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 the savoury green olive Welsh cakes from one pot one pan one planet. They were definitely not a do again recipe. Ds enjoyed them but they were not for me, something very off about the flavour balance

Beetroot and Feta Galette with Za’atar and Honey - this was delicious! Hard to make the dough in the heat but persevered with lots of extra flour.

Maple Orange Dressing - really nice dressing I had with a fridge raid goats cheese and and orange salad.

Peach Fanta Slush - amazing in the heat!

Simple stir fried noodles with omelette ribbons - Feel Good, Melissa Hemsley
I love the omelette ribbons from Mezcla, but never thought to use them in a stir fry until I read this recipe. I used the miso sauce instead of the recipe version. It was a good recipe ,but one that was never not going to be good based on the ingredients.

Halloumi veg tray bake with a chilli-honey drizzle - Feel Good, Melissa Hemsley
Another one which was a hit, especially with my husband who loves halloumi in almost any form. I did change up the method to just be a simple bake so it was easier and could be ready for when I was back, and it worked really well.

Warm potato and watercress rocket salad - Feel Good, Melissa Hemsley
I love potatoes in most forms and this was no exception. Just simple and tasty and even though the recipe only suggests this as a side, it worked as a main.

Sweet Potato Momos, Meera Sodha, East
So delicious, and the dipping sauce was perfect, in lieu of chilli flakes I added sediment from my chilli oil.

Cannelloni Enchiladas, Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
A fair few components, and not light on washing up, but very straightforward and little chopping. I over-thickened my béchamel so I had to blob it on, rather than pour. Meals like this are why I love Mezcla, it was familiar but not like anything I could come up with myself, fantastic, rich, and livened up with the salsa fresca. Highly recommend.

Hawaij Onion and Chickpea Soup with Cheesy Toast, Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK Shelf Love
I don’t have a food processor or mandolin so it took some time to slice all the onions, this is easily balanced out by how low effort the rest of the recipe is. Soup was lovely, but I didn’t expect anything else from the ingredient list. The recipe states the cheesy toast is ‘optional’ - it’s not - it is so delicious I want to have it again and again even by itself, I might actually prefer it to the Giant Cheese on Toast from Mezcla.

Herby Cabbage & Potato Gratin with Gruyere & Ricotta, Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK Shelf Love
I found this pretty involved and time consuming to get to the point of oven ready. However, it can be prepped in advance, then put into the oven to do its own thing, and it was really good.

Made this tonight, highly recommend the website (adjust the slider on each recipe to change the portion!
https://www.dontgobaconmyheart.co.uk/chicken-pasta-bake/

The only contribution I have this week is a delicious Flourless chocolate & lime cake with Margarita cream, as it was just for the two of us I made two thirds of the recipe and that worked really well. Despite reducing the quantities I think we’ll be eating for the next three nights at least!
Hope you have all had a super week

One recipe to contribute this week: Courgette butter pasta from Smitten Kitchen. How a tiny number of ingredients can result in something so delicious - a perfect example of where it's the method producing something perfect, rather than a laundry list of ingredients. I had courgettes to use up, and this required nothing but courgettes, butter, pasta, parmesan, and basil, with chili flakes to taste. Highly recommend!

ooh that looks so nice @Xiaoxiong!

Just one recipe from me this week too - Saffron chicken and herb salad from Ottolenghi. I was on lunchbox duty this week and this was one for OH, I'm pescatarian. It was very easy to pull together and the sauce was really nice!

My memory is shocking…

I got the new Mob 6 book this week and was pleasantly surprised how many recipes I flagged as “to make”. Made the Blueberry Crumpet Eggy Bread for brunch this weekend which was really nice. Essentially crumpets dipped in egg, pan fried, topped with a blueberry compote and creme fraiche - that said I used yoghurt as I had some in the fridge. Will be making again. Super simple but really nice, livened up a weekend breakfast!

@Xiaoxiong thanks for this recipe. I have everything except the scallions which we can get this week.

Brioche, Nicola Lamb
I used the brioche recipe from this post for brioche rolls. I’ve been a little apprehensive of enriched doughs, but they turned out great.

Wild Mushroom & Miso Broth, Meera Sodha, East
So much flavour from so few ingredients. A new go to for cold days or if I’m under the weather. Meera suggests using wild mushrooms like ceps/chanterelles/girolles - I didn’t feel like spending £11 on 160g of mushrooms, so settled for an exotic mix pack which was more wallet friendly but still felt ✨special✨. I choose to serve alongside scallion pancakes (I tried upthread a few weeks ago) rather than rice.

(all the) Herb Dumplings with Caramelised Onions, Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK Shelf Love
As with many of his recipes - fairly high in effort, time, washing up, and ingredient cost - but as ever the end result was superb. I was concerned my dumplings would fall apart when simmering but they were absolutely fine and had such a wonderful flavour. The onions, while good, don’t match Ixta's curried ones, but I think that’s my personal preferences for warm spices over acidity.

