Food for 'Grazing'

Sometimes it's a terrible affliction to be working from home and a food writer. Research just makes you hungry and the kitchen is only a few steps away. Perhaps this is why so many of these TV chefs are so overweight. However, there is an advantage to being close to a fully stocked kitchen, which is that I am more likely to try and whip up something wholesome, rather than reach for a candy bar, an impossibility in my home anyway - we never buy them.

I like to graze, meaning that I prefer little bits of food often rather than a big meal. This habit is quite good as it keeps a healthy metabolism, provided you graze on the right thing! Here are a couple of dishes to keep in the refrigerator that can be used for a light lunch that is full of flavour, or like I have done in the picture, served in small bowls as a snack.

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Chickpea Salad
This is really tabbouleh with chickpeas instead of Bulgar wheat. Here's a couple of things I have learned about salads:
Cold salad straight from the fridge is not very nice, the flavours are muted and for me eating ice cold vegetables just makes me shiver. So take the salad out and leave it to stand for a while before serving, if you have been storing it.
Next thing is that the way you assemble you salad is not crucial but does make a difference. I always dress in the same sequence - oil, acid (lemon juice, lime or vinegar), salt and pepper. I do this so that the liquids don't wash the seasoning to the bottom and the oil is thicker than the acid so goes first.

Ingredients for 3 people as a side or snack
- two cups of cooked chickpeas (canned or cooked yourself)
- One large tomato finely chopped
- 4 inch piece of cucumber unpeeled and chopped
- Tablespoon each of mint and parsley roughly chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- juice of half a small lemon, yielding a couple of teaspoons
-Kosher salt
-Black pepper

Mix the chickpeas and vegetables
Add the oil and mix
Add the lemon juice and mix
Add the herbs and mix
Add salt and pepper and... mix

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Moutabal
I love this dip. Smear onto sandwiches, dip with carrot or celery sticks or scoop with flatbread. If you're worried about bitterness make sure you cook the eggplant/aubergine long enough so the flesh becomes sweet and caramelised.

Ingredients for a large cereal bowlful of dip
- 1 Large eggplant/aubergine
- 2 tablespoons of tahini
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- Extra Virgin Olive oil
- Roughly chopped parsley
- kosher salt

- Quarter the aubergine, salt the flesh and cook in a hot oven (450f at least) until the white flesh is brown and creamy
- Wait for the flesh to cool and scoop it out from the skin
-Dump into a blender with the tahini and lemon juice and blitz until smooth and creamy
- Test for salt, add more if desired
- Pile into a bowl, drizzle with grass green olive oil and sprinkle with parsley

Try not to go weak at the knees ;-)

Store Cupboard Staples - Oils

A good selection of condiments, spices, herbs and other staples are vital to your kitchen. I usually spend more for good quality products here because they last a while anyway and it makes such a difference to your food. Wholefoods (or Greenlife as it's called here in Asheville) has a really excellent selection of this kind of stuff but if you are looking for something exotic or really rare, you could try World Market, Dean and DeLuca and even Amazon.

OILS
Oil isn't just something you fry with, it can add flavour to food as well. I have 4 types of oil that are always in the cupboard...

Olive Oil - Light and extra virgin. The light is for cooking (frying onions or garlic for tomato sauce, for example) and the extra virgin is for dressings. Don't bother using extra virgin for frying, the taste is marred and it's too expensive. It's difficult to say briefly how important olive oil is in a whole range of cuisines and the variety of flavours. Keep at least one type and try different ones from different countries and regions as the tastes are incredibly diverse. Download this article from Saveur to learn more about the complex wonders of olive oil.

Canola Oil - For frying and roasting. This is a very healthy oil. Don't be fooled into buying the more expensive that says it has Omega oils in it. It's a con. All canola oil has these oils!

Sesame Oil - For flavour. It burns at a low temperature so if you use it in a stir fry mix it with canola. Use it in marinades and salad dressing for that authentic Asian taste.

Truffle Oil - Decadent, delicious and addictive. My sister-in-law turned me onto this oil and I am hooked. Get a good quality oil without any chemical ingredients. Black truffle is most common, Antonio Carluccio sells a wonderful white truffle oil at his chain Carluccio's that I adore and is sadly not available in the US. Don't fry with this, it is for flavouring and a little goes a long way! Sprinkle over scrambled eggs, add to steak at the last minute before serving or make an eye popping caesar salad dressing.

In addition to these there are plenty of nut oils such as walnut and coconut that I urge you to try. Experiment and discover your next delicious creation!

Spatchcocked Quail with wine and Cream

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I have Valerie from the Double G Ranch farm in Leicester, NC to thank for this glorious dish. We went there at the weekend and bought the quails after a tour of their property where they rear goats, pigs, chickens and ducks.

Though I planned to add parsley, in my rush to get the food snapped for the blog so we could devour it, I forgot! It was still delicious, I highly recommend eating this with boiled new potatoes; they're coming into season now and they soak up the creamy juices wonderfully. Add a crisp green salad to cut through the richness and you have yourself a dish worthy of a top restaurant.

To spatchcock is to split the bird so that it sits flat. Do this with a pair of sturdy kitchen scissors, by snipping down either side of the backbone which you then discard. Splay the bird and push down on the breast to flatten. Do this thoroughly, I didn't and they were still a bit curved which meant they took longer to cook.

