Recipes I'm going to play with this week...

...courtesy of the August issue of Gourmet magazine, my monthly treat from the States. You can find all their recipes online, though, but perusing the pages of the print version brings me much joy.

For iPhone lovers - Epicurious (the online home to Gourmet and Bon Appetit recipes, amongst others) has a great free app now. Wonderful for browsing on a train or bus ride home.

Baked tomatoes with hazelnut bread crumbs
Roasted tomatoes in general are one of my favourite summertime side dishes, but the addition of hazelnuts was just too exciting to pass up. I won't, however, use a half of a stick of butter - 1 tbsp of olive oil - max - will do just fine. In my opinion, butter would really mask the flavour of the tomatoes. Is that just me?

Baked chicken meatballs with peperonata
Okay, I don't even know if you can get minced chicken here in the UK. But you can get minced/ground turkey, which should work just fine. And I'll probably skip the pancetta - not because I think I wouldn't like it - but I'm on a budget here and I think it will taste lovely even without.

What do you think? I'm really excited about trying them - they should be fun, cheap ways to inject some excitement into summer suppers.

more delicious Mediterranean flavours

I just can't get enough. Of these amazing Mediterranean flavours that is, this time north African. Last night I tried a recipe at home from the most recent issue of Gourmet - Merguez lamb patties with golden raisin couscous. I liked the look of it from the start - lots of spices and seasonings, but low on the added fats.

Cumin, coriander, harissa, cinnamon, garlic and fennel seeds all get mixed into the lamb patties (be careful, it turns your hands red). Once those go in the frying pan, boil some chicken stock and add the couscous, golden sultanas, lemon zest and fresh coriander (cilantro).

While I was putting this together (under 30 minutes from start to finish!), I realised that the dish lacked something refreshing to cleanse the palate, what with all those spicy flavours and the filling couscous. I quickly dropped a courgette into the food processor with some dill to finely chop in. Then I scooped it out into a bowl and added two tablespoons (big 'uns) of fat-free natural yogurt to the bowl (a la my recent mezze night). The mixture was then split evenly on the two plates, alongside the couscous and the lamb patties piled on top. (I only gave myself 1/3 of the couscous mixture - believe me, that was plenty.)

Munching down on my dinner over an episode of House, I realised that actually the lamb mince itself has quite a lot of fat, and I'm not sure that it's also necessary to fry those patties in a tablespoon of oil as well. I think next time I might grill them. I love the harissa (I always do). Surprisingly, I liked the couscous too - I was suspicious of raisins, lemon and coriander, but actually, it worked. And my courgette yogurt was a fantastic addition - very palate cleansing and really healthy. It pleased me other half too. Definitely a keeper, this one.

best of the month on Epicurious.com

Well, I already mentioned how much I like the scallops with cauliflower, dried cherries and capers recipe. To be honest, I think a lot of the other recipes are a bit heavy, with lots of saturated fats and cream. But here are a few others that took my fancy:

Sweet cucumber and radish salad (though watch the sugar!) This might be nice with salmon.

Radicchio salad with oranges and olives Add chicken to make it a main course.

Crisp winter lettuces with warm sweet-and-salad dressing

this week's best from Epicurious

Halloween-inspired menus and autumn funghi are the order of the day (week) in Epicurious' e-newsletter. The scary October holiday doesn't inspire me as much, however, as the use of seafood and wild mushrooms.

My favourite:

Steamed clams with Italian sausage and fennel
My only real difficulty with this dish would be the sourcing, though it is nothing a trip to a fresh fish market like Borough couldn't fix. Epicurious reckons that this dish is all the more impressive since due to its simplicity (only one pan is needed). I'd love to give it a try.

A very close runner-up:

Wild mushrooms en papillote
This recipe works as a first course, according to its chef, but I think it would make a good side dish with the main course, or a lovely bed on which steamed white fish would lay.

I worry that a stick of butter (8 oz) is needed for four first-course servings, however. It certainly would taste very rich, though it could drown the mushrooms and herbs (a fantastic mixture of chives, parsley, tarragon, shallot, garlic). If I try this, I will try reducing the butter by half.

this week's best from epicurious

Epicurious’ e-newsletter this week brings a few summer swan songs as well as some autumnal greetings. Here are the best:

Peruvian grilled chicken

This “iconic regional dish” offers up a bright and spicy marinade of soy sauce, fresh lime juice, garlic, cumin, paprika and oregano. Surprisingly, the recipe goes easy on the fat, calling for only a tablespoon vegetable oil. There are helpful tips for indoor and outdoor grilling (should the weather comply).

Ramadan recipes

In this mini-feature, Epicurious presents a number of recipes for the Muslim holiday. The Indonesian rice dish and London favourite Nasi Goreng, halibut-based Tunisian Fish Cakes with Lemon and Paprika Aioli, and Turkish Zucchini Pancakes all make my mouth water.

