An Indian feast

My friend Mel has been cooking through the Dishoom cookbook with her hubby, and discovered their ‘Gunpowder potatoes’. They aren’t the simplest as you need a very particular spice mix, which arrived in the post a few days after Mel had told me about them… I was very grateful and keen to try! I haven’t included that recipe here as it really is quite elaborate, and ingredients aren’t particularly easy to get hold of these days. However, I often get inspired by a single ingredient or dish, and it was definitely the case this weekend. I decided I would make a bit of an Indian feast. I have quite a few curry dishes I am fond of making – saag paneer, or a simple chicken curry with loads of veggies thrown in. I occasionally make my own paste but usually rely on Patak’s!

However, seeing as I have so much time these days, I decided to experiment, and decided to make lamb samosas, red lentil dhal, Mel/Dishoom’s gunpowder potatoes, and tandoori paneer with veggies. Some real discoveries in those recipes, and ones I would definitely do again! I am just going to go through the samosas here as I just followed existing recipes for the others – but I can’t recommend them highly enough.

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Red lentil dhal – super healthy, quick and tasty. And vegan, as it is made with coconut milk. I know there are a million dhal recipes out there, but this was the first time I’d given it a go, and I was really pleased. Give me a bowl of this and a naan bread any day…

Mel / Dishoom’s Gunpowder potatoes – I didn’t have the coriander or fresh green chillies, and used lemon instead of lime – but these were a total delight! And also reasonably healthy. The kebab masala is what Mel sent me in the post, recipe here.

Paneer and veg tandoori-ish – This was super simple. I cubed 250g paneer and my veg (1 onion, 1 pepper and 1 courgette), and then mixed them through with 2 tbsp greek yoghurt (any plain yoghurt will do) and 2 tablespoons of curry paste (good old Patak – I used Korma paste but any will do). I left it to marinade for a couple of hours, and then put it in the oven for 30 minutes at 180. Simple, very flexible (you could use any veg, and could swap the paneer for chicken if you fancy, or make it more substantial with butternut squash or sweet potato – just adjust the cooking time).

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Before and after – my sort of tandoori paneer with veggies

And last but not least – my favourite part of the feast – lamb samosas! Loosely based on a recipe I found on BBC Good Food, but with a few adaptations. I will admit they didn’t look very pretty as my samosa folding skills aren’t up to much, but they tasted amazing. In fact, the lamb mix could easily be eaten on its own with some rice or a naan bread. Here goes. And my apologies to any Indian cooks out there who will probably be horrified at this adaptation!

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Lamb samosas – serves 4

Ingredients

• 400g lamb mince
• 2 tbsp curry paste – I used Patak’s Korma, but if you prefer more of a kick, go for one of the spicier ones. 
• 1 carrot
• 1 small onion
• 2 handfuls frozen peas
• 2 tbsp mango chutney
• filo pastry (shop bought!)
• oil, salt and pepper

Method

• Start by making the filling. Heat a tbsp of oil in a frying pan and brown your lamb mince over a med/high heat. Don’t move it around the pan too much so you get some browning on the bottom, then make sure it is cooked through. 
• Grate the onion and the carrot on a coarse grater, and add to the mince. Cook for a few minutes until they are effectively dissolved. Add the curry paste, stir through, and cook for a few minutes. 
• Remove from the heat and put the mix into a heatproof bowl. Add the peas and mango chutney, and mix well. Put aside to cool. 
• Take your filo pastry out of the fridge, and lay out a sheet in front of you. Fold it in half, and put a tablespoon of the lamb mixture at the top. Fold over the side so it makes a triangle, and continue folding over until you have used up the strip of filo. I will be honest here – I ended up making slightly random parcels as I couldn’t get them to close properly! Whatever shape you end up with doesn’t really matter, it will still taste good…
• Brush your samosa/parcel with oil, and place on a baking sheet. Continue until you have used up all the filo/mince. 
• Bake at 180 fan for 30 minutes, until crispy and the filling is piping hot. 
• Enjoy with some cool raita or an extra dollop of mango chutney. 

