Parsi Zucchini Frittata

Based on Madhur Jaffrey's Parsi Omlate, this egg, um ... pie... thing... miracle! is a fluffy, flavorful pan-full of heaven. The browning hides a flavorful soft middle of almost cake-like texture.

1 lb zucchini, grated
3⁄4 + 1 tsps salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped (170g) (or 1 cup finely chopped chives, see NOTE)
1 medium potato, diced 1/4 inch pieces (8oz)
2 + 1 Tbsps. vegetable oil
1 hot green chilli pepper, minced
1 large tomato, chopped (8-9oz)
1 1⁄2 tsps. ground cumin
1⁄4 tsp cayenne pepper
ground black pepper
9 eggs
3 Tbsps. fresh parsley or 3 Tbsps. cilantro
1⁄4 tsp baking powder

1. Grate the zucchini and mix with 3/4 tsp of the salt. Leave in a collander for 30 minutes, then squeeze all the liquid out. 
2. Meanwhile, chop and measure out the remaining ingredients - it makes the rest so much easier: prepare the onions and the potatoes; chop the tomato; mince the chili; measure out the cumin, cayenne, black pepper; break the eggs in a bowl; measure out the salt and baking powder.
3. Now that everything is chopped, measured and squeezed, heat some oil in an 10 inches fry pan. 
4. Fry the onion and potato and chilli over medium heat until potatoes become just soft. 
5. Add the squeezed zucchini, tomato, cumin, the rest of the salt, cayenne, and a generous amount of black pepper (if using chives, add now). Stir until tomato becomes soft. Set aside.
6. Whisk the eggs until frothy, then dump in the cooled vegetables along with some finely chopped parsley or cilantro. 
7. Sprinkle in the baking powder, making sure it dissolves completely.
8. Wipe clean your fry pan, add the last tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, set the temperature to med-low, pour in the egg mixture. Cover the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the centre gels. 
9. (Optional) Here's the tricky part. You have to flip the whole pan over to slide the omlate back into the pan to cook the top. To do this, use a dinner plate, place it over the pan, holding it with one hand, and use the other to lift and flip the pan. The bottom of the omelet should be a beautiful brown. Now, slide the omelet back into the pan so that the browned part is on top and cook another 5 minutes or so, uncovered. Flip it onto a plate again to serve.
10. NOTE: If using optional chives, fry the potatoes and chilli (add more chilli if you want it hotter) and fry until potatoes become just soft. Add the chives to the ingredients in step 6.

Table d'hôte #6

For a hot summer day, cool meals are king. But to make the flatbread, a separate or summer kitchen is best because it bakes hot and for a long time.

Starter - Coleslaw with Vinaigrette

Main - Onion Flatbread

Side - Wheat Berry Salad

Dessert -  

Hummus Sandwich

LHSS Score: 8.6 / 10 with Coleslaw with Vinaigrette

LHSS Score: 8.2 / 10 with Salade de Carrottes

Per sandwich

60g hummus

100g Coleslaw with Vinaigrette or Salade de Carrottes

1/8 to 1/4 tsp horseradish sauce

2 slices Commons Yogurt Bread (160g)

1. Toast the bread.
2. Spread the hummus on the bottom piece of bread.
3. Evenly spread the salad on top of the hummus.
4. Spread the horseradish sauce on the other slice of bread (it will be quite thin).
5. Put the two sides together and enjoy!

Table d'hôte #5

The bartha and oatcakes combination rarely fails to surprise. The oatcakes are meant to be used like injera bread when eating Ethiopian curries. The coleslaw brings in the brightness and crunch.

LHSS Score 9.2 / 10

Starter - Coleslaw with Vinaigrette

Main - Split Pea and Greens Bartha

Side - Staffordshire Oatcakes

Dessert -  

Table d'hôte #4

This makes for a warming cold weather plate, seasonally appropriate from autumn into winter.

LHSS Score incl. 8.2/10

LHSS Score without cake 9.1/10

Starter - Coleslaw with Vinaigrette

Main - Split Pea Soup

Side - Yogurt Commons Bread

Dessert - Oat Spiced Apple Cake 

Granola

Of course this goes very well with 1/4 cup of yogurt, and it's an easy and tasty way of eating psyllium husks, which I just mix in with the yogurt. Quick, easy, delicious.

