The back catalogue – the spuds

The following potato recipe would be a great addition to your mezze. It's different to the traditional tapas dish “patatas bravas” - quite obviously because it doesn't contain the traditional tomato sauce. The soured cream is served separately which gives your guests a choice.

Here goes :

Spanish Spuds

800g potatoes, cut into cubes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

1 garlic clove, chopped finely or

1 tsp garlic paste

1 medium red chilli, seeds removed

chopped finely

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

Pot of soured cream to serve

Boil the potatoes for 5 minutes. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the onion until it colours. Add the garlic and spices, fry for 2 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and tip into the mixture. Turn to a high heat and shake the pan so that the potatoes are covered with the onion/spice mixture. Cook for 10 minutes until tender. Serve with soured cream.

I realise the recipe given is for a large quantity – it's difficult to say how many servings – it depends on the size of appetites - I would say eight to ten. You could halve the quantities if you wish but I've learnt from experience that potato based dishes are very popular. If you have leftovers they'd soon vanish the following day – part of a lunch box or a cold supper?

Next up, Middle Eastern and Indian mains ...

The back catalogue – the pide photos

If you want to keep it simple add a sprinkle of celery salt and/or garlic granules and a sprinkle of grated cheese – any cheese that melts will do!

Have a look :

 

I sprinkled mine with extra semolina and

Nigella seeds

More sprinkles – this time grated cheese

It makes a great snack served with bowls of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dunking – a glug of each – a glug = 2 tablespoons.

Make sure you've serviettes ready or may be even a bib!

Then there's the spuds ...

The back catalogue – pide

Don't be scared – this is not difficult. All you have to think about is are you around the house in a morning or an afternoon, to be able to complete the stages, none of which are long winded, it's perfect to slot in around the chores you know you've got to tackle so why not get home-made bread as a bonus!

Here goes :

You can choose whether you use the salt, oil and sesame seeds as a topping or roll in semolina and sprinkle with Nigella seeds before baking.

Pide

one sachet of easy-blend yeast – 7g

pinch of salt

700g plain white flour

plus extra

1 egg, beaten

100ml olive oil

400ml lukewarm water

30g sesame seeds and coarse sea salt

2 tbsp semolina

or extra semolina and Nigella seeds to sprinkle

Put the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the yeast and the olive oil reserving a little to brush over the bread prior to proving, add the water.

Mix until the dough forms into a firm ball, leaving the sides of the bowl. Cover with a clean damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. 1 – 1½ hours.

Lightly flour two baking sheets.

Knock down the dough - divide into two, shape each into a round ball and then roll each in 1 tbsp of semolina . Roll out and shape into two ovals and place on the baking sheets. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with sea salt, the reserved oil and sesame seeds. Alternatively you can sprinkle with additional semolina and Nigella seeds. Leave to prove for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Pre-heat your oven 210c/190fan/Gas 7.

Make dimples all over the surface of the bread – use your index finger vertically into the bread and you'll achieve the same size.

Bake in a hot oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and when the base is tapped the bread sounds hollow.

From the recipe given you'll get two pide – 30x20cms or 12x8” in old money.

You don't have to be an accomplished bread maker – it's easy. There are variations on the theme of pide in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In Turkey there are pide street food shops called “pideci”.

You can top pide with your favourite ingredients – feta, mozzarella, cheese with leek and potato – break an egg in the middle and bake with the bread.

Here's a photo or two ...

The back catalogue

I took my own advice and had a look through the back catalogue – a voyage of discovery!

Hoping that we'll be able to be more sociable and get together with our family and friends, here are some ideas from the back catalogue of dishes that can be what you want them to be – portable for a picnic – al fresco in your garden or even indoors at the dining table.

You can cheat if you want and buy some of the elements, it's entirely up to you – where there's a recipe I'll give you an alternative or as near to, that you can buy.

These ideas are based on a Mezze … or is it Thali, Tapas or Cicchetti - a selection of dishes suitable for all of the above venues.

It'll be fun to mix it up - Middle Eastern, Indian, Spanish and Italian, whatever takes your fancy.

Everything changes when you're sat round a table, inside or out - you are much more likely to try dishes you've not tasted before or even to re-visit a dish you've previously disliked. It's like the salad bar principle, because you can serve yourself and there's no pressure - if a dish looks colourful and tempting you give it a go and who knows – you might like it!

There's something really decadent about picking and choosing from a table laden with different tempting dishes. Another essential must be delicious bread.

Speaking of delicious bread – you can buy great varieties, sourdough, focaccia stuffed with olives or not, wraps, the list is endless. Most supermarkets have a good selection of freshly baked artisan breads or you may be lucky and have an artisan bakery on your doorstep. One of my favourites is “Pide” (pronounced pee-day) - a Turkish bread that uses semolina – a perfect addition to a mezze style of eating.

There are so many mezze dishes to choose from – there are the usual suspects that we're all familiar with and that are available ready-made - hummus made with chickpeas, tarama (which is known as taramasalata in Greece) made with smoked cod's roe and baba ganoush (ghanouj) made with aubergine, to name but three.

Whichever cuisine takes your fancy the end result is the same – who doesn't like tearing and sharing bread and dipping in.

You can make your own pide if you fancy having a go …

If all else fails … make a mess!

This series goes back to 2017 and if you want ideas for another variation on a theme, make a Hodgepodge - aka a mess.

