Lettercollum Kitchen Project

December 8, 2014

Roots and Wine

Sometimes we enthusiastically drink wine in the middle of the week, this can lead to a ‘hang on a minute, what the heck are we doing’ moment and the cork goes back in the bottle. The bottle then loiters on the counter until we drink it or fling it in a dinner.

Roots and wine are a excellent combination and get the left over wine off of the counter and out of temptations way. The robust flavours of carrots, parsnips and beetroots mellow nicely when cooked slowly with wine, puy lentils, bay leaves and onions. I stirred in tablespoon of pomegranate molasses at the end which gave it a bright little lift.

Served with some mash they make an easy midweek dinner.

The mash can be spuds alone but often it’s a blend. Last night it was pumpkin and kale.

We’re eating a lot of pumpkin and kale at the moment, having a stash of pumpkins and plenty of kale growing in the garden. I mix fifty fifty potatoes and pumpkin, mash them with a little olive oil or butter then stir in finely chopped and sautéed kale.

This is a delicious winter dinner and I might as well mention it’s very good washed down with a glass of red wine!!

2 onions – peeled and chopped into wedges

a good glug of olive oil

3 stems of celery – diced

2-4 carrots – peeled and chopped into chunks

1-2 parsnips – peeled and chopped into wedges

4-6 beetroots -peeled and chopped into equal sized chunks

3 cloves garlic – peeled and finely chopped

2 bay leaves

150g puy lentils

about 250mls red wine – or whatever’s left in the bottle

750mls vegetable stock

1 tbs pomegranate molasses

salt and pepper

Heat a large saucepan the add a good glut of olive oil, enough to just cover the bottom of the pan.

Add the onions and cook on medium heat for five minutes. Stir in the celery and continue cooking

Peel and chop the vegetables in the above order, adding to the pan as they are prepared. Season with a little salt and keep cooking and stirring on a medium heat.

Add the bay leaves then the puy lentils, wine and vegetable stock, bring to the boil then turn the heat down and simmer for forty minutes. Check the vegetables and puy lentils. If they are tender they’re ready to go. Stir in 1tbs of pomegranate molasses and season with a little salt and pepper.

Leave a comment | tags: one pot wonders, vegtarian | posted in General foodie news, One pot wonders, vegetarian, Vegetarian Recipes

November 27, 2014

Moujadarra – Rice and Lentils from Lebanon

By lettercollumkitchenproject

I used to think rice and lentils were the most boring dinner and they certainly have a dodgy reputation but since eating them Lebanese style with lots of crispy fried onions I have changed my mind.

It’s the ultimate comfort food and perfect partner for so many simple things. Roast vegetables, fried egg, grilled fish…. They are also delicious one their own with just a little labneh or Greek yoghurt on the side.

Here’s a picture what’s left in the bowl half way through serving. Hunger overcame us and the picture got delayed!

We ate them tonight with spicy pumpkin and stir fried kale

Here’s the recipe, it’s called Moujaddara

or Rice and Lentils with Crispy Onions.

This is enough for four hungry people

4 big onions, peeled and sliced

200g green lentils

200g long grain rice or basmati rice

1tsp cummin

1 tsp seven spice

150mls olive oil

Put the lentils in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil then simmer, covered, for about 15minutes – until the lentils are half cooked and most of the water has been absorbed.

Heat the oil and add the sliced onions.

Fry on a fairly high heat until the onions become golden and begin to get crispy. Lift the onions out of the oil and leave to drain on a piece of kitchen paper.

When the lentils are half cooked add the rice, the cummin and seven spice mix, 300mls of water and half a tsp salt. Bring to the boil, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes.

Take off the heat, give and leave to relax for five minutes.

Tip the rice and lentils onto a warmed serving dish and scatter the crispy onions on top.

Serve with labne on the side or try some pumpkin chopped into chunks and tossed with olive oil and roasted with a little cinnamon, cumin and coriander.

Served with a drizzle of tahini sauce

Yum!

Leave a comment | tags: Lebanese, lentils, rice, roast pumpkin, tahini sauce, vegetarian | posted in General foodie news, Lebanese, One pot wonders, vegetarian, Vegetarian Recipes

November 19, 2014

Funky Carrot Cake

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Now that the cookbook is up and out there it’s time to get back blogging. This has been sadly neglected in the past month.

I have recently rediscovered one of my original cookbooks. It was printed in 1973 ‘The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook’, and it is so well thumbed that it’s held together with sticky tape.

It was printed when cookbooks contained very few pictures which means there are in fact an awful lot of recipes. I reckon we probably tried near enough fifty percent – it was one of our only cookbooks – before it retired quietly to the back of the shelf. Rereading it is like a trip down memory lane – food’s like that – and I find myself remembering all sorts of gatherings and occasions. There was one recipe, which did have a picture , for a carrot cake.

This was before carrot cake became famous and in every cafe. What attracted me was not only the cake made with a vegetable but it was also orange. I thought that was so funky that I had to try it. I made it for a friends birthday. I vaguely remember it being an outrageously expensive cake to make – ground almonds were expensive and we were as broke as church mice. I was living in an apartment in Antwerp with a dodgy oven. It was before I owned any kitchen gadgets and the cake was made with the aid of a potato masher and a whisk .

On rediscovering this recipe I’ve realised that it is also gluten and dairy free which most carrot cakes aren’t and also is why the cake is orange. It’s made with eggs, almonds, sugar and carrots.

Here’s the recipe made with the help of a food mixer and a magic wand – aka hand held blender.

350g carrots

225g sugar

6 eggs

350g ground almonds

grated rind of 1 orange

1tbs brandy or similar booze

Peel the carrots and chop into equal sized pieces. Put them into a small saucepan, cover with water and a little salt and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and simmer for about fifteen minutes or until tender. Drain and buzz to a smooth puree. Leave to cool.

Pre heat the oven 170c

Line a 24cm cake tin with parchment paper

Separate the eggs.

Put the yolks into a bowl and whisk until they are pale and frothy, add the sugar and continue beating until the mix is blond and creamy.

Add the carrots, ground almond, orange zest and tablespoon of booze.

Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks then add a tbs sugar and whisk until stiff peaks.

Using a large metal spoon fold half of the egg whites into the carrot mix then tips the remainder of the egg whites onto the mix and fold them in.

Pou the mix into the prepared cake tin and bake for about 50minutes.

To test the cake is done poke skewer into the centre. If it comes out clean it’s ready

2 Comments | tags: gluten free, sweet things, vegetarian | posted in General foodie news

October 7, 2014

The Sporting Club

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Beirut is very full and very busy. It’s also sunny and hot, not as hot as the summer here but enough for me to want to catch a few rays. This is difficult to achieve in-between the buildings and the traffic. The solution is to hit the Sporting Club on the Corniche. Very select, but then a lot of Beirut seem to have plenty of money. Lots of sophisticated people here and big fancy cars.

The Sporting club is right on the sea with a mixture of swimming pools (plural) and also sea pools between the rocks. Natural swimming pools with the luxury of ladders to clamber in and out. It costs $25 to get in and this includes your own cabin to get changed and leave your clothes in, sun loungers and shade – if that’s what you want- and waiters serving cold drinks. Very fancy.

We managed to sneak off for a couple of hours, our programme is quite intensive and I am finding it difficult to be inside all the time

The swim was delicious. The sea is warm enough to wallow in, the cold drinks welcome and there’s even wi fi so you can run your business or write your blog whilst you chill.

What a life!!

Leave a comment | tags: Beirut, The Sporting club | posted in General foodie news

October 6, 2014

Cooking on the Green Line

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Yesterdays expedition was slightly hairy.

Kamal is involved in an initiative called ‘Make Food Not War” and today he took us to cook with war widows in Tripoli .

The idea is to bring people together through food regardless of religion and equip them with some skills that so that they can make a living. The group of women involved come from both sides of the warring factions and working together gives them common ground. We set off early this morning through the insane traffic heading north out of Beirut. The roads are pretty much a free for all. There are very few road markings and basically all the cars go full pelt honking and weaving in and out all frantically trying to make progress.

We stopped at a fish market on the way to pick up some fish for Sally to smoke – beautiful bright fish, bonito, tuna, parrot fish, garfish, sea bass, some of it still twitching. Sally selected a the sea bass, a garfish and something we’re still not sure the name off. The coast road is the main artery through Lebanon which is a surprisingly small country – no bigger than Co.Cork . It doesn’t look that small on the atlas and of course it’s a completely different shape, long and skinny. The closer we got to Tripoli the more road blocks we passed through and Tripoli itself is something of a full on war zone with fully manned tanks, machine guns and sand bags. The buildings are covered in bullet holes and some aren’t there any more at all. The building where the cooking initiative is held is right on the Green Line. Smack bang in the middle of the troubled zone. Luckily it was quiet today but it definitely added a certain edge, not our usual cooking location.

