Porridge of the Week # 27

Porridge of the Week #27
Cherry and marzipan

Category: Evening/ Flavour

Soak the oats in milk with a drop of almond essence. Heat through. Add a handful of golden marzipan chopped into small cubes. Add to this a small handful of halved glace cherries. You can also add a teaspoon of cherry jam if you feel like making it a bit fruity. Stir and heat through, letting the marzipan melt slightly.
Spoon into a bowl and top with a cherry and a few extra chunks of marzipan!

My favourite cake is Marzipan and Almond, so it seemed natural that I should turn it into a porridge. This works both as an indulgent breakfast porridge or a slightly less guilt inducing dessert for porridge fanatics.

xx

Dinner 15.03.2010

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This is one of my absolute favourite recipes of all time. I love it! Words can't describe how much pleasure it brings me.
Monkfish is a very special fish... Really thick and meaty. It's not strong flavoured like tuna or trout- so it goes really well with stronger flavours, such as parma ham.

This is a very simple recipe- Monkfish with sundried tomato and basil, wrapped in parma ham. The tomato is made simply by cooking a tin of sundried tomatoes and basil together... It's almost indecently simple considering how good it is...

I think it's a Jamie Oliver recipe. I'll check that out for you!

xx

Dinner: Chocolate Chicken

Unless you're Mexican, Chocolate Chili Chicken may not seem like an obvious combination... But the richness of the chocolate set against the warmth of the chili makes for a gorgeous rich stew style dinner...
Rather like adding a bit of coffee to your casserole or pie to add depth of flavour, it's worth bearing in mind dark good quality chocolate next time you want to add something extra to your casserole.

On Sunday we made Chocolate Chili Chicken- based on the Mexican Mole. It's very very simple- starting by frying onions and chillis with some chicken (or beef!) in Cinnamon (about two teaspoons..) add a tin of tomatoes and a few cubes of dark chocolate (about 20z will do four people, but it entirely depends on how chocolately you would or wouldn't want it...)

Simply leave it to boil away and serve up!

Yum yum.

xx

Cardamom Fish Curry

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I love fish curry, it's one of my favourites! Usually I just kinda make it up, but today I followed a Josceline Dimbleby recipe for Cardamom Curry.

I knew I would like this recipe as it includes what my brother used to refer to as the Holy Trinity- chili, ginger and garlic. if that's not enough, they are then fried with cod and a handful of cardamom seeds.

Transfer the fish to a dish with coconut cream, water and lemon juice and cooked in the oven for about forty minutes and you have a lovely delicately oriental curry. Don't skimp on the coconut or ginger etc- the more flavour the better. Mine was a little more watery than I had hoped... I also added some dessicated coconut to add texture.

Chili, ginger, cardamom, coconut, lemon... so many buzz words in one dish!

xxx

Pancake Day!

Pancake Day Recipe:

Savoury Wheat Pancakes with Haddock poached in Nutmeg milk and a Cream Cheese Horseradish and Lemon Sauce.
(Honestly, it's so good!)



1. Make the pancake batter. I'm not going to patronise you by detailing how that is done, but I will point out I use a wholewheat flour for my savoury pancakes.

2. Once the pancakes are prepared, keep them warm in the oven on the lowest heat whilst you prepare the fish.

3. Pour milk into a saucepan and add nutmeg. Put in the haddock fillets and a spoon of wholegrain mustard and poach.

4. Once the fish is cooked (this shouldn't take long) remove the fish but keep the milk. Grate in Cheddar cheese and add plain flour, whisking constantly throughout till it thickens.

5. Grind in some black pepper and extra nutmeg, then flake in the fish.

6. In another smaller pan, spoon in two spoonfuls of Cream Cheese with milk, a large spoonful of horse radish sauce and stir together till warmed through. Add pepper and a few squeezes of lemon juice.

7. Remove the pancakes from the oven and lay on the plates. Spoon in the fish mixture and roll. Drizzle with the horseradish sauce, a light grinding of pepper and serve!

Today is Pancake Day. Don't just stick to lemon and sugar... Give it a go!

xx

Tay Do - Kingsland Road

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Kingsland Road is known for its Vietnamese cuisine. Every other shop is a cafe, restaurant or supermarket.
I've been meaning to explore the road for a while, and after wandering down the canal path, was happy to finally tick it off my list!
Having no idea which to choose, we decided on one of the cafes over the restaurants- and picked the smallest, most understated we could find; Tay Do.



The inside was a lot more presentable than out, shiny long tables neatly laid and adorned with purple flowers against bright green walls were hidden behind windows boarded over with planks. Don't be put off!


We didn't look at the menu long, having already decided on Vietnamese Pancakes. We ordered these with sides of aubergine in garlic sauce and Pak Choi.
The menu was farily typical (spring rolls, bowls of noodle soup and spicy squid) but extensive and genuine.


Vietnamese pancakes (Banh Xeo- 'sizzling cake') are crispy savoury pancakes made with rice flour, water and turmeric, and when ours arrived, they didn't disappoint. Our large, crispy pancake was filled with chicken, prawns and bean sprouts, accompanied by lettuce, mint and coriander.
Despite the pancake being battered, the dish was light and fragrant with the unfried vegetables and mint.
The aubergine was not fried and boiled like many Chinese restaurants, but had an intense, smokey flavour familiar from my experiences of Lebanese cooking and chargrilled within it's skin until the flesh is soft.

Overall, the dishes were large, filling and enjoyable, the cafe simple, quiet and quality. But more importantly- three pancakes, two side dishes and a pot of green tea came to £33.50- just over £10 each for a full meal. There aren't many places you can do better than that!

So next time you're half way down Kingsland Road and already overwhelmed by the choice- keep Tay Do in mind!

Tay Do,
60 Kingsland Road,
London,
E2 8DP

020 7739 0966

xxx