A little bit Country, a little bit rock-and-roll...

You know that song: "I'm a little bit country. I'm a little bit rock and roll?" Well this dish has a similar identity crisis. Put together a jalapeño chile pepper from Mexico, some Chinese soy sauce and some Italian basil, and you know you have oddly mixed origins. Nevertheless, I'm a British immigrant to California, whose favorite cuisine is probably Italian, so who am I to judge. Maybe we should just call it fusion?!

To be brutally honest, the start for this dish was the current contents of my fridge, and the knowledge that some of those contents were going to end up in the compost unless I used them soon. If I'd had the time or the inclination to go shopping, I would probably have bought some more Asian-style peppers, and perhaps some Thai basil, but I didn't :-) Feel free to tweak, if you try this out and send this recipe in a more authentically south east asian direction, if you want to, I'm sure it will be no less delicious.

Despite the seemingly odd combination of ingredients, not only are my fridge and my compost bin now a little emptier, the dish turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. And it is the kind of thing where any vegetables you have to hand can be substituted in. Bargain!

Stir Fried Vegetable Rice with Basil and Ginger
Serves 4

14oz brown jasmine rice
canola oil
1 TBSP grated ginger root
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 leeks, rinsed and cut into thin half-moon slices
3 small carrots, in small dice
1/2 bunch lacinato/Tuscan kale, stems removed and thinly sliced
4 green/spring onions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
7 TBSP soy sauce (I used low sodium)
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
lime wedges to serve

1. Cook the rice according to the directions and drain off any remaining liquid. Set aside.
2. In a large wok, heat some canola oil until hot, and then stir fry the ginger, jalapeño and garlic together until the garlic starts to turn brown and the mixture is fragrant.
3. Add the leeks, carrots and bell pepper and continue to stir until the carrots are tender.
4. Stir in the rice, kale, green onions and the soy sauce and mix to combine. Continue to cook until the kale is wilted. Then stir in the basil, and let it heat through until you can smell that delicious aniseed fragrance of the hot basil.
5 Serve garnished with lime wedge to squeeze over the top.

Souper Supper

Sometimes, one surpasses oneself in the dinner department. Last night was such an occasion. And this souperlative (ha-ha) soup was the vehicle to success. There are those who will no doubt complain that soup does not a dinner make, but let me reassure you, that this one is souper (she's at it again) satisfying, and with some naan bread on the side for 'mopping' purposes, more than filled the last empty corner of my stomach, as well as that of my teenage son. The toppings no doubt help, plus they make it look oh-so-pretty.

So before the weather warms to non-soup-appropriate spring temperatures, soup up your repertoire with this. You're bound to feel souperior (sigh).

Roasted Carrot and Coconut Milk Soup
Serves 8

2 1/2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
olive oil
salt and ground black pepper
2 yellow onions, chopped
4 TBSP Thai red curry paste
1 1/2 TBSP grated fresh ginger root
2 15oz cans white beans (cannelloni/white kidney bean), drained and rinsed
6 cups vegetable stock
2 15oz cans light coconut milk
6 TBSP fresh lime juice
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander leaves)
2 ripe avocados, chopped
1 cup cooked brown/green lentils

1. Preheat oven to 450F (225C). Toss together carrots with a drizzle of olive oil and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper and put in the oven to roast for 25 minutes by which time they should be tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.
3. Add the curry paste and ginger to the onions and cook stirring for a further minute until it is fragrant and possibly starting to stick.
4. Add the stock, cooked carrots, beans and coconut milk and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
5. Use a handheld blender to puree the mixture in the saucepan, or use a food processor/blender to do so in batches. Once it is smooth, taste the mixture to see if it needs more salt.
6. Stir in another 1 tsp ground black pepper and the lime juice. Serve in bowls, topped with chopped avocado, lentils and cilantro, with plenty of naan bread for dipping.

Gotcha!

We all have that friend who thinks vegetarian food is for sissies. You know, the one who thinks that (for some reason, many of these friends tend to be male - don't shoot me, they just do) his testosterone levels will slide and he won't be able to get up off the sofa to grab another beer, if he doesn't have his daily share of animal flesh. You know who you are :-)

Well, this is the vegetarian dish to serve them. I kid you not - this will have the most ardent carnivore scratching his head about how he (again, I'm just saying, most of them are men) can have been so wrong to have ruled out an entire section of every restaurant menu and recipe book by refusing to consider eating a solely plant-based dish. This right here is how you school them.

The dish may take more than 20 minutes to put together and a little bit of effort in advance, but if you have never sauteed mushrooms which have been marinated in wine before, then you and anyone living within smelling distance have a treat in store! Wow, my house smelled good!

I can't stress how rich and flavorful this stew is. So if, like me, you like bold, rich sauciness and are trying to go at least flexitarian, if not vegetarian, this is the dish for you. Slurp, enjoy, and then beach yourself on the nearest sofa to perhaps rue the error of your previously dedicated carnivorous ways!

Chestnut and Mushroom Bourguignon
Serves 5-6
Adapted from www.chickpeasandcharcoal.com

olive oil
1lb small mushrooms (I used a mixture of white and cremini), halved or quartered
150g cooked chestnuts, sliced in half
12 oz carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
14oz bag frozen petite whole onions (aka pearl onions), thawed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
10 fl oz hot vegetable stock
1 tsp marmite
1/2 tsp brown miso paste
13 fl oz red wine (about 2/3 of a bottle)
4 TBSP brandy
1 TBSP cornflour
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper
creamy mashed potatoes to serve

1. The day before you want to cook, or at least several hours before, put the mushrooms in a large bowl and pour over the red wine. Leave to marinate overnight or for at least a few hours, stirring every now and again so that all the mushrooms get a good dunk in the wine.
2. Preheat oven to 400F (200C).
3. Put the carrots on a baking tray and toss with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper.
4. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes by which time they should be almost fully cooked, but not completely soft.
5. In a large skillet, heat some olive oil over medium high heat, then toss in the thawed pearl onions. Saute for around 5 minutes by which time they should be browning nicely. Set the onions aside.
6. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the marinade wine in a pitcher (DO NOT TOSS!). Saute the drained mushrooms in the same skillet that the onions were cooked in, adding a little more oil, if necessary. While you are doing this, add the marmite and miso paste to the hot stock and stir to dissolve.
7. When the mushrooms are starting to soften, add back in the onions, with the garlic and caraway seeds and saute for a further minute. Then add the chestnuts, hot stock mixture, brandy, chopped thyme and 200ml of the wine marinade (don't toss the rest, you will need some of it later!).
8. Bring to the boil, and simmer for 20 minutes so the liquid reduces. I found the best way to do this, let the alcohol in the wine and brandy cook off, and retain enough sauce, was to simmer with the lid off for around 10minutes, and then with the lid fully on for the remainder. If the mixture is drying out, you can add some more of the wine marinade, or some more stock.
9. Stir in the carrots and check the seasoning. If it needs it (depends on the stock you are using) add some salt and pepper to taste).
10. In a small bowl, mix the cornflour with a little of the remaining wine marinade to make a 'slurry'. Stir into the pan, and allow the mixture to bubble a little longer until it thickens to the desired consistency. If you have overdone it on the cornflour, just add a little more stock or wine marinade.
11. Serve over some creamy mashed potatoes with a nice green vegetable on the side.