Walnut miso magic sauce

I stumbled across this recipe, which just seemed to tick a lot of boxes for me, including many things I love (miso, tahini, olives, lemon), and having a good lot of walnuts in it (we have endless quantities from our tree, it feels like sometimes)... So thought I'd better try it. Pretty tasty.

10 oil-cured black olives, pitted and chopped (we only had the dry salty kind so I rinsed them a bit before using)
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1 1/2 tsp miso
1 tbsp tahini
1/4 tsp oregano (used dried)
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Toast the walnuts, let cool, and then pound them gently in a pestle and mortar until they have a roughly-chopped consistency. Tip into a bowl, then use the pestle and mortar to smash the olives and garlic together.

Put the olive oil in a small saucepan, add the olive mixture, and stir over low heat, until the garlic is aromatic, a minute or so. Remove from heat, and then add the walnuts, miso, tahini, oregano, and lemon juice. Use immediately, or cover and store refrigerated for a few days.

Kohlrabi sesame slaw

Our friends are having a Thanksgiving potluck tomorrow. I wasn't sure what to make, but C suggested a salad, and also said whatever we had in the fridge was fine... We had a gigantic kohlrabi in the fridge. Most of it has now become this slaw. I think I'll also take a tinned-peach cake.

2 lb kohlrabi
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (recipe said 1 minced chilli)
1 small clove garlic, crushed and minced (recipe said 2 tbsp minced fresh garlic)
2 spring onions, finely chopped (recipe said 1/2 cup chopped spring onions)
handful chopped coriander (recipe said 1/4 cup chopped coriander)
toasted sesame seeds

Peel and shred the kohlrabi. Toss with the salt and set in a colander for 15 min. Rinse, drain and pat dry. Whisk together the tahini, oils, lime juice, chilli and garlic. Toss the dressing with the kohlrabi, spring onions and coriander. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over the top before eating.

Banana tahini chocolate cake

I got on a bit of a roll with tahini baking after making these - couldn't believe I hadn't done more of it before! This was the next thing I tried - was also delicious, although I wished I could taste the tahini...

2 large ripe or overripe bananas (approx 250 g weighed with skins on / ¾ cup mashed)
60 ml veg oil
50 g tahini
1 large egg (at room temp)
50 g caster sugar
35 g soft dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
60 g flour
25 g cocoa
¼ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100 g dark chocolate chips
1-2 tsp sesame seeds (to sprinkle on top)

Heat the oven to 170C / 150C Fan / 325F. Grease and line a 1 lb / 450 g loaf tin (approx 21 x 10 x 6 cm / 8.5 x 4 x 2.5 in). Peel and mash the bananas in a large bowl, then beat in the tahini, followed by the oil, then the egg, and finally the sugars and vanilla. Mix flour, cocoa, bicarb and salt together with a fork in a separate, medium bowl, and then slowly beat into the batter. Fold in the chocolate chips. Add the batter to the prepared tin, smoothing the top, and sprinkle over the sesame seeds.

Bake for 45-50 min until risen and firm to the touch, and a skewer comes out almost clean (bearing in mind chocolate). It will probably crack on top. Let cool completely in its tin on a wire rack. Once cold, remove from tin and wrap in parchment then foil and leave it for a day before slicing and eating.

Tahini chocolate cookies

I came across this recipe and it marries two of my favourite things (dark chocolate and tahini), and everything I’ve ever baked with tahini I have loved, but there hasn’t been nearly enough, and so clearly I had to make it. Then I looked at the cookbook it came from and realised it is some kind of cancer diet cookbook... I am not sure how I feel about diet advice for cancer, mostly I try and trust my body to tell me what it needs. But sometimes it is nice to think there is something within your control, like the food you eat every day, that can make a difference. Anyway, I haven’t done anything drastic with diet, although I have found it comforting to cook and to try and make appetising, varied food for my wee family, even when I didn’t feel much like eating. Weirdly, my appetite during chemo was often similar to when I was pregnant, so I had some practice already of figuring out what to eat when I don’t feel like eating. Also, I am a consummate snacker / grazer, which I think has helped stave off nausea in both situations.

