As a lover of fresh buffalo mozzarella, I wondered how it was possible that I’d been missing out on burrata my whole life. All of a sudden I had Boyz II Men’s Pass You By on repeat ringing in my flippin’ ears. Damn. If you haven’t yet had the pleasure of sinking your teeth in to burrata, let me paint you a little picture… A lip-smacking mozzarella with a soft centre of hand-torn mozzarella and cream called stracciatella (“a little shred” in Italian). Cut it open and a river of the most unctuous cream filling you’ve ever seen oozes out like a molten lake of happiness. It’s an unbelievably satisfying moment.

I picked up a couple of burrata in erm… Harrods (disclaimer: I’m not one to casually saunter in to Harrods on a Saturday afternoon and spend an hour in the Food Hall). This was actually only the second time I’d been there and a first for the man in my life. So you can imagine the mini heart attack I had when the lady at the cheese counter told me my burrata came to £33.30. I shit you not.

Of course, this cheese was the only thing we bought and we made a pact not to return for another year unless we got lucky on the Lotto.

Spaghetti with Saffron-Roasted Cauliflower, Burrata and Chilli Breadcrumbs – iPhone pic from earlier this week – excuse the rubbish lighting but just to show you another way to do this

I’m not going to lie, it was SO worth it when it came to this spaghetti, so much so that I made it from scratch two days in a row. Once with Saffron-Roasted Cauliflower and the second time with these Nigella-Roasted Onions. Both were awesome so I leave it up to you to pick your roasted veggies.

Although the burrata is shining star of this spaghetti dish, the breadcrumbs will leave a lasting impact. With every bite of spaghetti and creamy cheese, you get the glorious crunch of herby, garlicky breadcrumbs with just a touch of roasted hazelnuts. Another brilliant creation from beautiful Italy, Pangrattato (basically grated breadcrumbs) are a simple way of adding ridiculous stand-out texture to pasta and risotto. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll want to sprinkle it on everything.

The contrast between the sweet roasted onions, aromatic nigella seeds, crunchy herb-laced breadcrumbs, soft creamy burrata and perfectly-cooked spaghetti will give your taste buds a very welcome and loving hug. You’ll love it right back, I promise.

Spaghetti with Nigella-Roasted Onions, Herbed Breadcrumbs and Burrata
(Serves 6)

Ingredients

400g dried spaghetti
5 large red onions
6 large spring onions, trimmed
1 tbsp nigella seeds
Juice of one lemon
1 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp chilli flakes
3 fresh burrata or good-quality buffalo mozzarella if you can’t find burrata

For the Herbed Breadcrumbs (Pangrattato):

80g stale sourdough loaf, cubed
10 whole roasted hazelnuts
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 tbsp fresh basil
Zest of one lemon (unwaxed)
Pinch of salt

Method

1. Pre heat the oven to 200C.

2. Trim both ends of the red onions, slice down the middle and peel each half. Separate the layers out and place in a large roasting tray. Repeat for all the red onions. Trim the spring onion roots and slice those down the middles, lengthways. Add to the roasting tray along with the olive oil, lemon juice, nigella seeds and salt. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, shaking at the halfway point.

3. To make the herby breadcrumbs, whizz up all the ingredients in a food processor until fine. They should be a gorgeous green colour. Pour them in to a dry pan and cook on a medium heat, moving around constantly to ensure they don’t catch on the bottom of the pan and burn, about 4 minutes or until lightly golden and crispy. Set aside.

4. Cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions in plenty of salted boiling water.

5. Remove the onions from the oven, drain the pasta and add to the roasting tray. Toss until every strand of spaghetti is well coated with olive oil. Check the seasoning and add salt if necessary.

6. Pile the spaghetti on to a large serving platter and scatter over the breadcrumbs. Tear the burrata over the top, letting it ooze around the spaghetti and sprinkle with chilli flakes.

7. Serve immediately. As if you could wait anyway… 😉

Love Sanjana

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Two of my favourite things in the world are naan and pizza. I love them in all shapes and forms from classic peshwari naan to hybrid naan pizzas – especially when they involve cheese, green veggies and lashings of garlic. I’ll be honest, getting home from a long day at work and sitting down to a naan pizza made with shop-bought garlic and coriander naan and leftover paneer butter masala is one of the most incredible dinners ever! Don’t believe me? Try it yourself.

