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The New English Kitchen: Changing the Way You Shop, Cook and Eat
The New English Kitchen: Changing the Way You Shop, Cook and Eat
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The New English Kitchen: Changing the Way You Shop, Cook and Eat

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leaves from 2 sprigs of mint

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a pan and add the aubergine, onion and celery. Cook, stirring, until the aubergine is soft, then add the pumpkin seeds, cumin and stock or water. Mix in the rice and reheat thoroughly. Add the mint and season to taste.

kitchen notes

For a richer, sweeter dish, substitute sherry for the stock or water.

A recipe for pilaff using cold cooked rice and leftover roast lamb can be found on here 202 (#litres_trial_promo).

kedgeree

We made this for a big Christening party recently and agreed that kedgeree is hard-to-beat party food. The bare bones can be made in advance and assembled just before everyone arrives. It’s also incredibly rich. A little fish goes a long way in kedgeree, which is an advantage with the high price of sustainable fish. For information on how to choose fish, see here (#litres_trial_promo).

Serves 8–12

480g/1 lb smoked fish fillet – haddock, pollack or hot-smoked

organic salmon (see the Shopping Guide)

1 onion, cut in half

6 cardamom pods, crushed

250ml/8fl oz creamy milk

90ml/3fl oz single cream

1 quantity of cooked basmati rice (see here (#u72594d21-7bf9-4996-8ae2-4aa571aa7ea5))

180g/6oz cooked peeled North Atlantic prawns (optional)

1cm/

/

inch piece of fresh ginger, grated

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground in a pestle and mortar

6 fennel seeds, toasted and ground as above

/

teaspoon ground turmeric

30g/1oz butter, melted

4 semi-soft boiled eggs (see here (#litres_trial_promo)), peeled and quartered

8 sprigs of coriander, chopped

Put the fish in a pan with the onion and cardamom pods and pour over the milk and cream. Place over a medium heat and bring up to boiling point. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, or until the fish begins to firm up and flake apart (if you are using hot-smoked salmon, you will not need to cook it – just bring to the boil). Strain off the creamy milk and reserve.

Break the fish into large flakes, discarding any skin or bones, and mix lightly with the rice and prawns. Add the remaining spices, pour over the reserved creamy milk and the melted butter and mix quite thoroughly. Strew the eggs on top and scatter over the coriander.

rice, cucumber and dill salad

The herbs lend their aromas, the onion seed gives a sharp little kick and the cucumber cools down this salad. It will not spoil if you take it to work in a carton. It’s also very good eaten outdoors, with barbecued sardines or lamb.

Serves 2

2 helpings of cooked basmati rice (see here (#u72594d21-7bf9-4996-8ae2-4aa571aa7ea5))

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

juice of

/

lemon

a pinch of sea salt

/

cucumber, cut in half lengthways, then peeled, deseeded

and sliced

4 sprigs of dill, chopped

4 sprigs of chervil, if available, or flat-leaf parsley, torn into

smaller sprigs

/

teaspoon black onion seeds (nigella)

freshly ground black pepper

Put the rice in a deep bowl, add the oil, lemon juice and salt and mix well. Add a little more oil if you want a wetter salad. Add the cucumber and dill and mix again. Strew the chervil leaves on top. Throw over the onion seeds and finish with a grind or two of black pepper.

short grain rice

There are various traditional risotto recipes in the Stock chapter (see here (#litres_trial_promo)) but here is the store-method recipe.

store-method risotto

This technique is used in very busy Italian restaurants that want to be able to make a genuine risotto in 15, not 30, minutes. Although it is frowned upon by purists, it is very useful for anyone who works long hours.

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion, finely chopped

300 g/10 oz short grain Italian rice, such as Arborio

1 glass of white wine (optional)

1–1.5 litres/1

/

–2

/

pints chicken, vegetable or beef stock

Melt the butter in a large pan, add the onion and cook until soft. Add the rice and cook, stirring (preferably with a wooden fork), for 1 minute. Stir in the glass of wine, if using. When it has been absorbed, begin to add the stock a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly over a medium heat. After 10–15 minutes, taste the rice – it should be half cooked, with a white, opaque centre. Strain it, reserving any cooking liquor. Cool the cooking liquor, add it to the remaining stock and store in the fridge, clearly marked. Spread the rice out on a plastic tray, no more than 2cm/

/

inch deep. Allow to cool, cover with cling film and store in the fridge. It will keep for 2–3 days.

