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 Tacos Rayas last night from Thomasina Miers (can't find her recipe online but others are available - or I'll post a photo if anyone wants it)

Super delicious and easy - I mentioned up thread I was so pleased to see poblano peppers in the grocers this week. I roasted two to get the skin blistered and black (wasn't brave enough to do them over open flame and we needed oven anyway for Dd's dinner!) Then they were skinned and thinly sliced and added to a big pile of sweet caramelised onions and garlic, cooked for 10 minutes then added some creme fraiche and cooked for another 10 mins then snaffled in corn tortillas.

The poblanos gave the tacos a lovely smoky flavour and i will be doing them again whenever I can get the peppers!

@myrtleWilson I’ve been considering planting some ancho seeds to try to grow poblano peppers. I’m not convinced it will work as I’m not the best gardener, but next time I deseed an ancho I might give planting the seed a go. Nothing to lose by trying I guess!

Gobi Manchurian - One:Pot, Pan, Planet, Anna Jones
I really loved this. Roasted chickpeas and cauliflower are always a winner with me and it was vibrant and fresh. So easy to make as well, this one will be in my rotation.

No apologies needed @LittleFriendSusan, the book is wonderful and money well spent. The Ras el Hanout Rainbow Roast and Malay Curry are on the list for this week and potentially the meatballs. I'm really not enamoured with this months book, you?

I made Bejewelled and Aromatic Fried Rice from Africana last night. Once again, a wonderful depth of flavour and simple to make, especially now I've made it once.

I can't find many recipes online from this wonderful book, but here's a link at least to her website.

leratofoods.com/pages/about

Not sure if I've posted this one before but I made courgette and cashew curry from 30 Minute Mowgl this week too. This is a super one for mid week, it's very quick to make, light and delicious. I added broad beans as I had some fresh ones and this worked well too, but it's lovely without them.

app.ckbk.com/recipe/mowg94003c04s001r002/courgette-and-cashew-curry

@myrtleWilson I like the look of that savoy cabbage gratin.

@needastrongoneagain I'm not really sold on this month's book either - I bought Cucina & the Italian Pantry off the back of recent months & not sure I need another. I'm still working my way through Africana - found Selim pepper in a little afrocaribbean shop in town yesterday & made the bejewelled fried rice which was indeed simple and delicious. DP wasn't feeling too well so we have lots left - I might try it cold for lunch! I also have the cape malay curry planned in for this week (and the poussin today after I picked some up in Lidl last week).

Quite a few new things tried last week: Gousto creamy leek & chorizo pastaa* - this was nice enough but (just for a change 😂) I didn't read the recipe properly and put in rice wine vinegar instead of rice wine. So I added a bit of rice wine too for good measure. Should have tasted before putting the lemon in as it was a bit sharp - think this was my fault entirely though & not the recipe! I would probably make again as an easy weeknight dinner.

Cheesy aubergines from Mezcla as recommended by someone on here - sorry, can't remember who & don't want to lose my post to check! Loved this - the salsa was really tasty and I am a big aubergine fan anyway - another winner.

Mary Berry's sausagemeat lasagne - I didn't actually make this one, DS and his girlfriend did, so can't comment on the method but it was tasty & quick enough for a weeknight.

We also had the honeycomb pancakes from Africana for breakfast last Sunday, I can't remember if I've posted about them already & can't find the recipe online unfortunately. It is a yeasted batter & they are a bit crumpet-like in texture (with the holes) - really enjoyed these too as a weekend treat! Loved the orange blossom honey sauce. It made me want to attempt making crumpets too as I imagine it's a similar method.

Reading that back, what I meant to say was not sure I need another Italian cookbook just yet. There's always room for more cookbooks, just that one seems a bit 'samey'

Made this this evening https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/max-la-mannas-one-tray-green-curry/?utmcampaign=Coronation%20party%20bakes%2C%20sharers%20%26%20more&utmmsource=The%20Happy%20Foodie&utmmedium=email very tasty and relatively easy. I added broccoli too. The only thing I'd say is that unless you have the thinnest asparagus spears in the world or the most finely cubes courgette your veg will still be Al dente after 15 mins never mind 10

Looks interesting @Wolfcub - I've not come across a thai curry traybake before - I love a traybake! And in no surprise I made one this week!

