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?

I made kale and coconut dhal by Ed Smith from his book Crave. My usual dhal is a red lentil one I've cooked for eons (Rick Steins turmeric fish with dhal). Ed's was with chana dhal and was a longer cook (onions cooking for 45 mins) but not labourious) and flavours really built up, crispy kale gave additional texture. As we say in this house - definitely one to go "on rotation"

Bit late to the party here, but that 'eat your books' website is bloody genius - thanks for the link! Am going to trawl for some inspiration for tonight as everyone stared at me vacantly this morning when I asked what they fancied for dinner...

Made a few things lately

Russian meatballs - I was trying to find Rukmini Iyer's recipe but to no avail so used this one - we really liked them and will make again.

Miso aubergine & tofu from one of the Roasting tin cookbooks - had this one earmarked for a while & finally got around to making, simple and tasty, another one we will make again.

Wahaca's beef barbacoa and frijoles - made these for friends last weekend and they went down extremely well. I made the barbacoa with shin beef in the slow cooker - flavour was good but I think I left on keep warm for too long as I found it a little dry. Mainly because for some reason the last minute menu addition of Mexican rice didn't want to cook! Not sure what I did wrong but ended up with a stodgy mess with a few bits of uncooked rice to top it off 😂. I don't tend to use long grain so not sure if it was the rice or what but never have any problems with basmati.

Also served this with Jamie Oliver's Mexican Salad which was really good, fresh tasting & zingy, will be making this regularly as a change from creamy slaws. I put broccoli stems in too as suggested in the Pinch of Nom mexican slaw and this was a great way to use them up.

I clicked on the link for the meatballs but just got a load of blurb . Where is the actual recipe?

@MonsoonMadness agreed the website is very annoying but the recipe is somewhere in the middle. Not sure if this will work - the printable recipe link

It did work @LittleFriendSusan ! Plus under the recipe title on your original link there is a "Jump to recipe" link

I clocked in that but the recipe didn’t come up.

Ah, got it now! Thank you.

Miso butter greens pasta - Meera Sodha
I did make a few substations with this: dairy butter for vegan butter as that’s what I have in, removed fennel seed as I don’t have any,
and spring greens for cavolo nero as I couldn’t find kale or cavolo nero. This was a real hit, well balanced flavours, nice textured sauce and felt like a really nice and comforting bowl of pasta. Definitely one to add to the meal rotation as its so easy to make, and I’m curious to see how it compares with kale, which is a stronger taste than spring greens.

Sichuan aubergines - Meera Sodha, East
This was good, but came out milder flavoured than I expected given to the ingredients. It’s one that I’d make again as a side dish for another meal as it was so east, but wouldn’t rush to make again for its own sake.

Pock-marked old woman’s tofu - Fuchsia Dunlop
This was quick and easy and I enjoyed it, though didn’t love it. I didn’t have the right tofu (mine was too firm) I think a softer texture would have been better. Maybe next time I’m at the Chinese supermarket I’ll have a rummage and see what tofu they have there.

amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jan/31/20-best-recipes-to-feed-four-people-for-10-pounds-part-3-dal-pasts-meera-sodha-jane-baxter

www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes/sweetcorn-kale-red-lentil-dal

Made a coconut, kale and sweetcorn dal. A mash up of the two recipes above with the 45 min cooked onions mentioned earlier in the thread. The method and most solid ingredients from able and Cole with the spicing and wet ingredients from Meera Sodha. Tasty, warming (I had one split red chilli not the green advised). It's made 8 decent portions.

Popping in to rejoin! I posted right ta the start of this thread then forgot all about it!

Today was just a recipe from the Good Food website, an easy peasy but tasty enough dhansak dish. I swapped squash for sweet potato, and added peas & mushrooms.

Im spending the afternoon batch cooking, so will have more to share later.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/coconut-squash-dhansak

, Chetna Makan
I used frozen fenugreek rather than fresh, which I have used in curries before and it has imparted beautiful flavour there, but here I couldn’t taste it at all despite using a decent amount. I have no idea why, so we essentially had plain parathas which were fine and nice in texture but a shame to waste the ingredient.

Spaghetti with Kale, Courgette, Lemon and Ricotta, Rosie Reynolds, The Times
Very good and very quick, maybe not an all time favourite, but this was solid and I felt it had a nice balance of vegetables, carbs, and fat.

