In recent years, the light and fluffy Chinese delicacy that is the baozi, or bao, has found its way into restaurants and kitchens across the globe. Their being steamed, combined with the yeast within the dough, makes for a soft and delicately spongey texture, quite unlike any other kind of baked bread or steamed dumpling.
Our lexical disclaimer for today is here to inform you that ‘bao’ in itself translates as ‘bun’ in Mandarin, and so the commonly-used Western phrase ‘bao bun’ is grammatically redundant, literally meaning ‘bun bun’, in the same way that in Hindi, ‘Chai tea’, actually means ‘tea tea’.
Baozi
Generally baozi are a filled ‘bun’, with the dough gathered together on top, sometimes leaving a small hole for steam to escape, and complete with either a meat or vegetable filling. One of the most popular is the Char Siu Bao, filled with sticky barbecued pork. Other variants include the xiaolongbao, with xiaolong referring to the bamboo steaming basket in which they are cooked and served., This bao is filled with a hot soup, and is sometimes referred to as a dumpling. The final type of bao that I’ll touch on is the gua bao, which comprises of a flat, open steamed lotus-leaf bun, with a meat (often pork belly) filling.
Xiaolongbao
As ever with Chinese food, it’s very difficult to generalise, as regional cuisines across what is such a huge country vary so significantly. Whether we’re talking baozi, xiaolongbao or gua bao, these may be more prevalent in certain provinces, or be made differently in others, and so defining such a specific part of incredibly complex and diverse cuisine is pretty tricky to do in a few hundred words!
gua bao
…….
Career changes, and COVID combined meant that my dreams of heading to China this year were scuppered, and so I’ve never tried these dreamy little buns in their homeland. Living in London does mean however, that there are a million one street food stalls, Chinatown restaurants, and chains that serve up these little beauties, although of course I’m unable to comment on their authenticity.
Interestingly, many of the places in which I tried bao/baozi weren’t actually Chinese-influenced, and include Malay, Vietnamese and Japanese-inspired food businesses to name a few. The very first time I tried baozi was years ago at a little independent restaurant back in Nottingham, called Yumacha, which describes itself as serving up ‘an eclectic mix of the Far East’s favourite dishes’. These kind of ‘Asian fusion’ restaurants seem to be on the rise, combining Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Indonesian cuisine plus a whole lot more. I had no idea what I was eating at the time, with the concept of a steamed bun seeming completely alien to me – I have to say this was many years before my foodie instinct really kicked in, and my knowledge of the food I was eating was minimal. Despite this, I loved the unfamiliar, cloud-like texture of the buns, along with their punchy flavoured meat fillings.
Keu Deli
Fast-forward a good 5+ years, and I’ve tried a fair few variations. Popular Vietnamese Keu Deli in London serves up a giant baozi, which definitely wins points for the lightest, most satisfying bao texture. BaoziInn in Chinatown is a solid bet for quality baozi, which were slightly flatter in my experience, and fillings include the pork-patty-like stuffing that I tried.
Admittedly, I’ve yet to try xiaolongbao, possibly because I’ve distanced them from the baozi that I love, as they do tend to resemble dumplings, and the hot broth filling has never appealed to me as much as a juicy meaty filling.
Gua bao , however, might be my favourite, based on those that I’ve tried. They have the most wonderfully smooth texture, and oddly, more filling seems to be packed into these open bao than stuffed within the closed, larger baozi.
My favourites so far were from Thai-Malaysian street food stall Satay Street ,where I was lucky enough to win a competition for two free portions. I tried a curried chicken bao and a satay chicken bao, both of which were great, with the satay flavour being particularly delicious.
Satay Street
I have to admit that the first gua bao I ever tried was actually from Wagamama – I think they’d just added it to the menu, as they were giving away samples outside with a pulled beef style filling, and it was pretty good. There’s only been one occasion where I’ve not been able to finish a gua bao, and I won’t name the business, but it was the filling rather than the bun that I couldn’t stomach – I can only hope you never stumble across it yourselves!
DIY BAO
Oh dear…
Baking your own bao at home seems like such a daunting exercise, and I have had varying degrees of success. The first time I tried it was a BBC GoodFood recipe, with a pork belly filling, and whilst the filling with sticky and sweet, as you can see, my buns failed entirely, ending up flat as pancake, stodgy and generally quite grim. Whether this was the recipe, my techniques, or dodgy ingredients I couldn’t tell you, but it didn’t bode well for future attempts.
