Pasta & chickpeas in brothwith preserved lemon & chilli

January 15, 2024

   

Meera Sodha published this recipe around the same time that I noticed we had preserved lemon in the fridge, so I got onto it pretty quickly. Pasta is up front in the dish's name, and there's also more broth than I expected so I've brought that into the title as well. The recipe is probably better suited to autumn, but the weather turned cooler and broth-worthy as we were eating it.

I made a few substitutions for convenience. Having never encountered sun-dried tomato paste, I used regular tomato paste. I used some orecchiette languishing in the pantry instead of buying macaroni. I spooned out a little chipotle in adobo sauce instead of purchasing chiptole flakes. I think it's a recipe that can handle plenty of improvisation.

The result is comforting but light; liquidy while offering plenty to chew on; it's very warming and a little tangy, a little savoury. We'll wait until the season really changes before we go back for more.

Pasta & chickpeas in broth with preserved lemon & chilli

(a recipe by Meera Sodha in The Guardian)

olive oil

4 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 x 400g cans chickpeas, including liquid

1 preserved lemon, seeds removed and finely chopped

160g macaroni (or, in my case, orecchiette)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle in adobo sauce

20g nutritional yeast flakes

3/4 teaspoons ground black pepper

Make some rosemary oil. Pour 80 ml of oil and the rosemary into a small saucepan over low heat until bubbling, then turn off the heat and allow it to infuse while you cook the soup.

In a large saucepan, pour in 5 tablespoons of olive oil and set it over low-medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, until softened. Briefly stir in the garlic and tomato paste, then add just one of the tins of chickpeas with their canning water. Mash the chickpeas to form a rough paste.

Stir in the preserved lemon and the second can of chickpeas with its water. Add the pasta, salt, chipotle, and 1.5 litres of tap water. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer until the pasta is cooked (see what's recommended on the packet but note that it could take a little longer).

Stir in the yeast flakes and pepper and simmer for a few more minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle over the rosemary oil to serve.

Carrot peanut satay ramen

January 14, 2024

   

We're still working our way through the recipes that Cindy has bookmarked in Tenderheart and we used a quiet Sunday evening to take a crack at this carrot satay ramen. I'm always apprehensive about noodle soup dishes, but the prep is remarkably simple here: you make a big pot of peanutty stock, cook your noodles separately and then combine in a bowl with some extra condiments. 

This was superb, the carrots provide a bit of sweetness, but the peanut butter is really key - what dish is not improved by a few big globs of peanut butter? It definitely works here. I even whipped up some jammy eggs to really finish things off. Add a bit of crunch from some roasted peanuts on top and you've really got yourself a treat. We will absolutely be making this again soon.

Carrot peanut satay ramen

(a recipe from Hetty McKinnon's Tenderheart,

also published in the Sydney Morning Herald)

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon of minced ginger

250g of carrots, grated

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

200g peanut butter

1 litre of vegetable stock (or vegan dashi if you can be bothered making it - there's a recipe in Tenderheart)

350g ramen noodles

1 bunch of bok choi, roughly chopped

1/4 cup roasted peanuts

4-6 soft-boiled eggs

Seasonings

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon chilli oil

2 tablespoons tamari

Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan and add the garlic and ginger, cooking for a minute until fragrant. Throw in the carrot, salt and sugar and cook things down for about 5 minutes, until it's nice and soft. 

Add the peanut butter and stock and stir things together. Bring it to the boil, stirring often, and then cover and simmer for five minutes. Add the greens when it's done and you're basically ready to serve up.

In the meantime, prepare the noodles as directed in a separate pot - ours were just a few minutes in boiling water. Drain them and start to build your bowls! 

Add a teaspoon of sugar, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, chilli oil and a couple of tamari to each bowl and whisk together. Pop a quarter of the broth into each bowl and combine with the seasonings, add a quarter of the noodles, top with peanuts and your egg and serve.