Tag Archive for: Fire and Spice

If you’re on the lookout for recipes to add to your go-to meals repertoire, look no further than these (35-minute prep time!) Tostadas! The recipe is taken  from the hottest cookbook around, Fire and Spiceby John Gregory-Smith.

Taken from Fire and Spice

From John: ‘My tostadas were inspired by the wonderful giant tostadas of the Central Market in the city of Oaxaca in Mexico. They are completely delicious – you taste hot and cold, crunchy and smooth, spicy and mild, salty and sour in every bite…a real midweek lifesaver.’

Serves 4
Ready in 35 minutes

Ingredients
4 duck breasts (about 150g/5½oz each)
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp chilli powder
4 tbsp olive oil
400g/14oz/2 cups tinned black beans
1½ tsp ground cumin
juice of ½ lime
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper
1 lettuce, finely sliced, to serve
2 large handfuls of coriander (cilantro) leaves, chopped
4 large tortillas, to serve

For the salsa
1 red onion, peeled and quartered
115g/4oz/heaped ¾ cup drained sun-dried tomatoes in oil
1 tsp smoked paprika juice of ½ lime

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Trim and score the skin on the duck breasts, and put them in a small roasting tin. Add the garlic, smoked paprika, chilli powder, two tablespoons of the oil and a good pinch of salt. Mix well so that the duck is completely coated. Turn the duck skin-side up, then roast for 25–30 minutes until golden on the outside and juicy and pink in the centre.

2 Meanwhile, drain and rinse the beans and tip them into a saucepan over a medium heat. Mash the beans, using a potato masher, until fairly smooth, then add 55ml/1¾fl oz/ scant ¼ cup water, the rest of the olive oil and the cumin. Add the lime juice, season with salt and pepper, and mix well. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until warmed through and thick. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to one side.

3 To make the salsa, put the onion sun-dried tomatoes, smoked paprika and a pinch of salt into a food processor. Add the lime juice, blend until smooth, then pour into a serving bowl.

4 Finely slice the lettuce and coriander (cilantro), then put them on to a serving plate. Put the tortillas on four serving plates and cover each one with the beans. Slice up the duck and put on top of the beans. Serve with the salad and salsa.

Remember to tag us @NourishBooks on Instagram and Twitter if you use our recipes!

In honour of this very #HappyMonday we thought we’d share a special Middle-Eastern inspired recipe taken from Fire and Spice by John Gregory-Smith! Are you ready to bake some Dark Chocolate, Clove & Cinnamon Brownies?

Dark Chocolate, Clove & Cinnamon Brownies

Makes 16

Ready in 40 minutes, plus resting

Ingredients

250g/9oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

300g/10 and a 1⁄2oz chocolate with 70–80% cocoa, plus extra to serve

125g/4 and a 1⁄2oz/heaped 1⁄2 cup caster (superfine) sugar

125g/4 and a 1⁄2oz/2⁄3 cup light muscovado sugar

3 eggs and 1 egg yolk, beaten

100g/3 and a 1⁄2oz/1 cup pecan nuts, crushed

60g/2 and a 1⁄4oz/1⁄2 cup plain (all-purpose) flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

60g/2 and a 1⁄4oz/scant 1⁄2 cup cocoa powder, plus extra to serve

1⁄4 tsp ground cloves

1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra to serve

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180 ̊C/350 ̊F/Gas 4. Grease the bottom and sides of a 23cm/9in square cake tin, then line with baking parchment.

2 Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Once completely melted set aside to cool slightly.

3 Put the butter, caster (superfine) sugar and muscovado sugar into a food processor and blend on a high setting for about 5 minutes, or until they form a smooth paste.

4 Slowly add the eggs, a little at a time, to the butter and sugar mixture and blend on a low setting until everything is incorporated. Give the mixture a final blast on a high setting for 30 seconds, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.

5 Slowly fold in the melted chocolate, then add the nuts and sift in the flour, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, cloves and cinnamon. Fold everything together using a large metal spoon, then scrape the batter into the prepared cake tin. Smooth the top with a palette knife and bake for 20–30 minutes, or until soft and gooey in the middle and just cracking on the top and sides. To test if the brownie is ready, insert a skewer into the centre pushing right to the bottom. It should come out with a little of the yummy, goey brownie clinging but not totally coating it. If the skewer is completely coated, put the brownie back in the oven and test it again every 3 minutes until cooked.

6 Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 30 minutes in the cake tin. Flip the brownie out of the tin onto a chopping board, peel off the baking parchment and cut into squares. Serve hot, warm or cold with a generous sprinkling of cocoa powder and a sprinkling of cinnamon, to taste.

Happy Baking! And don’t forget to tag @NourishBooks on Instagram!