Editor's January Pick #20: Here goes nothing with the chocolate pot!

Editor's note: Personally, I don't drink or cook with milk anymore but that doesn't mean I don't still get chocolate cravings - every nine seconds if I'm honest. But milk-free chocolate is usually either horrid, boring, uninspiring or all of the above. Reading the second part of the chocolate melting pot review, I'm inspired to borrow the melting pot and have a go at zhuzhing up some milk-free chocolate with a big fat tub of peanut butter. Watch out Reeces! Or there may be a better idea...

Here goes nothing!

The instructions are straight forward and the base unit easy to understand. You preheat the base unit with a melting pot inside for 10 minutes, then add the chocolate, stirring occasionally until melted :

Remove the melting pot from the base and pour a small blob of melted chocolate onto each circle on the parchment :

Using the back of a spoon – I used a dessert spoon – in a circular motion gently ease the melted chocolate out to fill the circle :

Do not panic if you overrun the circle – it's not the end of the world – practice makes perfect, it's like using a piping bag for the first time – give yourself a break.

Editor's January Pick #19: New piece of kit

Editor's note: There are a lot of different topics covered by MiamMiam but one of my favourites is the kitchen kit section. Being a very rudimentary cook myself as in sauce pan, frying pan, oven and done - (not Bear Grylls up a mountain with a twig and a sock type stuff) it is fab to read about accoutrements that I wouldn't normally be exposed to. Take this week's selection that includes a chocolate melting pot. As the blog mentions, the old bowl in a saucepan kinda works for me but I am absolutely going to forget and grab the bowl so this would definitely be safer!

My new piece of kit.

Those of you who follow the blog regularly will know that I'm not one for spending dosh on kit for it to gather dust. With that in mind I thought I'd treat myself to a chocolate melting machine.

I melt chocolate frequently and I'm an old fashioned kinda gal and always use the steam method – saucepan with the bowl on top – never a microwave, personally I don't think you can control the chocolate and microwaves vary. The only downside to the old fashioned method is that it creates washing up. When I saw the Chocolate Melting Pot in Lakeland, I thought it looked neat and, reasonably priced at £19.99, it wouldn't break the bank.

Here it is :

Never let it be said that I don't have your best interests at heart - for the purpose of its inaugural outing I'm keeping it simple.

The plan :

You'll need :

a baking sheet measuring 30x30 cms

a piece of baking parchment measuring 29x29 cms

- slightly narrower than your baking sheet

4 large paper clips

the chocolate melting pot base and one melting pot

Before you begin

Secure your parchment to the baking sheet with the four paperclips

Draw circles on the parchment measuring approximately

6 cms in diameter – I used a straight sided pastry cutter – anything

circular will do

As a guide you'll get approximately 9 circles on the parchment.

Leave space between each circle.

When you've drawn your circles turn the parchment over

so that the pencil side is face down, then secure again with

the paperclips

Off we jolly well go!

Editor's January Pick #18: The dressing to go with the chicken salad (or whatever you fancy!)

Editor's note: I've been on a "fly by the seat of my pants" cooking phase at the moment so stumbling on little recipes like this one are a joy - better still stop me wandering aimlessly around the supermarket wondering where they've moved everything to this week. An extra bonus, if it ever goes terribly wrong I don't have to tell anyone so win-win! Fantastic flavours that go with chickpeas as well as chicken.

The dressing … to go with the chicken salad

Who would have thought you'd be drizzling a quintessential Italian combination of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar – a marriage we already know is made in heaven – with another Indian classic – tandoori chicken tikka.

The dressing

4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil

1½ tbsps balsamic vinegar

1½ tsps brown sugar

¼ tsp coarse black pepper

¼ tsp cumin powder

pinch of salt

Whilst the chicken is cooking, with a whisk mix together all the dressing ingredients and leave to one side.

A few thoughts so far :

I'd wear gloves when you coat the chicken – turmeric and chilli will stain your hands as well as equipment.

Make sure your “oven tray” has sides – unless you have a burning desire to clean your oven!

I used soft dark muscovado sugar in the dressing.

I marinaded the chicken from 11am – 7.30pm. It's very important that you cover the chicken marinade and keep it in a cold place. If you keep it in your fridge then bear in mind it's raw chicken and as such should be kept on the bottom shelf and more importantly that it is kept away from cooked food.

