Homemade baked beans

Be careful with these beans. They'll make all other beans feel inadequate and turn a normally innocent, go-to comfort food meal into sadness.

I've been wanting to try to make homemade baked beans since I tried some in a hostel in Florence. I'd been out all night with my best friend Rach when we decided to sample the 4 euro breakfast at the place where we were staying. I was yet to eat a full meal since arriving as vegan fare was proving pretty hard to come by, that was until I found the huge metal dishes of cannelini beans stewing in a rich tomato and rosemary sauce at the hostel canteen. Despite a hangover veering on sea sickness, me and Rach made it through two platefuls of these beans, with just bread and black coffee. I loved how something traditionally English and run-of-the-mill had been turned into one of the most delicious breakfasts ever after being translated into Italian. 

This isn't fast food, it will take about an hour to prepare, but it's worth every minute. You'll know it's properly ready when the tomatoes reduce way down so they make the beans almost sticky and rich with the olive oil.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tin haricot beans

1 tin cannellini beans

2 sprigs of rosemary

1 onion, chopped small

2 cloves garlic, chopped small

Olive oil

1 carton or tin of chopped tomatoes

Seasoning

Sweat the onions, garlic and seasoning in a frying pan with plenty of olive oil. Once the onion begins to go translucent add both tins of beans with some sprigs of rosemary, and a little water to stop the beans from sticking.

Allow the beans to cook and reduce into the water, checking the seasoning for enough salt and pepper. Once the liquid has gone, add the tin of tomatoes and stir into the beans. Now simmer for around 30 minutes until the beans are well done and the tomato juice totally reduced. 

Add a sprig of rosemary and more olive oil before serving. These will keep in the fridge for at least another day, but be warned, they'll steal the limelight from pretty much anything else you put on your plate. 

Covered in flour: vegan pasta from scratch

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, and try again. If there's a pasta machine involved, maybe wait for the flour to settle first.

For my birthday I was lucky enough to be given a pasta maker from my parents. I have been wanting to make my own pasta after watching Michela Chiappa's Simply Italian on channel 4 (which, like Little Paris Kitchen and anything Nigel Slater's ever touched, makes for perfect sick-day viewing). Michela has a ton of useful tips for making pasta which I had never come across including using polenta or semolina to stop the pasta from sticking and some beautiful ways of adding herbs and colours to homemade pasta.

My first attempt at making egg-free pasta obviously was nowhere near as easy as Michela makes it look. However, I've managed to eat a meal from each attempt I've made, and the good news is it does get easier and quicker! Once you've got a knack to it and an evening free, dried pasta will feel pretty drab in comparison to the gorgeous pasta shapes you'll be able to make in around an hour. And if all else fails, you can always make bows!

Makes enough for four-six portions (but you can also freeze the dough to use at another point)

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1 cup 00 flour (I use a mix of flours and so far this mix has lead to the best results but you may want to experiment)
1  and 1/4 to 1 and 1/2 of water
Pinch of salt

Pour the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the water slowly, incorporating a little flour from the edges each time to gradually build up a ball of dough. Use your hands to get all the flour and water mixed together- it needs to be moist but not sticky.

Turn on to a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes. These will feel like the longest 10 minutes of your life but after about six you will see the dough begin to change and feel stronger and more elastic- add a little more water if you need it to keep it moist.

Cover the pasta with clingfilm and set it aside in the fridge for half an hour. In this time I start making a sauce to go with the pasta. You could also set up a tray or large plate for your pasta to dry on while you're making the batch. Sprinkle polenta or semolina over the try to stop the pasta sticking, as this will fall to the bottom of the saucepan when boiling the pasta and will not effect the taste.

After 30 minutes is up chop the pasta into four pieces so it is easier to work with, while keeping the rest covered so they don't dry out. I have found each of these portions makes enough for two meals, so you could freeze one of the pieces at this point to use for lasagne sheets or anything else you want to have some homemade pasta on hand for.

Take one of the pasta dough pieces and with your hands stretch it into a shape similar to a lasagne sheet. I have found this easiest to work with through the pasta machine. On the widest setting, roll the pasta through the machine twice. Then run through each roller setting until you get to the thinnest. You may need to fold it over if it gets too long, and add more flour to the pasta and machine if it starts to stick. It doesn't really matter how it looks at this point, just to get it through the rollers.

Once you've been through each setting twice, roll it through your chosen pasta shaper- I've been using the wider setting to make fettucine as this is easiest for now. Hold the pasta loosely in your hands as it comes out the rollers so it doesn't stick together, then place on the polenta tray.

After you've shaped all the pasta, boil a saucepan full of salted water. In another little pan, take a few spoonfuls of the sauce you've made and heat up gently. Once the water is bubbling, drop the pasta in and move around with a fork to stop it cooking together. It should cook much faster than dried pasta- in about 2 to 4 minutes. Then lift out and place in the smaller pan with the pasta sauce, and cook for another minute. This will allow the pasta to soak up the sauce while it is still cooking. Trust me, the finished result is entirely worth the faff.

Amelie's two sauce pasta

To borrow a phrase from Brian Cox, I am not being unduly hyperbolic when I say that Amelie's two sauce pasta is the stuff of legend round the few weird streets of London where I live. People have been known to cross rivers (mostly the Thames), climb mountains (mainly the steps to Amelie's old flat) and brave the two-for-£5 merlot from the local offy to get their hands on a bowl of this stuff.

It may not sound like much, but when it's been left to simmer and there's 1kg of pasta boiling on the stove, somehow it just becomes the tastiest thing ever. Doused within an inch of its life with olive oil and more garlic than truly decent, this is a rich, vegan supper and can easily be made gluten-free with the addition of GF pasta.

After nearly a year of pestering, Amelie finally gave me the recipe for the two sauces last week. Since then I've tried three times to recreate it, and barely come close. So the photos here are of Amelie's two sauce pasta, and Amelie's unadulterated recipe. Because there's no way I'm about to tinker with it.

For 4 people:

2 carrots (not too big)

2 onions (red or white)

2 tins of plum tomatoes (not chopped)

6 cloves of garlic (AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE) 

Good chilli (doesn't have to be spicy, it needs to have a nice chili taste) (I used piment d'espelette powder which I steal from my mum's shop. It's delicious because it gives a nice strong taste of chili without making it super spicy)

N.B.: if you use fresh chili, do not chop it as it will be too spicy (i.e. arrabbiata) Use one or two whole chili instead, and leave it in the saucepan til you serve the pasta.

Thyme

Tomato paste (optional)

Olive oil, of course - half a bottle if possible.

Basil

Start by chopping the onions, carrots, basil stems and garlic. Heat the oil in a saucepan and once it's hot, add the onions, basil stems & thyme and let the onions sweat for a bit.

Add the finely chopped carrots, the garlic and the chili and let it cook for around 10 minutes. You could also add a tablespoon of tomato paste. Add salt. Once the carrots are cooked, add the tomatoes and half a tin of water (or a bit more, depending on the thickness of the tomato juice).

DON'T crush the tomatoes yet. Let them cook nicely.

Put the lid on the saucepan but don't close the whole thing, leave some steam out. The tomatoes need to cook for 15-20 minutes, then they'll be easy to crush. After you crushed the tomatoes, the sauce will have to reduce a little bit as you will release some of the tomatoes' juice (sounds gross).

Put it on a very low heat, with the lid covering 3/4 of the pan...and leave it like this for up to 30 minutes.

It doesn't have to cook for ages and it's quite nice when you let it 'rest' for a bit before serving.

Don't forget to add salt and pepper and a SPLASH of olive oil. You could add some more chili powder too.

Voila!

Add the chopped basil leaves at the end, on the plate (and some olive oil).

OR make a pesto - olive oil, basil, 1 clove of garlic, almond or pine nuts depending on how rich you are, salt and pepper. N.B.: I don't recommend making pesto with cashew nuts...that's like fusion food gone too far.

One of the most important things about this recipe is to make sure the onions and carrots are well cooked and that the onions/carrots/garlic/chili/thyme mix is really tasty on its own. 

In spring/summer you could replace the carrots with a red pepper - yummy!

The tomato stall haul

Now don't get me wrong, I love tomatoes as much as the next gazpatcho obsessive. But until heading home with a brown paper bag full of tomatoes from the Tomato Stall, I didn't know they could taste quite so good.


Tomatoes are often used as a base, a general flavour-filler, or simply to add colour to a dish. But good tomatoes, like mushrooms, stand up to just a little seasoning all by themselves. After spending a few hours hearing how great tomatoes could be, I wanted to see exactly what the fuss was about. So I grilled some vine and plum tomatoes for breakfast, keeping it simple with just some balsamic vinegar and rosemary.


The vine tomatoes were fleshy and great with toast, but the plum tomatoes were something else. Grilled with the rosemary they went very sweet, and sort of like how I imagine sundried tomatoes should really taste. This is a great example of how stripping back flavours and ingredients can leave you with something totally new to try- no oil, onions, eggs, cheese, or anything else needed- just one amazing key ingredient.

Ingredients
Handful of tomatoes, some chopped in half or left whole
Few sprigs of rosemary
Balsamic vinegar
Seasoning
Toast
Salad leaves

Turn the grill up high, and get the kettle on. Place the tomatoes on an oven tray with some rosemary to sit along side, then season with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. Place in the grill for around 3-5 minutes- I like my tomatoes to just be beginning to cook through but if you like yours a little more cremated, leave longer.

In this time, sort out your toast and tea. Once the tomatoes are grilled, top the toast with washed salad leaves. Then scrape everything that's on the oven tray on- all the bits of rosemary and seasoning, and of course, as many tomatoes as you can fit.

The Tomato Stall

On Saturday I went on a mini adventure to St. John's Wood to track down Alice- who helps run the Tomato Stall at Barrow Hill Junior School. For the first time in forever the sun was out and we got to see a load of weird/cool West London sights... such as a cat on a lead, people running to help when a car alarm went off and bus drivers that say hello and don't mind you saying Thanks. It's like a different world over there.

Alice had been manning the stall since the early hours so we got some fresh coffee sorted to aid with the mental arithmetic (I will never again take for granted a grocer toting up the order in their head again). Helping Alice was so much fun, the stall smelt so good with all the fresh tomatoes, and it was great to chat to people about what type of tomato they needed and what they wanted to cook.

It's the last ever market at Barrow Hill next Saturday, as stall holders and people visiting have been dwindling, which is really sad to see when the place is full of amazing produce and people that want to talk all day long about food. I know there's a handful of really well known farmers markets every week in London, but you'd be surprised at how many happen within every few miles too- maybe have an ask around to see if there aren't any tucked away near you- I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday!