Turkish Meze

(Clockwise from top: Baba Ganoush, Tomato and Green Pepper Salsa, Hummus, Mint and Cucumber Raita) 

These Meze are a wonderful starter when paired with fresh pitta bread. Each one has its own distinct flavour but they compliment each other perfectly. They are easy to make in advance, but look and taste very impressive.

Baba Ganoush

This silky, smokey dip is the ultimate aubergine recipe. The aubergine should be charred (either on a barbecue or until a hot grill) until it is black and the flesh is sunken in. It can be very messy if they burst, so keep a watchful eye on them whilst they cook.

Ingredients

2 large aubergines

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp tahini

Juice of half a lemon

Method

1. Cook the aubergine under a hot grill until the skin is black and the flesh has sunk. Then scoop the flesh into a sieve and leave for twenty minutes until the excess liquid has drained out.

2. Mix the tahini and garlic together until they loosen. Stir in the garlic and aubergine. Mash the mixture with a fork for a smoother consistency. Serve at room temperature.

Tomato and Green Pepper Salsa

This serves as a great counterpart to the heavier Meze dips. It's beautifully light and flavoursome and takes seconds to make.

Ingredients

300g cherry tomatoes

Small green pepper, finely chopped

30 ml olive oil

Heaped tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method 

1. Blitz the tomatoes, parsley and olive oil in a food processor, briefly. You want to leave some texture in the tomatoes as opposed to a smooth sauce.

2. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the green pepper. Season to taste and serve chilled.

Hummus 

Hummus can be pretty much any flavour you like, but as it's part of a Meze and there's already a lot going on, I decided to keep it simple, using only a hint of paprika for seasoning.

Ingredients

400g chickpeas, drained

3 tbsp tahini

3 garlic cloves

salt, to taste

30 ml water, optional 

30 ml olive oil

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp paprika 

Method 

1. In a food processor, blitz the chickpeas, garlic and tahini until smooth. 

2. Stir in the olive oil, lemon juice and some water, if necessary, to loosen up the mixture. 

3. Mix in the paprika and add some salt if you wish. Serve at room temperature.

Mint and Cumcumber Raita

This dip is so light and refreshing and also works well as a side to spicy meat dishes (like the lamb Kofte).

Ingredients

60g Greek yogurt

30g cucumber, finely chopped

2 tbsp mint, finely chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

A pinch of salt

Method

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, and serve chilled. 

Meal Plan w/c 25th August 2014

Bank Holiday Monday: We were supposed to go to Notting Hill Carnival today, but were put off by the torrential rain. Instead, we had a cosy day in and had afternoon tea of Irish coffees and courgette and walnut cake. Dinner was the leftover barbecued jerk chicken from Sunday with rice and peas (so at least we had a bit of carnival atmosphere!). 

Tuesday: The weather is still decidedly bleak so we are having chunky bacon and lentil soup with a homemade malted and seeded loaf on the side to warm us up.

Wednesday: Tonight will have a Turkish theme- I'm thinking lamb koftes, homemade pitta breads, baba ganoush and a selection of other mezzes. This may or may not be a thinly veiled excuse to break out the baklava...

Thursday: We will have a fresh, vibrant salad with some prawn pil pil and a potato salad on the side.

Friday: Inspired by our new favourite Korean restaurant, we're going to have a go at making our own Bibambap. I'll get some nice beef from the butchers which will combined with colourful vegetables, a sticky rice and a hot, spicy dressing.

Saturday: Last week we salt baked a sea bass and were very impressed by the results. The fish was wonderfully succulent and perfectly cooked. We will have another go this weekend, with a different fish.

Sunday: The main course hasn't been decided yet, but for dessert I'm going to make a pear and frangipane tart, accompanied by a warm chocolate sauce. Can't wait!

Beef and Juniper Berry Pie

First things first, I promise that this pie does not taste like a Gin and Tonic... The juniper berries add a slightly sweet and aromatic flavour to the casserole dish, without being overpowering. They work especially well with venison, but as game season is not yet upon us, I decided to try it out with the gorgeous beef chuck I got at the butchers. 

