Toasted Sourdough with Soft Goats Cheese, Fig, Hazelnut and Honey

1 Comment September 27, 2019 chilliandmint

Eating for one need not be boring or unexciting. Working from home does allow me to make something delicious at lunch time, instead of the rather insipid sandwiches that certain chains offer. For those who follow my instastories will know I regularly make speedy veggie miso broths, interesting healthy colourful salads and sometimes a Scandinavian open sandwich: known in Danish: smørrebrød, Norwegian: smørbrød, Swedish: smörgås or macka. You can get creative as you like but they always look and taste good. I adore sourdough and invariably always have some in the house, so making an interesting open sandwich is a win win.

A fridge staple for me is soft goats cheese. Even if you think you may dislike goats cheese try the soft variety as it is less strong, deliciously creamy and has a wonderful taste. We all love it in my family. I cut a couple of slices of sourdough and pop them under the grill for a couple of minutes until they are toasted to my liking. I then slather soft goats cheese on top, quarter some fresh figs, scatter some nuts – hazelnuts or walnuts work really well, and then drizzle some sweet honey. So simple and yet super satisfying. If I have any fresh mint in the fridge/garden (which I didn’t today) I would roughly chop some leaves and throw them on it too. You get salty flavours from the goats cheese working so well with the luscious, soft figs and the fragrant honey.

It’s also a great weekend lunch idea for the family or if you have some friends coming over. To make it more substantial you could make a soup – something like my pea and mint would work really well.

Toasted Sourdough with Soft Goats Cheese, Fig, Hazelnut and Honey

for one (increase proportions if you are feeding others)

2 pieces of sourdough bread, toasted

1-2 large figs quartered

1 tbsp soft goats cheese

1 tbsp hazelnuts/walnuts, roughly chopped

drizzle of honey on top

Toast the sourdough on both sides under the grill, in a toaster or in a griddle pan.
Slather goats cheese on top.
Add the quartered figs and scatter the nuts.
Top with fragrant honey.
Devour.

So simple and yet deliciously effective.

Cambodian Nut Mix

1 Comment March 12, 2018 chilliandmint

I wanted to introduce you all to my favourite snackage at the moment. I only came across it recently when I was staying in Kep-sur-Mer in the south of Cambodia – you can read about my stay in Kep here. Most evenings we would head to the sailing club (below – the pool table was a perfect activity during cocktails hour) next to our hotel – Knai Bang Chatt – which I really recommend if you are thinking about a trip – and when you order your drink they give you a bowl of this delicious nut mix.

They are so simple to make and yet completely addictive and because they are a little salty you naturally want more to drink. Clever hey.

Anyway I thought it would be perfect to show you how to make your own nut mix at home. It makes sense to make a decent amount and then store it in an airtight container. There seems a bit of a theme with airtight containers – I blame it on the snow and being stuck inside few weeks back. There is literally 5 ingredients: peanuts – with their red skins on- fresh curry leaves, dried red chillies, garlic and salt. That said I think there may have been some lemongrass mixed in with the nuts, but I can’t be sure, so if you have any by all means finely slice it lengthways and fry it with the sliced garlic.

Cambodian Nut Mix

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

1 whole garlic, pealed and thinly sliced

2 steams of fresh curry leaves (approx 20 leaves)

5 dried red chillies

1kg of red peanuts

rock salt to taste

optional: lemongrass, thinly sliced lengthways and fried with the garlic

In a large pan gently heat the oil and then fry the garlic so it turns a light brown. If you are also going to use lemongrass, add it at this stage. Remove and place on kitchen paper.
Using the same pan gently fry the fresh curry leaves and add the dried red chillies. I tend to split some of them so as to release some of the seeds to give heat.
Add the nuts and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle with salt.
Take off the heat and add the garlic (and lemongrass if using) thoroughly.
Once cooled store in an airtight container. They will last for ages and are good to bring out with drinks in the evening.

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Spinach with Shallots, Green Raisins and Red Peanuts

1 Comment November 17, 2015 chilliandmint

My latest addiction is spinach.

I know I know how crazy do I sound? I’ve always liked it mind you, but of late it’s gone up a notch or two. It’s probably my body screaming at me that ‘I NEED MORE IRON‘.

I’m happy to eat it in all its incarnations for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s super versatile and is cooked quicker than the time it takes to get your bowl/plate and cutlery together.

