Kedgeree

Kedgeree is a favourite in our house and is one of those dishes that is great for people who aren't the biggest fishy fans in the world as it is not overpowering; the flavours are subtle and fragrant.  It's not secret that I love my rice dishes - Jambayala is another firm favourite and a friend instagrammed a Bibimbap the other day that got me drooling - expect a version in the near future!

Kedgeree though is always one I fall back on, probably because it is so versatile!  It is traditionally an Anglo-Indian breakfast dish, but we normally serve it for dinner in our house.  I am in no way organised enough in the mornings to sort out breakfast; the best I can do is some fruit or a couple of breakfast biscuits with a cup of tea at my desk while I blearily check emails on any given weekday!  The leftovers however make a brilliant lunchbox meal that gets the rest of the office staring jealously over your shoulder as you chow down.

I was particularly stupid with this dish.  I used to think it was Scottish (probably due to the smoked fish) and it never occurred to me that it wasn't until a few years ago when I started cooking it myself.  It wasn't until I adapted a version from The Spicery into this recipe and noticed all the Indian spices that everything clicked into place.  I'm an idiot.

As I mentioned, this recipe is originally inspired by the one that you get with The Spicery boxes and full credit goes to them, but I have adapted it slightly.

Make the spice mixes first - you will have more than you actually need to use, so pop the leftovers into a little food bag, label it and stick it in the cupboard somewhere dry and dark.  It makes a great rub for chicken or fish or add it to a curry when you are frying the onions for some extra depth of flavour.  Try sprinkling the leftover herb mix through cooked rice and frying it off in a pan for some added interest.  Use it within a few days (a couple of weeks at the most) so that the flavours don't deteriorate too much.

• 2 onions, 1 finely chopped, 1 cut in half
• 3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 250g basmati rice
• 300g smoked haddock
• 250ml semi skimmed milk
• 250ml water
• 4 eggs
• 60g butter
• 2 lemons
• Whole spices: 1 bay leaf, 1 cinnamon quill, 1 tsp green cardamon pods (available at the supermarket)
• 2 tsps Spice Mixture  (1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground cardamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1.2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 tsp ground cloves -grind it in a pestle and mortar and mix it all together into one spice medley).
• 2 tsps Herb Mixture (1/2 tsp ground coriander leaf, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 1/2 tsp toasted mustard seeds, 1 1/2 tsp toasted cumin seeds, 1 tsp parsley leaf, 1 tsp garam masala and grind together in a pestle and mortar.

Note: you need to toast the spices yourself, just chuck them into a dry frying pan and heat gently for about 30 seconds.  The second you start to smell them, whisk them out and straight into the mortar.

Boil the eggs for 8 minutes and leave to cool

Combine the water, milk, halved onion, sliced garlic, whole spices and 1/2 tsp salt in a large shallow pan.  Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  The smell from this milk bath is just divine!

Add the fish, cover and leave to simmer on the lowest heat for 10 minutes

Remove the fish and leave to cool, keep the scented milk mixture in the pan

In a separate large shallow pan with a lid melt the butter and cook the chopped onion until translucent

Add the rice, raisins and spice mixture to the onions.  Stir until it is all evenly covered

Strain the milk over the rice, discarding all the bits left in the milk pan

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the rice has absorbed all the milk and is cooked and fluffy.  Add a bit more water if needed

Flake the fish into bite size pieces and add to the rice with the cooked lentils and the herb mix, with 1/2 tsp salt and the juice of 1 lemon.  Stir and recover for a further 5 minutes.  The liquid should have all evaporated and the whole dish be fairly dry.

Chop up 2 of the eggs and mix them through the rice, then halve the other two and lay them on top

Serve with lemon wedges and Asian chutney.  Sambal Assam works particularly well!  You can also add cooked green lentils and raisins to the rice during the final cooking stage.  Steve doesn't like them, so I didn't. 

If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a cheeky follow, or say Hi to me on my Facebook group or Twitter or Instagram!

Kibbeh, Falafel and Tabbouleh Mezze

One of the major issues with Steve playing cricket at the weekends is that it is nigh on impossible to estimate what time he will be barrelling through the front door in the evenings, hot, hungry and thirsty.

