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300ml (½ pint) vodka
10 small sticks of celery, to serve
1 Whiz all the ingredients in a blender, then strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Serve in glasses over ice with a stick of celery.
Isaac’s frittata (#ulink_42a80bcf-4468-5746-b633-ef1880713d08)
A frittata is a thick and almost endlessly versatile Italian omelette. It can be flavoured with just herbs and cheese or almost a whole fried breakfast!
SERVES 4–6 VEGETARIAN
(with non-vegetarian variations)
8 eggs
50ml (2fl oz) milk
Salt and ground black pepper
2 tbsp chopped chives or parsley
110g (4oz) Gruyère cheese, grated
25g (1oz) butter
25cm (10in) diameter ovenproof frying pan
1 Preheat the grill on a medium setting.
2 Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk together with the milk, seasoning with salt and pepper. Next gently mix in the herbs and grated cheese.
3 Place a large non-stick frying pan on a low-medium heat. Add the butter and when it has melted and starts to foam, add the egg mixture to the warm pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the cooked mixture from the bottom, from the outside in, filling its space with liquid egg by gently tilting the pan. Do this 5–6 times, then allow the mixture to cook for a further 2–3 minutes or until the bottom of the frittata is golden — you can tell this by lifting it slightly up at the edge using a palette knife or fish slice.
4 Take the pan off the heat and place under the grill, making sure that you leave a gap of a few centimetres between the frittata and the grill element. Continue cooking for a few minutes until the mixture has fluffed up nicely and is beginning to turn golden brown on top, by which stage the frittata will have cooked through to the centre.
5 Using a palette knife or fish slice, loosen the edges and slide onto a plate. Serve immediately or allow to cool to room temperature.
VARIATIONS
Make the recipe as above, adding the following to the basic egg mixture just before cooking:
Breakfast frittata: 150g (5oz) sliced mushrooms, fried in a little butter and seasoned with salt and pepper, and 10 rashers of streaky bacon, cut into 1cm (½in) pieces and fried until crispy.
Frittata ranchera: 150g (5oz) peeled and chopped onion, sweated in a little sunflower oil or butter, 4 small tomatoes cut into 5mm (¼in) dice, 1 tablespoon of finely chopped and deseeded red chilli (or more to taste) and 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander.
LUNCH (#ulink_bc5e3418-a71f-57de-8029-86b5b818e95f)
Spinach soup with rosemary oil (#ulink_20660952-5d8f-5422-907f-02b340cbe14e)
The aromatic flavour of rosemary, drizzled as an oil over this soup, works to perfection with spinach. Instead of making the rosemary oil, you could add 1 tablespoon of chopped rosemary leaves to the soup just before blending, or a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg.
SERVES 6 VEGETARIAN
For the rosemary oil
1 sprig of rosemary, broken in half
50ml (2fl oz) olive oil
For the spinach soup
15g (½oz) butter
110g (4oz) peeled and chopped onions
150g (5oz) peeled and chopped potatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
600ml (1 pint) vegetable stock
600ml (1 pint) milk
275g (10oz) spinach (any large stalks removed before weighing), chopped
1 Put the rosemary in a small saucepan with the olive oil and heat gently on a low heat until tepid. Remove the pan from the heat and let the rosemary infuse for 10 minutes. Strain the oil through a sieve into a jug.
2 For the soup, melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onions and potatoes, season with salt and pepper, cover with a lid and cook on a very low heat for 10 minutes, stirring every now and again.
3 Meanwhile, pour the stock and milk into another saucepan, bring to the boil and add to the vegetables. Bring the mixture back up to the boil, then tip in the spinach and cook, uncovered, over a high heat for 1–2 minutes or until the spinach is just cooked.
4 To preserve the fresh flavour, blend the soup straight away, in a blender or using a hand-held blender. Serve in individual bowls with a drizzle of rosemary oil over the top.
Skirt steak with spicy potatoes (#ulink_207ddb0a-f07a-5e43-bf4b-9bc668334877)
A lunchtime steak is not for the faint hearted, so this is one to save for the weekend. Skirt steak is wonderfully tender and has a great flavour, though it needs to be cooked very quickly or it can overcook and toughen.
SERVES 6
750g (1lb 10oz) potatoes (unpeeled if small), cut into 1–2cm (½–¾in) dice
Salt and ground black pepper
75ml (3fl oz) olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed or finely grated
1–2 red chillies, deseeded and finely diced
2 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground (see tip below)
6 generous tbsp chopped coriander or parsley
6 thin skirt steaks (each weighing about 110g/4oz)
1 Place a saucepan of water on a high heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 3–5 minutes or until they have slightly softened, then drain thoroughly before tipping onto kitchen paper to dry completely.
