Recipes: Just One Pot

Following on from Tuesday’s post on cookbooks, another one of my favourite books is ‘Just One Pot’ by Lindsey Bareham.

What I love about this book is the recipes cover a whole range of cuisines including – India, France, Trinidad, Spain and Thailand amongst others.

As you can tell from the title, all the dishes can be cooked in just one pot, making it all very simple.

The flavoursome Goanese Potato Curry is a very cheap and filling vegetarian option and the delicious and easy to make Strawberry Custard Fool with Balsamico is a also a winner.

Goanese Potato Curry (Serves 2 – 4)

Ingredients:

• 750g new potatoes
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 red chilli, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp coriander seeds or 3 tsp ground coriander
• 200ml coconut cream
• 500g tomatoes, peeled
• 100g frozen petits pois
• 1 lime
• Handful coriander leaves
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Peel and rinse the potatoes and boil them in plenty of salted water until tender. Drain and leave to cool.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan until very hot. Stir in the onions and let them brown. Reduce the heat and cook for about 10 minutes until limp and soft.
3. Stir the chilli, garlic, cinnamon and coriander into the onions and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the coconut cream. Simmer gently for 5 minutes, then remove and liquidize the mixture to make a thick creamy sauce. Return the sauce to the pan.
4. Chop the tomatoes and place in a pan with 250ml of water. Boil for about 10 minutes and sieve directly into the sauce. Cut the potatoes into bite-sized chunks and add them too.
5. Finally cook the petit pois in boiling salted water and then add them to the dish. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes and then add the lime juice. Garnish with coriander leaves. This dish can be served hot, warm or cold.

Strawberry Custard Fool with Balsamico (Serves 6)

Ingredients:

• 500g strawberries
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 250g mascarpone
• 250g ready-made fresh custard
• 2 tbsp toasted almonds

Instructions:

1. Rinse the strawberries and remove the stalks. Set aside six strawberries. Quarter the bulk of the strawberries lengthways and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle with sugar and add the balsamic vinegar. Leave for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, crush the reserve strawberries through a sieve with the back of a spoon. Place the mascarpone in a bowl. Drain the marinated strawberry juices into the mascarpone together with half the crushed strawberries juice. Beat briefly until smooth. Tip the marinated strawberries into the mascarpone and amalgamate. Add the custard and loosely fold in the mascarpone.
3. Swirl the remaining crushed strawberry juice over the top and loosely fold to give colour.
4. Cover with cling-film and chill for one hour. Scatter the almonds over the top and serve.