Ingredients for 2 People
- Two quails, cleaned and spatchcocked (see above)
- One large or two small shallots finely chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon of canola oil
- 1/2 tablespoon of butter
- A glass of dry white wine
- 1 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms (I like the little brown ones, I think they are called 'Bella' in the states)
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- A handful of chopped flat leaf parsley (include the stalks, they are sweet)

Method
- Heat the canola oil to a medium heat and fry the shallots until lightly brown
- Salt and pepper the quail and add skin down to the pan
- Brown on both sides
- Turn down the heat and cook for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through
- Check to see the bird is almost cooked by skewering a leg or making a little slit. The meat should start to look opaque but the juices should still be reddish-pink (this is important because you don't want the quails to overcook)
-Now add the butter and allow it to melt and foam in the pan
-Turn the heat high and IMMEDIATELY add the wine and reduce, if you are using a non-stick pan (which is best because you get lots of caramelized bits on the bottom), scrape to deglaze
-Turn the heat down to medium and add the mushrooms
-Cook the mushrooms until softish
-Add the cream, mix well with the sauce in the pan
- Cook until a thick, tan colour
-Sprinkle in the parsley, serve

* If you like messy eating this one is for you, eventually you will have to get in there and pull the delicious flesh off with your hands, but that makes it more enjoyable!*

Cooking Essential - Lemon Squeezer

I use lemons like a condiment. They are always in my fridge. I add the juice to all sorts of dishes that need oomph or use them in marinades and salads. This lovely and stylish tool juices lemons better than anything else. It is the perfect shape for getting every last drop of juice out and you can squeeze the lemon directly onto whatever it is you are cooking rather than collect it all in a dish first. Be warned, seeds do go astray with it so I advise squeezing over a tea strainer or small sieve. Feeling inspired? These squeezers are available all over the place, I bought mine locally. Go out, get yourself one, then try my spinach and lemon pasta dish below.

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Serves 1 greedy person.

- Spaghetti, lasagne or linguine (so hard to measure and depends on your appetite, maybe a 1/4 of pound?)
- 1/2 bunch of spinach
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 small lemon
- 2 tablespoons of parmesan, pecorino or a mixture of both plus a couple of teaspoons for sprinkling
- pinch of nutmeg

Cook the spaghetti in well salted (please!) boiling water.
While it's boiling, blanch the spinach if it is young (just pour boiling water over it in a colander) or cook in a little water for a few minutes if it is coarse.
Drain spinach, squeeze dry and chop.
Once the pasta is al dente, drain and transfer back to the still warm pot.
Add the egg, lemon juice and cheese, mix well and then cover for a few minutes - OFF the heat, otherwise the egg will scramble.
Once the sauce has cooked and thickened, add the spinach.
Transfer to a warm plate or bowl, sprinkle with a little nutmeg and remaining cheese.

*Make sure the spinach is as dry as possible otherwise it will make the pasta watery. I don't add salt here because the pecorino is pretty salty, especially if it is Romano.*

Rabbit Ragu (ragu di coniglio)

Asheville's tailgate markets are such an asset to the city. At weekends and during the week you can find markets bursting with local produce allover the city; cheese, cured meats, handmade baked goods and even soaps, all find a place here. We are lucky enough to have one almost at the bottom of our hill. A favourite vendor of mine is East Fork Farms, because they provide two of my favourite meats - lamb and rabbit. Their ground lamb bursts with rich flavour and has elevated my already pretty good meat loaf to something intense and delicious.

The rabbit we bought from them was still whole (though thankfully without its head or fur), so I had to cut it up myself, fine but not for the Bugs Bunny lover! The advantage of a whole rabbit is that I could use the giblets and bones to make stock.

The picture above is of the tremendous ragu I made, and the recipe comes from Mille Fiori Favoriti, a great blog. If you try the recipe, be warned that the ingredients omit chicken broth though it's mentioned in the method. I added 1 cup of GOOD QUALITY stock in with the tomatoes. Don't be tempted to cut back on the cooking time, rabbit has no fat so needs slow cooking in some kind of liquid to keep moist and tender. Once the rabbit is cooked and falls of the bone, you could leave it whole and puree the sauce for a decadent variation.

Fruit Smoothie

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It's finally the season for peaches and they are sweet and perfumed. This smoothie takes seconds to make and will boost you for the day. If you happen to live somewhere where raw goat's milk is available legally, use it, the pro-biotics and clean taste are just fab. I often leave bananas to overripen so often peel them break them into pieces and freeze them, they are so tasty in a smoothie.

1 banana, riper the better
1 peach riper the better
1 1/2 cups of milk

Peel and break banana into pieces throw into a blender jug
Remove the stone from the peach but don't peel. Cut into pieces and add to jug.
Pour in ice cold milk.
Blend until complete smooth.

*If you have a sweet tooth then add a little honey or frozen yoghurt. You could also add a little flax or granola for a breakfast drink. I love just as is.*

Thank you Mr. Slater

I have no idea why this picture is rotated like this, so apologies. Anyway here is a beautiful fresh loaf of soda bread, made in an hour, prep to baking with great thanks to Nigel Slater's soda bread recipe.
As happy as I am in the States, there are some things that I do miss and decent wholemeal bread is one of them (along with real cheddar). I don't know why bread here has to be sweet, and so full of chemicals, honestly it's appalling. After trying many different brands I have abandoned store bought bread and now only buy from local bakeries or now make my own!

This recipe is so easy and makes a light, tasty loaf that you can use for sandwiches or toast. Often soda bread is dense and heavy so this one is a revelation. There is no kneading or proving, the baking soda does all the work for you.

My advice for storing is avoid using plastic bags because it makes the crust soggy and you want to keep that crisp crust around the soft center. Instead, store in a bread box wrapped in a clean tea towel or in a paper bag. Better for bread to go stale than moldy because you can still eat it as toast use it for bread crumbs.