Ingredients

600g beef chuck diced (beef shin would work equally well here)  

300ml ale

300ml beef stock

1tbsp tomato purée 

1 tbsp juniper berries, crushed 

Small bunch of thyme, leaves removed and chopped

3 rosemary sprigs, leaves removed and chopped

2 bay leaves

Large onion, chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

250g mushrooms, quartered

1 tablespoon flour, plus extra for rolling 

300g puff pastry

One egg, beaten 

Salt and pepper, to season

Oil, to fry

Method

1.Heat a tablespoon of oil to a high temperature in an ovenproof casserole dish and fry the meat, tossed in the flour until browned all over. Remove and set aside. Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

2.Add the chopped vegetables (and more oil if necessary) and cook on a medium temperature until softened. 

3.Return the meat to the dish along with the herbs, the juniper berries, the tomato purée, the ale and the beef stock. Season with salt and pepper.

4.Transfer the dish to the oven, with the lid on. Let this cook for 2-2.5 hours, until the meat is falling apart. If there is too much liquid in the casserole, place on the hob and simmer until the excess has evaporated away.

5.Let the casserole cool, and then place in a pie dish (mine is 23cm in diameter). Heat oven to 190 degrees. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until it is the depth of a £1 coin. Cut around it, until it is only slightly wider than your pie dish and place it over the top, crimping the edges.

6.Brush the pie liberally with the beaten egg and place in the oven. Cook for 30-40, or until the pastry is golden and the mixture is bubbling.      

This can be served with whatever you fancy, but we had ours with spring greens and truffle mash to soak up the tasty gravy. Enjoy!

Veal and Pork Meatballs

Beef and pork is the most common combination for making meatballs, but substituting veal for the beef gives a lighter texture and taste and allows the delicate flavour of the herbs to come through a lot more.

Ingredients

350g veal mince

350g pork mince

150g fresh breadcrumbs

1tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp fennel seeds

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Small bunch of basil, chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp oil

1 egg, beaten

To serve

Fresh tomato sauce

Pasta

Method

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and add the onion and fennel seeds, cooking slowly on a low heat until softened. 

2.Place both minces in a large bowl and mix with hands until evenly combined. Add the softened onion and fennel seeds, garlic, fresh and dried herbs and the breadcrumbs. Mix in the egg, gradually, until everything is well combined.

3.Now shape your meatballs. The size is down to preference- they can be the size of Bonbons or the size of golf balls. I like mine somewhere in the middle. Obviously the bigger ones need longer to cook, so this may be something to take into consideration if you are particularly hungry... Once shaped, place the meatballs in the fridge for at least half an hour, to firm up.

4.Once firmed, preheat the oven to 180 degrees and heat two tablespoons of oil in a saucepan to a high temperature. Fry the meatballs in batches until they are well browned and transfer to an oven proof dish containing the tomato sauce.

5.Bake the meatballs and sauce in the oven until cooked through and serve with pasta and grated Parmesan. 

Meal Plan w/c 18th August 2013

Monday - Tonight we will be having Mushroom Soup and Granary bread. Perfect for a light dinner on a rainy evening.

Tuesday - This is quiz night, so we need something easy. I'll make a chicken jalfrezi in the slow cooker, so that we have something nice to come home to at the end of the night. If we're feeling particularly lazy (and tipsy) we will probably buy the rice from Tiffin Express across the road.

Wednesday - To offset the excess of Tuesday night, we will be having a salad with lemon king prawns and some potatoes with a simple dressing.

Thursday - I've promised Leo that we will have some offal this week. I will refer to my "Nose to tail" cookbook by Fergus Henderson for some ideas on how to make it palatable.

Friday - Having given up hope on ever getting a table at Dotori, we found a new place to eat on a Friday night. On the Bab is on Old Street just by Hoxton Square and serves Korean "street food". There are often queues at the door and I'm sure we'll be back there soon. 

Saturday - This is a pretty busy day for us, so we usually have baked fish with samphire and baby potatoes. This week I'm planning on getting a nice whole fish (maybe sea bass) and salt baking it for a more luxurious meal. 

Sunday - This hasn't been decided yet, but if the weather continues to be as bleak as it is today, we will most likely be craving comfort food in the form of pies, puddings or casseroles. There's a chance that Leo will want to have an "indoor barbecue" to round off the summer but I'll try and deter him... There is something perverse about eating barbecue when it's lashing rain outside. 

