The Gardener's Treats.

I don't know if many amateur veggie growers would say that growing your own is less expensive than buying the same veggies in the grocery store. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, (probably) but the amount of money that we've spent on gardening tools, lumber to build raised beds, fencing, compost, seeds and young plants would probably take a few years to make back in commercial value.
That's not factoring in the amount of time and back-breaking effort involved in establishing a healthy veg patch, or the frustration when seedlings fail to thrive or are eaten by F*@&ing ba$t£rd caterpillars and pigeons.
These days, I think you'd struggle to find anyone growing veggies who doesn't do it purely for the love of the hobby and the pleasure of eating something that has traveled mere yards from the garden to the kitchen sink.

One of my favourite things about growing some of my own veggies is being able to eat parts of the plant that don't normally make it to the shops, like tiny, tender beetroot leaves or the side shoots of adolescent asparagus spears.

Just as we did last year, we're growing our potatoes in sacks on the patio, freeing up valuable veg patch for brassicas, corn, squash and so on. One of my favourite sneaky things to do at this time of year is feel around under the soil of some of the early cropping varieties to steal a few babies packed with sweet nuttiness and perfect for a summer salad.

The French Breakfast radishes have been popping up out of the soil for a couple of weeks now and those that do not get eaten on the spot have been making their way into all manner of salads, sandwiches and nibble plates.
I decided to roast the little potatoes in a little garlic confit oil and chill them to make a light and summery salad along with the peppery little radishes. We had ours with burgers, but it would be lovely by itself as a lunch or as part of a picnic or barbeque spread.

Roasted Miniature New Potato and Radish Salad
serves 4, takes approx 90 mins, including coking and cooling

500g (1 lb) tiny baby new potatoes, about the size of a 50p (half dollar)
500g (1 lb) French Breakfast radishes or other spicy variety, halved or quartered.
2 tbsp free range mayonnaise
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 stalks celery from the heart of the bunch, including the leaves, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely diced
2 tsp dijon mustard (Maille recommended)
2 tsp white wine vinegar
small handful parsely, finely chopped
2 tbsp garlic confit oil (*or olive oil plus 2 cloves of garlic in their skins)
Coarse sea salt
Black pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F)
Wash the little potatoes well, dry them thoroughly and toss them in the garlic oil*
Roast them for 30-40 minutes or until thoroughly cooked, with golden, wrinkly skins. Cool to room temp before refrigerating completely.
Whisk the mayonnaise and yoghurt together well with a the mustard, vinegar, garlic and a little sea salt.
Stir in the potatoes, radishes, celery, parsely and shallot and preferably refrigerate for half an hour or so before serving to allow the flavours to meld.

I had the leftovers for lunch the following day and it was every bit as lovely, but I wouldn't leave it for longer than that, because the radish and celery would likely go a little rubbery.
Stir

What is you favourite Springtime salad??

The Nettles Strike Back.

A few weeks ago I posted a little about my love of cooking with stinging nettles and used them in some tasty ravioli. In my book, the only thing better than really tasty food is food which is not only delicious, but mostly free, incredibly healthy and so local that the food distance can be counted in yards rather than miles.

I went nettle picking again on Monday and had planned to get just enough to make a risotto similar to one Alex Rushmer made over at Just cook It. When my little dog Violet and I got out to the woods though, I saw that many of the nettles were just starting to form flower heads, which aren't tasty and pretty much signal the end of nettle-eating season. I decided there and then that I would pick a LOT and would make a pesto, which will last me a while so that I can still be munching long after the nettles are no longer worth picking.

I wore surgical-style latex gloves just as I did last time, but you know, I think that the little buggers have toughened up over the couple of weeks since my last harvest. I felt a few prickles through my gloves, by rather than walk the whole hundred feet back to my kitchen for thicker gloves, I toughed it out and continued picking until I had almost a grocery bag full.
When I got home, my fingers were tingling and prickling a little, as one might expect, but I must have been prickled more than I thought, because

HOLY CRAP.

All evening and into the night, my fingers on my right hand felt as though they'd been hit with hammers and were being repeatedly electrocuted. It wasn't until the following evening -so about 36 hours later- that the sensation subsided and I stopped whining about it.
So let this be a lesson to you all. Seems obvious, right? Wear thick gloves when you're picking nettles.

I made this pesto in the traditional way, but substituting nettle for almost all of the basil. We had it on some pizza that night and it was very tasty on some poached eggs the following morning.

