NOSH by Caroline Harvey

nosh exclusive!

Food for Thought for students, by students

Brand Battle!

WITH MICHELIN STARRED CHEF

NATHAN OUTLAW

CAN YOU TASTE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRANDED AND OWN BRAND?

Top 5 Student Meals

RECIPES FROM STUDENTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Pudding Page

ALSO:

LEARN HOW TO MAKE A TASTY CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

REVIEWS! FOOD NEWS! MORE RECIPES!

JANUARY 2013 UK £1.99

Nathan Outlaw gets grilled on page 16

ello and welcome to the very first edition of NOSH! This magazine will aim to provide you with lots of tasty recipes and new ideas to banish boring dinners like beans on toast and insta-noodles. Hopefully by the time you’re done reading you’ll be itching to get into the kitchen to whip up a tasty meal for you and your flatmates. In this issue alone we’ve got an exclusive interview with Michelin-starred chef Nathan Outlaw, an investigation into what tastes better – branded or own-brand, reviews of local restaurants and cookbooks, an idea of what to do with all those leftovers and a guide to five fantastic student meals that come guaranteed from university kitchens across the country. NOSH is written by students, so we’ve got a pretty good idea of what tickles your taste buds and best of all, we’ve managed to make sure all our recipes are suitable for your student budget. Anyway, enough talking. Grab your apron, get your chef’s hat on and enjoy this very first issue!

Cribbs Caribbean restaurant gets reviewed on pg. 30 Yummy chocolate flapjacks are featured on pg. 21

Jane Jardine Editor

Get in touch with us: twitter.com/NOSHmag write to us at NOSH Magazine, Media Newsroom, Tremough Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9EZ or email us at noshmagazine@youmail.com 3

NOSH January 2013

16-17

JAN 2013 Contents LAUNCH ISSUE FEATURES 7. A Guide to Cornish cakes Introducing you to more than just cream teas 10-11. Around the world Exploring foreign cuisines that ‘ll tickle your tastebuds

13-15. Branded v own brand Can you really taste the difference? 16-17. Nathan Outlaw The Michelin-starred chef reveals his love of Cornwall in our exclusive interview 24-25. Top 5 student meals 5 meals from across the country, courtesy of students like you

13-15 REVIEWS 18. Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals Is it really possible? NOSH puts Jamie to the test 30. Cribbs Restaurant The Falmouth eatery with a Caribbean twist

RECIPES 12. Use up your leftovers On a tight budget? This is a nifty way of turning 1 meal into 2 20-21. Three course meal Keen to impress? Cook these 3 courses in under 45 minutes! 22 – 23. Pudding page Mouth-watering recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth

10-11 4

26-27. Spaghetti bolognese An affordable, classic recipe that all you novices can perfect NOSH January 2013

20-21

Food News

The demise of the breadmaker Hovis

NOSH has put Caroline Harvey to the test to investigate the current decline of one of Britain’s most iconic companies - Premier Foods.

arlier this month, ‘Premier Foods’ owner of the Hovis bread company announced that it plans to close down two of its major bakeries in England. The worst hit will be the city of Birmingham, where they plan on shutting down the company’s main bakery and all of its distribution operations which will potentially see the loss of 511 Jobs. As well as the devastating cut on Birmingham’s bakery, Hovis operations at Greenford, West London, will also close, costing 196 jobs. Premier Foods, is also preparing to shut distribution sites at Mendlesham and Suffolk. Plymouth will be hard hit with the loss of 95 jobs within the distribution sites.

The closures are set to be completed next year and the company, Premier Foods are consulting with the employees about the closures. The Hovis brand name began in 1886, however the St Albans based company Premier Foods also own the franchises Mr Kipling and Bisto Gravy which are also viewed as the most iconic companies within Britain. Hovis however have been hit by high competition within bread distribution, with companies such as Warburton’s who over the past couple of years have taken over as the leading supplier of bread. According to survey’s the Warburtons brand has 6

been found to be the most popular bread in the United Kingdom, taking over the previous favourites, rivals Kingsmill and Hovis. Warburton’s have held this position since 2008, winning over the British population being Blighty’s favourite bread. Demand had therefore increased from national retailers such as Tesco, Asda and Sainsburys.

akeries in the southwest sell not just the usual Belgian buns and iced fingers, but a selection of traditional Cornish cakes that I’d never even heard of before coming to study

here.

In the late 1990s the company as part of its massive expansion programme opened new plants at Eastwood in Nottinghamshire, Bellshill and Wednesbury. However dispite its major transformation and huge expansion programme, Warburtons still remain a family business.

I have to say that personally, a good cream tea can’t be beaten.The Cavendish Coffee House on Falmouth high street serves great fat scones waiting to be slathered with thick clotted cream and deep red, sticky jam all washed down with a generous pot of tea. It’s the perfect place to go on a rainy day (which, luckily, is often in Cornwall).

Premier Foods have blamed the collapse on the loss of their contract to major supermarket, The Co-operative. The company’s loss of the 75 million pound contract they previously shared with Co-op has shocked the public and many of its workers. The popular bread maker is hoping that the cutting of the 900 jobs and the overhaul of the business will see a revival of the popular brand.

Cornish splits are a strange cross between scones and doughnuts. Splytys Kernewek, to use their proper name, are a doughy roll that is hard to find nowadays due to the prominence of actual scones for cream teas. Great British Bake Off judge Paul Hollywood’s recipe leaves you with something that looks like a sugared roll with cream and jam spilling out of the top of it like a Mohawk.

