Fusion
This was a crazy discovery, when we realised that adding turmeric and fish sauce in a tomato based Thai curry resulted in something very pesto-y and Italian, and very delicious.
I encourage you to set aside preconceived ideas here – Thai and Italian work together like old friends! I even dressed this on the plate with pecorino and truffle oil, and it sang in my mouth.
Fusion
There are 2 types of people in this world – marmite lovers and marmite haters. I fall solidly into the second category – can’t stand the stuff.
However. There are more ways of eating marmite than just smearing it on toast.
The concept of using marmite as the stock base in an asian style broth was a revelation when I first saw it in a recipe book in the Chef’s Warehouse in Cape Town about 4 years ago – it’s been in the back of my mind since then, and eventually we finally got down to it.
A world apart now, winter in Ireland – in need of something warm, comforting and different for supper, so a broth bowl was the natural choice.
Middle east
Spring and early summer on the farm – a crazy abundance of vine leaves, and beautiful big ones too! This recipe details how to process your vine leaves from scratch, if you are lucky enough to have access to them.
You can use bought vine leaves, and the results will be similar, but if you really want your dolmades to sing, use them as fresh as possible.
If you happen to have driven past a vineyard, stolen a ton of leaves, and want to make a big batch of vine leaves for future use, once prepared the leaves can be frozen or brined and jarred for future use.
South American
Papa Rellena (pronounced Reyena) was probably our favourite food out of all the great and exciting things we ate in South America – This Peruvian staple was everywhere, and it was nearly the first thing we ate when we crossed the border from Chile. This got us wondering – can we make it healthy? Enter the oven baked Papa Rellena!
Papa Rellena came with many different flavours of stuffing, the most common being a spicy mince or chicken, and was always deep fried. Here we’ve made a simple vegetarian stuffing, but you can substitute for whatever you feel like really.
The other main adjustment, of course, is that these are oven-baked and not deep fried, and so have waaaay less fat – which of course means that you can eat more of them!
Traditionally served with a spicy peanut sauce, but anything fresh and zingy works well.
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Fusion
Grilled aubergine with toppings is fairly high up on our list of best things ever, but its tricky when you’re trying to do it with no fat or oil whatsoever. Undercooked, it’s chewy and gross, and overcooked turns it into biltong.
The secret here is the microwaving! A fairly unconventional way of cooking aubergine, we use the microwave to do the majority of the work, then just finish on the grill.
There are a million ways to serve grilled aubergine, and we are constantly trying to find new ones! We popped this one out recently at a family gathering and it went down like a fat kid on a seesaw – looks gorgeous too. This also holds it’s own without the orange blossom water, if you can’t get your hands on it.
If you are really out to impress – put a little orange blossom water into your hand and sprinkle droplets over the table once the guests are seated – it fills the room with spring.
Fusion
Beetroot is a divisive vegetable at the best of times, and I am well aware that smoking it will definitely raise a few eyebrows.
However, with that said, I think it’s one of the most delicious ways of serving beetroot, and can easily be an unusual and exciting starter to a fancy dinner party, as part of a mezze spread, or just as a fun side to whatever else you’re cooking!
The idea was more or less nabbed from a recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi’s incredible book Plenty More, probably the best vegetarian cookbook out there and one of my favourite cookbooks of all time.
This is our stripped-down, low-fat version that’s seriously easy and involves mostly hands-off cooking! You can also take the beetroots and crush them, mix with basil, olive oil, lemon juice and salt to make a gorgeous dip.
Fusion
This is deceptively simple, and is a great crowd-pleaser. Whole roasted onions, without even peeling them? Genius. Smoking them first? Next level.
Never fear if you’ve never smoked anything in your kitchen before, this is surprisingly simple to do, and all you need is a pot, a stovetop and some tinfoil!
European
Watercress can be an expensive herb we know, but feel free to substitute with rocket. This is perfect with some pasta and grilled cherry tomatoes, on toast, as part of a mezzo spread, or straight out the jar!
I love the flavour of watercress, and the sharp pepperiness adds a beautiful fun twist to a classic pesto. This is also made with no cheese and very little (or no) oil, so low-calorie as well, yay 🙂
South American
Simple, healthy and delicious, we make versions of this fairly often for dinner parties!
Chimichurri is a classic Argentinian sauce which we fell in love with while were travelling through the Andes in South America – tangy, herby and with surprising depth of flavour given the relatively simple ingredients, this sauce is more than the sum of its parts.
The freshness of the beans is important here – as with any simple dish where one ingredient is the star of the show, make sure that ingredient is as fresh as possible! In other words, don’t use frozen beans 🙂
South American
This traditional Argentinian sauce has been made and re-made several times since our south America trip this year, and works a treat for marinading all sorts of things, dressing salads and roast veggies, and for upping your sauce game at the next dinner party.
Traditionally made with lots of oil, this is the “light” version, but feel free to dollop in a whack of olive oil if so inclined.