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Recipe by Kirsten Gilmour from The Mountain Cafe Cookbook

Another beast of a recipe from big Kev, Kirsten’s favourite vegan hippy mountain-biking chef! Perfect as the nights draw in…

• I use a mixture of adzuki, pinto and cannellini beans in this soup but it’s up to you what you use. Tinned beans are also fine – just drain and rinse them, then add them into the soup once it’s three-quarters cooked so they don’t turn to mush. 
• Always check packets of dried beans to see if they need to be soaked overnight, rinsed or hardboiled before using. Here are general rules for the beans I use: for cannellini, kidney or black-eye beans, soak overnight, rinse and hard boil for ten minutes; for adzuki or pinto beans, just rinse.
• Much to Kev’s horror, this soup is awesome with crispy pancetta and Parmesan shavings on top. 

Vegan, Wheat free, Gluten Free

Serves 4

• 140g mixed dried beans, soaked and preboiled as needed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 small pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 small courgette, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ½ red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 handful basil, chopped
• 1 handful parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 litre vegetable stock (or 2 stock cubes dissolved in 1 litre hot water)
• ½ x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Wash your prepared beans well with fresh water and leave to drain in a sieve while you prepare your veggies. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, pepper, courgette, garlic, chilli, basil and parsley and sauté until everything is glossy and starting to soften but not taking on any colour. Stir in the paprika and cayenne, and cook, stirring, for another couple of minutes. Mix in the drained beans, then pour over your stock and the tinned tomatoes. Bring up to a light boil for 30 to 40 minutes until the beans are absolutely tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and some more chopped fresh herbs if you want. I sometimes stir in a spoon of tomato purée at the end to add depth and richness to the soup.

Huge congratulations to Kirsty Scobie and Fenella Renwick who have scooped the Jane Grigson Trust Award for their first book, The Seafood Shack (pub Nov 2020).Now in its fifth year, the £2000 Jane Grigson Trust Award, created in memory of the distinguished British food writer Jane Grigson, is made to a first-time writer of a book about food or drink which has been commissioned but not yet published. In the spirit of Jane Grigson and her writing, the Award is for a non-fiction book on food and drink in the widest sense, from any genre – cookbook, memoir, travel, history – as long as the primary subject is food or drink. 

About The Seafood Shack

Kirsty and Fenella set up The Seafood Shack in Ullapool on the north west coast of Scotland in 2016, out of frustration at the serious lack of seafood available to eat in their home town despite being its packed with fishermen and fishing boats. The Seafood Shack has built up a strong fanbase and their debut book mixes Kirsty and Fenella’s most popular recipes with a look at the Scottish seafood and fishing industry and a reflection on the lives of the fishermen at its heart. 

Chair of judges of the Jane Grigson Trust Award, Geraldene Holt, comments;

“At the Jane Grigson Trust we believe that food writing can help in times of crisis by providing escapism, solace and perhaps most importantly at the moment, recipe ideas. So we are pleased to be celebrating this genre tonight and welcome these new voices into the community.

‘We are delighted to name Kirsty Scobie and Fenella Renwick as the winners of the Jane Grigson Trust Award for 2020. Drawing on their own experiences of cooking in a shack in the Scottish coastal town of Ullapool, this inspiring book is packed with plenty of simple yet delicious recipes for fish and shellfish that are already wildly popular with their customers.  But Kirsty and Fenella also record their own stories about fishing – its past, present and possibly uncertain future. They not only give readers important insights into what we eat, but also help us to value properly this beautiful wild food from the rich seas that encircle the British isles.”

Kirsty and Fenella say; 

“We are both absolutely overwhelmed to have won the Jane Grigson Award today, especially being up against three inspirational women, Amy, Emily and Miranda.  To have even been shortlisted with these ladies is a privilege.  We couldn’t have done it without the community of Ullapool and our fab customers.  Without you all, there would be no Seafood Shack!  Thank you so much.”

Pre-order The Seafood Shack here

For an introduction to the many pleasures of Brick Lane, you can’t be in safer hands than Dina Begum’s, the author of our next book – Brick Lane Cookbook.

‘When I think about Brick Lane I think about food. I go into one of those daydreams only a seasoned glutton can imagine, scanning mental images of food I want to try; that amazing sounding ice cream, freshly fried zilafi from Alauddin, a new burger, or even just… doughnuts. The uniqueness of Brick Lane lies in the fact that the restaurants and eateries that line the street are just as important as the Sunday market. Every stretch and every corner of this famous London market, affectionately known as ‘Banglatown’ due to its large Bangladeshi population, offers up a delicious new flavour. Food takes centre stage: on a plate, wrapped up in paper, slipped inside a paper bag, or enclosed within a box – less Styrofoam, more style.

