Tagine of Lima Beans, Cherry Tomatoes and Black Olives

From Tagines & Couscous, Ghillie Başan, Ryland Peters and Small, 2010.

I always enjoy a good tagine and was in the mood to try another. This one was for butter beans, which I didn’t have, but there were lima beans in the pantry. So I soaked about 150g overnight. The next day they were drained, washed under running cold water and placed in a saucepan to cook for about an hour.

The main tagine then began. Four garlic cloves were peeled and crushed. Two red onions were cut in half and then into slices. A red chilli was sliced finely. These all went into the tagine with some olive oil and a knob of butter. They were cooked gently until softened.

Next into the pan went a teaspoon of coriander seeds given a little pound in the mortar and pestle, a small teaspoon of fresh ginger grated (the recipe called for heaps more than this: 25g, far too much in my reckoning), and a pinch of saffron. The lid went on the tagine and they were cooked for about 5 minutes.

Tomatoes were next. A punnet of cherry tomatoes went straight into the pan with a teaspoon of sugar and a little dried thyme. I was wary of the thyme and only added a little though 1–2 teaspoons was called for. This mixture was cooked until the tomatoes began to crinkle up.

Now the lima beans were added with some olives and the juice of a lemon. Seasonings were sprinkled in and it was all stirred and the lid went on for a few minutes to let it all heat through. Parsley was added when it was served.

I was a little disappointed with this tagine. Usually they are rich in flavours but there was something not quite right with the spice mix. I don’t think the ginger and the thyme went well together. Ginger, thyme and coriander is a blend I think I’ll avoid in future.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Batter Bread

From Quiet Food, The Buddhist Institute of South Africa, Double Storey Books, 2006.

I wanted some bread to have with the black-eyed bean soup I was making so decided on this one, the recipe for which says ‘you couldn’t find a simpler bread’. It did turn out to be an easy bread to make.

I used 205g of a strong bread flour and 250g of a normal plain flour. To this I added about a handful of wheat bran. The recipe calls for using lots of 250g of flours in any combination.

It was now only a matter of placing in a bowl the flour, a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of dried yeast and a couple of teaspoons of sugar. To this was added about 400ml of tepid water and it was stirred until it had become a batter-like consistency.

 

I had chopped an onion before I began the bread mixture and fried it. This I added to the batter with a pinch of dried thyme.

The batter was now placed in a greased pan and left to rise. When the batter in the half-filled pan had risen to the top of the pan it went into a 180ºC oven for about 40 minutes.

This was quite an acceptable bread though its texture was more cake-like than that of bread. The addition of the onion gave it a pleasing variation to plain bread.

I have recently been enjoying reading about the history of food in William Sitwell’s A History of Food in 100 Recipes. The earliest recorded description of making bread seems to be the paintings on the walls of the tomb of Senet that show in detail step by step the process from pounding the grain to baking the bread. Senet obviously wanted to ensure that she had plenty of good food in the afterlife because there are also scenes of meat preparation and beer making. The recipe of batter bread that I just made was certainly an improvement on method for Senet's bread.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Black-Eyed Bean Soup

From The Penniless Vegetarian, David Scott, Rider, 1992.

There couldn’t be an easier soup than this to make.

Three garlic cloves were chopped and fried until beginning to turn golden. Then three cups of stock was added with 200g of black-eyed beans that had been soaked over night. The mixture was brought to the boil and simmered until the beans were cooked—a little over half an hour.

Now it was checked for seasoning and a teaspoon of dried mint was added with about a handful of chopped parsley. It was ready to eat.

It was surprisingly tasty. I had thought that with basically only one ingredient this would be a rather dull soup but it was decidedly good to eat.

Again, I have been looking through my old books to give them another try and this is one I don’t ever remember using though it certainly looks as though it has had a bit of exposure. Perhaps I should have paid it more attention.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔✔

Passion Thriller

From Miracle Juices, Charmaine Yabsley and Amanda Cross, Hamlyn, 2001.

The name of this drink certainly didn’t inspire me to make it; rather it turned me away. However when I read the ingredients (melon, cucumber, avocado and dried apricots) it sounded interesting enough to try.

Half a honeydew melon and one large cucumber were juiced. A small avocado was added with 100g dried apricots soaked for 10 minutes. A tablespoon wheat bran was added (though wheat germ was called for). This all went into the blender to get a churn or two.

The mixture became very thick so I juiced some more of the melon and added this. It was still too thick to drink and had to be spooned instead.

The ‘drink’ was rich in vitamin E, zinc and iron so you could almost feel it doing you good. It was flavoursome and not too sweet, while the dried apricots added a little texture to the mixture.

