Category Archives: Starters

Tomato Chilli Jam

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Filed under chilli jam, Edible Christmas gifts, egg free, Gluten free, Starters, Tomato Chilli Jam, vegan, vegetarian, Winter warmers

tomato chilli jam trio

Mr Arabella Cooks and I travelled round New Zealand eight years ago. We knew we’d be experiencing phenomenal wines there but hadn’t expected to be so blown away by the food. The portions were enormous but it was all so delicious I put on a stone and a half in three weeks. In Wellington we stayed with some old friends of Mr AC who made this amazing tomato chilli jam for us (along with some gorgeous barbequed salmon – match made in heaven) and I still salivate when thinking about it to this day. It’s tangy, sweet, punchy and a little bit tingly (though really not too much) and I recently  got in touch with Melissa and Dave to ask for the recipe as I wanted to make a batch to give as Christmas gifts this year. It’s an adapted Peter Gordon recipe; it’s the perfect Christmas or hostess gift but do keep a few jars back for yourself as it’s unbelievably good with cheese (I love it with soft goats cheese), ham, salmon (it’s the perfect accompaniment to salmon en croute), toasted sandwiches, in bolognaise, on pizzas – as Melissa herself says “it gives everything some zhush!”.  Peter Gordon suggests glazing fish or chicken with it before grilling, smearing onto lamb or pork legs before roasting or spreading to a slice of toast and topping with a fried egg. Its uses are endless. Try it. You’ll love it!

Recipe (makes roughly 10 – 15 small Killner Jars worth)

  • 2.5 kg ripe tomatoes
  • 6 red chillis, 5 of them de-seeded; for a mild but punchy jam leave in the seeds of ONE of the chills; if you want it hotter, leave in more of the seeds;  for a milder jam, leave out all the seeds.
  • 10 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • three thumbs of ginger, peeled
  • 100ml fish sauce
  • 1kg golden caster sugar (or plain white if you don’t have golden)
  • 500ml red wine vinegar

Method:

  1. Blend half the tomatoes, all the chillis, garlic and ginger with the fish sauce in a blender (don’t de-seed the tomatoes, they contain the pectin which thickens and sets the jam).
  2. Put the puree into two large pots and add the vinegar and sugar to both (divide equally).
  3. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly, then add the remaining tomatoes (chopped finely) and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Skim off any scum that forms and stir every 5 minutes. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pan every now and again to ensure an even cook and release the solids that collect at the bottom.
  4. When the jam is done (if you put a dollop onto a warmed side plate and push the edge of the dollop with a spoon it should stay where it is and not slide back to where it was), spoon the mixture into sterilised Kilner jars (to sterilise just run through the dishwasher and take out just before you need to use them so they are still warm), top with a small circle of baking parchment, then once the jam has cooled, close the lid and store in the fridge until needed. I used an old school Dynamo to make the label for the jars which looks lovely (a Dynamo label maker doesn’t cost much and you can get Kilner jars fairly cheaply on Amazon). This makes a super gift along with the spiced maple cashew bark in the photo below. Yum!

tomato chilli jam singleedible gifts

Chicken Soup

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Filed under Chicken, Soup, Starters, Winter warmers

chicken soup

Mr Arabella Cooks doesn’t consider soup to be substantial enough for his evening meal. He makes an exception however, when I make this chicken soup. I hate wasted food and when we’ve had a roast chicken at the weekend I always make stock from the carcass, and with the leftover meat either sandwiches, fajitas, or this delicious chicken soup. What makes it substantial enough to meet Mr AC’s needs is a large amount of veg and some teeny weeny pasta stars from the Heinz baby weaning range. They add texture and bulk but their teeniness means they’re still delicate and don’t overpower the soup as I find anything larger pasta-wise is apt to do. I’ve tried to find another brand of pasta that’s as small as the Heinz baby stuff but so far without success, so whenever I see it in a supermarket I tend to bulk buy it.

I don’t know if chicken soup can cure colds, but winter is nearly upon us and this version will nevertheless fill you with warmth and cheer you up enormously upon eating. I like it best with several slices of cheap, sliced white bread, spread thick with salty butter. Yum!

pickerimage

Recipe (makes roughly enough to serve 3 or 4 people):

For the stock:

  • A chicken carcass (leftover from your Sunday roast)
  • 2 or 3 carrots (I often bung in the ones that have gone a bit flabby to use them up)
  • 2 onions
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 2 parsnips
  • A leek
  • One Kallo organic chicken stock cube

For the soup:

  • The meat from the chicken carcass, chopped into chunks. (If there was hardly anything left use a fresh free range chicken breast)
  • A packet of Heinz baby pasta stars
  • A carrot, peeled and diced into small squares
  • A leek, finely sliced

Method:

