A. Wong, Pimlico

At Restaurant A. Wong, they don't serve up courses they serve up collections. The evening menu consists of six collections in total - five savoury and one sweet. When the second collection arrived in front of us, I asked the server in all seriousness, "Are the kitchen trying to kill us?"

Because at Restaurant A. Wong they give you so. Much. Food. Apparently this is typical of the culture - the desire to feed, to feast, to banquet. And fortunately, the food is so, so delicious that you unbutton your trousers, take a deep breath and power on through as much as you can. This is Chinese food done properly, expunging the memories of years of lurid, greasy, sickly takeaways in just three hours and offering a fascinating glimpse into a food culture which is as exciting and challenging and varied as any in the world.

We had the best seats in the house; perched on bar stools overlooking the main kitchen. Prep was done downstairs, and pastry prepared in a cold room off to the side, but the majority of the action took place here in front of our eyes, in an atmosphere of almost preternatural calm. Halfway through service, the main man himself arrived which seemed to make everyone stand up just a shade straighter but otherwise it didn't feel as if anyone was missing a beat and the ballet of the kitchen, mysterious, fragrant and, above all, hot, continued to mesmerise us all evening.

All in all we ate 31 dishes; and with very, very few exceptions they were wonderful. I'll try and pick out a highlight or two from each collection.

Collection 1 was The Banquet - a sumptuous array of eight relatively small dishes. The cured scallop with stuffed crab claw was my favourite here, in terms of flavour and mouth feel it felt like a definite nod to a classic sesame prawn toast, albeit elevated.

Collection 2 was Dim Sum which were a joy from start to finish, although the soup dumpling - "Tangerine fish" with Chiu Chow beef broth and Caviar - was probably the most joyful mouthful. I defy you not to smile as that amazing broth floods your palate.

Collection 3 was Fish. Full disclosure, I wasn't terribly excited about the description of any of the dishes on here but I should have known better. I was surprised by how much I adored the braised abalone with shitake mushroom, sea cucumber and abalone butter; it had an almost smoky quality to it which was immensely pleasing.

Halfway through and we were presented with Collection 4 - Snacks. All excellent, but the soy chicken was generally acknowledged as the favourite - simple (relatively speaking) but classic.

We were both genuinely flagging now and grateful for a short break before the arrival of the ominously named main course (or Collection 5 - Five Flavours). But some of the mouthfuls here were lighter and designed to soothe (chrysanthemum tofu in lemongrass broth) or refresh the palate (Nashi pear with Sichuan pepper). For sheer nostalgia though, I can't not mention the sweet and sour chicken which was both reminiscent of the takeaway classic and yet strangely refined. The candied walnuts here were a wonderful addition, giving, alongside the crispy chicken, a pleasing crunch.

Thankfully Collection 6 - Fruits - was as light as it sounds. A coconut ice with mulberries and yoghurt, and some dainty fruit jellies rounded out the meal and provided a perfect, sweet full stop without overloading our already groaning stomachs. Anything heavier and I would probably have rolled out of there.

An altogether fabulous experience then, and one which I will remember fondly for a very long time. I think anyone with an interest in Chinese food and culture should make a point of coming here to sample the food as it really should be and give it the credit it deserves. Your Saturday night takeaway will never be the same again.

A. Wong

70 Wilton Road

Pimlico

London SW1V 1DE

0207 828 8931

Kiln, London

There are very few times in life when I'm sorry to live in the North of England, despite having grown up on the London / Essex border. But there is no doubt that those people who live in London, or its environs, have access to a wondrous selection of eateries, far more varied than we have even in a decent sized city like Leeds. To Soho then, yesterday, and to Kiln, which is a D discovery. He has been a proper fanboy over it since eating there twice in two days earlier this year. 

Did I like Kiln? Yes, absolutely, and I’m only sorry that my friend J and I were relatively restrained with our menu choices (we needed to save room for an afternoon of cocktail consumption).

Speaking of cocktails, it would have been rude not to try Kiln’s offering. J went for dark rum with strawberry and cacao while I had gin with lime and something else which currently escapes me (probably because of all the brain cells I killed off in the proceeding hours). Gorgeous though, really bright and sherberty.

Food - we went for two of the smaller plates, the Northern Laap sausage and the slow cooked chicken and soy. I was expecting to love the sausage - and indeed it was rich and meaty and funky with dried shrimp. But I think the chicken was my favourite. Incredibly tender, the marriage of the sweet, melting meat with the umami hit of soy and the lick of flame from the grill, was utterly irresistible.

Stir fried greens in soy (we felt veg were required) were fresh and crunchy and a welcome foil to the meat. Dirty napkin included in the shot for, er, effect.

We weren’t going to try the glass noodles with belly pork and brown crab meat, but the server insisted that it was a Kiln classic. Enjoyable - there was a lovely kick of heat from the noodle dressing - but the crab meat was not readily discernible which was a little bit of a shame. Next time I’d definitely opt for rice and a curry instead.

This is Thai food the likes of which I haven’t seen before and really illustrates that it is a cuisine that is far more than fish cakes and green curry. Spicy and rich and exciting, it’s only a shame it’s not closer at hand. 

Happy Meals - a Thai inspired Saturday supper

Welcome to a new, probably infrequent, possibly one episode only series of quick posts talking about meals have cooked at home that we particularly enjoyed.

