leftovers

Butternut squash soup and saffron knots

| adamcockle

buttsoupblog

Being a lazy shopper (and just generally lazy) I like to keep my visits to the supermarket to a minimum.  As such its always a good idea to buy versatile ingredients that can be used in different ways to create unique dishes.  This recipe has a lot of the components from my Squash and chickpea curry but presented in a delicious and different way.

Ingredients:

For the soup:

  • 1 butternut squash
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 cloves garlic (peeled and squished flat with the side of a knife)
  • 1tsp (heaped) curry powder (blend of your choice)
  • 1/2 can coconut milk
  • 2tbsp fish sauce
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the coriander oil:

  • Handful of fresh coriander (leaves, stalks and all)
  • Olive oil
  • Pinch of salt

For the saffron knots (makes about 6 rolls):

  •  Pinch of saffron
  • 7g fast action yeast
  • 225mls hot water
  • 100g semolina flour
  • 275g bread flour
  • 1tbsp olive oil
  • 1tsp salt
  • 1 egg yolk

Method:

For the saffron knots;

Place the saffron in the hot water and put aside to steep until the water has come down to room temperature (or luke warm) and has become golden yellow. Strain through a sieve and discard the saffron strands. Add the remaining ingredients (apart from the egg yolk) and mix together in a large bowl until it all comes together in a sticky mass.

Tip your dough onto a clean floured surface (or into an electric mixer) and kneed until smooth and elastic (about 8  – 10 minutes).  Transfer the dough to an oiled, covered container and leave until risen to twice its original volume.

Once the dough has risen ‘knock it back’ by flattening it down with your hands or by folding it in on itself.  Divide your dough into roughly 100g portions and roll each piece into a thin sausage shape (about 8′ long) and simply tie into a knot shape.  Place your knots onto a floured baking tray.  Cover with clingfilm and leave aside for 30mins to plump up and meanwhile set your oven to preheat on full.

After 30mins brush your knots with a little egg yolk (lightly beaten with a splash of water) and pop in the oven.  After 5 mins reduce the oven temp to 180C and cook for a further 10mins.  Remove the knots from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the coriander oil:

Place the coriander and salt in a blender and blend at high speed while drizzling in the olive oil.  Keep adding the oil until you have a smooth, pour-able consistency.

For the soup:

Preheat your oven to 180C

Peel and chop the butternut squash into small cubes and dice the onion into large chunks.  Place together on a large baking tray along the the garlic.  Drizzle with oil, season generously with salt and pepper and sprinkle over the curry powder.  Mix everything together so that all the ingredients are coated in the spices.

Pop in the oven for about 20mins (removing from the oven occasionally to stir everything around) until the squash has softened and started to catch on the edges.  The onion will have become quite dark and crisped at the ends by this point, but do not worry, this adds to the flavor.

Transfer your cooked squash, onion and garlic to the blender (ideally the same one you made the coriander oil in and left unwashed) and blitz on high along with the coconut milk and fish sauce.  Blitz until smooth and add in water a little at a time until you achieve your preferred consistency (some people like a very thick soup, others a bit more runny) and season to taste.

Portion up into clean white bowls and drizzle with a little coriander oil.  Serve piping hot with a couple of warm saffron knots on the side for dipping.

knotblog

Crumble pancakes

| adamcockle

pancakeblog2

Ingredients:

For the pancakes:

  • 3 eggs
  • approx. 180g self-raising flour (see below)
  • 3tbsp caster sugar
  • 1/2tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1tbsp melted butter or oil
  • 3 – 4tbsp milk
  • 25g crumble mix (see recipe)
  • Butter for frying

Method:

Start by weighing your eggs (in their shells) and measure out the same weight of self-raising flour.  Break the eggs into a large jug and then add the flour , sugar, salt, baking powder and melted butter.  Add the milk a splash at a time and stir the mixture together until you have a thick but pourable consistency.

Melt a knob of butter in a large frying pan and, once it starts to froth up, pour or spoon in your pancake mix (as much as you like, depending on what size you like your pancakes – I made about 10 small ones with these quantities).  Immediately sprinkle some of your crumble mix on top of each pancake and tap down gently with a spatula.  Once bubbles start to form on the surface of the pancake, flip over and cook until golden on the other side.  Transfer your pancakes to a plate in a low oven until the rest are ready.

Serve with a knob of salted butter and an indulgent drizzle of maple syrup.

pancakeblog3

Chicken salad with tahini dressing

| adamcockle

ChickensaladblogI

Ingredients:

For the salad:

  • 2 chicken breasts
  • 250g new potatoes
  • Bag of mixed leaves
  • 1/2 red onion (finely sliced)
  • 1 red pepper (finely sliced)
  • 100g green beans
  • 2tsp black sesame seeds

For the dressing:

  • 4tbsp olive oil
  • 2tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 2tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
  • 1tbsp honey (or maple syrup)
  • Pinch of salt and pepper (to taste)

Method:

For the salad:

Preheat your oven to 180c

Season the chicken breasts generously with salt and pepper.  Heat a small amount of oil (I like to use olive oil) in a frying pan and brown the breasts on both sides before transferring to the oven for about 15 – 20 mins until cooked through.  Leave the chicken aside to rest and cool.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil.  Add the potatoes to the pan and bring back to the boil for about 10 mins before adding the green beans and cooking for a further 5 mins until the potatoes are tender.  Drain the potatoes and beans and leave to cool (you can speed this process along by running under cold water).

For the dressing:

I like to make my dressings in a small jar.  Add all of the ingredients to the jar, pop on the lid and give it a vigorous shake so that all the ingredients combine.  Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.  I find that any salad which includes potatoes benefits from a generous amount of salt in the dressing.  If you don’t have a jar you can simply whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl.

To finish:

Cut the chicken breast into thin slices and mix together with all of the other salad ingredients and the dressing (all the ingredients come together particularly well if the potatoes are still a bit warm).  Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and serve with some crusty bread.

ChickensaladblogII