23/11/2009 by D.

2 leeks
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup Urid dal (the split white lentils)
2 beef stock cubes (I use Kallo stock cubes)
1 ltr boiling water
1 tbsp dark soy sauce (to taste)

Cut off the tough bit of the leeks, then half longways and shred.  Rinse any grit out.  Rinse the tomatoes and cut in half (if you use bigger tomatoes, cut to the same sort of size; size is very important for the final texture).  In a large pan, gently heat the oil and add the leeks.  When they start to sizzle, add the tomatoes, dal, stock cubes and water.

Leave to simmer for an hour or so.  Check occasionally that there is enough water covering everything.  If not, add more.  Taste to see how done the lentils are.  Add the soy sauce if you think it could be a little more salty.  Leave to simmer for another half an hour if you can wait that long!  It should be thick, but there should be enough liquid to make it soupy.  The lentils will retain some bite without being hard.

This soup is amazingly delicious and needs to be served chunky, not blended.  The small hits of tomato in the salty, beefy broth teemed with the creamy lentils makes a truly wonderful combination; great to take to work as a cheap and warming winter lunch.  I made up this soup as the white lentils I had bought for making masala dosa were nearing their use-by date and I happened to have some leeks and tomatoes in the fridge.  I now buy them specifically for this as it is so good.

NB I get these lentils from our local shop over the road which has Indian ingredients, but you can get them in the ‘world’ section of supermarkets.  The packets look like this.

Posted in Soup, Urid dal, Beef stock, Leek, Tomato, Lentil, Beef, Recipe | Print | 1 Comment »

01/11/2009 by D.

Rich Shortcrust pastry:
8 oz flour
5 oz butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
3 tbsp iced water

Topping:
4 oz grated Cheddar
4 oz grated Mozzarella
2 tsps crushed dried green peppercorns
2 small leeks
3 oz pancetta or smoked streaky bacon
1 tsp thyme

I have adapted this recipe for Leek & Green Peppercorn tart from the lovely book ‘Cool green leaves & red hot peppers’ by Christine McFadden and Michael Michaud.  It is a favourite for us and known in the family as Welsh pizza.

Make the pastry by combining the dried ingredients and then working in half the butter until you have a breadcrumb texture.  Work in the rest of the butter quickly, leaving it uneven for a crisp texture.  Wrap in clingfilm and chill for an hour.  Grate the cheeses, crush the peppercorns and halve the leeks, then thinly slice.  Used diced pancetta or cut across the bacon rashers to create small ribbons.

Preheat oven to 240c or Gas 9.  Carefully roll out the pastry to 1/4 cm thick and place on a greased baking sheet.  Scatter on the cheeses, peppercorns, leeks, pancetta then thyme in that order.  Bake for 20 mins until the pastry is golden and the leeks look charred.  This is good hot or warmed up for lunch.  I serve it with a peppery salad (the hackney salad is ideal), or a green salad with a punchy dressing (add a tsp of grainy mustard).

Posted in Green peppercorns, Pastry, Cheese, Mozzarella, Pancetta, Toddler, Recipe, Leek, Organic Box | Print | 1 Comment »