My pesto food dem at Womad festival

Some days just leave you with a rather large smile on your face. Last Sunday was one of them. I swapped my family roast for a rather special occasion: my first food dem at the Taste the World stage at WOMAD festival.

Mid show photo: Courtesy of the marvellous @dannymccubbin

The long trek through the endless rows of tents gave me my first heads up that this was a fairly big event... somewhat bigger than I'd anticipated. The idea I had in my head of a few benches of onlookers swiftly morphed into the reality of an actual stage, in a tent complete with lights, head mics and a fairly sizeable audience. I'm sure plenty of hosts would be cooly unfazed by this, but I was undeniably thrilled and excited to be there. I will however admit that there was a slight variance between the calm words I uttered and the 'kid in a sweet shop' euphoric monologue going on inside my head: Replying "Yes certainly I'll just pop the head mic on" when really I was thinking "me, a head mic, are you sure? I'm not Madonna or anything, but oh go on then. Hold on, how do I put this thing on? Come on Pippa, look like you've done this before".

First arrivals to the tent: Photo from my instagram pippacolecooks

So, lights up and off we went. We'd decided on a home made pesto dem, making two different versions, all dolled up with cous cous and wholewheat pasta salads, dressed with lovely little tomberries, courgette ribbons and plenty of extra leaves. With a food blender, pesto is just such a breeze to make and we wanted to show the families watching that it's fresher, cheaper and, crucially, tastier made fresh - miles better than buying expensive jars which sit in your cupboards for weeks on end.

One of the finished pesto pasta salads: photo courtesy of the marvellous @dannymccubbin

It was a complete joy to see the kids getting involved: picking herbs, grating lemon zest, chopping garlic and grating parmesan... a little pesto production line! Our hour slot nearly up, queues of eager faces lined up for a taste. Truly wonderful to see this enthusiasm but, for me, the highlight was being approached by inspired parents and children afterwards asking for extra tips, advice about working in food, or merely just to say thank you. I really dislike talking myself up like this, but sometimes I have to write things down to actually believe them, the literary version of pinching myself. One lovely audience member, Mel, came up to the front just to comment on how much she loved my complete passion and evident love for what I do. She also kindly admired my humorous honesty in admitting that even I was a little surprised to be there, given I'm a mere 19 year old on her gap year before Bristol uni. Mel's comments really stuck with me, they summed up the essence of why I love giving demos. It's their ability to give you a platform to share what you love, impart ideas, inspire confidence, get people running back into the kitchen with smiles on their faces. But most importantly, in this instance, it was showing people that, with enough hard work and patience, you really can live out your wildest hopes and dreams (yes, please feel free to gag at this sickly statement). Two years ago I was an entirely anonymous audience member at Jamie Oliver's feastival, watching the demos thinking "wow, they really do have the best jobs in the world... wouldn't it be amazing if I could do that one day..." Well, two years later, after my 'polite ambush' of one of Jamie's food team, multiple emails, one work experience and one week's real work... there I was, on stage.

Right, gushy outpouring over, I think it's about time I tell you about the food (thank you for bearing with me!). One thing I really stressed in the dem, and it's something Jamie O really advocates, is not being put off by not having the exact ingredients. Recipes are your base, be creative, tailor them to your budget, your preferences, your store cupboard. Sticking by this, I am incredibly unscripted with pesto: a couple of raw garlic cloves, about two large handfuls of fresh herbs, a pinch of sea salt, perhaps a little lemon zest, a few glugs of quality olive oil and a handful or two of grated parmesan and/or nuts... all blitzed up together and tweaked for taste and texture.

We played around with basil, flat leaf parsley, rocket, parmesan, ground almonds, lemon zest, extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Have an experiment, try different combinations. We loved our basil, rocket and almond version, as well as our gremolata style parsley, lemon and garlic-heavy concoction. If you're a little nervous, I'm sure you'll find endless wonderful pesto recipes elsewhere on the net: this pistachio pesto is a particular favourite of mine from the ever-inspiring Sprouted Kitchen. But if you're willing to be brave, just collect your favourite ingredients and see what works for you, there are so many options that I have no doubt you'll soon find a family favourite of your own. Please let me know if you have a go, I'd love to hear how you get on.

A few Q&As from the dem:

Q: How do I get a similarly flavourful pesto if I can't eat cheese as I'm vegan/lactose intolerant?
A: It's the real salty depth of flavour that you get from the parmesan, so to get a comparable depth I'd suggest toasting whichever nuts you use before you grind them, as well as perhaps adding an extra pinch of salt. Toasting the nuts really amplifies their flavour so it really helps to fill the gap.

Q: I'm allergic to nuts, what can I do?
A: If you want an equally thick pesto, I'd limit your use of oil and up the cheese and herb quantities. However, you can just omit the nuts and make yourself a much lighter pesto, I often make it like this if I want to use it more as a dressing to drizzle over salads or roasted veg.