I've learned from experience that it is always useful to have something prepared for dinner that can be ready within 10 minutes, max, of this occurring.  A roast just won't cut it as you can guarantee that it will either only be ready an hour after he gets home, or it will be dry and overdone if the game runs long.

Mezze plates are fab for this - I can prep earlier in the day, do a little bit of last minute cooking and plate up before he has a chance to get his whites off.

Mezze is basically Arabic tapas - a selection of small finger food dishes that you can pick and mix a plateful from.  It is so easy to do and surprisingly filling - a platter like this will easily feed 3-4 people (I frequently do one as a starter for dinner parties).  As I have shown this before, I'm not going to go into the details of everything that appears on this one.  What I will do though is show you my recipes for Lamb Kibbeh (little lamb meatballs mixed with Bulgar wheat), Falafel (fried chickpea patties) and Tabbouleh (a Bulgar wheat salad).

I can make the kibbeh, tabbouleh and falafel earlier in the day (or the day before) and just leave them in the fridge until I'm ready to cook.  Then I just squeeze some lemon juice and olive oil over the tabbouleh, quick fry the kibbeh and falafel and we are ready to go! 

I normally start with the kibbeh and follow one of The Spicery's recipes for it - it's a fail safe.  They are succulent little balls with a bit of a 'bitty' texture inside due to the Bulgar wheat, and the spices just complement and enhance the flavour of the lamb. They are not dry in the slightest due to the quick cooking time, and they also make great little fridge raiders if you have any left over!  For about 20 little torpedo's you will need:

500g minced lamb
1 large, coarsely grated white onion
1 crushed clove of garlic
150g Bulgar wheat
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tsp toasted cumin
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
good sprinkling of sea salt

All you need to do is mash the whole list above into a smooth, pliable mess and then mould small handful's of the mixture into little torpedo shaped balls.  Allow these to sit in the fridge for at least half an hour before attempting to fry them.  When you are ready to go, heat a little oil in a large pan then fry them, turning them frequently so that they are brown all over.  They cook quickly; by the time you have browned them on all sides they will be cooked through.

Next up is the Tabbouleh; recipe adapted from The Spicery.  This is a fragrant, herby salad where the parsley and mint is as important as the Bulgar wheat and tomato.  Originally a Levantine dish, it can now be found all over the world and even has a national day (1st July) dedicated to it!   This makes a generous portion, and is great in lunchboxes with some pitta bread and a squeeze of fresh lemon the next day.

150g Bulgar wheat
1 tbsp tomato puree
A large bunch of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
A large bunch of fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 large white onion, finely chopped
250g cherry or vine tomatoes, halved
A couple of spring onions, thinly sliced
1 crushed clove of garlic
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, lightly toasted
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp mint
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp all spice
Pinch of salt
Lemon
Olive Oil

Pour 225ml of boiling water over the Bulgar wheat with the tomato puree, garlic and herbs and spices (not the fresh parsley or mint), cover and leave to sit for 10 minutes

Remove the lid, fluff up the Bulgar wheat with a fork, then mix in the fresh mint and parsley, onion, tomatoes and spring onions.

Just before serving squeeze the juice of half a lemon and a drizzle of olive oil over the top (Carluccio's lemon olive oil is superb for this) and add a bit of salt.  You are good to go!

(Ignore the tahini in the picture above- I still can't get this right and this batch just got binned!)

Finally the falafel.  If you have an electric mixer these are ridiculously easy to do.  I tend to think of falafel as fried balls of hummus - not strictly speaking accurate I know but it makes sense to me!  These ones have a texture similar to very soft potato cakes and a delicate flavour.  They are not dry in the slightest as I find shop bought ones can be.  You are supposed to serve them inside a pitta bread, but I prefer just to dunk them in hummus and drape a pickled anchovy over the top.  This will make about 15.