Anyway, back to the topic: tahini! dark chocolate! As I made these I was reminded of happy gluten-free baking adventures in Boston, making gluten-free vegan treats for A, H and me. These cookies are fundamentally really similar to the sunflower butter gf cookies I used to make - I have no idea why I didn’t think of replacing the sunflower butter with tahini before, given how much I love tahini and how much easier it is to find...

1 large egg
½ cup tahini
½ cup almond flour (used normal almond meal)
½ cup coconut sugar (used normal sugar)
½ tsp baking powder
One 3½ oz / 100 g 70% (or higher) dark chocolate bar, coarsely chopped
pinch coarse sea salt

Heat the oven to 350F / 180C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. In a medium bowl, beat together the egg, tahini, almond flour, sugar, and baking powder to make a thick, sticky mixture. Fold in the chopped chocolate. Scoop about 1 tbsp of batter and place it on the baking sheet. Continue, spacing each cookie about 2½ in apart (they will spread a bit), until you have used all of the dough. Sprinkle cookies with the coarse salt. Bake 8-9 min, keeping an eye on them as they can burn easily - they should be just lightly browned on top (nb mine took longer: c 20 min). Let cool for 10 min on the baking sheet, then finish cooling on a rack.


These were simple and delicious! They seemed a bit greasy when shaping but baked up ok. There was maybe a bit much (!) chocolate, I used almond meal, which I suspect is a bit different from almond flour but was what I had, and they still came out looking like cookies and tasting good. Could be good with an oat-raisin-cinnamon situation instead of chocolate. Probably easily veganised with a flax egg, although I didn’t try it (just checked, and my favourite Lidl chocolate is vegan - hurrah). Also, might be interesting to try them with black tahini - I have some...

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.

Celery, apple and walnut salad with lemon-tahini dressing

Very simple celery salad, surprised I never wrote it up before. It is good. Tahini and lemon juice make a creamy dressing that coats everything and brings zing.

juice of 1/3 lemon
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tahini
salt+pepper
about 5 sticks of celery
1 apple
handful of crumbled walnuts
handful of raisins

Mix the lemon juice, olive oil, tahini and seasoning to make a creamy, thick but pourable dressing. Chop the celery and apple and put them in a serving bowl. Toss with the dressing, then add the walnuts and raisins and mix a bit more.

Roasted carrots, chickpeas and cauliflower with yoghurt-tahini sauce

More cauliflower. I fancied roasting some chickpeas, and roasting carrots with coriander and spices. They all got roasted together and it was very very good.

Roast:
5 large carrots, scrubbed and top-and-tailed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 tbsp paprika
1-2 tsp sumac
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne
1-2 tsp nigella seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
salt+pepper
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cauliflower, broken into florets
about 1 cup cooked chickpeas

Sauce:
4 tbsp yoghurt
1 tbsp tahini
1 tsp lemon juice

Heat the oven to 230C. Put the carrots in a large baking tin along with all of the spices and seeds, salt and pepper and the olive oil (be generous with these - remember the cauliflower and chickpeas will be added partway through and they want to be coated with goodness too). Mix well and put in the oven for 10-15 min. Take out and mix in the cauliflower and the chickpeas. Put back in the oven and roast for another 20-30 min, until everything is tender and starting to crisp. While it's roasting make the sauce just by mixing together the yoghurt, tahini and lemon. Serve together.


Both roast and sauce are definite make-agains. S particularly loved the roasted chickpeas.

Carrot and coriander soup

Since we got here we are eating a lot of simple, warming food: rye bread, butter, yoghurt, honey, tahini, muesli, sunflower seeds, carrots, chickpeas/lentils, celeriac (cheap and easy to find), parsley root sometimes; salad, curry, soup.

I made a chunky soup the other day. This time I wanted to make a blended soup. I'd just bought a big bag of carrots so that was part of the motivation. Aside from that, it's a chilly February day so what do you expect?

It's not quite a classic carrot and coriander. It has both fresh coriander leaves and toasty coriander seed. Ginger, garlic, and a little bit of celeriac add some more depth and warmth. A spot of honey magnifies the carrots' sweetness. And I experimented with using tahini to thicken the soup, and was pleased with the results - I just used a little, but it gives a smooth, subtle nuttiness that I like.

