Weekly new recipe thread

[SarahJessicaParkin]

I've decided to try out a brand new recipe every week this year. I seem to make the same things on rotation all the time, so hope this will drag me out of my recipe rut and improve my not great cooking skills!

Would anyone like to join me?

Quick Coconut Dal and Tomato Sambol, Meera Sodha, East
I stumbled upon this in the ‘alternative contents’ section of East under ‘Quick Dinners’ having never noticed it before - it read as simple, comforting, and warming which is what I was after this week. Absolutely stunning, I think my fave dal ever? In the intro Meera says “The dal soothes while the sambol revives” a perfect summary.

I totally missed posting last week, as I wasn’t sure if one recipe would be on Sunday or Monday, thedecided just to combine posts.
Autumn pilau with squash, cavolo nero and smoked garlic - Meera Sodha, East
A good recipe, though I couldn’t find smoked garlic despite looking in every supermarket I went into since August. I think it would have added something extra, but it was still a good dish without it. Looking forward to winter pilau, which it’s definitely approaching time for now.

Lentil rasam with roast red cabbage - Meera Sodha East
Mixed reviews on the roasted cabbage, though I was in favour and red cabbage isn’t usually a favourite of mine. The dal was good and though my go to recipe is still my Monica Holder one, the tamarind really lifted it.

Veggie black bean enchiladas - Cookie & Kate
A real hit, simple to make and delicious. I subbed the chilli powder in the enchilada sauce for a mix of chilli and paprika as I I wanted something more gentle. Will definitely make these again.

A Thomasina Myers concoction

Burnt chilli butter with baked sweet potato, feta and rocket. So simple but SO tasty. Current lunch obsession.

www.instagram.com/reel/ClB6IImD2U4/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Swede Laksa, Meera Sodha, East
Easy and delicious, a proper winter warmer. I was advised by a family member who had made this recipe previously to strain the soup before serving to remove some grainer bits of the paste such as the lemon grass, which I did. I also gave the swede more time to cook. These amendments were basically no effort and when I make this again I will repeat them as I loved how the dish turned out.

Sprout Nasi Goreng, Meera Sodha, East
Super tasty, so flavour packed, and fairly basic ingredients. I often love the idea of fried rice recipes but am underwhelmed with the result, this was the opposite - I went in dubious and came out really impressed.

That sweet potato recipe looks delicious @LittleCottage! Will be added to my to make list for sure.

Creole rice with burnt peppers - Meera Sodha
Really simple to make and tasty: a great weeknight meal. I charred the peppers under the grill as I don’t have a gas hob. Will make this again.

Udon noodles with red cabbage and cauliflower - Meera Sodha, East
Another very easy meal from Meera. Maybe it was just the lime I had, but the lime in this recipe was very strong, not unpleasant, but I’d reduce it next time to balance it better. I didn’t use the pickled ginger, as I’m not a huge fan, but there was enough acidity from the lime that I don’t feel anything was missing. Will be making this again, and I’m curious as to what it tastes like when lime isn’t the dominate flavour.

Creamy roasted cauliflower soup - Cookie and Kate
Very simple recipe, and one I’ve had bookmarked for years to make. It was tasty, and well balanced, the squeeze of lemon lifted it, and nutmeg improves most things for me so is always welcome. I also love the addition of butter rather than cream, because I also always have butter to hand, but rarely cream and I’m loath to buy it to use a drizzle in soup. Because I’m lazy, I roasted the onion and garlic alongside the cauliflower and so I could put it all in the soup maker, and I think roasting the garlic made a positive difference.

Could be my last post of 2022 as I'm not sure I can squeeze in a new recipe between Christmas and New Year, but I will be back in 2023, this thread has been fantastic.