Number of portions: 16

Serving size: 57 g

Calories per serving: 236 kcal

Speed: Slow Food

Experienced cook (active time): 12–15 min

Novice cook (active time): 18–22 min

Total elapsed time: 1 hr 45 min – 2 hr 30 min

LHSS Score: 8.25 / 10

5 cups / 430 g rolled oats

4 Tbsp (40g) sunflower seeds

4 Tbsp (45g) pumpkin seeds

¼ cup (35g) hazelnuts 

¼ cup (35g) ground nuts, such as almond or hazelnut (can pulse nuts in blender until like coarse sand)

½ cup dried fruit (raisins or cranberries are nice)

1 tsp poudre douce or cinnamon

pinch salt

⅓ cup (55 g) brown sugar

2 egg whites (60 g), whisked 'til frothy 

¼ cup vegetable oil of your choice (50g)

¼ cup maple syrup or honey (75g) 

1½ tsp vanilla 

1. Preheat oven to 280°F. 
2. Line a large sheet with parchment.
3. In a large bowl combine oats, seeds, nuts + nut flour, brown sugar, spices + salt.
4. In another bowl whisk the eggs until frothy, then add the oil and sweetener.
5. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and massage with your hands to coat evenly.
6. Spread granola ½–¾ inch thick on your 11x16" parchment-lined tray.
7. Leave a “donut hole”, approx 5" in diameter, in the centre for more even baking.
8. Press it down firmly with wet hands or the bottom of a pot.
9. Bake at 280°F for 45 min, do not stir.
10. Check at 35 min to ensure it's not burning.
11. When done, don't remove it from the oven, but turn the oven off and prop the door open. Let the granola sit in the oven until it's fully cooled.
12. Break into clusters, add the dried fruit, mix well and store in an airtight container.

Yogurt Commons Bread

Over the years I've made modifications to the Commons Bread. Recently I've wanted more fiber in my diet but I still prefer the taste of the white flour over whole wheat. Psyllium husks seem to do the trick quite nicely. I've also started to make labneh, or yogurt cheese, and used the whey in the bread. I found that it changed the texture of the bread really nicely, and I even feel like it even keeps the crumb of the bread moist for longer. Since I don't always make labneh or have whey on hand, just plain yogurt does the same thing.

SLOW

Experience cook 4 hours

Novice cook 4 hours

3 cups flour (450gr)

¼ tsp instant yeast (yes, really, that's all!)

1¼ tsps. salt (12gr)

1½ cups water

½ cup yogurt or liquid whey

1 tsp psyllium husk powder

Mix the flour, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the water and yogurt to thoroughly blend into a very wet dough that'll look more like a sticky batter. Cover the bowl and let it rest in a warm place for at least 12 and preferably up to 24 hours. It’s ready for the next step when the surface is dotted with bubbles. It is crucial that the dough be kept warm, otherwise the little bit of yeast won't be able to propagate in your dough - if you don't have a warm place, put in the cold oven and turn on the light; this should keep it plenty warm to rise. If you don't have a warm place at all, the key is to watch for the little bubbles on the surface, which will take longer to appear in a cold place.

Flour a work surface and dump the dough out onto it, cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, layer a bowl with some parchment paper - when the dough has finished rising you will pick up the whole thing to deposit into your hot dutch oven.

Using only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers, shape it into a ball and deposit it into your parchment-lined bowl. Cover and in the same warm place, let rise for about 2 hours. When ready, the dough will be more than double in size.

Put a large cast iron pot or Dutch oven (cocotte) inside to heat (I use a 1 3/4 quart CorningWare dish) and turn on the oven to heat to 450°F\230°C. 

When the dough is ready, remove the pot from the oven, lift the parchment-lined dough out of its bowl and into the pan. Shake the pan to settle the bread evenly. Cover with the lid, and bake 30 minutes. Remove the lid, and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until the loaf is nicely browned. Cool on a rack.