Chestnut & Quinoa Stuffed Butternut Squash

 

Update : Proud - this post won the Spice Trail Challenge themed my body is a temple -see round up here loads more healthy recipes.

#No Meat Monday or Meat Free Monday are initiatives part of a movement going back to early 2000 which aims at gently limiting our meat consumption on a regular basis. It's also a way of introducing vegetarian recipes in our diet or for vegetarian an opportunity to be exposed and explore different ingredients.

 

This recipe makes use of chestnuts, quinoa and pomegranate seeds. Three delicious ingredients which are often overlooked as they are unusual. What I call "curious ingredients"

 

Personally, I love chestnuts. A little bit annoying  that they make a brief appearance  at Christmas time only. I'd like to see more of them on menus. Of course, there is a "little" inconvenient: they are difficult to prepare. But where there is a will... there is a call for vacuum-packed chestnuts.

 

Quinoa which I associate with Gwyneth Paltrow's because there was a lot of nauseating  hype  around the tiny nutty tasting grain when she promoted her cook-book. For that totally irrational reason and for a while, I refused to try out quinoa, a silly thing to do as it's really full of flavour. This pulse is slightly expensive but it's really worth a try.

 

Pomegranate a favourite in Middle-Eastern cuisine always peps up recipes. Once the fruit is opened the seeds can be used in salads or as snacks. Which leads me to this recipe found in Morrison's magazine and adapted.

It originally uses 2 butternut squashes which is quite a lot, one only was plenty for 2 people but I kept all the other ingredients the same so it's packed with flavours. You might be left with extra stuffing, note that it's delicious on its own, warm it up the next day, that's lunch taken care of. 

 

Chestnuts 'n Quinoa Stuffed Butternut Squash

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash, halved (see last paragraph of the post)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

200g ready-prepared vacuum-packed chestnuts, roughly chopped

2 tbsp fresh sage, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp cranberry sauce

125g quinoa

2 tbsp shelled pistachios, roughly chopped

75g pomegranate seeds

Fresh coriander leaves

 

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6. Scoop the seeds out of the squash and score the flesh. Place cut side up on a baking tray, drizzle with half the oil and season. Cook for 40-45 minutes.
2. Heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion until softened. Stir in the garlic and chestnuts, cook for a minute then add the sage, cumin, cinnamon and cranberry sauce and cook for another 30 seconds.
3. Put the quinoa into a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and stir into the onion mix with the nuts and all but 1 tbsp of the seeds.
4. Once the squash are done, scoop out the flesh leaving just the shell. Chop the flesh and add to the quinoa mixture, then spoon back into the shells and bake for 10 minutes. To serve, scatter with the remaining seeds and coriander.

As this recipe is really popular with Pebble Soup's readers, I am sharing it with my favourite bloggers' challenge

This month the theme is challenge is Temple Food… as in my body is a temple. I think this recipe will fit right in.

Yam and Pumpkin Moussaka

You just have to try this yam and pumpkin Moussaka recipe, it needs a little planning, the list of ingredients being slightly involved: pumpkin, red onions, yellow squash, mint, parsley and yam but the result tastes delicious.

At first,  I was contemplating sliding this post in the Curious Ingredients series, not for the yam but the pumpkin. You would think that yam is a tricky vegetable to purchase but not at all. The surprise came from pumpkin. Imagine, I was told by the not so knowledgeable vegetable shop-keeper around the corner that pumpkins are out of season at the end of November. Only one natural conclusion can be drawn from that: "pumpkin is a decoration and not a vegetable". Contrary to yam which can be found all year around though not at all ecologically friendly.

Now pay attention, here come the encyclopedic bit: Yam is extremely versatile. It can be barbecued roasted fried grilled, boiled smoked. I remember it from the Filipino and strikingly purple dessert: halo, halo. Yam means to sample, to chew or to eat depending on the language.

The variety of yam you are likely to come across in the UK is not purple but has an ugly dark brown skin and beige flesh. The skin is supposed to be hard to peel but often is not. I wondered if is because, by the time yam gets to our markets it is not freshest of vegetables any longer.

Taste wise it is slightly slimy. I am conscious now that I should not apply for the yam PR job however used in this recipe yam is good. Its function is to replace the potato and soak up all the extra oil that moussakas even vegetarian ones produce.

