Easter 2022: Aubergine kuku

I have decided that Easter is my favourite holiday. We get three days off work, it is Spring and everything feels full of possibility, the days are fresh and sunny (if we are lucky), and the garden is full of the best flowers and not yet too out of control. Spring and its regenerative effect feels like something to celebrate: potent and powerful. 

Eggs are so symbolic of all this. I make an effort to cook something big and eggy, and ideally using beaten eggs, so the shells can be painted later.

This time, I remembered this recipe, which had caught my eye a while ago, partly because of the fun name. I bought a pile of barberries a while ago and have been trying them out in different things. So we had all the ingredients except the aubergines, which I picked up from my favourite wee shop (along with some mangoes - the yellow South American ones are here - summer is on its way!) on my way home today.

120 ml sunflower oil, plus extra (used less - about 50 ml)
4 small onions, peeled and sliced
3 small aubergines, peeled
5 eggs
2 tbsp plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
25 g chopped parsley, plus extra to garnish
1 tsp saffron strands, dissolved in 1 tbsp of hot water
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
½ tsp salt
Black pepper
20 g dried barberries, rinsed and dried

Heat the oven to 210C. Drizzle the oil in a big roasting tin, toss in the chopped onions, and put in the oven for about 7 min.

Meanwhile, cut the aubergines in two widthways, cut each half into 1 cm-thick slices, then cut each slice into 1cm-thick sticks. Add these to the onion tin, toss, and put back in the oven for 15-20 min, until the aubergines are completely soft (add a little more oil if needed, but not a lot). Set aside to cool down.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, flour, baking powder, parsley, the saffron and its water, garlic, salt and a good grind of pepper. Once smooth, fold in the barberries and the aubergine and onion mix.

Grease and line a 22cm spring-form cake tin. Pour the egg mix into the tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, until golden-brown and cooked through – insert a skewer in the middle to make sure the egg has set.

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature,with good bread. It will keep in the fridge for two days.

 

I made this with s, he liked the idea of a savoury cake. It is pretty quick and easy, especially if you do the aubergine-onion mix in advance. The recipe called for frying them, by the way - but generally I prefer to do them in the oven for these kinds of things.

Crunchy rice carpet with lentils, onions and pomegranate

I went to Cambridge to see Dad, S and B a couple weeks ago. I hadn't realised when I planned it, but it was so close to Christmas that it made a lovely Christmas warm-up. I got to have my first (probably only) mince pie of the year, and we ate well, played games and exchanged presents (still wrapped though!). I also got to buy a Saturday Guardian for the first time in years. This has been frustrating - it is available in Europe but they don't put the supplements in, so irritating. So anyway, I am still reading it on and off. And I came across a recipe for stuck-pot rice and thought why not just spend the afternoon making that because I can? I didn't really follow the recipe, but I liked my version.

rice:
180 g brown basmati rice, soaked for 1 hour
60 g butter
A few pinches saffron threads, soaked in 1 tbsp boiling water

lentils:
1 1/2 cups brown or green lentils
1 tsp allspice
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups water

onions:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
salt+pepper
1 tsp pomegranate molasses

to serve:
pomegranate seeds (optional but lovely)
yoghurt
chopped coriander (optional)

Bring a deep pan of salted water to a boil and cook the rice for about 15 min until al dente. Drain, then briefly rinse in water. Wipe out the pan, then melt the butter in it, and pour into a cup. Return the drained rice to the pan, stir in half the melted butter, then smooth the top of the rice. Pour over the remaining butter and saffron, cover with a clean tea towel, put on the lid and cook on the lowest heat for 30-40 min, until the rice is cooked, with a golden crust on the bottom.

While the rice is cooking, cook the lentils and onions. For the lentils, put them in a pan with allspice and bay, cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer low until water is gone and they are done. For the onions, heat oil in a large frying pan, then add onions and cook medium-low for about 30 min, until they are brown and soft/crispy in places. Add pomegranate molasses and seasoning to taste.

To serve, put crunchy rice in a bowl and add lentils, onions, pomegranate seeds, yoghurt and coriander. Yum.

