*August 2009 COTM* OTTOLENGHI: Vegetables, Aubergines, Greens

641711 *August 2009 COTM* OTTOLENGHI: Vegetables, Aubergines, Greens Mon Aug 03 13:57:14 -0700 2009 151 31 Home Cooking 0 4914100 Our Chowhound August 2009 Cookbook of the Month is Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi; and all online recipes by the authors. Please post your full-length recipe reviews here for dishes from the cookbook chapter Vegetables, pulses and grains sections Fresh fruit and vegetables, Mighty aubergine, Greens, and More vegetables, and online recipes with those ingredients. Please mention the name of the recipe you are reviewing and the page number, or include a link to the online recipe, if possible, as well as any modifications you made to the recipe. Let us know if you would like to make the recipe again, and if you would change anything in the future, too. Please see the main Cookbook of the Month thread for some useful links. Lists of the recipes from these book sections, along with links where applicable, and the opportunity to request paraphrases, may be found at these links: Fresh fruit and vegetables: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/641703#4913987 Mighty aubergine: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/641703#4913989 Greens: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/641703#4913997 More vegetables: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/641703#4914006 A reminder that the verbatim copying of recipes to the boards is a violation of the copyright of the original author. Posts with copied recipes will be removed.  Thanks for participating and enjoy! Mon Aug 03 13:57:14 -0700 2009 10074 Caitlin McGrath 1 4914647 Cucumber and poppy seed salad, page 20 Seven people came to dinner the other night, and I decided to include this recipe. [Any excuse to make something with cucumbers since I am the only one in the house that will eat them.] I used regular American cucumbers bought at the farmer's market instead of the small cucumbers called for. Weight was the same however. Also had to substitute half vegetable and half EVOO for the sunflower oil. Threw all the ingredients together, and let them marinate in the fridge until about an hour before dinner. I put them out on lovely platters and was shocked to discover that the 1 and 5 year old had eaten almost all of the cucumbers before we even sat down to eat. This was delicious! There was lots of leftover marinade, so I simply added fresh cucumber for my own enjoyment the next day for dinner. [No pictures. With seven people, two under the age of 6, there was no time for a camera but the salad looked just like the picture in the book.] Mon Aug 03 17:19:41 -0700 2009 4914100 59258 smtucker 2 4921896 Excellent. This is on my list to try (many cukes--the American kind-- in the CSA box right now!) I was wondering how it would work with American cucumbers, so, thanks for reporting back on that. ~TDQ Thu Aug 06 03:41:52 -0700 2009 4914647 12005 The Dairy Queen 2 4924677 I also tried the cucumber and poppy seed salad on page 20... I regret to report that I didn't love this dish. I thought it was bland, and way too heavy on the oil. I could have easily used 1/3, maybe even 1/4 the oil the recipe called for and been happy. I think I've been spoiled by Vietnamese cucumber salad, which I prefer, I guess. Still, I need things to do with cucumbers this time of year, so, I might experiment with the peppers a little (I notice that Candy, in her Ottolenghi thread, mentions she used a very sweet red pepper and was happy with the results) and cut back on the amount of oil and see what I think. I followed the recipe exactly, except that I used regular American cukes. I scooped out the centers before weighing them. I should also mention I'm not feeling great tonight. In fact, I'm specifically cooking to keep myself distracted and "awake"--otherwise, I would have gone to bed at 4pm today! HA! Anyway, that could be affecting my judgment/tastebuds, although, my husband wasn't enamored with this dish either. I served this with the Roast chicken with saffron, hazelnuts, and honey, which I will report on in the appropriate thread. I do have a photo though! ~TDQ Thu Aug 06 19:37:24 -0700 2009 4914647 12005 The Dairy Queen 3 4924682 Whoops! My photo was too big. Let me try attaching it again, now that I've shrunk it. ~TDQ Thu Aug 06 19:40:45 -0700 2009 4924677 12005 The Dairy Queen 3 4925357 Hmmm, I have to say this worries me a little. I have planned to make it this week. Like you, I'm pretty sold on asian cucumber salads, although I do tend to love all cuc. salads, so we'll see. I'll be sure to cut back on the oil. Fri Aug 07 06:08:58 -0700 2009 4924677 56762 LulusMom 4 4925451 I love cucumber as well and have a couple waiting in the fridge at home. I think I'll try and make this at the weekend. Fri Aug 07 06:44:53 -0700 2009 4925357 110146 greedygirl 4 4925476 It's quite possible that the amount of oil is a conversion from metric to standard problem or something and I blew it, but I don't think so... It's not that it was awful or anything. It's just that it's got that sweet/vinegar-y thing going on and I think similar Vietnamese versions I've tried work out better. I do think the kind of pepper you use can make a difference. You might consider consulting Candy's thread where this recipe was discussed to see if you can glean any tips from that. Oh, and I should probably mention that I didn't use caster sugar. I just used regular granulated sugar. I meant to put it through the grinder but forgot. Maybe that made a difference, too. ~TDQ Fri Aug 07 06:52:21 -0700 2009 4925357 12005 The Dairy Queen 5 4926005 Got to the grocery store with your review in mind and looked at the (fairly lame looking) cucumbers and said ... nah. Maybe next time. Fri Aug 07 09:39:36 -0700 2009 4925476 56762 LulusMom 5 4928280 I made this for lunch today and we really liked it. So much so that we managed to eat two whole (English) cucumbers between us! Mr GG kept stealing it from the bowl before the meal was ready. Served with grilled steak and my favourite broad bean and radish salad, also Ottlolenghi, made with what I fear may be the last of the broad beans. It's not dissimilar to an Asian cucumber salad, but the poppy seeds give it a bit of a twist. Sat Aug 08 07:13:00 -0700 2009 4925476 110146 greedygirl 6 4928516 Hmmm...I just didn't love it. I wonder if I did something wrong, though, it's so simple, I can't imagine what. Did you use sweet or spicy peppers (I used "medium" spicy")? And did you find the amount of oil to be overwhelming? ~TDQ Sat Aug 08 09:17:45 -0700 2009 4928280 12005 The Dairy Queen 7 4930418 I used my regular chillies, which are the relatively mild ones like long fingers (cayenne) and halved the amount of dressing. You leave a lot of that behind anyway. Sun Aug 09 08:00:58 -0700 2009 4928516 110146 greedygirl 2 4930074 I made this cucumber and poppy seed salad last night. I discovered that I was out of cilantro (had used it for a cold avocado soup earlier in the day, forgetting I needed some for the salad) so used parsley instead, rationalizing that parsley would go better with my italian pasta main course anyway :) I used a red bell pepper for color and a jalepeno for some bite since "mild red chilis" are not really available for me. I used half the oil called for. This was just ok for me. The poppy seeds were interesting and made it more than a regular cucumber salad, but this just didn't grab me. Maybe the cilantro was the key ingredient, who knows, but I don't think I'll make this again. Sun Aug 09 02:34:10 -0700 2009 4914647 18353 DGresh 2 4933891 I had bought some cucumbers from the farmers market last weekend, and was put off by the reviews. Finally when the cucumbers were not fresh enough, I though WTH, let me just make the salad and then throw it. I had already made up my mind that I am not going to follow the recipe as as, so I was carefully tasting along. I peeled the cucumber as the skin felt hard to me. Again I used my green chutney, instead of cilantro-mint. For chiles, I used fresh serranos and crushed them in food processor, as I thought I would like that more. I added white poppy seeds as that is what I had in my pantry (surprisingly a great addition). Instead of 125 ml of oil, I stopped at 25 ml (it is so much of fun to weigh and measure everything). I tasted the mixture it was as the recipe describes it to be, very pickly (I think that's what it says). Then I put the cucumbers in my tupperware and off to the picnic! I highly recommend this dish. Mon Aug 10 13:03:47 -0700 2009 4914647 111643 cpw 3 4936412 Did you use less vinegar as well - 25 ml of oil is barely 2 Tbsp, so you would have ended up with a very vinegary dressing otherwise. I'm not surprised it was pickly! Tue Aug 11 09:13:05 -0700 2009 4933891 110146 greedygirl 4 4938038 You have a point there, but somehow vinegar was not overpowering even with 25 ml of oil. After mixing everything, oil was the last thing I added before the cucumbers, and since at 25 ml it tasted fine to me, I did not any more. Maybe the sugar balance it out (I used regular granulted sugar, instead of caster-which is quite expensive here in whole foods), or maybe the green chutney balanced it out. Tue Aug 11 16:52:18 -0700 2009 4936412 111643 cpw 5 4941362 If you simply take regular table sugar and throw it in the food processor or your spice grinder, you get caster sugar. A simple [and cheap] fix! Wed Aug 12 16:38:20 -0700 2009 4938038 59258 smtucker 1 4914664 Marinated aubergine