Hummus

Hummus

I think its the weather.  All this recent heat has left me wanting food from warmer climes; Indian, Thai, North African... 

There seems to be some kind of foodie correlation between the rise in temperature and the frequency with which I cook these kinds of dishes.  Maybe its because, if I sit in the sun, eat exotic food, and close my eyes, I might fool myself long enough to think that I'm sitting on a Keralan river boat or in a Bedouin tent.  If I close my eyes tightly enough.  And ignore the traffic.  

I need a holiday. 

Anyway, Hummus.  I love the stuff and could quite happily munch my way through a whole pot. Some shop brought hummus is very good, but its much cheaper and easier make your own.  I guess, strictly speaking this isn't traditional hummus, as it doesn't contain any Tahini paste, but I'm not always one for tradition.  

Serves 4 or so

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tin of Chickpeas

1-2 Cloves of Garlic sliced

Good Pinch of Black Pepper

Scant Tablespoon of Sherry Vinegar

1/4 Teaspoon of Smoked Paprika (Pimenton de la Vera), plus extra for sprinkling over

Juice from a Lemon, to taste

Salt to taste

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus extra for drizzling 

Fresh Coriander

1. Empty the entire tin of chickpeas (and it's juice) into a pan over a medium heat.  
2. Add in the sliced garlic and Sherry Vinegar, and bring to the boil.  
3. Turn down the heat and let it bubble gently for a few minutes (don't let the pan dry though).  Add in the Smoked Paprika.  
4. Using a stick blender, whizz the chickpeas until they become a consistency that you like.  Add in the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and stir in the olive oil.  If the hummus is looking too watery, let it gently bubble in the pan and it will thicken.  
5. Take it off the heat and let it cool before serving.  
6. Drizzle over some more olive oil and lemon juice, and scatter over the Smoked Paprika and Coriander.  
7. Serve with Pitta Bread, Vegetables or whatever takes your fancy.  

Fresh Pasta and Basil Pesto

Fresh Pasta and Basil Pesto

It was my Domestic Goddess blip (see Coffee and Walnut Cake post) that had me making my first ever batch of fresh egg pasta.  Previous to this, I had never attempted to make my own pasta, probably because I was under the impression that I needed a whole host of equipment and ingredients that I didn't have, didn't want to buy and didn't have the space for.  Oh how wrong I was.  No need for a pasta machine here - as long as you've got a solid rolling pin, your laughing.   

You will need special "00" pasta flour though, but you can find this in most decent supermarkets.  It is even super easy to work out quantities - for every 100g of flour you will need to use one medium egg.  The 100g flour and one egg mix will make roughly enough pasta for one person, although I did 300g flour and 3 eggs to serve two very hungry people.  Just work out how many people you need to feed and adjust accordingly. 

When you come to roll out the pasta you will need to get it as thin as you can - no thicker than a penny, and then using a sharp knife or pizza wheel like I did, cut it into strips.  How wide you want the strips to be is up to you, mine were about 1cm, but you don't need to be too precise.    

Now, there's no point taking time to make your own pasta if your going to ruin it with some crappy shop brought pasta sauce.  Try to see the fresh pasta as a delicious element in its own right, rather than just something that the sauce clings to. When you've made your own pasta you need a really special sauce.  

I had a bunch of beautiful emerald green basil at home that was just calling out to be turned into a pesto. Vibrant grass green, this pesto is a world away from any overly salty shop brought pond sludge.  

INGREDIENTS:
Fresh Pasta (per person):
100g "00" Pasta Flour
1 Medium egg (Free-range)

1. In a bowl put the flour and make a well with your fingers
2. In the well put the egg(s) and using your fingers mix together.  It may seem a bit dry at first, but persevere and all the flour will be incorporated, so don't add any extra liquid.  
3. Once it has come together in a rough ball, you will now need to knead it on a lightly floured surface.  
4. Knead the pasta until it is no longer rough and floury, but smooth.  It took me at least 10 minutes to get to this stage.  
5. Wrap the pasta tightly in cling film and place in the fridge for at least an hour to rest.
6. Once rested, take it out of the fridge and on a lightly floured work-surface roll it out using a rolling pin (or if your super fancy, a pasta machine).  It may be easier to do this in batches.  Keep any pasta that your not working with wrapped in the cling film to stop it from drying out.  
7. Roll the pasta so that it is no thicker than a penny.  Using a sharp knife or pizza wheel, cut out long strips of the pasta.  
8. To cook the pasta, put a large pan of salted water on the boil.  When it starts boiling, put in your fresh pasta.  As it is fresh it has a much shorter cooking time than dried pasta, but how long you cook it for depends on how thick the pasta is and how much there is in the pan.  Test it regularly. You want it al dente, with bite.  

Basil Pesto (makes enough for four servings):

Large bunch of Basil

50g Grated Parmesan

50g Pine nuts

1 Fat garlic clove (or two small ones)

Juice of half a Lemon (to taste)

100ml Good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil 

1. In a dry frying pan, lightly toast the pine nuts until just golden.  Take them off the heat and leave to cool.
2. In a food processor, blend the basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, garlic and half of the olive oil together until finely processed. The pesto should have a similar consistency to double cream. You may find that you don't need to use all of the oil - or you may need more.  
3. Add in the juice of half the lemon and taste, adding more if necessary.  You probably don't want it too lemony just enough to brighten it.  I found that half was just enough.
4. Stir it through fresh pasta, or use it as a delicious herby salad dressing.  

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Spaghetti

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Spaghetti

There are some days when the compulsion to spend a long time cooking is lacking (basically I can't be bothered), when time is limited (the baby needs a feed) and I need to throw something together quickly.  Pasta, is often the store cupboard saviour.  Pasta (and something) is the staple of most diets - not that that's a bad thing, especially when the '...and something' is as good as this.

In this recipe, the garlickly Olive Oil is the pasta's "sauce", so it is important to use a really good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil.  Don't however have the spaghetti swimming in oil.  That's not nice for anyone.

INGREDIENTS:
One Handful of Small Tomatoes (per person), cut in half
1-2 fat cloves of garlic (per person), thinly sliced
Few sprigs of fresh Thyme
Good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Spaghetti
Parmesan / Grana Padano

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/ 170C fan / Gas Mark 5
2. In an ovenproof dish put the halved tomatoes, the sliced garlic, sprigs of thyme and a generous splosh of olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  
3. Place in the oven for about 25-30 minutes.  Check every so often and give it a gentle stir, making sure the garlic doesn't burn and the tomatoes don't turn too much into mush.
4. When the tomatoes are nearly done, cook the spaghetti in a pan of boiling salted water. 
5. Take the tomatoes out of the oven, and if needed add a splosh more of olive oil and give it all a stir scraping up all the delicious caramelised bits at the bottom.  
6. Drain the pasta when it is cooked (but still has some bite) and stir in the tomatoes and garlicky oil. 
7. Grate over a generous amount of Parmesan (or Grana Padano) and a good grind of black pepper and serve.