Delia's spiced chickpea cakes with red onion and coriander salad

Yes, it's a Delia cookbook. I picked it up from the library this morning. Not something I would ever normally read or use (or own for that matter). But for a class I am doing I have to write some recipes and some blog posts. And for another class I have to write some recipes specifically using legumes. So this seems like an handy overlap in my eyes.

Legumes, in case you are unaware, are generally peas, beans, lentils and other pulses. A great substitute for protein in the diet for veggies and meat-reducers alike.

Although for uni I will have to type up the full recipe I have neither the time nor the time to do that now (really I just don't want to). This post is just my journey through the cooking process. The general jist is  

spicy chickpea patties with a red onion, lemon and coriander salad-chutney-type mixture. 

They are lovely and spicy, seasoned with that classic combination of roasted coriander and cumin. Some turmeric is added to the mix for that often overused yellowy colour in spicy foods, and I wonder if using a smoked paprika would work better, for flavour and colour, especially.

a hearty amount of butter

- thanks Delia

You get the idea, it's kind of like a veggie burger made with chickpeas, you mix all the ingredients together, using some Greek yoghurt to hold it all together, and then forming into whatever size patty you want, then dipped in egg wash and rolled in wholemeal flour. Again, I was thinking about rolling in pinhead oatmeal instead of flour for an extra crunchy coating.

I have to say I don’t think I’ve ever followed a recipe so religiously before. But I tried my hardest, and I think I succeeded. Hey, I even weighed out 10g of fresh coriander!

I even used scales. Go me.

The recipe recommended to blitz the chickpeas until evenly chopped, but not as far as a paste. I think it would have been better to keep about a quarter of the chickpeas back to then add them during the final blitzing stage - therefore they would be more likely to still have a bit of bite but would still hold together.

The cakes are served with a fresh and crunchy red onion salad. Sliced red onion mixed together with chopped coriander, lemon juice and lemon rind and refrigerated for a maximum of 30 minutes, otherwise the colours run and the onions go pink. This was a lovely addition and I think it will definitely work as an accompaniment to lots of other things!

The dollop of greek yoghurt definitely helped with the spiciness of my home grown chillies, especially as I thought they would be quite mild, so I threw in an extra two!

I only cooked one, as this was just a late lunch, but good old chickpeas, they were filling enough. I feel the texture was a bit crumbly, but I think adding a little less yoghurt to the mix would help.

There was even some left over for dinner, I added some roasted buttery charlotte potatoes, however, I think couscous or brown rice would also have worked.

Hmm, or even in a wrap or pitta bread with some spicy mayo, oh the possibilities!

Dib Dab

Last week I purchased some fish that I had not heard of before, in Morrisons of all places. It was called Dab. I was a bit curious at the price, considering the man quoted me a mere £1.85 for two! But read on, and you will find it was worth it.

I admit, I have tried not to buy much salmon (I don't buy haddock or cod anyway because I do not really enjoy either) and through experimenting so far I have found some lovely new additions to my fishy repertoire. A surprisingly meaty flat fish, not dissimilar in looks and taste to to plaice and sole respectively, dab was no exception.

Please note: I am not really liking the fact that I have had to use the word buy so much, I hopefully will eventually find someone who can teach me how to fish.

Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the raw fish so I'll just show you a picture of the finished dish so you can picture the beautiful smell.

I absolutely love this picture! Almost as much as I loved the meal. I don't consider myself an avid follower of recipes, I tend to make it up as I go along. The majority of the time it works!

Firstly I roasted a large handful of pine nuts (loads really! Because I love them) and some bacon lardons in a frying pan and then removed. I scored the fish on both sides and rubbed in roughly chopped parsley and lemon rind and then roasted in the same pan. Skin side down (of course) for about 4 minutes and then flip over.

Meanwhile I have thinly sliced red potatoes roasting in the oven with olive oil and seasoning. The fish is then placed on top of the potatoes (skin side up) and sprinkle with the lardon and pine nut mixture, along with some quartered cherry tomatoes, which were lovely and juicy ones offered from my mums tomato plants.

I accompanied the meal by a surprisingly delicious 2011 South African Chardonnay. I say it was surprising because I normally consider myself to be an ABC girl...Anything But Chardonnay. But I guess that is another post altogether.

