Spicy tofu sambal

I have so many friends who are confirmed carnivores. They relish the idea of a rare slab of steak, all bloody and meaty and succulent. The natural antithesis to this is of course tofu. The reactions some people have to this pretty innocous ingredient can be pretty negative. Of course, it doesn't exactly scream appetising. White, wobbly and jelly-like out the packet, and purportedly without flavour, tofu is sometimes viewed as the premise of hippies and weird vegetarians among many of my peers. Although, I have convinced a few to try it! It's just damn good stuff. And it doesn't taste like rubber, I swear!

In any case, it's been bloody snowy in London recently (and my flight home to Ireland on Thursday hangs in the balance of the weather, argh!) and this spicy, hot African-inspired dish really hits the spot. Made by reducing tomatoes down, with a spicy kick, onions garlic and my favourite spice, ginger, served with tofu soaked in soy sauce then fried alongside some green beans stirfried in chilli and garlic. How does that not sound amazing? This is probably my most favourite dish to eat out of everything I can cook, to be honest. It's gotten to the point where I have to try to stop myself from eating the salty umame goodness of the tofu as I marinade it. Also, the beans that go with this dish are absolutely goddamned incredible. The first time I had them, it was a revelation.

Ah, lovely tofu. You're not so bad.

The secret ingredient in this - and in the name - is Sambal, or Sambal Oelek to be precise. This is where the fact that my boyfriend is Dutch comes into play. A lot of Dutch cooking has a strong Indonesian flavour backgrounding it, for obvious reasons. So wen we go to the Netherlands, Sambal Oelek paste and Kejap Manis (a sweet Indonesian soy sauce) are two things I always try to stock up on if we are low at home. In the meantime though, some kind of chilli sauce - not sweet chilli sauce, though - will do the trick. 

Sorry about the gloves, it's really cold in my house at the moment.

As with almost everything, this is good for two hungry people.

Spicy tofu sambal with garlic and chilli green beans

• One pack of tofu 
• Soy sauce
• 4 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 or 5 large tomatoes (ripe and cut into chunks) or a 400g tin of chopped/plum tomatoes
• Good pinch of rock salt (1/2 a tsp)
• 2 fat cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp Sambal Oelek or chilli sauce/paste
• 1 tbsp tomato puree

First things first, you always want to press the tofu or it might just end up falling-aparty and watery and will put you off for life. Take the tofu out of its box (it looks like this in our local supermarket), wrap it in a single sheet of kitchen roll, and put on a plate or in a shallow bowl. Put two dinner plates on top for at least half an hour - this will gradually press the water out of the tofu. Next, drain the water, and cut into 8 chunks, then marinade in a few glugs of soy sauce. You may want to turn your pieces over half way through to ensure nice coverage but it won't matter.

In your biggest non-stick pot (or separately, in a small non-stick frying pan but do remember to add the oil back into your main pot), fry the tofu - but leaving the soy sauce marinade behind, don't chuck it all in! -  in the sunflower oil until brown on all sides, then take out and set to drain on kitchen paper, leaving behind as much sunflower oil as you can. 

Now add your onion and give it a good stir, and let it fry on a medium heat for about five minutes, until it's approaching a soft state. Then add your ginger and chopped or crushed garlic. Mix throughly, then add the chill paste, tomato puree, and sugar. Give it a really good mix, then add salt, and your tomatoes. If it's out the can, no worries, just throw it in. Otherwise, add your tomatoes and 80ml or so of water. You want to bring this up to the boil, then lower so that the tomatoes break down and turn into a sauce, but chunkiness is good. If you're not using a rice cooker, you might want to start thinking about putting your rice on now. After 10 minutes, or however long you want to leave it, you can reintroduce the tofu off the plate into the pot, which will heat it up again.

Chilli green beans

• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped finely
• 1/2 a red chilli, chopped as finely as possible
• 120 - 160g of fine green beans (trimmed, if not already)
• 1 - 2 tbsp of soy sauce

Add a good glug of olive oil to a frying pan - nonstick is best otherwise you're asking for sticky garlic burned to your pan - and let it heat up. Then throw in all the beans, toss them so they get a nice even coating of olive oil, and let them sizzle away for a bit until they start to get some colour and soften up, a few minutes maybe. 

Put your garlic in and mix it through, then QUICKLY add the soy sauce, or it'll burn. I don't usually pay much attention to how much soy sauce, I know a 'glug' is woefully inaccurate amount but that's usually what I do. Or two glugs. Hah.