(makes approx 5 servings)

~1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 in piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp coriander seeds, ground
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
~6 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into chunks
~3 in piece of celeriac, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 stock cube made up with ~3 cups of water
1/2 tsp honey
lemon juice
salt+pepper
1 tbsp tahini
~2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Heat the oil in a large, lidded saucepan. Add the onion and cook for ~10 min, until softened and starting to brown. Add the garlic and ginger about halfway through that. Next add the ground spices and cook until fragrant (~1 min). Add the carrots and celeriac and saute for a few minutes before adding the stock, covering and simmering gently for ~15 min, until the carrots and celeriac are tender. Add honey (be restrained), lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Remove a few tbsp of the liquid into a bowl and mix in the tahini. Return this liquid to the pan along with the fresh coriander. Let cool for 10-20 min, then blend until smooth. Taste again to check acidity and seasoning. I've been eating it with a swirl of natural yoghurt on top and a grinding of salt and pepper.


This is so simple I almost wasn't going to bother writing it out. But it was good, and is improving every time I eat it (over a couple of days of keeping it in the fridge). So here we are.

Brown rice with sweet potato, spinach and miso-tahini sauce

This is yet another variation on something I make really often - some grain, some steamed veg (most often something green (e.g. broccoli, spinach, leeks, edamame) and something orange (e.g. carrots)), some tofu, some sauce, some herb and some seeds. It really hits the spot; I especially crave it after an aerial evening; it's quick, super simple, flexible and good.

Lindsey's photo

I have discovered ornamental sweet potatoes (thanks to M from LUrC). They were planted all around where I work and now the frost has killed the plants and they have been removed, but some tubers are still there (+some are crazy spiral shapes). I tried a few and they are tender and sweet. But I am not sure whether I should eat more - perhaps they use bad pesticides on them. Anyway, interesting - I'd never noticed them before but they are everywhere.

1 cup brown rice (used TJs brown rice, black barley and radish seed mix)
2 medium sweet potatoes, trimmed and chopped into chunks
1/8 of a large kabocha squash, chopped into chunks
generous handful of spinach, washed and torn into pieces if leaves are large
2 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp tahini
1/2 clove garlic, crushed to paste
2 in piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 tbsp mirin
1-2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1/3 block firm tofu, diced fairly small
fresh coriander, chopped
sesame seeds (black or white)

Put the rice on to cook with 2 cups of water - should take 20-30 min. Meanwhile, prep the sweet potatoes and squash and put on to steam - should take 10-15 min. When the squash is done take it out of the steamer and put the spinach in - will steam in 2-3 min - take out and refresh in cold water to stop cooking before squeezing all liquid out. While you're waiting for stuff to cook you can make the sauce: mix miso, tahini, garlic, ginger, mirin and vinegar in a small bowl, taste for balance. Also prep the tofu and coriander and toast the seeds (if you like). To eat, dump your chosen proportions of everything in a bowl, mix and enjoy.


Everything I love at the moment seems to involve some combination of miso, sesame and ginger. This is no exception.

Green leaves and beans, pomegranate molasses, sesame

half a bag of salad leaves (mostly baby kale and spinach)
~1 cup green beans, topped and tailed and chopped into pieces
1-2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tsp white miso
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp olive oil
water

Boil the green beans for ~4-6 min, until just tender. Refresh under cold water and then drain. Put leaves and beans in a salad bowl. Add the toasted sesame seeds. In a small bowl beat the tahini, pomegranate molasses, miso, mirin and olive oil together with a fork, then beat in water until it is thinned to a good dressing consistency. When ready to serve, pour the dressing over the greens and mix well together.

Purple noodles with purple carrots and chickpeas

1 pack of purple yam noodles (thickness of spaghetti)
1 bunch purple carrots, scrubbed, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 purple spring onions, cleaned, trimmed and chopped
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1-2 tbsp tahini
2 tsp honey
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp mirin
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
3/4 cup chickpeas, defrosted and mashed roughly with a fork
1/2 an avocado, peeled and roughly chopped 1-2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
1-2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Put the carrots on to steam until just done. Refresh in cold water immediately. Put the purple noodles in a pan of boiling, slightly salted water and cook until just tender, about 10-15 min. Run under cold tap to stop cooking. Put the spring onion, ginger, tahini, honey, soy, mirin, vinegar and sesame oil in a serving bowl and mix together to make the dressing. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Add the mashed chickpeas, steamed carrots, chopped avocado, coriander and toasted sesame seeds, toss, taste for seasoning and eat.


