Bengali Butternut squash with chickpeas

Saw this on tv and decided to try it and I even had all the ingredients in the house - isn't that amazing?! Easy to make, once you've got all the ingredients together.

Ingredients:

3 ysp veg oil; large (? - be careful!)  pinch ground asafoetida; 1 bay leaf; 

1/2 tsp panch phoran = Bengali five spice (or just equal amounts of fenugreek, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, cumin, mustard seeds ); 

1-2 mild dried chilies (or dried chili flakes, which is what I use); 

1 small onion, chopped; 

1/2 tsp turmeric (kunjit); 

2 level (oh, really?) tsp ground cumin (sorry, I only use the seeds these days);

1 heaped tsp ground coriander; 

2 tsp ginger paste; 

500 gr butternut squash (I found a small one which cost 50p and it was perfect - so easy to peel and very few seeds, relatively), cut into 4 cm cubes;

200 ml boiling water (oh, didn't look at this, just put in what was needed!);

200 gr canned drained chickpeas ( I used dried ones and soaked and cooked them); 

1 tsp garam masala;

1 tsp ground (or not!) fennel seeds

salt and sugar to taste.

So, having got all that lot together, the rest is easy:

1. Fry asafoetida, bay leaf, panch phoran and chilies in oil for 1-2 mins
   
2. add chopped onions and coat with spices until softened and golden brown
3. add turmeric, cumin and coriander, salt, sugar and ginger - stir well. Add a splash of boiling water and cook a further minuter or two; 
4. Add butternut squash and more boiling water; bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until squash is tender (approx. 10-15 min)
5. Add chickpeas, garam masala, fennel seeds and water (if necessary)
6. Sir well and cook for a further 1-2 mins to warm through. 
7. Serve immediately, e.g with rice.

Bon appétit!

Moroccan style fruit Couscous

I took this recipe off the label of an M&S salad because it was so yummy. Didn't have all the ingredients so substituted my own...

Cooked turmeric couscous

Chickpeas (obviously), oranges, red onions, raisins, apricots (or dates), sugar, cranberries (craisins), coriander (probably preferably fresh, I used ground), Sunflower, water and Rapeseed oil (olive oil is just fine! - not sure the latter is necessary - depends on your salad dressing.)

Make Honey & Orange dressing:

Lemon juice, soft brown sugar, Wildflower (!) honey (or whatever kind you have), orange juice (or a drop of orange essence), salt, sunflower oil (olive), cinnamon, garlic puree, black pepper, cumin, ginger puree, ground coriander, smoked paprika (a pinch: it's very dominant!), cayenne, turmeric.

Add couscous (I used bulgar wheat, not sure what the difference is) to salad dressing, then the other bits and pieces. Obviously, the quantities are relative: most named first in the list, then the rest. 

This is gorgeous. Bon appétit!

Really Good Brussels Sprouts - 2 ways

Here are two ways of making Brussels sprouts. They are not anything like those overcooked stinky balls of mini-cabbages you're used to seeing!  They are also called "Brussels Sprouts for People Who Hate Brussels Sprouts"! Even Ella likes them.

1. Trim the ends off fresh Brussels sprouts and peel off any leaves that don't look nice. Blanch for a few minutes in boiling water, or cook in the microwave for 2-3 minutes until just tender but still firm (at TJ's, they come in a microwave bag, you just slit it open and cook). You don't want them mushy! When they are cool,  slice them in half lengthwise. If you're feeling lazy or pressed for time, just put them in a ziplock bag with bottled Italian dressing, but the fancier version is olive oil, minced garlic, minced onion, honey, Parmesan cheese, white balsamic vinegar (lemon juice works too), basil, oregano, thyme (or herbes de provence if you prefer). Warm up the honey just a bit so it mixes in with the other ingredients and pour into a ziplock bag with the sprouts. Let marinate overnight. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 475 F and put sprouts on a roasting pan or cookie sheet with just a little of the marinating liquid, otherwise they just sort of poach. Roast for about 20 minutes or until the sprouts caramelize.  

2. Here's a quicker way, less fancy but also delicious. Prepare sprouts as above (trim then blanch or microwave, halve). Make your favorite vinaigrette (mine is minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar, dried or fresh parsley & basil, little bit of mustard). Toss sprouts in this vinaigrette while they are still warm, cover and let sit for an hour or 2 or however long you have; the longer, the more time there is for the vinaigrette to get into the sprouts. Serve at room temp.

Epaule d'Agneau Frottée au Romarin, Anchois et Zeste de Citron

This recipe is for me: I want to be able to access it when I'm in the States at Christmas... it's probably not on either of your diets.

Spread 2.2 kg/5 lbs lamb with paste of: 1 sprig fresh rosemary; zest of 1 organic lemon, 10 filets of anchovies, 3 cloves garlic, 2 tsp whole mustard seed - although I would probably use the real thing, black pepper, 2 tsp balsemic vinegar, 2 tsp olive oil - stand for 3-4 hours;

pre-heat oven to 220degC/430degF.

Add 4 unpeeled garlic cloves and 8 sm tomatoes under and around the meat; place in oven and cook for 30 mins; then lower the heat to 130degC/270degF and cook for another 2 1/2 hrs, basting the meat. Cover with foil if it seems to brown too quickly.

Rest on counter under foil for 5 mins before carving, ladling the juices over farro or bulgar (should you wish to eat that!)

that's the official version, at least. I'll let you know...

