Nadiya Hussain is now often referred to as a national treasure.
Which she is.
But this adopting of her by a whole nation seems to ignore the individual stories of those who have found solace in both her story, and her food.
I watched Bake Off back in 2015, and yes, I was one of those who grew to love her. Endearingly funny without realising it, and completely oblivious to her own talent, we were all rooting for her until the end.
After bake off finished, however, I didn’t think much more of it. I liked her, but I didn’t continue to closely follow her story.
It was just after Christmas last year when I decided to buy her third cookbook, ‘Nadiya’s Family Favourites’. I’m not sure what made me do it – I didn’t own a single recipe book prior to that, and although I often cooked from scratch at home, it was never anything particularly complicated and I certainly hadn’t yet discovered the passion for food that existed somewhere within me.
In the first few months of this year, I tried following a few of her recipes, with varying degrees of success. There were however, occasions where I miraculously ended up with a dish that actually looked half decent. I’d take something out of the oven, and think, ‘I actually made that… and it wasn’t a disaster…’
Ham and Cheese (not crown) Crown
Rhubarb and Ginger Cake
Without really realising it, I was learning a lot and something was stirring inside of me.
It wasn’t until about April when things really changed. Working in a very challenging secondary school environment started to take its toll on me. I had struggled on for 8 months without saying anything, but it began to reach a point where it was obvious something was wrong, and there was nothing I could do to hide it, often finding it near impossible to drag myself out of bed to go to work without becoming hysterical.
Fast forward a few weeks and I eventually conceded that I needed time off, and began to talk about things that had been stuck in my head for as long as I can remember. This, coincidentally, was also the time at which Nadiya released her ‘Anxiety and Me’ documentary.
I didn’t watch it at the time, despite multiple people referencing it in conversation. At that point, I wasn’t prepared to be introduced to someone else’s struggles when I was working my way through a difficult time myself (I have since watched it, and am in awe of her as always).
Having a few months off work wasn’t what I had initially wanted, but I was very productive during that time. I kept active, going to the gym nearly every day, I completed a food journalism course whilst blogging and researching career options that would help to carve out a happier future for me, and I baked. I cooked and I baked and I baked and I cooked.
I remember in those first few days constantly worrying that everytime I posted on Instagram something that I’d made, people would be thinking ‘so she’s not at work but she’s ok enough to post all these photos of food and jolly captions.’
But it wasn’t like that.
As I sort of managed to tell Nadiya at her book signing on Sunday night, through blubbering, hyperventilated breaths, it was my therapy.
I realised that when I was at work in the kitchen, I literally didn’t think about anything else.
I then bought Nadiya’s second cookbook ‘Time to Eat’, and loved this one even more than the first. Her recipes incorporate everything from British comfort food (think baked beans, roast dinners, buttery English muffins and sausage and mash) to plates inspired by her Bangladeshi background (fattoush, chaat, lassi and halva) and then everything in between (enchiladas, pancakes, pizza and pastries).
Those few months were a whirlwind in the kitchen and I made some of the best food I’ve ever attempted.
Something inside me had been ignited, and I put so much of it down to the love of cooking that her recipes produced within me.
I began to write more about food, starting this blog and channelling all of my energy into what that made me happy.
After a pep talk from one of my closest friends, I made the decision to quit my job. It was a risk, as I didn’t have a plan, and for me, not having a plan is terrifying.
The funny thing is, I still don’t have one, the only difference now is that I trust that I’ll get to where I need to be regardless.
Last night (Sunday 1st December) I went to Nadiya’s book tour for her new memoir ‘Finding My Voice’ at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre in London. She spoke openly and eloquently about the many challenges she had faced and overcome, and still is overcoming in her life. Some of them were so far from anything I had ever experienced, and others spoke to me. Some of her fears are my fears, but some of her strengths (without wanting to blow my own trumpet lol) are my strengths.
I was lucky enough to meet her afterwards, but came away feeling like a ginormous idiot, as words failed me, and for reasons I couldn’t really explain at the time I got massively emotional. I actually blame the woman in front of me in the queue who also started to cry so it was her fault for setting the precedent. So yes, this big, long essay here is everything I was trying to explain to her, which just came out in sobs via my ugly crying face.
Who knew cooking and enjoying the incredible recipes that someone else has conjured up could have such an impact on me.
And now I can’t wait to spend every minute of my work shifts reading through the chapters of her life.
Nadiya is brave and inspiring. She’s funny and warm. And I hope that one day when I have children, they have someone like her to look up to.
Fangirling is a bit cringey. But as the title suggests, if you can cry over Beyoncé, I can cry over Nadiya.
……………..
Leaving it on a more light-hearted note, I now have 3 of Nadiya’s 4 recipe books and am gradually working my way through cooking a load of her incredibly diverse food, so just to get you salivating, here are a selection of my favourite and most successful attempts.
Chocolate Caramel Tear ‘n’ Share Soda Bread
Halloumi Fries
PBJ Pancake Traybake
Cayenne Eggs Benedict
Chocolate Lime Roulade
Black Pepper Cake
One Tray Peanut Chicken Gnocchi Bake
Blender Beetroot Pasta
Semolina Halva with Cheat’s Paratha
Beef Burgers
Savoury French Toast
Gingerbread Melt-in-the-Middle with Cardamom Ice Cream
I’ve actually reached the point where vegan week no longer feels like vegan week. I’m not noticing the differences in the food I’m eating anymore, and it doesn’t feel like such a conscious effort to avoid meat/fish/dairy etc.
Despite that it’s still as exciting. I feel lucky that because I love cooking so much I’m more than happy to invest loads of time in trying new plant-based recipes rather than my vegan diet consisting of dull, flavourless frozen packets of things from that supermarket aisle (Linda McCartney chorizo sausages not included in this shade as they are DELICIOUS). But yeah, I can appreciate that for those who don’t have the time or the interest in cooking, a plant-based diet isn’t necessarily as appealing or exciting.
Anyway, there were a whole new load of things I tried in week 3, both things I made at home and places I ate out at, so let’s dive in and take a look.
I started things off by winging it. I’d bought some okra which, when cooked well, is one of my favourite vegetables. I only tried it for the first time when I was living in Brazil and fell in love with the flavour and texture. This curry however, was a bit shit. I think I should’ve had more patience and let it simmer for longer, but also I forgot that I had coconut milk so added vegan yoghurt instead and that just made it too sweet, so I will not be making a note of this recipe lol.
The only other thing I ate recipe-less was a sandwich that I took to work. I used the focaccia I’d made the week before and added some HECK Thai curry vegan sausages along with a chilli tahini and a lil bit of Bombay Mix for the crunch. I actually really enjoyed these sausages, probably a bit more than the last ones I tried which I think were Indian spiced.
The recipes that I followed throughout the week came from my usual favourites, Nadiya Hussain, Ainsley Harriott, Jamie Oliver and Rachel Ama.
One of the first was a spicy parsnip soup from Jamie’s VEG, which so far I’ve been really impressed with. The photo alongside this recipe looked so enticing but I actually found myself disappointed with the result.
Along with okra, parsnips are my other favourite vegetable (are they a vegetable?) but I lost the elements that I loved in this soup. It was less sweet and didn’t have the creamy, roasted texture that I loved. It was quite a chunky soup, whereas I think I prefer them pretty smooth.
I also tried my first recipe from Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen (just from looking at the recipes it’s my favourite cookbook ever…), but unfortunately I started with the wrong one.
I was trying to be reasonably healthy with his Mango, Avocado Brown Rice Salad but I actually had to throw it away. I’m not sure what I did wrong (other than following a recipe with mango and avocado which are two things I don’t really like lol) but there was this weeeeird bitter taste to it and so yep, it all went in the bin. No disrespect to this cookbook though because honestly the recipes look insane.
I brought it right back to the good stuff though with Rachel Ama’s One Pan Breakfast. Basically just tomatoes, spinach, baby potatoes and mushrooms but this was really satisfying. Simple to make and makes you feel pretty healthy, I’ll defo be eating this again.
On the side of that, I made Nadiya Hussain’s Country Beans and whilst there was lots of flavour and they tasted good, I felt that my attempt just looked a bit shit on the plate so I wasn’t massively fussed by this recipe.
