Spicy Lamb and White Bean Chili

Chili never wins any beauty contests. This week I was still attracted to this recipe from the New York Times. It's easy to find mince lamb in England and I do love beans--in this instance, I used a mixture of butter, haricot, and cannellini beans. Poblano peppers, on the other hand, are not something you can find even in the most exotic supermarket in the UK. I modified the peppers in the recipe to include a bell pepper (to replace the poblano), a green chilli, and a small piece of Scotch bonnet (chopped as tiny as you dare to imagine.)

I also believe that good chili has depth of flavour. To bring that out, I added 2 Tbsp of white wine vinegar at the beginning and the juice of half a lime just before serving. The importance of the lime, coriander, and yogurt for this recipe cannot be overstated. The yogurt in particular does not diminish the spice so much as spread it out evenly along your palate.

As for preparation, I made mine a day in advance and refrigerated it in my dutch oven until I was ready to serve it. Chili only gets better the longer the ingredients get to know each other.

Chilled Fennel Soup with Halloumi Croutons

Today a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi for a chilled summer soup. Fennel is one of those vegetables that I never used at home, but I've fallen in love with it. (If you have a chance, look at Simon Hopkinson's entry on 'fennel' in Second Helpings of Roast Chicken.) The fennel is softened with leeks, blended and combined with flavoured Greek yoghurt that adds a smooth creaminess and the freshness of summer herbs. Top the soup with some deep-fried cheese, and you have a winning combination.

Ingredients

• 70ml olive oil, plus extra to finish
• 21/2 tsp fennel seeds [I didn't have any, and they were no where to be found.]
• 3 large fennel bulbs, roughly chopped into 2cm dice
• 2 leeks, roughly chopped into 1cm slices
• 100ml arak, ouzo or Pernod [I improvised. See below.]
• 1.1 litres water
• 2 tbsp chopped thyme
• Zest of 1 lemon, half of it shaved into strips, the rest grated
• 20g chopped dill
• 10g chopped mint
• 5g chopped coriander
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 200g Greek yoghurt
• dry breadcrumbs
• Sunflower oil, for frying
• 200g halloumi, cut into 1cm dice [He recommended 2cm, but that's too big to get the right flavour combination.]
• 1 egg, beaten
• Salt and white pepper

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the fennel seeds for 30 seconds, until they start giving off their aroma. Add the chopped fennel and leeks, and sauté on a medium-low heat for 10 minutes or so, until soft and sweet – don't let them take on any colour, so add a little water if need be.
   
   
2. Pour in the anise-based liqueur, raise the heat and cook for two minutes, so the alcohol evaporates. Add the water, half the thyme, the lemon strips, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and some white pepper, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove the lemon, blitz the soup with a hand-held blender (or in a food processor) and leave to cool. [As I said, I didn't have any Pernod, or ouzo--and at £20/bottle it was too much to ask. Knowing how both taste, I made work around by soaking star anise in hot vodka and adding about a tablespoon of sugar and letting is soak for a couple of hours. If you had more time, it would be even better. Remove the star anise and use as Pernod, etc.]
   
   
3. Once cool, stir in the grated lemon zest, herbs, garlic and yoghurt. Taste (and try not to eat too much); adjust the seasoning, then refrigerate. About 20 minutes before serving, take the soup out of the
   fridge so it's chilled but not fridge-cold.
   
   
4. To make the croutons, mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining thyme. Pour enough oil into a small saucepan so that it comes 2.5cm up the sides and place on medium heat.
   Once bubbles begin to rise to the surface, turn down the heat to medium-low and leave for a minute. Dip the halloumi in beaten egg, shake off any excess and then roll in the thyme breadcrumbs. Deep-fry in batches for a minute, until golden-brown – make sure the oil isn't so hot that the cheese sizzles vigorously when it goes in. Transfer the cooked croutons to kitchen towel to drain. (These are also a temptation to eat. Plan to make a few extra.)
   
   
5. Divide the soup among six bowls, drop in a few warm croutons, drizzle with olive oil and
   serve.

Originally published in The Guardian on 8 August 2011.

vegetable thai curry

While this dish would taste absolutely wonderful made with chicken or shrimp, I had bought some tofu at the store earlier in the day and wanted to try cooking with it. I've never attempted tofu and thought a curry, with its complex spices and sauce, would be the perfect flavoring for the blank canvas that is tofu.

I also realize that the picture looks a sort of sickly-green, but the dish actually is a kind of sickly green color... partly due to the fact that I accidentally overcooked the broccoli. How sad!

for the green chili sauce:
2 Tbs coriander seed
1 medium or large onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
2-3 jalapeno or other hot peppers
1 cup cilantro, washed and de-stemmed
3 lime leaves
2 Tbs fish sauce
1 thumb-size piece of ginger

1. Grind the coriander seed with a mortar and pestle or in a coffee grinder.
2. Add the coriander seed, onion, garlic, peppers, cilantro, lime leaves, ginger, and fish sauce to a food processor and process until the consistency of a chili sauce. (of course!)

for the rest of the ingredients:
I added vegetables I had on hand (and needed to use before they went bad). I think this recipe can handle most vegetables, but some should be pre-cooked and tossed in only a bit before serving. Sure, they might not soak up as much of the flavoring, but nothing is worse than limp broccoli!

1 can of coconut milk
2 tbs sesame or other seed/nut oil
1 package of extra-firm tofu
1 medium head of broccoli, chopped
3 bell peppers, chopped
1 can of bamboo shoots
1 package of mushrooms

1. Cut the tofu into bite-sized squares and sautee in oil briefly, until semi-firm on the outside. This will help the pieces hold their shape in the curry.
2. Mix green chili sauce and the can of coconut milk in a wok or large stir-fry pan; let it simmer (you might want to cover the pan or the mix will spit everywhere).
3. Add the tofu and bamboo shoots to the curry mixture.
4. Start cooking the mushrooms in a separate pan; let some of their water boil off, and place in the curry.
5. Add broccoli to the curry and let cook for about ten minutes.
6. Add the green peppers and cook for another ten minutes.

Serve with jasmine rice and add fish or soy sauce at the table if necessary.