Category: Garlic

Summer roast vegetable salad

August 24, 2015





This may seem like JUST a Roasted vegetable salad to you, but to me it screams out a whole lot more. One might say this resembles a Panzanella, a Tuscan bread salad with tomatoes, olive oil and herbs served in summer, maybe it is?

  Throughout summer I always roast off a medley of these vegetables as the produce is pretty much all  in season now and to me its just like summer in a bowl. I love the colours it gives off and the flavours are just immense. Another great thing regarding this little dish is that if you are a Kitchen gardener like myself, at some point, such as now in summer some of your homegrown vegetables will be used in it if not all. Its great for a glut of tomatoes, courgettes or peppers.

  Roasting mediterranean vegetables can be the basis of creating so many other dishes from it. Here is just a short list of examples for you:
  • Use it as a topping for Pizza or on bruschetta’s 
  •   Turn into a gratin by adding cheese on top and placing back in the oven
  •   Make quiche or tarts
  •   Add chickpeas and some Moroccan spice or Indian spices to make a curry
  •   Also adding feta cheese and olives gives a greek feel
  •   Mix through Rice
  •   By adding it to Pasta, popping on a rich cheese sauce with some dijon mustard in will make an amazing Pasta Bake.
  • I could go on…
Or simply of course this dish can be the great accompaniment for barbecued/grilled meats or fish.
  However going back to the dish alone, Ive added fennel to mine and lots of herbs which give it that extra flavour. I personally love to sit outside with a big bowl of this and of course a large glass of wine to wash it down.  As I said…Summer in a bowl.




Ingredients:
  •   2 tbsp Rapeseed oil or Olive
  •   2 Cloves of Garlic roughly chopped
  • 1 small courgette trimmed
  • 1 red pepper and yellow pepper 
  • 1 Baby fennel trimmed , cut through the middle into 4-5 pieces 
  • 2 handfuls of cherry/baby plum/piccolo tomatoes halved, I used British Vittoria ones
  • 1/2 Aubergine trimmed
  • 1-2 red onions
  • Handful of fresh herbs finely chopped: Oregano, Lemon thyme or normal thyme, Basil, parsley
( If you don’t have Lemon thyme, use normal and then grate about a 1/4 of lemon zest)
–   Sea salt and cracked black pepper to season
Croutons for the Salad
  • 2 Slices of Bread ( couple of days old) chopped into squares
  • 1-2 tbsp of rapeseed oil
  • 1 clove of garlic bashed
  • Salt and cracked black pepper to season
  •   Sprig of Rosemary finely chopped
Method:
  • Preheat oven to 200c 
  • Chop all vegetables into similar size chunks, 2-3 cm
  • Place all vegetables ( not tomatoes )into an oven proof dish add the oil, garlic and season. mix through with your hands
  • Pop into the oven for 15 minutes.
  • Drizzle oil over croutons, season and coat with the rosemary. Dry fry in a pan until golden brown.
  • After 15 minutes add your most of your fresh herbs and tomatoes and pop back in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until cooked through.
*  Toss the croutons through, add the rest of your herbs, a good drizzle of oil and serve in a large bowl.





Potato and pea tart

August 3, 2015
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I have found myself baking a lot of these style of tarts over the last couple of months, as It’s that time of year when a lot of British produce is in abundance and the weather is starting to warm up. So we find ourselves entertaining a lot more outside and wanting lighter meals. If I’m invited to somewhere such as a garden party or a BBQ this is a great alternative to turn up with.
This style of tart is also very easy to swap your ingredients around. I, in fact did a tomato and aubergine one with lots of herbs on the other week and it went down a storm. However this one I feel is much better for this time of year as our peas are in season now so you can even pod them yourself for it. Also with the added pea shoots on top, there’s an extra burst of sweetness.
If you are growing your own vegetables like me and you’ve got a row of Peas, maybe not quite as many as you hoped for, then do this recipe.
This is quick and simple to make, great for using up odd potatoes that you have and possibly that Packet of Pastry that’s in the freezer. A dish that shows Seasonality at its best.



