Spinach and Feta Phyllo (Filo) Swirls

Decisions, decisions.

We'll get on to this in a second..

If you take a moment to reflect on the number of decisions you make in just one day, well I know for me at least the total falls in and around the 100 mark. 

Pintxos! Sweet and Savoury Goat's Cheese Bites and Grilled Halloumi with Peaches

Pintxos! "Yeh, what the hell is that?" I hear you ask.

Pronounced "pinchos", pintxos are small tapas like snacks eaten throughout Northern Spain in the Basque region. Eating pintxos at a bar, usually standing up with a glass of Txakoli ("Chak-o-lee") is the most common way for the Basque people to socialise with their friends and family.

As a Londoner, on hearing of this time old tradition I had the innate London cynicism to question how anyone in the modern Western world has time for such leisurely and social eating. Of course, the obvious thing to do in such a situation is go and find out for myself.

So, off to San Sebastian I went.

Pfttt, who am I kidding? Yes, I do love food. But the sun, sea and sand were pretty appealing as a holiday prospect too. And of course the chance to spend some quality time with friends. Just look at this place.

Panko Halloumi Sticks with Caramelised Oranges and Mint

I am a see-it-want-to-eat-it kind of gal.

I am 100% guilty of spotting someone eating a packet of Thai green curry flavoured rice crackers as they stroll out of M&S and consequentially taking an impromptu detour to M&S - immediately.

True story (and there are many more where that came from!). How can you not be intrigued by green coloured crackers?

This see-it-want-to-eat-it attitude is not the healthiest when combined with Instagram. I’m surprised I haven’t drooled all over my phone yet.

Instagram is ridiculous. Gawking at well presented, tasty looking food is one thing. But gawking at well presented, tasty looking food through a filtered lens is torture. Pure torture!

Search “#food” and you’ll see what I mean.

Having said that. I am guilty of adding to this torture.

My entire Instagram is littered with “#food”.

Chutney Cheese Sandwich with Pickled Onions

With September being the start of the academic year (here in the UK at least), it got me thinking about my school lunch box. Kids these days seem to have such exotic palates, growing up exposed to so many different cuisines both at home and when they go out, I can’t imagine they are satisfied with just a sandwich and a piece of fruit anymore. However when I was growing up my packed lunch always begun with a sandwich – cucumber and mustard mainly, sometimes jam, sometimes peanut butter, often the two together (you can tell I had a limited palate). Something between two slices of bread was always the starting point for my lunch box, followed by a box of fruit, packet of crisps, maybe a chocolate or a piece of cake and a couple of snacks for the journey home (I had a very high metabolism – and also very hungry friends on the coach home from whom it was impossible to hide any scrap of food!).

Since those lunch box days I have progressed in the way of sandwich fillings. Now pretty much anything is permitted between any two slices of bread that enter my mouth. This recipe was born in that vein because almost every Indian household will have some green chutney hanging about in their fridge, and naturally anything that is hanging about in the fridge is game when it comes to sandwich fillings. A lot of people will have their own version of this sandwich adding all sorts such as sliced tomatoes or shredded lettuce. But my recipe keeps it classic; simply chutney and cheese.

Chutney Cheese Sandwich with Pickled Onions

However it should be noted this chutney is not your average sweet mango marmalade-ish chutney. This is the real deal chutney, the chutney that my grandmother, like her own grandmother and her grandmothers grandmother too (probably) means when she refers to chutney. It gets its vivid green colour (and name) from the hoards of coriander that it begins with, plus a little extra from the mint I’ve added in for freshness. This chutney is used as a dip for absolutely anything, so even if you're not too keen on the sound of the sandwich, the chutney alone is worth a try.

To make this sandwich properly, the bread you use has to be white. You just won’t get the same crisp lightness on your toast without white bread. A packet of crisps is never too far away from any sandwich but I like mine with a side of pickled onions. They add a satisfying crunch and sharpness to the dish. Furthermore, they really couldn’t be any easier to make.

So if you want to spice up your lunch box here’s how you make my Chutney Cheese Sandwich with Pickled Onions.