Pappardelle with Chipotle Pancetta Sauce, Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
My first dabble into Mezcla after seeing posts from @myrtleWilson and @toastofthetown. I liked that this recipe used largely kitchen staples - I only had to buy chipotle flakes (easily found on amazon) and pancetta, and I have a mini chopper so making the sauce was effortless. This really delivered and I can see it being a speedy staple in my repertoire. Can’t wait to try more from this book.

the pappardelle with chipotle/pancetta is fab!

Two new ones from me - the first is from Ed Smith's Crave - a Sri Lankan style curry - using up a squash from my veg box delivery. Recipe was really good - although its not available on line as far as I can tell.... Really enjoyed it - upped the spice content a little I think but would definitely make again.

Second was for Christmas Day - we had a Middle Eastern theme - so chicken shawarma, home made hummus and pitas etc. I also did a batch of toum - a super strong garlic sauce. It was AMAZING (if you like garlic) It lasts in fridge in a jar for up to 4 weeks so will be planning some grilled meats/crudites etc to use it up -food52.com/recipes/86806-chicken-shawarma-recipe-with-toum

Original idea from Anna Jones - One Pot, Pan, Planet. potato and leek hash, added in the left over Christmas vegetables and a red onion for colour, fresh coriander and grated in strong mature cheese from the cheese board, served with a fried egg each. I'll be using this book a lot, it's one of my Christmas presents, as well as a few others, so looking forward to further posts. My concoction buys into the ethos of the book at least!

Sticky pomegranate and pistachio pigs in blankets, Yotam Ottolenghi, The Guardian
I normally go quite traditional with Christmas food, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. But thought these sounded really lovely so decided to try something new with half of our pigs in blankets this year, and they were a real hit! Most guests actually preferred them to traditional ones, and those who didn’t still really enjoyed them.

Missed this thread but looks really interesting so will read back. Are you continuing into 2023

@Theskyoutsideisblue I plan to. I like that it keeps me accountable to trying new things, I have found so many great recipes this year because of it. (and shown some much needed love to recipe books that were gathering dust)

Hope you do all carry on in 2023 - I have found lots of inspiration from this thread!

I made this spiced ham from the Ocado magazine for Boxing Day - initial cook in the pressure cooker as didn't have enough ginger ale. It was really tasty and made a nice change from my usual ham in coke / cherry coke.

We have family coming round later for drinks and nibbles - planning to try potato & parmesan croquettes from Theo Randall's Italian Pantry amongst other things. I don't have the book (yet!) but downloaded a sample on Kindle as it looks like it's going to be the January book on a FB cookbook club I'm in. Lots I would cook in the sample so I am sorely tempted! I think I'll wait & see if it ends up in January sales somewhere though...

I made this last night.. I had been browsing through Meat Free Mowgli and came across a paneer kofta and potato curry recipe. I was tempted but wasn't really in the mood for kofta and separate pototoes but googled and found a paneer kofta which included mashed potatoes in the kofta.

www.waitrose.com/ecom/recipe/paneer-kofta-curry

The ingredients list omits onions so I had to guess but it seemed to work. I really enjoyed this - I liked the lightness of the kofta and the mellowness of the curry with almonds/cashews as a thickener. I did up the spices (Mowgli had more punch) and I ended up baking the kofta as pan frying them was more stress than I needed. I think Meera Sodha has a similar recipe so I'll scroll back up to see if anyone has tried it. Would definitely cook again

Meera Sodha: Aubergine and pea curry. Okay, so I subbed the aubergine for frozen green beans and chickpeas but stuck exactly to the sauce ingredients and this was absolutely delicious. Extremely garlicky! DS had seconds. The sauce would lend itself to any vegetable or chicken. DS has already asked for this again. Using frozen peas, beans and a tin of chickpeas, cheap Lidl tomatoes, it's excellent value too.

meerasodha.com/recipes/aubergine-and-pea-curry/

Potato & Parmesan Croquettes - these were a creamy delight. I pan fried half of them and did the rest in the air fryer, both worked well to be honest. I will definitely make again as part of a tapas type spread.

