Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

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Warm New Potato, Asparagus and Halloumi Salad

The asparagus season runs from April to June here in the UK. You can also use courgettes in place of asparagus.

asparagus_new_potato

 

asparagus_potato_salad

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Recipe: Warm New Potato, Asparagus and Halloumi Salad

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A simple, seasonal sheet pan supper with new potatoes, asparagus and halloumi cheese. 

Ingredients

  • 500g/2 1/2 cups Jersey Royal new potatoes
  • 500g (2 bunches) fresh asparagus
  • 1 lemon
  • 250g/2 cups halloumi cheese, cubed
  • 1 red onion, peeled
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 60g/one cup rocket leaves, rinsed, drained
  • 10g/2 tbsp fresh herbs, e.g. dill, mint
  • Sea salt and black pepper 

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F
  2. Chop the new potatoes in half. Spread the potatoes out evenly on a large baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grate over the zest of one lemon. Roast for 15 minutes in the oven.
  3. In the meantime, snap the woody ends away from the asparagus spears, then chop into 1 inch pieces. Chop the onion into 8 pieces.
  4. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Add the asparagus, cubed halloumi and onion to the tray. Mix together with the potatoes. Bake for a further 15 minutes.
  5. Take the tray out of the oven. Arrange the rocket leaves onto a large platter. Scatter the roasted potatoes, asparagus and halloumi. Scatter over some fresh herbs and serve immediately.

Notes

You can also scatter over some shredded rotisserie chicken for a non-vegetarian version

Courses Lunch

Cuisine British

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 2

Amount Per Serving

Calories 931

% Daily Value

Total Fat 61.6 g

95%

Saturated Fat 30.9 g

155%

Sodium 475 mg

20%

Total Carbohydrates 57.5 g

19%

Protein 39.9 g

80%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

You May Also Like:

Asparagus, Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Pasta

Asparagus, Beetroot and Halloumi Salad

Asparagus and Mozarella Salad

Linked recipes video: Dinner Renovations created by Michelle Becker at Pink Soul Pictures.

Disclosure: Recipes and video commissioned by Safestore. #ad

Salmon, Egg and Cress Sourdough Toasts

Read this post to learn about growing your own cress at home

Salmon Egg and Cress Toast

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Salmon, Egg and Cress Sourdough Toasts

Yield 2 slices

A high-protein breakfast, brunch or spring starter made with sourdough, roasted salmon, egg and home grown cress

Ingredients

2 slices fresh sourdough

2 tsp butter

1 egg, hard boiled, sliced

1 poached or roasted salmon portion (90g)

2 tbsp cress (try growing your own)

Black pepper

Instructions

Lightly toast the sourdough bread. Spread with butter. Cut each slice into three fingers.

Arrange the sliced hard boiled egg over the top. Scatter over the cooked salmon and cress.

Season with a little freshly ground black pepper. Serve immediately.

 

French-Style Irish Beef Salad by Bord Bia

When the Irish Food Board sent me this recipe to try recently, I couldn’t wait to make it, pack it up and take it on a picnic. It almost looked too pretty to transport, but actually, it travelled well. I kept the tomatoes and the boiled eggs whole and in a separate container until I was ready to serve the salad. Although the star of this salad if the grass-fed Irish Beef, there’s a French influence from the Dijon mustard and I loved the addition of the capers and gherkins, too. A fresh baguette on the side and a glass of perfectly chilled rosé is all you need for a perfect al fresco, French-inspired supper.

Bord Bia French Beef Salad

Photo Credit Irish Food Board/Bord Bia 

Bord Bia French Beef Salad_3

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French Style Irish Beef Salad by Bord Bia

Yield 4

A protein-packed salad with grass-fed Irish bullet steak, which is best served blue or rare. With new potatoes, eggs, tomatoes and a French-style Dijon mustard dressing.

Ingredients

  • 500g piece bullet steak
  • 700g waxy new potatoes, scrubbed or scraped
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 plum tomatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
  • For the dressing:
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 120ml extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large shallot, very finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, extra to garnish
  • 2 tbsp tiny capers
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped gherkins
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Lightly dressed green salad and French baguette, to serve.

Instructions

  1. Heat a cast-iron griddle pan until searing hot. Add the steak and cook for about 5 minutes each side or until rare. Set aside for at least 15 minutes to rest or up to an hour is fine, then cut into thin slices, trimming down as necessary.
  2. Place the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender, then drain. Cook the eggs in a pan of simmering water for 7 minutes until soft-boiled. Drain and run under cold running water, then shell.
  3. Meanwhile, make the dressing; place the vinegar, mustard, honey and seasoning in a screw-topped jar and shake until the salt has dissolved. Add the oil and shake again vigorously until you have a nice thick emulsion. Add the shallots, chives, parsley, gherkins and capers, shaking gently to combine.
  4. While the potatoes are still warm, cut them into slices and arrange half in the bottom of a serving dish. Spoon some of the dressing over and then cover with a layer of the slices of beef. Repeat the layers, spooning a little dressing over each one. Cover with clingfilm and set aside at room temperature for an hour to allow the flavours to combine.
  5. Just before serving, cut the soft-boiled eggs into quarters and arrange around the edge of the salad with the tomatoes. Garnish with parsley and serve straight to the table with a separate bowl of green salad and some crusty French bread.

Courses Salad

Cuisine French

Notes:

Grass-fed beef is a healthy option, with high levels of vitamins A and E, and a good balance of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. 

Irish Beef produced under the Irish Food Board’s Quality Assurance Scheme is found in leading UK supermarkets and assures you that the beef you buy is sustainable and reared to the highest standard.

With thanks to the Irish Food Board, Irish Beef and Bord Bia for letting me share this recipe.

You can find more Bord Bia/Irish Food Board Recipes Here

Follow Bord Bia @BordBia

I’m linking this to my July and August Simple and in Season challenge, as the salad uses new potatoes and in-season tomatoes.

Simple in Season

You might also like my Polish-inspired beetroot salad if you’re packing up a picnic!

I’m going to be hosting a number of handpicked recipes over the summer holidays to keep you all inspired while I get stuck in various holiday traffic jams, picnic with my kids and work on updating my recipe index.

If you like them, please tweet me or instagram me @RenBehan using the hastag #handpicked  or in this instance @bordbia

Editorial/Unpaid content
 

A Polish-Inspired Beetroot Salad with Apples, Radish and Dill

Polish Beetroot Summer Salad

A Polish-inspired beetroot summer salad with apples, radish and dill

I was interested to read this week about the four distinct waves of Polish migration to the UK. I tend to only think of my parents’ generation, resettling to the UK after the Second World War and of course, of the most recent wave. In fact, there have been Poles in Britain since around 1830, following the November Uprising of 1830-1831, with a second wave happening between 1880 and 1920.