Esther Clark/Modern Spice Rack - Roasting Tin Aloo Chaat
No online presence for this one I'm afraid but happy to photo etc. I really enjoyed this! Had a moment of chef error as I over adjusted my hot running oven which meant the potatoes weren't roasted enough after first pass which then meant spices, onion, garlic started to burn on second roast. Retrievable and burning was in the 'deep flavour' rather than 'bitter' spectrum.

The final dish worked so well - spiced, sour roasted potatoes (from chaat masala and tamarind drizzle) oomphed with the mint/coriander/chilii chutney and popping with sev/bombay mix and pomegranate seeds. Will definitely make again.

Second new one from me this week was back to Mezcla
Oyster Mushrooms with caraway noodles
Really liked this too - there are certainly some motifs to Ixta's cooking - oyster mushrooms are a fave - if you're not a fan of roasted mushrooms though, this won't be for you! Her inspiration for this was mushroom pierogi and this was a hopeful homage. I've never eaten mushroom pierogi but if they're like this, I'll seek them out!
Very easy to do and the flavour from the onions is worth spending your time on. This took longer for me than she said in the recipe, but I was happy to pootle so no skin of my nose! The dill and chives really came through alongside the sourness of the soured cream. Will make again.

Dendê Marinated Prawns, Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
I forgot to buy scotch bonnets and had plenty of finger chillis in so substituted them. This was so simple and so tasty. Ixtas advice to serve with flatbreads to mop up at the end was right on the money.

Miso Butter Greens Pasta, Meera Sodha, The Guardian
I bookmarked this after Toasts initial review, however, her coming back and saying she had made it a further 3 times in the 3 weeks following convinced me to fit it into my food plan. Delicious, an easy meal that feels both hearty and healthy, I can see being a part of my regular rotation.

3 Day Focaccia, Nicola Lamb, Kitchen Projects
I only had 2 days, so I made the poolish in the morning, then in the afternoon/evening completed the dough, proofed overnight, and baked the following day. I have been a lover of Joshua Weissmans recipe, which is very different (25 minute knead time vs no knead). This was also fantastic, but I have never met a focaccia I haven’t loved.

Creamy Cassava Gratin, Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
Despite being in the ‘Entertaining’ section of the book - which Ixta defines as more time consuming, complicated, and/or many ingredients - I found this pretty simple. My first timing cooking and eating cassava and I really liked it, this dish was tasty and indulgent.

This week I’ve made three new recipes all from Mezcla, and all totally delicious. The first item was the chicken enchiladas, the flavour was really tasty and loved by everyone. It was lifted to another level with the flavoursome bechamel. The only negative was that despite having rolled the lasagne sheets successfully once cooked they seemed to fall apart - it may have been because I used GF lasagne sheets. Nevertheless, I would make again.

https://www.thrillist.com/amphtml/eat/nation/cannelloni-enchiladas-recipe-chef-ixta-belfrage

I also made the Pineapple steaks with a maple custard, this felt indulgent but light at the same time! The custard can be prepared in advance and worked really well. The pineapple was fresh and again I prepared it the day before and kept it covered in the fridge. Again, I would do this again and the custard could be used independently adding your own flavours. Just for reference this was GF as there is no flour added to thicken the custard.

Finally, I made the Banana, Sesame and Maple cake. Again, another success. This was very easy to do and is just as good the following day, this would work well as both a slice of cake with a brew or a cake served with a delicious vanilla ice cream or even the above custard.

https://heinstirred.com/banana-sesame-cake/

Hope you all have a wonderful food filled weekend

I can’t open that as it’s specific to the app. Could you possibly copy and paste it please?

