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've been making some very warming, autumnal recipes

Campfire Stew
I made this one in the slow cooker (so omitted the extra water) and I thought it would generously feed 6 people.

Chicken Dopiaza
My son actually made this one for us tonight, and it makes me wonder why we don't make more of our curries from scratch. Perfect level of heat for me and the consistency of the sauce was spot on.

Sausage, mustard and apple hash This one was a bit drier than I anticipated, but with a dollop of chutney on the side, it worked out well. It's billed as budget friendly - maybe depends on the quality of sausage?

Sweet Potato in Tomato, Lime and Cardamom Sauce, Yotam Ottolenghi, Flavour
I had some sweet potatoes to use up so searched this thread for a recipe and found this shared by @toastofthetown. I loved it, the flavours and textures worked together so nicely.

I’ve recently been the lucky recipient of the new book from Tom Kerridge - Pub Kitchen, it does look like a book that will be well used. He has included a lot of interesting vegetarian recipes too. Today I cooked the Chicken and Mushroom Pot Pie, it really was a super tasty pie. I was unable to get artichoke hearts so omitted those, in addition I couldn’t get fresh tarragon so I used dried and the flavour really came through. As a side note it states this serves four, in my opinion it would serve at least six if not eight. This would also go down well for a relaxed dinner party. A real winter warmer.

I made Chicken Pörkölt from Olia Hercules' Home Food last night. I can't find a recipe online but it is so simple and delicious. Its a slow cook which is my favourite type as I can potter end up down youtube rabbit holes about. I used a packet of sweet hungarian paprika that I'd picked up in the supermarket when I made goulash a few months back. Am glad I did because the colour of this paprika was fiery red compared to the distinctly lighter coloured standard sweet paprika I had in my drawer.

You brown bone in chicken pieces in some goose or duck fat (She says you can use oil but it won't be as good)add sliced onions (2). Add two tablespoons of sweet paprika and some water. Bring to a simmer, lid on, lowest heat and leave alone for an hour until the chicken is practically falling off the bone in a deep red sauce - some recipes add red pepper and tomatoes too.

Traditionally served with nokedli a spätzle like pasta but went for mashed potatoes - although I did watch on YT (research not a rabbit hole) a Hungarian woman make the nokedli and it didn't look too hard!

I seem to have had another Ottolenghi fiesta this week.
Hawaij Onion and Chickpea Soup with Cheesy Toast - Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK: Shelf Love
The perfect dish to come back to after a cold, muddy walk. It’s rich and warming, and the cheesy toast (as Summa said) shouldn’t be optional!

Five-a-day toad-in-the-hole - Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK: Shelf Love
Another winter warmer. I switched out celeriac and beetroot for carrot and parsnips because that’s what I had in, and the parsnips were the star of the show for me. I blended the gravy, and while it was good, I prefer my usual vegetarian gravy, which is a red wine and mushroom one.

Curried butternut and coconut gratin - Yotam Ottolenghi
For some reason I had a butternut squash which needed using, and this was on the link above below the toad in the hole. It came together quickly with minimal effort, and though it wasn’t my favourite Ottolenghi dish, it was still good, though I can't see me making this again. I loved the chilli and curry leaf oil.

100 Garlic Clove Curry, Meera Sodha, Made in India
In the spirit Halloween, I thought this would be brilliant to keep away the vampires. It was good, the garlic really mellows out. I served this as a side dish, and while I did really enjoy it I think it might be a bit much as a main. Serving it as a side also meant that I ‘only’ had to peel 50 cloves of garlic, rather than 100.

I must try the Hawaij soup with compulsory cheesy toast!

Last night I made Meera's roasted celeriac with chive chill oil - really easy to do and delicious. The spiced oil pre chives was similar to a couple of chinese dishes I do so I knew I was on safe but spicy ground. The addition of the chives into the sizzling rapeseed/sesame oil already thickened by garlic and ginger gave a brilliant new flavour and then adding the soy/black vinegar component produced a hearty and flavoursome sauce to pour over the sliced celeriac.

Just a quick post script to my post - I used basmati rice rather than jasmine as thats what we had in. I had left over rice so popped in fridge and have just had a tasty lunch of egg fried rice with mushroom/spring onion languishing in fridge and topped it with some of the left over chilli chive oil and toasted peanuts. Am going to remind myself to make a batch of the sauce again soon as its very versatile!

Spaghetti and veg balls in tomato sauce - Melissa Hemsley, Feel Food
This was good, though takes a while to put together. The veg ball mix was very soft for me, even after adding two additions of oats to try to thicken. They were just about rollable though, and tasted great when they were baked. I would make it again, but I’d be tempted to double the recipe to freeze extras.

Gougères - Felicity Cloake
I used to pretty good at choux, but I’m clearly out of practise! My pastry wound up too soft, and so they spread and didn’t rise properly. I probably added too much egg and should have added in smaller increments and stoped adding when the pastry was clearly thinning out. Still delicious though, and as it was just for me, I didn’t really mind too much.

Curried lentil cottage pies
Someone recommend this to me, and it was great dish. Not really a surprise especially as seemingly anything comforting with curried in the title works for me. Warming, and simple to put together. Next time, I’d be tempted to add some curry powder to the lentil mix just to give it a bit more body. I was big though. I halved it, and it probably made three or four portions, depending on how hungry you are and what you serve it with.

Hi Toast,
May I just ask, for the curried cottage pie recipe, do you think it would be possible to substitute ordinary orange or green lentis for the Beluga pouches?
Many thanks!

• lentils!

I can’t see why a tin of green of green lentils wouldn’t work. The beluga lentils are probably a firmer texture, but I can’t see it making a big difference. Red lentils would disintegrate totally so the sauce wouldn’t have the same bite I imagine it would still taste nice though and the potatoes have a fair amount of texture was they aren’t mashed.

Slow roast pork with apples and peppers - this was very tasty and the apples and peppers really added to the full flavours. Often pork can be bland but this made it a tasty and warming dish for Bonfire night. I served this with a pile of mash and veggies.

Pasta Risotto with peas and pancetta - Both DH and I really loved this and I can see it becoming a regular dinner. Most items are store cupboard - I will definitely keep a pack of pancetta in my fridge ‘just in case’. Oh… and it’s easy to put together.

This weekend I’ve made three fabulous new dishes and all from Pub Kitchen by Tom Kerridge. Unfortunately there are no links online so I’ve taken a photo of the recipe - I hope that doesn’t uoset anyone.

Root Vegetable Gratin - this was pretty straightforward and very tasty. I did use a mandolin to ensure thin slices, another time I would cut the vegetables into smaller pieces as it was difficult to remove a portion from the serving dish without making a mess! The quantities were huge - again this would easily serve six as a main course.

Chicken in Wild Mushroom Sauce - this sauce was absolutely delicious and a perfect partner with the chicken. I roasted chicken legs as I was unable to get part boned chicken breast, I would happily use chicken legs in the future. Everyone at the table felt the sauce was the star of the show. I used a vegetable stock so my vegetarian DD was able to enjoy it too.

Apricot and Almond Tart - I made this the day before and it worked really well. I bought some ‘posh’ custard rather than make a chantilly cream and that was a perfect partnership. I’ll be eating it for a few more days…

A few from me over the past couple of weeks:

Best Ever Lamb Casserole - a very comforting slow cooked casserole.

Hibachi Chicken With Yum Yum Sauce - Pinch Of Nom which someone on MN recommended (don't think it was on this thread). I was a bit dubious about all the ingredients in the Yum Yum sauce, but it was actually delicious.

Golden glow bowl recipe | Sainsbury`s Magazine (sainsburysmagazine.co.uk) - pretty much as described - warm and comforting, with a little bit of a kick from the chilli flakes. I added in some courgette because it needed eating up - this seems like quite a forgiving recipe for chucking extra veg in.

@Wildernesstips that golden glow bowl looks right up my street! Sainsburys do some good recipes.

I tried that Hibachi chicken tonight and it was v nice. I didn't use courgette as I'm not a fan, and I added cashews for some bite. I was also a bit dubious about the sauce, but it's nice used sparingly. So, thank you for that! An easy, quick tasty recipe using ingredients I mainly had.

I finally got round to making the Hawaij chickpea/onion soup this week - I made sure I followed The Rules and had it with the cheese on toast - both utterly lush!

I bought a new cookbook this week https://boldbeanco.com/ I'd noticed a few people I follow on insta were referencing boldbean - like Joe Woodhouse, Esther Clark etc and I'd seen the beans were now stocked in local Sainsburys and in M&S and via ocado. I do enjoy a beanfest so popped onto their website and then ordered the book!

Their products are obviously a lot more expensive than canned beans - but are very good quality (I could eat the queen butter beans cold from the jar!). I'm never really got into the habit of using dried beans but I probably should). For the recipes I'm sharing on this post I did use the jarred versions but the book gives you a method to zhuzh zhuzh canned beans so more affordable.