A few days later though I persevered with her Turmeric Tomatoes on Avocado Toast and this was a hit. Although I mentioned I don’t really like avocado, I still occasionally cook with it because if it’s surrounded by other flavours and textures that I do like, I don’t mind it too much. The turmeric with the tomatoes was lovely, and again, this is another recipe that made me feel pretty good about what I was putting into my body.
Just a few more recipes to go, and this one’s a breakfast one. I prepped Jamie’s Ripped Smoothie Bowl the night before so I didn’t have to spend ages before work and I really enjoyed it. The vegan yoghurt didn’t taste any different to me to normal yoghurt, although I’ll admit that I much prefer Rachel Ama’s recipe for granola than Jamie’s which he includes for the smoothie bowl topping.
My vegan week came to an end last night with what I again have to admit was a not great meal. I have never tried ackee before, and the scrambled egg appearance tied in with it being described as a ‘fruit’ weirded me out slightly, but I’m open minded and will give any food a shot. The whole recipe was for Smoky Aubergine and Ackee Scramble Bagel and I had that with Nadiya’s Aubergine Pakora with Spicy Ketchup. The smoky aubergine part was okay and I mostly ended up eating this on the bagel, but the ackee didn’t do it for me and I had to bin it which rarely happens 😦
The aubergine pakora was also a fail but I’m pretty sure this must’ve been my fault somehow – the deep frying process just left me with soggy, saturated aubergine that didn’t have any flavour to it, however, I did rate the spicy ketchup.
So my home cooking was a mixed bag this week, some very decent, simple recipes and others that I just wouldn’t bother with again, but I’m still glad I”ve tried new things.
I’ll run through the desserts and sweet treat snacks that I indulged in next. Only one of these I made myself and they were the Lemon and Ginger Oat Balls. I’ve just scoured the Internet and my phone to see who I got this recipe from but I honestly can’t find the exact one. I loved these though, and after my success with Emma (Mrs) Hollingsworth’s peanut butter and chia jam oat balls last month I’ll definitely be making this kind of thing all the time because they taste amazing but are pretty healthy with no refined sugar.
Something that was slightly heavier on the sugar was Doughnut Time’s Good Pie-dings doughnut. It’s part of their Christmas range and is a vegan doughnut stuffed with mince pie filling and topped with cinnamon sugar. It might not look the most appetising but this was so tasty – both the sugary dough and the sweet filling.
As I’ve also spent a fair bit of time working at Winter Wonderland recently I’ve had loads of opportunities to try some amazing food there. I tried Badbrownie’s Salted Caramel Brownie which they have a vegan and non-vegan version of. This was very tasty, although I do prefer an eeeeven gooier brownie (not easy to achieve when it’s this cold outside).
Other Winter Wonderland highlights included the Chickpea Mushroom Curry from Makatcha. This was so full of flavour, I really rated it. Defo want to try their non-vegan options at some point.
Oh My Dog also have a couple of vegan hotdog options and so I tried the Deluxe. It comes with ketchup, mustard, crispy onions and pickles. It was pretty nice and in terms of the hotdog sausage itself I probably wouldn’t even have known that it was vegan.
My final feast at WW came from Fanny’s Kebabs and was probably my favourite. The hummus and pita were okay but nothing exciting, however, the falafel wrap was delicious. There was so much filling packed in and even the fries were impressive. The seasoning on their Persian Fries is amazing, and I love the minty kick that they have.
The only thing left now is my wonderful food from Temple of Seitan, but as I did a review of all that the other day I won’t go into much detail here (you can find it by clicking on the Reviews tab in the menu above). Long story short – get the bbq wings. Amazing.
Highs and lows complete, another plant-based week complete. Like I mentioned before, I don’t even feel like I have to try now, it’s really very easy to eat like this and there is so much that I want to experiment with.
As the weeks have gone by I feel like my vegan week diet has become more varied and is less dependent on just vegetables and beans/pulses – you just have to do a bit of research to see what’s out there and work out what the simplest substitutes are.
Meat Me Halfway: Week 4 will be coming to you a bit sooner next time, as in order to avoid it falling on Christmas (Plant-based Christmas???? I think not), I’ll be doing it a week earlier.
I have a few brunch and street food places that I’m super excited to try and bring to you next time around so you can look forward to that in a few weeks’ time.
I’m back with another review, and this one’s fully vegan.
You’ll get the full lowdown of all the vegan cooking and eating out I’ve done during week 3 when I write it all up in the next few days, but for now, we’ll just focus on this one specific feast.
From my flatmate, to work colleagues, to strangers on Instagram, Temple of Seitan had been recommended to me so many times. They have two sites – their main location in Hackney and then another one in Camden.
The Camden one was slightly closer to me so I headed there, but it is quite hidden away; you’d have to actively seek it out because there’s no way you’d accidentally stumble across it.
It’s got a kind of fast food set up to it. You order at the counter and then wait for your name to be called to collect your food, and there are a number of tables dotted around, but it’s not massive inside. It is however, a light, open space that’s not overcrowded, and so although I didn’t eat in, if you were to, it would be a chilled experience.
I only had to wait 5 minutes or so for my food, and the menu is pretty extensive without being overwhelming.
And here’s where you get to take a look at what I got…
Burger-wise I wanted to stick to ‘chicken’ as opposed to the beef substitute as I feel like that’s what they’re more known for. Even so, they have a few different Chick’n combos to choose from so I ordered the Nashville Hot. This comes as a hot dipped Chick’n fillet with ranch mayo, lettuce and pickles. Overall I really enjoyed the burger – it was indulgent and tasty in a decent quality bun, but the only slight disappointment was the patty. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted good, but it was very very thin – like half the thickness of a standard slice of bread (other than the particular side you can see in the photo which got a bit thicker), meaning that you got a lot of crunch from the outer shell but not much texture from the Seitan itself. What with all the lettuce and pickles in the burger, everything just kind of lumped together in a big crunch-fest, rather than being able to note a clear difference between the texture of the patty and the relish. Still would recommend as I reckon this was just an anomaly in the kitchen.
To reiterate what I often mention, I don’t always see the point in ordering standard fries as a side (unless I’m at Mcdonald’s) because they’re never really that exciting and I’d rather try something different, however, the exception to this is if they offer some kind of loaded fries or an interesting twist on the classic. This time I went for the ‘Döner’ Snack Pack – regular fries with vegan doner meat, mayo and spicy sauce.
It’s a pretty big portion, so definitely a sharer (or something to freeze for another time like I have done), and there are a decent amount of toppings. The sauces weren’t bad but I wasn’t a fan of the vegan Döner. The texture was pretty convincing but it didn’t really taste of anything and so I don’t feel that it enhanced the fries in any way. I’d definitely try their other Animal Snack Pack loaded fries if I were to go again.
As this is breakfast, lunch and dinner in one go I’ll move onto the next part of the meal- the Mac ‘n’ Cheese.
You can’t fault them on how much they can cram into this pot, and this is just the regular size. For me though, it just wasn’t creamy enough. The ratio of pasta to sauce was completely off, although that’s not to say it didn’t taste good. The macaroni were very small, meaning that more pasta could be packed in tightly, which in turn meant that the sauce literally just covered a few of the bites on top rather than coating every single piece. It was also quite salty, and so this wouldn’t be my first recommendation, but again, it wasn’t bad at all.
I do love to save the best until last, especially when it’s an unexpected one like this. The BBQ Wings were probably the thing I was least excited about ordering but I was still intrigued enough to try them.
Whereas the quality of the Seitan as a chicken substitute in the burger didn’t really do it justice, the wings really showcased why it’s such a good match. There isn’t really anything here to distract from the Seitan itself, and I found the texture to be very convincing. It doesn’t tear apart in the same way that fried chicken would, but other than that it really is spot on. There’s no oddly suspicious ‘this isn’t meat’ flavour, which allows the bbq sauce to take over without having to mask an unsettling aftertaste.
Some people love eating from the bone, but I find this quite annoying and would rather be able to bite into something freely without having to work my teeth around them so I’m grateful that there’s no dodgy attempt to create a mock bone here (the attempt at this in Biff’s Jack Shack’s jackfruit wings really weirded me out and put me off eating them when I accidentally bit straight into a solid piece of god knows what…)
So these ‘wings’ were my absolute highlight and I insist that if you’re reading this, you try them at some point, whether you’re vegan or not.
