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I’ve always been a firm believer in less is more, and that’s certainly the case with this very simple salad. A little spoiler for you – if you’ve ever wanted to know just how to segment an orange, check the video out too!

Orange, fennel and avocado salad

Serves 4
Preparation time 15 minutes

Ingredients

4 oranges
1 avocado
½ fennel
Olive oil
Salt
Black pepper

Method

1. Segment the oranges.
2. Thinly slice the fennel and toss with the oranges.
3. Chop of the avocado.
4. Season for salt and pepper.
5. Eat immediately.

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The post Recipe: Orange, fennel and avocado salad {video} appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

This summer is set to be a scorcher and I can’t wait to prise open the barbie. Failing ownership of a wood-fired oven, whacking pizza dough straight on to the hot grill is the next best way to achieve that beautiful scorched crust. Rather than a traditional BBQ, why not have an outdoor pizza party? Simply lay out a selection of toppings (I use radicchio, mozzarella, English spinach, anchovies and thyme), then let everyone assemble their own.

BBQ Pizzas – makes 4

Ingredients

500g strong bread flour
1 tsp table salt
½ tbsp caster sugar
1½ tsp fast-action yeast
325ml lukewarm water
50g semolina, for dusting
1 tbsp olive oil
Toppings of your choice

For a quick tomato sauce:

2 x 400g tins San Marzano tomatoes
Small handful of basil, torn

Method: 

In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt, sugar and yeast. Make a well in the middle and incorporate the water. When the dough comes together, form it into a ball and begin to knead it on a work surface dusted with half the semolina. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until it feels smooth and bouncy.

Put the olive oil in the bowl. Add the ball of dough and turn it over in the oil until it is covered. Place cling film over the top and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

In the meantime, make the sauce. Drain the tomatoes, add sea salt and black pepper to taste and mash with a fork. Add the basil. Set up your barbie.

Once the embers are turning white, dust a surface with semolina (a big chopping board works well), divide the dough into four and stretch out to about 1cm thickness. Spread with the tomato sauce, add toppings of your choice and slide the pizzas on to the barbecue. Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the base is scorched and crisp and the top cooked through (pop the lid on to help the top cook and rise), but keep checking on it as the temperature will vary from one barbecue to another. Serve.

This recipe originally appeared in my Evening Standard column.

The post Recipe: BBQ Pizza Party appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Photo by David Loftus

The Swedes might not be known for their extravagant design, opting more for snow-white interiors and simple lines.

When it comes to the humble sandwich however, they certainly know how to push the boat out. Smörgåstårta is a sandwich layer cake, filled with pâté, smoked fish, prawns, ham, cream cheese… basically, anything.

I went with the less-is-more approach for my filling, sticking with some key Swedish flavours: pickled beetroot, dill, quick-brined salmon and horseradish.

Swedish Smörgåstårta

Ingredients – serves 2

4 slices of Swedish flatbread (polarbröd) from good delis if you can find it, or good-quality sliced white bread, with the crusts removed

For the quick-cured juniper salmon

250ml (9fl oz) water
35g (1¼oz) coarse salt
35g (1¼oz) granulated sugar
1tsp juniper berries
1 small raw beetroot
150g (5½oz) very fresh salmon fillet, skinned

For the horseradish cream

100ml (3½fl oz) whipping cream
1tbsp creamed horseradish (from supermarkets)

To decorate

1 small cucumber
1 small pickled beetroot
1 unwaxed lemon
A few sprigs of dill
2tbsp salmon roe

Method

For the salmon brine, put the water, salt, sugar and juniper berries into a saucepan. Peel and roughly chop the raw beetroot and add it to the pan.

Bring to the boil, simmer to dissolve the sugar and salt, leave to cool until it reaches room temperature, then refrigerate to chill. Finely slice the salmon into thin slivers then drop into the cold brine for about 7 minutes. Remove, drain and pat dry with kitchen paper. Discard the brine.

Whisk the whipping cream to firm-ish peaks, then fold in the creamed horseradish. Thinly spread each slice of bread with some of the cream and add a layer of salmon, then place the slices of bread on top of each other.

Take a speed peeler and peel thin ribbons from one side of the cucumber. Discard the first ribbon and don’t use the seeded part: you need 4 perfect ribbons to wrap around the cake. From the other side of the cucumber, and using a melon baller, make enough balls to go round the edge of the bread, discarding the middle seeded part.

Spread the rest of the cream around the outside edges and top of the bread (like icing a cake), making sure the cream is nice and smooth with a palette knife. Delicately place the cucumber ribbons around the edges of the sandwich cake. Use a mandolin to make thin rounds of the pickled beetroot and very fine slices of the lemon.

You can now decorate the top of your sandwich cake. I like to put cucumber balls around the top edge, then twist the remaining pieces of salmon around one finger to make a rose shape. Place these all over the top of the cake along with slices of pickled beetroot, lemon slivers and sprigs of dill. Dot the salmon roe around. Chill until ready to serve.

This recipe is extracted from my new book, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook, you can order a copy here.

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French patisserie no longer needs to be awfully complicated – and I’m going to show you just how to cheat and make it simple, with this delicious berry millefeuille!

Cheat’s cinnamon and berry millefeuille – serves 6 – 8

Preparation time 30 minutes
Baking time 30 minutes
Cooling time 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry (roughly 2x 215g)
6 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
200g thick greek yoghurt
200g Whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
450g frozen berries
3-4 tbsp berry jam of your choice
A couple of handfuls of fresh berries

Equipment

Wire cooling racks
Large baking trays

Top tip

Make sure to use all butter puff pastry.

Method

For the pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 200c (fan).
2. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper, making sure it’s the same size as your puff pastry sheet.
3. Mix the icing sugar with the cinnamon, sift some on to the baking paper and some on top of pastry.
4. Place another piece of baking paper on top, and repeat a second time.
5. Place another piece of baking paper on top, followed by a baking tray.
6. Bake the pastry sheets for 20 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and place them onto wire racks to cool.

For the fillings – prepare while the pastry is cooking

1. Pour frozen berries into a pot and cover. Cook for 10 minutes and then remove the cover and cook for a further 5 minutes uncovered. Leave to cool.
2. Whip the cream with the vanilla extract.
3. Beat the yoghurt before folding it into the cream.

To assemble

1. Place a sheet of puff pastry on a large plate.
2 Spread some jam onto the base.
3. Spoon on some of the cream. Spread.
4. Place the second puff pastry sheet on top.
5. Spread the whipped cream on top followed by the berry compote and fresh berries.
6. Serve immediately.

Get ahead

The berry compote keeps for several days in the fridge. The puff pastry can be baked a day ahead and kept in an airtight container. Assemble just before serving.

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The post Recipe: Cheat’s cinnamon and berry millefeuille {video} appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Wild garlic and crab is a revelatory pairing. Crab meat is surprisingly sweet in its purest form, which is why it is often pepped up with zippy chilli and lifted with citrus. Wild garlic is abundant at the moment, and while it can be foraged for free — even on Hampstead Heath — us urbanites can fulfil our cravings thanks to fresh veg delivery service natoora.co.uk. The pepperiness of the garlic contrasts beautifully with the crab meat and makes a perfect ‘carb-free’ ravioli casing. You could serve these as a summery canapé, with a smear of mayonnaise or straight up.

Wild garlic ‘ravioli’ with crab - Makes 12

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Cooking time: 1 minute

Ingredients

200g crab meat
Juice and zest of ½ lemon
A good pinch of sea salt
A few twists of black pepper
½-1 hot red chilli (to taste)
24 wild garlic leaves with stalks

Method

In a medium bowl, mix the crab meat with the lemon juice and zest, sea salt and black pepper. Deseed and finely chop the chilli. Check its heat by nibbling a tiny piece and then add according to how much heat you like.

Remove the stalks from the wild garlic to the base of the leaf. Set 12 of the longest and best-looking stalks aside and finely chop the remaining 12 then add to the crab. Mix to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Prepare a steamer. I use a little bamboo one set over a pan of simmering water. You can also use a colander in the same manner and the lid of a saucepan. Place the remaining wild garlic stalks in the steamer and steam for about 30-45 seconds or until limp. Set aside to drain, but keep the steamer going.

