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?

Brown Butter Curried Corn Bread, Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
Simple to bring together and an ingredient list entirely made up of cupboard/fridge staples for me. I used tinned rather than frozen corn and I don’t think this had a negative impact. Both DH and I loved it.

Spicy Baked Beans with Apple and Cucumber Salsa, Yotam Ottolenghi, The Guardian
I shamelessly copied @myrtleWilson by pairing the above with homemade baked beans which worked really well. I used tinned butter beans instead of dried haricot, and I forgot to buy an apple so just used extra cucumber in the salsa. The beans themselves were great and I would make again. The salsa didn’t do much for me, but I accept that it is probably my fault for missing a key ingredient.

Hot Honey, Chilli Pepper Madness
Very tasty and very easy, I went basic only using dried chilli and honey.

Thai Sausage Stir Fry, Ethan Chlebowski - UPDATE
Cooking the sausage mix from frozen, breaking it up, throwing in some rough chopped tenderstem, and serving with steamed rice, all took less than 15 minutes. Tasty, healthy, and fast. Maybe not my favourite ever stir fry, but minimal time and work.

Ham, cheese & olive French savoury loaf, My Parisian Kitchen

We had a party at the weekend and ended up with lots of little bits and bobs of antipasti like the ends of a cheeseboard, olives, chunks of ham hock, sundried tomatoes, etc. Not enough to make anything much but I chopped it all up and baked it together into this loaf. It made a lovely lunch at home with a crunchy green salad on the side. It keeps brilliantly too, the next day we cut it into little slices and had it with a glass of wine as an apero.

@SummaLuvin we’re currently obsessed with hot honey - we put it on a pizza this week and it was divine!

Made our pizzas with this dough, very easy and tasted great! https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/bread/quick-pizza-dough

@Robin60 I made that Traybake from meliz berg tonight on the back of your comment! It was amazing. We had with pearl couscous, yoghurt and a chopped salad.

I would really recommend this recipe by Meliz too - One Pot Minced Lamb and Pasta.

I’m veggie and make it with meatless farm mince and it’s so good. The main dish is quite simple and easy to pull together, it’s the three topping which make this amazing - chilli butter, grated halloumi and mint, garlic yoghurt

https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/meliz-bergs-one-pot-minced-lamb-and-conchiglie-pasta/

@Pompoms88 I have all the ingredients for that in except the lamb mince - I know what we're having for dinner tonight, thanks!!

Charred Cabbage, Herby Yogurt, and Chilli Oil, hans.hungry, Instagram
Very simple and tasty way to enhance the cabbage. Winner.

Horchata, Nicola Lamb, Kitchen Projects
I made a horchata last year and posted it on this thread, I have remade that exact recipe multiple times. But when I saw this one used condensed and evaporated milk I couldn’t resist trying it. I love this, and the idea of a concentrate is so clever.

Tadka Dal, Monica Sawhney Haldar
Beautiful classic dal, lovely with rice, true comfort food.

Duck with Mexicorn Sauce and Spring Onion Salsa, Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
This looked and tasted really special. Ixtas instructions were clear and made it really approachable - the instructions for duck cookery were brilliant. I served with homemade focaccia to mop up all of the delicious sauce as it was just DH and me, but if I was serving as part of a fancy meal some mash would be great.

Ah am glad you liked like that duck recipe - i've only made it once, I should do it again!

Joe Woodhouse - Courgette and Herb Lasagne
This book is definitely a grower... I loved this summery light lasagne. The courgette were the 'meat' and the herb comes in via blitzed up sauce of herbs, spinach, ricotta etc which take the place of the usual tomato sauce.
Very much enjoyed this and will definitely make again. Unfortunately, I can't find a version on line but usual offer applies!

Am glad @Pompoms88 posted Meliz's pasta recipe - its an absolute banger. I received today a jar of tatli biber salcasi - the sweet turkish pepper paste that she references a lot, so am excited to try it out.

This week I made her
As an aside, I rate her you tube videos - she has a natural charm and a good dollop of self deprecation - I reckon she'd be a laugh on a night out (plus have massive hair envy)
I've made various flatbreads before but was drawn to this one due to inclusion of yoghurt, warm milk and water... Prepping this was a breeze, even enjoyed the 10 minute kneading work out. I was slightly unsure as to whether my bread would achieve the quarter fold she shows but they did! Super fluffy and tasty. The only downside was it confirmed my inability to roll out circles. I think I need the rolling equivalent of gait analysis that runners have done to choose the right trainers!
We had this with roasted lamb neck, Meliz's and a cobbled together zoug from a variety of left over herbs.

The following night I made her cannellini salad. I really liked the idea of it when reading the recipe as it wasn't a salad I'd normally make. I have done loads of tuna, red onion cannellini salads but the addition of cooked root vegetables was a hmmm. But I could see myself eating it on a mediterranean beach front.
I had doubts when making it that the med vibe wasn't going to come through and also there was so much of it! I went for fried halloumi rather than tuna and didn't include the beetroot or hard boiled eggs. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it and to my even greater surprise my husband really really liked it - What I learned through my Meliz 48hrs was to keep the faith! apart from rolling circles

Going a bit rogue but I’ve found a new cocktail recipe (is that ok?) which is perfect for summer and for using up that random bottle of Limoncello you have in the cupboard. I saw it on Instagram but can’t remember who posted it, however this is it.

Raspberry Limoncello Martini
6 raspberries
.5 oz (15ml) fresh lemon jUice
.5 oz (15ml) Cointreau
1.5 oz (45ml) limoncello
1.5 oz (45ml) vodka
Start by muddling the raspberries and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker. Add Cointreau, vodka, and limoncello. Shake well with ice and double strain into a martini glass rimmed with sugar.