Yam and Pumpkin  Moussaka

Serves 2/3

Ingredients

For the  béchamel:

25g butter

30 g all-purpose/plain flour

300ml  of whole milk

1 large eggs, lightly beaten

250g Greek feta cheese

100g grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

For the vegetables:

olive oil for sauteéing

2 large red onions, coarsely chopped

flour for dusting

1 pound or 500 g of pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into smallish pieces

1 pound or 500 g of yellow squash, trimmed but not peeled, and cut lengthwise

1 pound or of yams, peeled and cut into medium slices

salt and pepper

1 handful or chopped fresh mint

2 handful of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method
Make a bechamel by heating the butter in a small pan, add the flour and whisk vigorously don't let it brown add the milk a little at the time as you carry on whisking, I often use the hand blender.
when the mix is creamy add the cheese turn the heat off, season to taste don't forget the nutmeg and reserve

Prepare the vegetable
Caramelise the onions: in a saucepan on hot, add a tablespoon of oil when hot, add the onions, stir well, and reduce the heat and leave to cook for 15 minutes or until the onions have coloured a little.

While this is cooking dust the pumpkin and the yellow squash with flour
shallow fry the pumpkin, reserve. Repeat with the yellow squash
add oil to the pan and saute the yam: place the yam slices in hot oil and cook until brown at the edges.

Assemble the moussaka
In a large ovenproof dish
layer first all the yam, salt, pepper, one third of herbs
then the onions and pour bechamel to cover
now for the pumpkin, more herb, more bechamel
last the squash, the rest of the ingredients

This recipe and adapted from the excellent Zester daily

Curious Ingredients- Preserved Lemon 2- & Artichoke bottoms

Now that I had found preserved lemons, a whole jar of them, and so far used just a couple, I needed new recipes. Whom better to turn to than Claudia Roden. Claudia is THE Middle-Eastern food specialist and has been so for 30 years, so I could not go wrong. With spring being more like autumn, a warm salad was in order. The other curious ingredient which lurked in my kitchen was a can of Artichoke bottoms that I inherited.

Last month, Sue, from across the garden, moved to Toronto, her generous legacy means that a lot of new ingredients are now wandering in my kitchen. They come out of the cupboards are pondered over and go back in. The recipe for "Artichoke and broad bean salad with preserved lemons" can be found on http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/artichokeandbroadbea_81561.shtml. Great, it was going to take care my "curiousest ingredients" + It also contained my "favorite", well,one of them: broad beans. It is very tasty, perfect for a rainy spring day.

Curious Ingredients :Spice-crusted Venison

Let's start a new decade with an unusual ingredient. Venison is deer meat. It is a meat, low in fat with a rich, strong flavour. Like a lot of people, I am not sure about eating deer. According to autie Beeb (the BBC) Deer can be classified as wild deer, park deer (reared in herds that roam park-lands) or farmed deer (rearing varies from free-range to intensive). Obviously, the preferred option is farmed free-range but I have to admit that I acquired this knowledge after cooking and eating the Venison fillets, in question. However, you will have not excuse.

I have never been crazy about the taste of venison but I do like this recipe which bring up all sorts of well-combined flavours, plus it is rather quick to prepare.

This dish contains juniper berries. Now, it is unlikely that your spices rack includes them. the only reason, I have some is thanks to Sue who bequested the content of her pantry to me when she moved to Toronto.

Here is what Auntie Beeb says about this other curious ingredient: "The spicy, aromatic, dark berries of the juniper tree can be used fresh or dried, crushed or whole, to flavour casseroles, marinades and stuffings and complement pork, rabbit, venison, beef and duck. They can also be used in sweet dishes such as fruitcake. Juniper berries also provide the main flavouring for gin."

Yeh, one for the shopping list, it lasts for ever and adds a lot of flavour to a dishes such as casseroles.

Spiced-crusted Venison

Ingredients

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp juniper berries

1 tbs caraway seeds

sea salt and pepper

a thin venison steak per person

if you were to do the reduction

2 tsp cranberry or redcurrant jelly

150 ml red wine

Method

Grind the spices together in a blender or with a mortar.

