A few good things

 

I’m feeling…hopeful. Between the American presidential election and the positive news about a vaccine, it seems that even in the midst of lockdown, things are looking up. It’s a very strange feeling, after the way most of this year has been. I both slightly distrust it, and have to keep myself from getting carried away: the orange-hued one who shall not be named hasn’t left office yet; the vaccine results are early ones, and even after that, it will take a long time before there’s widespread vaccination. I will state here that I think the most agonising time of this whole pandemic may be the period between the jab becoming available and actually getting it into our arms. It’s making me weirdly restless.

But there is hope, at last. We just need to hunker down, and get through this winter whatever way we damn well can.  Food is going to be important, as it has been through all of this, so here are a few cheering things I’ve made  recently, and some cook book recommendations, if anyone needs Christmas ideas (and you don’t already own them).

First off, Trinidad Doubles, from Claire Thomson’s Home Cookery Year, which both Melinda and I have waxed lyrical about before. The recipe name doesn’t give a lot away, but it’s actually fried bread and spiced chickpeas. What’s not to like there?

Fried breads and chickpeas, aka Trinidad Doubles (plus potatoes)

The bread is made with self-raising flour, spices and full fat milk – mix, and then knead until smooth (I am never totally sure what this means, but I usually seem to guess right). As a bonus, it only needs to be left to rest for 10 minutes, unlike the hours needed for most breads.

Cook some onions, then add ginger, garlic and curry powder (I couldn’t get any of the recipe’s suggested Trinidadian curry powder, so I used Madras curry paste instead), followed by cooked (tinned or whatever) chickpeas. Just cover them in cold water and simmer for fifteen minutes until ‘rich and thick’. I found they needed a bit more than a simmer, but my hob is a bit useless and I don’t like watery sauces.

Chickpeas bubbling away

While the chickpeas are cooking, divide the dough, and roll out into rounds about 10cm across – quite small, so it works out at two per person.

Rolled out and ready for frying

Then, when the chickpeas are essentially ready, it’s time for the fun bit: frying the breads. One or two at a time, in a nice deep layer of hot oil. They puff up most entertainingly. Serve them with the chickpeas on top, and tamarind sauce (tamarind paste, water, sugar, chilli). The breads come out a bit like Indian puri, which makes sense as the recipe intro says it’s probably Indian in origin. The whole dish is definitely reccommended, and very much on the list to make again.

Puffing up in the frying pan

We had this with potatoes (because my husband finds it hard to live without them) and  carrot salad, which brings me onto another book recommendation: Simply by Sabrina Ghayour. It’s her latest book, and it may even replace Persiana as my favourite book of hers. Unlike say Ottolenghi Simple (which was simpler than his usual stuff, but rarely actually simple) this really lives up to the cover promise of really simple, tasty recipes. The carrot salad is simply a matter of grating the carrot, adding pistachio nuts, sliced red onion, nigella seeds and dill, then adding a honey/olive oil/lime juice dressing.

Carrot salad

We had another one from this book last night – tepsi kebap, or tray kebab. It’s a Turkish thing, and it is genius – no more soaking skewers, trying to get mince to stick to skewers,  or trying to turn over skewers on a griddle or grill without burning your fingers, no more worries about setting off the smoke alarm. Simply mush together a finely chopped onion (best option is put it through a food processor or chopper, then drain well), a finely chopped pepper, with minced lamb and spices. Press the mixture into a dish then bake in a very hot oven for twenty minutes, and hey presto: delicious kebab. We had this with a tomato salad from Persiana, with pomegranate molasses dressing, and home-made pita breads (which are a faff, but so much nicer than the supermarket ones).

Tray kebab, tomato salad, home made pita