The four items together were £23 in total, which I think is pretty decent for London prices, especially as some vegan food I’ve had in the city has been the same amount for half the food.
I enjoyed trying a variety of ‘dishes’, and will definitely be trying the popcorn Chick’n next time.
This kind of food is not just for vegans. It’s indulgent and tasty, and even if you’re the biggest meat eater, you should try to overcome the psychological barrier of thinking ‘but this isn’t meat’ to decide for yourself non-judgementally if you could enjoy this instead of meat from time to time.
And if you hate it? Oh well. At least you’ve been adventurous and tried something new. I don’t even know if I’d choose this over a chicken or beef burger but I’m still really enjoying opening my mind to this new kind of cuisine.
But ultimately if you’re happy and healthy with what you’re eating then all is well; meat, veggie or vegan…
What could be more normal than spending the morning of your
birthday in a smoked salmon factory in Hackney?
For me, nothing.
I wouldn’t prefer to be drinking, partying, watching
Netflix. You name it, nothing would beat it.
It was a pretty last minute plan when I realised I wouldn’t be working, and I’d received an invite from Foodtryb whose community I’ve recently become part of, and this fantastic opportunity had been organised by them.
I wasn’t sure what to expect of a tour of a salmon factory
but I turned up, intrigued and ready to learn.
Forman & Field is a family-run business that started producing smoked salmon over 100 years ago. Their factory now runs alongside a kitchen that produces delicious food ready to be shipped to you and eaten at home, a restaurant, and a newly opened deli.
As well as their renowned smoked salmon, they offer a range of other high quality foods including meat dishes, other types of fish and seafood, and even cakes.
DISCLAIMER: As part of the Foodtryb community, this tour, the tasting session and goody bag were free, however, I have not been asked to post anything, and as I have said before, I would not post about an event, business or brand that I wasn’t impressed by (lol #blackfoodfest). My enthusiasm is always genuine, and likewise my disappointment or indifference wherever that may arise!
After dressing ourselves in highly attractive hairnets, jackets and shoe covers, we headed to the factory itself where a huge team were already hard at work, and some had been since the early hours. For those who are sensitive to the intense smell of fresh fish, this would not be the place for you, but to me it was fantastic, and seeing exactly where our food comes from and how it’s prepared was incredibly enlightening.
To begin with, we were shown the salmon being prepared, ready to be salted, so heads removed, and sliced down the middle. A few large patches of skin are also removed so that granulated salt can be added, seeping into the skin, drying the flesh out and travelling right down into the tail. Our wonderful host, Darren, explained that some supermarket-bought smoked salmon can be overly slimy as instead of being dried out with salt, they are left in brine meaning that the moisture is held in. This ultimately means that the quality is much poorer, particularly when frozen and then defrosted.
The visit also emphasised how the point of smoking salmon was never to give it an intentional smoky flavour. I’d never thought much about the fact that the point of smoking the salmon when people started doing it originally was purely to seal in the freshness and flavour back when fridges weren’t available. Therefore the smoky flavour is only something that people have come to demand more recently.
There are no flames used in Forman & Field’s production process. Instead, this wooden block is rubbed against the wheel below causing friction, which in turn produces smoke. They don’t believe that the flavour should be too smoky, and so the subtlety of the flavours in their salmon make it perfect for those who don’t typically enjoy smoked products.
Darren couldn’t give us a thorough tour and demo without telling us all about his world record for the fastest time slicing salmon – he even competed against Gordon Ramsey and you can find the video on their website! The bones have to be removed, and no matter what size the salmon is, there are always 30 to pick out.
There are then a couple of different ways of slicing it – a
‘D cut’, slicing vertically which is the more modern option, and a longer,
horizontal cut which was more popular in the past.
We also visited the room where the salmon is hung up – all of them being Scottish salmon – some wild, and some farmed. The farmed was slightly brighter in colour as in the image below.
We welcomed the much needed warmth in our next stop – the kitchen. There was so much going on in here, ready for orders to be shipped out to both big supermarkets and businesses, and independent orders. Some of the dishes being made before us included lobster terrine with langoustine and smoked salmon, and a meat roulade – our first insight into the non-fish dishes produced here.
By this time, we were v excited to try some samples.
I say some samples… no one had anticipated just quite how
much food would appear before us, and I have to say the spread was incredible.
First up were the raw basics – simple smoked salmon. We were introduced to both fatty and lean versions so that we could make a judgement on which one we preferred. I’m still not sure, and think I need a bit more practice (!) but for now I’d probably say the fatty one was slightly preferable. We also tried the bit from the belly (centre), and then two slices of the royal salmon.
The royal salmon was beautiful. The slice on the left is
plain, and on the right is flavoured with truffle. The pieces were light and
buttery with a beautiful texture. I would never have thought that truffle could
work so well with salmon in this way but it was delicious – for me it the
perfect example of how to use truffle in a dish. Less of the raved-about
truffle pasta at Gloria, which is a sickly overload of slimy, wasted truffle.
Here there was enough truffle to taste, but it was subtle enough not to feel
thrown in for the sake of it.
Next we tried the Swedish gravlax, which contrary to what many people think, is not smoked salmon, as it’s not actually been smoked! This one was flavoured with dill, and it was ok but nothing special.
Surprisingly, I much preferred the ginger and wasabi salmon,
despite not really liking wasabi. I found this one creamy and delicate.
On to another course, and this one sounds odd. Salmon jerky. I actually quite like jerky anyway so was looking forward to trying this. It’s pretty salty and so moorish. I noticed some people taking a bite and leaving the rest on their plates but I was straight in there, bite after bite. Really unusual concept, and that’s always something that has me curious!
The first non-salmon-related dish was an onion tart, which I actually brought some of home. Not too eggy, with soft, crumbly pastry and a tasty filling. The scotch eggs also came out at this point. The first one was a smoked salmon scotch egg, and the second, a traditional pork one. Interestingly I did prefer the salmon one, and the egg yolk in the centre was that perfect combination of being cooked yet still gooey.
Writing this is just making me realise how much food there was. It really was a madness. But we’re now onto the fried goodies – croquettes and arancini. First up was the salmon and lobster croquette, then we had thai salmon (my favourite – beautiful flavours) and then smoked haddock. I can’t remember what the first arancino was to be honest, but the second interestingly was a greek salad one with feta. This one was good, and I heard lots of people saying it was their favourite.
YES WE ARE STILL GOING. AND HERE COME THE HIGHLIGHTS. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the words ‘mac ‘n’ cheese’ floating through the air. This was not what I had anticipated, especially combined with the word TRUFFLE. I realised I had to start being more sensible at this point, as who knew when it would stop, so I managed to limit myself to just half a mini portion. Mac ‘n’ cheese was fab, perfectly creamy and again, light on the truffle flavours but still enough to notice.
Alongside the Mac was a salmon lasagne, which I wanted to try but didn’t have massively high expectations of. Just goes to show how open-minded you should be when trying things because this was my favourite dish of them all. I’m not sure what made it so beautiful, but it just had a kind of butteriness to it and I’m very tempted to order more of these from the catalogue because it was fantastic, and tasted such high quality.
Last fishy dish was the smoked mackerel paté. Mackerel is the ultimate fishy kind of fish, and so I reckon is only good for genuine foodies or fish lovers. I appreciated the paté but I wasn’t hugely fussed by it.
Who would’ve thought we’d also end up being served a load of desserts at a fish factory of all places, but we were. The lemon and pistachio cake came first and was lovely and light with a sweet hint of lemon. Then came the brownie which was excellent – for me a brownie MUST be gooey, not at all hard, and more dense in a chocolately way than spongey. This one was exactly that without being tooo heavy. Finally was the banana bread which was decent but I have had better (Fox Café in Nottingham is still my number one of all time!).
And. That. Is. Everything.
And so it should be. Luckily all the portions were small tasters, but still it was a crazy amount of food. I also received some of their packaged smoked salmon to take home, which I’m going to freeze whilst I research some fantastic recipes to put it to use.
