Cooking Session 30
Moroccan Chickpeas + Lemon Madeira Cake + No-Churn Plum Pistachio Ice Cream
Happy Friday folks!
I was dreaming of autumn, for the past couple of months. But alas! We are marching through autumn and autumn never arrived. Instead, it is hotter than hell and all I want to do is make cold salads and cold smoothies and chilled cocktails and sit with my feet in a body of water. All of which I plan to do as soon as I hit send on this newsletter.
Today, you must’ve noticed that I Cook Republic is back on Substack (if you are getting this email, you don’t have to do anything). I have added all of the last couple of newsletters to the existing ones so you’ll be able to access everything in one spot. Have fun browsing while I leave you with some fresh new recipes from the blog and a quick list of cold, refreshing recipes you can cook this week! Enjoy :)
Fresh From The Blog
Moroccan Chickpeas
There are so many delicious things you can make from a can of chickpeas. These Moroccan spiced chickpeas are a current favourite. All you really need for this stand-out dish is a good Moroccan spice blend (also known as ras el hanout).
Ras el hanout is a North African spice blend of warming spices like cumin, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, paprika, cardamom, black pepper and often saffron. Like its Indian cousin garam masala, ras el hanout varies from region to region with spice vendors often keeping their recipe blends close to heart. Ras means “head” and hanout means “shop” and this beautifully fragrant spice blend is indeed the king of the spice shop.
Cooked in one hot cast-iron pan on an aromatic base of caramelized onion, chilli and garlic; this warm chickpea and spinach salad is delicious on its own with a squeeze of lemon and toasted almonds or even better in a wrap with some garlic yoghurt! And only 20 minutes to make …
Lemon Madeira Cake
By the time I posted this Madeira cake recipe, it had been baked 21 times. To say that I was sick of baking it would be an understatement. To proclaim that it is absolutely delicious and profoundly fool-proof would be very accurate.
Madeira cake doesn’t actually come from the Madeira islands in Portugal. It is simply a rich butter cake that was invented to accompany sweet Madeira wine. This citrus-infused cake with a high flour-to-fat ratio (unlike a pound cake or Victoria sponge) usually has a flat or sunken top (the famous crown-shaped “v”) as it doesn’t have any extra leavening and is baked low and slow.
Cakes that sink might be terrifying to a baker (any baker!), but not in this case. Despite sinking, it cooks through beautifully as you can see in this photo and there is never any raw batter left behind. I’ve made sure of that. In fact, you might find it really hard to bungle this up. I also share a couple of tricks to get a crack on top. The best part? It tastes even better as it gets stale. It gets dry and crusty almost like a soft biscuit and then it is perfect for dunking in your coffee or Madeira wine if you so prefer.
Cooking & Learning
Last week I shared a couple of easy everyday recipes as Instagram Reels. The recipes are in the caption if you click on the links. Easy Chickpea Red Curry and delicious Thai Chicken Krapow Salad.
If you are serious about making a really good tray of Focaccia, you have to look up 3-Day Focaccia on Kitchen Projects.
Then there is the GORGEOUS Brussels Sprouts, Beet & Chickpea Salad! So lush! Tiny tiny chopped bits of goodness with a healthy creamy dressing.
This week I have been testing this gorgeous Carrot & Spice Loaf! It tastes incredible and only needs a couple more rounds of testing.
What To Cook This Week
A batch of my homemade healthy granola and these three nourishing smoothies resting in your fridge will make hot mornings a lot more bearable. The granola is so good with chilled yogurt and raspberries or ice-cold milk and juicy strawberries.
Happy Smoothie, Salted Caramel Banana Smoothie, Green Kiwi Bomb Smoothie with mint and lime .. oh my goodness! Really refreshing.
You can’t go wrong with a Classic Greek Salad! Quick to put together and keeps well in the fridge (2 days/assembled OR 4 days/unassembled). Or try my Antipasto Couscous Salad which in my opinion is the best salad to eat cold straight from the fridge (I largely survived on this when I was at uni!)
Make Me Now!
NO-CHURN PLUM PISTACHIO ICE CREAM
Serves – 6 to 8
- 600ml thickened cream
- 1 can (395g) condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste
- ½ cup pitted firm red plums, chopped
- 2 tablespoons crushed pistachios
• Add cream to a large bowl. Whisk for a couple of minutes until light and frothy.
• Add condensed milk and vanilla bean paste. Whisk for 2-3 minutes until
creamy.
• Pour ice cream mixture in a large, shallow metal container (16 X 21 X 4cm). Add plums and scatter pistachios. Mix lightly. Cover with foil and freeze in the freezer for at least 10 hours (overnight).
• Remove 3-4 minutes before serving. Scoop into dessert cups with ice cream scoop. Serve immediately
Food In Prose
While the bread is in the oven, I leave the kitchen and go out onto the street for some fresh air. The moment I go back downstairs is magical. The smell of bread baking never fails to overwhelm me with sweet, nostalgic memories of my childhood.
It may sound crazy but if I bake in the afternoon the bread is never as good. Maybe it is because the ingredients are living things. I think the dough knows from the way I handle it if I am miserable. In the afternoons I am too tired to put the amount of love into the mixing that I do in the mornings. If I’m happy and energetic, the bread always tastes much better.”
~ Gennaro Contaldo (Gennaro’s Passione)
Making me hungry as I read, Sneh! All look and sound delicious as always. Thank you. But, yes, some cooler weather would be appreciated.
Oh Sneh you never disappoint. Always a source of inspiration when I can't be bothered cooking. Love these smoothies! Bring on the cooler weather