1 tin chickpeas in water (about 400ml tin)
3 spring onions (chopped into thirds)
1 large clove of garlic
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Large handful of fresh parsley
1 egg
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
50g plain flour (plus extra for coating the falafel in before frying)
Vegetable oil (for frying)

Stick all the ingredients in the blender (apart from the vegetable oil and the extra flour for frying) and blend

You should have a mix that looks fairly revolting and not dissimilar to dog sick.  Just go with it; it will taste better than it looks at this stage.

Using wet hands (it will stop the mixture sticking to you), form into patties and leave in the fridge for a half hour or so to firm up.  When you are ready to cook, roll the patties in flour and fry in a large pan until golden brown and crispy on all sides but soft in the centre.

Serve on a big platter with lots of other nibbles, give everyone a small plate and just dig in.

L-R falafel, kibbeh, olives, griddle halloumi, salami, Parma ham, pickled anchovies, tabbouleh, hummus, toasted pita bread, cream cheese stuffed pimento's

If you like (or hate!) what you have read, please do let me know in the comments below or slap me with a cheeky follow, or say Hi to me on my Facebook group or Twitter or Instagram!

Orange Blossom Halva Cake

This Arabic dessert is a bit like a cakey baklava in terms of flavour.  Halva simply means 'sweet' and this is a very sweet, sticky, dense and almost soggy dessert.  I use an awful lot of orange and honey syrup (more than The Spicery recommends) over the top of the cake as it cools, completely saturating it so that when you bite in you almost get a mouthful of the orange liquor with each morsel of cake.  Of course the amount that you use is up to you so if you prefer your cake a bit dryer and less like it has decided to bathe in orange I would recommend halving the amount of syrup listed below.

There are many versions of halva across the World, from Greece to India and this is based on a North African version.  It is comprised primarily of ground almonds and polenta and is very, very delicate in terms of structure with a propensity to crumble easily. It would not be my food of choice for a food fight.  You have been warned.

Because it disintegrates so easily you want to make sure you properly grease and line your baking dish to get the cake out in one piece.  Greasing really isn't enough - line the dish with baking parchment, leaving an overhang for handles to pull the cake out with.  You will be grateful for it later!

So you need...

Cake:
1 1/2 large oranges (zest and juice)
3 medium eggs
160g unsalted butter
150g sugar
100g ground almonds
160g polenta
300g runny honey
2 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground star anise
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Syrup:
300g runny honey
Juice of 1 large orange
200ml water
1 tbsp orange blossom
1 1/2 tsp crushed coriander seeds
1 tsp green cardamon pods
1/2 tsp allspice berries

Preheat the oven to 180C.  Cream the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well.  Combine the ground almonds, polenta and spices with a pinch of salt then add to the butter and sugar and stir to combine.

Fold in the orange juice and zest and pour the mixture into your cake tin.  Bake for 30 minutes until a knife comes out clean.

Meanwhile bash up the syrup spices to release the fragrances.  Heat the honey, orange juice, water and spices together in a small pan. 

Once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat and allow to infuse.  When the cake is cooked scatter flaked almonds over the top and strain the syrup over the hot cake, allowing it to absorb and making sure that the whole cake is covered.  The more syrup you use, the wetter, stickier and more syrupy the cake will be.  Obviously.

Allow the cake to cool completely before cutting into small pieces.  Carefully.  This thing crumbles into a gibbering wreck at the mere threat of a knife.  It also won't keep for long so you will need to eat it quickly.

How self-sacrificing of you!

Cobbled Together

Peach Cobbler is another Spicery recipe (sick of them yet?!)  I'd never really heard of it until the spice box hit my doorstep but it is such a tasty and simple dessert that is perfect for this time of year and I highly recommend you try it!

Pouring yoghurt into a dough does feel odd I grant you but go with it.

Cobbler is a very American dessert.  Apparently British colonists were trying to recreate the pies they had grown up with but struggled with the dutch ovens (yes I sniggered the first time I read that too) available to them.  They invented a new type of biscuit or scone topping which became known as a cobbler as it looked a bit like cobblestones on the top of the dessert.

For UK people who haven't had them before, they are a bit like a cross between a dumpling and scone with a sweet taste and almost breadlike texture.  As with most desserts there are now hundreds of regional varieties in the States and this version is based on those of Georgia, the 'Peach State' of the Deep South.

