Cannellini Beans with Cinnamon & Tomatoes

So the last week or so seems to have been filled with quite indulgent (though in some cases still relatively healthy) meals. I tend to vaguely plan a week ahead, a list of ten or so dishes from which I’ll choose from. And I tend to go in cycles. The current rota therefore seems to be much more veg, fish and pulse orientated and this recipe is the first of the current cycle. Dried pulses do of course...

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Ayam Pongteh

So, another Malaysian dish here and another nyonya one at that. Ayam pongteh is nyonya braised chicken with shiitake mushroom and potato and is popularly eaten at most festivals or celebrations in Malaysia (so I've read anyway).  Although not spicy it is still very full flavoured with the sauce being enriched by lots of shallots, garlic and umami-rich fermented...

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Khmer Chicken Samla

This dish, as its name suggests originates in Cambodia, where it is one of the most popular dishes apparently, and features in a book called Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet (although I found the recipe online somewhere). It is basically an aromatic soupy curry made with a typically Cambodian lemongrass heavy paste and simmered in coconut milk.  Another paste here then that involves a lot of chopping...

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Thit Kho Tau

This is a Vietnamese recipe which I first saw on the site Jessie and the Giant Plate and is basically pork braised in a caramel sauce with boiled eggs. As in China (that has it’s own version of this), there are lots of pigs in Vietnam meaning that a lot of pork is eaten - and as pork has an affinity with sweetness the Vietnamese also utilize caramelised sauces. Most recipes call for belly pork...

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Prawn Curry

I like prawns, and as you may have noticed, I love curry. And so over time I’ve worked on what I now think is pretty close to being the perfect prawn curry (although this is also brilliant but as it’s not my creation...). You can of course use ready ground spices if you like but it really is worth the effort in toasting & grinding your own as it definitely will affect the flavour for the...

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Spinach & Walnut Stuffed Mushrooms

This is another simple supper dish where again you can pretty much play around with the ingredients depending on what you’ve got hanging around in the fridge - using different veg, nuts and different cheeses to ring the changes. I was tempted in fact to fry up some chopped pancetta and add that to the stuffing mix but decided to have a meat free day instead. I’ve used fresh baby spinach leaves...

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Nyonya style laksa

There are many, many different types of laksa in Malaysian cuisine. To be honest I find it all pretty confusing. As far as I can make out, the laksa most frequently available in the UK is curry laksa (also known as curry mee) but the other main variant is asam laksa (also known as Penang laksa) - not named for anything to do with tea but rather asam is the Malay word for tamarind which is used to...

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Jungle Curry with Duck

The first time I made this was when my friend Laura came down to London and stayed at mine - Laura loves spicy Thai food but isn’t keen on coconut so I decided my mission was to peruse David Thompson’s Thai Food to find something suitably delicious. Jungle curries originate from the north of Thailand where they differ from the “norm” in that they never contain coconut milk. Thailand, despite...

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Fried Gnocchi with Pancetta, Spinach, Cherry Tomatoes and Mozzarella

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere I’m not actually a fan of shop-bought gnocchi, I find them too dense and claggy.. frying them though does somehow seem to magically transform the clagginess into something toothsome and more-ish. I originally stumbled across this recipe on Liberty London Girl’s blog. The first time I made it was for a Saturday lunch, suffering from a bit of a hangover (after a delicious...

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Eggs en Cocotte with Spinach & Garlic Toast

The classic French name for this is oeufs en cocotte, basically describing eggs cooked and served in a small singular dish, in other words a ramekin. Simply put, a baked egg. One of the great things about it (apart from being simple to make, and delicious of course) is it’s versatility. Not only can it be served as an easy breakfast or brunch, but also as a light, but quite decadent supper. And...

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Spicy Butternut Squash Soup with Cream & Roasted Seeds

I had a squash in the fridge leftover from roasting another earlier in the week and I decided I fancied a nice warming soup for the weekend. I like making soup, it's generally pretty easy and something that once you’ve done the chopping you can just leave to simmer until blitzing with a stick blender (or not of course if you prefer a bit of chunk). This is one in my repertoire that I’ve not done...

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Slow Braised Beef Shin with Ginger & Soy

Another recipe taken from River Cottage Every Day. I've actually made a heavily tampered with version of this before, for friends, but decided this time I would stay true to the original recipe. Shin is a fantastic cut in my opinion. It is cheap, due to the fact that it is also the driest, toughest cut of beef but it is perfectly suited to long and slow braising in liquid where it becomes...

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Roasted Butternut Squash with Rosemary, Garlic & Chilli and Spring Greens Rice

Squash is delicious roasted - I have used butternut squash here but other Autumn squashes would work just as well with onion squash being the next natural choice for me I think. Roasting brings out the nuttiness of squash while fresh herbs, garlic and chilli set off the natural sweetness of it. Don't be tempted to peel the squash though, the skin is edible and will become deliciously caramelised...

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Pork Steaks braised with Creamy Leeks & Mustard

So as evidenced by my last two 2011 update posts, I’ve finally settle into the new (old) flat, or at least as well as I ever will so thought it time to get back in the blogging saddle. Of course it is now, albeit temporarily, my rather small, South East London kitchen but there we go. Feeling relatively uninspired by some leeks in the fridge I opted in the end for a braised pork recipe - very similar...

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