For uninitiated visitors to Brick Lane, the obvious choices include bagels and curries but Brick Lane these days is much more than that. You’ll be blown away by the melting pot of cultures and culinary traditions, where the past and present fuse together effortlessly and lead you to familiar and unfamiliar tastes. The curry shops of Banglatown are interspersed with cafes selling all sorts of other wonderful foods, and the market stalls that pop up in every available space each Sunday serve up specialities from everywhere from Ethiopia to Argentina. Over 200 food stalls take over Sunday Upmarket for a global feast and permanent food trucks take care of you on non-market days. I’ll often visit to try a new dish and end up on a mini culinary tour, satisfying my craving while gazing at the striking street art and browsing the vintage clothes stores.

I started researching the Brick Lane Cookbook with a definite first point of call – lunch at Sweet ‘n’ Spicy – only to discover its demise. When I used to visit the market with my dad as a child, this Pakistani café used to be our regular lunch spot. You’d walk in and be greeted not only by the friendly staff but also by the mouth-watering fragrance of meat being cooked in the tandoor ovens and the headiness of smoke and spice, enveloping you in the most comforting hug. In remembrance I’ve included a recipe in the book for lamb koftas which deliver a taste of the much loved kebabs I used to enjoy; succulent grilled skewers of meat, folded inside a warm, fluffy naan and drizzled in mint sauce.

Half of the recipes in my book are Bangladeshi or inspired by Bangladeshi flavours, and the other half are contributed by traders and restaurants whose food I love. Some of my favourite contributions include the delectable pistachio crème brûlée from Chez Elles, Moussaka from Damascu Bite and empanadas from Moo Cantina. I love the street food too – like Big Bushi’s Sushi Burrito and The Patate’s incredible Beef Bourginon Burger – and had fun making the truffles from Dark Sugars – the place for good quality chocolate in East London. The traders and restaurant owners I got to know are some of the friendliest and generous people. Along with giving me tasters of their food and welcoming me into their kitchens they’ve shared closely guarded recipes that I’m proud to include in my book.

Here’s my recipe for Dhaler Bora or Lentil Fritters, a snack that always makes me think of Brick Lane.’

Dhaler Bora – Lentil Fritters

by Dina Begum

Serves 4–6

V, WF, GF

This recipe is based on my mother’s and is super addictive. Ground lentils are mixed with onions, green chillies, spices and fresh coriander to make a batter, which is dropped very quickly by hand into hot oil to make these irresistible fritters. If you’re around Brick Lane during Ramadhan you’ll spot some of the Bangladeshi cafés with their shopfront windows opened up so you can look in on large pans of fritters being fried – a real treat to watch. There’s something so comforting about the smell of frying onions and spices that I’m always hard pressed to avoid buying a brown paper bag full of dhaler bora and tucking into them straight away.

• 200g red split lentils, soaked 30 minutes
• 2–3 green chillies, chopped
• 2 medium onions, quartered and finely sliced
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
• 4 heaped tablespoons gram flour
• 3 tablespoons chopped coriander
• 500ml vegetable oil, to deep fry

Drain the lentils and coarsely grind them with the green chillies using a hand blender or food processor. Put the sliced onion into a bowl along with the salt and mix together thoroughly with your hand. Add the turmeric, cumin, chilli powder, gram flour and coriander and scrape in the ground lentil mix. Switch to a spoon and mix thoroughly to form a batter that is loose enough to drop off a spoon – if the mix is too thick, loosen it with a dash of water.

Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over high heat. Once hot (test with a tiny bit of batter – if it sizzles and floats to the surface, the oil is hot enough), reduce the heat to medium and use your hand to carefully drop small golf ball sized portions into the oil, a dozen or so at a time. You can use a tablespoon instead of your hand if you aren’t feeling confident but you won’t get the distinct rounded shape. Reduce the heat to low and cook for six or seven minutes, turning regularly until the fritters are deep golden all over.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a dish lined with kitchen paper. Continue cooking in batches until the batter is finished. Serve immediately with some sliced red onions and chopped fresh chillies.

Cook’s tip – it’s important to keep an eye on the heat as you cook the dhaler bora. Turn heat up to medium-high as you drop the batter into the pan (the temperature drops once the batter falls in); then, once you have a full batch frying, turn the heat to low. This will help them become fully crispy.

  Pre-order Brick Lane Cookbook here.