Bulgur salad with halloumi, baba ganoush, dressed courgettes & spiced carrot chutney

This is the first of our recipes using an ingredient bought at this past weekend's Norwich Food & Drink Festival.  We loved the spiced carrot chutney made by Candi's Chutney so much that we couldn't wait to include it in one of our dishes and so on Sunday evening, Mr Vegan Man took to the kitchen to put together this dish.

The recipe makes use of a bulgur wheat salad recipe, inspired by classic tabbouleh, that Mr Vegan Man makes regularly for lunches or for a tasty, healthy dinner.  It is great on its own or with just some griddled halloumi, but when Mr Vegan Man has a bit of time to spend in the kitchen he likes to treat WOTVM to something a bit more fancy and this recipe adds a few extra flourishes that really elevate it.

We think that this is one of the tastiest dishes we've cooked in a long while; it's inspired by some traditional mezze dishes but done in our own way and put together as a single cohesive plate of food.  The flavours all worked really well together with freshness and zing coming from the chutney and courgettes, complimenting the rich smokiness of the baba ganoush and the crisp, salty halloumi.  The bulgur wheat salad is packed with lots of fresh, punchy flavours and worked well with the other elements of the dish.

The recipe below will serve four people, with some bulgur wheat salad to spare for lunch the next day too!  Preparation and cooking time is 1-1.5 hours although you may need to allow a little longer for some elements to cool.

Ingredients:

For the bulgur wheat salad:

250g Bulgur wheat
2 sweet pointed red peppers
1 large clove of garlic
40g of cocktail gherkins/cornichons
75g of green olives
1 red chilli (or Scotch bonnet if feeling adventurous)
Small packet of fresh flat leaf parsley (approx. 30-40g)
Small packet of fresh mint (approx. 30-40g)
2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. granulated or caster sugar
Juice of 3 lemons

For the baba ganoush:

1 aubergine
4 cloves garlic
1 tbsp tahini paste
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of a lemon
0.5 tsp smoked paprika

For the courgette salad:

2 large courgettes
2 tsp nigella seeds
2 tsp sesame seeds
Juice of a lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

To finish:

225g block of halloumi
1.5 tbsp. Candi's Chutney spiced carrot chutney

To begin, cut the aubergine in half length ways and make four small incisions in the flesh of the aubergine.  Cut the cloves of garlic in half, also lengthways, and stuff them in the cuts you've made as picture.  Drizzle over a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper before placing in an oven pre-heated to 180°C for 30-40 minutes.

Once the aubergine is cooked - it will be golden brown on top and slightly squidgy to the touch - remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes.  Scrape the aubergine flesh and garlic cloves into a bowl and add the olive oil, tahini, lemon juice and smoked paprika.  Use a hand blender to blitz the ingredients to a smooth, creamy texture.  You could use a food processor if you don't have a hand blender.

Set aside the baba ganoush until it is time to serve.  Leave the oven at 180°C and chop up the sweet pointed peppers into chunks about 2cm by 2cm.  Place the peppers with a little olive oil on a baking tray or small roasting tin and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.  Whilst the peppers are cooking you can begin making the rest of the bulgur wheat salad.

Take a large saucepan and add the bulgur wheat after first rinsing it.  Boil a kettle full of water and once this comes to the boil, cover the bulgur wheat with the boiling water so that the water is just under 1cm above the level of the bulgur wheat.  Add a tablespoon of olive oil and a good pinch of salt and stir.  Cover the pan and place on a very low heat and leave for 8 minutes, then turn the heat off and leave for a further 15-20 minutes.  This method should ensure that your bulgur wheat is cooked through, retaining a bit of bite, with the grains light and fluffy and not at all stodgy.

Move the bulgur wheat into a large bowl and leave to cool whilst preparing the rest of your ingredients and by this time your peppers will have finished roasting so can be removed from the oven.  Crush the clove of garlic and finely chop the chilli, cocktail gherkins and green olives.  Add  these to the cooling bulgur wheat, along with the peppers, and stir.

Make the dressing for the salad by combining the olive oil, red wine vinegar and lemon juice.  Add this to the bowl and mix thoroughly so that the dry ingredients are all well-coated in dressing.  Finely chop the mint and parsley and finish the bulgur wheat salad by stirring the herbs through.  Set aside for serving.

Cut up the courgettes into thin strips, about 2-3mm is ideal if possible.  Heat a griddle pan over a high heat and coat the surface of the pan with a little oil.  Once the pan is nice and hot, add your courgettes in batches and cook for 2 minutes on each side.  This will be enough time for them to take on colour and flavour and to cook through fully.  In a bowl, mix the olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar along with the sesame and nigella seeds.  Add the courgettes and mix, seasoning with a little salt and pepper. Cover and set aside for serving.

