I hope you all had a fantastic Bank Holiday weekend. I spent a few days with family in Cambridge. The sun was shining and we spent lots of time relaxing in the garden and drinking gin. On Monday we decided to get creative in the kitchen and make a few dishes for lunch as well as a cake for the evening. It’s all or nothing with me.
Today I’m delighted to be working with The Works to bring you 2 delicious recipes from a rather exciting cookery book.
I love The Works and always pop in there for cookery books, business books and crafty bits and bobs. It’s fab and super affordable. Last week I picked up a copy of Kelis – My Life on a Plate. It’s a cookbook I’d been eyeing up for a while and I was really pleased to get my hands on it. What’s even better is that it was just £2!
I’m sure many of you will be familiar with Kelis. She sang the hook of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s hit Got Your Money and of course, Milkshake. Not only has she had a successful music career but she’s also passionate about travel and food. She’s a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef and after checking out this book it’s safe to say she knows her stuff.
My Life on a Plate is split into 5 sections; Party Starters, Soups & Stews, Sides & Salads, Main Dishes and Sweet Treats. There’s also a list for your start up kitchen in the introduction. I always find these lists useful as it’s a good way to stock up on essentials which you’ll find yourself using throughout the book. I also like that there’s space to add your own favourite ingredients.
The recipes are easy to follow with clear instructions and the majority of ingredients are readily available. I love the sound of all of the Sides & Salads, the Kale Salad looks perfect for summer and would be a fab to take along to a BBQ. The Mains section is filled with warming and homely dishes. The Jerk Ribs and Pineapple Beef look and sound so tasty – I love the photography in this book too. The presentation of the Pineapple dish is brilliant, I’ll be sure to share it when I get around to making it.
I think this book is perfect for families or anyone who loves to entertain groups of friends. The food has a true family feel to it.
While I’d say it’s more of a cookbook for meat lovers there are some delicious vegetarian treats inside. Here are some of the veggie recipes which stood out to me: Tomato Basil Bisque, Broad Bean Pilaf, Cappuccino Cheesecake, Japanese Sweet Potato Samosas and Spinach & Chickpea Fritters.
Today I’m sharing the recipes of the Spinach & Chickpea Fritters and Japanese Sweet Potato Samosas I made. Both of these dishes are easy to make but do take a little time to prepare and fry. I’d never really made anything like them before so it was fun to have a go at something new.
We made these recipes on Monday and they went down a treat. They lasted over a couple of days but they were soon eaten up. I know I’ll be making both the samosas and fritters again. They’re useful to have to hand for lunches with a lovely fresh salad. My family loved them and I hope you do too.
I’ve put together an outline of each recipe with ingredients. Kelis goes into much more detail for each recipe. If you like the sound of them you must grab a copy of the book, especially while it’s in the sale.
Spinach & Chickpea Fritters
Ingredients:
2 cans of chickpeas
30g spinach leaves
1/4 yellow onion
3 tablespoons plain flour
3 garlic cloves
1 spring of fresh dill
Pinch of sea salt
Black pepper
Ground sage
Ground coriander
Oil for frying
Method:
Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz ’til they form a purée.
Heat 7.5cm of oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat until the oil reaches 180C.
Prepare a bed of kitchen paper for draining the fritters.
Spoon out 1 tablespoon of batter, shape it into a ball with your hands and flatten it to make a disc. Drop the disc into the oil and fry each fritter for 5 minutes or until they become golden brown.
I think these are best served warm. Preparing the mixture is very quick but you do need a little time to fry them. I think they’re delicious and if you wanted to make them a little healthier you could flash fry them and then pop them in the oven.
Japanese Sweet Potato Samosas
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon of sea salt
900g Japanese (yellow fleshed) sweet potatoes – I used regular ones
2 carrots
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
65g frozen petit pois
Flaky pastry
Oil for frying
Method:
Boil the sweet potatoes for 15 minutes.
Blanch the diced carrots for 11 minute.
Drain the sweet potatoes and then mash them.
Add the curry, cumin, coriander and salt.
Fold in the carrots and peas.
Divide the pastry into 16 balls and roll them out.
Fold one corner over the middle and then fold the second corner so that the edges meet.
Scoop the filling into the cone and pinch to close.
Place your samosas onto a baking tray and then fry each one for 6-8 minutes in 7.cm of oil.
Drain on kitchen paper before serving.
These are best served warm. Make sure you move quickly and have one, they disappeared very quickly.
I’m so pleased to have finally had the chance to read My Life on a Plate. I loved reading about Kelis and getting to know her a little better through her favourite dishes. I hope you enjoyed this post. I’m always trying out new cookery books so that I can add recipes to my meal plans. If you’d like me to share more posts like this then just let me know.
Let me know if you re-create these recipes and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @prettygreentea or use the hashtag #CookingwithPGT.