Recipes
Grilled halloumi flatbreads with preserved lemon and barberry salsa
Like many of Sabrina Ghayour's fans I've been hugely looking forward to her new book Bazaar which brings her vibrant cooking style to vegetarian food. You'll need to get a copy of your own (unless you're a subscriber and stand to win one if you're lucky) but here's a taster.
Sabrina writes: "This is my version of a taco, but with all the punch and vibrancy you would associate with Middle Eastern flavours. You can substitute the halloumi for Indian paneer or tofu. The flatbreads alone are incredibly moreish – you may never buy shop-bought flatbreads again!
2 x 250g blocks halloumi cheese
2 tablespoons Greek-style yogurt
5cm piece of fresh turmeric, peeled and finely grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lime
good squeeze of lime juice
vegetable oil
1 x recipe ‘Shaken’ Sweet Quick Pickled Onions (see below)
pul biber chilli flakes, to garnish
Maldon sea salt flakes and black pepper
For the flatbreads
30g unsalted butter, melted
175g plain flour
100ml semi-skimmed milk
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic granules
1 tablespoon olive oil
For the salsa
½ small packet (about 15g) of fresh dill, roughly chopped
4 preserved lemons, deseeded and very finely chopped
1 tablespoon dried barberries
1 avocado, peeled, stoned and roughly diced
2 teaspoons nigella seeds
For the harissa yoghurt
250g Greek-style yoghurt
1 heaped tbsp rose harissa
Cut each block of halloumi into 4 thick, equal slices. Put the yogurt, grated turmeric, crushed garlic and lime zest into a bowl, add the lime juice and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Leave the halloumi slices to marinate while you’re making the flatbreads.
Put all the flatbread ingredients, except the oil, into a mixing bowl and mix until a firm dough has formed. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
To make the salsa, mix the ingredients together in a small bowl, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
To make the harissa yoghurt, mix the ingredients together in another bowl, season with salt and pepper, and chill until ready to serve.
When you’re ready to cook the flatbreads, preheat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and roll out each piece into a thin round, about 25cm in diameter. Brush the hot pan with olive oil and cook the flatbreads, one at a time, for about 45–60 seconds on each side, or until lightly browned.
In the same frying pan, heat a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat. Add the marinated halloumi slices and fry for about 1 minute on each side, or until nicely browned.
Divide the halloumi between the flatbreads and dollop a generous amount of the harissa yogurt on top. Add the salsa and some pickled onions, then sprinkle over some pul biber. Roll up and serve immediately.
For the 'shaken' sweet quick-pickled onions you will need
1 large red onion, halved and very thinly sliced into half moons
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp pul biber chilli flakes
generous amount of Maldon sea salt flakes
Combine all the ingredients in a lidded plastic container. Close the lid tightly and shake vigorously for a couple of minutes until the onion slices soften then serve. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 days in a sealed container.
What to drink: Take your pick from a crisp fresh zesty white like a sauvignon blanc, a nice chilled glass of rosé or a cold beer.
Bazaar by Sabrina Ghayour is published by Mitchell Beazley, £26 (www.octopusbooks.co.uk). Photography by Kris Kirkham.
Clams Stir-fried with Roasted Chilli Paste
Though I long to recreate its singing flavours I've always been slightly daunted by Thai food. The recipes always seem so long and complex and contain so many ingredients.
If you feel the same you're going to love Baan, the latest book from Kay Plunkett-Hogge who was born and brought up in Thailand and makes its sensational food miraculously simple. It's like having a personal cooking class in a book.
This simple recipe for stir-fried clams - Baan_Hoy Lai Pad Nam Prik Pao - is typical. "For a dish that takes so little time to make, this tastes surprisingly complex" writes Kay. "The sweet clams, rich chilli paste and fresh basil create a perfect balance of flavour."