Chop the halloumi into slices about 0.5cm thick - a block this size should give you eight slices, enough for two per person.  Re-heat the griddle pan over a high heat and place the halloumi in the pan, cooking for about 3 minutes on each side or until they have taken on a nice char.  To get a crisscross effect, turn the halloumi ninety degrees during cooking.

Once the halloumi is cooked the dish is ready to plate up.  Add some small dollops of the spiced carrot chutney around the halloumi as the two work really well together.  Whilst we'd wholeheartedly recommend buying the chutney as it is so very tasty, if this is not possible then as an alternative grate 1 large carrot and mix with 0.5 tbsp of cider vinegar, 0.5 tsp of olive oil, 0.5 tsp of chilli flakes and a pinch of sugar and leave to sit for a few hours in a covered bowl, remixing occasionally.  This will make a good substitute but remember to make well in advance so the flavours can infuse properly.  A chilli jam or relish could also work with the dish.

WOTVM was really delighted with the dish - we both love Middle Eastern inspired food - it was packed with flavour and each mouthful was different and really got the taste-buds going.  Please give it a try and let us know how you get on by leaving a comment below or by emailing us.

The Workshop

For a midweek treat we decided to head to the Workshop on Earlham Road - right in the heart of the Golden Triangle (sometimes known as the Notting Hill of Norwich for those who aren't local).  The Workshop has long been a favourite destination of ours.  If ever a place embodied the Norfolk motto of 'do different', then it's the Workshop.  The décor on the ground floor is quirky, mixing some of the feel of an art deco Parisian café with vintage British charm, including tatty-looking board games and slightly battered sofas.  It is loved by Triangle residents young and old, and there is always a mixed crowd of friends, couples and families.

One of the quirks of the Workshop is that you cannot book a table; they don't do reservations, you turn up and you chance your arm.  We arrived before 7pm and the upstairs was already full to the brim, the downstairs however was completely empty and so we found ourselves a table.  The slight downside of the cellar-cum-dining room is that it is a bit on the chilly side and smells a touch damp.  However, to compensate for its atmospheric deficiencies, the downstairs of the Workshop ramps things up a notch with risqué design features, including various phallic and labial motifs, all tastefully done of course.

We returned to the bar and ordered our drinks - they serve some excellent U.S. craft beers including Anchor Steam on tap, so Mr Vegan Man plumped for this whilst Wife of the Vegan Man went for a Kraken spiced rum and Coke, a particular favourite of hers.  Another unique feature of the Workshop is their impressively staunch refusal to have more than one copy of their food menu.  The tapas menu is printed on a sheet of A4 paper and sits on the bar; the most popular tactic is for customers to take a snap on their smartphone so they can peruse the options at their leisure when they return to their tables and this is what we did.  The Workshop specialises in mezze/tapas with a heavy bias towards vegetarian dishes, many of which are vegan, and a smattering of meaty and fishy options.  They also do pizza - just the one variety with an option to add meat if desired - that is adored by many, though personally we prefer the mezze.

The small plates on offer have a distinctly Mediterranean and Middle Eastern vibe, although typically for the Workshop many of the dishes veer away from the traditional and have their own distinctive twist.  For mezze/tapas plates, the portions here are very respectable and we find that five dishes to share is plenty.  WOTVM was in the mood for something meaty and liked the sound of the mini kofte, Mr Vegan Man went for a dish of chargrilled broccoli with cashews and chilli as his choice.  Compromise was reached on the remaining dishes - baked eggs and halloumi, hummus with a chilli paste topping (they also do a green topping, which is herby), and tahini baba ganoush.  Some other favourites from previous visits include fava beans with dill, halloumi with spinach and pine nuts, and roasted aubergine.  A warm baba ganoush with chargrilled vegetables was sorely tempting, as was a delightful-sounding cauliflower dish.  Basically, if we could have ordered one of everything then we probably would have.

The hummus arrived first, only a few minutes before the remaining dishes, but such is the deliciousness of their chickpea dip that we had cleared the plate by the time the rest of our food arrived.  The chilli paste was sharp and smoky and not overpoweringly hot.  The texture of the hummus was superb and the slightly crisp flatbread it came with was a good accompaniment.  WOTVM once famously described the Workshop hummus as 'to die for', much to the amusement of one of her good friends who instantly declared this to be the most middle class thing she'd ever heard.  So good is their hummus that WOTVM didn't mind taking a light ribbing, which has only lasted for about two years (and counting).