Hovis have launched many different campaigns within the past decade in a bid to win back their top place within the UK’s favourite bakery.This included in 2005 where they launched bread with ‘invisible crusts’ to entice and appeal to the younger generation who don’t like their crusts.

A completely traditional Cornish recipe, the origins of saffron cake date back to when Phoenician traders used to trade their spices and other goods for the tin in Cornish mines. Saffron is dried stigmas from the flower Crocus Sativus, and gives the cake not only its flavour but also its instantly recognizable bright yellow colour. It’s stuffed with currants and can be found in most high-street cake shops like Rowes and Warrens.

The company became well known for its series of heartwarming television adverts which stole the hearts of the nation including the most famous advert, ‘Boy on Bike’, which were all shown within the 1970’s. The 1973 advert 'Boy on Bike', was filmed by popular Hollywood director Ridley Scott and was voted the nation's favourite advert of all time in 2006. This famous and most loved advert was then repeated by the company on British television for only ten days in May 2006 commemorating Hovis’s 120th anniversary.

NOSH January 2013

The Cornish fairing is a type of ginger biscuit. ‘Fairing’ was originally a term for an edible treat sold at fairs, but it has now become much more memorable for its use as a treat given to children or by men to their sweethearts. Ginger fairings were made famous in 1886 when a Cornish manufacturer called John Cooper Furniss started distributing them, along with his macaroons, across the country from his bakery in Truro. These biscuits are rough, round chunky snacks heavily spiced with cinnamon and ginger. 7

Whortleberry pie is made from…well… whortleberries. These are also known as ‘bilberries’, and are almost completely identical to blueberries. Bilberries can be identified by the dark red flesh and red juice (if you can remember smearing the bloodcoloured juice all over your hands and face as a child and terrifying your parents, you had a similar childhood to mine). Blueberries have an almost translucent flesh by comparison. The pie is made by stewing the freshly picked berries with sugar until they are tender, and then topping them with shortcrust pastry. It is served with a big dollop of Cornish clotted cream. Cornish puddings have given as much to the history and tourist trade of Cornwall as the beaches and countryside have. Make sure you try some next time you’re here.

A SPEEDY RECIPE FOR SCONES! Ingredients:

225g/8oz self raising flour pinch of salt 55g/2oz butter 25g/1oz caster sugar 150ml/5fl oz milk 1 free-range egg, beaten

Method:

Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Mix together the flour and salt and rub in the butter. Stir in the sugar and then the milk to get a soft dough. Turn on to a floured work surface and knead very lightly. Pat out to a round 2cm/¾in thick. Use a 5cm/2in cutter to stamp out rounds and place on a baking sheet. Lightly knead together the rest of the dough and stamp out more scones to use it all up. Brush the tops of the scones with the beaten egg. Bake for 12-15 minutes until well risen and golden. Serve!

NOSH January 2013

arbonar

Prawn c

Curried pork steak

As the country gets bored with the nations favourties Carys Barriball explores the foriegn foods that have spiced up our tea times

ritish cuisine can be described as cooking unfussy dishes with good quality local ingredients. Ask British people what food denotes Britain and their responses will be Pies, Fish and Chips and of course a good traditional Sunday Roast with all the trimmings. However since immigrants began to settle in Britain they brought with them a wealth of foods and a variety of tastes, which have become increasingly popular on the teatime table. With the mass production and distribution of readymade meals and sauces the common Joe is given the opportunity to not only taste but cook meals originating from outside the UK. There is no longer a need to visit a foreign country or have cooking skills excellent results can be accomplished by adding a sauce to the dish. However publicity about the benefits of healthy eating and the need for a balanced diet meant people lost their appetites for ready meals. Cooking habits along with eating habits changed. Making from scratch became cool and everyone became passionate about cooking. Amateurs soon turned to the multiple TV chefs to teach them how to cook both British and foreign dishes. Now with an increasing variety of TV cookery shows the recipe bank is never ending and TV chefs have embraced foreign cuisine. Our taste buds are continually being tempted by foreign tastes. With Nigela Lawson introducing us to her Italian inspired recipes in Nigellissima, to Gok Wan revisiting his roots in Chinese cuisine. Here NOSH explores two very different foreign foods that have gained the love of the nation and found its place within British dining. 10

Italian Italian cuisine holds great influences abroad and is known to be one of the most popular foods with the Brits. It is a simple cuisine that uses key ingredients such as olive oil, pasta, dough and Cheese. Italians view their food not as a necessity to fuel themselves but as a way to bring the family together to socialise around great food. This simplicity is what makes us love it so much. They can come home from a hard day, boil some pasta, add sauces and cheese creating within minutes a delicious meal leaving bland and boring out of the recipe. “I love Italian food because it’s quick and tasty. There are so many different flavours and I create meals that appear Michelin Starred but are actually created in my humble kitchen,” said Kay Davy, a mature student from Cornwall. Even with a wealth of Italian restaurants who offer loaded Pizzas or pasta dishes, Britons prefer cooking at home where they can choose from a long list of sophisticated boiled or baked dishes. Confirming Italian food has now evolved into a family classic. Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian cuisine is an infusion of traditional British dishes and Indian styled spices such as Cumin and red chilies, which are added to create more exciting flavours. This cuisine was born during British rule over India. Native Indians became bored of imported British ingredients and began to add local spices to create a more distinguished taste. British classics such as beef or lamb stew became the curries this country now knows and loves so much. Chicken Tikka Masala has even become a signature dish amongst modern Britons.

dish,” said Luke Parsley a Music Technician from Cornwall. The infusion of cultures has even created a takeout classic ‘curry and chips’, highlighting just how important the foreign influence is to Britain and its ever growing love for food from around the world. With Loyd Grossman’s food trend report revealing Britons are the most adventurous at home cooking. With 5 per cent eating at least 12 different types of cuisine from 5 different countries. It is clear that although we love out classics Britons are falling in love with foods from foreign lands.

