Spiralizer Week: Day Three: Avocado-Basil Zucchini Noodles with Chilli-Lime Prawns and Corn

Wow, what a mouthful. In both senses! I really liked the cold sauce for this dish. It was interesting how it affected the texture of the zucchini noodles. The prawns were OK, but not that great; I think I'd rather serve this with some jerk chicken or fried fish. The corn was luscious, and I liked how its heat softened the zucchini noodles just a tad. For some reason, this is the only dish in months that has provoked my lovely SO to spontaneously exclaim how much he liked it. So -- a win!

Ingredients

• juice of one lime
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 ripe avocado, skinned and stone removed
• 1/4 cup yoghurt
• 12 basil leaves
• 1/2 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 corn on the cob
• 2-3 zucchinis, spiralized into noodles
• seasoned, barbecued fish or chicken, to serve

Method

Whiz the lime juice, salt, pepper, avocado, yoghurt, basil and garlic together in a blender. Barbecue or grill the corn until golden and tender. Cut the kernels from the corn and then mix with the sauce and zucchini noodles. Would serve really well with some freshly barbecued chicken or fish.

Lucknow Spiced Roast Lamb

Another excellent recipe from Rick Stein's India. There's a fair amount of prep work in making and applying the spice paste, but once it's done and the lamb is in the oven, that's it. You can serve with quite plain accompaniments (roast potatoes or boiled rice, and some simple vegetables or salad) because the lamb is so rich and the spice paste so delicious. It's tempting to skip steps like frying the onions but I urge you not to; much of the paste should end up inside the roast, and you want it to percolate into the meat, so it needs to be tasty straight from the blender. With this mix of ingredients, that's easy.

Ingredients

• 2kg easy-carve (boned) leg of lamb
• 2 brown onions, thinly sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 6cm ginger, roughly chopped
• 55g cashew nuts
• 75g desiccated coconut
• 300g thick Greek yoghurt
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp garam masala
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp Kashmiri (mild, bright red) chilli powder

Fry the onions in oil for 10 minutes until deep golden brown; add the garlic and ginger and fry for a further 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a food blender and blend to a paste with all of the other ingredients.

Sit the leg of lamb in a roasting tray and make 1.5cm deep and wide incisions all over, so you can push the spice paste in. If you like, you can take off the thickest part of the fat as well, but leave some on so the roast stays moist. Push the spice paste into the middle where the bone was removed, and into the incisions, and finally coat the surface of the lamb thickly. If you have any left over, plop it underneath the lamb. Add about 200ml of water to the bottom of the tray and cover the whole leg loosely with foil. Roast at 150C for 1.5 hours, then remove the foil and roast for a further 30 minutes uncovered. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving thickly.

Bacon and Chilli Yoghurt Muffins

I'm in a muffin mood! Specifically I seem to be hooked on bacon muffins. SO GOOD. This recipe comes from an awesome Christmas present, The Flavour Thesaurus. It's an incredible book in which the author set out to describe every possible flavour combination, scaling back from an insane number that could only be represented in scientific notation to a 'more feasible' 4,591 combinations - of which, to be fair, only the edible ones are described. It's brilliant to flick through as the prose is amusing and filled with interesting historical and cultural tidbits- it was in the 'everything goes with bacon' chapter that I came across this lovely recipe. I didn't have any cornmeal, so in place of the plain flour and cornmeal, I used a 'corn bread' baking mix, which is half-and-half white flour and coarse corn meal flour. Don't be scared by the quantity of chilli flakes: their heat is well-tempered by the yoghurt and butter. I also took the advice in the recipe and served with cream cheese: a wonderful combination.

Ingredients

• four rashers of bacon
• two eggs
• 450g plain yoghurt
• 50g butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 65g plain flour 
• 275g fine cornmeal
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes

Fry or grill the bacon until crispy and easy to snip or crumble. Whisk the eggs together with the yoghurt in a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter and drizzle it in, whisking all the while. Combine the salt, soda, flour, cornmeal and chilli flakes in a bowl and then fold into the yoghurt mixture, stopping as soon as you no longer see any dry flour. Pop into 12-18 muffin cases or trays and bake at 200 C for 20 minutes, until golden and risen.

Bacon, Cheese and Apple Muffins (oh my!)

I received some lovely presents from my husband's brother and his wife: the sequel to one of my favourite cookbooks, The Kitchen Diaries, aptly titled The Kitchen Diaries II (: the Search for More Food?!), and some delightful silicone muffin cups and a matching tray. I put them both to the test with this simple recipe, about all I could manage while coming out the other side of the Great British Flu, a gift the entire Northern Hemisphere contributed to. They turned out really well, despite having to substitute plain old free-range bacon and Australian cheddar for the ridiculously artisanal ingredients used by Nige.

