At the start of a new year, I’m often intrigued by the guessing game of food trends that are said to shape the world of food over the following 12 months. At best, these are well-educated guesses, suggesting the rise of ingredients such as nutritional yeast for its umami hit, sprinkled on popcorn and kale chips, or fresh turmeric for its boastful amount of nutritional properties.
The more extreme propositions of rainbow coloured bagels, so neon My Little Pony might wince, or the death-defying dragon’s breath ice cream, liquid nitrogen ice-cream coated cereal balls which allow those brave enough to ingest them to breath smoke, may be best left as a passing food fad.
As far as trends go in my home kitchen, so far this year is all about quick cooking. As a result of my kitchen here in Los Angeles not yet being completely kitted out, my reliance on recipes with few ingredients and requiring even fewer pieces of equipment has been paramount.
I don’t think I would necessarily dismiss it as cheat cooking, and I’m certainly not ashamed to say our recent suppers have made use of more than a few shop-bought ingredients. I would deem this clever cooking, taking well thought-out short cuts, and using good quality ingredients. The recipes in this week’s column are representative of that.
Glorious flavour
Dukkah, a north African blend of spices and nuts is front and centre in a recipe that uses it to coat the humble pork chop. The chop gets blasted with glorious exotic flavour and is served on a bed of sweet and smoky red pepper hummus, alongside a simple tabbouleh (homemade or store-bought, you decide), pepped up with fresh herbs and thinly sliced preserved lemon.
A good, quick, chicken supper recipe should always be at hand for the time-strapped cook. This flattened, spiced chicken thigh recipe requires a little patience as you fry them gently, skin side down for the majority of the cooking time, resulting in tender flesh but wonderfully crisp skin.
Creamed corn, although not common in Ireland, in America is ubiquitous. This version simplifies the heavy, sweet and creamy recipe that appears as a popular side dish Stateside and instead injects it with the fresh aromatics of chopped thyme and a slight fiery kick from cayenne pepper. It's ideal for when corn is in season, but for the rest of the year, a tin will suffice.
Call it cheating, if you will. In my house this is clever cooking, which will save you time in the kitchen, while also delivering good food.