  1. Make the stock:
    1. Place the chicken carcass, roughly chopped carrots and parsnips (John Torode recommends peeling the carrots and parsnips as the skin makes the stock bitter but I don’t usually bother), the leek (cut into thirds), onion (leave the skin on as long as it’s clean, but cut it into quarters), peppercorns and bay leaves into a large stockpot.
    2. Cover with cold water.
    3. Bring to the boil; skim off any scum that forms on the surface (this is necessary as the scum definitely will make your soup taste bitter).
    4. Add the Kallo stock cube.
    5. Boil for about an hour or until reduced slightly and cloudy in colour with a good flavour of chicken when tasted.
    6. Strain the stock into a large clean pan (don’t empty it over the sink as I have done in the past. This is liquid you need to keep!
  2. Place the pan of stock on the hob. Add the veg and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pasta stars [I haven’t given a quantity here as I usually do it by eye; I would say about 2 tablespoonfuls is plenty] and chicken and simmer for another 3-5 minutes until the pasta is soft. [If using a fresh chicken breast, chop it into chunks and add it before the veg; once it’s opaque and cooked through add the veg and then the pasta].
  3. Add a few twists of black pepper then taste and add salt if it needs it. Serve with bread and butter. Delish!

chicken soup 2_edited-1

Muhammara (red pepper and walnut dip)

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Filed under Dips, Middle Eastern, Starters, vegan, vegetarian

muhummara 2_edited-1

Last week a lovely friend came to stay for the night. For supper I prepared harissa grilled salmon, cumin roasted root vegetables (aubergines, purple carrots, sweet potatoes) and some freekeh (a nutty flavoured Middle Eastern grain). I also made, for the first time, some muhammara – a Syrian dip made from red peppers and walnuts. The main dish didn’t turn out quite as I’d envisaged. The purple veggies and dark green freekeh looked a bit murky and could have really done with some onions mixed in; Mr Arabella Cooks was not at all keen, although both he and the friend said the salmon was lovely. I had the leftover veggies and salmon the next day as a salad with some spinach and toasted seeds and it was absolutely heavenly. Much nicer than it had been as a hot dish the night before (sorry to my lovely friend). I’ll definitely make it again, but as a salad.

salad 2

I also made some blackberry clafloutis for dessert (actually as I didn’t use cherries it can’t be called a clafloutis, but a flaugnarde) and had thought I’d blog about that. But that wasn’t as amazing as I’d hoped either and I carelessly blobbed some blackberry ice cream on top of it before I could take its photo so it looked a bit of a mess:

clafloutis

[Also if I’m really honest I think a traditional clafloutis is a bit too ‘eggy’ for me. I made a chocolate cherry clafloutis at New Year’s Eve which was gorgeous and I think I shall stick with that version in the future; recipe up soon]. It wasn’t my finest meal, but a pleasant evening was had nonetheless. The lovely friend swears the clafloutis and ice cream were delicious so at least she had something nice to eat. The standout element of the meal for me though, was the muhammara. It was yummy! Both the lovely friend and Mr Arabella Cooks agree. I can’t believe I’ve never come across it before but I’m going to make it all the time from now on. It is dead easy and has a really deep, tangy flavour which is quite addictive. I added some to the dressing I used on the main course and it really livened it up. Make it, I urge you. You’ll love it!

Recipe:

  • 2 or 3 red peppers (I used a mixture of the long ones and bell but most recipes call for bell)
  • 1 clove of garlic (unpeeled)
  • 100g of toasted walnuts (you want them quite dark; dry fry them in a frying pan until they’re nearly black but not burnt. Try not to eat too many of them as they’re also delicious on their own and great added to salads)
  • 2 tablespoons of pomegranate molasses
  • 1/2 a teaspoon of smoked sweet paprika
  • 1/4 of a teaspoon of smoked hot paprika (to be truly authentic you should use Aleppo chilli flakes but I didn’t have any and I didn’t want it to be too spicy hot anyway)
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 50g fresh breadcrumbs
  • A squeeze of lemon juice (roughly a tablespoon)
  • Salt (two separate teaspoons)
  • Olive oil (extra virgin; roughly 3 or 4 tablespoons).

Method:

  1. Grill the unpeeled clove of garlic and the three red peppers until black all over (roughly 15 mins). You could roast them in the oven but I’ve made it a few times now and definitely prefer the smokiness you get from grilling.
  2. Put the garlic and peppers into a bowl and cover with clingfilm for at least 20 minutes.
  3. When the time is up (and the veg is cool enough to touch) remove the stalk, skin and seeds from the peppers and peel the garlic clove.
  4. Put the peppers, garlic, lemon juice, breadcrumbs, olive oil, cumin, paprika (both kinds), pomegranate molasses and walnuts into the small bowl of a food processor (or use a hand blender if you don’t have one) and blend to a thick paste.
  5. Taste it and add the other teaspoon of salt if it needs it. Also add more molasses or olive oil as you like. You want it tangy. Less oil makes it good for dipping; more oil makes it a fab dressing. It works with pretty much anything you might want to dip into it (breadsticks, crisps, pitta bread) or eat it with – fish, meat, cheese, chips, salad..you could dress some new potatoes in it for a refreshingly different potato salad and it works very well too as a spread for a bruschetta. The potential is endless. And yummy! (Just don’t serve it cold from the fridge. It’s better at room temp. It also keeps well and the flavours intensify. Most recipes use a raw garlic clove. Feel free to add one if you are OK with raw garlic. Having made it both ways I prefer it with the grilled garlic only. It also can work without the breadcrumbs, if you need it to be gluten free).

muhummara 1