I like the coriander, avocado, sesame, carrots and chickpeas together, and the noodles, but the dressing is not quite right - it needs to be brighter and cleaner, and the tahini creaminess is wrong here. Still, all the purple stuff is awesome.

Warm lentil and onion salad

My stepmother S makes a simple lentil salad that I love. I think it is Indian-influenced (she is half Indian). It is Puy lentils, with crispy fried onions and dollops of thick yoghurt on top.

This recipe reminded me of S's lentil salad. I didn't feel like making exactly either of those, but something closely related, simple, but with enough complication to be exciting.

To cook the lentils:
1 cup green or brown lentils
1 large clove garlic, peeled and sliced into three
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
water

To toast in a dry pan:
2 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp cumin seed
2-3 tbsp sesame or sunflower seeds

For the onions:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 small onions, peeled and finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

For the dressing:
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp tahini
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp water
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1-2 tsp salt

Also:
zest of 1/2 a lemon
2-3 tbsp mint leaves, chopped
1 cup cooked, defrosted chickpeas
fresh tomatoes, chopped

First, put the lentils on: put lentils, garlic, bay leaves and olive oil in a small pan with enough water to cover the lentils by about 1cm. Cover the pan and simmer until lentils are done (20-30 min / will vary depending what kind of lentils).

As soon as the lentils are on start the other preparations. Dry fry the cumin and coriander until fragrant, then tip them out into a bowl and set aside. Do the same with the sesame/sunflower seeds, transferring them to a different bowl. Then heat the olive oil in the same frying pan, add the onions and garlic, cover and cook gently until the onions first soften then start to go sweet, brown and crispy/melty.

To make the dressing, grind the toasted coriander and cumin and tip it into a serving bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, salt, balsamic vinegar and water and mix to a good consistency. When the lentils and onions are done, add them to the serving bowl along with the chickpeas and lemon zest, and mix everything together thoroughly. Finally, add the mint and seeds, toss, and serve with fresh tomato and more balsamic to taste, on brown rice.


It is an ugly brown mess, but it is delicious. Good balance of fresh (lemon, mint) with deep and earthy (lentils, tahini), sweet (balsamic, onions), and toasty spices (coriander+cumin). Nice textures too - the crunch of seeds alongside the robust squish of cooked pulses. Best warm, fine cold the next day.

Little chocolate-tahini cakes

I got all into the idea of using tahini in baking after I made (and fell in love with) a hot cross marmalade tart a few weeks ago. I came across this other recipe with tahini in it. As well as the tahini, it featured a couple of other ingredients I really like and happened to have in the house: Kahlua and dark chocolate. Sounded like a delicious combination, so I made these as a pudding to follow the mushroom and walnut ravioli, as a nice dinner for S.

(I halved the original recipe to get the quantities below, and it made 9 little, dense cakes in my muffin tin)

3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup icing sugar, plus more for dusting
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/6 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder (use a bit more if you don't have D-p)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped (or use chips)
1/4 cup / 60 ml soy milk
1/3 cup / 80 ml Kahlua
1/4 cup / 60 ml tahini
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Heat the oven to 350F / 180C / gas 4. Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin tin (you will likely need only 9 cups). Mix the flour, icing sugar, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl with a fork. Put the chocolate in a separate bowl. Heat the soy milk over medium heat until it begins to steam and almost comes to a boil. Pour the soy milk over the chocolate, then add the Kahlua, tahini, and vanilla. Let stand for 1 minute, then stir until the mixture is smooth and the chocolate is melted. Add the chocolate mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Use a spoon to transfer the mixture to the prepared tin, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Bake for 15-20 min, until the tops are firm but the inside is still slightly soft (test by inserting a skewer). Transfer the tin to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes, then invert and let cool completely, about 15 minutes. Lift off the tin and the cakes should come out easily. Dust with icing sugar if you want to prettify them. Best eaten the day they're made. We ate them with a dollop of soy yoghurt.