When the chicken is cooked I know you'll want to taste it – cook's privilege after all – a lot depends on your palate and that of your guests but tasted on its own you may find it a tad hot. I'd suggest that before you rush to judgement wait until you've assembled and tasted the completed salad.

A word about the “heat” of the spices. Remember recipes are meant to be a guide they are not set in stone. If you find the spices too powerful don't let it put you off – try reducing the green chilli paste, turmeric and red chilli powder from 1½ tsps to 1 tsp each.

It's personal taste after all – it's whatever suits you.

Editor's January Pick #17: Julienne Peeler

Editor's note: After last week's selections it would be remiss of me not to round them off nicely with a further related tip from the archives in the form of a julienne peeler. Now I'm a pretty modern person and rather rashly thought at first glance "That's just a peeler" but aha! How little do I know, this little gadget is ingenious and I'm eternally grateful for the tip. Grateful. Is this mic on? Anyway, £10 and change on Amazon and will do you more than just coleslaw. And into the bargain I now know what julienne means! 

The coleslaw conundrum …continued … say hello to your new best friend!

The julienne peeler - every serious cook should have one!

Here's another thing that gets on my wick – entirely related to shop bought coleslaw you understand – carrots either sliced so finely they are mush or so chunky and uneven you have to make an unscheduled trip to the dentist – without being ridiculous your slaw should be of a similar size.

Carrots bleed if you grate them – not to mention pebble dashing every nook and cranny in your kitchen – how is it possible that grated carrot can jettison so far?

Ta dah – enter the julienne peeler.

Here it is, along with the uniformly sliced strips of carrot it produces :

A neat piece of kit and inexpensive too.

The result of all your hard work looks like this :

Of course you could, if you prefer, dust off one of the gazillion attachments that belongs to your food processor/mixer for which you paid an exorbitant price and, if you can remember which bit goes where, use the slicer cum grater. Oh and create a washing up mountain to boot!

Editor's January Pick #16: Coleslaw Conundrum - an uphill battle!

Editor's note: It's hard to read a single blog post and then not carry on, and whilst I wouldn't want to overstay my welcome so I've chosen the follow up post that talks through more options and tips on making coleslaw - it's too good to miss. I wholeheartedly agree that buying ready made from a shop is at best a form of culinary roulette!

The coleslaw conundrum - an uphill battle!

I have friends and students who really dislike coleslaw and would pull a face that you're not supposed to see and then decline. The most frequent comments are - “it's tasteless and too much dressing” “I like the combination of vegetables but the dressing is too creamy and sickly”

I do like a challenge and consequently was delighted to hear “completely different to shop bought” “the dressing is very light not like the shop bought stuff”, “refreshing, tangy and delicious”.

If you don't want to be bothered with slicing and dicing then you could choose a good quality or your favourite shop bought brand of coleslaw and enhance it – there is without doubt a world of difference out there – it does not necessarily follow that the most expensive is the best, if you get my drift.

Obviously industrial processors are used for the mass produced product, hence the huge chunks of tough, woody cabbage in the mixture. So, if you are going to use a ready prepared version and make it your own you might want to fish out the larger pieces of cabbage and slice/chop/dice at will!

Add any of the variations mentioned in the Coronation Slaw recipe – to begin with the curry powder, lime juice and mango chutney then the apricots and sultanas. Add chopped nuts – walnuts or pecans would work well or a sharp flavoured apple, peeled quartered and diced. It's whatever floats your boat but is more practical if you don't have the time to slice and julienne the cabbage and carrots.

There is another speedier option – you can buy bags of coleslaw mix – in theory ready to use. The downside is that this product is mass produced as is the ready-made coleslaw and suffers the same fate - large inedible slices of cabbage et al. However it's nothing a chefs knife can't put right – tip it onto a chopping board and refine! The upside is it's practical and if you want to road test creating your own slaw it's worth a shot.

I don't want you to get the idea that I'm a coleslaw snob – too late was the cry!

Editor's January Pick #15: Coleslaw Conundrum

Editor's note: I often find myself with random cravings for food and coleslaw is one of the foods one which hopefully isn't that unusual. So when I do it's a sure-fire thing there'll be a blog post up on MiamMiam to either talk me through what I'm doing, give me inspiration to try a twist, or tell me where I might be going slightly wrong. So for one of the finest takes, I present from 2017...

