I LOVE bimbimbap. There, I said it. It's been one of the 'it' meals for a while and believe me it's worth the hype. BUT, I was eating this waaay before it because the hot thing. After living in Korea, I know what makes a good bimbimbap and so I'm reluctant to try a recipe from somewhere that isn't from Maangchi or learned from someone Korean.
I've been trying to entice The Hubby to try more veggies so I knew he would go for this, such is our love for the ricey, spicy goodness that is bibimbap! I found a recipe for bimbimbap from Alice Hart's book Good Veg. What attracted me to this recipe were the lack of ingredients, nothing more I hate than an endless list of ingredients - all of which I don't have at home!
Yay or Nay: Yay
I must say, I'm impressed. Mostly with the sauce - it is pretty identical to ones used in Korean Kimbap shops. The mushrooms were nice and savoury, the peppers added sweetness and the wilted spinach was subtly gingery! I
did sub some of the veggies for ones I had available or for preference,
but the beauty of this dish is that you can combine a whole bunch of
things and as long as you have the sauce - it's dynamite!
I've needed a new spin on classics such as the humble quiche, I mean I can do bacon and cheddar until the cows come home, but a 'healthier' version is always worth a try. I was intrigued by Hemsley + Hemsley's almond crust and naturally enamored by bacon, spinach and caramelised onions!
This recipe for Caramelised Onion Tart with an Almond Flour Base is a similar version to Hemsley + Hemsley's version of Spinach and Bacon Tart with a Nutty Almond Crust.
Yay or Nay: Yay
I'll admit that I didn't use the recipe for the tart base as I didn't have enough eggs to make it, plus I figured there was enough fat with the bacon so I didn't want to add it where I didn't need to! Yes, there is no final picture as I overflowed the tart and slightly overbaked it - despite that it was pretty tasty. I did add mushrooms when the option was either bacon or mushrooms - I have to say I would stick with one or the other as the flavours mind of meld into each other and you don't get to appreciate each mouthful! The only, very small, downside is that it is a little greasy the next day for leftovers so I would throw out half the fat when cooking next time.
In the past I've made mussels in a fragrant wine sauce but I was inspired by a recipe in Sirocco. However, most of the ingredients were hard to come by and I had just finished my tube of harissa! On the next page there was a recipe for Tumeric Clams and via a search on Pinterest I knew I could find a recipe that combined mussels and tumeric with easier to find ingredients. Luckily, I found Recipes From a Pantry's recipe for Tanzanian Style Mussel Curry which sounded delicious!
Yay or Nay: Yay
This was fast, healthy and most importantly yummy! It tasted like a fragrant and light curry which didn't overwhelm the taste of the mussels. The best part was that the sauce was so saucy that it was brilliant to mop up with bread!
When both of us wants pie, we usually go for the fail-safe steak and ale, so for something a little different I remembered making a chicken and chorizo pie. After searching and searching, I found Curiously Delicious' Chicken and Chorizo Pie but couldn't find the original one I made way back before the blog. This version was the most similar to the original, bar the tomato sauce and peppers.
FYI: I used Jamie Oliver's shortcrust pastry recipe which I have reviewed here.
Yay or Nay: Yay
I've only added photos of the filling, mainly because everyone knows what a pie looks like!! The recipe straightforward and even though it wasn't like the dry original pie, this one I purposely reduced the tomato sauce down (in case of a soggy bottom!) and the chili paste (I used chili powder) gives it some heat. My only gripe is that I cannot for the life of me find real Spanish style chorizo, here in the States, it is more like a regular raw sausage.
TIP: The recipe says to use puff pastry, but I prefer shortcrust. I followed Jamie's recipe for cooking the whole pie, but I would increase the time to about 50mins as I like my pastry crispy and brown.
Happy New Year everyone!
I discovered this recipe a while back and it's been a long time since I made it. It's Mexican but not like I usually know it - burritos, tacos and empanadas. Admittedly I wasn't recipe browsing when I spotted Country Living's recipe for Huevos Rancheros, I was looking for interior inspiration.
Either way, the recipe looked easy and appetising - not heavy on the cheese and heartburn!
Yay or Nay: Yay
There are a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps but each one is pretty easy to do. I didn't fry the tortillas as I wanted a lighter option so I baked it. Bad move! Instead of being crispy, the tortilla was hard and chewy. I definitely want to find a better way to bake this to give the same texture as frying it.
TIP: Fry your eggs sunny side up as the oozing yolk adds to the whole experience!
TIP: Feta cheese works as well as Cotija cheese if you can't find it - I can't so I sub feta for this.
I love flicking through Bon Appetit magazine for its up-to-date food trends and inspiration, however they can be slightly unreachable due to the hard-to-find ingredients or time involved in making them. In an effort to get The Hubby to eat more veg - especially veg he doesn't like has been hard. I knew the cheese would be a major swaying factor, and even though I have cut out cheese from my diet, it would be worth it to convince him.
I chose Bon Appetit's Best Eggplant Parmesan recipe as on the surface it didn't require a gazillion ingredients and it seemed simple enough to follow. No fancy techniques or blowtorches needed - plus I've never made anything like this before. We usually go to his parents for Italian after all!
Yay or Nay: Yay on taste, Nay on workload!
This was delicious and was given a huge thumbs up from The Hubby. I just did not anticipate the amount of work required - it took two hours from start to finish! I mean, I had to make the marinara sauce from scratch, it was worth it for the taste and it was pretty easy, but it added to the washing up pile which I definitely did not enjoy! I guess you could use store bought marinara and do the rest of the recipe and it would still be tasty.
I ran out of flour so used cornmeal instead but it just added to the crispiness, also I didn't have enough basil from my now, dead, winter garden so just used parsley in the cheese mixture and it didn't take away from the recipe. In addition to these subs and changes, I couldn't be bothered to make three layers or properly encourage the water out of the eggplant but again, it was still delicious!
After eating so decadently I needed a bit of a break from rich and moreish dishes. As soon as I was back home I spent most of the morning trying to save plants from the dead and unpacking. I realised that I had no food in the fridge so had to quickly think of some things to eat for the week. In the muddle of jetlag I flicked through Amelia Freer's book Cook. Nourish. Glow. and picked out a few recipes that I could rustle up without searching far and wide for ingredients.
The one plus of going away was that I came home to a jungle of herbs, berries, peppers and tomatoes which I knew I would utilise this week for sure. For the Mediterranean 'Pasta' I had 90% of the ingredients bar the courgette/zucchini and olives so I knew this would be easy, but would it be tasty?
Yay or Nay: Nay
I love the idea of zucchini/courgette noodles and all that but it never really lives up to expectations - I did have an amazing bowl of noodles in, of all places, Prague but I've never really had anything close to that since. There's always that weird taste when it is raw so knowing that this was cooked appealed a little more. Once the noodles cook down it does have a better aftertaste and the zest of lemon adds freshness but it was overall kind of bland and boring. Plus there was no mention of seasoning it! I'm not a big salt person but even I knew to add salt and pepper for at least some flavour!
