The Sugar Bar

The salty creaminess of feta, tanginess of lemon, the licorice-laced crisp flavours of fennel, the explosive sweetness of Sultan’s Jewel tomatoes, the mild honeyish pomegranate seeds and the nuttiness of edamame all brought together in harmony by the grassiness of good extra virgin olive oil.

And to think sometimes I forget why salads are so addictive, so all-encompassing and very beautiful to look at. If something so simple (and simply put together) can taste so good, lifting my spirits with each bite, I’m never going to underestimate the humble salad ever again.

A friend once offered me a bottle of salad dressing, to which I turned it down saying I don’t really eat salad dressing. I enjoy salads mostly as they are – their component parts with no oily, wet dressing that splatters everywhere when I’ve got leafy bits sticking out between my lips like a goat. I don’t know if it’s some weird purist mentality I’ve got but that’s pretty much how I usually like my salads. Or if I really had to go for a salad dressing, then extra virgin olive oil and loads of balsamic vinegar which I love with a great passion. Anything mayonnaise-y, or something thick like thousand island dressing really puts me off. Not that I can’t stomach it, I just won’t enjoy it as much. And give my tummy a few hours, it’d probably start feeling a little upset and gurgling like it was part of a string orchestra. I kid you not. Therefore I stress clean, crisp flavours always. That’s just the way forward.

After months of wishing after the Ottolenghi cookbook, and the torturous process of having to see my beautiful foodie friends blog about their Ottolenghi recipes, experiences, it was high time I finally got my own copy. And I did. And it was such a luxury – a stylishly put-together cookbook with a glossy white cover; my heart was beating twice as fast and doing little skips as I flipped through the pages, eyeing the pulses and vegetables, curbing the urge to start sticking little 3M sticky notes in there with a frenzy for potential lunches and so forth. Happiness is moi. (Yes I’m so easily pleased with new cookbooks. But aren’t we foodies all a species of that sort? I’m eyeing the The French Laundry Cookbook next.) I’ve always been a fan of Ottolenghi food ever since I moved to London and even before I did, I’d browsed through the cookbook thinking how gorgeous the food must taste. Then I started visiting the Islington branch since I live just a little way from it. There was no turning back. I became a true fan. Unfortunately, I always felt a bit like a muggle or a half-blood without the cookbook. And having to queue for half a day (yes I exaggerate) or resorting to take-aways to get Ottolenghi grub in my mouth, down my esophagus and then safely into my stomach whenever I have a craving seems much too complicated. Remember, I am lazy.

Equipped with my new cookbook, life seems so rosy. With the beautiful weather too, it’s about time I shove that crabbiness so typical of my character somewhere where the sun don’t shine. I can’t wait to try out more of the recipes and actually, that’s probably not gonna change the fact that I’d still be hopping on a bus to Angel to take-away Ottolenghi cakes (and then eating them in the dark corners of my bedroom – on my own – a la Gollum) or meeting friends there for lunch.

On a final note, let me just say that I’m not just OCD, a perfectionist and anal (please, no crude jokes) to the point of being annoying. I also plan like a high-strung freak (not that I’m high-strung at all. I just have this thing about planning.) But here’s a confession – I’ve booked my sister and I in for dinner at Ottolenghi 2 MONTHS in advance. Yea, so I’m totally off my trolley like that. Crazy.

The original recipe uses tarragon instead of basil and adds no tomatoes or edamame. This makes about 4 servings.

Fennel and Feta with Pomegranate Seeds, Edamame & Sumac
Recipe adapted from the original (p.17) in Ottolenghi: The Cookbook
Ingredients

1/2 pomegranate
2 medium fennel heads
4 tbs fresh edamame beans
1/2 cup cherry/plum tomatoes
1 1/2tbs olive oil
2 tsp crushed sumac, plus extra for garnish
juice of 1 lemon
4 tbs fresh basil leaves, roughly shredded
2 tbs fresh flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped
70g Greek feta cheese
salt and ground black pepper, for seasoning

Remove pomegranate seeds from the fruit. Be careful not to bruise them or break the skin. You can purchase pomegranate seeds also fresh from the cut fruit section in major supermarkets.

Remove leaves from the fennel, reserving some for garnish later. Trim the base, making sure there’s still enough left on to hold the slices together. Slice very thinly lengthwise. Place sliced fennel, herbs, edamame and cherry tomatoes in a large salad bowl.

In another bowl, mix the olive oil, sumac, lemon juice, herbs and some salt and pepper. Add this to the salad bowl, toss well. Taste for seasoning and adjust to taste.

To serve, layer the fennel, then the feta and then the pomegranate seeds. Garnish with reserved fennel leaves, sprinkle with sumac and more parsley leaves if you have any lying about. Serve.

It was a strange week I had from two Fridays before to Sunday. A whole string of bad luck and unfortunate events. And for all that I fretted, cussed, whined and cried over, I was too busy attempting to right the wrongs and set my life back on the stable path that I didn’t have time to post or cook. In my geek online social life, I wasn’t too tweet/Facebook-sociable either (my apologies!). There was just too many upsetting things popping up like weeds in a garden: lost wallet, food poisoning, being cashless, bank drama, etc. …

In the mean time, I returned to being the snack-myster. Surviving on snacks and oddly put-together meals. Quite thankful I met up with Catty & Su-yin for Korean bbq dinner on Wednesday to soothe my nerves, followed by izakaya with my mates on Thursday. A cold beer after a long day. There’s just nothing quite like that put-your-feet-up and let-out-a-real-loud-AH!-after-the-first-gulp-of-beer feeling.

