Recipe: Moroccan Tagine

This is a much simpler version of to Antony Worrall Thompson's BBC recipe which replaces lamb with vegetables. This is such a delicious Sunday dinner and will serve 4 or keep in the fridge all week.

Ingredients:

2 tsp ground pepper

1½ tbsp paprika

1½ tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp turmeric

2 tsp ground cinnamon

One handful of sultanas or raisins

One handful dried apricots, chopped roughly

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped

1 can chickpeas

1 courgette, chopped into 1 inch pieces

Half a butternut squash, chopped into 1 inch pieces

1 can chopped tomatoes

200ml stock (vegetable, chicken or lamb all fine)

Large handful chopped coriander

3 tbsp clear honey

1. Mix the spices together. Sprinkle half over the butternut squash and courgetter and retain the other half

2. Fry the onion gently in olive oil until soft (do not brown). Add the remaining spices and stir

3. Add the garlic, butternut squash and courgettes and fry on a medium heat until the veggies have warmed through and are beginning to brown

4. Add the fruits, chickpeas, chopped tomatoes, stock and honey and bring to a simmer

5. Cover the pan/wok with lid or foil and simmer for half an hour, until the butternut squash is cooked through

6. Uncover and simmer for a further 10 minutes to reduce the liquid

7. Serve with couscous prepared to your liking (I add lime zest and coriander). Garnish with plenty of coriander

Fave places in London: Franco Manca

In normal circumstances I would wholeheartedly recommend this place BUT I don't want it to get any more popular, so yeeuugh - stay away! These fresh and lovely pizzas and made with slow-risen sourdough and local ingredients.

Gorge gorge gorge gorge gorge.

After 2.5 years in Brixton, I finally braved the queue (on my birthday, no less) at around 1pm and it was worth the wait!

The queue moves very quickly and the dude in charge is aaall over the table situation. We were given a menu to look at while we waited, which was great as it was a really difficult choice!

The fact that they have about 8 choices, with a couple of specials on the board is a testament to how uncomplicated but 'fresh' this restaurant is.

I had the ham and wild mushroom which was heavely. My sister had the chorizo/meaty one - she did comment that 'it's a bit too much chorizo for this time of the day', but this is my review, not hers :-)

Fave places in London: Lamb & Flag Pub

It's tucked away but signposted, and is a really lovely, authentic historic pub, right in the heart of Covent Garden but within easy reach of Leicester Square/Strand.

There is a large selection of ales (although I went for a Simmons cider) and plenty of standing room out the front for the summer time. Upstairs there is a large area of tables/booths and chairs and I BELIEVE they serve food - the ketchup bottles on the table were an indicator - although I haven't eaten there yet.

This pub is VERY popular with Thursday/Friday after work drinkers and the very narrow bar area can feel very tight. I was last there last night (Monday), and it was absolutely fine.

My only real gripe is the harsh, bright lighting upstairs. I came for a relaxing drink and catch up with a friend so we sat upstairs, but the lights are as bright as a toilet cubicle which just made it feel a little less 'chilled'.

Other than that, a very endearing place.

Recipe: Coconut Fish Curry

I saw this on Saturday Cookbook and thought it looked  easy and delicious so decided to recreate it. It tasted so good, I had to share it!



Serves 3/4

Ingredients:
Enough white fish for three people (cod, sea bass, monkfish), skinned, deboned and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 onion, sliced
1 chilli, chopped
Thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
2 tbsp tumeric
2 tbsp tamarid paste
1 lime
Handful of coriander, chopped

1. Sprinkle fish with tumeric, set to one side
2. Fry onions gently until soft and coloured
3. Add chilli, ginger, coconut milk and tamarind, bring to the boil and add the fish
4. Turn down heat and simmer for a couple of minutes until fish is cooked through and flakes apart
5. Serve with rice and a wedge of lime, sprinkle generously with coriander

Fave places in London: Lupita

The food here is really tasty and the waiters and waitresses are always very friendly (especially the guy who comes across as the manager - so friendly and welcoming! I've been about four times now, and have never been disappointed.

I always go for the same dish - the torta with ceviche, as this is the place I first ordered ceviche (after I saw Nigella make it!) and it's really delicious. The coolness and acidity of the fish compliments the crunchy tortilla perfectly. They could give you a bit more for the price, but the small-ish sizes of the dishes leave plenty of room for desert!

Now I really love the churros here, but the dessert menu itself is no match for Wahaca up by Covent Garden, which does AMAZING dolce de leche ice cream with dark chocolate chips and a larger variety. Saying that, there's still a decent choice at Lupita.

This restaurant is often busy but I have always managed to get a seat. I like it a lot.

