Indian Spiced Smashed Pumpkin

I’ve found a new blog that I love, it’s called Veg Recipes Of India. There are so many things that I want to make I didn’t know where to start. The first recipe that captured my soul, and my stomach though, was this one. It’s real name is Kaddu Sabzi but I couldn’t resist The Smashing Pumpkins reference.

“Goatherd’s” Pie – A lentil bake topped with local goat’s cheese mash

This is my vegetarian version of Shepherd’s Pie. For those of you who don’t know, Shepherd’s Pie is a British dish made with minced lamb (hence the shepherd) and vegetables topped with mashed potato and baked in the oven. It is classic, British, cold weather comfort food.  I have replaced the minced lamb with lentils and put some goat’s cheese through the mash. The idea came from seeing these goats and sheep grazing together while I was walking the dog…..

They like to eat trees….

I remembered that there is a local goat’s & sheep’s cheese producer in Alhaurin, where we live, that I have been meaning to check out for a while.

“The Shepherd of the Valley Cheeses”

I was greeted by this dog as I got out of the car. If by greeting  you mean, barking constantly, following me and trying to bite me as I left. But don’t let that put you off. They have great selection of goat’s and sheep’s cheeses, just ring on the bell…

I bought this hard goat’s cheese (it looks like Manchego) which is delicious. Every goat’s cheese I’ve bought before has been the soft rind kind that is sold in supermarkets. This is quite different and a nice change. It is quite crumbly and the flavour is sharper than a sheep’s or cow’s milk Manchego.

They also have a goat’s Requeson which is a type of ricotta that I am looking forward to trying next time I go. I will try to take some more pictures then and I would like to have a proper tour of the factory when I’m not being chased by a big dog……

“Goatherd’s” Pie Recipe

serves 4-5, vegetarian

• 5 medium potatoes, peeled & quartered
• about 75ml goat’s milk
• 75-100 gr goat’s cheese, grated or crumbled plus extra for topping
• salt & black pepper
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 big, red (or not) onion chopped
• 3 celery stalks & leaves, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 a large sweet potato (or 2 carrots) diced
• 5 or 6 mushrooms, sliced
• a handful of frozen peas
• about 175 gr (1 cup) uncooked brown lentils
• 400 ml (2 cups) veg stock
• 200 ml (1 cup) water
• 2 or 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/2 tsp fresh/dried thyme leaves chopped
• 1/2 tsp dried mint
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• a pinch of dried chilli flakes
• 4 tbsp or more of tomato passata (tomate frito)
• 1 tsp english mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• breadcrumbs (I used toasted garlic breadcrumbs)
• grated/crumbled goat’s cheese
• olive oil

Put the potatoes in cold salted water, bring up to the boil, reduce the heat slightly and cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are very tender. Drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Heat up the goat’s milk and pour it onto the potatoes. Mash with a potato masher until smooth, stir in the goats cheese and season well with salt, pepper and the nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasoning/add more cheese. Set aside.

Rinse the lentils in a sieve and pick out any stones. Put them in a small pan with the veg stock and water, bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about 25 – 30 minutes until the lentils are cooked but still holding their shape.

Meanwhile heat some olive oil in a deep pan, over a medium heat and throw in the onions, celery, sweet potato/ carrots and season well with salt & black pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions and sweet potato have softened then add the garlic, herbs & spices. Stir everything together until well combined. If it dries out at any stage add a splash of wine or veg stock.  Preheat the oven to 200C. Add the mushroom, peas, tomato passata/frito, Worcestershire sauce & mustard to the vegetables.  Lower the heat slightly and continue cooking, stirring, adding more tomato passata if it’s looking dry. When the lentils are cooked tip them into the veg saucepan, combine everything well, check for seasoning and pour into a baking dish.

Top with the mashed potato, spread it out evenly, sprinkle/crumble over the goat’s cheese, then the breadcrumbs and drizzle with a little olive oil.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 – 35 minutes until the top is browned and the filling is bubbling around the edge..

Serve with a green salad for lunch or for something more substantial steam some broccoli and serve it with some veggie gravy on the side…

Maybe I should take some for that dog next time….

Buen Provecho!

Butter Bean Puree with Stuffed Roasted Peppers

It’s all about the Butter Bean Puree. You can serve it with whatever you like. Think about a mix between hummus & mashed potato and you’re almost there. It is comfort food heaven for me. The beans are pureed with roasted garlic, lemon juice, olive oil & rosemary and served hot, like a beany, garlicky mash. They are the perfect accompaniment to any Italian, Spanish, Greek or Middle Eastern dish. Or just eat it on its own from the bowl with a big spoon….