There is still the hint of basil, but the predominant flavour is the fresh nettle, which is predictably lovely with the parmesan and walnut flavours. This recipe makes quite a lot but should survive well in the fridge. If you're not feeling generous enough to give some away, it should freeze well for months.

Stinging Nettle Pesto
Makes about 1 kilo (2 lbs)

350g (12oz) well-washed nettle tops
150g walnuts
500ml extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs basil
75g parmesan, finely grated
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Blanch the nettles and the basil in salted boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge into ice-cold water to stop the cooking. This will kill the prickles and will help the leaves retain their bright green colour long after the pesto has been put away in the fridge
Put all of the ingredients except for half of the olive oil into a food processor and pulse for 30 seconds or so, until fairly uniformly chopped, scraping down the sides with a spatula if need be.
With the food processor running, pour the remaining olive oil in, until you have a thick, paste-like consistency. Really, you can make your pesto as thick and course or thin and smooth as you like just by adjusting the amount of olive oil.
I don't salt my pesto because I never know what I'm going to use it on, but you absolutely can if you prefer it a little seasoned.

Put into jars and pour over a little olive oil to help preserve it. your pesto should keep for several week in the fridge like this.

I also made an all-sourdough pizza crust that night. It was incredibly crisp and chewy and quite sour, which my husband really loved. I'm going to do it one more time before I post the recipe though, just to make sure I get the same result.

06/05/10 P.S. Nettles are known for their hay fever-relieving properties. Christian came home from school today with red eyes, sneezing and congestion so I jumped into action and gave him a big spoonful of this pesto with a slice of quiche (recipe to follow) and within the hour he was feeling fine. Not just better, but totally fine. As James Wong would say "This was not a clinical trial, but many people find that natural remedies are as effective as conventional medicines"

Revenge On The Nettles

As a child, one of the things that was sure to spoil a day in the park was a leg covered in welts from having run into a patch of stinging nettles.
I know that nettle tea has been used for a long time to treat everything from arthritis and allergies to intestinal and urinary problems but it wasn't until a few years ago that I started seeing recipes for things like soups and gnocchi featuring what I always thought of as an evil weed.

Widely recognized as a superfood, nettles are incredibly high in vitamins A and C and rich in nutrients including calcium, choline, magnesium, boron, iron, iodine, silica, sulfur, potassium, chlorophyll, histamine, serotonin and amino acids.

I have made a few dishes with them over the past few springs and really enjoy their gorgeous colour, while their flavour is reminiscent of the smell of spring, almost straw-like. I used them to stuff these homemade ravioli, which were very simple and totally delicious. The stings disappear after just thirty seconds or so of blanching, so they become safe to handle and become so incredibly bright green.

I collected my nettles from the woods behind our house, taking care to wear boots, wear gloves and select just the new tops of the nettles farther from the path, which were unlikely to have been anointed with dog pee.


Nettle Ravioli with Sage and Pine Nut Butter
serves 2, takes 1 hour, 45 including dough chilling time

200g (7 oz) tipo 00 flour
2 eggs
1 tsp water (maybe)
pinch salt

150g fresh ball mozerella
1 clove garlic, crushed
about 30 young nettle tops
sea salt to taste
1 tbsp freshly grated parmesan

1oog (3.5 oz) good quality butter
small handful pine nuts
2 sprigs sage, leaves picked

Make the dough first by putting the flour and the eggs and a pinch of salt into a food processor. Pulse on high for a 30 seconds or so, until combined well into a smooth, pliable dough, adding a little water if the mixture is too dry.
Knead the dough together for a minute before wrapping in cling film and chilling for an hour.

Blanch the nettles for 30 seconds in boiling water, then drain and plunge into very cold tap water or ice water to stop the cooking, drain well.
Tear the mozzerella into chunks and put into the food processor with the nettles and garlic and pulse until fine but not paste-like, you want to keep a little texture in the nettles.
Stir the salt and parmesan into the mixture and set aside until you're ready to use it.


Cut the ball of dough into two and on a floured surface, roll each half into a long sheet thin enough to read the paper through. If you have a pasta maker, all the better. I, on the other hand am po', so I have yet to buy one.
Brush excess flour off each sheet using a pastry brush.

Use a teaspoon to put equal amounts of the filling along the sheet in two rows, keeping about 3cm (1 1/2") in between.

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil.

