A day of fancying a fritter from the wonderful Yotam Ottolenghi

So, it's Friday again, which means I've been going through my cookbooks to try a new recipe
Something savoury I thought, something without meat.

Yotam Ottolenghi sprang to mind immediately, but then it was decisions decisions....which book of his shall I cook from? I have two, "Plenty" and "Jerusalem", and I love them both. What shines from every page  of both books is a strong narrative and a sense  of continuity though cooking. Many of the recipes have survived  turbulent times, and years of change for families and friends mentioned in the books.

Last night, I wanted something tasty, yet not too exacting. I flicked through the pages of "Plenty", and there it was, a recipe I've been meaning to make for ages. Leek fritters.

Ok, I have a feeling that some of you reading this may be turning up your noses at the thought of a fritter, even perhaps channelling your inner Lady Bracknell..."a fritter?" But at certain times they  can hit the spot in a very satisfying way. Especially when leeks are involved. Plus spices.

So let's begin shall we?

Ingredients include leeks, shallots ( I used onions), chilli pepper, spices, egg white etc.....

How to make

After sautéing the leeks and shallots until soft, you gradually add all of the other ingredients...and at this stage the mixture is rather sloppy, as you can see by the state of the bowl....

I made eight fritters, and I'll definitely be making these again. They're so creamy, light, and the subtle spices don't overpower the lovely flavour of the leeks.

I may have eaten more than I should have, even though they're quite filling. In fact I did eat more than necessary, but my defence is M'lud, I simply couldn't resist just another bite, and then another....

There's also a coriander sauce to accompany the fritters, but last night, I just sprinkled them with a couple of squeezes of a lemon, and that was just enough for me.

Another recipe from "Plenty" I tried for the first time was a salad ,which I first encountered at my friend Debbie's house. Oooh I did enjoy it...a beetroot, walnut and orange salad - on page 15 of the book, if you're interested. The earthy sweetness of the beetroot, the crunch of walnuts and olives, and the sharpness of the citrus made a delicious combination.

So I made it, and in our eagerness to dive in and eat, no photographs were taken, but trust me, again, this recipe is a winner. But then again, for me, all of Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes are....I've not encountered one that's a dud yet.

He's also in that rare band of chefs and writers who  establishes a real connection with the reader. Whenever I read one of his recipes, I feel hungry, I need to make it...and I somehow smell the finished creation before I've even made it.

There's only one other writer who makes me feel that way, and that's the wonderful Nigel Slater.
Alas he doesn't run a restaurant, but Yotam does ,and I can't wait to finally get down to London to visit one of them. It could be dangerous though, I might decide to work my way through most of the menu and get stuck behind a table, unable to leave or waddle back to the train. But hey, that's a risk I'm willing to take.

The complete recipe for leek fritters can be found here  http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/leek-fritters-shop or in the book itself, which is so good, I refuse to lend it to anyone else.

"Plenty" by Yotam Ottalenghi ,published by Ebury Press, 2010.


 

A day of cooking from the book "Lucy's Bakes"



So, you may recall I discovered the other week that I own ninety books about food. Recipe books, cookery books, history of food books, travel books with recipes in....I have them all. And I love reading them all.

But recently, I have been rather remiss and rather lazy when it comes to trying out new recipes and dishes. So, each Friday if I can manage it, I'm going to try something different....whether it be a brand new cake, dessert, or a savoury supper dish.

So, what book do I choose to test first? Why, the latest in my collection of course....one which I bought about three weeks ago. Well actually I bought two copies, one for me and one for my daughter.

"Lucy's Bakes" was published in April by Hardie Grant Books, and it's full of gorgeous traybakes, cakes, biscuits and bread.





I've known Lucy Cufflin, the author for years. She knows her food, as a former chef to the Britsh Ambassador in Sweden, the Executive Chef for Skiworld. She has her own food business and I worked with her on a British Red Cross fund raising committee for a number of years. She's funny and feisty, and a no nonsense type of gal...and good to have a few glugs of wine with.

Anyway, we met for lunch a few weeks back.

Also there, and also on that committee was the other Lucy, Lucy Lee-Tirrell who has collaborated on this book. The two Lucys are friends who are joined at the hip when it comes to cooking, baking, and devising recipes...and neither of them can stop talking about food.

I've eaten lots of their food before , so trust what they tell me to do in a recipe, which is just as well, when I tried their "weird and wonderful banana cake".

The title intrigued, but how can you resist the first line of the recipe which says "Brace yourselves!"
Well, I couldn't.....but almost flinched when next come the words "this cake is made with mayonnaise."

Now, I've been making banana loaves for years, and have always gone back to Nigella's recipe. But  I trust the two Lucys. And you should too, even though you might be initially slightly put off by the sloppy mixture with a whiff of mayo coming from the bowl.