Here’s a simple recipe that celebrates my love of naan and pizza in an easy-to-eat fashion. My recipe for naan pockets uses crumbled paneer and crushed peas as a stuffing for the deliciously-light and buttery naan envelopes. They’re folded into the classic teardrop shape, brushed with a mixture of butter and turmeric, sprinkled with kalonji seeds, and then baked in a hot oven until golden.

If you’re not a fan of paneer, these are also great with a filling of grated broccoli and spinach, steamed sweet potato, and cauliflower and green chilli cooked in the exact same way as I do the paneer and peas filling.

To serve, slice the pockets in half and serve with a bowl of my spicy pizza dip which is infused with a touch of garam masala, green chillies and ground coriander.

These are the perfect party nibbles, starters for an Indian meal and a sure-fire hit with kids. I even love them for dinner, served with both the spicy pizza dip and a cooling cucumber raita.

Stuffed Naan Pockets with Spicy Pizza Dip
Makes 18-20 mini pockets

Ingredients

For the naan dough:
310g strong white bread flour
7g fast-action dried yeast
1 tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp kalonji (nigella seeds)
1 small clove garlic
1 tbsp plain yoghurt
2 tbsp sunflower oil
135ml warm water

For the peas and paneer stuffing:
250g shop-bought paneer, cubed
130g frozen peas, thawed
1 clove garlic
2 green chillies
1 inch piece ginger, peeled
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste
1 tbsp crème fraiche
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped finely
2 tbsp sunflower oil

To brush the pockets:
Melted butter
¼ tsp turmeric
Kalonji seeds

For the spicy pizza dip:
2 large tomatoes
1 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
1 clove garlic
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Method
First, make the naan dough. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt kalonji seeds and garlic. In a separate jug, whisk together the warm water, yeast, sugar, oil and yoghurt. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the liquid. Bring together using a spoon and then your hands. Knead for 10 minutes. The mixture may seem stick at first, but keep kneading and it’ll come together. Grease the bowl with come oil, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 90 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend together all the ingredients for the spicy pizza dip in a food processor. Add the mixture to a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and allow to simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes.

To make the stuffing: in a food processor, blend the garlic, chillies and ginger. Remove and set aside. Next, pulse the peas a few times until coarsely chopped. Remove and set aside. Repeat the same process with the paneer. Bring the peas and paneer mixture together in a bowl. Heat a saucepan and add the oil. Sauté cumin seeds and the garlic, ginger and chilli mixture until aromatic. Add the peas and paneer mixture, black pepper, salt, crème fraiche and coriander and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat the oven to 190°C and line a few baking trays with greaseproof paper and spritz with non-stick cooking spray.

To fold the pockets: take the risen naan dough and knock out all of the air. Take a ping pong ball-sized amount and roll into a ball. Use and rolling pin to roll into 3-inch in diameter round. Don’t add any extra flour – the oil in the dough should stop it from sticking too much. Take a tablespoon full of the cooled stuffing mix and place into the middle of the dough. Starting with the top and bottom of the dough, pull the dough around the filling, pinching the dough to seal until you get to the outer edges. Ensure the dough is well sealed without any cracks by pinching it all together until smooth.

Roll the dough gently until around 3 inches in diameter. Then use your hands to gently pull the top of the dough into a teardrop shape. Place the other side up on the greased and lined baking tray and repeat for the rest of the pockets.

Use a sharp knife to make small holes (not all the way through) in the naan pockets. Melt the butter and whisk in the turmeric – this will give them a lovely golden colour. Brush the pockets generously with the butter mixture and sprinkle on the kalonji seeds.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden all over.

Serve hot from the oven with the warm spicy pizza dip.

Love Sanjana

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It’s safe to say that when it comes to pastry-making, I’m no professional. However, when I was challenged via Facebook, to come up with a hearty lunch idea, I was determined to deliver something good. And we all know pies are good.

These mini pies (made in a muffin tin because as I’ve discovered, I’m rather ill-equipped) are stuffed with a mixture of sautéed Portobello and chestnut mushrooms, sharp feta cheese, kalonji seeds and lemon thyme. They’re perfectly portable so you won’t have any trouble taking a couple to work, and even though they’re small, they’ll fill your belly no matter what.