Butter Bean Puree with Stuffed Roasted Peppers

serves 2 vegetarian

• 1 jar/can butter beans, rinsed well (about 400 gr)
• 3 or 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• a small sprig fresh rosemary, chopped, (about 1/2 tsp)
• the juice of 1/2 a lemon, maybe more
• about 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt & black pepper
• 2 large red peppers
• some leftover risotto/couscous/quinoa whatever you have
• about 50 gr crumbled feta
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• some breadcrumbs
• olive oil & rosemary to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Slice the tops off of the peppers, cut out the seeds and pull out any white membrane. Stuff the peppers with the risotto (or whatever you are using), top with the crumbled feta and sprinkle with oregano. Put the peppers in a foil lined baking tin with the unpeeled garlic cloves. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the feta and drizzle the tops & garlic with olive oil. Bake the peppers in the preheated oven for 35 – 40 minutes but take the garlic cloves out after 15 minutes. 

Put the rinsed beans, lemon juice and rosemary in a bowl then squeeze the roasted garlic out of their skins into the bowl as well. Drizzle with 1 or 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and blend with a stick blender or in a food processor. Drizzle in the rest of the oil while blending until you have reached a kind of sticky mashed potato consistency. Season well with salt & black pepper, taste and add more lemon juice if you want. Add more olive oil if you want it more liquidy. Heat the bean puree in a pan and serve drizzled with olive oil & a sprig of rosemary garnish.

Or serve alongside the stuffed roasted peppers…

This Butter Bean Puree is quicker, easier and, dare I say it, more delicious than mashed potato. A really great side dish to do when entertaining, or just for yourself, you may not want to share it…!

Christmas Carbicide and Boxing Day Bubble…

On Christmas Eve we walked up to these rocks….

Then the Washer Up made his amazing vegeatble sushi rolls stuffed with omelette, carrot, spring onion & spinach which we served with sushi ginger, wasabi paste & soy sauce… yum!

Followed by a spicy miso noodle broth with pak choi & shitake mushrooms..

And then we played cards..with the cat!

On Christmas morning we walked up to our favourite hilltop retreat and ate mince pies..

From there we could see this waterfall on the mountain over the other side of the valley and decided to walk there on Boxing day… more of that “adventure” later…!

Our Christmas Dinner was “Potatoes Four Ways” also known as “Christmas Carbicide!”..

This consisted of (clockwise from bottom right) Dauphinoise Potatoes, Potato Fondant, Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Mash & Polenta Encrusted Roast Potatoes. As you can imagine I have only just emerged from my carb induced coma.. The stuffing on top is Sage & Onion. I think my favourite was the Potato Fondant which is a disc of potato cooked slowly in butter & stock.  We served this with roasted shallots, peas & green beans with garlic & ground almonds..

This was all covered with “purple” gravy (don’t ask- it was red onion gravy but I blitzed it so it was purple!) nice…
We had red wine with dinner which was probably not a good idea, the Washer Up is not good on red wine…

So it was with a hangover on Boxing Day morning that we embarked on our trip to the faraway waterfall…. We parked at Barranco Blanco and took some pictures of the lovely waterfall there….

We couldn’t get down to the bottom because of all the water but you can see some more pictures I took there earlier in the year here.

We set off on the path around the valley and looked back at our favourite hilltop, where we walked to on Christmas day..

We passed another small waterfall on the mountain path before we went “off road”….

So, The Washer Up said it would only take us about 20 minutes off the path to reach the waterfall. Needless to say we ended up on a steep incline head height in thorn bushes with no idea how to get out! It was impossible to reach the waterfall through all the spikey bush but we got near enough to take this photo. There were three levels of waterfall..

It was pretty scary trying to find our way back to the path, but we haven’t given up. Next time we are going to go along the river bed at the bottom and see if we can reach it from that direction….

By the time we arrived back at home we had been out for about 3 1/2 hours so we were starving. What was in the fridge? Leftover potatoes and veg from our Christmas dinner. So it had to be Bubble & Squeak with a Fried Egg…

Put all of your leftover potatoes (mash & roasts) in to a bowl with the leftover veg and stuffing and mash with a potato masher. Shape into a ball and place a slice/chunk of goat’s cheese in the middle roll it up again to seal it and shape into patties.
Sprinkle some flour/breadcrumbs/polenta on a plate and lightly coat the patties to give it a nice crust. Fry in hot butter & olive oil over a medium high heat for about 5 minutes on each side (turn them over when browned). When they are nearly cooked crack two egs into the same pan and cook until just set.
Serve the Bubble & Squeak straight away topped with the fried egg (and some HP sauce!). The addition of the goat’s cheese is a Nigel Slater idea. I’ve never tried it before. It’s lovely when you cut into the Bubble & Squeak and the cheese oozes out. With that and the soft egg yolk …..heaven!!
Hope you enjoyed your Christmas too xx

