Category Vegetables and Salads

Smashed Minty Peas

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Smashed Minty Peas

 

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This recipe is adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe from the ‘Jamie at Home’ book. I have many MANY (too many I’m told….?) cook books but there are always those loyal few which I always resort to for some great recipes. This book is certainly one of them and I recommend it (it’s particularly good if you have an allotment as the recipes are seasonal and divided by ingredient). We currently have more peas than can be physically and sanely podded so this seemed like a tasty use for them. With a less bountiful broad bean supply, I adapted the recipe slightly but the end result is a fresh, sweet, minty pea mash. Jamie recommends beautiful buffalo mozzarella but it works equally well with halloumi or feta

  • 350g fresh raw peas, podded
  • 100g podded broad beans, blanched and taken out their skins
  • 60g Parmesan
  • 1 lemon, juice
  • Large bunch of mint
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Sour dough bread slices to serve
  • 1 garlic clove
  1. Use a pestle and mortar to bash the mint leaves with a large pinch of salt and a small handful of peas to release the flavours. (You can make the entire thing in a pestle and mortar but I found it easier in the processer. However, the best way to get the flavour from the mint is by bashing so do this first).
  2. Add the bashed minty peas along with the rest of the peas (save a handful to add whole at the end) into the processor and pulse to roughly chop into a chunky paste. Add the broad beans and pulse again.
  3. Add about 1-2 tbsp of oil to achieve a thick paste and then add the lemon juice. Season and then stir in the parmesan cheese and the reserved whole peas.image
  4. Taste and adjust to your liking with more lemon or cheese or add more oil if it is too thick.
  5. Peel and half the garlic clove horizontally and use it to rub your hot toasted bread as soon as it comes out of the toaster or grill to add a subtle garlic flavour. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and spoon on your pea ‘mash’. Enjoy with crumbled feta, fried halloumi or creamy buffalo mozzarella!

Fennel and Apple Salad

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Fennel and Apple Salad

 

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This salad is criminally simple and was enjoyed with some BBQ pulled pork, some homemade seeded pitta breads and some re-fried black pinto beans! It works perfectly well as it is so cleansing and fresh!

Serves 3-4

  • 1 large bulb fennel
  • 2 crunchy apples
  • Handful pomegranate seeds
  • Handful pine nuts
  • 1 lemon
  • Olive oil
  • Fresh chopped mint
  1. Using the slicer on a food processor, a mandolin, a speed peeler or just your good old hands and a knife, slice the fennel and apple in wafers (or matchsticks if you prefer) and add to a large bowl.
  2. Cover with the juice of 1 lemon to prevent discolouring and then season well and add a good glug of olive oil to coat lightly. Add the chopped mint.
  3. Toast the pine nuts in a hot dry pan until fragrant and scatter these along with the pomegranate seeds on top of the salad and serve.

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Asparagus and Hollandaise

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Asparagus and Hollandaise

This is summer on a plate. Asparagus from the allotment, fresh eggs from the hens and some tasty fresh fish. Asparagus and hollandaise is a classic summer dish and perfect for a starter. However I served mine with some boiled jersey royals with butter, chives and mint and some fresh fish. You can add herbs to your hollandaise, chives are particularly nice or just have it as it is with no tampering!

Serves 4

  • 2 egg yolks
  • 110g unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • Asparagus
  1. Add the white wine and lemon juice to a saucepan and heat until it begins to simmer. Then remove from the heat.
  2. Add the egg yolks to the bowl of a food processor and turn on and blend for a good minute. Then, with the motor still running, add the vinegar reduction and a pinch of salt.
  3. Melt the butter in a pan until liquid and creamy and pour into a jug with a spout.
  4. With the motor still running, pour the warm butter in a very thin steady stream to begin with to emulsify with the egg and thicken. Continue slowly adding the butter (it takes a good few minutes) and the sauce will start to thicken. As it thickens and you have added at least half the butter, you can add it in a quicker stream.
  5. Once all is added, stop the motor and taste. It needs to have a tang so add more lemon juice if needed.
  6. Cook your asparagus in salted simmering water for 2 minutes and drain. Dip deliciously into the hollandaise!

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Fried Halloumi with Minted Cous Cous

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Fried Halloumi with Minted Cous Cous

This week I am wholeheartedly and gratefully embracing the warm sunny weather we’ve been having after a looooooooong refreshing and bracing spring. I can start work on my tan which currently can only be compared to a Farrow & Ball white paint chart where I am bordering the ‘Wimborne White’ with an aim of becoming more in keeping with a natural shade of ‘Cat’s Paw’. I love the excuse to bring out all the flavourful salads I crave which just don’t meet the winter demands….