Both my mother and father’s family settled in England during the third wave, shortly after the war. My father left Poland at the tender age of sixteen, having first undertaken a forced and perilous journey of approximately 1700 miles from Poland to northern Russia. Aged eighteen, my father and his twin joined the Polish Army in Exile formed by General Anders. They formed in Buzuluk, and travelled via Tashkent, Bukhara and Moynaq. They were then part of a brigade that went to Suez and Durban in South Africa, before arriving in Scotland. Once in Scotland, they trained with a Polish tank brigade, later taking part in the Battle of Falaise, going on to liberate the towns of Ypres, Ghent and Passchendaele, amongst many others. After the war, they were kept on as peacekeeping troops.

Polish collage

Family history book, my father in the Polish army, Polish folk art.

It wasn’t until many years after the war my father formed a business with his brothers, who had all fortunately survived the war, and they employed my grandmother, my mother and her brother, who had also resettled in England from Poland during the war. My dad later married my mother and they had five children, of which I am the youngest. The family business employed many fellow Poles and their families creating new industry in Manchester for a period spanning three decades. Their contribution to society, like that of many migrant Poles, was not insignificant.

Polish radish

By the time I was born, my grandmother had her own house and a small garden here in England. I remember her garden being full of all the things that she used to grow in Poland. In fact, most Poles had a little allotment patch either at the front or at the back of their house. I remember playing in her garden and seeing plenty of beetroot, runner beans, cabbages, carrots, potatoes, radishes and lots and lots of dill. Babcia kept chickens, too, so there were always plenty of eggs. She never quite came out of war mentality, so there were lots of jars of pickles and preserves. Cooking Polish food would make her feel closer to home; it was the only cuisine she knew. Taught by my grandmother, my mother also cooked Polish food for our family and so I knew little else. As a baby my mama tells me I was weaned on beetroot soup and that I loved it.

Migration means many things to many different people. I personally am always fascinated by stories of resettlement and relocation. They are rarely clear-cut and often there is also an element of history involved, too. I know that my parents were always incredibly grateful for the Polish community church hall, where we would often spend time marking significant occasions in Polish history, or folk dancing or fundraising with the Polish Scouts. It still exists to this day, now welcoming new Poles, arriving with predicaments of their own.

These days, of course, communities are often formed online, too. With strong links to the migrant communities around the world, Lebara, a UK-based telecoms group, are bringing together a collection of stories and articles, examining migration and offering a place for people to share collective memories; a community platform, of sorts, aimed at bringing together rather than dividing. It’s an initiative that I’m keen to support, particularly in light of my own family history and my keenness to promote positivity and inclusivity towards those who find themselves far away from home.

As well as thinking about my story and that of my parents’ migration all those years ago, I’m sharing today a recipe inspired by my grandmother’s garden, which by this time of year would be brimming with summer salad ingredients, ready to provide a colourful addition to our family table. The recipe should shortly be featured on the Lebara Community Site, too.

Polish Beetroot Summer Salad

There are plenty of other interesting articles and recipes being added to the Lebara Community Hub all the time – pop over and have a read here.

I’m also linking this recipe up to Simple and in Season June, Extra Veg June 2015, hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Meat Free Mondays hosted by Jac at Tinned Tomatoes.

For more Polish recipes, see www.renbehan.com/mypolishkitchen 

Polish Beetroot Summer Salad

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With many thanks to Lebara UK for commissioning this recipe and for creating the migrant community hub. 

Clearspring Gluten Free Brown Rice Noodles with Spinach and Tomato

ClearSpring Gluten Free Noodles

It’s always nice to find ways of making our favourite recipes a little healthier and this is especially true of pasta. This month, I’ve experimented with courgette or zucchini noodles, sometimes called ‘zoodles’ and also with a new type of 100% organic Clearspring gluten free brown rice noodles – recipe below. Usually, these type of noodles are used in Asian cooking, perhaps to make a noodle salad or a Pad Thai, though the packet did say you could use them as a gluten free alternative to pasta – which is what I did. In the ‘Pasta Please’ link up that I was hosting for Jacqueline of Tinned Tomatoes, we also had some fresh pasta with kale, mint and pesto, eggplant (aubergine) meatballs, fresh spinach pasta and some baked salmon with spinach and basil pesto pasta. So, all very virtuous!

…

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Make-Ahead Leek and Poppy Seed Sausage Rolls

Sausage Rolls

We’ve only recently started making our own sausage rolls at home, but now that we’ve tried them, there’s no going back to the shop-bought variety. The homemade version is altogether a different thing – flaky pastry, good quality sausage meat of your choice (I get mine from Hedges Farm in St Albans) and a few optional extras, like some softly cooked leeks (there was a lone leek in my veg box), or caramelised onions, and a sparkling of poppy seeds, or even sesame seeds. We look forward to having these as an after-school snack (they are super-quick to whisk out of the freezer) or as party food and they’d certainly be great for serving up as a homemade canapé to Christmas visitors. Here’s my recipe, hope you get to try them….

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3 Quick Cheese Snacks for the Good Food Channel

Today is officially the last day of National Vegetarian Week 2014. In case you’ve taken the challenge and are in search of some simple and tasty recipes to round off the weekend, I thought I’d highlight three recent quick cheese snacks, created for the Good Food Channel. Really though, who needs an excuse to indulge in a little melted cheese?! Of course, you can also use any of your favourite vegetarian alternative cheeses in these recipes…

Three Cheese Snacks
3 Quick Cheese Snacks created for the Good Food Channel

Firstly, a super-quick Mexican inspired snack – my Cheese Quesadillas with tinned black beans, tomatoes, spring onions and grated cheese. Use a chilli cheese if you fancy, and any beans – black, pinto or fava beans – drained and washed.

Cheese Quesadillas

Cheese Quesadillas {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Next, one of our favourites for a quick cheese snack, are my Three Cheese Toasties, with leek, garlic and thyme on sourdough. They take around ten minutes to make, and I simply used a griddle pan to make mine, weighed down a little with a heavy lid. If you have a panini machine or a toastie maker, you can use that instead. I usually like to use a combination of cheddar, mozzarella and Gruyère or Comte – but really, use any cheese that you like or have in the fridge to use up – or a vegetarian alternative.

Three Cheese Toasties

 Three Cheese Toasties {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

Finally, if you have hungry kids, you can’t go wrong with these Cheese and Marmite Swirls. Simply keep a packet of ready rolled/ready to use puff pastry in the fridge or freezer, then unroll, spread with Marmite, sprinkle over the granted cheese and roll up. Once sliced, place them on a baking tray lined with paper, brush with a little beaten egg and bake for fifteen minutes. Serve when warm, but not too hot for little fingers!

Cheese and Marmite Swirls

Cheese and Marmite Swirls {Recipe Here} for the Good Food Channel

I hope that’s given you a little inspiration for the Bank Holiday weekend, or perhaps, for an after school snack or quick lunch.

How did you get on with the challenge to “go green” for National Vegetarian Week?

Recipes commissioned by the Good Food Channel – recipes, styling and photography by Ren Behan. 

