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 and loved Howrah Express Cinnamon Lamb Curry from Made in India, Meera Sodha. Found this link when I googled for it. I switched out for a different cut of lamb and cooked low heat for 3 hours and it was stunning.

For Indian food I find Meera Sodha, Chetna Makan, and Monica Haldar (the spice club) make reliably good recipes.

Made this potato salad, very nice, not too heavy twitter.com/bbcgoodfood/status/1547891963986190336?s=21&t=Xa7qHz99Ij8a3kqMKVW2lw

Also made some experimental pork meatballs which are a do again - 350g sausage meat, grated courgette (mine was 1/4 of what was nearly a marrow), grated half large onion, minced chilli, minced very large garlic clove, seasoning and teaspoon crushed fennel seeds. Made 15 meatballs which were cooked in the oven for 35-40 mins on baking paper

@ Wolfcub. It's not a curry as such but is is very flavourful.

Persian Lamb Stew

Today I made Roast Chicken Curry with crispy curry leaves by Ixta Belfrage - she is an Ottolenghi protege and her first book Mezcla is out now - reflecting her mixed food heritage. Book looks great and dinner was amazing - definitely recommend (recipe was for whole spatchcocked chicken but we used skin on bone in thighs as was only the two of us)

Wow @myrtleWilson that looks amazing. I have been looking at getting Mezcla, do you recommend?

I would definitely- I am a YO fan though! Have identified several recipes even on first read through that I want to do (several would increase to many if my DH liked shellfish - there are some fab looking prawn recipes!). The chicken is marinated in mayo and spices and then cooked in a blitzed curry sauce. I've not marinated in mayo before (usually greek yoghurt) and have to say the chicken was incredibly moist despite roasting at a much higher temperature than I would usually so I declare mayo based marinades a game changer!

Sorry for another question @myrtleWilson but would you recommend Mezcla for a meat free household? YO books are usually great for that, so wondering if that carries through.

@toastofthetown I don't know about Mezcla but there's another new cookbook you might enjoy called Your Daily Veg by Joe Woodhouse - it's excellent! Nigella reviewed it here: www.nigella.com/cookbook-corner/your-daily-veg-by-joe-woodhouse

I have this book and really like it. A lot of the dishes are more like sides than main meals but they're simple so making 2 or 3 isn't much of a faff.

A few of my favourite veggie books are below ( with apologies for the long links)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Greek-Vegetarian-Cookbook-Heather-Thomas/dp/0714879134

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charred-complete-vegetarian-grilling-barbecue/dp/178713427X/ref=mpssa111?crid=2V40QNI98OYQW&keywords=charred+cookbook&qid=1658237065&sprefix=charred%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Higgidy-Cookbook-glorious-everyday-recipes/dp/1784724920

@toastofthetown I've had a quick look and the book is divided into "every day" and entertaining. In both sections "veg"comes first followed by fish and then meat (there is a separate section at the end of the book for all things sweet!). I did a quick calculation and in the every day section about 60 of the recipes are vegetarian, 30 fish and 30 meat. I have seen suggestions in the footnotes about vegetarinaising or veganising dishes - so I think there is a duck recipe which Ixta suggests could be substituted with oyster mushrooms. I didn't do same calculation on the 'entertaining' section but I would imagine the same ratios would probably apply.

Tonight we cooked her sausage and charred citrus traybake with chickpeas - was really tasty due to the triple citrus hit of tangerine, lemon and lime together which was a bit unusual coupled with a fennel and chilli hit and a cooler cucumber salsa. Super easy to pull together. We had Italian style sausages which added additional flavours but if you had a decent vegetarian sausage that you like I'd imagine it would work just as well....

Cardamom Kheer, Meera Sodha, East
Just really really good. A perfect dessert for a hot day. Bonus points for it being make-ahead and gluten free.

Grilled Peach, Prosciutto, and Burrata Salad with Basil Dressing
Inspired by a starter I had at a restaurant, no recipe to link as I just tried to recreate the dish. It was very basic with the named ingredients being tossed together with tomatoes and rocket, drizzled in a simple homemade dressing, and sprinkled with toasted pine nuts. Tasty and simple for the warm weather.

Focaccia Pizza Base
Made this as a side to the above salad, I skipped the cheese and basil topping to keep it simple (though I am very eager to try at some point). The dough was so quick and easy as there is basically no kneading - it is very wet , so quite sticky to work with, but this is typical of focaccia and not too much trouble. Really good and considering the hands on time feels like a cheat.

Continuing my Mezcla journey - made this tomato and crumpet salad last night - really enjoyed it - wasn't as much of a ginger flavour as I thought but crumpets make fab croutons! www.nigella.com/recipes/guests/tomato-tahini-and-ginger-salad-with-crumpet-croutons

Am obviously on a YO/Ixta tip at the moment as I finally got round to making miso butter onions last night. food52.com/recipes/84162-miso-butter-onions-recipe

Quite why I waited so long do them I have no idea - they are delicious and super super easy to do. Recipe notes suggest they go well with roast chicken but I was vibing (as the Love Island folk say!) an onion gravy so went with sausages, mash and miso butter onions - definitely one now on rotation in my house!

Miso and Peanut Butter Chickpea Salad, Ottolenghi
Recommended by two PP. Thought this was great, will be making again, only with a little less lime as I found the dressing too acidic.

This sounds amazing.

Oops, I forgot to post last week so here are my last two weeks of recipes.

Kidney bean burgers
These were tasty and low effort - perfect for the heatwave last week where they were cooked on the barbecue to keep the heat outside.

Slow cooked red pepper and paneer curry - Made in India (Meera Sodha)
To me this was solid. I liked it and enjoyed it though I prefer other paneer curries, but peppers aren’t my favourite. My husband loves peppers though and loved this as a result.

