Chilli Salt Crusted Tofu with wilted greens and black bean sauce

Possibly the longest title of any recipe on my blog. So far.

It is a bit of a fiddle to make the first time but it is also sensational. The black bean sauce makes enough for two meals and keeps well in the fridge for a week or two so the second time you make it - and you will want it again and again - it takes twenty minutes from go to whoah.

Or idea to plate perhaps.

Adapted from Christine Manfield's seminal Spice book, it is an extraordinary coming together of textures and tastes running the gamut from salty to sweet, crispy hot to creamy smooth. Just gorgeous in every mouthful.

The first time I cooked it I had some cold rice in the fridge so made egg fried rice with spring onions to go with, second time it was simple steamed basmati. Both worked a treat.

Chilli salt beancurd with steamed greens and blackbean sauce

for the salt crust

12 large dried chillies

12 black peppercorns

2 tspns sea salt crystals

2 tbspns uncooked basmati rice

for the blackbean sauce

2 tspns dried blackbeans

30ml vegetable oil

1/2 tspn sesame oil

5 cloves garlic. minced

2 tspns minced ginger

4 red birds eye chillies, finely sliced

25ml chinese rice wine - or sherry if you have none, though it's easy to buy in chinese food shops

25ml ginger juice, made by putting 6 tbspns minced ginger into a blender with a splash of water, blend for a minute, then press the pulp through a very fine sieve to extract the juice

75ml sweet soy - kecap manis

150ml water

1 tspn sea salt

50g garlic chives

500g pak choy or other chinese greens

1 tbspn peanut oil

800g firm beancurd, cut into 8 cubes

Oil for deep frying

To make the chilli salt crust, dry roast the dried chillies, peppercorns, salt and rice over a gentle heat until slightly coloured and aromatic. Put to one side till cool, then grind to a powder.

To make the black bean sauce, soak the black beans for 30 minutes. Heat the vegetable and sesame oils in a pan over a moderate heat and fry the garlic, ginger and chilli for a minute till fragrant then add the drained blackbenas, rice wine, ginger juice,sweet soy and water and bring to a boil, then simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the salt, then taste and adjust seasoning.

Heat the peanut oil in a pan and add the separated and washed chinese leaves. Cover with a lid and allow to wilt. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat enough vegetable oil in a pan to deep fry the tofu. Coat the beancurd cubes in the chilli salt, then fry a few at a time for 3 minutes or so until pale goled and crisp on the surface. They will float to the top when cooked. Remove carefully with a slotted spoon onto kitchen paper and cook the remainder.

Stir the garlic chives into the blackbean sauce.

Arrange steamed greens onto a plate, spoon over blackbean sauce then top with fried beancurd.

Add a dollop of chilli jam if you have some, for a lovely starter. Rice for a main course.

Billingsgate Fish Pie

A couple of weeks ago my birthday treat was a morning spent at Billingsgate Fish Market which I loved. It was organised in part to look at sustainable local fish, particularly for catering. A fascinating tour of the market was followed by a demonstration of knife skills by a block man, who skins, fillets and otherwise variously preps fish 12 hours a day with a thin flexible blade. Watching him was like theatre, the speed and accuracy with which he dealt with every kind of fish, including gutting and then butterflying a handful of tiny sliver sprats. I learned a vast amount, having always been aware of flat fish I was delighted to discover that the others are called round fish, obvious as that is once you know. Wild fish offer the best flavour and texture but farmed fish provide a huge market which would otherwise be depleting wild schools. Farmed fish have smaller heads, bigger shoulders and stockier bodies than their wild counterparts. They are also starved for 3 days before harvest to provide a cleaner fish.

Kevin Crowley, the block man, explained how simple it was to tell perfectly fresh fish. They are called stiff alive, which he demonstrated by holding a fish its head and the fish sagged not at all. The sagging fish are dead! Except for dover sole, which should not be stiff alive, as they are too tough to eat fresh out of the sea. It is best to eat them five days after catching, and you can tell they are ready if you hold them by the head the tail should curl back to touch your wrist. Who knew!