Tomato and

Chicken tik

ka lamb keb

Our varied eating habits continue to expand as our homes explore the tastes of Mexico, China and Thailand, appearing that Britain is fast becoming obsessed with food from around the world.

“The unusual spices never fail to surprise and give a kick to what can otherwise be a bland and boring

NOSH January 2013

basil pasta

Use Up Your LEFTOVERS!

Carys Barriball discovers a great way to revive Sunday’s roast chicken

dmit it. We are all guilty of throwing away our leftovers. After taking the time to prepare our evening meals especially after a long day, the last thing we want to do is create something else with the food we didn’t eat. Even those who manage to scrap the remains into a bowl placing them out of sight and out of mind in the fridge often found weeks later green, fuzzy and unrecognisable. However the cast offs from last night dinner can often become the Crème de la crème of tonight with surprisingly minimal effort. NOSH has discovered this simple recipe that can be made with the left over meat from Sunday’s roast chicken. It’s hearty, warm and if you prepare when the oven is already on, Monday’s dinner is oh so easy.

Ingredients 400g leftover chicken, or alternatively 2-3 chicken breasts. 50g bacon 50g frozen sweetcorn 50g frozen peas 500g frozen puff pastry 290ml milk 40g plain flour 1 chicken stock cube 12

Homemade chicken pie. Who can beat it? • Strip the meat off the chicken carcase. The brown meat from the wings and legs that no one wanted amongst their roasties holds some of the best flavours so are perfect for a pie. Then place aside. • Chop and fry 8 rashers of bacon. A relatively pocket friendly product which can be used to bulk up the meat content (simply by adding more) if the chicken was barer than expected. • Place the chicken in the same frying pan and gently fry for two minutes. The Sauce • Over the meat add a tablespoon of flour then a dash of milk. Stir until the flour and the milk forms a paste. • Add another dash of milk to reduce the thickness and continue the process until the meat is covered. If the sauce becomes too thick add more milk if it becomes too thin add more flour. Eventually the consistency should be that similar to gravy. • Add seasoning. A pinch of salt, pepper and a chicken stock cube to enhance the taste. • Allow this to simmer in the frying pan for a couple minutes. Adding frozen peas and/or sweetcorn into the frying pan. • Pour the mixture into a pie dish. Place to one side. • With readymade pastry roll out to 5mm thick using enough to cover the top of your pie dish. • Place over the pie folding any excess pastry in to make a thicker crust around the edge. Pierce a small hole in the center. • Keep in the fridge until tomorrow’s dinner or as long as the meat was fresh it can be frozen for another day. Cooking • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. •Brush the pastry with milk or butter before cooking for 20-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden. There you have a delicious homemade pie that needs little fuss and few ingredients but makes the perfect dinner after a busy day at work.

NOSH January 2013

Nosh Investigates...

Are branded foods always the best for quality?

PARTICIPANTS: Sam Lucas

Olivia Goodread

hopping has always been a hassle, and when you're worrying about how much you spend, it just makes things more problematic.

Tyla Haigh

Jacob McClennon

Verdict: Draw.

“They’re nicer.” (Everyday Value beans) Verdict: Everyday Value Beans. In the end the participants have chosen that the cheaper Everyday Value products have a better taste and are at the same high quality level of the branded products. The Everyday Value products have taken the win, and have proven that you can shop for much cheaper and still get the same if not better quality that you would expect from the more expensive products.

more expensive bacon is thicker and cut in to proper slices, the off cut Everyday Value bacon offers less fat and a better taste.

Can the cheaper range of products be just as good if not better than their branded counterparts? And could they be of the same quality? A blind taste test answered this question by using the everyday value range of foods from Tesco against the branded Tesco’s Thick Rasher Tesco’s Everyday products. Bacon Value Cut Off Bacon £2.37 74p To test the products against each other, 4 participants were acquired, and to keep it a fair test they were Olivia blindfolded whilst tasting the products. “I prefer the cheaper one, there’s more flavour.” Tyla “Definitely the cheaper one, it’s a variety of flavours, like, exotic bacon.” Jake “Cheap one is nice.” Dairy Milk Chocolate Tesco’s Everyday Sam £1.97 Value Chocolate “I prefer that (points to Everyday Value).” 30p The test started off with the chocolate, and although most of the participants could tell which one was the more expensive, the everyday value chocolate gave a tough fight which saw both products coming out as equals.

Olivia “That one definitely.” (Super Noodles) Sam “Yeah, that one is the best.” (Super Noodles) Tyla “I generally don’t know, I thought this one (Everyday Value) would have been the more expensive, it’s got more flavour.”