with tahini and oregano, page 26 I love roasted eggplant and this looked like just the thing for the same dinner mentioned above. I haven't ever roasted eggplant in the oven before, having always used a grill in the past. I used baby eggplant, doubling the recipe. The eggplant slices took far longer than the stated 15-18 minutes to reach the soft stage. They marinated for about 6 hours. Before serving, I brought them to room temperature and drizzled the tahini sauce. I really wanted to love this, but I thought it was just okay. I didn't use anywhere near as much tahini dressing as indicated and still found the flavor a little too overwhelming. I will try this again, making the eggplant on the grill, but will reduce the oil amount dramatically. In fact, everything I have made from the book would taste just as good with a little less added fat. Mon Aug 03 17:24:19 -0700 2009 4914100 59258 smtucker 2 4914681 This is a very good dish, without the tahini, Serious editing problems with this recipe: states that this is one of their few salads not calling for garlic, then calls for it. The tahini sauce is just not right here. (But, it's darned good on fish.) Mon Aug 03 17:31:14 -0700 2009 4914664 11995 pikawicca 3 4914702 Yea? I have lots of fish [sustainable share] and plenty of that tahini dressing in the fridge. Any fish, any preparation? I would love not to waste that much tahini. Mon Aug 03 17:38:12 -0700 2009 4914681 59258 smtucker 4 4914738 I've put it on halibut, salmon, and catfish, so I think you're good to go on anything. I add lots of Greek-style yogurt and lemon juice when serving this as a sauce for fish. The quality of your tahini is paramount: Try to find fresh; if you don't have local access, try buylebanese.com. Mon Aug 03 17:54:19 -0700 2009 4914702 11995 pikawicca 3 4914799 We made the marinated aubergines last night without the tahini .... we loved the ease of preparation and the end flavor....pungent and spicy. Served them on grilled naan as a side with a fish salad made with left over CSF. Like SMT's they did take a few minutes longer to reach the "soft and creamy" stage but in the end they were very tasty. FWIW: I always use less oil or fat any recipe calls for. Never seems to make a vast difference. Mon Aug 03 18:21:02 -0700 2009 4914681 75332 Gio 4 4914944 Local eggplant should be hitting the markets any day now. I am absolutely going to make this another time with locally grown eggplant, and skip the tahini just to really taste the base recipe. [What is this fish salad?] Mon Aug 03 19:12:46 -0700 2009 4914799 59258 smtucker 5 4914994 Last week I made the endives with fresh breadcrumbs and Serrano ham. The endives are cut in half and put cut side down into a pan with some butter and sugar (I used oil and some butter to make it just a tad less rich) which has been allowed to caramelize. After they are browned, they're removed to a baking dish and sprinkled with a mixture of fresh breadcrumbs (my own sourdough breadcrumbs - nerny nerny nerny! or is that neener neener neener?) mixed with cream (I used milk) and some seasonings. That is piled onto the cut sides of the endive and the Serrano ham slices are draped over the whole thing. They're then baked until the endive is cooked through and the whole dish browns. Wow! This is rich and absolutely delicious. The caramel taste mixed with the slight bitterness of the endive and the saltiness of the ham work perfectly together. I'd provide the page number, but foolishly I lent my Ottolenghi book to a friend last Saturday night. I'm already wondering if it's too soon to call her and ask for it back. Mon Aug 03 19:31:26 -0700 2009 4914944 10245 oakjoan 6 4915043 Carmelised endive with Serrano ham, page 49 Mon Aug 03 19:57:10 -0700 2009 4914994 59258 smtucker 7 4969538 Caramelized Endive with Serrano Ham: More Vegetables, Pg. 49 Made this as a side dish last night and as with all the other vegetable dishes we've made so far it was wonderful. Oakjoan describes the procedure and like her we made some substitutions. Instead of whipping cream we used 1/2 & 1/2 and used panko which I made finer with my rolling pin. Slightly sweet, salty, and bitter made a great flavor combination. Served the endive with pan-fried whiting with Ottolanghi's Green Olive, Celery Salsa. Sun Aug 23 05:54:38 -0700 2009 4915043 75332 Gio 5 4915475 The eggplants I used came from Tendercrop Farm in Newbury MA. They were a little larger than the regular Asian eggplants we usually see, and they were a light lavender color, and....Sweeeeetttttt!!!!! (The fish salad was actually a tacos filling from Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday cookbook. That was yummy too. Made with leftover CSF share. I'll post it on that board eventually.) Tue Aug 04 03:42:27 -0700 2009 4914944 75332 Gio 5 4934858 I too made the marinated eggplant and skipped the tahini dressing. I loved the ease of preparation for this dish. I split my eggplant in 1/2 lengthwise, roasted it for about 20 minutes at 400 F. and then poured the marinade over it. It was absolutely delicious. I am not sure why but I felt like mint would be a nice addition. I think I will try this next time. Mon Aug 10 18:03:30 -0700 2009 4914944 185144 dkennedy 4 4949776 I made the marinated aubergines as part of our appetizer today. They were spicy and very strong flavoured and we loved it. My eggplants were fatter than described in the book, but I tried to keep them the same size as described (I liked the fact how the recipe describes to cut the eggplant). Still I had had go few extra minutes to cook them. I marinated for just an hour before serving them with crostini. Also I have admit that I added extra olive oil as it seem to be required (!) with crostini. Sat Aug 15 19:10:34 -0700 2009 4914799 111643 cpw 4 4954630 Another iteration of marinated aubergines without tahini dressing. I used four Japanese eggplants, which I cut into 16 or so wedges. Because these were smaller than what the book indicated, they were fully soft in 15 minutes or so. I discovered I had neglected to get chiles when buying produce, so I added a few healthy shakes of Aleppo pepper to the marinade. I didn't measure the marinade ingredients, just eyeballed the herbs, minced a fat garlic clove, squeezed a lemon, etc. I had my doubts when I put it together; eggplant looked a bit dry (I used very little oil to brush, since eggplant is such an oil sponge), marinade a tad harsh. But after three hours, I ate, and it was really tasty: creamy eggplant and assertive flavors in the marinade that had meshed well. Next time, I might add some minced capers, which would complement the lemon and oregano well. I ate mine with some Bulgarian feta, and along with a glass of Côte du Rhône rosé, that was dinner. Mon Aug 17 19:31:36 -0700 2009 4914799 10074 Caitlin McGrath 5 4955088 Capers sounds good. I am going write in my notes for next time. Tue Aug 18 03:19:29 -0700 2009 4954630 111643 cpw 3 4921889 I'm a bit confused by your comment - in the book, it's the next recipe on page 27 which doesn't have garlic, not this one. No editing problems as far as I can see. Thu Aug 06 03:37:43 -0700 2009 4914681 110146 greedygirl 2 4915443 I made the Marinated aubergine with tahini and oregano the other night; I really liked it, but used only a tiny bit of the tahini sauce as a drizzle. I used some more of the tahini sauce with some chickpea "burgers" another night. I think perhaps he just called for a full recipe of the tahini sauce for "convenience" rather than that you are supposed to use it. But I loved the flavor of the eggplant. Like others, I cooked it longer than the recipe called for. Tue Aug 04 02:18:48 -0700 2009 4914664 18353 DGresh 2 4975396 Marinated aubergines with tahini and oregano was a big hit in my house. I cut two large eggplants into about 16 pieces each. Roasted in the oven for 22 minutes. Marinated for 3 hours at room temperature. Served with the tahini on the side, along with toasted pita wedges, as an appetizer for 8 people. No leftovers! Tue Aug 25 07:00:46 -0700 2009 4914664 240832 serenarobin 1 4915407 Saffron Cauliflower Recipe link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/mar/17/features.weekend1 This was a delicious side dish to Sortun's Crispy Lemon Chicken with Za'atar. I'm a big fan of the savory sweet/salty flavor profile and this was a great combination. Cauliflower florets are tossed with red onion (I used shallots), saffron, green olives (I used local Queen Creek olives), bay leaves, s&p, olive oil, and sultanas (which I think are yellow raisins; I used brown), and then baked covered for about 45 minutes. To serve, add fresh chopped parsley. Most of mine was wilted, so I also added thinly sliced scallions. I meant to try it drizzled with tahini as suggested, but forgot. It was just as good at room temperature as it was warm, and I'm going to use the rest tossed with pasta for lunch tomorrow. Tue Aug 04 00:34:22 -0700 2009 4914100 10271 Rubee 2 4920506 I get a lot of cauliflower in my veg box (not at this time of year though) and am always looking for new ways of preparing it. This looks just the ticket - gorgeous. Wed Aug 05 13:43:42 -0700 2009 4915407 110146 greedygirl 2 4921893 Oh, Rubee, I was loving the idea of this recipe until you mentioned sultanas. I cannot stand raisins. It's one of two foods I really dislike. Are they essential to the dish or would it be good without? ~TDQ Thu Aug 06 03:40:04 -0700 2009 4915407 12005 The Dairy Queen 3 4923705 I liked the sweetness and thought the raisins balance the flavors. However, E