A study in January eating
Plus recipes for shakshuka, black bean burrito bowls, and butternut squash and miso tortellini
It’s about this time of the year that I begin to crave tomatoes.
The markets are full of them and they don’t look that bad. But I know from experience that greenness and bitterness lie behind their bright red exterior.
Yet I crave the freshness. I always do in January, the month with nothing fresh about it.
I pull back from buying tomatoes at my local market stall. It’s not the time. Instead, I turn to the stalwarts of winter cooking. Butternut squash goes in my bag. Onions follow along with carrots. Then garlic. I even spy a single radicchio — in Portugal! — but some clever soul beats me to it.
And of course, lemons. Lots and lots of lemons. Portugal has an abundance of them at this time of year, even as far north as I live. It’s these lemons I know will save me from the doldrums of heavy winter eating.
Next, come the herbs. Coriander is a winter herb so I buy a bunch. And I can’t say no to a pile of garden mint leaves.
I buy tins of everyone’s new favourite starch, beans. Portugal is the land of beans — feijāo —so I have no problems there.
I go for the next best thing from fresh tomatoes — good quality canned tomatoes and passata. Here in Portugal, we have a brand (Guloso) whose passata is so dense, it could almost pass as tomato purée. In the basket it goes.
More staple items follow. Canned sweetcorn, because fresh isn’t yet on the shelves. Feta cheese. Greek yoghurt. Eggs. Finally, I buy good quality parmesan from the nearby queijaria (cheese shop).
It’s these ingredients — plus a few pantry staples —I’ll turn into Shakshuka for breakfast. Black bean burrito bowls with pan-roasted corn and chipotle yoghurt for lunch. And little-fuss butternut squash and miso tortellini for dinner.
Recipes I’m about to share.
Before I dive into the recipes, some points. First, the Shakshuka recipe is for everyone but the other two I’ve kept for paid subscribers. If you’ve been reading me for a while, you’ll know the score. $5 a month or $50 a year and you get access to everything at The Sauce past, present and future.
Second, I’m dabbling in recipe cards. I've had feedback from a few readers they love to print out recipes and I’m happy to oblige. Each of these recipes comes with a downloadable recipe A4 card.
Pantry staples you’ll need
Strong white bread flour
Chilli flakes (I keep a massive jar of hot Turkish chilli flakes on my counter which work in almost all cases)
Cumin powder
Fennel seeds (optional)
Smoked paprika
Canned chipotles in adobo sauce
Walnuts (optional)
Thyme or sage leaves (optional)
Salt and pepper
The day starts with Shakshuka
It’s just me today, so I finely chop half a small onion, roughly chop a quarter of a bell pepper and mince one clove of garlic. A slug of oil goes into a small frying pan. Once it’s up to temperature, I gently fry the onions and bell pepper until the onion turn soft. In goes the garlic for a couple of minutes.
Half a teaspoon of cumin and an optional quarter teaspoon of fennel seeds coat the mixture followed by passata or chopped tomatoes. About a quarter to a third of a 400g / 14oz can will work. Add a little water, season with salt, throw in a few chilli flakes if you feel like it, put the lid on and simmer for 10 minutes. Check frequently and add more water if the mixture becomes too thick and risks burning.
Once the sauce has reduced, crack an egg or two on top, swirling the whites into the sauce. Put a lid on and simmer until the eggs are cooked. It shouldn’t take longer than two or three minutes.
Serve with coriander and dollops of Greek yoghurt.
Lunchtime. Time for that burrito bowl for two.
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