Grilled lettuce and asparagus with feta cheese
Posted: June 25, 2013 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Asparagus, Feta cheese, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Lettuce, Vegetables, Vegetarian Leave a comment
Probably the last asparagus of the season, as they are slowing disappearing from the supermarket shelves. So many recipes, so little time… Nevertheless, I wish I had tried this one dish before. As easy as it seems, it is a very sophisticated plate of salad. And, these days, nothing seems as satisfying as the flavour of grilled asparagus, with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled liberally with salt… Happy moments in an ever so stressing last stretch before the summer break.
Grilled lettuce and asparagus with feta cheese (adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s column in The Guardian)
Ingredients
- About 500g asparagus
- 4 little gem lettuces
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Around 100g of feta cheese
Method
Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus and drop the spears into the boiling water. Blanch for a minute or two, until al dente. Remove from the fire and then drain. Let cool aside and pat with a tea towel until dry.
Meanwhile, cut the lettuces in half down the middle, leaving them joined at the root end. Add two tablespoons of olive oil, season generously and toss to coat, working the oil and seasoning into the lettuces a little with your hands.
Heat a ridged griddle pan or heavy-based frying pan until very hot. Add the lettuce halves cut-side down, cook for two minutes until golden brown and wilted on the base, then turn over and cook for a minute or two more. Remove from the pan and put on a serving dish.
Now add the asparagus to the frying pan and cook for about four minutes, turning occasionally, until tender and patched with brown. Put together with the lettuce.
Crumble the goat cheese and arrange over the grilled grennies. Sprinkle with a little more oil and serve at once. Serve while warm.
Asparagus, red pepper and creamy goat cheese wheat salad
Posted: June 20, 2013 Filed under: Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Asparagus, Goat cheese, red peppers, Salada, Summer, Wheat 1 Comment
To keep up with the asparagus season, an impromptu picnic by the lake presented itself as an ideal excuse to make this salad… An almost empty cupboard forced me to do a few wild tweaks to the original recipe, though. The feta cheese was replaced by soft goat cheese. Less salty, indeed, but it made the salad creamier with occasional bursts of flavour. The quinoa was first replaced by barley (really bad idea) and then by wheat (much more successful). All, in all, it was a perfect dish for the a perfect summer day by the lake…
Grilled asparagus, red pepper, creamy got cheese and wheat salad (adapted from the The 10 best asparagus recipes’ column on The Guardian)
Ingredients
- 250g wheat (Triticum turgidum)
- 900g green asparagus
- 2 tbsp olive oil, for drizzling
- 200g roasted, marinated red bell peppers, drained and cut in to bite-size pieces
- 200g soft goat cheese
- 100g fresh coriander or flat-leaf parsley (reserve some leaves for garnishing)
- Salt
For the dressing
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp roast cumin seeds, crushed with a mortar
Method
Rinse the wheat and prepare it according to the instructions in the packet.
To prepare the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, soy sauce and lemon juice. Gently crush the cumin seeds with a pestle and add to the dressing.
Rinse and pat the asparagus dry and place on a plate. Drizzle olive oil over the asparagus and roll them until well coated. Season with salt. Arrange the asparagus in a hot griddle pan and cook, turning as needed, until nicely marked on all sides without being burned (it takes about 8 minutes).
Meanwhile, combine the quinoa, dressing, roasted peppers, cheese and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Add the grilled asparagus and gently combine. Serve at room temperature.
Baked chicken with chorizo and roasted vegetables
Posted: June 16, 2013 Filed under: Chicken, Vegetables | Tags: Baking, Chicken, chorizo, Peppers, Potatoes, The Hairy Dieters Leave a comment
Everyday food with low calories… Not sure why Hairy Dieters claim this is a Spanish style, though. Probably is the chorizo and the roasted garlic… In any case, it is cheap and cheerful with delicious flavours, from the sweetness of the baked onion to the spiciness of the chorizo.