Chutney Cheese Sandwich with Pickled Onions (serves 4)

Ingredients for the Chutney

For the Chutney:

1 bunch of corriander, roughly chopped

Approx 30 mint leaves

2 tsp cumin seeds

¾ tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 lemon, juice only

3 chillies, or less depending on how spicy you like it

Approx 10/15 roasted peanuts

For the Pickled Onions:

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 pinch of sea salt

To make the chutney, simply add all the ingredients, apart from the peanuts, into a blender. Blitz until smooth. Check the consistency of the chutney. Add the peanuts to thicken if necessary. Blitz until smooth – and the chutney is done. It will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. Alternatively you can freeze it ready for a later date.

Ingredients for the Pickled Onion

For the pickled onions, simply mix all the ingredients together and leave the onions to pickle in the juices for at least a couple of hours. (If you can make this day before you want to eat it, even better! The flavours develop over time, so the longer you leave it the better it will taste).

To assemble the sandwich simply toast one side of each slice of bread. Spread the chutney on the un-toasted side. Pile on the cheese (grated/sliced – however you like it) and sandwich together. Serve with the pickled onion on the side. This recipe couldn’t be any simpler but still tastes delicious!

Just couldn't help but take a bite!

// Click here PRINT RECIPE //

Until next time...

PS – if you like what you read enter your email address into the box on the side -->. Don’t worry I won’t spam you or anything. You’ll just get an email every time I write a new post. 

Polenta Chips

Truffle Risotto, Green Papaya Salad with Crispy Onion and Roasted Peanuts, Hot Apple and Almond Crusted Pie with Vanilla Cream. These are just some of the answers I have given in reply to that infamous question, “What is your favourite food?” all foodies get asked. These rich and interesting dishes with complex, layered flavours offer no less than what would be expected to satisfy a foodies taste buds. But in all honesty, if I had to eat Green Papaya salad with Crispy Onion and Roasted Peanuts as my final supper then, well, I really wouldn't die entirely satisfied.

If I were to tell the truth, my ultimate favourite food of all time is the very unrefined, unsophisticated British chip. Actually chip doesn't cut it, because let’s face it no one on this earth can ever stop at one. A grand plate of salted chips would do me just fine; accompanied by an equally grand dollop of ketchup.

Favourite foods are so much more than just taste qua taste. Favourite foods are about the memories those tastes evoke. Every time I eat chips I am taken right back to my entire childhood - mainly because I spent most of my childhood scoffing my face with chips. And those were happy, happy days.

I remember being in Canada, on a kids adventure with my brother and two cousins. We were on our way to a theme park all squashed together in the back of a car with a Canadian relative. Well prepared, he had packed some snacks in his backpack to keep us going for the journey. He asked “Does anyone want any chips? I have some in my bag.” My face lit up. I couldn't believe it. How had he managed to pack fresh, hot chips into his backpack? I was a little dubious. But then I thought ‘Canada is an entirely different country, miles away from England; maybe they have innovative solutions for packing hot foods into backpacks. What else could have meant by chips in his backpack?’ Alas, you can imagine my disappointment when he brought out a bag of crisps. Of course what I was dreaming of were what the Canadians call fresh, hot fries - I was completely lost in translation!

Polenta Chips

So, with a nod to my ultimate favourite food this week I have decided to share my recipe for Polenta Chips – a slightly more refined, sophisticated Italian cousin of the great British chip. These chips are packed full of flavour. The polenta gives the chips a soft interior and crisp exterior once they are fried. And rather than ketchup, I paired my Polenta Chips with Italian tomato sauce – the kind you would make with pasta. Semplice e delizioso!

Polenta Chips (serves 4)

100g polenta

530ml water

100g cheddar cheese, grated

2 small chillies, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

A large handful of parsley, finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

//Click here to PRINT RECIPE //

Chopped chilli, garlic, parsley

Finely chop the chillies, garlic and parsley. Fry for 3 minutes until the parsley shrinks and darkens in colour.