The last part of the morning was cooking demonstrations in the well laid out kitchen where the cookery school is based. Lovely cured mackerel on sushi rice - the demonstration showed how incredibly easy it is to simply peel the skin from the fillet once it has been cured which will save me time next time I make some. There was two kinds of fish with chips, whiting and coley, both in a featherlight crisp batter that was delightful. Tasting both I definitely preferred the whiting, it was delicate and lightly textured, a pleasure to eat.

They very generously handed out recipes for the dishes they made as well as one for fish pie. Though I have never been a fan of fish pie I figured that if ever there was a good recipe for it, then it would definitely be the one they hand out at Billingsgate. These people know and love fish. So Saturday night I decided I would make one, to test my theory, and to feed my friend David who came round to join us. Autumn is upon us and the need for comfort is assauged with lovely meals like this turned out to be.

Truth to tell I altered the recipe slightly - it includes mustard powder and I don't eat mustard - and I downsized it to be enough for 3, though it could have fed four without much trouble at all.

Billingsgate Fish Pie

1 whiting, about 500g, gutted but otherwise whole
900ml whole milk
1 bay leaf
90g butter
1 finely sliced leek
90g plain flour
¼ teaspoon ground chilli pepper
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and thickly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

For the mashed potato topping
500g Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
25g butter
120-150ml milk
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons grated Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 190C/375F/G5.

Curl the fish into a pan – if like me you don’t have a fish kettle – and cover with milk. Add the bay leaf then gently bring the milk to the boil. Turn down the heat to just simmer and poach the fish for 5 minutes or so until cooked. Strain the milk into a jug and set aside. Take the flesh off the bones, it comes away very easily, and flake it into a casserole dish. Add the chopped eggs and herbs and a good grinding of pepper.

Cook the leek in the melted butter until soft. Stir in the flour, chilli pepper and grated nutmeg and cook for another minute. Gradually blend in enough of the reserved milk to make a smooth paste – about 500ml. Bring to the boil stirring continuously simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Pour the sauce over the fish and mix gently.

For the topping, put the potatoes into a pan of salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10-15 minutes till tender. Drain and allow the steam to rise for a minute or two so that the potatoes are dry. Mash with butter and some milk to the consistency of your normal mash. Season. Spoon the mash smoothly over the fish. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the pie hot and bubbling.

Eat with peas! My initial plan had been to serve it with wilted spinach and steamed carrots but the man said Peas! so Peas! it was. He was right - an utterly perfect accompaniment.

I wanted ... I bought... I made

So loved New York it was a wrench to return. But return we did.

At least there was fish pie Saturday night that tasted as good as that picture looks.

Have a few things on this week but Saturday night will be fish pie. I was given a copy of the Billingsgate recipe when I toured the market a few weeks ago and, all things being equal it should be a fine dish. Served with carrots and peas of course actually just peas. Sunday night we are out to see Simon Amstell live on stage so I'm thinking might slow cook a couple of ham hocks in chinese stock I have in the freezer and have those for lunches in the week with some cannelini bean salad. Depends what else we do, might make a light lunch, might not made a soup with the stock and added noodles and greens and crispy slices of hock. Monday I think tofu Tuesday plan was cancelled so we had pie and mash and lashings of ketchup for a proper Aussie supper. Tuesday I am out so the man can have pie which he loves we had tofu, greens and rice, Wednesday I have french class so may cook the beans from the freezer with added fresh pasta the man was out so I had steak and salad home alone. The theme emerging, intentionally, is using some things from the freezer... Thursday I think will be lamb chops with spinach and new potatoes or dal perhaps had the pasta and beans with lamb Friday night as a treat chicken noodle soup as the man is a little poorly with stock and noodles from the freezer...

They have taken the roof off the old market as part of the work extending Network Rail. It's quite shocking to see, like desecration. I am surprised the building wasn't listed.