Hazelnut Hodgepodge

Serves 1

3 meringue kisses, crushed

1 scoop of vanilla ice cream

A sprinkle of toasted, chopped hazelnuts – 25g approx

30g frozen raspberries – defrosted – do not sweeten

1 tbsp sticky toffee sauce – loosen in microwave for

15 secs on medium

Assembly

A glass bowl or sundae dish makes this

dessert stand out, layer as follows :

crushed kisses

scoop of ice cream

sprinkle of hazelnuts

raspberries but reserve the juices

drizzle of sticky toffee sauce

drizzle of raspberry juices

Add a final sprinkle of hazelnuts

sweetness – the meringues

texture – the hazelnuts

sharpness – the raspberries and the juices

sticky toffee sauce and ice cream – pure indulgence

what is a dessert without indulgence!

A Hodgepodge is instant – ish. You can put in as much or as little effort as your time permits – to explain.

You can buy drums of meringue kisses or make your own*.

You can buy ice cream or make your own*.

You can buy whole hazelnuts and chop and roast or buy roasted, chopped hazelnuts in 100g bags ready to use.

Raspberries are available – preferably fresh, frozen if not.

You can buy jars of caramel sauce – dulce de leche or salted caramel or you can make your own sticky toffee sauce*.

We've covered all the recipes marked * in the Dids “Susan” ideas.

If you like the simplicity of the Hodgepodge there are two more recipes – Hodgepodge – Take 2 3^rdApril 2017 (Cherry and Chocolate) and Hodgepodge again - 18thApril 2017 (Lemon & Blueberry)

Whichever dive in dessert you choose to serve have the best time ever with your loved ones and stay safe and well.

Dids – back to the beginning

I began this series of dive in desserts with chocolate - easy, straight forward ideas for the Susan. It appeals to my sense of order to finish where I started with chocolate and with the fancy dancin' posh pud – but one that you can make ahead and freeze.

This pud involves prep – it's worth it but a word of caution – you might not want the work if your party is a large one.

Anyway, here goes :

Perfect Chocolate Fondants

Makes 2

60g unsalted butter, cut into dice, plus extra to grease

1 tbsp cocoa powder

60g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

1 egg and 1 egg yolk

60g caster sugar

1 tbsp plain flour

pinch of salt

Pre-heat the oven to 180fan/200c/Gas 6 if cooking immediately and put a baking tray on the middle shelf. Butter the inside of 2 small ramekins (8x4 cms) or pudding moulds (6x6 cms) and then put the cocoa in one and turn it to coat the inside, holding it over the second mould to catch any that escapes. Do the same with the other mould. You might want to do the “cocoa coating” over a tray lined with kitchen roll – you can't avoid cocoa dust.

Put the butter and chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over, but not touching, a pan of simmering water and stir occasionally until melted. Allow to cool slightly.

Vigorously whisk together the egg, yolk, sugar and a pinch of salt until pale and fluffy. Gently fold in the melted chocolate and butter, and then the flour. Spoon into the prepared moulds, stopping just shy of the top – at this point the mixture can be refrigerated until needed, or even frozen, as the puddings will not wait around once cooked.

Put on to a hot baking tray and cook for 12 minutes (14 if from cold, 16 if frozen) until the tops are set and coming away from the sides of the moulds. Leave to rest for 30 seconds and then serve in the ramekins or turn out on to plates if you're feeling confident – serve with fresh raspberries and/or a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side (clotted cream works too).

This recipe absolutely works – make sure you have your kitchen timer sellotaped about your person – precision is everything – you'll get foolproof chocolate fondants!

Up next … if all else fails

Lemon curd gate

It has been a while since I had a rant – my last you may recall concerned the absence from our supermarket shelves of lemon curd – Sicilian specifically. It seems to be random – my friend shops at a different supermarket and assures me basic lemon curd is available. I've not seen either version since I don't know when!

It occurs that there seems little point in writing about the tiramisu recipes if you're not able to buy lemon curd. Clearly it's available in some areas but not in others. I'm lucky, I have my Sister, Whizzer who loves a challenge and produced yet another rabbit out of a hat and sent me a jar of lemon curd – the last one on the shelf.

I don't know why I didn't think of this before – just in case you're having difficulty finding the curd, you could make your own in 12 minutes max in the microwave :

Making Microwave Lemon Curd

115g/4oz butter, cubed

Finely grated rind and juice

of three large lemons**

225g/8oz caster sugar

3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

Put the butter, lemon rind and juice in a large microwave-proof bowl. Cook on high for 3 minutes.

Add the sugar to the bowl and stir for 1 minute until it has almost dissolved. Return to the microwave and cook on 100% power for 2 minutes, stirring every 1 minute.

Beat the eggs and the yolk together, then whisk into the lemon mixture, a little at a time.

Cook on medium (40% power), for 10-12 minutes, whisking every 2 minutes, until the curd thickens. You will find that your curd has white cords from the eggs – pour the curd through a sieve before filling the jars, for the perfect smooth result.

Ladle into hot sterilized jars, cover and seal. When cool, store in the refrigerator. Use within 2 months.***

N.B. Microwaves vary :

This recipe is based on an 800 watt version. For microwaves with a different wattage, adjust cooking times as follows, 900 watt – subtract 10 seconds per minute. 850 watt, subtract 5 seconds per minute. 750 watt, add 5 seconds per minute. 700 watt, add 10 seconds per minute.

**If you don't have fresh lemons you can use lemon juice and omit the rind. As a guide - 4 tbsp of juice is equivalent to 1 and a half lemons.

***The quickest way to sterilise jars is to place them in your dishwasher.

It's really easy – a small tip though – when you begin to cook the curd on medium in 2 minute blocks, make a note on a piece of paper 2,4,6,8,10 and/or 12 and cross off each 2 minute block – use your timer too – it helps to keep track.

It's not Sicilian I know but it's every bit as good as shop bought “basic”.

Note to self – I really must look at my back catalogue of recipes more often.

Next … the fancy dancin' “Did” you make ahead and freeze - that takes minutes to heat and serve.