Use a pastry brush to wet the pasta a little all around the filling, then carefully lower the top sheet of pasta over the top.
Use your fingers to press down around the mounds of filling, taking care to push out any air and then use a pizza cutter to trim down all four sides of the dough and then to divide the individual ravioli.
Check again for air pockets and make sure all the edges are sealed, then drop them one at a time into the pot of boiling water. Boil for 10-12 minutes, until pale and tender but not soggy.

While the pasta is boiling, melt the butter in a heavy frying pan over a medium heat, then add the pine nuts and fry for a minute, until both the pine nuts and butter are starting to go golden, then turn off the heat and stir in the sage leaves.

Drain the ravioli and spoon into bowls. Drizzle with the butter and scatter the pine nuts all over the top. Grate a little more parmesan over the top and eat immediately with a big glass of champagne.
Nettles

Spring's First Asparagus

One of the things that's great about having a veggie garden is that come spring, you get to start collecting the fruits (and veg) of your labour, after a long winter of garden inactivity.
Sometimes, I haven't made room in my menu for veggies that seem to suddenly be ready to harvest and I find that I have to quickly find something to do with a crop of peas, beans, lettuce, tomatoes and so on. Of course much can be blanched and frozen or preserved in other ways, but I prefer to eat things right away, as having freshly picked veggies was part of the reason for growing our own in the first place.
Yesterday, I realized that we had quite a bit of asparagus that needed to be harvested before it got too big and tough and I wanted to try to incorporate them into the Indian meal I had planned for our supper.

I decided to make some pakoras, a popular Indian snack or starter, which are made with chick pea (garbanzo bean) flour and some subtle spices.

Served with a dip of cucumber mint raita, they're a lovely accompaniment to a curry or as a starter. Other veggies like cauliflower, potato and onion are common ingredients in traditional pakoras. If you're in need of ideas for party nibbles, these are brilliant made bite-sized, you just need to cut the veggies a little smaller.

Asparagus Pakoras with Cucumber Riata
Makes 4 (serves 2) takes 25 minutes

6-7 stalks of asparagus
1/2 a medium onion
6 tbsp gram flour*
6tbsp cold water
a couple of pinches of salt
1/2 tsp ajwan seeds (optional)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp baking powder
Veg Oil for frying

For the Raita:
1 cup natural yoghurt
2 tsp mint sauce
salt to taste
1/2 a cucumber, (English/hothouse) grated
handful fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, rouhgly chopped
1 sprig fresh mint, chopped

Mix together the gram flour, baking powder, water, salt and spices so that you have a mixture about the consistency of pancake batter.
Slice the onion half into thin half-moon slices and add them to the batter. Trim the woody bottoms off the asparagus and slice about 1/4" thick on a sharp diagonal then add the pieces to the batter, mixing the whole lot well to coat well.

Add oil to a skillet to fill about 1/4" deep and heat over a medium heat to 160C (320F) which will drop slightly when you add the pakora mixture.

Use a large spoon to scoop loose piles of the veggie/batter mixture into the hot oil and allow them to cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown on the bottom before carefully turning over and cooking for a further 2-3 minutes on the second side. Remove the pakoras to a plate with some paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

If you make a large number and are cooking in batches, keep them hot in a warm oven while you finish subsequent pieces.

For the raita, simply mix all the ingredients together well in a bowl. Serve on the side of the pakoras.

Spring Is Springing!!

This is my absolute favourite time of year. Now that the clocks have come forward, the days are magically longer and energy levels are suddenly higher, it's fantastic!

The woods behind my house are coming to promising life, full of the sound of song birds and the new shoots of tasty little ingredients like elder flowers and young nettles. Some of the elder trees along the stream by the back of the wods are dead or dying, and grow a fabulous mushroom called Jelly Ear or Wood Ear. They're used a lot in Chinese cookery and are usually sold dried in this country. They remind me of the ears of those creepy hairless cats like Mrs Whiskerson (Rachel's cat on Friends, duh) But they are absolutely delicious. They don't have a ton of flavour, but their texture is similar to a tender seaweed.

So now that Spring is here, I'll be done with hearty winter dishes for a while I think, preferring lighter salads, grilled dishes and lots of veggies, as they start to come out of the ground outside. Because last year we got three tons of bum compost delivered, our harvest was frustratingly sad. I left all the beetroot and parsnip seedlings that had failed to thrive in the ground, fully expecting the snow and worms to finish them off, but they over-wintered really well, giving us a surprise spring harvest.

