summer Archives - Food And Recipe

April 18, 2023

Cacio e pepe mac and cheese recipe with a sweet summer granita dessert

Private chef and cooking host Natasha Feldman is adding author to her repertoire.

Feldman joined “Good Morning America” to talk about her new cookbook, “The Dinner Party Project,” and shared two new recipes for cooks at home.

The “Nosh with Tash” creator shared one savory and one sweet treat that will be perfect for summer.

Check out the full recipes below.

Cacio e Pepe Mac and Cheese

Alana Kysar

A baking dish of cacio e pepe mac and cheese.

“The first time I had cacio e pepe, an Italian pasta dish aptly called ‘cheese and pepper’ because it’s made with only pasta, pecorino, and black pepper, I was skeptical,” she said. “How can so few ingredients be so impressive? Then I believe I blacked out and didn’t return until I had eaten the entire plate of pasta and also the plate. It’s magical to think about how often the best recipes, and the greatest flavors, come from simple, good ingredients. Because mac and cheese is an easy way to make a large quantity of pasta for a crowd, I wanted to bring these two friends together and I’m pretty pleased with the result. This hybrid features a basic white sauce (béchamel) loaded with fresh cracked pepper, lots of pecorino, and toasty bread crumbs to finish!”

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

4 teaspoons salt, divided

1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper, plus extra to finish

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

4 teaspoons salt, divided

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 pound medium-shell pasta

2 cups grated pecorino romano cheese (1/2 pound), plus extra to finish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

To make the breadcrumbs: In a large pot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Once melted, add in ¼ teaspoon salt and 1 cup panko bread crumbs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until about half the bread crumbs are toasted a nice golden brown color, about 4 minutes. Set the bread crumbs aside.

To make the mac and cheese: Fill that same pot halfway full with water, add 3 teaspoons salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. While the pasta water is boiling, make the sauce. In a second pot over medium-low heat, add 1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper and stir just until aromatic, about 1 minute. (Yes, the pepper will become super-aromatic really fast. Yes, this is basically DIY pepper spray.) Add in 4 tablespoons butter and heat until melted. Whisk in 1/4 cup flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Slowly, while constantly whisking, add in 3½ cups milk to create a smooth, thin sauce. The sauce will get thicker before it gets thinner; just keep whisking! Crank up the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring occasionally.

This is probably the best time to toss your pasta into the boiling, salty water. Cook the pasta per the instructions on the package. Once the sauce is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, whisking occasionally, until it thickens, about 6 minutes. The sauce should be thick enough to easily coat the back of a spoon. Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in 2 cups pecorino.

Once the pasta is cooked, use a slotted spoon to transfer it to the pot containing the sauce. Do not throw away the pasta water. Return the pasta⁄sauce pot to the cooktop and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until all the pasta is well-coated in sauce. Season to taste with additional pasta water. (It’s salty, remember? And starchy, which will help create a sauce that will coat the pasta well. Win-win.)

Pour the mac and cheese into an ungreased 9 x 13-inch baking dish and top with the bread crumbs and a generous sprinkling of black pepper. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the bread crumbs are a deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Finish with some extra pecorino for good measure. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving—burnt mouths are a dinner-party bummer.

A cheesy pasta dish is always best fresh. In a pinch, you can make the sauce in advance and add pasta water to thin it out just before tossing the pasta in it. The bread crumbs can be made up to a day in advance and stored in an airtight container at room temp.

The less water you use for boiling the pasta, the starchier and more awesome your pasta water will be.

Can you use parmesan if you can’t find pecorino? Yeah, your dish will be less salty and tangy and a little nuttier . . . but still super-tasty.

This has a lot of pepper in it, obviously, so if you have a coffee grinder, that’s the most efficient way to get the quantity needed.

Alana Kysar

Natasha Feldman’s orange dream granita.