I’ve had such a wonderful morning, and after having a look
at the menu for their restaurant online (they do both dinners and weekend
brunch), hopefully I’ll get chance to head over there at some point.
Thank you to both Forman & Field for their fantastic hospitality and genuine passion and knowledge surrounding their products, and Foodtryb for the organisation and invite.
If you want to find out more, browse their catalogue or
restaurant menus then head to www.formanandfield.com.
Another food-travel post has landed. Less of the
other-side-of-the-world Indian adventure this time, and instead, a jam-packed
city break a little closer to home.
If you haven’t already guessed from the puntastic title (it’s terrible but I’d be a fool to let it slip by), I spent a few days in Budapest, which seems to be becoming one of the most popular city break destinations in Europe.
My previous travel posts have taken quite different forms;
Brazil was more of a guide, India was grouped into categories, and Bologna had
a more story-telling feel to it. This time I’m going to go through my foodie
experiences dish by dish, giving a mini insight into each one.
I ate a lot. A lot a lot a lot. The gym will be seeing a lot
of me this week to compensate. But it was entirely worth it, so here we go…
So, our first dinner took place at Aurum Bistro, and had been recommended by my parents who had a great meal there. I’d studied the menu on multiple occasions so had a pretty good idea of what I was going to have.
Dish number 1: Traditional Goulash Soup
I love that my very first taste of Hungary was of their most famous dish. You’ll often find this in two forms on restaurant menus – firstly as a lighter, less meat-heavy soup in the Starter section, and then again as a thicker, more hearty stew as a Main.
The paprika had a spicier kick to it than we’re used to at
home, and overall I thought the soup was delicious, with soft, creamy veg, and
not too much beef.
I rate it: 9/10
Dish Number 2: Duck Breast with Porcini Risotto
This particular dish was recommended by my parents and so
was basically the whole reason I wanted to try out this restaurant.
The duck had been cooked beautifully, was super tender with
lots of flavour and the creamy risotto was the perfect accompaniment.
I rate it: 9/10
Dish number 3: Somlói Sponge Cake
Dessert-wise we shared a couple of things between us so that
we could try more. Somlói ended up popping up on literally every menu we came
across, and I’m a sucker for the word ‘traditional’ – I will always (sometimes naively)
buy into anything that claims to be a staple ‘must-try’.
This one was odd though, it looked great, but I wasn’t mad
on it. Maybe because of the marzipan and nutty flavours, and the sponge felt
damp, as opposed to moist (get over it).
I’m glad I tried it but I don’t need to order it again..
I rate it: 4/10
Dish number 4: Gundel Pancake
Another traditional dessert, I preferred this second one, but it still wasn’t quite to my taste. It looked very striking, with the almost black chocolate sauce and bright pink mini meringue, but the nutty pancake filling, again, didn’t do it for me. It’s quite a bitter dessert, with a subtle orangey flavour, but so far, the savoury is still outperforming the sweet.
I rate it: 6/10
Dish number 5: Meat Lover’s Langos
A brand new day, and after spending a while at the thermal
baths, we were super hungry by the time we got to the Great Market Hall. All
the food hubs are upstairs, and you have to push your way through the long
queues and narrow walkways. For me, there was no doubt that I was going to get
a Langos – I’d heard a lot about them before arriving in Budapest.
The base is so much tastier than it looks. The dough is soft, warm, with a lightly-fried flavour and you can pile toppings as high as you like. I went for the meatiest option, with chicken, salami, lots of grated cheese and of course sour cream, which the Hungarians seem to be obsessed with. I would’ve loved it if the cheese had been melted but it was still good.
You kind of have to ignore the fact that all the toppings
are pre-prepared and have been sitting around for ages in Subway-style plastic
boxes, but this is not a gourmet dish, it’s a typical fast, street food and so
if this is what you expect, you won’t be disappointed at all.
I rate it: 8/10
Dish number 6: Duck Liver Paté
It’s not the first time I’ve gone away, not thought to pre-book restaurants at the weekend, and found myself struggling through the city desperately hoping somewhere will take us. That’s exactly what happened to us on the Friday night, and not willing to compromise on Hungarian food in favour of generic bbq and burger places, we eventually found somewhere with the capacity to take us in (Cupákos restaurant).
I tried some of this starter that my flatmate ordered, as
duck and goose liver are another thing that can be found on every menu in
Budapest. This was lovely and creamy, and a great sized starter that’s not too
filling.
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 7: Bone Marrow
This restaurant didn’t have any appealing desserts so we went all out on the starters. I was super excited to order mine as I’ve never had bone marrow before, and I was already slightly disappointed that we hadn’t been able to get a table in the restaurant that had rooster testicle stew on the menu (lol), so this was a decent, slightly unconventional alternative.
I didn’t realise the texture would be so sort of mushy, not
that that’s a bad thing. To be honest I’m not really sure what it actually
tastes like because all I could taste was garlic and butter but I would never
complain about such a thing. I really, really enjoyed it and would defo order
again.
I rate it: 9/10
Dish number 8: Pork Neck with Potatoes and Parsnip Purée
This was one dish that didn’t look the most exciting (especially with those awful cheap-looking red plates) but actually was delicious. The pork was beautiful, and the puréed parsnip delicious. Normally I’m put off by the concept of purées because they’re too fussy and often you’re just given a tiny blob, but this was enough to make it worthwhile and really highlighted the flavour of the parsnip. I didn’t even mind the potatoes, which I always complain are normally a waste of carbs!
I rate it: 9/10
Dish number 9: Chimney Cake
I had sussed out Street Cakes on Instagram before arriving, as their Chimney Cakes looked incredible – full of colour and with every topping you can imagine.
The little café was cute with friendly ladies serving, and I chose to build my own, but using a picture of one I’d found on Instagram as my inspiration. There was cinnamon sugar on the outside, a thin layer of jam in the middle, and then the hollow dough was filled with banana ice cream and topped with marshmallows, sprinkles and caramel sauce.
It looks beautiful and it tasted good. The dough was actually crunchier than I’d expected, and the banana ice cream did taste very artificial but I suppose that’s what you have to expect of anything that describes itself as ‘banana-flavoured’.
To be honest though, his isn’t something you order for the flavour – it’s all about the aesthetic, the indulgence and the fun, so I’d recommend this place for those reasons.
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 10: Goosey Gustav Burger
What’s a trip abroad without trying out their exclusive Mcdonald’s menu items? After my Chimney Cake, I couldn’t stomach a whole meal so just went for the intriguing-sounding Goosey Gustav burger.
What could be more Hungarian in Mcdonald’s than beef patties topped with goose liver?? Honestly, other than a standard Big Mac, this was the best burger I’ve ever eaten in Mcdonald’s, from the textures to the flavour. Not sure exactly what the mayo was but it wasn’t just plain and it tasted amazing with the liver. It is a double burger but I took out one patty, as for me, having multiple patties never enhances the flavour or eating experience and I wasn’t particularly hungry.
So buzzed from this still.
I rate it: 10/10
Dish number 11: Curried Apple and Celeriac Soup with Toasted Almonds and Pesto
Our final dinner took place at Alma and Körte, which was another place I had seen good reviews of on Instagram. This soup just sounded so interesting to me, and it was probably the best thing I ate all trip. It was delicious, from the celeriac flavour with the sweetness of the apple, to the crunch of the slivered almonds and oiliness of the pesto, with a beautifully creamy finish overall. You must try this.
I rate it: 10/10
Dish number 12: Lamb Shank with Dried Fig Cous Cous
I’ve never actually had lamb shank before so Budapest was
amazing for encouraging me to try types of meat yet undiscovered to me.
Although the meat had been cooked really well, I’m not sure
the heavy, rich sauce worked so well with lamb. I feel like it would’ve been
better suited to a meat with a less distinctive flavour like beef or ox. I
still enjoyed it but it wasn’t the best combination. The cous cous was very
nice though, and made a change from all the root veg side dishes I’d had so
far.
I rate it: 7.5/10
Dish number 13: Cottage Cheese Fritters with Forest Fruit Compote
This sounds weird. And a bit scary. Cottage cheese. As a
dessert. Fried. But omg I loved it. The fried exterior wasn’t oily or heavy or
too thick, it was just enough of a crunch to work amazingly with the soft
cheesy centre. Most of the flavour came from the deep, sharp compote and so
there was no issue with the cheese tasting odd.