Assemble the ‘ravioli’. Take 2 garlic leaves and overlap them to make a cross. Place 1 tbsp of the crab mixture in the centre and fold in the leaves to make a sealed parcel. Use one of the garlic stalks to tie the bundle tight. Set aside and repeat the process to make a further 11.

Once you have all your bundles ready to go, pop them in a steamer (do this in batches if necessary) and steam for about 45 seconds. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Serve immediately.

24 wild garlic leaves with stalks

This recipe first appeared in my Evening Standard column. 

The post Recipe: Wild garlic ‘ravioli’ with crab appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Photo by David Loftus

This recipe is extracted from my new book, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook, you can order your copy here.

These Beetroot Oatcakes are loosely inspired by the phenomenal “meat fruit” at Heston Blumenthal’s London restaurant, Dinner. The most perfectly glossy mandarin arrives at the table, which you cut open to reveal a silky chicken liver and foie gras parfait.

Beetroot oatcakes with chicken liver parfait 

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the chicken liver parfait

50g salted butter
1 shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 sprigs of thyme
125g chicken livers, trimmed
1 tbsp brandy
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp finely ground pepper

For the jelly topping

1 gelatin leaf
75ml orange juice (juice of 1 orange)
1 tbsp sugar
1 small orange or clementine

For the oatcakes

50g raw beetroot (approx ½ a beetroot)
30g oats
70g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
½ tbsp sugar
50g butter, melted and cooled

Equipment

5cm cookie cutter
4 x 250ml clip top jar or ramekin

Method

For the parfait

Melt a small knob of the salted butter in a large pan and add the shallot, garlic and thyme. Cook on a low heat for five minutes, or until the shallot has softened but hasn’t browned.

Turn up the heat and add the livers and brandy, then cook for about two minutes on each side, or until the livers have browned but are still slightly pink in the middle.

Leave to cool for five minutes.

Remove the thyme, then whizz the livers in a food processor or blender with the remaining butter and the salt and pepper.

Divide the parfait mixture between the small jars or ramekins and smooth the tops with a spoon.

Leave in the fridge while you make the jelly.

For the jelly

Soak the gelatin leaf in cold water for five to ten minutes. Pour the orange juice into a pan with the sugar. Heat until the sugar has dissolved. Squeeze the gelatin leaf and pour away the water. Strain the orange juice through a sieve directly on to the gelatin leaf. Stir to dissolve.

Peel the small orange or clementine with a paring knife, removing all the pith, and slice into thin rounds. Top the chicken liver parfait with an orange round, then pour the jelly mixture on top.

Leave to set for at least two hours but preferably overnight.

For the oatcakes

To make the oatcakes, preheat the oven to 360F/180C/Gas 4.

Peel and finely grate the beetroot, then place in a bowl.

Add the oats, plain flour, baking powder, salt and sugar, mix well, then add the cooled melted butter and bring together to form a ball.

Roll out with a rolling pin between two sheets of baking paper to about 4-5mm thick. Cut into rounds using a 5cm cookie cutter and put on a lined baking tray.

Roll the leftover dough out again and cut out some more rounds, so that you have 16 oatcakes in total. Bake for 25-30 minutes, then leave to cool on a rack.

Tip

The parfait can be made one to two days before serving.

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Sometimes after a busy day I don’t have the energy (or patience) to cook something that takes time. For times like these I turn to my stash of noodles, which are ready in a jiffy! Noodles go so well with seafood, with the added bonus of clams being ready in a matter of minutes too. If you can’t get hold of clams, you can swap them for mussels.

Note – soba noodles are made from buckwheat, which is naturally gluten-free, making them the perfect option for anyone following a gluten-free diet.

Spicy clam soba noodles

Serves 2 as a large main or 4 as a starter

Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – 30 minutes max

Ingredients

1kg clams, cleaned
2 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 chilli
300g tomatoes, roughly chopped
200g Soba noodles
Handful freshly chopped parsley
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil.

