by the dry heat of the oven) of the breasts.

The two techniques work wonderfully. Braising is one of my favorite things to do. With braising one puts a tougher cut of meat or veg: lamb shanks, pork shoulder, endive, fennel, bone in fish steaks such as salmon, med sea bass, etc...in a liquid and when it finishes its tender as can be. With pan roasting one gets a nice sear ( you can also simply put your oven really high at first and then lower it after the item is browned, but i like the control of browning the product in a pan) on the fillet of snapper, pork chop, lamb tenderloin, NY strip steak, etc...and then finish it in the oven for a perfectly cooked piece of meat to your exact temperature desires!!!!

But lets get the bird in the oven!!!!

PREP

1 Chicken, quartered (see previous blog posts on how to perform this)

Chicken stock, heated and prepared from chicken trimmings (see previous post)

1/4 of an onion, medium dice

1/4 of a carrot, medium dice

couple celery tops, large dice (as you can see we need scrap bits, so use what you got)

1 T tomato paste

1 t whole spices, you choose your mix, fennel , peppercorns, cumin, etc...

1 clove garlic, smashed

1/2 inch ginger, sliced

Splash of wine or water

1 piece of citrus sliced up thinly

Fresh herb stems(parsley, coriander, thyme, rosemary...whatever flavour you want to impart, and that's in your fridge)

WHAT TO DO

1. Turn oven on to 375F ( 190C) and heat up a large frying pan (oven safe if possible) over high heat.
2. Season your chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add 2 T oil to the pan.
3. Sear chicken pieces on all sides (as in picture above) to golden brown.
4. Remove chicken pieces from pan and add in the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook for two minutes to start browning.
5. Add dry spices and toast for 30 seconds and then add tomato paste and 1/2 the citrus slices and stir to coat all ingredients.
6. Cook for one more minute, browning, not burning (if need be turn down stove top) and then add a splash of liquid (leftover wine, beer, water) to help scrape up any of the wonderful flavours in the pan.
7. Add this all to the bottom of a small casserole dish and place the chicken legs on top of them ( see the photo above showing a nice small casserole that is a perfect fit for the amount of product to be cooked) and pour over enough stock to almost cover the chicken legs.
8. Cover the casserole with tin foil and put in oven for roughly one hour ( this depends on size of legs, amount of stock to chicken, size of casserole,etc...so the key is to check after a half hour or so and keep cooking till the legs are fork tender. We want a leg that almost, just almost falls off the bone it is so tender, but stays together for appearance sake!!!!)
9. After 1/2 hour in the oven add slices of citrus to your original pan ( or any oven safe sheet tray) and place your two chicken breasts on top ( place them on top of the citrus slices or any random bits of fennel, onion, or other flavour enhancer you want out of your refrigerator).
10. Cook the breasts till the juices run clear which should be about 15 minutes ( depending again on size of breasts but also how long you seared them for...the longer you cooked them on the stove top, the shorter time in the oven)
11. Hopefully if its a perfect world, your chicken breasts will finish cooking and then be allowed to rest for 5-10 minutes ( redistributes juices) before you pull out the legs. And thus you will have a perfectly timed full chicken.
12. The big final step is to strain the now uber flavourful chicken braising liquid into a fry pan and reduce it by half to help thicken the jus ( no need for flours, starches,etc) and concentrate the flavour. Taste the sauce, does it need a pick me up ( add a squeeze of citrus juice), a touch of salt, a grind of pepper?
13. Now cut your chicken up into smaller pieces ( separate drumstick from thigh along the joint, and also cut the breast in half as well) and serve.

You now have a wonderfully whole chicken to feed your family and friends with a tasty jus made from all the scraps!!! So toss a bird in the oven and enjoy the simple and economical pleasure of cooking from scratch!!!

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Many people remove the bone from the breast plate after cooking so the lower half has no bones and the upper does. The same goes for removing the thigh bone. This is the way some restaurants then serve the chicken..each person receiving a portion of light meat and dark meat and one having bone and one without...ah screw it...bone in flavour is where its at!!!

Another quick tip is to make this meal ahead of time, but stop at the part of putting the chicken breasts in the oven. Simply sear the breasts and cook the legs as directed above. Then strain the finished jus, cool the cooked legs and refrigerate till needed. When guests or family are ready for dinner simply pour your finished warm jus over the chicken legs and put them in the oven for 15 minutes and return as well the seared breasts to the oven. This is how to have friends over for a roast dinner and not be sitting in the kitchen all night fussing and cleaning!!! Put your roast veg in the oven as well and all that you should need to do is toss a salad and maybe saute some fresh veg!!! Simple, easy, and time saving...that's what cooking should be...oh yes i almost forgot...TASTY!!!!!