A little background to this one: D is currently a little obsessed with the London based Thai restaurant Kiln. He went there twice in two days when he was last down. They don’t have a recipe book but they do have a few recipes available on the Great British Chefs website and, yesterday evening we cooked two of them. 

Behold, with my usual appalling food photography skills on display (in fairness, I was hungry) - two Sai oua which is a type of Northern Thai sausage served with a mushroom salad with bitter herbs. On the side, Thai sticky rice, lightly fried then dressed with a sauce consisting of a tablespoon each of Sriracha chilli sauce, honey, fish sauce and sesame oil and finished with some shredded omelette (which had been seasoned with more fish sauce and white pepper). The whole dish was garnished with Thai basil and birds eye chillies. 

Better than any Thai takeaway I have EVER had, I enjoyed every mouthful. And if the food in Kiln is even half as good then D is really on to something and I need to get my arse there as soon as possible. 

Recipe corner: Gymkhana's tandoori lamb chops

Halfway through February already - the days are slipping by at a frankly alarming rate and I can't believe how long it has been since I last blogged. 

Excitingly, it is entirely possible that we have already had our top dish of the year thanks to a fabulously foodie short break in Paris (abroad!) However, up until this last weekend, I felt my cooking mojo had been somewhat lacking. Looking back over our archived meal plan for January, I'm a little surprised at how much we cooked actually because I definitely felt that it was all a bit meh. It could just be the January blues (pernicious blighters) and the fact that after the Christmas festivities, things are always a little bit flat. 

Anyway, early on in the month we had a sneaky short break down in London, primarily to see my family for the first time since before the pandemic. And it was wonderful. My brother and sister in law are fantastic hosts and I don't think I have ever eaten a better Spanish omelette than the one that V cooked us as part of a tapas spread. The children, my gorgeous nieces and nephew, had, unsurprisingly, changed enormously in the last two years, but were as fun as ever, and super tolerant of their aged auntie. We spent a brilliant day with them. And the icing on the cake was the fact that the night before we had a superlative dinner at Mayfair's Gymkhana, a restaurant I have been keen to visit for a long time.

We were not disappointed. If you like Indian food (we do) then this is a must-visit. We had the tasting menu which, I must admit, defeated us in terms of sheer quantity but the flavours and skilful balancing of spices had us in full on plate-licking mode initially (until we got so full we could barely move!) We'd love to go again and maybe order a la carte to manage capacity issues. 

The star of the evening were the tandoori lamb chops which, D declared, ruined tandoori lamb chops for him forever - and I quite agree. While the starting point was undoubtedly meat of the highest quality, luscious and tender and tumbling off the bone, the flavours of the marinade were fantastic - recognisable to the Western palate as "tandoori" but with a complexity that is lacking in your bog standard order-from-up-the-road. 

Unfortunately, Gymkhana's kitchen has yet to produce a recipe book BUT the recipe for the lamb chops is online - when I discovered this fact they went straight on the meal plan and we cooked them this weekend. They did not disappoint; the only real point of difference we could discern was the fact that we cooked them under our grill, so they lacked the note of char produced by a tandoor over; the next time we make them, we will be firing up the barbecue. I made a few little tweaks as I went along - exceedingly minor - but the original recipe, along with some other stunning looking dishes can be found here.

Some notes - this requires two marinades, the first overnight, so you do need to prepare in advance. Some ingredients are a little obscure - I bought the kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) and mustard oil online. The original recipe called for red chilli powder; now I know that our chilli powder is EXCEEDINGLY hot and didn't want that here (it wasn't in keeping with the original). I also know that a smoked paprika / chilli powder combination is sometimes suggested as a sub for certain types of Indian chilli powder, so that is what I did. The resulting lamb had a tingle but was not overwhelming; if you like chilli heat then you may wish to adjust my quantities upwards. Oh, and, goes without saying - use the best possible meat you can for this because that really is the bedrock of the dish.

Ingredients

8 lamb cutlets (or 1 8 bone rack of lamb)

First marinade:

Tbsp salt

3 fat cloves of garlic

2 inch (approx) piece of root ginger

2 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp smoked paprika

Tbsp kasoori methi

Small red onion, crushed with a mallet or rolling pin

Second marinade:

Tbsp salt

3 tsp chilli powder

3 tsp smoked paprika

7 tbsp Greek yoghurt

2 fat cloves of garlic

Inch (approx) pieces of root ginger

2 tbsp garam masala

2 tbsp mustard oil

Serves 2 greedy people (with sides)

Assemble your first marinade. Make a garlic and ginger paste: crush or finely grate the garlic, weigh, and then grate on an equivalent weight of root ginger and squish together with the flat of a knife. Bruise whatever remains of the ginger with whatever implement you used to crush the onion.  Combine the paste and the whole ginger with the other ingredients and add the lamb, mixing well and ensuring the lamb is well coated in spice. You may wish to do this in a large plastic bag rather than a bowl. Refrigerate, covered, (or in the bag) overnight.

Assemble your second marinade, making the garlic and ginger paste as before and this time discarding any of the ginger that you don't use. Combine the paste with all the other ingredients and then, in goes the lamb. Marinate for a further six hours or so.

To cook - grill (or barbecue), turning every few minutes until the centre of the cutlets has reached around 58 degrees (this should give you a medium result which is perfect for this dish but, of course, cook for longer if preferred).

