side dishes: October 2007 Archives

When visiting Libby, Tim, Ollie and Abi in Seattle a few months ago we had this in a Bolivian restaurant and found ourselves ordering more and more.  I recreated the recipe, and the home-made huminta was a hit with all of the original dining party, especially the littlest members. 

‘Huminta’ may mean something different to most South Americans, but here is the Copacabana Restaurant version.  For a hot, savoury, sweet, buttery side dish, you can’t go too wrong with this.

This recipe's for Abi (aged 1 year and 10 months), who was an enthusiastic guinea-pig during recipe testing.  Her dad calls them 'fairy cakes on acid'. You'll have to try them to see if you agree.

When weekending in the Russian River area recently with friends (picture higgledy hills, back-to-back vineyards of Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet, pasty San Franciscans soaking up the rays by day and in the hot tub by night…), we were delighted to find a fig tree in the garden. Roasted on their leaves, the figs went a treat with the grilled lamb we had for dinner.

I reckon they'd also go well with other grilled and roasted meats, or with cheese, or even with ice cream as a dessert (in which case add some sugar and go easy on the salt and pepper).