Mouthfuls
- rosemary
- Apr 24
- 5 min read
Mouthful "an amount of food or drink that fills your mouth, or that you put into your mouth at one time" Cambridge English Dictionary
Well I'm running out of different words for the title of an oddments post. And I'm not sure of this picture either - simultaneously somewhat repulsive, yet illustrative of a mouthful. Believe me there are many more repulsive ones out there.
And yes I am feeling uninspired, and also wondering whether I have anything else to say. A ridiculous notion of course, as there is always something new, surprising, controversial to write about.
So what did I find recently?
A Woolworths Fresh Ideas recipe that I have had sitting on my desk for a while. And I'm probably a bit late with this because peaches are done and dusted I think. A seasonal ingredient, that does indeed seem to be seasonal. However, the magazine says:
"Switch out peaches for other leftover ripe stone fruits, such as apricots and nectarines."
Plums? These are the main stone fruit left I think. It's fundamentally a hot sweet and sour sauce, that can be used to dress or marinade things or serve as a dip. You will have to think of your own uses though. Woolworths doesn't offer any. The main ingredients are peaches cider vinegar, raw sugar, onion, chillies, orange and garlic.
In the same magazine how to make your own chilli crunch oil - a lovely condiment. I have a jar which I bought for myself. It's not cheap - but it is delicious on top of all manner of things - including ice-cream - an enables me to have chilli when I can't really add it to the dish in question because of husband's chilli aversion. There are, of course, lots of other recipes out there on the net.
From the other supermarket. Next time you are hosting a crowd and you have some leftover brie, give this one a go. They look to be pretty easy and a really good little appetiser. Frozen puff pastry of course - but make sure it's butter puff pastry.
Black chickpeas
The Ottolenghi crew are pushing black chickpeas - for sale that is, saying:
"Black chickpeas don't get nearly enough attention...though we're not sure why. They've got more bite than their cream-coloured counterparts, holding their ground with a stubborn (and delicious) resilience. We reach for these when texture is needed – roasted and scattered over salads, simmered in a stew, or confited slowly in oil, taking on flavour without surrendering their character."
Felicity Cloake, - when making her perfect chaat was not as enthusiastic:
"Unfortunately, my testers and I find that they taste like diet food, too. Nice as kala chana are in a well-flavoured sauce, in a chaat their tough skins and slightly earthy flavour make them a clear second choice among my testers."
I do have to say that the Ottolenghi recipe I found that used them One pan black chickpeas with baharat and orange looked pretty good, but I also have to say that unless you live near a Mediterranean/Middle-Eastern food store you might have difficulty finding them. Health food stores perhaps? If you're tempted that is.
I was actually going to do a whole post on this because I came across a post from a reddit commenter called mthmchris on who was raving about them. However, when I looked at it today, I realised that it was a real work of scholarship if you like, and that I couldn't possibly reduce it down. The name of the dish is Whampoa eggs, and our reddit guy says:
"The best way I can describe Cantonese scrambled eggs is akin to an unrolled French omelet. You start to let the egg set, but then instead of rolling it up, you start to layer everything on top of itself. It’s a bit hard to describe.
What follows is an extremely long explanation of potential legendary origins, and a very detailed and lengthy explanation of how to cook them. I was impressed I guess by the complication of it all. An oddity. A simple and very quick dish that you might make for dinner if you are on your own and can't be bothered much, made into something long and complicated. At least whilst you are learning. I imagine that once you have mastered it also only takes a moment.
At the other end of the spectrum of complication have a look at this short video of David Chang - founder of Momofuku - making Ramen fried chicken. The ramen is ground up as part of the spicy crust of the dish. There is deep frying involved, so if you are not into that, then don't bother, but I can imagine that this, even though it uses despised things like instant ramen and dried ramen soup, tastes really good. But then who doesn't like a crunchy mouthful?
I think this was a link in The Smitten Kitchen newsletter. It's a short Instagram video which shows you how to make eight different green sauces from around the world - as they say at the beginning, they look the same but taste different.
The sauces are Zhoug, Salsa verde, Chermoula, Gremolata, Chimichurri, Green chutney, Pesto, Pistou. And I'm guessing that that's not a complete list of green sauces. Off the top of my head I can think of Mint sauce from England, Guacamole, Green Goddess dressing and I'm sure there are more - well pesto for a start has dozens of variations. Not to mention various chefs who have their own custom made green sauce - start with Jamie Oliver, and then just wander.
The Fork the People people have a series of similar videos.
OK I was sucked in by the beautiful photo, and the fact that this is a Nigel Slater recipe, but it was also a slightly unusual combination for a fool. And by now you will realise that I love fools. This one isn't made with cream however - it's yoghurt. And nothing wrong with that. I once tried Delia's yoghurt version of gooseberry fool and it was utterly divine.
Matafaim, Matafan ... 'Kill hunger"
This was going to be my blog of the day at one point, but then I found that most of the recipes were in French and also that there was not a lot to say. Well today I couldn't think of a lot to say. I'm pretty sure that on another day I could. I can't remember where they came to my notice, suffice to say they have cropped up a few times of late.
One writer described them as a cross between a crêpe and a frittata. They are certainly a kind of pancake and are a peasant dish from the Alpine regions of France, Italy and Switzerland - although going as far south as Lyon. They can be savoury or sweet. The filling for the sweet version - on the right above - seems to be almost exclusively apple, which I guess is fitting for a peasant dish - apples being one of the cheapest fruits. The savoury version varies somewhat with some just keeping to cheese or potatoes, but other additions could be bacon, or onions. Basic fare anyway. Homely food designed to kill hunger as their name means.
An Ottolenghi salad to finish with. I almost made this for my Easter feast, but wasn't sure how many people liked artichokes. I'm not even sure that I do, but possibly jarred artichokes might be OK. Another time perhaps. I should be braver.
YEARS GONE BY
April 24
2023 - Specks
2021 - Nothing
2020 - Deleted
2019 - Dietary despair
2018 - Lucky dip - choux pastry
Hi Sis,
Another intriguing blog about bits and pieces. I love all the photos of the green sauces or whatever you like to call them. I'm with you on the artichoke, not sure I like it either. I don't think you should mess with omelette or scambled egg!!! Jenny