I woke up on Monday feeling miles better. Body sore like I’d run from here to another continent. The week had taken that much out of me. But it was sunny and full of spring promise. At the moment, I’m seeing the grey, the wet and the windy returning to London from my bedroom window so I suppose the shite weather’s just a real tease. I’m feeling the total opposite though. The grey and the depressed should be nearly out of my system by now. I admit I’m currently dealing with the post-drama (kinda like car accident paperwork that sorta thing) and the mundane housekeeping we all have to deal with.

Nevertheless, it’s Easter break. Three cheers to that.

And until my next post (I really have to sort out my house because the clutter and dirt just keep re-appearing. I suspect sabotage), here’s a couple of pictures to keep you company. Some yum giant olives from Whole Foods.

Whole Foods is cream cheese frosting to my cupcake. Gotta love it.

Ever since I got back on track with my foodblog and relaunched this baby through WordPress and onto my own domain, I believe I’ve been ‘guarded’ by a select few guardian angels. I’ve been pampered, encouraged and guided by some special food bloggers and it’s really great to have this support group and also fantastic food talents out there. It makes sourcing for recipes so much easier too and I’m so very pleased. (Also, it actually feels as though I’ve got a few virtual mummies/and daddies out there with their special recipes and nice words) Before I get more emotional about it (jokes) or forget to say what I have to say now: would simply like to thank all that have been regularly commenting, giving me tips and encouragement especially when I messed up. I feel like childishly putting up a Victory V-sign now, but I shall restrain myself and formally express my gratitude here. Cheers guys, really much appreciated.

Also, big thank you to Farida! I got your magazine through the post this morning and that lovely fancy pants card. Awesome, made my day. Can’t believe how packed the magazine is with these fascinating articles. Especially like the one on the origins of the mulberry tree. Yipee yiyay. [AND. I did check out your blog, thank you for the award! I will post about that very soon]

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I have stayed true to the original 3-layered Greek Moussaka as best as I can but the turkey mince I’ve been saving in the freezer for turkey bacon burgers won’t resign itself to be simply that – a burger. Hence, lamb mince has been substituted with turkey mince which is lighter and undoubtedly still good for you. Of course, moussaka (or musaka depending on whether you’re doing this the Greek or Arabic way) is made with a red meat but I love turkey and I haven’t done anything with turkey in it for ages so I believe I’m forgiven!

Moussaka is a kind of cooked salad. It’s pretty similar to a casserole or the English cottage/shepherd’s pie in that you have all the cooked filling placed in an oven-proof dish topped with, in this case a cheese sauce, mashed potato before placing it in the oven for the topping to turn a nice brown. What makes a moussaka a moussaka, however, is the aubergine (or eggplant) base and that lovely cheese sauce that goes on top. Indeed, cheese is queen. Being the dominatrix that she is, the cheese sauce reigns supreme as the top layer of a moussaka. In addition to a traditional moussaka recipe, I’m throwing in some red peppers – all of which in addition to aubergines, tomatoes and a touch of basil are characteristic of the Mediterranean.

This turned out a little too wet despite the salting preparation on the aubergines. I think there was a tad too much liquid in my chopped tomatoes. Overall, the flavours were good and the cheese sauce was quite amazing. Will definitely do this again, especially when there are friends around to enjoy it with me.

Turkey & Roasted Peppers Moussaka
Ingredients

300g free range turkey mince
1/4 of a medium red onion, chopped
1 large red pepper
1 large aubergine
4 large leaves of fresh basil, bruised or roughly chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 tbs sun dried tomatoes pesto
salt and pepper for seasoning
olive oil, for frying
For the cheese sauce:
250g ricotta
275ml milk
nearly 1/4 cup flour
25g butter
1 egg
parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat 175d Celsius.
Drizzle some oil onto the chopped red peppers and place in oven to roast about 20min.
Slice the aubergine into about 1/2 inch thickness. Salt them and place on a plate. These slices will start to sweat and you’ll want to pat them dry with a kitchen towel. It’s good to get away all the juices as you don’t want the moussaka to get too wet. You can either roast these or fry them in some olive oil. I’ve done the latter so it’s quicker. After it’s cooked, layer out neatly onto the base of a casserole dish and place in the oven to keep warm.

Next, heat some oil in a large frying pan. Fry the onions and then add the turkey mine. When most of the pinkness is gone, add the chopped tomatoes, pesto and fresh basil. Simmer for a little. Season to taste. Remove peppers from oven and layer onto the aubergines in the other casserole dish. Then pour the turkey mince onto that as another layer. Grate parmesan cheese onto the top.
Turn oven heat to 180d Celsius. Cover casserole dish with foil and keep warm in lowest shelf of oven.

For the cheese sauce:
In a saucepan on medium heat, whisk together milk, flour and butter with a balloon whisk till glossy smooth. Simmer for a little on a small heat about 5min. Remove from heat to let cool. Then, whisk in the egg and ricotta.
Layer onto the turkey, smooth flat with back of a spoon. Grate some parmesan on the top.
This goes back into the oven for 40min then it’s ready to be served!