Serves 2–4 as a part of a meal
500 g/1 lb 2 oz clams
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2–3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp nam prik pao (roasted chilli paste - see below)
1 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)
1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar
2 long red chillies, sliced diagonally
a handful of Thai sweet basil leaves (If you can’t find Thai basil, you can use regular basil instead)
In a colander, rinse the clams well under cold running water, discarding any open ones that refuse to close after a firm tap with the back of a knife.
On a high heat, heat the wok until it’s very hot and add the oil. Add the garlic and fry until golden. Add the clams and the nam prik pao, and stir-fry for 1–2 minutes.
One at a time, add the nam pla, sugar, 2 tbsp water and the chillies, stirring them in well after each addition. Continue to cook, stirring all the time, until all the clams have opened (discard any that remain closed).
Finally, add most of the basil and stir it in until wilted.
Serve at once, with the last few basil leaves scattered over the top.
There are so many brands of nam prik pao on the market and it will keep in the fridge for ages. My preferred brand is Mae Pranom. As a kid, I used to eat it spread on thick white bread... Try it!
What to drink: Kay intriguingly favours big reds like shiraz and shiraz/viognier with her food but I'm not sure I'd follow suit with this clam dish. Go for one of her other suggestions, a versatile grüner veltliner instead,
From Baan by Kay Plunkett-Hogge is published by Pavilion at £20. Photography © Louise Hagger.
Artichoke and preserved lemon dip
This brilliant storecupboard dip was taught to me by my friend cookery writer Trish Deseine who rustled it up in no time when I was staying with her recently.
I’ve made it - or roughly how I think she made it - twice since then and everyone has loved it
You need to be flexible about the quantities which will vary depending on the ingredients you’re using. Keep tasting!
Serves 4-6
30g mature parmesan cheese, broken into chunks
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
a small (around 290g) jar of grilled artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped or about 175g loose grilled artichokes from a deli
1 small or 1/2 larger preserved lemon, pulp and pips removed and chopped
A small handful of parsley leaves - about 10g - roughly chopped + a few extra parsley leaves to decorate
Extra virgin olive oil - about 100ml
Good squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put the parmesan and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the consistency of coarse crumbs. Add the drained artichokes, the preserved lemon peel and parsley and whizz again. Gradually add the olive oil in a steady stream until the mixture reaches a dippable consistency. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Spoon into a bowl or onto a plate and sprinkle with extra parsley. Serve with pitta bread, breadsticks or crisp Italian-style flatbread.
What to drink: artichokes are supposed to be tricky with wine but I’ve already found two that pair well: a citrussy sauvignon blanc and a verdicchio. Other dry Italian whites would work too.
Quinoa Fritters with Green Goddess Sauce
A new book from Claire Thomson (aka Five o'clock Apron) is always a treat and New Kitchen Basics is no exception. Like all Claire's books it manages to be both practical and inspirational with recipes you can fit in with daily life but which give your cooking a real lift. And they work too. This she describes as 'bombproof'!
"Quinoa is a brilliant and speedy ingredient for the kitchen. Tender when cooked, with a delicate white furl of a tail, it has a nutty, satisfying taste. Mixed here with eggs, feta and herbs, and fried as a fritter, the cooked quinoa provides some welcome ballast to a dish that is bombproof.
I’m a sucker for a striking name, and it doesn’t come much better than Green Goddess – a pungent mayonnaise-based sauce made intensely green with masses of herbs and spring onions (scallions). I’ve supplemented some of the mayonnaise with yogurt to lighten the result.
Serves 4
200g (7oz) quinoa
100g (31⁄2oz) shop-bought or homemade mayonnaise
100g (31⁄2oz) Greek yogurt, crème fraîche or sour cream
big bunch of at-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
small bunch of mint, leaves picked and finely chopped
1 bunch of spring onions (scallions), very finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
zest of 1 unwaxed lime or 1 small unwaxed lemon, plus a squeeze of juice
3 eggs
100g (31⁄2oz) feta cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon ground cumin
50g (13⁄4oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
vegetable oil, for frying
chilli flakes, to serve (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cook the quinoa in 500ml (17 oz) salted water for about 15 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender. Spread out the cooked quinoa on a large plate or tray to cool.
