Quaran-Cuisine: The Iso Kitchen Diaries V
- Tasha's Eats
- Jun 3, 2020
- 5 min read
Another two weeks in lockdown, and I am going to be honest with you, there has not been much room for enlightenment and introspection. My mind has mostly been turned to the disheartenment centred around the levels of unrest that have been surfaced recently in light of racial injustice of the state system, following George Floyd’s unfortunate death. Everyone’s attention has been turned to this, rightly so, to stand up in the face of racial bias. I will not follow with a protest of inequality as I will never pretend to understand the extent to which pain and fear is ingrained in the minds and behaviour of black people trying to survive, let alone thrive in the society in which we live. It’s difficult to want to consider anything else at the moment.
However, there is another topical matter, related to the food industry that is also relatively pressing: the petition that pleads for the maintenance of British trade standards in the food industry. This will affect everyone. We need structure to ensure frequent trade acquisition for farmers and food suppliers. Covid has proved the complete necessity of the dependency and security of food production. However, Boris is hampering the high standards of food production that support both health and environmental welfare by encouraging de-structured trade negotiations outside the UK. This will undermine the high standards of farming and food production that we are so reliant on. I will leave a link to this petition below and urge you to take part in casting light on this.
Lastly, I will address one other – much more trivial - personal concern. Vegetable stock. For all those readers who have been demanding the answer to a perfect homemade vegetable stock (you know who you are), my hands are raised, I have failed to complete the challenge this week. But watch this space, I promise it will come.
Here are some of my dishes from the past couple of weeks that will get you salivating instead...
Crunchy chopped salad and borscht/Poke bowls, Jerk jackfruit bowl with pineapple salsa/Pulled mushroom tacos with mashed beans and zingy salsa/Tofu kebabs with homemade barbecue sauce/Two types of spaghetti – edamame fettuccine with creamy mushroom sauce and spelt linguine with vibrant spinach pesto/Grapefruit margheritas (why not)/Baked banana and date porridge with a peanut, maple drizzle/Rainbow cauliflower pizza/Tuna steak with parsnip fries, sautéed exotic mushrooms, avo salsa and asparagus/Roasted aubergine tagine with minty pea crush.
My ingredient this week has been beetroot – an obvious favourite in acknowledgement of the colour. If you know me, you know my consideration of the aesthetics of ingredients. To me a plate without colour is an unfulfilled plate. Therefore, beetroot has always been the queen of root vegetables for me and considerably underrated. Candied beetroot is my favourite – outrageously charming-looking for a vegetable and slightly lighter and tarter in taste. Roast it in its skin or in foil for varying tastes – the former more earthy and rich than the latter. Ribbon it, slice it into wafer-thin discs and eat it raw, grate it, mix it with oranges (its best partner), ferment it and use the juice in drinks, cocktails and sauces. Products of this vegetable this week has been a Georgian-style Borscht soup and beetroot hummus. Be warned, eat in moderation and too much can cause a swift turn-off. It is a sacred ingredient that must be attended to occasionally but not often. The candied beetroot is perhaps more forgiving.
Seasonal ingredient: Carrots. Again, delicious ribboned, roasted, or just in its purest form as a snack. There is nothing more satisfying than the crunch of a cold, crisp, slightly sweet carrot. And it’s great because carrot a day keeps the eyesight at play (though I am still questioning that statement as my addiction to carrots has not facilitated my eyesight in the slightest). I am desperate to try Nourish by Noor’s new recipe of mashed carrots with a yoghurt dressing and pistachio pesto drizzle. Perfection.
Food-waste tip: Make almond milk. Strain almond milk. Use leftover almond pulp to make vegetable-based loaves (such as my broccoli bread, which is just blitzed broccoli, egg, almond pulp, buckwheat flour, rosemary, olive oil and salt and pepper) or cookies! Easy.
Homemade almond milk/Broccoli bread made with almond pulp
Cookbook of the week: ‘Jerusalem’ by Yotam Ottolenghi
One of the first of a national treasure: an index of hearty, vibrant and unusual dishes and flavours. There is quite a lot of dairy involved, but I find it easy to substitute or variate. My mum has steadily been making her way through it over the past few weeks and returning back to the roots of classic middle eastern cuisine really is giving her the most immense amount of joy. It is true that Ottolenghi’s cooking has developed a lot over the years, mostly – and understandably – to suit the ever-changing map of food trends as well as current climates. However, he never fails to return to his origins and bring to life the warmth of family home cooking. His recipes emulate love and passion through the foundation of flavour, complexity and style. Can you tell I’m a fan?
Recipe of the week: Detox Kitchen’s ‘Tomato galette’
A galette would never have been at the forefront of my mind during my day-to-day reveries of what to make for dinner. In fact, I don’t believe I have ever made a galette in my life. However, Detox Kitchen strikes again and offers me a source of innovation. This galette certainly served to heighten my nascent interest in baking, and pastry in particular. The satisfaction of creating a faultless dough is really something else. Though I didn’t quite stick to the recipe – what’s new – the result was still crispy, buttery but light, and most importantly ‘soggy-bottom’ free. Yes, okay, it is perhaps more rustic than it should be but that doesn't bother me - I'm no Paul Hollywood perfectionist. The classic Provencal filling of caramelised onions and tomato worked a treat and the crushed fennel seed and toasted pine nuts crumbled on top was the icing (on the top). I made it with rice flour, which did slightly add to the challenge due to its crumbly and fragile texture, but it was delicious as I love that slight extra element of starch and bite in rice flour that plain flour doesn’t have.
Recipe found on DK's stories: https://www.instagram.com/thedetoxkitchen/?hl=en
Instagram of the week: @theinsidebite
Playful, simple and arty are three words I would use to describe the Instagram of fellow foodie, ‘The Inside Bite’ otherwise known as Madeleine. She puts out step-by-step recipes on stories as well as short, snappy tiktok style cooking videos, which are great for maintaining attention and arousing enthusiasm. Her recipes lean towards minimalistic but never seem lacking. She has provided us with some wonderful-looking Italian dishes but dips her toe into all sorts of cuisine. Her food styling and photography is also exquisite, which adds to the appeal of her feed.
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