pan-fried sea bream with spiced chickpeas and gremolata

Despite imminent dole-bludging, we've had quite a busy social schedule this week; There was a pot luck night on Tuesday, whereupon I felt the urge to do the Persian-style lamb and rhubarb stew to initial skepticism, before winning over the Kew Riverside parental posse, and last night we attempted to repeat last year's triumphant Stepping Stones quiz second place. Sadly, we got a bit drunker this year and just about scraped second last spot.

Having thoroughly soaked ourselves in evil booze over the week, this weekend we've decided to get all healthy-like, with some experimental fish. Not that the fish itself is experimental you understand, that would be awful and weird - although it is the first time we've ever had sea bream.

Despite the myriad potential for disaster - skin! fish! skin on fish! fishy-flavoured fish! - this actually turned out to be a complete winner. The skin is super-crispy, the chickpeas give it some earthy creaminess, and the lemony gremolata provides a lovely herbal tang.

sources
pan-fried sea bream with spiced chickpeas and gremolata - Delicious, April 2013, p135

nigella lawson's hot and sour soup

After last night's school pot luck, we're both feeling pretty shabby today. Luckily one of us has to go to work, whilst the other gets to loaf around Hammersmith, lunching at The Lyric under the guise of 'looking for work'.

Still a hangover is a hangover, and given one member of the household has decided to collapse on the sofa, I've decided to resurrect a soup we used to eat loads when we were house-sitting at the Superwhite's Balham residence: Nigella's hot and sour soup.

It's perfect: It takes about 10 minutes to make, and is packed full of enough big, bold flavours to get a sweat-on, and drive a headache out.

Strangely enough it's not quite how I remember it, it's slightly less aromatic, which I put down to the fact we didn't have any Tom Yum paste. At least I think it's that, but I can't exactly remember what Tom Yum paste actually tastes like...

I also forgot to take a picture, sorry.

Wine Time
Gosh, what do you pair with spicy, hot water with prawns bobbing about in it? Given you're eating/drinking loads of liquid, I think whatever you do drink might as well be brilliant because you're not going to have room for much more liquid. Usual caveats apply - something with some sweetness and fruit to temper the heat, and aromatic to match the spices, so pick a good quality Riesling - and Dr Loosen is a pretty readily available, good quality producer - and you'll be dandy.

sources
hot and sour soup - Nigella Lawson, Nigella Bites c/o Delicious, February 2009, p83

gennaro contaldo's aubergine parmigiana

You can look at redundancy in a couple of ways. Obviously it's a bit annoying and there is a constant underlying paranoia to finding a job. But there's positive angle as you get maximum family time, and you can have slightly more elaborate recipes for dinner. The silver linings outweigh the dark clouds.

After a day's displacement activity - although I at least got my CV sorted - tonight's dinner is a case in point: It's an experimental vegetarian dish from the great Gennaro Contaldo, with the added bonus of setting alarm bells ringing in Ana Louise's head as it's almost entirely made of aubergine, which is her kryptonite.

I've already let her down on the job front, it's been lashing down all day, and now I'm feeding her aubergine. However divorce is unexpectedly not on the cards as it's bloody delicious:

I have to say I'm mildly surprised, not simply because it was aubergine, but because before you bake it you fry the slices in egg, which looks bonkers. It tastes divine though; there's creamy cheese, a punchy tomato sauce and rather than soggy and sloppy, the egg plant is meaty and juicy. I hesitate to say this, but we'll definitely be having this again...

...because I over-shopped on aubergine at the weekend and there's another one in the fridge.

wine time
There's something interesting going on here as generally I'd look for a juicy Italian or Spanish red to match this hearty, bake. However the mozzarella and the aubergine really bring a creamy quality to it, so I think you're looking for something crisp and fruity, especially as we had it with salad. Delicious reckon a Riesling, but I wonder if that's too austere? I'd go with a New World Chenin, or a good Pinot Grigio. Boom.

sources
aubergine parmigiana - Gennaro Contaldo, Delicious, March 2012, p53

hugh's mexican tomato and bean soup

Having got away with being very, very drunk yesterday I rather chance my arm with Mrs Barnes today having nipped into the office to collect my stuff, only to return three hours later than scheduled, and with slightly more foaming nut-brown ale in me than planned.