A further note - of dumplings

 I mentioned our Fuchsia Dunlop themed week in my last post and referred briefly to Chinese supermarkets.

We are lucky enough to have several wonderful Chinese supermarkets relatively nearby. You could easily lose half a day in there, wandering up and down the aisles. Well, I could. In a world when I'm not trying to avoid steamed-up glasses and, well, people (also known as potential virus carriers). 

To the point of this post. The restaurant critic, Marina O'Loughlin, recently thanked Ms Dunlop in an Instagram post for getting her on to Freshasia dumplings. So, naturally, in a week when we were paying homage to her food writing and we were planning a trip to the local Chinese superstore, it seemed foolhardy not to see if we could acquire some to try. 

Reader, I can confirm that the dumplings that we tried were DEE-LICIOUS. We don't have any decent dim sum restaurants nearby (that I know of - note to self, must research further) so it was a real delight to find out that these can be sourced locally, and there is a massive range of fillings - through which we plan to work our giddy way. They can be steamed or fried, but we opted to boil - seven minutes from frozen and they were perfect.

Too lazy to make a dipping sauce, so we drizzled over some crispy chilli in oil instead (and this should be a store cupboard staple as it is a really quick and easy way to add texture and heat to any sort of dish from stir fry to scrambled egg).

Can see this being a freezer stalwart around Christmas time as it would make a great addition to any party food line up. Highly recommended. 

Recent eats: a Fuchsia Dunlop week

The recipes that we possess on paper alone, across myriad books and magazine back copies, would constitute more dishes than one could ever cook in a lifetime. And yet still we continue to acquire them until the array of possible answers to the question “What shall we have for dinner?” is so huge that one is rendered mute in the face of it. And thus it is that quite frequently, when meal planning, I will stare at a blank screen for ages before tentatively typing in “Beans on toast?”

One solution - streamlining. Have a cull. Stop acquiring new stuff. But then, you see, you might miss out. You might miss out on a recipe or a food writer who opens your eyes to something new that almost instantaneously absorbs into your repertoire as if it had always been there.  Something new that surprises or delights or challenges or all three at once (yes, food can do this). Discovering the work of Fuchsia Dunlop did this for us, bringing the food and flavours of China (particularly Sichuan) into our home after years of vaguely disappointing takeaway and restaurant experiences.

So then second solution - struggling to meal plan? Theme weeks! Concentrates the mind wonderfully, plus allows you to mix old favourites with new discoveries. And thus our household decided to embark upon a Fuchsia Dunlop Theme Week.

Incidentally, I would direct you to her website but it doesn’t look like it’s been updated for a while. Instead, I’d suggest a quick Google if you’re interested - not just to learn about her background (she was the first ever Westerner to do chef training at the Sichuan Higher Institute of Cuisine) but, also, a good few of her recipes are published online on sites such as The Guardian. Her Instagram feed is gorgeous too - and the fact that she once responded to a fan-girl comment of mine in the nicest and most gracious way only makes me slightly biased.

So, to the food (five dishes since we fast twice a week which means dust for dinner).

Monday - Dan Dan noodles. I was DETERMINED to have at least one noodle dish on there and this seems to be a classic. D is less enamoured of noodles than I, but he really enjoyed it. It’s sort of reminiscent of a Spag Bol that has wandered off on holiday. Incidentally, I sometimes find noodles to be slightly claggy - if you’re bothered by this, try cooking them in advance, plunging them straight from the pan into cold water and then lying them out flat in a single layer to cook and dry mitigates this a lot. You will need to reheat before serving - either in the pan of whatever else you’re cooking or a quick blast in the microwave,  (bowl, splash of water, cover with cling film, pierce, blast).

Wednesday - Mapo Tofu, smacked cucumber with garlicky sauce. One of the most intensely flavoured dishes of the week without a doubt. I just can’t get on with tofu when it is designed to be slippery in texture, which it is here. Firm, crisp - fine. Wobbly, verging on the gelatinous - not so fine. It speaks volumes for the delicious sauce that I still scoffed the lot but I think I need to tweak this slightly to make it more appealing to me (which would mean that it was no longer Mapo Tofu but that’s ok).

Smacked cucumber by the way - fabulous. And satisfying if you’ve had a particularly bad day at work (you do, literally, smack the thing). I sprinkled a few salted cashews over the top to add additional texture to the dish (see notes re wobbliness of tofu above).

Friday - oil exploded prawns, noodles with dried shrimp and spring onion oil. SO much flavour from so few ingredients - the noodles are the most ridiculously easy thing ever involving just oil, dried shrimp, spring onions and a splash of soy. The prawns were sweet and sticky and messy and deeply satisfying. This was like the best seafood pasta you’ve never had.

Saturday - fish fragrant chicken with egg fried rice. Back in slightly more familiar territory on Saturday night. All I will say about this is - if once you were to cook it, you would never order a Chinese takeaway EVER again.