British Asparagus, spinach, beetroot and halloumi salad

Hooray – foodies up and down the land are celebrating the start of British Asparagus season. It’s here for just a short window of time, officially from 23rd April to 21st June 2014 and I, for one, have been spotting lots of it when out and about. Fortunately, the asparagus season this year coincides with the last six weeks of my pregnancy, which is lucky, since my craving have shifted from sweet to savoury. Possibly something to do with a chocolate overload at Easter…At 34 weeks my body also needs more Vitamin K and iron – which I’ve been able to pack into this asparagus and spinach salad in abundance. For anyone after a quick superfood boost, asparagus contains a whole host of good stuff; soluble fibre, potassium and folic acid (it’s the leading vegetable for this!) along with rutin, which when combined with vitamin C, can protect the body from infection. Other pregnancy superfoods that could be added to this simple salad include strawberries, blueberries, apricots, tofu (replace the halloumi), lightly steamed broccoli and sunflower seeds.

Asparagus Salad

Asparagus Salad

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British Asparagus, Spinach, Beetroot and Halloumi Salad

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A superfood salad bringing together British asparagus with baby spinach, beetroot, grilled halloumi and pomegranate seeds.

Ingredients

  • 250g fresh asparagus
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 250g halloumi cheese
  • 100g baby spinach
  • 200g salad beetroot
  • 100g pomegranate seeds
  • 2 tsp pomegranate molasses
  • 3 tsp cold pressed rapeseed oil

Instructions

  1. Add one teaspoon cold pressed rapeseed oil or olive oil to a frying pan. Cook the asparagus for two-three minutes until it starts to take on a little colour and soften. Sprinkle with the lemon zest towards the end. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  2. Add the sliced halloumi to the pan - you may want to cook it in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Cook for two minutes on one side and then flip the slices over.
  3. Scatter the baby spinach over a large plate, roughly chop the beetroot and add, then scatter over the pomegranate seeds, the warm asparagus and warm halloumi cheese.
  4. For the dressing, mix a little pomegranate molasses with some rapeseed or olive oil and pour over the top of the salad.

Asparagus Salad

More Asparagus Recipes

British asparagus and mozzarella salad by Ren

Fresh pasta with goat’s cheese, lemon and asparagus – by Ren

Lemony new potato wedges with asparagus – by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours

Roasted asparagus with a carrot-miso dressing – by Kellie at Food to Glow

Another amazing superfood salad, which I adore, is this Smoked mackerel, beetroot and potato salad (use in season Jersey Royals if you are in the UK) by Jeanne at Cook Sister.

I’m also extremely grateful to Michelle at Utterly Scrummy for hosting April’s Simple and in Season – providing me with a little respite. There have been lots of simple, seasonal entries from all over the globe including plenty of wild garlic, nettle and asparagus recipes, too!

Simple and in Season

What are you looking forward to making with your British asparagus?!

Kopytka – Polish Gnocchi for Tenderstem ®

Hurray! Today officially marks the first day of spring. March has already been an incredibly busy month for me recipe-wise and I have lots of great things to share with you over the next few days. Firstly, I wanted to tell you about a new recipe up on the Tenderstem ® broccoli website, which I was asked to create as part of their focus on inspiring recipes from around the world. I created my Polish version of a gnocchi recipe, known as ‘kopytka’ – meaning ‘little hooves’ – made in a similar way to Italian gnocchi, with leftover mashed potato, flour, an egg and a little seasoning. I also added some small pieces of Tenderstem ® to the dough itself, to brighten things up a bit and then served them with more healthy Tenderstem ®, shallots and Polish ham. It’s a really easy recipe to bring together and I’ve already had lots of positive comments on Twitter, from readers letting me know how they’ve got on trying it. I’d love to here from you, too, if you fancy this for a spring supper one evening!

Photograph copyright Tenderstem
Photograph copyright Tenderstem

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Kopytka (Polish Gnocchi) with Tenderstem ®

Ingredients

  • 200g pack Tenderstem
  • 500g mashed potatoes, cooled
  • 250g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • Sea salt and ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • A small knob of butter
  • 2 shallots, peeled, chopped
  • 200g Polish ham or bacon, such as Sopocka or Wiejska, or use pancetta.

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drop in the Tenderstem. Boil for five minutes, remove with a slotted spoon (keep the water, turn off the heat) and drain under cold water. Chop five sprigs of Tenderstem very finely. Put to one side to add to the dumplings.
  2. Put the mash potato into a large bowl. Add the finely chopped Tenderstem, the flour, egg and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Using a metal spoon at first, bring the mixture together. Then tip it out onto a board and knead it until all the flour is incorporated into the potato.
  3. Sprinkle a little extra flour onto the board and cut the dough into four quarters. Roll each piece into a long cylinder and cut at an angle into one inch pieces. Repeat until you have used up all the dough.
  4. Bring the salted water back to the boil and in batches, drop in the dumplings. Gently boil for three to four minutes.They will rise to the top once cooked. Take them out with a slotted spoon, drain and cook the rest.
  5. Once the dumplings are cooked, add one tablespoon olive oil and the butter to a large frying pan. Gently fry the shallots and the chopped ham. Add the rest of the pre-cooked Tenderstem and add the dumplings to the pan to colour them slightly. Cook for a further two minutes and serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size Serves 4

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

There are also lots of other globally inspired recipes to be found on the site, here.

With many thanks to Tenderstem ® for this recipe commission. 

Happy Spring!

Linking up to Simple and in Season – March

Shredded Chicken Pancakes for Chinese New Year

This Friday lots of people will be marking Chinese New Year. It’s out with the old and in with the new and if you’re up for a spot of Chinese-themed celebrating, there’s plenty out there to be enjoyed. Last year we took the children into Chinatown in London to show them some of the Chinese festivities and symbols – red lanterns and flags, Chinese dragons and very loud drums. We also enjoyed a tasty Taiwanese meal in a surprisingly authentic restaurant called Leong’s Legend, which had a very simple interior (based upon a Chinese tea house) but some really great food and was much less busy than the main streets in China Town. Try the ‘pork buns’ or Taiwanese mini kebabs, as recommended by Jay Rayner in The Observer.

Shredded Chicken Pancakes

I’ve written about what we’ll be doing this year along with some recipe suggestions in my weekly blog for Jamie Oliver. In the meantime, I’ve also come up with a family-friendly starter – a simpler (and slightly healthier) version of crispy duck pancakes made with shredded chicken. I know, I know, it’s not authentic and there’s no crispy skin to feast on, but my kids are a bit picky when it comes to duck fat so I’ve gone with shredded chicken (from a leftover roast) instead. Thankfully, they like the Hoisin sauce and the building aspect of this for tea keeps them extra quiet.

Shredded Chicken Pancakes

I’m hoping to be able to pop into Chinatown at some point over the weekend to hunt for some more steamed buns and to stand by the windows watching homemade dumplings being crafted by hand.