2. Finely chop the onion, garlic and chilli. Add to the pot with the olive oil.

3. Add the tomatoes and salt. Continue to fry until soft.

4. Add the clams. Cover for 4-5 minutes or until the clams have opened.

5. Add the soba noodles to the boiling water. Cook as stated on packet.

6. Drain the noodles and divide between the plates.

7. Ladel on the clams, sprinkle on the herbs and eat immediately.

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Whatever happened to the banana split? Nostalgia has seen many old-school treats reappear on menus, but no one has yet brought back the banana split to its former glory. My decadent version is not just for kids. The chocolate-dipped honeycomb shards are basically posh Crunchie bars, which also make great nibbles.

Chocolate and honeycomb banana splits 

Makes 2 adult-sized banana splits

Ingredients

100g caster sugar
50g golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
500ml vanilla ice cream (stored in the fridge for 30 minutes)
150g dark chocolate
200ml whipping cream
2 bananas
1 handful frozen mixed berries
2 glacé cherries

Method

Line a baking tray with silicone-coated parchment paper. Heat the sugar and syrup in a heavy saucepan over a medium heat. Cook until the mixture reaches 150C, by which point it will be golden and bubbly. Take off the heat and quickly whisk in the bicarbonate of soda (it will start to rise and foam up). Pour quickly into the baking tray. Leave to cool slightly before placing in the fridge.

Once cool and firm, bash up half the honeycomb quite roughly. Remove the ice cream from the fridge and place in a large bowl. Fold in the chunks of honeycomb, place the mixture in an airtight container and put in the freezer. Leave for 30 minutes to harden to a scooping consistency.

In the meantime, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Break off a few shards of the remaining honeycomb and dip just the tip in the melting chocolate, leaving some of the honeycomb visible. Set aside in the fridge on a lined tray or in an airtight container to firm up. Keep the remaining chocolate warm in the bowl and store the leftover honeycomb in an airtight container.

Whip the cream to soft peaks and set aside. Peel and halve the bananas lengthways. Place in separate bowls and add 2 scoops of ice cream to the centre of each. Scatter the berries over the top, drizzle with the warm chocolate and add a dollop of the cream. Top with a glacé cherry and a couple of pieces of the chocolate-dipped honeycomb.

This recipe originally appeared in my Evening Standard Column.

The post Recipe: Chocolate and Honeycomb Banana Splits appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

This recipe is extracted from my new book, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook, you can order your copy here. 

The traditional rice-based paella has travelled far beyond its Valencian birthplace; I see giant paella pans bubbling away at my local market in east London on a Saturday.

When I visited Toc al Mar, a quiet nook along the Spanish coast, I discovered a delicious, little-known variation known as fiduea – made with vermicelli noodles. I was inspired and decided to make my own version!

Spanish paella nests – serves 6

Ingredients

2tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced
1 small bulb of fennel, trimmed and finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 chorizo cooking sausage, cut into thin rounds
150ml (5fl oz) dry white wine
A generous pinch of saffron
750ml (1¼pt) fish stock
250g (9oz) unshelled raw king prawns
200g (7oz) cod or monkfish cheeks
150g (5½oz) purple sprouting broccoli, roughly chopped (woody ends removed)
600g (1lb 5oz) mixture of clams and mussels, cleaned

For the vermicelli nests

140g (5oz) rice vermicelli noodles
2 knobs of softened butter

Method

Preheat your oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7. Put the oil into a large lidded pan and sweat the onion, fennel and garlic over a low heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put the vermicelli noodles in a bowl, pour boiling water over them, then leave for about 20 seconds, or until they are pliable but still have bite.

Drain the noodles and spread out on a clean tea towel to get rid of excess moisture. Pat dry with another tea towel until they are really dry. Brush a 6-hole muffin tin with the butter and line the holes with the noodles. Make sure you push the noodles right to the top of the muffin holes, as they will shrink slightly. Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until crisp and golden.

Add the chorizo to the onion mixture and fry uncovered for 8-10 minutes, or until golden. Add the white wine and saffron, and simmer for a minute before adding the stock. Bring to the boil. Add the prawns, fish cheeks and the pieces of broccoli stalk to the pan, and stir through. Simmer for 1 minute, then add the clams, mussels and broccoli tops.

