Learning To Cook With Gizzi Erskine…

Food and music. Music and food. Yep, the link between our favourite beats and favourite eats has always been a strong one here at DT, which is why it took us less than half a second to accept an invitation from Google Play Music to attend a specially soundtracked cookery lesson with celebrity chef and good time gal Gizzi Erskine.

Showing us how to prepare one of her most delicious (and simple) recipes, we dusted off the apron and took a stroll down memory lane as the award winning writer proceeded to put us through our culinary paces. So what did we make? Well, nothing too pretentious we’re pleased to report. In an age where we feel like we might punch the next person to bend our ear about the wonders of ‘clean eating’ and the benefits of eating kale with every meal, we were as relieved as were excited to prepare Gizzi’s take on Mexican comfort food.

So here it is, the fabulous Ms. Erksine’s recipe for sweetcorn cakes with avocado, eggs and salsa with a side of the most delicious frijole we’ve ever tasted. Check out how to make it yourself below, you won’t regret it.

Sweetcorn Cakes with Avocado, Eggs and Salsa

Main Ingredients

• 100g fresh or frozen sweetcorn kernels
• 100g fine polenta meal
• 100ml milk
• 1 free-range egg plus 2 or 4 extra
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Rapeseed oil for frying
• 1 small ball of mozzarella, finely chopped
• 1 ripe but firm avocado
• Juice of half a lemon
• Sprigs of coriander, for serving
• 70g feta cheese
• Frijoles
• Sea salt flakes

Salsa Ingredients

• 3-4 tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 red chilli, desseded and finely chopped
• A dash of your favourite chilli sauce to taste
• 1 garlic clove finely grated
• The juice of 1 really juicy lime
• Half a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Method

To makes the pancakes, place the corn, polenta meal, 1 egg, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a food processor and blitz until combined and the corn kernels have broken up whilst retaining their texture.

Mix all the salsa ingredients together until well combined. Set aside.

Pancakes: Heat a frying pan over a low to medium heat. Wipe the base of the pan with a little bit of oil.

You can make the pancakes in 2 ways. You can dollop the mixture in using a spoon or ladle or add around 3 inches of the mixture to cooking rings/crumpet moulds. Oil the rings and place them in the pan. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons into the rings to form a base, sprinkle with a quarter of the mozzarella, then top with another 1-2 tablespoons of the mixture to finish.

Cook over a medium to low heat for 3-4 minutes, then carefully ease the cakes out of the rings and flip them over to finish cooking on the other side for another 2-3 minutes.

They should be golden on each side, cooked through but with gooey cheese in the middle. The mixture will make 4 cakes and you can keep them warm in a low-ish oven, about 140C/120C fan (275F), Gas Mark 1 for a maximum of 10 minutes.

Peel and stone the avocado, then chope the flesh and sprinkle with a little lemon juice and salt. Fry the eggs to you liking, then serve 2 cakes per person with the fried eggs, the sliced and dressed avocado, the salsa, coriander , crumbled feta and frijoles.

Frijoles

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 garlic bulb cut horizontally
• 2 onions finally chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 x 400g (14 oz) cans of black beans (keep the liquid
• 400ml (14fl oz) fresh vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• A few thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• 100g feta cheese
• Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the garlic , flat side down, and let it caramelise for a minute of so.

Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the onions and soften over a medium to low heat for 10-15 minutes, adding the garlic back for the last couple of minutes.

Add the spices and fry for a further 2 minutes, then add the beans (including the liquid) the stock, bay leaf and thyme.

Season with a little salt and pepper and cook over a medium to low heat for 30 minutes. It should be really stewy, almost soupy.

Serve the beans with a crumbling of feta.

Gizzi Erskine is working in partnership with Google Play Music, which is launching a series of curated cookery playlists to match music with food to try and create the perfect mood in the kitchen. Erskine’s brand new cookery book ‘Season’s Eatings’ arrives September 8th 2016 by Mitchell Beazley.