 Season the venison with salt, coat in the spices,

Heat a non-stick friying pan

Place the steaks, spiced-side down in the pan and cook over a high heat for 2 minutes

for the reduction

Tansfer the steaks in a warm plate

Pour the wine in the pan stirring well to grab all the juices

add the jelly sea salt and pepper stir until syrupy

pour the sauce over the steak just before serving

Curious Ingredient Number 3 : Paneer

Paneer: You have seen it in the cheese section of your supermarket, you may well have gone as far a picking it up and putting it down. It looks like a slab of...well a slab of...my best description is: "a slab of", it is off white, it is cheese, it is very popular in Indian cuisine. Unlike other cheeses, it does not taste very much when raw and does not have a strong taste when cooked but has a nice and soft texture. Paneer is used in a myriad of ways and Pebble Soup readers' in India might want to comment and give us ideas or alternatively here is what good old Wikipedia says about paneer.

I often buy paneer it keeps for a long time unopened in the fridge and makes a welcome change to the same old menus. Curious ingredients have this ability to turn dreary shopping lists into somewaht rather exciting daily feasts.

As mentioned earlier there are numerous ways of cooking paneer, but I have only know 1 recipe which I found in the Hairy Bikers' cook book. Don't worry if you don't have all the ingredients there are 3 main ingredients here: Paneer, semoulina and spinach, the rest can be swaped, replaced by similar or simply dropped.

Crunchy Palak Paneer

Ingredients

For the sauce
2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
7.5cm/3in piece root ginger, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 whole red or green chilli
1 tsp salt
1 x 400g/14oz can tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tsp sugar
500g/1lb 2oz fresh spinach, washed

2tbsp water

For the paneer
2 tsp garam masala
50g/1¾oz semolina
200g/7oz paneer, cut into 1cm/½in cubes
vegetable oil, for shallow frying
small handful coriander leaves, finely chopped, to garnish
1 tsp lemon juice

Method

1. For the sauce, heat the ghee or oil in a saucepan, add the onion and cook for about three minutes until soft. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for a further minute.
2. Add the ground cumin, ground coriander, ground turmeric, whole chilli and salt.

Tip : Cooking spices releases their flavour
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and sugar and simmer for ten minutes.
4. Meanwhile, turn your attention to the main ingredient: paneer,

Pplace the garam masala and semolina in a large bowl and mix well add the cubed paneer in and coat well.
5. In a Frying pan or a wok, eat the oil add the coated paneer and fry until crisp and golden.
7. Add the washed spinach and two tablespoons of water to the tomato sauce, stir in and cook until the spinach wilts.
8. Fold the paneer into the sauce.
9. To serve, garnish with the coriander and squeeze over the lemon juice.

At Pebble soup, we loved this recipe so much that it fast became a dinner favourite which I would like to share with the readers of Bangers and Mash via #TheSpiceTrail challenge.
 

Yuzu Curd : Curious Ingredients Series

Yuzu curd is a recipe for all the people who like their fruit preserves sharp and zingy with a touch of exotic. Yuzu is a fruit originally from Japan.

Taste wise it is a cross between a tangerine, lemon and grapefruit with a strong resemblance to the latter. It used widely by chefs as it gives an element of surprise when added to any dish.

I came across it when asked to develop unusual chocolate truffle recipes. The yuzu truffles where my favourite of the lot, on account of yuzu's sharpness but also its floral undertone.

Superfruit: I am not a fan of the terminology but, facts are facts Yuzu contains three times more vitamin C than a lemon. Kellie at Food to Glow which is my go to place when I need help on food and health has over 10 recipes using this small and orange coloured fruit. I raise my case.

How to source Yuzu is far less difficult than it was three years ago when it hit the West. It's still expensive and if you want to buy it fresh to use the zest you will need to go to an Asian supermarket. Thought, if you can get away with the juice only it's better to buy a 100ml bottle.

Having made the truffles and delighted a friend with them for his birthday, I was left with 3/4 of a Yuzu bottle so I opted for curd. It makes a nice change at breakfast time. The recipe is more or less the same as a lemon curd recipe.

Yuzu Curd

Ingredients
80ml Yuzu juice
50g of butter, cubed
100g of caster sugar
2 egg yolks
You will also need a bowl to fit snugly in a saucepan for the bain-marie. 

Method

1. Place the yuzu juice, cubed butter and sugar in the bowl. Fill the saucepan with enough water to go up half way of the bowl. Sit the bowl on top of the  pan and stir until the butter has melted. Make sure that the water never overflows in the bowl
2. Add the egg yolks to the bowl and continue stirring over a gentle heat for 10–12 minutes, or until the curd has thickened to a custard-like consistency. Refrigerate. Don't worry if the curd seems a little loose as it will continue to thicken as it cools.