That’s why I was so surprised when I tried Queen Nadiya’s recipe for spicy tuna bao, and they turned out excellently. From her ‘Time to Eat’ cookbook, this is a recipe I would 100% recommend – there’s definitely a little effort required, but with such impressive results, it’s worth it. The buns are super filling but the tuna itself is light, fresh-tasting, and umami, and when a recipe like this goes to plan, there’s a real sense of achievement waiting for you on the other side.
I’m sure there are a huge number of people who still have never tried any form of bao, and if you’re one of them I really urge you to do so. I can’t think of a single other food that compares in texture to these perfect little buns, and with fillings being so varied, there’s bound to be something to suit all tastes.
It’s day 3 for me. Day 3 of lockdown. No work, not even anything I can take home, and so like many people working in the hospitality sector, I feel a bit lost.
When I then think that many people have been on lockdown/self-isolating for much longer than my mere 3 days, I wonder how you’ve got by.
Things will improve, but right now, we’ve found ourselves in a mad situation. Whilst ‘key workers’ are doing a fantastic job, be it saving lives, stocking shelves or collecting bins so that our world can keep turning, they’re not the only ones bearing the brunt of it all.
I’m talking about poor old Netflix.
Never has our favourite means of procrastination had to deal with so many demands, so many fed up people desperate to find entertaining ways to pass time.
That’s why I’ve come up with my top 16 foodie shows to invest your time in over the coming weeks (or months…). Most of these are on Netflix, some can be found on BBC iPlayer if that’s accessible to you, and failing that, just good old Google should do the trick. These things can often be found somewhere on the web, even if the quality isn’t perfect.
So, if you’re going to devote more time to TV now, you may as well choose something entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking, that’ll get you super excited for all the incredible food waiting for you out there when this blows over…
Category is: Best of British
Great British Bake Off
Okay, so, chances are, you’ve seen some of this already, and failing that, you’ve certainly heard of the Great British Bake Off, so it’s an obvious choice, but there’s honestly nothing better. You can find every single series of the original BBC version of Bake Off on Netflix, and if you can actually find any eggs or flour in the supermarkets, now is the perfect time to hunt for some baking inspiration. GBBO is light-hearted, warm, and funny; a really easy watch full of showstopping cakes, pastry disasters and lots of creepy Paul Hollywood stares.
Nadiya’s Time To Eat / Nadiya’s Family Favourites
Of course there was no way I could write a post like this without mentioning Nadiya. Neither of these shows are actually on Netflix, but both can be found on iPlayer, and once again, they’ll definitely be able to provide you with some ‘isolation inspiration’ cooking-wise. Nadiya is the anti-food-waste queen, with her recipes ideal for families, using simple ingredients, and making sure not to waste a single thing. As well as her resourcefulness when it comes to cooking, her wonderful positivity and bright, sunny personality is a joy to watch on screen.
twnews.co.uk
Masterchef
Less home cooking, more refined, restaurant flair, Masterchef is another mouth-watering best of British option. With a current series on-going on BBC at the minute, there’s still time to catch up from the beginning before the final. The pompousness of the food critics, alongside Gregg’s caricature-like reactions creates a balanced programme filled with as much fun and disaster as there is serious cooking and creativity. Although I haven’t watched it myself, I hear that the Australian version is also worth getting into.
bbc.co.uk
Million Pound Menu
A bittersweet one up next, but definitely a highlight for me. Million Pound Menu takes street food and restaurant concepts and challenges the brains behind them to impress a number of industry figures enough that they choose to invest up to £1,000,000 in their business venture. Many of the restaurants and pop ups involved I’d either already heard of or even eaten at myself, so watching the faces behind them on screen was really interesting. It’s quite gutting to watch at this moment in time when many of them who were still trading have had to put their businesses on hold, not knowing if they will have the means to open their doors again when the lockdown rules are lifted, but on the off chance that this might inspire you to support such small businesses in any way you can, I urge you to watch this series, full of impressively creative and determined, young, entrepreneurial minds. It’s also presented by Fred Sirieux if that sways any of you…
bighospitality.co.uk
The Big Family Cooking Showdown
Last in the Best of British, is The Big Family Cooking Showdown, hosted by my beloved Nadiya, and Zoe Ball. In each episode, 3 families compete in 3 challenges, preparing home cooked comfort food with their relatives, to make it to the semi finals, as they are judged by Rosemary Schraeger and Giorgio Locatelli. If you can stand Rosemary Schraeger for more than 5 seconds then it’s definitely worth a watch, and for some added fun, why not drink everytime she wobbles her head in disapproval, babbling ‘THe TeXtUrE iS aLl WrOnG…’. This is light-hearted fun, with relatable families like yours and mine, from teenage contestants to grandparents, all cooking together.