Tomato Pasta Sauce

The other day I bought a big box of gorgeously ripe tomatoes from Hoxton Fruit and Veg. As we are planning to have veal and pork meatballs this week, I knew I had to make a pasta sauce out of them.

There are only a handful of ingredients in this sauce- it's beauty is in its simplicity. With tomatoes, the key is to either cook them quickly or slowly- 45 minutes on a slow simmer should help bring the sweetness out of the fruits. In terms of herbs, I like to use basil to give the sauce an authentic Italian feel, but oregano works well too, especially it's going to be used for a pizza.

Ingredients 

1 large white onion, chopped

A large bunch of basil, chopped and stalks reserved

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

4 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1kg tomatoes

Method

1. To skin the tomatoes, place in a pan of boiling water for one minute. Remove, and leave to cool for a few minutes before removing the skins with your hands. Set aside whilst preparing the onion.

2. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and add the onion, garlic and the stalks of the basil. Cook on a low heat until the often is softened- be careful not to colour it too much. This should take about twenty minutes.

3. Add the tomatoes and the red wine vinegar to the onion, and break them apart using a wooden spoon. Increase the temperature to medium so that you have a steady simmer for around forty minutes. 

4. Check the taste at this stage. Add the sugar if necessary, and the rest of the chopped basil. Simmer for a further fifteen minutes. 

5. Using a hand blender or a food processor, blitz the sauce briefly. The sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to five days or frozen for later use.

Chicken Stock

After jointing a mammoth chicken for our Sunday dinner, we were left with quite a lot of carcass. To further honour the juicy bird, which had given us so much pleasure, we decided to make a chicken stock which would form the base of our Monday Minestrone soup.

Stock is also a great way to get rid of any vegetables that are languishing away in your fridge. For this, I've used some leftover celery, carrots and a large white onion. I also like to preserve any herb stalks from earlier in the week to add in, as these impart a wonderful flavour to the liquid. 

There is no set ingredient list for stock- just use whatever spare vegetables you have in your kitchen. With the exception of onions, the skin on the veg should just be cleaned as opposed to peeled off- this is where most of the flavour lies. 

Method

1. Place chicken carcass, herbs and vegetables into a large pot, cover with water and bring to the boil.

2. Once it reaches the boil, reduce temperature to low, and cover with a lid. 

3. If using stock straightaway, take off the heat when it has reduced by two-thirds. If freezing, reduce even further until you have a very concentrated mixture that can be stored in ice-cube trays for easy use.

4. Put the stock through a sieve and you will be left with a clear liquid.

5. Season to taste, then use straightway or freeze.

Meal Plan w/c 4 August 2014

Today - Monday - Ham hock and red lentil soup, using cheeses left over from our Austro-Hungarian extravaganza last night.

Tuesday - quiz night as well as the big Scotland debate on TV. I'm thinking lamb curry in the slow cooker -- it's like coming home to a good woman! We'll buy some naan bread and pilau rice at Tiffin on Pitfield Street, our favourite local Indian takeaway, then we can eat as soon as we're in.

Wednesday - A salad night in this weather, with a potted mackerel and toast

Thursday - Picnic! Regent's Park is the favoured venue. Far enough away to be a bit unusual, not so far as to require an entire military transportation exercise. Some ideas so far: homemade port pies, tabbouleh, a nice terrine (probably from James Eliot, but we had a fantastic duck and pistachio terrine from the Ginger Pig in Borough Market on Sunday), more of Sunday's leftover cheeses, a potato salad (for Leo, not my idea of savoury picnic fare). Something sweet, though not sure what just yet.

Friday - I'll try Dotori again, if not, improvisation!

Saturday - Trout is out of season :-(( but baked mackerel is an excellent alternative.

Sunday - We have friends coming round so we need to make an effort. Either sea bass or sea bream, whichever looks best at Steve Hatt, with rose petals. Chicken with artichokes, a side of kofte, tabbouleh, rice and crispy onions. A cake for dessert and perhaps some baklava with Turkish coffee to finish.