Cooking tips and wonderful flavour combinations

[baboon2004]

Um, no explanation needed for this one. Fire at will!

On the flavour front I'll proffer -

- courgettes w/lemon (from inspiration on another thread);
- rice w/ sumac and butter;
- obvious, but chili with chocolate and cherry;
- Roquefort (or Dolcelatte/Gorgonzola/Saint Agur etc) and Parmesan and spinach (on gnocchi);
- parsley/anchovy/garlic/olive oil/balsamic (w/old bread for pesto)

Will post others this afternoon as and when they pop into my hungry head...

 

[Mr. Tea]

On a blue cheese tip, try adding some crumbled-up roquefort or mature stilton to scrambled eggs as you cook them. It's possibly my favourite breakfast thing ever.

Fresh coriander, in addition to dried basil and oregano, in a tomato sauce for pasta or pizza.

Sprinkle a little tabasco on some nice ripe, squidgy plantain before frying it.

Halloumi given a thin smear of honey before it hits the pan is great.

Wholegrain mustard blended into mashed potato.

Salmon fillets pan-fried along with garlic, onions and thin slices of big flat mushrooms, then to make the sauce you add some cream, white wine and a splash of lemon juice, reduce for a few minutes then finish with a sprinkle of sea salt and some chopped flat parsely.

 

[baboon2004]

Thanks Mr Tea!

Coriander/tomato wise - also try adding coriander seeds, along with sugar/salt/sweated onion/Italian or Arabic tomato paste/hiint of chili to a tomato sauce, possibly with a hint of pomegranate molasses for interest. Works surprisingly well.

Actually, replace salt with this amazing Bolognese (?) salt/garlic/dried herbs thing I can't remember the name of. Salamoia. That's it.

Mmm, love plantain. Any kind of chili is great with it!

Will try the halloumi one - was looking for something to add more panache to the generic fried version.

Ah, mash - the food of the Gods. I love it with good butter, milk, soured cream, and (learned this in Belgium) grated nutmeg. Enough milk so that it makes a divine puree. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

[baboon2004]

one more i discovered this week - spinach/Turkish yoghurt/lime juice/pomegranate molasses.

 

[Mr. Tea]

Nutmeg in mash? I could fall in love with potatoes all over again...

Great thread, I've sort of wanted to start a cooking thread for ages but couldn't really think of anything to say beyond "Isn't cooking great?!?". Nice idea to exchange tips and combos rather than whole recipes. Pomegranite molasses sounds amazing.

 

[baboon2004]

Honest to God, it's just about the best comfort food there is. Sour cream is essential too, I feel. Probably a whole tub's worth. Also ( I haven't tried it yet) vanilla pods are suppose to work very well.

yeah, I always found general methods/tips and flavour combos much mroe useful to begin to understand food (which I don't very well).

I don't know where you live, but any Arabic store in London should stock the molasses. Sometimes under the name of grenadine as well.

 

[baboon2004]

Oh,a nd if anyone has tips for what to do with black pudding. I've just been frying it with....pomegranate molasses.

 

[...]

Camembert and Cabernet Sauvingon.

 

[vimothy]

Oh,a nd if anyone has tips for what to do with black pudding. I've just been frying it with....pomegranate molasses.

There's a restaraunt in Didsbury that does veggie black puddings on brioche with sun dried tomatoes and melted cheese. Mmm.

 

[viktorvaughn]

courgette, feta and dried chilli

pumpkin with cumin and coriader seeds and dried chilli

belly pork, chorizo, smoked paprika and green lentils/chickpeas/butter beans

Black pudding wise Nigel Slater crumbles some into mashed sweet potato. I like hot butties with it in, maybe bit of mustard and salad. Or cubed big and chucked into a salad with panchetta, fried potato slices and some robust leaves?

 

[viktorvaughn]

Ah, mash - the food of the Gods. I love it with good butter, milk, soured cream, and (learned this in Belgium) grated nutmeg. Enough milk so that it makes a divine puree. Salt and pepper to taste.

Does this not end up like wallpaper paste? I like really rough mash with skins in and not much milk. I do also like smooth mash though.

 

[baboon2004]

There's a restaraunt in Didsbury that does veggie black puddings on brioche with sun dried tomatoes and melted cheese. Mmm.

Do you remember what kind of cheese? Sounds good.

More I've thought of:

Strawberries and black pepper/balsamic;
Pork and tarragon and soured cream and cider;
(not tried this) duck and olives and fruit;
minced lamb and coriander/cumin/cardamom/soy sauce;
fish and tamarind and palm sugar;
fuck it...pomegranate molasses again, this time w/ minced lamb, tomato and coriander seeds to make lahmacun/Turkish pizza;
manchego cheese and quince paste (ok, so that's just a tapa!)

 

[baboon2004]

Does this not end up like wallpaper paste? I like really rough mash with skins in and not much milk. I do also like smooth mash though.

Not at all...ends up like the puree you get in posh restaurants, but much better tasting

 

[Mr. Tea]

I invented this dish a while ago which I'm quite proud of: cut some decent lean pork into bite-sized bits, mix with chopped onion and leave covered in the fridge for a while with a good coating of Worcestershire sauce as a marinade. Then chuck it in a hot-ish pan with some butter and oil, fry till it's sealed and then add a good handful of chopped wild mushrooms, or any big, flavourful cultivated ones (i.e. anything but those insipid little white buttons). When the mushrooms have sweated out most of their moisture (some salt will aid this) and the pork is mostly cooked, add a half-and-half mixture of single cream and strong, dry cider and a good splodge of Dijon mustard. Let it reduce slightly, season with black pepper and chopped fresh herbs, serve with (what else?) shitloads of creamy mash and some steamed, buttered spinach or other dark winter greens.

 

[nochexxx]

buy one whole seafish (have your fish munger gut it and descale it)

after washing lay it on a dinner plate (preferably one with a lip)

rub salt and olive oil over the fish.

julienne ( thin strips) ginger, finely chop spring onions and lay on top.

pour a glug of the finest soya sauce over the fish and also 1 dinner spoon of
rice wine vinegar.

decorate your favourite vegetables around the fish. this is optional!

fill a wok with 2 ½ inches of water and bring to a simmer.
place a tea cup in the middle of wok and balance the plated fish in the middle.
close the lid and steam 8 – 10 minutes. this will cook a medium to large fish.

take the entire plate to the center of your dinner table to eat with steamed rice

an ideal plate to share with someone.

 

[mos dan]

Oh,a nd if anyone has tips for what to do with black pudding. I've just been frying it with....pomegranate molasses.

chop and combine with chorizo... add some beans of your choosing, and some onion/leek/peppers/tomatoes/whatever... the spanish morcilla (i.e. black pudding) is used in these kind of bean stews a lot. goes great with chorizo.

brilliant thread btw!!

 

[mos dan]

- rice w/ sumac and butter;

mmm. when i moved to dalston i bought loads of turkish ingredients and a turkish cook book.. still only tried a few things from it, but i already know i love sumak on... most things, actually.

sumak and black pepper on cheese on toast is a great way to finesse the taste

 

[Mr. Tea]

What's sumac? It sounds like a character from Deep Space 9. Or a very fat, dead, Japanese rapper.

 

[nochexxx]

What's sumac? It sounds like a character from Deep Space 9. Or a very fat, dead, Japanese rapper.

i dunno but i want some!

 

[vimothy]

Brilliant thread.