The doors were manned by armed soldiers and we were welcomed in and taken upstairs to meet the ladies.who were in the middle of making “maamoul’ sweet pastries to celebrate Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday which is this weekend. There was an enormous lump of dough on the counter and dates and nuts were being pounded to make the fillings.

They took a break to check out Sally’s fish smoking lesson.

They found the idea of smoking fish very strange.The idea of cooking fish in smoke didn’t appeal at all and they were looking at each other sideways, very sceptical. Sally, being the genius that she is at her craft soon had them filleting and brining then placing the fish on her jerry-rigged smoking gadget. Fifteen minutes later when the fish was cooked they were persuaded to have taste and were absolutely amazed. Next thing the plate was empty!

I got stuck into the cookie department. The cookies are made with fine semolina, butter and rose or orange water kneaded together with a little dried yeast until smooth then filled with either dates mixed with a little coconut and butter or walnuts or pistachios mixed with a little sugar syrup and rosewater.

There’s definitely knack to assembling them and my first couple of attempts were rejected but once I got the hang of it it was full steam ahead

Here’s the recipe to make quite an enormous amount. Scale it down if you don’t want to supply a market stall!

2.5kg fine semolina

1 kg butter

2 cups sugar

2 cups rosewater

2 cups orange blossom water

1 tsp dried yeast

Put the semolina on the counter, chop up the butter into small cubes, add the dried yeast and sugar and knead everything together. Gradually add the rose water and orange blossom water and keep kneading until silky. Leave covered with cling film for 2 hours

For the fillings

mix chopped walnuts with some sugar syrup and rosewater

chopped pistachios with sugar syrup and orange blossom

Chopped dates with a little desiccated coconut, a little butter and sugar syrup. This needs to be pounded to a smooth paste.

Next take little walnut balls of the dough and press them into a circle in the palm of your hand. Put a little spoonful of filling in the middle and carefully pull the sides together to close the parcel. The little parcels are then put into moulds and press them to fit snugly them tip them off and rap them sharply to tip them out.

Bake at 180c until lightly golden. Let them cool off then dredge them with icing sugar.

2 Comments | tags: lebanon, sweet things | posted in General foodie news, Sweet Things

October 4, 2014

Beirut, Beirut

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Beirut is one crazy place. very diverse and fast moving. We arrived here two nights ago to the first rain since May – there it was, bouncing off the pavements to our alarm and the joy of the Beirutis. We took a hazardous taxi ride to the guesthouse where we are staying, passed out and when we woke the next morning the rain had stopped and the skies were blue.

Con, myself and Sally Barnes of Woodcock Smokery are here as guests of a very special man called Kamal Mouzawak, the man who bought farmers markets into the city of Beirut where small producers can sell their produce in the city. He has also set up a kitchen called ‘Tawlet’ Souk el Tayeb. It’s an open kitchen where everyday a different producer/cook prepares typical food from his/her region. This is our headquarters while we are here. The daily feast is amazing, a huge variety of salads, vegetable mezzes, meats, fish and different grains. The tabbouleh we ate is nothing like the tabbouleh that we make. It’s pretty much the opposite comprising 90% fresh herbs and 10% bulgar. We will be redefining our idea of Lebanese food while we are here

Today began with breakfast – labneh, olives, tomatoes, eggs with sumac, fresh cheese with tomato jam and flat breads with zatar.

There was a little break for a planning meeting washed down with a glass of Arak, the local aniseed flavoured drink which looks innocent but would be lethal in quantity! We talked about what we would like to do and what had been organised for us. This went something like food, food, food, a trip to Tripoli to cook with war widows, wine tasting near Batroun – the Bekka Valley , the famous wine producing area is off limits at the moment due to kidnappings and road blocks, a trip to the farmers market and more food. This was followed shortly after by a large lunch.

Everyone that we meet is super friendly and hospitable. I think visitors are pretty thin on the ground around here.

We finished the day with more food. We were invited to the tasting of a a new menu by a man called Wahel, His food establishment is on the same street that Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Druzes political party lives on which means the security is very high. The street is blocked by sandbags and guarded by armed soldiers. Wahel jokes that tis means he can have a street terrace as no traffic is allowed through.

This is pretty much the attitude of the Beirut people that we have met so far, upbeat and positive. It’s the only way to be!

Leave a comment | tags: lebanon | posted in General foodie news

September 28, 2014

Bottled Sunshine

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Our grandson has discovered the raspberries.He grazes his way around the plants everyday looking for the ripe ones, it’s become part of his daily routine. At least it’s not the birds this year. I enjoy hanging out with him and his enthusiasm is infectious. We usually end up about fifty fifty which means I have a cupful and he has a bellyful.