Shredded Chicken Pancakes

Time for a little link-love. Firstly, I’m joining in with Extra Veg, a new monthly blog event hosted by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle at Utterly Scrummy – lots of raw sliced carrots, cucumber and spring onions here. I’m also sending this to January’s Feel Good Food Challenge over at A Kick at the Pantry Door, which has a theme of tasty and inexpensive – this is both,  especially by using chicken instead of duck and adding lots of raw veggies. For the same reason, January’s Four Season’s Food Winter (co-hosted by Eat Your Veg and Delicieux) gets a hit too, with a theme of virtuous food – less duck fat! I’m also linking up to Credit Crunch Munch, also jointly hosted by Camilla at Fab Food 4 All and Helen at Fuss Free Flavours – leftover chicken, a substitution for duck and lots of veggies. And finally, to my own Simple and in Season – the carrots, cucumber and spring onions are all British and in season in January!

Blog_Events

Shredded Chicken Pancakes

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Shredded Chicken Pancakes

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An alternative to 'cripsy duck pancakes' - this is a kid-friendly and budget-friendly recipe using leftover roast chicken and plenty of raw veg, instead.

Ingredients

  • 200g shredded leftover roast chicken (around two breasts)
  • Half a cucumber
  • 2 carrots, peeled
  • 4 spring onions
  • 12 Chinese pancakes
  • 80g Hoisin or plum sauce

Instructions

  1. Shred the chicken with two forks - preferably whilst its still warm.
  2. Finely slice the cucumber, carrots and spring onions and warm the pancakes slightly, if you like.
  3. Set out the chicken, sliced vegetables and Hoisin or plum sauce. Fill each pancake with the prepared ingredients, roll up and eat.

Cuisine Asian

Let me know if you get up to anything exciting for Chinese New Year!

Baked Camembert with Smoked Chilli Honey

Camembert with Smoked Chilli Honey

As we inch closer to February, we’re nearing St Valentine’s Day and if you’re staying home this year, you might have started to think about planning your menu. You really want a menu that’s simple and not too stressful, tasty and a little bit creative. Sharing food is always nice, I think, or something that you wouldn’t eat everyday and hopefully, a dish or a meal that’s memorable.

Gran Luchito

This year I’ve been tasked by British brand Gran Luchito, to create a recipe to the theme of #SpicyValentines based upon their smoked chilli paste – available online at Amazon, or on the Ottolenghi food website, no less. Three products were sent to me as inspiration- Gran Luchito’s original smoked chilli paste, some smoked chilli mayo and some smoked chilli honey. All three products are made with rare smoked Mexican chillies, providing a spicy, sweet, smokey hit to your food. I decided to use their smoked chilli honey, as a drizzle for some baked Camembert. Brie would work nicely, too, or even a British alternative, such as this heart-shaped Daylesford Organic Baywell Cheese, spotted on Ocado.

Gran Luchito

A baked cheese is such an easy starter to make, there’s really no preparation at all, other than removing any wrapping that your cheese is in and placing it back into its little wooden container. You can also wrap it in tin foil if you prefer. I usually score a cross into the top of the cheese, just to make it easier to see the bubbles when they start oozing from the inside. After twenty minutes, carefully take your cheese out of the oven, scatter over some chopped walnuts for added crunch and drizzle over some slightly warm Gran Luchito Smoked Chilli Honey. Serve with chunks of crusty bread and be careful you don’t burn your fingers when dipping in!

Have I encouraged you to try a #SpicyValentines by adding a touch of rare Mexican smoked chilies?!

If so, here are a few more recipes to explore –

Laura’s Spiced, Honey Roast Squash, Chorizo, Prawn and Feta Salad

Katie’s Crispy Spiced Chicken

Jacqueline’s Smoked Chilli Bean Burgers

Michelle’s Salmon with Gran Luchito Honey Glaze or Trout with Gran Luchito Mayo

Nazima’s Braised Poussin with Chilli, Lime and Herb Broth

Helen’s Chilli Honey Marshmallows

Sarah’s Hot Stuff Bitesize Brownies with Oaxacan Smoked Chilli Honey (GF) 

Urvashi’s Chilli Honey Baklava

Gran Luchito

Camembert with Smoked Chilli Honey

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Baked Camembert with Smoked Chilli Honey & Walnuts

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A baked Camembert, drizzled with some Gran Luchito smoked chilli honey and scattered with walnuts - perfect for sharing

Ingredients

  • 150g Pasturised Camembert or Brie (in its box)
  • 2 teaspoons Gran Luchito Mexican Smoked Chilli Honey
  • 2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
  • 1 small ciabatta roll

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
  2. Remove any plastic wrapping or packaging from the cheese and place it back into its box. Score a cross into the top of the cheese, just piercing the rind. Place the lid back on. Bake the cheese for fifteen to twenty minutes, or until the cheese had melted in the middle.
  3. Carefully take the cheese out of the oven and place on a serving plate. In a small pan, gently warm the smoked chilli honey. Drizzle the warm honey over the cheese and sprinkle over the chopped walnuts.Serve with small chunks of crusty bread.

Courses Starter

Cuisine French

Gran Luchito-7

With thanks to Gran Luchito for this paid recipe commission; in addition to products sent, my time and additional ingredients were covered. 

What are you thinking of eating or serving for Valentine’s Day?

Coronation Turkey Picnic Rolls

Ever since eating a steaming hot jacket potato recently in a Welsh café, topped with coronation chicken (and discovering that the kids liked it, too) I’ve been making my own version at home. So, when Lean on Turkey asked me to create a recipe suitable for kids and picnics (under £10) we decided on some coronation turkey picnic rolls. You could also fill some tasty wraps with the filling, or even stir it through some pasta to make a coronation turkey pasta salad. Coronation chicken was a dish first said to have been created for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, made with cold chicken, raisins, herbs and spices. We swapped traditional chicken for some shredded, cooked turkey adding a few dollops of light mayo, curry powder, raisins and chopped mango. If you don’t want your rolls or wraps to go soggy, either line them with lettuce (as we did) or else take the coronation turkey mix in a separate jar and fill when you arrive at your favourite picnic destination!

Coronation Turkey

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Coronation Turkey

Breakdown of costs – with some ingredients leftover

Roast Turkey Breast Slices – £2.49

Essentials Waitrose Mayonnaise – £1.09 (500ml)

Curry Powder – £1.25 (100g)

Raisins – £1.00

Mango – £1.75

Lettuce – £1.00

Oaten Bread Rolls x 4 – £1.14

Total – £9.72 

Coronation Turkey

More picnic recipes –

Polish Carrot and Apple Salad

Nigella’s Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes

Seasonal Cherry and Almond Traybake

Pear and Chocolate Brownies

You could also try my first recipe for the Lean on Turkey Challenge – Turkey and Leek Meatballs with Tomato Tagliatelle.

Sponsored Post + cost of ingredients covered

With many thanks to Lean on Turkey for asking me to create a picnic recipe. 

