Pakora’s are essentially fritters deep fried in oil, they can be made with one vegetable or a mixture so don’t be afraid to experiment not only with the vegetable but the spices involved in the batter. This is a small batch of batter, perfect for a starter for two, it can easily be doubled, I’ve used large oyster mushrooms here but you could use any mushroom, sliced king oyster, portabella and even whole button mushrooms.
Oyster mushroom pakoras
Spicy hot and sour mushroom soup
There are as many version of hot and sour soup across Asia as there are nourishing chicken soup across Europe, once you master the base of this soup you can make it your own using whatever vegetables, meats or fish as you like, here I’ve used white and brown Shimeji mushrooms, also known as beech mushrooms but you can use any mushroom of your choice and make it as spicy or tame as you prefer.
Turkish pepper, black-eyed bean and quails egg salad with za’atar
Summer isn’t over until the salad days end. This is a very simple salad to make no longer than the time it takes to boil and egg or two, a classic from Turkish Cuisine, can be a simple side salad or a main on it’s own. I’ve used quails eggs here but you can use regular chicken eggs and if you can’t get Turkish peppers, regular peppers are absolutely fine.
Brie and caramelised onion galette
Who doesn’t like a baked cheese? There is nothing nicer to indulge in than rivers of rich earthy brie cheese oozing out of buttery pastry melting together with sweet caramelised onions and then moped up with crusty bread, serve on it’s own or with some sharp tangy pickles on the side.
Peperonata Agrodolce
There are many versions of these sweet and sour peppers, rather than olives you could use capers, toasted pine nuts or even some raisins stewed at the same time as the peppers so they soak up the juices and become nice and plump. This is a great side dish to go with grilled fish or indeed with cold meats and crusty bread, I’ve even been known to stir some through some cooked cold pasta for lunch.
Carrot, lentil and miso soup
Autumn through to winter always gets us craving for a bowl of soup, miso is an ingredient we have embraced the past few years and always have some in the fridge, it sits happily there for ages and it’s very good for you. The inspiration here came from a book called ‘Miso Tasty’ by Bonnie Chung and it will teach you every thing you need to know about Miso.
Hot and tangy aubergine
Hot with the chilli and tangy from the tamarind, this is a great quick and easy way to serve up 1 aubergine, perfect for two as part of an Indian feast. As the aubergine brown in the oil it really picks up the flavour of the fennel and nigella seeds, feel free to only use one spice if that’s all you have and if you can’t find any tamarind paste then you can always substitute with lemon or lime juice
Roasted tomato soup
My mother used to make an amazing tomato soup, I have fond memories of the smell coming from the kitchen of tomatoes roasting away. She never used fresh garlic or basil as I have here and chilli was very much not on the palate of Morecambe folk in the late 70’s and 80’s so feel free to omit if chilli heat is not your thing
Cavelo Nero, herb and walnut pesto
Cavelo nero is the Italian name translated to black cabbage, like all cabbage it can be eaten raw, it’s deep earthy flavour blitzed with different herbs and toasted walnuts creates a vibrant green pesto, perfect to use with pasta, as a salad dressing, a dip or as Nigella suggested, “Divine! Would be so good dolloped into a roasted and split sweet potato”
Roasted carrot, courgette and chickpea salad, rose harissa, lime and mint
This middle eastern inspired salad came about after a glut of courgettes were delivered to us from a neighbour and we had some carrots that needed using in the fridge. Rose Harissa is an amazing chilli paste that can be used in many ways, once you start using it you’ll never stop.