A Recipe for the Best Burnt Cauliflower You Will Ever Taste!

Israeli food is fresh, gutsy and vibrant and having spent a couple of weeks eating my way around this wonderful country as part of Vibe Israel Food Tour of 2016, I soon became fascinated (if slightly obsessed) by it. As a chef, food & travel writer, I can honestly say that Israel has been one of the most inspiring culinary destinations I have visited in recent years. 

Israelis place great importance on good quality vegetables and how these are prepared; vegetables play a major role in any Israeli meal from breakfast to lunch and dinner. I was intrigued by some of their cooking techniques (they make extensive use of char-grilling), and also by their clever use of Middle Eastern spices, salted cheeses and yoghurts, lemony dressings and nutty tahini, elevating some of the simplest ingredients to completely new levels. I can say that this trip made me look at vegetables in a totally different light.

Take for example Eyal Shani’s burnt cauliflower – who would have thought you needed a recipe to burn cauliflower? Well apparently you do! One of the restaurants we got to visit in Tel Aviv during our trip was North Abraxas owned by celebrity chef Eyal Shani (reviewed here). Here we tried his signature burnt cauliflower, whose recipe he was kind enough to share with me.

I have tried this at home in London on a number of occasions, and it still impresses me every time. I love how such an inexpensive and ordinary vegetable can be transformed into something so utterly delicious.

We have all tried to be clever about cauliflower – we have added bacon, or baked it with tons of cheese or smothered it with curry sauce, but this recipe is all about the humble veg and it alone, with nothing else added but olive oil and salt. It is a winner of a recipe, dead easy to prepare and super quick too. I hope you will give it a try!

Burnt Cauliflower

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-sized cauliflower (about 600g)
• 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Malden sea salt flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the tahini dressing (optional)

• 100g good quality tahini
• Juice of ½ lemon, to taste
• 1 small garlic clove, crushed
• Pinch of salt, to taste
• 100-200ml water, to taste

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to its highest setting (300°C or higher if possible). If your oven temperature does not go this high, you will need to use the grill at the end of the cooking process.

2. Fill a pan (large enough to take the entire cauliflower) with salted water (10g salt/litre water). Bring it to boil, then add the whole cauliflower to the pan and simmer for 8-10 minutes until softened.

3. Carefully remove the cauliflower from the pan and drain it over a colander for 10 minutes.

4. Using your hands, gently baste the entire cauliflower head with the extra virgin olive oil, season with the Malden sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

5. Place the cauliflower (head side up) on a baking tin lined with greaseproof paper. Cook it in the pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes or until blackened. If the cauliflower is not thoroughly blackened (because your oven is not hot enough), you may use the grill – place the cauliflower under the grill and let it burn for 3-5 minutes, carefully rotating it so that the entire upper part of the cauliflower is caramelized.

6. While the cauliflower is in the oven, prepare the tahini dressing – in a bowl add the tahini, salt, crushed garlic and lemon juice, then start adding the water little by little mixing vigorously as you do to incorporate it into the mix. The mix will initially curdle but do not worry, continue adding more water and mixing all the time, it will bind again. Add enough water until it has the consistency of double cream, check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. 

7. Serve the burnt cauliflower whilst hot with the lemony tahini dressing.

Nikkei Cookbook Giveaway + Nikkei Recipe for Prawn Moqueca

This week I am sharing my Nikkei recipe for Prawn Moqueca & Coriander Rice Donburi. This is a super easy and quick recipe to put together, and ideal for any special occasions or as a weekend treat. 

Jacqui Small Publishers are offering 1 copy of my cookbook Nikkei Cuisine: Japanese Food the South American Way to 2 readers of The London Foodie, so 2 copies in total. The prize includes free delivery within the UK. See further details of #NikkeiCookbookCompetition below.

Good luck!

Prawn Moqueca 
& Coriander Rice Donburi

Moqueca is a quintessentially Brazilian dish, with nearly every seaside town having its own variation on the theme. In Bahia, they add an African element to the dish in the form of dendê oil. Derived from the palm tree, this bright orange oil has a very special flavour for which there is no substitute. Moqueca is very easy to prepare, and you can substitute prawns with small fillets of fish or other types of seafood. I love serving this moqueca over Japanese rice flavoured with coriander and lemon rice, as in this donburi recipe.