Serves: 6
Total time: 5 hours ( includes 4¼ hours of mostly hands-off freezing time)

“Granita — an Italian shaved ice — is a miraculous thing,” she said. “It somehow strikes this perfect balance between rich and creamy and refreshing and icy. When I was testing this recipe at first, I made it with just oranges (using Orange Julius as my inspiration). But I found the recipe always remained a smidge too icy and not as exciting as I wanted. I then thought really hard about this nostalgic Orange Julius, Creamsicle flavor profile and I thought, ‘AHA! Peaches!’ and that was when the magic happened. The peaches add subtle sweetness and, more importantly, aid in creating a creamy texture — perfection.”

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup fresh orange juice (from 3 to 4 oranges)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups chopped ripe juicy peaches (about 3 peaches)
1 large orange, peeled and seeds removed
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Whipped Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Fruit, like orange or peach slices, optional

To make the granita: Clear room in the freezer for a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Leave it in there to get cold before using. In a small pot, combine ¾ cup sugar, ¾ cup orange juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and ¼ teaspoon salt over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, about 3 minutes. Set aside. In a blender or food processor, whiz up the peaches and orange with 1 tablespoon lemon juice until smooth, about a minute. Add the sugar mixture from the pot into the blender and blend again.

Pour the granita mixture into the frozen baking dish. Once every hour over the course of about 4 hours (or until the granita is firmly frozen), stir/scrape the mixture with a fork, reaching all the way to the bottom of the dish, to create small shavings.
Optional (but heavenly): Before serving, scoop the granita into a blender or food processor and process it until really smooth and almost tacky, like sorbet. Divide the granita among 6 cups and put the cups in the freezer for 5 to 30 minutes before serving.

To make the whipped topping: Whip the cup of cream to medium peaks using a hand mixer—no sugar needed. Divide the cream evenly over the granita. Top with fruit for flair as desired, and serve.

Tips and Timing
Make the granita up to a week in advance and store in an airtight container in the freezer. Make sure it is fully fluffed before tucking it into bed for the week. Whip the cream up to 4 hours before serving and store in the fridge in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.
If it’s not peach season, use frozen peaches!

April 12, 2023

Want A Refreshing Fruity Summer Drink? Try This Delicious Kharbuja Sharbat

Summer is here and the temperatures are gradually rising each day. Many of us dislike the idea of stepping outside our houses and having to bear the heat and humidity. We often feel extremely tired after spending even a few minutes in the sun. This is why it is important to stay hydrated and replenish our energy levels with natural drinks. From simple coconut water and masala chaas to flavoured milkshakes and juices, there are many options to choose from. We often use fruits to make summertime drinks because they add more freshness and flavour. You might have already tasted different types of watermelon coolers. But have you ever tried a muskmelon one? Kharbuja or muskmelon is actually a wonderful ingredient for cold drinks and milkshakes.
Also Read: Want An Easy Weight Loss Drink? Try This Delicious Cucumber Chaas Recipe

We recently came across a recipe for kharbuja sharbat on the YouTube channel, ‘Cook With Parul.’ This milk-based drink is super easy to prepare at home. The chef has added unique ingredients that make this cooler extra special. One of the best things about this sharbat is that it is not sweet, it also has a wonderfully thick consistency that may remind you of smoothies and falooda. Instead of any artificial additives, this cooler derives its flavour naturally from the goodness of muskmelon. Check out the recipe below.

How To Make Kharbuja Sharbat At Home | Easy Recipe For Muskmelon Cooler

_{Easy summer drink recipes: This sharbat is a yummy way to consume muskmelon. Photo Credit: Pixabay}

What you need:

The base of this drink is fresh muskmelon pulp and milk. You also need to add a little custard powder. This ingredient is not essential, but helps thicken the sharbat. You also need condensed milk for the same reason. In place of it, you can use sugar to maintain the sweetness level. Small-sized sago pearls (sabudana) and sabja seeds are added to give the drink a lovely mouthfeel and also enhance its cooling properties. You can top the drink with chopped dry fruits and/or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Also Read: Nutritionist Busts Myths About 5 Common Foods That Seem Healthy, But Aren’t

How to prepare:

Halve one muskmelon and remove the core along with the seeds. Scoop out the remaining fleshy pulp of the melon using a spoon. Blend the pulp (without water) to form a puree.
In a pan, cook the mini sago pearls in water on high flame. Once they are almost transparent, switch off the heat, strain them and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the custard powder with a little water to form a thin mixture with no lumps.
In a big pan or kadhai, heat milk over low to medium flame. Before it comes to a boil, add the custard powder mixture and stir continuously.
Add in the condensed milk and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust sweetness as required.
Finally, add the muskmelon puree prepared earlier and stir well. Cook for around 2 more minutes and then transfer to a bowl to cool.
Once the drink has cooled, add soaked sabja seeds as well as sago pearls from earlier. Mix well.
Pour the drink into glasses and add toppings of choice.

For the exact ingredient quantities and steps, watch the full recipe video below

Also Read: Is Masala Thums Up The Best Indian Drink? Desi Twitter Approves
You can store this sharbat in the refrigerator for around 4 days. What a tasty way to beat the heat, isn’t it? Try it for yourself and see.

About Toshita SahniToshita is fuelled by wordplay, wanderlust, wonderment and Alliteration. When she is not blissfully contemplating her next meal, she enjoys reading novels and roaming around the city.

March 12, 2023

Beat the heat with these refreshing Indian summer dessert recipes

As the temperature rises, you will find very little quite like a refreshing and indulgent dessert to enable beat the heat. And when it arrives to summer desserts, Indian cuisine delivers a varied array of flavorful and exotic possibilities that are confident to delight your taste buds. From the sweet and tangy flavor of mangoes to the creamy richness of kulfi, these Indian summer desserts are the excellent way to interesting off and fulfill your sweet tooth. No matter whether you are searching for one thing light and fruity or decadent and creamy, there is a dessert out there for you. So, get completely ready to learn some of the most mouth-watering and irresistible Indian summer time dessert recipes that will have you coming again for extra! (Also read: India’s regional desserts: Take a look at the prosperous cultural range of India via its mouth-watering desserts )

Fruit custard pudding

(Recipe by Chef Pankaj Bhadouria)

Elements:

500 ml Milk

4 tbsp Sugar

3 tbsp Custard Powder

1 pack Jelly

Vanilla Sponge Cake

Fruits

Method:

1. Dissolve the custard powder in ¼ cup milk.

2. Boil the remaining milk with the sugar. Incorporate the custard powder combine stirring continuously to keep away from any lumps.

3. Prepare dinner until the custard thickens and take out from hearth and great.

4. Put together the jelly as for each pack recommendations and line the bases of person eyeglasses with sponge cake.

5. Pour very hot jelly mix above it to fill midway through and let to set absolutely.

6. Leading with a layer of custard and chill.

7. Major with a lot of slash fruits to serve.

2. Afghani Ice cream

(Recipe by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor)

Substances:

4 Afghan biscuits

1 ripe inexperienced skinned banana

½ cup vanilla ice cream

4 tablespoons chocolate ganache

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

Method:

1. Get four short glasses and split 1 biscuits into each individual glass.

2. Slice banana thinly and put two to 3 slices into the glass.

3. Acquire a compact scooper and place a single scoop of ice product into every glass.

4. Warmth chocolate ganache in a microwave for a moment and drizzle one tablespoon into just about every glass and garnish with walnuts. Serve quickly.

3. Matka kulfi

(Recipe by Chef Pankaj Bhadouria)

Ingredients:

500ml milk + ¼ cup

1 cup sugar

3tbsp khoya

1tbsp cornflour

1tsp environmentally friendly cardamom powder

1tbsp pistachios

1 tbsp cashew nuts

1 tbsp almonds

Process:

1. Pour the milk into a pan. Convey to a boil, lessen warmth and simmer, stirring consistently for 20 minutes.

2. Cook dinner until the milk is lessened to all-around fifty percent.

3. Dissolve the cornflour in ¼ cup milk. Add the khoya, corn slurry and sugar to the milk and prepare dinner for an additional 4-5 minutes until the milk thickens. Eliminate from the warmth.

