Where do all the old recipes go?
I’ve been lucky enough to have worked on a project that is really personal and thrilling to me for the last few months (so nearly finished if I can only stop procrastinating!). As part of the tying-up-loose-ends process, I’ve been looking over some of the work that has led to me this point and it consists of lots of recipes that I’ve ended up not using for one reason or another; very badly drawn (by me) vegetables with arrows to complementary spices, fruits and herbs; plenty of embarrassing copy (also me, Hi!) and lots of recipe titles that never got beyond the X with Y stage.
I’m sure lots of these threads will ultimately inform something more tangible down the line, but it’s been a useful and encouraging exercise in personal reflection: I’m feeling proud about the evolution and development of ideas that I’ve done to nearly be “done” with this particular body of work.
Whilst a big part of my work is as a food stylist, I love writing recipes in a different way because the existence of the words in the ingredients list and method means that the meal can be repeated. Usually the food I cook for photography is eaten within the hour, or scraped into a Tupperware where it loses its aesthetic appeal, and the anticipation of a beautiful plate of food is just as joyful as the flavour itself. I’m lucky that I do a lot of my work from my kitchen studio in Bristol (also my home), so I make a point of putting the food that’s just been photographed on my favourite crockery, making dinner after a day behind the stove more appealing than a meal which has been suffocating in a plastic box.
Anyway, here is a colourful recipe from a previous iteration of my ~mystery project~for you. It’s a sunny black bean taco, with four options for vegetable add-ons - all loosely seasonally suggestive. Make one or all of the toppings, but try and eat it as I would, with your second or third margarita.
1. Black Bean Tacos with Quick Cucumber Pickles
Serves 4
Fortunately for me, there is no correct or appropriate season for margaritas, unlike, say Aperol Spritz which should only ever be consumed outside from the first May Bank Holiday (although, I’m more of a Campari fan). And what loves a margarita better than a taco? In that spirit, I’ve developed a taco topping for every season to evoke the sunshine, holiday feeling to carry throughout the year.
By all means, cook a couple (or all!) of the toppings to serve together if the mood takes you, or experiment with red cabbage instead of white; green beans instead of courgettes (they’ll need less time in the oven overall).
In the height of summer when cherry tomatoes are cheap and plentiful, I like to roughly chop them and add to the cucumber salsa at the end with some chilli flakes, or, if you can get hold of them, tomatillos are great too.
For the black beans
3 tablespoons neutral oil, for frying
3 onions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground Cinnamon
2 fresh bay leaves
4 vine tomatoes, roughly chopped, or 1 x tin of chopped tomatoes
600g cooked black beans, or 2 x 400g tins black beans, drained
Salt & Pepper
For the Quick Cucumber Pickles
½ cucumber, cut into ½ cm half moons
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Juice and zest of 1 lime
2 teaspoons apple cider or white wine vinegar
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar or agave
½ teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
Handful of coriander, chopped
To Serve
8 corn tortillas
Greek yoghurt, sour cream (or use a plant-based version if you’re vegan)
Coriander
2 limes, cut into wedges
Guacamole (optional)
Heat the olive oil in a large (28cm) frying pan over a medium heat until the oil shimmers. Add the onions, which should sizzle in the pan straight away, a pinch of salt and a couple grinds of pepper from the mill. Stir the onions for 5 minutes until they begin to break down, then turn the heat down to low and cook the onions for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so, until they’re golden and jammy.
While the onions are cooking, toss all of the ingredients for the cucumber pickles, except the coriander in a bowl and scrunch well with your hands to work the salt, sugar and flavours into the cucumber. Place a clean, weighted jar on top of the cucumber and set aside for at least half an hour.
By this time, the onions should have reduced in volume by at least 1/3 and become buttery-sweet. Stir the cumin, oregano, cinnamon and bay leaves into the pan, increase the heat to medium and stir continuously until the spices are toasted and intensely fragrant (about 1 minute). Stir in the chopped or tinned tomatoes and continue to cook over a medium heat for 8 minutes, until the tomatoes are beginning to collapse and most of their watery juice has evaporated. Add the black beans and turn the heat down to low to cook for a further 20 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, push down on the beans to roughly mash half the mixture to thicken and intensify the flavour. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.
When you’re ready to serve, drain the liquid away from the cucumber pickles and stir through the coriander. Heat the tortilla in a hot, dry frying pan for 45 seconds each side until the tacos begin to puff blacken in places. Wrap them in a clean tea towel to keep warm. Serve the tacos in a stack in the centre of the table with the black beans and cucumber alongside for spooning over. Top with your chosen vegetable topping (below) and finally with yoghurt, fresh coriander and lime.
