My first two meals at the new digs (recipes included)

I'm still too embarrassed to show you pics of my new kitchen, cluttered as it is. You'll have to wait for those. But I will divulge my first two Clapton creations in the meantime, and perhaps you can look forward to a kitchen pic at the end of the weekend. Perhaps.

Things didn't quite go as I'd planned them for dinner, but close. As I said in my last post, I was planning a herby pea soup for dinner one night and salmon w/ Ottolenghi's asparagus and salsa (sans crumbly cheese) for the other.

That might have gone to plan, but a mixture of forgetfulness and Tesco let me down. First, I left frozen peas off my shopping list - KINDA important for pea soup. Second, no English asparagus to be had in the horrors of Hackney Central's Tesco, despite its bang-on seasonality at the moment.

It's okay, don't worry, I regrouped. For Monday, I went with green bean soup with parsley, mint, dill and basil, using green beans out of the freezer, with some rather yummy freshly-baked (but not by me) cheese rolls.

Here's that recipe:

Green bean soup with herbs
(serves 2)

400 g frozen green beans
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large handful of parsley, chopped
1 small handful of mint, chopped
1 small handful of dill, chopped
5-10 basil leaves, chopped OR a spoonful of pesto
1 tbsp bouillon powder + 1.5 litres of freshly boiled water
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in the pot, and add the green beans and garlic. Saute for about 6-8 minutes. Add the bouillon/water, bring to the boil, then allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add half the chopped herbs before blitzing with a hand blender. Then stir through the other half of the herbs before serving. I put a dollop of low-fat Greek yogurt on top and served with those cheese rolls.

It was really yummy and no doubt less than 250 cals (minus the cheese rolls). Very filling too.

Moving on. Lack of asparagus threw a spanner in the works for my idea of baked salmon with Ottolenghi's asparagus and salsa recipe. I still had all the ingredients for the salsa, though, so decided instead to have baked salmon with tomato-mint-dill-cucumber-onion relish (salsa, though technically correct, is misleading here) and yogurt, served with boiled baby new potatoes and a baby gem salad. It was damn tasty too.

Here's that recipe:

Salmon with tomato-dill-onion-cucumber-mint relish and yogurt, served with potatoes and salad
(serves 2)

2 fillets of skinless salmon (140 g each)
1 tsp olive oil to coat

4 medium tomatoes, chopped well
75 g cucumber, chopped fine (about an 1 inch portion)
1/2 medium red onion, chopped fine
2 tsp red wine vinegar
small handful of parsley, chopped fine
3 sprigs of dill, chopped fine
3 sprigs of mint, chopped fine
salt and pepper

2 tbsp low-fat Greek yogurt (optional)

400 g baby new potatoes
1/2 head of baby gem lettuce or round lettuce

Bake the salmon in a preheated oven for 25 minutes. While that's cooking, prep the relish - keep everything as finely chopped as possible. When the salmon's done, spoon a generous portion on one side, and drizzle the yogurt over. Serve with freshly boiled new potatoes and a handful of baby gem lettuce on the side (the generous amount of relish will go well with the lettuce).

This was again really easy to make (done in under 30 minutes) and very tasty. Don't know the cals on it, but you could easily cut them down by swapping the potatoes for asparagus, if you're lucky enough to have a bleeping grocery store that stocks seasonal produce. (Grrr.)

I'd recommend both to a friend, and will happily make it again (especially that salsa, which reminded me of my favourite dish in the world, tabbouleh). I was a little worried about how the dill would go down (especially two nights in a row, considering that Pete's often not crazy about my liberal use of the herb), but he was very happy with both - I think the other herbs tone it down, especially in the salmon recipe, where the red onion all but knocks it out.

Sweetcorn chowder with spice

The mornings are getting chillier. I'm pulling my cardigan a bit tighter on my journeys into and home from work. It's nearly time to dig out the coats and scarves.

In the meantime, when I walk in the front door, I'm ready for something really warming and spicy. Earlier this week it was a cheap but tasty three-bean chili (good enough for two nights in a row). And tonight a bit of corn chowder was on the cards - but with a twist.

That twist comes courtesy of Ottolenghi - one of my favourite chefs these days. His New Vegetarian column is a weekly staple for the Guardian. I really enjoy his East Mediterranean take on recipes, and this one is no exception. To the classic American chowder, he's added a spiced butter, which consists of toasted cumin seeds, paprika and pepper. That, in addition to some freshly chopped coriander, gives chowder a whole new face - one that's super comforting.

Of course, I'm never *quite* content to cook Ottolenghi as is - I think his portions are a little small (especially for a vegetarian dish). In my opinion, less butter is needed, but more potato if this is going to make a main meal that doesn't have its eaters rummaging around the kitchen ten minutes later. I've also tried to go with cheaper ingredient alternatives that you're more likely to have to hand. Feel free to play with it how it suits you.

My version of Ottolenghi's corn chowder with spiced butter

(serves 3)
 

350 g potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 cm cubes

1 tsp thyme

1 large red pepper, chopped into one 1 cm pieces

1 large onion, chopped into 1 cm pieces

2 bay leaves

1 large tin of sweetcorn, drained

2 tsp oil

1 tbsp bouillon powder

700 ml freshly boiled water

300 ml skimmed milk

for the spiced oil

30 g spread or 2 tbsp oil

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp asafoetida

1 tsp white pepper

salt

small handful of coriander leaves

Heat 2 ml of oil in a pot and saute the onion over medium heat until translucent with the bay leaves and thyme. When that's done, tip in the red pepper, potato and stock - and stir. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Dump in the corn and remove the bay leaves. Halve the mixture - use a hand blender to puree one half, and then return both halves to the pan. Stir in the skimmed milk. Bring back to a simmer and cook for a few more minutes.

In the meantime, make the spiced oil - grind and toast the seeds, then add the oil/spread, asafoetida, white pepper, paprika and salt. Mix together and cook - then allow to cool.

When you're ready to serve, top the bowls of chowder with oil and chopped coriander leaves.

Calories per serving: about 330. It may be that someone hungrier wants two portions - if so, great. If not (like tonight), then you have a lovely extra serving perfect for freezing or for a Saturday lunch with a piece of bread.

This recipe is a winner, thanks to that spiced butter/oil. It's brilliant. The depth of flavour that you get for three minutes work is just not to be ignored. I'm thinking the spiced oil would be brilliant with some fresh flaky haddock and wilted spinach as well.

chickpea tomato and bread soup

I've not had much luck with chickpea soup (Delia's version is one of the most unpleasant things I've ever made), but I like the sound of Yotam Ottolenghi's take on the soup....

Basic ingredients - bread, tomatoes, celery, carrots and chickpeas - come together to make something that sounds ultimately warming and cozy. I probably wouldn't use 120 ml of olive oil, but that's just me.