Shaved Brussels sprouts salad with sweet potato and pomegranate

September 20, 2018July 23, 2019 Belinda

This is great dish to ease your way into Fall and it’s a really super side dish for Thanksgiving.
Frankly, I go head first into the Fall season as it’s my favorite, especially having weathered another really hot summer here in Southern California.

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About 10 cups of shaved Brussels sprouts
2 cups diced sweet potatoes
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp butter or ghee (sub olive oil if you’re vegan)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 mandarin orange, segments cut in half
Seeds of 1 pomegranate

The Orange Lemon Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 mandarin orange
Juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove
A pinch of salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place all but 1 cup of the shaved Brussels on one baking sheet and the sweet potatoes on another. Toss both with oil then roast in your oven for 30-35 minutes, tossing halfway through.
Heat the butter, ghee, or olive oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the walnuts and let them toast until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes, shaking the pan often.
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake.
In a large salad bowl, add the 1 cup of raw and the roasted Brussels, the sweet potatoes, walnuts, orange segments, and the pomegranate seeds.
Toss with the dressing and serve.

Crunchy fennel salad with grapes, dates, olives and almonds

October 11, 2017 Belinda1 Comment

This is a really fabulous and interesting salad with wonderful texture and flavor. It’s so quick to make and has a real “wow” factor

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Serves 4

1 cup thinly sliced fennel (make sure you cut off the hard core)
1 cup red seedless grapes, cut in half
3 oz green unstuffed olives, pitted and quartered lengthways
5 Medjool dates, pitted and sliced thinly lengthways
juice of a medium lemon
1 tbsp good olive oil (or a little more if you like)
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz toasted slivered almonds
2 oz shaved pecorino romano cheese

Combine the fennel, grapes, olives and dates in a medium sized bowl.
Drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Toss to coat evenly.
Just before serving, mix in the toasted almonds and pecorino cheese.

Serve

Asian flavors · Dairy-free · Fish · Gluten Free · Uncategorized · Whole30 compliant

Easy Dijon salmon

June 22, 2017 Belinda

This is great for a party and can be doubled or trebled easily. It’s so simple to prepare and is so tasty!

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1 1/4lbs salmon fillet, preferably wild
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp soy sauce (or if following the Whole 30, use Coconut Aminos)
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground ginger powder

Line a baking dish with aluminum foil.Coat the foil with cooking spray unless it’s non stick foil. Place the salmon on the foil. Mix the mustard through the ginger powder in a small bowl. Pour the marinade over the salmon and refrigerate the salmon for 30 mins.

Preheat the oven to 375 F and bake the salmon for 20 -25 mins or until just cooked through and flakes easily

Accompaniments · Baking · Do-ahead · Uncategorized

Easy, cheesy soda bread

June 22, 2017September 7, 2022 Belinda

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This is a really delicious and easy Irish soda bread recipe and you’ll want to make it weekly once you try it.

Serves 4  

Oil, for greasing
500g (1lb 1oz) plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
75g (3oz) Mature cheddar cheese, grated. *Please grate your own, the pre-packaged stuff is gross!
350ml(1 1/2 cups)buttermilk
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

Heat the oven to 200°C , 400 F or gas mark 6. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Put the flour in a bowl with the bicarbonate of soda and ½ tsp salt. Stir in the cheese.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk. Quickly stir together with a wooden spoon, then tip onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly to bring together – don’t over-knead, and it doesn’t matter if the dough looks rather craggy.
 
Put the dough on the baking sheet and shape into a round about 8 inches, then flatten slightly. Sprinkle with the seeds. Make a deep cross in the centre with the handle of a wooden spoon or knife. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and the base sounds hollow when tapped. The cheese soda bread is best eaten on the day of baking.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Appetizers · Asian flavors · Dairy-free · Grains · Soup · Uncategorized · Vegan · Vegetarian pasta

A bowl of Asian goodness

June 7, 2017June 7, 2017 Belinda

This is divine on a hot day when you don’t feel like cooking too much. It’s also a great starter for a dinner party

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Serves 4 as a starter

1/2 oz instant dashi granules
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp wasabi paste
1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger
10 1/2 oz soba noodles
1 nori sheet
3 1/4 inch piece of daikon radish, peeled and finely grated
3 scallions, finely sliced

Put the dashi granules in a bowl and pour 1 1/2 cups boiling water over them.
Stir until the granules have dissolved, then add the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, wasabi paste and ginger. Stir to make a dressing.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the noodles. Allow the water to return to the boil then add 1/2 cup cold water to drop the temperature a little.
Repeat this process three times, then drain the noodles.
Rinse the noodles with cold water to remove the starch, then divide between 4 bowls.

Toast the nori sheet over a high flame or in a hot oven, then slice into this strips. Pour the dressing over the noodles, toss lightly, then scatter with the daikon, scallions and nori strips.