There’s a small Lebanese caff and takeaway here on Essex Road. They don’t have a licence but you can take your own booze and have a lovely evening with simple food, really lovely staff and the occasional snippet of amusing take-away customer banter. The other day I ordered a side dish of broad beans which was absolutely delicious, so I asked the waiter how they were cooked and, without skipping a beat he said, “If I tell you that, madam, I will have to kill you.” We agreed that I was prepared to take that risk.

For me, shelling the broad beans is part of the fun and it reminds me of childhood summers, but of course you can buy frozen ones if you’re short of time.

To serve 4 people as a side dish you’ll need about 20 beans per person and you’ll find between 4 and 8 beans in each pod, depending on the variety. (Unless you’re inviting me to dinner, in which case you’ll need about 80 for me and a few for yourself.)

Ingredients:

80 beans (10-20 pods)

A handful of fresh coriander leaf. Chopped.

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped, or crush them straight into the oil using a garlic press.

A generous pinch of sea salt flakes.

1 lime.

Shell the beans and boil them in plenty of unsalted water for 5-7 minutes. Cooking time depends on the size and age of the bean, so if they’re big and tough looking give them a little longer. (Some people blanch them and remove the skins as well as the pods, but I quite like the skins). Drain the beans, set them aside and place the pan back on the hob.

Heat a generous splash of olive oil in the pan until it’s hot but not smoking, Crush the garlic into the hot oil, add a pinch of sea salt flakes, put a lid on it and fry gently for 2 to 3 minutes. You don’t want the garlic brown, just soft. Add the coriander leaf to the garlicky, salty oil, mix it around and immediately add back the broad beans. Stir gently with a wooden spoon so that the beans become coated in the garlic/coriander oil. Transfer the beans to a serving dish and squeeze the juice of a lime over them. Serve immediately.

There’s a recipe for broad bean and pancetta salad in the Essex Road recipe collection, so if you pledge, that’s something else to look forward to!

Channeling my inner Steve Chapman this week, here’s Banter the Bean.

I intended to make a big tuna niçoise salad for our neighbours get-together the other night, but Marsey and Jason in Steve Hatt the fishmonger pointed out that, due to bad weather in the Indian Ocean, tuna had been a little hard to come by. That’s the kind of food nerd info that I love. .

So I went with salmon instead. I bought one large piece and Marsey skinned it for me. I like to cook the salmon in one big piece if I can, and break it up after it’s cooked because it stays juicy that way. However, if you want a crispier texture, break up the salmon before you fry it.

Before cooking, I marinated the fish for a couple of hours in a mix of lemon juice, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and grated ginger. Then I heated a small amount of olive and toasted sesame oil (half and half) in a frying pan and quickly fried a dessertspoon of sesame seeds until they turned dark brown, before placing the salmon fillet in there. I started out with the oil very hot, then, after about 2 minutes turned the heat down and placed a lid on the pan. After about 5 minutes I took the lid off and turned up the heat again for another minute to drive off the excess liquid and give a slightly crispy texture to the underside of the fish.

Then I broke it up and gently placed the pieces, along with halved hard-boiled eggs on top of a big, dressed salad of green leaves, halved baby tomatoes and cooked green beans.

Here it is.Don’t forget to order your boxed set of recipes and food improvisation tips here

And here are the green beans on the balcony.

Worst recipe pun ever? Sorry.

These 3 escaped marrows were spotted in the Market Garden today.

Below the image you will find the recipe card for stuffed marrow, and remember, if you want to get 2 lovely sets of 50 recipe cards, along with a booklet of how to improvise recipes, all you need to do is pledge here to our Unbound adventure to help make it happen

Big thanks to the anonymous foodie who left a pickled chestnut in the Market Garden for me to try. Then I spied scallops in Steve Hatt’s window and from that came this.  I added a little of the chestnut, chopped very finely, to the breadcrumb mix. If you don’t have a mysterious chestnut donor in your neighbourhood, the recipe will be equally lovely without it.

Ingredients for 4 people:

16 scallops.

(I never trim the roe – the orange bit – off scallops because I’m lucky enough to shop somewhere where I know they are really fresh and the roe will taste good. However, if there’s any chance that your scallops have been out of the sea for more than a couple of days, the roe can taste a bit strong so you might want to trim it off).

