What I'm eating now: Shakshuka

If you're a lover of runny yolks, look no further: I have a wonderful idea for your lunch today. Or impromptu weekend brunch party. Or weekday dinner. Yes it's that good, and what's more, it's cheap, healthy, and comes together in a flash. You can make it for one, two, or up to eight people. Technically you could scale it up even further, but that would need a really large pan, which I'm guessing most of us don't possess. Best of all, it really is a one-pot meal. Sold already?

Shakshuka is a Tunisian dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. I think of it less as a recipe and more of a blank canvas, though. In the mood for Middle Eastern? Stick with the traditional version. Craving some Indian spice? Swap out the harissa for garam masala and add a splash of coconut milk to the sauce. More in the mood for Mexican? Jazz it up with cumin & coriander, serve with dollops of sour cream and sliced avocado.

Recipe: Shakshuka (serves one; scale up if you have more people)

2 large eggs

1 large ripe tomato, chopped (if out of season use equivalent in canned)

1 shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno or hot pepper, minced (more or less to your taste)

2 t harissa

1 t sweet paprika

1 T olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Pita, Crumbled feta & chopped parsley or mint for serving

Heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the onion, hot pepper and garlic and cook for a few minutes, till soft. Add the tomato, spices and season to taste. Once the tomatoes have collapsed (about 2-3 minutes) crack the eggs over the surface of the stew, spacing them evenly. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or more depending on how you like the eggs. Serve at once, topped with crumbled feta and chopped herbs. Have plenty of bread available to mop up the delicious sauce!

Summer's last hurrah

Come Labor Day weekend, and it struck me that summer was almost over, and, thanks to all the summer travel, I hadn't made ice cream in the longest time! So off to the farmers' market I dashed, in search of peaches, which will (sigh) be over soon as well.

I made peach ice cream from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop, but decided to jazz it up with a swirl of raspberry. Like most of his other recipes, this ice cream recipe is perfect, not too sweet and really allowing the flavor of the fruit to come through. The raspberry swirl adds a burst of bright berry flavor and a beautiful color contrast as well.

Since I love peaches so much, I wanted to also try my hand at preserving them for just a bit longer, but having no experience at jam-making, settled on a simple peach butter instead. Most commercial fruit butters are too sweet and spice-laden for my taste, so I made mine with about half the quantity called for by most recipes, and added only half a vanilla bean to the peach mixture for a subtle vanilla scent. I thought about adding some bourbon, but decided against it, preferring to let the pure peach flavor come through instead.

Is that the limit to how much of a domestic goddess I can be, you ask? Well, the peach butter was crying out for some scones to go with it. What's a scone without clotted cream, though? Rather than dashing out to hunt for a gourmet store that sells it, I thought - why not make my own? I buy lovely cream from Amish farmers to make ice cream, and had a pint of it left over. The solution: Bake it in a low oven (180F) for 5-6 hours, chill overnight, et voila! You have deliciously thick clotted cream, ready to be spread lavishly on your scones :) It isn't as divinely smooth as the store-bought kind, but tastes just as good.

Scones + Clotted Cream + Peach Butter = Weekend brunch heaven!

Recipe: Dried fruit scones (Makes 8)

Adapted from Delia Smith's recipe

1 3/4 c white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)

2 t baking powder

3T sugar

1/4 t sea salt

6T cold butter, cubed

3T buttermilk

1 large egg

Small handful mixed dried cranberries and golden raisins, chopped

Cream & coarse sugar for topping (optional)

Preheat the oven to 425F (220C).

In a food processor, pulse the first four ingredients briefly to combine. Add the butter and pulse a few times till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Scatter the fruit over the top, then beat the buttermilk and egg together and add to the processor bowl. Pulse 3-4 times till the mixture comes together. Turn the mixture out on to a floured surface and knead briefly to combine. Do not overwork the dough or the scones will be tough. Pat the dough 1" thick and then cut into rounds using a cookie cutter, re-rolling and cutting out more scones from the scraps. Or, if you're lazy like me, pat the dough into a round and then just cut it into wedges. Transfer the scones to a parchment-lined sheet, brush the tops with cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until well risen and golden brown. Serve warm with clotted cream and preserves. These are best the day they are made, but any leftovers freeze very well.

Weekend brunch and a trip to a Korean store

Top: Gateau Basque, homemade granola, vanilla yogurt
Bottom: Winter fruit salad, green bean-tomato salad, ricotta tart
Not pictured: Bagels and cream cheese, mimosas/ bellinis

I love an American-style brunch on weekends. It's always the most relaxed meal, one you can linger over as long as you like, sipping mimosas, nibbling on food from time to time, with all the time in the world to catch up properly with friends. Best of all, it's easy to put together a luxurious brunch with relatively little cooking! When entertaining, I like to do things ahead as far as possible to be able to completely relax when my guests arrive. I chose a winter fruit salad that has to be made the day ahead, and for dessert we had a Gateau Basque, a confection which tastes like a cross between a cake and a giant cookie, which also tastes better the day after it is made. So all that I had to do the morning of was to bake my savory tart, toss a salad and buy fresh-baked bagels from the store. The only extra bit was making my own granola, hardly necessary since you can buy excellent ones in many gourmet or health food stores. However, I have had my eye on this Nigella recipe for a while now, intrigued by the mix of sweeteners and also the unusual use of applesauce, so this was the perfect excuse to try it. (And I have a whole jar now! Yippee!) The granola turned out very tasty, though next time I may reduce the nuts to two cups and use a mix of pecans and almonds.

Gateau Basque, cherry preserves filled in a cake-like cookie crust

My Saturday brunch this past weekend was extra special because a friend who came over later took me grocery shopping in a Korean store. Now, I love Korean food, but have never attempted to cook it before. I even have a store near me that sells a number of Korean products, but unfortunately the packages are all in Korean, leaving me wondering if they are safe to buy for vegetarians or not. It was great to get a guided tour from someone in the know, and I came back happily armed with rice sticks, Korean red pepper paste, kimchi and three different kinds of mushrooms! I'm excited to expand my culinary repertoire some more.

Spoils from my trip to the Korean store

Recipe: Gateau Basque
Adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz
Crust: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground almonds (I used Bob's Red Mill almond flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
Filling: 1 cup good-quality cherry preserves (Raspberry might be nice too)
3 tsp brandy
Egg wash: 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp whole milk
To make the dough, put all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse till combined. Add the butter and process till it is in small pieces. Add the egg, yolk and extracts and pulse till the dough comes together in a ball. Divide it into two pieces, one larger than the other, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour.
To make the filling, stir together the preserves and the brandy.
Preheat the oven to 350F(180C). Butter and flour a 9" springform pan. Roll out the larger piece of dough into a 10" circle between two sheets of lightly floured plastic wrap. Line the pan with this circle of dough, then spread the filling in the center, leaving a 1" border. Similarly, roll out the smaller circle of dough into a 9" circle and place it on top of the filling. Press the edges to seal, then brush the top of the cake liberally with the egg wash and run a fork diagonally across to create a criss-cross hatch pattern. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until the top is deep golden brown. Cool completely before serving.