Some More Brunch: Beetroot Risotto

I've had a thing for beets since the very first time I saw them nestled in at the Pizza Hut salad bar, glinting conspicuously in the light like purply-pink jewels. But I was a little young then and my palette only stretched as far as croutons and cucumbers. Unfortunately, my memory too had been tainted by the boiled, soggy mass that'd once been served up for "school dinners" (it had proceeded to dye my mash a lucid shade of mauve - I went hungry that lunchtime). So it was only recently when mum bought some home, fresh, that I figured if it looks SO beautiful, there must be a way to make it taste just as good, right?

It didn't take a lot to be honest - once [not soft] boiled, salted and peppered, it's brilliant in salads, as a side or just a snack. So tasty, in fact, that for a long time there was little temptation to experiment at all. But it has fast become a weekly grocery staple and as autumn steers us from summers salad to simmering stews, what better for weekend brunch than a super simple, mega comforting risotto?

What you'll need - 

50g Butter 1 splash Olive Oil 1 Onion, finely chopped 1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped 400g Arborio Rice 1.2 l Vegetable Stock (2 Oxo cubes dissolved in the same amount of water does it just fine) 500g Fresh Beetroot 100 ml double cream  1 Handful Freshly Chopped Dill Salt & Pepper (& cayenne pepper, entirely optional) to taste Squeeze of Lemon Juice 2tbsp sugar
What to Do - 
1. Heat the oven to 180C. Peel & trim the beetroots (use kitchen gloves if you don’t want your hands to get stained) and cut into large wedges. Place them on a large sheet of foil on a baking sheet. Then, toss them with 1 tbsp olive oil and seasoning, and cook for 1 hour, or until the beets are soft.
2. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a non-stick pot over a low flame. Don't heat the pot first and then add the butter as it will burn and smell funny. Once the butter's melted, tip in the onion and garlic and cook until slightly translucent and wonderfully caramelised. (N.B. the desired effect is mellow sweetness, not intense flavour).
3. Add the rice, stirring until coated in the butter and then begin adding the vegetable stock, 300 ml at a time. It's important to stir at least once a minute or so and don't be tempted to add all the stock at once. 

4. When the rice is al-dente, and the beets are well-roasted, remove them from the oven. Whizz ¼ of them to make a purée and then chop the remainder into small pieces. Stir the beetroot purée, chopped beetroot, salt, pepper, lemon juice and sugar ( cayenne optional) through the risotto and leave to bubble for a few moments.   
5. Finally, plate up, top with fresh dill and a dollop of sour cream should you so wish. Don't, no matter what, be alarmed by the vibrant colours on your plate - that's how it's meant to be!  

Now, I know very well that beets are something of a love/hate thing (and let's face it, they do turn out an alarmingly pink risotto) and I'm yet to meet someone who doesn't enjoy a long, lazy brunch. So yes, turning this out on the table may seem a little dicey, as the last thing you want is a less-than-comforting meal. Though I'm in no doubt, if you are perhaps accompany with these twice-baked potatoes, or some Mexican scrambled eggs? 

