Salmon and Puy Lentil salad with olive dressing

July 31, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is my favorite light, lunch or supper salad to entertain with. Everybody seems to love it, and again, it’s fairly effortless. As I get older, I seem to gravitate towards the simpler and interesting flavors.

Serves 4 but can be stretched and doubled so easily. It also only takes 20 minutes to prep.

*Use plenty of seasoning on this salad.

Ingredients for dressing
1/2 good sized cup of pitted Kalamata olives (all these measurements are according to taste)
5 tbsp good olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp small capers

Ingredients for the salad
1/2 lb pack of fine or ordinary green beans
4 eggs
1lb cooked or steamed Puy lentils ( I buy them ready done in a vacuum pack from the supermarket.)
4 large tomatoes, chopped roughly
1/2lb cold or room temp cooked salmon flaked into large chunks. (Here, I buy uncooked, skinned wild salmon and saute it on fairly high heat, taking if off the heat while it’s still fairly “rare” and leaving it to one side till needed)
Good handful of arugula leaves (Rocket)

* Although not in this recipe, you can also add coarsely chopped avocado.

Chop half the olives (set the rest aside) then mix with the remaining dressing ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

Boil the green beans for 5 minutes till just tender, then refresh in cold water. Set aside.
Put the eggs in cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 5 minutes. Cool, then shell and halve or quarter. Set aside.

Heat the lentils in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes on high. Tip into a bowl and toss with the tomatoes, most of the dressing, the whole olives and green beans. Toss well and taste for seasoning.

Lay out on a decorative platter and arrange the egg pieces and salmon on top, scattering with the arugula leaves and finish with the remaining dressing.
Serve with some crusty bread.

Asian flavors · Gluten Free · Poultry

Chicken Jalfrezi

July 31, 2011February 8, 2016 Belinda

This is my new favorite easy and light chicken dish. The spices are refreshing but different and the sauce is so light and fragrant. c/o BBC Good Food.

serves 4 Ready in 45 minutes

Ingredients
groundnut or canola oil
1 large onion, sliced
2-3 green chillies, sliced
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger root
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets (I use free range, organic)
5 good sized tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 green pepper, chopped into pieces
1 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves picked off
1 small pot natural yoghurt
steamed rice or naan
(I serve it with roasted cauliflower florets tossed in roasted cumin and olive oil)

Spice Mix
1 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin (again, I roast my cumin then grind it as it’s more pungent that way)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves, ground

Method
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan. Add the onion and a good pinch of salt, then fry for about 6 – 8 minutes until golden.

Add chillies, garlic and ginger. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes. Add the spice mix and cook for another couple of minutes until fragrant.

Add the chicken and cook for 3 – 4 minutes then add the tomatoes and green peppers and a splash of water or chicken stock, and stir well.
Cover the pan and cook for about 30 minutes until the chicken is tender and the sauce thickened. It’s worth uncovering the chicken after 15 minutes so the sauce can thicken a bit.
Stir the yoghurt into the chicken off the heat (it will curdle if it boils) for a creamier sauce. Stir in the cilantro and check the seasoning.
Serve with the rice, naan bread or roasted cauliflower florets.

Appetizers · Do-ahead · Fish · Gluten Free

Grilled Prawns with lemon-basil dipping sauce

July 25, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

Your guests will adore these! They really are a winner!

Serves 6 – 8

Screen shot 2014-06-14 at 8.09.14 AM

2lbs fairly large raw prawns ( buy the 16 to 20 count) peeled and deveined
1 cup good quality mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 anchovy fillets
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

To make the dipping sauce

Combine the mayonnaise, basil, lemon zest and juice, anchovies, salt and pepper in a food processor and process until smooth.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours before serving

For the shrimp

Put the prepared prawns into a large bowl with the grated lime zest (not the juice at this point, as it will cook the prawns) with some olive oil (enough to moisten all the prawns) and some salt and pepper.
Mix well and refrigerate for up to 1 hour.
30 minutes before cooking the prawns, add the lime juice and mix again and set aside.

Heat a heavy ridged cast iron pan, preferably, to hot and sear the shrimp on each side until the
raw, grey color goes away, but be careful not to overcook them as they will continue to cook when you remove them from the skillet. probably about 3 minutes each side, max.
The ridged cast iron skillet cooks them with lovely brown lines on them.
Remove the prawns and put onto a platter and set aside till cooled down a bit, even refrigerating for a couple of hours if you have to.
Put the sauce on a dish on the side of a platter and serve the succulent prawns alongside.
Enjoy!!