Pouring in Polenta in a stream

Boil the water. Once it is bubbling pour in the polenta in a stream stirring constantly. Do not add all the polenta in one clump as it will be difficult to un-clump it once it hits the water. Keep stirring until the polenta is cooked through. This will take about 5 minutes.

Add in the cheese and mix in the cooked parsley, chillies and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt and stir all the ingredients together. At this point the polenta can be eaten just as it is, serve in the same way you would mashed potato.

Cooling Polenta

But to make the chips, you have to let it cool completely. To do this, pout it out onto a chopping board, or wide plate or tray. Leave until completely cooled. This will take at least 30 minutes.

Shallow frying Polenta Chips

Once cooled, cut into chips. (I absentmindedly cut mine into oblongs instead of chips – but they tasted great all the same!) Shallow fry in a little oil, turning so that each side hits the pan and it is crispy on all sides. Serve with tomato sauce, or just as they are.

Until next time...

Apple, Walnut, Cheddar Cheese Bread & Honey and Sesame Seed Bread

No-knead, no-rise, no-yeast bread in 40 minutes start to finish? Yep, you’d better believe it. When I first saw this recipe here I couldn’t believe how easy it was. Bread is usually a long processes involving waiting around, for a couple of hours at a time, to give your yeast a chance to prove (any bread buffs out there – get the pun?!) that it is alive and kicking (what an attention seeking little so and so!). No-knead, no-rise, no-yeast means no waiting...at all.

Whilst the bread is baking in the oven, you have just about enough time to wash up, call some friends round and crack open a bottle of wine. Once this bread is out of the oven, it requires immediate consumption. This is not a dramatic over exaggerated expression of how delicious this bread is. Rather, a slight drawback of taking a short cut in baking. If left to go cold it can be a little stodgy. Of course if you do bake it in advance, I would simply advise warming it up before you eat it.  

On the plus side, this recipe is all about getting creative. Use the basic recipe of said amount of flour, salt, water and olive oil and let your imagination/taste buds do the rest! I’ve tried paprika and chilli, olive and rosemary (as used in the original) and even date and walnut. The ones in this post were my favourite. Sweet apple, crunchy walnut and salty, creamy cheese. Mouth watering already? Mine too! I just love the mix of sweet and savoury. When I go to the cinema, it’s always half sweet and half salty popcorn for me. And as for honey and sesame seed, if you’ve ever tried Jewish breads you’ll know honey and sesame is a tried and tested combination. This bread couldn’t be any easier if it tried. Now there is no excuse for not baking your own!

Apple, Walnut and Cheddar Bread (serves 8)

300g self raising flour

Pinch of salt

2/3 tbsp olive oil

150ml warm water

1 green apple, cut into small cubes

Approx 50g walnuts, roughly chopped

Approx 40g cheddar cheese, grated

// Click here to PRINT RECIPE //

Start by measuring out the flour and pinch of salt. Add the oil, warm water and cheese. (The measurements are quite specific but honestly, if you pour in 1 whole tbsp of oil instead of 2/3 by mistake it’s not the end of the world. The same goes for the water and cheese.) Stir until the mixture comes together using a wooden spoon.

As the dough forms it will start to come away from the sides of the bowl. At this point tip out onto a clean surface. Push the dough around and shape into a flattened circle. Pile the apple and walnuts into the middle of your circle and pull the dough over to cover. Use your hands to try and evenly distribute the apple and walnuts into your dough. If it seems to stick to your hands, add a little more flour.

Shape into a round loaf, by tucking in the edges of your circle underneath (as seen in the video below). Use the handle of a wooden spoon to indent 8 segmentations in the loaf. This will make the loaf easier to cut/pull apart once bakes. Sprinkle some cheese on top for a cheesy crust. And now it’s ready to bake, for 30 minutes at 200 ºc.