I practice crop rotation in our garden, so last year's beets had to give up their spot this week to make way for other things, so I pulled these little golf ball-size babies out of the ground, keeping all the tender young leaves for my salad.

I made a spring vegetable minestrone, the basic recipe for which I 'borrowed' from Delicious magazine. It has broken tagliatelle in it, but you could use any left-over bits of pasta that you have lying around, or none at all.

The salad is a simple beet leaf, avocado and baby beet pile, full of the flavours of this time of year. It's the sort of thing that makes you feel better about having feasted on stodge and carbs all winter.

Spring Veg Minestrone With Broken Tagliatelle

serves 2, takes less than 20 mins

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 stalk celery, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 small red chilli, de-seeded and finely sliced

1/2 cup each, frozen peas, broad beans, sliced green beans (or similar

the heart of a romaine lettuce, cut into large chunks

6-8 asparagus spears, cut into 1" pieces

handful dry tagliatelle or spaghetti noodles broken into three

1 litre good veg or chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp olive oil

Put the onion, celery and garlic in a food processor with a couple of tablespoons of water and pulse into a smooth puree. Sweat this mixture with the olive oil in a medium saucepan for 4-5 minutes, until translucent and fragrant. Add the sliced chilli and the chicken stock, then bring to the boil before adding the broken pasta and cooking for a further 8 minutes, until the noodles are tender.

For the final two minutes of the cooking, add in the frozen veggies, asparagus spears and lettuce.

Season before serving with crusty bread and butter.

Beetroot and Avocado Salad with Baby Beet Leaves

Serves 2, takes 2 hours (because of cooking and cooling times)

6-8 baby beets (depending on size) tops and roots trimmed

large handful baby beet leaves

1/2 avocado, cut into small, bite-sized pieces

2 large romaine lettuce leaves, sliced thinly

Dressing:

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 salted anchovy fillets, chopped finely

2 tsp walnut oil (optional)

Boil the beetroot in a pan of salted water for 45 mins-1 hour, depending on size. They're cooked when tender all the way through to the tip of a knife. Drain the beets and allow them to cool completely.

Peel the beets by rubbing them with your thumbs, the skins will slide right off. It's best to wear latex gloves while you do this, as the colour from the beets will stain your hands.

Cut the beets into halves or quarters, depending on their size and pop into a bowl with the walnut oil, (or some olive oil) a little of the vinegar and a sprinkle of salt.

Use a fork to whisk together the remaining dressing ingredients, then toss the avocado, lettuce and beet leaves through the dressing well.

Pile onto plates and top with the gorgeous jewel-like baby beets.

Veg Soup

Baby Beet Salad

A Peck of Peppery Mc Pepper-Pants Pizza

You know the term Trial and error? Well when I hear that, I think of pizza dough. Well, bread in general has always been a bit of a struggle for me, as I'm never quite satisfied with the fullness of the flavour or the texture. I had a six week-long battle in the search for the perfect loaf of sourdough this winter and am currently taking a break so that I'm not tempted to throw my jar of starter through the window. (his name is Algernon, because when I feed him I say I have flour for Algernon.... That looks a little insane in print.)
I worked in a few pizza places when I was a teenager living in Port Townsend, WA. One made the best pizza crust and one made really bland, insipid crust that could easily have come from the grocery store. From the first place, I learned a TON about making pizza, tossing dough, making sausage and working with hippies. From the second place I learned that I missed the first place but that I liked working with women who shave their armpits, don't sweat like wrestlers and wax their upper lips.
But I digress. Much of my adult life has been spent trying to perfect my own pizza crust and finally, I HAVE DONE IT! For the past few months I have been able to make a consistently good dough.
I realize that when it comes to pizza crust, beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder. While some prefer a thin, crisp New York style and some (God knows WHY) like a thick, bread-like mattress like those Chicago stylie pies. I prefer thin crust, my husband prefers thick. This should have been discussed before we made any kind of commitment but luckily, because I'm the cook in our house, I make it my way.

Actually, my crust is more like an Italian one. Thin, crisp yet chewy, with a bubbly, crisp edge.
I add a little lemon juice (ascorbic acid) to help develop that crispy outer edge and bottom and I use a little sourdough starter for a fuller flavour, but you can leave it out and have a similar result.