Baked chicken with chorizo and roasted vegetables (adapted from Dave Myers and Si King’s The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight)
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, cut in 8 wedges
- 1 medium red onion, cut in 8 wedges
- 500g new potatoes, quartered lenghways
- 8 whole garlic, unpeeled
- 8 medium tomatoes, quartered
- 75g chorizo, preferably hot and spicy
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken tights
- ½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 green pepper, deseed and cut into strips
- salt and pepper
Method
Pre heat the oven to 200oC. Put the onions, potatoes, garlic and tomatoes in a large roasting tin and season with salt and lots of freshly grounded black pepper. Toss everything together lightly and roast for 20min
While the vegetables are roasting, skin the chorizo and cut the meat into thin slices. Put the chickens on a board and carefully slash each one 2 or 3 times with a knife. Season all over with black pepper. Mix the paprika and oregano together and set aside.
Take the roasting tin out of the oven, scatter the chorizo over the vegetables and turn everything a couple of times. Place the chicken on the top of the vegetables and chorizo and sprinkle with paprika and oregano. Return to the oven and adjust the temperature to 220oC. Leave in the oven for another 20min, or until the chicken is golden and crisp. Every now and again, take the tin out of the oven drizzle the juices over the chicken. As you eat, squeeze the garlic out of the skins.
Baked asparagus with a paprika and yogurt sauce
Posted: June 12, 2013 Filed under: Eggs, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Asparagus, Dairy, Spices Leave a comment
Said it once: I don’t even like asparagus… But, it just seems right to test the The 10 best asparagus recipes from The Guardian one by one. This one is very easy, very tasty and very filling. Just the kind of stuff you want to eat over lunch with shredded chicken or a bit of rice, if you are feeling vegetarian. For the benefit of the bikini season, I have omitted the butter the original recipe called for. It is not as creamy, but still delicious.
Baked asparagus with a paprika and yogurt sauce (recipe adapted from the The 10 best asparagus recipes’ column from The Guardian)
Ingredients
- 900g asparagus, trimmed (and scraped if using white asparagus)
- ½ tsp sugar
- 300ml yoghurt
- 1 tsp plain flour
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp sugar
- 25g fresh breadcrumbs
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 oC. Wash and drain the asparagus thoroughly. Simmer for 5 minutes in boiling water and drain. Pat dry with kitchen paper and arrange in a large, greased oven proof dish.
In a small bowl, mix together thoroughly the sour cream or yoghurt, flour, egg yolk, salt, paprika and sugar. Pour this evenly over the asparagus. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top and then dot with small knobs of the butter. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the top is golden.
Roasted new potatoes and asparagus with baked eggs
Posted: June 8, 2013 Filed under: Eggs, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Asparagus, Eggs, Potatoes, Vegetables, Vegetarian 1 Comment
Summer is apparently today, with a whooping 23 oC expected… And, oh praise the Lord!, it is a not a weekday! Before rushing to the lake, my favourite recipe for this season… Have already done it several times this “spring”- not minor thing, considering I have a childhood trauma related to asparagus (swallowed hairpin, please ask my mother for details).
Roast new potatoes and asparagus with baked eggs (adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s column in The Guardian)
Ingredients
- 600-700g new potatoes, cleaned and cut into small chunks
- 5-6 whole garlic cloves, bashed
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- About 400g asparagus
- 4 eggs
Method
Heat the oven to 190 oC. Put the potatoes into a roasting dish with the garlic. Sprinkle over the oil, add plenty of salt and pepper, toss and roast for 30 minutes, until tender.
Meanwhile, snap the woody ends off the asparagus and cut the spears into 3-4cm lengths. When the potatoes are tender, add the spears, toss and roast for 15 minutes more, until the asparagus is tender.
Now create four little spaces among the veg for the eggs, arranging the potatoes and asparagus pieces into holes more or less stable. Working quickly, so everything stays hot, break an egg into each space, then return the dish to the oven for about four minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks still runny.
Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the eggs, serve.
Blondies (white chocolate and cranberries brownies)
Posted: June 3, 2013 Filed under: Chocolate, Dessert, Vegetarian | Tags: Cake, cranberries, Gordon Ramsay, Sugar, White chocolate 15 Comments
You might like the man or not, but the truth is Gordon Ramsay’s dishes are always unpretentious, non-fuss and are always – but always – delicious. If you follow the instructions, you will get what is promised. All you normally need is a few simple ingredients, utensils everyone has in the kitchen and a couple of cooking techniques. And voilà!, dinner is sorted… His last series – Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course – is meant to be a return to cooking basics. I was about to yawn and change channels, when I realised what how simple, easy and very tasty the dishes were. While it still might be basic, these are definitely calories worthwhile taking. A few minutes into the episode, I had decided to a)buy the book; b) bake this cake.
Very conveniently, I had something to celebrate at the office a few days after. Shortly after lunch time, it was gone… It was a really-really-really good cake. Very sugary, but packed with flavours. You cannot go wrong with white chocolate, vanilla and cranberries, can you?
Blondies (white chocolate and cranberries brownie, adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Cookery Course)
Ingredients
- 150g dried cranberries
- 2* 100g white chocolate bars
- 225g flour
- 200g unsalted butter
- 1 pinch of salt
- 300g sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 oC. Butter and flour a baking dish (or use a non stick baking spray). Cover the bottom of the dish with parchment paper.
Put the sugar in a large bowl. Melt the butter, without letting it boil. Stir it in the sugar and whisk until it is smooth.
Meanwhile, in another medium bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and the salt together.
Beat the eggs and vanilla into the sugar mixture, one by one. Fold in half the flour mixture until all the lumps are gone. Add the rest of the flour and carry on mixing until is well incorporated. Finally, drop in the white chocolate and cranberries and mix until they are evenly distributed.
Spoon the batter into the baking dish, and put in the stove for about 20-25min. Bake until the blondies are light brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
Roasted carrot hummus with orange
Posted: May 25, 2013 Filed under: Snacks, Tapas, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: carrot, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Hummus, Orange, Spread, Vegetarian Leave a comment
I know I am partial to all things carroty… I had to try this one, mobile calorie intake units or no mobile calorie intake units to entertain. While it might be a departure from the original carrot hummus recipe (no chickpeas in sight), it was certainly delicious. The kind of food I need to hide from myself to make sure I don’t eat it all in one go. Sweet and spicy, aromatic and smooth, shiny and happy…
PS – Lingue di suocera [mother in law’s tongue] courtesy of Coop Fine Food
Roasted carrot hummus with orange (adapted from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s column in The Guardian)
Ingredients
- 500g carrots, peeled and cut into 4-5cm chunks
- 4 large garlic cloves, bashed
- 2 tbsp olive oil or rapeseed oil
- 1 small orange, juiced, zest finely grated
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 3 tbsp tahini (sesame seed paste)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat the oven to 200 oC
Put the carrots, garlic and oil in a roasting tin, season and roast for 30-35 minutes, giving the carrots a good stir halfway through, until tender and starting to caramelise at the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly.
Tip the carrots into a food processor. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and put these in, too, along with any oil from the tin. Add the orange zest and juice, lemon juice, tahini and some salt and pepper, and process to a coarse purée. Add more lemon juice and seasoning as necessary. Serve the hummus warm or at room temperature.
Roasted radicchio with red onion
Posted: May 21, 2013 Filed under: Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Bill Granger, Radicchio, Red onions, Roast Leave a comment
The book is called Easy, and indeed cooking cannot get much easier than this. Just chop, sprinkle and put it in the over. Forty-five minutes after you have the perfect dish to go with your roast… Once again, happy mobile calorie intake units friends going for seconds (and thirds).
