Cookalong: Lamb Patties with Hummus and Pitta

It's impossible to blog about everything you cook, after all, I don't want to bore you all with some of the stuff I throw together! Mostly, I just make regular meals and these are hardly newsworthy as they are made during the week from whatever is lurking in the fridge or from store cupboard ingredients. It's nice to venture out of the comfort zone though and follow something that has been suggested by someone else. As a regular follower of the nigella.com forums, I have joined in the last few Cookalong recipes, and this one for October is a real winner.

The recipe can be found using the link below, or in Nigella's Forever Summer book.

http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=307

The addition of soaked bulgar wheat into the patties adds a lovely wholesome texture, and the dried mint and lemon zest really come through once the're cooked. I made a couple of slight variations at the end, using rocket leaves rather than little gem, I skipped the onion and instead of spritzing over the lemon juice, I added it to the hummus/yoghurt mixture. Falafels instead of the lamb patties would make a lovely vegetarian alternative.

What to do with lots of apples...

I'm not really one to think about Christmas until at least 1st December, but every year I have a burning desire to make presents for friends and family, and preferably edible ones. The problem with this is lack of time, and the fact that I think I can make lots of goodies on Christmas Eve, whilst writing cards and wrapping proper presents. Anyone who is a little more organised than me, would tell me that any edible gifts of the chutney variety, should be made at least two months before Christmas... so that would be now then.

So having recently treated myself to Nigella Christmas, and being given a couple of kilos of apples from a friend's garden, it was time to chop fruit, sterilise jars and set about making some cranberry and apple chutney. I started prepping at about 8:30pm after making a big batch of leek and potato soup for my supper, and it was all done before 10pm. How easy is that? I should point out that this is the first time I have ever attempted making a chutney.

The results, even without two months maturing time, are pretty tasty. I'm looking forward to trying it with cold ham and turkey, and I think it will be lovely with a good strong cheddar. My batch made one largish jar (0.5 litres) and two smaller jars, so at least I can test one before deciding whether to give them as presents!

Nigella recommends that this chutney is made up to 2 months before using or giving (the longer it has the mature, the better) and then stored in a dark, cool place for up to 1 year. Once opened, it should be placed in the fridge and used within 1 month.

Roll on Christmas!

Dehesa

I've just had a lovely evening in London with my gorgeous friend Fi. We studied Spanish together so more often than not, we spend our evenings together over tapas and a decent bottle of red wine. Tonight was no exception, and it was a good excuse to try one of the many fantastic places recommended by Bellaphon, one of my favourite food blogs. It was a tough choice between Iberica and Dehesa, but as we found ourselves close to Oxford Circus, the latter won and we were not disappointed. For more detailed reviews and some delicious looking photos please read here and here (another favourite blog and I share Ms Marmite Lover's love of Spanish sherry).

We enjoyed pimientos de padron (Fi got all the hot ones), hand carved Teruel ham, the trio of manchego with membrillo, croquetas de jamon and boquerones. All these were washed down with the house red which at 15 quid a bottle, was remarkable value. For dessert, we shared the most delicious rice pudding made using calasparra rice, with submerged roast figs, topped with vanilla ice cream (and a cheeky glass of moscatel each). We had to move tables after eating as our table had a reservation but the staff were so lovely about it, this wasn't a problem. Thinking they would have to move us again, they gave us a glass of wine on the house, only to then not move us!

I have been really looking forward to coming here and can't wait to visit again. Thank you Bellaphon, you give good restaurant review.

p.s. photos are taken from Dehesa's website, I'm not brave enough to take my camera to restaurants yet!

Feeling fig

The title of this post should be "feeling fit" as I was due to run in the Royal Parks Half Marathon tomorrow... but, I've had cold and been feeling very sorry for myself for the last couple of days. I slept for 11 hours last night to try and get over it and it has almost done the trick but I know I am not fully fit. But in case I make a miraculous recovery, I've taken it very easy today, been drinking lots of water, and made myself a lovely pasta dinner to give me my energy boost for tomorrow.

I have a passion for figs, usually served with prosciutto or serrano ham and shavings of parmesan then drizzled with a lovely balsamic dressing in a salad, yum. I had never thought of putting them with pasta until I discovered this dish in the River Cafe Pasta & Ravioli pocket book. The combination of lemony cream, caramelised fig and slight hint of chilli is quite delicious.

Tagliatelle with fresh figs and chilli - serves 4

350g dried egg tagliatelle

8 black figs, stalks removed, cut into quarters

2 dried red chillies, crumbled

zest of 2 lemons

juice of 1 lemon

100ml double cream

50g freshly grated parmesan

extra virgin olive oil

Here's how:

Mix the lemon zest and juice into the cream and season. Cook the tagliatelle in boiling salted water until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a frying pan large enough to hold the figs in one layer. Add 2 tbsps of olive oil and when smoking, place the figs in the pan, turning them immediately to caramelise on each side. Remove from the heat, sprinkle with the chillies ans season.

Drain the pasta, return to the pan, then stir in the cream mixture and toss together. Add the figs and serve with the parmesan sprinkled over.

Welcome...

to Lili in the Kitchen! Please bear with me while I make a few changes, more posts to follow soon!

La Belle France

So, before i get back to talking about food, here are some shots of my other holiday (which is now also a distant but wonderful memory..).

I spent a week with my wonderful parents, lovely sister (Claire) and gorgeous 7 month old nephew (Ben), in a beautiful house in south west France. It was a very chilled out holiday, although Claire and i managed to fit in some running, lots of swimming (very cold pool) and a little bit of yoga to start the day. We visited food markets, Bergerac, St Emilion (where we had a lovely lunch here and enjoyed some wine tasting) but mainly hung out at the house, being entertained by Ben, preparing nice food and drinking good wine.

The Dordogne

Lovely food market

Stopping for refreshments

The house had a few cookery books which we flicked through for inspiration, this being my favourite and I might have to get my own battered copy now...

Home made tortilla

Tarte Noir from the Patisserie

Monsieur Cyrano

It was so lovely spending quality time with my family and a week wasn't really long enough. But there's always next year...

Granada 2

I'm still here and following lots of your lovely blogs... just don't seem to have time to write much these days! Life is good, a little too good really so i can't complain. Before i tell you about my latest holiday, i promised to post photos of Granada, so here are some of one of my favourite places in the world, the Alhambra...

Being a bit of a novice with a digital camera, i managed to lose some stunning shots that i'd taken during the first couple of days of my stay. It goes without saying that i won't make that mistake again! Still, i know i'll be going back again next year so i'll just have to try recreating some of the shots i lost.

Granada really is a stunning city and if you ever get the chance to visit, i can assure you that you won't be disappointed.

My latest trip was to south west France where i had an equally lovely time, more on that to follow.

And i've still found time to cook and eat (they'll never replace food you know!) so will also be sharing more recipes soon!

Thank you for all your lovely comments while i've been away! :)