Easter eggs: Shakshuka with fennel

Yesterday we made a trip to Brattleboro. It's a little town just over the border in Vermont, and we first went there on a rainy weekend during our first Spring here. That time we pretty much just picked our destination by closing our eyes and poking the map - it was in Vermont and we'd never been there, but was close enough for a day trip (two hours drive). We found a pretty little place next to the wide Connecticut River, with a smaller river running energetically over rocks right through town (reminds me of the Lynn in East Linton). It's nestled among the beginnings of the Green Mountains, and full of interesting secondhand clothes shops, outdoor gear purveyors, a striking Art Deco hotel (Latchis), a great coffee stop (Mocha Joe's - grinds just down the street), and hippies. We love it, and can happily potter around there for hours. But the dealbreaker that really blew our minds the first time, and keeps calling us back again and again, is the Brattleboro Co-op. It is hands-down the best supermarket I've ever been to, especially its gigantic dried stuff by weight section.

Since it was Easter weekend and we were out in farm country, in the best supermarket ever, it seemed very appropriate to buy a half dozen happy, local eggs. Since eggs are such a rare occurrence in my kitchen these days I was more excited about those eggs than about any chocolate ones - just right for Easter. I spent some time today doing justice to those beautiful eggs - first for lunch (brunch?), shakshuka (nb second, clafoutis).

I wanted to make something kind of special but very egg-centric (no pun intended...). Shakshuka had popped up a few times recently - on brunch menus, at dinner at N+G's the other night... Time to make one myself. I used Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe, with a few modifications (like fennel).

(makes enough for a meal for two fairly hungry people, with bread)

½ tsp cumin seeds
2-3 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1/2 a bulb of fennel, washed, trimmed and sliced to similar dimensions as the onion
3 1/2 tsp demerara sugar plus 1/2 tsp molasses
2 bay leaves
2-3 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
1 tin chopped tomatoes plus 1 tbsp tomato puree
½ tsp saffron strands
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
up to 250ml water
4 eggs

In a large, wide saucepan, dry fry the cumin on high heat for a minute, until fragrant. Add the oil and sauté the onion for two minutes. Add the fennel, sugar, molasses, bay, thyme, parsley and two tbsp chopped coriander, and cook on high heat for a few more minutes until light golden. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, saffron, cayenne, salt and pepper. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes, adding enough water to keep it the consistency of a pasta sauce. Season to taste. You can prepare this mix in advance. Turn the heat down to very low, then make four evenly-spaced hollows in the mixture in the pan*. Break the eggs one at a time into a small mug (try not to break the yolk), then pour each egg into one of the hollows in the mixture. Sprinkle with salt, cover and cook very gently until the egg just sets (this took at least half an hour although YO said it would be more like 10 min). To eat, sprinkle with coriander and have some bread on the side.

*The elegant way to do this would be to use one pan per person; I didn't feel like making that much washing up; perhaps the eggs would have cooked quicker in a smaller pan though?


This was really good - kind of a perfect combination: eggs, tomatoes, herbs, fennel, bread, plenty of salt and pepper. Great for any time of day. Other additions I was tempted to make include chives, olives, capers, fennel seed, sumac, chilli, oregano, peppers...

Buns for Orwell (and Amy)

Amy and I were discussing our mutual love of George Orwell the other day.  We'd independently both just been reading 'The Road To Wigan Pier'.  His writing is so vital, and still so relevant almost a century later.  Those images of coal miners and that discussion of class will stick with me.  I first fell for Orwell through 'Down and Out in Paris and London' - one of my favourites.  The friendly homeless man who used to sit on the footbridge in Norwich was reading it at some point.  That man was nice, I hope he's moved on to better things.  As well as Orwell's political writings, I've long loved his opinions on food, particularly British food.  The tidbit about Wetherspoons being designed to meet his guidelines for a good boozer; his stickling plan for a nice cup of tea (for the most part I accept his opinions, and revel in its glorious microcosm of Britishness, although I can't agree on the milk - good tea needs no milk).  I just recently (through this article) came across his 'defence of English cooking', which may well be a new favourite - it's making me homesick just skimming it.