Fabulous Cabbage Recipes

 

 

We walk past these cabbages every day and see them growing. I love the silveryness of their leaves in the sun. After the rain we have had they are definitely looking ready to me so I am finally accepting it is now Autumn and am going to cook with cabbage tonight…

 

 

 

 

Our Broccoli & Cabbage

 

Indian Spiced Cabbage & Potato Samosas Recipe 

 Makes about 8 samosas Vegetarian/Vegan

Indian Spiced Cabbage Samosas wih Fig Chutney

 For the Samosa Pastry

makes about 8/10 samosas

•  225 gr plain flour (I use wholemeal, you can use white or a mixture of both)
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp olive oil or veg oil
• 110 ml water (You may need a little more but start with this)
  1. Mix the flour, salt, cumin seeds & turmeric in a large bowl until combined.
  2. Add the oil & water, stir with a wooden spoon then use your hands to bring it together to form a ball of dough. (You may need to add a little more water if it’s too dry).
  3. Wrap the ball of dough in clingfilm and put it in the fridge while you make the filling.

  For the cabbage

• 1/2 head cabbage cut in half & finely sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp punch pooran*
• 1 small fresh chilli chopped
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• a pinch of dried chilli flakes
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp salt
•  a squeeze of lemon/lime juice
• a handful of fresh coriander chopped
•  2 tbsp veg stock
• some leftover cooked mashed potato or chopped cooked potato whatever you have.

*Punch pooran is a whole spice mix made up from cumin, fennel, fenugreek, black mustard & onion seeds. It gives a great rounded flavour to any indian dishes & is available from East End Foods.

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok to a medium heat. Add the punch pooran, cooking until the seeds start to pop, then quickly add the rest of the spices, garlic & ginger cooking them for about a minute but do not burn them.
2. Add in the cabbage and salt and stir to coat the cabbage in the oil & spices then add the veg stock to loosen it slightly and stir fry the cabbage until it is cooked how you like it. (I like it cooked but still a bit crunchy about 5 mins).
3. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice & the chopped coriander and check for seasoning.

You can serve it like this as a side dish its delicious..

Indian Spiced Cabbage

4. Now add your cooked mashed potato or cooked chopped potatoes (As much as you like) and stir to combine well.

Cabbage & Potato Samosa Mix

5. Now take the dough out of the fridge, flour your board & rolling pin and start to need the dough for about a minute to make it stable.

6. Cut the ball of dough into quarters then into eights and roll out one of the pieces of dough to about 2 or 3 mm thick. Then trim it into a square about 10 or 12 cm.

10 - 12 cm Samosa Square

7. Now take a heaped tablespoon of the mix and put it on one half of the square, leave the edges clear

8. Now fold the empty side over the filling to make a triangle and press down the edges then seal them again with a fork.

9. Repeat with the rest of the pastry.

I baked mine in a preheated oven 210 degrees for about 10 – 12 mins. I brushed them with a little oil first & oiled the baking tray. You can deep fry them in hot oil for about 2 minutes on each side.

I served them with some of my fiery fig chutney (see recipe) but you can serve them with any chutney you have or a raita either way they’re great.

 I love potato, especially mashed potato, and I also love Indian food so this next idea is an Indian spiced version of Colcannon (An Irish dish with mashed potato & cabbage) or Bubble & Squeak, an English dish made with leftover potatoes & vegetables (usually Brussel sprouts or cabbage) which is made into patties and fried in a pan. Heaven….

Indian Spiced Bubble & Squeak with a Poached Egg

serves 2 vegetarian

Brunch Heaven

• leftover Indian spiced cabbage (see above)
• leftover mashed potato
• 2 eggs
• coriander or chives to garnish

1. Mix the cold mash and cabbage together well

2. Press the mix into two chefs rings or cookie cutters to make patties ( Or just shape them by hand). Then heat some oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the patties to the hot oil and cook them until well browned on both sides and hot in the middle

Bubble & Squeak

3. Meanwhile put a large pan of water on to boil with a squirt of vinegar. When it’s boiling turn off the heat, stir the water and carefully crack the two eggs into the water (Break them into the surface of the water). Put the lid on and leave them for 3 minutes.

Serve the poached egg on top of the Bubble & Squeak and garnish with chives or coriander. 

Enjoy!