I made Ricotta and Oregano Meatballs from Ottolenghi’s Simple, this was really delicious. As I love focaccia I made the dough the day before and it proved really well overnight and was perfect with the meatballs, great to use for mopping up! I would happily make again (and again) but make extra sauce.
We’re joining some friends tomorrow evening and wanted to take along a little homemade something. Rather than truffles I decided on making florentines. The next challenge was to find a recipe I could trust - so it just had to be Felicity Cloake, she’s so dependable and realistic. This is the link and it worked really well… Florentines. Let’s hope I don’t eat them all before tomorrow…

Those meatballs were on my to do list, so I shall now proceed without caution to making them as soon as possible @Robin60
Another Ottolenghi recipe from me... I made Cumin lamb, aubergine and ginger
Very straightforward - just usual prep needed for a stir fry - the lamb (I used lamb steaks as shoulder seemed excessive for just the two of us!) does need an hour to marinade. Really lovely, and I enjoyed the fact that the cumin/dark soy meant that the aubergine was really dark brown to the point that it was a surprise in each mouthful whether it was lamb or aubergine! Served with rice (historically an anxious moment for me but now resolved - see below!)

I've had a cooking blind spot with basmati rice for years - in that I was never 100% confident of a good outcome. The closest security I've ever had was Meera Sodha's method but even then I had wobbles. We don't eat enough rice to justify a rice cooker but I am now the proud owner of a sistema microwave rice steamer which takes out all the anxiety!. Its funny isn't it how you can have a degree of kitchen competence but still have these blindspots (rice and rolling pastry in a circle are mine!!)

Rolling things in neat circles is definitely an area I could improve in. My flatbreads can be quite informal!

White Beans with Caesar-style Tahini Dressing - Melissa Hemsley, Feel Good
One of my favourite recipes from this book. The dressing is delicious with substituting anchovies for capers. I meant to add the miso too, but forgot and I didn't feel anything was missing. The croutons were extra delicious because I substituted the ghee/olive oil with some garlic butter I had left over. Really nicely balanced and I loved the texture of the roasted white beans.

Wow, some fabulous recipes here.
We've been a bit time-poor here so I've been making very simple dishes.
I did a triple order of curry leaves from Amazon by accident and we've been making a lot of Crispy Chicken with Curry Leaves.
It's so simple - literally marinate chicken thighs with skin in a good curry powder. We buy ours from the Indian Supermarket. Plus some fresh curry leaves for a couple of hours or longer.
Then fry with an extra handful of curry leaves in a big flat frying pan until the chicken & leaves are crispy. The nutty spicy aroma from the curry leaves is fantastic. Serve with Basmati rice.
We microwave ours in a large Chinese blue/white bowl if it's for a couple of us. Wash the rice a few times to remove the starch & use one portion rice to two parts water. Microwave on high for 20 mins.

Following too 😊

One of my favourites too @toastofthetown good to know re. miso paste.

I made Max La Manna’s Beetroot Bucatini this week but found it really underwhelming. I was meant to have the leftovers the next day but ordered a takeaway instead 🙃 it needed lots more seasoning and flavour for my taste and I found it quite underwhelming.

I was gifted Med by Claudia Roden and much to my embarrassment I’ve only made a couple of recipes. Today I made Chicken with apricots and pistachios , it was absolutely delicious. Don’t be put off by the small handful of ingredients as they all work perfectly together and really compliment each other. Although I’ve made this midweek it could easily be a special weekend meal. Recently I’ve cooked a lot from Mezcla and Ottolenghi so I’ve probably got used to a long list of ingredients and several processes.
I’m now looking to see what I’m cooking from there next.

'Nduja Pasta, Bancone, Olive Magazine
I have a couple of parmesan rinds in the freezer so added one here. This was a lovely and undemanding pasta dish, very comforting, exactly as I expected.

Peas Tahini and Za’atar, Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK Shelf Love
Really tasty, the tahini was surprisingly subtle so I might be tempted to amp that up next time.

Za’atar Salmon and Tahini, Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK Shelf Love
Very quick and easy for a Ottolenghi recipe! I served with champ, and I can really see this becoming a staple as I thoroughly enjoyed this.

I haven't posted for a bit but have been making lots of new things. I think it's likely I've forgotten some but here's a selection:

I wouldn't make the rice and feta dish again, not because it didn't taste nice but because texturally for me a dish of crunch rice was just wrong. Maybe if I'd made the full quantity there would have been more variation in texture.

The keema pie I replaced the curry powder with 1tbsp panch phoron and one of chaat masala because that's what we had in. This could definitely take a bit more spice for me and I'd probably use lamb next time instead of beef but I will make it again and have one in the freezer ready to top and go!