I’ve been taking my cache down to the kitchen and putting them into bottle of white wine vinegar. At this stage I’ve just about filled bottle no 2 and they look and smell delicious.

It’s the simplest thing to do – just get bottle of white wine vinegar and post the raspberries in, leave to macerate on the windowsill for two weeks giving the bottle the odd shake.

After two weeks strain the vinegar through a sieve lined with muslin or a piece of clean j cloth and bottle up into clean sterilised bottles and you’ll have a supply of bottled sunshine for your winter salads.

Leave a comment | tags: fruit vinegar, raspberries | posted in General foodie news, preserves

August 27, 2014

Autumn Bean and Fruit Stew

By lettercollumkitchenproject

I am sitting outside on a bench writing this, delighted that sunshine and a warm breeze have returned. I am aware that it could be a five minute wonder and am enjoying every moment.

It feels like autumn arrived early this year but I’ve begun to wonder if it’s a case of the summer being so unusually warm that I noticed the temperature drop. It did feel strange to begin closing the windows against the evening chill and having to wear something more than shorts and a t-shirt.

The wonderful summer weather helped everything to grow. We have had bumper crops of salads, beetroots, courgettes, tomatoes, herbs …… everything that we planted thrived. Now that we’re moving into autumn we are tripping over beans and apples and we are picking bucketfuls.

I’ve been racking my brains for recipes that use either beans or apples as we have so many of them. I’ve trawled my bookshelves and the internet and found plenty of cake recipes for the apples. The savoury recipes are a bit thin on the ground if you discount all the apple sauce to go with pork ideas. A frittata with apples and cheddar made the curiosity list and there are various salads with apple that we can try.

When I woke up this morning I remembered a bean and apple stew that we used to make. It’s a recipe that is in one of the first recipe books that I ever owned. The book looks much loved and the recipe on first reading sounds a little bizarre. The original had banana in which are a definite no for me. I don’t recollect ever making it with banana. This is an updated version and makes a curiously good intro to the colder months.

Funnily enough it uses both French beans and apples. Eat with crusty bread for a substantial lunch or lighter dinner.

Autumn Bean and Fruit Stew

2 medium onins, peeled and sliced

2-3 waxy potatoes, peeled nd chopped in

200g carrots

2 tart eating apples

100g prunes

250mls cider

350mls vegetable stock

1 tsp dried oregano

a good pinch of nutmeg

1 can butter beans

2oog French beans

salt and pepper

Peel and slice the onions.

Heat a big saucepan, add the olive oil and the sliced onions, give them a stir and turn the heat to medium.

Peel the potatoes and carrots. Cut the potatoes into 2cm chunks and the carrots into 1cm rings. Add them to the pot, season with a little salt and pepper, and give a stir.

Peel and core the apples , cut into small chunks and add to the pot.

Cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes then add the cider. Allow the cider to bubble up then pour in the stock. Stir in the oregano, prunes and grated nutmeg. Cook for a further 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

Drain and rinse the can of butterbeans and stir in

Top and tail the French beans, cut them in half and add to the pot. When the stew returns to the boil cook for 5 minutes

Season with salt and black pepper

Enjoy!

Leave a comment | tags: fruit, one pot wonders, vegetarian | posted in General foodie news

August 11, 2014

Courgette Pizza

By lettercollumkitchenproject

This is a courgette on the bottom, not on the top type pizza. No yeast or flour involved just grated courgettes stuck together with polenta and egg. It works very well and although the base doesn’t taste like a regular pizza it behaves like one and will carry whatever your personal pizza topping fantasy is, without collapsing on the way, from your plate to your mouth.

Our courgette patch was producing a bucket of courgettes a day last week and even though we picked them each day there were always one or two elusive ones. This recipe is the perfect home for the slightly large courgettes.

Grate 3-4 courgettes on the coarse side of the grater.

Put them into a bowl, toss them with a scant tsp of salt and mix well. Tip the courgettes into a colander, set it over a bowl and leave for half an hour . Quite a lot of water will come off. Next tip the courgettes onto a clean t-towel.

Pre heat the oven 180c

Gather the four corners together and squeeze. You will be surprised how much more water comes out.

Tip the grated courgettes into bowl, Crack in 2 eggs, a tsp dried oregano and a little salt and pepper. Mix well then stir in 2 heaped tbs of polenta

Line a baking tray with some parchment paper and spread the courgette mix out evenly. You can make the pizzas round, square or rectangle – whatever you fancy. Tidy up the edges.