Obviously, you can use whatever toppings you like, but this is one we regularly have, with three colours of bell pepper, red chilli and fresh peppery rocket (arugula) scattered over the top as soon as it comes out of the oven. Super tasty.

Very Peppery Pizza
Makes 2 lg pizzas, takes 3 hrs including dough resting

For the crust:
600g (21 oz) tipo 00 flour (or strong bread flour)
300ml (10 0z) lukewarm water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp active dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/3 cup sourdough starter*
juice of 1/2 a lemon

For the sauce:
1 400g (14 oz) can crushed tomatoes
handful fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil

\2 150g (5.5oz) (ish) balls fresh mozzerella
1/3 each red, yellow and green bell pepper
1 tbsp crushed red chilli (or to taste)
Chunk of Parmesan
A few handfuls of wild rocket (arugula)

Handful polenta or corn meal (nature's ball bearings)

Make the dough. In a jug, dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the olive oil, starter and sugar. Leave for a few minutes until the yeast has dissolved and there is a foamy froth on top of the liquid. Using a stand mixer** with the dough hook attachment, tip in your flour and salt and make a well in the centre. Squeeze the lemon juice into the water mixture and pour that whole lot into the well in the flour.
On a low setting, so as not to send flour everywhere, turn on your mixer to stir the liquid into the flour then increase the speed to properly incorporate and leave the machine to knead the dough for 6-7 minutes to produce a smooth, elastic dough.
Put a little oil in a large bowl and use the ball of dough you just made to coat the inside of the bowl. Cover the dough in the bowl and leave to rest in a warm place (the top of one of my husband's computers) for a couple of hours until more than doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and give it a little knead, then weigh the dough and divide into two equal balls. Cover the balls and allow to rest on the counter for 15 mins or so while you make the sauce.

Crank your oven up as high as it will go with a pizza stone or large baking sheet inside.

The sauce is so stupidly easy, I'm almost embarrassed to write the method.
In a small saucepan, put the crushed tomato, chopped basil, crushed garlic, salt and olive oil and bring to a low simmer. Cook for 15 minutes or so until reduced and you can smell the cooked garlic.

To assemble, roll out your dough on a floured surface until almost the size you want, then use the backs of your hands to further stretch outward until big enough to cover your pizza stone or baking sheet.

Now, move QUICKLY.
Remove the pizza stone from the oven and sprinkle it liberally with the polenta or corn meal. Lay your dough on top and spoon a few large spoonfuls of the sauce into the centre, using the back of the spoon to spread it out almost to the edge.
Lay your slices of one ball of mozzerella like the positions on a clock, with a few in the centre, then scatter with the crushed red chilli and top with half of the diced bell peppers.
Put right back into the oven and cook for 10 (ish) minutes, until the top is bubbling and the crust is a gorgeous deep brown.

Remove from the oven an slide onto a cutting board or huge serving plate. Use a vegetable peeler (or a grater is fine) to slice Parmesan all over the top, then scatter with the rocket leaves.

Allow to cool for 30 seconds- 1 minute before slicing and gobbling up.

Cook's notes:
* To make a wild sourdough starter, in a sterilized jar, mix 1/2 cup organic wholewheat bread flour, 1/2 cup organic white bread flour, 1 cup warm water and a few organic grapes.
Leave uncovered in a warm room for a day, then add another 1/2 cup of the same white or wheat flour and 1/2 cup warm water. Repeat on day three, and by day four, you should have a beery smelling, frothy mixture with which you can now make sourdough bread. You can store your starter in the fridge once it's established.
There are some brilliant online resources for making sourdough bread, which I have been trying. I'll try again shortly and will let you in on how it goes.

**You can make this dough in a bowl and with your hands if you want to or if you don't have a mixer. You'll want to knead the dough well on a floured surface for a good 10-15 minutes before leaving it to proof. This is essential for good texture and will be a fantastic workout!

PS. If your pizza cutter is on its last legs, I strongly recommend the Zyliss one I have. I've had mine for about ten years now and it's one of the best conceived kitchen gadgets I own. We also use it for cutting quesadillas and chopping large bunches of herbs.

Veggie Pizza

A Veritable Veggie Indian FEAST!

