Speedy one-pan winter dinners
the May temperature shift calls for easy warmth feat. baked aloo gobi & bowls of magenta
Today’s newsletter is being written while my laptop is precariously perched on the kitchen window sill. There’s a pot of leek, cauliflower & potato soup bubbling away on one element, a double-boiler Swiss meringue setup on another, and two pandan slab cakes baking in the oven. So in other words, just a usual evening in my kitchen (LOL not). This week has squeezed tight, and multi-tasking is very much necessitated - which for me means baking components of a 30th birthday cake while dinner simmers and I try to scratch my head for some inspiring recipes to share with you this week.
Given this week has not allowed time for my usual recipe-testing and development, I’ve decided to head back to the archives. Over the past 2 years, ever since finalising the manuscript for my cookbook Good Vibes, as I’ve been developing recipes (which is normally at least a weekly occurrence) I make a decision as to whether I think the recipe is:
a) worth sharing with the world (ie you)
b) to be put on the back burner for tweaking and re-testing at a later date
OR
c) absolutely positively worth scrunching up into a ball, as if it were a piece of paper, and slam dunking the idea in the bin
For the recipes that manage to find themselves in column A, in the past I have then thought to myself: do I want to share this on my website (for any punter to stumble across); do I want it in my newsletter, either for free or paid subscribers; OR do I want to keep it to myself, not share it immediately, and rather squirrel it away for a potential future cookbook or other worthy project.
This week, slim on time (as I’ve also had a few celebratory cakes to sneak into the schedule - see pic below!) to create a new offering for you all, I found myself going to this list of recipes that I’ve been squirrelling away, a group of recipes that you could argue are actually some of my favourites, the ones I’ve felt were worth saving. And as I was going through the list, I realised that it actually makes little sense to keep these recipes hidden for some future cause. Especially when weighing up whether or not to share them with my trusted newsletter subscribers. Because even if I was to write another cookbook, there’s no reason that it can’t include triumphant recipes that I might have shared in another platform in the past. They’re still my recipes. They’ll still be new and exciting for anyone who hasn’t cooked them before.
So with all this in mind, I’ve decided that this week, I would share two recipes from the sacred archive. Two recipes that feel like useful ones to have in your repertoire as the May shift to cooler weather begins - I don’t know about the rest of you, but Dunedin has been FREEZING this past week.
Apologies for some of the photos being pretty amateur this week ~ if I’m not recipe testing specifically for the newsletter often I won’t take a pretty picture; and then sometimes the lighting is shit or I’m so goddamn hungry that all plans to plate and style go out the window.
In recent months, I’ve really been appreciating recipes that are one-pan wonders, especially since being in a smaller kitchen where lots of dishes does not always pair well with limited bench space. Today’s recipe for free subscribers is one of these one-pan wonders, a riff on the traditional North Indian dish Aloo gobi, a vegetable-based dry curry typically prepared on the stovetop and often served with rice or flatbreads. My version sees everything baked in the one pan, cauliflower, potatoes, rice and all: it could not be easier, and without any sacrifice of flavour.
Then for paid subscribers, a bowl full of warming magenta goodness. Beetroots are still relatively cheap at my local market at the moment (so hopefully they are in your area too). With a soffritto base and punchy flavours of lime, dill, orange and pomegranate, it’s certainly a keeper.
Cooking from Good Vibes: One of the cakes I’m making this evening, part of a 30th Birthday Extra Long-style Cake, is a variation on the Pistachio, lime & raspberry cake from the Delight chapter of Good Vibes. In the book I call it “the king of all party cakes” and it truly is. Moist, more-ish, fun and suitable for every generation at the party.
Yesterday I had a phone call with one of my favourite people, who also happens to have ginger hair, and we were laughing about how I need to do a Ginger-themed newsletter soon, especially given the change in season and the need to try and level up in the immunity department. So look out for this in the coming weeks.
Much love,
Alby xx
Baked aloo gobi rice
Again I apologise for the low-qual photo, but then again perhaps fancy (and sometimes unrealistic) food images are overrated. If you pull this out of the oven in the evening in a poorly lit kitchen, it will probably look something like this. First you roast the cauliflower, onion and potatoes with punchy aromatic whole spices, before simply adding your rice, liquid and other flavour boosters. Returning it to the oven covered, as it bakes the rice cooks and absorbs the liquid, along with all of the delicious flavours. Make it once, and you’ll soon be playing it on repeat.