(As a side note and not connected with this piece at all I found out whilst glancing through the blog that deglazing a pan it turns out does not involve a power sander, and I wish I was making that up...)

The coleslaw conundrum - Coronation Slaw

My quest for a good quality coleslaw has been going almost as long as the vegetarian burger.

I mentioned the slaw in My Quest with a photo of it, alongside the corn and chickpea burger and promised that the recipe would follow, here it is :

Coronation Slaw

110g white cabbage, finely sliced – approximately

one third of a medium size cabbage

1 carrot – peeled and sliced with a

julienne peeler

1 spring onion – 15g finely sliced

salt and black pepper

30g ready to eat apricots, finely diced

30g sultanas soaked in mango and apple juice

50g mayo

50g sour cream

1 tsp mild curry powder

squirt of lime juice

1 tbsp mango chutney

If there's one thing that gets on my wick it the huge lumps of woody cabbage you always find in shop bought coleslaw.

If you are of a similar mind and decide to try this recipe, I promise you that attention to detail is worth the effort. Here's what I mean :

First up slice a “cheek” of cabbage – a sharp paring knife is the best piece of kit – smaller and more easy to control – with care!

The recipe given will give you a box of slaw – measuring approximately 11cms x 6.5cms x 5cms. One box lasted me a week, a spoonful here and a spoonful there – you'd be surprised how well it fits as a side to lots of main dishes and particularly as part of a sandwich.

To be continued ...

Editor's January Pick #14: Kofta canapés, meatballs and burgers

Editor's note: Now you've read the rules, time to expand on them if you so wish! It didn't feel right to bring up the recipe without showing off the accompanying photo-guide. And, possibly more importantly, the idea of using the recipe for other dishes, like a burger. Same deal, same process, just a different shape and how you zhuzh it up. 

Kofta canapés, meatballs and burgers …

… the photo guide

Use a foil tray with 2 tbsp plain flour – it enables you to roll around the koftas to coat with flour without having to “assist” them.

If you would prefer a larger version then use a dessert spoon of mixture, treated in exactly the same way, like these :

Finally, if you're in the mood for a burger – but one with Indian flavours, have a look at these :

These burgers are 110g or 4oz in old money.

Editor's January Pick #13: Kofta canapés

Editor's note: Now this selection was originally posted along with the onion salad from last week (editor's further note - this was everything I wanted from a side dish when I made it earlier on!) - some people are huge fans of lamb so felt it only fair to bring this one to the forefront. It's a great way to use minced lamb and a kick too with the spices - read on!

Kofta canapés

How about a kofta for a canapé – these Indian meatballs are a real hit. As you'd expect from me they can be made ahead and frozen. Easy to spear on a cocktail fork or a cocktail stick. Serve with small bowls of sweet chilli sauce or raita or mango chutney or all three.

Kofta canapés

makes 25/30 ish

500g of minced lamb

*salt and black pepper

*2 cloves of garlic, crushed or 2 tsps of paste

*1 tsp of ground cumin

*1 tsp of ground coriander

*pinch of garam masala

*pinch of chilli powder

1 heaped tbsp of tomato paste

1 egg

sprinkle of plain flour

kitchen gloves or damp hands

Rapeseed oil for shallow frying

a foil tray 23cms x 23cms

Place the mince in a large mixing bowl then add the ingredients marked * and mix well. Add the tomato paste and the egg and combine. If you find the mixture too wet, then sprinkle a little plain flour into the mixture and fold in gently.

Using either gloves or damp hands your mixture should aim to be the size of a walnut (or 1 heaped teaspoon). Roll the mixture between your hands and when you've 8 or so heat the oil in a large frying pan. Seal the koftas on a low heat and carefully shake the pan to turn them – use tongs if you are accident prone!

At this stage you can continue to cook the koftas in the pan or you can transfer to an oven-proof dish and pop into a pre-heated oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15 minutes.

Alternatively let the koftas cool once sealed, transfer to freezer bags and freeze until required. Defrost and then place in a foil tray and warm in a pre-heated oven as above for 15 minutes.

Easy peasy and really tasty – photo guide next.

