I dashed down to London on Friday with a suitcase of props, food and photographic equipment for my first Masterclass on food blogging and photography for the Guardian.
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A darker shade of rice
In February last year I walked into the Underground Gallery at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and saw 272 samples of rice meticulously lined up along the walls of the gallery. What surprised me was the variety. From the palest beige to the purest white each sample possessed a particular beauty.
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Beetroot and coffee - really?
I have been inspired by colour this morning. Returning from running on a steely cold Ilkley Moor I was hungry and thirsty. I needed a drink and sustenance. I rooted around the fridge and store cupboards and came up with this wild, vivid pink, naturally sweet, exotic slurpy and really want to share the idea.
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Potato spaghetti anyone?
We have bought a Spiralo and we love it. It is not an essential piece of kitchen equipment but it is fun to play with and we are enjoying the results.
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'Canned' red peppers
If you have two or three long red peppers languishing in your vegetable rack at the end of the week you might think of making these wonderful 'canned' peppers. Simple as you like and very tasty especially with the Gozleme (Turkish flat bread stuffed with spinach and feta) I posted last week.
The recipe for the canned peppers comes from the kitchen of Honey & Co the delightful, pixie like Middle Eastern restaurant a little way down on the left from Warren Street tube station in London. Honey & Co is the creation of Itamar Strulovich and his wife Sarit Packer and they make jolly nice mezze and cakes.
Itamar was a panelist on Jay Raynor's Kitchen Cabinet on Radio 4 last week. It was great to hear him speak (....I like to hear chefs speak rather than see them skulking with a fag outside the back door of a restaurant kitchen). He sounded intelligent, knowledgeable and thoughtful. I liked him.
So if you fancy cooking some great Middle Eastern dishes you could start with these peppers and a few pitta and then move on to some other recipes in their pretty book. What about madfunia and finish with the cherry, pistachio and coconut cake?
The ingredient lists are shorter than those devised by Yotam Ottolenghi, who I love, but despair of sometimes. He gets us in a bit of a whorl trying to find all the bits and bobs needed for his little salads. Nice as they are.
I haven't abandoned Yotam but it is nice to have other options in the Middle Eastern department. So the Honey & Co recipe book is open in our kitchen and when we are near Warren Street, that is where we head.
Canned red peppers
Ingredients
2 long peppers
3 sprigs of fresh thyme or oregano
2 cloves fresh garlic (do not use any that is sprouting)
sea salt
2 tbsp fruity olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar (I used sherry vinegar and it was perfect)
Method
Char the peppers over a gas flame or under a grill until black all over. Leave to cool and then peel the charred skin and remove the seeds. Do not wash the peppers. You need to preserve the smoky flavour of the charred skin. Cut the peppers into long strips and place in a bowl. Peel and slice the garlic and muddle up with the pepper strips. Add the olive oil, garlic and vinegar. Strip the thyme or oregano, chop up finely and scatter over the peppers.
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Canned peppers are simply delicious with the Turkish stuffed bread - gozleme