Wild garlic and edamame pesto

We secretly replanted some wild garlic into the wilder parts of our garden last year. As usual with suchlike, I didn't touch it for a year so it would have a chance to settle in. So, first harvest: wild garlic pesto; full of green stuff; garlickiness slightly dispersed by edamame content.

1/2 cup edamame, defrosted
c. 15 leaves wild garlic
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
3-4 tbsp olive oil
salt+pepper

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend. Taste for seasoning and acid (add a little more salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil if it needs it). Store and eat as normal pesto.

Christmas food 2015

We got a veg share from the coop we just joined, and based our Christmas Day food around that. We ate:

Maple-roasted parsnips and celeriac (similar to this)

Roasted brussels sprouts with pomegranate molasses (a simplified version of this)
Red cabbage and sesame salad (similar to this, with coriander instead of chives and no carrot or radish)
Potato, mint and edamame salad
Tahini-lemon sauce

Zimtsterne (these take ages to make but keep very well)

S was in charge of Christmas Eve since that is the special day in Germany. We ate cheese fondue (which is apparently traditional) with broccoli, cauliflower, gnocchi, bread pieces.

Simple fried rice

A very quick and easy, very tasty way to use up leftover rice. Taking advantage of yellow curry paste from our favourite Thai supermarket on Istedgade.

oil
spice paste (used yellow curry paste)
spring onions
cold rice
edamame

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add the spice paste and spring onions and stir-fry until onions are slightly softened. Then add the rice and edamame and stir-fry some more, until the rice is slightly crispy in places and everything is piping hot. Eat straight away.

Cauliflower couscous

S and I joined a vegetarian lunch club at work. We meet once a month, and everyone brings some food to share. So far it's happened twice, and it's been a fun way to meet interesting people and eat good food. This time, someone brought cauliflower 'couscous'. I'd heard of that stuff but never tried it. But we are on a cauliflower (blomkål) kick at the moment - we took cauliflower and breadcrumbs to lunch club. And the cauliflower couscous was fun and tasty, so I decided to try and recreate it with half of a big cauliflower (the other half got roasted).

1/2 a cauliflower, broken into florets
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup shelled edamame, defrosted
2 tbsp chopped almonds, toasted
lemon juice
salt and pepper

Put the cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse briefly - it breaks down into couscous sized pieces really fast. Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the garlic until softened. Add the cauliflower and saute for a few minutes, just to soften slightly. Transfer to a serving bowl along with the edamame and almonds, and add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

Winter Salad II: watermelon radish, edamame, avocado and quinoa

A handed me some CSA veg in a hurry yesterday - I saw these and said 'turnips?' and he replied 'they said watermelon turnips, I don't know what's different about them'. I googled quickly and found they were watermelon radishes, a special variant of daikon. I kind of wished I hadn't peeked, because it would have been a wonderful surprise to cut into one of these unawares... They looked like muddy turnips on the outside, but inside they are a spectacular hot pink with slight rays of white. I can definitely see where the watermelon in the name comes from now!

(nb I think the quinoa, edamame and avocado suggested themselves because of the stories in the news about ingredient origins and S+I having a long ongoing conversation about the ethics of buying things from far-flung places... I guess it made me want to eat them (and we had them all in the house anyway, would be the most unethical thing of all to waste them, right?).)

1 medium watermelon radish
~3/4 cup frozen shelled edamame, defrosted
1/2 an avocado, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 cup quinoa, cooked til tender, drained and cooled
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Peel the radish and shave it into thin slices using a peeler or a mandoline. Put in a serving bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, toss, taste for seasoning and eat.


Also really good, I was on my salad making game last night. I realised when eating it, it's quite reminiscent of this one. Got beetroot to eat up too, perhaps that's on the cards soon...  Only problem with this type of salad is that making thin slices of beetroot or radish is somewhat time-consuming / a pain (sometimes literally).

