Celeriac pasta

We ate pasta with a creamy celeriac sauce at a place called Fressen in Toronto, years ago now (the restaurant has since been reinvented... but the celeriac sauce has survived on their menu). I didn't immediately realize quite how much S had fallen in love with it, but he had. So ever since we have been recreating versions - cooked celeriac, pureed and mixed through pasta. For this one, I cooked the celeriac just like this, before blending to a smooth puree.

1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 a medium celeriac, peeled and chopped into ~1 cm dice
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
salt+pepper
~2-3 tbsp fake milk (used almond)

enough dried pasta (twists or penne, used brown) for two people

Heat the oil in a medium, lidded saucepan then add the celeriac, garlic and thyme. Cover and cook for ~25 min, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile boil a big pan of salted water and get the pasta on. When the celeriac is tender, soft and a little sticky, take off the heat, taste and season, then transfer to a blender cup. Blend until smooth, adding fake milk to achieve the desired creamy pasta-sauce consistency. Taste to check seasoning. Drain the pasta when done, then return to the pan and toss with a little olive oil. Mix the celeriac sauce with the pasta and eat. If you like mix in chickpeas as well.


A good version. Happy to make pasta for S: he loves it so. The celeriac has a remarkable intense taste and creamy texture and this recipe brings both out beautifully while remaining simple, warming and satisfyingly comforting. Perhaps this celeriac sauce would make an interesting substitute for the white sauce in lasagne?

Orange, almond, cardamom, honey and polenta cake (gluten free)

It's my cake baking time of year again - both my lab cake making duty (for N, who is leaving this week, so probably the last time I will make one for him), and then S's birthday in a few weeks. Winter birthdays have their disadvantages but the enjoyment of time spent indoors baking on cold days is not one of them! N suggested nuts or fruit, so I decided to use both and make this.

This is a cake I haven't made for ages. My sister T used to make it, and I used to love it. I begged her for the recipe years ago, promptly lost, misplaced or forgot it. It took me a while to track down the source on the internet, but I am pretty sure I found it - Nigel Slater, here. I considered not adapting it, but couldn't help myself (/ had no butter and eggs in the house), so here is a veganised version. It is actually also gluten free.

For the cake:
220g refined coconut oil (or margarine)
220g sugar (for prettiness try and get golden caster)
100g slivered almonds (for prettiness use ones without skin)
200g ground almonds (for prettiness try and get blanched ones)
3 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 9 tbsp boiling water (for prettiness use golden flax)
150g polenta (optional for vegan version - add 1/4 tsp xanthan gum and 1/4 tsp turmeric to the polenta)
1 level tsp baking powder
finely grated zest and juice of a large orange
12 green cardamom pods

For the syrup:
Juice of 2 lemons
juice of 2 oranges
4 tbsp honey

For decoration:
1 whole orange, peeled neatly with a sharp knife and then sliced thinly

Line the base of the cake tin with a piece of baking parchment. Set the oven at 180C/360F.

Beat the coconut oil and sugar together til light and fluffy. Grind the slivered almonds in a blender til finely chopped, then add them, together with the ground almonds, to the cake mixture. Stir in the linseed-water mixture. Mix the polenta and baking powder, then fold into the cake mix, together with the grated orange zest and juice. Extract the black cardamom seeds (discard the green outer shells), grind them to a fine powder, then add to the cake mixture.

Transfer the cake mixture to the lined tin and smooth the top level. Bake for 30 minutes, turn down the heat to 160C/320F for a further 25 -30 minutes or until the cake is firm.

To make the syrup, squeeze the lemon and orange juice into a small saucepan, bring to the boil and dissolve in the honey. Keep the liquid boiling until it has formed a thin syrup (4-5 min). Spike holes into the top of the cake (still warm and in its tin) with a skewer (or thin knitting needle) then spoon over the hot citrus syrup.

Leave to almost cool, then lift out of the tin*. I decorated by arranging thinly sliced orange (1 whole large orange sliced into cross sections as neat and thin as I could manage with a sharp knife) on top.


*this was fairly unsuccessful - I had to leave paper and tin base stuck on for decorating and serving


This comes out dense and sticky and delicious. I suspect a little fat came out the base and burned on the bottom of the oven - prob a good idea to put it on a baking tray. Perhaps the cake could use a touch less coconut oil - could help with the sticking of the base as well as any leakage. Lining the sides and base with a continuous sheet of paper (or base+long strips) should also help with both sticking and leakage.

Sprout, watermelon radish and orange salad

An unusually bright, crisp and cheerful winter salad, inspired by the contents of the CSA.

1 punnet mixed salad sprouts
1 medium watermelon radish, peeled, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 large orange, pith and peel removed from the outside
1 tbsp white miso
1-2 tsp marmalade
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt+pepper

Put sprouts in a salad bowl. Slice the radish (it's so pretty!) and add to the bowl. Cut off as much peel and pith from the outside of the orange as you can, then cut out the segments, leaving behind the separating membranes. Add the orange segments to the bowl. Squeeze the juice out of the remaining orange into a small bowl, then add the remaining ingredients and whisk with a fork. Add the dressing to the bowl and toss. Eat right away.