isn't a big fan of raisins either, so I left them out of his serving and he still really liked this dish. If you do try it without, be sure to report back! Added some chicken stock, a little butter, and tossed the leftovers with orecchiette for lunch today. Delicious. I've decided this is one of my favorite cauliflower dishes. E picked out all the raisins ; ) Thu Aug 06 14:01:30 -0700 2009 4921893 10271 Rubee 4 4924649 Hmmm...maybe I should try it with the raisins, just in case... But, I do like pikawicca's dried apricots suggestion! I can't wait for my CSA cauliflower! ~TDQ Thu Aug 06 19:29:02 -0700 2009 4923705 12005 The Dairy Queen 3 4923722 I'd try subbing chopped dried apricots. Thu Aug 06 14:05:53 -0700 2009 4921893 11995 pikawicca 2 4933581 I made this delicious saffron cauliflower as a side to lamb chops. I think this dish would have been much more tastier if I did not burn it! Only now looking at Rubee's post I see that you were suppose to bake it -COVERED! I had missed out this detail in my print out. While the dish was in the oven 25-30 minutes, I decided to check on it, and all the raisins had charred and the olives were dark brown. So I took all the darker looking stuff out and let the cauliflower roast another 15 minute. And after 15 minutes when the cauliflower came out, I mixed the darker stuff black, which was definitely edible, just not presentable. Since it was just three of us in our picnic, I did not hesistate to take it along. Even though it was a great dish, it was not such a great accompaniment to the lamb. They kind of worked together like tapas. Mon Aug 10 11:40:10 -0700 2009 4915407 111643 cpw 3 4933823 Oh no! Such a small, but important detail. Good thing you checked on it and were able to mostly salvage it. ~TDQ Mon Aug 10 12:43:14 -0700 2009 4933581 12005 The Dairy Queen 1 4915444 I made the Roasted Aubergine with Saffron Yogurt (page 29) the other night. I followed the recipe quite closely except I didn't have the pomegranate seeds. I did a half recipe since it was just for my husband and myself. I cut everything in half, including the garlic, but I still thought the garlic was *too* overpowering in the saffron sauce (and I love garlic). Since it's raw it really stands out. Personally I liked the marinated egglplant recipe on page 26 better. Tue Aug 04 02:21:18 -0700 2009 4914100 18353 DGresh 2 4915983 DGresh, I was eyeing this recipe but the on-line version does not list lemon juice as an ingredient although it mentions it in the directions. Does the book list lemon juice, and if so, how much? When I see raw garlic called for I often soak it briefly in lemon juice to tame it a bit and that's what I planned on doing here, all the more so because of your comments. Tue Aug 04 07:57:25 -0700 2009 4915444 13756 GretchenS 3 4915994 2-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice Tue Aug 04 08:05:51 -0700 2009 4915983 11995 pikawicca 2 4921345 I just made this recipe for the second time, and we really enjoy it - the contrast between the crispy roasted eggplant and the cool yellow sauce is outstanding. I think the basil is also a fine contrast. re the garlic, we are garlic likers - I suspect it matters very much what garlic you are using and how big the cloves are. I actually put two cloves in this last time and the balance of flavors - tart, garlicy, fresh herbal and salty-roasty was fine. I bet it would be improved by the additional contrast of the sweet-tart pomegranate seeds. Note, I have no idea how much eggplant 3 med aubergines are - I used 5 oriental eggplants the last time. Wed Aug 05 18:48:59 -0700 2009 4915444 11130 jen kalb 3 4921486 I just picked up some local eggplant to make this today. Garlic can be really industrial these days. I try to avoid buying garlic from China, which always tastes nasty to me. Lately I have had the greatest success with Mexican and Argentinian varieties. Can't wait for the local garlic harvest! Wed Aug 05 19:44:06 -0700 2009 4921345 59258 smtucker 4 4923646 smtucker: I agree about not buying the Chinese garlic, although I just find it pretty tasteless, not bad-tasting. Luckily, in the past month Berkeley Bowl has been getting Mexican garlic which is really great - pungent and fresh without those rotten or dried-out cloves throughout. Thu Aug 06 13:45:06 -0700 2009 4921486 10245 oakjoan 3 4921869 pomegranates are not to be found in my neck of the woods in the summer-- too bad he uses them in a lot of the recipes! Thu Aug 06 03:14:21 -0700 2009 4921345 18353 DGresh 4 4925129 DGresh--I agree about the pomegranates. Many of the recipes in the book that call for pomegranates also call for ingredients that aren't available the same time of year as pomegranates, (at least, not in my neck of the woods.) However, I have noticed that on a couple of occasions they've suggested dried cranberries or sour cherries in lieu of the pomegranate seeds or said that the pomegranate garnish was optional. I don't think that subbing dried sour cherries for the pomegranate seeds would work in say, the bream dish, but I could see that it might possibly work in this "roasted aubergine with saffron yogurt "dish. jen kalb, if one couldn't get ahold of fresh pomegranate, do you think subbing dried cranberries or sour cherries for them might work in this dish? Thanks in advance. ~TDQ Fri Aug 07 02:28:59 -0700 2009 4921869 12005 The Dairy Queen 5 4925214 Love the dried cranberries sub suggestion (somehow I'd missed that). Hope you feel better soon. Fri Aug 07 04:38:31 -0700 2009 4925129 56762 LulusMom 6 4925222 Oh, thank you! But, not to worry, I'll be fine. I've just been a little sleep deprived and my system is out of whack. I'm sure I'll whack it back into place this weekend with a little rest (and some exercise wouldn't hurt either!) I'm going to try the "fennel and feta with pomegranate seeds and sumac pg 17" tonight or tomorrow night (it looks like my Ottolenghi night of cooking tonight might be pushed to to tomorrow night...) using either dried sour cherries or cranberries (and my gorgeous CSA fennel) and will most certainly report back on how the substitution works. Is sorrel in season? I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never cooked with it and, therefore, have not even noticed whether it's in the markets right now. I have some lovely CSA new potatoes and want to try the "crushed new potatoes with horseradish and sorrel" on page 63. (I see you can substitute arugula if I can't find it.) In other news, on my inaugural use of this cookbook, I managed to get sunflower oil on my lamb pages. Boo! ~TDQ Fri Aug 07 04:48:34 -0700 2009 4925214 12005 The Dairy Queen 7 4925328 That salad is good, I seem to remember. I made it an age ago. Good to see you cooking along again. Fri Aug 07 05:52:41 -0700 2009 4925222 110146 greedygirl 7 4930067 Ok, reporting back. Want the bad news first or the good news first? How about the bad news fennel and feta with pomegranate seeds and sumac pg 17--oh my, we hated this, both of us. It was just too bitter and I thought the fennel and the tarragon did not complement each other at all. Instead they echoed each other and completely overpowered. I used fresh currants instead of pomegranate seeds and I actually think they were a pretty good substitution, even though they aren't very sweet. But, I don't think they were the problem. I couldn't even put a bite of the fennel in my mouth without thinking yuck. Anyway, this is the second vegetable salad recipe from Ottolenghi that neither my husband nor I have not liked (we didn't hate, but didn't love the cucumber and poppy seed salad), so, unless there's a salad out there that's getting universal love, I'm probably going to skip all of the vegetable salad recipes in the book. I don't know if they are just different than our tastes or if I'm doing something incredibly wrong. I'm trying to be as faithful as possible. to the directions, so, I don't think it's the latter. "crushed new potatoes with horseradish and sorrel" on page 63--these were great, but, oops, I see I'm supposed to post about these in the roots thread. Follow me to the roots thread! Photo below! ~TDQ Sun Aug 09 02:06:59 -0700 2009 4925222 12005 The Dairy Queen 8 4930440 Fennel is quite bitter generally though and lots of people hate it for that reason, and the slightly anise taste. Do you like fennel normally? I think the pomegranate seeds in this dish are probably key - they give that lovely sweet-sour taste and "pop" in your mouth. Sorry this didn't work out for you, TDQ. But you liked the green bean dish, so all is not lost! Sun Aug 09 08:08:09 -0700 2009 4930067 110146 greedygirl 9 4930535 LOVED LOVED LOVED the green bean dish. You know, sometimes I do like fennel, but I don't always like it. I think the real miss here was the tarragon. And, it's true that the pomegranate would have added some sweetness (that I'm not sure the currants added, even though the currents added the sour+pop) but, even so, I just don't see how you could get a bit of pomegranate in every bite. But, if the pomegranate is essential to making this work, then I can seldom have this dish because we seldom have access to fennel bulbs here when the pomegranates are in the stores. :( Perhaps this is just not the dish for me. Such is life, eh! I'm getting plenty of winners out of this book, so I am definitely not despairing! ~TDQ Sun Aug 09 09:06:59 -0700 2009 4930440 12005 The Dairy Queen 10 4935459 TDQ: So this fennel dish had pomegranate seeds, feta, sumac AND tarragon? Seems like too much of a mush of flavors. Mon Aug 10 