Smoked Haddock Soufflé

Regular readers know that I share the good and the bad and the ugly on this blog. This particular dish falls somewhere between bad and ugly. It wasn’t a total fail — we still ate it, but neither of us really enjoyed it.

I wrote in January that H. & I like to try to cook together at least once on the weekends and that this requires advance planning because of our current living situation. Originally I’d planned a haddock chowder for this particular Saturday. However, when I saw this recipe from Thomasina Miers in the Guardian, I decided to make it instead. Lesson: always go with your gut instincts!

We made an error in cooking this which was part of the reason it went so badly. Instead of placing the dish in a water bath with boiling water, we used cold. This meant that it needed a lot more time in the oven. We ended up eating 45 minutes later than we thought we would. Aside from that, we just didn’t really like this dish. It was my first time making a soufflé and I’m not convinced that the combination of fish, cheese, and egg worked. Though I love haddock I will stick to other forms and will definitely not be making this again.

Spicy Kale & Brown Rice Stirfry

The name of this post has to be one of the least appetizing-sounding meals I’ve ever written about. It’s certainly not something I’d ever order at a restaurant! Fortunately its taste greatly surpasses the description. It is healthy and delicious and a bonus if like me you love brown rice.

I found the recipe on a great whole foods-focused blog that I’ve been reading for some time. I made a few changes in my version. While I love coconut milk I am not a big fan of coconut in other forms. I therefore only included about a tablespoon of toasted flakes (!). I think H. maybe would have preferred a few more. The kale also got a bit lost in mine (by the time it wilts down) — I used what I thought looked like a large bunch but probably could have done with a bit more.

This meal won full stamp of approval from both of us and is definitely a low-cook (not no-cook unfortunately) option for hot summer weather — though I will have to live vicariously through readers as the weather here in London is very temperamental and un-summer-like at the moment!

Disclaimer: this picture shows full evidence of my addiction to coriander. 😉

The Humble Egg

I started writing this post around Father’s Day, with the intention of being slightly more timely and dedicating it to my dad. However good my intentions, it obviously didn’t happen. So, while I may be a few weeks late, I’m still dedicating it to him. 🙂

My dad is THE healthiest person I know. He is very strict when it comes to diet and exercise and I really look up to him for that. He is a huge champion of (in his words) “the humble egg.” Whenever I am pondering out loud what to cook one night, he invariably suggests eggs! I think it’s a good reminder, because it’s easy to over-complicate things when actually a simple and delicious meal can often be staring you right in the face.

In the spirit of that I’m sharing a couple of egg-based recipes. The first is this chorizo, chickpea, & spinach frittata. We were lucky to still have some chorizo from our recent trip to Spain. Both H. & I enjoyed this — the varying textures really make it. I didn’t include the roasted red pepper but I bet it would be even better with it.

 

The second one is my own creation, another frittata, spinach, basil, & pesto. This was born out of the need to use things up before we go away, but the combination worked!

I have not yet managed to learn the art of perfect eggs. I almost always overcook them. It’s a matter of seconds too. I usually start frittatas on the stove and then put them into the oven. But as you can see the picture below doesn’t look very frittata-like and I still managed to overcook it slightly.

Looking a little hash-like….oops.

 

More of my posts featuring eggs: zucchini + tomato frittata, quiche, shakshuka part 1, shakshuka part 2, baked mushrooms + eggs, & spicy baked beans with an egg on top.

Back on the job

I can’t believe there has been a nearly 3 week gap between my last post and this one. I don’t think that’s ever happened on this blog other than planned breaks! The 3-year anniversary of MwL even came and went on the 10th without my acknowledgement – tsk, tsk. Needless to say it’s been very busy on this end with lots of PhD-stuff going on and a 5-day trip to Poland squeezed in there. Another part of why I haven’t posted is because I’ve felt that why I’ve been trying a few new things in the kitchen, not a lot of them are groundbreaking or interesting enough to warrant a post. With that in mind, I’ve decided to play catch-up by combining a few different dishes into one post.

Anti-vampire (aka garlic) soup (from Lottie & Doof, recipe here)
As a lover of garlic I have always wanted to try making garlic soup. This one seemed the perfect antidote to the crappy weather we’ve had all winter. It was also great because I wanted to use some of the sage that my friend A. brought back from Turkey for me as a gift! Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me at the time, there are two types of sage. One is much stronger, and guess which one I was using? I left it in the entire time the soup was simmering (~20 minutes) and as soon as I’d taken the first sip I knew: it was horribly and disgustingly bitter! Once we’d removed all the sage it was palatable but still unfortunately not probably as good as it could have been. What made it better was fresh bread & the poached egg, which were both lovely.

Get outta my soup, sage.

Quiche
After stating for years that I wasn’t a fan of quiche (due to a very unfortunate bad association with rotten quiche on a plane as a child), I discovered over Christmas that I actually love it! My aunt J2 made a delicious lobster quiche for Christmas morning brunch and since then I’ve made it three times (although admittedly with the less luxurious and more humble mushroom). This recipe, with the addition of green onion, is my favourite so far.

