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    Coconut dal

    27 February 2019 - By 

    This is advertised as a butternut dal, but honestly it’s the coconut that really shines through here.  Lovely and comforting, much more powerfully flavoured than most dals and combines less well with the usual accompaniments of yoghurt, chutney and pickles, instead quite happily standing on its own. I’ve never used coconut “cream” before, but honestly it might be the thing I stick with from now on, if there’s any desire for the coconut to shine through.  Much stronger effect on the final dish. The butternut as ever is an inoffensive addition, mostly providing interest through texture. From: https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/butternut-squash-dal/

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    Prawn tagliatelle & Chestnut tagliatelle

    27 February 2019 - By 

    This week contained too much pasta, with these two dishes adjoining a reheated bolognese which altogether caused much bloat in the tum.  Frankly I messed up both recipes through lack of care at various points, many ingredients were missed and the pasta texture wasn’t right at all.  Would possibly try again with more care paid, but neither blew me away. From: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/feb/16/four-winter-pasta-recipes-bancone-brown-shrimp-tagliolini-lamb-ragu-pappardelle-silk-handkerchiefs-tagliatelle-chestnuts-chervil

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    Omelette pizza

    16 February 2019 - By 

    This odd little number is actually very nice, all the classic pizza toppings make the jump to an eggy base without missing a beat. The described tomato sauce isn’t my favourite, would make the sightly richer sauce that I usually make for a pizza. Excellent quick meal, and is certainly worth experimenting with the toppings. From Tom Kerridge – Dopamine Diet, pg. Xxx

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    Herby greens, mushies and chicken

    14 February 2019 - By 

    Loved this, so simple, savoury and delicious.  On Lisa’s insisting I ran with the very optional suggestion in the recipe to add chicken… I think I may have gone overboard.  But quite excellent. The Doctor’s Kitchen – pg. xxx

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    Bean and sweet potato burrito

    14 February 2019 - By 

    This is a bit of a faff, to be honest, but if you plan ahead and prepare the bean patty the night before it’s no too bad, and it was actually quite excellent.  The Chipotle yoghurt it quite excellent, and in fact essential to the dish.  I’d be tempted to add a sweet or sour salsa/sauce in the future, though it certainly isn’t required. From Tom Kerridge – Dopamine Diet, pg. xxx

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    Aromatic crispy chicken and mushroom broth

    13 February 2019 - By 

    Very nice, with a few caveats that largely revolve around mistakes. Firstly, I forgot the vinegar at the end which helps significantly temper the sweetness. Secondly, I would be very careful with the honey, I may have used too much this time, indeed I would consider using less than the recipe suggests next time. The crispy chicken is great and the dish suffers without that savoury hit and texture change. I can attest to this as I’m having leftovers for lunch right now, sans the chicken. The heat of the fresh chilli is also an important part of the dish,…

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    Vinegar pork and cauliflower puree

    13 February 2019 - By 

    Honestly this is a large amount of meat that I would be very tempted to mix up with some veggies in the future.  By the end I was feeling slightly greasy.  It is also a fair amount of work with multiple processes and some waits, not necessarily suited to a week night  However other than these minor nitpicks I can’t really fault this.  The pork was sharp and delicious, the cauliflower and tahini puree was really wonderful and definitely a thing that can be used elsewhere.  Turning into a big fan of tahini. The only other thing I might pay…

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    Mackerel ceasar salad with braised chicory

    13 February 2019 - By 

    Really good, it always takes me by surprise how powerful the flavour of mackerel is, but the radicchio caesar salad is more than match for it.  The still relatively exotic (to my kitchen) vegetable being really rather bitter in its raw state.  I found I had to add a little more lime to combat it.  I think a healthier dose of parmesan would have also worked and is worth trying again with that in mind.   From Tom Kerridge – Dopamine Diet. pg. xxx

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    Curried haddock soup

    2 February 2019 - By 

    Would make this again in a heartbeat, a beautiful, well flavoured, slightly indulgent creamy haddock soup. From Simon Hopkinson – Roast Chicken and Other Stories, pg. 196

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    Birthday Victoria Sponge

    1 February 2019 - By 

    Felicity Cloake’s “Perfect” recipe is quite the best sponge for a Victoria sponge I’ve ever tried.  Moist, perfect texture and a simple set of instructions.  As per Lisa’s usual wishes the middle is strawberry jam instead of the much superior raspberry. and cream rather than buttercream… Which I can get behind for the delicacy of this cake. The only flaws here are my own doing: forgetting to slice the tops off and accidentally sticking the jam on said tops meant a slightly peculiar toughness to the middle.  But this is rather nitpicking at what was one of the best cakes…