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?

Sweet potato vindaloo - Meera Sodha, Fresh India
Way too hot for me. It was a bold choice but just didn’t work at all. Even beyond the heat, the flavour of the curry wasn't nice to me. It felt kinda one note, but maybe that was just the heat.

Corn risotto - Anna Jones, One:Pot, Pan, Planet
Corn, chilli and cheese is one of my favourite flavour combinations and all on a base of risotto this was never not going to be a hit. I loved it and will definitely make it again.

I've just bought the modern spice rack and I've asked for Togarashi for my birthday. I blame you lot!

@myrtleWilson would you be able to put up a pic of the tacos rayas and the roasting tin aloo chaat? Both sound delicious and right up my street!

I hope you enjoy it @Wolfcub - when I first got Mezcla I had a long list of things I wanted to make immediately, I didn't have that initial reaction to the modern spice pantry but it's grown and grown on me and I appreciate its understated charm and insight.

of course, @christmaspudding43 - I'll do it now!

Roasting tin aloo chaat

Rajas tacos

This weekend we had some friends visit so it was a great opportunity to revisit some old tried and tested recipes as well as some new ones. If you haven’t tried the Dishoom broccoli salad (https://www.dishoom.com/journal/dishoom-chilli-broccoli-salad-recipe/) and the Dishoom black dal (https://foodism.co.uk/recipes/dishoom-black-daal/)  please give them a go- they are both old faithfuls of mine and always go down a treat.
My new recipes this week are from Ammu by Asma Khan (from Darjeeling Express) - the first was a coriander and mint chutney and spicy mashed tomatoes. Although both of were tasty (the coriander one was particularly spicy) I’ll continue my search for a good tomato relish, it was good just not amazing. These accompanied the tandoori box from Aktar at Home which we had on the barbecue.
My dessert was from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen - Extra Good Things. I made the Pistachio macaron cake with elderflower apricots. I didn’t have elderflower cordial but I did have elderflower liqueur! This really was outstanding and went down a treat on a warm summer night. I would definitely make this again, don’t exclude the apricots as they were fab, if anything, double the quantity you won’t regret it.
https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/articles/cook-from-the-book-ottolenghi-test-kitchen-extra-good-things/

Thank you @myrtleWilson, much appreciated.

Giant Cheese on Toast with Spring Onion, Honey, and Urfa Butter, Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
I had guests this weekend and this went down a storm for lunch. It looks fairly impressive but is really quite quick and easy - and was the perfect thing to line our stomachs before going out to a local beer garden for cocktails! I do wonder what purpose the greek yogurt and the double cream serve in the cheese mixture though?

Lemon, Basil, and White Chocolate Tiramisu, Ruby Bhogal
I’ve tried so many tiramisus but as a coffee hater I’ve never been able to get on with the flavour despite loving the concept and texture, so this was a real treat for me. I adored this and it got rave reviews from my guests, 100% worth the effort. It's incredibly how a bit of aeration and citrus can trick you into thinking eating piles of cream and mascarpone layered with cake is light!

Confit Squid and Aubergine Paccheri, Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
This is the first time with Mezcla I have been a little unsure on cooking instructions - likely down to my complete inexperience cooking squid. You are supposed to put all the confit ingredients in a pot over the lowest possible heat and cook for 40 minutes, ensuring the oil doesn’t start to bubble. I wasn’t sure if the 40 minutes started when you switched the heat on or when it reached that just below bubbling temp, my lowest setting is very gentle and took probably 20-25 minutes to reach that point. Regardless, the end dish was fantastic, and felt perfect for this time of year.

The giant cheese on toast sounds fab, really must try it as it has been recommended by so many people.
Thanks @SummaLuvin

We had this last night - Spicy Lamb Chops marinated in garlic chilli and garam masala
https://www.nigella.com/cookbook-corner/tandoori-home-cooking-by-maunika-gowardhan
Its featured in Nigella's cookbook corner but from Maunika Gowardhan's new book. - I've followed Maunika for years as she's local to me in the NE.

