14.05.08: Frittata and callaloo

Officially, Nigella calls it a Spanish omelette, but She prefers to call it by its fancy danicin' name: frittata. This one packed in potatoes, eggs, manchego cheese, roasted red peppers and green onions. She also boiled up a couple of cans of callaloo, plain as you please, and freshened up last nite's salad with some tomatoes, grapes and more leaves.

HE SAYS: Nice nosh tonite, frittata was light, fluffy and flavourful. Manchego cheese added a delicate taste sensation to the overall dish and the the peppers created a sweet note. Adding more potatoes than the official recipe called for could've turned the omelette into a brick but She was on the money with the deviation. I found the callaloo easy on the tasebuds and with a splash or two of Chipotle Tabasco, more-ish. The mix of beetroot and grapes in the salad was a new combo but I whole-heartily approve and give my blessing to the couple.

SHE SAYS: The frittata needed to be thick, and I was worried our lovely Le Creuset pan was too wide, so I made an executive decision and pulled from the depths of a cabinet our smallish cast iron skillet. I'm so glad I did! The texture of the frittata was perfect, and the flavour much more complex and satisfying than I expected (I only chose this b/c it looked quick and easy). I used twice as many potatoes, and would have put in another egg if we had one, but it was all v. yummy, anyway. Note to self: bottled roasted peppers were cheaper than fresh and really not bad, though you have to be ok with the slight vinegar taste that lingers. Callaloo is not as nice on its own as its close cousin spinach is, but I'll continue to throw it into other dishes as a spinach subs. Salad - enh, it did its enzymatic duty and that's all I have to say about that.

20.03.08: Quorn, carrots, and lemony spinach-artichoke supreme

A switcheroo of a Thursday night dinner: we were going to have black bnz, but She rebelled, and cooked up some lemon-pepper quorn fillets, then topped them with Lloyd Grossman's wild mushroom sauce. While roasting up some carrots Jamie-style (thyme, olive oil, red wine vinegar, S&P), She devised a new way to bring spinach and artichoke hearts into tastebud-tingling harmony. A little leftover salad from last nite was refreshed with more leaves, some grapes, and the last shavings of manchego.

SHE SAYS: I just couldn't face more legumes, as I had a variant of them for lunch, on top of chickpeas last nite! Quorn and sauce were delish - I didn't add anything to the sauce since we had so many other veggies on the go. Carrots were virtuous and filling, though not as tasty as other times I've used this recipe (possibly I put in too many carrots and not enough seasoning.) The real excitement of the evening, however, was my healthyish spinach supreme. I was craving a big creamy pile o' spinach, but didn't want to drown it in fat. And the Lemony Spinach Artichoke Supreme was born:

splash olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 a preserved lemon, chopped into small bits
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
500g bag fresh spinach
1/2 tsp dried dill

Saute the garlic and lemon in the oil over medium heat for a minute or two. Add the artichoke hearts and saute for a couple minutes more, letting them soak up the flavour. Begin adding handfuls of the spinach, stir in, and cover to let spinach wilt. Repeat until all the spinach is wilted, them sprinkle in the dill. Now eat it while it's hot and enjoy the tangy, guilt-free goodness!

HE SAYS: The quorn with the tomato sauce turned out nicely rich and tangy, and the spinach was also a very tasty treat. Agree with Her that the carrots could've been cooked a little longer. The leftover salad with the Manchego cheese did also please and overall it was lovely Thursday nite nosh.

18.03.08: Persian lambchops

Inspired by some lucky finds in a little Persia of Putney, She developed a spice marinade for grilled lambchops including a pulverized whole dried lime, cumin, turmeric, chili flakes, fenugreek, kosher salt, pepper and olive oil. Saffron brown basmati rice studded with barberries plus purple sprouting broccoli sauteed in the chop drippings filled in the plate, while a salad of manchego shavings, granny smith apple slices and mixed leaves waited crisply nearby.

SHE SAYS: The chops had excellent flavour, though next time I won't be so shy with the dried lime - I was afraid more than a tablespoon might make the marinade too sour. I don't know when I'll learn that I just don't care for saffron - even the delight of the tarty little barberries didn't offset my disappointment. The broccoli had the texture of asparagus and the taste of mustard greens (not to mention the spiced pan juices) - a distinct brocca pleasure. The refreshing apple slivers played off the nutty manchego perfectly...a nifty salad combination.

HE SAYS: Loved the lambchops, cooked perfectly with a pink centre and seasoned well. Thought the broccoli was very nice sauteed instead of traditionally boiled to death. I think I like the rice more than She did; the saffron reminded me to look into cooking up some paella soon. Enjoyed the salad, the apples were crisp and zingy, and the manchego cheese was very moreish.

14.03.08: Omelettes and bagels and salad, oh my

Convenience food in your own home: we each made an omelette at different times to fuel up a Friday nite that took us in different directions.

HE SAYS: A quickie but a goodie. A smoked salmon omelette with some fresh spinach on top of bagel turned out pretty satisfing. I used most of the rest of the single cream from Thursday to make my omlette that bit more decadent but didn't notice any significant difference from leaving it out. Waitrose plain bagels are indeed far superior to any other British supermarket's offerings, I think.

SHE SAYS: I'm no good at flipping omelettes these days, but I like to think my simple spinach omlelette resembles an elegant rag pile - the ropa vieja of eggs, if you will. I'm almost convinced spinach omelettes are tastier without cheese - you get the full flavour and texture of the spinach while enjoying the fluffy comfort of the egg all the more (I had a similar revelation the last time, too). Now, my improvised salad is another story: its deep yet delicate flavours must give full credit to the nutty manchego cheese that harmonised with this sweet membrillo dressing, though the toasted pine nuts and avo certainly did their bit to make me go mmmm.