Thanks for recommending the duck from the Mezcla book @SummaLuvin - I loved it but OH wasn't as impressed, I served with homemade wedges and tenderstem broccoli - I'll eat his portion next time too!

Hi myrtle, can you post a link for the courgette lasagne?

@buonnatale so glad you liked it too, shame your OH didn't, out of curiosity what was it that didn't work for him?

Hoagie Rolls, Ethan Chlebowski
The smell when these were baking was so reminiscent of walking past a subway. This was an easy bread that is a brilliant base for a hefty sandwich - substantial enough to stand up to the fillings, but yielding enough also.

Spring Onion and Ginger Noodles, Meera Sodha, East
I added a step of heating the oil first and pouring over the spring onion and ginger before adding the remaining ingredients as I thought it would release more flavour. Meeras exact recipe isn’t online, but in the intro she states she took inspiration from the Momofuku book and I found this which is pretty much the same. I can see myself doing this frequently as it’s quick, easy, and mostly cupboard/fridge staples.

Brilliant news for us Ixta/Mezcla fans - she has launched a website with loads of non-Mezcla recipes! Just scrolling through there are so many good looking ones.

Finally I got round to making the Prawn lasagne with habanero oil from Mezcla, absolutely delicious. I wouldn’t change a thing in the recipe, I would however, recommend you watch the you tube video prior to making. I’m making it again this weekend, can’t wait to eat it again and I still have some habanero oil left over.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fh9m0QPfGmA
I’ve also made Red velvet cake with cream cheese swirl from the Bundt book by Melanie Johnson. Again, another successs, it does state that it serves eight. I would disagree and say it’s at least 12, probably 16!!! Mine was more like black velvet cake as I used a supermarket red gel which had little (if any) effect.

I’ve been pretty absent from this thread the past few weeks, so I have a bit of backlog here.

Blackened corn salad with pickled chilli and herbs - Anna Jones, One:Pot, Pan, Planet
A recipe which I was never not going to enjoy. I wasn’t sure whether the yogurt addition would be welcome, but it worked.

Pasta with basil, green beans and lemon - Nigel Slater
Beautiful in its simplicity. Fresh and light and comes together so quickly.

Green beans with mustard seeds and ginger - Made in India, Meera Sodha
Absolutely delicious, vibrant and so easy to make. Green beans aren’t my favourite vegetable, but it was suggested as a side to the fig curry, and with leftover green beans from the pasta recipe to use it made sense and I’m so glad I tried it. I can see me making this many times with which every green vegetable I have hanging around.

Creamy paneer and fig curry - Made in India, Meera Sodha
I surprised myself by loving this. The sweetness from the fig was welcome but not overwhelming, the spicing was delicate and it just felt nice and comforting. I prefer the yogurt and pistachio curry, but I can see me making this again.

Haha in hindsight, it wasn't my wisest idea for him as he doesn't especially like peppercorn sauce. His loss anyway!

@Goodwitch9 here is the courgette and herb lasagne recipe. I just used fresh lasagne sheets rather than make my own!

Thanks myrtle, looks lush!

One very simple everyday recipe tried for baked tortelloni-I used up three separate batches of tomato sauce in my freezer for this.

And one really delicious meal that was a bit more special Pork with Couscous, Apricots and Cucumber. I switched the aubergine for courgette because that is what I had. Very summery, and I have quite a bit of the couscous left for lunch tomorrow!

I made my first recipe from Ixta's new website - spicy tuna ragu. This was super easy and was impressed at the depth of flavour gained from relatively short cook time - mine cooked for about 30 mins as prepped the ragu before putting water on to boil and my rigatoni took longer than hers - but still a very easy, hands off, quickish cook. For the two of us, I used 1/2 a tin of Mutti cherry tomatoes instead of fresh. Would definitely make again - DH is not a fan of (some) fish but he agreed he'd have it again. Given I like fish, it would make a lovely solo dish when he's away - a dinner that feels like I'm being nice to myself but with minimal effort!

Morning. Can I join in please? I’m always looking for new recipe ideas. I like the sound of that tuna ragu @myrtleWilson I virtually lived off pasta with tin tuna based sauce when I first left home.

I did half of two different recipes last night, and it went really well together. I served it with a raitha type yogurt dressing and a tomato and onion salad.

I made the aubergine curry from this recipe (wasn’t sure how a curry with no onion would be, but it was great)…
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/aubergine-curry-lamb-cutlets

And then marinated the lamb with what is mentioned in this recipe…
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/roast-rack-lamb-moroccan-spices

Absolutely join in, the more the merrier. Welcome aboard x

Another recipe from Ixta's new website Pork meatballs with whipped ricotta and sweet/spicy tomatoes Really enjoyed this - we had some left over pork mince as we needed a super quick dinner last night so made some pork thai pad krapow with a jar of paste from a local thai store. I'd ordered a box of isle of wight tomatoes in shopping so knew had good ripe cherry tomatoes too. Would definitely recommend - super easy and although in 4 parts - meatballs, tomatoes, salad and ricotta - they all had echoes of each other - lemon zest, or garlic or chili flakes so kitchen didn't look like a bomb site either!

Chicken Parm, BBC Good Food
I just did the breaded chicken from this, really nice and really easy.

Charred Courgettes, Black Beans + Romesco
It wasn’t clear if they wanted black beans blended into the sauce, but thought I shouldn't do that and keep them as a topping. Whether or not that was correct it was delicious! I felt the amount of beans was quite high, and would use half the amount next time.

I made this from Ottolenghi last week

Aubergine and chraimeh b’siniyah. (it is the last one on this link)

Really good and another good use of my stock of tomatoes! It reminded me of a vegetarian bobotie dish we used to make when we were students - I went off down a rabbit hole but couldn't find the recipe 😔