Curious Ingredient: Preserved Lemon -1-

While away from my blog, I have been busy writing book reviews. Fickle? may be, but I did have fun, made lots of contacts renewed the sources of inspiration, ferreted for ingredients that would spice my recipes and came across preserved lemons.

I have always wanted to try them on. They were not easy to locate, Phil had mentioned that he spotted some in Tesco's but it was Delia who came to the rescue. As I was reviewing her latest book, I spotted a jar of them, now that I new what the packaging looked like it would be much easy. Armed with a mental image and a brand. Belazu. I started the hunt again.

Belazu, "the Mediterranean food and ingredients retailer" started as a company 8 years ago, they seem to be some of the good guys reinvesting in well worth to fight for causes. You will find their products in supermarkets such as Sainsbury, Waitrose, Tesco, you can also buy direct, they encourage to team up with others which is nice since it reduces the transport impact on the environment.

Now that I had my curious ingredient I got cracking on that Moroccan chicken recipe as seen in Delicious and amended according to availability and mood.

Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemon and Chickpeas

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 chicken thighs and 2 drumsticks

2 preserved lemons, quartered
100g cooked chickpeas

1 red onion

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 garlic gloves

6-8 green olives (that I did not use)
275 ml dry white wine

coriander leaves to finish
salt & pepper to taste
Mix of spices as follows

1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp cardamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp chili powder

2 tsp brown sugar

salt

Pepper

Method

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a casserole and when it is very hot stir-fry the onion (chopped) for 5 minutes

Mix the spices all together

Half the spices blend and mix that half with the rest of the oil, make cuts in the chicken flesh and rub the mixture in, all over.

Stir the garlic and the rest of the spices into the onions, add the lemon quarters, olives and chickpeas and place the chicken on top.

Pour in the wine, season with salt and pepper, cover, bring the heat down to simmer and cook for an hour.

Serve with couscous.

Savoury Cheesecake with Oven-Roasted Vine Tomatoes

This is a sneak preview at tonight's diner. I found this recipe in Cook-Vegetarian! UK's only veggie monthly.

And if you came back regularly to check your little Pebblesoup (this can be done with the followers new button hint!) you will soon see a subscription Give-Away for this brilliant meat-free magazine.

This publication is absolutely packed with recipes and I'll tell you what I like about it: the recipes work, it is as simple as that. In season ingredients, imaginative ways of cooking, for example: In the June issue, they did a Mediterranean Special with an Antonio Carluccio's Masterclass. I'd love to interview Mr Carluccio, we share a passion for fungies. He tosses his pasta in a Courgette Sauce, 5 minutes work and a welcome change from tomato sauce.

Then, there is Cook Like a Masterchef, I am not a great fan of these two chefs (Greg & John) I can still hear their repetitive formulae, I think the candidates often show so much more talent that they, themselves do, anyway the good thing is that Cook Vegetarian concentrates on past winner's recipes.

Savoury Cheesecake is a new one on me and I was curious to see how it would turn out, as usual not exactly like the picture but it is yummy and ready in 50 minutes so may be not exactly a fast one to create but if your friend Anne was coming for diner, then that would be an obvious choice, let hope that she has not developed a sudden allergy to one of the ingredients. I love Anne's spectacular hypochondriac ailments, she gets a new one almost every week.

Savoury Cheesecake with Oven-Roasted Vine Tomatoes

Serves 4

• 85g fresh white bread
• 45g unsalted butter
• 100g full fat cream cheese
• 1 large free-range egg yolk
• 75g vegetarian blue cheese
• 1tsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp double cream
• squeeze of lemon juice
• 20 cherry tomatoes on the vine
• 75ml olive oil, plus extra for roasting
• 30g basil leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/£375F/Gas %. Butter the bases and sides of four 8cm (3in) fluted loose -bottomed flan tine ( note that any odd ramekin will do as well)
2. Put the bread in a food processor and whiz until it has turned into fine crumbs. Melt the butter over a gentle heat in a saucepan, tip in the breadcrumbs and stir to combine. Press into the bottom and sides of the flan tins with the back of a spoon to ensure an even layer. Bake in the oven for about 10 mins until golden - Keep watch!-
3. Cream together the filling ingredients and divide between the flan tins. Return to the oven and bake for 10-12 mins or until golden and just set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from the tins.
4. Split the tomato vines so there are five tomatoes per person. Place on baking tray, drizzle over some olive oil and roast in the oven for 10 mins or until the skins start to blister.
5. Meanwhile, blanch the basil in salted boiling water then refresh in cold water. Blend in a food processor with 75ml olive oil until liquid. Pour into a muslin-lined sieve over a bowl to drain.
6. Place each cheesecake on a plate, top with the cherry tomatoes, and add drizzle of basil oil.

