Puy Lentils with Bacon and Peas

Puy lentils are both delicious and satisfying. In this recipe the lentils and peas are first boiled and then the flavour bomb of bacon, onions and garlic is added before serving.

Ingredients:

1 cup dried puy lentils

1 clove of garlic, peeled and whole

1 cup frozen garden peas

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 rashers of smoked back bacon or Canadian bacon, cut into small pieces

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 clove of garlic, crushed

1 cup fresh halved cherry tomatoes

Method:

Boil the lentils and garlic clove in unsalted water until the lentils are tender and succulent. Add the frozen peas and cook for about 6 minutes until the peas are done. Drain and keep warm. Fry the bacon in the olive oil until crisp and add the onion. Reduce the heat a little and stir and fry until the onion is soft. Add the garlic and continue to stir and fry until the onions are beginning to caramelise. Now add the lentils and peas and stir to mix and re-heat the lentils. Season to taste and garnish with chopped fresh tomatoes.

Serving:

This dish can stand alone as a light lunch with a baked potato (pictured) or crusty bread and a rich shiraz, but it is equally at home on a buffet table or as a side dish to roasted meats and game.

Penne al Forno

Penne al forno is a classic Italian baked pasta dish and one of the world's greatest comfort foods. It is a winner with children too. Americans call it 'baked ziti' and use canned tuna or ground beef in the sauce. My recipe is cheap simple and tasty, using smoked bacon and cheddar cheese sauce.

Ingredients:

250g dried durum wheat pasta quills (penne or ziti)

Plenty of boiling water

2 tsp of salt

4 tablespoons of olive oil

4 rashers of good quality smoked bacon, finely diced

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, mashed

1 500g carton of sieved tomato passata

1 can of chopped Italian tomatoes

A generous pinch each of dried oregano and basil

1 tsp of sugar

1 tbsp of plain flour

250g grated mature cheddar cheese

Milk as required (see Method)

Milled black pepper and salt to taste
Fresh basil leaves to garnish.

Method:

Pasta: Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water and a drizzle of olive oil until it is slightly soft and nutty in texture. Do not overcook it at this stage because the cooking process is finished in the oven as it bakes. Drain the pasta and set aside.

Sauce: Using the same pan wiped dry, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to heat until the oil is very hot. Add the finely diced bacon and fry until crispy. Add the onion and stir-fry with the bacon until it begins to soften. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds to combine it. Add the passata and chopped tomatoes and bring to the boil, then reduce to a fast simmer. Add the dried herbs and sugar. Season with milled black pepper and simmer for 20 minutes, adding more water if the sauce begins to dry up. Taste and adjust seasoning where necessary. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cooked pasta to the pan. Stir to mix then transfer the mixture to a baking pan or oven-proof gratin dish, leaving enough room on top to accommodate the cheese sauce.

Cheese sauce: In a small saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil and add the flour. Stir to mix until all the flour is oily. Add milk and stir until the sauce thickens. Keep stirring and add more milk until you have a thick roux sauce. Add 2/3 of the grated cheese and stir to make a rich cheese sauce. Now layer the sauce over the pasta mixture. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the sauce and season with more milled black pepper. Bake at 200 C (350 F) for 30 minutes until the cheese sauce starts to brown and bubble. Remove from the oven and allow it to stand for 10-15 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil leaves.

Serving:

Serve generous portions on a plain white pasta plate with crusty Italian bread and a green salad on the side. Have plenty of Chianti Classico and/or Peroni beer to hand. Take your time and enjoy the food and the company - Italian style!

Dedicated to my dear friends and colleagues at Circle Housing Group.

Veggie Vegan Koftes in Curry Sauce

My introduction to this dish was cooked for me by a wonderful Sikh lady many years ago in Hong Kong. I have long striven to perfect the recipe and bring it close to the original. The genius of this dish is in the cross-cooking of the koftes from frying to poaching them in the sauce.