Sunday - Nanjing saltwater duck, dry fried green beans. We pushed ourselves out of our comfort zone a little here. The picture of the duck, which is braised in a fragrant broth, was a little...pallid. Beige, even. A far cry from the crispy, gleaming specimens one associates with Chinese cookery. We were not sure how this would work texturally without any rendering of the fat. But no cause for alarm - this was tender without being in any way chewy or or wobbly, and the flavour infused into the meat was sublime. Actually, I think the wonderful taste of the duck itself was allowed to shine through a little more without the usual salty distraction of the fatty, delicious skin. The beans - well, D usually can’t stand green beans but these were excellent - the pork and preserved veg adding a deep savouriness to the appealingly crunchsome veg. As D observed, "Who knew that deep frying them and adding meat would make them nice?" NB: This is probably an edict that can be applied to many a thing.

In conclusion - a roaring success and plenty of dishes to make the regular rotation - along with at least one to play with. If you have never liked Chinese food - or even if you THINK you like the Chinese food that you’ve had so far, I would urge you wholeheartedly to give Fuchsia’s books a try. The majority of the ingredients are easily available now - online if you don’t have a handy Chinese supermarket nearby. Everything we have cooked so far has been quick and easy to do. There is nothing not to like!

As for me, back to non themed meal planning this week. Beans on toast, anyone?

Recent eats: a vegetarian week

We've always been keen meal planners but lockdown has made us...well, bordering on the obsessive. We both pore over the spreadsheet which meticulously lists out what we will be eating for weeks in advance. We have a colour coding system. We have multiple tabs - for the current meal plan, the future meal plan, the archive meal plan, the freezer inventory and the shopping list - it's becoming ridiculous. But perhaps all of us have sought order and structure in strange places through this strangest of years. And budget wise, it really is astounding what a difference it makes.

Anyway, this is not a post in praise of meal planning per se, but it is a record of the week just gone which we decreed "Veggie week". Because sometimes, to shake things up a bit, a themed week is just the ticket.

We've done veggie weeks before, and always end up eating incredibly well although I do find that I have to try and avoid my natural compulsion to cover everything in cheese! 

Saturday - shallot Tarte Tatin. I came across this while browsing through an old blog that I used to follow, but the recipe is originally Gordon Ramsay's. I tweaked it ever so slightly by adding the tomatoes and goats' cheese to the top (or bottom) of the shallot layer before covering with pastry. I didn't quite understand the point of just dumping them on top at the end. 

It was something of a labour of love this, but I made things more difficult for myself by making my own rough puff pastry - using shop bought would have been more straightforward. Regardless, it was a delicious and beautiful thing and well worth the effort. Equally good warm from the oven and cold for lunch the next day. 

Sunday - shepherdess pie. I was so proud of this one! The lentil mix which formed the base was actually entirely vegan but still had a fantastic richness to it. To make: blitz or very finely chop one onion, two sticks of celery and four chestnut mushrooms. Put into the slow cooker alongside a small handful of soaked porcini mushrooms (along with the soaking liquid), four roughly chopped sundried tomatoes in oil, an undrained can of kidney beans, 80g of Puy lentils, a bay leaf and a decent sprig of rosemary. Then, whisk together 1.5 tablespoons of brown miso, a tablespoon of tomato ketchup and 240ml of boiling water, and pour over the pulse mix. Season, and cook on low for six and a half hours. 

At this point, if you choose to smother it with buttery, cheesy mashed potato and bake in the oven...obviously it was cease to be vegan. But it will be very tasty nonetheless (and am sure a non dairy mash would be almost as good).

Monday - refried bean and avocado quesadillas. I bloody love refried beans! I am also slightly obsessed with the TikTok quadrant wrap technique being someone who loves wraps but is incapable of eating one without tipping half the contents down her front. I do not have TikTok (I am not really sure what it is) but an explanation of the wrap "hack" can be found here, and it is very clever. And I can tell you that if your quadrants contain beans, cheese and avocado you will produce a delicious and very filling meal. 

Wednesday - ooh, now this was nice although written down it will sound a bit random and, indeed, the main point of it was to use up some bits and pieces that had been hanging around for a while. So, we had Gochujang noodles (using the dressing found in this recipe), kale stir fried with tahini, chilli and soy and boiled eggs. I ate the leftovers cold for lunch and found them to be even more delicious for a couple of days ruminating in the fridge. 

Friday - to finish the week, mushroom and halloumi "burgers". I have to put burgers in quotation marks because I object to the use of the word in this context and yet can't think of an alternative. Anyway, Portobella mushrooms were topped with a garlicky mushroom farce (just blitzed chestnut mushrooms and trimmings cooked down with garlic and a little thyme before being finished with a tablespoon of cream cheese to create a pate like texture) and baked before being served in buns with slices of fried halloumi and a caper mayonnaise garnish. Indulgent fare for Friday night, especially with a heap of homemade slaw on the side.

So, veggie week - done, with some very pleasing new recipes added to the repertoire. Even a committed carnivore like D had no cause for complaint - although he did proceed to cook pork chops for tea on Saturday...

MPM: 12th August 2019

For the first time in a long time, last week we cooked, and ate, all seven meals as planned. It felt good to be in control to be honest.  All to often, if we deviate, it is because we have "accidentally" gone to the pub after work and ended up ordering a takeaway or eating toast in lieu of an actual meal OR it is because we have been infected with a generous dose of ennui and ended up not eating a proper meal at all but grazing.  To make a plan, stick to a plan and actually enjoy eating all meals on said plan was really nice.

Oh, and Beth - chickpea mash?  The recipe is here.  A pleasant twist on the classic bangers and mash although I found that the chickpeas did need a judicious whack of seasoning and lemon juice to perk them up and the inclusion of a scattering of caramelised onion was a welcome note.