Swaps and alternatives

• Make it veggie – you could make veggie samosas with potato, more peas, and cubed onion/carrot, maybe cauliflower. Just make sure all the veg are cooked before adding the curry paste. 
• You could easily use leftover roast lamb from your Sunday dinner for this, just cut/shred it and fry it lightly before adding the carrot, onion and paste. 
• Paste – you could make your own of course, or use any other type you fancy. I wouldn’t go too spicy because you will lose the sweetness of the mango chutney. 

Jazzing up courgettes…

It’s hard to find innovative ways to use the same ingredients all the time! You get stuck in a bit of a rut with the same recipes and it’s hard to think of something different. For some reason a few weeks ago I ended up with about 10 courgettes and did my usuals – roast courgettes with tomatoes, garlic and herbs, and my other more spring like favourite which is raw courgette ribbons with lemon zest, chilli and olive oil. So when another couple of courgettes showed up in my veg box the following week, I figured I had to do something new.

A friend of mine at work had organised a pot luck lunch for all of us in pre lockdown days. It was really fun to see what everyone came up with, and a great occasion for a little recipe swap… I baked classic chocolate and pecan brownies, but my favourite discovery was a truly delicious courgette and feta salad, made by Rachel. I finally got round to making it last week – predictably I found I was missing a lot of the ingredients so had to make a few tweaks, and was actually really happy with the result.

The original recipe Rachel used is this, but I’m including my version here along with a few swaps and options for you in case, like me, you just don’t have everything available at the moment. So here is my version of a courgette, tomato and feta salad with toasted hazelnuts. Swaps included at the end of the recipe!

Courgette, tomato and feta salad with mint and toasted hazelnuts

Serves 2, generously

Ingredients

• 2 courgettes
• 2 tomatoes
• 100g feta
• 100g yoghurt (greek or natural)
• fresh mint sprigs
• 1 lemon
• 60g hazelnuts
• olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper

Method

• Slice the courgettes lengthways, put them in a colander or sieve, and sprinkle over some salt. Leave for 15-20 mins to draw out the moisture, then pat them dry. 
• Make a balsamic vinegar dressing – 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp olive oil, and salt and pepper. Set aside. 
• Heat a griddle pan or frying pan on a medium heat, drizzle in 1 tbsp olive oil, and place the courgettes cut side down. Fry for 5 mins on each side until slightly charred. I like them with a bit of bite, but if you like them softer, fry for longer.  Remove from the pan and pat with kitchen paper, and leave to cool for a few minutes. Cut each piece into 3. 
• Roughly cut up the tomatoes, add to the courgettes, and stir through the balsamic vinegar dressing and the mint leaves. The courgettes will still be warm so they will absorb some of the delicious dressing. 
• Toast your hazelnuts lightly either in the oven (place on baking tray for 5 mins in oven preheated at 180 degrees) or in a frying pan (place in dry frying pan and gently toast). Once toasted, place them on a chopping board and roughly crush with the side of a knife. 
• Mix the feta and yoghurt together in a bowl, and add salt, pepper, the zest of half a lemon, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Spread this out on a plate. 
• Pop your courgettes and tomatoes on top of the feta mix, and sprinkle over the hazelnuts. Add a drizzle more olive oil if you like. 
• Enjoy with some toasted pitta bread or as a side for roast chicken (or lamb, or anything really). I had mine with a spatchcock chicken and roast potatoes – we had lots leftover so enjoyed it the next day too!

 

Swaps and alternatives

• Instead of courgettes: use peppers, aubergines, any type of squash with soft skin (i.e. not butternut or anything like that) – would probably work well with asparagus too! 
• Tomatoes: you don’t have to include these at all – I just wanted to make the salad go a bit further. Use all courgette, or a mix of any of the above veg. 
• Instead of feta: you need cheese with a little sharpness, so goat’s cheese would also work well
• Instead of yoghurt: you could use ricotta as in the original recipe – you basically just need something to soften the feta and make it spreadable. Creme fraiche could work too!
• Swap out the hazelnuts: these aren’t essential, but they give such a gorgeous texture that I’d really recommend having some sort of nut in there. Toasted almonds or pine nuts would be great also. 
• Instead of mint: you can skip it altogether – but if you do have any fresh herbs, then oregano, basil or chives would all work well with the lemon and balsamic combo. 
• Instead of balsamic dressing: white wine or cider vinegar dressing would be good – add half a teaspoon of sugar to the vinegar to take the edge off. Or a lemon dressing, again with a little sugar added. 

