My new fave cookbook – Plenty!

Yum! The most complete and delicious vegetarian meal i have ever had. Yottam Ottolenghi – Plenty P116
You’ve got to try it… Even had my husband convinced and he usually asks for a slice of ham with veggie food!

A week of winners and celebrations…. masterchef, marriage and a marvellous meal courtesy of Yotam Ottolenghi

Lamb cutlets with sumac, aubergine and green tahini

What a week it’s been….. back to school, Masterchef finals with a sensational winner and a royal wedding to boot! Last weekend I found this recipe in the Guardian on Saturday…. I always look at Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes and think ‘I must make that’, tear them out and stick them on the fridge/put in a book for later and of course… never get around to it! This week, inspired by once again seeing his handsome physique on Masterchef (I have a little bit of a crush!), I was determined to make this dish on Friday to finish off a wonderful day, spent at school celebrating the royal union. I also tried my hand at a bit of fancy presentation and learnt that you should serve up quickly before the juices run out of the lamb!  The three components of the dish are individually amazing and the flavour combination was a total ‘wow!’  Loved it!

You can find the recipe at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/23/broad-bean-salad-lamb-recipes

It really was delicious, subtly spiced and after using sumac in this way on lamb, I am now going to experiment with other meats, fish and veggies in preparation for bbq season!

Just a quickie tonight!

 Abbie’s eaten at my Mum’s, Jon (my husband) has dashed off to touch rugby…. so it is dinner pour moi at home.  Luckily I have a bit of auberginey chunky sauce leftover from a previous meal; think it was with seared tuna… – see below for the recipe for that.  I cook a small serving of pasta twirls, chuck in some olives and feta cubes and then stir through the pasta sauce, grate over parmesan and voila! Super fast pasta!



The final dish

Ingredients for tomato sauce

1 tblspn Olive oil

Garlic (I use puree here for easiness)

1 aubergine – chunkily diced

Good pinch oregano

1 tblspn Tomato puree

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Splah balsamic vinegar

Handful of pitted black olives (i use one in oil)

1. Heat oil and add a squeeze of garlic and the cubes of aubergine – fry for about 5 mins on medium heat until going soft
2. Sprinkle in oregano and stir
3. Add tomato puree, stir and add chopped tomatoes and half a tin of water
4. Add splash of balsamic vinegar and the olives
5. Simmer for about 20-25 mins on a very low heat

This goes with anything….