I first tried this salad as a kid, and back then I was never really convinced on the addition of pears. Even going as far as insisting on the pears having to be picked out, but then again I was a pretty, particular, little brat! I guess you could say, my palate has slightly expanded since then, and I can truly say that I now appreciate this punchy flavour combination. We had this with barbequed mackerel for dinner on Sunday and I'm not sure about the combination, but this salad really stands strong alongside whatever dish you choose to serve it with.
Rocket, Pear, Parmesan and Pine Nut Salad Toast the pine nuts in frying pan for a minute or so until they turn a nice golden brown. Make sure to keep your eye on them as nuts cook really quickly, I can't tell you how many times I've burnt a pan of nuts and I still haven't learned my lesson!
Serves 4 120g of rocket 2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced wafer thin. A good handful of parmesan shavings 50g of pine nuts, toasted
Dressing: 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar 1 clove of garlic, minced A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
In a large salad bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the rocket and toss in the dressing until evenly coated. Scatter the toasted pine nuts, parmesan shavings and pear slices on top of the rocket. Serve straight away and enjoy!
There seems to be quite a lot of debate about banana bread and whether or not the inclusion of nuts is significant. I'm not really sure which side of the fence I stand on over this, so for now I'm going to plonk myself right in the middle, on the fence! It's actually quite comfortable here and I can see both perspectives. On one hand, there are those who love the combination of the crunchy nuts through the soft cake, the flavours of the two mingling together in one mouthful of wonderfulness, completely oblivious as to why you would accept anything less. Then on the other side I see all you lovely people who really can't see why you would tarnish such a pure and delightfully moist, spongy, banana flavoured loaf with the somewhat crude addition of nuts. Well I say stop your cribbin' and either way this recipe is damn good and will accommodate for both your nut or non nut needs!
Auntie Ann's Banana Bread This recipe comes from my auntie Ann who spent a lot of time in America over the years and has picked up some really great US inspired recipes. This banana bread is deliciously moist and is extremely easy to throw together. I add a little sliced banana on top before it goes into the oven, but if you want you sprinkle some nuts on top or even stir some chopped ones through.
Makes 8 mini loaves or 2 larger loaves 110g butter 190g caster sugar 2 large eggs 240g self raising flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract 3 large bananas
Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas Mark 4. Cream the sugar and the butter in a bowl with a hand held mixer until light and pale. Add in one egg and a little flour and mix through, repeat with the other egg and the rest of flour and baking soda, until everything is mixed through and smooth. Peel the bananas and mash them with the back of a fork. Add them to the bowl with the vanilla extract and mix through. Pour the mix into a well greased loaf tin and place in an oven for approximately 50 minutes. You can cover it with tinfoil after 25 minutes to stop it browning too much on top if you need too. Insert a metal skewer into the centre of the loaf and if it comes out clean the banana bread is ready. Remove from the loaf tin and place on a wire rack to cool. Enjoy with a big cuppa and filthy smile!
Last Twinnerparty recipe today! Hope you are all set for tomorrow night, I will write a few tips later on to save time, like the things you can make ahead and so on. A huge thank you to Julian from Bubble Brothers who has posted his suggestions for wines to go with the full meal, so if you are into your wines, head over there to see which wine goes with what! Kick off time for the twinnerparty is 7pm, with an aim to serve the first course at 7.30pm, but as we are all mostly from Ireland, timing of things normally goes out the window, but sure we'll see!
Beetroot, Goats Cheese, Pine Nut and Rocket Salad
This is a really tasty starter dish which is perfect for preparing the ingredients ahead of time and simply assembling them at the last minute to create a pretty impressive salad. If you don't want to roast the beetroot yourself, you can by precooked vac packed ones in the supermarket.