Editor's January Pick #12: No-churn Ice Cream

Editor's note: A lot of people enjoy sweet with savoury, and even as my tastebuds realign to find fruitcake tasty and other such things I never saw myself enjoying, something I will never fathom is butter on cake. But I am very much in the minority there! So, for those who want something a little sweet to go with the aforementioned (blowing my braincell budget right there...) banana bread, I present MiamMiam's no-churn ice cream. If you struggle to get fresh berries then frozen ones are definitely get-able, so grab a bag of whatever fruit is your fancy (strawberries if we're following closely) and see just how easy it is to make!

Speaking of seasonal fresh fruit

I don't think there is a more evocative scent of summer than that of a bowl of strawberries, it's just divine and makes your mouth water. Sadly these days shop bought fruit can bring disappointment since a lot of strawberries are forced and taste, quite honestly, of nothing. Buy locally at farm shops or pick your own if you can.

The following recipes give you two ideas for alternative uses for a glut of strawberries.

No-churn strawberry ice cream

The recipe will give you 960g

750g/1½lb strawberries

juice of two lemons

1 x 397g condensed milk

300g light brown muscovado sugar

Top the strawberries, cut in half or quarters if large then blitz to a purée, add the lemon juice. Tip the blitzed berries into a large sieve and allow the purée to pass through. As you're passing the strawberries there's no need to hull the berries.

Place the condensed milk and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl and whisk on high for 10 minutes. I used a hand whisk. Eventually the sugar is beaten into the condensed milk and will give you a ribbon effect. Set your timer and have patience – it's worth it. You can help your strawberry pulp through the sieve with the back of a metal spoon. Fold into your sugar and condensed milk and mix until combined. I split the mixture into two boxes. Freeze for at least 6 hours. Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving – no longer – it softens very quickly.

If you want a perfect scoop dip the scoop into boiling water and pat dry.

As the cook I think you're entitled to taste the ice cream ahead of serving. I confess I'm not a huge fan as a rule but I was intrigued so I took a teaspoonful as I boxed it – one word - “wow” - I ditched the spoon and took another, just to be sure.

It's the best I've ever made – I hope you feel the same!

Editor's January Pick #11: Banana Bread

Editor's note: Not sure if it's cheating to have two bread recipes in this week's selections but hey, perks of the job! Banana bread is one of my favourite treats, only made on occasion as I frequent the kitchen thinking of ways to accidentally happen upon another piece. One small tip (In addition to the useful ones mentioned in the following piece) - try with some peanut butter spread on it. 

Back to the new book … Four down, five to go!

Here's the next choice from “The Little Book of Chocolat”.

It wouldn't be right not to bake a cake for JJ so, here's :

River-Gypsy Banana Bread

Takes 1 hour / serves 8

butter for greasing a tin or a cake liner

200g self-raising wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

100g unrefined brown sugar

100g milk chocolate, broken into small

even pieces

2 eggs

100ml vegetable oil

3 ripe bananas, mashed

Pre-heat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4. Grease a 1kg loaf tin and line with baking parchment or use a cake liner.

Place the flour, baking powder, sugar and chocolate in a mixing bowl and mix well. In a jug place the eggs, oil and bananas and whizz until smooth – use a hand-held blender or hand mixer. Pour into the flour mix and blend quickly until stiff.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, sprinkle the top with some extra brown sugar and place in the middle of the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Test for readiness by inserting a skewer into the middle of the cake – it should come out clean when it's ready. Turn out the cake onto a cooling rack. Eat warm or cold.

The nitty-gritty!

I didn't use milk chocolate, I used plain chocolate chips. The result is that because plain chocolate has higher cocoa solids it does not melt like milk chocolate does - so, when sliced, you got perfect little hits of melted chocolate with the banana – yummy!

This is in no way any reflection on the recipe proper – if you're going to tip your hat at “sort of” healthy by using wholemeal flour using milk chocolate seems to cancel it out if you know what I mean. It's whatever makes you happy.

Editor's January Pick #10: Onion Salad Side

Editor's note: This recipe is a sure fire winner. Also, I feel like I've been taken to one side and been told a trade secret when it winds up tasting just as good as the stuff they serve you in a restaurant. Annoyingly enough they usually take it away when they bring your main – surely it's to be eaten “across the board”, so why take it away?!

It's so moreish – provided of course you like onions!

