a zesty beluga lentil and roasted tomato salad with herbs

a zesty beluga lentil and roasted tomato salad with herbs

I love the taste and texture of beluga (black) lentils, so-called for their supposed resemblance to caviar. Admittedly, when wet, the lentils seem to glisten like caviar fish eggs. But sadly, I find that they do lose their intense black colour during cooking. But brown or not, it really doesn't matter as they still taste good. If you can't get hold of beluga lentils then use Puy or French green lentils (which won't disintegrate during cooking).

socca "pizza" topped with lamb, aubergine and feta

socca "pizza" with lamb, aubergine and feta

Pizza is one of the dishes that I know from my friends on a gluten-free diet that they miss the most. So I just use socca, a chickpea flour pancake, as my dough base. I am not entirely sure whether I actually prefer the pancake base. I have to confess that I've been eating these a lot recently because firstly I am lazy, secondly I have been quite busy cooking for other people (yay! more of this another time.) and they are both easy to make and utterly delicious.

socca (chickpea flour pancakes)

socca (chickpea flour pancakes)

I've been "socca'ing" a lot recently. But before you roll your eyes and wince at the idea of me shimmying around the kitchen in sequins and a few gently swaying ostrich feathers in best Brazilian stylee, I should add that all I am actually doing is making a load of socca - Provençal chickpea flour pancakes, a popular Nicoise streetfood, where they are cooked in huge flat pans, the size of small cartwheels. You'll also find them just across the French border, in the Italian region of Liguria, where they are known as farinata.

beetroot and lentil spicy kofta

beetroot and lentil spicy kofta

Since I decided that I liked beetroot, I have become pretty evangelical about the stuff. These days I am making up for wasted beetroot opportunities, or the “lost Beta Vulgaris years” as I now regard them.

Red lentil and chard falafel

red lentil and chard falafel

In times of austerity . . . oh god, I sound like a Billy Bragg lyric . . .  While my love for the Balladeer of Barking may be pure, in these hard times it is sometimes really difficult to stay cheerful when you have no choice but to be constantly frugal and thrifty. Frankly it is all a bit of a grind (she says gloomily).

claudia roden's red lentil purée

In my quest to find both interesting ways to use lentils and pulses as well as alternatives to the usual accompaniments to roast meat, I found this Claudia Roden recipe for an Egyptian-inspired purée recipe in her New Book of Middle Eastern food. It was perfect with slow roasted lamb shoulder with middle eastern spices.

It may seem like a lot of purée to make and it was. But I had a cunning plan . . . the leftovers were made into falafels, a recipe for which will follow shortly!

fancy a weekend food project? dosas with a pea and potato curry and paneer

dosa pancakes with peas, potato
and paneer curry

Do you fancy trying a weekend food project? Dosas, lacy savoury southern Indian pancakes made from a fermented mixture of soaked rice and urad dal lentils are not difficult, just a little time consuming. It may takes about two days, but the results are well worth the effort. If you follow the recipe for dosas by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall here, you should have no trouble at all! 

This curry is one of the simplest - it is a useful curry to have in your back pocket, particularly if you need a vegetarian one in a hurry! 

spicy butter bean and tomato stew with turkish sujuk (garlic sausage)

spicy butterbean and tomato stew with
Turkish garlic sausage (sujuk)

I may have been a bit bleary-eyed with sleep at sparrow-fart this morning, but it was crystal clear how the temperature had fallen sharply overnight when I opened the back door and looked out across the garden, which was encrusted with a light dusting of frost, my breath visible in the cold air. I could also hear how cold it was when I caught a strange huffing, puffing sound. The neighbour's fat young tabby, Oscar, tiptoed over to say good morning. I could almost hear him saying "ooh, ah, sheesh, it's icy out here, oh my poor fat paws!" he huffed and puffed and shook his whiskers at me dolefully. 

stuffed mushrooms with lentils, bacon, parsley pesto and Stilton

stuffed mushrooms with lentils, bacon, parsley pesto and Stilton

I think I must have inherited my late Scottish mother's somewhat parsimonious approach to food waste - a little part of me dies every time I open the kitchen compost canister to throw away anything other than vegetable peelings, tea bags or burnt toast. But a frugal approach to food, waste and in particular, in leftovers, doesn't have to be austere, puritanical or even joyless. It can be fun. No, really. It really can.