Potato and pea tart

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Ingredients:

Small handful of plain Flour for sprinkling
– Half a block of ready to roll Puff Pastry ( 250g)
– A handful of New potatoes or 4 medium sized Potatoes sliced very thinly
– 2 tbsp Rapeseed oil
– 2 Spring onions chopped finely
– 1 finely chopped garlic clove
– A good handful of British podding peas blanched for a minute or 2 or you can use
Petit pois defrosted and drained
– Sea Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
– Handful of grated mozzarella to sprinkle on top
– Handful of pea shoots to finish with





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Method:

* Preheat Oven to 200c

* In salted boiling water blanch your potato slices for only 2-3 minutes, drain and run cold water over them to allow to cool

* Half your 500g black of pastry, Roll out half on a floured work surface with a rolling pin until about 3-4 ml thick.

* Place some baking parchment on a baking tray and pop your pastry on top

* About a cm 1/2 in make a border around the edges with a knife but only slightly ( not all the way through) and then prick your tart within those boundaries with a fork

* Place your sliced potatoes on top some salt and pepper and brush with a little rapeseed oil. Pop into the oven for 10-15 minutes (once the potatoes start to brown around the edges)

* Then pop on your Garlic, spring onion and cheese and cook for a further 5 minutes. If you feel your pastry is cooking too quickly then turn the oven down slightly to 190c.

* After 5 minutes pop on your peas and pop back into the oven for approximately another 5 minutes or until your pastry is nice and golden brown and cooked in the middle.

* Sprinkle with your pea shoots and you’re done!

 

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Chinese pork lettuce cups

July 17, 2015



I thought I’d share with you another recipe from my column that I did a couple of months back. This dish has been in my life for a long time and I always make these for many different occasions.  I even make them for just a snack, they are that moorish!

  So, I think the earliest memory of me having a version of this dish, must have been when I was only about 4 years old. But back then, they would wrap it all up in a large lettuce leaf. It is quite a retro dish for these days but I have come up with a version that I feel never dates or fails.

  The sauce is something I have been having for years with these, noodle soups and Chinese dumplings so I thought I’d share that with you too. When you drizzle that sauce on top, it will give it a real kick.
  I love serving these little cups when entertaining, they always look great served up on trays for people and they always seem to get an “ooh” when they come round. You can also use this recipe for a starter one night, a light Lunch or even on a Chinese banquet as my “Chinese nights” always seem to end up as! 
  They are very quick to prepare and they don’t break the bank to buy the ingredients either. 
  Lately I’ve being seeing a lot of Pork mince reduced so if you aren’t sure what to do with it, buy it and fear no longer.



Chinese pork lettuce cups:







Ingredients:
–   1 tbsp of Rapeseed oil or you can use, sunflower or groundnut oil
  • Pork mince 35og will make about 12 cups
  • Half a green chilli chopped finely
  • 4 Spring onions, half of pork mix, half for garnishing
  • 1 tsp Chinese five spice blend ( I use Spice Kitchen )
  • 1 tbsp of Light soy sauce ( Mine is from Wang Fung Hong in Leicester )
  • 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • small grating of fresh Ginger (about a small thumbnail amount)
  • 2 Little Gem lettuces
  • For the garnish: Thinly sliced cucumber 
                                      Thinly sliced Spring onion
                                      Thinly sliced carrot (julienned)
                                     Handful of fresh chopped coriander
                                      Red chilli chopped finely

                                                                           

Hot Sauce:
  • 2 tbsp of Sriracha sauce ( Mine is from Wang Fung Hong)
  • 1 tbsp of malt vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Tomato ketchup
  •  1 tbsp light soy sauce 
  • sprinkle of chilli flakes ( put more if you want it hotter )
  • sprinkle of caster sugar
N.B If you find the sauce is too tangy, sometimes I add 1/2 tbsp Oyster sauce to this also.




Method:
  • In a wok or a frying pan start to fry off the spring onion, garlic, chilli and ginger for only a minute.
  • Add your pork mince and stir for a couple of minutes breaking up all clumps of the meat.
  • As your pork mince is starting to turn brown, add in your Chinese five spice and again, stir for a couple of minutes
  • Add in your soy sauce, stir and when your Pork is cooked, turn your heat down just to keep warm.
*  Assemble your Pork mince into the lettuce cups, garnish and serve with your sauce.







Oriental Quinoa salad with sticky Chicken for BBC Radio Leicester

July 7, 2015
Last week saw temepratures reaching to up to 35 degrees in some parts of the UK,maybe more Im not sure, that was on the Wednesday.  I knew I was on the radio with Ben for BBC Radio Leicester on the Friday so I knew I had to do something light. I did not want to be in and out the oven when the sun is blazing through.  
   So I thought I’d share a recipe that I did last year just by chance one day for lunch. It’s a salad thats just so refreshing and crunchy when the days are hot, very simple to make and lets face it with the words sticky chicken in it, its got to be a winner.