Verdict: Everyday Value Off cut Bacon. Next into the ring were the noodles, and it seemed that although the Everyday Value noodles gave off a good flavour, the title for this match would go to the Super Noodles as the consistency of the product swayed the participants towards them.

The testing of the Everyday Value bacon to the normal Jake Tesco’s bacon saw the competition go back in to the “That’s Super Noodles!” (Pointing straight away at one of favour of the cheaper side, it seems that although the the pans) 14 NOSH January 2013

Tesco’s Eveyday Value Chicken Noodles 11p

Chicken Flavour Super Noodles 68p

Verdict: Super Noodles. The final contenders in the competition are Heinz Baked Beans and Tesco’s Everyday Value beans, and the participants have once again taken the side of the cheaper product, that was said to have more flavour.

HOW MUCH WOULD YOU SAVE? Everyday Value Chocolate – 30p Dairy Milk Chocolate - £1.97

Saving £1.67 Everyday Value Noodles – 11p Super Noodles – 68p

Saving 57p Everyday Value Bacon – 74p Tesco's Thick Cut Bacon - £2.37 Heinz Baked Beans 70p

Tesco’s Everyday Value Beans 26p

Saving £1.63 Everyday Value Beans – 26p Heinz Baked Beans – 70p

Tyla “The Heinz one taste cheaper, the cheap ones are cracking.” Jake “The cheap ones again.” Olivia “The cheaper beans are nicer.” Sam 15 NOSH January 2013

Saving 44p

TOTAL SAVINGS 4.31!

nosh EXCLUSIVE

Food For Thought

with Nathan Outlaw

Caroline Harvey interviews two star Michelin chef Nathan Outlaw, who talks aspirations, inspirations and what life’s really like as a chef starting out in Cornwall.

ornwall is a county that embraces its culture with outstanding pride. It is famous for its literature, beautiful landscapes and perhaps most significantly its food.

Therefore it is no surprise that numerous successful chefs have set up restaurants in small towns situated within Cornwall. Many have done so after popular television seafood chef Rick Stein set up his first business in Padstow.Today Stein owns four restaurants in Padstow alone, and a popular fish and chip shop in Falmouth just a few miles away from Nathan Outlaw’s restaurant. Outlaw runs a self-titled two star Michelin starred restaurant in the popular and affluent Cornish town of Rock. His seafood career started in Stein’s popular

whole year just prepping fish.” Even though Outlaw “at times cursed” Stein for the particularly menial tasks set for him he realises that actually the experience was “the best training” he could have received. Outlaw is still in contact with Stein and still sees him “from time to time”. In his first cookbook, ‘Nathan Outlaw’s British Seafood’, Stein wrote the foreword. Outlaw explains that while the first part of his career saw him working in the heart of London, alongside chefs such as Gary Rhodes and Eric Chavot, he longed for a less stressful lifestyle out of the city. “I passed by a bookshop in Charing Cross Road and saw Rick fish restaurant in Padstow. He told NOSH: “Rick gave me my break in Cornwall and I learnt an awful lot from him and his head chef at the time, Paul

Ripley.” However it wasn’t the most glamorous of starting points for the chef, adding that he “spent a Stein’s face smiling out at me without a sign of stress on his face.” He was so inspired by the image, the peaceful and serene background of the Cornish sea, that he phoned and applied for a job at Stein’s restaurant the next day. Although he had already expressed an interest in cooking with fish and seafood once he moved to Cornwall he “fell in love with the place”. As well as falling in love with food and the beautiful countryside surrounding Cornwall he also fell in love with his wife. She was born in Cornwall and they met while he was working at Stein’s restaurant. They have two children together and find the lifestyle down here “much more relaxed”. Outlaw believes that the “quality, availability and freshness of the produce” we get in Cornwall makes food manufactured here different from other places in the country. He argues that the laid back Cornish lifestyle means that food is often cooked simply and healthily. “I always try to do this – from my point of view you should be able to taste the main component of a meal and anything served with it should enhance and complement that, not mask its flavour.”

NOSH January 2013

Outlaw, Hewitt has also worked in the small, quaint town of Fowey and has chosen to continue his career in the surrounding areas. He said: “People will travel from all over the country to come to Cornwall after Rick Stein proved that the catering business and fish quality could make Cornwall the best place to come to find fresh local produce.” Outlaw understands that there are very little employment opportunities within Cornwall. He argues however that the reason for this is because “so many of the young people live in rural areas and transport is not easy.” As well as this, the food industry demand anti-social hours of work “early mornings and late nights” therefore buses and trains are hard to come by. Outlaw believes that “we have some very talented young chefs and waiters, born and bred in Cornwall”. He “aims to enhance and further the education and training of young chefs who show exceptional talent” and has become involved with Cornwall College to start ‘Academy Nathan Outlaw”.

Whilst still remaining based in Cornwall, Outlaw has opened another seafood and grill restaurant at The Capital Hotel in London. He plans on exploring more opportunities to use seafood from different parts of the UK. On the Capital Hotel website he expresses Local young chef Tim Hewitt, 19, has had previous his excitement about spreading awareness of seafood experience working with Nathan Outlaw. Just like dishes across Britain, and trying to expand the industry. 17 NOSH January 2013

Review

Is it really possible to create great tasting meals in only 30 minutes? Carys Barriball puts it to the test

here was so much hype around the programme and the book that followed. It appeared all our questions about how to make healthy meals on a budget in 30 minutes were answered, until people began to try it for themselves and found 30 minute meals was impossible. So with all the controversy surrounding Jamie Oliver’s 30-Minute Meals I thought I’d give it ago myself, and cook up a miracle. When you first open the book the pictures are to die for and definitely encourage you to get in the kitchen. The dishes look healthy, vibrant and simple. The ingredients are sectioned off at the top, which are divided down into the different dishes. This is easy to follow especially when writing your shopping list.