I rate it: 8.5.10
Dish number 14: Mulled Wine
May as well throw a drink review in here, especially as weirdly I’d never tried mulled wine before because I never used to like spices in sweet foods and drinks. We got this from the small Christmas market in Deák Ferenc Square where the Budapest Eye is. We got to keep the cute mug, and although it was very sweet, it was ideal for a cold winter’s day.
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 15: Pork with Potato Rosti
I was amazed by the food on offer at the market, and wanted
to try everything, but with eyes bigger than my belly, I had to try and be at
least a little bit sensible. I didn’t actually know that the pork came with the
potato rosti when I first ordered it. I got drawn in by the whole pig head
sitting on the display and had to try the meat. I have to admit that it was
very salty, and so was more hammy than porky with that slightly rubbery
texture. Having said that, for some reason I absolutely loved the rosti. It was
very oily having obviously just been deep fried but god it tasted good.
I rate it: 6/10
for the pork, 9.5/10 for the rosti
Dish number 16: Stuffed Cabbage Rolls with Paprika Sausage
Cabbage rolls were another thing that I felt I couldn’t leave without trying. These ones were stuffed with pork, came with more cabbage on the side and a big paprika sausage and of course, drowned in sour cream. The sausage was great, really flavoursome, and the cabbage was also really nice, although it’s briney flavour can be divisive, as to my flatmate, the sourness of it tasted a bit ‘gone off’. Again though, this whole dish was super salty, so I left a huge amount which is not like me – not necessarily because I was full but just because I couldn’t take anymore of the salt!
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 17: Marzipan Ball
My final few ‘dishes’ are all sweet treats that I bought from the market to take home. I’d always said I didn’t like marzipan, but as I’m so much less fussy now than I was years ago, I decided to retry it. I can still understand why I hated it so much when I was little, as the aftertaste does tend to linger, but actually this was pretty nice, what with the soft, spongey centre.
The stall where I got these treats had so much on offer so
there’s definitely something to satisfy everyone.
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 18: Don’t have a fucking clue what this was
Very helpful. Kinda biscuity. Biscuit-sandwich-like. Sticky,
nutty filling. Bit of a chocolate glaze. Tastes good. Why not try?
I rate it: 7/10
Dish number 19: Chocolate Bark with Dried Cranberries
This didn’t seem as traditional, i.e. I’m sure I could find something like this at home, but it looked so appetising and tasted equally as good. The chocolate was slightly crunchy and then the sweet cranberries on top added a sharp spike of flavour. Don’t know how I only managed to take one bite, but then again, it is sitting in my room now, waiting for me to devour it when I’m craving a snack.
I rate it: 8/10
Dish number 20: Cherry Rétes (Strudel)
It’s so satisfying that without trying, I’ve finished on
such a clean number of dishes. Number 20, and the last thing I ate was this
lovely, and very filling strudel. They had options with cottage cheese, and
also apple versions but I went for the pure cherry.
The pastry is thin but not very flaky which was good, and
there is a generous amount of filling inside. Again, I only had one bite but
can’t wait to finish this off at some point.
I rate it: 8/10
Budapest really did surprise me in terms of how much of a foodie destination it is. And so that’s everything!
Almost…
Have to give a shoutout to the Cardamom Chocolate Plum Jam that I took a risk in buying at the market because it sounded incredible, but I didn’t manage to get it through airport security RIP 😦
Just a few little notes before I leave:
We suffered numerous dramas along the way which ultimately
just added to our experience but here are my words of warning for anyone
venturing to Budapest.
Don’t be fooled (by the rocks that I got..). You do not need slippers to go in the outdoor thermal baths, you only need them for the indoor ones. So if you’re not going in the indoor ones, do not let the misleading sign above (or the snake of a lady at the slipper stall) trick you into thinking you need to buy them. We bought them, realised our mistake, had a go at a few people, and eventually got a refund after standing our ground. If in doubt just take some flip flops with you.
If you head to where the famous ruin bars are (which you should), do not go into this bar which I unfortunately don’t know the name of but has this ridiculous sticker outside (see image below) which they must’ve stolen or forged. We ordered drinks separately and as I was about to pay, my flatmate questioned why she was being charged much more for her wine then mine. The old bald man behind the bar started making up a load of bullshit and just plucking prices out of thin air, and upon being questioned he then had a tantrum and aggressively told us he suddenly didn’t have any white wine and took the glasses back from us. If you don’t want to be treated poorly by a sexist loser then do not visit this bar which is next to Szimpla Kert.
Beware of old 500 Forint notes. We were given one in change without realising it was old and then nowhere would accept it so then couldn’t spend that at all and had basically been shortchanged. The old note is darker in its red colour than the new one which is brighter but safer to google it if you’re not sure.
Beware of the bar behind this door and it’s ginormous bellend of a barman
Once again, if you’ve read all of this, thanks a million,
plz like and subscribe via email to hear about more adventures of mine.
Back to my individual restaurant reviews, and this one, lucky for me, is just down the road.
I think sometimes I neglect places super close to me, instead favouring restaurants in Central that keep appearing on the social media scene and are very hyped up, whereas actually sometimes it’s good to take a step back and have a look at what you actually have on your doorstep.
Yaalu Yaalu is a Sri Lankan restaurant on Green Lanes, nestled amongst the huge number of fantastic Turkish places. It stands out along the high street with it’s light blue and white exterior and interesting decor. I had walked past it a fair few times and thought that it looked pretty nice, but it was my flatmate’s suggestion to go for her birthday dinner that finally got me there.
We went on a Thursday evening so it was pretty quiet, but there were still other people in there. It’s so lovely on the inside, and clearly a lot has been put into the restaurant’s presentation.
We decided to share all plates as they aren’t huge portions, but the price reflects this. We also ate our starters and mains together, but there are clearly labelled starters and mains on the menu.
First up with one of my choices, I was intrigued by the ‘Yaalu Gives You Wings’ coconut oil-infused chicken wings. I wouldn’t normally order chicken wings but the coconuttiness was what appealed to me.
Apologies for the quality, and sometimes lack of, photos. The lighting wasn’t idea for photo-taking, added to the fact that I just wanted to get some quick snaps so that we could enjoy our meal without me spending ages rearranging and rephotographing everything.
I feel like you can look at these wings and get an idea of how flavoursome they are just from their appearance. They did have a pretty spicy kick to them, but that always works for me. Would definitely recommend these.
Next up is the okra, or ‘Ladies Fingers’, which is one of my favourite vegetables, if not my absolute favourite.
To be honest I wasn’t blown away by this okra. I feel like it didn’t have a huge amount of flavour and it wasn’t as ‘meaty’ in texture/substance as okra I’ve had before so it didn’t soak up flavours as well. It wasn’t unpleasant at all, and is still a nice side, but nothing exciting.
For my own side, I got a coconut roti which I didn’t get a picture of. It wasn’t soft, but had been divided up into almost pitta chip-like pieces. It wasn’t amazing but was a really good way of scooping up all the sauces, and the little coconut sambal style chutney on the side was sweet and tasty too.
This next shocking image is of the chilli paneer and aubergine dish (‘Humble Moghuls’). The sauce and flavours here were really good, and you can see how creamy it is. This was another really good dish, with a fair bit to share around between us.
My absolute favourite dish, I sadly don’t have a photo of. Although it was much nicer than it looked. I chose the ‘Wilding’, wild boar in a spicy (flavour-wise rather than in terms of heat) and it was beautiful. Such tender meat in a salty, cuminy curry style sauce, and there was a decent amount of meat served up in small chunks. This definitely was the most impressive thing we ordered and I’d urge anyone who visits to try it.
This final dish slightly defeats the object of the photo as you can’t actually see the fish wrapped in the banana leaf but you get the idea. This is the ‘Catched…Wrapped…Sealed.’
This sea bass took a little longer to come but that was fine as they told us in advance and good to know it’s being cooked to order. I’ve been thinking recently about how I always neglect fish dishes in restaurants – I’ll often order seafood like mussels, lobster, prawns etc but fish I too often ignore so I was excited to try this sea bass. To be honest I wasn’t that fussed by it. It was nice but again, I wasn’t getting a huge amount of flavour so I’m not sure it’s something I would order again here but it was good to try.