The original recipe calls for bottle gourd or dudhi (calabash), but courgettes (zuccini) are a very close approximation which is readily available to me.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Koftes:

Oil for deep frying

2 large courgettes (zuccini), grated

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of toasted cumin (jeera) seeds

6 spring onions very finely chopped

2 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons of crushed garlic

1 cup of gram flour (besan)*

Curry Sauce:

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

A pinch of panch poran or cumin seeds (optional)

2 cups of finely chopped or blended onions

1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger

4 cloves of crushed garlic

4 teaspoons of mild Madras curry powder

1 cup of canned chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup of garden peas

2 whole hot green chilli peppers

1 cup of good vegetable stock

A generous pinch of fresh coriander (cilantro)

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Koftes:

Mix all the koftes ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to form a stiff batter, adding a little water if the mixture is too cloying, or a little more flour if too loose. Shape handfuls of the batter into small balls or quenelles and fry until brown. Set aside.

Curry Sauce:

Heat the oil until hot and add the panch poran or cumin seeds, fry until they start to pop. Add the onions then stir and fry over a medium heat until the onions soften and begin to brown. Add the garlic and ginger and continue to stir and fry until a characteristic sweet smell comes from the pot and the mixture browns as the onions caramelise. Add the curry powder and stir for 1 minute. Add the stock, peas, tomatoes and chillies and stir to mix. Simmer for at least 15 minutes then add the cooked koftes. Stir very gently so as not to break up the koftes and slow-simmer until the koftes are heated through. Season to taste then add the coriander garnish. 

Serving:

I like to serve this on steamed basmati rice with Indian mixed pickle and a naan, pitta bread or other flat bread on the side. Excellent with a cucumber and mint raita or with Greek tzatziki.

Notes:

I once served this dish to some of my army friends, and it wasn't till after the meal they discovered it had no meat in it; one of them asked me what meat it was, and I said, "Courgettes"!

The kofte mix can be fried in patties and served as veggie burgers. They also make nice vegan sausages.

Veggie koftes are a great snack, served like falafel with salad in warm pitta bread pockets with hot pepper sauce.

*You can use plain (general purpose) wheat flour, spelt flour, polenta or cous-cous instead of gram flour, but gram flour (besan) is best if you can find it. It is possible to make besan by grinding dried chick peas or yellow split peas (channa) in a coffee grinder until it is a fine powder.

Kofta, koftas, kofte, koftes, courgette, zuccini, bottle gourd, dhudi, vegetarian, vegan, veggie burger, veggie sausage

Thai-Style Chicken Rice with Chilli-Ginger Sauce

This is another of those amazingly simple dishes that is delicious, nutritious and satisfying. This is a Thai take on Hainanese Chicken Rice, versions of which are found all over South-East Asia. The combination of the delicious rice and chicken and the piquancy of the chilli-ginger sauce is a real winner.

Serves: 4

For the sauce:

5 fresh red bird eye hot chillies

3 garlic cloves

5 pieces fresh ginger, peeled

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of roasted peanuts or cashews

4 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chicken stock

Combine the ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth but not puréed. Set aside. 

For the chicken and rice: 

1 x 1.5Kg whole free range corn fed chicken, skin on, any excess fat removed.

1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon of light soy or mushroom soy sauce

5 spring onions (scallions)

1 thumb-size piece ginger, peeled and sliced

8 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cups Thai fragrant rice, rinsed and drained

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

For the garnish:

Finley-shredded spring onions 

Peeled and cut batons of cucumber

Slices of fresh tomato 

To make the chicken and rice, rub the chicken with the salt. Place the spring onions and 2 pieces of ginger in the cavity. Place the chicken in a large saucepan, add the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered skimming off any foam, until the chicken is cooked through, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the heat. Transfer the chicken to a platter and allow to cool slightly. Discard the  spring onions and ginger from the cavity of the bird and remove and discard the skin. 

Remove the breast meat, legs and wings. Discard the carcass. Slice the breast meat and separate the drumstick from the thigh. Return the meat to the platter and keep warm.

Measure 4 cups of the stock the chicken cooked in, retaining the rest for another use. In large saucepan, heat the oils over medium-high heat and add the garlic and remaining ginger slices.

Cook stirring for 2 minutes. Add the rinsed rice and toss until coated. Add the 4 cups of stock and bring to a boil.

Simmer, covered until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender about 15 minutes.

Transfer the rice to a serving platter. Top with the chicken, garnish with the spring onions and serve immediately with the chili-ginger sauce on the side.

Dedicated to my Thai food guru Wan and my bestie Conrad, who loves this dish and surpasses all human tolerance of chilli consumption.