Anthony~ Three Courses, Three separate cookbooks
For this month’s blog, I decided to delve into a selection of our cookbooks and actually cook a starter from one, a main from another, and finished it off with pudding time from a third.
The Starter
As the clocks go forward and spring opens up its eyes, I thought I’d find something from the Green Barbecue by Rukmini Iyer. This is a vegan & vegetarian recipe take on outdoor and indoor cooking. The recipe that I found was Halloumi with Red Peppers, Artichokes and Preserved Lemon, on page 52. I found this to be a very simple yet interesting dish to cook. I haven’t used Preserved Lemon too much. Though the recipe starts off with the line ‘Summer on a plate,’ the urge to taste the combination of artichoke, red peppers and halloumi cheese with the backdrop of lemon was too much to resist. And it didn’t disappoint. The flavours of barbecue through the chard cheese and grilled red peppers, the meatiness of the lemon marinated artichoke was glorious. The variety gave a real rounded sense of experience. A tasty easy to prepare dish. Of course, my creation never looks like the picture in the book but I think that is the charm of one’s own cooking.
The Main
A lovely new recipe book that caught my eye for the main, A House Party in Tuscany by Amber Guinness. I love Italian food and its excellence of dishes with few ingredients and high-quality produce. I couldn’t resist the Roast Beef with Green sauce, page 109, mainly for the stunning pictures that this book has and the fact I like roast beef. It was the green sauce that surprised me though. I drafted in my mum to help who always provides good comedy value and, well, some help. The Green Sauce aided the beef superbly and wasn’t overpowering. As the author phrased it, ‘Verdant and punchy’, it made the dish definitely livelier. Bringing together Parsley, basil and mint with Anchovy, Djion mustard and capers, does combine to do exactly what the author says on the page. The layers of flavour were exceptional and delicious. I decided to add the Mama’s Roast Cherry Tomatoes, page 251 and Roast Potatoes with garlic and rosemary, page 262, alongside. All three dishes came together beautifully and backed up the stunning book they came from. Very much worth the time and effort.
And most people’s favourite, pudding time
I decided to hit the pudding section of Lior Lev Sercarz’s Mastering Spice. Brownies are one of my weaknesses and the cardamom and pink pepper brownies, page 234, were some that I hadn’t tried before. I wanted to taste the combination of chocolate and spice. The cardamom and pink pepper added an extra layer to this classic dessert. I scooped a dollop of vanilla ice cream with it just because I can. I found the ice cream contrasted the chocolate and spices well. These brownies were easy to make, the author suggests some helpful short cuts and you can make ahead of time, placing them in the freezer. My tastebuds are going crazy as I write this from remembering all of these dishes. I hope this has inspired you to try them.