Have you ever wondered how they make the “onion salad” served with the poppadoms? I know that it varies from restaurant to restaurant but, many moons ago I was given a recipe which, to this day I've never committed to paper. It has to be said that it's quite hot and obviously you have to like onion.

Here goes :

2 medium onions, finely chopped -

weight 150g per onion approximately

salt and black pepper

2 tbsp fresh orange juice

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp tomato paste

pinch of chill powder

Place the onions in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Place the salad in sealed airtight containers and store in a cool place.

The secret to this salad is that you should not serve it for at least a day, preferably two after making it. It's important that the orange and lemon juice and the tomato paste are allowed to “mature” - leaving it to infuse takes away any harshness from the onion and the tomato paste.

This is a perfect accompaniment for the koftas but is equally as good with any curry.

Here it is :

If you are a lover of all things spicy then this onion salad is excellent with cold meats or, best of all, with a strong mature cheddar cheese.

Editor's January Pick #9: The Alternative Lunch - Cheese and Pecan Loaf

Editor's note: There's a few times when I've been selecting my personal highlights that I've been taken aback by how good the photos look (not biased of course!) but this one definitely falls into that category. DIY bread is obviously still big following the lockdown boon, but this post was originally from 2015 so a little ahead of that curve. Why not give it a go - what's not to love about cheese bread!

The alternative lunch

As with most of my posts, nothing is set in stone - if I trigger an idea of your own or inspire you to tweak, then my work here is done. The following menu could be taken as a vegetarian alternative or, give you choices that you may like to include as part of your own lunch.

Bread and Butter or

Cheese & Pecan Loaf with Butter

The Pie

Roasties

Maple glazed beetroot

Stir fried sprouts

Judy's Jars

I promised in the post The Method in my Madness – The Creaking Table that the Cheese & Pecan Loaf was on its way, here it is – have a glance at the photos – scrummy. Who doesn't like bread and butter – if you wanted to you could serve the bread and butter with the winter coleslaw – add cheesey, nutty and crunchy to the scrummy – you could even kid yourself it's healthy – NOT!

The Pie ticks the vegetarian box if you need to cater, alternatively you could serve it as part of your turkey roast – just add a sprout or six!

The roasties can be made ahead and frozen. I've always used Nigella's roast potato recipe and on the basis if it ain't broke I have no intention of fixing it.

Maple glazed beetroot – sweet and colourful.

Stir fried sprouts – sprouts are like Marmite you either love 'em or hate 'em. This suggestion would firmly squash the idea that contrary to popular belief they do not need to be cooking on the hob in October to serve on Christmas Day!

Judy's Jars is my bit of fun – created for my friend's birthday in December, it's a sharing pud – there's nothing quite like a fight to get to the last crumb!

Cheese & Pecan loaf

60g Parmesan cheese, grated

350g plain flour

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch cayenne pepper

125g mature cheddar cheese, cut

into small cubes

60g chopped pecan nuts (or walnuts

if preferred)

4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

250ml full fat milk

1 large egg

170ml tub of sour cream

salt and black pepper

900g (2lb) loaf tin, well buttered and

lined

Pre-heat your oven 180c/160fan/Gas 4

Sprinkle half the grated Parmesan cheese into the loaf tin to coat the base and sides.

Mix the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt and lots of black pepper into a large bowl. Mix in the cheddar cubes, nuts and spring onions.

In a separate bowl whisk the milk, egg and cream together then fold into the dry ingredients.

Spoon in the loaf tin, smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining grated Parmesan cheese.

Bake for 50/55 minutes until golden brown – skewer test i.e. insert skewer into loaf, on removal should be clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, turn out and transfer to a rack to cool.

Serve warm with lots of butter.

I shouldn't be blowing my own trumpet but having a savoury tooth rather than a sweet one, this is my kinda food.

You can freeze this – defrost thoroughly before you want to use it – slice thickly, wrap in foil and pop into a warm oven for ten minutes before serving.

It's easy but I would suggest that you do your mise en place – in other words, weigh out all the ingredients, ahead, it's just a bit time consuming so if all the boring stuff is done you don't even notice.

Editor's January Pick #8: The perfect partner

Editor's note: This recipe is a sleeper, something you wouldn't find yourself making every week, but if you make the chutney when you find the time, you'll have something special to add to a meal. You won't be sorry!

