Brown rice and potato pilaf

Brown food is a bit of a running joke on instagram but the fact is that monotone brown or beige dishes are often the most delicious. That's certainly the case with Sam and Sam Clark's brown rice and potato pilaf from their most recent book Moro Easy.

"The double carbs are the key to the magic of this pilaf. The two basic ingredients combine to create an opulent and luxurious texture. Perfect with labneh, mushrooms, sweet herbs and chilli butter (page 67), spinach, pine nuts and sultanas (page 133), lamb chops (page 240), duck breasts with walnut and pomegranate sauce (page 226) and roast chicken with fenugreek and coriander marinade (page 222). (You now see why you need the book!)

Serves 4

75g butter

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice or baharat

2 leeks (white parts only) thinly sliced

500g potatoes, peeled, cut into 1.5cm cubes and tossed with 1 teaspoon salt

250g brown rice

700ml hot vegetable stock (2 tablespoons Marigold vegetable powder mixed with boiling water)

4 tablespoons crispy fried onions

150g Greek yoghurt, mixed with 1 garlic clove, crushed with a little salt

In a medium heavy-based saucepan, heat the butter over a medium heat. When it foams, add the cinnamon and allspice, fry for 30 seconds, then add the leeks and a pinch of salt and black pepper. Fry for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are soft and sweet.

Add the potatoes and rice, stir well, then pour over the hot stock. Cover with a circle of baking paper and a lid and simmer gently for 30–40 minutes, or until the potatoes and rice are cooked. Remove from the heat, check for seasoning and let it rest for 5 minutes, then serve with the crispy onions on top and the yoghurt on the side.

What to drink: It's not a question of matching the pilaf as the dish it accompanies though I think we're probably talking about a red. I'd be inclined to go for a rioja reserva if it was lamb chops and a new world pinot noir with the labneh and mushrooms.

Extracted from Moro Easy by Sam & Sam Clark, published by Ebury Press at £30. Photograph © Susan Bell

Footnote: Roopa Gulati has a brilliant recipe for crispy onions in her book India in the World Vegetarian series. Basically you slice a couple of large onions, sprinkle them with salt, leave them for at least an hour, drain them and pat them dry then deep fry them in batches. But you should get the book which is brilliant. FB

Pasta with mushrooms, kosho and toasted parmesan rind

This recipe is from a new book called Wasted by chef Conor Spacey which is published by the Irish publisher Blasta Books as part of a charmingly illustrated series of single subject books

I made a couple of changes to the ingredients and method when I road tested it but absolutely loved the recipe. (Maximumrespect to Conor for coming up with the best ever way to use parmesan rinds which is basically catnip for humans

Conor writes: It’s definitely not traditional, but I love to use kosho, a Japanese condiment (see recipe below) with pasta. Mushrooms and the crispy parmesan rind give it an extra umami boost.

CONOR SPACEY’S PASTA WITH MUSHROOMS, KOSHO & TOASTED PARMESAN RINDSERVES

20g parmesan rind

240g shop-bought fresh pasta - spaghetti is perfect for this. (I used 150g dried bucatini which was what I happened to have in the cupboard)

40g butter

a splash of rapeseed oil

160g mixed fresh mushrooms, thickly sliced

3 tsp kosho (see below)

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Preheat your grill. Put the parmesan rinds on a baking tray, skin side up, and put the tray under your grill. Keep a close eye on them and wait until they start to bubble and colour, then remove them straightaway. Put them on a chopping board. Using a sharp knife, chop the rinds into small cubes.

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions but reduce the cooking time by 2 minutes to keep it al dente. When the pasta is cooked, keep a mugful of the cooking water from the pot before straining the pasta.

Put the pot that you used to cook the pasta back on the hob on a medium heat. Add the butter and a splash of rapeseed oil. When the butter has melted, add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, until they begin to soften. Stir in the kosho and the mugful of pasta water (I didn’t use that much - about 4 tbsp I’d guess) then add the drained pasta, stirring to make sure the pasta is all coated in the sauce.

Check the seasoning – the kosho is quite salty and spicy so I don’t add any salt throughout the cooking process, but you may like to season it to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, divide the pasta between two wide, shallow bowls. Top with the toasted Parmesan rinds and chopped fresh coriander (I added the coriander to the mushrooms when I added the pasta)

KOSHO (see also my note below)

Kosho is a Japanese seasoning with a umami explosion. The word ‘kosho’ means ‘pepper’ in Japanese, referring to the chilli pepper it’s made with. Traditionally it’s made using yuzu, a citrus fruit found in East Asia that’s hard to get here, so I swap it out for lemons, limes or grapefruit. Once you make this and have it in your fridge, you’ll become addicted to it. Kosho is a great way to cut through the richness of many dishes, from meat to noodles and everything in between

To make kosho, halve 6 red chillies lengthways and remove the seeds. Cut them into chunks, put them in a blender or food processer and pulse until they are finely chopped. Zest the citrus fruit you need to use up (either 4 lemons, 3 oranges or 1 grapefruit) and add it to the blender or food processor. Pulse until it’s well mixed with the chillies, then add 16g flaky sea salt and pulse again until it forms a paste.

This is ready to use straightaway, but I like to put it into an airtight jar and leave it at room temperature for one week to slightly ferment and take on more flavour. Store the kosho in a sealed jar in your fridge, where it will keep for up to three months.

It’s not entirely clear from the illustration whether you should pare or grate the zest. Most recipes suggest equal quantities of chillies and citrus zest. I made about half the quantity suggested - 40g of each - and used a grapefruit, 3 limes and 5 limes so maybe paring it would be more economical though it would be harder to break down the citrus peel. Experiment anyway - it’s delicious. Oh, and my chillies were large ones not birds eye chillies which I think would be too hot!)