developed by James Shepherd -groom turned caterer and 2007 quater-finalist.

Yum

Sunday Soup : Green Pea Soup with 3 variations

Soups are so satisfying. For me, they are synonymous to "perfect comfort food". They also pass muster under the "fat watch" scrutiny. Even if the recipe requires cream. In which case, cheating is always an option: cut the cream with milk.

One day, I would like to be explained why soups have got such a bad reputation. I have an inkling that dehydrated soups, or watery, tasteless tin-soups could be the guilty party.

Another great advantage is their simplicity, most soups can be made from scratch in no time. Never more so then in the case of Pea Soup which requires a bag of peas and cream. However, there is a secret ingredient and that is the kind of bouillon used. I know I tend to bang on about bouillon but truly in a dish which contains a couple of ingredients only, these have to be good.

In the Sunday Soup series, I try to give a basic soup with a few variations but here I am going to deviate a little since after the basic and the variations, I would like to also talked to you about a brand I have been curious to taste so fall asleep in your plate just yet.

 Pea Soup

Ingredients 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ onion, chopped
• 500g frozen peas
• 100ml/2fl oz double cream
•  250 ml vegetable stock ( I use Marigold)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method 

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and fry the onion gently until soft but not brown
Add the bouillon and bring to boil 
Add the peas, lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes. 
Add the cream, lower the heat again and cook for another 3 minutes stirring occasionally. 
Leave to cool and transfer to the food processor and Blitz until smooth

Variations

Pea Soup and Cress or Rocket (to be added with the cream)
Peas Soup and Ham (add 1/2 the ham in the food processor, dice the other 1/2 add it when serving)
Pea soup and mint (to be added instead of the cream)

Yorkshire Provender Pea Soup and Spinach

I have been trying out commercial brands of soups for ages and never found anything to write home about until now. I will post about Yorkshire Provender soups in details soon. At present, I can tell you that I have been very, very impressed byYorkshire Provender Pea Soup and Spinach and indeed by the the whole range.

Pea & Fresh Spinach with Coriander taste definitely as good as a home made soup with the depth which characterise the use of fresh ingredients.

Soup Sunday: Yorkshire Provender Soups

There are days when cooking dinner proves too taxing, same goes for lunch at work, though soups are possibly the easiest meals to prepare, sometimes it is simply handier and all together more pleasant, to call upon a third party to do the work for you.

Having tried a multitude of ready made soup brands, I have never been able to call any of them "proper soup" until now. Some I use as sauces, others as virtual punch bags in conversation when the issues of salt or products that pretend to be home-made come up.

Curious as ever, I noticed a new company, Yorkshire Provender, on the supermarket shelves, so I decided to embark on a tasting adventure for Pebble Soup readers. I was sent five flavours. Considering this is a small company producing from a North Yorkshire home, this was very generous and I was going to make sure that my review would be thorough and impartial therefore I involved others in the tasting.  

Each pot is 600g, makes two very generous portions or three normal size bowls.

I like the clear plastic, the colours are vibrant and inviting. 

All the ingredients are seasonal resulting in  two delicious collections a winter and a summer, each made of seven soups.

The fat content starts at 49 kcal, 0.4g fat per 100g. A winner when it comes to boosting these fading new-year's resolutions.

On opening the pots, the first thing you notice is the smell, wow, it is almost possible to identify each of the ingredients, Yorkshire Provender has potted a feast for the nose. Here is what my neighbour and taster for the day says about it, "A bouquet of thyme and bay literally filled my office.  I used the work microwave and had envious stares as I walked back past the rows of office desks."

It is rare to find soups with enough texture or "epais" as he calls it and since anything looking too liquid is banned from the table, I was a bit of a concern but 4 out of my 5 passed the stringent thickness test.