thesun.co.uk
Category is: Baking
Zumbo’s Just Desserts
Should I be ashamed to say that I didn’t know who Adriano Zumbo was before watching this? Possibly not as a Brit, but I’m glad I’ve now been introduced to his amazing creations. I’ve often heard people say that part of the reason Americans loved GBBO was because of how lovely all the contestants were to one another, unlike US cooking shows which are much more competitive, and the same should be said for Australian shows. Zumbo’s Just Desserts is similar to Bake Off in terms of individual contestants completing baking challenges, however all of the creations, as the title suggests, are desserts, excluding things like bread and pies like they make in GBBO. The contestants are also much more openly competitive towards each other, some even verging on villainous in their taunts, but this is what makes it so entertaining. Rachel Khoo copresents, with the only downside to the show being her unnecessarily frumpy frocks.
usa.newonnetflix.info
Sugar Rush
From Australian baking shows, to the US, this time we’re sticking with Adriano Zumbo as judge, but of course it couldn’t be hosted by anyone other than a drama school-esque, lip-gloss wearing, movie-star smiled Hunter March. Yes he’s American, of course that’s his real name. The premise here is that the 4 teams of two have three challenges to complete (that’s 4 teams, 2 contestants in each and 3 challenges, got it?), with a set amount of time in which to complete all 3. The time that they save in each round is then added to their 1-hour time limit in the final test, with the least impressive team being eliminated after each challenge. You’ll see cupcakes, confectionary and giant cake masterpieces, each team bringing their own unique style into the kitchen.
medium.com
Nailed It
Onto something slightly different now – instead of focusing on those who can bake, we’re looking at those who really can’t. On Nailed It, those individuals with a terrible track record in the kitchen compete to recreate professional bakes for cash prizes, with varying degrees of success. It’s just a bit of fun, with some pretty terrible attempts that’ll likely make you feel better about your own skills. It’s also a great excuse to practise your language skills, with series set in the US, Mexico, Spain, France and Germany. I’ve only actually watched the Spanish one so far, and it is ridiculous; quite appalling TV to be honest, but in times like these we’re pretty desperate aren’t we, and it’s entertaining nonetheless.
netflix.com
Category is: Global Cuisine
Ugly Delicious
A new one out there, Ugly Delicious follows US-Korean chef Dave Chang as he chases the trail of some of the most popular foods out there, questioning the concept of authenticity as he goes. Can we really compare the typical foods eaten across the vast space that is China, with our narrow-minded and potentially misguided attempts at Chinese food elsewhere in the world? Is pizza still pizza when crafted by innovative chefs in Japan? Covering tacos and kebabs, curry and fried chicken, this show will have you questioning authenticity vs flavour vs branding, with a group of passionate and grounded friends and colleagues guiding you along the way.
netflix.com
Street Food
It almost seems like a phenomenon of the past, but Street Food took Netflix by storm when it came out last year. With no host or recurring voiceover, we’re left in the company of the mostly non-English speaking cooks, who have mastered their crafts in major cities across Asia. Meet Toyo in Osaka, Florencia in the Phillipines and Jai Fay in Bangkok, who even went on to earn a Michelin Star for her street food café. Off the back of this series, people have flocked from all over the world to try this incredible street food from humble beginnings, but here you get to see these masterful chefs before their work gained international notoriety.
netflix.com
Somebody Feed Phil
The best kind of food-travel doc series, Somebody Feed Phil follows writer and producer Phillip Rosenthal as he embarks on an international food tour, landing in cities including Lisbon, Saigon and New Orleans, bringing a dose of (albeit American) humour along the way.
