Bulgur with mushrooms and feta

Courgette and ciabatta frittata IM S I

This is a regular feature at home on the weekend, when my husband Karl and I are feeding friends. We tend to serve it with a mixed herb and leaf salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil and a few chunks of feta crumbled over. The frittata manages to be light, fluffy and comforting in a way that you can only get when you soak bread with milk and cream. Don’t waste the ciabatta crusts: they can be blitzed into fresh breadcrumbs and freeze well. This can be baked about 4 hours in advance and then warmed through for 5 minutes before serving. Ideally it should be eaten on the day it is baked, but it will keep in the fridge for 1 day; just warm through for 10 minutes.

SERVES 6

500g ciabatta, crusts removed, roughly torn (250g prepped weight)

200ml whole milk 200ml double cream 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

6 large eggs, lightly beaten

tsp ground cumin

80g Parmesan, finely grated

1 Preheat the oven to 180C fan (200C/gas 6).

2 Put the ciabatta, milk and cream into a medium bowl and mix well. Cover and set aside for 30 minutes, for the bread to absorb most of the liquid.

Put the garlic, eggs, cumin and 50g of Parmesan into a separate large bowl with ¾ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Mix well, then add the bread and any remaining liquid, followed by the courgettes and basil. Stir gently. 2 medium courgettes, coarsely grated (430g prepped weight) 25g basil leaves, torn

2 tbsp olive oil salt and black pepper

Place a 20cm x 25cm baking dish in the oven for 5 minutes, until hot. Remove from the oven, brush with the oil, and pour in the courgette mix. Even out the top, and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the last of the Parmesan evenly on top of the frittata, then bake for another 20-25 minutes, until the frittata is cooked through – a knife inserted in the centre should come out clean – and the top is golden-brown. Set aside for 5 minutes, then serve. This works as both a side and a main, with some wilted greens alongside. Get as large a mix of mushrooms as you can and like.

SERVES 4 AS A SIDE OR 2 AS A MAIN 150g bulgur 2 tbsp picked wheat thyme leaves 250ml boiling 2 tbsp balsamic water vinegar

65ml olive oil 10g dill, roughly 1 large onion, chopped, plus extra peeled and to serve finely sliced 60g feta, broken (170g prepped into 1cm-2cm weight) pieces

1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp Urfa chilli 500g mixed flakes (or ½ tsp of mushrooms, sliced regular chilli flakes) 4mm-5mm thick (or salt and black torn apart if wild) pepper

Rinse the bulgur and place in a large bowl. Stir in ¼ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, then pour over the boiling water. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and set aside for 20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the bulgur is soft. Drain, if there is any liquid left, and set aside.

Meanwhile, put 2 tablespoons of oil into a large sauté pan and place on a medium high heat. Add the onion and fry for 7-8 minutes, until soft and caramelised. Add ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds and continue to fry for 1-2 minutes, until dark golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add another 2 tablespoons of oil to the same pan and increase the heat to high. Mix in the mushrooms and ½ teaspoon of salt and fry for 6-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have browned and softened. Add the remaining ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds and the thyme and continue to heat for 1 minute, stirring continuously. Pour in the balsamic vinegar and continue to cook for about 30 seconds: it should reduce to practically nothing. Stir in the bulgur, onion, dill, feta and chilli flakes, until warmed through, then remove from the heat.

Spoon the bulgur and mushrooms on to a large platter or two individual plates. Sprinkle over some extra dill, drizzle with the remaining oil and serve.