Daal balls

½ cup toor daal (yellow split peas)
½ cup masoor daal (red lentils)
½ teaspoon fenugreek
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon salt
Small handful of shredded wild garlic leaves or a minced garlic clove
Small handful of shredded coriander (if not using wild garlic)


Put the toor daal into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then add the masoor daal and stand for 30 mins - 1 hour until the lentils are slightly tender.

Toast the fenugreek and cumin seeds in a frying pan.

Drain the lentils and blitz in a food processor. Grind the fenugreek and cumin and add to the lentils with the other spices and the salt, followed by the herbs and garlic/onions, mixing well. If the dough doesn't hold together add a little gram flour till it does.

Form large teaspoons of the mixture into balls. Deep fry for six or seven minutes.

Duck breast with celeriac and beetroot hash

A change of plan meant we had a head of celeriac to use up. In the interests of not wasting £1.40 of root veg, I went out and bought a bunch of beetroot, a duck breast, eggs, bacon and parsley. I will never learn - but this was good.

Aonori is the Japanese (and rather more palatable) name for gutweed - abundantly available on UK beaches and a fine condiment when dried.

½ head of celeriac, roughly grated
½ head of savoy cabbage, shredded
1 small raw beetroot, roughly grated
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 rashers of unsmoked streaky bacon, chopped
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1 duck breast fillet, skin on, halved lengthways
2 eggs
Worcestershire sauce
Light soy sauce
A sprig's worth of fresh thyme leaves
A sprig of fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
A big pinch of aonori (optional)
Salt and pepper
Olive oil, butter, sunflower oil

Heat the oven to 200C.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a thin slice of butter in a large frying pan for which you have a lid. Fry the sliced onion over a medium heat until soft and starting to caramelise, the add the chopped bacon. Cook for five minutes, then add the garlic, celeriac, beetroot and thyme leaves and stir well. Add a good dash of Worcestershire sauce and another of light soy sauce, a splash of hot water, then cover.

Score the duck skin and season all over with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet over a high flame and sear the duck, skin side down, for 3-4 minutes until the skin is brown and crispy. Transfer to the oven, skin side up, to cook for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the breast and how pink you like it.

Fry the shredded cabbage in the duck fat till it's starting to caramelise, then add it to the hash pan, together with another splash of water and more Worcestershire sauce if needed (check and adjust the seasoning here), then cover again.

Heat a tablespoon of sunflower oil on a low heat in the duck pan.

When the duck is ready, remove it to a plate in a warm place to rest for 5 minutes. Take the lid off the hash pan and turn up the heat to crisp the bottom.

Fry the eggs in the sunflower oil until the whites are set but the yolks still runny, seasoning with a little salt and pepper. When ready, sprinkle with aonori.

Sprinkle the parsley on the hash and spoon onto warm plates. Top with a fried egg and slide the duck breast on the side.

Chicken paprikash

Our trip to Budapest was memorable for, among many other things, out first chicken paprikash, and the nokedli were a revelation. Here's a slightly tweaked version of what we were fed.

Serves 2

For the paprikash:
Four pieces of chicken, skin on, on the bone
A small green pepper
A medium onion
Three cloves of garlic
Two medium, ripe tomatoes
A tablespoon of tomato puree
A tablespoon of sweet paprika
A tablespoon of smoked paprika
A small pot of sour cream
Half a litre of chicken stock
Half a glass of dry white wine
Two tablespoons of flour
A thin slice of butter and two tablespoons of oil for frying
Salt and pepper

For the nokedli:
125g white flour
One egg
75ml water
¼ - ½ teaspoon of salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Thinly slice the onion and pepper, and peel and chop the tomatoes.

Heat the butter and oil in a casserole on a medium flame until the butter foams. Season the chicken well and brown until the skin is golden, then remove and pour off half the fat. Fry the onions until soft and golden, then add the garlic and peppers and cook for three or four minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and tomato puree, then mix in the flour and paprika; cook for a couple of minutes. Whisk in the white wine, followed by the stock. Bring to the boil, then lay the chicken pieces on top and place the pot into the oven for 45 minutes.

Now sift the seasoned flour into a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs and stir them into the flour. Beat in the water until you have a lumpy, pourable mixture somewhere between a batter and a dough. Rest for half an hour or so.

Bringing it all together, remove the chicken from the casserole and keep warm. Stir the sour cream into the pot, check the seasoning and heat over a medium flame as the sauce thickens. Meanwhile bring a pan of water to the boil and press half the batter-dough through a large grater or a späetzle maker and simmer for three minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon. Repeat with the other half.

Serve with the sauce spooned over the chicken and dumplings.

Ragù for pasta

This is a variation on Carluccio's ragù from 'An Invitation to Italian Cooking'. We miss you, Zio.