Minty Cous Cous Salad (adapted from ‘What Katie Ate’)

  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 100g giant cous cous
  • 200g cous cous
  • 100g pumpkin seeds
  • 60g pine nuts
  • 100g flaked and/or whole almonds
  • 2 courgettes, peeled into ribbons or sliced thinly with a mandolin
  • 4 spring onions, chopped
  • A generous handful of chopped mint, basil, parsley and coriander or a mixture of these herbs you prefer chopped finely
  • Light vegetable stock
  • Handful of rocket, watercress or leaves
  • 1 lime
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Halloumi to serve
  1. Heat a splash of oil in a pan and add the cumin to fry for a minute. Then add the giant cous cous and toast until fragrant for a few minutes.
  2. Add a good splash of stock to cover and cook the cous cous for about 15 minutes until soft. Drain.
  3. Toast the pumpkin seeds, pine nuts and flaked almonds in a dry pan until fragrant.
  4. Add another splash of oil to a hot frying/grill pan and add the courgette strips and char for a few minutes until crisp.
  5. Season the small grain cous cous and add a knob of butter. Pour over 300g of stock, cover and allow to absorb. Then using a fork, fluff up the grains.
  6. Now to assemble, combine the giant drained cous cous and the fluffed cous cous. Add the courgette ribbons, seeds and nuts, a generous handful of the herbs and the salad leaves
  7. Add a squeeze of lime and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to loosen and scatter with the spring onions.

This is delicious served with some fried halloumi and a minted lime yoghurt and flatbreads and a lovely addition to a BBQ.

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Bloody Mary Prawn Salad

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Bloody Mary Prawn Salad

One of the reasons I have a huge but justified love of Jamie Oliver is his casual, instinctive and rustic approach to cooking which is what inspired me at a young age to cook. This recipe is just those things, rustic and casual and can be instinctively thrown together with a few alterations in flavours or ingredients that you love. Using his basic concept, I tweaked a few bits to make it the perfect starter at a recent dinner party. If you’ve got guests who enjoy fish, nothing excites and pleases them more than being presented with a platter of succulent shellfish with a tangy dressing and lemon for all. This is light and perfect to kick start the meal although in greater quantities it was all agreed we could have eaten it for mains as well…..

(Serves 6-8 as a sharing starter)

  • 2 small cos lettuce
  • 2 red chicory
  • 1 punnet cress
  • 1 large handful chopped dill
  • Celery leaves from celery tops
  • 2 ripened avocados
  • 2 slices of stale bread, cubed into croutons size
  • 400g cooked, juicy prawns
  • 200g brown shrimp
  • Crevettes (enough for one each)
  • Green lip mussels (enough for one each)
  • 200ml ‘Big Tom’ spiced tomato juice
  • 2 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 heaped tsp creamed horseradish
  • Salt and pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Splash of vodka
  1. Clip the leaves off the lettuces so that you get ‘edible cups’ from the leaves to nestle your prawns and dressing. Scatter these over a couple of serving dishes.
  2. Scatter the prawns and brown shrimp over the top filling the cups.
  3. Make the dressing by placing the big tom juice, mayonnaise, lemon juice, horseradish, vodka, a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some seasoning in a processor and blend to combine. Taste and add a touch of whatever it is lacking for your tastes like Tabasco. However, make sure it is a bit too punchy and a bit over the top as when it is combined with everything else it will be blunted slightly and hold its own.
  4. Get a griddle pan on a high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Cut the avocados into thick slices and char on the griddle, seasoning generously with salt and pepper, for a few minutes each side to warm through and soften. In another pan, heat some more oil and add your cubed bread with some seasoning and fry until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
  5. Scatter the hot avocados and croutons over the salad and prawns. Drizzle with the Bloody Mary dressing and scatter with the chopped dill, cress and celery leaves. Place the crevettes and mussels boldly on top and serve with lemon wedges as a sharing platter for an indulgent starter or light lunch…..

Gruyere and Onion tarts

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Gruyere and Onion tarts

This recipe (that is religiously made every year on Christmas eve in the Wardlaw house), is courtesy of Delia and has always been the most deliciously simple combination. For some reason we didn’t make it this Christmas eve, so feeling cheated I found myself whipping out a batch for a warming lunch in this Christmas provoking weather….