Cheesy baked veggie enchiladas - Gousto
These were a hit and I’m not surprised as I love enchiladas. Just nice comfort food. I served with a really simple fresh tomato salsa which I think worked really well, and would make it again.

I've made Ixta's porcini ragu - definitely recommend. I preferred it I think to the originator recipe in Flavour

www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/news/three-recipes-from-ixta-belfrages-cookbook-mezcla-20220704-h24up6

And then last night made Ottolenghi's orecchiette puttanesca which really enjoyed too

thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/yotam-ottolenghis-one-pot-orecchiette-puttanesca/

Those enchiladas sound v tempting!

Keep forgetting to post on here!

https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mains/green-bean-and-mango-dhal
Had this tonight - will make again, quick & easy & tasted good!

https://www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/chipotle-pork-tacos-61ed4fe8ab1d3607b508c36d?amp=true - to use up some pork mince which had been in the freezer for far too long. Nothing spectacular - easy enough & the kids both enjoyed.

Used up the last of my beetroot with this: https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mains/horseradish-coated-cod-fillets-with-beetroot-lentils - was good! Will make again, no doubt

https://www.gousto.co.uk/cookbook/recipes/smoky-chipotle-fish-cakes-with-chilli-corn-lime-mayo - I might have posted this one already, can't remember, but these went down really well

Lastly - I tried these at the weekend: www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/pancake-day/gluten-free-almond-and-blueberry-pancakes, although I used a ground linseed mix instead of flaxseed, as that's what I had in. They were somewhat disappointing! Quite bland, and I struggled to get them to cook through without burning them. I had some mix leftover as no-one wanted more than one so I put in the fridge and tried again the following day. The second batch cooked better than the fresh batter although they weren't fluffy as such - definitely not worth the effort & I wouldn't bother again!

The fish and lentils look good! I have a very limited beetroot repertoire- usually involves goats cheese. DH many years ago made beetroot risotto which he loved but I found just too much. We have done Meera's grand vegetable biryani which has a healthy dose of beetroot so that's our compromise zone at the moment!

I'm still on a Mezcla tip- have to say it is up there in the 'books I've cooked most out of immediately after buying' category.

Last night I made Duck with Mexicorn sauce with spring onion salsa. Sauce packed a delicious punch with crushed green peppercorns and chillis. Ixta gave very specific instructions on duck breast drying which produces wonderfully pink and tender breast with a browned crispy skin. Definitely one to do again!

Only doing one recipe this week as it’s been mad busy for me, let’s just say I have been Commonwealth Games-ing hard.

Harissa-Marinated Chicken with Cauliflower
Liked this, didn’t love it. I found the wetness of the marinade impeded the crisping of the chicken skin, which is a shame as crispy skin is my favourite part of baked thighs and the flavour was nice. Will probably try again with adjustments.

Pasta with Broad Beans and Rocket, Meera Sodha
Made this recipe mentioned upthread, as like Summa I've been making the most of the Commonwealth Games, and this was a perfect recipe for that. Was able to prep and blend the sauce in advance, and then just cook pasta and heat though later. Simple quick and tasty - and the recipe seems very easy to adapt for what you have in the cupboard.

Chilli Paneer, Meera Sodha (Made in India)
Another quick and tasty recipe from Meera. I can't believe I wouldn't have made this before, but I can't remember ever making it either, so including here anyway. My chillis were a bit lacking, so lacked the punch I'm sure the recipe intended but it was still fresh and delicious.

Vietnamese Coconut Pancakes - Meera Sodha (East)
These were fresh, vibrant and spicy and I would make again, especially the filling. The recipe made a lot of pancake batter - you could probably double the filling for the number of pancakes you get. The batter would have probably made ten pancakes rather than the six the recipe says.

This from Nigella popped up on my feed last week so made it - very good for a super easy dinner and helpful for us as we always have almonds in as I often make Moro's pork in almond sauce..

www.nigella.com/recipes/sicilian-pasta-with-tomatoes-garlic-almonds

West African-Style Spicy Rice With Smoky Chicken
Both DH & I found this decidedly average. I think the main issue stems from the use of a basic curry powder to flavour the rice - I love it in kedgeree but find it less appealing in other dishes, it also didn’t compliment the spicing on the chicken. I think this was supposed to be a take on jollof rice, which I have never had but heard amazing things about, so might check out the world food aisle at my supermarket to see if they have jollof seasoning or make my own blend (Ethan Chlebowski did a video on this a while back) and try it again properly.

Caramelised Onion and Chilli Ramen, Meera Sodha, East
I was in need of some comfort food and this fitted the bill perfectly, like a hug in a bowl. Can see this being a staple as it’s very simple to prepare, uses mostly cupboard ingredients, and tastes bloody amazing.

Roasted Aloo Gobi Salad , Meera Sodha, Made in India
How have I had this recipe book for 5+ years and never noticed this recipe before?!? It sounded right up my ally and I only found it as I was searching for a recipe to use up some cauliflower. Just as good as I thought it would be, yet another winner from Meera.

Sweet Potato and Tenderstem Bibimbap, Meera Sodha, East
Smashing, straight forward and really tasty. I used pudding rice as a substitute for sushi rice which worked really well, I also roasted the veg instead of frying to make things easier. It makes extra sauce, so will half that next time. Seems to be a versatile dish which will be a good for using up any veggies that are starting to look sad at the end of the week.

Fake Nandos
My go to Nando’s order is butterfly chicken (hot) with spicy rice and macho peas. I used this recipe for the chicken marinade and these recipes for the rice and peas, really happy with how everything turned out.