Hands-on Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
serves 4-6 as a main
Cost Estimate: $11 (about $2-3 per serve)
Ingredients
500g waxy potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2-3cm chunks
1 medium cauliflower, cut into large florets (about 700g florets)
2 medium brown onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar and pestle
1 tsp black mustard seeds
4 tbsp canola oil
400g can chopped tomatoes
250g basmati rice
1 tbsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp sea salt
about ¾ tsp ground chilli (adjust to desired heat)
juice of 1 lime, to serve
1 large handful coriander leaves, finely chopped, to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced (or 200°C conventional).
To make the baked aloo gobi rice, to a large high-sided roasting or baking tin (about 33cm x 23cm), add the chopped potatoes, cauliflower florets, onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and black mustard seeds. Pour over the oil, toss through the vegetables and spread out into an even layer in the roasting tin. Roast for 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is starting to turn golden at the edges. Remove from the oven, add the remaining ingredients (except the lime juice and chopped coriander) and pour over 700ml boiling water. Toss the vegetables and rice through the liquid so the rice and vegetables are evenly submerged. Cover the tin tightly with two layers of foil to seal and bake for 40 minutes, until the rice and vegetables are tender and the sauce thickened (the rice will absorb most of the liquid as it cooks).
To serve, take the tin from the oven and remove the foil. Squeeze over the lime juice and scatter with chopped coriander. Serve warm in bowls with your favourite raita or flatbreads.
Alby’s Advice:
You can mix things up with whichever whole spices you have around, star anise and cardamom would also work nicely. Alternatively, using ground spices would also be fine to use.
Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) can be purchased form all Indian food stores ~ it’s really worth having some on hand in your pantry, as it brings a distinct flavour to dishes like aloo gobi, or palak paneer.
Beetroot + pomegranate soup with orange + dill
I love love love beetroot. Its nutritional value is terrific, as is its sweet-yet-earthy flavour - just as long as you’re okay with pissing red for a few days, of course. This soup starts from a strong soffritto base - soffritto being an Italian term for finely diced vegetables, often carrot, celery and onion, that is fried slowly in olive oil at the start of the cooking process to form a solid flavour base for the sauce, soup or stew that develops. Orange and beetroot is a rather classic combination, and I love the tang that pomegranate molasses and lime bring when added to the party. Some plant-based creaminess and grassy dill then collude and mellow for a bright bowl of beautiful.
Hands-on Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
serves 4-6 as a main
Cost Estimate: $17 (about $3 per serve)
Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 celery stalks, leaves removed and diced
2 medium red onions, finely chopped
1 tsp sea salt, plus extra to taste
750g beetroot, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
8 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground chilli
finely grated zest and juice of 2 oranges
750ml vegetable stock
2 tsp dried dill (or 2 tbsp fresh dill)
1 tsp dried mint
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp lime juice
¾ tsp cracked black pepper
400ml can coconut cream
2 tbsp tahini
chopped fresh dill (optional), to serve
Method
For the soup, place the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the carrots, celery, red onion and salt and sauté for 15 minutes until nicely softened. Add the chopped beetroot, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, chilli and orange zest, and cook for a further 3 minutes, tossing through the vegetables. Add the orange juice, vegetable stock, dill, mint and 750ml boiling water. Increase the heat, bring to the boil, and once bubbling vigorously reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 45 minutes until the beetroot is cooked through (a knife should easily pierce through the flesh). Remove from the heat and using a stick blender (or similar), blitz the soup until smooth. Stir in the pomegranate molasses, lime juice, black pepper and 200ml coconut cream. Adjust seasoning to taste with extra salt (I find an extra 1 tsp salt is usually about right).
To serve, in a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 200ml coconut cream and tahini until smooth. Ladle the warm soup into bowls, drizzle with a swirl of the tahini coconut cream and finish with chopped fresh dill.
Alby’s Advice:
Given mandarins are in season, feel free to swap these for the oranges (yes, you can also use mandarin zest!). About 3 mandarins for each orange, depending on the mandarin size.
Pomegranate molasses is available at some supermarkets and most specialty stores, including Indian and Mediterranean food stores