Onto this week, and the plan is to be in every night again and eat as follows:

Monday: carrot, tomato and feta soup (the other half of the batch we started last week.)

Tuesday: a freezer dive - chilli con carne with rice and a decent dollop of cooling sour cream.

Wednesday: pasta with nduja pesto and roasted cherry tomatoes.  Now, this pesto is part of the Sacla range which tend to be pretty good for a weekday meal.  But I'm not clear on how nduja pesto is different from just plain old nduja.  I guess I am soon to find out!

Thursday: a red wine and mushroom risotto, from The Silver Spoon.

Friday: and diving once more into the recipe book library, tonight we will be cooking Gung Bao chicken from Fuschia Dunlop's fantastic "Every Grain of Rice".  If you are a fan of Chinese food then I would highly recommend this tome.

Saturday: lamb seekh kebabs - sides tbc.

Sunday: Pollock (or whatever white fish looks good at the fishmongers) with chickpeas and chorizo, courtesy of Mr Tom Kerridge.

Have a good week one and all!

Recipe corner: oven-baked onion bhajis

I must admit, onion bhajis are not something that it would ever really have occurred to me to make from scratch until I did (or, rather, D did) and discovered that the homemade variety are absolutely amazing - a hundred times better tasting that the ones you can buy in the supermarket and far less greasy than the standard Indian restaurant version.  I am in love. 

D's feedback was that he would have liked them a little bit crispier, so next time I make them, I will cook them at a lower temperature for slightly longer to allow them to dry out properly (I've reflected this change in my instructions below).  But I don't think the aim is to get them really crispy.  He agreed with me that the flavour was very good and particularly liked the fact that they have a decent whack of heat. 

The original recipe calls for you to just spoon them onto a pre-prepared baking sheet.  I actually used a silicon mini cupcake tray which was great for keeping them an even shape but probably meant that they were slightly deeper than the originals.  Again, an increased cooking time should ensure that they are cooked through and not at all doughy in the middle.  If you don't have a tray, by all means revert to the original method.  It may slightly affect the number of bhajis that the recipe produces.

Here, you see them served alongside Nigella's cherry tomato curry, coriander rice and coconut flatbreads.  My team's "Tea of the Month" theme this month was vegan and this was my entry.  If it doesn't win my pride shall be very hurt indeed...

Ingredients

1.5 cm root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped or grated
1/2 green chilli, chopped
Tsp cumin seeds

250g brown onions
Tbsp rapeseed oil

45g chickpea (gram) flour
20g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tbsp lemon juice

Makes around 10 - 1 Smart Point (WW Flex) each

These can be prepared in advance, but if baking straightaway then preheat the oven to 170 and either have a silicon cupcake tray to hand, or line a banking tray with a piece of lightly oiled foil.

In a pestle and mortar, bash together the ginger, chilli and cumin seeds with a generous pinch of salt to make a paste.

Peel and halve the onions and then thinly slice them into half-moon shapes.  Gentle heat the oil in a large bottomed pan and then add the onions and fry for around 15 minutes until they are soft and translucent.  If they look like they are catching, turn the heat down and add a little splash of water.

Transfer the onions to a bowl and add the ginger and chilli paste, along with the other ingredients and another decent pinch of salt.  Mix well and trickle in a little bit of water - a couple of teaspoons should be fine - in order to form a thick batter.

Use a tablespoon to put these on the pre-prepared tray - make sure you leave a bit of space between each bhaji if you're baking them freehand.  Place in the oven for around 35 minutes until they are starting to brown on top. 

Serve, alongside a delicious homemade curry or just a dollop of chutney.

Meal planning (Bank Holiday) Monday

I don’t really know how to cope with a sunny Bank Holiday weekend. It seems so non British somehow. I managed to burn my left arm on Saturday while at the first Eat North of the year and have retreated indoors subsequently. The sun and I are not the best of friends and I will never, never understand the appeal of just lying around stewing in one’s own sweat.

Anyway, we are due storms this week so hurrah. Although, come to think of it, I don’t much like rain either.

Meal planning. Tonight, I’ve thrown together a supper to use up some odds and sods in the fridge. Potato and watercress frittata. A slaw flavoured with the remains of a basil and mint pesto. Fresh baked bread. Tomorrow, I’m out. Wednesday, D is out. And on Thursday we are going to see The Avengers straight from work. I’m not usually bothered about seeing films the second they come out but we decided that it would be practically impossible to avoid spoilers unless we completely eschewed the Internet.

Next weekend, the plan is: 

Friday: trout fillets with Jersey Royals, asparagus and minted hollandaise

Saturday: homemade pizza (this got bumped last week)

Sunday: sticky pork belly with noodles. Although I’m wondering about doing the pork stir fry per the recipe and serving it with rice instead. I’ll see how I feel at the time.

Whatever the weather decides to do this week, have a good one my lovelies.

Recipe corner: Saag paneer (spinach and paneer curry)

Of all the British Indian Restaurant curries, saag paneer is one of my all time favourites and I think that I’ve finally come up with a home version that is good as any I’ve eaten out. I’d be the first person to say that I am not versed in authentic Indian home cooking. My recipe, detailed below, is a mash up of several others that I have collected like a spice loving magpie. In fusing these dishes together, I’ve probably created something as inauthentic as you like but, my view with cooking is that the most important question is always: “Does it taste good?” as opposed to: “Is this how my grandmother’s grandmother made it?”

