Jerusalem Artichokes Bake

A combination of the sweet taste of Jerusalem artichokes and horseradish make this an interesting bake with a twist.

500g of Jerusalem artichokes
1 table spoon horseradish
100ml of milk
breadcrumbs
salt, pepper

Boil the artichokes, skin on for about 30 minutes. After that time, peel the artichokes, slice them into small, chunky pieces and put them into an oven-proof dish.
Mix the milk with the horseradish, salt and pepper and if you want, add some cream or even a bit of white wine. Pour the mixture over the sliced artichokes and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Bake in an oven at around 180C for 20 minutes, until the milk has turned creamy and the breadcrumbs are golden brown.
Photo credit: h-bomb.

Restaurant: The Place Below

Tucked away from the buzzing surroundings of the City, is a small restaurant called "The Place Below". It is, however, right in the heart of "real London", right under the St-Mary-le-Bow church in Cheapside in the crypt of the church that makes a true Londoner a real Londoner.
A word of warning: It is slightly difficult to find. Basically you need to enter the church, and you will see stairs going down into the crypt. Although the Place Below is a self-service restaurant, the surroundings are quite nice (even intimate if you manage to get one of the tables in the "caves" around the main dining area) and make you forget this. The food is definitely very nice, with a definite emphasis on healthy and flavoursome food, rather than just vegetarian: not a surprise then that brown rice, honey and wholemeal are dominant in the menue, though combined with other great ingredients. For lunch I had a "health bowl", a mix of puy lentils and brown rice with a delicious dressing made from sesame, ginger and balsamic vinegar (probably enough as a small lunch), and a Moroccan style vegetables with rice (again) and peanuts (which made a nice combination). To top it all of, there was a very delicious pear and apple crumble (yummy!) with clotted cream (ok, ....) .

The staff were noticeably very friendly and certainly made an effort to offer a service with a smile. The only down point to note is that unfortunately the Place Below is only open from 7:30 am in the morning until 3:00 pm, so no dinners - yet it would be a perfect place for a candle light dinner (unless you are scared of ghosts, presumably). A nice touch: If you are prepared to have lunch outside of the peak hours, i.e. before noon or after 1:30 pm, some dishes are £2 cheaper.

St Mary le Bow church, Cheapside, London EC2V 6AU
http://www.theplacebelow.co.uk/

Photo credit: stevecadman.

Steamed Broccoli & Tofu

This is an amazingly simple recipe. If you can get the Asian "chili in oil" sauce sold in many specialty stores, then it is perfect!

1 broccoli
500g tofu
chili in oil, soy sauce

Cut the tofu into bite sized pieces and boil in a mix of water, a bit of chili sauce and a splash of soy sauce.
Steam the broccoli florets (you can do that over the tofu if you don't boil it too much!) until it is "al dente".
In a bowl mix the steamed broccoli and tofu with some chili sauce and a little soy sauce. Serve.

Photo credit: Tzatziki.

Spicy Roasted Parsnips and Potatoes

This is a variation on the traditional roasted potatoes: The vegetable stock gives it a hearty flavour with an added zing of chili. The recipe also works without the parsnips, though the sweetness of the parsnips adds an additional interesting flavour to the mix.

2 parsnips
4 large potatoes
olive oil (mild), vegetable soup powder, chili (in oil if possible), salt

Peel the potatoes and clean the parsnips, and cut both into chunky pieces.
In a small bowl mix some oil, vegetable soup powder and chili to taste and mix it with the potatoes and parsnips, making sure all chunks are evenly covered.
Bake in an oven at around 170C for 45 minutes to 1 hours until crispy on the outside and lightly browned.
Before serving, sprinkle with some salt.



Photo credit: .michael.newman..

Leek, Carrot and Lentil Stew

An easy stew, very warming on a cold winters day!

5 (large) carrots
5 leeks
1 onion
200g lentils (puy or red)
3 cloves of garlic
1 tin of tomatoes
water, vegetable soup powder, rosemary, thyme, salt

In a pot heat the oil and fry the onion. Add the leeks and carrots, cut into chunky pieces, the lentils and around 1l of water (to cover the stew). Season with rosemary and thyme. Cook for about half an hour, and then add tomatoes (with the juice), the garlic squeezed through a garlic press and season with some vegetable soup powder.
Serve with some rustic bread, for example the Baguette a l'ancienne from Pain Quotidien.