Dessert · Do-ahead

Beet ice cream with mascarpone, orange zest and poppy seeds

July 19, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

I have hit an ice-cream phase, due to the oncoming hot weather and am trying all sorts of weird and wonderful flavors.
This one is a beautiful, rich red color, then surprises with a smooth, round slightly sweet beet flavor.
Well worth the effort!
From being on so many food blogs, I noticed some of the authors are now putting out beautiful recipe books, and this recipe came from Jeni Britton Bauer in her book “Jeni’s Splendid Ice creams at home”
featuring over 100 artisanal ice cream/sorbet and gelato recipes.

Makes about 1 quart. You need your Cuisinart 1 qt ice cream maker for this. Worth buying!

Before you do anything else, put the bowl of the Cuisinart ice cream maker in the freezer overnight!

For the roasted beets
2 medium red beets
2 tbsp sugar
Ice cream base
2 cups whole milk
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch
2 oz (or 1/4 cup) mascarpone cheese
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp light corn syrup
zest of a large orange – use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest in large strips
2 tbsp poppy seeds
extra poppy seeds to garnish

FOR THE ROASTED BEETS
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Wrap the beets in a sheet of foil. bake until soft, about 1 hour or so. let the beets cool slightly, then peel them while they’re still warm. Cut into chunks and puree in the food processor.
Force the puree through a sieve (I used a mouli for this bit)
Combine 1/2 cup of the warm beet puree with the sugar. (Discard any extra beet puree). Set aside to cool

FOR THE ICE CREAM BASE
Mix about 2 tbsp of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
Whisk the mascarpone, beet puree and salt into a medium bowl until smooth.
Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

COOK – Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, corn syrup and orange zest in a 4 qt saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat and boil for 4 minutes.
Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula until slightly thickened, about 1 -2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

CHILL – gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the mascarpone mixture and beets until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a 1 gallon ziplock freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

FREEZE – Remove the orange zest and pour the ice cream into the frozen canister. Add the poppy seeds and spin until thick and creamy.
Pack the ice cream into a storage container and seal with an airtight lid. Sprinkle with a few poppy seeds to garnish and freeze in the coldest part of the freezer until firm or at least 5 hours.
ENJOY!

Dessert · Do-ahead · Icecream

Fresh rosemary ice cream

July 17, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is fantastic and has the most amazing pungent perfume! You can also double this recipe with no problem.

Some alternatives
I have sometimes added a 2″ piece of fresh ginger cut into slivers and 1 cut up stem of lemon grass to the infusing milk/half and half which is lovely, then you can add chopped stem ginger in syrup to the ice cream machine at the end. It’s a great combination to combine rosemary and ginger.

You only need an inexpensive ice cream machine like the Cuisinart 1 quart machine for less than $50

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups half and half
2 cups whole milk
4 large sprigs rosemary

In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until thickened and pale yellow. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the half and half, milk and rosemary to a simmer.
Simmer, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Discard the rosemary. Gradually whisk the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture.
Scrape the mixture into a saucepan.
Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do NOT let it boil. This could take a long time to thicken but it will eventually.

Strain into a clean large bowl and let cool to room temperature.
Cover and refrigerate until cold.

Stir the cream mixture. Transfer to an ice cream maker; freeze according to manufacturer’s directions

Makes 6 -8 servings

Gluten Free · Meat

Pork Chops in orange sauce

July 16, 2011August 24, 2021 Belinda

This is very simple and tasty

Serves 4
4 pork chops
salt and pepper
1 1/2 oz butter
2 tbsp olive oil
grated rind and juice of 1 orange
1 tbsp mustard
4 oz brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Rub the pork chops with salt and pepper.
Melt the butter and olive oil in a frying pan. Add the chops and fry for about 5 to 8 minutes or until they are evenly browned.
Transfer to an ovenproof dish.
Mix together the orange rind and juice, mustard and sugar. Pour over the chops and cover the dish with foil.
Put into the oven and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the pork is cooked through. Remove the foil for the last 45 minutes of the cooking time. Serve the chops with the remaining juices.
I like to pour the juice into a saucepan and boil it down to about 1/2 of what you had originally, in order to concentrate the flavors

Do-ahead · Meat

Really light and tasty Osso Bucco

July 16, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

This is the very best Osso Bucco recipe I have ever made, and it’s also light and very easy. A real winner. You MUST make it!