arts.tioh.org
Chefs’ Line
We’re heading back to Australia with this unique competitive series, in which 4 home cooks compete against ‘the chefs’ line’ composed of 4 chefs, ranging in experience, from hugely successful Sydney restaurants, including the head chef himself. Every 4 episodes centres around a different cuisine, covering Turkish, African and Italian to name a few. Contestants often have strong ties to that particular cuisine, whether they were born in Turkey or are third generation Italians, making them even more determined to showcase their skills and beat the professionals.
wikipedia.org
Category is: Celebrities/Chefs
Chef’s Table
Each episode of Chef’s Table tells the story of one of the world’s greatest chefs at present, from their background and visions, to inspiration and professional journeys. Travel to Argentina to hear from Francis Mallmann and his Patagonian cuisine, and then to Bo Songvisava for an insight into her rise to success as one of Thailand’s most successful chefs. A highly-acclaimed Netflix Originals series not to be missed.
lorriegrahamblog.com
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
If you got through Ugly Delicious and decided you needed a bit more Dave Chang in your life then don’t you worry, as Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner is here for you. This time around Dave calls in the help of some familiar faces including Seth Rogan in Vancouver, Chrissy Teigan in Marrakesh, Lena Waite in LA and Kate McKinnon in Phnom Penh, as they explore the city, indulging in 3 delicious meals and learning more about local culture and customs.
whatsnewonnetflix.com
Category is: Informative/Scientific
Rotten
Something a bit different this time round; Rotten encompasses a series of documentaries uncovering the controversial truths surrounding the supply chain of some of our favourite foods. Chocolate, avocado and peanuts are all on the list as foods hiding ethical issues when it comes to their production and supply. Meet those who are affected as they discuss their plight, and come away with a deeper understanding of how your food consumption habits may be affecting others half way across the world.
hitc.com
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
The final show to mention is another travel-cum-science-cum-all round mouth watering content kind of show. The show is hosted by chef and food writer Samin Nosrat, and is based on her own book of the same name. Travel with her to various locations to each time examine one of the 4 essential components of great cooking – fat in Italy, salt in Japan, acid in Mexico and heat in California.
anz.newonnetflix.info
And there’s my round up complete.
Netflix is an absolute blessing at this time, and whilst I admittedly am already slightly fed up of staring up at a screen, it is the only thing I can find to occupy my time once I’ve finished cooking, writing and working out. A lot can be learnt from the shows above, and they certainly offer a huge amount of inspiration, whether that’s for your next trip abroad when we’re finally allowed outside the confines of our own homes again, or simply your next kitchen cooking project to while away the hours.
Controversial documentaries, tofu breakthroughs and gross pasta have all featured in part 5 of my vegan week diary, but overall I have to say, it’s been a tasty one. There’s been a lot more of the home cooking than eating out, and most have been deliciously successful.
Before I go into the food itself, let’s stop for a minute to talk about Netflix’s The Game Changers, which has got a lot of people talking recently. The documentary focuses on a UFC fighter addressing the prospect of going completely vegan, and looking at other athletes who have done so, and the consequences on their bodies, from the ‘world’s strongest man’, to college footballers in the US.
The research done is entirely in favour of 100% plant-based eating, and so you want to know what my thoughts are? It’s a load of preachy bullshit 🙂 🙂
I’m all for science and research, but as someone who is happy to embrace plant-based eating, I just couldn’t deal with the pushy ‘evidence’ insisting that it’s as straight forward as converting to a plant-based diet, and you’re suddenly bursting with energy and performing athletically at the top of your game. These one-sided diet A is better than diet B arguments are just such nonsense. The reality is that our bodies, as individuals, react differently to different diets, and so it is impossible to say that we would all be more ‘physically successful’ by only eating plants. Of course they’re only going to show the studies that prove their points (including a ridiculous one about how men’s sexual performance was enhanced after having eaten literally just one plant-based meal…). The whole programme was just masculinity-targeted propaganda, and whilst I understand that there are gender-stereotyping issues linking masculinity and the reluctance to cut down on meat, I just found the documentary very unconvincing. There was even a point where they made a group of people undergo a plant-based diet for a week, and at the end of it they all came back saying how they felt amazing and had so much more energy than usual…
Well maybe they did. But guess who else eats plant-based for an entire week every single month and feels absolutely no difference whatsoever??? ME.