Now the actual cooking. I think we all know, if you are not Mr Oliver a 30-minute meal can take more like ninety minutes, but hey what is to say we are not the ones to blame for our cooking skills not being up to scratch? Placing that aside and switching the clock off you can make some delicious meals that spice up mid-week teatime. I took the plunge and cooked Piri Piri chicken dressed with potatoes, rocket salad and quick Portuguese tarts. If we are reviewing his recipes on their ability to be made within 30 minutes, it was disappointing before we started. I guesstimated that it took a painful 120minutes. Reviewing the dish on its taste and ease of cooking methods- it was honestly satisfying. There was a kick of spice and the meat fell off its bone, the potatoes soaked up all the juices whilst the salad was light and refreshing.

What has let the layout down however are the chunky blocks of text that give the directions for the cooking methods.You can’t flick open a page and follow a step-by-step guide, it needs to be thoroughly read. Whilst it didn’t take me thirty minutes and maybe for Not a problem but when the clock is ticking and time is that Jamie Oliver’s 30-minute meals are disappointing, running out you spend precious minutes reading and re- when it comes to directing us to cook and the tastes reading. However when you take the time to read the of the dishes this recipe book is faultless. recipes, the book truly is brilliant. Everything is detailed and by breaking it all down into smaller sections it is Reader Offer: get 15% off Jamie’s cook book at easy to follow, so maybe next time Jamie the paragraphs www.noshfood.co.uk could just be a little smaller! 18 NOSH January 2013

kay, we admit it; three-course meals aren’t exactly what all students are looking to prepare for dinner these days. But they are perfect for gathering everyone together and they are a lot cheaper than ordering three large pizzas from your local Dominos. If you are strapped for cash, you only have to chip in and buy one or two ingredients each to feed everyone in your house or flat. It’s said that that idea of threecourse meals originated in ancient Rome. A starter would typically consist of salads and vegetables such as mushrooms, asparagus and broccoli, as well as fish and shellfish. They would be washed down with wine and, at larger feasts, a number of starters would continue to be served one after the other to guests until the main course was brought out.

Mains would always be meat. Beef, pork and poultry were the most popular, and they would be covered in a sauce called garum. This was made by taking the intestines of salted fish and heating them slowly over the course of several months until they had decomposed.They would then be filtered and used as an accompanying sauce to most dishes. NOSH advises you to stick to ketchup.

Dessert would be plates of fruit such as grapes, figs and dates, as well as an assortment of different types of nuts like hazelnuts, pine nuts and walnuts. Honeycakes and sweet pastries would also be served. Though the fashion for rotten fish guts and pig ears has gone from our typical every day diets, the basic idea of a three-course meal has stayed the same. This menu is cheap, tasty and elements of it (especially pudding) can be saved and used again when you fancy a snack later in the week.

TARTER: GARLIC BREAD Just like at a well-known pizza restaurant, this garlic bread is made using pitta bread, not a baguette. - Use your fingers to moisten the pitta breads with some water. Be careful not to get them soggy. - Meanwhile, take as much butter as you think you’ll need and make sure it’s soft, as you’ll need to be able to spread or dip the bread into it. - Put the butter in a small bowl. - Crush a clove or two of garlic and mix it into the butter. - Put your pittas in the toaster or under the grill until they’ve puffed up. - Put them onto a separate plate and serve with the bowl of garlic butter, this way, everyone can dip in and take as much as they want. AIN: PRAWN AND PESTO PASTA M This is a fantastic main course as anything that’s left can be re-used as a 19

NOSH January 2013

- Boil a pan of water and add the spaghetti/pasta. Cook it until it’s soft. - Drain the pasta and put it back into the now empty pan. - Add a few spoonfuls of green pesto and mix until all the spaghetti is evenly covered. - Now add a whole packet of peeled, ready-to-eat prawns. These can always be found in the fish counter at your local supermarket. You can use small or large prawns in this dish, it’s up to you. Mix those in. - Take a good handful of cherry tomatoes and with a sharp knife, slice them down the middle. Chuck those into the pan and mix them in too. - Serve into bowls and enjoy with a sprinkle of grated cheese on top. UDDING: CHOCOLATE FLAPJACK P Make sure you prepare these earlier in the day so that they’ve completely

set

dinnertime.

