Vegetarian Recipes

When the Spanish cook octopus they like to ‘scare’ it first by dunking it in and out of boiling water a couple of times before the final plunge…this being an Italian dish we decided to refrain from terrorising our poor dead eight-legged cephalopodic friend and just plop it straight in the pot. Google+

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What’s that? Your house doesn’t smell fishy enough? You like the idea of being greeted by a fishy waft every time you walk in the front door – no matter how much Glade ‘After the Rain’ you have sprayed about? Then why not make your own fish stock? And here’s how … Google+

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For this recipe we experimented with frozen clams from a recent Ocado shop. Despite our middle class credentials we wouldn’t ordinarily shop at Ocado but we had a £20 off voucher and thought we’d make use of the offer. A flourish of reckless clicks and 240 quid later, this didn’t seem such a bargain. Also, [...]

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Sorry about the irregular nature of recent posts but I have recently started a new job in Manchester and feel it would be considerate to my new employer to wait a few weeks before I spend all my working day writing up posts for yumblog. On the plus side I have discovered a superb fishmonger [...]

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It’s taken a while to write up this, the third of our festive gravali because to be honest I got a little over excited at the fishmonger’s (Paul, Todmorden Market) where I bought the salmon and ended up with 1.5kg of the stuff. Delicious as it was (and this beetroot version was the tastiest of [...]

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Obviously our enjoyment of Christmas was seriously curtailed by the devastating news of Prince Philip’s hospitalisation – thank God the BBC ran half-hourly news bulletins to keep us up to date with every nuance of this never-changing national cataclysm. Here at Yumblog Cottage we tried to keep our subjective peckers up by preparing and scoffing [...]

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Lately crabs have become very much the decapodic crustacean of choice here at Yumblog Towers. This is a preference very much aided by the fish stall at Roman Road Market which sells big brown locally caught (Mile End Road at low tide) specimens for under four (s)quid. Having recently made this magnificently delicious crab tart [...]

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This is a variation on yet another recipe from Rick Stein’s current and excellent Spanish cookbook. Variation because gone is the tarragon (tarragone?) as we didn’t have any growing in the Victorian walled garden here at Yumblog Towers and ditto the carrot*. Plus we decided to construct one big fat tart rather than 12 individual [...]

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This is essentially a simpler version of the ‘Spicy Seafood Stew‘ which can be found a few posts below, although none the inferior for it. It is based on a recipe from the excellent ‘Rick Stein’s Spain’ which is itself based on a trad Spanish dish called ‘All-i-pebre’. Feel free to continue the process of [...]

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It was Saturday morning and so the evening meal needed to be planned. She wanted something seafoody (but not with mussels). He wanted something spicy (but not Asian). They both wanted something tasty (not the usual slop they serve up). Cook books are leafed and websites consulted (but not food blogs as these are written [...]

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A traditional Italian (Puglia) one pot dish of mussels, potato and rice. Google+

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…or Seafood Spaghetti baked in paper parcels. To be honest, this method doesn’t particularly impart any more flavour than if cooked in the more traditional way, however there is something satisfying and vaguely theatrical about peeling open the paper and wafting aside the aromatic steam to reveal a hearty mound of spaghetti and seafood. Google+

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A recent trawling of the recipe archive of the excellent Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine website, produced among other things, this simple ‘one-pot’ fish dish. Instead of cod we opted to use the (considerably) cheaper and (coincidentally) sustainable whiting and spend the money we saved on an impressive quantity of prawns. Google+

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In theory you could arrive home from work after an exhausting day Ice Road Trucking, and 10 minutes later be sitting at the dining table sipping a chilled white Rioja and tucking into this tasty treat… quicker than it takes to microwave a bowl of Batchelors UnSavoury Rice. Google+

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This recipe is based on Yotam Ottolenghi’s legume noodle soup which, although delicious, we felt could be improved with the audacious addition of a little chilli heat and a handful or two of prawns. Google+

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The recent purchase of a £25 bargain pasta maker* has led to a spate of fresh pasta making here at Yumblog Towers. Whether this enthusiasm lasts or whether this gadget ends up in the back of the cupboard along with the onion goggles, Waring Professional Martini Maker, OXO Good Grips® Strawberry Huller, Cuisinart® Soup Maker, [...]

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One Saturday we decided to get up and do the shopping before breakfast. Hard to imagine, but true. We went to the fish stall round the corner and witnessed it in it’s full bounteous glory. Indeed such was my excitement that I went crazy and bought shrimps for to make potted shrimps. Tis lucky that [...]

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‘I can’t be in love if it’s plastic to live on my own just seems tragic but we’ll raise our swords high when our day comes you thought it was gold but it was bronze so, get here in time when our day comes you thought it was gold but it was bronze’ If this [...]

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This lovely dish is made only from locally sourced fresh ingredients and is very popular at our friendly and unpretentious ‘local bistro’ restaurant ‘Charlie Uniform November Tango’. Google+

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“I’m sitting at this table called love, staring down at the irony of life. How come we’ve reached this fork in the road, and yet it cuts like a knife”* Google+

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This was something a little bit special for Valentine’s Day courtesy of Rick Stein. Google+

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I came across this Mitch Tonks recipe on the excellent BBC ‘Get Cooking‘ website. If this dish is anything to go by, fishermen eat exceedingly well. Google+

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Following a traditional Christmas in Suffolk (Turkey or Quorn roast with all the trimmings, a disappointing episode of Doctor Who and Israel bombing Palestine, etc) we had a second, less traditional Christmas dinner a few days later in Berlin (Some photos here). This lettuce-wrapped bass was the main attraction, served alongside an indulgent Gratin Dauphinois [...]

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A delicate piece of cod smothered with cream and cheddar and then baked along with avocado – now this is a retro dish the great and terrifying Fanny would be proud of. Google+

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A Squid (Superconducting Quantum Interference Device) is a very sensitive magnetometer used to measure extremely small magnetic fields and is based on a superconducting loop containing Josephson junctions. Less well known, it is also a tasty fishy treat which it turns out, goes very well with lentils. “If animal trapped call 410-844-6286″ — Baltimore, traditional. [...]

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To distract herself from the terror of the flight back from Madrid, Blogger D bought a Spanish food magazine called ‘Cocina Viva’. This dish was cobbled together/expertly assembled via a combination of close scrutiny of the photograph and a bad translation of one of the recipes. Despite this, it turned out to be a triumph. [...]

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Guest contributer JW of Madrid via Clapham writes: This is an Italian dish that I have been curious about for a number of years, and what prompted me to try it out was seeing a well-known TV chef preparing it in such a way that I’ve been obsessed with making it ever since. Madrid, which [...]

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The weekend started with a nostalgic ‘The Only Ones‘ gig at Koko, and ended with a boozy tapas extravaganza of which this was the main attraction. Between the two the sun shone on Bethnal Green, a traveler returned and Thunderbirds Were Go. Google+

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I have to be in the mood for mussels and that mood strikes about twice a year. Even when I’m in the mood I still find them slightly revolting and try to avoid looking too close at what I’m eating. I think that’s part of the pleasure. Google+

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If you’re lucky enough to live by the sea or a Waitrose, then use fresh seafood for this recipe. If you live anywhere else on this island, you’ll have to use frozen. Google+

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