To finish the risotto, cut a piece of the rice from the tray – as much as you need – and put it in a pan. Cover with just enough of the cooking liquor to make it sloppy when stirred. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and cook gently for a few minutes, until the rice is tender but firm to the bite – al dente. Do not stir. The risotto should be cooked perfectly and ready for Parmesan or a grated hard ewe’s milk cheese, plus any other ingredients (see the recipes here (#litres_trial_promo) for risotto inspiration).

fried risotto cakes

Leftover risotto can be shaped into little cakes – a cube of mozzarella hidden inside – then dipped first in flour, then beaten egg, then dried breadcrumbs. Shallow-fry them in a little olive oil and eat as a lunch dish, with a lush green salad.

couscous, bulgar and other grains

This is my sister Sam’s domain. She runs Moro, the Moorish-influenced London restaurant, with her husband, Sam, and they know more about grains and allied North African dishes than I can shake a stick at. But in the New English Kitchen, where your pricy piece of meat is reserved for special occasions, grains provide diversity – a lively change from rice. Use whole durum wheat (sometimes sold as pasta wheat or Ebly) in broths (see here (#litres_trial_promo)) and salads, and use grains such as bulgar wheat (cracked whole wheat) and couscous (grains of semolina paste made from durum wheat) in salads with herbs. If you have the chance, buy your grains – along with wonderfully fresh nuts, juicy dried fruits and big bunches of herbs – from Middle Eastern shops. They usually do good bulk deals and take great pride in the quality of these essential goodies. Middle Eastern shops also sell a finer version of bulgar, the true grain to use in a tabbouleh salad with parsley, oil and lemon juice. Couscous is usually sold pre-cooked in the UK, and needs only moistening with water.

to make a store of couscous

To create a store of 6 helpings, put a 240g/8oz teacupful of couscous in a plastic container that will take twice that amount and pour over 200ml/7fl oz cold water and 3 tablespoons of olive oil, stirring. Stir in a large pinch of salt and leave the couscous to swell. After 15 minutes, test the grains to see if they are tender – add a little more water if they are still dry. Use a fork to loosen the grains, then cover the container and put it in the fridge, where it will keep for about 5 days.

Couscous can be eaten very simply with boiled purple sprouting broccoli (see here (#litres_trial_promo)) or with the baked chick pea recipe (see here (#ulink_2fd14b1b-8a24-5a21-8ffd-d492a0376622)). For a decorative, mighty feast, see the recipe below. Its flavour benefits from being made well in advance.

reheating couscous

There are two ways to do this. Put the couscous in an ovenproof dish with a large knob of butter, cover with foil and place in an oven preheated to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4 for 20 minutes. Alternatively, melt some butter in a pan, add the couscous and stir over a low heat until warmed through.

a couscous feast

It must be 20 years since I first saw a bowl of hot couscous next to a grand platter of simmered meats and vegetables. It was in France, close to the Mediterranean coast, where merguez sausages, tabbouleh and harissa – a paste made with hot red peppers – could be bought in almost every grocery. Then it seemed so alien. Now couscous, like risotto and dal, has become neo-English; it has a second home and a new following. I like to cook it in a festive way, covering the table with all the component dishes: a large platter of braised lamb and poultry, plus steamed courgettes, carrots, runner beans and golden beetroot (when I can find it – the colour of red beetroot invades in an unpleasant way). There’s a bowl filled with fresh parsley and mint leaves, another with toasted nuts and golden sultanas, a dish of harissa, and finally a large pan filled with the cooking juices from the meat, ready to ladle over everything. It’s probably inauthentic, but it works.

Serves 8 generously (I am always happy to have leftovers from this for reheating later)

2 small, corn-fed chickens, jointed and skinned (ask the butcher to

prepare them for you, with the lamb)

8 lamb shanks, trimmed of fat

10 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

4 onions, finely chopped

about 2 litres/3

/

pints water or chicken stock

120g/4oz butter

2 teaspoons ground coriander

8 spring carrots, trimmed of leaves, then halved lengthways

4 courgettes, cut lengthways into quarters

about 10 runner beans, cut on the diagonal into 2cm/

/

inch lengths

240g/8oz string beans

4 golden beetroot, scrubbed, cut into quarters, and boiled for

30 minutes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

leaves from 8 sprigs of parsley

leaves from 8 sprigs of mint

4 tablespoons flaked almonds, toasted in a dry frying pan until golden