Q: Does it matter what nuts you use?
A: Definitely not, be creative! Italians typically use pine nuts but these are often quite pricey here in the UK. Almonds are probably the best value alternative (a great tip by the wonderful @dannymccubbin), but I also love pesto made with pistachios or walnuts - the latter are particularly good with a bit of lemon zest.

Smoked mackerel salad with avocado and mango

I can rival any man when it comes to my love of hearty, lard filled winter food. But when the sun comes out, even I get entirely converted to the land of light and healthy salads. Bikini bodies aside, steak and kidney pie just doesn’t taste the same when your nostrils are filled with the heady scent of sun cream and pimms.

Inspired by a Gordon Ramsay recipe for a smoked chicken, avocado and mango salad in ‘Healthy Appetite’ I decided to swap in smoked mackerel (often easier to find in supermarkets, and great to get a hit of your omega-3) and have a play with a lighter dressing.

It’s filling enough to eat on its own for lunch, or you could use it to serve four as a starter.

Serves 2

2 fillets of smoked mackerel

½ mango peeled and finely sliced

1 avocado (only just ripe, not too soft), skin removed and flesh finely sliced

1 baby gem lettuce, leaves separated

Freshly ground salt and pepper

Juice of ½ a large lemon, plus optional extra to serve

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve

Flake the mackerel and combine with the mango and avocado slices.

Briefly combine the lemon juice, olive oil, season with salt and pepper and pour over the mackerel, mango and avocado.

Drop the lettuce leaves into a serving bowl and top with the dressed mackerel salad.

Drizzle with a little extra oil and a little extra lemon juice for those who like it a little sharper.

Beetroot falafel with a kind-of-tzatziki

I need to stop making falafel. I can only apologise for my unhealthy obsession with this chickpea sensation. Every time I think it’s time to move on, I come across a new and exciting vegetable to throw into the mix. Sweet potato falafels were my most recent favourite, but they have taken a temporary break to make way for this new and eye-poppingly purple beetroot version. I know they’re old news, the popularity wave has broken, but they’re still a healthy and interesting way to get both veggies and pulses into your lunch. So ignore the trend-setting doubters, just tuck in and enjoy… with all the critics, there’ll be more for you anyway.

As for the tzatziki, I had every intention to use an entirely traditional recipe. A few minutes of flicking through cookery books and I had more contradictions than correlations. So it only seemed logical to just take the key ingredients (yoghurt, cucumber, garlic) and follow my nose.

Serves 4

Falafel

400g can of chickpeas, drained – but reserve 1 tbsp. of the can liquid

Roughly 300g raw beetroot, peeled and roughly grated.

1 small tbsp. light tahini paste

½ tsp. ground cumin (or more to taste)

Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Pinch of salt

1 garlic clove, crushed

Handful of raisins

A little wholemeal flour, optional

Tzatziki

6-8 tbsp. natural yoghurt

¼ cucumber, peeled, deseeded and grated then squeezed free of excess water

1 tbsp. lemon juice

½ a garlic clove

A couple of sprigs of mint, leaves finely chopped

½ tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra to drizzle on top

Wholemeal pitta breads, to serve

•   Preheat the oven to 200 degrees c.

•   Blitz the chickpeas in a food processor to a rough paste.

•   Add the remaining falafel ingredients (except the raisin) and blitz again until it forms a thick paste that you can form into little patties… if the mixture just seems too wet, add a little plain wholemeal flour. Equally, add a little more lemon or tahini if it’s too dry. Stir in the raisins.

•   Cook on a lined baking sheet for about 30 minutes, or until crispy on the outside and with only a little give in the middle.

•   While they’re cooking, just stir together the tzatziki ingredients and toast the pitta when you’re about to serve.

Sicilian Strawberry Granita

Dragging myself away from the endless holiday photos, I have finally sat myself down to write up one of my Sicily inspired recipes. You can read about said experience here. Getting back into the kitchen is the one sure-fire way to pull me out of post-holiday blues, add a sweet and icy treat and I’ll be sure to see the grey clouds subsiding in no time – both metaphorical and literal. Note: I’m afraid I can’t guarantee the latter, but hey, what’s wrong with a little optimistic self-delusion?

This recipe is a gorgeously light palette cleanser, one of the few healthy (-ish) dishes we came across in this isle of indulgence. Perfect for rounding off a button busting Italian feast. Unlike our British habit of complicating dishes, Sicilian purists would serve this completely as you see it, but feel free to make your own serving additions… I won’t tell if you don’t.

The quantities here are taken from www.deliaonline.com but I had a little play with the method.

450g fresh strawberries

175g golden caster sugar

Juice of 1 lemon (about 3 tbsp.)

•   Stir together the sugar, hot water and lemon juice until the sugar is fully dissolved.