Quiche & Sunday morning sun

Breakfast hash
I am a sweet potato fiend and so this brunch dish immediately caught my eye. It did not disappoint! Other than slightly overcooking the eggs (baked eggs are such a precise science!), this was perfect. Unlike the recipe I did make it the day of and was chopping potatoes at 9am, but it was worth it.

YUM

Beef & Aubergine Shakshuka

I recently posted about shakskuka and have since made it a few times. This time I tried experimenting with Ottolenghi’s ground beef and aubergine version.

The first step in making this is grilling the aubergines. I was initially a bit worried about this, especially after reading about my friend M.’s recent aubergine adventure! However, I’m glad to say that grilling them in the oven worked better than I expected. Scooping out the flesh was easy as well. After that, the assembly of the dish is fairly straightforward; everything goes into the pan and cooked until done, and then the eggs are added. The tahini sauce adds a nice touch but is quite strong – if you don’t like the taste of tahini, don’t include it (I think plain Greek yogurt could work in lieu).

Minced aubergine and beef don’t seem like the most obvious combination, but this worked. However we found that this meal did not fill us – it definitely needs a side or two.

The beige is the tahini sauce

Shakshuka!

Yes, shakshuka is appearing on blogs and Instagram feeds everywhere these days, but I think it’s for a reason. Let’s count the ways: it’s 1. delicious, 2. healthy, 3. different, 4. easy to make, & 5. visually pleasing.

I made this for breakfast this past Sunday using Ottolenghi’s recipe in Jerusalem, which uses red pepper as the base (there are lots of variations out there), along with tomatoes, chilies, and obviously eggs. The only thing I did differently was garnish with coriander instead of parsley as I didn’t have anyway. For a coriander addict like me that worked just as well if not better. I also forgot the yogurt at the end, but it was still fantastic without.

I’ll let the photo do the rest. Try it! 🙂

Finally, food that photographs well!

Breakfast: Baked Mushrooms & Eggs

I wanted to squeeze in a final post this week as I have a backlog and will be without internet the next couple of days!

If you’re a mushroom fiend like me, this one’s for you. It’s also the perfect weekend breakfast served with strong coffee and some toast if you desire. It is dead easy to make as well: saute desired amount of mushrooms (keep in mind they’re going to shrink quite a bit – although if you love mushrooms you already know that!). Then transfer the mushrooms into an oven proof dish, break desired number of eggs on top (I used 3 split between the two of us), and simply place in the oven until your desired doneness is achieved. Top with a little pepper and shaved Parmesan.

Mine was in the oven just slightly too long, resulting in a little more rubbery eggs that I would have preferred (however, better than the alternative, runny yolks, which I cannot stand!).

Original recipe here.

Lunches part 2

Following on from my first installment, here’s part 2 in my quest to find easy and delicious lunchtime meals.

4. Wholewheat spaghetti with walnuts, blue cheese, & cherry tomatoes {my own recipe}
This is a quick pasta dish to whip up. Aside from toasting the walnuts (which I burnt, as you may be able to tell from the picture), there’s not much prep except cooking the pasta and chopping. Once the pasta is ready, simply toss all ingredients together with a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and enjoy.

5. Spicy baked beans & tomatoes with an egg on top {adapted from this recipe}
This is a little riff off a breakfast meal and it’s not your average baked beans either. This is essentially beans and tomatoes baked in the oven with an egg on top, along with a little cheese. To make it, combine a bit of oil, garlic, beans, a can of tomatoes, some cumin, and chiles if you’re using them in a pan and simmer for 20 minutes or so (note: I didn’t have any black beans so used kidney beans and it worked just fine). After that, assemble the mixture into a ovenproof dish, add desired number of eggs on top, and bake for about 5-10 minutes at 230C. The last step is to broil at the end after you’ve topped the mixture with a bit of cheese. Serve with a large handful of fresh coriander (which I unfortunately did not have!).

6. Indian-spiced chicken salad {based on recipe here}
This is great to make with leftover chicken (or turkey, as the recipe suggests). I simplified the original so all the needs to be done is make the dressing and a do bit of light chopping. I made my dressing using mayo, Greek yogurt, ground cumin and coriander, red chili flakes, ginger, lemon juice, and a bit of salt & pepper. Next time I would leave out the mayo and only use the yogurt. I topped with with green onion and chopped fresh coriander – would leave out the green onions next time as I didn’t quite like the texture.

Zucchini & Tomato Breakfast Fritatta

My usual breakfast this summer has consisted of a fruit smoothie and a bowl of All Bran — hardly anything to get excited about. Recently however I was given 3 large zucchinis from my aunt and uncle’s massive garden. I don’t normally use zucchini a lot so searchewd for some recipes. One of them was this fritatta on the blog Kalyn’s Kitchen, which is very focused on healthy eating.

I made it twice, with some of last year’s garden tomatoes and feta cheese, and it was fantastic. I seasoned only with salt and pepper, which, with the flavourful tomatoes and cheese, was enough. I also used 4 eggs instead of 6, which was plenty for breakfast for 2, plus some left over. Delicious, and the perfect way to start the day!