Serves 4 – 6

3 lbs veal knuckle cut into 3 inch pieces, or 1 – 2 large pieces of ready prepared Osso Bucco veal for each person.
2 oz seasoned flour
3 oz butter
3 tbsp olive oil
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
3 celery stalks, peeled and sliced
2 onions, sliced
5 large garlic cloves, crushed
3 tbsp flour
8 fl oz dry white wine
14 fl oz veal stock (you can buy this frozen in Gelsons and other good supermarkets)
20 fl oz of a really good jar of Marinara sauce
3 bay leaves
2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper
2 oz Kalamata pitted black olives in brine, chopped

Garnish
Grated rind of 1 lemon
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, crushed

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Roll the veal pieces in the seasoned flour. (Seasoned with salt and pepper)

Melt the butter and oil in a heavy cast iron Dutch oven or casserole dish with a lid, add the veal pieces and brown lightly on all sides. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Add another tablespoon of butter to the pan and fry the carrots, onions, celery and garlic in the butter remaining in the pan for 10 minutes, stirring

Stir the remaining seasoned flour into the vegetables and saute gently until the flour has cooked a little.
Stir in the white wine and stock and bring to the boil.
Add all the remaining ingredients, except the garnish, including the veal, season and mix well.
Cook for 2 minutes, stirring a lot.
Cover and put it in the preheated oven.
Cook for 3 hours or until the meat is almost falling off the bone.

Mix the garnish ingredients together and stir into the Osso Bucco just before serving so the lemon/garlic/parsley mixture is fresh and bright in the Osso Bucco.

Serve with Risotto Milanese or mashed potato.

Appetizers · Asian flavors · Do-ahead

Thai Garlic Bread

July 16, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

And now for something completely different! Thanks to Daniel Green (UK) for this recipe

Serves 4 – 6

3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 stalks lemongrass, inner tender white pale only, roughly chopped
1 tsp grated fresh ginger root
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
juice of 1 lime
good handful of fresh cilantro (coriander for the Brits) stems removed, leaves roughly chopped
1 ciabatta or baguette
I don’t think you need any salt in this, but you might want to taste the mixture and see.

1/ Preheat the grill

2/ Using a pestle and mortar, grind all the ingredients, except the bread, to a chunky paste

3/ Slice the bread horizontally in half, all the way through

4/ Spread the spice mixture evenly over the two pieces of bread

5/ Place under the preheated hot grill for 1 minute until heated through

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Salad · Vegetable-related

Spicy black bean and corn salad

July 16, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

I made this for 60 the other day and it was extremely popular. It has a slight kick from the chilies in adobo sauce, but not enough to put anyone off. You can vary that measurement according to your heat tolerance. Start with less and add more after you taste it.

Serves 8 as a salad course. Can be doubled or trebled easily. Nice served with toasted tortilla chips.

Smoked chile vinaigrette ingredients
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 chile from a can of chipotle chilli in adobo sauce
1/2 tbsp of the sauce from the can of chipotle chilli in adobo sauce
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup good quality vegetable oil

In a food processor combine the vinegar, sugar (if used) salt and pepper to taste and minced chilli and sauce. Process and slowly add the oil in a trickle until it’s emulsified. Use immediately or let stand at room temperature for as long as overnight.

Salad ingredients

2 cups (about 1lb) dried black beans, picked over to remove grit or other foreign bodies!
2 tbsps cumin seeds (I roast my own which gives them a more pungent flavor)
about 1 tbsp salt
3 cups canned, drained corn kernels
1/2 cup minced red onion
1/2 cup minced green onions, including some green tops
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander, for the Brits)
2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes (less messy)
Fresh cilantro sprigs for garnish

Rinse the beans well under running cold water. Place in a saucepan, add water to cover, bring to the boil over high heat and boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered for 1 hour. Drain

Return the beans to the saucepan and add enough water to cover the beans by about 3 inches. Place over high heat and bring to the boil. Cover the saucepan with the lid slightly ajar, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Stir in the cumin seeds and 1 tbsp salt and continue coking until the beans are tender but still hold their shape, about 30 mins longer. They may be done after 20 mins, depending on the beans. Drain well and cool.

In a large bowl combine the beans, corn, red and green onions, cilantro (coriander) and the vinaigrette and toss well.
Add the tomato and toss gently. Adjust the seasoning with salt.
Garnish with cilantro sprigs and serve at room temperature