From WASTED by Conor Spacey (Blasta Books, £13) Illustrations: Nicky Hooper

What to drink: the pasta sauce is quite punchy and citrussy so am not sure it needs more citrus. A dry white wine like a Picpoul de Pinet or a pinot grigio would work best if you wanted a glass of wine though I drank a kombucha with it which was excellent.

Spaghetti with Almond Cream, Fresh Crab, Chilli and Marjoram

I've been pouring over the pages of Ben Tish's lovely book Sicilia - it has a really good selection of pasta recipes - and a friend and I decided to give this one a go. We didn't have whole almonds so we substituted ground almonds which made the sauce a bit gritty so follow Ben's recipe and don't make the same mistake!

Ben writes: Nut-thickened sauces and ‘creams’ are very popular in parts of Sicily. Nuts are natural thickeners and packed with flavour.

I first came across a pasta dish similar to this when traveling through the Aeolian islands one summer. An idyllic beach side café had just a couple of pasta options and the one that took my fancy was a spaghetti with almond sauce served with tiny wild mussels that were an ocean in every bite. I think there may have been lemon too. It couldn’t have been more idyllic for the time and place. This is my version.

Serves 4

100g blanched almonds

300ml full-fat milk

400g dried spaghetti

extra virgin olive oil for cooking

2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped

50g brown crab meat

100g fresh white crab meat, picked over to remove any shell or cartilage

juice of 1 lemon

a handful of marjoram leaves

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the almonds and milk in a saucepan and set aside to soak for 30 minutes. Then bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes. Pour into a blender and blitz to a smooth sauce consistency. Season and reserve.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, add a lug of oil to a large saut. pan and gently heat, then add the chillies and fry lightly to soften. Now pour in the almond sauce and stir in the brown and white crab meat. Squeeze in some lemon juice and check the seasoning.

When the pasta is cooked, transfer it to the almond sauce using tongs. Drizzle in some olive oil and add a ladle of the pasta water.

Stir the pasta through with the tongs, ensuring the strands are all coated. If the sauce is too thick add more pasta water and continue to stir or toss through.

Transfer the pasta to warmed bowls (doing this with tongs gives a neat presentation) and sprinkle over the marjoram, then serve immediately.

What to drink: Given this is a Sicilian-inspired recipe it would seem perverse not to drink a Sicilian wine with it - I'd suggest a Carricante but most of Italy's dry whites like Falanghina or vermentino would work too. Or maybe, from up in the north, a Soave or Bianco di Custoza which have almondy notes of their own.

Sicilia by Ben Tish (Bloomsbury Publishing, £26) is out now. Photography by Kris Kirkham.

Curry leaf mussels and fries

This is such a simple, clever and inspired way to cook mussels - an exotic version of moules marinières which I couldn't resist as I love curry leaves too.

It comes from Ed Smith's book Crave which lists recipes that are likely to appeal depending on the mood you're in and the sort of flavours you're craving at any particular moment - fresh and fragrant, for example or rich and savoury.

Ed writes: Curry leaves tempering in hot oil is a top-five kitchen smell; my tastebuds become fully activated upon catching a whiff. Indeed, such is their instantly satisfying effect, it’s worth buying a packet or two if ever you see them – like chillies they store well in the freezer (and can be used straight from frozen).

Mussels in a creamy sauce carry the aroma particularly well. As it happens, they cook almost as quickly as the leaves, so this works well as a rapid response to a craving for spice. You could obviously drag bread through that sauce, but on this occasion I think a side of salty French fries works best (frozen fries for oven baking are perfect).

Serves 4 as a main course

1.5kg (6½ cups) mussels

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion or shallot, finely sliced

30g (1oz) fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into fine matchsticks

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

25–30 curry leaves (2 full sprigs)

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp chilli powder

1 heaped tbsp tomato purée (paste)

100ml (scant ½ cup) cold water

300ml (1¼ cups + 1 tbsp) double (heavy) cream

Pinch flaky sea salt

Oven-baked French fries, to serve.

Purge (clean) the mussels by leaving them to soak in cold water for 20 minutes, lifting them out from the bowl after 10 minutes, discarding the dirty, gritty water and refilling it with cold water (and the mussels). Repeat this action 5 minutes later, and then again. Keep the bowl in the fridge during this time, save for the last soak, when you should pull out any straggly beards from the mussels (easier while they’re still under water). Discard any mussels that remain open when tapped. This can be done in advance, though you must store the mussels in the fridge until needed.

Cook your fries – I find they usually need a few minutes longer than the packet suggests.

When the fries are nearly done, choose a wide saucepan or wok with a lid that will fit the mussels in no more than three layers. Place this on a medium heat and add the vegetable oil. Let this warm for 30 seconds before adding the onions, ginger, a pinch of salt, the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent the onions or leaves burning. Add the garlic and, 30 seconds later, the spices. Cook these for a minute, stirring frequently, then add the tomato purée.

After 1 minute more, increase the heat to high then add the water, cream and mussels. Stir the contents thoroughly, place the lid on top and cook for 3 minutes, shaking once or twice. If the mussels have not fully opened after that time, use a spoon to scoop them from the bottom of the pan to the top (so as to swap open with closed) remove from the heat but put the lid back on top for a further minute, leaving the remaining mussels to steam open. Discard any that refuse to open.

Ladle into bowls, ensuring everyone has a fair share of the glossy, fragrant and rust-coloured sauce, with piles of well-salted fries nearby.

What to drink: I'd really fancy a dry riesling with this but a crisp dry white like picpoul would also work as it does with other mussel dishes or, if you prefer a beer, a lager.

Extracted from CRAVE: Recipes arranged by flavour, to suit your mood and appetite by Ed Smith (Quadrille, £25). Photography: Sam A. Harris