This is almost starting to sound like I’m against plant-based diets. I’m not at all. I’m all for reducing our meat and dairy intake for a range of reasons and I actually really look forward to these meat-free weeks and the exciting meals they bring, but I’m more for balance, and feeding myself things that I enjoy. What I’m not a fan of is this overrated documentary.
If you want to read any more on it, Paul Kita’s piece in Men’s Health basically covers all the issues I have with it in a more articulate and scientific way.
But feel free to have a watch yourself, and who knows, maybe it’ll convert you.
I did always want this ‘diary’ to incorporate plant-based related issues, as well as the actual mealtime side of things, but that’s enough for this week, time to get to the good stuff. What did I actually eat??
Monday
I’m really excited by this first one, the reason being, it’s yet another successfully satisfying tofu-based meal. Rachel Ama makes a spread out of tofu, cashews and chives, and I had this on seeded bread, topped with griddled aubergines. The combination actually worked so well, and the recipe gave enough of the spread to have on my toast for multiple breakfasts in the morning. On the side of that I made Nadiya’s Hasselback Butternut Squash with Burnt Garlic Rice. The squash was delicious and had slightly caramelised in places whilst in the oven.
Surprise, surprise I was also back on Mrs Hollingsworths’ energy balls. Like I’ve mentioned before, these are the perfect snack to take to work and are so quick to make, basically just blending everything together in the food processor. The first lot are cocoa raisin oat balls. Weirdly, I love the stodginess of these types of snack, and even tastier than the cocoa ones were the lemon meringue balls. Honestly, these tasted insane, I can’t believe how much flavour there was in there, and these ones were cashew-based rather than oat-based. When you start cooking plant-based, it’s crazy how much you can do with cashew nuts. They will become your best friends, for both sweet and savoury meals.
Tuesday
Next up is actually one of my own recipes. I’ve been trying out developing recipes recently, rather than always stealing other people’s and this one was pretty good. Along with cashews, another ingredient that works a treat is oyster mushrooms. They have a fantastic texture that makes them perfect meat substitutes, without having an overwhelming flavour. Here I fried them in a jerk sauce and then baked them after to get rid of excess moisture. I used them to top coconut quinoa and black eyed beans (I’d defo use rice next time as the quinoa texturally wasn’t as strong), and then added a row of delicious fried plantain. Roll it all up in a tortilla and you have a delicious vegan burrito.
Wednesday
So Wednesday was my indulgent eating out day, and I finally got round to trying ByChloe. ByChloe is entirely plant-based, and they have restaurants in the US as well. It has a very informal fast-food style to it, and I got all my food to takeaway. I’d heard lots of good things about the Pesto Meatball Sub, which obviously isn’t actually meat, but uses mushrooms to create the meatballs. They are massively convincing and taste great along with the pesto. The roasted red peppers on top finish the whole thing off beautifully.
They also do two different pastas – a Cashew Mac ‘n’ Cheese, and an Avocado Pesto Pasta, so of course I had to try both. The Mac ‘n’ Cheese I was really impressed with. It was creamy and slightly spicy and the mushroom and crumb topping added extra flavour and texture. But… then we come to the avocado pasta. I gotta be honest, I hated it. I’m sure this is probably partly because I’m not the biggest avocado fan, but I do eat it. It just was way too bland as a pasta sauce though, and there were random heavily-salted patches. It’s very rare that I don’t finish something because I don’t like it, but it does happen from time to time…
Finally I had one of their London menu specials, which was the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Coconut Cream. This dessert was really good. I was sceptical about how the dessert would travel, as it didn’t seem like the kind of thing that would be good to take away, but I did it, and it tasted delicious. It was syrupy and sweet, with a super-moist spongy texture and a lovely coconutty cream, which added an extra dimension of flavour.
There’s plenty more I could’ve tried, but my stomach ain’t gonna stretch that far, so overall it’s definitely somewhere that I’d recommend, whether you’re eating in or ordering to takeaway, or via UberEats.
Thursday
Another one of my own again now! Trying my best to use up all the food in my fridge and freezer before I buy more, and so that led me to whipping up this Parsnip, Walnut and Honey Risotto. If anything, I’d go heavier on the walnuts and honey next time as it was really good with a nice creamy texture, and delicious parsnip flavour, but extra sweetness would make it even better.