Enjoy! SL x

Easter Brunches - the Full and Final

Seeing as the sun finally showed it's smiley face for pretty much the first time this year (yes, if you don't live in England, it is April but we still seem to be in the midst of an ice age), what better than a summery Spanish frittata to make the sunshine seem just that little bit warmer - I found sweet red peppers, red hot chilli flakes and golden fluffy potatoes did just the trick. Yum yum!
Now, if you're much of a tapas-tempté, you've probably savoured at least one tortilla-liplickingly-delicious-española in your time. That is the wonderfully dense concoction made by frying potatoes + onions, adding beaten egg and cooking to a thick omelette that's later sliced into squares and served as a snack. 
And so, being the type-A control geek that I am (need answers to everything right away) I couldn't help but wonder if the frittata-tortilla enigma is merely a classic 'tomay-to/tomah-to' case. Alas - the bane of my breakfasts - what is the real difference? I did end up having to google around for a plausible answer but much to my dismay, I'm still not clear on the perceived differences between frittatas and tortillas. Some sites suggested differences in traditional serving temperatures whilst others theorised on potential variation in cooking techniques; "flipping" vs. "flashing"(the skillet under the oven, GOD what were you thinking?!) - who knows?
No sweat as fortunately, "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" ;) So here it is, another great morning pick-me-up with hangover-killing potential as potent as my Mexican Scramble.
What you need: (measures are per person)
- 2 eggs - 150g fluffy potatoes (Maris Piper, Yukon, King Edward - good spuds are key!), peeled and sliced to 1/2 cm discs - 1/4 pepper oven roasted or ready-grilled from the jar - 1/2 onion, roughly chopped - salt, pepper, chilli flakes & fresh parsley to taste - 30g grated Manchego cheese - 2 tbsp olive oil
To Serve: 
- flour tortillas - any extras you fancy - baked beans, roast tomatoes, sauteed mushroom, avocado salsa etc... options 2 + 4 are advisable.
What to Do: 
1. Begin by boiling the potatoes in slightly salted water until they reach the al-dente phase (hold their shape but tender to the bite).
2. Drain the potatoes & heat the olive oil on medium heat in a heavy-based pan. You want a pan that's relatively deep as you're not after making a crêpe style omelette. Add the onions and sauté gently trying not to brown them - we want sweet, semi-translucent caramelliness (mmmmm, hungry just thinking of it!)
4. Meanwhile, beat the eggs in a bowl, seasoning to taste. Add 1/2 the parsley and cheese, beating well into mix. Preheat your grill to approximately 200 degrees C. 
5. Add the peppers and then the potatoes to the pan. Be careful not to be too vicious stirring lest the potatoes crumble! Pour over the egg mix and, having reduced the heat slightly, allow to cook through for 7-10 minutes. 
6. When the bottom and sides look well set but the top-middle is wobbly-bobbly, extinguish the heat + sprinkle over remaining cheese, parsley and a spritz of fresh black pepper before transferring to the grill. 
7. Be sure to watch carefully here - I'd say it'll take no longer than a few measly minutes for the frittata to puff up in all its golden glory. Careful pulling it out of the oven too, the handle will be hot (DUH). 

8. Slice into lusciously thick wedges, serve as you may, with all the condiments you please but certainly as quickly as you can. 
Enjoy! 
xo

Easter Brunches, Part 2: A Mexican Scramble

...and here it is, Easter Monday already, finale to the four days of feasting, transition from "Long weekend soon!" to "Ah well, at least we have a short week this week," complete. So how has everyone spent it - a) eating, b) lounging c) working d) holidaying, e) socialising? All bar 'd)' apply over here but if the fact that it's now 5pm and I've eaten two huge meals in my pyjamas is anything to go by (I had to starfish on my bed for an hour after meal 2), it seems eating has definitely been the essence of this Easter. We've got enough leftover to feed a hundred for the entire week (no, I'm not kidding) and a fridge so full that trying to retrieve milk for a simple cup of coffee results in eggs and the ketchup bottle catapulting into your face (again, not kidding, I just finished cleaning up). 
Alas, I'm sad it has to end because it's the most relaxed I've been in a long time - no moving date looming on the horizon and no nerves about starting a new job. So I'm off to make the most of what's left but here's recipe 2 of the Easter brunches. I know yesterday's recipe was a slightly fiddly one (worth it though, trust me) and sometimes you want a quick fix, one pan in, one plate out for two to share - if you're all about the duvet picnic, this one's definitely for you. Here it is - Mexican Scrambled Eggs a la Nigella, tweaked to suit my spicy streak. It's not only one of the tastiest ways to start the day but also one mighty cure for a hangover. Let me know how you get on.
What you need:
- Vegetable Oil - 2 soft tortillas - 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered - 1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced - 1 spring onion, roughly chopped - 1-2 small green chillies, finely diced (+ red chilli flakes, depending on taste) - 4 eggs, beaten & seasoned with a splash of milk
- Waffles, to serve.  
What to Do: 
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Roll the tortillas into tight cylinders & snip them into long strips with a pair of kitchen scissors straight into the hot oil. 
2. Fry until crisp + golden & then decant onto a plate. 
3. Add the tomato, spring onion, pepper & chopped chilli to the frying pan, cooking until they begins to turn a luscious golden brown. 
4. Put your waffles on to toast!
5. Turn down the heat, put the fried tortilla strips back into the pan & add in the beaten eggs, continuously moving everything around in the pan, as you would for scramble. 
6. When the eggs begin to set, turn off the heat and stir through until they are at a consistency of your liking. 
7. Pile onto a nice spacious dish along side a stack of nicely browned waffles & dive in! 