23:14:00 -0700 2009 4930535 10245 oakjoan 11 4935537 Yep, all of that. I agree, too much going on. Now, to be fair, I used fresh currants because I had no pomegranate seeds, and fresh currants have little to no sweetness (although they do have tang and they do have a nice, fresh, "pop"). It's quite possible that was the fatal problem... Alas, my husband and I each took one bite (this is on top of my sampling in the kitchen, of course), and he pushed his dish away... We threw it all out, which is something I seldom do. It's also possible that there was a proportion problem--maybe fennel in the U.S. is bigger than in the UK and that proportion was off? Also, it called for 1/2 a pomegranate and I just used about 1/2 cup of currants, so, again, how does one know the equivalent amount? It's very possible that this dish only works when you use exact measurements... I'd like to try this fennel seafood salad, but am a little nervous now! http://wwwfamilycookbookcom.blogspot.com/2008/05/ottolenghi-cookbook-outing-no-1-fennel.html ~TDQ Tue Aug 11 01:43:15 -0700 2009 4935459 12005 The Dairy Queen 9 4948161 Wow, I don't think I've heard anyone describe fennel as bitter before! But I wonder if it's a time of year thing. I grow fennel in the winter, and that's also when I see it in the stores around here. So I could believe that fennel grown in the summer could get bitter. I do let some fennel reseed itself and grow in the summer because it attracts beneficial insects, but I never harvest it because the bulbs always look shrunken and dry compared to the thick, succulent winter fennels. Fri Aug 14 23:00:10 -0700 2009 4930440 19542 Karen_Schaffer 10 4949545 Karen: I agree. To me fennel more licorice-y and that's what it's usually described as in the recipes I've read. Sat Aug 15 16:45:44 -0700 2009 4948161 10245 oakjoan 5 4925402 im not sure. It seems to me that a dried cranberry or cherry would be too large and intense vs. the cool light pop of the pomegranate in the eggplant dish. In heavier dishes, like with grains , or in salads,I think these subs or maybe chopped dried apricots would work just fine.. Im trying to think what fresh fruit would work - maybe haved seeded grapes? Fri Aug 07 06:26:37 -0700 2009 4925129 11130 jen kalb 6 4925482 Hmmm...interesting point. Grapes sound pretty close, or, maybe just chopped sour cherries? I'm trying to think of a fresh fruit that is a little tangy like pomegranate seeds are. I think something like gooseberries would be good, but we're slightly out of season for those. We'll, I'll see what I come up with and definitely report back! ~TDQ Fri Aug 07 06:55:52 -0700 2009 4925402 12005 The Dairy Queen 6 4925564 Fresh currants would be good. Fri Aug 07 07:32:03 -0700 2009 4925402 11995 pikawicca 5 4935513 Pomegranates are not native to England at all and are always imported, so you can pretty much get them all year round, although they are more common from September and especially around Christmastime. Tue Aug 11 01:02:29 -0700 2009 4925129 110146 greedygirl 3 4921890 I remember from Simon Hopkinson month that there were some issues with just how much produce was called for. He'd call for 2 onions and I'd have a TON too many onions. I think most produce is a lot smaller in the UK. Thu Aug 06 03:38:10 -0700 2009 4921345 56762 LulusMom 4 4921891 I can give you approximate sizes of various vegetables if you like. It could be a fun game and distraction from work! Thu Aug 06 03:39:46 -0700 2009 4921890 110146 greedygirl 5 4922048 Too funny. Eggplants really run the gamut here ... some of them are almost the size of a football (oops, that crazy thing we americans call a football). Most are somewhat, but not hugely, smaller than that. How big does the average british eggplant run? And how about cucumbers? Ours are probably around 5-6 inches long. Thu Aug 06 05:59:30 -0700 2009 4921891 56762 LulusMom 6 4922077 Your average aubergine, as we like to call them, is probably about six-eight inches long. I'm talking about the shiny purple Italian variety here. An English cucumber is about ten inches or so. You can also get Lebanese cucumbers, which are about half the size and ridged or knobbly. They usually need peeling first. Will people think I'm weird if I take a tape measure to the greengrocer? Thu Aug 06 06:12:05 -0700 2009 4922048 110146 greedygirl 7 4922757 Weird not be the first thing that springs to mind ... How is the girth of those aubergines? Are they as fat as ours, or more like what we call Japanese eggplant? I'm guessing your lebanese cucs are the same as our regular ones. Thu Aug 06 09:46:08 -0700 2009 4922077 56762 LulusMom 8 4922809 I'd say they're quite fat. Definitely on the portly side. And very shiny and a lovely purple colour. Here's a picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aubergine.jpg Thu Aug 06 09:57:19 -0700 2009 4922757 110146 greedygirl 9 4922831 And here's an English cucumber. http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/08_03/cucumberDM2708_468x367.jpg If you have any other vegetable inquiries, please don't hesitate to ask. ;-) Thu Aug 06 10:02:53 -0700 2009 4922809 110146 greedygirl 10 4923086 "Greedygirl - there for all your vegetable inquiries." I can see the sign outside your office. We do get "english cucumbers" here, usually at a much higher price. Thu Aug 06 11:06:46 -0700 2009 4922831 56762 LulusMom 10 4923125 Your English cucumber is exactly what's sold in the US under the name "English cucumber" [g], always with a plastic wrapper. Our standard American cucumber is shorter and fatter, has a higher water content and more seeds (the seeds are often scraped out for recipes), and a thicker skin, which is commonly waxed for sale and so usually peeled. http://www.foodsubs.com/Photos/cucumber-American.jpg Your aubergine looks to be the same length and color as our standard "globe" eggplant, but not as wide at the wide end. If you consider yours portly, I suppose ours are obese! (most are actually not quite as fat as this one): http://www.foodsubs.com/Photos/eggplant-American.jpg We can often find many other varieties of eggplant, but the chief alternative is Japanese eggplant: http://www.elysianfarm.com/images/lgJapanese-Eggplant.jpg Thu Aug 06 11:17:46 -0700 2009 4922831 10074 Caitlin McGrath 9 4923082 Pretty much looks like our aubergine, although I'd say ours are often fatter. Thu Aug 06 11:05:48 -0700 2009 4922809 56762 LulusMom 10 4923657 I agree. gg's photo looks too slim for an American eggplant! Hey, they say we're a nation of fatsos! We like them thar eggplants BIG! I'd say an "American" eggplant is about 8 inches around and can be bigger. gg's photo looks a bit like what we call "Italian" eggplant. Thu Aug 06 13:47:56 -0700 2009 4923082 10245 oakjoan 8 4923323 the british cukes are usually those long hothouse ones - like we get wrapped in plastic, or the similar burpless varieties we can go. The lebanese cukes are much smaller than american cukes - 3-4 in, long and slim - you can eat the skin much of the time - costco carries them here (NYC area) in bags and they also available at Fairway Sahadi and other stores catering to mideast populations. they grow very well in the garden too. Thu Aug 06 12:15:42 -0700 2009 4922757 11130 jen kalb 9 4923635 jenkalb: I've grown addicted to what are called "Persian Cucumbers" out here in Califa. They're more expensive, but so good that I hold my breath and buy them. Lately, I've also discovered them at Trader Joe's at a much lower price. Thu Aug 06 13:41:06 -0700 2009 4923323 10245 oakjoan 10 4924837 yes, these mideast types seem to be all over the place now - but too expensive. I hope the one cuke seed that came up in my garden this year proves to be one of these. Thu Aug 06 20:57:32 -0700 2009 4923635 11130 jen kalb 3 4935817 I reviewed the recipe and realized that we have not added the specified olive oil in the yogurt sauce either time - I think I am glad not since the main food value of the dish is the yogurt sauce - we used whole milk TJ greek yogurt and there was certainly no need for the additional fat. We didnt view this as a "dressing" - poured the whole recipe over the fried eggplant and it was perfectly fine. Tue Aug 11 06:07:14 -0700 2009 4921345 11130 jen kalb 2 4927368 My turn tonight. Last night, we were grilling chicken and zucchini on the charcoal grill, so I prepared the eggplant to grill at the same time. I used six Japanese eggplant since that is what is being harvested here right now. Created thin strips of the eggplant, rubbed with olive oil and seasoned before lining them up in a single layer on a grill mesh tray. Today I made the yogurt dressing after lunch to give the flavors time to blend. Only made half since we have found the amount of dressing to be too much. Took out the eggplant an hour before dinner to bring them to room temperature, harvested some basil and toasted some pine nuts. I really like this, but also found the garlic a little overwhelming. Loved the saffron flavor. The dining partner really loved this, and doesn't even really like eggplant. He tried some of the dressing on the steamed green beans and proclaimed this a successful experiment. As with other recipes, we found the amount of dressing in the recipes to be far too much. As you can see in the picture, I served it in a separate bowl, and I would say we each had about a teaspoon. Fri Aug 07 17:37:12 -0700 2009 4915444 59258 smtucker 2 4927371 Photo was too large... trying again. Fri Aug 07 17:39:36 -0700 2009 4915444 59258 smtucker 3 4927394 Interesting! Especially your comment about the