Recipes for lockdown: Elderflower cordial

My first attempt at making elderflower cordial a few year’s ago didn’t go very well. I followed the key piece of advice I had been given, namely, to pick the flowers right at the beginning of the season just as they start opening. I was on the lookout every time I walked or ran along the Parkland Walk in Finsbury Park and, as soon as the little white flowers started blossoming, I started foraging.

I also took care to inspect the flower heads for insects and discarded any that looked like they might have a little colony. I then poured boiling water over them and leftover night to infuse. The next day I strained, added sugar and lemon juice and simmered to dissolve the sugar. The result was… sugar syrup. Not a hint of elderflower. I ended up using it as a sweetener for cocktails and thought no more about it until last year…

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Recipes for lockdown: Smoked salmon quesadillas

I did have 3 Sydney restaurant posts lined up to share with you, but given that the whole world is in lockdown, it doesn’t seem relevant nor appropriate to reminisce about the delicious things I ate on my recent holiday in Australia.

I am back in London and confined to my home, except for essential shopping and one outing per day to exercise. I have taken to cycling for my daily dose of fresh air and, as I have paniers, I’ve been collecting my shopping on route. No panic buying, mind, just what I need for the next few days.

Since the rest of the nation seem determined to clear all staples from supermarket shelves, I have had to get a bit creative in the kitchen. I have noted an interesting trend though, which is that exotic fruits, vegetables, meats and fish are still in abundance.

"I feel like the we are eating better in this global pandemic than we normally do" said the M&2V, as we munched on fillet steak with chimmichurri and hasselback potatoes on Sunday night. "Living it up in the crisis."

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Preserved lemons

I’ve been eagerly anticipating today for two months now. Birthday? Holidays? No! My preserved lemons are ready.

I love Love LOVE preserved lemons. They transform any dish into something special. I mostly use them in Middle Eastern inspired dishes – tagine, cous cous, Ottolenghi-style salads. They also add an interesting twist to fish dishes, dips and seafood pasta.

I used Amalfi lemons from Natoora for this batch, so I am especially excited about them, but any unwaxed lemons will do. You need to leave them for at least two months before using and they get better and better with age. These ones are still yellow, but my Dad used to have some so old they had turned brown. You can still use them, just be aware that their flavour intensifies with age so you don’t need to use very much with very mature ones.

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Monk's beard with burrata

Monk’s Beard, also known as Friar’s Beard or Goat’s Beard, is a delicious Mediterranean plant, mainly cultivated in Southern Italy, Spain and Northern Africa. It looks similar to chives, but the flavour is somewhere between samphire (salty with a hint of the sea) and spinach (minerality).

It is generally served blanched, lightly fried or steamed, so that it retains its crunch. I like it best with a simple dressing of olive oil and lemon, as in this salad, but it also works well with anchovies, garlic, chilli and/or fresh herbs. With any of these additions, it makes a great side for white, flaky fish.

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Artichoke spaghetti with chilli, lemon and parsley

I made this pasta a few weeks back for my cooking demo at the Natoora shop in Chiswick. Everyone loved it. One man loved it so much he bought every ingredient on the recipe card so he could recreate it at home.

For such a simple pasta, it took a while to perfect. The first one was too dry, the second too lemony, the third was just right. This is the third recipe.

In the pictures, the artichokes are the mammole variety. They are similar to globe artichokes, in that they have meaty and tender outer leaves which can be eaten raw or cooked. A colleague who was watching me do my practice run for the shop asked why I had used mammole if I was only using the heart. He suggested tema or spiky artichokes instead. He is Italian so I thought I’d best not argue.

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