The broccoli arrived next, followed in quick succession by the remaining dishes.  The food was a treat for both the eyes and the taste buds. WOTVM loved her kofte, which were crispy yet succulent and beautifully presented, dotted on a bed of yoghurt dressing.  Lamb is not something WOTVM gets to have often but she loves a well-made kofte and these were top drawer.

The baked eggs with halloumi was also tasty, although it was very heavy on the halloumi with a relatively thin covering of egg and perhaps a better balance would have been achieved with a higher egg to cheese ratio.  This was not a huge issue, though, as we both like halloumi very much and the spicy, sweet, smoky sauce on top of the dish was a real treat and complimented the richness of the egg and cheese really well. 

The baba ganoush was smoky and rich and came with a traditional Turkish bread with a crunchy sesame-topped crust and fluffy middle.  The bread is divine (WOTVM is desperate to find a shop that sells it in Norwich) and was the perfect vehicle for the aubergine dip.  We disagreed about the texture of the baba ganoush - Mr Vegan Man thought it could have been a little smoother and that the feel his the mouth was just a teeny little bit like frog spawn.  WOTVM, however, liked the consistency and in any case neither of us were put us off, as we polished off the lot. 

The broccoli was nice but was our least favourite dish and we'd plump for one of our other favourites instead of it next time we visit.  The broccoli itself was lovely and fresh but a little too crunchy - a light blanch or steam for just a minute or two prior to chargrilling would have aided the texture.  The red chilli lacked a little bit of kick too, which would have elevated the dish.  The roasted cashews worked well, as did the tahini dressing, but overall we feel there are better options on the menu.

We stayed post-dinner for a second drink and were joined by two of WOTV's good friends.  The Workshop is such a relaxed place that it's hard not to have a good time, whatever you go there for.  It's great just for a few drinks with friends, although we love to eat here too.  They also offer a range of delightful cakes and tarts and a selection of amazing hot drinks - some of their hot chocolates (the pistachio one in particular!) are worth travelling many, many miles for.

The bill for the food and four drinks came in at £48 and we felt we'd had a good feed for the money, as well as having a lovely evening overall.  Somewhat fittingly, the Workshop seems to have rejected offering much of an online presence - aside from a rather neglected Facebook page - but no matter as you can't book in advance anyway and their menu is open to change.

The Workshop is a truly unique venue, not just for Norwich but for anywhere.  Five years ago people would have described it as the sort of place you might expect to find in London, and depending on who said it (and in what tone) that could have been meant as a compliment or an insult.  However, it's not the sort of place you find in London; it's the sort of place you find in Norwich - in fact we'd go so far as to say it's the sort of place you could only find in Norwich.  It is quintessentially of the Fine City and, what's more, it is one of the places that makes Norwich such a great place to live in.  If you've been, you will know exactly what we mean.  If you've not been yet, what are you waiting for?

We'd love to hear what you think about the Workshop so please leave a comment below, or alternatively ping us an email.

The Belgian Monk

Our choice for a meal out this week was the Belgian Monk on Pottergate.  The Belgian Monk is something of a Norwich institution; it has been in the city centre for many years now and has a genuinely dazzling array of Belgian beers on sale, many of which come with their own custom glass (check out the Kwak glass if you've never seen it, it's worth ordering a bottle of it for the vessel alone).  In recent years, the Belgian Monk has also garnered a reputation for producing good quality food which combines traditional and hearty pub fare with a distinctly Flemish twist.  What's more, the food menu is almost as vast as the beer menu and includes, unusually but most agreeably, an extensive vegan menu in addition to a number of excellent vegetarian options.

We had called the Belgian Monk, somewhat optimistically, on the Friday hoping to get a table for Saturday night.  They were predictably fully booked up, however we were helpfully told that the tables downstairs (the restaurant part of the pub is primarily upstairs) aren't bookable and so if we were to come in on the night we may be able to get a table.  Chancing our luck, we decided to head out for an early-ish dinner, arriving at the Belgian Monk at just after 6.30pm.  The tables were all full and the bar was heaving so initially our hopes looked faint, however as we ordered a glass of Kriek and a Petrus Blond, we asked at the bar what the odds were of getting a table for food and were informed that one should be available in under 10 minutes.  Hurrah!  In the end we waited less than 5 minute before being shown to our table, which was nice and cosy next to the fireplace.

As a vegetarian, often scanning a menu is a relatively swift process.  You glance over and look for the two or three dishes with a 'V' or a picture of a leaf next to them and then decide which of the limited options you like the look of.  Not so here.  There are in excess of ten options for both starter and main course for non-meat-eaters and a good proportion of these are vegan.