The two Diana Henry chicken dishes were good, I probably enjoyed the prune one more but both were low effort, tasty, warming and looked pretty good too.

The drumsticks were good but I'm not dieting (I should be but I'm not) so left the skin on.

The chipotle stew was good, easy, left plenty for the freezer. Again for me I think it could take more chipotle but ds was happy with it as it was.

Broad bean and green herb shakshuka - Anna Jones, One:Pot, Pan, Planet
I really enjoyed this and would make again, though I would dial down the cumin next time as I found it a but much. I also just poached the egg in the pan with the lid on rather than the oven which seemed a waste of time and electricity.

Palak chole - Chetna Makan
I loved this one. It felt simple and comforting, but the lemon gave it a big lift. I subbed the chickpeas for green lentils and topped with the mango chutney coated halloumi I made from the hans.hungry instagram earlier this year. They were a dream together.

Just cake from me this week.

Berry’s Toffee Pear Pudding Toffee Pear Pudding from Mary Berry Simple Comforts - will 100% be making again! An incredibly light sponge and delicious sauce, the recipe makes loads! Next time I fancy swapping the pears with apples and adding some spices to the sponge mix. It's an easy base recipe, I think you could reinvent it in numerous ways with different fruits and spices.

Dark chocolate, oat and hazelnut cookies recipe - I cheated on my go to Jane's Patisserie NYC cookies this week and these are just heavenly! The oat, hazelnut, dark chocolate made them feel more "grown up" if that is such a thing. Have kept the dough in my freezer and will be cooking on demand. Really recommend.

Spicy Pulled Pork Vindaloo, Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK Shelf Love
I bought pork leg rather than shoulder as I wasn’t paying attention in the supermarket, I doubt this will have dramatically impacted the dish. Although it’s a very long cook time (circa 6hr 30min in all) it’s very hands off, and the pork was beautiful.

Jollof Rice, Ethan Chlebowski
This was brilliant and fairly simple. I adore rice and spice, so anything like this is right up my street. I struggled to find a few spices so just skipped them - onion powder, garlic powder, smoked crayfish powder, and ground cubeb tail pepper. And I cooked covered on the hob rather than transferring to the oven. Neither of these changes seemed to have a notable negative impact.

Some new to me, but fairly certain they've all already been shared on here

Ixta's Oyster Mushroom Skewers with crushed chickpeas
Loved this - I had previously made Ottolenghi's oyster mushroom tacos (and possibly Ixta's oyster mushrooms with noodles) so knew I was in safe hands. I went for warming through the crushed chickpeas and loved the pop of the salsa verde). I was unable to turn the skewers as directed as my mushrooms rotated independently - I think this was down to using slightly less mushrooms and/or not having one of those sword type skewers - the alternative is to add turning skewers to the list of unachievable kitchen tasks - budge up rolling pastry in a circle!

Ixta's miso butter butternut gnocchi
I was tempted not to go with the final element of this dish - the za'atar butter - do I need more richness, I thought? I am delighted I stayed faithful because the za'atar gave an unexpected extra dimension - a whoaah moment if you will!. Super easy to do and I went with pumpkin gnocchi which I had second thoughts about it being all to much but see za'atar comments above! No calabrian chilli paste so subb'ed lots of hot sauce to give it a decent kick. Definitely will make again

Ottolenghi baked rice (confit tomato/garlic)
I served this with roasted chicken legs and oh my - this was soothing and comfort personified. Very easy to do - my shopping order had an offer on nice mixed tomatoes which I've enjoyed using all week - including here. It felt gentle and nourishing. I have declared to my husband that if I am ever ill enough to be requiring chicken soup style nourishment then please cook this for me instead.

Parmigiana pie with tomato sauce - Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK: Extra Good Things
This was divine. One of the best things I’ve cooked this year and totally worth the effort. The recipe does say for the tomato sauce to fry off the onions in 120ml of oil and while I’m not afraid of oil, I thought that seemed excessive, and the video making it is clearly much less so I reduced it and the dish didn’t lack richness at all. I don’t really have much else to say other than this was a true delight.

Roasted Butternut Squash Curry with Garlic and Tomatoes - Meera Sodha, Made in India
I love squash season, and this was a great recipe. Definitely one to add to the regular rotation.

Golden Garlic Raita - Meera Sodha, Made in India
A really simple accompaniment to the squash, and worth the effort over just serving with yogurt. I had this over two days, and it was better the second day.

Confit Tandoori Chickpeas - Yotam Ottolenghi - OTK: Shelf Love
These chickpeas have been on my list of things to make since I saw them in the Guardian three years ago and they were worth the wait. Beautiful flavours, the chickpeas were slightly crunchy, and the tomatoes just melted into the dish.