And then there is the marriage of flavours, these are original enough for the consumer to want to try them out but not too wacky that the end result tastes odd.

Yorkshire Provender is available in a wide range of supermarkets from the Co-op to Waitrose via the giants of retails and independent providers.

 Pebble Soup overall verdict is 9/10.

Butternut squash Soup with Orange and Ginger came top. it is full of flavour and extremely well balanced which is always a bit difficult when ginger is involved. Ginger is a difficult ingredient which can easily be over-powering but here at 0.1%. There are also loads of other spices,celery seed, tumeric, pepper, garlic, mace, lovage, nutmeg which add roundness to this lovely soup.

AC our now famous forager-neigbourg reviewed Winter Soup with Roast Vegetables and British Beef. Here is what he says, " The quality was excellent, chunky vegetables, a rich velvety base and a black pepper and chilli after kick.  Very flavoursome combination of chunky vegetables married together with a good choice of herbs and a picquant beef and tomato sauce.  If I had made it at home, I would have been proud." before adding that on the minus side it was a little oily.

Pea & Fresh Spinach with Coriander is my personal favorite. It is fresh, silky and the colour made me smile. I would eat it cold too, in fact, I partly did, it is how good this is.

Sadly Tomato and Red Pepper soup with Wensleydale Cheese & Rosemary was a little disappointing, the cheese does not come through enough, it is still a nice soup but slightly watery so it hasn't got the depth of the others.

Chunky Vegetable & Ham Soup with Winter Greens and Lentils is full of taste and since March is not yet spring we might need earthy tasting ready soup in the fridge ready for the evening meal.

 Price and disclaimer

Yorkshire Provender soups retail at £2.39, I was provided with complimentary soups for the purpose of this blog-post, all opinions are my own ...and my neighbourg:)

Curious Ingredient: Sea Kale - Rosti

Last week, I found out that my neighbour is a forager and spends most of his week-ends with friends by the sea-side where they proudly grow all sorts. We have been living in good neighbourly harmony for the pass ten years. I pick his parcels up, he returns the favour and we smile nicely at one another. 

Once, he invited us to his new-year's fancy dress party themed around London tube lines. I think we were a bit of a disappointment. We both arrived dressed in black pretending to be the Northern line, looking like misery, in the midst of dancing angels and Seven Sisters.

Lately, we have been exchanging a series of brief e-mails about a local issue. I guess he picked up on my signature. Realising that he lived next door to an author and a food writer, his overture lengthened, "There you are! there is so much I'd like to talk to you about" he said the last time we bumped into one another.

 

Next thing I knew, we were exchanging tips about restaurants, cheeses, local markets and looking at his Mark Hix's books collection; suddenly we were talking ten to the dozen as if we had known each other for.......a decade.

I left his company with a sense of bewilderment, clutching a bag full of sea kale, his friends had worked hard to grow from seeds. It occurred to me that I did not have a clue who my neighbourg really was but moreover I didn't know to how to cook sea kale without Him looking suspiciously at yet another curious ingredient.

Sea kale grows on shingle beaches but be aware, for the past 30 years, crops have been under specific protection under the wildlife and countryside act,  making collection without the landowners permission illegal.  It is sold on farmers market in February and March.

In culinary terms, it goes way back, 500 years or so, at one point it was a popular garden plant. Taste-wise it could be chard's cousin only more pungent, its most common use is as a blanched vegetable.

Blanching is best know associated with rhubarb. Blanched vegetables have a more delicate flavour as they are grown deprived of light which produces chlorophyll and gives colour. In crude term, they are forced to grow in the dark, in special enclosed environments or with a bucket over their head.

 

 

If you wonder what I did with my gift, here is the recipe I chose rostis slightly boring as you sea-kale makes for a weird and wonderful addition to so much more but nevertheless delicious.

Sea Kale Rostis

Ingredients

• sea kale steamed and chopped
• a couple of potatoes boiled and mashed
• oil
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 egg (beaten)
• salt & pepper

Method

Prepare the vegetables
In a bowl mix the chopped sea Kale, potatoes together, beat in the egg, add flour and seasoning.
Make little ball with the mixture, flatten them slightly and fry them in hot oil.

If you wanted to know more about foraging, do take a look at Galloway Wild Foods, Mark Williams' great site.