Stuffed squash

These little round squashes were so cute I had to buy some...  I didn't really know what they were, but turns out they are a kind of spherical courgette.  They were so pretty I couldn't bring myself to cut them up and decided to bake them whole and stuff them instead.  I wanted to fill them with fresh, summery tastes - peas, mint - so decided to try preparing the filling separately so the peas etc didn't get overcooked during the oven baking process.

2 little round squashes ('8-ball' squash)
1 cup brown rice (I used brown sushi rice as that's what we had)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp mint, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted
1 1/2 tbsp black olives, pitted and chopped
~30g frozen edamame (a good handful), defrosted
~30g frozen peas (a good handful), defrosted
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
olive oil

Put the rice in a small pan with 2 cups of water and boil for ~25 min until tender.

Cut little lids in the squashes  like you were making pumpkin lanterns.  Remove flesh from inside, leaving about 1cm thickness.  Put the lids back on, put the squashes on a baking tray and put in the oven at 400F for 20min.

Meanwhile, chop the innards.  Heat ~ 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and then add the onion and garlic.  Fry until softened (4-5 min).  Then add the courgette innards and fry over a moderate-high heat.  A lot of liquid will come out of the courgette, so keep frying pretty high until it is all evaporated and the stuff is golden and tasty.  Season to taste.

When the rice is ready, mix the rice and onion and courgette mixture in a large bowl.  Make sure it is cool enough not to discolour the herbs, but still warm.  Add the olives, defrosted peas and edamame, toasted sunflower seeds and herbs and mix well together.  Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

When the little squashes are tender to the point of a knife, remove them from the oven.  Take off the lid again, pour out any excess liquid, and fill them up with the rice mixture, so it's bulging out of the top.  Balance the lids back on top so they look cute, and eat before they get cold.




They worked out pretty good - fresh and tasty.  Lots of the inside mix is left - perhaps we can stuff some peppers with it in the same way tomorrow, or it'll work just as a sort-of risotto.

Spaghetti squash / another version of pesto / wholemeal+corn rolls

Got excited about a spaghetti squash at the Haymarket, as I don't think I've ever had one before.  Eventually got around to cooking it.  It is funny stuff indeed.

1 spaghetti squash

20-30 cherry tomatoes
1 medium, sweet onion, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tbsp basil leaves, roughly torn or chopped
olive oil, salt+pepper, balsamic vinegar

for the pesto:
handful basil leaves, washed
handful shelled edamame, defrosted
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 small clove garlic
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp olive oil
salt+pepper

Heat oven to 400F.  Cut squash in half lengthways (past the stem).  Deseed and set seeds aside.  Place cut side down in a large baking tin.  Add ~1in water to the tin.  Put in the oven for 30-40 min until a knife goes in easily / the flesh is tender.  Meanwhile you can spread the seeds on a large baking tray and toast them for ~5min as a pre-snack.  Around the same time as the squash, bung in another baking tin containing the tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, and olive oil / salt and pepper to taste.  Take the squash and tomato mix out of the oven when ready.  Add a little balsamic vinegar to the tomatoes and mix in.  Allow squash to cool a little, then scrape out the flesh into a large bowl (don't burn your fingers).  Season and add a little olive oil to the squash and mix up / separate the strands with a fork.  Serve with the tomato mix and pesto (to make the pesto, whizz all the ingredients in the blender, adding water and/or olive oil to get a good consistency).

It really looks like spaghetti!  Totally bizarre how it separates out into perfect strands.  Doesn't taste of much, but does have a pleasant, slightly squashy taste that goes well with the pesto and / or tomato mix.  This pesto iteration is getting close to the best yet.


Spelt / wholemeal and corn rolls

We're planning on going to one of the harbor islands tomorrow to check out an art encampment.  Thought it might be nice to take some bread with us for snacks.  This Guardian recipe looked quicker than the other breads I've done, and was on my list of ones I fancied...