Filling

  • 2 eggs
  • 75ml single cream/creme fraiche
  • ½ tsp mustard powder
  • 75g Gruyere cheese, grated
  • 25g butter
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • Cayenne pepper

Pastry

  • 175g flour
  • 75g butter
  • 50g cheddar cheese, grated
  • ½ tsp mustard powder
  1. For the pastry, rub the butter and flour together and add the cheese, mustard and cayenne pepper. Add enough water to bring together to form a dough and then wrap and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease some small tart tins. Roll the pastry out thinly and line the tins. Bake the cases blind with baking beans and parchment for about 15-20 minutes until turning a pale brown. Remove the beans/parchment for the last 5 minutes to cook the base. Leave to cool in their tins while you do the filling.
  3. Melt the butter in a frying pan and sweat the onions until soft and beginning to turn a golden colour. Do this slowly to get a good flavour (about 20-30 minutes). Set aside.
  4. Mix the eggs, cream and mustard powder together in a jug adding a pinch of cayenne according to taste.
  5. Fill the tart cases with the onion and grated gruyere and fill with the egg mixture. Scatter over a pinch of cayenne pepper.
  6. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before tucking in.

I made a tomato salsa to top mine by finely chopping a mixture of coloured cherry tomatoes, some bruised thyme leaves, salt and pepper and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Leave to infuse and serve at room temperature atop your tarts with a green salad.

Green Risotto with Crispy Parma ham and Almonds

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Green Risotto with Crispy Parma ham and Almonds

Risotto is such a versatile and satisfying meal even when, like last night, I was simply using up loose ends from the cupboard because I’d run out of food for the week. It can be made fancy and gourmet by the easy addition of some little tasty toppings which are totally open to interpretation….a poached egg on top is always a favourite of mine! As a risotto lover (and sane person) I always have risotto rice, parmesan cheese and butter in the house and with white wine never more than a stones throw away these few ingredients can always be used to make an endless amount of different variation on a risotto with whatever ingredients are to hand.

I tend to make risottos by instinctive quantities. It really doesn’t matter how much rice or stock you have weighted out as long as you taste as you go along and make sure that the consistency resembles that of loose porridge when ready. I usually use a large handful of rice per person and a pinch more for luck as cold risotto is perfect for arancini (see here).

Serves 2 generously

  • 2 large handfuls of risotto rice
  • 40g butter
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
  • 2 sprigs thyme, leave picked
  • Small glass dry white wine
  • Hot chicken/vegetable stock
  • Handful of finely grated parmesan
  • 2 handfuls of frozen peas
  • Small bunch mint, chopped
  • Handful of rocket leaves
  • ½ lemon
  • 2 slices of parma ham
  • Small handful of flaked almonds
  • Creme friache
  1. Begin by boiling the peas for a good 5 minutes. (Keep a handful aside for garnish if you like) and blend the rest in a food processor with a splash of the stock until really smooth. Set aside.
  2. Continue by melting half the butter in a pan with a teaspoon of oil. Soften the onion gently until translucent. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
  3. Turn the heat up a little and add rice and fry until really hot. Add the white wine to let the rice simmer to absorb the wine.
  4. Now add ladelfuls of the hot stock as each addition of liquid becomes absorbed by the rice, simmering gently over a low heat. The rice takes about 18 minutes to cook so keep adding as much stock as needed until the rice is just cooked and soft. Keep stirring all the time to make sure the starches are released and you get a really creamy texture.
  5. As soon as the rice almost appears to plump up and double in volume and it is just cooked and soft to taste, add the lemon juice and season.
  6. Now stir in the pea puree and mix evenly. If it thickens too much, add a splash of stock to keep it loose.
  7. Add the other half of the butter, cut into cubes, and the grated parmesan. Cover quickly with a lid and take off the heat to rest.
  8. While it rests for 5 minutes, fry the parma ham and flaked almonds in a little oil until crispy and golden and then drain on kitchen paper.
  9. Now stir the melted cheese and butter evenly through the rested risotto and add the rocket and mint and stir to wilt down in the residual heat. If it thickens, add a splash of stock again to get a loose oozing consistency.
  10. To serve, pour a generous portion into a warmed bowl. Top with a few whole peas, the crispy parma ham and toasted flaked almonds and a few teaspoons of creme fraiche if you like!

For tips on the perfect risotto or more definitive measurements, see here.

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Sweet Potato and Chorizo Cakes

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Sweet Potato and Chorizo Cakes

This makes a flavourful brunch alternative if you’re fed up with the usual options. Complete with self-saucing poached egg with (ok I admit, out of season) asparagus and crisp potato cake. A blob of ketchup and it’ll feel like a Sunday….