Recipe – Bethany Kehdy’s Whipped Hummus with Lamb

Yesterday I wrote about a stunning new book by Bethany Kehdy called The Jewelled Kitchen and today, as promised, I’m sharing a recipe I made from the book called Whipped Hummus with Lamb. I very nearly made the Spiced Naked Sausages from the Mezze section, but at the last minute the children asked for hummus and so it was that I made this recipe instead. The recipe is in two parts – the hummus, made with either dried chickpeas (soaked overnight and cooked) or canned chickpeas, which is what I used.  I used my Vitamix machine, but you could use a standard food processor. The second part is the cooked lamb. Adding the lamb is optional, but cooked with onion, garlic, pine nuts, pomegranate molasses and a pinch of allspice you won’t be able to resist those heady, Arabic smells. Grab some warm flat bread, drizzle with olive oil and dig in!

Whipped Hummus with Lamb
From The Jewelled Kitchen by Bethany Kehdy © Duncan Baird Publishers 2013, commissioned photography by Šárka Babická

Recipe extracted with permission from The Jewelled Kitchen  ©  Bethany Kehdy 2013 published by Duncan Baird Publishers, London

Whipped Hummus with Lamb

Hummus means chickpea in Arabic. This is a great blank canvas recipe for the simple hummus b tahini dip everyone is now familiar with (see steps 1–4). Adding lamb or preserved meat (awarma) is one serving option which is traditional in the Levant, but feel free to omit the lamb topping or allow your imagination to take over. Olive oil is not an ingredient used to make whipped hummus and is only used as a garnish.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus soaking the chickpeas (optional)

Cooking time: 15 minutes, plus cooking the chickpeas until they are very soft (optional)

FOR THE HUMMUS

2 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp lemon juice, plus extra if needed

100g/31/2oz/1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked (see page 215) or 200g/7oz/1 cup tinned chickpeas

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

3 small ice cubes

a pinch of ground allspice

sea salt

FOR THE LAMB

15g/1/2oz salted butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp pine nuts

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

85g/3oz minced lamb

11/2 tsp pomegranate molasses

a pinch of ground allspice

pomegranate seeds (see page 216), to sprinkle

chopped mint leaves, to sprinkle

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

TO SERVE

warm Arabic Bread (see page 217)

or Toasted Triangles (see page 49)

Method

1 To make the hummus, put the tahini, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water in a bowl and mix until well incorporated.

2 Drain the chickpeas, then immediately loosen their skins by rinsing them under cold running water several times. Cover the chickpeas with water and swish them with your hands several times to loosen any more skins. Discard any of the loose skins. Drain the chickpeas again.

3 Immediately transfer the drained chickpeas and the garlic to a food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds. Add an ice cube to the chickpea mixture and pulse again until it’s incorporated, then repeat with the remaining two ice cubes until a smooth paste is formed.

4 Pour in the tahini and lemon mixture and pulse again until it forms a smooth, well-blended purée. Add the allspice and season to taste with salt, then pulse once more for about 1 minute until all is well incorporated. If the hummus is too thick, add a little more lemon juice and/or water (being careful not to dilute the zesty flavours). Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl, cover and set aside.

5 To make the lamb mixture, melt the butter in a heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat, add the onion and cook for 3–4 minutes until soft and translucent. Stir in the pine nuts and cook for a further 2 minutes until they just start to brown.

6 Add the garlic to the pan and mix well, then cook for about 1 minute until aromatic. Add the lamb and stir well, then cook for no more than 3–4 minutes, until just browned. Pour the pomegranate molasses over the lamb mixture, stir in the allspice and season with salt and pepper.

7 Create a crater in the middle of the hummus and spoon the hot meat and any juices into the well. Sprinkle the lamb with pomegranate seeds and mint and serve with warm Arabic Bread.

Whipped_Hummus
My version – a big thumbs up!

With many thanks to Bethany and Duncan Baird Publishers for allowing me to share this recipe with you as part of The Jewelled Kitchen virtual book launch.

 

Food on BBC Three Counties Radio and a Mushroom and Thyme Cream Bruschetta Recipe

On Saturday I was very lucky again to be invited back onto BBC Three Counties Radio as a guest on Nick Coffer’s Weekend Kitchen. What fun! It’s always such a great show to listen to and even more enjoyable to take part as a guest. The show involves two hours of food, talk and music along with host Nick Coffer. What’s not to love?! I was slightly thrown by the fact that it was a vegetarian-themed week, but I managed to pull three tasty and easy recipes out of the bag and luckily, there were no Bridget Jones-type moments live on air. 

My veggie offerings included a Mushroom Bruschetta with Thyme Cream, a Roasted Farmer’s Market Vegetable Penne Pasta with Local Goat’s Cheese (Childwickbury) and to finish, Victoria Plum & Almond Muffins with lashings of warm vanilla custard.

Three simple vegetarian, seasaonl treats

My two co-pilots were local foodies too, a lovely lady named Kate Keane who has impressively launched her own company called Whole Food Creations making wholemeal pizza and wholemeal pizza bases. Kate cleverly spotted  a gap in the market for wholemeal pizza and started her company by making them from home and selling them at her local farmer’s market. The pizzas are now produced on a larger scale and can be found in shops and online. They were thin, crispy and delicious and Kate was kind enough to share her recipe for the wholemeal bases, too. I’m definitely a convert and the kids would never know they were eating something that is good for them, especially piled high with lots of veggies.

We were also joined by Frances Hale who runs at vintage tea room at the Copper Beach Art Gallery in a Hertfordshire village called Little Wymondley. Fran made a Spinach, Pesto and Ricotta Quiche as well as her brilliantly named Disgustingly Gorgeous Chocolate Cheesecake. The best tip I took from the show was from Fran who said that she lines a deep cake tin with tin foil first, before lining the tin with pastry – letting the edges of the pastry hang over the edge. After blind baking the pastry until it is almost fully baked, she then spoons a layer of red or green pesto in the bottom before filling with the pastry with the creamy quiche mix. Once cooked, she takes the quiche outside and gently chops away the edges, leaving the crumbs for the birds! Adding pistachio to the crumb of her cheesecake was also a great tip, too.

To say that we were well and truly spoilt and well-fed would be an understatement. I made two new friends and am looking forward to visiting Fran and her fellow artists at the art gallery and tea rooms soon.  

Fran’s ‘Disgustingly Gorgeous Chocolate Cheesecake’

You can find all the recipes via the link to the Weekend Kitchen Fact Sheet here. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with my Mushroom and Thyme Cream Brushetta recipe in case you are in need of some inspiration for tonight’s supper.

You can listen to a recording of the show here on iPlayer up until this Saturday.    

Ren’s Mushroom Bruschetta with Thyme Cream

Ingredients

Serves 4

  • 4 slices artisan baked bread, such as sour dough
  • 300ml double cream
  • 2 springs fresh thyme
  • 1 garlic clove, whole
  • 50g vegetarian Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped/minced
  • 500g mixed mushrooms, such as chestnut, oyster, finely sliced

Method

  1. To make the thyme cream, pour the double cream into a small pan, add the thyme springs, whole garlic clove and grated vegetarian Parmesan cheese and leave to boil gently. The cream will reduce and become thicker.  
  2. In a separate frying pan, pour in two tablespoons of olive oil, add the onions and gently fry for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the finely sliced mushrooms and stir well, cook gently for five minutes, or until the mushrooms are soft.
  3. Take the double cream off the heat and carefully take out the thyme sprigs and garlic clove. Stir well. Pour the thyme cream over the mushrooms, stir well again.
  4. Toast the sourdough bread and drizzle over a tablespoon of olive oil. Spoon the creamy mushrooms over the toast and serve immediately.  

