I found this lovely simple recipe is good with fresh mint or fresh basil. Really refreshing summer fare, do try it! nibblous.com : Raw courgette salad
Category: food
Sigara Boregi
This recipe was given to me by Sibel, a friend of Rebecca’s from Brighton. The name of these turkish pastries means cigarette borek(wrap). Ideally you will need some turkish filo pastry called “yufka”. Available in most turk or greek shops. If not regular filo will do the job. You will also need feta cheese and parsley for filling.
Mix these together. Cut the yufka in 15cm (6″) triangles (the stuff i bought was already triangular). The yufka is usually round so cut it like you would slicing pizza! Put 2 teaspoons of filling on the wider side of triangle, fold 1″ on each side of filling, and roll them up to cigar looking shapes. These will then be fried in a pan with veg oil. When they are golden brown, they are crispy and ready. Very filling snack. Melt in the mouth cheese! Good luck and Afiyet olsun (bon appetit in turkish).
One note since i tried this: don’t be tempted to put more than a scant 2 tsp of the feta parsely mix in the rolls, as it will ooze out the sides and get very messy!
Orange and red onion salad with cumin
This recipe is taken from Spanish food and cooking by Pepita Aris – a fantastic recipe book Magdalena gave me with lots of information about Spanish cuisine and seductive photography!
(serves six)
Ingredients:
6 oranges
2 red onions
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coarsley ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
6 tbsp olive oil
salt
to garnish:
fresh mint sprigs
black olives
It is important to let the salad stand before serving. This allows the flavours to develop and the pungent taste of the onion to soften slightly.
Method
Using a sharp knife, slice the oranges thinly, working over a bowl to catch any juice. Then, holding each orange slice in turn over the bowl, cut round the middle fleshy section with scissors to remove the peel and pith. Reserve the juice. Slice the two red onions thinly and separate the rings.
Arrange the orange and onion slices in layers in a shallow dish, sprinkling each layer with cumin seeds, pepper, mint, live oil and salt. Pour in the reserved orange juice. Leave to marinate in a cool place for about 2 hours. Just before serving, scatter with the mint sprigs and black olives.
Red Rice Salad with Feta Cheese
Now I’m getting an almost weekly supply of rocket in my veg box I have looked out this wonderful recipe which I’ve enjoyed many a summer’s day. Try it! Camargue Red Rice Salad with Feta Cheese from Delia Online
Surowka with Asian Influences
This salad looks exquisite, the combination of colours – white, orange, purple and pink where the beetroot juice runs – are unusal, flower-like and mesmerising. No photo for you here though – you will just have to make it and see!
(this recipe serves 3-4 as a large side dish)
Ingredients
1/4 large white cabbage, shredded
2 med-large carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 large beetroot (raw), peeled and grated
(For dressing)
3 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp/ freshly juiced orange (half a small one)
dash of lemon juice (exclude if orange is very acidic)
1 tbsp very finely chopped fresh ginger
2-3 drops sesame seed oil
2-3 drops tamari
(To garnish)
1 tbsp each of sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, toasted
1 orange, peeled and broken into segments (which you could peel aswell if you have time on your hands!)
Method – it’s obvious but here it is anyway…
I find grate-ing the carrot and beetroot in a food processor gives the best result in terms of texture/thickness – but grating by hand will do if its all you have. Toss the vegetables together in a large bowl. Whisk all the dressing indredients together then stir into salad. Throw in the toasted seeds and mix again. Serve, decorated with a few whole or half segments of orange. Enjoy!
West Mersea oysters
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Alice, Lewis, North and I kick off New Year’s eve with some West Mersea oysters and champagne on location at The Company Shed. This fish shop-cafe-bistro serves hot and cold fish and it’s bring your own everything else, so that’s bread, salad, wine etc!
Surówka (winter vegetable salad)
Surówka
(pronounced su-roof-ka)
A photo of this salad done without the celeriac.
Okay so there is no hard and fast recipe to this, you just learn to use what you have got and vary it according to mood. My favourite variation follows, its great for colour to brighten up a dark wintery day and tastes delicious and very moreish.
Ingredients
1/2 red cabbage
3-4 carrots
1 small celeriac
handful (total) of seeds/nuts eg sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, cashew nuts
fresh parsley (if you have some)
For dressing:
a lemon
olive oil
honey
grainy mustard
salt and pepper
Method
Finely slice the red cabbage (i don’t recommend using a food processor as it shreds the cabbage too fine) and peel and then julienne/grate the carrots and celeriac (food processor comes in handy here!). Mix all together in a large bowl.
Make up a dressing to your taste, lemon juice is particularly good here but otherwise its variable. I do 1/3 lemon juice to 2/3 oil (total half filling a small jar), a 1/2 tsp each of honey and mustard and then season it.
Toast the seeds/nuts in a small frying pan until they are lightly browned and make popping sounds. Do watch these as the cook, if you try and do something else you risk forgetting and letting them burn – believe me as one who has tried!
Now just throw it all together – toss the dressing in, stir in some roughly chopped parsley and sprinkle with the toasted seeds.
This salad can last a couple days – i find its really nice to take for lunch alongside a sandwich. I would say if you don’t polish it off in your first sitting then enjoy it in the next day or so while its still fresh and crisp.
Baida vindaloo (Vinegared eggs)
Serves 3 – 4
Ingredients
4 Cloves garlic, peeled
2.5 cm cube fresh ginger, peeled and very finely grated
1/8 – 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsps ground paprika
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 1/2 tbsps brown sugar
2 tbsp plus 150 ml mild white vinegar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2.5cm cinnamon stick
225g onions, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp garam masala
175 ml water
6 – 8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut crosswise into halves
Method
Mash or Crush the garlic cloves to a pulp
Combine the garlic, ginger, cayenne, paprika, cumin, salt, brown sugar and 2 tablespoons vinegar in a cup or small bowl. Mix well.
Put the oil in a medium-sized frying -pan and set over medium heat. When hot, put in the cinnamon stick. Let it sizzle for a few seconds. Now put in all the onions. Stir and fry for about 5 minutes or until the onions have softened.
Put in the paste from the cup as well as the garam masala. Stir and fry for 2 minutes.
Add 150ml vinegar and 175ml water. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer. Put all the egg halves into the frying-pan in a single layer, cut side up, and spoon the sauce over them. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the sauce over them. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Spoon the sauce frequently over the eggs as you do so.
From Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery 2002
Keyboard Crumber* fun
Not that I am a keyboard crumber* or anything, but doing some lunchtime
surfing I stumbled upon this incredible fan blog which is dedicated to some cafe in Newcastle and the wonderful food, mostly sandwiches, that they serve. Now that’s some serious fans or seriously good viral advertising! blog.ilovebelleandherbs.co.uk/
* this is a new expression i’m introducing, which means a person who eats lunch at their desk, obviously!
Oven-roasted Fish with Potatoes and Salsa Verde
Oven-roasted Fish with Potatoes and Salsa Verde – when i made this it didn’t look a blind bit like the photograph on Delia’s site, but it was absolutely delicious – Alice and Lewis can vouch for that most recently.