NB: Since both of my grandmothers’ grandmothers were probably Irish peasants, I can’t imagine that they were concerned with much more than boiling up enough potatoes to keep their families fuelled.

Right - let’s talk the recipe. It may seem like something of a faff to cook, and spice, spinach and paneer separately and, if so, make the spinach as written and then just bung the cubed paneer cheese in at the end and stir well. You don’t even need to fry the cheese really, I just like the little additional texture that it gives.

Also, as with all curries, this one will benefit from sitting around in the fridge for a couple of days while all the flavours get to know each other. What I would suggest is, making the spinach in advance then spicing and frying the paneer fairly last minute to really maximise that lovely textural contrast mentioned above.

Some more top notch food photography for you...

Ingredients

For the spinach:

2 tsp rapeseed oil
Tsp dried fenugreek seeds
Medium onion, finely chopped

Generous tbsp of tomato purée, mixed with 120ml boiling water

2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Fresh ginger (equivalent weight to the garlic cloves), grated
0.5 tsp chilli powder
Heaped tsp cumin
Heaped tsp ground coriander
0.5 tsp turmeric
Heaped tsp garam masala
Generous pinch of salt

225g frozen spinach (around 6 “pucks”)

For the paneer:

120g paneer cheese, cut into small cubes
Tsp rapeseed oil
0.5 tsp each of: ground coriander, cumin and paprika
0.25 tsp turmeric
Generous pinch of salt

Serves 2

Start with the spinach. Heat the oil, gently, in a large pan and add the fenugreek seeds. As they start to brown off and smell a little toasty, add the onions and fry until they are softened but not brown.

Next, in goes the diluted tomato purée and the rest of the spices. Mix well. Keep the heat nice and low and simmer everything together for about 5 minutes.

At this point you can add the spinach. Again, mix well and stir gently to allow it to melt and combine with the ingredients. Turn the heat down low, low, low, cover the pan and cook for 15-20 mins. You will need to check and stir frequently. If it is drying out, add a splash of water.

Place the paneer cubes into a large bowl, drizzle over the oil and sprinkle over the spices. Toss to combine.

To finish the curry: heat a dry frying pan over a gentle flame, add the cubes of paneer and cook, regularly shaking and turning, until start to go crisp and golden on all sides. Stir through the spinach before serving. The whole thing can be done in advance, paneer and all, but for maximum flavour and texture, make the spinach slightly in advance and stir the paneer through at the last minute.

MPM: 21st January 2019

Ugh, I am so over 2019. I have spent much of the last few weeks feeling under the weather. Not ill enough to indulge myself like a proper invalid, just a bit bleurgh. I’m well into my second week of the cold that just won’t quit, I had to get emergency dental treatment last week to prevent me from having to go out in public resembling an extra from Deliverance and my stomach continues to object to anything I care to ingest. Harrumph.

Still, I’m sure it’s not all doom and gloom. Oh, I know. We finally, FINALLY cracked and bought ourselves a dishwasher which got plumbed in this weekend. Our kitchen, which is ridiculously wee compared to the size of our dining room because of piss poor planning by whoever designed the house, does not really have room for a dishwasher. But the unremitting washing up was just dragging us down so we moved our gorgeous 1950s style fridge into the dining room, convinced ourselves that it was a design feature, and moved the dishwasher into newly created space. Deep, deep joy. The eventual plan is to knock through and create one big kitchen-diner which would be a much better use of the overall space. But until such time as we win the lottery (oooh, or perhaps someone reads this blog and offers me a Changing Rooms style makeover in return for a good write up! Get in touch!) this will have to do.

Of course, this means that I am currently desperate to cook things that require multiple pans and bowls just for the pleasure of bunging them in the dishwasher and NOT washing them up. Regardez:

Monday: soup

Tuesday: mushroom stroganoff with rice

Wednesday: prawns with sweet potato and coriander mash and chilli sauce

Thursday: gnocchi baked with courgette, garlic and chilli

Friday: haggis with neeps and tatties (happy Burns Night to my Scottish friends!)

Saturday: Szeuchan style braised pork belly

Sunday: salmon with curried mussels

Have a lovely week all!

How to cook sushi rice

I’m about to throw an empty packet away, and with it the instructions that I’ve been using to cook sushi rice. What is this blog, I asked myself, but an online kitchen scrapbook and thus the perfect place to make a note of it all. Thus:

Step 1. Weight out 100g rice. This is enough for two people as long as they’re pretending to be ok with WW’s idea of a portion.

Step 2. Cover the rice in cold water and swirl it around a bit. The water will go quite cloudy. Drain into a sieve. Consider repeating the process three or four times as instructed but instead decide to run cold water over the rice in the sieve, stirring lightly with your hand. After a minute or so of this, the water should run clear.

Step 3: Tip rice into saucepan and pour over 130 ml cold water. Bring to a simmer then cover and cook for 10 mins. Turn the heat off and leave for a further 25 mins. Do not remove the lid during this time.

Step 4: Meanwhile, combine a tbsp rice wine vinegar with 2 tsp sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Step 5: When the time is up, remove the lid and stir through the vinegar-sugar combo and a tiny pinch of salt (the salt is not specified on the packet but I find it wakes up the sweet sourness of the other additions).