Mezcla Cheesy Roasted Aubergines with salsa roja
I made this last night - the only recipe version I could find online was this Dutch site but I did C&P the text into google translate and it worked! Ixta describes it as her riff on aubergine parmigiana...

Really good dish - the salsa roja I freewheeled a bit as I had unidentifiable whole dried chilies with the label missing and some ancho chilli flakes - but a tomato chilli sauce is to your own taste right?!

Very simple to do - cross hatch halved aubergines and bung in the oven on high temp. Cook sauce ingredients and then blitz in processor, mix up various types of cheese and then when aubergines are done smother in salsa roja, top with cheese sauce and pop back in the hot oven to blitz....

I don't have a massive aubergine repertoire - sichuan fish fragrant aubergine being my favourite, plus parmigiana/moussaka and pasta a la norma (or variations thereof) so it was good to add a new variation.

amp.theguardian.com/food/2023/jan/30/savoy-cabbage-roasted-cauliflower-cashew-chilli-noodles-mi-xao-chay-recipe-uyen-luu

This is my current favourite recipe, it's vegetarian, comforting and delicious. And quite easy to make aslong as everything is to hand.

Blackened Chicken/Tofu Salad with Green Goddess Ranch - Ethan Chlebowski
I roasted the chickpeas as I’m not keen on cold out of the tin beans, and used all yogurt in the dressing because I only had about tablespoon of mayo in the house. Really enjoyed this, the blackening definitely worked better on the chicken than the tofu, but it was really god, simple enough and a nice framework for other styles. Will definitely make it again. I loved the dressing, but anything involving herbs blended with yogurt is a win for me.

Spinach and herb dumplings with cherry tomato sauce - Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
I had a bit of a wobble before making this as I wasn’t sure the meal would be tasty or substantial enough but it was fine on both counts. Only substitution was fresh cherry tomatoes for tinned. Because the dumplings aren’t really cooked all the vibrancy of the ingredients remains. My dumplings were really soft after cooking so I might let the paste thicken more next time but it didn't really affect the dish other than I couldn't move them when they'd been plated.

Thai Basil Beef by Nathan Anthony

This is a slow cooker recipe but I stir fried it. Absolutely delicious, although a little too much chilli heat for a couple of us. I have never used dried basil before (always use fresh) but it gave it a great flavour.

Humayun's aubergine kuku by Meera Sodha

This was basically an aubergine frittata, and although it had garlic and spring onions there were no spices. Overall I found it ok but a bit bland, and more of a faff than my usual frittata recipes. Won't bother with this one again. I'd rather use the aubergines for my fave Ottolenghi recipe.

Also I have the Russian meatballs recipe from the roasting tin book if anyone wants it (or are we not allowed to copy recipes from books onto here?). It's one of my favourites, although I use quorn meatballs.

Potato Buns, Nicola Lamb, Kitchen Projects
As advised in the recipe this was a very soft and wet dough, which made shaping the buns a little more challenging, and meant they spread into each other a little when proving. I wouldn’t have thought to add chives but they were welcome addition. Not my favourite buns, but I do think I overbaked them slightly.

Curried Butternut and Coconut Gratin, Yotam Ottolenghi, The Guardian
Thanks to @myrtleWilson who shared the article which contained this recipe. I don’t have a mandoline so thinly sliced the squash by hand, otherwise the prep was quick and minimal. Not sure it it was my layering, or if my sauce came out a little thick, but I had to shimmy the oven dish and rap it firmly on the counter quite a few times to get it to work it’s way through the layers. This was a good meal and the chilli and curry leaf oil really did elevate it, even so I was a little bored by the time I finished eating - I know the point is that it is a one pot meal, but when I make it again it will be as part of a spread where I think it would work really well.

Immune-Boosting Slow-Braised Beef, Marions Kitchen
I used beef shin so lengthened the oven time to ensure it was tender. I love these sorts of hearty braised meals and this turned out lovely and it is a little different to those already in my repertoire, I choose to serve with chunks of crusty bread rather than steamed rice.

thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/venezuelan-slow-cooked-beef-with-red-peppers-and-bay/

By Rukmini Iyer

We are eating fewer and fewer meals with meat, but there was some beef bavette in the freezer that I wasn't going to waste. I used the slow cooker instead of the oven for time and economy reasons. I doubt the beef would have been soft enough to shred in the suggested oven time but it was after hours in the SC. I had to reduce the liquid produced (possibly due to the alternative cooking method), but the flavours in the recipe were lovely - subtle but with depth too.