Overall though I really enjoyed the meal. There was so much on the menu that I wanted to try but just couldn’t with only having three bellies to feed! The service was great, overall price such good value for money, and it was just a really nice dining experience overall.
I definitely think it’s worth making a trip to Green Lanes to try, and the chicken wings and wild boar dishes are top of my recommendations.
Sri Lankan cuisine is not one that gets much airtime, so let’s change that and…
Hello. I currently feel like a big bag of poo and can barely
motivate myself to write, but if I continue to lie here watching Netflix all
afternoon/evening hoping my illness will disappear I am going to go mad. If the
poo reference hasn’t put you off, please continue to read.
This is the second post in my ‘ultimate’ series, bringing
you my top recommendations. This time things are a little bit different – we’re
not talking dining out, but rather cooking at home.
Home cooking can be daunting – potentially time-consuming,
requiring a load of obscure ingredients, and with a risk that it might not go
to plan at all. But don’t let that put you off! It can also be massively
rewarding, and I’m giving you a head start in providing a solid set of recipes
that have worked a treat for me, leaving you with delicious and creative meals
to dish up to your friends and family.
Just a little note on the ‘Effort Level’ section. This is
based more so on how long it takes to make and many elements and/or techniques
are involved. Just because something is high in effort, it doesn’t necessarily
mean it’s difficult to make, only that you might need a bit more patience!
We’ll start with my favourite breakfast and brunch recipes…
7. Cauliflower Hash
and Eggs
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in ‘Time to Eat’
Effort level: Medium
Dietary info: Vegetarian (contains eggs)
This one was a big surprise for me. I find it quite difficult to make something cauliflower-based that I enjoy, but this grated cauliflower hash was actually so tasty, what with all the flavour from the chilli and chives. The fried egg isn’t supposed to leak like this but overall I think my attempt looks pretty impressive, so if you want something filling and can be bothered to go wild with a grater then defo have a go at this.
6. Granola
Recipe by: Rachel Ama in ‘Rachel Ama’s Vegan Eats’
Effort level: Easy
Dietary info: Vegan (contains nuts)
You might find yourself thinking, ‘why would I make granola when I can just buy it?’ But personally I found it really satisfying knowing exactly what had gone into it. You can customise with any additional dried fruits etc, and I also enjoyed junking it up a bit by adding the vegan cookie dough from Doughnut Time’s Ice Ice Bae Bae doughnut in there too.
Sometimes I’m in the mood for a savoury pancake more so than sweet. This one was more like the size of a crepe but with the density of an american pancake and so one was plenty enough for lunch. Again, you can customise the toppings, so along with the chorizo and spring onion, I had some manchego that needed using up so I dropped that into the batter as it was cooking so that it melted into the pancake. Only downside then is that when you flip the pancake the melted cheese sort of sticks to the bottom of the pan. But it still worked and most of it stayed within the pancake.
4. Sweet Potato Cakes
with Poached Eggs
Recipe by Kyle Boyce (London Grind), available from BBC Good
Food
Effort Level: Medium
Dietary Info: Vegetarian (contains eggs)
Like with the Cauliflower Hash, this one is slightly more effort just because of all the gratey-gratey but it is worth those extra few minutes of prep time. The result ends up being a crunchy delight, topped with a (hopefully) gooey-yolked poached egg. Bursting with flavour.
3. Sausage and Egg
Bap with Spicy Tomato Sauce
Recipe by: BBC Good Food
Effort Level: Medium
Dietary Info: Contains pork, eggs
One of my absolute favourites. I actually attempted to make the white baps as well but I won’t necessary include that in my analysis of the recipe as they were way too stodgy and hard, but following the recipe and using shop-bought rolls would work perfectly. The sausage patty was delicious, my fried egg perched beautifully on top, and the spicy tomato sauce brought everything together. This is very easy to make, I’ve just given it a medium effort level due to the different aspects that you have to work on separately. You could go wild and add bacon too for the Full English experience.
2. Cinnamon French
Toast Drizzled in Chocolate
Recipe by: Rachel Ama in Rachel Ama’s Vegan Eats
Effort Level: Easy/Medium
Dietary Info: VEGAN!!
Vegan French toast is the most exciting discovery I have made recently. I won’t spend too long talking about this one as I mentioned it in my last post (Meat Me Halfway: Week 2). You do not need eggs at all to create the mixture to coat your bread, and this one was really delicious, although I fucked up the chocolate a bit and it wasn’t supposed to be quite so runny.
1.Semolina Halva with Cheat’s Paratha
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in Nadiya’s Family Favourites
Effort Level: Medium/High
Dietary Info: Vegetarian, contains ghee, nuts
This is my ultimate breakfast/brunch recipe. Well, not my recipe sadly, but my favourite recipe to follow. I had no idea what this even was when I got this recipe book but thought I’d be a bit adventurous and try it out anyway. I perhaps wasn’t as open-minded back then because I wasn’t massively optimistic about liking it. But let me tell you, this is beautiful. The buttery, orange flavour with the crunch of the nuts and slight sweetness from the dried fruit; not to mention the ‘parathas’, which in this case are literally just balls of puff pastry rolled and flat and dry-fried. They end up warm and slightly spongy, and then you can pile the semolina on top, or even indulge in them taco-style if you’re an animal like me.
Next up let’s have a look at lunch and dinner. I split up the categories in this way because I couldn’t decide what exactly constitutes lunch, and what would be classed more as dinner, so this seemed more logical.
15. Butternut Pasta
Soup
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain, in Nadiya’s Family Favourites
Effort Level: High
Dietary Info: Vegan
I never used to be a fan of soup, not really classing it as a proper meal but I’ve made some really tasty ones in the past year or so. I’m always in two minds about these kinds of ‘pasta’ soups. I’ve tried a few and for me personally I don’t think the orzo or whatever pasta shape it is enhances the dish in anyway – I either want pasta or soup, not an odd combination of the two. But whether you add the orzo or not, this is a delicious soup, managing to be super creamy without the addition of cream itself. The chipotle flakes add a warming kick, making it perfect for these long winter nights.
14. Canneloni Filled
with Spinach and Ricotta
Recipe by: Gino D’Acampo in Gino’s Pasta
Effort Level: High
Dietary Info: Vegetarian, contains dairy
Making your own pasta is a bit of a ballache but it is really rewarding, knowing you’ve made every element of the dish yourself. It’s not actually difficult, mainly just mixing your egg and flour to make the dough but then obviously it does require a pasta machine to create the sheets (they’re not particularly expensive). The béchamel with the passata, and ricotta filling makes this stuffed pasta dish super indulgent but the flavours go way beyond tomato and cheese.
13. Blender Beetroot
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in Time To Eat
Effort Level: Low
Dietary Info: Vegetarian, contains dairy
This is honestly one of the quickest and easiest things to make, requiring so few ingredients. Once the beetroot has been blended, your sauce is sorted. When added to the pasta, everything turns a beautiful deep purply pink. Top that off with feta and dill and you’re good to go.
12. Bhel Puri Salad
Recipe by: Jamie Oliver in VEG
Effort Level: Low
Dietary Info: Vegan
Salads are generally dead. So uninspiring, leaf upon leaf of bland rabbit-food textures. HOWEVER, just look at this one. I was shocked. This salad is so delicious, and yes that’s partly because instead of leaves there are poppadoms and Bombay Mix but it’s still mostly comprised of radish, tomato and onion so is still pretty healthy. I loved the crunch, it was incredibly refreshing and so vibrant with all the colours.
11. One Tray Peanut
Chicken
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in Time To Eat
Effort Level: Medium
Dietary Info: Contains nuts, meat
One that worked a treat for my packed lunches at work, just
as tasty cold. The combination of the peanut butter with the thai green curry
paste is delicious, and the broccoli, gnocchi and chicken make a really
interesting combination. It’s not difficult to make as you can just chuck
everything in a baking dish together but it does require a fair few
ingredients.
