I wrote this Mushroom & Champagne risotto post for Oprah Magazine South Africa's blog. It really is a fantastic risotto- fresh and dried mushrooms add incredible depth of flavour, bubbles add to the luxury and so does the glug of fresh cream and parmesan cheese. It'll turn you into a risotto maker, even if you're not.
A surprisingly healthy, low fat, lower G.I lasagne- aubergines,rich chilli tomato sauce, ricotta cream and mozzarella baked till golden.
Could this be the perfect spicy lamb meatball? Not nearly as sublime at Mrs Reddy's but my humble attempt at emulating hers.
This fairly easy recipe for yellow split pea dhal is adapted from the Bangladeshi Toovar (or 'sour' because of the addition of tomatoes) Dhal by the wonderful Rick Stein, Uncle Rick, whom you should know I adore muchly. An easy, aromatic Indian/ Bangladeshi dish for Meat Free Monday.
Little pots filled with bacon and lentils cooked with onions, bay leaves and a little red wine and covered with butter puff pastry. This may be comfort food, but I see a little ray of sunshine letting the new season in.
This Lamb & Vegetable Stew is given a distinctly Moroccan Twist by the addition of lip-smacking preserved lemons and freshly ground cumin. Chilli adds an exciting bite.
I used Rick Stein's Sri Lankan Fish Curry recipe as the inspiration for this Aubergine curry. The bitter nuttiness of fenugreek seeds soften both in flavour and texture as they cook down, melding beautifully with the tamarind enhanced tang of the tomato gravy (chutney) and the heat of the masala and chillis are tempered by the sweet coconut milk.
Chocolate. Now, I don't need to convince you of the worthiness of this magnificent elixir. But chocolate in pasta? Cocoa has been used in savoury sauces in restaurants and homes for years and years. What do you make of a rich cocoa penne and a savoury chocolate chilli sauce brought together with luscious fresh cream and topped with slices of melt-in-the-mouth spiced steak?
My mother called it Tandoori chicken. Roasted on a silver baking tray it would envelop the kitchen in the musky, woody aroma of ground jeera (cumin) and the fresh slices of pineapple she added would caramelise and char slightly, releasing a sweet perfume. Not quite tandoori chicken, but I take those memories and make an Indo-Moroccan spiced roast chicken.
I share a snippet of my infatuation with Nigel Slater's book Tender and his Simple Stew of Onions, Beer and Beef that I made the past weekend. Easy to make, slow cooked, winter comfort food. With a few tweaks.
