Tomato toast, sour-lemon cocktails, and (more) tacos
Plus I had a takeaway, because I'm only human
Sometimes, on Fridays, Rob works from home with me and even though we get through enough coffee to power a racehorse, it’s really laid back and relaxed and, after two years pandemic-ing alone, it’s great to have some company during the day. We play music from one of our highly-specific playlists, or we listen to a couple of albums we haven’t checked in on in a while (this week: Lover by Taylor Swift, truly an album of high highs and low lows). But the best part is lunch. Having someone there to eat with feels like pre-covid times, when I’d get lunch with a colleague, and unlike being by myself, I usually end up putting more effort in.
Last week’s lunch involved some truly DIY tacos (“I don’t know anyone who eats as many tacos as you,” a friend pointed out at the weekend) we made with fish fingers in the freezer. And I’ve also found a novel way to use up any Ottolenghi-approved preserved lemons, as well as a hasty alternative to hot soup if, like me, even the notion of sunshine has had you whacking out the factor 50 this week.
1. The fish fingers that became DIY tacos
I mean, they’re not the same as crisp-battered baja fish tacos, are they? But it was Friday, around 12pm, and I hadn’t even thought about lunch. We had blue corn tortillas from the last taco night, and some bits and pieces. I felt pretty confident we could fashion them into a pretty decent lunch.
While the fish fingers cooked, I sliced some spring onion and finally diced a shallot (these are sweeter than red onions, but still have that slightly acrid tang – soak them in cold water for a bit to make them more palatable). We had hot sauce, and wedges of lime. Once the fish was out the oven, I broke up the fingers very gently with a fork, flaking the fish but still leaving some crispy crags. The only downside is we realised, hours later, we also had some of the amazing leftover salsa from last week’s issue. That would have really topped it off.
But the good thing with DIYing tacos is you can kind of just wing it. We actually had dinner at El Pastor last week with some friends and when you dine out, you remember how ridiculously simple tacos are. There’s the bulky bit (shredded pork, grilled chicken, roasted mushrooms), something crunchy like shredded cabbage, or maybe iceberg lettuce, a salsa, and some raw fixings on top. I honestly don’t think you can get them wrong.
2. Sour lemon cocktails
At the weekend, Rob was making this chicken and chorizo stew that included finely chopped preserved lemons. They’re sour and puckerish but kind of melt into the dish, which features olives, chorizo, onion, tinned tomatoes and stock, and they lend a barely-there flavour that cuts through all the rich, savoury bits.
I was thinking about the jar of preserved lemons and what else I could do with them – it’s such a specific ingredient to have sitting in the fridge. And then I remembered the pickled cucumbers I featured a couple of weeks ago, which come in a brine that is good enough to dirty a martini. Maybe I could do a similar thing with the preserved lemon brine?
In my head it was kind of a martini, kind of a gin (or vodka) sour, sharp and sweet with a shot of pickling liquid. I found a few recipes for a lemon drop, which is essentially a lemony martini sweetened with triple sec (here’s a good one on Good Food) and switched out the vodka for gin. In terms of the simple syrup, I did have some in the fridge, though it was rosemary-flavoured. I figured that would work. I made 2x cocktails, so in addition to the ingredients listed above, did a whole shot of the preserving liquid to the shaker. So if you do end up buying preserved lemons for anything, I insist you give these a try (in fact, add a bit to your next margaritas).
One of the better songs on Lover. That wonky sax!
3. Tomato toasts
Truly one for the ‘not a recipe’ folder, this. Pan con tomato is the most refreshing, summery kind of thing to eat and on this occasion, it was way too hot for soup, so I figured I’d just throw this together with a french stick and some grated tomatoes.
The reason I’m not even going to share a recipe is because you truly, truly don’t need one. You do need some tomatoes, though. Anything will do, except cherry – I think they’re too fiddly to grate. You just grate the tomatoes on a box grater until you have a puddle of shredded tomato flesh (you can discard the skins). What kind of tomato you use will dictate the flavour, wateriness, etc – I had classic salad tomatoes and they are a bit watery but that’s fine – a drizzle of nice olive oil, some salt, a mashed garlic clove and some parsley fixes a multitude of sins. In an ideal world I’d have some heirloom tomatoes, with different textures and colours, all sort of smushed up. You could add basil, or even a dash of nice balsamic for a fruity, sharp note.
Next you grill some bread, rub a garlic clove over it when the toasty side is getting kind of sharp and jagged, and when the bread is done, spoon the tomato over. The tomato juices will soak into the bread (a starting-to-stale loaf is great for this) and infuse it with flavour. I sat and ate this on the balcony, then realised one of my new neighbours opposite was just chain smoking and watching me, so I went back inside. Summer!
4. A Recookables Special: cauliflower shawarma
Not a ‘scraps’ thing here, really, because there were no leftovers, but wow. We made this cauliflower dish from the NYT with some griddled flatbreads and chopped cucumber and tomato. It was so easy! And it was so delicious! Only amendment; the sauce needs a real kick to cut through the tahini. I used 4x the amount of harissa they suggested, and a fairly good shake of hot sauce, and that really gave a bit of backbone to the whole thing.