Tuesday, 22 January 2013

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!



No comments: