Fridge Forage Friday :: Sweet Potato, Caramelised Onion, Goat's Cheese and Thyme Tortilla

Sweet potatoes, like butternut squash are one of my all time favourite staple ingredients. Along with a little fridge and store cupboard foraging, and some herbs from the garden I can soon manage to  rustle up an easy lunch or supper, like this hearty tortilla.  

Sweet Potato, Caramelised Onion, Goat's Cheese and Thyme Tortilla

Ingredients for one medium sized tortilla/omelette :

• A medium sized sweet potato
• Two small or one medium sized red onions
• Olive oil 
• Balsamic vinegar
• Two fresh or roasted garlic cloves 
• Four large eggs or equivalent
• One small goats cheese or any salty/sour cheese. Blue veined cheese would also work well.
• A sprig or two of fresh thyme 
• Chilli flake (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method: 

1. Scrub the sweet potato well and place on a baking try in the centre of a moderate oven. Cook for about thirty or forty minutes or so, depending on the size of the potato; until it's still tender but firm enough to slice. Sweet potatoes contain more water then regular ones so cook much more quickly.
2. Whilst the potato is cooking pop a couple cloves of garlic on the tray leaving the outer papery skin and drizzle with olive oil, these will roast until soft and sweet.
3. Meanwhile, pour a little olive oil into a frying/omelette pan and add the sliced onions. Allow to cook slowly until soft and sweetly caramelised. Season with a little sea salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
4. When the potato and garlic cloves are cooked, remove from the oven and set aside to cool for a few minutes. 
5. Squeeze the sweet paste from the cooked garlic cloves and pour in a few drops of balsamic vinegar and mix with the onions. Ensure that the onions cover the base of the pan evenly.
6. When the potatoes are cooled, carefully peel off the skin, slice and then pop on top of the onions. Season.
7. Slice or break up the cheese into small chunks.
8. Crack the eggs into a small bowl, season, add a sprinkle of chilli flakes and beat with a fork. Remove the leaves from the sprigs of thyme and add to the bowl.
9. Return the pan with the onions and potatoes to the heat adding a little more oil if necessary. When hot, pour the beaten eggs over the other ingredients. Allow the eggs to begin to set and then reduce the heat a little and place chunks of the cheese evenly on top to melt into the tortilla.
10. You may like to cover with a lid at this stage to ensure the top sets or if using an oven proof pan place in the oven or grill for a crunchy golden brown topping or you may prefer the cheese to be gooey and melting...it's up to you.
11. Leave to cool down a little and then cut into wedges and serve with salad.

This is s substantial omelette. The potato and onions are sweet and the balsamic vinegar helps to cut the sweetness. The goats or blue cheese give a welcome salty sourness. I served this with peppery wild rocket (arugula) leaves and a radish and red onion salad. The two finely sliced give a crisp freshness when seasoned and dressed with lemon juice and a little oil. I wouldn't use a honey or maple syrup based dressing as this dish has enough sweetness and benefits from the sharp balance of the lemon juice. 

cooks tip: Any time that you are using the oven for about an hour, pop in a little parcel of foil or baking parchment with a whole head of garlic. Once cooked the cloves become much more mellow than raw garlic and you can keep them in the fridge for a couple of weeks. They are amazing for all sorts of things, like to add to soups or stews, mashed parsnips or potatoes, with sandwich spreads or when warm from the oven to simply spread over crusty bread...yummy...

I'm joining Tracey today for a recipe swap...wan't to come too?

One Day a Week Vegan :: sunshine soup

The patchwork quilt March weather where one minute the sun is shining and the next rain or even hailstone clouds stain the sky dark grey, makes me want warm, comforting, substantial food. This wholesome seasonal root vegetable soup is a change from the usual pumpkin, or carrot and coriander. Spiked with ground spices that add extra earthy flavour and chilli for a warming hit; with the addition of dried split peas and pearl barley that make it nuttily hearty to keep you going on early spring days like today.  

Ingredients for four good sized bowlfulls:

• About a pound of organic carrots
• One medium sized red onion
• Two or three cloves of garlic
• Sea salt and black pepper
• A little ground cumin and turmeric...partly for the lovely earthy flavour but mostly because it looks like bottled sunshine in the jar.
• A good pinch of chilli flakes
• One or two bay leaves
• Two sticks of celery
• A small piece of swede (optional)
• Vegetable stock or hot water (there's a good recipe here)
• A handful of dried split peas
• A handful of pearl barley
• Olive oil or alternative

Method:

1. Peel and finely chop the onions, pour a little olive oil into a heavy based saucepan and cook until soft.
2. Meanwhile, wash and peel all the other vegetables. Cut the celery sticks lengthwise and then chop very finely. Grate or finely chop the carrots and dice the swede. 
3. Once the onions are cooked add peel and crush the garlic and add to the pan and cook for a few minutes being careful not to burn. Add the ground spices and cook for a further few minutes.
4. Add the salt and pepper and mix well and then add all the other vegetables. Stir well to combine all the flavours and cook for a couple of minutes until they begin to soften.
5. Wash and add the barley and the split peas again stirring to absorb all the flavours. 
6. Add a litre of hot stock or water bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and leave to cook until the lentils and barley are cooked.
7. Remove the bay leaf.
8. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. 