dressing in the recipes to be far too much. I found the oil in the cucumber salad I tried last night to be too much, or, at least the oil in it. My instinct was to cut back, but, since it was my first night cooking from the book, I decided against it. But, maybe next time I'm just going to follow my instincts based on your observation and my own gut feeling. Thanks for reporting back! ~TDQ Fri Aug 07 17:48:23 -0700 2009 4927371 12005 The Dairy Queen 2 4972457 I made this again last night. I had three different kinds of eggplant from the organic farm. It was quite beautiful with dark purple, white and lilac colors all intermingled. I cut the 6 eggplants into wedges and made them a little bigger this time so that the meat to skin ratio was more pleasing. Once again, I cooked the eggplant on the charcoal grill. For the dressing, I used a local organic garlic and it was fabulous! None of that overpowering garlic taste at all. I thought I had made enough for two meals, but only a few eggplant wedges went into the fridge at the end of the meal. Mon Aug 24 08:45:06 -0700 2009 4915444 59258 smtucker 1 4915465 Radish and broad bean salad, p16 This is one of my favourite recipes in the book, and a simply brilliant preparation for broad beans (favas), which I get a lot of at this time of year. Cook the beans for a minute or two in boiling water and double pod them. Cut the radishes into wedges and mix with the broad beans, onion, coriander, preserved lemon, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil and cumin. Season to taste. He says to serve this with green tahini sauce and pitta, but I always serve it as a side dish. It's just yummy. Do try this if fava beans are still in season round your parts. Tue Aug 04 03:28:08 -0700 2009 4914100 110146 greedygirl 2 4915630 Quick (and perhaps stupid) question: What does "double pod" them mean? Sorry, and thanks! Tue Aug 04 05:40:53 -0700 2009 4915465 56762 LulusMom 3 4915652 Favas need to be peeled twice, once to remove them from the actual pod and the second time to remove the outer shell from the bean. It's a pain, but well worth it. The second shelling is somewhat easier to do if the favas have been parboiled, but I love raw favas in a salad with salami and Pecorino (Zuni Cookbook) so happily suffer through whatever is necessary to get to the kernel of goodness beneath all the packaging. Tue Aug 04 05:47:49 -0700 2009 4915630 11407 JoanN 4 4915716 As Joan says, a fiddly job, but I always take the trouble unless the beans are very young. Tue Aug 04 06:14:12 -0700 2009 4915652 110146 greedygirl 5 4916205 And I have never met a fava bean that I've liked raw, so I always parboil and peel. Tue Aug 04 09:05:39 -0700 2009 4915716 10985 MMRuth 6 4921181 Wow, MMR, you don't like raw favas? My friend has lots in her garden and we just sit at the table in spring and eat them, second pod and all with a bit of pecorino romano. I guess the favas have to be realllly fresh for the raw thing to work. Wed Aug 05 17:34:50 -0700 2009 4916205 10245 oakjoan 2 4929555 I made the fava bean and radish salad for dinner tonight. Both are in season here, and were purchased from my farmer's market. So, when I started creating the dressing, I noticed the preserved lemons in the list, but didn't have any in the house. I substituted some lemon zest. And then, it turns out I had finished all of my cilantro, so I only used the parsley. A little extra to try to make up for the now gaping holes in my bowl. I have never eaten, much less cooked, fava beans. I popped the beans out of the pod, blanched for 2 minutes, dropped them into an ice bath and peeled the beans. The results are a bit mealy. When I rubbed a few to dry them, they split into two pieces. Is this normal, or were these beans too mature? Since I had the tahini dressing already made for last week's eggplant, I served it in a side bowl. I really liked the flavor of the salad. The dressing was bright, the radishes with a slight bite against the beans. I just had some issues with the texture of those beans. My guests finished it, so at least a few people were able to rise above this small issue. Sat Aug 08 18:30:15 -0700 2009 4915465 59258 smtucker 3 4930428 It's quite late in the season now for broad beans, so that probably accounts for the mealy texture. Mine were a bit mealy as well yesterday. It's normal for them to split into two pieces. I think they probably need a bit more than two minutes when they're mature, or that's what I thought yesterday about mine. Sun Aug 09 08:03:28 -0700 2009 4929555 110146 greedygirl 4 4930549 Thanks. All of our farm produce is running about about 2-3 weeks late. Lots of rain and clouds during the month of June, meant that plants were not maturing and the fields were flooding. I did like the flavor, so I am not discouraged. Thanks for your thoughts. Sun Aug 09 09:14:09 -0700 2009 4930428 59258 smtucker 2 4933979 Radish and broad bean salad: We made this today for lunch, and loved it. Such a beautiful salad, and I loved the original combination of flavours. I also enjoyed the tahini sauce, it is a nice alternative to thicker, denser hummus. Instead of regular radishes, we used the milder French radishes, which worked fine. My thumbs are a little sore from peeling all the fava beans, but it was worth the effort. Mon Aug 10 13:31:36 -0700 2009 4915465 89969 moh 1 4920493 Chargrilled broccoli with garlic and chilli, p41 I am loath to review this, as I ruined the recipe I think by trying to cut down on the oil too much. But I think if you made it as written, it would be pretty terrific. Anyway, I cut two heads of broccoli into florets and parboiled for two minutes. Refresh in iced water and then pat dry. Toss in olive oil and season liberally. Heat a griddle until very hot and grill the broccoli so you get nice charred bits on each side. At the same time, heat more olive oil and sauté sliced garlic and chilli in the oil. Once the garlic has started to turn golden, add to the chargrilled broccoli and toss. The recipe calls for 125ml of olive oil - I cut that to 2 Tbsp which just didn't work. The broccoli tasted good, but didn't grill properly, really, and the spicy oil was too spicy as there was too much chilli to oil ratio! It was still quite tasty, though, and I enjoyed it but you definitely need a lot more oil than I used. I think it would be really lovely if you did it properly, though, and I will try again when it's not just me for dinner! As he says in the intro, a good way to spice up a boring vegetable. It would be even better with purple-sprouting broccoli, I think. Wed Aug 05 13:41:32 -0700 2009 4914100 110146 greedygirl 2 4923772 I made these a couple of times a few months ago: CAULIFLOWER FRITTERS I usually don't like cauliflower on its own (love it in soup, though), but these fritters are very delicious. It's just a bunch of chopped up cauliflower parboiled and then mixed with a batter with flour, eggs, chopped shallots, parsley, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper. The cauliflower should be broken down a bit with. I used my hands to mix the batter and squish the cauliflower some. I served it with yoghurt mixed with lime juice and a few grates of zest, some of the parsley, garlic and s and p. Oh, and a pinch of some Greek oregano. Thu Aug 06 14:17:31 -0700 2009 4920493 10245 oakjoan 3 4923786 Those sound good. Cauliflower has been on sale lately for $1.00 a head, and this might be the next recipe I try. How accurate is this recipe link below? Thanks! http://www.recipezaar.com/Spicy-Cauliflower-Fritters-352789 Thu Aug 06 14:20:56 -0700 2009 4923772 10271 Rubee 4 4923845 Pretty close, but not exact. (about) 320 g cauliflower 120 g plain flour 3 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped, plus some tender leaves to finish 1 garlic clove, crushed 2 shallots, finely chopped 4 free-range eggs eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 500 ml sunflower oil for frying He also includes a lime sauce for dipping 300g Greek yoghurt 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander grated zest of one lime 2 tbsp lime juice 2 tbsp olive oil salt and pepper Thu Aug 06 14:40:07 -0700 2009 4923786 59258 smtucker 5 4923854 Thanks so much! Can't wait to make it. Thu Aug 06 14:42:27 -0700 2009 4923845 10271 Rubee 6 4925014 The recipezaar seems to be pretty faithful, but doesn't include the lime sauce which is great. The cauliflower is sweet and smooth and needs the kick of the sauce. Thu Aug 06 23:13:24 -0700 2009 4923854 10245 oakjoan 7 4970216 Cauliflower Fritters I made these for dinner, served with Ottolenghi's lamb meatballs baked in tahini. Great use of cauliflower. The fritters were nicely seasoned too with the cumin and cinnamon, although I left out the turmeric since E doesn't like it. I agree about the sauce, glad I made it - definitely a key component. It was also good on the meatballs. I didn't have coriander so added fresh chives instead. I think I may have made the fritters too thick though, they didn't stay crispy for long. Also, next time would leave the cauliflower a little chunkier. Sun Aug 23 11:44:51 -0700 2009 4925014 10271 Rubee 2 4950181 Made the Chargrilled Broccoli with Chili and Garlic last night and it was definitely not as spicy as GG's version. The recipe said "mild red chilies" and that's what I used. Having already gone through the blanch/ice/dry/grill routine several times now, we had that down pat. The dish was just OK as far as I was concerned. Served it with a grilled (on the Weber) whole cod stuffed with a mixture of 5 different