- Put butter and a generous amount of golden syrup into a pan and melt them together until it’s completely liquid. Make sure to stir or else it’ll burn. - Now add your oats and mix it all together until they’re completely covered with the butter/syrup. - Pour into a baking tin and place it in a hot oven for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. - Melt some dark chocolate and spread it over the cooked flapjack. - Put the flapjack into the fridge until you want to serve.

quick lunch or a dinner on another day. 20 NOSH January 2013

The Pudding Page! Caroline Harvey investigates what really makes a good sweet treat. From the classic chocolate fudge cake to a more contemporary doughnut muffin, NOSH finds out whether the proof really is in the pudding.

o occasion would be complete without a yummy sweet desert to finish it off.Whether it is a simple Muffin recipe or a fuller, rich chocolate fudge cake, a desert is the finishing touch to any meal and should be made with lots of care and attention. NOSH have compiled two of our favourite pudding recipes to help out with the tricky decision of the cherry on the top of your three course meal, or even when you have those days where you feel just that little bit tempted by a yummy cake. Here at NOSH we don’t just want our recipes to be absolutely yummy we want them to be as simple as possible for even the students who never cook to be able to conquer! We asked a few students to see if they could step up to the plate and try out the recipes. Sarah Harrington, a 19-year-old student at Plymouth University, has described cooking the doughnut muffins a “joy”, she even shared the muffins to her housemates, “They absolutely loved them, however immediately after they ate them they wanted more! We have a deal that I will make them and they can wash up.”

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

4. Meanwhile, for the chocolate buttercream icing, melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Beat the butter in a bowl until soft, then gradually beat in the icing sugar. Add the vanilla extract and fold in the melted chocolate until smooth. A tip here is to add a few drops of milk if the mixture is a little stiff.

This chocolate fudge cake is rich and gooey. This recipe does take a good couple of hours to make, so it’s advisable that you try it when you have a lot of spare time (like when you’re putting off that essay).

5. For the chocolate ganache, heat the cream, vanilla extract, butter and chocolate in a heavy-based pan. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk the mixture until smooth and thickened.

Makes 12 slices – Preparation time less than 30 minutes. Cooking time 1 to 2 hours (Make sure you leave plenty of time for this recipe; we found it uses a lot of dishes which means lots of washing up!)

6. To assemble the cake, run a round bladed knife around the inside of the cake tins to loosen the sponge. Carefully remove the cakes from the tins. Spread the chocolate buttercream over the top of one of them, and then carefully top with the other cake. 7. Then transfer the cake to a serving plate and spoon the chocolate ganache over the top, allowing it to drizzle over the edge. 8. Cut into 12 and serve to your guests.

DOUGHNUT MUFFINS

A great thing about these cute muffins they are only 229 calories and have 6 grams of saturated fat per muffin so they are much healthier than a deep fried doughnut yet still as yummy as a gooey doughnut, perfect! Makes 12 – Preparation time 20 minutes Cook in 18 minutes. 1. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Lightly grease a 12 hole muffin tin (or use a silicone one). Put 140g sugar, flour and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl and mix to combine. In a jug, whisk together the yogurt, eggs and vanilla. Tip the jug contents and melted butter into the dry ingredients and quickly fold with a metal spoon to combine. 2. Divide two-thirds of the mixture between the muffin holes. Carefully add 1 tsp jam into the centre of each then cover with the remaining mixture. Bake for 16-18 minutes until risen, golden and springy to touch.

Elisa Bianco who also goes to Plymouth University tried out our gooey chocolate fudge recipe, she said: “This was quite a tricky recipe to master, but It was so yummy that it went down very well in the house. Even people who don’t live with us came round and 3. Leave the muffins to cool for 5 minutes before had some; I haven’t got rid of them since!” lifting out of the tin and rolling in the extra sugar. 21 NOSH January 2013

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/335F/Gas 3. Grease and line two 20cm/8inch sandwich tins. Melt the chocolate, butter and water together in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Set aside to cool slightly. 2. Meanwhile, sift the flours and cocoa powder into a bowl and mix in the muscovado and caster sugar. Beat the eggs and crème fraiche together into a separate bowl, then beat in the chocolate mixture. Fold in the flour mixture until smooth 3. Divide the cake batter between the tins and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is firm to its touch. Remove the cakes from the oven and set aside to cool completely. 22

ALL OUR RECIPES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE: WWW.NOSHFOOD.CO.UK

NOSH January 2013

MEAL THREE - SMOKED SALMON PASTA

“This is a very tasty, and super quick to make,” says Suzannah Murphy at the University of Southampton. “Fish and spinach are good for you!”

It’s easy, when on a limited student budget, to fall into the trap of making cheap, quick dinners every night of the week. Usually they’re not particularly exciting and as a result become very boring very quickly.

“Put a whole bag of spinach in a saucepan with a knob of butter, letting it condense. Cook the pasta in a separate pan. When the spinach is done, mix in a couple of spoonfuls of cream cheese and a packet of smoked salmon trimmings (you can get these for about a pound at the fish section of most supermarkets). When the pasta is done, drain it and mix it with the fish/spinach/cream cheese.” “It’s a cheap way to eat healthy,” she adds.

Relying on ready meals is not a good option either. A recent study by scientists at Glasgow University revealed that some supermarket ready meals contain a much higher percentage of fat than they’d like to let on. Some meals were even found to contain an entire day’s worth of saturated fat in one serving. To help whip up some healthier inspiration, NOSH has got in touch with students studying all over the UK to find out what recipes they’ve found to be winners. The following meals require minimal ingredients and are easy to make:

MEAL ONE - PORRIDGE

“I like this meal because I’m a novice at cooking,” says Anne Suslak, studying at the University of Kent. “First off, buy porridge oats. They come in bags at the supermarket and last for ages. Pour some oats into a small saucepan and cover with milk until they are practically hidden. Heat over the hob and stir occasionally until the porridge is the consistency that you want it.” “You can add golden syrup, jam, brown sugar or Nutella. If you’re particularly hungry,” Anne advises, “you can chop a banana into it.” “My housemate once accidentally dropped a piece of chorizo into my porridge and it still tasted okay, but this might be a bit too experimental!”