We've been so veggie this week, I can practically smell the patchouli oil coming out of our pores.
I'm seriously considering growing out my armpit and leg hair and have traded in my Fit flops for Birkenstocks.
Of course I kid. I no more think that all vegetarians are hairy legged hippies (not that there's anything wrong with that.) than do I think that all meat eaters are blood-thirsty heart attacks waiting to happen.
Tonight was another meatless night for us though, and as much as I do love my meat dishes, this week has been rather a fun (and gaseous!) adventure. As I have mentioned before, my guys are not particularly excited about the idea of meat-free food, but rather than always trying to trick them into thinking that there's meat in their supper, I usually just aim to fill their plates with lively flavour and a good variety of colours and textures.
Tonight's Indian dishes are a simple combination of some basic veggies cooked with a variety of spices that compliment them best. The result was well received by both Drew and Christian who admitted that they haven't missed meat at all this week. I'm not going to push my luck next week though, the meat is making its way back in.

By the way, I always make extra of the Bombay aloo (Potatoes) just as I do with dhal, as they're amazing with eggs for breakfast the next day.

Bombay Aloo, Gobi Masala and Kumbi Bhaji

Serves 4, takes 50 minutes

For the Bombay Aloo (potatoes):

750g floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edward, peeled and cut into 4 cm (1 1/2") chunks

1 large onion, sliced

1 green pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cm piece ginger, grated
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp chilli powder
1/1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp fenugreek
2 tbsp ghee or veg oil
1 tsp salt

For the Kumbi Bhaji (mushrooms):
250g button mushroooms, halved or larger mushrooms cut into smaller chunks.
2 ripe tomatoes, peeled* and diced
1/2 onion, diced small
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cm ginger, grated
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp oil

For the Gobi Masala (cauliflower):
1 head, cauliflower, cut into small florets
1/2 onion, small diced
1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ajwan seeds (optional, they can be hard to find), crushed
1/2 tsp salt
1 green chilli, de-seeded, sliced
1 tbsp oil

To serve: juice of 1 lemon, handful fresh coriander (cilantro)

Listen to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan or Punjabi MC while cooking this lot.

Blanch the cauliflower in salted boiling water in a medium saucepan for three minutes, then drain and set aside.
In the same saucepan, heat the ghee or oil and tip in the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Sizzle for about thirty seconds until they start to crackle. Add the ginger, garlic, onions, green pepper, salt and the rest of the spices and continue to fry for a few minutes until the onions are going golden and soft. Add the potatoes to the pan and stir well to coat completely in the masalas, then pour half a cup of water over, lower the heat to med-low, cover and leave to cook for 20 minutes while you get on with the rest of the meal.

In a small frying pan, heat one tbsp of oil and fry the onion, ginger and garlic for the mushrooms. When beginning to soften and colour, add the spices and stir-fry for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the tomatoes to the pan and continue to cook for a few minutes, until the smell of raw tomato has gone and the liquid is beginning to cook out. Stir the mushrooms into the mixture and sprinkle over the salt. Lower the heat and continue to cook for a ten or so minutes, when the mushrooms are well cooked and there is little moisture left in the pan.

For the Cauliflower: In a small frying pan, heat one tbsp of oil and fry the onion, ginger and garlic. When beginning to soften and colour, add the spices and stir-fry for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the chilli to the pan and stir fry for a couple of minutes to release some of the flavour. Stir the blanched cauli into the spiced oil and cook for a couple of minutes until warmed through and just cooked. you don't want to it to be too soft and mushy. Squeeze the lemon juice over after you turn the heat off.

Serve together on a big plate with chapatis or naan bread and pickles or chutneys.
Scatter with fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves

Love the way your house smells

*Cook's Note: to peel the tomatoes, cut and X with a sharp knife just through the skin. Put in a small bowl and pour enough boiling water over them to cover. Leave for 15 seconds, the remove from the water and allow to cool for a minute before peeling.

Don't refrigerate your tomatoes if you can help it. The cold spoils the flavour and turns the texture mealy.

Don't wash mushrooms. Just wipe with a clean, damp kitchen towel or cloth.

Curried Potatoes

Cauliflower Bhaaji

Mushroom Bhaji

Falafel, Hummus and Bulgar Salad

Garlic Breath? Who cares! Who needs a snog when you've had a dinner as tasty as this one?
As part of the po' folk week, we're having another meatless meal, which again features legumes and grains in the shape of chick peas (garbanzo beans) and bulgar wheat.
These are all super simple to make, especially if you've got a food processor and the whole lot will be done in around 45 minutes. Not bad for something this healthy and tasty.