Ingredients:

Serves 6 

750g large fresh prawns, peeled and deveined (reserve 2 whole prawns for presentation)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
½ tsp black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 lemon, juice

400g tinned Italian tomatoes including juice
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika
400ml coconut milk
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp dendê oil (palm oil – available from Brazilian or African food shops)
2 tbsp coriander cress
Maldon sea salt

For the coriander rice:
450g short-grain white rice
600ml water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Maldon sea salt
8 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
½ lemon, juice and zest
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Method:

First, prepare the Japanese steamed rice. Wash the rice in a bowl with plenty of fresh water using a circular motion with your hand. Drain the water and repeat three or four times until the water runs clear. Transfer the rice to a sieve and let it drain for 15 minutes. Next, transfer the rice to a bowl and soak it in the water for 30 minutes or up to 4 hours (the longer the soaking, the wetter and stickier the rice will be).

Rice cooker method: when the soaking time is up, add the rice and soaking water to the rice cooker bowl, close the lid and turn it on. It should take approximately 15–20 minutes to cook. Once the rice cooker’s alarm beeps, let the rice rest in the unopened rice cooker for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Pan and stove method: choose a pan with a tightly fitting lid (preferably of glass) and with a small ventilation hole for some of the steam to escape. When the soaking time is up, add the rice and soaking water to the pan, place the lid on and bring to the boil (a glass lid will allow to see when the water comes to a boil). As soon as it boils, turn the heat to its lowest setting and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Do not remove the lid at any stage during cooking or resting. Take off the heat and let the rice rest for a further 15 minutes before serving.

Once the rice is cooked and before fluffing it, make a green coriander salsa by mixing in a bowl the extra virgin olive oil, salt, juice and fine zest of a lemon, crushed garlic cloves and finely chopped coriander. Fold the coriander salsa well into the cooked rice.

In a bowl, add the prawns, the light soy sauce, the lemon juice and garlic, mix well, cover and marinade for 15 minutes.

Blend the tinned tomatoes with their juices in a food processor, pass through a sieve discarding any seeds or skin.

In a medium-sized cast iron pan, fry the chopped onion on a low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, 2 teaspoons of Maldon sea salt and the tomato purée and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, fry the reserved whole prawns in a little olive oil until pink, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the prawns warm.

Now stir in the coconut milk and finely chopped red chilli to the thickened tomato sauce, bring to the boil, then add the prepared prawns and its marinade, and cook until the prawns have gone lightly pink, about 1 minute. Stir in the dendê oil, turn off the heat and check for seasoning.

A classic Japanese donburi is a bowl of steamed rice with a topping of meat, fish or vegetables. For this dish, however, I like serving the moqueca de camarão placed around the rice rather than over it. Lightly grease a rice bowl with a little oil, fill it with rice and press it down so that the rice is lightly compressed. Turn the rice bowl onto the middle of a serving plate and remove the bowl. Spoon the moqueca de camarão around the mound of coriander rice adding plenty of sauce, place the whole prawns on the plate finishing with a scattering of coriander cress. Serve immediately.

HOW TO ENTER - NIKKEI COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY

You can enter the giveaway in three different ways and to increase your chances of winning:

Method 1 – Blog Comment
Leave a comment in this blog post.

Method 2 – Twitter
If you do not follow @thelondonfoodie on Twitter, you must do so before entering this competition. Then tweet the exact sentence (shown in italics) below:

I’d love to win a copy of Nikkei Cuisine: Japanese Food the South American Way from @TheLondonFoodie - #NikkeiCookbookCompetition

Method 3 - Instagram
If you do not follow @thelondonfoodie on Instagram, you must do so before entering this competition. Then post a picture of a Nikkei dish attempted by yourself at home using the hashtag #NikkeiCookbookCompetition. 

You can attempt the Prawn Moqueca recipe in this blog post, or perhaps the Salmon Tiradito with Passion Fruit Leche de Tigre, or if you prefer cooking something else, just google 'Luiz Hara Nikkei Recipes', there are a few other options available by other online publications. 

TERMS & CONDITIONS

The deadline for entries is midnight GMT Saturday 12th December 2015.

The winner will be selected from all valid entries using a random.org.

Each (of two) prizes is a copy of Nikkei Cuisine: Japanese Food the South American Way published by Jacqui Small. The prize includes delivery within in the UK. We cannot guarantee a pre-Christmas delivery date.

The prize cannot be redeemed for a cash value.

The prize is offered and provided by Jacqui Small.

One blog, Twitter and Instagram entry per person only i.e. a maximum of 3 entries per person. You can triple your chances of winning if you enter on all 3 platforms.

For Twitter and Instagram entries, winners must be following @thelondonfoodie at the time of notification. 

Blog comment entries must provide a valid email address for contact.

The winners will be notified by email, Twitter or Instagram so please make sure you check your accounts for the notification message. If no response is received from a winner within 3 days of notification, a new winner will be picked and contacted.

Where prizes are to be provided by a third party, The London Foodie accepts no responsibility for the acts or defaults of that third party.