MEAL TWO SWEET POTATO FRIES

“These are great to do as an accompaniment to a main meal or as a snack between meals,” Simon Rickenbach, currently at the London School of Economics tells us. “It’s something quick to do that tastes amazing with minimal effort.” “Preheat the oven to gas mark eight, and peel two sweet potatoes. Cut them into chips about two centimetres thick and cover with oil. Place them evenly on a heated baking tray and cook for fifteen minutes. Turn them and cook for another ten minutes until they’re browned at the corners.” “You can add paprika or chilli powder to make them a little different,” he suggests.

MEAL THREE - MEAL FIVE - FAJITAS CURRIED CHICKPEA AND SPINACH NOODLES “This is quick to make and probably the most sociable meal in the world. Get everyone together, that way there’s no awkward leftovers,” says Maddy Gibney, who is currently at the University of South Carolina on her year abroad from Warwick.

Catie Smith, also at Kent, explained why this is one of her favourites: “It’s healthy, cheap and easy to cook. I’ve not met anyone who doesn’t enjoy it!” “Put some oil in a frying pan and add a can of chickpeas, frying for five minutes. Add a bag of spinach and cover until it has condensed. Add curry powder, salt, pepper and soy sauce, and then a pack of ‘ready-to-cook’ noodles. Give it a good stir and serve.”

“Cook your chicken breasts, peppers and onions in a pan all together until the chicken is cooked properly all the way through. Add seasoning of your choice and warm the fajita wraps so they are ready to be filled. Serve with grated cheese.” She also suggests: “For extra yummy factor, serve with a homemade salsa.”

“Don’t be afraid to add ketchup,” she recommends, “the more the better!”

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24 NOSH January 2013

Spaghetti Bolognese MICHAEL JONES SHOWS YOU THE EASIEST WAY TO PERFECT THIS CLASSIC RECIPE

paghetti Bolognese has been a popular dish for many years. Originating from Italy, and crossing over the waters to British households, we not only enjoy the zingy tomato and pasta flavour but also the fact that it’s a cheap meal to make that can be customised any way you want it. Pasta is a traditional Italian dish which dates back as far as 1154. It is made using unleavened dough, which is made from white flour mixed with water. This can be then turned into sheets and different shapes and can then be cooked. Schoolchildren were taught that the Venetian merchant Marco Polo brought pasta back from China, however another story states that Polo simply rediscovered pasta which used to be popular in Roman times. The truth is that pasta was already there in Polo’s time, which leads people to believe that it was the Romans who actually discovered it. There are around 350 different shapes of pasta, ranging from simple tubes to bowties (farfalle, which means butterfly). There are also unique and weird shapes like tennis racquets (rachette). Pasta is generally served with a type of sauce, and meals that can be made from pasta include spaghetti bolognese, lasagne and carbonara.

Ingredients

250g mince or, for a vegetarian option, Quorn frozen mince One pepper Mushrooms One carrot Tinned tomatoes 250g spaghetti Large basil plant(plant is better than the packet as it lasts longer) Garlic puree Tomatoes One onion (red or white depending on preference) Pepper, chilli powder and oregano (optional) One beef or vegetable stock cube Grated cheese

to occasionally give them a stir to keep from sticking and burning. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the chopped carrots. When they are soft enough to poke a fork through, they are done. Once the veg has been cooking for around 5 minutes, add the mushrooms to the pan. Put a pan lid on top if you wish to keep the steam in and make the veg softer.

Take the basil leaves off of the plant by pinching the bottom of the stem and pulling the leaf until it comes free. Take the larger leaves off first so that the smaller ones have time to grow and you will have them ready for another meal in the future! Once the vegetables are softened to your liking take the mince off the heat, and serve onto plates. Evenly place the mince on top of the spaghetti, and add the grated cheese to finish off this cheap but ‘extravagant’ meal. For the low price of the dish, it’s hard to find a flaw in this meal that everyone will enjoy. Not only is it a great meal on its own or in bulk to be eaten with family and friends, but it can be a great side dish to many other meals, or in sandwiches. Bring another pan of hot water to the boil and slowly add the spaghetti. Once it is all in the pan, add some olive oil to stop it from sticking. You can also add a pinch of salt for extra taste. The Spaghetti should take about 10 minutes. Transfer the carrots to the other vegetables and mix in, then add the veg to the mince along with the tinned and chopped tomatoes, garlic puree and Lea & Perrins and mix it all together.

HINT: To test whether the spaghetti is properly cooked, take one strand out of the pan and throw it at the wall or ceiling. If it sticks then it is done!

All this tasty meal takes to make are these ingredients:

Add a beef or vegetable stock cube to your mince and drain the spaghetti in a sieve. Pour boiling water over the spaghetti to wash off the starch.

washing up afterwards, do it whilst you are cooking your meal, and then there will be less to clear up afterwards.

