Walnuts in New Zealand are fantastic. Not only can you buy the boutique, high-quality nuts that are widely grown in this country – there’s even a Christchurch-based grower and processor that glories in the name A Cracker of a Nut – but even the imports are of a far better quality than we normally see in Ireland.
In New Zealand supermarkets I’ve been interested to see that there are stickers on all the pre-packed meat, saying whether that particular cut is good for grilling or stewing.
Another four Savour New Zealand classes down and we’re now at the end of what was truly a magnificent weekend. Today I started with A Well Seasoned Appetite (Darryl Maffey and Simon Gault), afterwards wandering into Cooking the Catch with Al Brown of Wellington’s Logan Brown restaurant.
One day down but one more to go – will I be still standing at the end of it? Yesterday was the first day of Savour New Zealand and it had to be experienced to be believed.
Cauliflower with Roasted Cumin
Adapted from a recipe in Tamasin Day-Lewis’ evocative West of Ireland Summers. Very good served with Mughali Chicken and Chickpea and Tomato Curry.
Earlier today I discovered that Patricia Wells, the American-born Paris and Provence dweller, has won a James Beard award, in the International category, for her Provence Cookbook.
Chickpea and Tomato Curry
This recipe was adapted from a wee Family Circle Step-By-Step Indian Cooking book that I picked up for 50c in the charity shop. Very good served with Mughali Chicken and Cauliflower with Roasted Cumin.
We were having five people over for dinner on Saturday night and, as I was digging through the cookbooks looking for inspiration, the boyfriend asked if I had ever cooked an Indian curry from first principles. Well, with a challenge like that it didn’t take me too long to dig out a few recipes that I’d been wanting to try for a while.