Farinata

Also known as socca, farinata is a simple Italian flatbread type of pancake made of chickpea flour. I've made it before with Ottolenghi's recipe, but wanted to try Ruby Tandoh's recipe with rosemary and garlic, which actually tasted better if you ask me. It's quick and easy to make, and nice with a salad or something on the side.

Makes 8-10 large pancakes

8 tbsp olive oil, plus more for greasing
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 sprigs rosemary
300g chickpea flour (gram flour)
1 tsp salt
Black pepper, to taste
500ml water

1. In a small saucepan over a medium-low heat, cook the olive oil, garlic and the leaves from two rosemary sprigs until the garlic is sizzling. Take the pan off the heat and leave to cool. If it sits around for a while, even better – the flavour from the rosemary and garlic will have longer to infuse.

2. Combine the chickpea flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Strain in the infused oil through a sieve (discarding the rosemary leaves and garlic), and add a little of the water. Stir to combine, then add the remaining water gradually until the mixture slackens to the consistency of a thick batter.

3. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan until hot. Spoon in enough of the batter to coat the bottom of the pan. While the upper surface of the bread is still wet, sprinkle on a few rosemary leaves from the remaining sprig. Once the upper surface has set (this won't take more than a minute or two) flip the pancake and cook for a further couple of minutes, or until golden brown in patches.

4. Repeat until all the remaining batter has been used, making sure that the pan is well‑oiled each time.

Puréed beetroot with yogurt & za'atar

This recipe is from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem book. The chilli, garlic, syrup and za'atar combine sweet and spiceness together wonderfully. I wanted to make a vegan version, but I was afraid using plain soy yogurt instead of Greek yogurt would make the purée too runny. Now that I know what it's supposed to taste like I'll have to experiment and see if 1/2 portion soy yogurt and 1/2 portion mashed potatoes would do the trick. Of course I can always try making my own vegan yogurt too...

Serves 6

Ingredients:

900g medium beetroots (500g after cooking and peeling)

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

250g Greek yogurt

1 1/2 tbsp date or maple syrup

3 tbsp olive oil + extra to garnish

1 tbsp za'atar

To garnish:

2 spring onions

15g toasted hazelnuts, roughly crushed

Preheat oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gask Mark 6.

Wash the beetroot and place it in a roasting tin. Put them in the oven and cook, uncovered, until a knife slices easily into the centre, approximately 1 hour. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel and cut each one into about 6 pieces. Allow to cool down. Place the beetroot, garlic, chilli, and yogurt in a food processor bowl and blend to a smooth paste. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in the syrup, olive oil, za'atar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Taste and add more salt if you like.

Transfer the mash onto a serving plate and use the back of a spoon to spread the mixture around the plate. Scatter the spring onion and hazelnut on top and drizzle some more olive oil on top. Serve at room temperature.

Plenty: Grilled vegetable soup

I love butterbeans! I've never had them in soup before though, until I made the grilled vegetable soup from Plenty. It's a hearty one, and easy to make. It just took me a little longer in my tiny gas-run oven since I had to grill everything one at a time. It also means that the vegetables weren't grilled as such, but rather, roasted as I don't have a grill setting. So mine was more of a roasted vegetable soup. Still, it was lovely! Although, oddly enough, when I ate the leftovers the next day, it had a bit of a sausage flavour that I wasn't all too fond of...

 

Plenty: Chard and saffron omelette

All the very in green superfoods seem to be finding their way into Finnish supermarkets. The other week I got my hands on some kale, and now I've stumbled across chard. Which doesn't come cheap, I might add. Still, Plenty has several recipes with chard on the list of ingredients, so I took a stab at one of them, the chard and saffron omelette. It was wonderful. I'm going to be putting in the extra cash for another stash of chard and making this again soon, what with the lovely summer potatoes available as well. 

 

Plenty: Garlic soup with harissa

Yum yum yum! I don't know why I didn't try this garlic soup with harissa earlier. You might be a little skeptical about the 25 cloves of garlic that go into this... but don't be. You cook them and they lose some of their potent flavour. It's still garlic, of course, and if you like garlic, this is a feast. I was a bit lazy this time and skipped the harissa. Maybe next time. Harissa from the shop sufficed this time around. It's an easy one, so do try. Vegans, no yogurt. It's not really necessary anyway, to be honest.

