Autumn is just around the corner.... dip your toe into cosy season with lighter comfort food and weeknight warmers.
Fill your bowl
It’s autumn, meaning it’s shrooms’ time to shine. This hands-off mushroom rice bowl takes all the best bits of donburi and tamago kake gohan (the Japanese comfort food in which raw egg is stirred into hot rice), minus the washing up pan-demonium.
DINNER TONIGHT
So long, sad salads
Fresh, high protein, and full of zing, this crispy tofu rice bowl is a meal-prepper’s dream. It takes only half an hour to prepare, and pre-portioned boxes last up to two days. Get ready for plenty of lunchtime “where’d you get that recipe?”
SIP OF THE WEEK
Worth its salt
Saline, savoury drinks are all the rage this autumn – and Margot Robbie’s Papa Salt Coastal Gin is a salient entry point into the trend. Breezy and refreshing, it’s superb in a Salty Dog: one part gin to two parts grapefruit juice, over ice with a salt rim.
SHOPPING
Things we're buying this week
SHOPPING
Things we're buying this week
Lucy Battersby, Waitrose Food Magazine food lead, picks her shopping favourites for the week
Ottolenghi Caramelised Sesame Cashews
“These sweet, salty, savoury, crunchy nuggets of joy make the perfect snack. They’re also wonderful chopped over salads and make a glorious granola replacement at breakfast time (don’t tell my PT).”
No.1 Watercress Tzatziki
“This dip has a lovely sweetness from basil-infused oil, which balances perfectly with the earthy pepperiness of watercress. It also makes a brilliant cheat’s marinade, tenderising either fish or chicken beautifully.”
Cooks' Ingredients Salt & Pepper Seasoning
“Don’t be fooled by the name of this seasoning – it is far more than the sum of its parts. I use it as a rub for pork chops and roast chicken, or swirl it through mayo for dipping.”
No.1 Hand-Stretched Roman Style Pizza Base
“Now the evenings are getting shorter, I often need a midweek pick-me-up. This pizza base is perfect – just a few minutes in a hot oven with some favourite toppings, and we have a delicious meal.”
IN MY BASKET
Rex De Guzman uses Umami Paste to give his dishes a flavour head start
The chef uses this paste to build bold flavour quickly. Try it in his classic Filipino Beef Kaldereta
“I really enjoy using Cooks’ Ingredients Umami Paste because it brings instant depth and complexity to a dish. It is one of those ingredients that works quietly in the background, but makes a big difference to the final flavour. Used as a base ingredient, it gives you that savoury richness that usually takes a long time to develop through slow cooking, roasting, reducing or layering lots of different seasonings.”
The great indoors
Shall we stay in this month? The new October issue of Waitrose Food makes a strong case for it, ready to make you and your kitchen firm friends. Pick up a free copy (saving you £5) with your My Waitrose card.
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