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?

No new recipes from me today! However, I bought Dinner by Meera S this evening (120 vegan/vegetarian dinner ideas - the most important meal of the day) and will be bombarding the thread I suspect (it will be like when we all bought mezcla!) Its always a good feeling when you flick through a cookery book and are left with the thought 'You and I are going to be good friends'

I looked at the Happy Foodie sample recipes from Dinner Myrtle and I thought I'd probably want to make most of them

@myrtleWilson I also have Dinner! Looks good from a first flick through - I have the Tandoori cauliflower with coriander and cashew sauce for next week!

Butternut squash with orange oil and burnt honey - OTK: Shelf Love
Somewhat involved, but worth the effort. The orange lifts the dish, and the toasted seeds work so well.

Pineapple steaks with maple custard - Ixta Belfrage, Mezcla
Delicious and straightforwards, but took much longer than suggested! The recipe says 4 minutes on a low heat for a pourable custard, I was stirring for half an hour but worth it! I'd probably go straight for a low/medium heat next time though.

@toastofthetown Snap! According to my meal plan for the week - we're having the cauliflower tomorrow and the Malaysian dhal on Tuesday...

This weekend I made a Creamy Sausage, Leek and Bean Stew from Tucking In by Sophie Wyburd. To be honest I’d not heard of her before but the book looks really interesting, the recipes are typically comfort food. Though this sounds too heavy for a summer meal don’t be mislead, it does taste light but still a comfort meal.

As we had a barbecue yesterday I made a couple of salads. I had a glut of mangetout so searched online and found this (Snap Pea Salad)- it went down really well and something I would do again. The pistachios really made a difference.

Finally, I made Marsala Almond Chocolate Slice. This was a delight, so full of flavour. I served this with strawberries and they helped cut through the richness - though I would happily have a slice on its own! A note - I added an extra 20 minutes to the cooking time!

Keema Pau, Monica Sawhney Haldar
This was fabulous, I’ve never been drawn to keema curries, that might be about to change.

This evening I made my first recipe from Meliz Berg Dinner Tonight. Firstly, I love the way this book is laid out- particularly at the back of the book. It’s entitled ‘What Recipe When’ including ‘Fast & Filling’, ‘Fast & Fresh’, ‘Quick Prep, Slow Cook’ etc. Really useful and a great addition with much thought out into it. Anyway, I made Spiced Mince & Rice with Caramelised Onion & Orzo Basmati Rice. This was an absolute winner, full of delicious flavours. Next time I would be tempted to double up the Spiced Meat and freeze it for another day.

Harissa Chicken with Potato Wedges and Roasted Lemons from Melissa Hemsley Real Healthy. Very easy weeknight dinner and was a big hit with all the family.

Lime & Coconut Pork Belly Salad (Sainsbury's Mag) had a lovely zesty dressing and made a real change for a summer meal. Very heavy on the calories though. It took longer than the recipe states for my sauce to turn syrupy though.

Tandoori Cauliflower with coriander and cashew sauce
The only online presence I can find for recipe is behind a paywall. This is an easy to make, delicious to eat dinner. Standard tikka marinade for the cauliflower that I use for to make chicken tikka before transforming it to butter chicken. Meera says cauliflower steaks but mine were small so went for wedges to no obvious detriment. A powerful pack of a punch with the blended cashew, coriander and green chilli sauce

Malaysian dal curry
this was lovely - it was interesting starting a dhal off with curry leaves and lemongrass and finishing with tamarind and crispy chilli oil. I wasn't sure about the carrots but I guess they're there for an element of sweetness - they work but I would be happy to have sans carrots. Served this with frozen paratha which whilst not the cheapest, they are pure magic and stress free - an easy storecupboard staple that I'll be returning to again and again.

Being too old for a brat girl summer, I'm having a 'salad as a main' summer. I do love salad but for the most part they are a side dish - I can think of maybe 3-4 that I do that are main dishes and I felt the need to change this!

Acqua e Sale (Leon Salads)
I, oddly, had some burrata in the fridge that needed using (oddly because I'm not a regular burrata buyer and can't recall why I had this pot!) and was thinking panzanella but went with a Puglian take - Acqua e Sale with the burrata added at the end. So delicious and very simple

Pork Belly, Fennel, Apple and Walnut Salad (Leon)
Can't locate an online recipe for this one but essentially pork belly slices simmered until tender then chopped up. Stir fry the chopped pork and add to a salad of rocket, cooked green beans, PS broccoli, mandolined & seared fennel, chopped up apple and mixed with a dijon, honey based salad dressing which also includes crushed roasted walnuts and the sprinkled with roasted walnut pieces.

Was a delight and very filling! Loved the lily padding of the creation - from pork and fennel/pork and apple sauce and apple and walnut (Waldorf) This is why I'm a follower of recipes rather than a cook as my mind doesn't 'see' that.

Roasted Poussin with Marsala and Sage Sauce, Tom Kerridge, Pub Kitchen
Really didn't do a faithful version of this recipe, I took inspiration but did my own take on it. It was really delicious and a great base to work off, I can see myself doing it properly at some stage.

@myrtleWilson you didn't ask for salad as meals recipes but these are a few that I love and make fairly regularly. Blackened Chicken with Green Goddess Dressing, Thai-Style Pork & Radish Larb Salad, Vietnamese-Style Chicken & Mango Noodle Salad.