 

Thank you to Nick, Emma and Alex at BBC Three Counties for inviting me back onto the show.

 

Silvena Rowe’s Watermelon and Feta Salad with Za’atar Crumble

Ottoman-inspired food. Not something that you might come across everyday, but what a treat. There is something quite magical about the blending of sweet with sour, hints of honey, sprinkles of sumac, cinnamon, cumin, za’atar. Street markets offering marinated meats, shawarma, garlic sauce, tahini, preserved chillis. Mezze tables with olives, hummus, freshly baked flat bread. Fresh flavours of parsley, mint, lemon. Sweet figs, orange blossom, pistachio, pomegranate, rose petals. My dream feast, my inspired table.

This month’s Random Recipe challenge set by Dom at Belleau Kitchen was to go back to basics, to pick a book, any book and cook from it. Bulgarian-born Chef Silvena Rowe’s Orient Express has been sitting on my shelf for many months. Fast food from the eastern Mediterranean. Small dishes, lightness, hints of Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume; the brilliant book she wrote before this one.

I openend the book at page 19, a chapter named Za’atar and Saffron, and my challenge was simple; Watermelon and Cherry Tomato Salad with Feta, Almond and Za’atar Crumble.

I followed Silvena’s recipe in the book, making one simple addition of a chopped white peach. The sweetness is already there in the watermelon, the peach just added an extra flavour hit. I also used one whole ripe tomato in place of cherry tomatoes. Fresh mint, feta cheese, flaked almonds, a sprinkle of za’atar – a spice blend made up of sesame seeds, thyme, cumin and ground sumac. You can blend your own following Silvena’s recipe here  or buy it in the shops now. A few pretty white, nasturtiums to decorate. This salad is full of summer, an explosion of fresh, bold flavour.

Watermelons remind Silvena Rowe of her upbringing in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, within the Ottoman Empire. She remembers piles of watermelon at the market, ripe and ready for a hot sunny afternoon. This salad reminded me to book a holiday abroad, to go an explore the street food and street markets of the eastern Mediterranean.

I’m sending this recipe across to three wonderful blog events and also linking it up to Simple and in Season, too, here at Fabulicious Food.


1. Random Recipes at Belleau Kitchen – Challenge #19 Let’s start at the very beginning.

2. Monthly Mingle Street Food Challenge hosted by Zizi’s Adventures

3. The One Ingredient Challenge hosted by Working London Mummy and Laura from How to Cook with a theme of peaches.

Other recipes in Orient Express I’d like to cook are:

Za’atar Crispy Fried Calamari

Orange and Za’atar Marinated Haloumi

Chilli Chickpea Street Pilaf

Lamb Moussaka Rolls

Honey and Ginger Roasted Apricots with Ricotta

 

Where would your ultimate food adventures take you? To the Ottoman Empire, or beyond?

 

Fresh Buffalo Mozzarella and Tomato Salad

I think this is my favourite salad. It is so easy to throw together and any variation on it is welcome at my table. This time, I used a fresh, creamy Buffalo Mozarella, bought from Tony’s Italian deli, Buongiorno Italia in St Albans. The tomatoes are fresh plum tomatoes, now in season. A handful of rocket leaves and a few black olives. Some avocado wouldn’t have been out of place. A drizzle of good quality olive oil is essential. Usually, I go for a Tuscan olive oil, but this week I’ve been trying a hand picked, cold pressed olive oil made from Koroneiki olives called Olive Branch produced by a family who live locally to me in Hertfordshire, from olive farms in Crete. I think it stood up to the Italian ingredients well and it positively loved the fresh tomatoes.

My sister and niece also came over from Italy and brought me a small bottle of Crema Con Aceto Balsamico di Modena – a beautiful thick Balsamic glaze, which seeped into the olive oil and into the fresh cheese bringing it all to life. We ate the salad with a few slices of mortadella from Bologna and proscuitto crudo served on a board. Delizioso.

The summer holidays have arrived! I have realised that the only way I’m going to be able to keep up with blogging is to keep my posts short and simple. Is that possible? Let’s see…   

I’m sending this salad across to Fleur at Homemade by Fleur who is hosting Simple and in Season for me this month as well as to Laura at How to Cook Good Food who co-hosts the One Ingredient Challenge with Working London Mummy. July’s ingredient is tomatoes.

What have you been eating now our summer seems to have finally arrived?!

  

With thanks to Olive Branch for the sample bottle of olive oil.

 

 

Polish Carrot and Apple Salad (Surówka z Marchewki)

There comes a point at which you have to stop eating cake. It is a sad point, but one that is necessary and as we come into summer, now is the perfect time to switch from baking to salad eating. I can see me holding out for, hmn, let’s see, about a week!

On the plus side, I have plenty of tasty Polish salad recipes to encourage me (and hopefully you, too) to eat some healthy food. My first point of call is usually a Polish potato salad  (you still get some carbs) with hard boiled egg, pickled cucumber (optional) and a bit of mayo. My second favourite is one called Surówka, literally meaning raw, and you can make it with lots of things. Grated cabbage (red and/or white) mixed with carrot, for example, is similar to coleslaw. My mum makes the best homemade coleslaw, replacing the raw onions with apple. Much better. Then there is a traditional Carrot and Apple salad (recipe below), which is even lovelier. You can add in a few sultanas and a squeeze or two of lemon juice and even a sprinkle of caraway seeds. I also have great recipes for a cucumber salad, with sour cream and dill to share, as well a Ruska Salata, or Russian Salad, made with lots of vegetables, adopted by the Poles. This salad is eaten by everyone, everywhere in Poland!

To make my Carrot and Apple Salad, I used the Russell Hobbs fine slicing disk on the Desire food processor that I am currently testing (and giving away a second one here) but, of course, you can grate your carrot and apple using a traditional grater, too. Extra calories expended! Sprinkle over a little feta cheese and you have a lovely lunch box or main salad. I have mine with potato salad served alongside.

 

Salads are a fab way to get kids involved in the kitchen – not with the grating – but with the mixing. And you might find they will even pick at some of it, too. Double bonus.

[gmc_recipe 5189]

I’m sending this leafless salad (ignore the pea shoots, they are not really leaves) across to Jacqueline who is hosting the No Croutons Challenge this month. Thank you so much to Lisa who hosted the May round and very kindly let me know that my British Asparagus, Mozarella and Egg Salad won!

I’m also very pleased to be able to send this simple salad across to Laura at How to Cook Good Food who is hosting this month’s Simple and in Season. You should be able to find some tasty English carrots and heritage apples around at the moment.


What’s your favourite salad?! How long do you think I’ll last for?!

British Asparagus, Mozzarella Salad

Is it hot or cold, do we have sunshine or rain? Is anyone else confused?!  Up until yesterday, we were eating warming soups and stews, today, the sunnier and more in keeping with spring weather, inspired this lovely bright British asparagus, mozzarella, tomato and egg salad. This is a sort of cross between asparagus with poached egg (a heavenly combination) and an Italian tomato and mozzarella salad, though on this plate, all the ingredients are British. It goes perfectly with a glass of fizz and you’ll find out why I’ve been drinking that a little later on!

 

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Baked Aubergine (Yotam Ottolenghi Recipe)

I have to say that when I popped into my local Morrisons store this week, I did not expect to be met by such an amazing array of seasonal fruit and vegetables. I almost started taking photographs, but held back, in case someone thought I was mad. They did recently refurbish the store and so now it has a true ‘market’ feel but the produce was really far beyond anything I’ve ever seen at a supermarket in Britain before. Much of it was organic, there was also a section of locally grown produce as well as more unusual varieties of fruits and vegetables, such as the graffiti aubergines and the candy striped beetroot below, as well as fresh pomegranates. There must have been at least twenty different varieties of chili, fresh herbs and salad leaves kept watered and fresh, British heritage varieties of apples, pears as well as bang-in-season fresh spinach, artichokes, salsify, wild mushrooms, really everything you could imagine or look for. I am converted. It is so encouraging to see supermarkets really starting to support and push British seasonal produce and offer it at a reasonable cost.

Find the recipe here:

When I came home I immediately dived into one of my favourite cook books, Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi  to find a recipe for Aubergines with Buttermilk Sauce. I didn’t have lemon thyme, so I just used grated lemon zest and that seemed to work fine. Everything else was as Yotam suggests.

I will say without hesitation that this dish is simple to prepare – watch the lovely Yotam make it on You Tube here – (I could just keep this playing and listen to it all day!) When cooked, it looks visually beautiful (perfect for a dinner party) and tastes delicious. I was happy to be able to use some of my Steenbergs Za’atar  (Steenbergs make organic and Fairtrade herbs and spices) which was screaming to be used since being found inside my goodie bag from Food Blogger Connect over the summer. All in all, a fun and inspiring trip to the shops and a simple but tasty lunch!  I will be linking this up with Simple and in Season where already the entries are coming in thick and fast!

 

This week I also got to meet Karen from Lavender and Lovage for lunch. Karen is based in South West France and has immersed herself this year into food blogging, having been already made a career out of professional food writing, photography and food styling, writing features and columns for Country Kitchen magazine as well as other British publications. Karen and I easily spent almost three hours chatting about food, blogging and how much we both enjoy being part of such a friendly online community.  We both said how much we enjoyed finally meeting one another, it’s always lovely to be able to meet in person, in addition to enthusiastically tweeting and commenting on posts! Karen was very sweet to my children and bought me some lovely French chocolat au Citron Noir (delicious) and also these beautiful cabbage plants. In the time that we spent together I also became slightly addicted to the Oreo Cookie Hot Chocolate I was drinking ay the Secret Garden Cafe in St Albans! Thank you Karen for my gifts and for coming to meet us.

So that’s it for now, the end of another busy half-term week. A burst pipe in my kitchen is being fixed as I type, Halloween is looming, I have to work on my macaron making skills as I have been sent a lovely gift set to try by Lakeland and next week will mark my first year of blogging milestone! I’ve also been challenged to take part in a video blogging competition, which I’m very nervous about but will do my best! 

Later today I’ll also be announcing the winner of the Leon Baking & Puddings cook book giveaway which has been very popular. There’s still time to enter if you haven’t already. 

What are your plans for the weekend? Have you been inspired by any produce or cookbooks this week?

 

Beetroot, Feta and Walnut Salad

I was having a chat on Twitter earlier on with Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes about the lovely sunny weather today, which made us both feel like eating salad. Totally the opposite to yesterday’s weather, which actually saw me making a huge Cottage Pie!

Jacqueline mentioned her love of a ‘Caprese’ salad, with tomatoes and mozzarella adding fresh avocado too. I also love the simplicity of such a salad, especially with a few basil leaves thrown over the top from the garden and even a sprinkle of puy lentils and balsamic vinegar. 
 
Today, however, I fancied a Beetroot, Feta and Walnut Salad which really couldn’t be simpler. I first had this salad at Marco Pierre White’s restaurant when I went along to a cookery demonstration there. I came home, immediately re-created it and have been making it ever since. 
Print

Beetroot, Feta and Walnut Salad

A light salad using seasonal beetroot, paired with feta cheese and walnuts

Ingredients

  • 250g Beetroot, drained (*See note below for fresh beetroot)
  • 150g Feta Cheese or Goat's Cheese
  • 8-10 Walnuts
  • 1 Tablespoon rapeseed or olive oil
  • 1/2 Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • A scattering of fresh herbs (baby basil or baby coriander)

Instructions

  1. Thinly slice the beetroot (I use a knife but you could use a mandolin) and scatter it over a large plate.
  2. Chop up some walnuts or lightly toasted pine nuts and sprinkle over.
  3. Crumble over some feta cheese, as much or as little as you like. Goat's cheese would be fine too or even Lancashire cheese.
  4. Drizzle with rapeseed or olive oil and season with the pepper. Add a few basil or micro leaves to dress.

Notes

If using fresh seasonal beetroot, remove any stalks or leaves but leave the beetroot whole and leave the skin on to prevent it from bleeding. Boil in a large pan of water for 1-1/2 hours until tender. Wear plastic gloves and peel the skin off by hand. Alternatively, microwave the beetroot (again, skin on) for 8-10 minutes.

 
I hope you get to try this simple, seasonal salad.

Fresh Pasta with Asparagus, Goat’s Cheese and Lemon

I was challenged by the lovely Giulia of Juls’ Kitchen to make fresh pasta for this month’s Monthly Mingle. This was such an exciting challenge for me, since I recently took a pasta class with Katie Caldesi to learn exactly how to make it although since taking the class I hadn’t put my new found skills to the test. So, the question for me was whether I had actually retained any information from that day?! My first stop was a visit to Buongiorno Italia, an award-winning local Italian food store close to my home. With Giulia as our judge, I was determined to do this the Italian way!

Established over 30 years ago, Buongiorno Italia is exactly the type of food store you want to have on your doorstep. Tony, the owner, goes to Covent Garden Market to bring back the best seasonal produce every week as well as stocking a huge array of authentic Italian food, including cheese, cured meats, olives, pasta, cakes, wine and lots more (including a small selection of Polish food which I was also pleased to spot!) Tony was lovely to chat to and he showed me his plans for expanding the store so that by the summer he will have some outdoor seating and an authentic cappuccino bar.