The hummus isn't completely authentic, as I make it lower fat than is traditional but I really don't think your taste buds will be able to tell the diff.

You will be breathing serious garlic when you're done, but if you feed this to your special someone you'll be a matching pair and just think how healthy you're making your blood!

Falafel, Hummus and Bulgar Wheat Salad
Serves 4, takes 45 minutes

For the Falafel:
1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 onion, rough diced
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp gram flour (garbanzo bean flour) or 2 tbsp wheat flour
pepper
small handful parsley leaves
small handful coriander leaves
250 ml sunflower oil for frying


For the Hummus:
1 can chick peas
2 cloves garlic
4 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
200ml cold water (approx)


For the Bulgar wheat salad:
300ml (by volume) bulgar wheat kernels (or cous cous works just as well!)
8cm cucumber, diced small
2 ripe tomatoes* de-seeded and diced small
1 clove, garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
small handful mint leaves, chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp olive oil
juice 1/2 lemon

To Serve: 4 pita bread, warmed.

First, start the bulgar wheat by measuring it into a bowl and sprinkling the salt, paprika and ground coriander over. Measure an equal volume (300ml in this case) of boiling water and pour over the grains, stirring gently. Cover for five minutes, then fluff with a fork, uncover and pop in the fridge while you get everything else ready.

Make the hummus- In the bowl of a large food processor, add all the ingredients except for the water and pulse on high, scraping the sides down until you have a coarse paste. scrape the sides of the owl down again and pulse, drizzling in the cold water a little at a time until you have a thick but soft paste. You will probably have to scrape and pulse, scrape and pulse a couple of times to make it consistent. Taste test for lemon and salt, adjust if necessary. Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate until you're ready to serve.

For the falafel, put all the ingredients except the gram (or wheat) flour into the bowl of your food processor and pulse (scrape, pulse, scrape...) until you have a thick, consistent paste. Stir the flour through to thicken and let sit for a minute before shaping into balls, using an ice cream scoop or dessert spoon to measure, then flatten slightly.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over a med-high heat until a pinch of the falafel mixture sizzles when you drop it in. Carefully place the small patties in the oil and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. If you're using a smaller frying pan, do this in two batches and keep them warm in an oven while you fry the second lot.

Stir the herbs, fresh veg, lemon juice and olive oil into the cooled bulgar wheat right before serving.

Serve big scoops of the hummus, bulgar salad and three falafel each with some pita bread and shredded lettuce. An extra wedge of lemon on the side wouldn't go amiss either.

Now go breathe on your friends.

Falafel
Hummus

Bulgur Wheat Salad

Saag Aloo (Indian Potatoes with Spinach)

When I was little and we'd go to our local Indian, my parents would invariably order saag aloo and tarka dhal as side dishes to accompany our various menu selections. Unless I'm cooking for more than our little family, I usually just make a curry and rice, but tend to leave the various side dishes for when we've got guests. I realize that this is a bit of a shame, because no other country than India has such a wealth of incredible vegetarian dishes which are fragrant, nourishing and simple to create.
Tonight, I was serving some lamb curry that I made last week and frozen the leftovers, and so I decided to make this simple potato and spinach dish to accompany it. I'm not sure if it would stand up to scrutiny from the authenticity police, but to me, it tastes every bit as good as any saag aloo I've eaten in a restaurant. With this in mind, feel free to adjust the various spices to taste and let me know what you think.

My Saag Aloo
serves 4, takes approx 30 minutes
5-6 medium-sized floury potatoes (such as Maris Piper or King Edward) Cut into large bite-size pieces
1 large onion, finely diced
150g spinach leaves, thoroughly washed and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cm ginger root, finely grated
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
2 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground fenugreek
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp ghee or veg oil
1 red chilli sliced thinly

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil over a med-high heat until shimmery. Add the brown mustard and cumin seeds and stir in the oil for a minute or two until the mustard seeds start popping. Stir the onions through and continue to cook until beginning to brown and soften-about 3-4 mins. Add the potatoes, the remaining spices, salt, 300ml water and the chopped spinach. Stir through to combine, lower the heat to low then cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Check the potatoes with the tip of a knife and if necessary allow to cook for a further few minutes, uncovered until most of the moisture has cooked away and the potatoes are tender all the way through.
Serve by scattering with the sliced chilli and some fresh coriander leaves and lovely with naan bread and mushroom pilao rice.

Aloo Saag