Great thread
i fancied certain ingredients and found this recipe
Ginger Sweet Potato Coconut Milk Stew w/ Lentils & Kale | The First Mess

have made it three times now, it is so tasty and simple to make

This weekend I’ve tried a few new recipes and all of them were totally delicious. I made Spiced lamb shoulder with Bombay slaw from Tucking in by Sophie Wyburd. This was so so tasty and I would definitely make again, it would be perfect for a family get together as all the prep is done before. The only thing I would do differently is to put the Bombay mix on the side as if (?) there are leftovers these would go too soft and not add the crunch you need. That said, the Bombay slaw was a huge hit with everyone, myself included,
From Dinner Tonight by Meliz Berg I made the caramelised onion and Orzo basmati rice and Fluffy flatbreads, these made great sides to have with the lamb. The breads mopped up the sauce beautifully.
My last contribution today is Ricotta, marmalade and hazelnut chocolate chip cake from Sift by Nicola Lamb. This is an absolute winner, so moist and full of flavours that compliment each other. I was unable to buy ready ground hazelnuts so I bought chopped roasted hazelnuts and ground them myself. Though they won’t be as finely ground as shop bought it gave a little texture to the cake. I would happily repeat this and bring my own.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend 😀

Would you recommend Dinner Tonight @Robin60 - I haven't been able to see it in the wild yet so not had a flick through - I do like her recipes though.

In more salad summer news, I made this from Dinner (but was on Guardian several years ago!). Rojak salad. She gives a credit to Clare Thomson (5 o'clock apron) who I would recommend as a follow on insta ( i think i've made this comment before!)
So good and very easy to pull together - she is right this makes enough for 2 with leftovers. The different textures and flavour melds were perfect for a salad main and on that note - thank you @SummaLuvin for your recs - I shall peruse and no doubt devour!

@myrtleWilson, in answer to your question “yes” I would recommend Dinner Tonight by Meliz Berg. It’s a book for putting together that tasty meal with maximum flavour. I love the way it’s constructed, the contents page is divided between
Light Bites
Leftovers & Store Cupboard
Easy Midweek Suppers
Friday Fakeaway
Slow Cooking
Sweet Treats & Easy Bakes
At the back of the book there’s a double page spread which further divides the recipes into the following sections
Fast & Filling
Fast & Fresh
All in one
Quick prep, slow cook
Traditional recipe, cheats version
Traditional flavours, new recipe

In addition to ask of this there’s a small section for those of us with an air fryer. Shoutout I’ve only had the book for a couple of weeks I can see me using it so much.
Shout up if I be of any further help.

Emily English’s So Good is 99p on Kindle today. Have got myself a copy as a couple of colleagues have it and really love it. Will report back.

I made chocolate brownies from The Primrose Bakery Book over the weekend (can't find a link). They turned out well...in the end. The cooking time was so off - 150C for 30-40 mins! It took at least 50 mins and it didn't help that it referenced a tin with no specific dimensions, then alluded to more than one tin.

Dammit, I missed that.

Had some new potatoes to use up, and a lemon lying around so made this one: Lemon garlic potatoes

Thai-Style Beef Mince Rice With Mangetout, Gousto
Love gousto for recipes that are quick and easy without too many ingredients. This was a tasty dinner with little effort.

Potato slab pie with salsa verde, Ottolenghi Test Kitchen
Fairly easy and I could prepare ahead of time and pop in the oven later. I really enjoyed this, the serving size is generous!

Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce, Cookie + Kate
Surprisingly easy to fold once I got into the swing of it, really crunchy and fresh, the dipping sauce was perfect.

Tandoori Cauliflower with coriander and cashew sauce - Meera Sodha, Dinner
Predictably delicious and one I'll make again.

Pav Bhaji - Meera Sodha, Made in India
I've had this recipe book for ten years so might have made it before, but I can remember if I did. Simple and tasty, and I've frozen leftovers in single portions.

Grilled Broccoli, Feta & Chimichurri Grain Bowl, MOB
Really great, simple midweek meal. I don't have anything to say that hasn't;t already been said on here!

I dropped off the thread a while back but jumping back in again with a couple of recent successes

Leek and cannellini bean gratin from a Sainsbury's magazine - fancied something a bit autumnal with the crappy weather we've been having. This was really tasty. I wasn't sure about the miso with cheese but it worked 🤷‍♀️. I thought the sauce seemed too thick so added more water.. I should have trusted the recipe as it finished up a bit too thin after baking.

Also tried the Ottolenghi tahini cannellini thing I think I saw recommended on here. Loved this so thanks to whoever it was!

Carrot kale & coconut dhal - this popped up on my Lidl app so thought I'd give it a try. Tasted good - I did cook the carrots for a bit longer than the recipe stated as they were still quite hard.

Finally - on the menu later this week but have made a few times recently since we tried it Another Sainsbury's one: Chilean Cottage Pie. This was a hit with everyone and has become a menu staple, nice for a change from spag bol / chile con carne when we have mince to use.

i am doing a Health by Caroline,
cannelloni beans, leaks, courgettes and cheese, delicious

Sriracha Honey-Lime Quinoa Salad - this was great, but it didn't feel like a "main" dish, next time I'd serve with halloumi or feta to make it feel a bit more complete. It felt more like a side salad without a protein.

, Meliz Berg, Dinner Tonight. I cooked this from Meliz's new book but imagine the YouTube video attached is similar. This was super easy comfort food, I'm just obsessed with grated halloumi and mint together.