Serves 6 6 medium sized beetroot 75g pine nuts 250g goats cheese, cut into bitesize pieces 60g rocket leaves 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard Half a clove of garlic, minced A good pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
You can cook the beetroot ahead of time if you wish, simply wrap them in tinfoil, place on an oven tray and bake for about an hour at 190C/Gas Mark 5 or until you can insert a fork smoothly. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, then peel with knife and slice into quarters. On a large frying pan, over a medium heat, toast the pine nuts, until golden brown, make sure to keep an eye on them as they can burn quite easily. In a large bowl whisk together the Dijon mustard, oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and set aside. When you are ready to serve the salad, arrange the beetroot quarters and goats cheese pieces on each plate. Toss the rocket leaves in the dressing and place a little on each plate. Finally scatter each plate with the toasted pine nuts and serve straight away!
I very excited to tell you I am in London!!! For the next two weeks we are shooting the photos of the recipes for my new book which is going to out in March 2011. To say I am excited is probably a total understatement because for me this is the most interesting part of producing a cook book. The first time around for Good Mood Food I was a totally unorganised mess, when it came to planning the photography, I was coaxed along the way by my lovely Aunt Erica who did the majority of food styling, but this time around it's all rolled nicely into two weeks. It also helps that this time I have a far better idea of what I'm doing! My kit has been upgraded and I have a set work pattern which hopefully by this time two weeks will have held up long enough to have provided me with all the photos required! I'll try and stick up a few posts about the whole process if I can- for now enjoy these very cute whoopie pies which look very pretty indeed! :)
Go Nuts Nutella Whoopie Pies! By dropping the cocoa powder from the original whoopie recipe and substituting flour you get left with really beautiful plain whoopie discs. As a filling I use a combination of nutella and smooth peanut butter but you could also use the chocolate frosting from the cupcake recipe.
Makes 16 whoopie pies 120g/4oz butter 190g/6 ½ oz caster sugar 2 eggs, lightly beaten 345g/12oz of plain flour 5g/1 tsp of baking powder 5ml/1 tsp of vanilla extract 250ml/8 ½ fl oz of buttermilk
For the filling: 80g of smooth peanut butter 80g of nutella
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350oF/Gas Mark 4 and line two baking sheets. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In another bowl, using an electric whisk, cream the sugar and the butter until pale and fluffy. Add in the eggs gradually, mixing well to combine. Add the vanilla extract to the buttermilk and, alternating with the dry ingredients, add to the bowl, mixing until everything is combined and you are left with a thick batter. Spoon rounded teaspoons of the batter onto lined baking sheets, allowing space for them to spread while cooking. Place in the oven for approximately 15 minutes or until the tops have puffed up and spring back when lightly pressed. When they are cooked, remove the mini pie halves from the baking sheets with a metal spatula and place on wire rack to cool. Once cooled, spread a teaspoon of the nutella on the flat side of 16 of the pie halves. Spread a teaspoon of peanut butter on the remaining 16 pie halves and sandwich together with the nutella pies. These little pies are heavy going so make sure to serve with a glass of cold milk.
If you haven't heard of Sally Bee before, and I hadn't up until recently, Sally is a mother of three who at the age of 36, despite a healthy lifestyle, suffered 3 major heart attacks in the space of one week. I'm not even going to go into the amazing story of her recovery, you really just have to read it. "The Secret Ingredient" is a collection of super healthy recipes which don't go over the top and features meals which are perfect for family home cooking.
I recently got the opportunity to meet the lovely Sally Bee, and despite our extremely brief encounter she comes across as an extremely vibrant and fun individual and when I remarked on her incredible story, joked and feigned heart pains! This is one of the fantastic recipes from her book, "The Secret Ingredient" which is out on Thursday 21st of January and can be ordered online via Amazon.
Prawn, Avocado and Pecan Herb Salad
You know, salads don't have to be boring. This dish is full of flavour! You can serve it as a main meal or smaller portions for a healthy starter. If you don't like prawns, you can substitute with chicken; anything goes, really. Be adventurous with your salads and make this a regular, everyday dish. Prawns give great texture and flavour to this recipe, but they do contain cholesterol,so I have allowed only four prawns per serving. If you want to make it more substantial, you can add extra protein: such as tuna, chicken or turkey.