Bake the base for about 20minutes, turn the tray halfway if your oven has a hot spot.

Bake until the base is lightly golden.

When the base has been pre baked spread with a little tomato sauce then whatever else you fancy (sliced very thinly) and some grated mozzarella and pop it back in the oven until golden and bubbling at the edges, about another 15-20minutes.

Warning! This makes a very large pizza – I made it at the shop!

2 Comments | tags: courgettes, gluten free, pizza, vegetarian | posted in General foodie news

July 25, 2014

Courgette Trio

By lettercollumkitchenproject

The courgettes are back and it’s time I got back to my blog. I have spent the past few of months working on The Lettercollum Cookbook, it was good fun but didn’t leave time for much else. Now that it’s pretty much done and dusted- fingers crossed – I can think of other things.

The garden has been growing away all this time and there is an abundance to eat at the moment. The courgettes are increasing their momentum.They are very healthy after such a sunny early summer, and the rain in the past couple of weeks has helped them along even more. Each day we wander through the courgette patch and pick the ones that have grown inches over night. We try to pick courgettes when they are small as they are tastier but somehow there always seems to be the odd escapee that camouflages itself under the big leaves. We’re not quite wheel barrowing them away yet but I have been checking out some new recipes to deal with the anticipated glut.

These recipes are especially for anyone that is growing courgettes and wondering how to eat them all – it’ll save sneaking round to friends houses and leaving them on the doorstep!

Courgette Fritters

These fritters are are tasty and light, perfect for lunch or dinner, they’re even good cold for a picnic.

3 courgettes

1 large potato

2 eggs

1 small onion, finely grated

Grated zest of one lemon

Salt

A big handful chopped mint

Oil for frying

Peel the potato.

Grate the courgettes and potato on the coarse side of the grater and sprinkle over a little salt. Put them into a colander and sit it over a bowl. Leave for 30 minutes. You will be surprised at how much liquid will come out and what initially looked like an enormous amount will shrink dramatically. Next take a clean t-towel and put the courgette and potato into the centre, gather the four corners up and twist to extract the rest of the liquid. Put the squeezed courgettes and potato into a bowl and mix together with the lemon zest, onion and eggs. Season with some black pepper and a little salt.

Heat a large frying pan, add enough oil to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Put tablespoons of the courgette mix around the pan leaving about 5 cms between each fritter.. Flatten slightly with the back of the spoon Turn the heat down to medium and cook gently until a golden crust has formed. Carefully flip the fritters over and cook the other side.

Delicious served with tzatziki or mayonnaise on the side.

Courgette and Rocket Soup

Courgette soup has a reputation for tasting and looking a little bland but the addition of a handful of rocket picks it up and adds a dash of bright green.

1 medium onion

25g butter or olive oil

1 potato

3 courgettes

500mls vegetable stock

1 tsp white wine vinegar

100g rocket-

Peel and chop the onion. Heat a saucepan, add the butter or olive oil and the onions and sweat gently for a few minutes. Peel and chop the potato and cut into a very small dice. Add to the onions, season with a little salt and give everything a good stir. Cook gently for at least 5 minutes. Don’t let them brown. Chop the courgettes into small pieces and add to the pot along with a little ground black pepper. Cook for a few minutes more then pour over the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil, turn down and simmer for five minutes. Check the potato is soft then take of the heat and buzz until smooth. Roughly chop the rocket and buzz again. Don’t cook the rocket otherwise it will loose the vibrant green colour. Serve immediately or if needs be re-heat gently without boiling.

Courgette, Poppy Seed and Lemon Cake

This cake is deliciously moist with no distinguishing vegetable flavor, the only evidence of courgettes are little green flecks throughout the sponge.

150g caster sugar

125g butter

200g grated courgette

200g plain white flour

1 heaped tbs poppy seeds

half tsp bread soda

half tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

finely grated zest 2 lemons

half tsp salt

Pre heat the oven 180c gas 4

Line a 1lb loaf tin with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter and sugar then mix in the egg and grated courgettes.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bread soda and cinnamon then stir into the mix along with the poppy seeds and lemon zest.

Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes until a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin for ten minutes before turning out.

Leave a comment | tags: courgettes, soup, sweet things, vegtarian | posted in General foodie news

Lettercollum Kitchen Project

Roots and Wine

Moujadarra – Rice and Lentils from Lebanon

Funky Carrot Cake

The Sporting Club

Cooking on the Green Line

Beirut, Beirut

Bottled Sunshine

Autumn Bean and Fruit Stew

Courgette Pizza

Courgette Trio

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