Nice: rich, slightly squishy in the middle, chocolatey and slightly nutty. A little dry around the edges. Not amazing, although strangely compelling.

Broad bean 'hummus'

I had an exciting trip to Super 88 (Asian supermarket in Allston) last weekend, and scored all sorts of things: from umeboshi plums and shiso seasoning to green tea noodles, via perfect avocados and frozen broad beans. I'd bought frozen broad beans from there before and been disappointed - they were big and tough and ugly. These ones were in a transparent packet, so I could see before I even picked them up that they were none of those things - they were rather dinky, bright green, and had even had their little jackets removed. I stashed them in the freezer and remembered about them a week later, when I came in from aerials hungry and ready for something fresh and tasty. I decided to make the broad beans into a bright green, hummus-like paste.

1 cup frozen broad beans, defrosted by soaking in boiling water for about 5 min
1/2 a small clove garlic, peeled
2 tbsp tahini
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
salt+pepper

Put all the ingredients in a blender cup and blend until smooth.


I really, really liked this - fun colour, and the broad bean taste is so refreshing and full of summer promise (especially paired with the mint).

Really simple miso-tahini salad dressing

Vinaigrette only gets you so far. I always hated mayonnaise. But there is something to be said for a dressing that coats the salad leaves thickly. This fits the bill, and I think it tastes great: sweet, sour, umami, tangy, toasty, all the good things. All you need is this and some robust salad leaves and you have a great salad.

2 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp tahini
1-2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp honey (optional)
water

Mix miso, tahini, honey and vinegar in a bowl. Add water until it is a good consistency. Put a load of salad leaves (Romaine?) in a bowl, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and then toss with the dressing. Done.

Hot cross tart (little marmalade tart with tahini-almond crust)

Easter. This weekend feels strange. These last couple of days have really felt like Spring. But it is not a long weekend here - think those extra holiday days really make the end of Winter feel real.

I didn't feel like making hot cross buns this year, much though I love them. But, still racked by guilt at the vast quantity of marmalade I've made over the last couple of months and the slow rate at which we seem to be eating it, I'd got into the idea of baking with marmalade, and had noted this recipe as a potential way to do it.

I figured that since orange zest / candied peel is one important component of a hot cross bun, perhaps if I added all the hot cross bun spices (cloves, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg) and made the topping into a cross shape it would feel festive? My usual favourite (slightly weird) way to eat marmalade is layered with tahini, either on toast or just off a teaspoon. So couldn't resist putting tahini in the pastry.

Makes a little (6 inch diameter) tart.

50g ground almonds
65g plain flour
75g light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cloves, ground
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
pinch salt
25g tahini
25g mild-flavoured olive oil (plus 1 tbsp)
1 tsp almond milk
100g marmalade

Mix almonds, flour, sugar, ground spices and salt in a bowl with a fork. Add oil, tahini and milk (withholding the last tbsp oil to see if you need it), then mix up into a dough (it will be a little crumbly), adding that last tbsp of oil if the dough doesn't come together. Break off a 25g piece and wrap in cling film. Press the rest into a greased 6 inch cake tin with a removable base, making a firmly-pressed, even layer with a slight lip at the edge. Put the ball and the tin in the fridge for 30 min. In the meantime heat the oven to 340F.

When ready to bake, spread the marmalade out from the middle of the tart, leaving a gap of about half an inch at the edge. Use the remaining dough ball to make a cross on top. Bake for 30 min / until the edges and top are golden brown. Let sit on a wire rack for 5 min, then remove from the tin and let cool completely.


I really like this: like a cross between a jam tart and a biscuit; crunchy, crumbly and gooey in all the right places; sweet yet not too sweet yet also sharp; bold flavours that go well together. S says the marmalade is too bitter. I think it is good. A little divisive...

The more I eat of this, the more I love it: it is getting better as it sits in a box for a few days - the marmalade-y bits are deliciously gooey, while the outer pastry remains crunchy. Although I think this may be a child only I could ever love - the tahini-marmalade-spice combo is very much tailored to my own weird tastes.