From the website I made Aubergine, fennel and tomato butter beans with caper vinaigrette and parmesan. So easy to make and lovely italian flavours - I didn't have capers in and nearly left them out of vinaigrette but am glad I went back to the shop and picked up a jar because the capery-ness added a slight cut through.

From the book I made an absolute banger of a roast chicken on a bed of creamy, mustardy, truffley (I used truffle pesto rather than oil) tarragony butter beans. So many flavours (the chicken cavity was stuffed with thyme and rosemary and garlic/thyme butter was squooshed under the skin) and I loved them all! This recipe was from Esther Clark (Modern Spice Rack) and you can see a photo of it on her insta. There is a similar one on the boldbean website which is chicken thighs, leeks, tarragon and butter beans.

I will follow the instructions on making the 'bean base' as they term it from canned beans and report back - I suspect boldbeanco may be my new mezcla for a while!

apologies, just checked the chicken thigh is with white beans rather than butter beans https://boldbeanco.com/blogs/beanspo-recipes/creamy-truffle-chicken-leek-beans

Celery, Mushroom And Leek Dan Dan Noodles - Hetty McKinnon, LA Times
Thanks to @Xiaoxiong I for suggesting this forever ago. Iw as waiting for a tome when I had some leftover celery and this was a great way to use up some leftovers. Really fresh and delicious. I’d actually increase the amount of vegetables next time, but this is one I’ll add to the rotation.

Black bean sweet potato enchilada - Cookie and Kate
Unsurprisingly, I really enjoyed these. I think I had some issues with scaling down to a single serving and they were very cheesy and the sweet potato was clearly less of presence but still tasty regardless.

Cheddar cheese and onion pie - Nigel Slater
There’s cheese, onion, potatoes and pastry so a very predictable hit with me. Proper comfort food.

Chilli and garlic mashed butternut squash - Sabrina Ghayour, Bazaar
Really simple but delicious side dish. The tahini adds earthiness and the sumac vibrancy. Fits perfectly into my Bazaar Sunday lunch (with the roasted halloumi parsnips and potatoes from the book).

@myrtleWilson a couple of people I follow use them too, I have been tempted to try these fancy beans, might give it a go if you think there is a real difference compared to standard.

Five-a-day toad-in-the-hole, Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK: Shelf Love
Thanks to @toastofthetown on two counts - for reminding me this recipe exists now the weather has changed, and for the recommendation to switch to carrots and parsnips (two of my favourite root vegetables). Not very hands on, but fairly long from start to plate, it was utterly delicious, perfect for a cold, rainy, lazy Sunday.

Celeriac, swede winter soup , I had some root veg leftover from making a vegetable gratin last weekend and found this recipe which used up all the leftovers. It really was delicious though I admit to adding half a fresh chilli which gave a little oomph.

Blackcurrant Queen of Puddings - though I followed the recipe meticulously (for a change 😂j, the base wasn’t set firm enough. Next time I would add another 8-10 minutes. It didn’t detract from the flavour which was yummy but it didn’t look pretty on the plate! Fortunately I served it to some very good friends who loved it despite its looks.

Roasted Root Vegetable Madras, Meera Sodha, Fresh India
This was so tasty, and perfect for using up the excess root vegetables from the Ottolenghi toad-in-the-hole, while feeling like a completely different meal.

Sticky Miso Cauliflower Steaks, Hannah Evans, The Times
Brilliant - low effort, big flavours, and interesting textural variation - I served on a bed of rocket and flatbreads on the side.

Mashed potato pie - Nicola Lamb
Quite possibly the most excited I’ve been to make a recipe. A potato rosti crust, filled with mashed potato and a crispy sliced new potato topping. Served as a Thanksgiving side dish and all were agreed that this recipe is a new staple.

Brown butter curried cornbread - Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
I was part curious, part hesitant, because I don’t usually like cornbread, but this recipe was a delight. The texture was light, and it was so easy to make. I’m considering making it again this week to have alongside chilli (to shamelessly copy the beans and corn bread combinations above!)

Mac ‘n’ Cheese with Za’atar Pesto - Yotam Ottolenghi, OTK: Shelf Love
Absolutely delicious.The pasta was rich and creamy, the pasta thickened the cooking water just as described and the pesto cut through the richness. The little pops of feta and lemon added great contrast to what could have the potential to be a samey dish. And with crispy fried shallots in a tub it came together in about half an hour, so perfect Sunday night cookery.

Following for inspiration! Stuck in a rut here too.
Making it a challenge for myself to cook more and use the endless cookbooks we have more, and also all the hundreds of recipes I have pinned on Pinterest!

Made a BBC food chilli con carne this week which was delish, and recently the Hairy Bikers sausage casserole.