I strongly recommend you try this fish, scrap the bacon if it's not to your taste (add some prawns if you fancy) have some lambs lettuce and a hunk of bread and enjoy!

the saltirequotation

The questions in the application for the SaltireFoundation are ridiculously hard! Urgh. A maximum word limit of 100 words whilst still trying to prove that I want to give something back to Scotland.

More urgh.

http://www.saltirefoundation.com

The smell of herbs

On Thursday 24th February I visited Scotherbs in Longforgan, a producer, supplier and manufacturer of fresh culinary herbs and salad leaves. The great story behind this company; Robert Wilson, a dairy farmer has trouble with pricing and makes the hard decision to sell his entire herd. Not sure what to do next, but noticing a gap in the market, the farmer and his wife plant herbs in the farmhouse garden and in 1984 Scotherbs was born! Dramatically increasing in size over the years, helped along with a contract with Wm Low in 1989 which eventually became part of the Tesco group in 1994.

Scotherbs are now based across the road (a.k.a. the small A90) from the original farmhouse in a custom built packing facility and supply nationally to Tesco, have Scottish listings with Adsa, Morrisons and Aldi and have a branded seasonal lising with Asda. They also supply to wholesalers and caterers directly, in Scotland.

On the factory tour, around the 2000sq metre pack house, everywhere smelled of luscious, fresh herbs. The employees (of which there are 130 seasonal staff, all directly employed which means no agency staff) were insistent that they had gotten so used to it that they did not smell it any more. How unfortunate, I thought.

Quality monitoring and control was of an incredibly high standard, which they would have to be having such a lucrative deal with Tesco, we were shown through each step in the process with regard to quality control mostly. One person in the chain stood out for her intense passion of what she was doing. She, as a supervisor, was individually and wholly responsible for finished pack inspection. When detailing to us what her job actually entailed, I could see 
that she understood completely that as the last point of control before the product arrived at the supermarket, her keen eye was entirely responsible.

This is an old picture, they have a completely different packing system now, but I think it helps you to imagine the glorious smell.

We even got a free goody bag with the usual suspects of rosemary, thyme, coriander, parsley and mint. And they threw in a branded pen and pencil.


The website is here if  you're intrigued.

scrambled legs

Something that I rediscovered earlier this year, through a good friend of mine, is scrambled eggs cooked in a pan. I guess I have been a bit lax of late and have resorted to relying on my humble microwave to scramble my eggs. My friend was cooking me breakfast and I seem to remember shouting "why on earth are you cooking your eggs in a pot?". Her retort was that she had always done it that way. And boy, did I feel a bit sheepish. Because those eggs were perfectly cooked.

I had not realised that my microwave took joy in overcooking eggs and I had just dealt with over-cooked scrambled eggs.

a.k.a. Omelette.

My quest in perfecting my scrambled egg recipe had begun. Finding the perfect pot really consisted of me trying the first pot in the drawer and deciding it was useless (so much for non-stick), and settling on one of those heavy-bottomed two-toned pots, like le creuset I think.

Whisking is somehow not necessary. However it is essential that you season after the eggs are cooked. Salt again is a culprit in ruining the moisture levels in eggs. 

I've found in my trials and tribulations that it often helped to take the pot off the heat and continue stirring (vigorously, with a wooden spoon) the eggs over the residual heat allows the eggs to cook thoroughly. Especially when they are very nearly cooked (I like them still very moist and runny). Adding a bit of butter or margarine helps to make the eggs creamy and have a 'glistening' character to it. Obviously, it also helps to stop the eggs from sticking to the pot.


I think I can safely say that I will not go back to using a microwave for scrambled eggs.

Other points to note:

• Use fresh eggs.
• In my opinion, having spent a day comparing barn eggs vs. free range, I would always recommend free range for size, colour and flavour.
• Always accompany with a big steaming mug of tea!

something something something campylo...

Due to the fact that my excessively long title does not seem to fit on this current page, although the space in the header of the edit page is rather adequate.

I am not sure this page will have one defined topic, although I'm guessing food will be the wide choice. Be it cooking, growing, food safety or food technology, here's hoping this blog actually turns out to be worthwhile.

G