herbs, lots of garlic, dried cranberries, raisins and ground macadamia nuts. Now....That was terrific!! Sun Aug 16 05:22:04 -0700 2009 4920493 75332 Gio 1 4925269 Chargrilled Cauliflower with Tomato, Dill and Capers: More Vegetables, Pg. 51 Another tasty dish exploding with flavor. After reading the recipe 3 or 4 times I restrained myself from simplifying the method thinking he must have a reason for the double cooking with a drying period in between and I'm glad I did. The finished dish was wonderful. At a local farm on Wednesday I had picked up a small white and a small lime green cauliflower. The recipe calls for cherry tomatoes but I bought Pearl tomatoes from Maine...trying to be as locavore-ish as possible. Other than these deviations I followed the recipe as written. The dressing is made first and consists of drained and chopped capers, a tablespoon of whole grain mustard, crushed garlic, cider vinegar, and olive oil. All this is blitzed in a processor with the oil drizzled in at the end. I ended up using about 1/4 cup of EVOO. Cauliflower florets are simmered for 3 minutes in boiling salted water, drained, iced immediately, drained again and left to dry for a bit. In the meantime baby spinach is washed and cherry tomatoes are halved, or in my case the pearl tomatoes were quartered. These were a little larger than cherry toms, bright red and Very sweet. A grill pan is heated till very hot and the cauliflower is grilled till charred in batches. The cauliflower is added to a bowl along with the spinach, tomatoes and chopped fresh dill. The dressing is poured over, veggies are tossed and salt added if necessary. We added a few grindings of Tellicherry black peppercorns. We loved the dish. It's a good accompaniment for just about any main. I must say the combination of white and green cauliflowers, red tomatoes and dark green spinach was very festive. We served this with grilled spicy turkey sausages and home made rolls from the farm bakery. DH declared, "I love this guy." I guess that says it all. Fri Aug 07 05:25:51 -0700 2009 4914100 75332 Gio 2 4925330 Have you received your book now, Gio? So glad this is working out for you. Fri Aug 07 05:54:11 -0700 2009 4925269 110146 greedygirl 3 4925391 Yes...I have received the book, GG. I love it. Originally I thought it would be too complicated since we're a cooking team here... but so far everything is working out very well. Plus I like using vegetables in new and various combinations. Tonight will be the 4th consecutive recipe we will have made. (French beans & mangetout) Never did that from COTMs before! Fri Aug 07 06:21:51 -0700 2009 4925330 75332 Gio 4 4925445 I bet your hubbie is a bit of a pro by now though! I got some French beans in my box today so I may join you in making that one. Fri Aug 07 06:43:57 -0700 2009 4925391 110146 greedygirl 2 4976622 We made the cauliflower dish past weekend and did not like it that much. The combination of dill and capers with cauliflower did not work for us. I followed the recipe as is, except instead of spinach added arugula as both of us do not like spinach. No harm done, we still finished it, just weren't crazy about it. Tue Aug 25 12:10:58 -0700 2009 4925269 111643 cpw 1 4928045 I made the Aubergine-wrapped ricotta gnocchi with Sage Butter (page 28) last night. This is a really good cookbook for eggplant, which I keep getting in my CSA box! I really liked this; the gnocchi were incredibly flavorful. The eggplant doesn't "add" a whole lot other than to hold the gnocchi together and look good. It was just for three of us, including a teenager who doesn't eat much. I made a single recipe and it was just right with generous sides of bread and tomato salad. I could only get 7 "lumps" of reasonable-sized gnocchi out of the batter, not the 8-12 it talks about. My eggplant was a smallish italian type, and was big enough for this use; I cut a few of the middle ones in half lengthwise so that each of the "belts" was about an inch to an inch wide. I don't have a scale so used google to tell me what 35 g of flour is; I used 1/4 cup, or 4 T. I think I needed more flour as while the gnocchi held together while boiling, got a bit limp while draining. I was able to carefully pull them back together and get the eggplant around them but it was a little awkward. They also tended to stick to the paper towel I was draining them on. Not sure if there's a better way to drain them (he said to use a tea towel but all my dish towels have a bit of a scent of fabric softener (I don't use them for dishes) and I didn't want to use them) It took quite a bit longer than advertised to roast the eggplant slices, even though mine were probably thinner than the recipe calls for. Finally put my oven on the convection setting to get them golden. The sage butter was very nice-- all in all a quite elegant and delicious presentation. Sat Aug 08 03:22:54 -0700 2009 4914100 18353 DGresh 1 4928143 French Beans and Mangetout with Hazelnuts and Orange: Greens, Pg.36 Rolling right along we made this quick and easy dish last night and Loved it. A delightful component of our vegetarian Friday meal. French beans and snow peas from the farm, (I eliminated the hazelnuts), and a delicious dressing combined to create a tasty side dish. I halved the recipe. The beans and snow peas and trimmed, blanched separately, iced then dried. Orange zest, chopped chives, a crushed garlic clove, EVOO and hazelnut oil (I used peanut) S & P are combined for the dressing. Everything is tossed together and served. The second dish was Israeli couscous - sorry oakjoan - into which I mixed leftover caramelized onions and cauliflower from the night before, and wilted baby spinach. Loooovely. Sat Aug 08 05:43:58 -0700 2009 4914100 75332 Gio 2 4928149 Gio, I've been thinking about making these with only green beans, but no snow peas, since I have boatloads of CSA green beans right now (but no snow peas). Do you think it be too one-dimensional without the snow peas? ~TDQ Sat Aug 08 05:46:13 -0700 2009 4928143 12005 The Dairy Queen 3 4928191 No I don't think so, TDQ. As you know there is a difference in flavor of the beans and the peas, but I think it would work. Luckily I had chives in the garden but if you don't you could finely slice an onion or shallot. You might have to reduce the oil though. I wish I had..... next time I will for sure. There's 3 Tablespoons of olive oil and 2 of hazelnut. Too much in my estimation. Sat Aug 08 06:19:13 -0700 2009 4928149 75332 Gio 4 4928517 Thanks for the tip on reducing the oil! I just went to the grocery store where I bought the ingredients so I can make the green beans (without the snap-peas), the fennel salad with pomegranate, the turkey/corn meatballs, the florentines, the crushed horseradish potatoes, and I've already got the lamb marinating. Lots of Ottolenghi on the docket for this weekend! ~TDQ Sat Aug 08 09:20:00 -0700 2009 4928191 12005 The Dairy Queen 5 4928528 Good luck with all of that TDQ! I'm making my 5th consecutive recipe tonight....the fennel and tomato gratin. I didn't think I'd like this book at all. How wrong I was! As Julia would say, "Aren't we having fun?" Sat Aug 08 09:25:31 -0700 2009 4928517 75332 Gio 6 4928541 Funny how things work out! I'm glad you're enjoying the book! Did I tell you I broke down and bought BAY'A, too? HA! We always have fun! Well, I'd better go cook now! ~TDQ Sat Aug 08 09:31:23 -0700 2009 4928528 12005 The Dairy Queen 2 4928745 French Beans and Mangetout with Hazelnuts and Orange: Greens, Pg.36 I tried this, but instead of 400 grams each of green beans and snap peas, I used 600 grams of green beans. I used walnut oil instead of hazelnut oil. On Gio's advice, I cut back the amount of oil: 1 TBSP of evoo and 2 tsp of walnut oil, which seemed like the perfect amount of oil to me. I liked this a lot (as did my husband), even without the snap peas. It's a good use of green beans at a time of year where I'm running out of ideas for using up green beans. Super easy, too. Photo! ~TDQ Sat Aug 08 11:15:32 -0700 2009 4928143 12005 The Dairy Queen 3 4929584 Oh gosh that looks so good TDQ! Good for you! Picture perfect..... Sat Aug 08 18:50:13 -0700 2009 4928745 75332 Gio 3 4935516 I made a half recipe of this last night and it's such a nice side dish. I used a tbsp of olive oil and the same of hazlenut. We loved it. Tue Aug 11 01:06:20 -0700 2009 4928745 110146 greedygirl 1 4930135 Fennel, Cherry Tomato and Crumble Gratin: More Vegetables, Pg. 53 Delicious. Absolutely delicious. To begin, I'll state my substitutions which were 1/2 & 1/2 instead of whipping cream, Pecorino Romano instead of Parmisano, and because I couldn't find castor sugar I blitzed granulated in a grinder. The rest of the recipe was made as written. First The Crumble. Flour, sugar and unsalted butter. Er, crumbled together. This is now my go to gratin topping. The gratin is created by halving fennel bulbs (I used 1 large) then thinly slicing the halves, Into a bowl they go with olive oil, thyme leaves crushed garlic cloves (I chopped them), salt & pepper. This is tossed together then poured into a baking dish, cream poured over, 1/3 of the crumble scattered over top and the cheese on top of that. (The rest of the crumble was put into a zip lock freezer bag to be used later. Mr. Ottolenghi says it will keep indefinitely there...) The dish is covered with foil and baked in a 200 C oven for 45 minutes. I preheated the oven to 400F. That worked very well. The foil is removed after this first baking and cherry tomatoes and thyme sprigs are