Toss through the sauce, cover with the lid, crank up the heat and cook for 3 minutes. Strain the stew through a colander over a large bowl. Return the liquid to the pan and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until reduced to your desired consistency (either a broth or a rich sauce). Meanwhile, remove some of the mussels and clams from their shells and return to the fish and broccoli mixture, then cover with aluminium foil to keep them warm.

Remove the vermicelli nests from the oven and divide between large shallow bowls. Add a ladleful of the seafood and broccoli mixture to each of the nests, then pour the sauce over the top. Arrange the remaining seafood and broccoli around the edge of the nests.

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Rhubarb is currently in season here in the UK, and I like nothing better than to roast mine with a little maple syrup. Not only is this desert dairy free and suitable for vegans, but it is also gluten and refined sugar free! The great thing about this pudding is you have complete control and can make it as sweet as you want by adding more maple syrup.

Roasted rhubarb with almond pudding

Makes 4

Preparation time – 20 minutes
Cooking time – 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 sticks of rhubarb
4-6 tbsp maple syrup
500ml unsweetened almond milk
1/2 tsp almond essence
3 tbsp corn flour

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160c (fan).
2. Cut the rhubarb into finger-sized sticks.
3. Toss in a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
4. Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.
5. Whisk together the almond milk with the cornflour to make a smooth paste.
6. Gradually add the rest of the milk.
7. Continuously whisk for 8-10 minutes on a medium heat, or until the mixture has thickened and release a bubble or two.
8. Add maple syrup to taste.
9. Divide the mixture between the ramekins, as well as the rhubarb.

Eat warm or at room temperature. This dessert can also be chilled in the fridge for a couple of days.

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The post RECIPE: Roasted Rhubarb with Almond Pudding {Video} appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Photo by David Loftus

This recipe is extracted from my new book, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook, you can order your copy here. 

Back when I was a kid, breakfast for dinner was far more de rigueur, whether it was a sneaky fry-up, beans on toast, or kippers. This is a fancy version of a British fry-up.

Here, the pillowy potato crumpets stand in for the more traditional heavy hash browns, while the blistered tomatoes are a speedy and fresh substitute for ketchup.

Potato crumpets with maple gammon

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the crumpets

170ml (6fl oz) milk
100-110ml (3½-3¾fl oz) water
160g (5¾oz) potato flour
80g (3oz) plain white flour
7g packet of fast-action yeast
Sea salt
½tsp baking powder
4-6tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil

For the gammon and other accompaniments

2 large gammon steaks, about 450g (1lb)
2tsp English mustard
2tsp maple syrup

250g (9oz) cherry tomatoes on the vine

4 eggs

Method

Warm the milk and water gently in a small saucepan. Put the flours and yeast into a bowl and mix well. Add the milk and water and whisk until smooth. It will be the consistency of single cream. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rest at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or until bubbles have formed on the surface.

Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/ gas 7. Place the tomatoes on a lined baking tray, sprinkle with salt and place in the oven for 10 minutes, or until they burst. Set aside and turn the oven temperature down to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4.

Whisk ½tsp of salt and the baking powder into the batter. Put a heavy-based frying pan over a medium-high heat and pour in 2tbsp of oil. Oil a 9cm (3½in) pastry ring, place it in the pan and pour 80ml (2¾fl oz) of batter into it.

Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes or so, or until the surface has just set and bubbles have formed. Remove the ring and flip the crumpet over. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until golden on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter, then set aside on a wire rack.

Put another tablespoon of oil into a large frying pan and heat until medium-hot. Add the gammon steaks and cook for 1-2 minutes on one side.

Flip them over and fry for 1 more minute. Spread the tops with the mustard, then the maple syrup, and slide out of the pan. Use an 8cm (3¼in) cookie cutter to cut out 4 pieces from the gammon steaks. Keep them warm on a baking tray in the oven while you make the eggs.

Oil 4x 9cm (3½in) pastry rings. Put 1tbsp of oil in the pan, crack the eggs into the rings and fry them for 2-3 minutes, or until the white has set. To serve, divide the potato crumpets between 4 plates. Put a gammon slice and a fried egg on top of each and drape the vine tomatoes over them.