Am feeling the Mezcla love tonight! I am making chicken enchiladas tonight (not Mezcla style) I did have a stash of salsa roja in the freezer left over from when I made the cheesy aubergines. Have used that to add to my (pre cooked) chicken base and it smells so smoky and delicious - I presume its the same salsa roja across both recipes (I could literally walk across the kitchen to check but I haven't!!)

The chicken came from last night and whilst not really a new recipe at all - courtesy of The Modern Spice Rack I eschewed my normal tarragon or thyme shoved into cavity and went with za'atar spiced butter stuffed under the skin. I know butter under the skin is no revelation but in all honesty I wouldn't have thought to use za'atar in this way... It is one of the things I'm enjoying about the book - in each recipe she adds a mini recipe or a suggestion - for example under her roasted carrots with green yoghurt (variations of which are much loved on this thread!) she shares that nigella seeds melted into butter and spooned over roasted sweet potatoes or fried halloumi is delicious - again, not something I would have thought of myself and yet, a neat way to elevate something with little effort..... the book is also getting me thinking about my spice cupboard - I need to pare it back (its like japanese knotweed in there!) and use it in more and new ways

We had our first bbq of the year, and Dh made Mary Berry’s minted lamb burgers with feta - absolutely delicious!

Miso butter butternut butterbeans - Ixta Belfrage
Here’s another contribution to this week’s Mezcla party!! This one caught my eye when I flicked through the book initially. I made with butterbeans as it was a side dish, and I’d probably stick with that change. The only part of the dish which was a bit underwhelming was the salsa, especially as I normally love Ixta’s salsas, but it did the job of cutting through the rich butternut sauce and zaatar butter. A great dish, and one I can see me making as side dish often when we have guests as it’s simple and can be made in advance, has broad appeal and is so tasty.

I'm planning to make that tomorrow @toastofthetown but with gnocchi... I shall report back!

Tonight, I have inhaled eaten a bowl of crab and togarashi mac and cheese from The Modern Spice Rack. I don't often make Mac and Cheese - although have enjoyed Nigella's crab mac n cheese - there is some overlap - but Nigella use's paprika and aleppo and doesn't bake in oven.

Esther uses 3 cheese to caution against splitting if just using cheddar because of its higher fat content, so I went for cheddar (we had it in fridge), comte (we had in fridge) and some red leicester which added to the reddish/pinkish tinge.

She also pops in a spalsh of hot chilli sauce (siracha) and then bakes in the oven with a good shaking of togarashi on the top

Oh my, so good! I did at times wonder whether the crab was necessary (and indeed you could make it as a mac n cheese) but every now and then I got a mouthful of crab to remind me it was deliciously there (full disclosure I used a tin of white crab meat in the cupboard rather than fresh white and brown as advised) The use of the togarashi (with its 7 ingredients) added an additional bundle of joy of flavours...

Am aware I'm like a broken record on this at the moment but it again reinforced my interest in this book. I had a jar of togarashi in the drawer - bought presumably for a recipe I read but never made and its sat there languishing but now I have ideas as to how it would work - it adds to my decision from reading the book to pare back spices - but that doesn't mean just to the 'usual suspects' but in paring back, use them more...

I tried two new recipes this week and both were lovely. I'm not keen on chickpeas but I'm trying to eat more healthily and to lose a bit of weight so am trying to embrace the chickpea!

First was Ras el hanout roasted chickpeas with broccoli and halloumi (https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/may/10/anna-jones-chickpea-recipes) I added extra ras el hanout, but it was the orangey dressing which really made this so delicious.

Second was Meera Sodha’s Spinach, Tomato and Chickpea Curry from Fresh India https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/meera-sodhas-spinach-tomato-and-chickpea-curry) Again I had to add extra spice but this was really tasty, especially with a dollop of yogurt which I don't normally bother with for curries.