scattered over. The gratin is then baked for 15 minutes more or until the topping is golden brown. The gratin rests for a few minutes then chopped parsley is sprinkled on the top. We loved this! The fennel was soft and slightly sweet which was complimented by the crumble. The tomatoes mediated that sweetness. Will definitely make this again. The main dish was pan-fried whiting with Moroccan spice. Great combination. Sun Aug 09 05:06:31 -0700 2009 4914100 75332 Gio 2 4935470 Oh Gio, I'm glad you tried this as I've had my eye on it for a while. The photo is so inviting. I'm taking a day off from Ottolenghi to make chiles rellanos. I got some gorgeous Poblanos and have already charred the skins on the bbq. So the crumble will have to wait until tlater in the week. Mon Aug 10 23:26:49 -0700 2009 4930135 10245 oakjoan 3 4935748 Chiles rellanos. Yum! OJ...do try that crumble! It's even good cold and now that I think about it, this is a very good way to introduce fennel to someone who thinks s/he doesn't like it.... I ate the last spoonfull for lunch yesterday. Still good after all those hours. I'm going to try the crumble mix as a fruit cobbler topping. The sweetness would work well with fruit I think. Tue Aug 11 05:28:44 -0700 2009 4935470 75332 Gio 4 4936797 In the cookbook, the same crumble is used to top blueberry muffins and other baked goods. It was surprising to me to see it in a savory recipe! Tue Aug 11 10:57:25 -0700 2009 4935748 10074 Caitlin McGrath 5 4941562 Tonight I made a sweet onion and tomato gratin from A New Way To Cook and topped it with some of the Crumble I froze. What a revelation this is. I can't wait to try it on some of the desserts. Thank you Mr. Ottolenghi! Wed Aug 12 17:57:20 -0700 2009 4936797 75332 Gio 6 4941576 I have my eye on the pear amaretto crumble cake - but I guess that's for another thread! I've passed over the gratin recipe because it sounded so odd to me; I'm used to this mixture in baking, and just couldn't imagine it translating, but you do have me reconsidering, Gio. Wed Aug 12 18:03:00 -0700 2009 4941562 10074 Caitlin McGrath 7 4941623 You've convinced me, I will be trying the crumble for my next recipe. Thanks Gio for the great review! Wed Aug 12 18:26:17 -0700 2009 4941576 185144 dkennedy 8 4941651 Caitlin and dkennedy: Make no mistake, the Crumble is slightly sweet. But, If you're using it on something like fennel, or Vidalia onions it does work. He also says that if you work the mix with a blender or FP it becomes like cookie dough in which case you roll it out and use it like a top pie crust. I used my fingers to do the mixing. There's still a goodly amount in the freezer and I'm waiting for the opportunity to plunk it on something else. Maybe something with sweet corn...... Wed Aug 12 18:34:49 -0700 2009 4941623 75332 Gio 1 4930642 http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/aug/08/yotam-ottolenghi-vine-leaf-herb-yogurt-pie Vine Leaf, Herb, and Yogurt Pie Made this for dinner last night, and we really enjoyed it. I cut the butter/oil by about 30%, added approximately 1/4 cup crumbled good quality feta to the filling, and served it with a sauce made of about 2/3's Fage 2% yogurt and 1/3 tahini. Had some fresh pita and slice heirloom tomatoes to round out the meal. Perfect meal for a hot summer day. The leftovers were great for lunch today, although no longer crispy. Sun Aug 09 09:51:40 -0700 2009 4914100 11995 pikawicca 1 4948378 Chargrilled Asparagus, Courgettes, and Manouri: Greens, Pg. 33 For our vegetarian Friday night dinner we had this wonderful dish and baked potatos. Perfectly satisfying. We're loving this book! First things first: Cherry tomatoes are halved then drizzled with EVOO and sprinkled with salt & pepper. They are roasted in a 350F oven for 50 minutes then set aside to cool. In the meantime, asparagus and zucchini are prepared for pan grilling by cutting the zucchini in very thin length-wise strips and removing the woody ends of the asparagus. Each vegetable is seasoned with olive oil and S & P then grilled. Next comes the Basil Oil: EVOO, garlic, fresh basil leaves, S & P are blitzed together in a food processor... a mini will do here. The tomatoes, asparagus and zucchini are arranged in layers on a platter starting with a few arugula leaves. I had to leave off the fried manouri because DH couldn't find any after trekking to 4 stores, so I used crumbled chevre and a lovely sweet gorgonzola instead. When finished with the vegetable layers the basil oil is generously drizzled all over. Wonderful dish with tons of flavor. I thought I might want steamed jasmine rice with this but DH decided on the baked potatoes. Good match! As an aside: Funny he puts this in a "Greens" section. We always think of greens as leafy vegetables..... Sat Aug 15 06:02:21 -0700 2009 4914100 75332 Gio 2 4948507 What is Manouri? Is it similar to Halloumi? Do you think I could substitute to similar effect? Hmm, this sounds so simple but good. I love roasting tomatoes, such a great flavour booster. I've really been into vegetarian dishes these days. His recipes are quite inspiring. Starting to cave... may need to buy book soon.... Sat Aug 15 07:38:36 -0700 2009 4948378 89969 moh 3 4948528 Hi Moh..... Manouri cheese is a fresh semi-soft cheese made from whey drained from feta production combined with cream and/or milk....it's less salty than Haloumi. Usually cheeses like cream cheese, feta, ricotta salata, mizithra, mozzarella, and farmer’s cheese are used as substitutes. Mr.Ottolenghi says that Haloumi can be substituted in this dish, but DH came home empty handed thus my crazy substitutes. If you do buy the book you won't be disappointed. Don't think of it as caving, though, Think of it as opening the door to a new way to cook. There's so much going on in his recipes it's amazing and even tweaking the recipes a bit still brings enormous satisfaction. Sat Aug 15 07:56:30 -0700 2009 4948507 75332 Gio 4 4948731 Thanks Gio for the very helpful answer! Re: cookbooks, the problem is that I have a bunch of cookbooks I have been eyeing recently, including the Diane Kennedy Mexican books, anything by Marcella Hazan and Fuschia Dunlop... I am super behind on cookbook purchases as I am very new to the cookbook collecting scene. I have been getting so many ideas from this board! I'm embarrassed to admit I don't even own anything by Julia Child... But this cookbook is bouncing up the list of must-buys very quickly. Sat Aug 15 09:19:42 -0700 2009 4948528 89969 moh 5 4948779 Dunlop! Dunlop!!! Sat Aug 15 09:50:37 -0700 2009 4948731 56762 LulusMom 6 4948829 I am itching to get my sticky little fingers on a Dunlop book. I borrowed one from a friend to take a look, and boy, what a great read! She is a fabulous writer, and the recipes had me drooling. Sat Aug 15 10:10:37 -0700 2009 4948779 89969 moh 7 4948839 I can see LLM jumping up and down on the couch...LOL The Dunlop month Was a terrific month. Although both of her books were used, I prefered Land of Plenty... not wanting to influence you or anything.... Sat Aug 15 10:14:34 -0700 2009 4948829 75332 Gio 8 4948867 Same. LOP, in my opinion, has superior recipes to RCC. Dunlop studied at Sichuan University and then in a cooking school in Chengdu. She had all these connections to various chefs there and her love for the area shows in the book. She ran into a lot of difficulties when she was writing RCC, including language differences which made getting the connections (guanxi) much harder. Sat Aug 15 10:31:34 -0700 2009 4948839 10214 beetlebug 8 4949199 Oh yeah, I was jumping alright. And if forced to pick, I'd agree to go with Land of Plenty, although the shrimp with chinese chives and the cilantro salad in RCC are both big favorites here (but at least the first of these is available online). Sat Aug 15 13:47:07 -0700 2009 4948839 56762 LulusMom 9 4949529 EEK! My cookbook budget is about to implode! Sat Aug 15 16:37:49 -0700 2009 4949199 89969 moh 10 4950135 I hear you. We're having to open up bookshelves in another room to free up space. Sun Aug 16 04:04:23 -0700 2009 4949529 56762 LulusMom 6 4972085 Yes indeed - anyone interested in Chinese cooking should have these. I find I use RCC more because there is not as much Hunan food in NYC as Sichuan (Hunan House in Flushing being a recent godsend). Her recipes are simple and the food they produce has zhen wei (the real taste). Brava Fuchsia, hope you have aniother book in the works - hope it's about Yangzhou cuisine... Mon Aug 24 07:04:37 -0700 2009 4948779 13709 buttertart 4 4949229 I also made the char grilled veggies and haloumi salad. I have a little different opinion about this dish - I found it to be a little flat. I really enjoyed each veggie right off the grill, they all were seasoned perfectly. I anticipated that adding the basil dressing would really tie the whole thing together - but I didn't find it that way at all. If anything, it made it too oily and did not impart enough additional flavor to warrant adding it to the salad. Next time I think I will skip the haloumi (which was breaded then fried) and instead add parmesan to the basil oil, making it a pseudo pesto. I think that will pep things up. My next recipe I am hoping to get to is the Swiss chard cakes with sorrel yogurt sauce. I haven't seen a post about these yet so maybe I will be the first! Sat Aug 15 14:00:16 -0700 2009 4948528 185144 dkennedy 5 4952623 DK... Perhaps the difference are the cheeses I used: Chevre and Gorgonzola, unfried but crumbled over the veggies. That changed the taste dramatically! Mon