My yummy Tofu recipe - inspired by all of my Indian friends :)

Two things I miss about Dubai - Indian food and my friends - not necessarily in that order :-) Anyway, I decided to mess about in my gorgeous kitchen and came up with this recipe that reminds me of both.

Spicy Tofu - Indian Style

Serves 6 (can be halved quite easily - but I'd say make the full amount of oil and use the extra on something else - I'm sure there are other foods this will work with. Try mushrooms.)

Ingredients

·         2 teaspoons paprika

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         ½ teaspoon ground cumin

·         ½ teaspoon ground coriander

·         ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

·         4 tablespoons vegetable oil (I usually use sunflower oil)

·         1 tablespoon minced garlic

·         1 tablespoon lime juice

·         2 packs of tofu – extra firm if you can get it

·          ⅔ cup low fat plain yogurt

·         Sliced spring onions to garnish

Method

1.      Mix paprika, cumin, coriander, turmeric and ½ teaspoon of salt in a small bowl.Then gently fry the garlic in oil, add the spices and cook it all together for a minute or so and enjoy the yummy smells. Don't burn it - if you do, throw it out and start again.

2.      Drain the tofu and slice each block into 6 slices. Dry them with kitchen paper.

3.   Using about 1/2 the oil, brush it over the tofu slices. Don't get this stuff on your clothes. Turmeric stains are horrible!

4.      Heat a griddle pan (you know, the ones with ridges) on a medium-high heat. Fry the tofu until it has grill marks on one side, then turn it over – it takes about 2 – 3 minutes each side.

5.   While the tofu is cooking, mix the rest of the spiced oil in with the yoghurt.

6.     Eat the tofu with the sauce, topped with thin slices of spring onion.  If you like it, you can use fresh coriander. Cherry tomatoes go well with it too and make the plate look pretty.

B is for Beans

Baked beans, from a tin, are one of the foods I most hate in this world. The mere mention of baked beans takes me back to the worst memories of family camping trips. I remember the good times, but somehow the bad food memories (maybe B is also for bad food memories) dominate my recollections of these trips. Baked beans, soggy breakfast cereal and tinned peas and carrots. Yuk! 

Thankfully there are many different types of beans and many ways to eat them. So beans do make it into my list of food highlights. 

For a healthy side dish try this:

For every 100 g of green beans, use 1 clove garlic, 1 tablespoon of water and a quick dash of olive oil. Toss green beans on a baking sheet with smashed garlic, water and oil. Roast at around 230 degrees C until your beans are tender and slightly charred – keep an eye on them, you don’t want them black. They’ll take about 15 – 20 minutes. Toss with a small amount of chopped tarragon (about ½ tspn), a smidgeon of whole-grain mustard (about ¼ tspn), salt and pepper. 

Another one of my favourite beans is that wonder, the soybean. Edamame can be bought frozen in lots of places now (although I haven’t found them in Prague). Serve them like they do in Wagamama. Steamed with salt. Or if you’re feeling like something a little different try steaming the beans in their pods for a couple of minutes. Lightly fry some chopped red chilli in a little sesame oil. Add the beans and stir fry them for about a minute and serve with salt. There is much joy to be had from sucking the beans out of their pods while sipping a glass of dry white wine.

Another quick healthy favourite is bean soup. Usually I use either tinned white beans or chick peas for this one. If I remember to plan ahead, I will do the beans from scratch – with all the soaking, etc. But it’s easier to grab a can of beans from the food cupboard.

First I chop up an onion or two and fry them in a small amount of vegetable oil. You want the onion soft and lightly golden, so don’t put the heat too high. Then I add some finely chopped garlic and let that soften. Toss in the drained, rinsed beans, and add some water or vegetable stock – enough to cover the beans well and a bit more. Simmer this for about 10 minutes, then puree it all using a stick blender. If it’s too thick, add some more stock. If it’s too thin, boil it on the stove until it reduces. Taste it and adjust the seasoning – I use salt and lemon juice. Serve it with a swirl of natural yoghurt, and some chopped parsley. 

And of course there’s Pasta e Fagioli – I don’t have a favourite recipe for this, but I know that the one prepared by Carluccio’s in Dubai is delicious (and probably pretty similar to that served in Carluccio’s anywhere). In many places this is a vegetarian dish, but be warned. Some chefs use pancetta and chicken stock. So if you’re eating out, check the ingredients before ordering.

