Seaweed, sesame and chilli salt to bring some sparkle to your plate (and life)

Also, I threw our leftover easter eggs into some homemade ice cream and it was fab.

Jun 10, 2024

Seaweed, sesame and chilli salt

Makes 1 1/2 cups

A brilliant finishing salt. It’s incredibly easy to make and will last for ages. This year I gave this, along with homemade chilli oil as Xmas gifts. It’s delicious sprinkled on everything really but especially eggs, avocado, fish and rice.

1/2 cup sesame seeds

4 nori sheets

1/2 cup flaky sea salt

1 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes.

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet over a medium until lightly golden. Set aside to cool.

Wipe out the skillet and toast each nori sheet for around 10 seconds on each side. You’ll know it’s ready when the shiny side starts to wrinkle and lighten in colour in places. Toasting adds some flavour and drys the sheets out so they’ll break apart easily.

Crumble the nori sheets into small pieces and then place in a food processor along with the salt and the chill flakes. Run the machine until the nori has been blitzed into tiny pieces. Add the sesame seeds and pulse the machine until combined.

Store in an airtight jar for up to 2 months.

Just wanted to say: thanks SO much for being here..

..reading my words and recipes weekly or subscribing to receive my chatter in your inbox. I’ve had the some very kind messages from people enjoying the newsletter.

I’m really thrilled as I’m enjoying Substack so much. Both to create on, and to read and explore. It’s quite a clunky site to use and that’s absolutely perfect as far as I’m concerned, because there’s no incentive to quickly scroll and move on to the next piece of content. Instead I’m enjoying setting aside time to read longer pieces of writing. It’s exactly the kind of small change I’ve been seeking in my ongoing goal of having my devices and the internet work for me, rather than sucking my time away in ways that feel out of my control.

As I said a newsletter or two ago, please only continue to receive these emails if you’re enjoying them. I’m always keen to hear feedback. Kelly x

Orange, vanilla and chocolate chunk ice cream

Serves 6-8

I bought an ice cream maker during one of the lockdowns of 20/21. That was the kind of thing you did then. I don’t use it all the time but every time I do, I’m thrilled by the end result.

I had a pile of easter eggs my kids had lost interest in and also a large bottle of cream leftover from cooking for friends (a really yummy chicken, leek and tarragon skillet dish). We’ve also just had the tiny yearly crop from our dwarf orange tree ripen. The tree only yields about 8-10 oranges a year but they are AMAZING.

I threw all these together with some proper vanilla, egg yolks and brown sugar to make a really delicious ice cream.

300ml fresh cream

300ml milk

95g brown sugar

1 vanilla bean (could also use 2 teaspoons qood quality vanilla paste)

2 egg yolks

Zest of 1 range

100g roughly chopped chocolate

(Place the bowl of your ice cream maker into the freezer the day before starting this recipe.)

Add the cream, milk and half the sugar to a small saucepan. If using a vanilla bean, slit this down the centre to expose the seeds and and the bean into a few pieces. Add this to the saucepan. Heat slowly until very hot but not boiling.

Whisk together the egg yolks and remaining sugar. Add 1/4 cup of the hot milk to this and whisk together. Add another 1/4 cup of hot milk and whisk again.

Add the egg mixture into the main saucepan and whisk briskly to combine. Place this over a medium heat, bring to a simmer and stir constantly. Cook for a few minutes until the custard will coat the back of a spoon when dipped into it.

Remove from the heat. Pour through a strainer into a large bowl or jug, whisk through the orange zest and place in the fridge to cool completely.

Churn the cooled custard in your ice cream maker according the appliance instructions. Mine takes about 20 minutes to get to a soft serve consistancy. At this point I slowly add the chopped chocolate to the machine. Keep going until you have the texture you want. Spoon the ice cream into a container and store in the freezer until ready to serve.

My kids have grown up with me working as a food photographer. Diana said “Mum I’ll tilt the bowl just a little so you can see the ice cream better”

Reading and listening

I’m still obsessing over Anna Funder’s book Wifedom,

about George Orwell’s wife Eileen. I just adored it. A genre-bending, brilliant and enraging read. I went to see the author talk at the Auckland Writers Festival and also really enjoyed THIS episode of Sarah Wilson’s Podcast Wild where she speaks to Anna.

I’d love to hear a conversation between Anna Funder and one of the authors of the many George Orwell biographies, who chose to leave out or semi-erase Eileen from Orwell’s story, as he himself did. Would be so interesting to hear the pushback Anna Funder might get from the men who wrote those books and vice versa. I’ve only heard her interviewed by media that absolutely loved the book, as I did. It’d be fascinating to have differing POVs of Orwell’s life examined side by side. Read Wifedom, if you haven’t yet and please tell me what you thought.

Have been really enjoying Angie McMahon’s newest album….

It’s called Light, Dark, Light Again. Such a pleasant listen. Perfect for when I’m cooking and shooting for clients at home. I’m going to her gig in Auckland this weekend. Am really looking forward to it. I played Luke the song Letting Go over the weekend and we pretended to be A&R folks from a record label, nodding solemnly, then breaking into a small knowing smile when we realised we had a hit on our hands. Had some really dorky lols.

I’m enthusiastically endorsing…… trying hojicha

I recently photographed some new products for my clients-turned friends Matcha Matcha. I’d never tried hojicha before, a roasted sencha green tea powder that has the most delicious toasted, savoury but almost caramelly flavour. It looks brown like a cocoa powder. Really unique in appearance and taste. I absolutely love it. I’m already a big green tea and matcha drinker and while this tastes quite different, it’s definitely my kind of flavour. Just so cosy and satisfying. I don’t need any sweetener with it but I imagine some honey would be really nice if you like a sweeter drink.

I believe it’s also really low in caffeine because of the roasting process, making it a nice option for afternoon and evening.

I’m a hot drink person. I’ll have a cup of coffee when I wake and then maybe 4 cups of tea (probably green, at least 1 matcha) over the day and a peppermint tea before bed. I need to have a freshly boiled kettle on hand at all times. I’m frequently teased in our house about this.

Always love a new drink option. This will be a fav this winter.

My favourite review of my cookbook…

..was this one that appeared in Cuisine Magazine earlier this year. It’s the nicest feeling when someone, whose opinion you care about, sees what you were trying to achieve. Written by the wonderful Felicity O’Driscoll, who owns the best little cookbook store Cook The Books:

"Without a doubt this was my favourite book of 2023 to actually cook from. There's nothing overly complicated about the recipes; they're nostalgic comfort with a modern twist. The spring vegetable soup and the barbequed vegetable salad with labne-esque chive-flecked yoghurt have both been made more than once. And the fancy "kiwi" onion dip - enough said! While Enjoy celebrates the everyday, it turns those regular meals we cook for those closest to us into something very special."

You can get your own signed copy directly from me HERE or at any good bookstore.

Thanks so much for reading. x

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