You could blend this soup if you like a really creamy consistency but I like to leave the grated carrots to meld into the soup leaving the lentils and barley for a little chewy  texture. This is a new favourite. Delicious with my home made spelt bread substituting the honey with a little maple syrup or brown sugar on vegan days.

...it's a shame I forgot to take a photo before it all got guzzled up...I'll add one next time I make it. Oh and I'll share the recipe for my new favourite barley risotto too.


This is just part of a vegan day menu...you can find some more recipes for complete vegan days on the following links:

• One day a week vegan :: Japanese Sober Noodle Salad
• One day a week vegan :: Comfort food 1 - Nostalgia
• One day a week vegan :: 'Detox'
• One day a week vegan :: Fresh
• One day a week vegan :: Butternut squash and Tai style curry 
• One day a week vegan :: Baba Ganoush

Borscht to "put the heart at ease."

"Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite." Escoffier

I've been dying to post these images ever since I discovered them on a blog that I read about here but can't for the life of me find it now. So sorry, I'm unable to give credit to the author, but I can thank Pip Lincolne who first introduced us to it. (I hope that makes sense) I think that they are originally from Italian Vogue with Russian inspiration, and as I made some Russian Borscht (Beetroot) soup today for the first time ever, thought they would be an appropriate and beautiful accompaniment to the post.

I think that like Marmite, beetroot is one of those 'love it' or 'hate it' foods...Me? I love it. I used to get teased for eating peanut butter and beetroot sandwiches all the time. The subject even came up with my dentist one day. He thought he should eat beetroot because it's good for him, but couldn't get over a childhood memory of eating some when camping with the Cubs and being mocked by the other boys because his beetroot stained lips looked as though he was wearing lipstick.

I looked at lots of Beetroot soup recipes and found Persian ones with meat in them, and Indian made with rice, Polish made with belly pork, and Sophie Dahl's version, which sounded interesting as it contained Vodka! Tempting as we were given a bottle for Christmas and it's still un-opened, but as it's for lunch and I have to go to work this afternoon...not a good idea...

But I wanted to make authentic Russian Borscht soup...well as near as damn-it. Something to warm the cockles of my heart and brighten up a very cold damp, grey winter day. Make me think of Dr. Zhivago, and a birthday supper at the The Russian Tea Rooms satisfying my craving for all things Russian...Imaginary things that is...

It seems not surprisingly that there isn't just one traditional Russian recipe, each family has their own. They all vary, and so this is my version which I made by roasting beetroots in olive oil with fresh thyme sprigs. Frying sliced red onion, pepper and courgette in olive oil until golden brown and caramelised. Cooking good potatoes in salted water and reserving the cooking liquor. Then combining all the ingredients, seasoning well and blending until they make a beautiful rich velvety soup that Escoffier would be proud of...mmm...

...Maybe Miss D's idea wasn't too shabby...the vodka might warm the cockles of my heart before I face the sleet forecast this afternoon...Now where did I put that bottle...

Memorable Meals - Mini Savoury Tarts.

 

 

A's brother paid us a surprise flying visit mid-week. He has a bit of a nomadic lifestyle that we all envy, dividing his time between Denmark, England and Iran. In his usual generous way he treated us to supper at his favourite place by the river. 

We caught up and ate, drank, talked and laughed as the sun went down over the Thames. I had an enormous, brie, pea and mint  wholemeal quiche with lovely little garlic roasted new potatoes and roasted vegetable salad with pesto dressing. H had chicken breast, glazed with a smoky chili jam cooked with chorizo and similar vegetables. Whilst the men had wild boar burgers, topped with free range eggs and served with beer chutney and enormous big chunky chips. Really substantial portions but it was so tasty that not even a crumb was left behind...

These are my dainty little quiches that I sometimes make. Inspired by the best smoked salmon tart bought from a cute artisan patisserie in the shadow of Notre Dame on the Ile de la cite, eaten from paper bags on a balmy Parisian summer evening. Mine was laced with tiny slivers of smoke salmon. I'd never had fish in a quiche before and it was delicious.


I used my recipe that I've written here only I now make slightly larger ones that are less fiddely to work with. You could make one large family sized one but Individual works well for us so that we can each choose our  favourite filling.

But what about you...do you have any favourite recipes inspired by memorable meals?

weekend

 

The rain was playing a concert on the roof Friday night. I woke next morning to the sound of birds chirping and the dulcet tones of 'A' singing in the kitchen below. Not the most tuneful song, but to me it's the best sound in the world. Equal only to H giggling. She was away for the weekend, so I wasn't going to hear much of that over the next few days.

Tea in bed, a real treat and a slow start. Cold winds but a bright, bright sunny day. All the snow had been washed away overnight and everything was green again. I was excited cos one of my sisters  'B' and husband were coming for supper and staying the night. So lots of food preparation followed. They requested Persian Food, Istanbolli Pollo.  I made a big saucepan full, plus a mini  meat-free one for me. Two saucepans sizzling away with their funny tea towel hats on, to served up with cold sour yoghurt, citrus salad Tehrani and green leafy one.

