Jenny's Week: I'm back!

Which is okay every so often, but not something I would wish to make a habit of. We made it through and without our son becoming hungry (even if we as parents weren’t as well fed as we’d have liked to have been). So, I call that a triumph – and if a certain car insurance company would please refrain from taking HUGE amounts out of my bank account in future, without warning – I’d be very much obliged.

So, we’re back in the kitchen and in harness, investigating new recipes and new ingredients. It has become a question of whether, making home-made, you can produce the item for less money than a supermarket would charge –v- does your home-made version taste so much better than the supermarket version that it’s just worth paying the extra for.

Hubby has made some pickled onions which are currently pickling ready for Christmas, but will be very lucky if they make it that far. He has also been baking bread for us almost daily. His home-made bread is just streets ahead of the pap you get from a supermarket.

Using the cheapest green & white label vine fruits, he has perfected a boiled fruit cake. This has been a little bit of joy throughout the hard times, providing son with something to take to school for break time and us with something nice to have with a cuppa in the afternoon.

Personally, I bless the day I joined Twitter (@JennyEatwell, if you want to find me!) and heard discussions involving the word “Ottolenghi”.

After a bit of enquiry via t’internet, I discovered that Ottolenghi comprises four sites from Notting Hill to Belgravia which were set up by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. I then discovered there was a recipe book, “The Cookbook”, which I found by some miracle of synchronicity at the local Library.

Since then, I’ve made their “Kosheri”, which is a triumph of storecupboard cookery which saved my sanity during the lean times and is a curious mixture of lentils, rice and noodles – yes, really – with lovely spicing. It is, apparently, an Arabic street food dish so I didn’t worry too much about having the exact items that were in the recipe, as I figured Arabic street vendors wouldn’t either. Served with a spicy minced beef dish, it was gloriously satisfying.

Just this Saturday night, I ventured into the Ottolenghi Cookbook again and made their “Fennel and Cherry Tomato Gratin with Crumble”. Once more, this is a seemingly odd mixture with its very savoury ingredients offset against the sweet crumble topping.

Now I’m a virtual newcomer to fennel, but I have to say that this is by far and away the best fennel dish I have ever encountered – let alone cooked. I made it to accompany Stuffed Peppers, which was very compatible, however I can’t help but think that it would be most compatible with a lovely piece of roast gammon.

It is easy enough to do – you slice the fennel, placing it into a bowl with some olive oil, minced garlic, thyme and seasoning. Mix it well, to ensure that every ingredient is well dispersed, then tip into an oven proof dish (having pre-heated your oven to 190deg c). Take some double cream and pour this over the fennel, then sprinkle with crumble mix (complete with sugar) to which you have added some 50g of grated parmesan. Cover and bake for 45 minutes, then remove and add halved cherry tomatoes which are sprinkled over the surface. Leaving it uncovered, replace to bake again for 15 mins or until the cherry tomatoes are cooked and the top is browned. Too, too delicious!

The recipe is available from my blog as is the Stuffed Peppers and the Kosheri.

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