Brown rice, kale, tempeh, sesame and ponzu

I wanted to try ponzu sauce - citrussy, sweet, salty, sounded like something we would like. But they all seemed to contain either HFCS or fish (maybe I should just make my own?). Then I found the Kikkoman Lime one is all clear, and brought some home.

This combination is nothing fancy, but it is really, really good.

1 cup Japanese brown rice cooked in 1 1/2 cups water
~6-8 big leaves kale, washed and shredded
olive oil
1/2 a packet of tempeh, crumbled or ~1 cm dice
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
salt+pepper
ponzu sauce
~2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
sliced avocado (optional)

Put the rice on first. Then blanch the kale in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Heat 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan, add the tempeh and fry until golden brown. Add the garlic and fry til lightly coloured. Add the blanched kale and stir-fry til warmed through. Season with a little salt and pepper (ponzu is salty - don't add too much salt). Put some rice in a bowl, add kale-garlic-tempeh mixture, ponzu, sesame seeds, avocado if you want, and eat.

Shredded cabbage salad

The last couple of cabbages we had ended up in curry or soup. We were chopping some for soup the other day, predictably snacking on it as we chopped, and found ourselves talking about how delicious and sweet and crispy-crunchy and fresh it is just raw. And how I actually like it most like that. We've had warmer weather recently, and with two cabbages in the fridge a salad seemed like a great idea - a change from soup and dal. I pulled out all these other things to add in - celeriac, apple, parsley, seeds, spices... But then realised simple made more sense: just shredded cabbage, golden raisins, walnuts and lemony dressing.

1/2 a good-sized white cabbage
handful of golden raisins
handful of walnut pieces
juice of 1/2 a small lemon
1 tsp honey
2 tsp white miso
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
~2 tbsp olive oil
salt (just a little, the miso is salty) and pepper

Shred the cabbage and put in a serving bowl. Add the raisins and walnuts. Whisk the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl, then pour over the cabbage just before serving and toss.

Chestnut soup

I kept a few chestnuts back from my last chestnut-cooking foray. Then started brewing up this recipe for soup. I might have used celeriac (or maybe celery) instead of celery seed if I had it, but the celery seed was quite effective as an essence of celery.

6 medium-large chestnuts
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, fairly finely chopped
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp anise seed
few grinds of white pepper
1/4 cup champagne (or white wine)
1/4 cup apple sauce (would have used fresh apple but had none)
1 bay leaf
~1/2 tbsp chopped parsley (and more for garnish)
1 cup veg stock
salt

Submerge the whole chestnuts in boiling water and leave for ~30 min. Cut each in half and remove the outer shell and as much of the inner shell as you can, then resubmerge in boiling water for another 10 min or so before removing the rest of the skin (which can be a right fiddle - don't do this in a hurry).

Once the chestnuts are peeled, heat the oil in a medium saucepan, add the onion and cook gently for a few minutes, until softened and transparent but not coloured. Grind the anise and celery seeds then then add to the pan, stirring until fragrant (~ 1 min). Add a little white pepper, the champagne, apple, bay, parsley, peeled chestnuts and stock, bring to the boil and then simmer gently for ~30 min, until the chestnuts are soft.

Remove the pan from the heat, transfer the contents to a blender and blend until very smooth. Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste. Reheat gently to serve, and sprinkle with a little chopped fresh parsley.


Very creamy and satisfyingly savoury. If I had more chestnuts perhaps I'd have added a few more and / or scaled up the recipe - this made just about enough for a taster for two, but not much, and it could have been a tad thicker / more chestnutty.

Coconut and banana polenta, lemongrass tofu, peanut sauce

Our vegetable supplies are getting low - the first CSA since before Christmas is due tomorrow. This was a low-veg-supply dinner that was really rather good (and very quick!).

For the tofu:
1 block super firm tofu
~4 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 tsp sesame oil
~2-3 tbsp chopped lemongrass
salt+pepper

For the polenta:
(pretty similar to this recipe; note I haven't completely settled on the right amount of liquid vs polenta)
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup polenta
1 tsp salt
~2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 banana, peeled and diced

For the peanut sauce:
1-2 tbsp peanut butter
juice of 1 lime
~2 tbsp soy sauce

Cut the tofu into cuboids ~ 6 x 2 x 2 cm and dry. Heat the oils in a frying pan and plonk the pieces of tofu in it. Cook each side for a few minutes, flipping along the long axis using a fork. When nicely browned on all sides add the lemongrass and stir-fry for a few more minutes until the lemongrass is lightly browned and crispy. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, heat the coconut milk and the water in a small saucepan. Mix the polenta and salt in a bowl. When the liquid is boiling whisk in the polenta mixture a little at a time. It will probably become thick and seem cooked almost immediately. Stir in the coriander and banana, cover, cook for a minute and then turn off the heat and let it sit and steam a little.