Begin by finely chopping up the vegetables, but not too thin as you don’t want them to burn. Put the chopped onion and pepper into a pan and begin to fry them.At the same time, put the mince into a pan and begin to cook it on a low heat. Remember 25

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HINT: To save time on the strenuous activity of

Tweet us your pictures @NOSHmag! NOSH January 2013

A Guide to Student Cookbooks

From childhood heroes to teen chefs, here at NOSH we’ve taken a few of the market’s most popular cookbooks aimed at the student market and given them a good grilling so you don’t have to try before you buy.

MOOMINS COOKBOOK

THE STUDENT COOKBOOK

4 STARS Do not be alarmed, this charming and quirky cookbook is not full of recipes exclusively for those cooking for Moomins but is instead a colourful introduction to Finnish cuisine.

3 STARS Filled with over 200 cheap and cheerful recipes including one pot wonders, TV dinners and home comforts, this food bible offers dishes to impress.

£12.99

With recipes ranging from Moominpappa’s Grogg, a comforting winter drink, to The Muddler’s Sweetcorn Risotto, the cookbook offers a range of delicacies laid out in an easy to follow format. Despite being filled with beautiful Moomin illustrations there are no images of the finished product, meaning it can be hard to visualise the dish. As a result, this does make it a little trickier to prepare. This is a delightful recipe book promising tasty treats that will spice up any student’s diet, and is sure to bring back a few childhood memories. The Moomins show how our silly mistakes aren’t the end of the world: “We can learn from our mistakes in cooking, and cooking we can only learn by doing.”

£7.99

SAM STERNS STUDENT COOKBOOK - SURVIVING ON A BUDGET £9.99

4 STARS The world famous teen chef is back with his third instalment of fun and tasty dinning - ideal for independent living.

From tequila chicken to recipe for everyone’s favourite Sunday roast that would give your mum’s a run for its money. The book has an ultra-easy to understand format that lays out preparation time, cooking time and how many it serves. The recipes themselves range in difficulty so you can slowly build up to the more complex meals making it a satisfying and rewarding experience.

Containing full colour photographs the glossy book is inspiring on every page.

The Student Cookbook does not contain any images which again can make it hard to visualise the dish. However, with a detailed introduction, an individual who had never stepped into a kitchen would end up feeling prepared.

This book will suit all budgets from week to week.

The Student cookbook does offer a huge range of meals and is an essential item for those about to fly the nest. 27

NOSH January 2013

There are eye-catching symbols that offer a speedy guide for checking costs, along with added variations for those either feeling the pinch or ready to splash the cash.

With a huge fan base (including Gordon Ramsay) Stern’s cookbook is a safe and dependable introduction to cheap and easy meals.

BY BRYONY DREWETT

Restaraunt Review

Cribbs

BRYONY DREWETT REVIEWS THE CARIBBEAN THEMED RESTAURANT ON FALMOUTH HIGH STREET

Looking in from the outside, with its low lit restaurant floor and unattended yet well stocked bar, you’d be forgiven for thinking the independent Caribbean restaurant Cribbs was closed for lunch at just after 1pm on a Friday afternoon. However despite the far from inviting first glance, the funky yellow façade and brightly coloured sandwich boards promised an authentic ‘taste of the Caribbean’, and are more than encouraging enough to make you take a step inside. Living in Cornwall, which already hosts an abundance of seafood restaurants and a Cornish Bakery on every corner, restaurants offering food from far flung places are often a novelty. For example, the recent news that a Nando’s is

coming to Newquay sent the locals into a joyful frenzy. Therefore Cribbs’ excitingly exotic menu is much desired on the Falmouth high-street. Sitting at the window on a cosy banquette seat facing the restaurant floor, the cool cream and terracotta décor is fun and fresh without being overbearing. The potted plants and Bob Marley portraits keeps the establishment looking authentic and intimate. The shuffling playlist of ‘The Best of Bob Marley’ leaves a little to be desired, however as we were the only table in the restaurant it would perhaps be a little less tedious with the bustling chitchat and clanging cutlery of other diners. Starting with the Bucket of Treats, which consisted of southern fried breaded chicken, fish and pork belly (which we started eating with our forks until any pretence at politeness was abandoned and they became finger food). These offered a tongue-tingling 29

variety of flavours and textures with the added zing of the reggae dipping sauce. Neatly presented in a small silver bucket with a side of chips, the dish looked a lot more appetising than a bargain bucket from KFC, which me and my dinner date both joked it would be. Moving onto mains, we ordered the jerk chicken. Who can experience their first Caribbean meal without tucking into the most famous Caribbean dish? This was again presented appealingly, coming in an oversized white porcelain dish on a bed of jasmine rice and garnished with deep fried plantain. The dish, like the appetiser, offered an array of flavours with subtle spices giving an authentic kick, which, as the waitress had promised “would not blow your head off”. With perfectly cooked moist tender chicken the dish lived up to its promise of authentic flavours and the generous portion sizes didn’t leave you feeling as though you had been short-changed. Feeling full from the first two courses, but not being one to turn down a dessert, the waitress begrudgingly brought over the sweet menu. Now, service until this point had been far from fantastic. Mediocre at best. But we had seen nothing yet - when asking what the crème burl of the day was, the waitress irritably replied “Baileys.” When asked whether the cheesecake was baked, she literally huffed an almighty shoulder-sagging huff and shouted over to the kitchen:“Steve? STEVE?! Is the cheesecake baked?” to which Steve solemnly shook his head. We quickly decided on the cheesecake only so the waitress and her scowl would leave us again.

3 STARS

NOSH January 2013