2 Set a large frying pan on a high heat, pour in 50ml (2fl oz) of the olive oil and, when hot, add the potatoes and cook, tossing frequently, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, chillies and cumin and cook for a further 3–5 minutes or until the potatoes are golden and crispy, then tip in the chopped herbs.
3 While the potatoes are cooking, fry the steaks. Place a separate frying pan (cast iron if possible) on a high heat and allow it to get very hot. Season the steaks on both sides with salt and pepper, add the remaining oil to the pan and cook the steaks for about 1 minute on each side. (If you overcook them, they will toughen.)
4 Remove the steaks from the pan and serve straight away (they can be kept warm in a low oven for 5–10 minutes, if needed) with the sautéed potatoes on the side.
RACHEL’S TIP
To toast and grind nuts or seeds, place the nuts or seeds in a frying pan on a high heat and cook, tossing frequently, for about 1 minute or until the nuts/seeds are browned. They toast very quickly, so take care not to burn them. To grind them into a powder, use a pestle and mortar, a coffee grinder dedicated to the purpose, or place the nuts or seeds in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.
Oven-baked courgette tortilla (#ulink_c2a91e60-a9c2-588a-8f70-5233614dfdfc)
In Spain, a ‘tortilla’ describes a large omelette that usually contains fried potatoes. Add to it practically anything you like, within reason, depending on what is in season. Here there are nuggets of softened feta and moist courgette with the cooling refreshment of mint.
SERVES 6 VEGETARIAN
150g (5oz) new potatoes
Salt and ground black pepper
300g (11oz) courgettes
2 tbsp olive oil
8 eggs
2 tbsp single or regular cream
2 tbsp chopped mint
150g (5oz) feta cheese, roughly crumbled
25cm (10in) diameter ovenproof frying pan
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F), Gas mark 6.
2 Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Add a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil, then cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain, then peel and cut into 2cm (¾in) chunks and set aside.
3 Halve the courgettes lengthways and slice into 1cm (½in) pieces. Pour the oil into a large ovenproof frying pan on a medium heat, add the courgettes, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5–7 minutes or until softened, tossing occasionally.
4 Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk the eggs together with the cream and mint and season with salt and pepper.
5 Add the potatoes and feta to the courgettes in the frying pan and lightly mix together. Pour in the whisked eggs and cook for 5 minutes or until golden underneath, then cook in the oven for 10–15 minutes or until just set in the centre. Serve immediately with a fresh green salad.
Stir-fried tofu with noodles (#ulink_978249a7-44bb-5edb-bce3-3e8a595d816f)
Tofu is a social butterfly, at its happiest when surrounded by lots of flavourful friends, literally soaking up anything you want to pair it with. This is an extremely quick and easy dish to make, as well as being very healthy and nutritious.
SERVES 3 VEGETARIAN
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp peeled (see tip below) and finely chopped root ginger
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
½ red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
400g (14oz) firm tofu, cut into 1.5cm (⅝in) cubes
2 small pak choi, shredded into 1cm (½in) slices
250g (9oz) thin rice noodles or soba noodles
4 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 Set a wok or large, non-stick frying pan on a high heat and pour in the sesame oil. When it is very hot, add the ginger, garlic, chilli and spring onions and stir-fry quickly for 30 seconds or until the garlic begins to turn golden.
2 Add the tofu cubes and stir-fry for a further 4–5 minutes or until they begin to brown around the edges, then add the pak choi and stir-fry for a further 2–3 minutes or until the pak choi is wilted.
3 Meanwhile, cook the rice or soba noodles following the instructions on the packet.
4 Add the soy sauce, rice wine or dry sherry to the tofu mixture, along with half the sesame seeds and half the coriander. Cook for a further 2 minutes. Divide the cooked noodles between individual bowls, spoon over the tofu mixture and sprinkle with the remaining coriander and sesame seeds.
RACHEL’S TIP
To peel root ginger, try using the tip of a teaspoon rather than a peeler; this is not only easier, but you also remove less of the ginger flesh in the process.
Celeriac soup with roasted hazelnuts (#ulink_ddbf7c68-5138-56c2-9016-1322c0ad737a)
Celeriac has a surprisingly subtle celery-like flavour considering its aggressively gnarled appearance. The hazelnuts in this soup provide a gorgeous crunchy contrast to the smooth creamy finish.
SERVES 6 VEGETARIAN