4. Blanch the nuts in warm drinking water. Drain and peel the almonds and pistachios.

5. Chop the nuts and raisins. Incorporate nuts to the heat milk. Pour the mixture into matka moulds.

6. Cover with cling wrap and position in a freezer to set. Freeze for 8 hours.

7. Take away from freezer, allow for to stand for a several minutes and serve.

4. Aamras

(Recipe by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor)

Components:

4 medium mangoes

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

½ teaspoon green cardamom powder

¼ teaspoon nutmeg powder

Puris for serving

Technique:

1. Roll the mangoes on the worktop and press to loosen the flesh within.

2. Get rid of the eye of each and every mango, squeeze out the pulp in a bowl and discard the skin and the seed.

3. Include powdered sugar, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder to the mango pulp and whisk until sleek.

4. Provide with very hot puris.

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December 22, 2022

Omnibus expands summer school meal assistance but cuts emergency SNAP

Remark

The $1.7 trillion paying out bill being debated in the Senate on Wednesday is a major acquire for child nourishment advocates, but it will come at a cost.

The measure would give hundreds of thousands of small children less difficult accessibility to nutritious food items through the summer months. But to pay for the new benefits, Congress will lessen pandemic-era investments in foodstuff support programs for meals-insecure People.

The compromise included in the spending bill, which need to go this week to avert a government shutdown, is a person of a lot of trade-offs Democrats and Republicans manufactured as they cobbled the bill alongside one another in the narrowly divided Congress.

The Senate voted 70-25 on Tuesday to start debate on the 4,155-web site measure, recognized in congressional parlance as an omnibus, which would fund important components of President Biden’s economic agenda. It would boost defense plans, lengthen Medicaid, enable Us residents conserve for retirement and supply an further $44.9 billion in crisis army and economic aid for Ukraine, amongst other provisions.

The baby nourishment gains would be the first new, permanent federal food items aid program of this magnitude enacted in just about 50 many years, advocates say. They would create a debit card plan starting the summer time of 2024 that supplies small-revenue family members with a $40 grocery profit for every child for every thirty day period, modified for inflation. Young ones would be qualified for these benefits if they qualify for no cost or minimized-price tag college meals and can be routinely enrolled.

Pandemic growth of faculty lunch plan appears slated to stop suddenly

The monthly bill also would enable families in rural parts to get faculty foods shipped during the summer months instead than owning to select them up on-site, which can be complicated in regions where by schools attract pupils from a lot of miles away. And rather than requiring foods be consumed at college, young children can acquire house or get shipped up to 10 days’ truly worth of foods at a time.

Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign estimates that 6 out of 7 kids who participate in no cost or lowered-price tag school foods are unable to accessibility the summer season foods application since of cumbersome logistics, which puts many at possibility of hunger.

But whilst advocates lauded the alterations, they criticized the eliminations of pandemic-period bumps in food stamps, or SNAP, and college meal added benefits aimed at serving to people through the health and fitness emergency. Lawmakers stated the cuts were being important to shell out for the new added benefits. The reductions, advocates stated, will especially hurt the aged bad, who usually have smaller domestic measurements and bigger financial savings and consequently qualify for more compact foodstuff-assistance rewards.

Congress unveils $1.7 trillion deal to fund governing administration, avert shutdown

“Cutting SNAP to pay out for baby nutrition is not the correct selection,” claimed Crystal FitzSimons, director of school and out-of-faculty time packages for the nonprofit Food items Investigation & Motion Middle. “The unexpected emergency allotments for SNAP were aligned with the general public wellbeing crisis, which is not in excess of. We continue to are in a public health unexpected emergency. These allotments have been a large benefit to families to make finishes satisfy at a time when we’re nevertheless reeling from the impacts of the pandemic.”

Recipients of all ages would drop added benefits commencing as early as March 2023, she reported, with families on average shedding $82 per man or woman, per thirty day period. But the steepest loss would be for more mature grownups at the minimal gain amount who will see their monthly SNAP added benefits fall from $281 to $23.

