Category Archives: vegan

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

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