Serves 2 Drizzle of olive oil 2 salad onions or spring onions (scallions),peeled and finely chopped 1 garlic clove,peeled and crushed 1 tbsp soy sauce Freshly ground black pepper 8 uncooked king prawns (jumbo shrimp) Mixed salad leaves Watercress 1 ripe avocado 2 tomatoes, sliced Juice of 1 lemon Handful of fresh basil, torn Handful of shelled pecan nuts
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped salad onions, crushed garlic, soy sauce, black pepper and raw prawns. Sauté until the prawns have turned pink all the way through. Arrange the salad leaves, watercress, avocado and tomatoes in a big dish, then pour over the prawns and other cooked ingredients. Squeeze over the lemon juice, sprinkle with torn basil and pecan nuts and serve.
I have a notebook full of all my great ideas for Christmas posts for the blog, which will just have to wait until next year. For those of you who don't know where I have been for the last month and a bit, I have been playing Peter Pan in the Tivoli Theatre panto! Two shows a day for over a month has meant that there has been no time for the blog unfortunately. I had my first proper day off last Monday but stayed in bed all day, but I was up with and with it today so I finally got around to some cooking!
I have been living on this salad from The Food Room in Clontarf over the last few weeks, so I thought I would recreate it here! It's really delicious and full of healthy ingredients, plus it's so easy to make!
Broccoli Feta and Cherry Tomato Salad
1 large head of broccoli, chopped into bite size pieces.
1 punnet of cherry tomatoes. (250g)
1 packet of ready chopped pancetta or bacon.
3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
A good pinch of ground black pepper.
A good handful of crumbled feta cheese.
Bring a large pot of water to the boil. While the water is boiling, combine the olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a serving bowl. Add the broccoli to the pot of water and blanch for 60 seconds, you should see the broccoli turn a vibrant green. Drain the broccoli pieces and run under cold water. Add the broccoli to the serving bowl and set aside.
Place a small frying pan over a high heat and fry the bacon pieces until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan, place on on some kitchen paper and allow to cool before adding to the rest of salad. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and tumble in to the bowl on top of the broccoli. Add the bacon pieces and feta cheese to the serving bowl. Gently toss all the ingredients in the dressing and season with black pepper. Serve as a tasty side dish or a really tasty lunch. You can also add walnuts or pine nuts for an extra crunch!
And I know it's a bit cheeky having not posted for a few weeks but here's a shameless plug to remind you, if you like the good mood food blog, you can nominate it for the Irish Blog Awards here!
One of the first things to grab me when flicking through Leila's book was the fantastic food photography and styling. There are some super shots of table settings and food spreads scattered throughout the book. From what I have read Leila does most of her styling herself even more reason to be impressed! As you might know, one of my huge passions is food photography, so I am always on the lookout for inspiration when it comes to the style of shots. Leila also has a magazine in Sweden called "Leilas Country Living" which is packed with even more inpirational photo and style ideas, which has unfortunately stopped for some reason, but from the issues I have there is a great mix of styling and recipes. Check out todays Leila recipe, Butterscotch Pecan Pie.
Leila Lindholm's Butterscotch Pecan Pie This pie is good all year round, summer as well as Christmas! If you'd like to vary the flavouring you can add some ginger or cardamom. To check if the butterscotch is ready, drop a little of the mixture into a glass of really cold water. If it hardens a little so that you can form a soft, little ball it is ready and will set in the pie. I allow the pie to come to room temperature before serving, because keeping it in the fridge makes the filling a bit hard. Serve the pie accompanied by Raspberry Fool Cream.
Makes 1 Pie Serves 8 1 batch of classic shortcrust pastry dough (see below) 2 handfuls of pecan nuts
For the filling: 1 vanilla pod 500ml whipping cream 270g caster sugar 40g brown sugar 2 tablespoons honey 150ml golden syrup 1 tablespoon good quality cocoa powder 50g unsalted butter, softened
Prepare the dough according to the basic recipe. Preheat the oven to 175oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4. Roll out the pastry on lightly floured surface to a circle and use it to line a loose-bottomed pie tin. Prick the base with a fork. Fill the case with foil or beans and bake blind for about 10 minutes. Split the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Put all ingredients except the butter in a saucepan. Heat, then simmer for about an hour. Use the cold water test described above. When the butterscotch is ready, stir in the butter in knobs. Fill the pie case with butterscotch, sprinkle whole pecans on top and put in the fridge to set.