The latter dish is not much different than the courgette cakes I made last night. This version includes walnuts, which would add a lovely nutty earthiness to the cakes and transition them from a summer to an autumn recipe. Tarragon and parsley are also thrown in for good measure.

Nasi Goreng and Tunisian fish cakes may just be on my menu next week. Check back soon.

mustard-crusted tofu with sweet potatoes and kale: the verdict

A week later than originally planned, I finally made the mustard-crusted tofu with sweet potatoes and kale. Long story short: it was absolutely wonderful. Tangy flavours - mustard grains, lime juice - infused the earthy sweet potato and the curly kale. The tofu absorbed the mustard just beautifully - and an extra dash of soy sauce carried the savoury flavours through.

A few changes: I used groundnut oil instead of vegetable oil (as recommended by one of the comments earlier this week), and reduced the oil used from 4 tbsp to 2 1/2. I also added a splash of soy sauce to the tofu, but otherwise, I stuck pretty close to the recipe.

I think the sweet potatoes should go into the pan before the curly kale - it needs a bit longer to cook. And the tofu needs a bit longer than 2 minutes on each side to get that lovely crispiness.

The recipe says it makes four servings, but it really made two respectable servings for my husband and me - so if you're serving it as the sole course for dinner, it really only serves two.

linguine with carrot ribbons and lemon-ginger butter: the verdict

Last night I finally tried the linguine with carrot ribbons recipe I was raving about last week.

I made a few substitutions and changes:

-whole wheat spaghetti in place of white linguine

-olive oil in place of butter (and a lot less of it – the recipe called for 2 oz, or 56 g, of butter, but I used about 4 teaspoons of olive oil)

-a bit more ginger

-the Epicurious recipe used 8 oz (about 225 g) of pasta for 4 first-course servings, but I served it as a main course for two and used 300 g (about 10.5 oz), though to be fair, my serving was only 100 g, while Pete's was 200 g.

-I stuck with approximately the same amounts of carrot and peppers.

-I reduced the amount of parmesan used (about 20 g instead of the 2/3 cup, or 150 grams (!!) called for)

The result: pretty decent, for a first try. I think when you try to take a lot of the fat out of a dish, some tweaking is always required. Next time I make this (and it was definitely tasty enough to warrant a second try), I will fine-tune the recipe further:

-I'll stick with olive oil, but use a bit more, maybe 2 tablespoons, to give the pasta a more coated texture

-even more ginger and lemon peel

-more carrot (the ginger-carrot combo was the star of the dish)

-a bit more parmesan, maybe 50 grams

What I'll really take away from the dish was that wonderful carrot-ginger flavour. I think it would be great in an autumn salad – spinach, grated carrot, goats cheese, and a ginger dressing maybe?

this week's best from Epicurious

My favourite from this week's Epicurious e-newsletter:

Mustard-Crusted Tofu with Kale and Sweet Potatoes (Bon Appetit)

This recipe screams autumn to me - I can picture the lovely deep burnt oranges and forest greens on the plate.

However, (I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record) four tablespoons of oil sounds unnecessary. When I cook this recipe, I will start by using half of this amount.

I don’t think I came into contact with capers until I went to university. They were unknown. I remember when I saw them listed as optional in an amazing recipe by Roberto Donna for eggplant and ricotta stuffed shells with a red pepper sauce (http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes/8604?section=). I immediately discounted them. A friend of mine – a salt addict –went on and on about them though at the time.

Eventually I learned to love them. They’re fantastic with smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel (the trick is to put them on the cream cheese rather than the salmon so they don’t roll off) and in penne puttanesca, which I made a few weeks ago (http://eatingforonecookingfortwo.blogspot.com/2007/05/eating-lunch-at-work.html)

So what’s the problem, then? Well, we don’t use capers often enough and the caper manufacturers must know this. Thus, they would have us buy a jar that they figure will only be used once and then fester in our refrigerator until the next time we need capers, at which point we’ll surely no longer trust the contents of said jar (despite the fact that they are pickled) and purchase another.

I refuse to give in to the caper overlords. I will use all of my capers. But where?

The lunchtime salad is a great destination for the lonely fridge-bound caper. Often, taking my staple salad to work (spinach, feta, chickpeas, tomato, cucumber, carrot, red wine vinegar) can become a bit humdrum. Adding a tablespoon of capers to the salad the past few days has been fantastic – the nearly sour, salty buds have just the right amount of give – not too mushy, but with the slightest bit of tension in the skin. And as they are often used in Mediterranean cooking, they fit right in with the chickpeas and feta. I’ve even been able to reduce the amount of vinegar I usually use.

Other possible holiday destinations for the caper?

A quick search on Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/find/results?search=caper

Sauces are great with the caper – they add salt and flavour very easily. Even a basic garlic and caper oil-based sauce would be fantastic on some fish.

And pesto! What a great idea. Tonight I’m actually making an avocado pesto – more on that tomorrow though.

Other fridge-festerers that need eating? Let me know…

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.