Steamed asparagus, sesame, miso

Asparagus is wonderful stuff. I like it just as it is, lightly steamed or fried. But for maximum enjoyment I think it needs a little bit of a smooth, creamy sauce. Hollandaise is traditional, but I find it bland, slimy, overly rich and cloying. I tried a version with miso before and wasn't sure about it. This is an variation on that idea, and I really like it.

1 bunch of asparagus

2 tbsp white miso
2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp honey (or sugar)
1 tbsp mirin or white wine or vermouth
1/2 tsp sesame oil
juice of 1/2 a lime
water

2 tsp white sesame seeds
2 tsp black sesame seeds
1-2 tsp chopped fresh coriander

Wash the asparagus. Trim it: starting at the base keep bending the stem until you reach a point where it breaks, discard the base part and keep the tip. Put the tips in a steamer and steam for about 10 minutes, until tender but still bright green (check along the way to make sure it isn't overcooking). Put straight into cold water to stop cooking.

While the asparagus is cooking, make the sauce by mixing together the miso, tahini, lime juice, honey, wine and sesame oil. Add water until you get a thick, creamy, just-pourable consistency. Separately, mix the two different kinds of sesame seeds together.

Arrange the cooked asparagus on a plate and drizzle the sauce all over. Sprinkle the sesame seeds and chopped coriander over the top. Done!


This is delicious, and takes about 15 min from beginning to end so great for a weeknight supper. It's a bit early in the year for asparagus but I found some in the reduced section and figured it was only going to waste if I didn't eat it...

Amazing miso: chickpea-miso dip

I bought the most amazing miso yesterday. It is chickpea miso, from a company called South River Miso in Western Mass. It is intense, sweet, salty, umami, full of beautiful chunks of chickpea and rice, and one year old. Seriously: I liked miso before, but this stuff has blown my mind. I liked it so much I looked up their website. Now I am coveting their other kinds of miso - their dandelion and leek sounds incredible. I also found their wealth of recipe ideas, and tried a couple of simple / intriguing ones. This one is basically hummus, but with miso and without oil.

1 cup cooked chickpeas
4 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp chickpea miso
1 clove garlic
Juice of one lemon (used lime)

Drain chickpeas and reserve cooking liquid. Put all the ingredients in a blender cup and blend until smooth, adding cooking liquid as needed to reach desired consistency.


The miso taste really comes through, this stuff is smooth and creamy and delicious.

Hedgehog cake (orange, carrot and pistachio cake with mocha-sunflower icing)

This is S's birthday cake. He mentioned carrot cake at some point, also mentioned cake in the shape of a hedgehog at some point, he likes nuts and coffee, and I'm still trying to find the perfect carrot-coffee-nut combination after he requested it a few years ago.

Cake recipe adapted from this one (my quantities are weird because I scaled it down to make two layers instead of three).

For the cake:
50g tahini
83ml sunflower oil
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
zest of 2 oranges, and 67ml juice (juice of approx 1 orange)
150g soft light brown sugar
2 tbsp ground linseed mixed with 5 tbsp boiling water
133g carrot, grated finely
67g chopped pistachios
117g plain flour
1 2/3 tsp baking powder
1 1/3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/3 tsp grated nutmeg

For the icing:
(this made too much - half or two thirds this quantity would have been sufficient)
16 oz firm silken tofu, drained
1 tbsp veg oil
1 tbsp very strong coffee
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup smooth sunflower seed butter

To finish:
~1 cup slivered toasted almonds
3 raisins (1 big one for the nose and two smaller, equal-sized ones for the eyes)

Heat the oven to 360F / 180C. Grease two 8 inch round cake tins and line the bases. In a large bowl, whisk together tahini, pomegranate molasses, orange zest and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in linseed mixture, then stir in the grated carrot, pistachios and orange juice. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and spices with a fork. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and fold together until just combined. Divide the mixture between the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in tins.

While the cake is baking, make the icing. Crumble the drained tofu into a blender jug, add the oil and coffee and blend until smooth. Add the icing sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, salt and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add the sunflower seed butter and blend until consistent. Transfer the icing into a bowl, cover and refrigerate for an hour, until thickened.