DH made it as I was off in London yesterday for the eating disorder march and knew I wouldn't be up for cooking for us when I got back. It is a very simple recipe - marinade time is important and OMG, these were delicious - so flavoursome and although we DH didn't smoke his own butter but he found some in Fenwicks food hall... Would definitely recommend.

I fear I'm dominating this thread but sorry not sorry!

Tonight I made Rachel Roddy's tagliatelle with lemon, basil and parmesan from her A-Z of pasta. I really love Rachel's cooking - from her blog, her Guardian posts and her books. Have decided I should try to do a new pasta recipe of hers at least every couple of weeks, so after a warm and longish work day I did this - super quick and super delicious.

She has a few variations of this online but not the one from the book so I'll paraphrase (For 2 people)

Zest I medium lemon into a bowl

Juice probably 1 medium lemon into another bowl/measuring jug so you know you're getting about 4 tablespoons worth - for me tonight this was 1 lemon and an extra end! Add this juice to the zest bowl

Put 50mls of olive oil in zest/juice bowl and then 10g of butter

Bring pasta water to boil - we were using dried tagliatelle, so after about 7/8 minutes, pop the lemon zest/juice/oil/butter bowl on top of pasta pan and emulsify.

Take off heat but keep near heat sauce so warm - add in 50g of grated parmesan and handful of basil leaves.

Drain pasta and toss into lemon bowl. Serve with more parm and lots of black pepper.

So simple and so tasty and perfect for a summers eve - I'll be making it a lot!

Not sure if found this recipe on this thread or elsewhere but highly recommend this also from Rachel Roddy. Easy, economical and tasty!

amp.theguardian.com/food/2023/apr/10/pasta-peas-ham-egg-cheese-recipe-rachel-roddy

Blackened Sweetcorn Chaat, Meera Sodha, Fresh India
Vibrant, brilliant, addictive. I will make this again and again. Recipes like this are why I adore this thread so much, helping me discover gems I have been overlooking for years!!

@Robin60, you have said the Dishoom broccoli salad is a staple of yours, I love that recipe too and think this shares some of the characteristics that make that so great. It has crunchy, tang, and a freshness.

Made the za'atar tomato butter pasta from modern spice rack. Pretty easy, you could probably just about make it in half an hour. Definitely worth cooking the garlic and letting the oil bubble but not burn for the full time. Would have liked more za'atar flavour. It was very subtle but tasty. The method would definitely lend itself to lots of different flavours and it made a nicely textured sauce.

I made this Scandi meatball bake this evening. Really lovely and incredibly easy. Didn’t have kale (served with broccoli instead), but I think it would have made it more tasty.

I made two new cakes from Edd Kimber’s One Tin Bakes Easy last week - chocolate chunk and peanut butter snack cake and rhubarb and cardamom cake with brown butter streusel. Both were so light! I also made a batch of his wagon wheels for the third time, they’re addictive and so easy to make.

https://www.you.co.uk/edd-kimber-chocolate-chunk-peanut-butter-snack-cake-recipe/

https://www.greatbritishfoodawards.com/recipes/wagon-wheel-bars/

I love this book so much but as the tin is huge I rarely cook from it as the portions are 12+ and there’s just me and DP at home.

@Pompoms88 I have the original one of those books, I bought it because I read somewhere (no idea where) that you can halve most recipes and they work in an 8x8 tin. I haven't ended up using the book as much as I thought I would, but that rule has worked for me every time.

Made Ottolenghis miso tomato oregano pasta. Very tasty and umami. I scaled down the rear of the recipe to serve one but kept the same amount of miso due to user error. amp.theguardian.com/food/2021/apr/17/yotam-ottolenghi-15-minute-lunches-recipes I would probably make this again.