What's up my sleeve?

I just love a recipe that lends itself to all manner of uses.

Here's my first :

Roasted Garlic and Sweet Onion Jam

1 garlic bulb

1 tbsp olive oil

170g sweet onion – finely chopped

85g sugar

85g Granny Smith apple – finely chopped

120ml balsamic vinegar

Here's the make ahead bit :

Baked Garlic

2 bulbs of garlic

olive oil/rapeseed oil for drizzling

2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme - optional

salt and black pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 200c/180f/Gas 6.

Slice the tops off the bulbs and place the in a small oven dish, garlic roaster or foil dish so that they fit snugly. Drizzle with oil and season with thyme, salt and black pepper.

Roast in the oven for about an hour – until the garlic has softened. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin. Add a little more oil , keep in a tightly fitting container and place in the fridge.

You can use the paste in the same way as you'd use fresh garlic – the difference is that the baked garlic is sweeter and ready to use!

The paste will keep in your fridge for one to two weeks or you can freeze in small containers.

Method

Squeeze garlic cloves and any juice into a medium saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil over medium to high heat, stir occasionally then reduce the heat. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until thickened and again stir occasionally.

Be patient! It will look like it will never reduce and thicken. It does.

This recipe will fill a 370g conserve jar and here it is :

A note about sweet onions. I searched high and low and found them in Tesco – Finest Sweet Onions – a net of 3 for £1.50. You may think a little on the expensive side but I can assure you that they are worth it.

I can hear you saying “so what, it's another chutney” - yep it's good with the usual cheeses!

Editor's January Pick #7: Here's a cure for the winter blues

Editor's note: It might not have escaped anyone's notice that it's Winter in the Northern Hemisphere at the moment, or as we say in the UK - it's business as usual. Now I don't know about you but when I'm cold and it's dark at 4pm and the urge for a snack strikes, it's hard to beat a Croque Monsieur. Read on for a different spin on the classic, and whatever you do, leave the "Toastie maker" in the cupboard.

Here's the sandwich - the “Croque” …

I'm sure you've heard of a Croque Monsieur – it's a baked, or more popularly, fried sandwich which forms a crispy crust but an oozing filling in the middle. Croque literally means “crunch” from the verb “croquer” - “to bite”.

Croque, sandwich, tartine, brushetta, crostini, whatever is your favourite they should all be treated with respect. My personal favourite is a toasted version so, for a decadent treat, here's my latest :

Croque Marianne

for 4 sandwiches

8 slices of medium wholemeal bread

4 tsps Dijon mustard

75g each of Gruyere and mature cheddar cheese, grated

1 medium onion, preferably sweet or mild flavour,

finely sliced and left raw

60g unsalted butter

Spread ½ tsp of mustard over each slice of bread. Spread the cheese onto 4 slices of bread followed by the onions. Sandwich together with the other 4 slices of bread.

Heat half the butter in a frying pan until foaming – you'll get two sandwiches in your frying pan – fry for 1-2 minutes on each side and then pop the croques onto a baking sheet and into the oven whilst you repeat using the remaining butter and two sandwiches.

You may think the onion would be harsh to the palate but I assure you it isn't, provided you use either a sweet or mild variety. The sharpness of the onion cuts through the richness of the cheese.

Serve with your fried potatoes and a salsa or beetroot chutney or even small chunk Branston.

Any leftovers wrap in foil and fridge. Pop into a pre-heated oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6 with your leftover potatoes for 10 minutes. As with the potatoes, some may say even better the next day – I can absolutely confirm you'll still get oozy delicious Croque Marianne!

Editor's January Pick #6: Now I Have Your Attention.. Arancini!

Editor's note: Well if the previous pick was enough to pique your interest, it seems only right that the accompanying guide is presented along with it. I've noticed that some supermarkets have on occasion sold ready-made versions but I wouldn't want to taint something so downright tasty after having had the real deal. What follows is the first half of the recipe for making your own, with two links at the bottom on how to finish off the perfect arancini. The sections are fantastically split as you can follow the guide below to make the first part for the freezer, bring up the second guide to complete for the day before cooking, and the third to be used on the day!

