Bondas

Bondas

from Gourmet Vegetarian, Jane Price, Murdoch Books, 2007.

When I read the instructions for these I thought that there was no way a batter was going to hold onto the potato balls. I was totally wrong.

The potato is diced and cooked then mixed, without mashing, into a spicy mixture: mustard seeds, curry leaves, ginger, turmeric, coriander and lemon juice. This is formed into balls and they are dipped in the batter and fried.

It’s a wonderful batter of three flours: besan, self-raising and rice. Chilli powder and turmeric are added plus water. It has a great texture and holds onto the potato balls when they are fried.

I loved these. The batter had a slight crunch and the potato was nicely spiced. Great when warm, but they also were quite good when cold the next day.

The book’s subtitle is ‘The vegetarian recipes you must have’. While I would not agree on a couple of other items I have made from the book, I would have to agree on this one.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔ 

Minestrone alla Famiglia

Minestrone alla Famiglia

from Elisa Celli’s Italian Light Cooking, Prentice Hall Press, 1987.

There are many variations of minestrone. I have already written up one in my August blog. This particular one (Minestrone alla Famiglia) I do prefer to the one I made from Italian Food Safari. The big difference is that the one from Italian Food Safari has rice added whereas the one from Elisa Celli’s book uses pasta as the addition. The rice has a tendency to thicken over much whereas the pasta less so.

Elisa Celli's book has been a long while on my shelf and has had its fair share of usage. I have been generally well pleased with the results of my cooking from it.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

As some of these books may be out of print if anyone would like a particular recipe, email me (alfcooksvege@ozemail.com.au) and I’ll send an abbreviated version. Of course, the whole book would be better; it’s loaded with other goodies.

Pumpkin Agnolotti

Pumpkin Agnolotti

from The Silver Spoon: Pasta, Phaidon, 2009.

My first attempt at a filled pasta was not too successful. The filling was a good one but the pasta itself was thick and tough. I thought I had it thin enough but obviously it had to be much, much thinner. The instructions were clear though gauging the correct thickness, it seems, needs to come with practice. 

The flavours were good. The buttery raisin and sherry sauce went extremely well with the roast pumpkin filling.

There was one piece of information that the book could have supplied which I did not find on making the pasta but soon found out as I was trying to stick the upper layer to the bottom: there was no mention of the necessity of a sticking agent such as an egg wash or even water to hold the two layers together. It would have been a great help to have this included in the instructions as when I had made some of the agnolotti I soon found that they fell apart if moved and so I had to redo them.

It was all somewhat disappointing, some of it due to myself but also some to the recipe book. Next time I try a filled pasta it will be rolled much thinner.

Taste: ✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔ 

Spiced Red Lentil Köfte

Spiced Red Lentil Köfte

from Turkey recipes and tales from the road, Leanne Kitchen, Murdoch Books, 2011.

I keep dipping into this book, browsing through the pages and bringing back memories of Turkey. It’s a fascinating place to visit and has such an amazing history.

I’ve tried some recipes from the book but so far have not made anything that I would want to repeat. I’ve ignored all the meat or fish recipes and perhaps there are some of those that are good—but not for a vegetarian.

The spiced red lentil köfte fit into the so-so category as well. They were pleasant enough but not anything I would really care to make again.

They required Turkish pepper paste, which I was unable to get hold of so I replaced it with harissa. I’m sure that would not have much such a significant difference.  

Taste: ✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔ 

Gougères with a Peppery Sauce

Parsnip and Pecan Gougères with Watercress and Rocket Sauce

from Essential Vegetarian, Hermes House, 2003.

This is a small, cheaply produced recipe book I picked up somewhere. It’s only 64 pages long yet each double page spread presents a recipe (left) with a full colour photograph (right) to accompany it. Flipping through the pages reveals a varied selection of items from a variety of cuisines. They all look worthy of trying out.

The gougères are basically choux pastry with the addition of cheese, chopped pecans and paprika. A piece of parsnip is placed in the centre of each and they are baked.

The sauce is simply made from rocket and watercress puréed with yoghurt and seasonings added. Tasty.

This was an easily made snack-type meal. The parsnip in the centre was a soft surprise as you crunched through the nutty gougères, while the sauce added a peppery bite.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

As some of these books may be out of print if anyone would like a particular recipe, email me (alfcooksvege@ozemail.com.au) and I’ll send an abbreviated version. Of course, the whole book would be better; it’s loaded with other goodies.