Enjoy!
xx

Easter Brunches: A Three Part Series

If there are any two times in the year intended for the sole purpose of families breaking bread together, it would have to be Christmas and the Easter weekend. Think about it - retail doors remain closed, so no Sunday food shop, no working teenagers & no retail therapy = uninterrupted family time. 

My love for family breakfasts & brunches is definitely no secret - what I've found over time is that when preparing lunch or dinner, there is an unadulterated abundance of options, be it noodles, stir fry, fried rice, curry, pasta, pizza, burritos, jackets, bakes, hot pots, gratins, burgers, chips... so it's really a matter of deciding what type of cuisine you fancy on any particular day. Of course on the other hand as breakfasts go, the question is more "how do you like your eggs?" - there is a certain 'ingredient set' traditionally associated with the first meal of the day and I find profound satisfaction in rising to the challenge of reworking these staples in as many ways possible to invent creative, varied and inspiring breakfasts. 

My breakfast/brunch staples: Potato, peppers, onions, egg, baked beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese of every variety, avocado, bread (a.k.a flour, so this includes pancakey/muffiny type concoctions too), milk, cereals, yogurt, fruits & fruit juices. Now, considering there are no preconceived notions on what stereotypically constitutes a lunch or dinner, relatively speaking you'd think this is a fairly limited repertoire. Think again, bearing in mind this key phrase - permutations and combinations. 

Potato fritters topped with fried egg and roast tomatoes. Hash browns, poached eggs and sauteed mushrooms. Spanish frittata with avocado on toast. Boiled eggs and soldiers. Scrambled eggs with baked beans on toast. Need I continue? 

With it being Easter and all, it's lovely having all the extra time to experiment - so here's recipe 1 of 3 (I was working on Saturday so breakfast was coffee & toast... yerrr, didn't think you'd need a recipe for that), Twice Baked Potatoes. 

What you'll need: 

- baking potatoes (1 per person)
- eggs (2 per potato)
- olive oil
- butter
- milk
- grated cheese (cheddar, parmesan or gruyere)
- salt & pepper
- chives or coriander & chilli flakes (optional)

What to do: 

1. Bake the potatoes until soft in the centre - I fork-pricked and then microwaved mine to the al dente phase, before rubbing them in olive oil, salt and pepper and flashing them under a hot grill for 10 minutes to crisp up the skin. 

2. Once they are soft, slice them length ways in half and scoop out the centre. Turn down the grill temperature to around 180 degrees.

3. In a bowl, mash the insides you have just scooped out with a little milk, cheese, butter, salt + pepper. 

4. Part fill the cavities in the potatoes (you probably won't use the whole mash-mix) and make a little well for the egg to fit in. It might be an idea to crack the egg into a small bowl and remove part of the whites if theres too much egg or too little cavity :)

5. Sprinkle on some black pepper, chilli flakes, a smatter of salt, cheese and coriander, before putting them back under the slightly cooler grill. If you want your yolks to be runny then just bake for an additional 2-3 minutes. If you want the eggs cooked through then leave them in for longer; the colour of the yolk will lighten to a softer yellow. 

Here you can see I wasn't feeling soft yolks this morning so I cooked them until they resembled hard boiled eggs. I'm a bit odd like that - sometimes I LOVE runny eggs (over crispy hash browns!) and other days I just want them cooked through. Talk about fickle with my eggs. Enjoy!
x
P.S. Happy Easter!

Super-Speedy Spaghetti*

*can spaghetti really be anything else?

Quick cooking without any compromise on the resulting flavour is probably every busy cook's dream. And all done in one pot too? Even better. I pinched this garlic spaghetti recipe from my mum, who, I can testify with absolute certainty never consults cookery books or shows. Nah. Sure Italy must have a million and one versions of garlicky herby spaghetti already but... seeing as mum drew inspiration from none of these, I hereby proclaim this recipe as authentic of the Ramanuj family.   
I'm not a huge fan of the bottled sauce bonanza if I'm honest - feels a bit like turning up to an exam with half the paper completed already; cheating. But the best thing about this sauce is its simplicity, and the fact that you'll recover most ingredients from your store cupboard anyway. And it allows for much adaptation - use up any mingy vegetables knocking about your fridge or add in left over meat - do what you will.
The last time I made this my friend said that it was the "best spaghetti" he'd ever had. Now, I am going to assume the kid's never been to Italy... but I am also going to dismiss the assumption because that praise is too good to let go ;) Try it out and let me know how you get on. 
What you need: 
(serves 4)
400g spaghetti 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp butter 2 tsp chili flakes 1 tsp asafoetida (optional) 2 tbsp garlic - puree, frozen or fresh 2 chopped tomatoes salt, as per taste 2 tbsp lemon juice a squeeze of honey freshly chopped spinach 150ml double cream
What to do:
1. Cook the spaghetti as per instructions on the packet. Meanwhile chop your spinach and tomatoes. 
2. Drain the spaghetti and in the same pot, heat the oil and butter, add the asafoetida, chili flakes, garlic and chopped tomatoes. Fry on low to medium heat for 2 minutes (don't be tempted to turn the heat up, burnt chili and garlic smell acrid. taste even worse.) If you are adding onions or peppers, you will need to sweat these until they soften. 
3. Add in the spaghetti and fork through ensuring all strands are coated in the garlic mix. Add the salt, lemon juice and honey, stirring before adding in the double cream. 
4. If the sauce appears too thick add a splash of hot water. Cover and leave to bubble for a couple of minutes, or until everything is warmed through. 
5. Garnish with the spinach, fork through once more and turn off the heat.
6. Serve in obscenely large bowls (with a side of steamed and sauteed greens and garlic bread, if you're entertaining and feeling posh) and enjoy!
xx

Recipe: Sunshine Sweetcorn Rice

Slightly overdue, written in November but forgotten to share! Sowie. I do advise you peak out the window (Londoners only) if you're going to deny the doom and gloom still looms. Rain rain go away!

November's a pretty glum month. Days grow shorter, nights colder and work busier. Don't you sometimes feel trapped by the endless cycle of going to and returning from work in pitch dark? Alas, if you can't bring a girl to the sunshine, you gotta bring sunshine to the girl. Et voila, sunshine served up in but a few swift seconds - sweetcorn studded, saffron scented rice. For those of you already having palpitations at the thought of cooking rice without a resulting gloop mass, don't worry - this formula is fool proof, you just need to remember that the perfect rice takes 1 part grain to 2 parts liquid. 

You'll need: 

- a glug of vegetable oil
- a sprinkle of cumin seeds
- one pinch turmeric
- half a dozen saffron strands
- chilli flakes, according to taste
- tons of super sweet sweetcorn
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 can (use above) basmati rice
- 1 can boiling water
- a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- a scatter of sugar
- salt to taste
- desiccated coconut & coriander to garnish

What to do: 

1. Soak the rice for 15 minutes in lukewarm water. Then drain of excess water. 

2. Heat the oil in a non-stick pot over medium heat - gently fry the cumin seeds, chilli flakes, saffron & turmeric for a minute or so. 