 

There we go – hope you enjoy, and let me know if you try it – and what swaps you make!

Caramelised leek & Gruyère quiche – a healthier version

I’ve been getting a veg box over the last few weeks from @palegreendot which has been great – lots of seasonal veg that I don’t normally buy, which is forcing me to explore new recipes – parsnip crisp anyone?

Leeks are a gorgeous wintery vegetable that are so versatile and delicious – but they are not often the star of the show. I love leek and potato soup but you don’t get that hit of caramelised gentle sharpness that you get from a leek gently fried in butter… So I opted for a quiche! I’m also conscious of all the baking I’m doing, so my main meals need to balance those out at least a little – hence trying to find a sort of healthy version.

This one is made with wholemeal pastry, and contains a lot less cream than the versions I normally make. Since I am using eggs as if hens are going to stop laying, I also adapted the recipe to only use one. You can make a more traditional and richer recipe by using two, but I promise that you won’t notice a huge difference with just one. The mixture is thinner than usual, which means you have to blind bake your pastry for a little longer for a crisp base! Of course you can use shop bought shortcrust pastry if you’d rather – but don’t skip the blind baking bit.

I had some mushrooms that needed using up, and some Gruyère cheese – although Cheddar would be delicious too. So again, lots of swaps available for this recipe, all listed at the end of the post. Let me know what you think!

For the pastry

• 200g wholemeal flour
• 100g softened butter
• 6 tbsp water

For the filling

• 2 large leeks, finely sliced and rinsed
• 100g mushrooms, chopped into quarters
• 100g grated Gruyère cheese
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 150ml single cream
• 200ml milk
• salt & pepper, butter and oil for cooking

Equipment

• Quiche dish
• 2 mixing bowls
• Baking beans, baking paper/parchment
• Frying pan

Method

• Start off by making the pastry. Put the flour into a bowl and tip in the butter. Using a fork or your fingers, work the butter through the flour until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Then add the 6 tbsp water and combine until you have a smooth ball of dough. If it doesn’t come together easily, you may need to add a sprinkling more water. Leave it to stand for around 15 minutes.
• Roll out your pastry until it is about the thickness of a £1 coin, and a good 5cm wider than your quiche dish. Pick up the pastry (you can use your rolling pin) and drape over the dish. Use some of the pastry trimming to make a little ball, and use this to press your pastry into the edges of the dish. For detailed step by step pictures see here . Crimp the edges of your quiche with a fork to make it look pretty, and put your quiche case in the fridge whilst you get on with the rest.
• Heat the oven to 200/180 fan
• Gently fry the mushrooms and leeks in a little oil and butter until softened. This should take around 15 minutes. Add 1 tsp sugar and continue to cook for another minute or so.
• Meanwhile, mix together the egg, cream and milk. Season well with salt and pepper.
• When the oven is hot, remove your pastry case from the fridge and prick it all over with a fork. this will help it not bubble up when you are cooking it. Line the dish with baking paper, and pop your baking beans in. Blind bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the beans and paper, and bake for a further 10 minutes. This will avoid the dreaded soggy bottom!
• Next add your leek and mushroom mix to the base of the quiche, sprinkle over the cheese – and pour over your egg and cream mixture.
• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the top is golden and there is no wobble.
• Delicious hot or cold, served with a green salad – a perfect spring lunch!

Swaps and alternatives – I can’t think of much you can’t put into a quiche, but here are a few simple ideas in case you don’t have any of the above ingredients

• Leeks: swap out for onions. They will reduce and caramelise in the same way. Or you can use courgettes or peppers, chopped and fried (skip the sugar with these) – even a little spinach, as long as it is very well drained and not watery.
• Gruyere: use grated Cheddar or crumbled feta (particularly good with the courgettes!)
• Try adding bacon to it – fry with the mushrooms and leeks for a bit of extra salty deliciousness.
• If you want to make it richer and creamier, reduce the amount of milk and make up the quantity with an extra egg, and cream.
• And of course if you don’t have wholemeal flour – just use plain.
• For the leftover pastry – store in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for another day