EVERY WEEK I take £5 to Ridley Road Market in Dalston, Hackney, London E8 2LH, to spend on seasonal food, obviously not including items likely to be already in a kitchen, such as sauces, oil, herbs and spices. On Friday I tell you what I have chosen and publish a seasonal recipe.
As usual, expenditure on any extra ingredients, eg, flour, will be recouped by usage over subsequent weeks. Some of the recipes will be frugal. They will all be tasty. All will be vegetarian.
NB: this website uses metric measures but a few Ridley Road traders cheekily sell in imperial, some in metric and some also by the bowl.
This week’s £5 basket
Bowl beetroot (12) £1
Bowl courgettes (3) £1
Bowl spring onions (5 bunches) £1
Bowl tomatoes (19) £1
Bowl aubergines (3) £1
Total £5
The Easter break starts today 29 March 2013 and many of us can use the time to visit or be visited by family and friends. This week’s recipe is a dip, a dish that can be made in advance, ready to be taken from the fridge when guests are on their way, or taken to a gathering to save your host some time. This dip is delicious with crudités or as the Mediterraneans eat it: with pitta or pide.
Recipe: Baba ghanoush. Serves 2, preparation 20 minutes, cooking 25 minutes, oven 220C
Equipment: fork, kitchen knife, garlic press or use the the flat side of a kitchen knife to squash the garlic then finely chop it. Lemon squeezer (or use your finger to dig into the flesh and squeeze out the juice), tablespoon and serving bowl. Wash all vegetables.
Ingredients: 2 aubergines, 2 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed, 2 tablespoons tahini or yogurt, tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, seasoning.
Method: stab the aubergines all over with a fork and put in the hot oven for 25 minutes until soft. Meanwhile, mix the garlic with the tahini or yogurt and leave to infuse. When the aubergines are cooked, cut them in half lengthwise, and scoop out the soft flesh into a bowl and mash with the back of a fork. Mix in the garlic tahini or yogurt, oil and lemon juice, then season to taste.
With the remaining food from my basket I shall make a courgette salad with a Jamie Oliver recipe, a tomato-and-spring-onion salad and a beetroot tabbouleh.
* Two websites have written about this column. Hackney Post has published an interview with Shooey, as has the Food Bankers. — Ed.
* Emboldened, coloured words may indicate a hyperlink. If a link does not work, it is probably because the site to which the URL refers has not been maintained.
Previous articles hyperlinked:
Less is enough 22 March 2013
A tart in the mart 15 March 2013
Polenta verde and sauté mushrooms 8 March 2013
Caribeasy 29 February 2013;
Feeling fruity 22February 2013
Kashmir delight 15 February 2013
Samphire surprise 8 February 2013
Two dishes from £5 1 February 2013
Ae fond neep 25 January 2013
Cauliflower cheese 18 January 2013
A Hackney frittata 11 January 2013
Tasty and easy Christmas snack 21 December 2012
The shops behind the market stalls 9 November 2012
Chutney 2 November 2012
Piccalilli 26 October 2012
Golden soup 19 October 2012
Roasted, stuffed squash 12 October 2012
Vegetable curry 5 October 2012
Carrot and coriander soup 28 September 2012
Ratatouille Gypsy stew 21 September 2012
Bubble and squeak Shooey style,
Bakewell pudding 14 September 2012
Coleslaw and radishes 7 September 2012
Turkish spinach pie 31 August 2012;
Tomato tart, marinated aubergines, fresh mango chutney 24 August 2012;
Roasted butternut squash soup and beetroot salad 17 August 17 2012;
The column sets itself a challenge 15 August 2012