Samphire, Tofu and Soy Rice

Samphire is salty, crunchy and had a deep seaweed like flavour that pairs well with tofu and soy. I really enjoy making asian inspired noodle dishes like Yaki Soba and have been trying to make more interesting rice dishes. I have found been sprouts hard to replace since they don't pair well with rice. Samphire is the perfect solution.

Ingredients

Samphire

Firm tofu

Brown rice

2 beaten eggs

Thinly sliced red onion

soy sauce

minced fresh ginger

chilli paste

mirin

Directions

*1*

Steam the brown rice by covering the rice with enough water to just reach past the knuckles of your hand (when rested on the rice). Press the tofu to remove any excess water, this is essential if you are to get crispy tofu.

*2*

Cut the tofu into 1 inch squares and fry in sunflower oil on a high heat until coloured. Dip the fried tofu into soya sauce when finished, to marinade.

*3* 

Gently stir fry the samphire and red onion in a wok for a few minutes. Next add the egg and stur until it is cooked through. Finally add the tofu, rice and ginger marinade. Serve with Japanese chilli, sesame and orange powder and fresh chopped coriander.

Pumpkin and pearl barley risotto

Ingredients

Pearle Barley

Mushrooms

Roasted Pumpkin/ butternut squash 

blus cheese

toasted walnuts

red onions

Bouillion or chicken stock

sherry vinegar

white wine

spices

fresh sage

smoked paprika 

netmeg

black pepper

bay leaf

fresh thyme

Directions

*1*

Roast the butternut squash in olive oil with some garlic, thyme and salt. Slice into 2cm chunks when cool. Set aside.

*2*

Slice up the red onions lengthwise into long rings. Cook on a low heat in butter and olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and caster sugar and some thyme. Saute for 15 mins until sticky before adding a dash of sherry vinegar. Saute on a low heat until sweet.

*3*

Fry the mushrooms on a high heat to get some colour. Then add the peal barley, wine and half of the stock. Cook down adding more stock when necessary. When the barley is tender add the pumpkin. Finish off with the caramelised onions stirred through and the toasted walnuts and blue cheese on top.

Anchovy and chard pasta

Ingredients

pasta

chard/ rainbow chard - leaves separated from the stem

anchovies

toasted almonds

parmesan

chilli 

sherry vinegar

garlic chopped

Directions

*1*

Chop the chard stem's and leaves into 1 inch peices. Peel the stems a little if they are stringy.

*2*

Saute the chard stems for 5 minutes on a high heat in olive oil. Then add the leaves, chilli and garlic and turn down the heat ton medium. Saute until cooked through 5-8 mins, add the anchovies and saute until they  start to disntegrate.

*3*

Add a dash of vinegar and let it cook of for a minute. Then add the almonds and parmesan and the warm pasta and stir through.

Pear frangipanne

I love crumbles.

But this means i make too many crumbles.

Recently while trying to make a cobbler style topping i made a pear frangipanne. It's leke the filling to a tart but lighter without the pastry. I made a red wine anise, lemon and date syrup reduction below the cake mix giving everything a kick.

Ingredients

Wine reduction

1 cup of red wine

1 tsp date syrup

1 star anise

1.2 tbsp light brown demarara sugar

juice and zest of half a lemon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

3 pears, halfed with the seed removed

Frangipanne style mix

30g unsalted butter

30g caster sugar

10g corn flour

15g plain flour

25g ground almonds

1 egg - separated.

1 tsp vanilla essence/ almond essence

Directions

*1*

Reduce the wine with the sugar, syrup, juice and spices until a syrup consistency. Add the pears and reduce further for a few minutes. I made the reduction fairly sharp because my pears were sweet. If the pears are firmer and not so sweet add more sugar.

*2*

Separate the egg and whip the egg white into soft firm peaks.

*3*

Beat the sugar butter and vanilla/almond essence until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and mix well. Slowly add the flours and ground almonds until you have a paste. Lastly fold the egg white into the paste using a spatula. For an even lighter cake use 2 egg whites.

*4*

Spoon the cake mix over the pears and bake in at 175 degrees for around 20-25 minutes.

Round 2: Curve garden pizza's

So the last pizza making kitchen went so well we decided to come back. Highlights include a courgette flower, courgette, sage and fennel pizza......

Plum, peach and beetroot salad

So, here's my thing for the summer, been raving about this one all week. Some things don't sound amazing/ quite right but you put them in your mouth and blam they hit you.

Ingredients

4 cooked and peeled beetroots

4 fresh plums

2 fresh peaches

3 sprigs of chocolate mint

few lavender flowers

Juice + zest of half a lemon

pinch of salt/pepper

drip of balsamic vinegar

Directions

*1*

Dice the beetroot, plums and peaches.

*2*

Toss with chopped mint, the lemon and the vinegar. Season to taste and serve.

Pizza's

Had a special People's kitchen at the Dalston Curve Garden last weekend! They've got a clay pizza oven and an endless supply of fresh herbs!

Here's a salad recipe i've been making throughout the summer.

Raw Beet

Ingredients:

* Peeled carrots

* Beetroot

* Bramley apples

*Unwaxed lemon

*toasted pumkin/sunflower seeds

Dressing

* Juice of 1/2 a lemon

* pinch of salt

* tsp of caster sugar

* 3TBS of olive or sunflower oil

Yogurt sauce

* Greek yogurt

*lemon juice

* tumeric

* cumin

* pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

*1*

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and check the seasoning.

*2*

Peel and grate the veg and the apples and toss with the dressing. Serve with a dollop of the yogurt dressing