  Its chose to use Quinoa ( pronounced Keen-wah ) as its high in protein but also is a wheat alternative, so it will fill you up but not bloat you. Don’t be afraid of cooking it, its very simple.

  This Salad is a great way of introducing different grains into your children’s diet or even your own.  You can either Pan fry the chicken like I did or even marinate the chicken with the sauces and then pop onto the BBQ.

  You can hear me doing my recipe here with Ben and by the way, If you can’t see much Chicken left on some of the pictures, well, thats Ben’s fault.


Oriental quinoa salad with sticky Chicken:




Ingredients:
(Serves 2 approximately)

Chicken:

–  1 Chicken thigh for 2 people sliced into strips
–  1-2 tbsp the oil of your choice ( I used coconut oil, Lucy Bee )
–  1-2 cloves of Garlic depending on size
–  Thumbnail amount of grated fresh Ginger
–  1/4 Red chilli (without seeds) chopped finely
–  Tbsp light soy sauce ( Mine is from Wang Fung Hong in Leicester )
–  Tbsp Oyster sauce ( Wang Fung Hong )
–  Good pinch of caster sugar
–  good squeeze of lime juice
Salad:

–  A good handful of Quinoa cooked
–  Handful of sugar snap peas thinly sliced lengthways 
–  2 handfuls of bean sprouts
–  1 carrot thinly sliced ( julienned) 
–  1/4 of side of White cabbage thinly sliced
–  3 spring onions chopped
–  3-4 leaves of Pak choi sliced diagonally 
–  6 radishes round or breakfast sliced into thin rounds
–  few leaves of fresh coriander chopped
–  May need an extra spritz of lime to taste


Method:





*  Cook off Quinoa to packet instructions. Then rinse in a sieve under cold water and drain.

*  Slice chicken and fry off in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add Garlic, ginger and chilli and fry off for a couple of minutes.

*  Once Chicken is starting to brown, add your soy stir and cook for a minute or two.

*  Add your oyster sauce, stir and cook for another minute.

*  Sprinkle in your sugar, spritz of lime and let it cook on a low heat for another 3-4 minutes or until nice and brown and sticky.

* Whilst your chicken is cooking away, prepare your salad.

*  Add your cooked quinoa to the salad, add your Chicken, chopped coriander and then toss all together.

*   Taste to see if it needs extra lime or not. Then serve.






Marinated Feta

July 1, 2015


I wasn’t going to post this as I did this about a year ago now, but a friend of mine changed my mind. 
  I had been talking about this to my friend which I though most people did this I.E marinating cheese but he said he hadn’t ever tried it. He looked very interested in it and started asking me what the process was and how long it took. He knows that Feta isn’t my favourite cheese also which made him even more interested. When I did this to the Feta Oh my! I will always do this with it and experiment with other cheeses too. In fact I may have to do it again this weekend as its great to have in your fridge when friends come round unannounced or even for nibbles.

   It gives a really nice unique flavour to it and also turns a “basic, no frills” cheese into a speciality one. When you do this to feta, you also get a fantastic oil to work with, so do not get rid of it. It works fabulously tossed through pasta or rice and drizzled over bread to make Bruschetta’s, its just heavenly. Not to forget, a ready made salad dressing in itself.

    This would be a great present for a foodie lover, possibly for Christmas, a Birthday or even to turn up to an al fresco party of some kind.  Just imagine, you have an old Jar left over from something, spend 90p roughly on a block of Feta, use up some herbs and oil, stick a bow on it and what a great gift that will surely bring a smile to a friends face.


Marinated Feta:



Ingredients:

–  An Empty Jar, approximately one that had 300g/300ml product in, sterilised
–  A block of Feta or Greek style salad cheese approximatley 200g
–  Olive oil or Rapeseed oil to fill the Jar
–  Handful of “Sun-blushed” Tomatoes 
–  Selection of fresh herbs such as Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano and Lemon Thyme just pulled not chopped
–  3-4 Garlic cloves bashed
–  Small handful of Black peppercorns
–  Few slithers of chopped red chillies or chilli flakes

Method:

*  Its very simple: You put all ingredients into the jar and let it sit in the fridge for about a week for all the flavours to infuse and you are done!