My antidote …

to over-indulgence is simple tasty food and right about now we really begin to crave it, so here we have :

Arancini

For arancini, aka rice balls, you'll need a basic risotto recipe :

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

40g unsalted butter

1 tbsp groundnut oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves (or 3 tsps paste)

350g risotto rice

150ml dry white wine

2 tbsps flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

100g Parmesan cheese, grated

salt and black pepper

Bring the stock to a boil and simmer gently. Heat the butter and the oil in a pan and fry the onions and garlic until soft. Season with salt. Stir in the rice and fry for 2 minutes until the edges become opaque. Add the wine. Start adding the stock, a ladle at a time – the liquid should be absorbed before you add the next. Add the parsley, black pepper and the Parmesan cheese.

It's imperative that your stock is kept hot and added a ladle at a time. If you follow these basic principles you'll be fine.

Tip your risotto into a tray bake, cover and cool, then fridge. You can leave for a couple of hours or overnight – whatever suits you best. The tray measures 12” or 31cms - with the tray bake lengthways in front of you cut the risotto in half. Each half tray ( 6” or 15.5cms) gives you 9 arancini weighing approximately 80/90gm approximately. Using one half divide into 9 squares – 2½” (6.5cms) 5” (13cms) and 7½” (19cms) and set aside. I used a good old fashioned school ruler – works a treat. You can continue and make another 9 or freeze the remaining risotto as it is.

Prepping this way will give you pretty much similar sized arancini but don't lose sleep over it!

You might think there appears to be a lot of work here but the recipe is simplicity itself and it can be made in stages, whenever you have time.

Happy New Year!

Editor's note: for part 2 of how to prepare the arancini follow this link

And for part 3 of how to finish it off on the day, follow this link.

Editor's January Pick #5: Italian/Malaysian Fusion?

Editor's note: My first introduction to arancini was from MiamMiam, and having recently sampled an amazing curry from the very same source, never was my gob so smacked to rediscover this posting from way back in 2016 that marries the two together! It feels underwhelming to palm a reader off with 'just look at the photo!', but it does a dash decent job of showing off the combination of the crispness of the coated and fried rice and the perfection that is the Rendang curry. So, have a go!

Fancy …

… Italian/Malaysian fusion?

Another suggestion for serving the arancini. If you think about it you generally eat rice with a curry … why not in a ball with a crispy shell?

Why not serve the rice ball with a rendang curry? You can cheat if you like a buy a ready-made paste and add it to coconut milk or, a sort of half way house, make your own but speedily.

Rendang Sauce

100 ml coconut cream

50ml water

3 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp curry powder

(I used mild)

1 tbsp kecap manis

(also known as sweet soy sauce)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over a low heat and

serve. Can be made ahead and re-heated.

There's nothing wrong with a short cut or two – it may not appeal to the purists out there – some of us haven't got time!

The world is definitely your lobster – you can add prawns or chicken, whatever you fancy. Just in case you think I'm making this stuff up – here's what it looks like, with prawns in the rendang sauce :

Happy New Year!

Editor's January Pick #4: - Side for your Salads: Chickpeas

Editor's note: This post ticks a number of boxes right now - healthy, quick, filling, cheap, and there's a massive probability that like me, you'll have a tin of chickpeas on hand! Good as either a snack or part of a main, it couldn't be simpler! I recently made a vegan Thai curry and followed this recipe before I added the chickpeas to the sauce and it was a winner. Versatile!

Side for your “Salads”

Did you think that chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) were just used as an ingredient in hummus – think again!

Cheeky Chickpeas!

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas

2 tbsp olive oil

salt

Pre-heat your oven 210fan/230c/Gas 8

Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Lay the chickpeas on kitchen roll and pat dry.

Place the chickpeas in a bowl and toss them in the oil. Season with salt. ** Add optional spices.

Spread the chickpeas on a non-stick baking tray and bake for 30 minutes – shake gently after 15 minutes – check again after a further 10 minutes – the chickpeas should be golden brown – note to self, do not walk away! Ovens vary as do the size of the actual chickpeas and you do not want them to burn and spoil.

Check out these photographs.

If you like spice you could mix together a pinch of chilli, sweet paprika and garlic powders or any spice you like – sumac would work well. Sprinkle the spices over the chickpeas and mix well at ** above.

You could use them as texture to top a salad – warm or cold – or just munch away from the bowl – I warn you they are moreish!