Fochabers Gingerbread recipe

Food blogging is many things. It's likely that there are as many reasons to write a food blog as there are food bloggers. The question is "what are we recording"? which is not already recorded in our cookbooks collection.

great opportunity to display the bookcase I built to host my cookbooks

 My own answer is that we are recording stories we love, which show who we are  such as The Curious Tale of the Gingerbread, stories which connect dishes with their own history and ultimately stories which connect each one of us to the other.

In researching Gingerbread cakes, I came across this anecdote which is set in France, in the 19th century and shows how important gingerbread was then. Mr Thiers, one of the French Prime Ministers at the time, declared : " no man can call himself great until he gets his effigy made out of gingerbread" That important!

I wonder what their gingerbread tasted like in these days. Probably not like a Fochabers' as this recipe is quite unique with its beer, dried fruits and candied peel.

Fochabers Gingerbread

Ingredients

100g butter

100g sugar 

100g black treacle (molasses), slightly warmed 

2tsp ground ginger 

pinch of ground cloves  

2tsp mixed spice

1/2tsp cinnamon 

1 eggs  

250g plain flour  

50g currants  

50g sultanas 

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda   

25g mixed peel chopped 

150ml beer

Method

1- Preheat the oven to 160C/Gas 3/fan 140C. Grease a (2 pint) loaf tin. Using a food processor or an electric whisk, beat the butter together with the sugar and treacle until light and creamy. beat in the egg

2- Measure the bicarbonate of soda into the beer, stir it and set aside. Stir all the remaining ingredients into the creamed mixture. Stir the beer mixture then pour it into the cake mixture, beating well until thoroughly incorporated.

3- Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour. When the cake is cooked, a skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes then turn out on to a cooling rack and leave until completely cold.

Family Friendly Fridays - June Round Up -

Hosting Family Friendly Fridays  for Ren as in Fabulicious has been a thrill. Doing so, made me realise me how much talent was involved in our everyday cooking. Not only we try to serve the tastiest dishes we can, we also go a long way to create meals with whatever ingredients are presented to us, from "here and there" either in veggie boxes, allotments, gardens, markets..... name it, sources are a-plenty and in doing so we are working wonders. We can be very proud of our culinary skills and our inventiveness

  

Shaheen at AK2 has worked her magic on beetroot leaves to present us with these incredibly ingenious Leafy Beetroot Bites  a leafy various of Pakoras

  

Sian at Fish Fingers for Tea cooked a recurring dish Bacon and Spinach Oven Baked Risotto, one of the many dish you've got to try, tasty, easy. One which doesn't require you to watch over it.

Creativity takes all sort of shape and form and often it comes out best in cakes. Our very own Kitchen Goddess in Training's recipe is a prime example of this. "Mini" portions are the trend as they make for gorgeous looking bakes and I defy you to resist Emmy's adorable Miniature Carrot Cakes

At Mint Custard, Becky continues the theme of small but perfectly fun food, she presented her family with lamb sliders.

Sliders are small sandwiches. Originally small hamburgers, they are all the rage at the moment. Becky made her sliders with pittas, definitely original koftas sliders.

When it came to Ren at Fabulicious, the brain and heart behind Family Friendly Fridays, she came up with a mysterious answer to the eternal problem: "What to feed them?". Breakfast was sorted with a Meli-Melo of Tomato and Parmesan. We've possibly all cooked meli-melos at a stage or another, not knowing we were doing so.

The next recipe entered is my dad's signature so I was curious to see how Kavita had changed this to make it easy. I was not disappointed and the step by step will help me cooking it next time I go to see him. Easy Dauphinoise potatoes by Kavey Eats.

Now for Cakes and biscuits, Gocha at Coffee 'n Vanilla has her hands full juggling with family and work, she send us a slice of Lemon, Vanilla 'n Poppy seeds Cake, no doubt that was very much appreciated in the school lunch box.

Chocolate, Ginger, Coffee -Not all in one - cookies were baked by Cake, Crumbs and Cookies. Cookies are some of the most immediately rewarding bakes, baking cookies with kids is always a joy, as there is lots they can participate to.




From Domestic Goddess we got not one but two recipes. Both quick and adding an international flavour to dinner, first her Cannellini Beans Stew made out of desperation, a creative use of "what is left in the pantry". Then Oven Baked Kedgeree, a step by step recipe from our who Goddess got a tip from Lady B: "Through all the prepared ingredients in a dish, covered in the oven, until you are ready to eat, which makes it perfect for an easy supper." Three cheers for Lady B.