When the cakes are cool and the icing chilled, you can assemble the cake. For a normal cake, just layer it up and stop here.

I wanted to make a curved, bilaterally symmetrical hedgehog shape. I made 4 layers (plus a little bit more on top, using almost all of the two circular cakes. I took one of the circular base papers (cleaned of cake bits) and cut out a template for the bottom layer (approx egg shaped; long side length equal to diameter of circle), then cut this shape out of one of the cakes with a sharp knife (save the offcuts for the upper layers), cutting at an angle of ~45 degrees. I then trimmed about 1 cm around all the edges of the template and cut this shape out of the other cake (working at the edge). Stack them so you can see how it is looking. Trim another centimetre off the template and cut the shape out of a combination of offcuts. Repeat. Use remaining offcuts to create a rounded top. Hopefully the stacked shape will look OK, if not you can do some rearrangement / trimming.

Next, put the bottom layer on a plate. Cover it with icing then add the next layer, Repeat until all the layers are done, also using the icing to stick the pieces together where the layers comprise more than one piece. Once the pieces are all layered up, cover the outside with icing. Make sure to fill in all the cracks and to go right down to the plate; you can use the icing to correct minor irregularities in shape. Smooth it out when done. Starting about 1/4 of the way back from the pointed end, stick slivered almonds into the icing to make spines. Cover the entire back part of the cake with these. On the part without almonds, make striations with a fork to look a bit like fur. Finally, choose your raisins, squish them into shape, and press into position on the cake.


This looks really fun - the almonds and raisins are quite effective, as good as I might have hoped. The cake is delicious - bit of a faff with all the chopping and grating and zesting and juicing and so forth, but tasty enough to warrant it on a special occasion. They didn't rise much but they did hold together very well as I cut and layered them. Carrot cake should be dense anyway, so I don't think the lack of eggs mattered much.

The icing is very soft but does stay in position. I wondered if the seed (or nut) butter was a necessary addition or if it would have been just as good without. Same with the cocoa - I added it mainly for colour but it might have been brown enough without. It definitely doesn't taste of tofu at all. Does taste of sunflower butter though, and with that plus the cocoa once again I have managed to drown out the coffee flavour. Tastes fine in combination with the cake though: the flavours work together well. (note: I may have been eating the leftover icing out of the tub with a spoon like pudding, this was kind of good - it's fairly light)

Baba ghanoush (smoky aubergine dip)

I love this stuff. And it is super easy to make. The tricky part is getting the right amount of smokiness in the taste, along with a perfectly smooth and silky texture. I tried out different methods for preparing the aubergine. Each has different pros and cons, but all will ultimately give you decent baba. See below.

2 aubergines
1 1/2 cloves garlic, peeled
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper*

First, char the aubergines:

Stovetop (Gas Burner) Method
Plonk the aubergine over the naked gas flame, turning all around until it is charred and softened.

Stovetop (Cast-Iron) Method
Put a cast-iron, ovenproof pan, lightly oiled and heated, on the stove, plonk the whole aubergines on top, turning them until they are charred on all sides and soft.

Oven Method
Heat oven to 400F. Cut aubergines in half and place cut side down on a lightly (olive) oiled baking tray. Bake for 30-40 min til charred and completely soft (poke to test softness).

Of the three methods, the oven method is easiest and gives a lovely, silky consistency, but not much smoky taste. The gas burner method is the best for smokiness, but it's hard to cook the aubergines right to the middle before the outside starts to collapse and make a mess (and less-cooked parts means less smooth final texture). The cast-iron pan method is perhaps a compromise in terms of texture and smokiness, but did tend to fill the kitchen with smoke...

My Final Method Solution
I have settled upon charring the aubergines on the gas burner fairly quickly, before cutting them in half and finishing them following the oven method. This gives some smoky flavour and a good, silky texture.

Allow charred aubergines to cool, then scrape soft parts into blender cup (removing most of the charred skin / leaving in a few bits for flavour). Add rest of ingredients and liquidise. Can be eaten straight away but improves after a day or so in the fridge.

*For a tasty variation, add 1-2 tsp white miso instead of the salt+pepper.