Where did you get your togorashi Myrtle? That dish sounds great

I'm not 100% sure @Wolfcub - its been in the drawer a while! I think one of three options - ordered from souschef, picked up on a visit to Borough Market (I know I picked up some spices there but can't recall which exactly, or one of the chinese/japanese shops in my city centre (we're a university city with growing overseas student population and a side benefit for me is there is a growing food shop/restaurant scene to meet their needs!

Having said that, I did google and it looks as if waitrose stock it in their "cooks ingredients" range..hope you can track some down!

@Wolfcub I can't get it where I live so made my own shichimi togarashi

• 1 orange, zest peeled off in strips
• 2 tbsp of dried chilli flakes
• 3 tsp sichuan peppercorns
• 2 nori sheets, broken or snipped into smaller pieces
• 2 tbsp of white sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp of black sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp of poppy seeds
• 1 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 140°C/gas mark 1

Line a baking tray with baking paper and lay the strips of orange zest on top. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the zest has completely dried out (check at 5 min intervals from 20 mins onwards). Set aside to cool.

Once cooled, put the dried orange zest, chilli flakes, Szechuan peppercorns and nori sheets into a spice grinder and blitz to a fine powder

Thoroughly mix in the sesame and poppy seeds, along with the ground ginger

Store the shichimi togarashi in an airtight jar. It will last for months in a cool, dark place

Joining in for the first time - hello!

I tried 3 new recipes last week.
John Whaite's Easy Lunch Box Frittata - https://www.instagram.com/p/CsEhbDAocPQ/
Loved this! Hadn't considered doing a frittata in a baking tray like this before (not sure why?) it was delicious and effortless. I've used the same method this week and made an asparagus, feta, mint and pea version. Served both with leaves and a potato salad.

Aubergine Saute from Dr Rupy Cooks
Recipe recommends half - one tablespoon of chilli flakes, I went all in with 1 and it was too much for me and my partner, oops. Tasty recipe but I added some parmesan as felt it was missing some cheese!

Lemon Orzo Salmon
Spotted this recipe on Instagram, it was fine but I don't think I'd make it again.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CnwpcQvJFMm/?hl=en

I also returned to an old favourite last week Burmese Prawn Curry - The Rangoon Sisters, this is one of my favourite curries, so easy and full of flavour. It's not a sauce more of a paste consistency, it doesn't look like it makes much but it coats the rice in so much flavour - it's divine! Will be making it again soon.
https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/prawn-curry-bazun-hin/

Thank you Annie

Two new recipes from me....

First up, following in @toastofthetown footsteps I did Ixta's butternut, miso gnocchi

I really enjoyed this - it turned out that I didn't have any white miso in the cupboard so used red - a bit saltier. I agree with toast that am not sure the salsa cut through - I put that down to tomatoes in the NE of england not being the perfect specimen. That said, the salsa didn't distract from a very nice smoky gnocchi dinner!

Tonight, I made Chicken adobo from Ed Smith's Crave.

I really like how this book is ordered and Chicken adobo is located in the tart and sour chapter probably where I'd end up too! It is a super simple recipe but not available online (user offer applies!). Ed recommends if possible finding a Filipinno cane vinegar - which I sourced from a lovely pan Asian shop in my town. Obviously, I've not yet tried it with the possible alternatives of cider/wine/rice vinegar but I did think the cane vinegar gave a different flavour so if you can track it down do (Ed suggests Datu Puti brand is quite accessible online etc)
I really enjoyed this and will definitely do it often!

Made this www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/creamy-chicken-bean-leek-traybake/amp

Slight amendments I had skin off chicken so just put it straight in without pre frying. As I want frying I did the leeks in the roasting tin in olive oil in the oven for five mins then added the garlic for two more before putting everything else in the tin. Also used borlotti beans as I just happened to have an 800g tin of those.

Delicious. Easy. I think 500ml is too much liquid and it definitely needs the full two (heaped) tbsp of mustard.

Made Mary Berry 5 spice salmon stir fry, it’s a favourite in our house.
https://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/2015429/five-spice-salmon-stir-fry