“The discovery of a new dish does more for human happiness than the discovery of a star.”
Anthelme Brillat–Savarin
Wonder how many of you have heard of the BBC daytime show ‘Ready Steady Cook’? I used to watch it often while visiting the UK years ago. Two members of the public, or occasionally sporting or other celebrities, provide two celebrity chefs with a bag of ingredients they have bought, usually to a set budget of £5 The chefs proceed to make several dishes out of the said ingredients (and a generously stocked kitchen containing basic ingredients and spices), in 20 minutes, with the help of the contestants and the programme host (things have changed a bit now, but the show goes on!). Ainsley Harriott was the presenter then…charismatic, larger-than-life & flamboyant. I googled about the show, & was absolutely delighted to find he’s still on this addictive food show, “My aim is to make cooking fun,” he says!
These days my philosophy of cooking is vaguely based on ‘Ready Steady Cook’…without the 20 minutes clause of course! There was a time I used to shop with the end product in mind. Of late, I walk into the supermarket or local vendors shop, & pick up whatever catches my fancy. Then proceed back home to make a meal out of it with no specific plan. Makes cooking fun, & pushes my own creativity to different levels. I enjoy this a lot as it breaks the everyday monotony…& I find it encourages the kids to eat as they look forward now to different stuff showing up on the table!
So here’s what I picked up at the bazaar…baby potatoes (which seldom show up), bell peppers, sweetcorn on the cob & cottage cheese. I had some portion of multigrain elbow pasta which I wanted to use up…& then of course plenty of garlic, basil & mint! Here’s what my home show created on the go…
Baby Potato Sweetcorn Salad
Baby potatoes – 500 gms / boiled, peeled & halved
Sweetcorn – 1 cup ( I used 2 fresh cobs; you can use frozen/canned)
Hung yogurt/Greek yogurt – 1 cup
Cream – 1 tbsp (optional)
Ranch Buttermilk dressing powder- 2 tsps / heaped (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh mint leaves – 1 handful/ chopped
Red Onion – 1/ finely chopped
Salt
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Whisk the yogurt + cream + lime juice + salt + buttermilk dressing till smooth.
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Put the baby potatoes + onion + sweetcorn+ mint in a bowl. Toss well.
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Pour in the dressing, toss well. Serve either at room temperature immediately or chill until required.
Grilled Cottage-cheese Slices
Cottage cheese – 500 gms / cut into 8 slices
Oil – 2 tbsp
Oregano or crushed dried mint – 1 tsp
Juice of 1 lime
Sea salt or rock salt
Freshly ground pepper
Paprika – 1/2 tsp 
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Whisk the oil with oregano + lime juice + sea salt + paprika + pepper.
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Marinate the cottage cheese slices in this for at least an hour.
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Just prior to serving, pick out a slice gently from the marinade & put onto a hot grill pan. Turn once, & pour a little marinade over the second side.
Multi-grain Elbow Pasta with a basil-walnut Pesto Dressing
Ingredients:
Elbow pasta – 250gms
Red bell pepper – 1
Yellow bell pepper – 1
Garlic – 2 cloves
Salt to taste
Fresh basil leaves – 5-10 / chopped
Walnut-basil pesto – 2 tsps (I’ve made my own & keep a jar in the fridge)
Olive Oil – 4 tbsps
Juice of 1 lime
Salt to taste
Roasted red chili flakes
Method:
- Char grill the bell peppers & garlic cloves & seal in a ziploc until cool.
- Put the pasta onto boil.
- Whisk the olive oil + pesto + red chili flakes + lime juice + salt to make the dressing.
- Drain the cooked pasta & mix into the dressing. Keep aside.
- Clean & chop the grilled peppers. Chop the grilled garlic cloves with basil leaves. Toss both these into the pasta & mix in well. Adjust seasoning.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers can be served chilled as a nice cold salad!
This one had a fairytale ending…let’s see what happens when I set out next!!