Aug 17 08:08:26 -0700 2009 4949229 75332 Gio 1 4952627 Peaches and Speck with Orange Blossom: Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, Pg. 13 Send a man out for Speck and he comes back with Prosciutto. Oh well, yet another substitution which I think turned really well. We'll have to make this again with the speck but without the orange blossom water which made an off note, IMO.. We had some lovely peaches from a local farm and the orange blossom water comes from a new-to-me on-line site, The Savory Spice Shop: http://www.savoryspiceshop.com/index.html After removing the stone the peaches are sliced into 6 wedges, tossed with EVOO and S & P and grilled till char marks appear. A dressing is made with orange blossom water, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and EVOO. I used white Belgian endive, mesclun and prosciutto for the salad which is layered on a platter with the peaches and speck. The dressing is drizzled over all. I did like this very much even though I thought the OBW gave it an overtone of an unusual flavor I can't quite name, Mon Aug 17 08:09:30 -0700 2009 4914100 75332 Gio 2 4954970 Chargrilled Asparagus, courgettes and manouri, p. 33. Okay, as do many of us, I changed the ingredients because I didn't have asparagus but did have a small aubergine. This was a big success. My husband made several exclamtions about how delicious it was. The cherry tomatoes (these were small so I left them whole - they say to halve), yellow crookneck squash instead of zukes, and manouri cheese are sliced. He says the zukes should be sliced on a mandoline, but I was too lazy. My squash was from the CSA box and I cut them into chunks. I put all this in a bowl with some olive oil, garlic and salt and mixed it around to coat all the ingredients. Ottolenghi says to roast the tomatoes in the oven, but I put them on the grill along with the other vegs and the sliced manouri. I used the Weber kettle, letting the coals cook way down. While the coals were turning gray, I grilled some wonderful COSTCO New Zealand lamb chips which I also coated with the garlic oil and sprinkled liberally with pepper. I then put all the ingredients on the grille and roasted them. The cheese doesn't bubble or stick or even fall apart if you handle gently. It develops a wonderful brown crust on each side. After all the vegs are cooked you pile them on a plate and serve. The recipe also called for basil oil, but I didn't have the time and so just chopped up some wonderfully fragrant basil I had and sprinkled all over the grilled vegs, along with some cracked pepper. He serves it over rocket/arugula, but I just made a salad using mostly arugula and served it alongside. I'd never had manouri cheese before and really liked it...espec. browned on the grill. This was quite delicious and also good for us. I'll certainly make this again...as I say about almost every recipe in this wonderful book. A friend went to London last week and I told her she had to eat at an Ottolenghi shop. She did and just emailed me saying it was "fabulous." Mon Aug 17 23:16:56 -0700 2009 4952627 10245 oakjoan 3 4958105 Tonight I made the butter beans with sweet chilli sauce and fresh herbs (page 72). Wow! We both liked it a lot. It's different from any of the other recipes I've tried in the book as the flavors are Asian. It's made of dried beans. I used limas. The beans are soaked and cooked in the usual manner. You have to monitor them a bit so that they keep their shape. The sauce is made of sweet chilli sauce (I didn't have this, but did have hot chilli sauce to which I added a dash of honey), sesame oil, soy sauce. crushed garlic, and lemon juice. I love the combo of soy, lemon and sesame oil. After the beans have cooled a bit, you dump them into the sauce and mix. 2 red bells are cut into chunks and 4 spring onions are chopped. Chopped coriander and parsley are added along with some chopped mint leaves. Coarse sea salt and black pepper are sprinkled over. This was really good, but I think that the limas were a bit too big. The beans in the photo were smaller, but I couldn't find anything like them except for the limas at Berkeley Bowl. We ate this salad with the harrissa chicken which I'll report on in the appropriate thread. Tue Aug 18 22:45:09 -0700 2009 4954970 10245 oakjoan 4 4959064 we made this a couple months back and people really loved it. I am not sure the mint added anything, however - think it could easily have been made with cilantro as the only herbal seasoning. Wed Aug 19 09:12:10 -0700 2009 4958105 11130 jen kalb 5 4960447 jen: I actually liked the parsley addition. I used Italian parsley and it was pretty fresh. It actually has a taste which is more one can say for most curly-leafed parsley. The one exception was the curly parsley I got in my CAS box a few weeks ago. Very tasty. Wed Aug 19 15:55:57 -0700 2009 4959064 10245 oakjoan 4 4959299 Sounds like a great recipe. Never before have I put parsley and cilantro in one dish and they seem to go well together. There are some amazing combinations in this book right from the pantry/refridgerator! Wed Aug 19 10:18:23 -0700 2009 4958105 111643 cpw 1 4969900 Pomegranate Alert!!! If you've been subbing other items for the pomegranate seeds, look for them now in your grocery store. I found my first of the season at my local (Indiana) health food store today. Sun Aug 23 09:18:39 -0700 2009 4914100 11995 pikawicca 2 4970186 I also notice pomegranate (seeds not the whole fruit at FAIRWAY yesterday) $5 for a container is a bit steep but I guess in line with other small fruits. Sun Aug 23 11:30:23 -0700 2009 4969900 11130 jen kalb 3 4971533 Portobello Mushrooms with Pearl Barley and Preserved Lemon, p. 56 First of all, l should say that I didn't have a couple of the ingredients (fresh thyme, radish sprouts, purple basil sprouts (or any basil sprouts for that matter - subbed regular basil leaves chopped)) for this dish and that certainly compromised the dish. I'd be glad to hear about anybody else's experience with this. We had mixed feelings about this. The barley was absolutely delicious and I nibbled quite a bit while putting the recipe together. It's just onion and garlic sauteed, barley and stock added and the whole thing simmered for about an hour until the barley is tender. My barley never got tender, but I didn't mind because I love it slightly crunchy. While the barley is cooking you put the mushrooms on a baking tray covered with butter, with dabs of butter. The recipe calls for fresh thyme leaves to be scattered over the pan with the mushrooms on top. I only had dried thyme. You put the remaining butter onto the caps, sprinkle sliced garlic over the caps, and pour white wine and stock. He calls for veg. stock, but I'd just run out of Marigold stock mix and so used chicken broth. The caps are seasoned with s&p, covered with foil and baked for 15-20 minutes. Feta cheese is added to the barley along with preserved lemon. I skipped the lemon because when I looked at my handy jar (which I'd made about a year ago) the lemons were just mush and I was a bit scared they had gone bad. They didn't smell bad, but the texture was icky. Luckily, I have some almost ripe Meyer lemons in the back yard and can start another batch in a week or so. When the mushrooms are done, the barley mixture is spooned into the caps along with some of the cooking juices from the mushroom pan. Basil leaves are scattered over the top as garnish.and olive oil is drizzled over the whole dish. This dish was just pretty good. I actually loved the barley and would serve it alone next time. Maybe my portobellos were old or something, but they didn't add much to the dish in the way of taste and were generally mushy. I think maybe it'd be good with just some sauteed mushrooms added to the barley mixture. I could eat a whole big bowl of that barley, though. Wonderful with the feta. Sun Aug 23 21:25:01 -0700 2009 4970186 10245 oakjoan 1 4971807 Marinated peppers with buffalo mozzarella I loved this and it's very easy to put together. Drizzle olive oil over your romano peppers, season, and roast in the oven for 10-15 mins, until soft and just beginning to char slightly. Then marinate for a couple of hours at room temperature in a dressing made of EVOO, cider vinegar, garlic and chopped coriander and parsley. Just before serving, rip up a ball of buffalo mozzarella and scatter over the peppers. Delicious. I think it's important to serve these at room temperature, to allow the flavours to develop properly. Mon Aug 24 03:48:56 -0700 2009 4914100 110146 greedygirl 2 4978981 That sounds delish!! I am going to make that one tonight. Thanks Greedy Girl! Wed Aug 26 07:48:25 -0700 2009 4971807 185144 dkennedy 3 5030629 I made the herb salad a couple of nights ago. I can't find my book right now and will have to give a general idea of the dish. It's lots of parsley and herbs chopped up, tossed together and dressed with lemon juice and almonds sauteed in butter. The almonds are roughly chopped after browning in the butter. It's verrrrry intense, but goes well with dishes that are not too intense. A little goes a long way, but we both liked it a great deal. I used fresh tarragon, arugula, dill, Italian parsley, oregano and I'm sure some other herbs. Will fill in when I locate the book. Tue Sep 15 00:17:04 -0700 2009 4978981 10245 oakjoan 4 5031876 The herb salad recipe is on p. 23 and the full name is Etti's herb salad. I also used cilantro, basil, salt and pepper and olive oil. Tue Sep 15 12:00:30 -0700 2009 5030629 10245 oakjoan