3. Add in the sweetcorn, coconut milk & boiling water, bring to a simmer and then add the salt, lemon juice, sugar and finally the rice. 

4. Cover and let cook until all the liquid is absorbed. Once done, scatter generously with coriander & coconut. 

5. Serve with yogurt & some sort of pickle or relish. 

Enjoy!

A Little Bit of Heaven

You know what they say; you can take the girl out of the city but you can't take the city out of the girl. I'm a fiend for new places - always strange, bustling and unknown; as for Amsterdam, it's forever etched in my heart as my first (albeit super-short) trip with the bf, as completion of six magical months together and, yes, you guessed it, as the waffle capital OF THE WORLD. Uh-uh. Before you interrupt. I know what you're going to say. But no. I need taste no more waffles before I testify because it's impossible to make one yummier. IM-PO-SSI-BLE.

So yesterday's antics, to satisfy a burning waffle craving?

Yeah… I didn't have any choice. Thinner, crispier and not quite the same; but still sufficient to hit that sweet, waffly spot. Recipe is here.

xxx

Qu'est-ce que tu as fait le weekend?

It's another week that's gone by in a flash, and I have to apologise for my slightly sloppy blogging of late - I've been a little distracted as such, as well as racing from job to job 7 days a week. The coming week looks set to be a bit calmer though, promising more time for writing. In the meantime, here are a few things that have been rattling around my brain this Monday....

Tapas. I’m nothing less than enamoured since my first encounter (last week) with the marvellous Spanish cuisine at the rather ripe age of 21. Now, since I haven’t had the time nor means to go hunting for a tapas bar, I decided to make a tortilla de patatas at home for Friday brunch – absolutely delicious! Brunches are by far my favourite meal; the very word has connotations of sociable dining, of cooking and eating with friends and family at the weekend when we have the luxury of time, making for a meal that's leisurely and informal.

Birthday parties. Work was mental yesterday; two tour groups (one from the Czech Republic, the other from South Korea and not a word of English between them) trooped in for breakfast just shy of 8am (on a Sunday, may I add) any many long weekend holiday-makers lounged around the lobby with simultaneous preparations for a grand 18^th birthday bash under way upstairs. While the rooms we hire out for functions are the ones used interchangeably for business conferences and meetings, it never fails to amaze me how a little imagination facilitates their complete transformation. Previously for weddings, yesterday for a birthday party, the room looked absolutely beautiful.

Sunshine. I think I need explain this one no further. It has been an unseasonably warm weekend and the joy that comes from revelling in the rays is truly unparalleled. The sun's been beaming all week long from 6am to 9pm and I'm wishing with fingers, toes all crossed that the sunny stretch just continues...:D

The AV Referendum. As a student of politics I feel I would be doing something of a disservice to the discipline in not mentioning the upcoming referendum; the campaign has been somewhat sidelined in the press, what with all the hype and hysteria surrounding the royal wedding and generally, it seems people don’t know (enough) or just don’t care. But the referendum really matters because it’s about the primary point of public participation in politics. When we vote, we entrust somebody with the duty of representing us fairly and accurately in the supreme law-making body of the state. So isn’t it important we instil a system of voting apt in generating a parliament with wide-spread public approval and support? The only newspaper that’s really devoted more column space to campaigning for a more democratic system, than to the marriage of yet another unelected head of state-to-be is the Independent I reckon. They explain the viability of AV methodically, assessing it's merits against the current system and often support it with anecdotes to make understanding clearer. And it does make sense. While I’m not disregarding the No2AV campaign, it’s difficult to see it as anything more that the typical Conservative reaction to any change, in way, shape or form. Conservatism is purely reactionary, they like to preserve the status quo against all odds. But change isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Without getting into the nitty gritties, I will refer you onto this link – I think it does pretty well in pulling apart the ‘no’ campaign.

Well, I think that’s me done... I'm off to bask in the sunshine now. I hope you have a wonderful time, whatever you’re doing for the remainder of the weekend x