 

Kale speltotto with goat's cheese

Kale this kale that. I've been reading about kale for a good two years or more and finally came across it in my local supermarket. I promptly bought a bunch and came home to dig for a recipe. This is the one I ended up with by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from his River Cottage Veg Everyday (am currently unable to find a link to the recipe.. maybe later). It's basically a risotto, but made with spelt, hence the name speltotto. I made it from pearl barley however so I guess mine was more of a barlotto! Anyway, it was interesting. I can't say it was my favourite experiment, though my lack of enthusiasm may have something to do with the nausea I've been feeling after meals due to the intake of strong antibiotics. Still, both kale and barley have flavours very much their own -- ones that I'm not quite sure what I think about, put together at least. It did look very pretty though, and smelled great, and that counts for something, surely.

 

Pasta with fennel, rocket and lemon

I'm finally back in the kitchen after two weeks of being sick and surviving on staples. I tried something quick and simple to get back in the swing: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's pasta with fennel, rocket and lemon. I don't use fennel so often, and was happy to try something where the fennel flavour becomes beautifully enmeshed with the garlic, piqued by the lemon, and tempered by the rocket. I think I just ended up finding a new staple meal.

 

Quinoa with courgettes and onions

The third recipe from Fearnley-Whittingstall's veg book. This was also very easy to make, and relatively quick. I love slow-cooked vegetables, especially onions, which are cooked here with courgettes. I have sung the praises of quinoa before, so I'll leave that aside this time. But if you are interested, here is not only a link to the recipe of this beautiful dish, but also 10 facts about quinoa worth delving into. I should mention that I made this as a side dish to the spring onion galette, and that they worked together like bread and butter. (P.S. Vegans, just fry completely in olive oil, leave out the butter)

 

Risotto with roasted asparagus and mozzarella

Finally a recipe not by Ottolenghi! This risotto with roasted asparagus and mozzarella, however, is also form the Guardian, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. If risottos intimidate you at all, this is an easy one. The list of ingredients is short, and it's easy to prepare. I've made this twice now. The first time I had to make some more vegetable stock - 500ml didn't seem to suffice. However, when I made it today, 500-600ml was perfect. The trick is to keep the heat low, which I didn't do the first time around. Also, tonight I tried adding a big handful of chopped fresh parsley at the end, which worked beautifully. I think it adds a whole new layer to the overall slightly smokey flavour (thanks to the buffalo mozzarella) of this dish. And the generous drizzle of good-quality olive oil at the end is a real plus, so don't leave it out. Enjoy!

 

Plenty: Asparagus, lentils and watercress salad

There's been a brief pause in blogging, but not cooking, not ever! I've been trying out new dishes every week as per usual, but just haven't found the time to sit down and blog. I'll do my best to catch up. 

A few of the newbies I've tried involve asparagus. This asparagus, lentils and watercress salad was a delicious one. The pecorino is a must. It gives the whole dish a proper 'sting' to counterbalance the slight acidity of the asparagus, without overpowering the fresh herbs.

 

Plenty: Jerusalem artichokes with halloumi and basil oil

I made this feast of jerusalem artichokes with manouri and basil oil over Easter but have been too busy to keep up with the blogging. Yes, another wonderful meal from Ottolenghi. I used halloumi with this instead of manouri, which I wasn't able to get a hold of anywhere. A wonderful warm salad type of meal!

 

Plenty: Puy lentil galettes

This is another of those Plenty recipes that looked delicious and easy enough but haven't gotten around to preparing until now. The spices and spinach accompanying these Puy lentil galettes do proper justice to these humble yet flavoursome green lentils. It's much lighter and healthier without the pastry, but it does look much more appetising this way, doesn't it.

 

Plenty: Baked eggs with yogurt and chill

Even though I like to take my time to make porridge almost every morning for breakfast, there are limits to how long I want to spend on making the first but most important meal of the day.  This one came about much faster than I expected, especially with an extra pair of hands. Baked eggs with yogurt and chilli was divine. To be specific, it is baked eggs on fried rocket with Greek yogurt and garlic, and chilli butter. Need I say more. If you can't get a hold of kirmizi biber, just do as Ottolenghi suggests, as I did, and mix chilli flakes with some paprika. A perfect brunch.

 

Ottolenghi: Mixed vegetables and yogurt with green chill

I love love love reading the Weekend Guardian each weekend in anticipation of what recipe Ottolenghi  will belt out for its readers. This one for mixed vegetables and yogurt with green chilli was in this weekend's Guardian and made it the same night. A very fresh, juicy and filling batch. Will definitely be making this again sometime soon!