•   Hull and rinse the strawberries then blitz until smooth.

•   Add the sugar syrup and blend again until fully combined.

•   Pour into a freezable container (or even a high sided baking tray if needed) about 20 cm by 20 cm and at least 6 cm deep.

•   Freeze for about half an hour, then use a fork to mix the frozen crystals (the edges should have started to freeze by now) with the liquid middle.

•   Repeat this every half hour or so until the entire mix has become frozen icy crystals – this should take about 1-2 hours in total.

•    If not serving immediately, make sure you transfer the granita to the fridge about half an hour before serving, otherwise it will be rather tricky to scoop.

•   Serve as it is or, if like me you want to deliciously adulterate the Italian simplicity, you can top with a few baby mint leaves… or even a dollop of natural yoghurt if you want to go completely off piste.

Detox, Sicilian style: Granita

It goes without saying that Sicily is not the place to diet. Yes, the sunset vistas are reason enough to go but, somehow, everything looks a little brighter when you’re indulging in yet another carb-filled treat.

Week two however, I’m afraid to say we broke. Bleary eyed and croaky voiced, our first utterances of the day were vaguely deciphered as “fruit… fresh… please… No. More. Carbs”.

Safe to say we craved a bit of a detox and maybe a vitamin or two. But, we were still on a voyage of foodie discovery so “when you can’t face gelato, get granita”.

It’s icy, fresh and fat free. Admittedly not unadulterated fresh fruit, but a step in the right direction (although I do admit that, yes, you can see cream topping our coffee granita, what can I say, we’re easily swayed). Trapani’s Colicchia Granite Artigianali was where we found our fix. Renouned for their artisan processes and natural ingredients, Colicchia did not disappoint. At around €2.50 each, they’re not the cheapest on the market, but the quality of the result ensures your cents are well spent. From the palette-cleansing fresh fig to the punchy coffee, each delighted as much as the last. For us, the almond was a real teller, not a hint of factory injected essence, just the subtle and surprisingly fresh raw ingredient – the perfect respite from our rich indulgence.

So when, like ours, your stomach cries out to you to stop and detox, don’t go home, get granita… You’ll last at least another week after that!

Note: As I write, I’m afraid we are now home (not due to a carb-based breakdown I assure you!) but, to reminisce a little, I’ve been concocting a little granita of my own, so I’ll be sure to pass on the recipe very soon.

"Did I just order a house brick made of pasta?"

Sometimes you just crave carbs, and lots of them. Not because you have any nutritional need for them, just because, at this moment in time, no amount of expertly created salad will ever be a sufficient substitute to that of pure, unadulterated stodge. This is just human nature (or so we’re telling ourselves), feel no guilt, just go forth and seek out your fuel.

Safe to say from the above picture, we did just that. Being on a budget, we carried our rumbling stomachs past the fancy restaurants and tempting trattorias and on to our revered holiday staple, the temple if indulgence, the street food stall. Sometimes these are market tradesmen, other times they’re roadside vendors, this time our stall came in the form of one of the many hole in the wall pit stops. This is perhaps the most common form if street food here in Trapani, just a small inside counter and, if you’ve found a slightly more up-market version, a stool or two on the pavement. Don’t expect fancy cutlery or a dietitian-pleasing platter to tick off all your daily vitamins, just come with an appetite for carb-filled indulgence.

At Trapani’s Pane Cunzato on Piazza Notai, we discovered the epitome of such indulgence: Timballo. Think spaghetti bolognese, combine that image with that of a house brick, cover it in breadcrumbs, deep-fry it and you’ve got it: Timballo, the holy grail of carb-based pleasure.

Sunday night, Sicilian style

A quiet Sunday night in Palermo? Don’t be silly. In our quest for a bit of evening atmosphere, we followed the cacophony of live music and impassioned Sicilian chatter to via Chiavettieri.

Cold beer, freshly baked pizza and a street full of Sicilians, somehow this seems a little preferable to a TV dinner in front of yet another period drama (though they do still have a soft spot in my English heart).

We opted for a family sized pizza, an enormous platter fit for, well, a family… or, as in our case, hungry girls on a budget (€7 euros per pizza – I’d say one serves 2-3 adults for dinner). Pair that with 600ml bottles of Birra Moretti (€2) poured into plastic cups and you have yourself a frill-free, but entirely perfect Italian experience.

Too full to make the walk home, we waddled a few doors down to Sughero & co for €5 cocktails and bizarre bar chit chat in our broken italian (including a frozen and blissfully fresh strawberry daiquiry… the perfect dessert replacement).

Minimal damage on the purse strings and no compromise on the experience. Via Chiavettieri is a must for any budget gourmet.

Note: we wandered down this very same street the next morning and it was entirely lifeless, this is just one of those little gems that only comes out of hibernation when the sun dips below the horizon.