Along with my energy balls, for work lunches I ran with the burrito theme and cooked up some Mexican-spiced rice to pad the tortillas out with. Using my food processor, I made a paste from various chillies, chipotles en adobo, tomatillos, onion and a load of spices, and then stirred this into the cooked brown rice. I often find that I’m not taking big enough lunches with me to work and so I end up wanting to snack, but this burrito was a big improvement on that because they’re actually really filling (I guess that’s double carbs for you…).
Getting off the tube at King’s Cross before work, I found myself directly opposite the Crosstown Doughnuts stall in the square. I didn’t need one and I definitely couldn’t justify the money, but yes, I did accidentally still do it. I bought two but only one was vegan so that’s the only one I’ve actually tried yet. To be fair, it was something that had been on my radar for a long time, ever since I’d seen that one of their seasonal specials was the Winter Crumble doughnut. Thoughts? Delicious crunchy crumble topping – I loved that. The actual apple crumble filling I initially thought was way too spiced; a very adult, sophisticated flavour, but this grew on me as I worked my way through it. I’m still not a big fan of their signature sourdough dough though, as it’s just too bready for me.
Right next to their stall was Amala Chai, serving up their incredible smelling hot drinks. The cardamom smell was so intense, I couldn’t not get an oat milk Masala Chai – the first I’d had since I got back from India last summer. To be honest it’s so difficult to live up to the dessert-like Chai you get in shot size paper cups in the street there. I like a properly milky, creamy, super sweet cinnamony chai, and whilst this one for most experienced tea drinkers was probably delicious, for me, someone who has never made a cup of tea at home or work, it just wasn’t the same.
Friday
A fantastic meal next up, and one to add to my ever-growing list of successful soup recipes that I’ve followed. Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen is probably my favourite cookbook as I’ve said before, and this was another winner. Spinach, Chickpea and Sweet Potato soup, with a side of Rachel Ama’s Caribbean Dumplings. The dumplings were crispy on the outside, and soft and doughy in the middle – perfect for dunking into the soup.
Friday night saw me devour an impulse giant bowl of porridge, after my plans kept changing and I needed something quick and comforting. To be honest it wasn’t actually that good, and I think this is in part down to my reluctance to add sugar to my porridge or extra syrup because god knows I eat way too much sugar anyway. Pecans, maple syrup and peanut butter sounds beautiful, and it was satisfying, but yeah, sweeter would’ve been better.
Saturday
Rachel Ama’s making another appearance here with her Roast Veg on Giant Cous Cous. The aubergines, tomatoes and courgettes smelt delicious as they were cooking, and the meal was surprisingly filling. This is a really healthy one for when you want to counteract a slightly less healthy evening.
Sunday
Aaaand the final one of this week. Ainsley and his soups. Or chowders. What actually is the definition of a chowder because I really don’t know? This is a spicy lentil, sweetcorn and butternut squash ‘chowder’ and it was so good. So I know creamy refers to a texture, and this chowder wasn’t that creamy, but the coconut milk gave it a creamy taste, if that’s even possible. I’m sure some of you will understand. I toasted some tortilla strips as well to dip in and ended up being very full by the time I’d finished it, so never fall into that old trap of thinking soup isn’t filling. It really ain’t just water.
Madness to think that my next post in the series will be halfway through (6 of 12!) – half a year of vegan weeks. That has gone scarily quickly, but yet again I have more treats in store for you (and by that I actually mean myself) as I will be heading to The Vurger Co, praying that I can still get my hands on their vegan Philly Cheezesteak sandwich, but only time will tell.
Also have plans to check out Yard Sale’s amazing-looking new vegan pizza menu, however that one will depend on how my body and purse are feeling. Gotta always be changing up my food plans based on if I feel too heavy or in the mood for a treat, and that’s the best way to work it. Listen to your body and adjust your meals accordingly. Not easy for someone who loves a solid plan, but there you go.
Breaking my meat fast with a bacon naan from Dishoom tomorrow morning. You will undoubtedly find images of it within 24 hours on my in-need-of-love Instagram account @foodtravelsldn.
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.
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!
¡Comemos! 