 

Soba noodles with aubergine and mango

This is one recipe I've been meaning to try for two months, but didn't get around to until now because I wanted to get fresh mango from Kallio on a mango day, that is, Thursday, when the imported mangos are delivered fresh into the shops. I was finally passing through the area on a Thursday, got my juicy mango and made soba noodles with aubergine and mango for dinner. Despite the alluring list of ingredients (including for example garlic, lime, chili, sesame oil, mango, basil, coriander) I didn't really know what expect. Ottolenghi writes that this recipe is his mother's "cook-to-impress fare". Now I understand. What you get from this are wonderfully aromatic and smooth-textured mouthfuls of freshness. As Ottolenghi himself writes, for lack of a better description, it's the "sweet sharpness of the dressing and the muskiness of mango that make it so pleasing". An instant favourite.

Plenty: Caramelised garlic tart

I've been putting off Ottolenghi's caramelised garlic tart for a while, mainly because it looks so deliciously succlent and fatty that if I make it, I'd eat it all myself in one go. Luckily I had company for this one... and we finished it all almost in one go, though it is supposed to be for 4-6 people. It's an easy one to prepare, but it takes time (took me a couple of hours), as all tarts, pies and quiches can, owing to the amout of time it takes to bake the pastry, on top of peeling, chopping and preparing the insides, including caramelising the garlic cloves. If you are a garlic lover, though, this is a piece of heaven. The garlic is caramelised in a mix of water, sugar, balsamic vinegar and herbs, the soft, warm, pungent yet sweet flavour of which is only enhanced by not one but two types of goat's cheeses. I enjoyed it with a side salad to lighten the meal, which worked well, but didn't stop me from taking seconds... and thirds.

Plenty: Crunchy pappardelle

I'm finally back from my travels and back in the kitchen. Hurrah! I'm still keeping Ottolenghi's Plenty close by. Last week I had a go at the crunchy pappardelle, made crispily crunchy with Japanese Panko breadcrumbs. Delish. How I missed this book of spells!!

Plenty: Roasted parsnips and sweet potatoes with caper vinaigrette

To not have cooked properly for a week has been a sad deprivation. It's already November 10th and this is my first blog entry for the month. Sinful. I've been busy meeting friends, attending plays and other events lately, and diverting as they were, I've missed my glorious long evenings at home cooking, reading and listening to music. Tonight, though, I got back on track and made Roasted parsnips and sweet potatoes with caper vinaigrette from Plenty. Do I need to mention what a great success this was? It was heavenly. Again the photo doesn't do any credit to the flavours of this meal. Parsnips, sweet potatoes, red onions, garlic and cherry tomatoes are roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. After about two hours when they're ready the vegetables are covered with the dressing, made with lemon juice, dijon mustard, olive oil, maple syrup (!), capers, salt, and topped with sesame seeds. It's a feast.

Plenty project: Tomato party

The ankle is still out of action but after yesterday's pumpkin success, I'm back in action on the foodie front. Today I made the simple, easy, fresh and delicious "Tomato party" recipe from Ottolenghi. Half of the tomatoes are roasted in the oven with olive oil, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, then thrown in with couscous, cherry tomatoes of all colours, tarragon, mint, oregano, garlic and more olive oil, salt and pepper. Too easy. I think I need to send Yotam some fanmail. How would he like Finnish salmiakki, I wonder?

Plenty project: Crusted pumpkin wedges with soured cream

A busy week coupled with a sprained ankle limiting by ability to tour food shops has kept my cooking quite tame this past week. This weekend I did however try a new recipe from Plenty. Because it's the season for them, I did a pumpkin recipe before it's too late. A pumpkin is sliced into thin wedges, then topped with olive oil and a thick coat composed of a mix of parmesan, white bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, thyme, lemon zest and salt, then tossed into the oven for a half an hour. Served with soured cream, mixed with dill, salt and pepper. I have to admit that this has been my least favourite Plenty food. I've spoiled myself rotten, to be honest, since this was very tasty, but didn't incite the same overwhelming feelings of gluttony as the others I've tried. Maybe it was the soured cream? I think it was a little unnecessary, a little too rich. I tried some of the lefovers later and the pumpkin wedges, in my opinion, tasted much better at room temperature than warm out of the oven. Anyway, thank you Yotam for a lovely autumn dinner.

NEXT DAY UPDATE: I had the leftovers for dinner tonight. Oh. my. god. They were heavenly. I take back all the doubts expressed above. I am so making these again before pumpkin season ends!