She's even less pleased when I clatter around in the kitchen, attempting to knock something quick up for dinner, whilst she's trying to watch telly.

Luckily you can't really go wrong with Hugh's Mexican tomato and bean soup. It ticks a lot of health points as the cooked tomatoes are fully of lovely cancer-bashing lycopene, the pulses are obviously good for the digestion, and it's always good to get a sweat on!

I like to throw in some smoked paprika to give a sweeter edge to the ground cumin, plus the smokiness really pairs up well with the lime juice and the cooling creme fraiche. The other thing you can do is chop up some sweet peppers and add them with the garlic and spices. I'm just saying.

sources
mexican tomato and bean soup - Hugh F-W, River Cottage Veg Everyday! P138

going out in style & spaghetti with roasted tomatoes, prawns, garlic & basil

If there's one thing I've learned through my multiple redundancies (thanks media "career"), is the value of leaving in style, but I think lunch at the Officer's Mess at St James's Palace probably tops the lot.

I would tell you about the menu but sadly I can't. Not for reasons of State secrecy you understand, but more because after several-to-many bottles of fizz and claret, some cigars and pretty much most of a decanter of Madeira later, I can't really remember what I ate. It was nice mind.

Luckily for what's left of this blog's culinary reputation, whilst I'm liberally stuffing snuff up my nose from this...

...and modeling a natty range of new headwear...

... Ana's at home cooking up delicious-looking storm.

Again, I can't tell you what it tasted like as I was asleep on eventual re-entry to the flat, but it looks amazing.

sources
linguine with roasted tomatoes, prawns, garlic and basil - Debbie Major, Delicious, Februay 2008, p24

mother's day curry

Having lost my job on Friday and thrown the SS Barnes into a bit of a spin, the signs for an auspicious Mother's Day take a further battering when we wake up to a gale outside, and then I realise by not going shopping yesterday, I don't actually have anything to cook a special breakfast with other than toast.

The portents of doom are slightly averted by Milo who sneaks into our room to tell Ana not to get up as we're cooking her some secret pancakes, and to give her his (and my) card. But that's about as lucky as it gets for most of the day: I go shopping in the rain and promptly drop our new tax disc in the car park, and then I forget to to buy some flowers. One argument later, followed by a trip back to Waitrose (somebody had handed it in), via our local florists, and the dark clouds lift, literally as well as figuratively.

Is there nothing snake-head fritillaries, a bottle of wine, Delia's lime chicken curry (even for Milo, as we've decided his curryfication needs to start now), and the looming prospect of Scandinavian crime drama cannot cure?

sources

lime chicken curry - Delia, How to Cook Book Two, p107

hot-smoked trout, pea and lemon risotto

It's funny how quickly time goes. A tasting one night, and going out and getting very drunk the following and before you know it, it's Saturday and not only have you got to drag your hungover self shopping, you've got to go via the swimming pool with an extremely loud five year-old. Parenting, don't do it.

Having spent months looking for it, the October 2011 edition of Delicious containing Dhruv Baker's mythical stew is firmly nailed to the shelf, and the latent project manager in me decides to halve the man-hours spent searching by cudgeling another dish out of it. Luckily the weather difference between October and March seems fairly minimal at this point of the year, but with one eye on the slim chance of us actually having a summer this year, we decide to give this healthy-looking risotto a spin.

I have to say I'm a fairly late convert to risottos. For some reason every time I tried to make them in our early Putney years, I never managed to get the rice properly cooked despite ending up with tennis elbow. In the last couple of years I've nailed them, and now I love the whole zen-like process of stirring, and the rich, creamy feast you end up with.

This one is a doozy, with the smokey fish and sweet peas contrasting beautifully with the creamy rice; Serve with a chilled Chablis and it's got Yummington Mummington stamped all over it!

sources
hot-smoked trout, pea and lemon risotto - Delicious, October 2011, p139