Today I did this Ottolenghi rose harissa pasta. Delicious!

thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/yotam-ottolenghis-pappardelle-with-rose-harissa-black-olives-and-capers/

Some Ottolenghi here last night too - Spicy Nuts. Can't remember if I got the link off here or Facebook. These were very moreish!! Made a couple of small jars full & will take some round for friends NYE gathering tonight. I just used the mixed nuts I had in with added brazils & pecans, mixed seeds. I'm sure macadamias would be delicious in there but they are so blooming expensive these days I can't justify the cost.

Also baked Nigella's Sunken Chocolate Amaretto Cake to take round later. Looks good but took much longer than the recipe suggests to cook - I think it was closer to 40 minutes in my oven. I will report back on taste when we've eaten it!

I am loving this thread, and feel we have the same tastes @toastofthetown !

I made this last night and really liked it! The only thing was that we picked up microwave jasmine rice instead of making the full on coconut rice so it maybe wasn't as balanced as it should have been against the spice, but I'd definitely make this again!

Thanks for recommending this. I did a fridge veg curry with the sauce. Really tasty and low effort. I’ll happy make this again.

www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/sides/cheesy-root-veg-gratin.

Made this today although took some liberties with ingredients, creme fraiche rather than double cream, gruyere and Parmesan as well as cheddar and the veg was leek, parsnip, potato and carrot. Delicious, really filling and warming. definitely four good size dinner portions as a main dish with a slice of bread to mop up the sauce. As a side it would definitely serve the 8 states in the recipe

I’m doing the Celeriac and Stilton gratin from this month’ BBC Good Food magazine with the Stilton left over from the holidays.

I released I missed posting last week in all the Christmas chaos!
Winter pilau with beetroot, cauliflower and coriander chutney - Meera Sodha, East
Probably my favourite of the seasonal pilaus, though it hasn't converted me to being a beetroot lover unfortunately. Simple, tasty and hearty (though I prefer her standard coriander chutney to the one in the recipe.

Sticky pomegranate and pistachio pigs in blankets - Yotam Ottolenghi, The Guardian
Copied from @SummaLuvin. I had plans for a few new recipes between Christmas and New Year, but caught the horrible cold that's been going around, so this was all I could manage in the end! I used veggie sausages from the freezer and didn't have the fresh herbs but really really delicious and so easy to make. I imagine they'd be a real crowd-pleaser.

I definitely plan to stay on this thread next year. I love seeing what recipes everyone else is making and it keeps my motivation up when I'm just feeling like cooking old faithful after old faithful. And Father Christmas brought me Mezcla so there's a lot in there I'm looking forward to. Hope everyone has a happy new year 😊

@NeedsMoreSpice - glad you enjoyed the curry sauce. I plan on using the sauce recipe again too, it would work with whatever vegetables you've got I imagine.

Just perusing my recipe books as I type.

Bizarrely, tonight's meal is hot roast beef sandwiches with sautéed onions and coriander. I've never actually made hot roast beef sandwiches before!!!

Love a good gratin @Wolfcub so may use that suggestion! Looking forward to hearing your Mezcla hits @toastofthetown

As I still have a heap of toum in the fridge (keeps for 4 weeks apparently) I made this last night
www.wildmeat.co.uk/blogs/recipes/slow-roast-shoulder-of-lamb-with-palestinian-spices

Its from Zaitoun - recipes from Palestinian kitchens. Its a book I've not really used very much (I find if I don't do 2/3 recipes from a book quite quickly after purchase, it tends to fall by the wayside a bit) But on pursuing it I found lots of good ideas so will make an effort to use it a bit more.

Anyhow! - Lamb was really nice - the pomegranate molasses based marinade gave it a darkened, sweetened 'bark'. Loads of lamb leftover so am going to do a cultural mash up by serving tonights with the chaat potatoes from Ottolenghi.