Oh I wish Ed Smith (on insta as rocketandsquash) had more of an online presence... tonight I made from Crave "Slow cooked minted courgettes with white beans and fresh cheese"

Was amazing! Happy to share photo of recipe as always but the courgette was thinly sliced and cooked (covered) for 45 minutes over the lowest of heat in a pool of extra virgin olive oil. After the 45 min, sliced garlic is added and another 15-30 min cook until basically about 3/4 of courgettes have collapsed. Remove from heat, add salt, lots of pepper and some lemon zest, cool to just above room temp then add lemon juice, more evo and finely chopped mint.

Heat a tin of butter beans in its water with a bit more stock/water added. 5-8 mins later add in a 1/3 of the courgettes then pop into bowls.

Add rest of courgettes, some scoops of fresh cheese (goats for us) sprinkle over finely chopped preserved lemon skin, more mint, lemon zest and oil/garlic left in the courgette pan.

We had it with a crusty baguette and it was A-MAZ-ING - so delicious on a sunny evening, very stress free cooking - is probably now my go to courgette recipe!

Vietnamese summer rolls - Aaron and Claire
I didn’t follow the recipe for the ingredients for the summer rolls, but I followed the peanut sauce which was delicious. I’ve been waiting for a warm weekend day to spend an afternoon eating summer rolls all year and this was the week. Definitely one to make again.

Saag dal with mango chutney coated halloumi - @hans.hungry
The mango chutney coated halloumi instantly caught DH’s eye and I’ve been meaning to add this to the meal plan for a few weeks now. The halloumi was amazing and I’ll definitely be borrowing that for other recipes. The dal was nice, but not spectacular and I found despite not adding the additional water it was very liquidy. I’d probably make Chetna Makan’s similar idea next time.

Curried potato and egg salad - @hans.hungry
Total coincidence that two recipes from this blog were on my plan this week. This was a bold choice from me, as I’m not normally a potato salad lover but I really enjoyed this. The sauce was scant (which is probably why I liked it so much) but tasty. I’ll be making this again for sure, as any excuse to eat more new potatoes is good for me.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/one-pan-chicken-couscous

Pretty sure I've made this before but it was a relatively quick and easy dinner. It's worth putting a bit more time into the onions than it says in the recipe. I added green beans with the cous cous because I think there needs to be more veg

There's plenty leftover to eat cold tomorrow but I had a bigger pack of chicken than in the recipe and used an extra 40g of couscous

Over the past couple of months I have made great progress working through my freezer stocks freeing up space for meal-prep which I want to get into the habit of keeping on hand more. I have prepped the below two and look forward to having them as part of quick meals in the coming weeks.

Thai Style Sausage Stir Fry & Meal Prep, Ethan Chlebowski
From a video where Ethan gives a few techniques for raw meat before freezing that take minimal time, but mean the you have a protein that is in a form factor optimised for cooking from frozen to make a quick meal. This recipe involved pulsing some aromatics in a mini-chopper and mixing into mince, then freezing in flat square portions. It took less than 10 minutes including gathering ingredients and washing up.

Tinga Poblana, Ethan Chlebowski
Very easy with little hands on time. I had a little try of this while I was portioning for my freezer and have no doubt it will make delicious tacos.

@toastofthetown thank you for the curried potato salad, I make a tandori roast chicken but never really know what to air it with. Will definitely be trying this on the side for the summer months

Cauliflower Cheese and Chilli Roti, Meera Sodha, Fresh India
These are pretty straightforward to make even if I always find stuffed breads a little time consuming, perhaps I’m just slow. I prefer Chetnas filling method (as stated upthread) so used that instead of Meeras. These were great, but could do with more seasoning and more chilli, mine lacked oomph.

Cheesy Polenta with Curried Onions, Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
I served with sausages and broccoli, and this was a terrific meal, maybe my favourite from Mezcla so far! The polenta, while very delicious, was very highly seasoned (salt, miso, stock, cheese) which DH loved, but was on the edge of too much for me, so I would proceed with a little caution. We both adored the curried onions and said that next time we would double the quantity of them.