In praise of bland

We spend our life being told by TV chefs that you should add some citrus to make stuff "zingy" or "bring on the heat with some chilli" and I must say that much of my food has spikes of flavour in order to make the diner raise their eyebrows half way up their foreheads! However, it pays us to remember what joy there is in the bland flavoured foods which offer yang to the ying of spiky flavours, the palates on which we paint with the sexier more vibrant flavours.

We must also remember that a bland meal is not necessarily one without flavour. When you avoid the punch of the "big flavours" you find that you start to taste the subtlety in things and enjoy the soft calm and gentle earthy warmth of taste without shock.
The good folks at Abel and Cole managed to get our veg box to us on Friday before the snow set in properly and in the box was a beautiful cauliflower. Creamy, dense and heavy, it was a thing of great beauty and huge potential. My instincts said "bring on the chilli" but, for once, I ignored them. I made some lovely fritters and served them with mayonnaise laced with the tiniest bit of garlic. I took for inspiration a recipe by Ottolenghi

One small Cauliflower
Two eggs
A mug of plain flower
An onion (slowly fried until light brown and sweet)
1 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Tsp Turmeric

Break the cauli into small florets and boil a little longer than you really want to. Drain and mash until they have texture but there are no big lumps. Beat the eggs and add then to the flour and the spices. Season and add the batter to the cauli. Using a ladle to pour the batter into a frying pan, cook the fritters in a thin slick of oil (about 3 to a frying pan) for about 4 minutes on each side, keep warm and repeat. They should be a lovely golden brown.
I garnished with lime chunks (I know, I know, spiky flavours), rocket leaves, sunflower seeds and black sesame seeds.

The steaming glory of the bland!

Happy new year!

I Have not written much lately as we have had the builders in, trying to ensure that Corner Cottage survives another 138 years! So cooking anything remotely complicated has been impossible. However, as the majority of the work was completed before Christmas we were able to enjoy a fine spread over the Festive Period. When we were first married, the beautiful wife and I decided that we would spend Christmas without any family (apart from the cats) and that we would visit relatives after the madness was over; we enjoyed it so much that we have done the same every year since. For the big day we had a duck, the perfect feast day roast for two. I got mine from Abel and Cole who do my veg box and it was first class with plenty of bits and bobs to nibble on in the days after.


Carving.

   The bird itself carved like butter and tasted like a dream. We went a bit overboard with the trimmings which put the little kitchen under pressure but we managed to eat well, very well. The day had started with eggs BBenedict. I'd made some stove top muffins on Christmas eve and pre poached some eggs, so all that was required was a quick whisk up of an hollandaise sauce and we were away.
Today I decided that all the left overs and bits and bobs had to be used up so we had:

Salad of Butternut squash, dressed with lemon and yoghurt
Salad of shredded Brussels Sprouts with salami
Salad of Rocket with smoked salmon
Spiced cakes of root vegetables

My fridge is now clearer and ready for the good things of the New Year. This year I plan to waste less, Eat more vegetarian dishes, bake more and experiment much more with food. Here's to a very peaceful, prosperous and delicious 2013 with all the food we need and a little of what we want too.