I was immediately inspired by the fresh produce on offer, finding some lovely bundles of British asparagus, new season’s garlic (the best I’ve ever seen) and even more exciting some goat’s cheese made on a local farm called Childwickbury by Liz and David Harris, nestled alongside the Italian cheeses. I think it is really nice to see local produce being showcased as well as Italian produce and of course, I couldn’t resist buying some Polish pasta, pierogi since they were there.

This is exactly what I love about local food shopping – you don’t always find the obvious, but in many cases you stumble across some real treats. I also picked up some ’00’ grade Italian pasta flour, some fresh, large free range eggs and a very fragrant tub of fresh basil.

      
I have no idea whether Italians would put asparagus, garlic and goat’s cheese together but I do know that Italians are very keen to use local produce and that they let the flavours of fresh food do the talking, so why not? I also had some lemon-infused olive oil at home, though regular olive oil would have been fine, perhaps just with a grating of fresh lemon zest at the end. As it’s National Vegetarian Week it was also nice to create a meal without using meat.

Back at home, the next challenge to overcome was the fact that I had not managed to find a  pasta machine. A quick phone call to a friend out in town revealed only one machine which was £60 in a cook shop. It may have been the crème de la crème of pasta machines, but I think it is a lot of money to spend especially if it is not something you will use every day. Though we had been taught how to make pasta using a machine in the class, a quick flick through ‘The Italian Cookery Course’ by Katie Caldesi (which I very much enjoyed reviewing recently for The Foodie Bugle) suggested that I could make and cut fresh pasta entirely by hand so I decided to give it a go without the machine.

I’m relieved to say that it worked just fine, though I will look into buying a pasta machine in the long run as I think you are able to get your pasta slightly thinner (it should be almost see-through) – although not having one shouldn’t deter you as my hand-rolled, hand-cut pasta actually tasted delicious. Next time I will try experimenting with beetroot to make lovely purple beetroot pasta.

To roll and cut by hand, you go through the basic stages of making a pasta dough and then you roll it on a floured surface until it is as thin as you can get it. You then roll up the two edges until they meet in the middle and using a sharp knife cut the pasta into the width you want it. You can then slide your knife beneath the pasta and as you lift the pasta up the rolls unfold.

I also found a handy step-by-step guide by Jamie Oliver – How to make fresh pasta 

I used one egg to 100g of flour and that made enough for about two portions. If you make more, you would have to split the dough into smaller portions (and keep it covered) to have enough room to roll it all out.

The pasta making was fun and I ended up with a really delicious meal – definitely superior to any shop-bought pasta though of course, you could make this recipe by using any type of pasta you fancy. I’m so pleased I did give this a go myself at home and that I had remembered everything that Katie had taught me!
Pasta with Asparagus, Goat’s Cheese & Lemon

Serves 4

Ingredients:
 
Fresh pasta (use 6 eggs and 600g of flour for four people)
OR – the best pasta you can buy if not fresh
2 bundles (500g) fresh Asparagus
4 cloves garlic
A drizzle of lemon-infused olive oil
OR plain olive oil plus a tablespoon of fresh lemon zest
140g Goat’s Cheese
A handful of  fresh basil leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
 
Method:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius

2. If you are making fresh pasta it would be better to do this first as the pasta should be left to rest for around thirty minutes.

3. Chop your asparagus into bite sized/2cm pieces and put them in a baking tin along with the cloves of garlic (no need to peel), a sprinkling of sea salt, fresh pepper and a drizzle of lemon  or plain olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
 
4. Boil a large pan of water, add a tablespoon of salt and cook your pasta according to the instructions (fresh pasta doesn’t need long at all so keep testing it to see if it is cooked.)
 
5. Drain the pasta, saving about two tablespoons of the pasta water.
 
6. Take your tray of asparagus from the oven and pick out the garlic cloves from the roasting tin (they will have infused the oil enough) and tumble the pasta into the tin with the roasted asparagus. Drizzle with more olive oil so that all the pasta is coated.
 
7. Crumble over the goat’s cheese, sprinkle with fresh lemon zest and a handful of basil leaves. Serve!
 
 
“Buon Appetito!” – I am looking forward to seeing how every one else got on with this month’s slightly more challenging mingle!
 
Thank you Giulia for setting this challenge – it was exactly what I needed and has definitely encouraged me to experiment more and continue to make fresh pasta at home.
 

Lentil & Walnut Salad with Feta Roasted Salmon (Nigella)

The theme for Forever Nigella #5 has been announced by Dom at Belleau Kitchen and it is to be “Salad Days.” As we roll into some warmer weather I am told food becomes less “heavy and stodgy.” Personally, I would just carry on eating the stodge as I’m not much of a salad girl myself, but I have to say, I am always inspired by Nigella’s salads. I think its probably because Nigella does a great job of padding things out and making her meals substantial, even though they may be ‘light.’

I was after something really quick and easy to make for supper so I turned to ‘Nigella Express,’ which has lots of ideas for speedy meals. I did have two salmon fillets to use, so I baked them in the oven, drizzled with olive oil, dotted with a teeny amount of butter, seasoned with salt and pepper and scattered with some feta and lemon zest and a bit of parsley. I confess to not having much else around, so my attention was drawn to the very back of the book to a section entitled “Storecupboard SOS.” I found a lovely sounding ‘Lentil and Walnut Salad’ and though I had most of the ingredients to hand, namely a packet of lentils, some walnuts and walnut oil, I did have to substitute chives for a bit of rocket and sherry vinegar for white balsamic vinegar. You can leave the walnuts chunkier or chop them finer for more texture and I doubled the vinegar and oil quantities as I wanted the dressing to soak into the lentils as well as coat the rocket leaves.
The whole thing worked very well and since I was unusually cooking for one, there was even enough for left for a lunch box for today. Nigella suggests serving this salad with her Golden Goat’s Cheese, which I will definitely try next time. Grilled Halloumi would be great too for a vegetarian alternative, but the salmon topped with feta went so well with the crunchy walnuts and sweet but sharp white balsamic. This would also make a great supper for friends.

So, that’s me converted to salad then. Can’t wait to see the round up for some more lovely ideas.

Nigella’s Lentil & Walnut Salad
with Feta Roasted Salmon
(Lentil & Walnut Salad adapted from Nigella Express)

Ingredients
For the salmon –
2 fillets of salmon
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
30g cubed or crumbled Feta cheese
A teaspoon of greated lemon zest
A sprinkle of herbs – parsley or mint

For the Lentil & Walnut Salad
400g can organic Puy lentils (ready cooked)
A handful of rocket leaves
50g walnut pieces (finely chopped)
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 teaspoons walnut oil
4 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius. Place salmon on a baking try on a piece of lightly oiled baking paper
2. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over the cumbled Feta cheese and the lemon zest. Bake in the oven for fifteen minutes or until cooked through
3. Drain and rinse the lentils and put them in a bowl with the finely chopped walnuts and rocket salad leaves
4. Whisk together the walnut oil and vinegar, season with salt and pepper and stir together well
5. Once the salmon is cooked, pile on a plate and eat!
Serves 2 or 1 plus lunch the next day