THE WINNERS OF THIS GIVEAWAY, RANDOMLY SELECTED VIA RANDOM.ORG WERE: @VI_WOO (VIA TWITTER) AND MARTINE CARTER.

Thanks everyone for entering the competition!

Nikkei Recipe - Salmon Tiradito with Passion Fruit and Aji Amarillo Tiger's Milk

My cookbook 'Nikkei Cuisine: Japanese Food the South South American Way' was recently published by Jacqui Small. It was a hectic but incredible time writing this book, which saw me travelling to Peru, Brazil and Europe to research it. I learnt a great deal about Nikkei life and cuisine and some touching stories about my own family I never knew. The book is a personal collection of over 100 recipes ranging from family favourites to contributions by Japanese and Nikkei Michelin-starred restaurants I visited during my research trips.

I will be sharing with you in the coming 12 weeks, 12 recipes from the Nikkei cookbook and I hope they will encourage you try cooking Nikkei at home. If you try one of these recipes I would be keen to hear your thoughts.

Thanks and enjoy!

Salmon and Passion Fruit Tiradito
Crispy Butternut Squash, Espelette Pepper

The world is your oyster when it comes to seasoning Tiradito. Much as I love using lime as a major component for Leche de Tigre, there is a whole range of different fruits to play with. Here, I use passion fruit and aji amarillo (Peruvian yellow chilli) to create a zingy, punchy dressing that works really well with the fatty salmon. Finish the dish with a dusting of fine Espelette pepper for a gentle, fruity hint of chilli.

Serves 4

200g sushi-graded salmon fillet, skinned
½ butternut squash 
Sunflower oil for deep-frying
a few sprigs of chervil (or coriander)

For the passion fruit Leche de Tigre (Tiger’s Milk):
4 small passion fruit, juice and seeds (around 50g in total)
1 teaspoon of aji amarillo paste
1 lemon, juiced (60ml)
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 clove garlic, cut 
1cm slice of ginger
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp sugar
¼ banana shallot, very finely chopped
2 tbsp of chervil, very finely chopped (or coriander)

A sprinkle of Espelette pepper (can substitute with sichimi pepper)
A sprinkle of Maldon salt flakes

Make the passion fruit leche de tigre by whizzing all the ingredients (except the shallot and chervil, and 1-2 tablespoons of passion fruit seeds to be reserved for the presentation) in a food processor. Pass it through a fine sieve, add the finely chopped shallot and chervil. Refrigerate until needed.

Peel the butternut squash. Using a zester, cut fine strips of squash rather like spaghetti. Line a plate with absorbent paper. Add sunflower oil to a pan and heat to 140°C (note – use a deep pan and do not fill more than 1/3 full as the hot oil will rise to the surface as the squash is added). Fry the butternut squash spaghetti for about 1 minute until lightly browned, transfer to the lined plate. The squash strands will not be crispy at this stage but do not worry – they will crisp up as they cool down. Season with sea salt.

Remove any residual brown flesh from the salmon fillet. Cut the salmon into thin slices and arrange them in a single row over each of the four serving plates. For each plate, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of the passion fruit leche de tigre over the salmon, dot with a few passion fruit seeds around the plate, arrange a line of crispy butternut squash spaghetti in the middle of the salmon row, and scatter a few sprigs of chervil (or coriander) over the squash and on the plate. Sprinkle some Maldon sea salt flakes and Espelette pepper. Serve immediately.

If you would like to purchase a copy of this book, it is on sale on Amazon here. Alternatively, if you are visiting my supper club, you can purchase a signed copy here.

Your Favourite #IrishGrassFedBeef Dish Revealed! (In Collaboration with Grasstronomy/Irish Beef)

The good people at Grasstronomy (Irish Beef) got in touch asking me to put together The London Foodie readers’ favourite beef dishes, the ones you love cooking at home. I love a good steak, but it was the words “Irish Grass Fed Beef” that really caught my imagination. So how could I resist?

It was tough choosing a favourite among the mouth-watering replies from Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (thank you folks for participating!), but in the end I chose an irresistible Ox Cheek Mac n' Cheese! This heart warming and luxurious version features slow-braised Irish ox cheeks cooked in red wine and spices, topped with macaroni cheese flavoured with mature Parmesan and fresh black truffles. Perfect for the colder months, this is comfort food at its best!

So why all the fuss about Irish grass fed beef? Ireland is blessed among other things with rain, all year round, and this makes for terrific pasture and a rich soil. Grass fed cattle are also thought to be leaner as they work for their food. And it’s reputedly this sweet grass of Ireland that makes some of the most luscious, tender beef in the world – tried and tested, right in my kitchen.