Variation 1. Blackened Cabbage or Brussels Sprouts (Winter)
Lime has the capacity to turn even the most hardened, winter-worn vegetables into something that tastes suddenly sunny and hopeful.
Brassicas & cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli often benefit from some blackening in places, bringing out a smoky sweetness and intensifying the naturally occurring sugars (yes, really!).
½ lime
Olive oil, for frying
½ white cabbage, finely sliced or 400g Brussels sprouts, finely sliced
Salt
Lay the lime on a chopping board. Slice the lime with a very sharp knife into 5 fine (3mm) slices. Discard the end piece and chop the remaining slices into fine dice. Pour a splash of oil into a frying pan over a high heat and add the lime pieces and cabbage. Add a pinch of salt and stir fry for 8-10 minutes until cooked through and black in places.
Variation 2. Miso Beetroot (Autumn)
The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed the similarities between this version and the red pepper version, with the only difference being the presence of miso paste here. Why? Beetroot’s distinct earthy (almost tasting of soil to some) sweetness requires a brightness (from the lime) & something intensely savoury to balance out its divisive, straight-from-the -ground character. You could also try this with carrots, celeriac and swede, which is a root vegetable more uniquely suited to be a vehicle for other flavours IMHO.
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon red miso paste
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons soft light brown sugar
4 raw beetroot, scrubbed peeled and cut into 1cm dice
Heat the oven to 200°/Gas Mark 6.
Mix all of the ingredients except the beetroot in a mixing bowl large enough to hold the beetroot too. Using a fork, stir the ingredients until a smooth, saucy texture is formed – you may need to loosen it with a teaspoon or so of water. When the paste is thin enough to fall from the spoon, but still coats the back of it, toss the beetroot to cover it all over. Transfer the beetroot and all of the sauce to a roasting tray and cover tightly with foil. Place in the oven for 30 minutes before removing and discarding the foil and returning to the oven for 10 minutes to concentrate and caramelise the flavours.
Variation 3. Rustic Courgettes (Spring)
By the time Spring comes around I’m usually ready to move on from my favourite winter green, purple sprouting broccoli, having consumed it on an almost daily basis to courgettes, which, with their softer edges and sunnier flavour provide an exciting change. Although courgettes are best picked in the UK after Wimbledon, the sun-kissed continental courgettes from Spain & Italy begin cropping up everywhere from late March, ready for the first t-shirt days here.
During the Spring, British farmers go through a period they call the “hungry gap” when the Winter crops have ended and the first harvests of the new season plantings are a way off. Most UK vegbox businesses rely on imported produce during this time (presumably because their customers would abandon them after weekly onslaught of stored root vegetables). I take the view that great tasting vegetables are better than none at all, or lesser quality. You’ll enjoy cooking and eating more if you allow yourself a little variety now and again.
Olive oil, for roasting
3 courgettes, roughly sliced at random angles into irregular 3 cm pieces.
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Salt
Juice of half a lime
Preheat the oven to 220°C/Gas Mark 7.
Toss the courgettes in an even layer on a large roasting tray with the cumin seeds and enough olive oil to coat each piece – if there is lots of overlap use two trays so the courgettes roast and caramelise in places rather than steam. Sprinkle over a generous pinch of salt.
Place in the oven to roast for 25 minutes, turning a couple of times during the cooking time. As soon as the courgettes come out of the oven, squeeze over the lime juice.
Variation 4. Spicy, Sweet Red Pepper
I prefer using pointy romano peppers for this as I think they’re a bit sweeter, and less watery than bell peppers, but use bell peppers if that’s what you have. Roasting them in their spicy coating will bring out a smokiness either way.
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons soft light brown sugar
2 red romano peppers, sliced into 1cm lengths, seeds removed
Mix all of the ingredients except the pepper in a mixing bowl large enough to hold the pepper too. Using a fork, stir the ingredients until a smooth, saucy texture is formed – you may need to loosen it with a teaspoon or so of water. When the paste is thin enough to fall from the spoon, but still coats the back of it, taste to check for seasoning.
Slice the pepper into 2cm lengths and discard the seeds and pith as you go. Toss the pepper in the sauce and when every piece is coated, transfer to a roasting tray. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes until the peppers are soft and catching in places.