Leila Lindholm's Classic Shortcrust Pastry Dough When you make shortcrust pastry dough don't knead it too much or it will turn dense and lose its crustiness. You can easily make a chocolate shortcrust pastry dough by adding 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder.
Makes enough for 2 tarts 150g cold unsalted butter, diced 240g plain flour 30g icing sugar 1 organic egg 1/2 tablespoon cold water
Put the butter, flour and sugar in a bowl and mix with your fingertips to make breadcrumbs. Add the egg and the water and gently work the dough to bind the ingredients together. Don't knead. Cover the clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
As I think I mentioned before I am a HUGE fan of Asian cuisine, so I thought I would write a post about the essential ingredients for your very own Asian pantry.
I have been having a terrible time recently when it comes to cooking Asian inspired dishes because my girlfriend is extremely allergic to soya and nuts. Soya is a staple part of Asian cuisine and in many recipe's hard to avoid. However not one to be beaten I have been adapting some of my favourite dishes without the addition of soya, so I will include some of these here in the future with soya as an option.
On to the reason were here, in the ever shrinking world getting your hands on international ingredients has become ever so easy! I would normally have said just pop down to your local Chinese supermarket as this is what I would do in Dublin, but I was living in the north of Ireland for a couple of months recently and asked where the nearest Chinese supermarket was and the answer to which was laughter. There is a great little shop in Dublin that I visit regularly to stock up and it's nuzzled in the back of a building of Georges St. So if you ever get a chance to visit, do!
You can purchase lots of these ingredients in supermarket's now but I like the having the options of more than one brand to choose from.
Soy Sauce- A fermented sauce made from soy bean, roasted grain, water, and salt. I was a bit of an addict before my recent situation arose, as it really adds a salty sweet taste to dishes.
Chilli Flakes- Made from crushing dried chilli peppers, give a nice spice when added to dishes.
Rice Wine Vinegar- A much milder vinegar than the western variety, can be used in most dishes and sauces.
Fish Sauce- A sauce brownish in colour and salty in taste. Is often substituted for salt in dishes. It is more common in Thai cooking but I use it all the time.
Sesame Oil- Used mainly as a flavour rather than a regular cooking oil as it burns very quickly- has a very distinct nutty flavour.
Ginger- An aromatic root of the ginger plant, has a strong fresh flavour. Can be used in stir Fry's soups and marinades.
Oyster Sauce- It's name alone tends to put people off, but this sauce doesn't have a strong fishy taste due to the fact the oysters are boiled. It's a very rich sauce with a strong savoury flavour.
Lemon Grass- Another strong aromatic flavour here. This herb gives a distinct lemon smell and taste. It can be used in soups and chopped finely into stir fry's.
Chinese 5 Spice powder- A seasoning which combines sweet sour bitter savoury and salty all in one. It consists of cinnamon, star anise, ginger, cassia, and cloves.
Noodles- I always aim to keep a wide selection of noodles in my press, these include different varieties of Egg noodles, Rice noodles and Wheat Noodles. My best advice on this one is to experiment, it's the only way of finding your own taste.
I've been planning to experiment with this for a while, ever since the girlfriend dropped the bombshell that she was allergic to both soya and nuts (I think I mentioned that before?).
Pesto is one of those food items that seemed like it had never been heard of before it became popular and reminds me of a chapter in Nigel Slater's "Toast" where he describes his father bringing home spaghetti for the very first time, and how strange the whole family felt eating this odd foreign food.
Pesto for me was the same, I first tasted it on toasted french bread with sun dried tomato at one of my mother's dinner parties when I was younger, and from that moment I fell in love! Pesto was smothered on toast for breakfast, heavily mixed in spaghetti for lunch, and every other combination I could come up with.
Pesto is considered one of the oldest oily sauces in culinary history. It's classic ingredients are Basil, Salt, Garlic, Olive Oil, and Parmesan cheese. I did a bit of research on Pesto and there is a non nut variety deriving from France where it is called Pistou, the ingredients are Basil, Olive Oil and garlic only. I love the nutty flavour so wanted to recreate it and here's what I came up, now this is hardly radical but here it is:
Nut Free Pesto
3 Cloves of Garlic
1/3 cup of Mixed seeds (Sunflower, pumpkin, sesame etc.)
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
3 Handfuls of fresh Basil
Pesto is so easy to make, peel the garlic cloves and bash them with the back of a knife, put in a food processer with the seeds, cheese and basil. Blitz for about 30 secs depending on what consistency you want. I drizzle the oil in bit by bit but that's just me, you can just add in once you have the rest of the ingredients in a paste.
Serve straight away or put in a container with olive oil poured on the top. IT'S LIKE SOOO EASY!
Well I did think my plan to have a party on Saturday night, based purely on drinking Mohito's, was good one, however it's now Monday and my head still hurts. After not drinking for almost two months, the alcohol had me in a pretty bad way, and the drinking games most certainly did not help! (Damn you Paulie!) But I have to say the one thing that tickles me pink about having people over, is making dainty party food! It can come in so many different forms, a large sit down meal, a buffet style banquet, and even my favourite, finger food. Entertaining for me has to be easy, it has to be quick, and it's gotta be tasty! I have some more recipe's from Saturday night but here is just one of the quick snacks I came up with:
Basil Pesto with Roasted Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes on Toast
For the Pesto:
One large handful of basil leaves.
One large handful of pine nuts.
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
One large handful of grated Parmesan Cheese.
A good sprinkle of Sea Salt and freshly ground Pepper.
You can either do this by hand in a pestle and mortar, or in a food blender, I have a handy little attatchment for my Braun hand blender which does the job nicely. Bung all the ingredients together in the mixer and blitz for about 10-20 seconds. Then depending on the texture of the green paste add more or less oil, different mixes will require different amounts, so don't be afraid to experiment. The pesto can be used straight away or kept in a jar, in the fridge, with a covering of olive oil.
For the Roasted Balsamic Cherry Tomatoes:
Two punnets of Cherry Tomatoes.
2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
1 tbsp of Balsamic Vinegar.
1 tbsp of Dried Oregano.
A pinch of Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper.
Half all the tomatos and tumble into a roasting tray. Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar over them, making sure not to allow the insides to fall out. Sprinkle the salt, pepper, and oregano on top and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes at 200oC. Simple!
To finish the dish, toast slices of good hearty bread under the grill, and allow to cool. Spread the pesto generously on the bread, and add a few of the cherry tomatoes on top. Garnish with an extra sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and serve! Delicious!
Who doesn’t like Meringues? They always go down well in my books and are a really great dessert to make in advance because you can bake them ahead of time and they store extremely well. In our case for foodstock we baked off a mammoth amount of them, 700 to be exact on the Monday before the event on Wednesday and when it came to serving all we had to do was give them a scoop of Jameson whiskey cream, a drizzle of chocolate sauce and a sprinkle of chopped toasted hazelnuts!
I have to say that by the end of the night, there was a fantastic sense of team work when everyone who had been helping us all night, came down to the kitchen- the chefs, the girls from Bord Bia, the staff at the Chalet and the guys from Le Fooding, to work together to get the meringues out and ready! Every free space in the kitchen was taken up and there was meringues as far as the eye could see and in no time we were ready to serve up the last course. Let me just say that these chewy mocha meringues dripping with chocolate sauce didn’t last long in front of the eager crowd and within no time at all we had served them all up!
Mocha Meringues with Jameson Whiskey Cream, Chocolate Sauce and toasted Hazelnuts This batter makes a really chewy, marshmallow meringue, which goes perfectly with the whiskey cream. If you aren't a coffee fan, drop the espresso powder from the recipe and replace it with more cocoa powder.