Mix the mayonnaise and yogurt with half the herbs, half the spring onions (scallions), half the garlic and a squeeze of lime or lemon juice. Check the seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.
Mix the cooled quinoa with the remaining herbs, spring onions and garlic, the eggs, feta, cumin, lime or lemon zest and flour. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat about 4cm (11⁄2in) of oil in a non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Drop tablespoons of the fritter batter into the hot oil and fry, in batches, for 3–4 minutes on each side, until golden and crisp. Keep each batch warm while you cook the remainder.
Season the fritters with a little more salt and pepper, or use chilli flakes if you like, and serve warm with the Green Goddess sauce and the leftover lime or lemon.
What to drink: Any crisp dry white would work. I'd probably go for a sauvignon blanc myself.
From New Kitchen Basics by Claire Thomson (Quadrille, £25) Photography: Sam Folan
Ottolenghi's slow-cooked chicken with a crisp corn crust
If you're an Ottolenghi fan you'll love this easy, incredibly tasty chicken bake from his new book Simple, which is ideal for entertaining as you can make the base well ahead.
"The slow-cooked chicken is packed full of flavour and the crust - gluten-free, rich and corny - makes for a welcome (and lighter) change to a heavier mash.
You can make the chicken well in advance if you want to get ahead: it keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days or can be frozen for 1 month. You want it to go into the oven defrosted, though, so it will need thawing out of the freezer.
The batter needs to be made fresh and spooned on top of the chicken just before the dish gets baked, but it then can just go back in the oven. It can also be baked a few hours in advance – just warm through for 10 minutes, covered in foil, before serving.
I love the combination of the chicken and the corn, but the chicken also works well as it is, served on top of rice, in a wrap or with a buttery jacket potato."
Serves six
3 tbsp olive oil
3 red onions, thinly sliced (500g)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp rose harissa (or 50% more or less, depending on variety) (60g)
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
850g chicken thighs, skinless and boneless (about 9–10 thighs)
200ml passata
5 large tomatoes, quartered (400g)
200g jarred roasted red peppers, drained and cut into 2cm thick rounds
15g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
20g coriander, roughly chopped
salt and black pepper
SWEETCORN BATTER
70g unsalted butter, melted
500g corn kernels, fresh or frozen and defrosted (shaved corn kernels from 4 large corn cobs, if starting from fresh)
3 tbsp whole milk
3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, on a medium high heat. Add the onions and fry for 8–9 minutes, stirring a few times, until caramelised and soft. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, harissa, paprika, chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the passata and tomatoes. Pour over 350ml of water, bring to the boil, then simmer on a medium heat, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring every once in a while.
2. Add the peppers and chocolate and continue to simmer for another 35–40 minutes, with the pan now uncovered, stirring frequently, until the sauce is getting thick and the chicken is falling apart. Remove from the heat and stir in the coriander. If you are serving the chicken as it is (as a stew without the batter), it’s ready to serve (or freeze, once it’s come to room temperature) at this stage. If you are making the corn topping, spoon the chicken into a ceramic baking dish – one with high sides that measures about 20 x 30cm – and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan. Pour the butter into a blender with the corn, milk, egg yolks and ¾ teaspoon salt. Blitz for a few seconds, to form a rough paste, then spoon into a large bowl. Place the egg whites in a separate clean bowl and whisk to form firm peaks. Fold these gently into the runny corn mixture until just combined, then pour the mix evenly over the chicken.
4. Bake for 35 minutes, until the top is golden-brown: keep an eye on it after 25 minutes to make sure the top is not taking on too much colour: you might need to cover it with tin foil for the final 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes before serving with a crisp green salad.
What to drink: Normally the combination of chicken and corn would automatically lead me to chardonnay but this is more of a mole-type sauce which suggests a robust southern French red like a grenache or GSM (grenache, syrah, mourvedre) blend.
Extracted from Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi with Tara Wigley and Esme Howarth, published by Ebury Press at £25. Picture © Jonathan Lovekin.
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