Fruit kimchi

I've never got round to making my own kimchi as I can buy an excellent one locally (from Every Good Thing in Bristol (which also sells online) but this one from Mark Diacono's invaluable new handbook Ferment from Scratch sounds irresistible. Give it a go.

Fruit kimchi

Some years ago, I met Hans and Gaby Wieland in Waterford, Ireland. We were all in town for a festival of food and growing, and in the years since they have done much to inspire my fermenting adventures. Our shared love of Yahtzee (pleasingly named Kniffle in their native German) and their generous introduction to fruit kimchi means we have an eternal connection.

Their original fruit kimchi sent me down many pleasant experimental avenues and this is its latest incarnation.

Made without the usual cabbage and fish sauce, this kimchi is a revelation of fruit, sour, salt and sweet. It is more liquid than some kimchi, and I prefer to eat it relatively young and crisp. After a month or two, the fruit becomes considerably softer.

By all means play with this, as long as the ratio of fruit to salt (1kg/2lb 3oz fruit: 20g salt) is maintained.

Makes 1 litre (1¾ pints)

Ferment time: 4–7 days

1 ripe mango, peeled and pitted

1 papaya, peeled and deseeded

2 kiwis, peeled

200g (7oz) grapes, halved

sea salt (5% weight of the fruit, see note above)

1 medium-heat chilli, chopped

1 large onion, thinly sliced

3 plump garlic cloves, finely chopped

a thumb of ginger, finely chopped or grated

1 tbsp Korean red pepper powder

Chop the fruit into 5–6mm (¼in) pieces and weigh it. Add to a bowl with the salt (5% of the weight of the fruit) and the remaining ingredients; mix well.

Spoon into a sterilized 1 litre (1¾ pint) flip-top jar and press down with your fingers until a brine rises and covers the mix. Weigh down with a glass pickle pebble, or sealed freezer bag of water. Cover loosely with a lid.

Leave to ferment for at least 4 days, ideally for one week. Taste, and if it has reached a gently fizzy sourness, store in the fridge; if not, allow it another few days until it has. I prefer to eat this within about a month or so, as thetexture gets a little too soft after that.

Fruit kimchi pancakes (chijimi )

These pancakes have substance, zing and a good bite of spice. They can be fried small and individual, or large and generous, to be cut into smaller pieces. Serve with ketchup, fermented hot sauce (the recipe's in the book), quick pickled red onions, or whatever takes your fancy. The recipe calls for plain (all-purpose) flour, but if you substitute 100g (2½oz) for the same of riceflour, it adds a little chewy magic that I rather like.

Makes 2 (cooked in a 20cm/8in pan)

400g (14oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

2 tbsp sesame seeds

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tbsp sesame oil

300g (10oz) fruit kimchi (see above), or any other kimchi

200g (7oz) thinly sliced spring onions (scallions), red onions or beansprouts

100g (3½oz) thinly sliced bacon, cooked (optional)

vegetable oil, for frying

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Mix the flour, a big pinch of salt and the sesame seeds in a large bowl.

Whisk in 250ml (9fl oz) water, the beaten eggs and the sesame oil, making sure there are no lumps. Gently fold in the kimchi, vegetables and oooked bacon (if using).

Heat a little oil in a medium-hot frying pan and fry a tablespoon of the batter to test the seasoning – add more to taste if needed.

Pour in enough batter to form a 1.5cm (¾in) layer in the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, or until the edges have begun to crisp up and the base is golden.

Flip over and cook for another 2–3 minutes. Serve immediately

What to drink

Depending on what time of day you're consuming this I'd suggest a green tea, lager or a kombucha

Extracted from Ferment from Scratch by Mark Diacono published by Hardie Grant at £12.99. Photography ©Mark Diacono

A refreshing punch for a New Year's Day brunch

A fresh, zesty citrus-based punch that’s packed with vitamin C. It obviously tastes best if you squeeze the fruit yourself but bought freshly squeezed juice is fine if you’re short of time.

Serves 4-6

250ml freshly squeezed orange juice (about 4 oranges)
150ml freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice (1-2 grapefruit)
250ml chilled organic lemon drink (like Duchy Original's Lemon Refresher or Luscombe Sicilian lemon drink) or traditional lemonade
Slices of orange and lemon to decorate

Simply pour the orange and lemon juice into a jug, top up with the lemon refresher and stir well. Add a few slices of orange and lemon to the jug and serve.

