Grains cooked in tomato brine bring an extra layer of flavour to a summery herb salad; thoughts on nostalgia; optical illusions at the Hilma af Klint exhibition
I’m well but feeling the after-effects of a weekend reunion at my old Oxford college. The physical hangover may have worn off (although it took a good couple of days) but nostalgia is a powerful drug and I’m still feeling a bit lightheaded from it.
Come October it will be 25 years since I started at St Catherine’s. More than half my life ago. But the three years I spent there were so formative that there’s no way I was missing an opportunity to return.
I’m still in touch with a lot of friends from that time. Some I see often, others only pop up in the occasional online group chat. But it was wonderful to gather en masse and tell each other that we looked exactly the same. No, exactly the same. You haven’t changed a bit. Etc.
It would have been nice to congregate anywhere but there was special magic in seeing these familiar faces in such a familiar space. Catz was built in the 60s, designed by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen. It’s beautiful in a glass-and-concrete kind of way, the extreme linear nature of the buildings softened by judiciously planted trees and hedges (not an easy place to live in admittedly, as the huge windows meant one’s bedroom varied wildly in temperature according to the seasons and the sun always seemed to be shining directly in your eyes, no matter where you chose to sit in the library). Grade 1 listed too, so although new accommodation blocks have beed added, not much else has changed and several times through the evening I found myself hit by very physical waves of nostalgia.
I don’t really know what nostalgia is. I guess a sort of wistfulness for past happiness? I do know that before the weekend I was looking forward to the occasion in quite a selfish way. Hoping, I suppose, that someone who remembered Clare-at-18 could mirror back some truth that about her that would still be relevant to Clare-at-44. But afterwards I felt nothing but gratitude for the opportunities I had there and the people I met.
Well, that and a definitively middle-aged hangover. Maybe by the time of the next reunion I’ll have learned to go to bed at a sensible hour?
So. Here’s a final plug for my July Supper clubs at Lizzy’s On The Green. Four courses of seasonal summery deliciousness on Newington Green. July 22nd is sold out but there are still tickets for the 8th. That’s next Saturday! Tickets are £45 and include a welcome cocktail. They’re only on sale until Monday evening so don’t dawdle! Hope to see you there…
Here are the summer holiday-inspired snacks course. The full menu is as follows:
Tepache cocktail cooler
Pan con (lacto) tomate Mini spanakopita
Herb linguine, fermented pesto, pistachio
Pulled lamb/griddled veg, yellow split pea pureé Charred cabbage, cashew cream, red kraut, caramelised seeds Greek orange juice carrots with thyme, preserved lemon and olives
Everything is veggie except for the lamb in the main course for which there is a lovely, smoky griddled vegetable alternative. Vegan/GF options possible, just let me know when you book.
Tickets are also available for the dates on 5th and 19th August although the menu is yet to be finalised. Goes without saying that it will be super seasonal and feature some subtle fermented flavours. Newsletter subscribers will be first to hear about it so if you’re not already signed up click the button below so you don’t miss out.
Recipe: Lacto Tomato Tabbouleh
Serves 4 as a side
Last week I gave you the recipe for a dill pickle potato salad, using some brine from the pickle jar in the dressing. This week we’re making another summery side dish which is a great way to use up the brine from lacto fermented tomatoes.
I’m calling it a tabbouleh but I probably shouldn’t. Traditionally that is a parsley-based dish with just a tiny bit of fine bulgur wheat in it. This is a slightly more substantial version, made with large-grained coarse bulgur and a higher wheat-to-herb ratio than is totally authentic. But the grains are so delicious, cooked in the tangy, umami brine left over from fermented tomatoes that I want them to have their moment in the sun. And I don’t know what else to call it so we’ll go with tabbouleh and hope Ottolenghi doesn’t come for me…
Ingredients
100g coarse bulgur wheat
350ml (approx) brine from lacto-fermented tomatoes
100g tomatoes (fermented or fresh)
2 spring onions
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
small pinch mellow chilli flakes (optional)
1 small cucumber
half a small pomegranate (approx 75g seeds)
Small bunch mint (approx 20g picked leaves)
Small bunch dill (approx 20g fronds)
large bunch parsley (approx 50g picked leaves)
Method
Rinse the bulgur and cook in the brine. Use the packet instructions to work out the exact quantity of liquid you’ll need. Drain if necessary and allow to cool.
Meanwhile dice the tomatoes and finely slice the spring onions. Put them in a small bowl with the olive oil, lemon juice, spices, a good pinch of salt and several generous grindings of black pepper. Let them sit for a bit so the salt can draw out the tomato juices then add to the grains.
Peel, deseed and dice the cucumber. Separate the pomegranate seeds.
Wash and dry the herbs and pick the leaves. Chop finely with a very sharp knife.
Combine everything and toss to mix thoroughly. Check for seasoning and add more salt, pepper or lemon juice if needed.
Notes
Bulgur cooking times and quantities will vary. Mine demanded 400ml liquid to 100g grains but said it would need draining. I used 350ml brine as I like it to cook by absorption as much as possible but it still needed a little liquid pouring off.
You could use fresh or fermented tomatoes here. I used fresh so the flavour of the grains would stand out but fermented would add more of an intense flavour kick.
The salad can sit around for a few hours and the flavour of the grains and tomatoes and herbs will meld. But I would recommend not adding the cucumber and pomegranates until you’re ready to serve as they will go a bit soggy otherwise snd I think the textural contrast is nice. Thinly sliced radishes would be nice too.
I like to serve this with little gem leaves for crunch. You could even make a plate of leaf “boats” topped with the tabbouleh as a sort of salady finger food for a summer party.
Cultural Fun
I visited the Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms of Life exhibition at the Tate Modern with my friends Ruby and Lucy Jagger. Both sisters are arty (Lucy professionally so) so good people to go gallery wandering with. In front of Klint’s Swan paintings, many of them based around concentric circles, Ruby (who is a yoga teacher) Ruby is a yoga teacher said they reminded her of mandalas and encouraged us to stare at the centre of the painting before closing our eyes. When we did the colours popped and throbbed in slightly psychedelic ways. If you go to the exhibition, try it!
Other than this, I wasn’t blown away by the exhibition. I liked both artists’ early landscape work and was interested in how they both developed from there into abstraction. But they never met in life and I didn’t particularly feel the paintings were in dialogue.
My American cousin Dave took me to see a singer called Danielle Ponder last year on her first UK tour. She’s from his home town of Rochester, NY, and has a great backstory having worked as a lawyer in the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office before going into music full time in her late 30s. She also has one of the greatest soul voices I’ve ever heard. Ponder is playing the Jazz Cafe on July 12th. Sadly I can’t go but if you’re in London and like blues/RnB/trip hop then I recommend seeing her before she really blows up.
Also on a musical note, I really loved the recent episode of The Last Archive podcast about Raymond Scott, an American composer and musician who spent most of his life trying to build a song writing machine. And we thought AI composing was a new idea!
Bye! See you next week!
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In Good Taste is a Sycamore Smyth newsletter by me, Clare Heal. You can also find me on Instagram or visit my website to find information about my catering work, cookery lessons and upcoming events.
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