Step 6: Serve - topped with whatever your little heart desires.

MPM: 26th November 2018

I’ve had to switch my WW membership to online only for the time being. I’ve missed a number of meetings due to other commitments and was using this as an excuse to avoid the scales and not follow the plan properly. That ends now. I was following WW online when I first started this blog and did manage to lose weight successfully over a sustained period so there’s no reason why it can’t work again. I’ll see how I go between now and Christmas and then if I need to recommit to meetings in the New Year then I will, albeit might have to have a rethink as to which meeting I attend. There’s a local one on a Saturday morning which could be a possibility.

Meal plan - couple of bumps from last week and a takeaway on Friday, requested by D. Not particularly WW friendly (actually not WW friendly at all) so I’ll just have to make up for it elsewhere. Sigh.

Monday: starting the week nice and light with a comforting bowl of soup.

Tuesday: leftover roast chicken and black bean wraps.

Wednesday: salmon yakitori with sushi rice. Possibly some sort of cucumber side dish?

Thursday: Ottolenghi’s ultimate winter couscous.

Friday: fish and chips.

Saturday: Szechuan red braised pork belly - bumped from last week.

Sunday: a Diana Henry recipe - chicken and sweet potatoes with miso, ginger and spring onions.

Have a fabulous week all!

MPM: 19th November 2018

Gah! I can’t believe that I have got to the end of another week and STILL have two Venice posts to finish not to mention various other half done drafts sitting in my blogger feed to sort out. Hands up - life seems a little bit of a struggle at the moment. Work is challenging - good, but challenging and very full on - and I get home in the evening and weekends and am so drained that I don’t want to do anything much but lie around, stroke the cat and binge on Netflix. I wish that I was one of those people who thrive on wholesome hobbies and think my goal for next year must be to try and make my life outside of work a little bit fuller. It’s probably one of those things, like exercise, that feels overwhelming to start with, but when you get into the routine you reap the positive rewards.

Anyhoo, at the very least I can manage a meal planning post. I’m looking forward to the eats this week:

Monday: shepherds’ pie. Bumped from last week, as I write this (on Sunday evening) the mince is bubbling away in the slow cooker so all I need to do tomorrow is sort out the mash for the top and the veg for the side.

Tuesday: ham, eggs and Piperade from this lovely recipe.

Wednesday: D is out for lunch, so we’re going to keep things fairly light for tea and just have a nice pot of soup. However, I’ve been having a bit of a yen for soda bread recently, so I may knock up some to go on the side.

Thursday: a fennel gratin with an orange zest and pine nut crust, served with a fennel seed pilaf. Thank you, Nigel Slater.

Friday: a beef rendang . We’ll be making use of the slow cooker again so all we have to do on Friday evening is cook some rice to go on the side.

Saturday: D has requested a Szechuan red braised pork belly which sounds delicious.

Sunday: roast chicken with various trimmings.

Have a wonderful week everyone, and happy eating! Oooh, and Peridot, enjoy Fantastic Beasts and be sure to let me know what you think!

Slow cooker recipe corner: Vivek Singh’s Suriani home-style chicken curry

A slow cooker curry recipe is perfect for this time of year and this one, adapted from the BBC Food site, is lovely. Please, please do not be put off by the amount of vinegar. When you first combine the ingredients it will taste and smell slightly overwhelming. By the end of cooking it will have mellowed to the most delicious subtle sourness.

From the BBC website

From me. A career in food photography clearly beckons...

The original recipe can be found here and comes with a sweet and sour coconut rice accompaniment but if you are looking to keep points down, you could just serve with plain rice. Or cauliflower rice. Or whatever you like really...I can imagine it with a chilli and coriander spiked mash.

This is a wet curry / stew, even if you reduce it as per the below suggestion. It’s got no thickening agent so it’s never going to be a thick sauce but I don’t think that is the idea. Just thought I’d mention it in case thinner curries aren’t your bag. You could quite easily bung a handful of lentils in it if you like - this wouldn’t affect the points. Oh, incidentally, you could also use reduced fat coconut milk which would take the points down to 5 per portion.

Ingredients

Tbsp rapeseed oil
2-3 large chicken breasts, cut into chunks

Half a punnet of chestnut mushrooms, sliced
2 red onions sliced

Can of coconut milk
Cinnamon stick
6 cloves
4 green cardamom pods
4 garlic cloves, sliced
5cm piece of ginger, grated
8 green chillies, slit lengthways
15 curry leaves
2 tsp salt
Tbsp black peppercorns, crushed
5 tbsp sherry vinegar

Tsp garam masala

Serves 4, 10 Smart Points (WW Flex) per portion

As ever, these slow cooker recipes are more of an assembly job.

Heat the oil and add the chicken pieces, in batches if necessary, to brown on all sides.

Meanwhile, put the coconut milk, the spices and the vinegar into the slow cooker. Stir well, then add the sliced veg and the browned chicken.

Lid on, cook on low for 8 - 10 hours.

We then used a slotted spoon to remove the meat and veg, poured the sauce into a pan and reduced over a low heat for 15 mins, but this is not essential if you’re looking for ease and speed.

Stir through the garam masala just before serving.

