Cook books

This small little book contains very simple and traditional recipes from the Middle East, written by the famous Claudia Roden.

Here are some breadcrumb recipes from the Paradiso book. These look really simple but would make for great toppings.

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pine nut crumb

makes 1 small jar

50g pine nuts, coarsely chopped 50g breadcrumbs made from day-old bread

2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves stripped and finely chopped

10g finely grated hard sheep's cheese (optional)

Heat a heavy-based frying pan on a low heat. Add the pine nuts, breadcrumbs and thyme and toast them slowly, stirring often, until golden and crisp. Remove from the heat and leave to cool, then season with salt and stir in the cheese (if using).

Keeps for days in the fridge and freezes well.

ras el hanout crumb

makes 1 small jar

50g panko breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon ras el hanout (page 201)

Heat a little olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and fry for 5-7 minutes, until golden. Add the spice and a pinch of salt and continue cooking for 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Keeps in a dry airtight container for a week

or more.

smoked tomato crumb

We get our smoked sun-dried tomatoes from Olives West Cork.

makes 1 small jar

20g smoked sun-dried tomatoes 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 100g breadcrumbs, made from day-old bread

Make a paste with the smoked tomatoes using a food processor or a pestle and

mortar.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and toast until golden brown, tossing and stirring frequently. When crisp, remove the crumbs to a parchment-lined tray to cool.

Preheat the oven to 60°C fan or turn on a dehydrator.

Transfer the crumbs to a bowl and stir in the smoked tomato paste, using your hands to fully combine the two. Season with salt.

Place this mixture back on the parchment-lined tray and put it in the oven or dehydrator to become dry and crisp. This will take 1-2 hours. Allow to cool completely.

Keeps for up to two weeks in a dry airtight container.

A new one for the shelf: Jamie Oliver - One: Simple One-Pan Wonders.

Published 2022, 212 pages, hardcover, €11.71

This book does use curry pastes, supermarket grain pouches and a whole section on how to use fresh lasagne sheets for quick pasta meals.

I assume this is to make the one pot approach easy and quick for mid-week dinners and the like.

This is a plus for me, but may not be for everyone.

A bit OT, but how do you organise your online recipes?

I saw on another thread that a poster uses browser bookmarks, which I have done in the past, but I've been using Google Keep for some years now.

It's OK for what it does I think, and the Chrome extension is handy, when it works. The Label function is useful.

Had never heard of it, going to check that out now, thanks LD!