Then add the chilli and stir until everything is soft and tasty, and darkened. Try one of the beans and make sure that its not deceptively done-looking on the outside but still too crunchy on the inside. The contrast between the salty, garlicy greens and the sweet, spicy tofu sambal is quite amazing, and well worth the extra effort. Serve with rice.

Shakshouka (eggs poached in spicy sauce)

Ah Shakshouka, how I love thee. So delicious, cheap and veggie, healthy and spicy and hot and warming on a damp, freezing cold night, shakshouka is one of our regular dinners. This is a fairly bastardised version of the probably much more traditional versions online, but I find this recipe does just the job for me. It also great for using up the bits and pieces out of the fridge, is high in protein and so immensely soothing to eat, like a big bowl of soup full of veg and spices and gloriously yolky-and-runny poached eggs. This is cobbled together from a few recipes and is kind of a vegetable-rich (and therefore better) version of Uova in Purgatorio, in my opinion. Again, Middle Eastern-inspired food makes great and flavoursome vegetarian food without skimping on the all-important protein.
Plus, look at ridiculously gorgeous it is. All that red and yellow! Mm. Makes enough for two very greedy people. 

Shakshouka 

• 4 tbsp (1/4 of a cup) olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 400g tin of plum or chopped tomatoes
• 2 peppers (green and yellow are nice)
• 1/2 a white onion, diced
• 1 red chilli pepper
• 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp ground cumin, chopped
• 1 tbsp paprika (use smoked if you have it) 
• Handful of chopped parsley
• Handful of crumbled feta (in the above picture, I've used a bit of goat's cheese as an experiment, as we had no feta.. it was nice!)
• Hummus to serve, if you have it, and some toasted pita to scoop up the last bits. 

You might cringe a bit at adding spoonful after spoonful of olive oil, but I urge you not to skimp on it, the veg need to soften and stew slightly, and the olive oil will help bring out the flavour so wonderfully. Heat the oil, and add the chilli pepper, the diced peppers, and the onion and stir over a medium-low heat until softening, around six minutes.
Add the garlic, cumin and paprika - feel free to chuck in more spices as you like, I like things stronger tasting than this recipe -and give it a quick stir for two minutes. By now the smell should be absolutely gorgeous.

 If you're using plum tomatoes, tip the tin's worth into a bowl and use your hand to crush them up, otherwise just into the bowl with 4 tbsp (1/4 of a cup) of water. Heat up to boiling point, then reduce the heat to medium and leave to thicken.
 Give it at least 5 minutes - the original recipe recommends about 15! But see how thick it's getting. You probably don't want it to reduce down to nothing, it's nice to have a bit of runny sloppiness in a dish like this. Add a good sprinkle of salt and use the back of a wooden spoon to make four indentations in four corners of the sauce and carefully break an egg into each indentation. 

Put the lid on and give it about three to five minutes, until the white has set and the yolk has juuuuust cooked. Again, you don't want anything over-cooked or thickened here. 
Right before it's time to eat, sprinkle over your parsley, and feta, and try to skilfully slop out of the pan with a wide spoon into a pasta bowl so it still looks pretty. Pita and hummus are lovely with this. 
Credit where credit is due: inspired/modified from Smitten Kitchen

Quick, easy falafel

I love falafel - it's tasty, substantial and technically counts as one of your five a day as it's made from chickpeas (which is like 60p a can) and a whole lot of spices. It also keeps great in the fridge, so any that you have left over can be thrown into a salad or eating with some pita and hummus the next day.
Although this doesn't have the fast-food appeal of something that's been deep fried (indeed, what does), it's really easy to throw a load of stuff you might have sitting in your fridge - a tomato, a bit of bagged salad, Greek yoghurt - and make a spread which is really impressive. And it takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, or even less.
The golden rule here I think is that in my opinion it's very hard to over season. The original recipe I got this from used a tablespoon of cumin, and that was all. You can probably double or triple this - I just throw a fair whack in. 

The only thing you might have trouble finding is Harissa spice, a Moroccan chilli-and-rose paste which goes great in Middle Eastern cooking. This recipe is fine without it as well, of course (I can't stand recipes that hinge on you being able to find pomegranate molasses, etc.) If you can find one though, or even one of those supermarket 'rubs' which you're supposed to smear over a chicken, throw it in by all means.
This makes enough for two people comfortably... 

Easy falafel 

• 400g can of chickpeas 
• 1/2 a red onion
• Three or four cloves of garlic
• Handful of fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp of smoked paprika (if you have it)
• 2 tbsp dried coriander 
• Pinch of chilli flakes (if you want a little heat)
• 1 tbp harissa paste
• 4 - 8 tbsp flour

Drain the chickpeas before you start anything else, and give them a rinse in the colander, then dry off a bit with some kitchen towel and leave to sit for a bit, to dry a bit more. Meanwhile, chop your red onion half fairly finely, chuck it in a bowl. Do the same with the parsley, and garlic, add to the bowl, along with the spices, and the harissa (not the flour yet.)

Use either a food processor or a hand-held blender (I got mine for £3.99 from Sainsburys and it does the job nicely) to mash it all into a fairly consistent paste. Don't worry about getting ALL the chickpeas mashed up, just most of them. 

Start adding your flour, mixing through with a wooden spoon - I find you need way more than you will think. Basically you want to add enough so that it's still sticky, but not so impossibly sticky that you can't pick it up. You want to mould them into burger-shapes (my boyfriend insists that round ones taste better - but this is because you have that shape when they're deep fried! Burger-shaped is the best way to go.)  You're going to want to dust your hands with flour when picking up little handfuls.Put them to one side, then fry, or just add straight to a medium-hot frying pan as you go, with a good glug of olive oil, fry until crispy and brown on both sides then serve with pita, hummus (sprinkled with smoked paprika like in the picture is lovely), and anything else you can find/be bothered with! Rocket salad, chopped tomato, feta, couscous, roasted vegetables, etc - it's all good. 

Addendum: I tried making this from 'real', untinned chickpeas once which needed to be soaked, boiled, etc, and the end result was so disappointing and the effort needed so much more that I really don't think I'll be trying that again... 


Credit where credit is due: inspired/modified from the BBC

Sage roast chicken and sausage with mustard and lemon

It's no secret that I love making roasts for people. There is nothing quite so lovely as having a few friends quietly milling around your house midday, wine in hand, as all kinds of delicious smells waft from the oven and you're peacefully peeling spuds and all the rest. Only sometimes buying a huge chicken or such can be a bit of a mission when you were hoping for something a bit more downbeat.

This Nigella Lawson recipe is a lovely balance of that - delicious, but extremely straightforward and a perfect medium if you haven't quite gotten around to trying a proper roast yet. No basting required, just slam in the oven and take out an hour and 15 later (although do turn the sausages over once). It's also cheap!  - using sausages and chicken thighs, which turn crispy on the outside and perfectly tender in the middle. The sage used gives it a wonderful, hearty aroma and the marinade pushes it from just being 'roast meat' into something seriously delicious. You can have it with just some basic mashed potato and veg on the side if you're feeling simple, or if you prefer to go full whack, a potato gratin and some peas and carrots make it into something that rivals a full on Sunday lunch. This is just about the right amount for three people, usually our good friend  Dave, who is a long-visiting guest, regularly giving me the opportunity to justify cooking elaborate meals. The time I made this he was painfully hungover, but he ventured from Edgware to sample the food and left a happy man indeed.  
This makes enough for three as that's the size of my roasting tray, with a few bits left over, but just straight up double if you want to do enough for six. I have this in my recipe notes as 'one tray amazing roast heaven' but lets call it... 

Halfway through eating, realised I hadn't taken a photo! So this is a bit blurry and hurried....

Simple, one tray roast 

• 1 or 2 small onion (the marinaded, slippery onions that result from this recipe are amazing)
• 60ml olive oil
• 1 tsp mustard (the original recipe calls for English but I prefer French grainy mustard)
• 1 tbsp dried sage
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 tbsp Worcester sauce
• 6 chicken thighs
• 6 to 8 sausages (however many you want, really.)
• 1 tbsp of chopped, fresh sage, if you can justify buying a whole pack for a few leaves. I normally skip this because buying fresh herbs unless I plan to use up is a waste, but it's a nice addition.

Before you start, prepare the marinade. Have a freezer bag ready, although if you are in a pinch a bowl will do, just remember to stir it around a little bit while marinading so it gets an even coating. Into your bag, put in the olive oil, the Worcester sauce and the mustard. Juice the lemon half and pour in the juice, then slice the rind into eighths and chuck that in too. Cut the onion into eighths and add to the bag, with the dried sage and a looooooot of ground black pepper. Yum. Mash it all up so it forms a consistent mixture, then add the chicken, make sure it gets coated then marinade for as long as you can stand. An hour, four hours, over night, whatever. Just make sure the chicken isn't cold when you start roasting, if possible.