This is not so much a recipe, but a suggestion of how to use up several spoonful’s of leftovers and a few forgotten inhabitants of the fridge.

something for the weekend: roasted paprika chicken with black pudding and cannellini beans

roast chicken with rosemary and smoked paprika

Is it too early to be thinking about Sunday lunch? For me, it is never too early. Like Winnie-the-Pooh, I am always game for a little spot of something and often fretting where my next meal is coming from. So what are we going to cook for Sunday lunch?

hodge podge pork and beans with porcini sauce

hodge podge pork and beans with
Sainsbury's porcini sauce

"But since he stood for England
And knew what England means,
Unless you give him bacon
You must not give him beans."
G.K. Chesterton - The Englishman (1914) 
 
The time had come to rid the fridge of a few odds and ends before they re-enacted The Great Escape and dug their way out . . . What I had was a bit of a pork festival; a few herby sausages, a finger length of chorizo, a couple of slices of smoked bacon, a handful of mushrooms and some chicken stock. A complete hodge podge of ingredients.

the last gasp of summer and a delicious seasonal salad: kisir (bulgar wheat salad)

kisir: bulgar wheat salad

When I am trying to be thrifty, frugal and healthy, I take my own lunch into work. It saves me money and I am less tempted to splurge on expensive sandwiches and junk food. (I say less tempted advisedly. It doesn't always work as a preventative measure!) But there are always days when I can't always be bothered to prepare lunch or think up new ways of tantalising my taste buds and when I am offered an alternative where someone else has come up with delicious ideas for lunch, then I am often tempted from the path of thrift!

moors and christians rice (moros y christianos)

moors and christians rice (moros y christianos)

I have always been intrigued by the name of this dish, one of Cuba's traditional recipes - a mixture of black beans and rice.

The Spanish name refers to a time during the Medieval period, when Muslims and Christians lived side-by-side in harmony. Sadly the Inquisition put paid to that but concord lives on in this delicious dish.

what to eat on your ark: or how to whip up a delicious supper of sea bream with a chickpea and chorizo stew

sea bream with
chickpea and chorizo stew

I am building an ark in my back garden. Given the weather I think it is probably a wise precaution. Not that London is on a flood alert, and I do live on a hill, but I like to be prepared. And if this city does flood, I won't have to worry about getting my ark out through the front door. It's this kind of attention to detail that is important. 

a deceptively gentle soup: leek and cannellini bean soup with chilli oil

leek and cannellini bean soup
with chilli oil

It was one of those deceptive spring days; sparkling with sunshine but with an icy coolness. I had baked a loaf of sourdough bread and as the kitchen was filled with enticing toasty yeast aromas, I was wondering what to make for lunch.

Last year I posted a recipe for a leek and butter bean soup. It is one of my favourites; a beautiful yellow-green colour and full of bright, zingy flavours. But to suit this day, I wanted a guileful, creamy soup packed with spring vegetables and a chilli bite.

a hearty autumn stew: sausage and pumpkin awash with spices!

sausage and pumpkin stew

Autumn is my favourite time of year. I love the smell and colours of the year as abundance fades away; dormant until the new beginnings of spring. At the moment my garden is an abstract painting of fallen leaves, rusty orange, muted yellow and faded red. At this time of year I am also keen on meals, that leave the sunshine simplicity of summer cooking and heartiIy banish away the grey drizzle of an autumn chill. I want a dish of strong and complex flavours, full of warming spices to keep the gloom at bay. 

leek and butterbean soup

spring leeks

A versatile recipe, one that can be used in several ways, is a thing of beauty and this soup recipe is one of the fairest of them all. While butter beans may not sound very promising, it is their bland mushiness that makes a perfect base for a soup that zings with flavour, even in the middle of winter. 

This soup is full of flavour; the tartness of the lemon and vinegar or verjuice makes it quite refreshing too. If you use all the green bits from the leek, this soup is the most tantalising lemony green colour. Really rather beautiful.

moroccan harrira soup

spicy harrira stew

This is a version of a soup recipe from Claudia Roden, traditionally prepared during Ramadan and eaten to break the fast. Apparently, the streets of Morocco are perfumed at sunset with thousands of different versions of this fragrant soup. 

While this version of the soup is vegetarian, you can include meat, such as lamb or beef. It is not a soup that is restricted to Ramadan across the Muslim world; it is also served at special celebrations, and why not? It is deliciously satisfying.