Quick note - the riper the peaches you can get, the better this cobbler will be.  If you can get fresh ones from a farmers market instead of from a supermarket (which can be a bit tasteless in my opinion) then you will really kick this pud up a gear.

So, you will need:

4 ripe peaches, halved, de-stoned and sliced into wedges
150g punnet of blueberries
60g soft brown sugar (plus 1 tablespoon sugar)
1 lime
200g self-raising flour
80g cold unsalted butter, diced
150g natural pourable yoghurt
1/2 teaspoon ground cassia
1/4 teaspoon vanilla paste
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cinammon quill
Small piece of root ginger, peeled
Whole nutmeg

Cream or ice cream to serve

Pre-heat the oven to 180.

Put the peaches, blueberries, sugar, 3 tablespoons water, zest and juice of half the lime, cassia, vanilla, ground ginger, cinammon quill and root ginger in a baking dish and carefully toss the whole lot together so that everything is covered.

Rub the flour, pinch of salt, remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar and the butter together until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the yoghurt and about 30 grates of the nutmeg to the flour mix.  Mix it all thoroughly together and form balls of the mixture, dolloping it on top of the fruit mix (it should resemble cobblestones)

Bake for about an hour until the fruit is soft and a sticky syrup is forming from the juices and the cobbles have expanded in size and are beginning to brown.  Cover the cobbles with tinfoil if they are catching and darkening before the fruit is soft.

Serve with cream and ice cream.  2 cobbles per portion is normally enough - these things are filling and ridiculously moorish! 

The Spicery

He who controls the spice controls the Universe.

Do you ever have the feeling that you want to experiment a bit more in the kitchen but you just don't want to invest in big pots of all those herbs and spices that you will never use again?  Or that you really want to try and cook world food a bit more but don't have the first blue clue where to start?

Let me introduce you to a little company that I've mentioned before and that I happen to worship.

I got my first package from The Spicery about 3 years ago - my mum bought my sister and I a year's subscription to their World Kitchen package as a Christmas present and I loved it so much I begged her to renew it the next year.

Basically, in the first week of every month one of these little paprika red boxes lands on your doorstep.

You have no idea what will be inside but you know it will be exciting.

You open it up and are hit by the scent of rich spices and exotic herbs, some of which you have never heard of before.

Accompanying this little spice treasure trove are recipe cards.  A main course and a dessert to be exact, each one complimenting the season and each other (although you can of course mix and match).

These little cards have led me by the nose and mouth all over the world, from the giddying heights of the Asian mountains to the brilliant blue of the Caribbean islands, from the heat of Ethiopia to the chill of Hungary.  Through these cards I have cooked shish kebabs, jambalaya, browndown chicken, moussaka, peach cobbler, pasteis de nata, dan dan noodles, doro wat, piri piri chicken (better than nando's), urfta kofte kebabs, chocolate and cherry pots, kulfi, baklava and so much more; in short recipes and dishes I may never have come across and that have completely broadened my cooking horizons, skills, knowledge and understanding of spices.  Many of them I have cooked time and time again and invested in the spices in my own store cupboard.

They are also awesome recipes for when you have guests over (they make you look like a cooking genius).

So how does it work?

It's really quite simple - you just purchase a World Kitchen subscription (from £19.95 for three months) and renew as often as you want.  You can also just order specific spice boxes and there is the Friday Night Curry subscription box which includes the cards and spices for a curry and side dishes.  There are also vegetarian specific boxes.  They deliver world wide (except Australia) and you don't even need to go and collect the box if you are out - they fit through the letterbox.

All you need to do is decide what you want to cook and get the main ingredients together, which are always simple and easy to find in a supermarket.  All the recipes are designed to be workable for even the most inexperienced cook and make enough for 4 people in each kit - great for families, leftovers or even freezing and defrosting at a later date.  This would be an awesome gift for a student as well who is learning how to cook and for people who want to be a little more adventurous at dinner time.  They even do spice blend personalised wedding favours!