A is for Apples

For me there’s no comfort food like a delicious, warming Rhubarb and Apple Crumble with lashings of thick, creamy custard. I don’t remember having many desserts when I was growing up. This list of favourites was short. There was the above-mentioned crumble, apple sponge, baked apples, canary pudding, lemon delicious and, for special occasions, pavlova. Interesting that in this short list, half of the options involved apples.

Now I’m not an apple expert. One day I may have the good fortune to live somewhere that allows me to pick and choose the perfect apple for a specific purpose from a large variety of apples. But that’s not where I am now. I’m a member of the “I know what I like school”, so if you’re looking for a learned treatise on the merits, or otherwise, of a range of apples, you won’t find it here. In our family the apple of choice was the Granny Smith, and they remain my favourite, even though there are now so many different apple varieties available. I’ve never been able to come to terms with the sweetness of the Delicious apple, and for my taste many of the other varieties are downright bland. I need the tart, tangy, intensity of a Granny Smith. So, in any apple recipes I provide, think Granny Smith. 

Rhubarb and Apple Crumble

This is a wonderfully simple dessert and always tastes great. If you like your desserts ‘not too sweet’ then use more rhubarb than apple. If sweet is your thing, use more apple. Play with the amount of sugar. I like my crumbles with the fruit tart, and a moderate amount of sweetness in the crumble. If you don’t want the crunchiness and flavour of oats, replace them with extra flour. I like the texture the oats give. 

Ingredients:

Fruit:

850 g cooking apples (peeled and cored) and rhubarb (first time round you might like to start with 2 parts apple to 1 part rhubarb)

75 g golden caster sugar

Topping:

95 g butter

120 g plain flour

30 g rolled outs

45 g sugar

1 tablespoon water

1.      Preheat your oven to 180^oC

2.      Chop fruit into fairly even sized chunks – about bite size. Put into 1.5 litre capacity ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with sugar

3.      Lightly toast the rolled oats in a pan over a moderate heat. Don’t burn them – they will make your crumble taste nasty if you do. Pale brown is good

4.      Rub butter into plain flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and the oats and mix through the flour/butter mixture

5.      Gently stir through the water. This will make some of the mixture clumpy and some of it will remain powdery. What you are aiming for is a few clumpy bits to add variety to the texture. You are not aiming for a dough where everything sticks together. If you’re at all worried, forget it. Leave out the water and just go with what you had at step 4

6.      Spread crumble mix fairly evenly over the fruit

7.      Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes. Your crumble should be lightly coloured

8.      Serve it with lashings of custard or whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, or any combination of these that takes your fancy

Well, now on to apple sponge. I recently saw this referred to as Eve’s Pudding. Sorry, in my mind it will always be apple sponge. Delicious cooked apple chunks topped with a cake mixture, served with custard or cream. I like my apples chunky. You may prefer yours more mushy. Either way is fine. If you like them mushy cut your slices more thinly or think about cooking them a little first. If you like chunks, the cooking time for the cake should be enough to soften the apples, but not break them down too much. 

Ingredients:

6 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced

175 g unsalted butter

100 g sugar

4 eggs

200g self-raising flour

1.      Preheat your oven to 180^oC

2.      Grease an oven proof dish, about 2.5 litre capacity, with butter (not the butter listed in the ingredients – you need that for the batter)

3.      Put apples in dish – spread evenly

4.      Cream butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Sugar should have started to dissolve. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Don’t panic if the mixture curdles – it will all sort out when you add the flour

5.      Sift the flour then fold it gently into creamed butter and sugar

6.      Spread cake batter over the apples

7.      Bake for about 45 minutes until golden

8.      Serve with custard

Of course there are many more things you can do with apples. They go wonderfully with some cheeses – try it with Camembert, a vintage cheddar or a slab of Gruyère. They’re delicious baked, stuffed with a mix of dried fruit, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Sometimes I just chop one up, add some cinnamon and sultanas, a knob of butter, sprinkle with about 1 tspn of sugar and cook it in the microwave for a few minutes – this is gorgeous with some yoghurt and maybe a drizzle of honey. The Flavor Bible (Page and Dornenburg) suggest apples go well with caramel, lemon, Calvados, rum, pine nuts, cinnamon, ginger, honey and a host of other yummy flavours. I particularly like the combination of apple and anise – try adding a slurp of Sambucca to any apple dessert. It’s delicious.

Desperate for news of Kinder Eggs

Dear all,

I am shattered. Nowhere can I find a Kinder Egg in Dubai. I can only find the feeble, unsatisfactory, unfulfilling Kinder Joy. Has anyone seen a Kinder Egg? Can anyone help me find these? If we don't find them soon, I am concerned that my esteemed colleague Lou-Bear may just do something desperate.

Please help.
A splendid woman and her mates

Still wondering ...

This one's for Lou-Bear:

wondering what's happened to all the Kinder Surprise Eggs in the UAE? Know they're banned in the USA. Has the UAE followed suit, or is it just a temporary blip in the supply chain?

Does anyone know where to find a Kinder Egg? Please ...

I've been cooking again ...

Paprika spiced cannellini beans

Dice two onions and finely chop a couple of cloves of garlic. Cook slowly in olive oil to soften, not brown – no caramelising here, okay – soft and pale is how you want it to be. Add about three tablespoons of Paprika and the same of ground cumin. Stir and cook for a few minutes. Then add about three tablespoons of cider vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar. Also add a stack of chopped tomatoes (I used some preserved organic cherry tomatoes from Organic Foods and Cafe) and squashed them up as they cooked. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes. Then add a couple of cans of Cannellini beans.

Play around with the ratios – look at how much tomato you like with your beans or how many beans you like with your tomato – I went for two lots of tomatoes and two cans of beans ... Cook some more – maybe about ten to twenty minutes.

You can serve this with all kinds of things. Crumble over some feta cheese, add some chunks of avocado, serve with rice, or mop it up with bread. Pile on toast (bruschetta style) or serve with salad. For extra richness top with some sour cream. Use your imagination and have fun. The recipe is just the starting point.

"Raw"

On Saturday I went to a cooking class. Nothing surprising there for those of you who know me. You know I love my ‘food porn’ – whether it’s magazines, TV shows, movies or live sessions. I saw the class at vegetarian fine dining restaurant Magnolia advertised on the web and decided straight away to sign up. After this class there was only one more before the restaurant closed for a couple of months. I emailed chef Gabriele Kurz, and got an email in response confirming my place.

At the appointed time I walked through the heat and arrived at Magnolia. I was greeted with some herb water, one of the restaurant’s specialities, and a moist cloth to wipe away the stains of Dubai’s heat. Chef Gaby came across to greet me, and dropped the biggest surprise of the day on me. I had thought we were going to be cooking. “Well, not so much cooking’ she said. “Today’s food is raw.”

Raw. As in uncooked. As in raw vegetarian. As in salad ... and fanatics. I know people who eat ‘raw’ food. They are seriously obsessed by what they eat.
So I looked at the menu list:
• Avocado Basil Emulsion (difficult to ruin those flavours)
• Iced almond milk (can’t comment on this one)
• Watermelon tomato salad (another one it would be tough to ruin)
• Raw Vegetable Lasagne (hmm. How is it a lasagne without pasta and cheese? Not sure about this)
• Herb Water (tasted these before and they’re great)

So there was nothing that sounded too bad and a few things that sounded very good indeed.

First up Chef Gaby prepared the tomatoes for tomato puree and tomato water. The tomato water would be used to flavour the avocado emulsion (this was sounding better and better) and the puree would be formed into a quenelle and place on the emulsion to serve. The interesting point was pureeing the tomatoes so finely to make the tomato water (I’d only ever chopped them roughly before) and adding some white balsamic vinegar for flavour. The tomato puree can be frozen and added to tomato water for a refreshing drink. Could be interesting to add a touch of vodka for a pale bloody mary.

Next up were ‘pralines’ – home made marzipan which was used to stuff dates and dried apricots. Then decorated with coconut and pistachios. The marzipan was sweetened with agave syrup and flavoured with ginger and lemon. I personally would omit the ginger in future, but that’s a personal taste. The ‘pralines’ were delicious. A bit fiddley but they looked impressive. Great for a dinner party finale.

The tomato and watermelon salad opened my eyes, taste buds and other senses to some new ideas. It hadn’t ever occurred to me before to chop up snow peas into tiny pieces. The joy of this approach was that my brain didn’t know what it was getting spoonfuls of before it tasted the food. There’s something interesting in mixed mouthfuls of tomatoes and watermelon.

When it came to the ‘lasagne’ it looked lovely, the tapenade that joined the layers was delicious but, for me, in the end it was a plate of raw vegetables sliced up thinly and layered. Sorry. I need the cheese, and the pasta. But if you’re being exceptionally healthy, want to add a variety of veggies to your diet, and have loads of time, this is a lovely main course.

This was my first consciously completely ‘raw’ meal and I did enjoy it. Do I want to eat ‘raw’ all the time? No. But a ‘raw’ day each week is a great idea, especially if you are wanting to raise the amount and variety of vegetables that you eat. It wasn’t quite the cooking class I expected, but it challenged me in ways that other classes have not.