Tomato Chutney

It has been so long since my last post, it is nothing short of ridiculous. I've been feeling terribly lost without my familiar, weekly routine of mulling over what to cook, poring over cookbooks and experimenting in the kitchen, then sitting down to write about the whole experience. I don’t have much to show for the hiatus other than some late nights due to work assignments falling due at the same time plus the general chaos of life with two littles.

Thank You!

Dear all

A belated note to say a heartfelt thank you for visiting our pop-up stall at the Ladies’ College Route 66 Carnival last Saturday.

We have sold out of all but one or two items!! We are simply blown away by the interest in our products.  Thank you so much for your support!

We are working on additions to our product list and look forward to sharing it with you all in the coming weeks, in readiness for orders in late October. Please do drop us a line at: roastsimmerandbake@gmail.com if you would be interested in hearing from us when we produce new batches of delicious, home-made goodies.

TODAY at the Pop Up - the LC Mess!

It's finally time to reveal our surprise dessert action station...  THE LC MESS!

A new twist on a classic, this beautiful dessert features a muddle of crispy, crumbled meringue which gives way to a perfect marshmallowy centre, melding into softly whipped cream. Punctuated with the tart, sweetness of fresh strawberries and drizzled with a lovely raspberry purée, this is heaven in a bowl. With just the right amount of sweetness, playing against the sharpness of the fruit elements, we can't think of anything more refreshing on a hot and sunny afternoon.

Granola Two Ways

Look what we made yesterday!

Our gorgeous golden cranberry and almond granola and decadent dark chocolate orange granola are packed and ready to go!

We are firing on all cylinders, preparing for our pop-up stall this Saturday. Our kitchens are a mess,  and we are covered in sugar, honey and chocolate but we couldn’t be happier or more excited!!!

Pop-up Stall!

Friends!

We have some exciting news - Roast, Simmer & Bake is launching a range of 'artisanal edibles'! We will be having a pop-up stall at the Route 66 Carnival organised by the Ladies' College Old Girls' Association on 8 September 2018.

Roasted Butternut Pumpkin and Parsley Salad

Sometimes all I want to eat is a simple, nutritious, comforting meal, with minimal effort, and packed with flavour. This roasted butternut and parsley salad hits the spot and always leaves me feeling satisfied, content and convinced that all is well with the world. It is so easy to whip up, that I made it for dinner yesterday, in the midst of cooking four different things for Roast, Simmer & Bake's new pop-up stall, in a kitchen that looked as if a tropical cyclone had torn through it.

Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies

I am massively late with this post, and a thousand apologies for that. Life has been hectic these past few weeks, but in a generally good way - work is taking off, the kids are on school holidays, we've had a couple of weddings to attend and Roast, Simmer & Bake has an exciting new project on the horizon... stay tuned for more news on that very, very soon!

No matter how mad one's schedule gets though, it is always nice to pause for minute, to take a breath,  enjoy the sunshine on your face, look out at the garden, have a cup of hot tea or coffee... and if you do, then you need these cookies to go with.

Murgh Musallam (Whole Braised Baby Chicken)

“If ever a culture was reflected in food, look no further than the Mughals. There is a definite link between their approach to cooking, their approach to textile, their approach to architecture, their very lifestyle. The majesty of their buildings, their dazzling costumes, the richness of their culture… all can be found in their amazingly august, bejewelled, rich food.”

– Anirudh Arora and Hardeep Singh Kohli, ‘Food of the Grand Trunk Road’

What an introduction! Not many dishes could live up to that kind of hype, but this amazing one does it justice. It is definitely a special occasion dish, only to be attempted with plenty of time on my hands.

Tropical Mess

I have had a deep and committed love affair with meringue for as long as I can remember – meringue and I, we go way back. From the time I was a little girl, any dessert with meringue was the epitome of sophistication in my unsophisticated eyes. Two desserts stand out in my memory – Chocolate Meringue Gateau, a towering confection of chocolate cream and meringue layers, which was the dessert of choice in Colombo households in the 90s. The other was a delicate creation of my grandmother's – mini meringue nests in which dollops of lemon curd and cream nestled, cushioning slices of mango, peach or other fruit.

Beetroot and Yoghurt Dip with Za’atar

I love beetroot in any form - it is probably my favourite root vegetable, as it is so versatile and combines beautifully with many other ingredients. For a while, I was obsessed with finding great beetroot dip recipes. There is something about the vibrant, magenta colour of a beetroot dip that is just so appealing – it calls out to you, just asking to be scooped up with your crudités of choice, again and again and again. After several experiments, with several recipes, I have finally settled on this one, from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi's beautiful book, Jerusalem -a purée of beetroot lightened with Greek yoghurt and perfumed with za'atar - as my favourite.

Pesto and Pasta alla Genovese

We are having bright, hot, sunny days in Colombo, and my herb garden is thriving. Without exaggeration, I have a forest of basil on my rooftop right now. Ok, so that’s a slight exaggeration… 12 pots do not quite a forest make. I’ve been growing basil in my little potted herb garden since we moved into our place in Colombo – it is a delightful plant to grow, mainly because it requires very little care to do well. A cool drink every day and plenty of sunshine and it grows faster than my toddlers. As a relatively inexperienced herb-gardener, the abundance of basil didn’t always send me into a pesto-making frenzy. In the early days, I was so thrilled that my herbs were not just surviving but actually thriving, that I naively refrained from too much pruning. This was a mistake because the more vigorously one prunes basil, the more verdant and lush it grows. I now prune enthusiastically, which means that I have a constant, fresh supply of these fragrant, emerald leaves to hand.

