on my plate: but not for long

I have a slight problem. As outlined at the onset of the ‘on my plate’ posts, I am slowly working my way through the copious amount of recipes that I'm addicted to finding and filing in my ‘some day I want to make you’ folder. However, (as I have found to also be the case when eating out) I get so excited by the prospect of devouring the food before me that the meal is generally already cosied up in my stomach before I realise that I have missed my opportunity for taking a suitably mouth watering snapshot.

Unfortunately this has been happening to me a lot lately; so much so, that I haven’t a single shred of evidence to show for any of my most recent kitchen exploits. And so, instead I am going to give you a quick verbal run down of my culinary discoveries over the past few weeks...

to start: Roasted Tofu with Spicy Relish courtesy of the Waitrose website. Following my previous success with tofu I thought why not experiment further, especially as roasting sounded so much easier than frying. But. What I saved myself in effort, I inadvertantly lost in taste and texture. I have no qualms in saying that roasting tofu is NOT a good idea. Don't bother. Stick to recipes along the lines of Ottolenghi's black pepper tofu instead.

the main attraction: Angela Hartnett's Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry. This was delicious. Lack of garam masala meant I added more of the other spices as well as fennel seeds, curry powder and tumeric. I also used green lentils instead of chick peas as I had these to hand in a brilliant ready to eat carton pack. (I promise that these are nowhere near as horrid as they sound.)

Ever the fan of a one-pot dish this was a wonderful comfort supper that I am bound to make again. The taste was rich and spicy, with the cauliflower absorbing the flavours well. I'm currently having a cauliflower moment: raw, roasted or in sauce, just never overcooked into a stinky school dinner mush.

on the side: French Beans with Blackened Sage and Hazelnuts, found on my Epicurious phone app. I would recommend this as way of sprucing up your side dishes - especially for those who aren't a fan of the green ones - though do make sure you use plenty of sage for full impact. And lightly toast your hazelnuts. 

for dessert: Nigel Slater's Damson Spelt Cake. This was a revelation. Spelt flour is the way forward in baking. I was worried it's texture may lead to a slightly heavier cake but in fact (and I would like to think that this was also in part due to my enthusiastic creaming together of the butter and sugar) this was a delightlfully spongy baking success. The nutty taste of the flour, alongside the sweetness of the ground almonds complimented the tart plums perfectly, with the sprinkling of sugar creating a moreish crunch on top.

if you're feeling greedy: Sweet and Salty Candy Bar Brownies. This was my not-so-grown up contribution to a friend's grown-up choice of birthday celebration: hosting a dinner party for 22 guests. But I think the small ripple of applause received in appreciation of these childishly jam-packed squares may just say enough. Be warned though - these gooey, fudgy brownies are irresistable when warm from the oven (especially if you throw a few packets of Cadburys Carmel Nibbles into the mix).

on my plate: black pepper tofu

THIS was the deal: I provide two home cooked dinners, one pizza supper in Rome and the cleaning of one bathroom, in exchange for one absolutely gorgeous, pure wool chunky-knit jumper, from Aquascutum. My heart just skipped a beat typing the word 'Aquascutum'.

Fair deal in my opinion considering I will enjoy / benefit from all of the above. (Excluding the bathroom bit, but luckily it’s a very small bathroom.)

So, this week’s 'on my plate' is home cooked dinner number one. Following a long weekend of over indulgence in Rome – of which I will tell you all about in a forthcoming post – both my mum (aforementioned deal maker) and I were in the mood for a change of scene when it came to food. In amongst my stash of 'recipes to try' I found the perfect solution: Yotam Ottolenghi's black pepper tofu. Conveniently we had a tub of the good quality fresh tofu that Ottolenghi calls for already sitting in the fridge.

And what a delightful feast it made. Following a day of delirium at work due to exhaustion from said weekend in Rome I muddled my way through the initial stages of cooking. I will admit that juggling the making of the rice (which I always seem to find stressful), the fine slicing of the ingredients and the frying of the tofu (spewing cornflour along the way) was a struggle; but I emerged from the chaos serenely happy as the meal came together and I could see that all would be good.

The flavours dazzled in this dish. Fiery chilli combined with distinctive peppery notes; lightly caramelised shallots balanced salty depths of various soy sauces; pungent garlic complimented tangy, aromatic ginger. And all of these tastes enveloped succulent chunks of tofu with crunchy spring onion.

I served this on a bed of jasmine rice, to which I had added half a teaspoon of Chinese 5 spice; the touch of cinnamon within this mix came through subtly but with effect, enhancing the sweet and sour aspect of the tofu and its sauce.

Steamed choi sum topped with toasted sesame seeds was presented on the side. And the final accompaniment was a pot of jasmine tea. It was a delicious simple supper that awoke me (and my senses) from my daze, and which I will no doubt make again.