Falafel

Falafel are a traditional Middle Eastern food made from chickpeas and broad beans. We have been trying to eat less meat during the week and they are really delicious with hummus, salad and some flatbreads. They are easy to make, but take a bit of organising as the pulses will need to be soaked the night before. The only way to cook them is to deep fry (it's important that they are really crunchy on the outside) but if served with a large enough salad, they almost qualify as a health food!

Ingredients 

For the falafel

150g chickpeas, covered with water and soaked overnight

200g broad beans, covered with water and soaked overnight 

1 large bunch coriander, stalks removed and leaves chopped

1 small bunch parsley, stalks removed and leaves chopped

4 sping onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp Baharat spice mix

1 tbsp cumin

1 tsp ground coriander 

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

5 tbsp sesame seeds

Sunflower oil, to fry

Method

1. Drain the pulses and lay on a tea towel to dry. Then add all the broad beans and three quarters of the chickpeas to a food processor and whiz until smooth.

2. Add the garlic, spring onions, herbs, spices and salt to the pulses and whiz again until well combined. Stir in the baking powder and chill the mixture in the fridge for at least half and hour.

3. Using damp hands, roll the mixture into tight balls about 1.5 inches across (the size of a fig) and roll in the sesame seeds. Chill in the fridge until you heat your oil.

4. Heat around 6cm of oil in a saucepan over a high heat to 180 degrees ( or use a deep fat fryer, if you have one) and fry the falafel in batches for around 5-6 minutes until dark brown in colour. Drain on kitchen paper until most of the oil is absorbed and served with plenty of salad, flatbread and hummus (recipe below).

Hummus 

Hummus is best made with dried chickpeas, and since we're using them already in this recipe, it's easy to whip up a batch to go with the falafel. 

Place the leftover chickpeas in a sauce pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Leave to simmer for around 15 minutes until soft. Drain, place the chickpeas in a food processor and whiz until smooth. Stir in around 4 tbsp of tahini and the juice of half a lemon. If necessary, add some water 1 tbsp at a time to achieve the desired constituency. Season to taste. Serve at room temperature with the falafel. 

Meal Plan w/c Monday 20th October 2014

Monday: Soup day! Quite fancy a nice minestrone soup to boost my veg levels. Last weeks rye bread was a bit of a disaster - I'll either be brave and give it another go, or wimp out and revert back to my faithful wheaten bread recipe.

Tuesday: I'm trying to eat less meat during the week, so I'm going to make a nice ratatouille with courgettes, aubergines, red onions and whatever other veg takes my fancy. 

Wednesday: I'm going to try making falafels for the first time! This will take some organising as the chickpeas and broad beans have to be soaked the night before so that they're soft enough to cook with the following day. I'm going to serve this with a Middle Eastern inspired salad and some homemade tortilla bread. Recipe up soon!

Thursday: I'm really craving meatballs and although they seem like quite a low maintainence meal by the time you've made your own pasta and tomato sauce a whole day has gone by in the kitchen. I might try and source a crate of tomatoes on Monday and spend a few hours batch making tomato sauce to freeze for later use. I'll also make the pasta the night before as well.

Friday: I'm going to make a pork Bimbambap tonight which will be washed down with some Breton cider before a trip to the cinema.

Saturday: Fish night! Last week I had mackerel, so this Saturday will either be rainbow trout, or else I'll make my famous seafood linguine, which goes wonderfully well with our weekly bottle of champagne.

Sunday: Thinking of doing a mock Christmas dinner with game birds, chestnut stuffing, Brussels sprouts with pancetta and a delicious dessert.

Lamb and Medjool Date Tagine with Mint and Pomegranate Cous Cous

Tagines are my favourite thing to make in the autumn. Bung together a few spices, meat and some dried fruit and a few hours later the smell of your kitchen will transport you to a bustling market in Marrakesh. I've chosen to use Medjool dates in this dish - they're in season and they go wonderfully well with the lamb. However, you can use any dried fruit from apricots to figs - they melt into the sauce giving it a rich, sweet flavour that when combined with the spices makes for an amazing taste sensation. Grating the onions for the base can be a tear inducing task, but it's important as it allows the onions to melt into the tagine, spreading the flavour throughout. I tend to wear swimming goggles when I do this job - you may look and feel ridiculous for a short time but it's worth it to spare the stinging!

Ingredients

For the tagine

600g lamb neck (or leg or shoulder) chopped into 1 inch chunks 

2 large onions, grated 

150g Medjool dates (or other dried fruit)

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

400g tinned tomatoes

400ml passata 

300ml lamb stock

1 tbsp ras-el-hanout 

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp cumin

4 tbsp olive oil

To serve 

Small bunch coriander, roughly chopped

1 tbsp flaked almonds

Methods

1. Firstly, make your spice mix by combining your spices in a bowl. Add the lamb chucks making sure they are evenly coated by the mixture. Place in the fridge to marinate for a least a couple of hours.

2. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil to a low temperature in a large casserole dish with a lid and add the grated onion, cooking for around 10 minutes until soft and golden. Be careful not to burn them. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Set aside. 

3. Heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan, and add the seasoned lamb, frying until evenly browned on all sides. Add the meat to the casserole dish with the onions and deglaze the frying pan by adding the lamb stock and  scraping it with a wooden spoon to dissolve all the leftover browned bits.

Add this to the casserole dish along with the fruit, passata and chopped tomatoes. 

4. Put the lid on your casserole dish and place in the oven, cooking for around 2 1/2- 3 hours, or until the meat is meltingly tender. If the tagine is too liquidy, reduce on the stove until you have the desired consistency. To serve, sprinkle over the coriander and flaked almonds. 

P.S: it tastes even better the next day - if it lasts that long!

Mint and pomegranate Cous Cous

I prefer giant cous cous to the normal variety with tagines, because it absorbs flavours much better, both when cooked and when served as the side dish to a meal. As shallow as it sounds, it also looks prettier, especially when the jewel-like pomegranate seeds are mixed through. I add a bit of Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar to the cous cous after it has cooked (an idea stolen off Heston) as it adds a touch of acidity to the grains - perfect when served with a sweet tagine. 

For the cous cous

300g giant cous cous

400ml lamb stock

1 tbsp Dijon mustard 

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

To serve

1 pomegranate, deseeded 

Small bunch of mint, roughly chopped

Method

1. Place the cous cous in a medium saucepan and pour over the lamb stock. Cook this on a medium temperature until the cous cous is soft, and all the liquid has dissolved.

2. Add the red wine vinegar and the mustard, mixing until evenly dispersed. Then transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds and the chopped mint. Serve immediately.

Meal Plan w/c Monday 13th October

Monday: Today I'm boiling up the carcasses of last night's partridges and pheasant to make a stock for our game soup. I'm going to be serving that with a homemade rye bread - the first one I've ever made!

Tuesday: Quiz night tonight, so I'm going to do an easy slow cooker curry which will be ready for us to eat when we come home slightly tipsy and high on winning. We'll stop off at Tiffin Express on the way home to pick up some rice and naan bread.

Wednesday: We're trying to eat more oily fish, so tonight we'll have some smoked mackerel with green beans, baby potatoes and puy lentils.

Thursday: Tonight I'm going to make a lamb, date and fig tagine which will be served with pomegranate and mint cous cous. Recipe up soon!

Friday:  We might go to the cinema if there's something good on. I'll either make a beef bulgogi Bibambap or we'll go to Sông Quê on our way out.

Saturday: Tonight we'll have a salt baked fish (maybe red snapper or sea bass) with a homemade basil mayonnaise and some garlic potatoes.

Sunday: We're planning to go for a long cycle today, if the weather is nice. I want to make something that can be prepared in advance and then bunged in the oven when we come home, so I'm thinking of making a venison and fig pie with a rough puff pastry top, with some buttered greens and truffle mash. 

Meal Plan w/c Monday 6th October

Monday: It's such a rainy day today, and apparently it's going to be like that all week long, so it's time to break out the comfort food! Tonight's dinner is going to be a hearty minestrone soup and wheaten bread. The perfect meal for a wet and dull Monday. 

Tuesday: Tonight is quiz night. I need to make something that can be prepared in advance and then easily reheated when we get home, but I don't want to serve something too nice as it won't be appreciated after a few drinks have been consumed... I haven't used my slow cooker in a while, so I I might throw together a casserole and let it do all the hard work.

Wednesday: We're trying to up our intake of oily fish during the week. Last week we had smoked mackerel with puy lentils and a green salad which was delicious. This time I might make some light mackerel fish cakes and serve them with sweet potato chips and a cress and rocket salad.

Thursday: Tonight I'm thinking of making either a meatloaf with tomato passata and truffle mash, or a lamb and date tagine with pomegranate cous cous. Both are equally gorgeous, but the tagine requires a bit more effort. I'll have to see how I feel...

Friday: We'll either go to the Vietnamese if we're planning on going to the cinema, or else I'll cook something. I'd like to make some more ravioli soon. Last time was a very stressful experience, but it was worth it in the end. If I'm feeling adventurous I might make two fillings- wild mushroom and ricotta, and spinach with Parma ham.

Saturday: Fish day! If I'm organised enough today, I'm going to try out something a bit more exotic than I usually do on a Saturday. Maybe some monkfish with a nice garnish and some veg.

Sunday: Hopefully Borough Market will have some pheasant this weekend. If they do, I'm going to serve it with a spiced plum sauce and seasonal vegetables. I'm also going to start making cocktails to pair with my desserts, so I'll buy some nice fruit, make a syrup with it, and mix it with spirits. Dessert will be chocolately this weekend, maybe a chocolate and pear tart.