I always enter a couple of delicious magazine's prize draws without giving much thought to whether I'll win. So I was delighted when I recently won a copy of Yotam Ottolenghi's fantastic new book, Plenty.
Ottolenghi isn't a vegetarian but has become well-known for his sumptuous meat-free recipes. His upbringing in Israel and Palestine has armed him with fulfilling recipes starring vegetables and pulses in abundance.
The book is divided into chapters based on the main ingredient, such as squashes or aubergine, so you can base your choice on what's in season or what you've got growing in the garden.
The recipes seem straightforward and don't require masses of extra speciality ingredients. My favourite so far is 'tomato party' - a jumble of tomato varieties, some cooked, some raw, with couscous and fresh herbs.
Even if you aren't in the mood for cooking the book provides a great teatime read, the words just as sumptuous as the beautiful photos. It may not turn me into a vegetarian but it'll certainly encourage me to make vegetables the star turn more often.
Saturday, 24 July 2010
Look what I won!
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Sunday, 4 July 2010
Salmorejo is obviously in fashion
Well, blow me down! I was thinking about salmorejo for weeks before I did some research and wrote my recipe. A couple of days later I noticed that Delia has written her own version for Waitrose's free weekly newspaper thing.
She gets right up my nose sometimes.
She gets right up my nose sometimes.
Delicious but disappointing
I'm a subscriber to delicious magazine; this is my third year as a regular reader. I'm not a big magazine reader, but I do enjoy articles about food. Plus I collect as many recipes as I can, and theirs are usually appealing and easy to follow.
I feel like it's been in an ever-so-slight rut just lately, though and I've noticed two worrying trends. For the first I blame Delia and her 'I'm too old for this - let's all cheat instead' campaign. To illustrate: I saw a recipe for jerk chicken with Caribbean rice. I though "ooh, I'd like to learn how to make jerk seasoning - that'd be handy". Imagine my disappointment when the first listed ingredient turned out to be jerk seasoning! Well, I'm not stupid - I know that if I buy some jerk seasoning and add it to chicken it'll become jerk chicken. What I don't know is how to make the seasoning from scratch. I do understand: the magazine is catering for all kinds of cooks, from the highly skilled to the 30-minute-throw-together-after-work. But wouldn't it be better to give the full recipe, then mention that there's a cheat if you can't face mixing and grinding spices?
The second trend is a strange reluctance to dictate food choices. Recipes end with a sentence along the lines of "Serve it with some mango chutney, if you like". If I like? Well yes, I can do anything I want if I like. I could serve my chicken curry with strawberry ice cream if the mood took me. When I buy a food magazine I'm really hoping it'll recommend the best accompaniments, or tell me how a chef has or would serve the dish. Not just give me permission to have chutney. I'm old enough to decide that myself!
NB: I'm still a delicious subscriber and I still thoroughly enjoy the magazine, which now has a brand new editor. Perhaps she'll help to brush it over the recent mini-rut.
I feel like it's been in an ever-so-slight rut just lately, though and I've noticed two worrying trends. For the first I blame Delia and her 'I'm too old for this - let's all cheat instead' campaign. To illustrate: I saw a recipe for jerk chicken with Caribbean rice. I though "ooh, I'd like to learn how to make jerk seasoning - that'd be handy". Imagine my disappointment when the first listed ingredient turned out to be jerk seasoning! Well, I'm not stupid - I know that if I buy some jerk seasoning and add it to chicken it'll become jerk chicken. What I don't know is how to make the seasoning from scratch. I do understand: the magazine is catering for all kinds of cooks, from the highly skilled to the 30-minute-throw-together-after-work. But wouldn't it be better to give the full recipe, then mention that there's a cheat if you can't face mixing and grinding spices?
The second trend is a strange reluctance to dictate food choices. Recipes end with a sentence along the lines of "Serve it with some mango chutney, if you like". If I like? Well yes, I can do anything I want if I like. I could serve my chicken curry with strawberry ice cream if the mood took me. When I buy a food magazine I'm really hoping it'll recommend the best accompaniments, or tell me how a chef has or would serve the dish. Not just give me permission to have chutney. I'm old enough to decide that myself!
NB: I'm still a delicious subscriber and I still thoroughly enjoy the magazine, which now has a brand new editor. Perhaps she'll help to brush it over the recent mini-rut.
Friday, 2 July 2010
Cinnamon, spice and all things nice
I'm a big fan of The Cinnamon Club in London, just near Westminster. It's consistently excellent and it's a pleasure to take people there for the first time, as I did last week.
Alarm bells rang when the restaurant phoned to confirm my booking and reminded me about the two-hour limit for the table. I hate feeling pressured to get off a table, and two hours passes quite quickly when you're talking and eating. We were actually there for almost three hours, though, and service was at a good, leisurely pace.
As for the food ... well, it didn't disappoint us. For my main course I ordered tandoori king prawns with saffron almond cream and rice. You've probably got an image in your head of a king prawn, and the chances are it's a pretty large and succulent one. I can promise you it's nowhere near as large as the ones I ate! Three prawns were enough to constitute a main meal, along with a very small portion of rice. The tandoori sauce was spicy without being overpowering and the almond cream provided some counter-balancing softness.
An honourable mention must also go to the delicious lime and mint sorbet accompanying my bitter orange tart for pudding.
My only gripe is that the special offer menu is never tempting enough to keep us away from the a la carte. It's a clever marketing ploy: offer a deal at a reasonable price to get people through the door, but make sure they'll spend more once they're in. But how about just offering 25% off the bill, so that we can experience the restaurant's signature food without having to remortgage the cat?
Alarm bells rang when the restaurant phoned to confirm my booking and reminded me about the two-hour limit for the table. I hate feeling pressured to get off a table, and two hours passes quite quickly when you're talking and eating. We were actually there for almost three hours, though, and service was at a good, leisurely pace.
As for the food ... well, it didn't disappoint us. For my main course I ordered tandoori king prawns with saffron almond cream and rice. You've probably got an image in your head of a king prawn, and the chances are it's a pretty large and succulent one. I can promise you it's nowhere near as large as the ones I ate! Three prawns were enough to constitute a main meal, along with a very small portion of rice. The tandoori sauce was spicy without being overpowering and the almond cream provided some counter-balancing softness.
An honourable mention must also go to the delicious lime and mint sorbet accompanying my bitter orange tart for pudding.
My only gripe is that the special offer menu is never tempting enough to keep us away from the a la carte. It's a clever marketing ploy: offer a deal at a reasonable price to get people through the door, but make sure they'll spend more once they're in. But how about just offering 25% off the bill, so that we can experience the restaurant's signature food without having to remortgage the cat?
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