I want to start out this week by acknowledging that it feels odd to snap back to ‘normal’ content while millions of people are still out there fighting for basic human rights. My copy of Afua Hirsch’s BRIT(ish) arrived today: for the next meeting of the book club I’m part of we’re all going away and reading a different book about Black lives and the marginalisation experienced by Black people. Being part of the knitting community, where we’ve been having intense discussions about white supremacy and how to fight it for the last year, I wanted to bring things closer to home with a book specifically about the Black British experience. I’m expecting reading Hirsch’s book to be an uncomfortable but necessary experience. More locally, there’s No Problem Here which is all about racism and colonialism in Scotland. It’s on my to-be-read list. At the weekend I sat in the sunshine read Louise Hare’s wonderful debut novel, This Lovely City, whose protagonist is a Jamaican jazz musician arriving on the Windrush and making London his home despite hostility from local residents and the police. I highly recommend it.
Courgette Galette
Moving onto your more regularly scheduled content, I want to talk about seasonal food. This period of early summer is one where it feels incredibly easy to eat seasonal - we have more fresh berries appearing all the time, and beautifully vibrant veg too. I’ve become particularly fond of courgettes, whether sautéed in chunks, grated to add to pasta, or in this gorgeous courgette galette adapted from p62 of Gail Simmons’ Bringing It Home, where it’s a ratatouille galette and includes aubergine and tomato slices too. I decided to keep it simple by just including courgette - and I served it with a tomato and balsamic salad. The odd ingredient quantities are because this is an American cookbook with quantities given in cups and sticks. It’s a gorgeous book and I recommend getting your hands on it.
For the dough:
90g plain flour
85g whole-wheat or spelt flour
Pinch of salt
113g cold unsalted butter, in cubes
57g sour cream
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
ice-cold water
For the filling:
2 small courgettes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
200g ricotta (it usually comes in a 250g tub - try using your leftovers on toast with fruit or in scrambled eggs).
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 large egg
Method:
Make the dough by combining the flours and salt in a food processor, and then pulsing in the butter chunks until the mixture is crumbly and the biggest remaining chunks are the size of frozen peas. Add the sour cream and lemon zest and juice and pulse until it is combined. If the dough sticks to itself, you’re good to go, otherwise add a teaspoon of ice water. Pat the dough into a disk, wrap tightly with cling film, and refrigerate for anywhere between an hour and a day. When I made this, I made the pastry after breakfast and then went about my day, and then got my little parcel of dough out of the fridge when I wanted to cook.
Putting the galette together: preheat your oven to 200C (fan).
The first step in making the filling is to spread the courgette slices out on clean tea towels or paper towels and sprinkle very lightly with salt. This is to draw out some of the moisture so you don’t get a soggy bottom.
In a bowl, combine the ricotta with the lemon zest, oregano, and a pinch of black pepper.
Line a baking sheet with parchment, and roll out your dough into about a 13-inch diameter circle on the parchment sheet. Spread the ricotta mixture out over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border. Then arrange the courgette slices on top, overlapping them. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Work your way around the edge, folding the pastry over the fillings. Dollop any leftover ricotta mixture on top.
In another bowl (sorry), whisk your egg, and then brush over the folded dough to create an egg wash (this will create a lovely golden colour). You can cover the bowl with any leftover egg and refrigerate it, and then add it to one or more whole eggs for scrambled eggs in the morning.
Bake the galette for 40-45 minutes until the crust is golden. Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers work beautifully for lunches, for which you’ll want to take a slice out of the fridge about an hour before you want to eat.
Kitchen Tool: Breville Blend-Active Pro Blender
I previously had the smoothie-maker version of this and then gave it to my younger brother when I moved to Scotland. When I moved into a flat with a full-size kitchen last spring, I knew I wanted to get a new blender - but I thought I should get something that could do more than one job. At the same time, I occasionally wanted to use a food processor, but knew I didn’t need a full sized one. Enter the ‘Pro’ version of the Breville Blend-Active! As well as the familiar smoothie bottles, there’s a smaller tub for grinding coffee beans or spices - I’ve also used this for making small amounts of oat flour - and a mini food processor attachment. I haven’t yet used it to make pesto, as shown, but for making light work of chopping carrots, onions, or beetroots into tiny pieces (easier than grating them) or for making pastry I can definitely recommend it! Some of the parts are dishwasher-friendly - I did miss the ‘don’t submerge this’ picture on the food processor base (which the blades separate from, for easy and safe cleaning) last time I used it, though, and accidentally put it in the washing up bowl, so I’m hoping it dried out fine… Fingers crossed?
Eating at home (soon): Chez Jules
I mentioned Chez Jules as a restaurant I dearly miss back in Email 2 - and they launched some exciting news this week!
They have done Free Food Days once a year before, and this year’s is this Monday, June 15th, to launch their new takeaway service. More information on their Facebook.
What’s that I can hear? Bottles being polished in preparation for uncorking on Monday evening, all over Edinburgh. The Chez Jules half-basement level dining room truly is one of my happy places and I’m beginning to dream about filling it with all my friends for the big birthday I have in a few years… assuming we’re all safely vaccinated by then (fingers crossed).
Speak to you all next week - stay safe in the meantime xx
Find me on Instagram: @LilyMCooks
If you liked this email, please share it with a friend:
Read back issues here:
And please feel free to reply to this email to tell me what you thought :)