Florentines

Florentines were one of the first biscuits I ever made, very early on in my baking career. The recipe was from one of the first volumes in my cookbook collection, Essential Baking, presented to me by my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. I have been making Florentines from this recipe for over 12 years, but thought I should probably do some research before baking and writing about them for this post. And I’m glad I did, because I’ve learned a few things… first, despite its name, this lovely biscuit is more of a French confection than an Italian one.

Amaretto Ice Cream with Stewed Balsamic Blueberries and Almond Bread

Did I mention earlier that making home made ice cream can become something of a compulsive habit? In case anyone doubts the truth of that statement, here I am again with another post on ice cream. The stuff is so moreish, so highly addictive, that I am of the firm opinion that domestic ice cream machines should come with a health warning.

Chargrilled Octopus and Orange Salad

I thought I’d try an ingredient I’d never worked with before and enthusiastically picked octopus as without any particular recipe in mind for this post. Having returned from the fish shop, I flipped frantically through my cookbooks for a while without much success. Thank goodness for Google, which yielded this recipe for a salad of char-grilled baby octopus and orange – what did we ever do without it?

Chunky Avocado and Tomato Salsa

It’s avocado season in Sri Lanka, and I am in heaven… the avocado trees at my parents in laws’ property in Kandy have borne a bumper crop this year, and I’m a very grateful beneficiary. Perfectly jumbo teardrop-shaped, these fruit are luscious, creamy and, packed as they are with nutrients, can be consumed with a clear conscience.

Candied Orange and Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’m a very risk-averse person. Maybe it’s something to do with being a lawyer, but I’m overly cautious and any risks I do take are usually heavily calculated towards producing good results. Which is a long-winded way of saying I need to be a bit more adventurous… with life in general, and cooking in particular. I do believe, truly, that in cooking, as in life, the biggest failure is to be so crippled by the fear of it that one does not try anything new at all. And so, here I am, valiantly trying to stand up with the courage of my convictions and not let the fear of a badly chosen recipe or (even scarier) making up a recipe, stop me.

Pineapple and Ginger Marmalade

 

I’m quite new to the whole jam-making thing. I’ve made tomato chutney for years and have become pretty adept at that process, simply because I refuse to eat rice and curry without some form of condiment or the other, and this is my favourite. And I always have a bottle of homemade pineapple jam in the fridge, but this is little more than pineapple stewed until sticky. I hadn’t ventured towards other forms of preserves until I came across a recipe for pineapple and ginger marmalade in David Lebovitz’s wonderful book, Ready for Dessert. This looked interesting because: pineapple. And also: candied ginger. Not to mention: rum.

Jambalaya

"Creole and Cajun cooking, the food of New Orleans and the surround countryside, is one of the most vibrant and exciting cuisines in the world today. French in its origin and accents, this spicy and sometimes fiery tradition also embodies elements of Native American, Spanish and African cooking… The Creole cooks of New Orleans created a sophisticated and complex cuisine that blends French techniques with local products and traditions… Cajun cooking is the earthy, flavourful and sometimes fiery cooking of the southern Louisiana countryside.”

– Denis Kelly, ‘Creole & Cajun Cooking’

This jambalaya is an amalgam of two recipes – one from Denis Kelly’s book and another from my grandmother’s old cookbook. This was the book that she started compiling when she took cooking lessons (as young ladies of the time did) and was one she added to throughout her life. Aachhi was a formidable cook and some of my earliest memories are of helping her in the pantry.  Her book is yellowed, tattered and generally a bit worse for wear, but I got it re-bound with a lovely leather cover and it is one of my favourite cookbooks, full of recipes accumulated over the years, many of which I have enjoyed at the ancestral dining table. I love the book as much for the memories it holds as for its recipes.

Rhubarb crumble ice cream

So I have an admission to make: I have not always been a fan of rhubarb. Growing up, I could never quite see what the fuss was all about, and I staunchly steered clear of any and all rhubarb dishes. Was I missing out or what? Alas for this recent convert, rhubarb is not always easy to find in Colombo and even when I have managed to stumble upon it, it looks tired, woody and not at all inspiring.

My family and I spent a lovely long weekend in the misty, mountain town of Nuwara Eliya. At an elevation of 1,868m above sea level and nestled among emerald green tea plantations, Nuwara Eliya takes you back in time to an era when the British would escape the stiflingly hot confines of Colombo and the South for some much needed respite in the cooler climes of the mountains. Although today, the illegal buildings mushrooming everywhere have robbed the town of much of its old world charm, there is still a wistful, nostalgic feel about the place as if it is remembering better times.

Aubergine with buttermilk sauce

I love Yotam Ottolenghi’s books on cooking vegetables, Plenty and Plenty More. I always think of them like that – books on cooking vegetables, rather than as vegetarian cookbooks. I’m one of those people who struggles without having meat or fish to get my teeth into, so to speak, for a meal. I love vegetables, of course – roasted or raw, steamed, sautéed, curried or crunchy and fresh in a salad – but I always think of them as sides, and never as taking centre stage on the plate. But, there is something about Ottolenghi’s recipes that convinces me, at least for the duration of the meal, to change that attitude. Almost every vegetable dish I have cooked from Ottolenghi’s books, I’d be happy eating by itself. And that’s saying something.

The beginning

I love food. It is the reason why I can never, ever, say no to seconds; why I am always starting a diet... tomorrow; why one of my mother's most recurring admonitions as I was growing up was that my eye was bigger than my belly; and why, most recently, a case of gastro that should have been nipped in the bud by a hefty bout of antibiotics, has taken almost two weeks to leave me alone. Simply put, I love preparing food and eating it, and I rarely let anything get in the way of either.