Makes 12 meringues 250g icing sugar 4 egg whites 2 teaspoons of cornflour 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar 10g of good quality cocoa powder 2 teaspoons of instant espresso powder 60g of chopped toasted hazelnuts
Preheat the oven to 150oC/Gas Mark 2 Line two baking trays with baking parchment. Place the icing sugar and egg whites in a standing food mixer and whisk on high for 10 minutes until glossy white peaks form. Using a spatula, gently fold in the cornflour and the white wine vinegar. When this is mixed through, sift the cocoa powder and espresso powder over the meringue mix and gently fold in. Using a tablespoon, place 3inch/8cm spoonfuls of the meringue mix onto the baking tray and flatten each one gently in the centre with the back of a spoon. Bake for 45 minutes.
For the dark chocolate sauce: 30g caster sugar 60ml of water 50g of good quality dark chocolate, finely chopped 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon of espresso powder
Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan over a medium heat and stir gently to dissolve the sugar. Add the espresso powder, whisk through and bring the mix to a steady simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to sit for 1-2 minutes, then add the chocolate and whisk through until combined. Sift in the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. For the Jameson Whiskey Cream 375ml of cream 3 tablespoons of Jameson whiskey 3 tablespoons of icing sugar
Whisk the cream into soft peaks. Dissolve the icing sugar with the whiskey in a bowl and then add to the cream, folding to combine.
To assemble the meringues, place one on each plate, add a spoonful of Jameson whiskey cream on top, drizzle with the chocolate sauce and sprinkle with the toasted nuts.
There's a huge list of delicious ingredients coming into season this month, so now really is the time to check what your local supermarket, butcher, fishmonger or farmers market has to offer. As the season changes, bringing with it a nip in the air and beautiful crisp golden leaves, kitchen habits inevitably begin to sway a little more towards those more comforting and warming dishes.
Personally, as much as I love nice quick meals, if I have the time, delicious slow cooked meats, warm healthy soups and bubbling autumn fruit desserts always beat them hands down on a cold evening. Of course it's very important to keep active during the colder months, but nothing can be better than spending an afternoon cooking up a storm in a warm cosy kitchen, safe in the knowledge that you have a feast bubbling away in the oven. October has lots of fantastic produce coming into and already in season, including mussels, pumpkins, nuts, celeriac and blackberries.
This week's recipes are part of my Big Harvest Feast; creamy mussels steamed in cider, delicious slow cooked lamb shanks with colcannon mash, and a cosy little dessert of rustic apple and blackberry galettes. I think they make the most of what's in season right now and after devouring it all after taking these photographs, I can promise you it tastes darn good!
Mussels in Irish Cider Mussels have a reputation for being difficult to cook, but this is just not true. The hardest part in reality is the washing. Place them in cold water (they should close, if they don't you should throw them away). Scrub any dirt off the surface of the mussels and remove the beard with a small knife. If you can get this down you will have no trouble and they take minutes to cook, so they're the perfect little starter. I love serving the pot straight to the table from the stove and clunking large spoonfuls of the cooked steaming mussels onto guest's plates. Make sure to serve with some chunky bread to mop up the juices!
Serves 4 1.5kg mussels, washed and the beards removed 1 medium onion, finely chopped 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed 200g of pancetta pieces. A good knob of butter 400ml good Irish cider 4 tablespoons of cream A good handful of freshly chopped parsley, Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Discard any mussels that are open before cooking and any that stay closed after cooking. Place a large pot over a high heat and brown the pancetta pieces until just golden and sizzling. Add in a knob of butter, allow it to melt and then add the onion and garlic. Cook gently for three minutes until the onion is soft. Add in the cider and allow to bubble away for a few minutes so all the flavours mingle in together. Tumble in the mussels, cover with a lid and allow them to steam for about four minutes until they open, making sure to give the pot a good shake once or twice during the cooking time. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream and parsley and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Serve with some crusty bread to mop up the liquid!
