I do not understand why some people think  that they do not like tofu.  It is so versatile and takes on the flavour of whatever it is cooked with there realy is nothing to dislike, although I do agree that watery slimey tofu is a very sad experience indeed.   I first made this at the start of June and unbelievably I have lasted over a month before making it again.    As before I made my own tofu in my soyquick machine but this time I had the idea of making black pepper tofu  so added some Steenburgs Spanish Black Pepper (available here) to my coagualted soymilk.    If you have never had ultra fresh tofu it is worth making from scratch once, but it is a bit of a faff and does lead to a huge number of dirty pans.

This time I adapted the recipe using a red onion in place of the shallots, adding half a green pepper and a heap more spring onions.   I also fried the vegetables in oil rather then butter.   It was every bit as good as I remembered.  I particularly liked using a red onion as it gave an even more intense colour to the dish.  Maybe I should rename this double black pepper tofu?

Make this  – if you are a die hard tofu phobe give it a go, afterall there is so much pepper you are not going to be able taste the tofu.

The hamper will be similar to the one below and will contain everything you need apart from the vegetables to make fresh authentic sushi.

To win this amazing prize from Clearspring simply make an Asian themed breakfast, blog about it and send us the entry!  Full details are here and here.   There are still 13 days to enter which includes 2 weekends for breakfast experimentations!   We look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Sometimes the most simple dishes can be the most delicious.   This simple pasta contains only 4 ingredients which come together to make a delicious whole.    It is also fantastic cold, but I think that I would use broccoli in place of the pak choy. ( Whilst writing this up I discovered that pak choy and bok choi are different names for the same thing it is also know as Peking cabbage).

I have been putting soy sauce with my pasta for years; as a child I remember that my mother would make risotto with long grain rice*, which she would serve with  grated cheddar cheese and soy sauce.      Even now if I make an underwhelming risotto my first instinct is to reach for the soy sauce or tamari.

The spelt pasta, soy sauce and olive oil used were all review samples from Clearsping  given to me at the Allergy and Gluten Free show.    I love the semi whole spelt pasta, it has a subtle nutty flavour and because it is made using traditional bronze moulds has a rough texture that the sauce clings to.  I tried some cold at the show and it would be great in salads and for packed lunches.   The tamari is wheat free and double strength and intensely delicious.     The extra virgin olive oil was also delicious, fruity and peppery without being too strong.   All Clearspring  products are vegan and  GMO free and the majority are fully organic.   The company has a commitment to ethical trade and supports sustainable farming practices that help local communities.

I am sending this to  for this Friday’s Presto Pasta Night hosted by The Sweet Kitchen unbelievably this week it is PPN number 168!

* Risotto rice was not to be found easily or cheaply in the UK in the 1970s.  I also remember that one of my Uncles and Aunts used to go to Paxos every year bringing back cans of olive oil which were given as Christmas presents, the contents of which we carefully rationed to last the entire year.   I can still picture the golden can printed in green, black and white with its precious contents within.   Similarly to the risotto rice, olive oil was not readily available and most likely to be found in a pharmacy.

Asian Pasta with Pak Choy (serves 2)

Pasta for 2 – I use about 3oz / 75 g each
Good glug olive oil
Good glug soy sauce or tamari
1 head pak choy

Start cooking the pasta.   Whilst it is boiling roughly chop the pak choy and place in a sieve.    Pour a kettle of boiling water over it to wilt it.    When pasta is done, drain and return to the pan with the pak choy and olive oil.   Add the soy sauce / tamari to taste.   I sprinkled some chilli flake on mine.

I have finally got round to making the black pepper tofu, and can confirm it is as every bit as good as everyone has been saying and really does taste as if it has come out of the kitchen of a really good Chinese restaurant.

As it has been absurdly hot today I did tone down the chilli and pepper several fold and even so 15 minutes later my mouth is still burning.    I made it with homemade tofu which was so fresh it was still warm.    I used my jar of Steenbergs* Spanish Black Pepper, to save me having to crush some peppercorns.     I realised afterwards that the pepper is a blend, also containing orange, lemon, thyme, onion and coriander.  I am sure that these extra flavours only enhanced the tofu.

Like everyone else who has made and blogged about this dish I urge you to make it as soon as possible.

* Ottolenghi The Cookbook recommends both Steenbergs sumac and za’atar.

Caponata!  As well as its deliciousness I also love the rhythm to the word Cap-on-ah-ta!  I also wonder if this Italian aubergine based stew could also be the name of an Italian dance like the Tarantella – or maybe the dancers just eat a large plate of caponata after dancing?  Or maybe I have an overactive imagination – but do listen to some Tarantella music to get you in the mood for cooking and eating caponata!