I also got a little extra in my kit as well each month- a spice blend, some mulling spices, salad herbs, moroccan mint tea blend (my favourite) or hot chocolate chilli powder.  These have found their way into all sorts of dishes as rubs and marinades over the years.  The spices are best used within 2 weeks of the box arriving but in all honesty I have used them much later and still found the dishes to be amazing.

I've not actually renewed this year as after two years and 24 boxes I was starting to get repeat cards through the post so thought I should give them a year or so to expand their recipes some more - they are still a really young company and as each recipe gets tested over 10 times before it lands on your doorstep it's no surprise I have caught up!

As presents go this is a gift that really does keep on giving as it broadens your food horizons and your kitchen skills.  Plus which the food is always good, and that motto, who wouldn't want to control the universe through flavour and scent?!

What other reasons could you possibly need?

Jambalaya

Jambalaya, that smokey, spicey rich dish that tastes of the deep south, a dish that evokes thoughts of warm Louisiana nights down by the bayou as the lighting bugs flit or heady jazz floating through the streets of New Orleans.  Every family will have their own version and their own secret ingredients that go into it.

Remember to rhyme the 'Jam' with 'Tom' if you want to pronounce it right!

I must admit, I romanticise this dish having never been to the deep south of America (and it being on my bucket list of places to visit).  For now, to indulge my fantasy, when I dream of Mardi Gras and Haitian magic, I will put my own spin on this classic Creole meal, aided by The Spicery.

If I was being true to the origins of this dish I would flavour it with alligator and turtle meat, however these ingredients are a little difficult to find in Kent!  There are a few rules that you must follow though.

You always start with the holy trinity - onion, celery and pepper.  You also need a white meat, chicken thighs are my favourite, and good smoked sausage; chorizo or andouille.  Finally (although I left them out of this version as I was feeding a pregnant lady) you want good shellfish, normally prawns or mussels, and finally, rice.  Beyond that, the sky is really your limit.

This version has been taste tested by us a number of times and it is really good.   If you are craving the heat and spice that only the deep south can provide, I recommend this.  

Jambalaya with Hot Sauce

1 medium onion - chopped
2 sticks celery - finely chopped
2 bell peppers - deseeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
1 tin chopped tomato
3 chicken thighs, skin removed and chopped into chunks
1 large, good quality chorizo sausage, chopped
3 good quality smoked sausages, chopped
1 packet raw prawns
300g long grain rice
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp Cholula hot sauce
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground bay
2 tsp parsley
2 tsp chives
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp basil

For the hot sauce

You don't need to make this, you can use shop bought but I just love the smokey rich hot flavour that this adds and end up sloshing it all over my jambalaya.  I would serve it separate in a jug and allow people to help themselves though as the heat levels can be a bit surprising!

2 chipotle chillis
1 birdseye chilli
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
100 ml water

Cooking wise, it's pretty simple.

In a large, heavy bottomed pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil and gently fry the onions, celery, garlic and peppers until they are soft.

Add the chicken, sausage, chorizo, cajun seasoning, chilli flakes, hot sauce and paprika and mix well together, letting the meats slowly brown and allowing the chorizo to release its oils, then add the tin of tomatoes.

Add the rice, bay, parsley, chives, thyme and basil and enough water to cover the jambalaya half way up (you may need to top this up as the rice cooks and the water absorbs).  Bring to the boil and keep an eye on it, stirring occasionally to stop the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan and adding more seasoning and spices if required.

For the hot sauce, soak the chipotles in a mug of boiling water for about 10 minutes, then put the softened chillis and the birdseye chilli (minus the seeds and stem), tomato puree, vinegar, salt and water into a blender and blend until smooth.

When the rice is cooked you are ready to serve!  We like this with salad, fresh baked bread and a scattering of chopped spring onions on the top for crunch!  This is a fantastic meal to serve if you have people coming over for dinner as it is relatively quick and you can just stick the lid on and let it cook on its own without worrying about it.

Just go easy on the chilli if you aren't sure about tolerance levels!

Grab your friends, make some Sazerac's and stick some Dixieland on.  Laissez les bons temps rouler.