DIPS AND SIDES

spiced hummus

Open and drain the chick peas, smash the garlic with your palm, add peas, garlic, tahini, cricket powder, spices and lemon juice to the mix.

Turn on the food processor and slowly add some water followed by the oil. Season to taste. The mixture can be rough or smooth depending on your preference. You can make it spicer if you like by adding more curry powder or fresh chilli. Finish with olive oil.

sweet chilli

Dice chilli into small pieces, take out seeds if preferred and add to a non stick pan. Cover with the sugar, vinegar and water. Bring mixture to boil and reduce to simmer. Remove when slightly thick and allow to cool. Keep in airtight container.

Pickled vegtables

Peel and wash all vegetables. Chop them into bite sized pieces however you prefer. Add to a jar for pickling. In a pan heat the water, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, bay and turmeric. Bring to boil, simmer and allow to cool. Add the liquid to the jarred vegetables, tightly screwing on the lid. Leave in fridge for up to 6 months. Be sure to clean and sterilise glass jars before use

Romesco sauce

If you using pre made fire roasted peppers then simply drain from juices. You can keep some juice to add when blending, it will give a nice taste.

If making from scratch then heat a hob burner and lay the peppers across the flames until the skin in black. Allow to cool before removing skin under running water. Then de-seed. Cut tomatoes in half with stem facing up and lay them out on foil in a tray. Quarter the red onion and add to tray. Grill on high heat until skin of tomato and onions are blackened. Allow to cool and remove skins and stalk. Toast the almonds in a dry pan on low heat to gain colour taking care not to burn them. Blitz in food processor to make a course flour. Add to this the cricket flour, garlic, tomato, onion and peppers and start to blend the vinegar, water, oil and parmesan. Blend well before adding puree and season to taste. Finally pick the herbs and add them to the mix, using a splash of the pepper juice if needed. To serve toast a few extra almonds and place on top with a drizzle of oil

Kimchi

Peel and wash the vegetables. Using a mandolin grate the daikon. Run under water for 10 mins to get rid of the bitterness then set aside. Shred the courgettes, carrot, ginger and garlic then chop the cabbage and spring onions by hand.

Place the cabbage in a bowl and massage salt into the leafs. Cover with water and let it stand for 2 hours. Rince and allow to dry. Mix all the vegetables together and mix the paste with vinegar then pour over the vegetables, add the sugar and cricket flour, mixing well. Place in a sealed container and leave in fridge for at least a week.

Tomato sauce

If you are using fresh tomatoes you can blanch them in hot water after scoring the skin. Then remove skins and stalk and chop roughly. if you are using tinned then no need.

Peel and dice all the vegetables small, then heat oil in a saucepan. Add veg and sweat down for 3-4 mins. Then add tomatoes, sugar, and bay leaf followed my the water. Allow to simmer for 15 mins before removing the bay leaf. Add puree, basil and the cricket flour. Blend with stick blender and season to taste.

This sauce works well as base for all your other sauces. keeps for up to 1 week in fridge or can be frozen.

Nước chấm

Smash the white of the lemon grass with flat knife to release oils, peel back the green and discard. Finely slice the root.

Mince garlic and add to bowl with lemon grass. Dice the chilli and add to bowl. Then add remaining ingredients and whisk together. Season to taste.

Dukkha spice mix

In a dry pan roast off seeds and spices. Be sure to keep them moving to avoid burning them. When smoking take off heat and grind either in spice grinder or a pestle and mortar. Pan toast off the nuts. When brown allow to cool and blitz roughly in food processor. Finish with spices, cricket flour and sesame. Season to taste. This will keep for around a month so you can use on any dishes as garnish.