My little kitchen garden, which I started earlier this year is in full bloom at the moment, and if I was harvesting weeds alongside all the lovely veggies I would probably be thrilled - they've literally taken over. However, despite the amount of unwelcome weeds and other guests includings snails, slugs and a family of caterpillars who have all happily taken up residence in my little plot, I have been busy harvesting this week! Last month I plucked out eight massive bok choys which, freshly chopped, made a tasty Asian salad with chopped cashew nuts, two tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, two tablespoons of soy sauce, and a teaspoon of sesame oil. Now I could talk to you about the sense of pride there is in picking and cooking something that you've grown in your own back garden, and of course there is, but if I did so I would feel a massive sense of guilt because realistically, I'm a bad gardener! I have spurts of interest, then I get preoccupied with other things and, like last weekend, come back to check out the progress to find my plot completely overgrown.
Last year's kitchen garden was a complete disaster but this year I have my amazing raised veggie garden boxes which can be ordered on Patchworkveg.com from Sean Gallagher who installs them with no hassle and even imparts a bit of growing advice while he's at it. The raised boxes are a lot more manageable for first time veggie gardeners and make for far less back breaking work when you end up doing the amount of weeding I do! The magic of good old mother nature is a beautiful thing and even though my plants don't actually recognise me each time I come to visit, I'm still left with super veggies - like the amazingly beautiful peas I picked this week, which were so sweet and fresh that I had to be stopped from eating them all right there in the garden!
Pea Mint and Feta Pasta This is a super simple little supper which can be thrown together in the time it takes to cook the pasta. To be honest, if you can't get peas straight from the garden it's almost better to use frozen here, as peas begin to loose their natural sugars as soon as they're picked, so even fresh ones in the supermarket probably won't be as good as you will get frozen. This recipe is easily adapted with most leftovers you might have in the fridge. I love a little bit of chorizo added here or maybe some freshly chopped basil with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese.
Serves 4 300g of pasta 5 tablespoons of creme fraiche 150g of feta cheese 150g of fresh peas if you have them, otherwise use frozen A good handful of fresh mint, finely chopped A pinch of salt A good pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack and drain. If you are using frozen peas, cook them until tender and drain. If you are using fresh peas and they are tender and young, I don't bother doing anything to them apart from shelling them and giving them a quick splash under some cold water. When the pasta is cooked, add the creme fraiche, feta cheese, peas, mint, salt and pepper and stir gently until the pasta is evenly coated. Serve straight away with a good squeeze of lemon juice!
What is it with caterers who seem to think the only solution to feeding a large amount of people means sticking everything in a deep fat fryer? Recently I have been to more than 3 events which have resorted to battered chicken nuggets, onion rings, and cocktail sausages! Now I'm not going to completely condemn them as I did have a quick nibble, as most people do, but I would far rather some simple, fresh finger food with healthy ingredients which don't rely on a vat of boiling fat to make them look pretty!
This little antipasto salad is my simple solution to any pre dinner nibbles. Three tasty ingredients combined to make a delicious little starter which can be thrown together in no time at all. Best of all it looks so damn good your guests will think you went to a whole lot of bother! To be honest this is more of a sit down affair, but if you did want to transform this dish into proper finger food, simply toast some small slices of bread, spread with a little pesto, wrap a few rocket leaves, wafers of parmesan cheese and crushed olives in some parma ham slices, place on the pesto toast and hold together with a cocktail stick.
Simple Antipasto Salad This is a great base for any salad so feel free to throw in some lovely extras if you so wish. Things like toasted pine nuts, garlic croutons, and sun dried tomatoes would all work great in this. If you buy olives unpitted, simply crush them with the back of a knife and remove the stone with your fingers.
3 large handfuls of rocket leaves. (Arugula) Half of a 100g jar of green olives (pitted). 1 packet of parma ham slices. 1 Large handful of wafer thin parmesan cheese slices. 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. A small pinch of ground black pepper.
The method for this one is so easy- Simply mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently. Tumble the salad onto a large serving dish and serve. Make sure to provide lots of crusty bread to eat alongside and enjoy!