Hot water crust pastry is usually made with lard because butter is seen to have too much of a rich flavour for the traditional pork pies it’s used to make. Obviously there’s no lard lurking in my fridge, but there is plenty of butter. I think the butter in my pastry can stand up to the vegetarian filling because of the robust mushrooms and sharp feta having enough flavour to balance it out. However, you can use vegetable shortening if you prefer.

So, how do you get that golden yellow colour on your pie? I’ve been trying to work out an alternative to egg yolks for ages. Usually, recipes say to use milk as an alternative to egg wash, but I always find the pie top looks really anaemic when it comes out of the oven. Then I realised the answer had been staring me in the face the whole time – I warmed my milk and whisked in ½ teaspoon of turmeric before brushing onto the pastry lids. It wasn’t sticky and once baked, did a great job in colouring the pie tops, just like egg yolk would do.

I’ve used kalonji seeds and thyme to flavour the pie filling because they’re gentle and aromatic enough to compliment the mushrooms and cheese – which, by the way, don’t need much help becoming delicious at all.

I’d serve these with real English chips, salad and Yorkshire’s finest yellow lemonade (obvs Ben Shaws), either for lunch or dinner.

Mini Mushroom, Kalonji and Feta Pies
(makes 6 pies)

Ingredients

For the filling:

500g mushrooms, sliced (I used a mixture of Portobello and chestnut mushrooms)
100g feta cheese, crumbled
1 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp kalonji seeds
1 tsp lemon thyme, picked through
½ tsp black pepper

For the vegetarian hot water crust pastry:

235g plain flour
55ml water
50ml skimmed milk
75g unsalted butter
1 tsp salt

Milk and turmeric to brush the pastry lids

Method

1. First, make the filling. Heat the butter in a large pan and add the kalonji seeds and garlic. Throw in all the mushrooms and combine. Leave on a low heat for five minutes, then once some moisture is released from the mushrooms, turn up the heat. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the thyme and black pepper. Remove from the heat, place in a colander and allow to cool.

2. Once the filling is completely cooled, squeeze as much moisture as you can out of the mushrooms. Make sure you squeeze hard, otherwise your pastry will have a soggy bottom. Once you’ve done this, fold through the feta cheese and refrigerate.

3. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

4. To make the pastry, heat the water, milk and butter in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then add in the flour. Stir with a spoon until it comes together, then turn out onto a floured surface and knead quickly until smooth and uniform.

5. Divide the dough into 6 even pieces, reserving 1/3 of each ball for the pie lid. Roll the first piece into a ball and use a rolling pin to make a circle, about 1/2cm thick to fit inside the hole of a muffin tin. Place inside the hole of the muffin tin and press to like the base, leaving a little overhang. Do this for the remaining 5 pieces of dough.

6. Fill each pastry case with mushrooms mixture, pressing down gently to make sure you get enough in.

7. Next, roll out the lids using the smaller dough balls, so they’re large enough to cover the pies and also allow you to crimp the edges to the little overhang you left on the bases. Make sure there are no gaps between the bases and lids.

8. Heat a little bit of milk in a bowl and add enough turmeric to get an egg yellow colour. Brush the tops of the pies.

9. Poke a small hole in the tops of each pie to allow steam to escape.

10. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or until golden.

Do you have a recipe request? Ask me on Facebook or Twitter.

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When it comes to guilty pleasures, along with paneer, naan is up there on my list. Brushed with the most flavoursome fresh garlic and coriander butter, these are so perfect for pairing with any Indian curry or daal. They’re soft, slightly chewy and a little charred in places – this balance of textures is so characteristic of good naan.

Naan is one of India’s most famous breads, and probably the most well-known in British Asian restaurants. Very rarely do I leave an Indian restaurant without having filled my belly with garlic and coriander naan – lest they just so happen to have garlic, coriander and chilli naan on the menu (in which case, I’ll take two).

Whenever I’m making naan, I love to add kalonji (nigella) seeds – they impart that special flavour you definitely know, but somehow can never put your finger on. They’re aromatic, slightly bitter, but have an incredibly delicious flavour which mellows out when baked into the bread.

