Mediterranean Tofu Cutlet

 So last Saturday evening, I finished filming on Some Girls 2. I didn't actually get home until 12.30am and proceeded to watch the Voice and Million Pound drop (I probably shouldn't admit that) until at least 4am. I don't know what it is with work, but even if I work late I still feel like I have to have a an evening. Needless to say, I was a bit knackered on Sunday and so I didn't cook. However, on Monday evening, I attempted Tofu.

I never really cook with Tofu but when I eat out, I usually have it in a noodle soup or something where it's been deep fried in some sort of batter. I'm not sure how healthy this is and also it doesn't taste of much. As Tofu is an ingredient with which you need to infuse flavour, I want to experiment a bit with it to see how it can be used in all sorts of recipes.

On this occasion, and I think it does work nicely, I cut it into slices and marinaded it. Prep time is only 5 minutes so it's very easy. My marinade consisted of garlic, zest and juice of half a lemon, olive oil, fresh thyme and oregano, dried herbs, salt and pepper. I left it to marinade for an hour.

I then shallow fried it in the marinade juices for around 4 minutes on either side and served it with roasted butternut squash, tomatoes and onions on a bed of pearl barley. I think it worked nicely and would also work as the topping for a salad. If you do cook it like this,  you need to buy a very firm tofu so that it has a good solid texture. Otherwise it won't feel like the centrepiece to your meal and will fall apart easily.


Ingredients (serves 2):

1 carton firm/ extra firm Tofu. 350g
As it was only two of us eating I only used half a pack but a full pack would do for 4 people.
Half a garlic clove
Zest and juice of half a lemon
Fresh herbs: oregano and thyme
Dried herbs: anything you have in the cupboard: Italian spices and the like.
Generous glug of Olive Oil
Salt and pepper to season.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Marinade time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 10 minutes maximum- that's only for the Tofu mind. It depends what you serve it with.

Rooftop BBQ with G&Ts in Tea Cups

So I think the prize for fitting as many people as possible  (well...perhaps a little bit of an exaggeration) around a small table in a tiny North London flat should go to me. As Nel was down in London, we ended up having a very impromptu BBQ on our balcony. As our fellow rooftop neighbours were hogging the outside space with their loud guests and banging Ibiza tunes, we ended up hanging out inside, whilst good old Bill manned the Barby.  I did actually make my berlotti bean pate which I wrote about last week and this went down a treat with nachos.

With tea cups of Gin and Tonic and a teapot of Pimms we had a very merry night and it was great catching up with old pals. Needless to say that today I don't feel at my cooking best. And there is still a mound of dishes to wash.

However, I have managed to go for a swim at London Fields Lido which absolutely woke me up. It was pretty fresh. This was followed by tea and cake, naturally. Andrea and I went to a lovely Vegetarian cafe on Broadway Market - I've added the link to my related links. Very nice and hundreds of unusual teas to choose from.

Now off to make some sort of meal with the left overs of last night's offerings. Back next week with more recipes rather than ramblings!

Berlotti Bean Pate

This week has been a bit mental with work and I've only had today off. I've also been trying to get a bit fitter with the odd run, leaving little time to cook or relax really. However,  I made this bean Pate on Friday night. It's so easy but really tasty and packed full of protein. And...the best thing of all. It takes only 5 minutes to knock together. You could have it as a light evening meal with a salad (like we did). Or, serve it as a lovely starter with some watercress on the top perhaps for some added class.

Basically, just whizz up all of the ingredients with a hand blender. Either serve immediately (which will be a bit more like a hummus texture) or chill for an hour and serve. Delish and easy!!!


Recipe/ ingredients:

1 can of beans (of your choice)
half a clove of garlic
half a tub of cottage cheese (150-200g)
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to season...I put a bit of cumin too and smoked paprika
A good knob of butter and a drizzle of olive oil