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Seafood sweetie

Serves 1

Ingredients

A couple of large raw prawns
100g fillet of fish of your choice, skinned and cut into chunks
100g of precooked lentils
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 baby courgettes, roughly chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
A handful of black olives, destoned
1 heaped tsp of tomato puree
1/2 clove of garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp of olive oil
A pinch of salt
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of espelette pepper or chili powder

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°c.

Mix together the the tomato puree with garlic, olive oil, salt, sugar and espelette pepper in a large bowl. Add all the other ingredients except the green parts of the spring onion. Toss together.

To make a “sweetie” papillote:
Cut a large rectangle shape of baking paper*. Place the seafood mix in the middle. Bring the edges of the paper together and fold over to form a sealed parcel. Use some kitchen string to tie each end, making a sweetie or cracker shaped parcel.

Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes. The mussels should be open, the prawns pinks and the fish translucent.

Serve with the rest of the spring onion sprinkled on top.

*You can also use aluminium foil which require no string – just make sure the parcel is well sealed.

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One of the highlights of a recent surf-and-yoga adventure in Bali was tucking into rojak — a zippy, crunchy, sweet-and-sour salad. The name simply means ‘mixture’ and it’s similar to the Vietnamese papaya salad, but with a shrimp and tamarind paste in lieu of fish sauce.

Spicy rojak salad

Serves 4 as a light lunch

Ingredients

For the dressing:
2 tsp shrimp paste
2 tbsp tamarind paste
4cm turmeric root, grated
4 tbsp palm sugar, grated
2 bird’s eye chillis, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tsp brown rice vinegar

 For the salad:

½ large cucumber
4 medium carrots, peeled
½ small pineapple
4 spring onions
1 handful Thai basil, leaves picked
15 radishes, halved
65g peanuts
150g vermicelli rice noodles

Method

In a small bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the dressing. Taste and adjust to your preference. Add more palm sugar for sweetness, tamarind for sour or rice vinegar for acidity. Add more chilli, too, if you like it hot-hot.

Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut into half rounds about 1cm thick and add to a large salad bowl. Use a julienne peeler (or knife, if you have good cutting skills) to make fine matchsticks from the carrots. Peel the pineapple, remove the eyes, cut out the stalk and cut into cubes. Cut the spring onions into rounds and add to the salad bowl. Add the Thai basil and radishes and toss everything in the dressing. Toast the peanuts in a dry pan for 3-4 minutes, tossing regularly, then roughly chop and stir through, saving 2 tbsp for a finishing garnish.

Place the rice noodles in a bowl, bring a kettle filled with water to the boil and pour over the noodles, making sure they are completely submerged. Leave to soak for a few minutes, until limp and soft, stirring them around with chopsticks every minute. They should take about 2-3 minutes to cook. Drain and serve with the salad.

This recipe originally appeared in my Evening Standard column.

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Tomato guacamole bites

Makes 15

Preparation time 15 minutes

Ingredients

15 cherry tomatoes
1 ripe avocado
1 fresh lime
1/2 an onion
1/2 a chilli, deseeded
1/2 a handful of coriander
Salt

Method

Cut a thin slice off the tomatoes so that they can sit on a plate.

Zest the lime and set aside for later. Peel the onion and add half to the blender with the chilli, coriander, juice of the lime and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth. Scoop out the flesh of the avocado and add to the blender. Continue to blend until smooth. Place in a piping bag with a star tip.

Pipe a little blob on top of each tomato. Sprinkle a little lime zest on top. Best eaten fresh – the bites will keep in the fridge for a couple of hours, however the guacamole will discolour slightly.

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When I was filming in Australia earlier this year, I cooked with a brilliant chef called Elena Bonnici, who owns the Melbourne restaurant United Arab Eatery. Her cooking was a perfect reflection of her mixed cultural heritage — Maltese, Middle Eastern and Italian. One of her favourite seasonings was a toasted coriander seed salt; she sprinkled it liberally on her dishes and after tasting it, I quickly understood why. This recipe makes far more than required for the aubergine chips, but you can store it in a jar in your cupboard and sprinkle on salads or meats.

The post Recipe: Aubergine Chips with Coriander Salt appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Photo by David Loftus

This recipe is extracted from my new book, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook, you can order your copy here. 

Pilaf is a truly global dish, eaten everywhere from India to the Caribbean – my version has pistachios, which are popular in the Middle East and complement the cherries in the marinade.

Middle Eastern cherry lamb shanks with pilaf 

Serves 4

Ingredients

3tbsp plain flour
1tsp each sea salt and ground black pepper
4 lamb shanks (about 350g/12oz each)
1-2tbsp olive oil
400ml (14fl oz) red wine, such as pinot noir or Beaujolais
600ml (1pt) chicken stock
2 x 440g tins stoneless cherries, drained
300g (10½oz) basmati rice
50g (1¾oz) butter
1 onion, finely chopped
50g (1¾oz) pistachios, roughly chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 large carrot (about 200g/7oz), peeled and finely chopped
2tsp cornflour
2tbsp water
A handful of finely chopped fresh parsley
Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl and add the lamb shanks, dusting each one well in the flour.

Pour the oil into a large lidded ovenproof casserole pan over a medium heat and brown the shanks in batches. Pour in the wine, stock and one of the tins of cherries. Bring everything up to the boil, cover and put in the oven for 2 hours, or until the meat feels tender when poked with a knife. Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes.

Twenty-five minutes before the lamb is ready, start to make the pilaf. Rinse the rice in water, drain, then repeat 3 times. Cook the rice in a large pan of boiling salted water for 5 minutes and drain well. Meanwhile, put the butter into a large lidded non-stick frying pan on a medium-low heat.

Add the onion, pistachios, celery and carrot; fry gently for 10-15 minutes, or until they soften, then stir in the par-cooked rice and season with salt. Wrap the lid of the pan in a clean tea towel and place on top (the tea towel will absorb moisture so the rice stays crispy). Cook for 25 minutes on a very low heat – you want the rice to crisp up on the base of the pan.

Mix the cornflour and water to a smooth paste in a bowl. Remove the lamb shanks to a plate and wrap in foil to keep warm. Pour the sauce through a sieve into a jug to remove the cherries; reserve them. Pour the sauce into a large pan, skim off the fat with a spoon and whisk in the diluted cornflour.

Bring to a simmer and continue to whisk for 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce coats the back of the spoon and becomes glossy. Season with lots of pepper, and salt if needed. Put the cherries back into the sauce, along with the second tin of cherries, and warm through.

To serve, fluff up the pilaf with a fork and toss in the parsley and lemon zest. Divide between plates, place a shank on each plate and pour over some cherry sauce and cherries.

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Cheat’s benedict

For 2

Ingredients

4 large handfuls of chopped kale or fresh spinach, freshly washed
1 English muffin
2 knobs of butter
2 medium free-range eggs
Sea salt
80g of Greek yoghurt
1/2=1 tsp of harissa paste (depending on your desired heat)

Method

Add a knob of butter to a large frying pan. Place on  medium heat with the kale and cover. After a minute or two, stir until the kale is wilted. Take off the heat and season with salt.

Cut your muffin in half. Preheat your grill or use a toaster to toast your muffin.

In the meantime, bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a gentle simmer and maintain on a medium heat. Crack one of your eggs into a wine glass (I find that this makes it easier to guide them into the water). Use a wooden spoon to stir the water – you want to make a little whirlpool, then pour the first egg into the centre, then repeat with the second. Leave to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the egg from the water and drain on a clean tea towel or piece of kitchen roll. You can cut off any stray bits of white if you want to tidy it up. Season.

Mix the harissa with the yoghurt. Spread the butter on each muffin and divide the spinach between the two, followed by the eggs. Dollop on the harissa yoghurt and serve immediately.

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This light pudding (which also makes a lovely fresh breakfast) came to me by way of a surf-and-yoga school I attended in Bali this spring. The jelly is set with agar agar, making it suitable for vegetarians, and has quite a different texture to the bouncy, set one that you get when you use gelatine. I prefer not to sweeten it with sugar and just let the tropical fruits do the job instead — the lime zest on the top and the juices from the fruit create a delicious syrup.

