Alice Zaslavsky's fried green falafels with cauli tabbouleh,hubba-baba ghanoush and pickled pink cauli.Benjamin DearnleyFinding the joy in cooking comes down to one simple idea,Alice Zaslavsky believes. It's about letting go of the concept of being a"good cook",and all the pressure and hang-ups that come along with it.
Instead,we can aspire to be a better cook,finding our own rhythm and flow in the kitchen.
"Better Cooking is a lifelong journey,"she writes in her new cookbookThe Joy of Better Cooking.
Alice Zaslavsky's new cookbook.Ben Dearnley "It's made up of single steps,with plenty of whoopsies and notes-for-next-time along the way.
"But every step gets you a bit closer to cracking the codes that unlock the confidence to feel freedom and joy in the kitchen."
Here are two recipes to bring joy to your cooking.
Fried green falafels
I learned to make this falafel care of Emi from Egypt,a vivacious woman whose childhood in bustling Cairo could be contained within these fragrant footballs. Emi told me that once I tasted her falafel,I wouldn't want it any other way. I was struck by her confidence,but thought I'd best reserve comment until we'd completed the demo of this very dish. Dear reader,it really is the best falafel recipe,and I'll never make it any other way. Emi uses dried fava beans though,and if you can find them,I'd recommend you sub them in for the chickpeas – but I'm trying to remove every possible excuse in the book,so checkout chickpeas it is!
Hubba-baba ghanoush
You know those ads for tacos where the little girl says,"Why not have both?"Well I am that girl,asking,if you're deciding between making hummus or baba ghanoush,why NOT have both? In this mash-up of the two,the chickpeas help make the baba even smoother and creamier,while the eggplant makes the hummus infinitely more interesting. And the pickled cauliflower florets just cap it all off – like chewed-up bits of purple Hubba Bubba bubble gum. On toast with avocado,as a"puree"with Middle Eastern mains,or straight from the fridge,this dip is just hubba-hubba.
INGREDIENTS
- 1¼ cups (250g) dried chickpeas,soaked overnight (see Shortcuts)
- 2 strips dried kombu (optional,but good if you're gassy)
- 2-3 medium-large eggplants,the glossier the better
- 1 massive handful of parsley,roughly chopped
- 1 massive handful of coriander,roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves,peeled
- juice of 2 lemons
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil,plus extra to serve
- 2 tbsp tahini (seeSubs)
- 1 tbsp salt flakes
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp sweet smoked paprika,plus extra to serve
- 1-2 ice cubes (seeTips)
Pickled pink cauli
Tips
- The ice cubes help the hummus become extra fluffy – a very cool trick I learned from Noor Murad at Ottolenghi Test Kitchen. If you're worried your food processor or blender can't handle it,skip this step.
- If using a gas cooktop to char the eggplants,use some foil as a splatter guard. Take the trivet off your chosen burner. Poke a hole in a sheet of foil,so it will skirt around the heat source,and place it over the top,to cover the rest of your cooktop. This will catch the eggplant weepings and make for easier clean-up.
- If you're roasting the eggplant in the oven,to save on energy,bake something else in there too – like,say,a halved butternut pumpkin,or some veg.
- To cut the cauli into florets,place upside-down on a chopping board,and hold onto the stalk end while you twist or snip away at the florets from the base. Cut the florets in half again so that they're all roughly the same fork-friendly size.
The tang of the marmalade splices through the richness of the biscuit and filling.Benjamin DearnleyLady Marmalade melting moments
You know that version of the songLady Marmalade,where Christina Aguilera pumps out that EPIC note as she begins her verse? What a MOMENT,right!? That's what these melting moments remind me of. The slightly bitter tang of the marmalade in the buttercream is enough to splice through the richness of the biscuit and filling,and as it melts on your tongue,you'll find yourself having a moment,too. I've adopted the custard powder of the classically Aussie yo-yo biscuit,because I like the colour and flavour it provides. Most melting moments recipes use cornflour – either of these additions stop the flour and fat binding too tightly,which means the biscuit will,quite literally,melt in your mouth.