Cookbookmaniac
  • Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za’atar and Lemon by Ottolenghi
    Roast Chicken with Sumac, Za’atar and Lemon by Ottolenghi
    European Recipes

    I recently went on a tour of Newtown with some lovely bloggers and was asked how many cookbooks I actually owned. Well, I never really counted them, but I think its safe to say that I have around 200. I regret purchasing quite a few of them, they are usually the ones that are generically strung together by book publishers to raise revenue. Most of the time I only end up buying the junk because I've had a bad day and needed something new to cheer me up or there was one lone recipe that looked very enticing. Needless to say I don't really cook from them. I am often pulled towards cookbooks written by one or two people that are driven by their love for food. It isn't just about the recipe (yes, a good set of recipes is important) but it is also about the produce, technique, history…

  • Mini Croquembouche – Not for the Faint-Hearted
    Mini Croquembouche – Not for the Faint-Hearted
    Baking Recipes

    Inspiration taken from Delicious Magazine Dec/Jan Issue Recipe for Pate a Choux adapted from Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard Recipe for Caramel Sugar from Delicious Magazine Dec/Jan Issue Pate a choux 1 cup of bread flour or plain flour 1 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup of full-fat milk 85g unsalted butter 4 large eggs 1 large egg for egg wash Caramel Sugar 250g caster sugar 100ml water 2 tablespoons glucose syrup A tub of good-quality vanilla ice cream To make pate a choux 1/ Sift together the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. 2/ Bring the water, milk and butter to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. At the boil, remove the pan from the heat and add the flour mixture all at once. Using a sturdy spoon, stir vigorously to combine. 3/ Return the mixture to…

  • Fattouch with a twist
    Fattouch with a twist
    Cheap Eats Recipes

    In an attempt at being a little more healthy I converted one of my all-time favourite salads to include a wholegrain and less fat. I went on an accidental healthfood shopping spree with a friend and I picked up a packet of the ancient grain, quinoa, which seems to have suddenly taken the health-conscience western world by storm. It was simple to prepare and its addition did not seem to interfere with the true essence of the recipe. Instead of deep-fried flatbread, I used toasted, leftover sourdough bread. I must confess, the inclusion of these croutons was more out of frugality than mere health concerns. We had a remaining half a loaf from the previous nights delicious beef bourguignon. I couldn't bear to see it go to waste. It toasted up a treat and I added it in at the very moment I was ready to consume this superfood salad.…