Welcome to the Cookery Calendar Challenge for August. If you would like to join the challenge this month, please take a quick look at the Cookery Calendar Challenge page, which will tell you everything you need to know.
My chosen recipe book for July was Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall's 'Light and Easy'
Here it is lurking innocently amongst a pile of other recipe books on my (overcrowded) shelf.
This book is very 'worthy', as I suspected, but also rather jolly too, with beautiful end papers, and delightful colour pencil illustrations throughout. However I feel these little touches are there to sweeten the pill; make no mistake, Hugh is out to elucidate, educate, and generally bang the drum.
There are 9 chapters, from Breakfast through Baking, Meat, Salad and finally, Treats. There is a lengthy introduction, where Hugh explains that we are all eating too much wheat and dairy, and encourages the reader to think more widely about alternatives, and use his book as a resource for eating more healthily. So far, so laudable.
My first selected recipe was Green Bean, Tomato and Lentil Salad. Lots of my favourite ingredients in this one; I love puy lentils, and the squeak of green beans against my teeth never fails to bring pleasure.
For this recipe, puy lentils are simmered with bay leaf and garlic, then drained and tossed with oil and a little seasoning and set aside to cool.
The green beans are briefly cooked in boiling water, rinsed and set aside, and then combined with the lentils, halved cherry tomatoes, olives, and a simple dressing is made with oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, mustard and seasoning.
Knowing my dear family as I do, I wouldn't dream of subjecting them to this legume and veg-heavy dish, and instead made it for lunch when a friend visited. It was full of texture and flavour, and made a filling meal when served with some crusty bread (oops, sorry about the extra wheat Hugh). As we are both vegetarian, we thoroughly enjoyed this lunch, and I was full up for several hours afterwards.
My second dish was Fish and Tomato curry; another easy and very flavourful dish. A brown onion is fried off in olive oil; ginger, garlic, curry paste and cinnamon are added, and fried a little, then the mixture is loosened off with passatta and coconut milk, and seasoned with salt, pepper and sugar.
The fish is cut into smallish pieces and cooks in the sauce. The curry is served with rice, and finished with a scattering of nigella seeds and a squeeze of lime juice. Very delicious and full of flavour; the carnivores enjoyed it and awarded it a single green tick (single green tick= nice, would eat again). Hugh's suggestion of 500g of white fish feeding 3-4 people was unrealistic for my hungry family, but doubling quantities was not a problem.
Overall, I find this book hard to criticise; the recipes are all full of flavour, and, as the title suggests, 'light and easy'. I just can't escape the uneasy feeling that I am being Food Hectored, and as I can't stand being told what to do by anyone, in any walk of life, I don't think that Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall and I are ever really destined to get along in the kitchen.
...even though the recipes are good.
...even though all the advice is scientifically sound.
...even though Hugh is no doubt one of the most well-meaning people on the planet.
...even though I would probably lose two stones if I ate solely from this book for a month (actually, there's an idea...)
For the present, Hugh will stay on my kitchen shelf, but I secretly suspect that in a recipe book cull at some point in the near future, he will probably be heading for the local charity shop. Alternatively, I could try to act like a mature adult and cook some more from this book before I make up my mind.
My chosen recipe book for August is Nigel Slater's 'Real Food'. I own quite a few Nigel Slater books, but rarely cook from them, reading them more like food-novels than recipe books. This month should change that I hope.
If you joined me last month, thank you. If you would like to join the challenge this month, this is what to do:
The challenge is simple: the first week of every month, select a cookery book from your shelf, and cook two new recipes from it. The recipes can be for any meal. Cakes and bakes are excluded, but puddings are included. Don't worry about photographs; if you haven't taken a photograph of the dish, post a photograph of the recipe book you used. Similarly, you are welcome to share a recipe if you wish, but there is no pressure to do so. This project is more about the process of reconnecting with your cookery book collection, than about recipe sharing or food photography. At the beginning of the following month, blog about the recipes you have used, and announce your chosen cookery book for the month ahead. This is an ongoing project, it's never too late to get involved, and everyone is very welcome.
I would appreciate a link back to this Cookery Calendar Challenge post in your post. Grab the Cookery Calendar Challenge badge to display on your blog too, if you like (just copy and paste the code on to your dashboard to display). You can also join via Instagram using hashtag #cookerycalendarchallenge (you will find me on Instagram @penny.homemadeheart )