Honey and Sesame Seed Bread (serves 8) 

300g self raising flour

A pinch of salt

2/3 tbsp olive oil

150ml warm water

4 tbsp runny honey

3tbsp back sesame seeds

3tbsp white sesame seeds

// Click here to PRINT RECIPE //

Start this is the same way as the other bread. Start by measuring out the flour and pinch of salt. Add the oil, warm water, honey and sesame seeds. (The measurements are quite specific but honestly, if you pour in 1 whole tbsp of oil instead of 2/3 by mistake it’s not the end of the world. The same goes for the water, honey and sesame seeds. If you only have one kind of sesame seed, that’s fine too.) Stir until the mixture comes together using a wooden spoon.

As the dough forms it will start to come away from the sides of the bowl. At this point tip out onto a clean surface. . Push the dough around and shape into a round loaf. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to indent 8 segmentations in the loaf. This will make the loaf easier to cut/pull apart once bakes. And now it’s ready to bake, for 30 minutes at 200 ºc.

I shared my breads with four of my friends at a “bring-a-dish” dinner party at mine, so I couldn’t blog about this recipe without mentioning them. I knew we are all foodies or at least dedicated food consumers (we all went travelling together and came back a lot heavier after two months in each others company!). But I did not realise how many great recipes they all have up their sleeves! Here is a little snippet of our feast, and my God it was a feast!

Ricotta and Roasted Veg Stuffed Pancakes

Mushroom and Pesto Puffs, Camembert, Apple Toast

Tiramisu

Apple, Walnut, Cheddar Cheese and Honey, Sesame Seed Bread 

Cheese Board

The chefs! 

Until next time...

Indian Tartiflette

So this week I thought it's about time I paid homage to my Indian roots. My mum for one was slightly offended Indian food has yet to feature in any of my posts! It's not that I don't love Indian food, I do. But it's just that most of the time I do eat anything Indian, it's something I've had a million times before. Indian food ceases to surprise me. (Having said that, it's probably partly down to the fact that I hardly ever eat Indian food out.) Indian food is something I eat at home, and have done for my entire 21 years! Furthermore it's something my Mum, Aunts and Grandmas do so expertly, why would I try to mess with that?!

When I cook, I prefer to cook something experimental. Often something I've never cooked before trying to replicate something I've seen, tried, heard about. Hence my first Indian food post is actually an Indian twist on a French classic, tartiflette. 

Tartiflette are basically cute, little potato and cheese nests: crispy, chewy and the perfect moreish snack. Traditionally they are made from potatoes, lardons (pieces of smoky, fatty pork) and  Reblochon cheese. I was tempted the moment I heard about these! To make something so obviously French, (I mean it contains super stinky cheese, makes no apology for the butter necessary to bind it all together and is full of lardons. Carb central!) Indian, well, all I had to do was add the most obvious Indian ingredient: spice!

Here's how they're made...

450g potatoes (about 4/5 average sized potatoes), shredded/grated
1 white onion, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced/grated
1 green chilli, chopped finely
100g or so of cheddar cheese, cubed
a handful of coriander, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2/3 curry leaves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 a lemon

Start by draining the water out of the potatoes. Put all the shredded potato in a tea cloth and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Add a little salt to the potatoes to help draw out the moisture.

Next, put the oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin, mustard seeds and curry leaves, let the spices infuse the oil until the seeds start popping. At this point, add the onions and cook gently, so that they soften not brown. After about 5 minutes, add the garlic, ginger and chilli. (Adjust the amount of chilli you put in according to your taste and the heat of the chilli. If you don't like hot spice, take out the seeds as they are what gives the chilli its real heat.)
This is a good point to season the mixture with salt to taste, I would say at least 1/2 tsp is necessary. Once the garlic, ginger and chilli have cooked for 2 minutes, switch off the heat. Mix in the potato, cheese and coriander. The amount of cheese you add is your prerogative, I know French recipes would call for at least about 250g!

Spoon into the greased muffin tins (grease with oil or butter, grease really well to ensure your tartiflette come out with ease post baking). Bake at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. 

To serve, I suggest tamarind or mint and coriander chutney. Believe it or not these taste exceptionally good with a healthy dollop of tomato ketchup! And there you have it, Indian tartiflette.

Until next time...