Because what you get, is the most beautifully light, moist banana cake, which keep in the tin for four or five days and still tastes fabulous. I've made this cake twice now, testing it on my family and friends at work. Everyone loves it and no one suspected that mayonnaise was involved in its making.

One of my sons hasn't  been eating cake for a number of months now , he's juicing, detoxing , eating healthily , you name it etc....but he seemed to be  mysteriously drawn  to the kitchen as the cake came out of the oven. I cut a slice for him . The cake, still warm, disappeared in a a few nanoseconds. Like Oliver Twist, he held his plate out and asked for more.

And although it does taste delicious still warm and fragrant, please leave most of it until the following day, and the next day, when it just gets better in terms of flavour and moistness.

As for my friends at work, well , they loved it too. I loved it, and will have to ban myself for making it more than once a week.

 I've also made Lucy's soft cookies...another oh so easy recipe which is cheap and cheerful too. My cookies didn't look exactly like Lucy's  I have to admit, but boy, they went down a storm.

There's over 200 recipes in this book, and what I like is the no nonsense directions when making each recipe...concise but informative, with lots of suggestions for ways for adding different ingredients to adapt the cakes or biscuits etc.

 For example, Lucy Le Tirrell's weird and wonderful banana cake can be also adapted to make a carrot cake too. There's plenty of short cuts in this book too...making every recipe accessible to complete beginners. Plus, each recipe has been tested by volunteers, and their comments are also included.

I also like the little details of how they found or devised each recipe. Anyway, what do I bake next from the book? I'll definitely give the carrot cake a go, but not until I've tried after I've made the lemon curd cake and the parsnip and ginger cake. Oh, and the biscotti and bread and.....


But before I get carried away, here's the recipe which I know you will love....

Weird and Wonderful Banana Cake

250g (9 oz) very ripe bananas (about 3 after peeling)
200 g (7oz or 1 cup) soft light brown sugar
250g (9 oz/ 1 cup) mayonnaise ( I used Hellmans mayonnaise, which Lucy also recommends)
100g water or strong coffee (I used water)
250 g (9oz/2 cups) plain, all purpose flour
10g (half an ounce) bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
pinch of salt
Demerara sugar for  sprinkling

So here's what you do....

1.Preheat the oven to 180C (350 degF/Gas  4).Line a 1 kg (2 lb) loaf tin with baking paper.

2.Mash the bananas to a smooth paste.

3.Add the sugar with the mayo, mix well with a wooden spoon, add the water or coffee.

4.Add in the dry ingredients and mix well.

5. Put into the prepared tin and sprinkle with the demerara. Bake for 40 -45 minutes until risen and firm to the touch. Turn out onto a wire rack, remove the paper and leave to cool.

6.Store in a cool place in an airtight container or well wrapped in cling film (plastic wrap) and foil.

Days of loving my cookery books.

Erm...there's 90 of them. Yes, I have 90 recipe books and books about food.

I didn't realise I had so many ....at a guess last year I thought there may be 60. Oops...
Some of them are on the bookshelves in the kitchen

Others can be found on the dining table,

by my bed, on the coffee table...wherever I sit and read, there's bound to be a book about food close by.

My collection of books holds the usual suspects that can be found on many shelves....offerings from Nigel, Nigella and Jamie. There's two from Otam Ottalenghi, a couple from Skye Gingell, a tattered , original old copy of Elizabeth David's French Food as well as several paperback copies of her others, there's quite a few books on Italian cookery, Australian fusion food, thai food, books on fruit,and mother and daughter Jane and Sophie Grigson put in a couple of appearances. And if you want to read a book about cowboy food, well I have one right here.

There's even one that I helped to produce with Kim Hall....a book compiled of 25 years of recipes from Miranda Hall which was published by the British Red Cross to raise funds.

Reading a cookery book isn't just about the recipes, the best , for me, give  an insight into the culture of the country where they came from, and I'm a sucker for personal stories which accompany the recipes themselves.

There's something so comforting about being able to nestle down and read about food. There's something exciting about planning a different meal, to search for inspiration. Plus, there's something so satisfying about looking for a recipe to make  something delicious from fruit and vegetables I've grown myself.

The thing is, I do have my favourite books and my go to recipes of dishes I know and love. Especially if friends are coming around. Better be safe than sorry is my motto.

I also tend to use what I've got...sometimes I'm not organised to select a recipe and make sure I've got all the ingredients in advance!

However, in the spirit of being more organised, and trying out some different recipes , I've decided that each Friday I'm going to be taking two of my favourite or two completely new recipes from a different book in my collection and making them. I'll share them with you.....and let's see where it takes us. Here on this blog, Friday will be Foodie Friday!


In the meantime, why not listen to this?

It's a broadcast from a couple of Fridays ago on BBC Leicester. My friend at work Ed Stagg invited himself around for a late lunch...he wanted to record me making an easy peasy recipe.

So here is what I made....and this is what it sounded like! Go on, you know you want to listen....and the recipe is there too.

 www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02wqp92