Recently I visit a local eatery called ‘The Little Taperia‘ in Tooting in the strip, which is fast becoming increasingly hip and cool. Sitting next to Soho House’s ‘Chicken Shop’ and virtually opposite the newly established the ‘Trafalgar Arms’, ‘The Little Taperia’ offers Spanish tapas at it’s best; I could literally eat the whole menu. It was packed on my visit with a wonderful buzz to the place. The decor (love the floor tiles) and general vibe was conducive to a relaxed, memorable evening, so if you have not yet been I urge you to get down there and experience it for yourself.

Back to the spinach. You are probably wondering where spinach and ‘The Little Taperia’ fit together. Well it was there that I ate a delicious spinach dish that inspired me to create my own version of the dish for you today. They used pine nuts and I can’t recall if they added raisins but I’m thinking they did as the dish had a subtle sweetness, which I don’t think was coming from the onions alone – but may well have been. Needless to say the dish was utterly delicious and I think the one that I have created for you equally hits the spot.

I’ve eaten it on a few occasions since and this time I accompanied it with my Indian dal with butternut squash. I don’t actually have that recipe up on my blog but a very similar one using marrow can be found here.

I add a dollop of ghee – clarified butter – on the top but if you are off diary or watching your waist line then just omit that part.

Spinach with Shallots, Green Raisins and Red Peanuts

2 tbsp light olive oil

2 banana shallots, finely sliced

pinch of salt

35g red peanuts (works out to be a handful)

35g green raisins (works out to be a handful)

240g fresh spinach

1 tbsp ghee

Heat a pan with the oil and when it is medium hot add the banana shallots and pinch of salt and leave to soften and begin to bronze, which will take around 5 minutes.
Add the green raisins and red peanuts and move around the pan. After a minute add the spinach.
Place a lid the pan so that the spinach wilts. After a minute give a stir and then add the ghee. Let it melt and then serve immediately.

It is perfect with meat or fish but in this instance I ate it with some of my butternut squash dal, which was hit the spot for a delicious vegetarian supper. My butternut squash dal is similar to my marrow dal but uses butternut squash instead of marrow. Check it out here.

Pistachio and Cardamom Shortbread Biscuits

15 Comments November 13, 2012 chilliandmint

It’s always good to have a go-to biscuit that is straightforward and not too time consuming to make, but also has an added complexity in taste that makes it stand out from the crowd. This shortbread biscuit ticks all those boxes with flying colours. The flavours of cardamom and pistachio sing to me and the partnership is one to be jubilant about. I find it’s great to make a batch and freeze (before cooking) some of the dough, wrapped in cling film, that you are not needing, until you want to make another batch at a later date. At this stage simply remove from the freezer and let it defrost before making incisions into the dough to make your biscuits.

With the festive season almost upon us, I also find that they are a great offering to give to friends that you are visiting either wrapped in brown baking parchment, tied with some vintage twine or red ribbon, or placed in a sealed jar. Either way, the effort and initiative will definitely bring a smile upon the receiver.

Pistachio and Cardamom Shortbread Biscuits

sourced from Ottolenghi The Cookbook

Makes around 30

8 cardamom pods

200g unsalted butter

25g ground rice

240g plain flour

1/2 tsp of salt

35g icing sugar

60g shelled pistachio nuts

1 free-range egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp vanilla sugar

1. Crush the cardamom pods, using a pestle and mortar and once the seeds have been released remove the skins and then crush the seeds into a fine powder. The smell is sensational.

2. Place the butter, ground rice, flour, salt , ground cardamom and icing sugar in an electric mixer and whisk until the ingredients have bound together to create a ball shape and immediately transfer the dough onto a cold surface sprinkled with a little flour. (see photo below)

3. Using your hands roll the dough into a log shape. If you want really large round biscuits then keep the the log short in length, however, if you would prefer small or medium sized biscuits then elongate the dough further. There is no hard and fast rule on how large the biscuits need to be. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for over an hour.

4. Meanwhile, place the pistachio nuts into the electric mixer and give them a quick wizz so that they are broken up slightly. If you do it for too long they will become too fine!

5. Place the crushed pistachio nuts on a flat surface and take the cling film off the dough (and place the cling film to one side) and brush the log with the beaten egg. Now roll the dough over the top of the pistachio nuts; you may need to give a helping hand and place a few pistachio nuts into the side of the dough. Put the same cling film back on the dough log and place back into the fridge for a further 30 minutes.

6. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. Remove the cling film and using a sharp knife cut the dough log into even slices and place them on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, placing them 2cm apart. Dust the biscuits with vanilla sugar and place in the oven for around 20 minutes so that they are golden, but not bronzed. Keep a close eye on them.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely as they will harden as they cool. If you pick them up before they are cool they may well crumble. Once they have cooled store in a sealed jar or container for up to a week.