Biden renewed a cost-free method to feed needy kids. Most states have not even applied.

Lisa Davis, senior vice president of No Child Hungry, described the tradeoff as “a minor bit of a Sophie’s Choice,” but that it is however “a major sleeper win” for foodstuff protection in the United States.

“I really don’t want to downplay that ending the pandemic allotments will make hardship for some people” at a time when inflation is producing it tougher for quite a few to make finishes meet, she stated. “As difficult as it is to prematurely conclusion or scale back again short-term pandemic applications that aid households place food stuff on the desk, working with individuals momentary cash to build permanent applications is a tradeoff well worth getting.”

Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.) pushed for these provisions in the paying invoice. The bill also features new protections for people whose SNAP gains have been stolen in the wake of a spate of thefts. This laws gives the U.S. Division of Agriculture and states the authority to reissue nourishment positive aspects to victims of this fraud and to improve safety measures.

The baby nutrition language integrated in the monthly bill incorporates sections, but not all, of the House’s reauthorization of the Wholesome Foods, Balanced Youngsters Act, Scott explained in a statement. This was a Residence invoice unveiled in July aimed at escalating entry to totally free school meals for young children in substantial-poverty universities while strengthening nutrition benchmarks.

“This proposal falls considerably limited of a comprehensive reauthorization that America’s small children and households ought to have, despite the fact that I am grateful we will be ready to make some development toward our greatest aim of eliminating little one hunger,” Scott claimed in the assertion. Stabenow stated in a assertion that she continues to be dedicated to passing a in depth child diet reauthorization, and also to shielding the SNAP method as legislators start out perform crafting the next Farm Invoice, which establishes funding for all foodstuff aid programs.

December 11, 2022

It takes $2 to mango: 15 recipes for the summer fruit glut | Australian food and drink

It takes to mango: 15 recipes for the summer fruit glut | Australian food and drink

Forget Take a look at cricket scores and desire costs – mango selling prices are the summertime figures to check out. Mango period is set to peak in early December, with some 600,000 trays flooding the current market each individual 7 days, according to the Australian Mango Marketplace Association. Production of the tropical fruit is up 14{d2b09b03d44633acb673e8080360919f91e60962656af8ade0305d5d8b7e4889} from final 12 months, with amplified offer translating to falling prices for people.

Mango and beer, together at last in this mango shandy. — Mangoes and beer, with each other at last in this mango shandy. Photograph: Dan Matthews/The Guardian

Kensington Prides, also recognized as Bowens, are characterised by their slight pink blush and solid aroma. They’re the archetypical Australian mango, but the dilemma continues to be: when will this mango shandy grow to be the archetypical Australian tipple? Also on your summer time cocktail record: the mango tango, and a champagne lassi.

Calypsos are prized for their sleek, organization and fibre-much less flesh. They maintain their condition well when sliced or cubed, building them suitable for tropical fruit salads, boozy fruit salads, and the topper to Adam Liaw’s pavlova.

Thomasina Miers’ chilled mango salad in anise-lime syrup, with optional tequila. Photograph: Johanna Parkin

It’s heading to be a Honey Gold kind of Xmas, with crops from Katherine entering the industry from mid to late December. Their sweet, prosperous flesh holds up in this chilled rice pudding with the heady aromas of pandan and passionfruit. Marginally underripe mangoes work effectively in this paneer and mango salad with tamarind and shallots.

Paneer and mango salad with tamarind and shallots. — Underripe mangoes? They’ll perform perfectly in Meera Sodha’s paneer and mango salad with tamarind and shallots. Photograph: Emma Lee/The Guardian

Imagine environmentally friendly mangoes – the sort best suited for cooking in south and south-east Asian savoury dishes – and you are likely imagining of unripe Nam Dok Thai mangoes. You will most probably discover them in Asian grocers get a several and transform them into Palisa Anderson’s “party dish” of yum mamuang (deep-fried snapper with green mango salad), or this salty, spicy and bitter som dtum from her late mom and doyenne of Thai cookery, Amy Chanta. Past salads, there’s also this Keralan fish curry with mango.