10. Amazing Tomato
Curry
Recipe by: Jamie Oliver in VEG
Effort Level: Low/Medium
Dietary Info: Vegan, contains nuts
I made this just last night, using a load of cherry tomatoes rather than larger whole tomatoes as recommended. This is super creamy, and one of my favourite things is the interesting addition of mango chutney to the actual curry towards the end of its cooking time. This adds a lovely sweetness that is normally reserved for dipping. Serve with rice (or as I did, Nadiya Hussain’s Masala Eggy Bread).
9. Shell Pasta with
Prawns and Saffron
Recipe by: Gino D’Acampo in Gino’s Pasta
Effort Level: Medium
Dietary Info: Contains shellfish, dairy
A deliciously creamy-below-the-surface béchamel pasta, with
a crispy top after being grilled before serving. Always slightly more effort to
make a béchamel sauce rather than using a tinned tomato sauce or jarred pesto,
but worth it ultimately, and the fact that this is pretty quick to make overall
compensates for this tiny bit of effort.
8. Rigatoni with Soft
Cheese and Pecorino Sardo
Recipe by: Gino D’Acampo in Gino’s Pasta
Effort Level: Easy AF
Dietary Info: Vegetarian, contains dairy
Another Gino one right here, and one that I avoided making
for ages because there was no photo in the book (anyone else also tend to
neglect these recipes??) but when I eventually got round to it, it tasted
beautiful despite being so so simple. Again, it’s super creamy, but without
having to make a béchamel – this one is just butter, cream cheese and milk.
Ironically I don’t have a photo of my finished thing either, probably because
it looked so uninspiring with no colourful elements to brighten it up, but
trust me when I say the flavour was surprisingly good.
7. Samosa Pie
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in Nadiya’s Family Favourites
Effort Level: High
Dietary Info: Contains meat, eggs
When this recipe actually worked out for me I was over the moon. Anything that involved me making my own pastry from scratch, I was sure would be a complete disaster but just look at it! The hot water pastry was actually very simple to make, and the samosa filling tasted so authentic. 100% recommend this recipe if you’ve got a load of people to impress!
6. Green Spinach and
Lemon Risotto with Crispy Prosciutto
Recipe by: Rosie Birkett via BBC Good Food
Effort Level: Medium
Dietary Info: Contains pork, dairy
Risotto is slightly more time-consuming to make, constantly topping up the stock until the rice is plumped up and creamy, but this recipe is worth it. The blended spinach gives it a beautiful colour and the crispy prosciutto on top adds some variation texture-wise.
5. Stuffed Curried
Aubergines
Recipe by: Jamie Oliver in VEG
Effort Level: Low/Medium
Dietary Info: Vegan, contains nuts
Aubergines can be dry and tasteless if you don’t cook them well, but add a delicious curry paste with a whole load of spices, sandwich it inside the aubergine and roast, and you end up with a soft, creamy, dreamy vegetable. I paired this curry with Rachel Ama’s coconut rice rather than plain boiled.
4. Prawn and Salmon
Burgers with Spicy Mayo
Recipe by: Elena Silcock via BBC Good Food
Effort Level: Low/Medium
Dietary Info: Contains shellfish, eggs
The first time I had a salmon burger was at an amazing restaurant in Lisbon, and for some reason, I remember wondering how on earth they made them, as if making a burger out of fish would be the most complex thing in the world. It’s actually not. This burger has so much flavour, the spicy mayo is a beautiful addition, and providing you’re not attempting the buns yourself, is actually pretty straightforward to make.
Cooking whole joints of meat can be quite daunting. I’ve only started trying it recently, and I have had a couple of disasters. But this lamb turned out beautifully – tender and almost creamy, and the pesto sauce is something different to traditional roast lamb with just a blob of mint sauce on the side. You’ll have to excuse the odd combination of sides on the plate below – I wouldn’t serve this odd combo up to anyone else but I was just trying a few recipes at the same time. I froze the leftover lamb and had it in a few other meals later down the line, including Greek Lamb with Orzo, and a Harissa Lamb Pie and the meat was still delicious in both.
2. Beef Burgers with Bacon Jam
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in Nadiya’s Family Favourites
Effort Level: Medium/High
Dietary Info: All the meat, plus eggs
Another burger recipe here, and one that I adored. I used blue cheese instead of whatever cheese was in the recipe but other than that I think I followed it pretty accurately. I’ve come to love the idea of a fried egg to top a burger, and the bacon jam was also super tasty, despite my scepticism reading the instruction to add coffee powder…
1.Meatloaf Roll
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in Time
to Eat
Effort Level: Medium/High
Dietary Info: Contains meat, eggs
So this is it. One of my absolute favourite lunch/dinner recipes. I’ve made this a couple of times now and anyone who’s tried it has really enjoyed it. It is slightly more effort what with all the elements you have to combine, but at least there’s no expectation for you to make your own puff pastry. Fuck that. Also, any marmite haters should ignore the fact that diluted marmite coats the pastry in between the crust and the sausage meat centre, because I don’t like marmite, but actually the very tiny amount adds a deliciously subtle sweetness when you bite into it. The eggs lined up in the centre make for a super satisfying sight when you cut through the roll. Such an interesting meal, and one that won’t disappoint on flavours.
Exciting section coming up. This one is all about the desserts (dancing lady emoji). So there are actually only 3 in this section, and they are all Nadiya recipes, in case you hadn’t already noticed how much I love her.
3.Gingerbread Melt in the Middles
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in Time to Eat
Effort Level: Medium
Dietary Info: Contains dairy
In third place, we have these little gingerbread cookie cups filled with a melted chocolate centre. This is another recipe that didn’t come with a picture, and when I started trying it I don’t think I’d actually read the recipe through beforehand so didn’t really have any idea what I was making. These turned out such a treat though. Cooked through, the biscuit cup is buttery and delicious and then cutting into it, the melted chocolate centre oozes out. I served this with Nadiya’s Cardamom Ice Cream that she makes alongside her Banana Tarte Tatin (a recipe that actually failed for me lol).
2. Burnt Almond Butter Fudge
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in Nadiya’s Family Favourites
Effort Level: Low/Medium
Dietary Info: Contains dairy and nuts
I’d never realised fudge was this straightforward to make. It is slightly disconcerting when you realise as you’re making it that it’s pretty much pure sugar, but the flavour is stunning. This one had the most incredible smooth, creamy texture. I’m never a fan of the kind of fudge you have to sort of scrape bits off with your teeth rather than being able to bite straight into it (reminds me particularly of shitty cinema pick & mix fudge…). The almond flavour was lovely, and it’s given me the confidence to try making my own flavour variations of fudge using this recipe as the base.
1.Choco Lime Roulade
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in Time to Eat
Effort Level: Medium/High
Dietary Info: Contains dairy, eggs
This is my favourite dessert recipe. Often my favourite recipes end up being unexpected ones, or basically the ones that I think are going to be a disaster, and actually turn out to be pretty impressive. I 100% assumed this sponge would break up as soon as I rolled it, but it didn’t at all. I found the chocolate/lime flavour combination really interesting and unusual and I would definitely serve this up to guests again!
We’re nearing the end and it’s my final section – snacks and sides. Either dishes that you could eat alone when you’re peckish mid-afternoon, or that you could combine with the above recipes.
4. Banana Honey and Hazelnut Smoothie
Recipe by: BBC Good Food
Effort Level: Low
Dietary Info: Contains nuts, dairy
In fourth place is actually a drink/smoothie, but one that is a great breakfast addition. The honey stops the banana flavour from being overwhelming and the little chopped hazelnuts on top add a lovely little crunch. You could always use soy milk as I did to make it dairy-free.
3. Chunky Halloumi
Chips
Recipe by: Nadiya Hussain in Nadiya’s Family Favourites
Effort Level: Low/Medium
Dietary Info: Contains dairy, eggs
Who doesn’t love halloumi. Especially halloumi that’s fried. These squeaky cheese chips are delicious, with the saltiness of the halloumi and the added chilli and za’atar for a spike of flavour. If you want to be particularly indulgent, wrap these in prosciutto before frying.
