Corn and Spring Onion Pancakes

This week's theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs  is "Pattycake, Pattycake...."  Participants were asked to make a Yota Ottolenghi recipe that was a fritter, latke, vegetable pancake, patty, burger, fishcake, etc.  I've already made Turkey & Zucchini Burgers, Sweet Potato Cakes, and Leek Fritters for previous themes.  I ended up searching online and found this recipe for a corn pancake.  It sounded very promising and not too difficult.  I halved the recipe, since I wasn't sure that the kids would like it.  I didn't end up smoking/grilling one of the cobs like the original recipe called for.  I ended up forgetting midway through that I was halving the recipe and ended up putting the one egg into the food processor.  I should have only put the yolk in and then whipped the white separately to fold in later.  I ended up with dense pancakes and unfortunately, I wasn't really impressed with the flavor.  Using the jalapeno didn't make the pancakes too spicy so the kids tried them.  But they too didn't like them very much.  Overall, this just wasn't one of our favorite Ottolenghi recipes.

Corn and Spring Onion Pancakes
recipe adapted from The Guardian, October 12, 2012

Ingredients:
3 corn cobs
3 spring onions, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1tsp soft brown sugar
1 egg
Salt and pepper
1 cup flour
butter
1 limes, cut into wedges

Directions:
With a sharp knife, separate the kernels from two corn cobs and put them in the bowl of a food processor. Add half the spring onion, the jalapeno, cumin, sugar, one egg, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper, blitz for 45 seconds until fairly smooth, then transfer to a bowl. Separate the last egg and add the yolk to the mix, followed by the flour and remaining spring onion.

Heat a large frying pan and add butter to coat. Add 1/4 cup of batter and fry on medium heat for two minutes a side until golden brown. Remove and keep warm while you cook the rest, adding butter as necessary. Serve warm with the lime wedges.

Family Rating: So-so.

Ottolenghi's Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango

This week's theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is "Use Your Noodle."  Since I love pasta this theme was right up my alley.  I saw this recipe and knew it was the one that I would make.  Noodles, eggplant, and mango.  All ingredients that I love.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find soba noodles at the local grocery store but already had a package of udon noodles in the house so I used those.  I also substituted a whole jalapeno pepper in place of the red chile pepper.  My grocery store doesn't carry those and I've found that Ottolenghi uses them a lot in his recipes!  This is a perfect spring or summer meal.  It's served room temperature and does require the sauce being premade and the eggplant browned.  But it's light and refreshing with a hint of spice.  I didn't even attempt to try to get the kids to eat this.  It had a little kick to it plus they don't like eggplant . You have to like eggplant to really enjoy this dish!  My adapted recipe is below.  For the original recipe check out Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Soba Noodles with Eggplant and Mango
Recipe adapted from Plenty:  Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 cup vegetable oil
1 eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch dice
12 ounces udon noodles
1 large ripe mango, cut into 3/8-inch dice
2 1/2 cups cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

Directions:
In a small saucepan gently warm the vinegar, sugar and salt for up to 1 minute, just until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, jalapeno, and sesame oil. Allow to cool, then add the lime zest and juice.

Heat up the vegetable oil in a large pan and shallow-fry the eggplant in three or four batches. Once golden brown remove to a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave there to drain.

Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally. They should take 5 to 8 minutes to become tender but still al dente. Drain and rise well under running cold water. Shake off as much of the excess water as possible, then leave to dry on a dish towel.

In a mixing bowl toss the noodles with the dressing, mango, eggplant, half of the cilantro and the onion. You can now leave this aside for 1 to 2 hours. When ready to serve add the rest of the cilantro and mix well, then pile on a plate or in a bowl.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Turkey & Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion and Cumin

This week's theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is "A Squash is a Squash, Of Course, Of Course..."  Participants could cook any Ottolenghi recipe using squash.  Here in New York it's springtime, so I didn't want to cook with any of the winter squashes.  I ended up choosing zucchini, since it's one of my favorite squashes.  I saw this recipe in Jerusalem but sadly had to return the cookbook to the library.  Luckily, I found an online version from Recipe Connoisseur that I adapted to suit our tastes.  The original sauce recipe called for ground sumac.  According to Wikipedia, sumac is a reddish-purple powder often used in Middle Eastern cuisine to add a lemony taste to foods.  Obviously, the local grocery store doesn't carry sumac.  There's actually a small Middle Eastern grocery store in the neighborhood but I never made it there.  I also didn't really feel like spending money on a spice that I thought I'd probably never use again.  I thought the sauce tasted fine without.  Overall, these burgers were okay.  They were nice and moist and both kids ate their entire patty.  I served them over couscous, as seen in the pic below. 

Turkey & Zucchini Burgers with Green Onions and Cumin
Recipe adapted from Recipe Connoisseur, via Ottolenghi's Jerusalem

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1 large zucchini, coarsely chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
about 3-4 tbsp olive oil, for searing

For the Sauce:
½ cup sour cream
⅔ cup plain yogurt
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1½ tbs olive oil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp fresh ground pepper

Directions:
First, make the sour cream sauce by mixing all ingredients in small bowl and placing in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl combine all burger ingredients except oil. Mix with your hands and form into desired patty sizes.