Inside it was fairly quiet. I bought a couple of ham hocks for Sunday lunch and in lunchboxes for the week with herbed bean salad and raw carrot and celery from Silfield, they have gone up from £2.95 to £3.50, which is a fairly serious hike but they are still good value.

As I was intent on fish pie for supper I needed nothing from Ginger Pig, so it was one of those rare Saturdays when I walked past my favourite stall

Around the corner to Booths where I was delighted to see they had yukon gold potatoes meaning I could have perfect mash atop my fish pie, also bought new potatoes still in the fridge, tangerines lunch boxes and a box of carnoroli rice in the cupboard- £5.25 the lot

Decided to get some chorizo for the freezer as I used the last of what we had a couple of weeks ago and I find they really come in handy for starting point inspiration sometimes. Also bought a pack of morcilla, with the same idea in mind so spent £11.20

Heading for Seldom Seen I was waylaid by the sight of a new fish stall selling fish from the coast of Devon, it all looked lovely and fresh so I bought a whole whiting for my pie for a mere £2.50 - definite sustainable bargain!

Then to Seldom Seen for a slice of their lovely three bird roast the worlds most decadent sandwich filling- £3.50 - only one more week till they disappear again for another year. They have beautiful geese, some as three bird roasts but they are huge things, to feed a dozen or more and I simply cannot think of an excuse to buy one - sadly.

At Wild Beef I bought eggs and also some more pork sausages for the freezer as the last lot were very tasty and simply plain, making a delightful supper with nothing more than salad and some crusty bread - £5.50

Then chocolates from L'Artisan du Chocolat - still a bargain £2

Olives from the Turkish stall, where the stallholders are delighted with their new position as it is more sheltered and warmer than their previous place which has now been taken by the parma ham and mozzarella stall, glad it works for some stalls at least - £3.90 for a pot of Kuru Sele

At a very quiet Ted's Veg the young woman serving said last week had been the worst day trading they'd had in five years and things are generally down to such an extent that they are seriously thinking of finding a new market, and leave Borough for good. I'd be sad to see them go , they always have a good spread of veg. I bought a couple of Bramley apples for streusel cake, some leeks and onions for £2.90

Gastronomica have finally moved into their new shop and though we needed nothing from them this week it was beautifully laid out and definitely tempting.

Bought some multi coloured carrots had a different colour every day raw in lunches, not convinced each has their own flavour but they were really tasty, so shall be my carrot source for now from the organics stall that set up after Total Organics stopped selling produce as I am hoping for more flavour than the ones I currently get from Booths as I do love them raw in lunch boxes - 90p

Pies Monday supper with mash and peas from a cheerful Ian at Mrs Elizabeth King's, one steak and one steak and kidney - £5

At Neals Yard I bought milk, bread and a hunk of Keen's cheddar - £10.70

And lastly a cottage tin loaf from Flour Power - £1.10

Spent a not unreasonable £61.75 and also bought spinach, parsley, dill, peas, a steak, rocket, tomatoes, tofu and noodles

I wanted...I bought...I made

Saturday we are out in the afternoon for some culture at the V&A with David so dinner will be quick I think (or late!) skinny beef sausages with green salad and crusty bread, serious yum, Sunday we are out to lunch with Vicki and a different David as well as the same David from Saturday so dinner may well be a cold collation lunch was at St John so bought bread to go with parma ham and mozzarella, wow. Monday might do cheesey peas risotto with wild mushrooms and some cooked ham from the freezer as well as hock stock so an intensely flavoured supper that made for a fine lunch, Tuesday we are out to see Michael Clark, Wednesday is my birthday which I'm spending at Billingsgate Fish Market learning more about fish, particularly sustainable fishing, so dinner will be steaks at home as I do love a good steak and I particularly like t-bone steak with a very small salad. Thursday there may be a little left over so it will be lovely with noodles I had a sea bass from Billinsgate so baked it whole with chilli and ginger and we ate it with basmati and spinach sesame salad after fireworks in the park. Friday something simple, probably eggy, more than likely omelette - but then I do love omelette. And eggs. And noodles - will have the last of the steak with noodle salad.