2. Naan Bread
Recipe by: Miriam Nice via BBC Good Food
Effort Level: Medium
Dietary Info: Contains dairy
Another recipe where the result shocked me. I couldn’t believe how perfect this naan was. From the teardrop shape, to the soft, spongy texture, to the pronounced flavour from the Nigella seeds. Despite learning in India that this kind of naan we’re used to having here doesn’t actually exist there (no teardrop shape, more just like a big, circular, flat and less spongy flatbread), this still was incredibly satisfying to produce and looked shop-bought in a good way. Dipping this into my soups and curries was heavenly. Also freezes well.
So I already raved about these in my last vegan blog so I don’t want to repeat myself other than saying these were insanely delicious. You don’t have to make the chia jam yourself if that’s too much effort, using shop bought is fine. Head to the website in the link above for a huge number of other variations of these little energy balls, all of which I want to get round to trying at some point!
And there’s my full round-up of the best recipes I’ve tried
in the past year or so. The above have all produced fantastic results for me so
I definitely recommend trying some of them out. I think the majority of them
can be found online, although it’s always worth investing in a few solid recipe
books if you’re looking for inspiration.
If you end up trying any of these, I’d love to see the
results, so tag me on Instagram @foodtravelsldn so I can check them out!
One month has flown by, and so we’re already at week 2 of my mission to reduce my meat and dairy intake.
I’m gonna go straight in there and say that I enjoyed this week a lot more. I think the meals I ate were more varied, and I focused slightly less on beans and pulses; my body ultimately thanking me for this as I felt less heavy and bloated.
I’ll kick things off with one of my absolute favourite things that I snacked on at work nearly every day.
I saw this recipe on @mrshollingsworths Instagram account and they looked amazing – peanut butter energy balls filled with raspberry chia jam. You never know if these kinds of things are going to work for you in the same way that they miraculously do on Instagram and recipe books etc, but I can confirm that these came out perfectly. Basically just a combination of oats, peanut butter and dates blended together. For the chia jam you can either buy it or make it yourself but you need to freeze it in an ice cube tray so that the little blobs are easier to work with. Once they’re frozen, you take them out and press the dough around the frozen jam in a little ball. The jam will then defrost so that when you bite into them, this happens…
Just delicious. And with the same Rachel Ama raspberry chia jam recipe that I used for her pancakes last vegan week. I’m looking forward to trying other variations of these little energy balls next time round.
Along with these snacks, I needed a more substantial main meal for my week of packed lunches and decided to take a risk, following a salad recipe. Just to emphasise, I am really not a salad person and just the word alone makes me shudder. But, being open-minded and all, I went straight to Jamie’s Veg book (which seems to be absolutely everywhere recently) and tried his Bhel Puri Salad recipe.
Biggest shock of my life. It was amazing.
First off, it was so vibrant in colour – I think perhaps the fact that it wasn’t such a green salad helped me to find it less off-putting. It’s certainly not a traditional leaf-based salad.
You’ve got red onion, radish, peanuts, pomegranate, and a whole load of crunch from the Bombay Mix and crushed poppadoms. Add all the spices and this really does form a solid meal that tastes as exciting as it looks.
A couple more Rachel Ama recipes followed, one a bit meh, one an absolute winner. I had a brunch of her Nut Butter Toast which was okay but quite basic I guess, but at least it’s something you can customise yourself in terms of toppings and flavours.
What did really impress me though was her French Toast. I’d never really thought of french toast as something that could be vegan, as I’d thought that the egg was a key component. The substitute for the beaten egg mix worked perfectly though and visually created the same yellow-brown hued appearance on the bread. The recipe also used sourdough which I was sceptical about as I thought (bare with me on this one), it might be too ‘bread-like’. As in perhaps a bit crusty etc but it turned out super soft and spongy.
Ngl I would gladly eat this in a restaurant. Credit where credit’s due.
So after this masterpiece and the PBJ balls, I felt like I was on a bit of a roll, but I did take a few steps back again with my attempted Mango Cococnut Chia Pudding breakfast topped with granola and coconut shavings. I made this the night before as Rachel suggests, thinking it would be ready to go, perfect for the following morning and giving me an extra 15 mins in bed as I didn’t have to make anything from scratch. However, this ‘pudding’ just didn’t do it for me. A question of taste I reckon. I’ve never enjoyed mango that much but I’m always determined not just to write off recipes containing it. But that, along with the coconut milk that had soaked into the chia seeds forming an almost gelatinous slime really didn’t go down well. I don’t think the recipe is bad by any means but it just didn’t work for me.
From one coconut recipe to another, her simple, straightforward recipe for Coconut Rice was a winner, and pairing this creamy, delicious side with Jamie’s Stuffed Curried Aubergine worked a treat.
Doesn’t look massively appealing here, but it was absolutely packed with flavour – I highly recommend trying this recipe.
Back to Instagram, and the vegetable I have a love-hate (like-hate is probably more accurate) relationship with, it’s @elavegan ‘s recipe for Kung Pao Cauliflower.
This didn’t end up being bad, but I think I would’ve enjoyed it more had I boiled the cauliflower beforehand to soften before pan-frying and roasting.
Then came the evening when for once I didn’t have a plan. It was my opportunity to wing something. I had some filo pastry that needed using up so decided to try a filo pastry pie. Instead of egg wash I used coconut oil which I read was a half-decent substitute, and so after lining the dish with a couple of layers of the pastry, I filled it with chopped walnuts, mushrooms, vegan pistachio pesto (featured in my last Meat Me Halfway post), and @iamnutokay ‘s vegan black truffle cheese. The end result actually turned out pretty well, and it was really tasty, despite the photo looking like an absolute mess.
I bought a couple of things from @iamnutokay at Victoria Park Market in Bethnal Green a few weeks ago. All their ‘cheeses’ are plant-based, and although the texture doesn’t particularly resemble actual cheese, it’s a great substitute that comes in a range of really tasty flavours. Along with the black truffle, I also bought a chipotle cheese, and both of them are delicious. Vegan ‘parmesan’ also seemed like an important staple so I grabbed a jar of that to keep me going for a while, to add to vegan pastas and risottos.
***
Some of you may know that yesterday was actually World Vegan Day, and the evening before, on Halloween, I got last minute tickets to the Vegan Nights Festival at the Trewman Brewery in Shoreditch, London. I am going to do a separate post about that shortly, but I tried quite a few different vegan street food style meals with mixed results! A couple of amazing finds and some to be avoided, but more to come on that soon!
Restaurant-wise, I’ll take it back to Itsu, which is really great for vegan lunches. I also find their food so refreshing and energising, and they make rice box salads that are super filling. I don’t have any photos this time, but I still adore the vegetable gyozas which I had for a second time, and also was massively surprised by the mini avocado maki rolls. Not a huge fan of avocado, but for some reason, encased in sticky rice and nori sheets it tasted great.
***
I still love the fact that two of the best biscuits out there (Oreos and Lotus biscuits) are both vegan, and so these make a great base for vegan shakes. From Ed’s Easy Diner, I got an oreo milkshake which was creamy and indulgent, and kept me going through a long night shift.
Again, not the most appetising-looking but I promise it tasted great!
Last but not least, I finally got round to trying Arancini Brothers, whose burgers I had first noticed on Instagram a while back, being astounded that they were vegan. I ordered a ‘nudie’ arancini pot along with a chorizo burger. Other than the arancini arriving cold which was disappointing, I loved everything about the food.
I didn’t get any chorizo flavour or texture from the burger to be honest, but the flavour was still beautiful. It was pretty spicy, and the whole concept of an arancini patty is amazing, especially if you’re not a fan of typical plant-based patties made from soya/beetroot/mushroom/lentils etc. The ‘cheese’ was just oozing everywhere, and so for me, this is the perfect example of how vegan food can be utterly indulgent. We’ve come a long way from immediately associating a vegan diet with greenness and health-obsessions.
So that’s pretty much everything. Like I said I found this second week a lot more exciting food-wise than the first week and there are a few meals here that I would actively choose over meat/dairy-based meals which is a good sign. It’s given me a new burst of enthusiasm for all the recipes that I’m going to try next time around at the end of November when week 3 comes calling.
Stay tuned for the Vegan Nights post coming as soon as I have the time. In the meantime why not research vegan eateries near you and set yourself the challenge of eating out at one of these plant-based spots this month. Go in with an open-mind, and…
¡Comemos! 