Yeast and plain yoghurt help to leaven the naan whilst keeping them moist all the way through. I don’t put eggs in my naan, nor do I understand why some people do. They’re meant to be soft and chewy with little air pockets inside, rather than fluffy pancakes. Plus, instant yeast is so much easier.

Grilling naan at a really high temperature mimics the traditional method of cooking them in a tandoor (clay oven). It also helps to create an irresistible charred flavour and colour on the outside.

Garlic and Coriander Naan
(Makes 4)

Ingredients

310g strong, white bread flour
1 teaspoon dried fast action yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon kalonji (nigella) seeds
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
140ml warm water
2 teaspoons plain yoghurt

For the garlic and coriander butter:

50g salted butter
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, chopped

Method

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, sugar, kalonji and 1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander. Make a well in the centre and add the oil, yoghurt and water. Using your hands, bring the dough together. Knead for 5 minutes. If the dough feels sticky, oil your hands and continue kneading.

2. Grease the bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave the dough to prove in a warm place for one hour.

3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small pan and add the finely sliced garlic. Allow to fry until aromatic. Add the chopped coriander and set aside until needed.

4. Knock the air out of the naan dough and divide into four equal portions. Take one piece of dough, roll into a ball and using a rolling pin, roll your naan until it’s around 1cm in thickness. Take one end and pull into a teardrop shape.

5. Place the dough on a piece of aluminium foil and grill for 1 minute on both sides. Remove from the grill and brush with the garlic butter. Alternatively, bake in a very hot oven until golden brown. Wrap in foil to keep warm but try to serve immediately.

I like to serve these with Melt in the Mouth Paneer Kofta, Shahi Paneer Stuffed Okra, Vegetarian Tandoori Kebabs from Scratch or Kashmiri Dum Aloo. However, you could be far more experimental and make one of my favourite quick dinners in the world – naan pizza. I’ll explain later.

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There are some ingredients in Indian cooking which attract gasps and sighs whenever they’re mentioned. Take ghee for example; no, it’s not good for you – but is a tablespoon of ghee in a curry for four really much worse than a dollop of butter on a jacket potato for lunch, or pouring cream over a freshly-baked crumble for dessert?

Taboo ingredients like ghee receive bad press even in Indian households, and with good reason. Although I do have one rule: both biryani and paratha are not complete without ghee. Just don’t eat them every day.

Gettin’ jaggery with it

Jaggery (gor/unrefined cane sugar) is another one of these ingredients. Just like putting too many sugars in your tea, using jaggery in everyday cooking isn’t advisable. However when those hunger pangs hit, the deep, caramel flavour of this sugar is just.so.satisfying and an exciting treat once in a while.

If you can’t find jaggery in the shops, you can substitute it with palm sugar or dark brown sugar. However, if possible, try to bag yourself a block of jaggery – it lasts for ages when wrapped up tightly in cling film.

Have I justified my use of jaggery in this recipe by making a salad dressing out of it? I’m going to say yes, and so will you once you’ve tried this combination of flavours for yourself.

Let me describe it to you. Ribbons of slightly sweet, slightly sour mango and crunchy yellow courgette, a scattering of red onions, fresh coriander and red chillies make up the body of the salad. Next comes the warm sweet and sour jaggery-lime dressing, spiked with black kalonji seeds for a deep, peppery flavour. Toss it all together for a crisp, juicy salad with an Indian twist.

Mango and Courgette Salad with Jaggery-Lime Dressing
Serves 2 as a side

Ingredients:

1 green mango, peeled
1 large yellow courgette
½ red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 red chilli or 1/2 scotch bonnet, chopped

For the jaggery dressing:

80g jaggery, grated
Juice of 1 lime
½ tsp kalonji seeds (nigella)
Pinch sea salt

Method:

1. Using a vegetable peeler, shave ribbons from both the mango and the courgette. Add the finely chopped onion, fresh coriander and chilli. Toss together.

2. In a small saucepan, lightly toast the kalonji seeds until aromatic. Next, add the grated jaggery, lime juice and salt. Whisk with a fork until smooth and heated through. Allow to cool slightly.

3. Dress the salad just before serving.

Serve with Tandoori Paneer Kebabs and naan. Even if you’re not vegetarian, I promise this will make a unique and exciting side to other barbecued/grilled main dishes.

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