75g cornmeal or polenta
200ml boiling water
300ml cold water
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp yeast
300g spelt (or wholemeal) flour / used wholemeal
200g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
Oil and flour, to finish

Put the cornmeal in a bowl, pour in the boiling water and stir. Leave for 15 minutes, then whisk in the cold water, honey and yeast. Add the spelt, white flour and salt, mix to a soft dough and leave for 10 minutes.
Knead for 10 seconds. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave for 20 minutes, until it has risen slightly.
Wipe the worktop clean and dry it with a tea towel, then dust with flour. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces and shape into rounds. Place these in two rows of four, and just touching, on a baking tray lined with nonstick paper. Flour the tops, cover with a cloth and leave for about 45 minutes, until risen by half.
Meanwhile, heat the oven to 240C (220C fan-assisted)/465F/gas mark 9. Lightly flour the tops of the dough rounds again and bake for 20-25 minutes, until just coloured on top. Leave to cool, and tear apart to serve.

These look super, but haven't taste-tested them yet...  Now I have.  They're really hearty and wholemeal - excellent with salad.  Quite heavy, but not awfully so.

Fried courgette flowers / edamame pesto

Fried courgette flowers

S stopped by the farmers market on Thurs evening and bought some courgette flowers.  Seemed like the thing to do with them was batter and fry.  So I googled that.

8 fresh courgette flowers, wiped clean if need (but not wet)

50g plain flour
2 tbsp cornflour
~100ml ice cold water

veg oil for frying (plus a little olive oil for taste)

salt

Put the flours in a bowl over a bowl of iced water and mix together.  Add the iced water and mix to a pouring cream consistency (so that the stuff coats your finger).

Heat ~1cm oil in a small saucepan til it smokes.  Coat a courgette flower in batter and then put into hot oil.  Should go golden in a couple of minutes.  Flip if necessary.  Cook then all like this, cutting in half if large, and fishing out with a slotted spoon and moving to kitchen roll on a plate when done.  Sprinkle with sea salt and eat straight away.

They were very good.  The batter was not super crispy, especially the first ones - need to make sure it is not too thick and the oil is good and hot.


Edamame pesto

Saw this on ppk.  Went to Haymarket and bought a bunch of basil, thought a variant on pesto might be an idea.

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup packed basil leaves
Handful (1/4 cup or so) fresh cilantro
14 oz package shelled edamame, thawed
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Blend all ingredients with a wand blender. Add a little more vegetable broth if it seems too stiff. Eat with spaghetti or bread or anything really.



It was good...  A cross between pesto and hummus.  Wonderfully green, and that didn't fade with keeping in the fridge like regular pesto.  S liked it because it didn't have so much oil in it.  I think it might be missing a bit of nuttiness - next experiment will be a mixture of basil, edamame, sunflower seeds and olive oil...

Edamame noodles (+superquick)

~250g frozen edamame
~200g fine / glass noodles
2 spring onions, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp canola oil
1 small chili, finely chopped
1 tbsp coriander, chopped
1 tbsp mint, chopped

1 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted

sauce ingredients:
1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp tamarind paste
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp canola oil mixed with sesame oil
juice of 2 limes

Prepare the ingredients.  Defrost the edamame in hot water.  Put the noodles in hot water for 5-10 min til softened but not soggy.  Drain and put aside.  Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.  Heat the oil in a large frying pan and then add the garlic.  Cook until just starting to brown, then add noodles, edamame and sauce.  Remove from the heat and mix up.  Then add the onions, chili and herbs.  Return to heat and stir until heated through.  Serve sprinkled with the sesame seeds.


Superquick version

I had about half an hour to get ready to go out, needed to eat something, so decided to do a variant on this and make it superquick.