Pistachio Biscotti

This is a Weight Watcher's recipe. Looks like something that would be fun to make with the kids and it's vegetarian, for what that's worth, as it's a dessert!

110g/4oz plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

50g/1 3/4 oz low fat polyunsat'd margarine

zest 1/2 orange

75g/2 3/4 oz soft light brown sugar

50g/1 3/4 oz chopped pistachios

1 tsp instant coffee dissolved in 2 tsp hot water (or real!)

1 egg white

*  Pre-heat oven to 180 degC/400F; line baking tray with non-stick banking parchment

* "Sift" (or not!) flour and baking powder into a large bowl; add margarine and rub in until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in orange zest, sugar and pistachios.

* Add dissolved coffee and egg white and knead to a soft dough, adding a little water if it is too dry.

* Shape the dough into a log 5 cm/2 in wide and 5 cm/2 in high. Place on baking tray and bake for 35 mins until golden and firm.

* Remove from the oven and cool for 15 mins. Then cut into 10 slices. Lay them side down on the baking tray and bake again for 10 mins until golden.

Alternatively, use chopped almonds instead of pistachios.

Sounds easy. Must try it.

Butterscotch Cream Cheese Dip

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened (lo-fat ok)

1/4 cup butterscotch ice cream topping

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl; mix with wooden spoon until smooth OR combine ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth. Chill. Serve with fresh fruit - Granny Smith apples cut into wedges are particularly delicious.

cook to impress! - 3 super easy recipes

Okay, the flan can be a bit of work if you really want it to be. But the others are definitely super easy and so compensate, thus the title is justified. These recipes really work the pure taste of good, simple ingredients - and they all look great. You can also use all three of these to make a healthy, light meal. Well, except for the dessert, depending on how much you eat ;)

First: zuppa di zucchini e salmone
Second: torta tricolore
Third: dessert piu facile del mondo ;)

Courgette soup
This has got to be the easiest soup in the world. But it is really tasty and again, with a teeny extra effort, you are sure to impress people with your extraordinary culinary creativity!

- 3 or 4 courgettes
(you can also use more courgettes and less water)
- vegetable bouillon cube
- spring onion or small leek (optional)
- salt and (white) pepper
- smoked salmon
- saté stokjes (sorry, don't know what these are called in English!)
- optional: light cooking cream

Sautee spring onion in a pan in olive oil until translucent. Chop courgette into course pieces, add to pan. Cover. After 10 mins or so, add bouillon cube and water (depending on how much soup you want, but don't add too much to allow for optimal courgette taste; I guess no more than about 1 liter (?)). Taste - if it is too bland add another vegetable bouillon cube. Add white pepper. Puree with staafmixer, add cooking cream if you want. Serve in bowls. Then, as a somewhat pretentious but fun finishing touch: 'thread' a strip of smoked salmon (approx 3 or 4 cm wide) on a saté stokje in a zigzag pattern. Lay one stokje diagonally on each bowl of soup. A tiny dollop of cream in the middle of the soup - and again: so simple, so tasty, and looks great!

Torta tricolore
I am not a big fan of pastry products so I transformed this quiche into a 'flan'. But you can also use filo dough or something to line it, and you can use 1 less egg (maybe). The taste and the color of this flan will definitely impress anyone, it looks really, really great, it's light and very tasty! Apart from the peppers (and even then, see my footnote...), it is super easy to make.

- 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper (paprika)
- 2 pieces of soft goat cheese
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup milk* (approx.)
- 1 cup light slagroom (or just do a bit more milk if you don't want to use this)
- Italian herbs or herbes de provence (of course)
- optional: lightly roasted pine nuts

• Roast and peel paprika's. Cut into very thin, narrow slices and mix colors.**
• Crumble goat cheese into a large mixing bowl, add milk, cream, herbs and eggs, and whip lightly with a fork.
  
• Pour into a greased baking dish. Drop the paprika slices onto flan to get a nice colorful mixed up pattern.
  
• Bake in pre-heated oven on about 180-200 degrees for about 25 mins until it is set (check frequently to make sure it doesn't color too brown as this will ruin the colorful effect - if it is coloring too brown cover with foil). Serve luke warm.
• You can also throw in some lightly roasted pine nuts but make sure not to burn them while roasting (I always, always do!)

Served with for instance a salad of blanched haricot verts, sundried tomatoes (optional: artichoke hearts and pine nuts if you haven't already used the latter in the quiche) and a light dressing of yoghurt-mayonnaise, walnut oil, olive oil, salt and pepper, this makes for a nice light dinner or elegant lunch.

* (literally 1 cup, not the American size because I have no idea how much that is. I kind of just add some milk etc. to get a nice consistency and amount.)
** now that I have kids, I skip this, because it's too much work! Either buy preroasted, or just sautee narrow slices in olive oil until soft. It really doesn't make that much difference.

source: Marielle (this is, of course, a variation of the original)

The easiest dessert in the world
This is a great summer dessert.

1. Buy profiterolles or 'soesjes' (or make them yourself. Yeah right!)
2. Buy strawberries, cherries, blueberries - whatever tasty fruit there is available
3. Put profiterolles on a nice dish
4. Add fruits to dish among the profiterolles, arrange them to look nice together
5. Sprinkle a bit of icing sugar over the top.

This is so tasty, and looks very gezellig. So tell me, is this not the easiest dessert in the world..?