This is another book dredged up from the unused section of the bookshelf. It was obviously one of those titles bought in a rush of enthusiasm and then not really used. Now that the effort has been made I shall probably use it a little more often.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Banana Cake

From Hands Across the Kitchen, Hands Across the Water, 2012.

I began looking through this book at the recipes but found that I became far more caught up with the story of the work done by the Hands Across the Water, a charity group that helps Thai orphans and their communities. It was begun after the 2004 tsunami to assist those that the disaster had affected.

The book is a collection of recipes of top celebrity chefs’ favourite childhood foods. They come with recollections of their childhood. I guess that since they are recipes of childhood favourites they are not the chefs’ recipes but those of the people who made them for them. And I think it is true that foods that you particularly enjoyed as children stay with you as adults as favourites. If you see the book try and get hold of one, though as it was pre-sold before printing to ensure that there was no loss made for the orphans, it may be difficult to get hold on one.

I chose to cook the banana cake that was a favourite of Daniel Vaughan and that was cooked by his mother. It was a very easy recipe. All of the ingredients were basically put into the KitchenAid and beaten for a couple of minutes.

There was ¼ cupof milk with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Two bananas were mashed and put in with a cup of sugar and 2 cups of self-raising flour. Two eggs were beaten lightly and added as well as 60g softened butter. Easy measurements and just a few ingredients.

After beating, the mixture went into a small-sized greased loaf tin and then into the oven to cook for about an hour.

Banana cakes are always winners and this one, because of its easy making, is certainly worth trying. It’ll probably be the recipe I turn to whenever there’s a spare couple of bananas waiting to be used.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Pad Thai

From Make It Tonight: Vegetarian Stir-Fries, The Australian Women’s Weekly, ACP Publishing, 2002.

I must make more Asian-based meals because I need to master the ingredients that I am still not overly familiar with.

For the Pad Thai, which was probably not truly authentic, I first cut 150g tempeh into bite-sized pieces and fried them in the wok until they were brown. They were put aside.

In the same wok I now fried a thin omelette of 2 beaten eggs. When it was done I rolled it up and put it aside.

Next a thinly sliced onion and two chopped garlic cloves went into the wok which I turned to a low heat to let them cook slowly while I went on with some other preparation.

I poured boiling water over 300g fresh rice noodles and let them rest for a minute or two before draining them and teasing apart the noodles. I washed a cup of bean sprouts. I broke half a cup of peanuts into small pieces in a mortar and pestle. I measured out the sauces: a tablespoon of brown sugar, a tablespoon of light soy sauce, a tablespoon of sweet chilli sauce and a tablespoon of tomato sauce.

The onions were now done so the heat was turned up and I added all the ingredients, though only half of the peanuts. They were stir-fried until they were heated through. When they were served the remainder of the peanuts were sprinkled over and some coriander added.

I was pleased with the result. For my taste it seemed to have close to the right flavour mix.

The recipe came from one of those small 64-page books you often find at newsagents. It has a great variety of quick stir-fries from a range of cuisines and coming from The Australian Women’s Weekly the recipes are usually ones that work well.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Goat’s Cheese Soufflés with Vanilla-Poached Peach

From Plenty, Yotam Ottolenghi, Ebury Press, 2010.

Peaches are in season again so it was time to try out this recipe that has been on my to-do list for some time.

The peaches were first peeled then placed in a mixture of 150ml of water, 150ml white wine and 150g sugar. To this I added a few black peppercorns and half a teaspoon of vanilla paste. They were brought to the boil and then simmered for 15 minutes. The heat was turned off and they were left to cool in the liquid.

I put some hazelnuts in the mortar and pestle and pounded them to small pieces. Two ramekins were buttered and the hazelnut pieces were sprinkled around the base and sides of the ramekins.

150ml milk was brought to the boil with a bay leaf and a piece of onion and some cloves. It was then left while butter was melted in a pot and plain flour added to make a roux. This was stirred for a couple of minutes and the milk (minus the bay leaf, onion and cloves) was whisked in and cooked until it had thickened. It was then taken off the heat

A little more than 100g of firm goat’s cheese was crumbled and added to the milk with two egg yolks and some salt. Now three egg whites were beaten until stiff and folded into the mixture. It all went into the ramekins.

The oven had been previously heated to 190ªC and a baking dish with boiling water added. The ramekins went into the bath and cooked for about 15 minutes. A few slices of peach were placed on top and a small amount of the liquid. They were ready to eat.

While I had some doubts about eating peaches with soufflés this worked extremely well. The slight amount of sweetness complimented the salty cheese flavour. I never seem to be disappointed with the recipes of Ottolenghi.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