Marinate the scallops in the juice of 1 lemon for about an hour before cooking, turning them over occasionally.

150g breadcrumbs mixed with 1 tsp dried chilli flakes, 3 whole cloves smashed to dust in a pestle and mortar, 1/2 a finely chopped pickled chestnut, a pinch of salt and a shake of black pepper. Spread this mix out on a big plate.

1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil.

1 small red chilli chopped very finely

3 cloves garlic, chopped very finely

1 tbsp soy sauce.

What to do, roughly speaking:

Take the scallops out of the lemon juice, dry them slightly by placing them on kitchen paper, and then coat them in the breadcrumb, chilli flake, cloves, chestnut, salt and pepper mix.

Heat the mixed olive and sesame oil in a large frying pan until it begins to smoke, turn the heat down a little and add the garlic and chilli. Fry for a couple of minutes. The heat is still high, but not so high as to start a fire. Obviously.

Gently place the breadcrumbed scallops in the frying pan and cook for about 3 minutes. Carefully turn them over, add the soy sauce and cook for another 2 minutes. A lot of the breadcrumb mix will fall off but don’t worry about that, just scoop it onto the top of the scallops as you serve them.

For the veg I used: 

A handful of tender stem broccoli washed and trimmed

2 handfuls of sugarsnap peas washed and trimmed

2 handfuls of green beans washed and trimmed

2 sweet red peppers sliced

a splash of olive oil

1 small red chilli, about 1in/2.5cm of ginger root cut into thin strips, 2 garlic cloves, crushed.

Place all the veg in a deep frying pan with about 3 cm of water in the bottom and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat, cover and simmer for 4 or 5 minutes. Drain and leave the veg to one side. Return the pan to the heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chilli, garlic and ginger. Fry for 1 or 2 minutes. Tip the veg back into the pan and mix it all around so that it’s coated with your garlic/ginger/chilli mix. Add a little salt or soy sauce to taste.

Serve with rice…

..and wine…

…or rice wine…

…or beer….

Serving it with green tea is OK, I suppose.

A few copies of the deck of Essex Road Recipe cards are still available, if you’d like to buy a set just contact me here. Thanks!

…strangest invention yet?

I blame the beetroot. I was preparing some to roast for Easter Sunday lunch to serve alongside the s……l……o…….w casseroled lamb shanks  with preserved lemons (recipe also here, just click on the .pdf below the chocobeet pictures), and I just nibbled a little raw beetroot, as you do. It’s so sweet and crunchy. Irresistible. And, what with it being Easter, aka chocolatemas, I was also making chocolate dipped strawberries and blueberries. The beetroot was way sweeter than the fruits, which set me thinking, “what if I dipped the beetroot in chocolate instead of the fruits?” So I did. They’re crunchy and sweet and chocolatey.

You’re welcome.

Peel the beetroot and slice into thick matchstick shapes. Melt 70% chocolate in a small, deep bowl over some hot water (I used a shot glass). Once the chocolate has melted, dip the beetroot sticks. (It’s time consuming, as you have to dip them one at a time.) Place them on greaseproof paper on a plate, and pop in the fridge to set.

Peel…chop…

dip…cool..

eat….

 

ERR18lambshanks

Happy Paddy’s day, everyone.  I made this on Sunday, and instead of buying a can I popped down to the New Rose at around midday with a jug and bought a pint of Guinness. Proud to say that I managed to escape back up to my kitchen without having a drink.

In a slight variation to the recipe below, I added about 20 button mushrooms to the pot 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time. Worked well, even though I say so myself.

Enjoy. ERR22beef&guinness

 

I served this as a side dish with roast halibut, but I think that the combination of aromatic, sharp and sweet flavours would also work really well with lamb chops or sausages.

INGREDIENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE AS A SIDE DISH

2 large fennel bulbs.

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon freshly ground or crushed coriander seed.

Seeds and juice of half a pomegranate.

 What to do, roughly speaking

Trim off the very bottom of the fennel bulbs, and the feathery tops.

