roasted tomato risotto

we’re about to go away for a week on a scottish jaunt – glasgow, fort william and the isle of skye – so menu planning is all about using things up.

we had a big bowl of tomatoes, fresh from the garden, which needed to be finished so i decided it was time to get over the mental block i have when it comes to tomato risotto.

as there were so many tomatoes i halved and roasted them a la skye (gyngell, not the island) and then stirred them into a simple risotto, along with some double-podded broad beans. my garnish of crispy pancetta worked wonderfully with the risotto but sadly didn’t do much to make the photo look appealing.

trust me though, it is a terrific way to get through a glut of tomatoes. 

pea, prawn and potato curry

 

i’ve been feeling a bit uninspired recently and decided and that the best way to get myself out of the pasta rut i’ve settled into was to shake up my shopping. so, instead of getting my usual vegetable order or visiting borough market for a few treats i headed into china town. i picked things up randomly but focussed on ginger, galangal, lemongrass, chillies, herbs and a few chinese greens.

i was expecting to make something with asian flavours but somehow got diverted towards india instead with this gently spiced curry. the colouring is a bit lurid and i’d have liked my peas to stay green (next time i’ll cook them separately and add them at the end) but the taste was delicious. the coconut milk adds richness, the spicing is quite mild and the lime and coriander which is added at the end really lifts things. it reminded me a bit of the nigel slater chickpea and pumpkin curry, even though it lacks the lemongrass which makes nigel’s dish work so beautifully.

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daring cooks: spanish rice with allioli

i’m late with my daring cooks challenge this month but, given we were tasked by olga of olga’s recipes to make a spanish recipe - rice with mushrooms, cuttlefish and artichokes - i got organised and got cooking.

i adapted the recipe to use the prawns i had in the freezer instead of cuttlefish and added a handful of peas to boost the vegetable content. i also took a shortcut by using marinaded artichokes from the deli. however, i did make the suggested catalan accompaniment of allioli using the traditional pestle and mortar method.

so, how did i get on?

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chicken and almond pilaf

 

the key to making a decent chicken pilaf is having really good quality chicken and chicken stock. if you skimp on these then there is a high likelihood that the dish will be bland and not worth the effort. this dish was made using leftover meat from a roast chicken plus the stock that i had made from that chicken’s carcass.

making chicken stock whenever you have a roast is incredibly worthwhile and easy. i also ways strip the majority of the meat off the carcass, then put the bones into a large pan, cover with water, add a peeled and halved onion, a peeled carrot, a bay leaf and some peppercorns. if i have fresh parsley in then i’ll add that as well (you can just use the stems and keep the leaves for something where they will be part of the end dish). bring to the boil and then let it simmer (i cover it so there isn’t too much steam gathering in the kitchen) for an hour or two. when it’s ready, drain and strip any final tiny bits of meat off the carcass.

this dish has subtle flavours which, i think, really let the chicken shine through. we ate it with salad as a summery supper, sitting in the garden, but it was as nice the following day, eaten at room temperature as a packed lunch.

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salmon with wild garlic and courgette pilaf

 

having used half my wild garlic to make a simple spaghetti dish, i fancied trying something a little more complex. although having said that, this really isn’t a difficult recipe.

it is, however, a real “fridgebottom” meal – i’d not been shopping for over a week and the only vegetables in the house were a couple of courgettes and some onions! the salmon was rescued from a corner in the freezer. however, thanks to the wild garlic that i had left we ended up with a really special meal.

the pilaf was brilliant – despite the lack of dairy, somehow it tasted quite rich and creamy and the mild garlic flavour complemented the sweetness of the slow-cooked courgette and onion really well.

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