After a long week, mainly filled with dreaming up and cooking up seasonal summer dishes, The Boy and I were in need of a good curry and were determined not to give up on our newly found self-sustainable lifestyle in favour of a takeaway. I've made a number of Thai curries from scratch in the past but decided it was high-time I attempted to make an Indian curry paste. A trip to Radmore Farm Shop for some locally reared lamb was all the incentive I needed to give it a try. I also picked up some green beans (regrettably, a little early for the British season so imported would have to do) and some fresh ripe tomatoes (UK grown) to add to the sauce.

My best London girl treated me to an afternoon of shopping, eating and drinking this weekend and suggested we try out Wahaca in Covent Garden. The Mexican "market food" restaurant chain, founded by MasterChef champion Thomasina Miers, offers authentic Mexican food, a sustainable ethos, and a quick and easy eating option at various central London locations. In keeping with the idea of market eating, street food is freshly prepared and served to long tables with benches as and when its ready, creating a tapas-style meal. The menu features just enough different dishes to keep everyone happy without laboriously reproducing the Mexican "classics" like other chain restaurants tend to do. Big plates are also on offer, if sharing isn't your style, and an extensive tequila-themed cocktail menu is on hand to whet the appetite along with a tray or two of tortilla chips, salsa and guacamole.

 

As regular readers of the Blog may have noticed, I'm taking advantage of having the kitchen to myself for a few days and cooking many of the dishes I love and have been dying to write about. The Boy isn't keen on messing with the usual Sunday routine, including the traditional Sunday roast, so this weekend I took the opportunity to roast a chicken... Thai style! 

Determined not to waste (or, more likely, nibble on every time I open the fridge) some delicious slow-roasted pork belly, I knocked up a little leftovers recipe on Monday evening. It was the perfect start to a long week and made great use of some great quality meat. 

I love improvising in the kitchen and usually take inspiration from combinations of ingredients in a handful of favourite recipes. My inspiration for Monday's quick supper was from a North African chicken tagine recipe. I decided to use the sweet and spicy flavours with a tomato-based sauce to liven up my leftover pork belly; served on some cous cous with a good hit of red chili, the dish really hit the spot.