Cold, wet, nasty. Welcome to autumn. The market was quietish early on, so that at least was an upside. Started at Ginger Pig where it turns out Nathan is on his way to Oz for three weeks, to visit family and go to his brother's wedding. He will probably pass Charlie at the airport on his way back. Got the stamp of approval for my choice of t-bone for birthday treat and it was indeed but as I had a lovely wild sea bass from Billingsgate I decided to only cook one steak and share and put the other in the freezer for another very special evening, which with a jar of polish horseradish came to £32.90. Yum.

At Booths needed salad so bought rocket and cucumber as well as garlic, tangerines and sugar snaps for £4.50

At Wild Beef I bought a pack of their fabulous skinny beef sausages Saturday supper, eggs and a packet of oatmeal breakfast raw in the week and porridge on cold Sundays - £7.50

From L'Artisan du Chocolat I bought 3 packs of chocolates as the office treat for my birthday as I shan't have time to cook - £6

Bought nothing but did discover finally where the turkish olive stall is now located across from the chocolate stall so that is very good news, though Chegworth seem to have disappeared, which is very sad

A serious chunk of Parmesan from Gastronomica which remains as a stall not a shop - £6.50

Mozzarella and parma ham Sunday night from the Italian stall - £10.70

A steak pie for the man's lunch from Elizabeth King - £2.50

Milk and pasta from Neals Yard - £6.70

So spent a fairly hefty £77.30 but it's a week for treats. Also bought bread from St John, spinach, noodles, tofu, coriander, spring onions.

New York next week - lucky us! - so no blog ...

Zigni - Ethiopian Spiced Beef

One of the many things I enjoy about Food Chain is trying new foods and new recipes, a curiosity that is shared by all the volunteers who last more than one shift. It's interesting to taste new dishes and combinations, to find dishes I've never heard of or eaten. One of the sites I frequent for inspiration is http://www.congocookbook.com/ which is a rich source of African recipes and information. I spent a delighted hour or more reading the first time I found it and I have visited many times since and learned a lot in the process. It's where the spice mix came from for this deeply aromatic and hot beef stew, a completely different kind of hot to Asian or Indian cuisine, quite complex and warming.

Berberé (pronounced 'ber-beray') is an Ethiopian spice mixture that is the flavoring foundation of Ethiopian cuisine, a basic ingredient in Dabo Kolo, Doro Wat, and many other dishes. It's traditionally made from a cupboard-full of herbs and spices, fresh-ground, pan-roasted and then packed into jars for storage. Among Ethiopian cooks there are many variations of which spices and what amounts but basic berberé is made by combining roughly equal amounts of allspice, cardamom, cloves, fenugreek, ginger, black pepper, and salt with a much larger amount of hot red (cayenne) pepper. The combination of fenugreek and red pepper is essential to berberé; while one or two of the other ingredients may be left out, the fenugreek and red pepper are must-haves. Milder berberé can be made by substituting paprika for some or most of the red pepper. Berberé is sometimes made as a dry spice mix, and is sometimes made with oil or water to form a paste

I made this one mixing ready ground spices then cooking it gently till aromatic. These quantities makes more than you need for this recipe but it keeps well in an airtight jar.

Zigni

500g stewing beef, in cubes

3 tbspns vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 can tomatoes, with liquid

salt, pepper

fresh coriander chopped

Berberé pepper

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon salt

5 tablespoons ground cayenne or chilli pepper

2 tablespoons paprika

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

For the berberé, combine the spices and roast in a dry skillet on low to moderate heat, stirring constantly, for about 5-10 minutes, or until roasted. Don't let them burn. Keep in a tight jar.

For the stew, fry the meat on high heat until brown, then add the onion, and eventually the garlic and 2 tbsp Berbere, which are NOT to become burnt.