Pour enough oil to cover bottom of large frying pan. Heat over medium heat until hot, then sear burgers about 2 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Carefully transfer the seared burgers to a baking sheet and place in oven 7-10 minutes, or until cooked through.    

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Basmati Rice & Potatoes

This week on I Heart Cooking Clubs as we continue to cook with Yotam Ottolenghi, the theme is "Going with the Grain."  Ottolenghi has a lot of interesting grain recipes. Unfortuntaely, I really wimped out this week.  I was planning my weekly menu at the last minute and didn't want to make anything time consuming or with ingredients that I thought the kids wouldn't eat.  I ended up making his Basmati Rice & Potatoes, based on his Basmati Rice & Orzo recipe from his cookbook Jerusalem.  This recipe was almost too easy, but it was in his cookbook!  I was set to make the rice with orzo and meant to check my pantry to make sure I had orzo before I went grocery shopping....but I forgot.  Only when I went to make this did I realize that I didn't have orzo.  I was NOT running back out to the grocery store to get some and I didn't have vermicelli noodles which was listed as a substitute.  However, he notes that "other substantial elements - vericelli, potatoes, lentils, nuts - could also be included.  I had some leftover roasted potatoes and went with that!  I'm not sure if cooking method affects the recipe either.  Again, I went quick and easy and used my rice cooker.   Have I mentioned that this was quick and easy?!!  The chicken broth gives the rice some flavor and my daughter loved it.  I thought it was okay and a nice change from plain white rice, though I'm not sure if I'll end up making this again.

                                 

Basmati Rice & Potatoes
recipe inspired by Ottolenghi's Basmati Rice & Orzo recipe in Jerusalem

Ingredients:
2 cups basmati rice
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup leftover roasted potatoes, diced

Directions:
1. Put 2 cups of rice in rice cooker.  Add chicken stock to the 2 cup fill line and cook. While rice is cooking, melt butter in large saute pan.  Fry potatoes in butter, turning as needed, until heated through about 10 minutes.  Once rice is cooked transfer to a large bowl and mix in potatoes.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Ottolenghi's Sweet Potato Cakes

I am continuing my cooking adventures with the I Heart Cooking Clubs as we get to know Yotam Ottolenghi.  This week's theme was "Get Back to Your Roots."  I had bought a 5 lb. box of sweet potatoes that was on sale from the grocery store a couple of weeks ago.  I knew this week's Ottolenghi theme would be a perfect opportunity to use them up.  A couple of other participants had already made these and given them good reviews.  I didn't end up making the dipping sauce that goes with these and just served with some sour cream that I had.  I know the other reviewers said the sauce made the recipe.  So, I'm not sure if I missed out on anything by not making it.  However, I enjoyed these with just the sour cream.  You must like sweet potatoes though if you're thinking of making these.  The sweet potato flavor really stands out with a little heat from the pepper (though I only used a jalapeno, not the red chile the original recipe called for!).  Instead of steaming the potatoes like the original recipe called for, I ended up boiling, draining, and mashing them like I would if I was making mashed sweet potatoes.  This definitely cut down on the cooking and prep time that the original recipe needed.  Unfortunately, my son who enjoys sweet potatoes wasn't a big fan of these.  I knew my daughter, who doesn't like sweet potatoes to begin with wouldn't like these, so I halved the recipe, as shown in the amounts below.  But my husband I enjoyed them.  These are best eaten the day they are made.  The leftovers didn't taste as good!
        
                              
Sweet Potato Cakes
recipe adapted from Plenty:  Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi

Yield: 2 servings as posted (original recipe yields 4)

Ingredients:
1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
2 Tbsp scallions, chopped
1 tsp jalapeno pepper finely choped
lots of butter, for frying
sour cream for topping

Directions:
Fill large sauce pan with water and bring to boil over high heat.  Once boiling, add potato chunks and cook for 15 minutes.  Drain and let cool for about fifteen minutes. Place in a large mixing bowl and mash with fork.  Add the rest of the ingredients except the butter.  Mix the ingredients by hand - it should be sticky, so if it's a little runny, add some flour. Do not over-mix.

Melt some butter in a nonstick pan.  Add spoonfuls of batter to pan and flatten with a spatula into discs that are approximately 2 inches in diameter and 3/8 inch think.  Fry on moderate heat until you get a nice, brown crust, about six minutes on each sode. Place between two sheets of kitchen towel, to soak up the excess butter. Serve warm, topping with sour cream if desired.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