Discard any outer leaves that have dark or soft-looking patches. If you choose your fennel carefully and it’s a good batch you may not have to discard any of it.

Slice in half lengthwise, trying to keep the halves intact. Don’t worry if they fall apart, but if they do you’ll need a little less cooking time.

What to do, roughly speaking:

Cover the bottom of a small roasting dish with olive oil and sprinkle in the salt and pepper and freshly ground coriander.

Place this in the oven pre-heated to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas mark 6

When the oil is hot, add the fennel and coat with the hot seasoned oil.

Return to the oven and roast for about 40 minutes.

(I was also roasting the halibut as well as potatoes, beetroot and carrots in separate dishes to make the best use of the hot oven.)

Turn the heat up to 240ºC/475ºF/Gas mark 9.

Pour the pomegranate seeds and juice over the fennel and return to the oven for about 10 minutes until the pomegranate seeds look slightly burnt. Taste one of the seeds to make sure that it is caramelised – chewy with a very slightly charred taste.

Serve while still very hot.

 

According to the Oracle of Delphi beets are worth their weight in silver. Fortunately they’re a lot cheaper than that now. Allegedly the goddess Aphrodite ate beets to help retain and enhance her beauty (although it’s possible that she was just a messy eater so looked as if she was wearing lipstick after she’d eaten it). It is said that if two people eat from the same beetroot then they will fall in love, and fennel seeds are said to bring strength, courage and fertility. (Careful who you share the soup with…)

As beetroot season ends in October/November the ones you can buy now will probably have come from store. However, like most root veg, if stored carefully in a cool, humid environment beetroots retain their flavour and texture. The Market Garden has had some very tasty small beets with leaves and stalks still attached over the past few weeks but since we’re approaching the end of the time when even stored beetroots are any good, do your liver a favour and make this soup soon.

aphroditesbeetsoup

Yes, eating beetroot regularly helps cleanse the liver, and if your Christmas was anything like mine, you should be eating beetroot pretty much constantly until February, so here also is a reminder of the beetroot, halloumi and walnut salad from way back in 2014..

ERR14beethaloumiwalnut

 

This was invented by Will and Rishin in a game that we call “3 favourites”. I don’t think that they imagined at the time that I would actually steal their idea and make it, but here it is. Thanks, guys!

We loved the combination of the sweetness of the slightly baked apple, burger meatiness and mustard heat.

I got the idea for cooking burgers in the oven from Jamie Oliver, and its perfect for this recipe because it allows the apple slice to soak up the burger juices and cook just enough to retain a little bit of crunch.

You’ll need to make the burgers quite small so that they’ll stand on the apple slices, but that’s OK – you can always eat 2.

You will need, for 2 hungry people or 4 bird-like eaters:

500 g high quality minced beef

1 medium red onion very, very finely chopped

1 beaten egg

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of mustard powder

salt and pepper.

1 large, sweet apple.

A handful of dried breadcrumbs (might not be necessary)

What to do, roughly speaking:

Preheat the oven to 230ºC/450ºF/Gas 8.

Break up the beef in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle the salt, pepper, mustard and cumin seeds over it. Rub the cumin seeds between your fingers as you add them to the mix to break them up a bit.

Add the very finely chopped red onion and mix it in thoroughly with a fork.

Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Now divide the mix into 4 portions and use your hands to form the beef into 4 burgers – as if you are making meatballs but somewhat flatter as they need to sit on the apple slices.

If the burger mix isn’t sticking (if your beef is fresh this shouldn’t be a problem) then add another egg or a small amount of water. If it seems too moist, add a handful of dried breadcrumbs.

Chop off the top and bottom of the apple then cut into 4 even round slices. You can either pick out the pips, or leave them in. Cooked apple pips have quite a nice almond like flavour so I left them in. Apparently they contain a cyanide-like compound but, hey, let’s live dangerously!

Lay out the 4 apple slices In a roasting dish (see pic below), and then put one burger on top of each slice. Press down a little so that it doesn’t fall off.

Place the burgers in a pre-heated oven for about 20 minutes.

I served it without a bun, but with a mixture of roast potatoes and sweet potatoes, sautéed broccoli and mushrooms, and some English mustard on the side.