In honour of all of these coincidences, and because I had some currants in the cupboard I'd bought ages ago thinking I would need them suddenly one day, here are some saffron buns (recipe from the Guardian article).

Saffron buns

Pinch saffron threads
1 tsp yeast
90g sugar
500g strong white bread flour
Pinch salt
½ tsp nutmeg
120g marg
100g currants
100g sultanas / raisins
1 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 3 tbsp hot water
100ml 'milk'

Place the saffron threads in a small bowl with 4 tablespoons of boiling water and leave to infuse for 10 minutes, before adding the yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar.  Mix together the flour, salt and nutmeg with a fork in a mixing bowl, then rub in the marg . Add the currants, sultanas / raisins and remaining sugar. Beat the milk and egg together, then add to the flour and fruit, together with the saffron mixture.

Knead the dough until good and springy (on and off for 10-15min), adding a little more flour or milk to get a good consistency.  Divide into 12 and shape into buns.  Place the buns on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, cover with lightly oiled clingfilm and leave to rise until doubled in size (about an hour in a warm place).  Bake at 220C / 425F for 15 minutes, until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.


I'd not made saffron buns before.  They're somewhere in between a scone and a hot cross bun (more like the latter, and much better than my attempts at scones).  The spicing was subtle but they are lovely - slightly sweet, with sticky dried fruit bursting out and a pretty yellowish colour.  S liked them lots.  Good with some carrot jam - another (literary) coincidence.

Chickpea lentil couscous salad and sauteed spinach

A worknight when both of us got home around 7.30, early and lucky.

Sauteed Spinach

Seb wanted to saute spinach 'like you did it, because it was better' - what I did was really simple but I told him anyway and he did it.  We had a huge bag of baby spinach from the Haymarket which was actually in great nick, but spinach doesn't last forever (unless it is in those weird alien bags).

large bag of baby spinach, washed
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
~2 tbsp olive oil
salt+pepper
nutmeg

Heat the oil in a large frying pan.  Add garlic and fry gently until softened and just starting to colour.  Add the (washed) spinach.  Move around gently until it is almost done (cover if you like), then add salt, pepper and some grated nutmeg to taste.  Cook until the spinach is completely wilted.


Chickpea, lentil and saffron couscous salad

Fancied some fibrous pulses.

From this recipe.

225g couscous / 112g wholewheat couscous
½ tsp saffron strands / 1/4 tsp saffron
Salt and black pepper
260ml boiling water / 130ml boiling water (+maybe 20ml more as it looked like v little)
150g cooked chickpeas (tinned are OK) / ~75g but really just a bag of frozen cooked ones defrosted
150g cooked Puy lentils / ~75g
80g dried cranberries / handful - end of a packet
1 red endive, cut into 1cm-thick slices / none- didn't have any
2 spring onions, thinly sliced / 1 spring onion
4 tbsp chopped mint  / 2 tbsp mint
3 tbsp chopped coriander / 1.5 tbsp
3 tbsp chopped parsley / 1.5 tbsp
Grated zest of 2 lemons / zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed / 1/2 garlic clove
1 tsp nigella seeds
4 tbsp olive oil / 2 tbsp
Put the lentils on to cook (should take ~20-30min).  Put the couscous in a shallow bowl. Add the saffron and a pinch of salt to the boiling water, and pour this over the couscous to cover. Wrap the bowl in clingfilm and set aside for 15 minutes, so the couscous soaks up the liquid. Remove the clingfilm, fluff up the couscous with a fork, then set aside to cool down.  When ready, drain cooked lentils.
Transfer the cold couscous to a mixing bowl, add the chickpeas, lentils and cranberries, and toss. Add the (endive), spring onion, herbs, lemon zest, garlic and nigella seeds, stir gently to combine, then stir in olive oil and season to taste.
Serve this salad straight away, or chill it for up to 24 hours; the flavours actually improve over time. Before serving, bring back to room temperature and add more olive oil or seasoning as necessary.


Both were pretty simple and tasty.  The salad was good - perhaps a little dry?  Might add some lemon juice another time.   Am enjoying using a lot of fresh herbs - at the moment we have mint, basil, parsley, dill and coriander in the fridge, and I am getting better at adding them to a variety of things.