Fave Places in London: Satay Bar

Satay Bar is a bar (no way!) and restaurant next to the Ritzy cinema in Brixton. It offers a delectable array of pan-asian food including Thai, Vietnamese, Singaporean and Chinese in a very funky and modern setting.

The food here is incredible! The portion sizes for the mains are huge, and you always know anything you choose will be lovely. I always find it difficult to decide what to have as the menu looks so very appetizing. My particular favourites are the red Thai king prawn curry, the Big Belly Pad thai, the hot Tom Yum Yum soup (which they have taken off the menu!!) and the lamb massaman curry.

As indicated by the name, the starters menu offers a large variety of different satays, from chicken and peanut to tempura vegetable.

The cocktails are fantastic and taste that little bit sweeter before 8pm during Happy Hour.

I love this place, but always book as it can get VERY busy on a Friday/Saturday night (when I didn't book, I waited 90 minutes - it was worth it though :-)

Blogosphere: Week 5

Returned from holiday late last night! I had a great time, despite the 7.10am screeching toddler next door and the questionable hotel food. The weather was stunning, the pool clean and refreshing and the sea crystal clear. I have inadvertantly visited Malia and Ayia Napa in the past 6 weeks because my hotels were nearby. Definitely too old now.

 

I had a sorry case of the post-holiday blues today *cue music*, beginning at half five this morning when Lisa's blasted cat started scratching at my door. Not cool, Millie, not cool. What's with the weather here!? I've spent a week developing a nice golden tan, returning to a London where Ugg boots and coats are out and about. De-press-ing.

There was one ray of sunshine in my day - I won the Apprentice sweepstake at work! Nice one, Ricky Martin. I didn't watch one episode (I don't like the confrontation!) but heard he was a bit of a doofus, a wrestler who thought he was the 'reflection of perfection'. Puke. Anyway, I took my winnings and spent the evening making chocolate cupcakes for my colleagues. Man, they are such a great bunch and I love to spoil them.



I booked a hair appointment for Saturday afternoon and am looking forward to it. Think I'm going to go back to blonde (from Ombre/the grown out roots look) for the summer, with an inch off the end. I like to have enough length for a 'gym ponytail' nowadays, after a decade of the choppy bob too short to do anything with. Happy days!

Bloody gawwwgeous snack

Ciabatta with Halloumi and Mango Salsa

1. Buy halloumi, a red onion, a ciabatta roll and a mango. Grow some coriander (or buy, if pressed for time).

2. Chop half a red onion and handful of coriander finely and mix together; cut mango into small cubes and chop all three ingredients to mix.

3. Slice halloumi and place on a hot griddle/frying pan until browned. Turn over and brown other side. Remove.

4. Slice open ciabatta and toast inner sides on griddle.

5. Place halloumi onto roll and plop chutney on top.

The perfect summer lunch - LOVELY!!

A Blog About Yog!

Having discovered Snog frozen yoghurt outlets last year, I'm now an enthusiastic follower of the 'fro-yo' movement. I adore mango or passion fruit flavour with raspberries dotted around the outside. I spotted this tub yesterday in Waitrose (the John Lewis food hall on Oxford St.) and prayed that it didn't melt on the bus home. Luckily it's fairly slow melting so was fine. 

This tastes exactly like the pumped stuff and the passion fruit flavour is Out Of This World. It's gorgeously exotic and best of all, it's fat free! Totally guiltless pleasure! I'm a huge fan and spent last night wrapped around this tub. Here it is, posing on my rug.


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My first cheesecake

Give someone a cake and they'll like you. Give them a cake you made, and they'll love you forever.

I like sharing the fruits of my labour with colleagues, so I asked for requests last week. The general consensus was a cheesecake with specific instruction to wait until next week, when S is back from holidays. Once I had the idea in my head, though, I couldn't wait!

I'm not a huge cheesecake fan, but after a wonderful past experience with a lime cheesecake (with a ginger biscuit base), I decided that was The One. I went for this recipe by foodforfriendsyeah which reminded me of the one I'd tasted before. It was really easy to make and tasted lovely! There's a nice contrast between the citric, slightly tart topping and the sweet, buttery base *drool*. I used half-fat creme fraiche so it wasn't quite as sinful, but the reduced fat content did mean it didn't set as hard as you would expect. Not a problem though.

NB: It looks like pond weed on the top, but it's not. It's lime zest.

The only issue now is that my impatience  has made its way to S, who is not happy that I couldn't wait for her return, so I have to face her wrath tomorrow (and possibly make another to placate her!).

I've made another one today at mum's! Nueva favorita!

Katie Matey on Twitter -- Katie Matey on Bloglovin'