To make the peanut sauce mix peanut butter, lime juice and soy sauce and taste to check balance. Add some chilli sauce, maple syrup or finely chopped fresh ginger if you like.

Serve the tofu over the top of the polenta, with peanut sauce over the top or on the side.


All very simple and good, making the best of the contents of fridge, freezer and storecupboard.

Dry beetroot coconut curry

I was thinking about India. Probably the best meal I had in ~3 months there was a thali at a place overlooking a temple bathing tank, in Varkala (Kerala). All the places along the beach were very touristy and the food not very veg and not very interesting, so we had ended up walking inland in search of something more exciting. The place was small and simple; we sat on a palm-roofed terrace watching a family of feral cats play around our feet. Eventually they brought this amazing thali, with very coconutty, South Indian, interesting curries. The one I remember so clearly was a dry curry of shredded beetroot and shredded coconut - beautiful, full of earthy sweetness and texture, and so unlike anything I'd eaten before.

I thought I'd try and recreate it with our latest haul of CSA beetroot. The fridge was starting to look bare after a few weeks of soup and using up, and those beets were almost the last thing to get through. Actually, I think what reminded me of that place / that thali was making my favourite dry cabbage curry the other day - it is similar in spicing and texture and use of coconut to what I remember of the beetroot one. So I thought I'd try something a bit like it - definitely using shredded coconut, curry leaves and mustard seed... I ended up using this recipe, as it sounded much like my memory.

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped into large chunks
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
~1/2 tbsp water
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
3 curry leaves
1 tsp chana dal (aka yellow split peas; increase to 1 tbsp if you don't have urad dal)
1 tbsp urad dal (subbed mung beans but this wasn't awesome - make sure to use shelled dal)
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1-2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, finely sliced
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 medium-large beetroot, grated
~1/3 cup dried shredded coconut (unsweetened; fresh probably better if you can get it)
salt

Put the ginger, garlic and water in a blender and pulse until it becomes a paste - add just enough water to make it work / become paste.

Heat the oil in a good-sized frying pan. Add the curry leaves, chana dal, urad dal (if using), mustard seeds, cumin seeds and chilli flakes and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the onion and the garlic-ginger paste. Once the onion is translucent, add in the turmeric and the grated beetroot. Stir-fry until beets are almost dry then add in the coconut and mix. Taste and add salt to taste. Turn off the heat.


We ate with brown rice, sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander, with a splash of vinegar and some coconut cream on the side. yummmm. S thought it could have been more coconutty - I guess you could add more shredded coconut or some coconut cream - but I was pretty happy with it.

Note, I am actually growing to love turmeric - I'd always thought of it as mainly a colouring agent, but while the colour is definitely fantastic the smell and flavour are wonderful too.

Curried parsnip soup

This is a Delia duvet for a cold, snowy day.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp refined coconut oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 heaped tsp coriander seeds
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
6 whole cardamom pods (seeds only)
1 heaped tsp turmeric
1 heaped tsp ground ginger
1½ lb / 700 g young parsnips, peeled, and chopped into ~1 inch dice
2 pints / 1.2 l  / ~ 5 cups veg stock
salt and pepper
1 small apple

For the parsnip crisps:
1 medium to large parsnip
4-6 tbsp high heat cooking oil (used safflower)
salt

Heat the oils in a large saucepan and add the onions, cooking gently for a few min before adding the garlic and cooking a bit longer til softened. Meanwhile heat a small frying pan and dry fry the cumin, coriander and cardamom until fragrant. Tip into a mortar and grind. Add to the onions, along with the turmeric and ground ginger. Mix and cook a little longer, until fragrant. Add the parsnips and stir well, then add to the stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer at as low heat as possible, uncovered, for approx 1 hour. When the hour is up, liquidise the soup, taste for seasoning, then peel and grate in the apple.

While the soup is simmering, make the parsnip crisps. Heat the oil in a frying pan until very hot (smoking). Lay the parsnip slices in and fry in batches until golden brown. Remove to a paper-lined plate, sprinkle with salt and let cool.


Notes: I quite like the idea of mixing turnip and parsnips instead of using just parsnips, as well. I am quite amazed: the apple I used for this was one of three I had left from last year's apple harvests.

Buckwheat pancakes

New Year's Day breakfast. Had been thinking about grinding up some buckwheat to make flour / wanted to make something slightly fancy to start off the year... Used this recipe.

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
1¼ cups fake milk mixed with 1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla essence
coconut oil (or other veg oil) for frying
banana, maple syrup, sour cherries in simple syrup, shredded marzipan

Mix buckwheat flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a bowl. In a measuring jug, beat together milk mixture, egg and vanilla. Add wet to dry, mix lightly and let sit for five minutes. Heat 1-2 tsp of oil in a frying pan then add a few tbsp of mixture and encourage into a pancake shape. Cook for a few minutes, until browned, on each side. Flip carefully: they are quite delicate.


We ate these with preserved sour cherries (from LUrC preserve swap - had been saving for a special occasion), maple syrup, sliced banana and, for the most decadent ones, shredded marzipan.