Delia disappoints

Last night I finally caught Delia’s new show, inspiringly titled Delia (back to basics, love). The show, based on her new cookery book, How to Cheat at Cooking, offers the viewer recipes that ostensibly will help him or her avoid fresh food.

I have a few problems with her approach:

-The use of the word ‘cheat’. Why stigmatise any cooking at home with such a word? Why call using marinated roasted red peppers and jarred mayonnaise to make red pepper mayonnaise ‘cheating’? I would argue that in the winter that it’s a seasonal approach to cooking. The peppers in that jar were likely grown in the heat of summer and simply preserved. I resent the implication that using preserved goods is cheating.

Furthermore, using tinned dressed crab is not cheating either. Fresh crab is not readily available throughout Britain, and using the tinned version to enhance the flavour of a soup or a dip should not be an undesirable option.

-I do find fault in substituting ingredients for their fresh, readily available, and for the most part inexpensive, counterparts. Tinned meat and frozen mash, this means you. Fresh potatoes and lean mince are surely the better choice. And, until the tins and bags go some way to stating otherwise, we can only assumed that the source of the produce is not particularly appealing.

-Which brings me to my final point. Why distinguish between the source of some ingredients (ie, pesto: “Make sure it’s Italian,” she remonstrates) and not others? She’s not banging on about the tinned mince in the same fashion: “Make sure it’s from Cheshire”)

All in all, I think it’s a flawed approach. I don’t like being told what I’m doing is cheating. I’m all for getting more cooks in the kitchen, but not like this.

We’ll see what next week’s episode is like, if I can stomach it.

Delia's thai fish curry with mango

I absolutely love this recipe. Delia’s fish curry is extremely fresh and also simple to make. My only qualm - that there are not any vegetables in there – is easily fixed by tossing in some sliced red peppers or courgettes and a few red onions.

I recommend using reduced-fat coconut milk as the reduction of calories outweighs any extra creaminess. Actually, with all the mango in the curry, full-fat coconut milk can make the curry that bit too sweet.

Making the curry paste from scratch is absolutely delightful, and in my opinion, negates the need for those little jars that clutter the refrigerator door shelf. While I really like Bart’s curry pastes, the homemade version, fresh and lively, beats it any time. Blitz the ingredients – garlic, chilli, onion, lime juice and zest, shrimp paste and nam pla (fish sauce) – with a hand blender. Any fish will do, though I like using black halibut.

Serve with brown basmati rice (50 g per person is the recommended serving size).

More on mackerel

Tonight…mackerel. We’re having it once a week these days, but I’ve yet to tire. Mackerel with cumin and lemon (Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries - http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/microsites/nigelslater/calendar/april.aspx)
has served us well the last two or three times (serve with tabbouleh for a divine supper).

I’ve done mackerel fillets with fennel mayonnaise before, though Epicurious and others also call mackerel ‘bluefish’ (see http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/14237). It’s very simple and summery, though I’m not sure I’m in the mood for it.

Delia Smith’s recipe for Mackerel with Pesto Mash (http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/oven-baked-mackerel-stuffed-with-pesto-mash,1291,RC.html)
is still one of the tastiest things I’ve ever eaten. But it does take time – and more of a Saturday evening dish. She’s right – fresh pesto is definitely critical.

I’m not sure though – I’ve got some English asparagus in the fridge (the season’s nearly over, ahhh!) which I think I’ll braise before serving. And maybe some green beans? Though I’m still using frozen rather than the guilt-inducing Kenyan variety stocking the shelves at the local supermarkets. And couscous is always nice.

As for the mackerel, I’ll definitely some lemon… and maybe oregano? ... or chilli? Hmmm, such dilemmas.