IHCC: Green Gazpacho

This week the I Heart Cooking Clubs theme was "Loving the Leaf."  Participants had to cook an Ottolenghi recipe featuring or using a leafy green.  I again referred to his cookbook Plenty and found this recipe for Green Gazpacho.  This soup has many green veggies in it including baby spinach!  To be honest, I'm not a huge soup eater.  I don't mind a cup of soup, but something has to be served with it.  To me, soup is not a meal!  I also knew that my kids would most likely not enjoy this, so I had to have a back-up.  I ended up making Hawaiian Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches to go with this (see tomorrow's post!).  Yes, the two don't really compliment each other.  But I saw the sandwich recipe and knew it would be quick and easy to put together.  This recipe wasn't difficult to make, it just requires a lot of chopping.  I ended up adapting the recipe a bit, mainly in amounts of ingredients, substitutions (sherry and cider vinegar in place of sherry vinegar, and I didn't make the homemade croutons).  I probably should have used the immersion blender because I was really pushing the limits with my regular blender.  I had to spoon some of the soup out to add the rest of the ice and water!  I made the kids have 5 bites of the soup (to get in their veggies!) but they didn't like it.  Honestly, I have to admit that my husband and I weren't huge fans of this soup either.  He said it tasted more like a sauce than a soup.  I kind of felt like I was drinking a more liqueified pesto!  The original recipe called for 4 cloves of garlic!  I like garlic, but cut it down to two cloves.  Still, the garlic seemed to overwhelm the soup.  I should have used the whole jalapeno to add a little more heat and next time (although I won't be making this again!) I would use less walnuts.  I thought 1 1/2 cups was a bit much when I was pouring them into the blender!  They added a funny texture to the soup that I didn't enjoy.  Well, I can't expect all of Ottolenghi's recipes to be winners.  There's always next week!   

Green Gazpacho
recipe slightly adapted from Plenty:  Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi

Ingredients:
1 green pepper, deseeded
1 1/2 cucumbers, peeled
3 slices stale white bread, crusts removed
1/2 jalapeno pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups walnuts, lightly toasted
4 cups baby spinach
1 cup basil leaves
2 Tbsp parsley
2 Tbsp sherry
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp Greek yogurt
about 2 cups water
6 ice cubes
2 tsp salt
pepper

Directions:
Roughly chop up the pepper, cucumbers, bread, jalapeno, and garlic. Place in a blender and add the sugar, walnuts, spinach, basil, parsley, sherry, vinegar, oil, yogurt, most of the water, half the ice cubes, the salt and some white pepper. Blitz the soup until smooth. Add more water, if needed, to get your preferred consistency. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning.

Lastly, add the remaining ice and pulse once or twice, just to crush it a little.


Family Rating: So-so.

Leek Fritters: IHCC

I am very excited to be participating in my very first post for the I Heart Cooking Clubs.  I have been eyeing the group from afar, having joined the e-mail list but never participating until now.  The group features two chefs a year.  Yes, only two chefs. By the end of the six months, you will really get to know the featured chef.   There are weekly themes and you are free to choose any recipe by the featured chef to make, that fits the theme.  This week is the first week featuring chef Yotam Ottolenghi.  Therefore, I found it a fitting time to "jump in and get my feet wet."  I will admit that I had never heard of this chef before joining this group.  From I Heart Cooking Clubs:

"Ottolenghi is an Israeli-born chef, cookbook writer, and restaurant owner who specializes in marrying his native Middle Eastern cuisine with Mediterranean and Asian flavors. He is also known as a champion of vegetables, or rather as 'the man who sexed up vegetables'. His innovative vegetarian recipes delight the palate with fresh bold flavors. Ottolenghi has three best-selling cookbooks: Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Plenty, and Jerusalem."

I borrowed Plenty from my local library and thought that for this week's theme "Anything Goes" I'd start with some Leek Fritters.  The only change I made was using 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper in place of the red chile pepper that the recipe calls for.  One, because my grocery store did not have any red chiles and second, because I thought that my kids might eat these and didn't want them to be too spicy.  Well, I shouldn't have worried about that!  They did have a bite, but they weren't digging the leeks.  My husband and I found these to be really tasty though!  These definitely took some time to make but I purposefully chose to make them today when I knew that I'd have plenty of time.  These were really flavorful in themeselves but the sauce added another layer of deliciousness!  I'm looking forward to cooking more with the I Heart Cooking Club and exploring more of Ottolenghi's recipes!

Leek Fritters
recipe from Plenty: Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi.


Ingredients:
3 leeks,(1 lb in total, trimmed weight)
5  shallots, finely chopped
2/3 cup olive oil
1 fresh red chile, seeded and sliced
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg white
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. self-rising flour
4 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup milk
1 egg

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup parsley leaves, chopped
2 cups cilantro leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
First make your sauce. Blitz all the sauce ingredients together in a food processor or blender until a uniform green. Set aside for later.

Slice the leeks into 1-inch thick pieces, then rinse and drain in a colander. Pour half the olive oil in a medium pan and cook the shallots and leeks over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until they have softened. Place the mixture in a large bowl, add the pepper, parsley, spices, sugar and salt, then leave to cool.

Whisk the egg white to soft peaks in a medium bowl, then gently fold into the cooled leek mixture.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, egg, milk and butter to form a batter. Spoon in the vegetable mixture and gently stir to combine.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan on a medium flame. Once hot spoon in half the batter to form four large fritters. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden and crisp. Remove, drain on kitchen towels and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve the fritters warm with the sauce. Any leftover fritters will be delicious eaten cold the next day.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 2 thumbs up!