Serves 3
A lamb shank
Pork ribs (the pork and lamb combined should come to about 2 lbs)
A big handful of diced pancetta
A large onion
Two cloves of garlic
Two 400g tins of tomatoes
A stick of celery
A couple of sprigs each of fresh thyme and parsley
A sprinkle of dried marjoram
A bay leaf
A small handful of dried porcini
A glass of red wine
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Soak the porcini in a small dish or a teacup, in enough water to cover them.

Heat a little olive oil in a large, heavy, lidded saucepan and fry the pancetta till golden, then remove to a plate. Meanwhile thickly slice the onion and finely chop the garlic and celery.

Brown the lamb shank and pork ribs on a medium heat, then add the onions, stirring occasionally until they soften and begin to catch. Stir in the celery and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, then turn up the heat, pour in the wine and bubble for a while until the raw alcohol smell disappears. Meanwhile drain and chop the porcini, keeping the soaking liquor, and add the mushrooms and the liquid to the pan.

Nudge in the sprigs of thyme and parsley and stir in the marjoram. Season with a little salt and a lot of pepper. Add tomatoes to cover (you may not need all of the second tin, or you may need to top up with a little water), bring to the boil then part cover and cook on a very low heat for at least two hours.

When the sauce is coming together, remove the meat. Turn up the heat and reduce the sauce with the lid off while you strip the lamb and pork from the bones. Add the morsels of meat back to the pan, adjust the seasoning, remove the herbs and then serve with your choice of pasta.

Hedgehog gratin

Sort of a potato dauphinoise with wood hedgehogs.

Serves 2

Four or five wood hedgehogs, depending on size
Two or three large potatoes
Four runner beans
Two cloves of garlic
A small red onion
A handful of cubed pancetta
200ml double cream
50ml white wine
100g butter
A teaspoon of mixed herbs
Salt and pepper
Grated parmesan

Slice the the runner beans and blanch in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain. Heat a large frying pan on a medium to low heat and fry the pancetta gently, till almost crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon. Mince the onion and soften in the bacon fat on a low heat, adding the minced garlic after five minutes. Meanwhile peel and thinly slice the potatoes. Remove the aromatics from the pan, add a third of the butter and fry half the potatoes, seasoning well. Remove to a plate and repeat with more butter and potatoes. Brush the spines/teeth from the wood hedgehogs under running water, pat them dry and cut them into thin slices. Remove the last of the potatoes from the pan, melt the last of the butter and fry the muhsrooms till they begin to give off their moisture. Turn up the heat, add the white wine and bubble vigorously till reduced by two thirds.
Layer half the potatoes in a small dish, add a layer of onions, garlic, bacon and beans, add the mushrooms and their cooking juices, season, sprinkle over the herbs then cover with another layer of potatoes. Pour in the double cream.

Place in a preheated oven at 200°C for 35 minutes. Remove, sprinkle over the grated parmesan and cook for another 5-10 minutes until browned. Serve with bread and pickles. 

Baked sea bream - an aide-memoire

I usually bake whole fish en papillotte, which makes it a bugger to judge the timing. I always forget how long the last near-perfect one took, so finally decided to make a note of last night's. I made this with the sorrel risotto from a while ago, so a stick of celery and a small shallot did for both dishes.

Serves 2

2 whole sea bream, cleaned
A handful of minced celery and shallot
A clove of garlic
A bay leaf
Quarter of a lemon
Olive oil
Fines herbes

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Wash the bream inside and out, making sure any lingering scales are banished to the sink, then pat dry and score three times on each side. Lay the fish on sheets of baking parchment.

Halve the clove of garlic lengthways and then cut each half almost into slices, so that it's held together at the tip.

Season the shallot and celery mixture and place a spoonful in the belly cavity of each fish with half a bay leaf and a half clove of garlic.

Rub a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper into the skin, drizzle a little olive oil and add a sprinkling of fines herbes. Pop a wedge of lemon beside each fish, wrap in the baking parchment and then again in foil.

Place on a baking tray in the oven for 25 minutes.

Serve with sorrel risotto and runner bean purée.

Tori Avey's Falafels

Having hunted over the years for the perfect falafel recipe - yes, the Guardian usually does a pretty good job on classics, but not in this case - I ran across the remarkably good Tori's Kitchen, whose version I reproduce here lest one day it should disappear from the web. Please follow the link if it's working, as

A) she has lots of pics with the recipe,
B) it's her recipe and she'll get ad revenue from your click,
C) she has lots of other delicious stuff on there, and
D) she's a lot better looking than me.

The following is just meant as a lifeboat for me. Ok? Cool.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound (about 2 cups) dry chickpeas/garbanzo beans - you must start with dry, do NOT substitute canned, they will not work!
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3-5 cloves garlic (I prefer roasted)
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Pinch of ground cardamom
Vegetable oil for frying (grapeseed, canola, and peanut oil work well)
YOU WILL ALSO NEED

Food processor, skillet

Servings: 30-34 falafels
Kosher Key: Pareve
Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl and cover them by about 3 inches of cold water. Let them soak overnight. They will double in size as they soak – you will have between 4 and 5 cups of beans after soaking.

Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans well. Pour them into your food processor along with the chopped onion, garlic cloves, parsley, flour, salt, cumin, ground coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cardamom.

Pulse all ingredients together until a rough, coarse meal forms. Scrape the sides of the processor periodically and push the mixture down the sides. Process till the mixture is somewhere between the texture of couscous and a paste. You want the mixture to hold together, and a more paste-like consistency will help with that... but don't overprocess, you don't want it turning into hummus!

Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into a bowl and use a fork to stir; this will make the texture more even throughout. Remove any large chickpea chunks that the processor missed.


Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
Note: Some people like to add baking soda to the mix to lighten up the texture inside of the falafel balls. I don’t usually add it, since the falafel is generally pretty fluffy on its own. If you would like to add it, dissolve 2 tsp of baking soda in 1 tbsp of water and mix it into the falafel mixture after it has been refrigerated.
Fill a skillet with vegetable oil to a depth of 1 ½ inches. I prefer to use cooking oil with a high smoke point, like grapeseed. Heat the oil slowly over medium heat. Meanwhile, form falafel mixture into round balls or slider-shaped patties using wet hands or a falafel scoop. I usually use about 2 tbsp of mixture per falafel. You can make them smaller or larger depending on your personal preference. The balls will stick together loosely at first, but will bind nicely once they begin to fry.
Note: if the balls won't hold together, place the mixture back in the processor again and continue processing to make it more paste-like. Keep in mind that the balls will be delicate at first; if you can get them into the hot oil, they will bind together and stick. If they still won't hold together, you can try adding 2-3 tbsp of flour to the mixture. If they still won't hold, add 1-2 eggs to the mix. This should fix any issues you are having.

Before frying my first batch of falafel, I like to fry a test one in the center of the pan. If the oil is at the right temperature, it will take 2-3 minutes per side to brown (5-6 minutes total). If it browns faster than that, your oil is too hot and your falafels will not be fully cooked in the center. Cool the oil down slightly and try again. When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the falafels in batches of 5-6 at a time till golden brown on both sides.

Once the falafels are fried, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon.


Let them drain on paper towels. Serve the falafels fresh and hot; they go best with a plate of hummus and topped with creamy tahini sauce. You can also stuff them into a pita.
Troubleshooting: If your falafel is too hard/too crunchy on the outside, there are two possible reasons-- 1) you didn't process the mixture enough-- return the chickpea mixture to the processor to make it more paste-like. 2) the chickpeas you used were old. Try buying a fresher batch of dried chickpeas next time.

SESAME FALAFEL VARIATION: After forming the balls or patties, dip them in sesame seeds prior to frying. This will make the falafel coating crunchier and give it a slightly nutty flavor.

HERB FALAFEL VARIATION (GREEN FALAFEL): Add ½ cup additional chopped green parsley, or cilantro, or a mixture of the two prior to blending

TURMERIC FALAFEL (YELLOW FALAFEL): Add ¾ tsp turmeric to the food processor prior to blending.


EGYPTIAN FALAFEL: Use 1 lb. dried peeled fava beans instead of chickpeas; cover them with cold water, soak them for at least 24 hours, then drain and rinse. You can also use a mixture of fava beans and chickpeas if you wish; just make sure the weight of the dried beans adds up to 1 lb.
After the beans are soaked and rinsed, add the Classic Falafel ingredients to the processor along with the following ingredients – 1 leek, cleaned, trimmed, and quartered; ¼ cup chopped dill; ¼ cup chopped cilantro; and an additional ¾ tsp cayenne pepper. When mixture is processed to a coarse meal, pour into a bowl. Stir 2 ½ tbsp sesame seeds into the mixture with a fork until it’s evenly dispersed throughout the mixture. Refrigerate and proceed with frying. If mixture seems too “wet” when making the falafel balls, add additional flour by the teaspoonful until the mixture sticks together better. Continue with frying.


HOW TO MAKE A FALAFEL PITA: Making a falafel pita is actually really simple. The two main ingredients are pita bread and falafel.
Cut the pita bread in half to form two “pockets.” Each pocket is a serving size. Stuff the pocket with falafel, as well as any add-ons you fancy.
Here are some traditional add-ons that can be added to your pita; these are the ingredients most widely available at falafel stands throughout Israel:
Tahini sauce 
Shredded lettuce
Diced or sliced tomatoes
Israeli salad
Onions
Dill pickles
Hummus
Tabouli
French fries
Here are some less traditional add-ons that are also tasty:
Sprouts 
Cucumber slices 
Roasted peppers
Roasted eggplant slices
Sunflower seeds
Feta cheese
Yogurt
Tzatziki