I think the secret to aubergines is that they need cooking for far longer than you think.    They need time to reduce and gain their lovely smokey full flavour, I cooked them for at least 20 minutes, until they had reduced by about 2 thirds and were charred and soft (and my smoke alarm had gone off twice).  Aubergines soak up oil like a sponge seemingly regardless of how hot the pan is, I just used a tiny amount of oil and kept them moving whilst frying them.   I do salt my aubergines and leave for 20 minutes  before cooking them but many people do not think that it is necessary as most of the bitterness has been breed out of modern varieties.  Once the aubergines are ready then the rest of the caponata is easy and quick to put together, use whatever colour of peppers you have and add capers, pine nuts and olives to taste.    I completely forgot the olives and put an extra amount of capers in.

Caponata (Serves 4 as a side dish)

2 medium aubergines – diced and salted for 20 minutes – then rinsed well
1 medium onion – medium chopped
3 gloves garlic – roughly chopped
1 red pepper – sliced
1 orange pepper – sliced
1 tin tomatos
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs capers
1 tbs toasted pinenuts
glug olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Fry the aubergine until it has reduced by about 2/3rds.   This will take about 20 minutes, as aubergine soaks up oil like a sponge use a good non stick pan and keep it moving, when ready it should look like the photo.

Meanwhile fry the onion and garlic until soft, add the pepper and cook for a few more minutes, add the tomatos, charred aubergine, white wine vinegar, sugar and capers.    Cook for about 5 minutes.    Stir through the toasted pinenuts just before serving.

Serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices.    This also tastes far better reheated the next day.

It is Daring Cook challenge time again!   It only seems like a few days ago that I was making tofu ricotta gnocchi (I made them ages ago, but posted late).  I am also writing this on the 5th June and setting an autopost so it appears along with all the others on the right day when I shall be on holiday.

Our host for June was Jen from Use Real Butter who chose Chinese  dumplings / potstickers or gyoza for the challenge, saying that they were  ”something that looks daunting, but is actually pretty straightforward. It’s the first recipe I cut my culinary teeth on when I left home for college and the flexibility makes it a good candidate for the Daring Cooks “.  We love gyoza and it is a regular in the Fuss Free Kitchen (my last ones were sweet and fruit filled), I usually buy packets of dumpling wrappers from the Chinese supermarket and I also have the cutest gyoza press from the Japan Centre in London, which together makes making goyza a fuss free breeze! 

Not this time however!  Jen’s instructions were clear that we would be making our gyoza wrappers from scratch and assembling them by hand!  Not to be deterred I rolled up my sleeves, donned an apron and got stuck in.  I used Jen’s basic wrapper recipe below and filled my gyoza with a mix of prawns, chives, sweetcorn and a few capers.   The dipping sauce was equal quantites of sweet chilli and soy sauce with a teaspoon of  sesame seeds thrown in.

Gyoza Dough*

2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (113g) warm water
flour for worksurface

*I halved this and made 16 gyoza wyhich was perfect for 2.

Make the dough: In a large bowl mix flour with 1/4 cup of water and stir until water is absorbed. Continue adding water one teaspoon at a time and mixing thoroughly until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. We want a firm dough that is barely sticky to the touch.

Shape the gyoza wrappers: Knead the dough about twenty strokes then cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Shape the strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 3/4 inch pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle (you can shape the corners in with your fingers). With a rolling pin, roll out a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking – about 1/16th inch. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapper and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side. Keep all unused dough under damp cloth.

I fried and then steamed my dumplings and served with the dipping sauce.   Delicious.

Notes:

 I really enjoyed making these, I did roll out the wrappers slightly too thin and too large and some of the filling leaked in the cooking, the assembled pot stickers also stuck to the plate I had lined them up on before cooking.  We will be having these again, but I think that I may stick to bought wrappers in future – and certainly use my gyoza press!

I love gyoza and whenever I go to Chinatown I buy a few packets of wrappers to keep in the freezer until I next have a gyoza craving, I could make my own wrappers, but frankly life is far too short and the ready made ones are delicious, cheap and fuss free. Gyozas (or potstickers) are little pastry wrapped parcels that are fried and then steamed and eaten with a dipping sauce.

Gyozas are usually savoury, but recently I saw sweet gyozas on the menu at Root-Master and thought that it was a brilliant idea and set about recreating it at home. I filled them with stewed apple and blueberry and served them with a warm peanut butter sauce.

Apple and Blueberry Gyoza (makes about 20)

1 packet Gyoza wrappers

2 apples

1 tbs sugar

Handful blueberries (2 or 3 for each gyoza)

Stew the apples by peeling, coring and chopping and cook with the sugar and a dribble of water until they are soft and mushy I usually do this in the microwave. Allow to cool.

Stuff each wrapper with a teaspoon of apple and a couple of blueberries, wet the edge of the pastry and fold over and crimp and pleat to close (video here). I have a gyoza press (photos wtih a different filling) that I bought very very cheaply at the Japan Centre. Put the stuffed gyoza on a board, pressing down lightly to give it a base so it sits upright.

