I was chatting with our Farmers Market neighbor on Saturday and she was telling me how excited she was to find this fantastic cookbook Plenty.  Great minds think alike I told her, because I do too.  Actually I love both of my Ottolenghi books and am looking forward to purchasing Jerusalem.  We had a meeting here Sunday night and for dinner I pulled out both books and we cooked up some fantastic dishes - Leek Fritters and a Saffron Cauliflower dish that we made with Romanesco... Lorraine.

 Leek Fritters with Yogurt Sauce    Serves - 4

The recipe for the yogurt actually calls for 1/2 cup parsley and 2 cups cilantro, however always attempting to utilize what is in the box I opted to replace these two ingredients with our Green Garlic.  It was amazingly delicious. Sauce..... 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt 1/2 cup Sour Cream 2 Garlic Cloves, peeled 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice 3 Tbsp Olive Oil 1/2 tsp Salt 1 bunch of Eatwell Green Garlic, bottoms trimmed, tops trimmed of any broken or yellowed bits If you don’t have Greek style yogurt you can drain regular plain yogurt through cheesecloth for about 1/2 hour to get the thickness.  Also, I didn’t have sour cream at home so I simply used 1 full cup of yogurt.  I put everything into the blender and pulsed it to chop everything to a fairly smooth consistency.  Put into a serving bowl and let those flavors marry until the fritters are ready to eat. Leek Fritters..... 3 leeks (1 lb. in total, trimmed weight)  I kept a good amount of the green part on, not all but at least 2 inches worth depending on the leek 1 Onion, finely chopped 1 fresh Red Chile, didn’t have any at home so  I used 1/2 tsp dried flakes instead 1/2 cup Parsley, finely chopped (leaves and fine stems)  I didn’t have any at home so I simply left this out 3/4 tsp ground Coriander 1 tsp ground Cumin 1/4 tsp ground Turmeric, also didn’t have any 1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon 1 tsp Sugar 1/2 tsp Salt, I used our Smoked Chili Salt 1 Eatwell Egg White 3/4 cup Flour 1 Tbsp Banking Powder 1 Egg 2/3 cup Milk 51/2 Tbsp unsalted Butter, melted Cut the leeks into scant 1-inch thick slices, rinse and drain dry.  Sauté the leeks and onion in a pan with half the oil on medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until soft.  Transfer to a large bowl and add the chile, parsley, spices, sugar and salt.  Allow to cool down. Whisk the egg white to soft peaks and fold it into the vegetables.  In another bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, who egg, milk and melted butter to form a batter.  Gently mix it into the egg white and vegetable mixture. Put 2 tablespoons of the remaining oil in a large frying pan and place over medium heat.  Spoon about half of the vegetable mixture into the pan to make four large fritters.  Fry them for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until golden and crisp.  Remove to paper towels and keep warm.  continue making the fritters, adding more oil as needed.  You should end up with about eight large fritters.  Serve warm, with the sauce on the side or drizzled over.

Saffron Romanesco - Serves 4 1 1/2 tsp Saffron 1/3 cup boil Water 1 medium Romanesco, divided into medium pieces of beautiful fractal art! 1 large red onion, sliced 2/3 cup Raisins (if they are dry soak them for a few minutes) 1/2 cup good quality Green Olives, pitted and cut lengthways in half 4 Tbsp Olive Oil 2 Bay Leaves Salt and Black Pepper 4 Tbs roughly chopped Parsley

Preheat oven to 400.  PUt the saffron strands in a small bowl and pour over the boiling water.  Leave to infuse for a few minutes then pour the saffron and water into a large mixing bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients, except the parsley, and mix everything together well with your hands.

Transfer the mix to a medium ovenproof dish, cover with foil and place int he oven.  Cook for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the Romanesco is tender but still a bit firm, not soft.  Halfway thorough the cooking time remove the dish from the oven and stir well, then cover again and return to bake.    When it has finished baking remove from oven, allow it to cool slightly then stir in the parsley.  Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve warm or at room temperature.

An Easy Romanesco Treat

One of my favorite ways to enjoy Romanesco is to simply cut it into beautiful pieces, put into a roasting pan, sprinkle with a little Olive Oil and some Eatwell Smoked Chili Salt.  Roast on 350 to 375 for 15 to 20 minutes and enjoy!