Charlotte was pressed-gand to send one of hers. Charlotte' Kitchen Dairy is always full of projects and quirky ideas so I begged...... and she kindly replied with Lentil Tamarind and Date Dansak, a super-speedy beauty, the Dansak....... not Charlotte.

Dinner wouldn't be dinner without a pizza. This was provided by Karen at Lavender and Lovage. Karen is a trained chef and her blog is the place to go to if you need weekly meal plans and inspiration for friendly recipes. Her Piquant Pizza with Goat's Cheese Chorizo and Chillies is next on my list to cook.





Last but not least was my Oven Lamb Baked Risotto. I thank every one who has help to made this edition of Family Friendly Fridays a fab collection. July's will be hosted by Ren Behan herself see you there. 

Curious Ingredient Revisited - Paneer -

As Pebble Soup attracts more and more interest, I get to pick and choose foodie events which I think will make a good read. Clawson Panneer Exclusive Paneer lunch was one of them. Hadn't I been suffering from mild Dyscalculia I would have got to the Good House Keeping Institute on time. As it were it took me a while and a phone call to realise that 27 was really 72 and when I eventually push the door, there was no mistake, the smell of spices, the smiles and the mounting anticipation were all signs that something special was about to happen.

Clawson has teemed up with one of Britain's most interesting Indian chef, the very engaging Anjum Anand. Most of her recipes are very tasty, easy enough to rustle up at home after a day's work, she always gives plenty of ingredients alternatives which indicates that she is a cook as well as a chef.

Paneer is ever so versatile as Anjum demonstrated in the course of the lunch by cooking paneer with noodles, in Fajitas, grilled as in tandoori, tikka masala, spinach curry and wait for it.............
a Layered Berry and Paneer Cheesecake.

As pictures speak thousand words have a look at the video and see if you can spot me

• Clawson produces Paneer in England, the process is straight forward, Paneer is an unaged, acid-set, non melting chees made by curdling heated milk with lemon juice or another food acid, the making of paneer does not involve rennet making it good for vegetarians.
• Paneer means cheese in Indian.
• it is a good source of calcium and very rich in protein.
• One of the few types of cheese originated from the subcontinent.
• Personnally, I would have thought that Paneer was one of this ingredient that people look at but don't buy, well, I was wrong as the press pack told me that 2 packs of paneer are sold every minute totting this up to 1,000,000 kilos and yes! that is the correct number of 0.

Let's not forget the recipes

ANJUM ANAND’S THAI NOODLE, CLAWSON PANEER AND VEGETABLE CURRY
This unique dish is a quick nutritious, filling and really satisfying one pot meal. You can use lots of vegetables in this recipe. Anjum suggests aubergines, broccoli, peas or even mango and lychees if you like fruitiness in your curries - but you can use whatever you have at home.

Anjum gives her top tip for making this curry: “The staple food in this dish is Clawson Paneer cheese, but if you buy a good quality red curry paste and coconut milk, the rest is easy. You can also make the curry without the noodles and serve with Jasmine rice.”

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
3 tbs. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 packet Clawson Paneer cheese, boiled for 20 minutes and cut into 1½cm cubes
3 tbs. red Thai curry paste
400ml creamy coconut milk
8 baby tomatoes, halved
2¼ tsp. sugar or to taste
3 fresh or dried Kaffir lime leaves
1½-13/4 tsp. lime/lemon juice or to taste
Good handful mange tout, washed
150g rice or egg-noodles, cooked according to packet instructions
1-2 tbs. coconut cream (optional for added richness)
Handful of fresh coriander or Thai Holy Basil leaves

Heat the oil in a large non-stick saucepan. Add the onion and sauté until golden. Add the red Thai paste and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the paneer, coconut milk, tomatoes, sugar and lime leaves. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Boil your noodles according to the packet instructions or until just done (I use the same water as the paneer). Drain and reserve 100ml of the water.
Add the noodles to your pot along with your beans, lemon juice, basil or coriander and the coconut cream, if using. Add most of the reserved water and simmer for another minute.
Taste and adjust seasoning, sugar and lemon juice to taste, add a little more water if you like the curry thinner, and serve with some extra lime/lemon wedges of the side.

To find all of Anjum's recipes click here