Honey baked feta with crispy gnocchi -Gousto
Really simple and quick to prep meal. I never made the TikTok tomato and feta sauce, but this seems like a similar theory and was tasty.

Halloumi, broccoli and chickpea bake - Anna Jones, One: Pot, Pan, Planet
I liked this, but found the orange really overpowering which surprised me as I prepped the day before, and half it was baked so I’d anticipated the citrus being muted because of that, but I’d halve it next time. I loved the texture of the grilled tenderstem but I’d probably halve the halloumi lengthways, as I didn’t love the underside of the halloumi which was further from the grill. We had this as a stand-alone meal, just with more broccoli than was suggested as I couldn’t be bothered making the suggested and it felt like a complete meal to me. I’ll probably make this one again, just with a few tweaks.

Butternut squash and sage lasagne gratin - Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
I saw @myrtleWilson had a torrid time with this, but because it was one of the recipes I first noticed when flicking through Mezcla, I went ahead anyway. I used my biggest dish, and fortunately it all fit, especially as I scaled it up to serve six. I’m not sure if it was because I was using gluten free lasagne sheets, which looked very thin, but I only used half by weight of the suggested pasta, as I ran out of layers. It was delicious, and was a real crowd pleaser.

Blackened sweetcorn with miso butter - Meera Sodha, East
A last minute addition to the recipe when we planned a last minute barbecue. This was really simple to make and delicious. It’s one of those recipes where I knew I would love it because I love everything in it. Definitely one I’ll make again.

I see the title of this thread is ‘Weekly New Recipe’, I can’t promise a new recipe a week but contribute where and when I can.

This evening I made ‘One pan oregano chicken and chickpeas’ from Melissa Helmsley’s book Feel Good. Apart from fabulous flavours the recipe can easily be tweaked (eg. instead of chicken you can substitute mushrooms and artichoke, to give an Italian flavour you can substitute feta for Parmesan, also you can choose quinoa or rice) so lots of options depending on your preferences. This evening I went for quinoa and Parmesan and it was delicious, tomorrow I’ll try it with rice. I’ve prepped enough for tomorrow as there are only two of us and the recipe is designed for four, so it will give us another delicious meal for little work.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/premium/lemon-orzo-chicken

Quickly becoming my weekly 'quick' meal, with or without chicken. Cooked in 20 minutes, light and delicious. I used frozen peas and edamame beans last night - it worked just as well.

Roasted Butternut Squash Curry with Garlic and Tomatoes, Meera Sodha, Made in India
This is another one of those recipes where I can’t quite believe it has escaped my notice having owned this recipe book for about 7 years as it’s right up my street. Delicious, just as I expected.

Golden Garlic Raita, Meera Sodha, Made in India
The accompaniment Meera recommends for the above curry. It was super quick and easy to make, and used only fridge/larder staples. I doubled the amount garlic which wasn’t strictly speaking necessary, but I don’t regret.

Today is DH birthday and I made the following
https://www.gressinghamduck.co.uk/recipes/slow-cooked-duck-legs-with-citrus-pomegranate/

I did cheat a little as I had some confit duck legs ready cooked from Donald Russell, so using those and making an easy but very tasty sauce it really was delicious. Other than that I followed the recipe, the pomegranate seeds were a great addition as their natural sharpness cut through the richness of the duck and really elevated it. I accompanied the duck with Duchesse potatoes using this recipe
https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a39773334/duchess-potatoes-recipe/. I followed this faithfully and I prepared them this morning and they sat in the fridge until I needed them.

For dessert I made
https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/baking-and-desserts/salted-caramel-and-pecan-cheesecake-pots/
with these I added an extra three biscuits and more butter as I wanted to make six smaller ones rather than four bigger desserts. Rather than layering I just made a biscuit base and topped with the filling before putting it in the fridge. Again, this was prepared earlier in the day and they were finished off with a bit more salted caramel sauce.

My DH thoroughly enjoyed it as did my 93 year old MIL who claims to have a small appetite, she ate everything out in front of her and went back for more potatoes. To sum up a stress free meal with maximum flavour. Something I would definitely make again, it’s easy enough for an everyday meal but personally as it’s so rich I would only make it for a special occasion.