1 nest (~100g) fine noodles
generous handful frozen edamame
handful frozen sweetcorn

1 tbsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted

sauce ingredients:
1 1/2 tbsp tahini (or peanut butter)
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 1/2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar (or lime juice)
1/2 tbsp root ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp mint leaves
1 tbsp coriander
1/2 a small cucumber
1-2 spring onions
~50g firm tofu, diced into pieces to taste
~1/2 an avocado, chopped into chunks

Pour boiling water over the noodles in a bowl.  Add the frozen edamame and sweetcorn.  Leave to soften / defrost.  In the meantime wash and chop everything that needs to be chopped (herbs, cucumber, ginger, spring onion, avocado, tofu), and toast the sesame seeds.  When the noodles are soft drain them and the beans and set aside.  In the same bowl, mix the sauce ingredients in the bottom.  Add the noodle / bean mix and mix up well.  Add the rest, mix and eat.  Took about 15min beginning to end, tops.

a couple of salady recipes

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/18/beetroot-saffron-rice-recipe-ottolenghi?intcmp=239

was good but not great

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/25/quinoa-fennel-salad-recipe-ottolenghi

was very tasty

About 70ml olive oil
3 medium fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
1 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp cider vinegar
Salt and black pepper
150g quinoa
300g broad beans (fresh or frozen)
1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
1½ tsp ground cumin
25g chopped mint
25g chopped coriander
25g chopped dill
3 limes
Pour 50ml oil into a large sauté pan, add the fennel and cook on low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and soft. Add the sugar, vinegar and some salt, and cook, stirring, for two minutes, then lift from the heat.
Pour the quinoa into a pot of boiling water and simmer for eight to 10 minutes. Do not overcook it – taste to make sure it still has some bite. Drain into a fine sieve, run under cold water, shake to remove excess liquid and add to the fennel.
Throw the beans into a pot of boiling water, cook for a minute, drain and refresh. Press the beans gently to remove their leathery skins, then stir into the quinoa, along with the chilli, cumin and herbs, and season.
Take the limes and, using a small, sharp knife, trim off their tops and tails. Now cut down their sides, along their round curves, to remove the skin and white pith. Over a small bowl, remove the segments from each lime by slicing between the membranes. Squeeze any remaining juice over the segments.
Cut each lime segment into three and add it and the juice to the quinoa salad. Add the remaining olive oil and taste, adjusting the seasoning as necessary and possibly adding a little more olive oil if it seems a bit dry.

(used edamame and adapted herbs)

Beetroot, avocado and edamame salad

Staying up all night to catch a flight.  Thought I may as well use the time to fill in some recipes I've cooked in the last little while and will definitely be doing again.

This one is basically from here.

Serves four to six.

4 medium raw beetroots (around 350g in total)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra to finish
½ tsp sugar (or sub sugar and chilli sauce for sweet chilli)
1-3 tsp savoury chilli sauce or paste (Tabasco type thing - or sub sugar and chilli sauce for sweet chilli)
1 tsp salt
black pepper
2 medium avocados, peeled and thinly sliced
10g coriander
10g mint
20g pea shoots (or lamb's lettuce)
150g broad beans, blanched, refreshed and skinned (or frozen edamame, quickly blanched and refreshed)

Peel the beetroots and slice them very thinly, around 2-3mm thick – if you have one, use a mandolin. (If your beets are large, halve them after peeling, then cut into slices.) Put the beetroot in a pot with plenty of boiling water and simmer for three to five minutes, until semi-cooked; it should still be crunchy. Drain and put in a large bowl.

Add the red onion, vinegar, oil, sugar, chilli sauce, salt and pepper to the beetroot bowl and toss everything together gently. Leave for 10-15 minutes, then taste and see if you want to add more sugar, salt or vinegar.

Finally, add the beans, pea shoots or leaves, herbs and avocado and serve/eat.


I have adapted and made various variations.  Usually use edamame beans, slice beetroot with a peeler (like the texture better thinner), substitute sweet chilli sauce for the sugar and chilli... Any kind of salad leaf for the pea shoots and any combination of mint/basil/coriander/parsley for the herbs.  Made quite a lot - half would be plenty but I guess more always gets eaten...