Soba, aubergine and mango salad

Just incredible. Courtesy of Yotam Ottolenghi's book, Plenty:

120 ml rice vinegar
40 g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 fresh chilli, minced
1 tsp sesame oil
zest and juice of 1 lime, plus extra juice to taste
sunflower or rapeseed oil for cooking
2 medium aubergines
250 g soba noodles (made from buckwheat flour)
1 ripe mango (or 2, depending on how much mango you want)
handful each of coriander and basil, roughly chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

For the dressing, bring the vinegar, sugar and salt to the boil and cook for a minute. Take off the heat, add in the garlic, chilli and sesame oil, and leave to cool. Once cooled, add the lime juice and zest.

Dice the aubergine into 2cm pieces. Fry until golden brown. Once cooked, sprinkle salt over the aubergine and place in a colander to drain.

Cook the soba noodles for around 5-8 minutes depending on the pack instructions. Once cooked, drain in a colander, rinse with cold water, and leave to drip dry. Original instructions say to squeeze out the excess water - not sure if this is entirely necessary, but you do you.

Dice the mango into chunks similar in size to the aubergine. Roughly chop the herbs. Throw the noodles, aubergine, mango, herbs, onion and dressing into a big bowl, mix everything together, then leave to marinade for an hour or two. Serve with bread.

Can serve as a main meal or a side, depending on how hungry you are. Add whatever you want to the salad - tofu and mushrooms spring to mind.

Watermelon gazpacho

Another excellent find from this summer. The original is courtesy of Saveur, and a very nice place it is too.

1 kg watermelon, rind removed and roughly chopped
big bunch coriander
a third as much mint (or to taste)
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 Noa or English cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
1 chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 big tomato (I used coeur de boeuf, but it's up to you), roughly chopped
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything into a blender or food processor. Chill for a few hours and serve.

Excellent on a hot summer's evening. 

Thai gazpacho

It was a very hot summer here, so we ate a lot of cold soups. This one turned out very nicely, although if you want it to have a reasonably attractive colour, make sure you use yellow tomatoes, not red ones. Otherwise, though, it's all very tasty. Based on this recipe.

Ingredients:
3-4 large yellow tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 full Noa cucumber, or 1/2 English cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks
1 onion
1-2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp lemongrass (paste, fresh, or frozen)
1 thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
juice and zest of 1 lime
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp chilli paste OR 1 chilli (or to taste)
mint, (Thai) basil and coriander to taste (should be about 1/2 cup or so)
1/2 a 400ml tin of coconut milk (you can use more too, but keep some for serving)
seasoning

Throw the tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, and onion into a blender and blend. Add the garlic, lemongrass, ginger, lime juice and zest, fish sauce, chilli, herbs and seasoning, and then as much coconut milk as you want (less is more, add little by little until you have as much as you want). Blend the mixture until smooth.

Put in the fridge to cool for a few hours. Serve with some bread on the side. 

Hummus

I made a decent hummus, but then I added salt...

Moral of the story: never add salt to your hummus. It ain't worth it.

Ingredients:

1 tin chickpeas, very well rinsed
100 g or 3 big tbsp tahini
3 tbsp olive oil, but more to taste if needed
1-2 cloves garlic
Plenty of black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1 lemon, juiced
A bit of coriander, if you fancy

Add everything to a hand-held mixer, blend until smooth, eat with whatever is at hand, but vegetables and bread are always good. Don't cut your fingers on the blades.

Smoked mackerel kedgeree

A slightly different breakfast dish, but this could be good for almost any meal. Despite the list of ingredients, it's very quick, easy and cheap to make. It shouldn't be too spicy - the main taste is the mackerel - so don't overdo the chilli. I based my version on this one from BBC Good Food, but I've made adaptations where necessary.

Should serve 2-3

1/2 cup basmati rice
2-3 thin smoked mackerel fillets
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
3-4 curry leaves (optional)
1-2 onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
chilli to taste, finely diced
1 carrot, speed-peeled or thinly sliced
1/2 leek, thinly sliced
1/2 small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp curry powder
100 g frozen peas, cooked
knob of butter
4 boiled eggs (I put mine in the cold water in the pot and then boiled them for 3.30 and they were perfect, but you do you)
1 lime, juice

To prep: boil and peel your eggs, cook your peas and put them to one side, cook the basmati rice as per directions, and haul out your wok.

Place the mackerel fillets in a bowl and cover with boiling water. I suppose you'll cover it with around 200-400 ml of boiling water. Let to sit for a while.

Stir-fry the mustard seeds, corianders seeds, curry leaves, onion, garlic, and chilli for a couple of minutes, then add the carrot, leek, coriander and bay leaf. Cook for around 8 minutes.

Add in the rice, pour in about half the water from the fish, and stir very well. Add in the turmeric, curry powder, peas and butter, stir well, and cook for another few minutes.

Peel one egg, stir it in, then add the lime juice. Serve with the remaining eggs and with yoghurt if so desired.

Butternut and beef chilli con carne

There was a bit of butternut left at home (when isn't there?) and I decided to try this. As a wise man once told me, "Use 2 different kinds of meat when making chilli." I decided I'd add some seasonal veg instead of extra meat. It was lovely. This is an adaptation of a couple of recipes which I have sadly misplaced. My apologies. Trust me, though: this is good.

1-2 onions
1-2 chillies (to taste)
Garlic to taste (around 4 or so)
2 red peppers
400-500 g beef mince

400-500 g butternut, in 1cm cubes

1 tbsp. chilli powder
2 tsp. cumin
¼ tsp. cinnamon
1 bay leaf
2 x 400ml tins diced tomatoes
2 x 400 ml tins beans (black or kidney), drained and rinsed
2 or 3 ripe avocados, diced (to serve)
white rice, cooked
grated cheese (cheddar or comté if possible)
sour cream
coriander

Fry the onions, chillies, garlic and red peppers for a couple of minutes until the onions start going translucent. Add the meat and brown it, add in the butternut and cook for about 30 seconds (to brown it too, I guess), then add in the spices, mix up well, and then add the tomatoes and season well before mixing it all up. Bring to the boil, then simmer for about 20-30 minutes or so. Add the beans after about 10 minutes and check to see if you need to add more spice (another chilli or chilli powder, or cumin or cinnamon). When ready, serve with white rice, top with avo, coriander, cheese and sour cream, to taste. 

Enjoy.