Ingredients:

• four rashers of back bacon
• a small apple
• 3 eggs
• 175ml yoghurt
• 100g cheddar cheese
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsbp sugar
• 275g plain flour

Pop the bacon on the barbie or under the grill until cooked but not too crispy, then snip into small pieces. Beat the eggs into the yoghurt, then grate 3/4 of the cheese into the mixture. Combine the baking powder, sugar and flour in a separate bowl. Peel and grate the apple last, so it has no time to go brown. Stir it, along with the bacon, into the yoghurt mixture. Fold the yoghurt mixture gently into the flour, stopping as soon as there is no more dry flour visible. Spoon into muffin cups (I used 12), and bake at 200 C for 20-25 minutes, until risen and golden. Nigel says to eat them on the same day, but I found the taste improved overnight, although the texture suffered a little.

Palak Raita (Spinach with Yoghurt and Spices)

I'm going through a big spinach phase at the moment. There's no better way to prepare it than to wash it thoroughly (grit is HORRIBLE!) pile it into a big saucepan and cook it in the rinsing water for a few minutes, then squeeze it out completely and use or serve as soon as you can. I like it very simply dressed with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and a generous dusting of salt.

Tonight's curry calls for a more robust treatment, and fortunately my Giant Asian Cookbook is ready to provide. They start by cooking the spinach in exactly the same way I do - so really it's just the dressing that changes.

Ingredients

• a big bunch of spinach, cooked as described above
• 1 tbsp ghee or butter
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds or ground fenugreek
• 1/2 tsp salt
• a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• 250g plain yoghurt

Fry the mustard seeds in the ghee or butter at a low heat  until they start to pop, Add the cumin seeds, ground cumin and fenugreek, and stir fry with a wooden spoon until the spices colour - but be careful not to burn them. Remove from the heat, and add the salt and cayenne, if using, then allow to cool. Swirl the spinach, yoghurt and spice mixture together in a bowl; serve cold or at room temperature (more fragrant).

BBQd Lamb and Aubergines with Tahini Dressing

Another post-workout meal created by my lovely husband slaving over a hot BBQ! Simply lamb chops, sliced aubergine, and a corn on the cob BBQd to perfection, served with a sauce of 1 part tahini to 2 parts natural yoghurt, the last of the bread from yesterday, and a few leaves for colour. Way more than I could eat, even after Zumba :)

BBQ Challenge Week: Day 2: Fresh Pittas, Cold Lamb, Beetroot Tzatziki

Followed the recipe I used to make in Cambridge, but on this side of the planet we're very happy to eat the lamb cold and the pitta fresh off the barbie. A little sliced avocado on the side and it's a delicious fast meal post-Zumba. And as always, I love the colour of this tzatziki! The pitta is fast and easy to make - it must be as my husband had the flat rounds of dough waiting to go on the barbie when I got home ;) This is a recipe for eight hand-size pittas.

Ingredients:

• 275 ml warm water
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 250g organic wholemeal bread flour
• 200g organic white bread flour
• 1 1/2 tsp dried yeast

Either put the ingredients into a breadmaker for half an hour of dough cycle, or combine the ingredients in a large bowl and knead for ten minutes. Turn out on to a well-floured surface and divide in half, then again, then again, so you have eight pieces. Roll each piece out until it is about 5mm thick. Cover the pittas with a damp tea towel, preferably not all on top of each other so that they have space to rise. Leave for 15 minutes to rise a little then place on a medium-hot barbecue flat plate and close the lid; they should take about 2 minutes each side. Cover with the tea towel again if you're not eating them straight away.

BBQ Challenge Week: Day 1: Lamb and Red Peppers

Yesterday we got a great deal at the butcher's, 2kg of lamb chops for $20. We froze half of them, and planned to bbq the rest; we could eat them hot off the barbie and cold later in the week. They're a forequarter cut so have a fair amount of challenge in the eating, although the meat is perfectly delicious and tender. But it put me off trying any kind of complex coating since that would make it too difficult to tear into with your teeth, which is what you really want to do with a cut like this.

Sides were simply peppers cut in half and bbq-grilled until tender and charred around the edges, a quick blend of hummus, a dollop of yoghurt, half a pitta, and some shredded lettuce. So it only took about 15 minutes to prepare everything, which was great timing as we were hungry after getting back from watching a football game (I know, what's happening to me here? :)

Cold Radish Leaf Gazpacho

The radishes we bought at the market came with a fantastic head of spicy bristly leaves, crying out to be used in something refreshing and exciting. They were too prickly to be used raw; even as I washed them, my hands began to burn from their tiny spines. So I followed a method for making chilled watercress soup, adapting it to what I had to hand. I popped the yoghurt-less base in the fridge, and it really came in handy later in the week.