Put the oven to 220, (although 200 is usually what I do as our oven is hot) and tip the whole bag/bowl of marinade into your largest and nicest roasting tray. Put the chicken in the tray skin-side up, and tuck the sausages around. Add the fresh sage if you're using it - a tablespoon of chopped leaves - and that's it. Put it in the oven and cook for one hour to one hour fifteen. At the 45m mark, take it out, and flip the sausages, as the underside will be white and the top will be brown and crispy. 

Pro-tip: I would remove the lemon before serving up, as if you don't you might end up accidentally trying to eat a chunk of it a la onions. 

Credit where credit is due: Nigella Lawson 

Awesome chocolate sponge birthday cake

This is my classic, fail-proof and always popular chocolate birthday cake, and it's survived being carried in the tube to Ealing, and on the overground to Barnsbury, and once all the way to Gloucester for my Aunt's 60th. I make this for nearly every single birthday - the beauty of the icing means that even if your sponge turns out terribly crumbly or dry, it will still be a hit. That said, this sponge is easy-peasy, slightly dense, and has been given the thumbs up by so many of my friends I've lost count.
I found this recipe in a now-unknown website place way back when I was first a student in London, to make for my flatmate on his birthday and I just kept going back to it. It's the creamy Philadelphia icing which does it, pushing it over into that amazing cheese-cakey flavour territory.
I've made this particular batch as cupcakes, as taking a birthday cake to a pub can be quite messy, and make the bar staff hate you. We enjoyed these in the Southampton Arms off Highgate Road, and it is a brilliant pub.

Makes 12 cupcakes. Maybe 13 but  who has a 13-case cupcake tray?
Awesome chocolate sponge birthday cake (in cupcake form)  

• 175g unsalted butter, room temperature
• 175g caster sugar
• 30g cocoa
• 150g self-raising flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Preheat the oven to 180C, and crack your three eggs into a smallish bowl. I like to use a jug or something, anything that my electric hand-held beaters can sit in. Add the vanilla to the eggs, and mix until frothy and pale.

Give the beaters a quick rinse, chop your butter up into a few small chunks and throw into a nice-sized mixing bowl, and combine the caster sugar and butter for a fair amount of time until mixed together. This usually takes a bit longer than I expect it to every time, but eventually it will come together in a nice consistent mixture. 

Slowly drizzle the eggs into the butter and sugar, a bit at a time, stirring all the while until it's all combined nicely. Now the messy part: measure out your 150g of flour and your 30g of cocoa (I normally make up 180g) and put it into a sieve. Hold it nice and high up above the bowl and gently tap it down - it does go a little bit everywhere, but the more air in it the better. Then fold in! Yummy chocolate batter.
Put them in the oven - I normally spread the batter thinly between two cake trays and make sure its greased and lined - and check frequently. Sometimes this cake only takes 10 minutes, so check crazy often! When a skewer is coming out clean, take the cakes out.
Meanwhile, you can start on your icing while the cakes are baking.

Rich cream-cheesey chocolate icing

• 70g unsalted butter, room temperature (the remaining bit of your 250g pack from pack used in the cake)
• 70g cream cheese 
• 225g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tsp cocoa, sifted

Mix together your unsalted butter with the cream cheese and the vanilla until blended, using the hand-held mixer again. This might end up smeared up the sides of your bowl, so just scrape it down. Then carefully sift in the icing sugar and cocoa. This can make a HUGE mess if you use the hand-held mixer, so maybe mix through half using a wooden spoon, then the remainder.

Then try not to eat it with your hands. I know it's a challenge for me.

Wait for your cake to cool (crucial step or your icing will melt and look tragic), and if you're doing cupcakes, smear liberally on top, otherwise coat the top of the lower sandwich half, place the second sandwich half on top, then cover the whole lot in icing. And if you're feeling fancy, sprinkles or whatever you feel like - it's a basic chocolate cake so you can spruce it up a little.

 I guarantee you will be very popular indeed!

Food blogger

Hello lovely readers and friends I've told "oi go to my food blog, it's proper good I guarantee it" - I'm hoping this will be a nice place to keep a record of my favourite recipes, get some use out of my camera, and a place to direct people when I start talking about my cooking obsession.
It's also a way to show how easy and delicious it is to cook veggie during the week - although I'll have a fair few non-veg recipes too.  I don't consider myself vegetarian by any stretch of the imagination, but I like avoiding meat when cooking on an everyday basis. It's cheaper, if nothing else, and you don't end up eating some terrible chicken breast which has been injected with water just because you need something to bulk out your meal. 
That said I still love meat on occasion -  a good burger, sweet and sour pork, roast chicken - so good, but it becomes more of a special thing, something to be savoured.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy and that I don't update religiously for the first month only to let this fade into obscurity.