Coconut water jelly with tropical fruits

Makes 4

Ingredients

500ml coconut water
2 tbsp agar agar
1 mango
½ pineapple
¼ papaya
2 passion fruit
Juice and zest of 1 lime
2 tbsp coconut flakes

Method

Put the coconut water in a small saucepan and sprinkle the agar agar over the top without stirring it in.

Bring to a simmer on a low heat and stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes until the crystals have fully dissolved.

Divide the mixture between 4 tumblers. Leave to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge to set for about 1-2 hours. (Prepare the jellies the day before if you plan to serve them for breakfast.)

Just before serving, prepare the fruit. Peel and cut the mango into 1cm cubes. Peel the pineapple, cut out the eyes and cut into cubes. Remove the seeds from the papaya and scoop out the flesh. Cut into cubes and place in a bowl with the other fruit. Scoop out the seeds from the passion fruit, keeping half to drizzle on top, and add to the bowl. Dress with the lime juice and most of the zest, saving some for the top.

To serve, remove the jellies from the fridge. Divide the fruit between the tumblers and sprinkle over the coconut flakes. Top with the remaining lime zest and passion fruit seeds and serve.

This recipe originally appeared in my Evening Standard column.

The post Recipe: Coconut Water Jelly with Tropical Fruits appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Photo by David Loftus

This recipe is extracted from my new book, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook, you can order your copy here. 

When it comes to spice rubs, I have some friends who guard their personal recipe the same way Coca-Cola guard theirs. I, however, am happy to share my special blend of spices. Making your own custom spice rub is probably the simplest way of adding your own personal touch to dishes. This recipe is really just a starting point and can be easily adapted to your taste. Once you get the hang of balancing the flavours, the possibilities are endless.

Spice-rubbed trout – serves 4

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

4 whole trout (approx. 300g each), gutted and scaled
1½ unwaxed lemons
1 small bulb of fennel (250g), halved and finely sliced, keeping the leafy tops
A large handful of roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

200g giant couscous
250g French green beans, trimmed and cut into 1cm rounds
1 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt

For the spice rub

2 tbsp sumac
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp ground cumin
½ tbsp ground ginger
½ tbsp ground cinnamon

Method

Preheat the grill to high. Blend the ingredients for the spice rub in a pestle and mortar. Smear the spice rub generously all over the outside and inside of the trout, then place on a foil-lined, lightly oiled baking tray.

Thinly slice one of the lemons. Stuff the fennel, parsley and lemon slices inside the cavity of the fish. Place the fish under the grill. Grill for 5–10 minutes on one side, then turn the fish over and cook for a further 5 minutes on the other.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to the boil and add the giant couscous. Boil for 3 minutes, then add the French green beans. Cook for a further 2 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.

Zest and juice the remaining ½ a lemon. Toss the beans with the oil, lemon zest and juice and a little salt. Serve each fish whole with the couscous on the side. Garnish with the leafy fennel tops.

Tip

This spice rub works well with all sorts of other things. Try spreading it on aubergine slices and drizzling with a little oil before grilling. It’s also a great rub for chicken.

Get ahead

Make the spice rub a few days before and keep in a sealed jar. You can easily double the quantity and store it to season other dishes.

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Picnic frittatas

Super easy to make, and (as suggested by the title) perfect for taking along on a picnic! Also a great way to use up leftovers or all your odds and ends in the fridge.

This recipe makes approximately 36 mini muffin-sized frittatas

Ingredients

Basic frittata mix

10 eggs
1/2 tsp of sea salt
1 tsp of  dried oregano, thyme, basil, chilli flakes or herb of your choice
Black pepper
Soft butter or olive oil for greasing the tin
1 mini muffin tin

Filling suggestions

A couple of handfuls of cubes of cheese, ham, courgette, smoked salmon, sundried tomatoes, peppers, olives… the options are endless! Just raid your fridge and see what you have.

1 cupcake tray, greased with soft butter

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°c.

In the meantime, beat the eggs with seasoning in a large bowl. Divide the mixture between the cupcake holes (do this in batches depending on how many holes your tray has). Add your choice of filling.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

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