* If you have some Grand Marnier add a tablespoon - no more! Of course it no longer makes it non-alcoholic but it does make the punch extra-delicious.

Kimchi fried rice

If you're a bit of a kimchi addict you'll love this recipe for kimchi fried rice which comes from chef Judy Joo's book Korean Food Made Simple. I think would be brilliant for a weekend brunch.

KIMCHI FRIED RICE

KIMCHI BOKKEUM BAP

SERVES 4

Judy writes: My sister used to make this for me when we lived together in New York, and I loved it! Fried rice is the perfect way to use up leftovers, so feel free to improvise. Any kind of veggies or meat you have in the fridge – just toss them in. This is a great lunch or side dish. A variation, called omurice, is to make omelettes with the eggs and wrap them around the fried rice like a burrito. At Jinjuu, we like to fancy up our kimchi fried rice with a garnish of julienned roasted seaweed (kim) and lotus root chips.

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 slices thick-cut bacon, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped

9 button mushrooms, destemmed and diced

1⁄2 courgette, diced

3 spring onions, thinly sliced on an angle

225 g (8 oz) drained Cabbage Kimchi (there's a great recipe in the book but you can obviously use ready prepared kimchi), chopped

700 g (11⁄2 lb) steamed short or medium grain Korean rice, at room temperature

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 soft sunny-side-up fried eggs

In a large pan heat the oil over a medium- high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a kitchen paper-lined plate to drain.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the carrots and garlic and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring constant- ly, until the carrots are just softened. Add the mushrooms, courgette, two-thirds of the spring onions and the kimchi and cook for 4–5 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the rice and drained bacon, breaking up the rice with a wooden spoon and combining it with the other ingredients. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is hot. Season and spoon the fried rice into four bowls and top each with a fried egg and the remaining spring onions.

TIP: Kimchi can stain your chopping board and the smell has a habit of lingering, too. To avoid this, put the kimchi in a bowl and use kitchen shears to cut it into smaller pieces.

What to drink: When I tried this dish in Judy's restaurant JinJuu (with which she is no longer associated) we drank cocktails (Jumi - Earl Grey infused soju with yujacha (citron tea) and HIte Korean lager with the meal which worked really well. Maybe just the yujacha (for which you can find a recipe here) if you have it for brunch!

From Korean Food made Simple by Judy Joo, published by Jacqui Small

Signe Johansen’s Oatmeal Waffles

If ever a bit of hygge was needed it’s this week so what better way to cheer yourself up than to bunker down with a few delicious Norwegian style waffles from my friend Signe Johansen’s lovely new book How to Hygge.

Sig writes: Who doesn’t love a waffle? In the Nordic countries they’re traditionally made in heart-shaped irons that not only look pretty but are also ideal for sharing.

An update on the classic sour cream and vanilla waffles you find in Norway these have a nutty flavour thanks to the light toasting of oats before you blend them into a finer oatmeal. They make an excellent mid-afternoon fika too.

Serves 4-6

150g porridge oats

350g refined spelt flour (or use a sprouted version if you want a nuttier, wholegrain flavour)

1 tsp baking powder

100g caster sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

150g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

100ml water

250g crème fraîche or sour cream

200ml oat milk (or whole milk)

4 medium eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3. Spread the oats on a baking tray or in an ovenproof dish and put in the oven for 10 minutes or until the oats start to smell nutty and turn a slightly darker colour. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes before placing half in a blender and blitzing to make a fine oat flour.

Next sift the dry ingredients including the oat flour into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the toasted oats. Make a well in the middle and add the liquid ingredients. Using a large whisk stir well until you have a thick batter - it should take a couple of seconds to drop from the whisk.

Set the batter aside for at least 30 minutes to allow the starch cells in the flour to swell. This will help thicken the batter and produce better waffles. Spread a little butter over both the top and bottom of your waffle iron and heat, following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Once it’s hot place a ladleful of batter in the iron before closing. The waffles will look golden brown and crisp when they’re ready. Flick them out of the iron with a palate knife and serve with a topping of your choice. (In the picture Sig is spooning over a red Fruits of the Forest compote, the recipe for which is also in the book but I’m not going to give it to you to encourage you to go out and buy it. Which you should anyway!)

Tip: If you’re not cooking the waffles at a table with your family and friends, preheat the oven to low so that you can keep them warm until you’re ready to serve everyone.

Extracted from How to Hygge: the Secrets of Nordic Living £14.99 Bluebird Books Photograph © Keiko Oikawa