Yum mamuang, deep-fried snapper with green mango salad. Photograph: Brett Stevens/Chat Thai

Experience additional like a lazy summer time? Attempt this no-churn mango ice-product, and this no-bake mango, ginger and lime tart. The recipes from our British isles colleagues connect with for tinned mango pulp, but Australians have the luxurious of opting for new. Kensington Prides are the best Australian substitute – they have softer, far more yielding, far more blender-welcoming flesh. They’ll also function very well in Meera Sodha’s mango and cardamom lassi.

And if, for some motive, you’ve remaining your mango to overripen in the fruit bowl, panic not – it is destined for this mango sizzling sauce.

September 12, 2022

Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes for preserving summer fruit and vegetables | Food

Pickling, salting, fermenting and curing are just a few of the many ways humankind has learned to extend a food’s shelf life. I’m not one for goodbyes at the best of times, so happily this means I never really have to part with my favourite fruit and vegetables; instead, I get to enjoy them in a different guise. Whereas fresh produce needs very little doing to it, the art of preserving lends itself to bigger, louder, funkier flavours. The ingredients get to know each other in whatever controlled environment we’ve put them and, somehow, they transform into wonderfully intense spoonfuls of deliciousness. And that, I’d say, is a definite win.

Peppered chicken and pickled watermelon salad (pictured top)

This dish delivers on multiple fronts: salt and spice from the peppered chicken and sweet and sharp from the pickled watermelon. Store any excess pickle in a sterilised jar in the fridge for up to two weeks, and use to spoon on salads or grilled meat.

Prep 25 min
Pickle 12 hr
Cook 15 min
Serves 2 as a light meal

For the watermelon
1.3kg watermelon, rind removed, flesh cut into 2cm cubes (850g)
1 jalapeño chilli (10g), cut into 3mm-thick rounds (if you prefer less heat, remove and discard the pith and seeds)
170g caster sugar
125ml red-wine vinegar
2 camomile tea bags
2 tbsp mint leaves
Fine sea salt and black pepper

For the chicken
2 tsp mixed peppercorns – green, white, red and black, ideally, coarsely crushed in a mortar
⅛ tsp Sichuan peppercorns, coarsely crushed in a mortar (optional)
2 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 boneless and skinless chicken thighs
1 banana shallot, peeled and cut into thin rounds (40g)
45g watercress
1 lime, halved

Put the diced watermelon, jalapeño and sugar in a large, sterilised jar, give it a gentle shake to coat, then leave to macerate for 20 minutes. Add the vinegar, tea bags, mint, a teaspoon of salt and 175ml water and cover with a piece of greaseproof paper. Seal the jar and refrigerate overnight.

Now for the chicken. Combine all the ground peppercorns in a medium bowl, and set aside a quarter-teaspoon of the mix. Add the flour and a half-teaspoon of salt to the remaining ground peppercorns.

Put the oil in a medium frying pan on a high heat. Sandwich each chicken thigh between two sheets of greaseproof paper and use a rolling pin to bash it out to ½cm thick. Coat the chicken in the pepper-flour mixture, then lay them one by one in the hot pan and fry for three minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken to a board, sprinkle an eighth of a teaspoon of salt over them all, and leave to rest.

Return the frying pan to a medium-high heat and add 200ml of the watermelon pickling liquid; drain 175g of the pickle solids and set aside. Cook down the pickling liquid for five minutes, until it turns orange and syrupy and has reduced by four-fifths, then take off the heat.

Meanwhile, mix the shallot, watercress and the drained watermelon pickle, then transfer to a large plate with a lip. Cut each chicken thigh at an angle into four slices and arrange on top. Spoon over the reduced syrup, sprinkle on the reserved quarter-teaspoon of ground peppercorns and serve with the lime halves for squeezing over.