Roasted radicchio with red onion (adapted from Bill Granger‘s Easy)
Ingredients
- 4 radicchio heads, quartered lengthways
- 3 red onions cut into wedges
- 3 tablespoons of soft brown sugar
- 1/2 dried chili flakes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- Salt and black pepper
Method
Put the radicchio and onions in a baking dish and sprinkle with the sugar and chili flakes
Drizzle with the olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper to taste
Place in the oven and cook for 35-45min, until golden and caramelised.
Serve warm.
Beetroot soup with hazelnuts, spring onions and goat cheese
Posted: May 17, 2013 Filed under: Soup, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tags: Beetroot, Goat cheese, Nuts, Spices 1 Comment
“So, Burntsugar…”, said B. “How do you make this soup?”. “Well, it is not too difficult.”, I answered. “You pick a spread recipe from last Ottolenghi’s book, then decide to use boiled beetroot instead of roasted and finally get a watery yoghurt instead of a drained one.” B. looked a bit worried, but proceeded to eat its portion and lick the bowl as this had been a perfectly executed dish. Truth to be said, what could have been a really bad day in the kitchen, ended up with a delicate and colourful dish much to the delight of my mobile calorie intake units guests. On the next episode of beetrootgate…
Beetroot soup with hazelnuts, spring onions and goat cheese (adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi‘s Jerusalem)
- 500g cooked beetroot (pay attention not to pull the vinegary ones from the shelf)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 small red chilli
- 250g yoghurt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon maple sirup
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon za’atar
- salt to taste
- 2 spring onions thinly sliced
- 15g toasted hazelnuts, roughly crushed
- 60g of soft goats cheese, crumbled
Method
Peel the beetroot and cut it in chunks
Place the beetroot, garlic, chill and yoghurt in a food processor. Blend it until you obtain a smooth paste.
Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in in the maple sirup, olive oil and za’atar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
Transfer into small serving bowls (or glasses) and scatter the spring onion, hazelnut and cheese.
Serve at room temperature.
The lamb tajine cook off: The Hairy Dieter’s take
Posted: May 13, 2013 Filed under: lamb, Vegetables | Tags: lamb, Middle East, Spices, Tajine, The Hairy Dieters 1 Comment
After The Spicery and The Laughing Lemmon, now is the turn of the Hairy Dieters. Again, the same basic ingredients: lamb, spices and fruits. But, it also had chickpeas and tinned tomatoes. And it was sweet. Very sweet… probably one spoon of honey too much for my taste buds. All in all, it was delicious and filling. In fact, a lot more heavy than the other version even though it had much less fat. Don’t take me wrong – it was delicious. It is the comparison with the Laughing Lemnon’s which it makes it sound like a bit pedestrian.
Lamb tajine (adapted from Dave Myers and Si King’s The Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight)
- 750gm lamb shoulder
- 2tsp ground cumin
- 2tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1tsp hot chilli powder
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 medium onions halved and sliced
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and finely chopped
- 400gm can chopped tomatoes
- 400mls cold water
- 3tbsp runny honey
- 400g tin of chick peas drained and rinsed
- 1 lamb stock cube
- 75gm no soak apricots,halved
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Trim the lamb of any hard fat and cut into rough 3cm chunks, season all over with salt and pepper.
Mix the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and chilli in a bowl.
Heat oil in the tajine until is piping hot. Add the lamb, onions and garlic and stir fry over a high heat for 1 minute until lightly coloured.
Sprinkle with the spices and cook for 1-2 mins more, tossing constantly until you have a fragrant aroma. Tip the tomatoes into the casserole dish, together with the cold water, honey and chickpeas. Add the stock cube over the top and stir well.
Bring to a simmer, stirring couple of times. Cover with the lid and let cook with low heat for 60min. Open the lid and drop in the dried fruits and still well. Put back the lid and let it cook for another hour, or until the lamb is tender.
Lucie Loves Food 