From Blighty (London, England): Yotam Ottolenghi! 🌞

PEA AND MINT CROQUETTES



SERVES FOUR as a main course; more as a starter or snack.

For a while, we had a pretty wicked trio running the evening
service at Ottolenghi in Islington. Tom, Sam, and Myles were
notorious for working hard and playing hard—in so many
senses—but unfortunately the whiteness of this page prevents
me from disclosing any details. All three had two things in
common: a cheeky, irresistible grin and an unusual passion
for what they cooked. These croquettes, which sound more
complicated than they actually are, are their creation and
worth a little effort. They can be made well in advance and
taken up to the stage where they are covered in panko
bread crumbs and frozen. You can then partially defrost and
fry them as you need. The recipe makes 16 generously sized
patties, ample for four people. To feed more, or to serve
as a snack or starter, make them into smaller croquettes,
weighing about 1½ oz/40 g each.

3 tbsp olive oil
6 banana shallots, or 12 regular shallots, finely chopped (about 2 cups/300 g)
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
5¼ cups/700 g frozen shelled green peas, thawed
⅔ cup/20 g mint leaves, finely shredded
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 eggs
¾ cup plus 1 tbsp/100 g all-purpose flour
2½ cups/150 g panko bread crumbs
sunflower oil, for frying
salt and black pepper
Sauce
1 tsp dried mint
½ cup/120 g sour cream
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper

To make the sauce, place all the ingredients in a bowl with ¼ teaspoon salt
and a grind of black pepper. Mix well and refrigerate until needed.

Place the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and
sauté for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until soft. Add the vinegar, cook
for 2 minutes, and then remove from the heat.

Place the peas in a food processor and briefly blitz. They need to break
down without turning into a mushy paste. Transfer to a bowl and stir in
the shallots, mint, garlic, 1 egg, ½ teaspoon salt, and plenty of black pepper.
Line a tray that will fit in your freezer with parchment paper and shape the
pea mixture into 16 patties (around 2 oz/60 g each), about 2¾ inches/
7 cm across and ¾ inch/2 cm thick. Freeze for a couple of hours to firm up.

Place the remaining 3 eggs in a bowl and gently beat. Place the flour in a
separate bowl and the bread crumbs in a third. Remove the croquettes
from the freezer and, one at a time, roll them in the flour, dip them in the
egg, then coat in the crumbs. You can then either return them to the
freezer at this point or leave them at room temperature for about 1 hour,
until partly thawed. Whatever you do, it’s important, when it comes to
frying, that the patties are not entirely frozen: you want them to cook
through without burning the crust.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF/220ºC.

Pour the oil to a depth of 1-inch/2.5-cm into a sauté pan. Place over
medium-high heat and leave for 5 minutes for the oil to get hot.
Turn down the heat to medium and fry the croquettes in batches
for about 4 minutes, turning once, until both sides are golden brown.
Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven for 5 minutes to
warm through. Serve at once, with the sauce spooned on top or
served alongside.

from "Plenty More"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20691056-plenty-more

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MIXED VEGETABLES AND YOGURT WITH GREEN CHILE OIL



SERVES FOUR

This is a dish I picked up on a visit to Istanbul. I had it in a kebab restaurant,
but for me it was actually the vegetables that were the highlight. Try to
overlook the fact the vegetables are fried; the dish is still extremely fresh
tasting thanks to the yogurt and all the herbs. Serve it with Fava and
Crushed Carrots with Harissa and Pistachios as a perfectly balanced
mezze trio, with some fresh bread to pile the stuff on.

3 large plum tomatoes, each cut into 6 wedges (10½ oz/300 g)
sunflower oil, for frying
2 medium zucchini, cut into ¾-inch/2-cm chunks (about 3 cups/400 g)
1 large eggplant, cut into ¾-inch/2-cm chunks (about 5 cups/450 g)
2 large red peppers, stalks and seeds removed, cut into ¾-inch/2-cm chunks (about 3½ cups/420 g)
¾ cup/150 g Greek yogurt
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp shredded fresh mint
1½ tsp dried mint
1½ tsp lemon juice
salt and black pepper
Chile and herb oil
1 green chile, coarsely chopped
⅔ oz/20 g flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp chopped mint
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ cup/60 ml olive oil
salt

Preheat the oven to 325ºF/170ºC.

Spread out the tomatoes on a baking sheet, sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt,
and place in the oven for 40 minutes to dry out a little. Remove and set
aside to cool.

To make the herb oil, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a small food
processor with a pinch of salt and process to a smooth, thick sauce.

Pour the sunflower oil to a depth of 2-inches/5-cm into a saucepan and
heat over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, turn down the heat to
medium. Pat the zucchini and eggplant dry and deep-fry them and the
red pepper in batches for 12 to 15 minutes for each.

The eggplant might take a little longer than the other vegetables: you
want it to be golden brown. Drain in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and
set aside to cool.

Finally, in a bowl, stir together the yogurt, garlic, fresh and dried mint,
lemon juice, and plenty of black pepper. Add the vegetables and
tomatoes and stir very gently. Spoon the herb oil on top and serve.

from "Plenty More"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20691056-plenty-more

Exciting & delightful veggies!