Confit fenugreek aubergines

Confit is a great way to store baby aubergines so they can be enjoyed into autumn and winter. I like them with some soft cheese or yoghurt. The flavoursome spiced oil, incidentally, makes a great finishing touch for all sorts of roast vegetables and salads.

Prep 15 min
Cook 1 hr 40 min
Serves 4-6

750g baby aubergines – I used the round variety, but the long, skinny kind will also work
400ml olive oil, plus 2 tsp extra
Fine sea salt
11 garlic cloves, skin on
3 red chillies, cut in half lengthways
1½ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp ground kashmiri chilli, or paprika
5 sprigs fresh oregano
5 sprigs fresh thyme
¼ tsp caster sugar

Cut a cross in the base of each aubergine, going down all the way through to the stem but not cutting right through (you want it still attached). Rub the aubergines all over with the two extra teaspoons of oil, then sprinkle over three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt, making sure some gets inside the cuts.

Set a griddle pan on a high heat and, once it’s hot, grill the aubergines in two batches for two to three minutes, turning often, until the skins are nicely charred all over. You don’t want the skin to be burnt or to cook the flesh too much; the aubergines should be slightly softened but still raw. Transfer the charred aubergines to a deep, 15cm x 20cm baking dish.

Heat the oven to 160C (140C fan)/315F/gas 2½. Pour the remaining 400ml oil into the aubergine dish, add the garlic, chillies, fenugreek seeds, kashmiri chilli, oregano, thyme, sugar and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, cover tightly with foil and bake for 90 minutes, gently turning the aubergines with tongs every half-hour. By the end, they should be soft but still retain their shape.

Remove from the oven, uncover and leave to cool completely. Once cool, gently spoon the aubergines, aromatics and oil into a sterilised glass jar and seal with an airtight lid.

Serve warm or at room temperature as part of a meze platter. Once jarred, they will keep in the fridge for up to a month.

Dutch baby with fig preserve and soured cream

Yotam Ottolenghi’s Dutch baby with fig preserve and sour cream. — Yotam Ottolenghi’s dutch baby with fig preserve and soured cream.

When figs are at their best, it’s very hard not to eat them all immediately. Preserving them, however, will extend the joy they bring, especially when spooned on to a massive, yorkshire pudding-like pancake, AKA a dutch baby. Any leftover preserve will keep in the fridge for up to a month.

Prep 20 min
Cook 1 hr 30 min
Cool 2 hr
Serves 2-4

For the preserve
10 fresh black figs (430g), stems removed and cut in half lengthways
130g blackberries
175g caster sugar
2 fresh bay leaves
1 lemon – zest pared off in 6 fine strips, then juiced, to get 2½ tbsp

For the batter
20g unsalted butter, melted, plus 15g extra butter at room temperature
120ml whole milk, at room temperature
100g plain flour
20g coarse polenta
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1½ tbsp caster sugar
¼ tsp salt, plus 1 pinch extra for the cream

For the cream
100ml double cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
3 tbsp soured cream
15g shelled pistachios, roughly chopped

First make the preserve. Put the first four ingredients in a medium saucepan, add 150ml water and the lemon zest, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 50 minutes, stirring occasionally, taking care not to crush the fruit. Once the liquid has reduced to a loose syrup, take off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, then spoon into a sterilised jar and leave to cool. Once cool, seal and refrigerate.

Put all the batter ingredients bar the extra 15g room temperature butter in a blender, blitz for 30 seconds, until smooth, then leave to rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the double cream, a tablespoon of icing sugar and a pinch of salt in a stand mixer and whisk to soft peaks on high speed for 60 seconds. Stir in the soured cream and refrigerate.

Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9 and put in a 22cm, high-sided, ovenproof frying pan to heat up for about 10 minutes. Carefully take out the hot pan, drop in the extra 15g butter and swirl it around so it melts and covers the base. Working quickly, pour in the batter, then return the pan to the oven and bake for 18 minutes, until puffed up and golden.

Remove, then spoon 175g fig preserve into the well in the centre. Spoon the cream mix alongside, dust with the final tablespoon of icing sugar, sprinkle over the nuts and serve while it’s still hot.