Ingredients:

• the leaves of a large bunch of radishes
• 3 tbsp butter
• 5 spring onions, cleaned and tailed
• one medium white potato
• half a glass of white wine
• half a chicken stock cube
• three bay leaves
• salt
• black pepper
• strong Greek natural yoghurt

Thoroughly wash the radish leaves and blanch in boiling water for thirty seconds. Remove and leave to drain in a colander - don't worry about running any cold water over them. Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan and roughly chop the spring onions, and cube the potato. Fry the vegetables in the butter for a few minutes, until the onions have softened and begun to caramelise. Add the white wine, half a stock cube, the bay leaves, and enough hot water to cover - about 500ml. Simmer for ten minutes, until the potato is tender. Return the radish leaves to the pan and puree with a hand blender. Taste and season. Chill thoroughly, for at least 6 hours, preferably for 24-48 hours. Add more water if necessary, then stir through the yoghurt and serve.

Chaas

It's definitely heating up for summer! My Indian friends gave me this great recipe for a drink that keeps you cool, and replaces salt lost from sweating. It's called chaas, and the savoury ingredients may initially intimidate you, but I suggest making a small amount, very cold, and see if you like it. I love it :)

Ingredients:

• 2 generous tbsp natural yoghurt
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 400ml cold water
• a handful of ice
• 1/4 tsp crushed, toasted cumin seeds (optional)

Combine all of the ingredients in a glass and whisk until combined. Drink cold or keep for up to a couple of days.

Roasted Baby Courgettes with Cous-Cous and Apricot Topping

Another recipe inspired by Nigel Slater's Tender, but one that I think needs some modification to be perfect. He bakes the courgettes for only 25 minutes, but I found that was not nearly long enough, and more like 55 minutes was needed if baking from raw. I also found that the topping was nice but a certain piquancy was missing. These problems can be easily remedied by adapting a method I usually use for Provençal tomatoes: frying them in a very hot pan for 5 minutes and then drenching in balsamic vinegar before baking in the oven with the topping. I have yet to try it on this recipe but I'll suggest it here as I think it would be an improvement.

Ingredients:

• 8-10 baby courgettes, washed and halved lengthwise
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 100g cous-cous
• half a white onion
• one slice of bread
• a small bunch of parsley
• a handful of dried apricots
• a handful of pistachio kernels, unsalted
• 200g natural yoghurt
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Fry the baby courgettes in olive oil, first round-side down, then cut-side down, for 1-2 minutes (depending on thickness) each side, using a griddle (nice char marks) or frying-pan (more even cooking). When golden and seared, place in them in a baking dish, cut side up.

Meanwhile, prepare the cous-cous according to its packet instructions: I cover in boiling water in a 2:1 ratio, add a bit of butter and some vegetable stock powder, stir once then cover with a plate for 10 minutes. Finely chop the onion and gently fry in olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Whiz the bread and parsley in a blender to make breadcrumbs. Roughly chop the apricots and pistachios, then combine with the cooked cous-cous and breadcrumbs, and onions. Season well and scatter over the singed courgettes, cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.

Combine the yoghurt, white wine vinegar and olive oil, and serve the courgettes with this dressing to spoon over. (We had a little prosciutto on the side for protein.)

Winter Slaw with Rare Roast Lamb and Red Pepper Quinoa

Butchers here tend to offer a good selection of marinaded and prepared meats which are ready to roast, fry or bbq. We picked up a rolled loin of lamb with a layer of spices and a small amount of spiced stuffing. It was quite delicious - roasted for 50 minutes at 200 C until golden on the outside and still pink on the inside, then rested for 10 minutes before being sliced thinly. I took the opportunity of the umami flavours spicy, smoky meat  to make a light, crunchy slaw, based on the advice in Nigel Slater's Tender. Carbs came in the form of some seasoned quinoa stirred through with roast peppers left over from a previous meal.

Ingredients:

• one small carrot or half a large
• one quarter of a white cabbage
• a stick of celery, or a generous handful of its leaves
• a small handful of flat-leaf parsley or dill
• 4 tbsp natural yoghurt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• a generous handful of green pumpkin seeds

Peel the carrot but leave the end on, then grate it into long thin shreds. Finely shred the cabbage and thinly slice the celery (or its leaves). Finely chop the herbs. Combine the yoghurt, olive oil and lemon juice together, and season well, then stir through the vegetables. Toast the pumpkin seeds either in an oven at 200C for 5-6 minutes, or by dry-frying them over a medium heat in a non-stick frying pan. Serve the slaw with pumpkin seeds scattered over.

Mango Lassi

This time I came home to a lovely pumpkin and chickpea curry, courtesy of my excellent significant other. I thought it would be super helpful for me to get in the way at the crucial last stages of preparing the meal and make us a couple of mango lassis. These are really, really simple. And delicious.

Ingredients

• a mango
• 1 1/2 cups natural yoghurt
• 1 tsp sugar (optional)

BLEND! Add a little water or milk if you prefer yours runnier. BLEND AGAIN! Serve :)