  • 2 large sweet potatoes
  • About 60g chorizo
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • Handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
  • 4-5 spring onion
  • Large pinch of smoked paprika (optional)
  • Bunch of asparagus, chopped and blanched
  • 200g of spinach
  • 3 fresh free-range eggs
  • 50g unsalted butter
  1. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and boil for about 8-10minutes in salted water until really soft and tender but not water logged. Drain and leave to steam dry
  2. Meanwhile, dice the chorizo into small pea sized chunks and fry in a hot, dry frying pan until the oils are released. Add the garlic and fry for a few minutes.
  3. Mash the potato to a paste and add the hot chorizo and garlic mixture.
  4. Finely chop the spring onions, including the green parts and add with plenty of seasoning and the chopped parsley and potato mix.
  5. Get pan of hot water on to boil ready for poaching your eggs.
  6. Return the frying pan to the heat and melt about 30g of the butter with a bit of oil until sizzling. Form the sweet potato into about 6 round, flat patties and fry in the butter for about 5 minutes each side until golden and crisp on each side. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm.
  7. Heat the remaining butter in the frying pan and wilt the spinach and warm the asparagus with plenty of seasoning while you poach your eggs for a few minutes just until the whites are set but the yolk is gloriously runny (check by giving it a gentle prod, it should be squishy)
  8. Serve by placing a potato cake on the plate and stacking with asparagus and spinach, another potato cake and topped with the seasoned poached egg.

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Spinach and Pea Fritters with Lime Butter

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Spinach and Pea Fritters with Lime Butter

 

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I am always making fritters and when I saw a version of this recipe in my new copy of Ottolenghi’s ‘Plenty’, I had to give it a go. This recipe has been adapted from the original- not out of an unappreciation of it but simply due to lack of the full list of ingredients in my pantry. I have replaced a few and added others such as the peas, some mint and more cumin. Like my other fritter recipes (see here) ….(and here) the basic batter of flour and egg is open to any ingredients! I had these as a lunch but they would be equally amazing with a poached egg, bacon and a creamy hollandaise as a muffin-less take on eggs Benedict for brunch…

Serves 3 (makes about 9 fritters)

  • 150g spinach
  • Handful of peas
  • 60g self raising flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 25g unsalted butter, melted
  • Salt and pepper
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp cumin seed
  • Splash of milk
  • 50g salted butter, softened
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • Small bunch mint, finely chopped
  1. Wilt the spinach in a hot pan with a splash of water until wilted. Drain in a sieve and squeeze out the excess water. Leave to cool. Blanch the frozen peas in boiling water for a few minutes and then drain and leave to cool.
  2. Meanwhile make the butter. Grate the lime zest into the salted butter and add the chopped mint. Mix with a fork until combined. Place the butter between some baking parchment and roll into a cylinder and chill in the fridge until needed.
  3. Now, whisk the flour, baking powder, melted butter, egg, salt and pepper, cumin and a splash of milk to form a batter.
  4. Chop the spinach and add, with the peas, to the batter mixture and stir.
  5. Whisk together and add enough milk to form a thick batter which is loose enough to spoon into pancakes in the pan.
  6. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan, enough to cover the base, and fry large spoonfuls of mixture for a bout 2 minutes on each side on a high-ish heat until a crust forms and they are golden brown.

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6. Flip over and fry for a few more minutes until cooked. Drain on kitchen paper and serve, with a slice of lime, mint butter melted on top and a fresh tomato salad.

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Pea and Edamame Bean soup

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Pea and Edamame Bean soup

My pea and mint soup recipe is my default lunch when I fancy a bowl of warming comfort and I’m in a rush or can’t be bothered to simmer away a pot of vegetables. This time however, I added a few extra twists on my usual standby which were a nice change. In the January months when its cold and you want to be healthy, I often find I resort boringly to the same old recipes. This can be knocked out in about 15 minutes however and kept as pain or as fancy as you like.

Soup

  • 280g frozen garden peas
  • 400ml good quality hot chicken or vegetable stock (trust me it will make all the difference if its a good cube or a homemade stock)
  • 100g edamame or soya beans
  • 25g butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • Handful of fresh basil or mint leaves, finely chopped or shredded
  • Olive oil
  • Nigella seeds to garnish
  • Yoghurt to garnish
  1. Melt the butter and a splash of oil in a saucepan until bubbling.
  2. Add the onion and cook gently over a low heat for about 10 minutes until soft and translucent
  3. Add the chopped garlic and cook for a few more minutes.
  4. Add the frozen peas and coat in the buttery onions
  5. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
  6. Remove from the heat and puree with a hand blender
  7. Return to the heat and stir in the frozen edamame or soya beans. If it is too thick for you at this stage, add a splash of water.
  8. Simmer for a few minutes. Then stir through the chopped herbs.
  9. Season to taste and serve garnish with a swirl or natural yoghurt and a sprinkling of nigella seeds

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