So good to catch up. We'd missed each other at Christmas cos of flu and spent lot's of lovely time round the table, eating Istanboli pollow and talking, lingering over cheese and crackers, coffee and fruit cake. Exchanging simple gifts even though we'd promised not too, my lovely flowers and fun rainbow pasta striped like Blackpool rock with natural ingredients and cute stitch markers like mini baboushka dolls. Made plans to not leave it so long next time and in between for me and B to have a quick catch up sewing day to make dresses for spring.


To make Istanbolli polow for four to five people you will need :

• One medium sized onion chopped finely
• A couple of cloves of garlic, minced or crushed
• Minced or chopped very finely meat. Traditionally lamb but beef will do. About 400 -500gms
• French beans, topped and tailed and cut into small pieces. Frozen ones will do if they aren't in season or you can use substitute cabbage. I used half a small pointy one, chopped up finely.
• Three or four fresh ripe tomatoes chopped finely or canned if not in season.  One can will do
• Four cups of rice, my favourite is Tilda Basmati
• Tomato puree
• Ground turmeric or a few saffron strands
• Sea salt and ground black pepper 
• Oil to cook.  I use olive oil

There are two ways to make polow but I think that this way is the easiest. It's all done in one pan with a few simple steps. 

One Pot Method:

1. Fry the onions in a little olive oil in a saucepan until caramelised. 
2. Then add the garlic and cook.
3. Add the meat and brown. 
4. If using turmeric add a little at this point combining all the ingredients and cook it out for a few minutes to remove the powdery flavour. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the the tomato puree and mix well
6. Then the tomatoes and a little water. If using saffron strands instead of turmeric add at now after first beating in a pestle and mortar. You may like to infuse them first in a little hot water. 
7. Bring all the ingredients in the saucepan to the boil and then leave everything to simmer until the beans are tender.
8. Meanwhile wash four cups of rice.  Rinse about five or six times until the water runs completely clear.
9. Drain the rice and then add to the other ingredients in the saucepan and combine well. 
10. Top up with enough hot water to cover everything by about an inch and a half.  
11. Seal with a lid that has been covered in a clean tea-towel and cook for about 30 to 45 minutes until all the water has been absorbed.  Try not to open the lid too often.

Two Pot Method:

Complete stages 1 through to 7 using a frying pan.

1. Complete stage 8 then cook the rice in a salted water in a saucepan until it is al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water in a sieve or colander.
2. Add a little water and oil into the pan (as above).
3. Then begin to alternatively layer the rice and the meat sauce, beginning and ending with rice. Draw the rice away from the sides and form a dome in the centre of the pan. Use the handle of a wooden spoon or something similar to make holes in the rice. This will aid cooking evenly.
4. Seal with a tea-towwl in the same way as the one pot method.  Then put on the hob on a high heat for a few minutes until you hear the water and oil sizzeling. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and leave to cook for a similar time as above. If you have a heat diffuser it's good to use one so that the rice can cook slowly. 
5. When you think the rice is cooked...you should begin to smell the lovely sweet rice...splash the pan with a little cold water if it sizzles it should be cooked. 

Both methods should produce moist rice. The grains should be separate and infused with lots of flavour. The best bit is the tadig or crunchy rice that forms a circle covering the bottom of the pan.  You can also layer with lovely thin Persian bread or thinly sliced potatoes. If done correctly this should easily be removed from the pan bottom in one piece.  

NB You can leave the meat out altogether for a vegetarian or vegan option or substitute with potatoes

Moist Fruit Cake

• 8 ounces of butter
• 1lb of fruit. I use a mixture of green raisins and sultanas, chopped deseeded dates and un-dyed cherries plus moist preserved pears and apricots. I also like nuts in fruit cake so have a handful of chopped walnuts.
• 5 ounces of brown sugar
• 1 level teaspoonful mixed spice. I also add ground cinnamon and a little ginger.
• 1 level teaspoonful bicarbonate of soda
• 10 ounces of SR flour
• 2 beaten eggs.
• 8 ounces of water
• I add Vanilla extract and a little almond extract too.
• It's nice if making for a special occassion to add some rum or liqueur or fortified wine to give a lovely deep grown-up flavoured cake.
• Almonds, walnuts, un-dyed cherries and crystallised ginger to decorate.

Method:

• Melt the butter in a saucepan and add all the other ingredients except the flour, eggs and nuts if using.
• Simmer gently for about twenty minutes
• Allow to cool and then add the flour and eggs and nuts
• Mix well
• Transfer to an 8inch cake tin lined with 2 sheets of paper
• Decorate the top with nuts and preserved fruits like cherries and crystallised ginger.
• Cook at 300f/150c for one hour, plus for fifteen minutes without the paper until nicely browned.
• Place on a rack to cool.
• When cool remove from the tin.

So that was some of my weekend...I hope yours was good...I'm linking over to Amanda to share with hers...you coming too?

Deb