Bex’s Recipes

The first two recipes are really useful after a hard day at the forge and I get home absolutely starving.  I just love pesto!!!

Coriander pesto

handful of coriander,
2 cloves of garlic,
1 tbl pinenuts,
1 chilli,
1 tsp cumin seeds
juice of 1/2 a lime,
olive oil.

Put all the ingredients except the olive oil into the BexSimon Mortar and pound into a rough paste.  Add the olive oil to the mixture until the desired consistency is reached.  Finally, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

This is fantastic if it’s stirred into cooked pasta, stir fried with chicken , or smeared over meat before grilling.

Basil pesto

handful of basil leaves,
1 clove of garlic
1 tbl pinenuts,
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tbl grated parmesan,
olive oil.

Put all the ingredients into the BexSimon Mortar except the olive oil and parmesan. Pound to a rough paste, then add the oil gradually and finally stir in the grated parmesan.

Use in the same way as the coriander pesto.

Keralan Curry Paste

This is a recipe for a curry paste from South India where, before we were married, my husband Dave spent a month cycling the 1000km around the southern tip of India from Chenai to Cochin deciding whether I was the girl of his dreams!!… Needless to say I am!!

This recipe was given to us by our friend Tara Patel.

2 cinnamon sticks,
4 cloves,
5-10 black pepper seeds,
1 inch piece of ginger,
5 green chillies,
15-20 curry leaves,
1/2 bunch coriander leaves,
1 tsp cumin seeds,
1 tsp coriander seed,
1 tsp chilli powder,
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
2 tbls tamarind juice,
2 tbls fresh coconut,
1 tsp garam masala.

To make the curry paste begin by grinding all the seeds together using the BexSimon Pestle and Mortar – within minutes you should be able to get them to a fine powder as the BexSimon Mortar and Pestle really excels at this.  Next add the powders, coriander leaves, coconut and tamarind juice and continue pounding in the mortar until a thick paste is reached.
This quantity of paste is for 1 kilo of meat.  Gently fry a couple of onions in oil for a few minutes add the diced meat with the curry paste and continue to stir fry for a further few minutes to brown the meat. Add water to cover and simmer until the meat is tender. If there is too much liquid left turn up the heat to reduce the sauce a little.

Vietnamese Green Papaya Salad

We have to include a recipe from Vietnam which is where we spent our honeymoon cycling from Ho Chi Minh to Hoi An!

1 small unripe green papaya (peeled & shredded thinly)
2 small carrots (peeled & shredded thinly)
dash of salt and pepper
lettuce leaves
1 tbsp roasted peanuts (crushed)

Dressing
1 clove garlic (chopped fine)
1 shallot (chopped fine)
2 small red chillies (de-seeded & chopped fine)
2 tsp brown sugar
3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce (subsitute with water to make it vegan)

In a bowl, mix the shredded papaya and carrot with salt and pepper.  Using a flat plate, arrange the lettuce leaves and pile the papaya and carrot on top.

How to make the dressing: Using the BexSimon Pestle and Mortar, first pound the garlic, shallots, chillies and brown sugar together to a paste, then add the lime juice and fish sauce (if using) to make the dressing.

Garnish the salad with the crushed peanuts and just before serving, pour the dressing over it.  Do not toss or mix the salad until you’re ready to serve.