MPM: 24th September 2018

Greetings chickadees and I think it is safe to say that summer is well and truly over after a weekend which saw us a) light our fire every night b) turn the heating on and c) get pounded by hailstones.  Suits me just fine - I am not a big fan of the hot weather although I have no intention of giving up the salads that have characterised my lunches for the past couple of months.  I love salad and don't see that it should be confined to when the weather is sunny.

I've been back on track for nearly a whole week now (four and a half days counts as nearly seven, doesn't it?) and although it has had its tricky moments, altogether it is going pretty well.  It helps, I think, that we were SO over indulgent last weekend, my body was definitely ready to embrace a simpler, leaner diet.  But, as I said in my last post and said to my WW coach at the weigh in, I will never be the type of person to count, or even attempt to count, on holiday.  Food and drink are two of life's very great pleasures.

Talking of great pleasures, and another sign that winter is on its way - the new series of Strictly Come Dancing started on Saturday night which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Saturday nights from now will definitely have to feature a special sort of supper to honour the occasion.  Actually, this Saturday's supper was very special indeed - inspired by a photo on Bundobust's Instagram feed, I contrived a saag paneer pizza.  If two of your favourite foods are saag paneer and pizza, this is a dish not to be missed.  I may well post the recipe at some point.

Anyway, on to this week.  I am supposed to be going out on Friday, so it is blank for now, but may try and wriggle out of it for various reasons, not least that it would be nice to have two straight weeks of tracking under my belt as we go into October AKA D's 50th Birthday Month.  Elsewhere:

Monday: Tuna and onion (tonno e cipolla) pizza - we have pizza dough leftover from Saturday night and, well, it would be rude not to.

Tuesday:  Mussel paella

Wednesday:  Vietnamese braised pork with vegetable egg fried rice

Thursday: Chicken breast stuffed with goats' cheese

Saturday:  Lobster truffled macaroni cheese - a dish inspired by our recent trip to the Star Inn the Harbour.

Sunday:  A freezer dive - beef and fennel stew with mashed potatoes.

Have a fabulous week all!

MPM: 20th August 2018

I meant to do this first thing this morning and then got distracted by, ugh, work.  And I meant to introduce the post by spending a good five minutes moaning about how TIRED I am but, actually, I might save that for tomorrow and just concentrate on meal planning today. 

This week, we have my parents coming for dinner on Saturday, which if D has his way will mean a multi-course, thousand point extravaganza.  I am wondering if everyone would settle for a couple of takeaway pizzas and a few hands of cards.  Other than that, the week is a quiet one which is fine by me.

Monday: Spiced tomato and lentil soup

Tuesday:  Thai spiced turkey patties with rice noodle salad

Wednesday: Crispy lemon sole with brown shrimp butter and cucumber salad

Thursday:  Pork with mushrooms in creamy tarragon sauce, mash

Friday:  Chilli con carne

Sunday:  Trout with horseradish

Recipe corner: cumin spiced rice salad with lime and herbs

I will never tire of my coronation rice salad but this is a great alternative that requires very few ingredients and certainly things that I always tend to have knocking around. It’s possible that you might not have any fresh limes in your fruit bowl (as gin and tonic aficionados this is not a problem we experience) - lemon would probably work too.

Don’t skimp on the fat in the initial cooking stage - this will lightly coat the grains in lieu of any other dressing. I sprinkled some pickled red chillies over the portion that I took for lunch (see below. Also note my pretty, pink lunchbox. Could I be more of a cliche girlie girl?) These were an excellent addition.

Ingredients

30g butter
Tbsp vegetable oil
Red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
150g basmati rice
300ml vegetable stock

Zest and juice of 1 lime
Large handful of soft green herbs (mint, parsley, coriander...)

Serves 2-4 as a side dish

Melt the butter and oil together over a medium to low heat. Once melted, add the onion with a decent pinch of salt, cover, and turn the heat right down. Cook until very soft, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the garlic and dried spices and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

Stir through the rice so well coated in fat and spice, then pour over the stock. Bring the pan to a gentle simmer then cover again, put the heat on its lowest setting and cook for 5 minutes. Then, turn the heat off altogether and leave covered for a further 5 mins, at which point the rice should be cooked through.

While the rice cooks, chop together the herbs.

To finish the salad, stir through the herbs, lime zest and juice. Serve at room temperature.

MPM: 21st May 2018

A lot of the dishes on our menu recently have had a definite Asian slant. It just seems to be the direction in which my mind wanders when I start to think about what I want to eat. Now, obviously, Asia is a massive continent - both literally and in terms of culinary diversity, but I trust that you know what I mean when I make such sweeping statements.

This week, we are going out to dinner with Pater and Mater on Saturday, to celebrate the latter’s birthday. And, inevitably and ever optimistically, we have planned to eat soup on both Monday and Thursday. I am beginning to hate soup. Elsewhere:

Tuesday: we have leftovers of Sunday’s lemongrass and turmeric chicken to eat up, so we’re going to do an approximation of a bahn mi, by shredding it into a baguette with some crunchy veg and a slather of chicken liver pate.

Wednesday: paneer, red pepper and coconut curry. I LOVE a paneer based curry.

Friday: five spice caramel pork. I want to have this with noodles if D is agreeable (he is not the biggest fan of noodles in the world), if not, I am sure it will work equally well with rice.

Sunday: a recipe from “Our Korean Kitchen” - a spicy beef and vegetable stew, served with rice.

Happy Monday everybody!