If you would like to learn more about Irish grass fed beef, visit the their website here or on Facebook here. Better still, why don’t you try Irish grass fed beef for yourself? Next time you visit your supermarket or local butcher, look out for Irish beef and try out the recipe below, I look forward to hearing what you think!

Slow-Braised Ox Cheeks in Red Wine & Spices, 

Macaroni Cheese with Mature Parmesan 
and Black Truffles

(Recipe by Luiz Hara)

Ingredients (for 4 people):

For the Ox Cheeks:

• 1kg ox cheeks
• 1 celery stick, diced into 1cm cubes
• 1 onion, diced into 1cm cubes
• 1 carrot, diced into 1cm cubes
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 litre full bodied red wine
• Mixed spices - 1 stick cinnamon, 1 star anise. 1-2 cloves and 10 black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of Malden salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 25g unsalted butter

For the Macaroni Cheese:

• 175g mature cheddar
• 50g Gruyere
• 50g mature Parmesan
• 50g white bread, crusts cut off
• 300g good-quality macaroni
• 350ml single cream
• 350ml full fat milk
• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g plain flour
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 small fresh black truffle, thinly sliced (optional)
• 2 tbsp good quality truffle oil 

Method:

For the Ox Cheeks:

Remove any gristle or nerves from the ox cheeks, cut them up into 5cm pieces, season with salt and pepper, and keep aside until needed.

Peel and wash the carrot, onion and celery and dice them into 1cm cubes. Finely chop 2 garlic cloves.

Pour the red wine into a saucepan, bring to the boil to burn off the alcohol, add the mixed spices - 1 small stick cinnamon, 1 star anise. 1-2 cloves and 10 black peppercorns and reduce by 1/3.

Heat a casserole with the olive oil on a high heat, brown the ox cheeks on all sides, remove the pieces from the casserole when done.

Lower the heat, add 25g butter into the casserole, let it foam (but not burn), then add the diced vegetables and garlic. Sweat the vegetables until lightly coloured for about 3-5 minutes.

Turn up the heat, add a few tablespoons of the spiced red wine and deglaze the pan by scraping the juices from the bottom of the casserole with a spatula.

Return the browned ox cheeks back into the casserole and cover with the remaining spiced wine so that the meat is covered. Bring gently to the boil, cover and place it in a fan-heated oven for 6 hours at 180°C, turning the meat occasionally during cooking. Alternatively, use a pressure cooker at high pressure for 2 hours.

Once cooked and very tender, remove the beef with a slotted spoon and place it on a deep tray (if using a pressure cooker, ensure to release all pressure before attempting to open the pressure cooker). Shred the beef. Pass the jus through a fine strainer into a clean pan, and reduce it slowly until a thick and smooth sauce is achieved. Add the sauce to the shredded ox cheeks, mix well and check for seasoning. Set aside until needed.

For the Macaroni Cheese:

Finely grate all cheeses, keeping them separate. Tear the bread into pieces and whizz in a food processor to coarse crumbs. Mix 25g cheddar and 25g Parmesan into the breadcrumbs.  
Toss the rest of the cheese together in a bowl and set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C.

In a large pan of salted boiling water, add the macaroni cheese and cook al dente according to package instructions (roughly about 8 minutes), stir occasionally to avoid them sticking together. While this is cooking, start the sauce.

Warm the milk and single cream in a small pan.

In a separate pan (big enough to take the macaroni as well), melt the butter in a pan, then stir in the flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then take off the heat. Pour in 1/3 of the warmed milk and cream mixture and beat well with a wooden spoon until smooth – it will be quite thick at this stage. Add another 1/3 – it may go a bit lumpy, but keep beating well and it will go smooth again. Pour in the final 1/3 and keep beating until smooth, a balloon whisk can also help you with this step.

When the macaroni is done, tip it into a colander and drain.

Put the pan with the roux mixture (butter, flour, milk and single cream) back on the heat and cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Lower the heat and simmer for about 4 minutes until glossy, stirring every now and then. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and mustard, mix well. The consistency of the sauce should be rather thick. Check for seasoning and adjust if required.

Gently stir the macaroni into the sauce and stir to coat completely. There should be enough sauce to coat the macaroni thickly and liberally.

Assembling the Final Dish:

Lightly reheat the shredded ox cheeks and cooking juices and place them in a casserole (large enough to take in the macaroni cheese, and one in which the final dish will be presented at the table).

Gently top with macaroni cheese mixture, scatter over the cheesy crumbs over the top and heat through in the oven for about 12 minutes or until beginning to bubble around the edges. Grill for 3-5 minutes to brown the crumbs to a light golden colour.

Remove from the oven, drizzle 2 tbsp of good quality truffle oil, let it rest for 2 minutes, then scatter the fine slices of fresh truffle over the dish and serve immediately.