We have previously spoken about Mr Vegan Man's dislike of cheese.  Oddly enough, the aversion to cheese is limited to melted cheese only, so he can enjoy a nice bit of Cheddar or Red Leicester on a cracker, but put it on toast and place it under the grill and his stomach starts to turn.  Halloumi, then, is something of a godsend because it can be cooked without melting and is a good option as a big lump of protein.  With this in mind and feeling peckish having not eaten since breakfast, Mr Vegan Man plumped for the halloumi burger.  Wife of the Vegan Man loves seafood and one of the specialities of the Belgian Monk is mussels, served with - there's a recurring theme here - a huge selection of sauces.  WVM plumped for the classic moules marinière - the heady combination of cream, garlic, white whine and shallots being too much for her to resist.  Starters were skipped due to prior knowledge of the portion sizes on offer at the Belgian Monk, and we held out hope of saving room for dessert. 

The food arrived quickly, no more than 10 minutes wait, and was a veritable feast.  The pot of moules was enormous and came with a similarly generous horn of frites as well as a quaintly wrapped rye bread roll.  The halloumi burger was equally impressive in stature - a huge piece of crispy cheese with an impressive quantity of avocado to boot, all inside a crunchy and light ciabatta roll.  The burger came with a basket of frites (sweet potato fries come as standard but Mr Vegan Man fancied regular chips) and a nicely dressed salad garnish.  The sharp sweetness of the vinaigrette dressing was an unexpected surprise and helped to cut through the richness of the large hunk of rich halloumi.  We ordered another Kriek and Petrus Blond to go with our dinner and the drinks arrived promptly as we were preparing our respective strategies for tackling the food mountain in front of us.

Whilst the quantities of food on offer at the Belgian Monk are fantastic, it does not come at the expense of quality.  WVM quickly made a big dent in her pot of moules and the number of empty shells began to rapidly approach the number of mussels still to be eaten.  WVM was motivated by her desire to get to the broth at the bottom of the pan, which she described as 'the best bit'.  WVM looked incredibly happy when she had reached the point where she could easily reach the cooking liquor with her spoon.  She was so taken by the creamy, rich sauce that she insistently offered her spoon to Mr Vegan Man, imploring him to try it.  Mr Vegan Man was unrelenting, but noted the seriousness of the offer from WVM and that this must have meant she REALLY liked that sauce.

 

The frites were crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside - just what you would hope for -  and as is the tradition in Belgium they were served with mayonnaise which was the perfect accompaniment.  WVM was, by this point, running out of room and decided to save the rye bread for another day, stashing it in her handbag.  Meanwhile, Mr Vegan Man had deconstructed his burger and made two more manageable bruschetta topped with halloumi, avocado, beef tomato, tomato salsa and pea shoots.  The combination was very tasty, the balance of flavours just right, and he managed to clear his plate.

There was a slight pang of sorrow as we both realised, without either of us saying as much, that we had lost our battle to save room for pudding.  This was a real shame as we have managed dessert at the Belgian Monk before and their waffles, with rich Belgian chocolate sauce and smooth vanilla ice cream, are a real treat.  On this occasion, though, there was simply no room for more food.

The bill arrived and was a pleasantly surprising £36.  Although we only had the one course and a drink each, this still felt like great value as we were stuffed full and feeling happy, the Belgian beer flowing through our veins no doubt helping our mood.  A quick nod to the service, which was both speedy and friendly.  We didn't have to wait long for the bill when we asked for it but we didn't feel like they were rushing to get us out of the door either, despite being busy.

 

The Belgian Monk is a really lovely place to visit.  It has a cute little courtyard style garden that backs on to one of the oldest churches in Norwich and the pub itself is a delightful old building.  The décor is traditional and tasteful with lots of dark wood.  Getting a table for a drink inside is the only downside as it is almost always very busy and there are only a few indoor tables just for drinks.  If you do get a table, though, you really are spoilt for choice with the beers on offer.  And if you really, really want a table, you could go for some food.  On weekdays the Belgian Monk offers a lunchtime and early evening 'Dubbel Deal' where select dishes from the menu are available for £6 each or two main courses for £11.90.  That is staggeringly good value in anyone's book and having had the deal previously, they don't cut back on the portions.

We greatly enjoyed our rather impromptu night at the Belgian Monk and we will most certainly return soon.  If you live in Norwich and you've never been then you really ought to go, if you have been before, then go again.

Any questions or comments please just drop us an email or leave a comment.  For bookings and information you can find the Belgian Monk's website here.