To cook the gyoza fry them in oil (light olive or sunflower) until they are browned on the base and both sides (I find it easier to work with 2 smaller frying pans), stand them up in the frying pan turn the heat right up and carefully pour about 1/3 mug of water over them. The water will furiously bubble and turn to steam, when the water has all evaporated the wrappers will start to look translucent. Take off the heat and serve immediately.

Hot Peanut Butter Sauce

Equal quantities of: (I used one heaped dessert spoon of each)

Peanut butter (smooth of crunchy)
Sugar (I used soft brown)
Marge or butter (I used Pure Soy)

Gently heat stirring all the time until the marge/butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Serve warm.

Spare uncooked gyoza can be frozen.

“Authentic” preserved lemons are preserved whole. The end is cut off and they are cut into quarters (to an inch of the bottom of the lemon) stuffed with salt and packed into jars, sprinkled with more salt and covered with lemon juice, that all sounds fairly straightforward.

I tried this, none of my stash of jars had a wide enough mouth to get a lemon in.

I took the top and tail off the lemon cut into quarters and tried to pack into jars, fairly unsuccessfully as the pieces were too big to really pack in and there were too many air spaces that would need to be filled with lemon juice.

So having soaked and washed the lemons, I topped and tailed them and cut into quarters, threw them into my slow cooker dish and put a good amount of salt on them, and left for a few hours before giving them a good shake and adding more salt. The salt draws the juice out and make the lemon quarter easier to squeeze into the jar.

I pressed each quarter onto the side of the dish and then stacked them up in my empty jars, really packing them in, adding a few teaspoons of salt to each layer, I poked a half cinnamon stick into each jar and sprinkled some pepper corns and coriander seeds in. I finished off with more salt and topped up the jars with the salt and juice left in the dish. All the lemons should be covered and you may need to add more lemon juice*, or wedge a lemon across the neck of the bottle to push the entire contents down as they try and float. Each of the jars has got around 12 lemon quarters in.

Gently shake the jars every day for 4 weeks and at the end the skins will be preserved turning translucent and be wonderfully soft and supple.

The first time I made them I was slightly perturbed to find the lemons fizzing as they fermented, having had another Internet trawl I found a few recipes that warned me this would happen, you do need to open the jars ever few days so pressure does not build up – I am not sure if there would be enough to explode the lid off, but I have no desire to clean my kitchen ceiling if it did so will not take chances.

When your lemons are ready – in 4 weeks – although on my first batch I cheated and sampled after 2, simply take a piece out, scrape the flesh off and discard and wash well. Finely chop the peel and use. So far they have gone in the lamb with lemons and dates, a few different pasta dishes and they will go in the lemon chick peas very well.

*If you need to add more juice to the jars, remove the zest first with a vegetable peeler and put in a jar with vodka and sugar to make Limoncello. No need to waste any of that lovely lemony lemoness! ]]> http://fussfreeflavours.com/2007/03/preserved-lemons/feed/ 3 http://fussfreeflavours.com/2007/03/shoulder-of-lamb-with-preserved-lemons-and-dates/ http://fussfreeflavours.com/2007/03/shoulder-of-lamb-with-preserved-lemons-and-dates/#comments Tue, 13 Mar 2007 11:58:00 +0000 Helen http://fussfreeflavours.com/?p=57 I was inspired to make preserved lemons when I found this Moroccan type recipe in a magazine. 4 weeks later the lemons were ready so I had some friends round for Sunday supper.

Serves 4 to 6

1 Lamb shoulder – about 2kg
2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 medium onions diced
3 garlic gloves – finely dices
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp saffron threads
1 cinnamon stick
4 tbsp chopped parsley
4 tbsp chopped mint
1 preserved lemon
12 dates – halved, destoned
75g whole blanched almonds, lightly toasted
125ml lemon juice

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Preheat oven to 150C/GM2.

Season lamb with S&P; and brown in the olive oil on both sides in a heavy frying pan, then remove.

Cook onions and garlic for 2 mins.

Mix paprika, ginger and saffron with 475ml water. Add to pan and deglaze.

Transfer all to a deep roasting dish placing lamb on top, fat side down.

Add half the herbs and the cinnamon stick.

Cover lamb with damp piece of greaseproof paper, and cover entire roasting tin with foil.

Cook for 2 1/2 hours, turning half way.

Remove foil and paper and add finely sliced preserved lemon (discard flesh and wash well to get rid of salt), dates, almonds and lemon juice.

Stir and cover again (I didn’t) and return to oven for another 30 to 45 mins.

Transfer lamb to carving platter, if need be boil sauce to thicken it.

Sprinkle the rest of the herbs on it.

Carve (well gently nudge from the bone) and scoff…..

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Notes:

The sauce is very very fatty I transfered it to a bowl and skimmed off about a pint of fat. Next time I want to make more sauce as there was enough for 4 but not for 6.

I had no mint so used coriander. I think that dried apricots or pine nuts would work and I fried some celery in with the onions. It would slow ccok well with lamb shanks, and I think it would be lovely with chickpeas too, with or without the lamb.