Add the tomatoes with their liquid and boil slowly until the meat is tender and the stew has thickened, about an hour.

Garnish with coriander and serve hot on rice.

This made plenty for four servings with rice and spicy plantains but, like all stews, is better next day.

I wanted...I bought...I made

Need a simple thing for Saturday supper, sausage and mash perhaps went to Brixton Market Friday night looking for african ingredients and bought some cheap peppers that I roasted and mixed with borlotti beans so we had them with chorizo and rocket, with peas and ketchup, after a lot of the day sorting Food Chain. Sunday needs an easy finish therefore, so roast methinks had some lamb burgers leftover from food chain so that was easier still!. Monday need some noodles for a change roast beef with dauphinois potatoes and peas, Tuesday I fancy risotto had rice but with ma po tofu, Wednesday might have the rest of the catalan balls with some mash after class fabulous penne with porcini and leeks, Thursday I am hankering for pork chops or maybe lentils made a very spiced ethiopian beef stew with spicy plantain as the plantain on Sunday was a big hit at Tooting but mine was nowhere near as good as the one Emilia made, the beef though was really good. Friday, omelette I think.

Raining. Not pouring but wet, drizzly, vaguely muggy was the downside of Saturday morning first thing at Borough, but it kept the crowds away, so yay! for that. At the Ginger Pig I bought a serious piece of topside to roast Monday night and lunches for a few days - £14.70

Ran across the road to Monmouth for coffee my daily start - £10

At Booths, I bought potatoes, red onions for the roast, sugarsnap peas lunches and garlic for £4

From Wild Beef I bought eggs Friday omelette £1.50

At Teds Veg I bought leeks lovely pasta Wednesday and rocket Saturday supper - £3.85

Smoked salmon brunch from the Isle of Mull - £5

Milk and apples from Neals Yard - £4.70

And that was it for Borough - a mere £43.75 but also bought tofu and noodles, peppers to roast, bread from St John as it is some of the nicest bread I've ever eaten and it's for sale round the corner from work as well as butter and biscuits and roasted almonds

Cauliflower & Pasta Cheese Bake

Thursday night I had lots of cheese in the fridge and half a cauliflower, amongst other things, but they were the things that I wanted to use up. Cauliflower cheese was the obvious solution but I don't feel it's actually a main dish in its own right, not quite substantial enough or something. I toyed with the idea of crusty bread and salad as accompaniment but it still felt a bit wrong. Then I decided that some penne, about the same amount in bulk as the cauliflower, might give it sufficient oomph to be a proper mid week dinner. Not entirely certain, I cooked the penne, then the florets and finally the cheese sauce in sequence in the same pan - less washing up - and then baked it in a pyrex casserole. Served with chicory salad, I could not have wished for a finer supper.

Cauliflower & Pasta Cheese Bake

150g penne

1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into floret

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 tspn ground cumin

25g unsalted butter

1 tbspn plain flour

600ml whole milk

1/2 tspn fresh ground nutmeg

150g grated Caerphilly - or other hard cheese

Cook the penne in lots of boiling salted water till just al dente. Drain and rinse.

Cook the cauliflower in lots of boiling salted water till just tender - you don't want mush! - about 10 minutes. Drain and mix with the pasta.

Melt the butter in the pan over a gentle heat and add the cumin, garlic and onion. Stir occasionally and continue cooking till the onion is translucent - about 15 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir to make a paste. Cook for a few minutes till it takes on a biscuity colour.

Gradually add the milk, stirring all the time, till you have the consistency of double cream. Grate in the nutmeg, increase the heat and stir in all but a tablespoon of the cheese till it melts. Check the seasoning.

Put the pasta and cauliflower into a casserole and pour the cheese sauce over. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and the reserved grated cheese. Bake in a moderate oven, Gas4, for 25 minutes till golden and bubbling.

Let it sit for a couple of minutes before serving in big bowls.

Sometimes simple is good.