Do-ahead · Vegetable sides · Vegetable-related

Sweet potato and peanut gratin

Belinda

Nothing like a creamy and comforting gratin, and this one is really super as it contains grated lime zest and red chili.
This recipe comes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s wonderful and adventurous recipe book, “Veg Everyday”

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Serves 4

2 lb. sweet potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 fresh red chile, seeded and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter (or you can used raw, unsalted, crunchy almond butter)
finely grated zest of 1 lime, plus about 2 tsp. juice

Preheat the oven to 375F and lightly oil a large gratin dish.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into slices a bit thinner than 1/8 inch. In a large bowl, toss the potato slices with 1 tablespoon of the oil, the chili, garlic, cream, and some salt & pepper.
Arrange half the sweet potato slices evenly in the gratin dish. You do not have to layer them piece by piece, but try to ensure that the slices are mostly lying flat.
Beat the peanut butter with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the lime zest, and the lime juice.
Spread this mixture in dollops over the sweet potatoes in the dish. Cover evenly with the remaining sweet potato slices. Pour over any cream remaining in the bowl.
Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 20 minutes, then remove the foil. Bake for a further 30 minutes or so, until the sweet potatoes are completely tender and the top is browned and crisp.
For extra crispness, you can finish under the broiler for a couple of minutes, but watch carefully.
Serve hot, with a crisp, leafy salad to balance the sweet richness of the gratin.

Accompaniments · Baking · Breakfast · Do-ahead

Joanna Gaine’s buttermilk biscuits

Belinda

We are “Fixer Upper” fanatics in this household, so when Joanna Gaines mentioned her buttermilk biscuit recipe, I had to share it. They look so good!

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Makes 12 biscuits.

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3/4 cup butter or 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
Milk for brushing (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk all at once. Using a fork, stir just until mixture is moistened.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough by folding and gently pressing it just until dough holds together. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Pat the dough into a 3/4 inch thick rectangle. Cut into 12 squares or rectangles with a knife or pizza cutter.

If desired, brush with milk. Bake 10 to 14 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

 

Asian flavors · Fish

Salmon in ginger-butter sauce

Belinda1 Comment

This is a great recipe if you want to minimize time in the kitchen.
All you need is time to marinate the salmon filets in this gorgeous sauce, then broil them, served with rice or a simple green salad.

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Serves 2 (or can be doubled easily)

2 salmon fillets (1/2lb each)
3 tbsp dry sherry
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp finely minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tbsp butter
Freshly ground black pepper and salt

Advance preparation

Combine the sherry, soy sauce and sesame oil. Rub the fillets with this marinade.
Rub the ginger across the top of the fillets then sprinkle on the parsley. Dot the butter evenly across the surface and add black pepper and a sprinkling of salt to taste.
(This can be done several hours in advance)

Last minute cooking

To broil, preheat the oven to 550 F then turn the oven to Broil.
Place the salmon about 4 inches below the direct heat and cook without turning until the fish turns a lighter pink and just becomes firm to the touch. It will begin to flake when prodded with a fork, about 6 to 8 minutes.

When cooked, transfer the fillets to heated dinner plates and serve with a lovely salad, lemon wedge or some simple boiled rice

Do-ahead · Fish · Gluten Free · Sauces

Fabulous French sauce for fish

Belinda

This to me is the best possible sauce for any sort of fish. Due to the reducing, it’s very intense, creamy and utterly out of this world. (When I made this for my step-daughter several years ago, she literally was brought to tears)

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This amount serves 2 – 4, depending on how much sauce you want!
* Sometimes I use 4 fl oz of Noilly Prat instead of white wine, which makes it more intense)

8 fl oz good fish stock
4 fl oz dry white wine
3 tbsp Noilly Prat
2 small shallots, finely chopped
1/2 pint heavy cream
1 1/2 oz butter, chilled & cut into small cubes
2 tbsp fresh chives, finely cut
Salt and pepper

Put the fish stock, wine, Noilly Prat and chopped shallot in a pan and boil rapidly, reducing until 1/4 of the volume is left.

Add the cream and boil gently, stirring constantly, to reduce to the required consistency and taste. (The consistency is right when it thickly coats the back of a spoon and tastes intense)
When it’s to your liking, remove from the heat and whisk in the butter cubes one by one.
Strain through a fine sieve and season.

You can also liquidize the sauce before adding the chives to make it extra light and fluffy, or if you prefer it as is, add the chives just before you serve it.

Holiday Food · Vegetable sides

Mashed sweet potatoes with banana and rum

Belinda

Don’t be put off by the “baby-food” look of this dish. The flavor is FAR from baby food! It’s from the Silver Palate cook book and is a super addition to the Holiday table.

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8 cups peeled, diced sweet potatoes
3 ripe bananas
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
2 tbsp rum
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
salt to taste
1 cup sliced almonds

Place the sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan and add water to cover. Cook covered until very tender. Drain.

Cut the bananas into 1 inch pieces and puree in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the hot potatoes, 4 tbsp of the butter, the rum and the brown sugar.
Process until smooth. Add the grated nutmeg and salt to taste and process just to blend. Keep warm.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in a small skillet. Add the almonds and sauté until lightly browned. Sprinkle wth a little salt.
Top each serving of the sweet potato with a generous amount of toasted almonds or scatter the whole dish with them.

Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Holiday Food · Vegetable sides

Slow-cooked spiced red cabbage

Belinda

This is wonderful with roast turkey or beef and divine with a crown roast of pork. The aromas and flavors are so Christmassy and it literally cooks itself for 2 hours in the oven.

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Serves 6 – 8

1 good sized red cabbage
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and grated
2 large red onions, halved and sliced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
a good glass of Ruby port
3 tbsp dark Muscovado sugar. (or as dark a sugar as possible)
2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
1 cinnamon stick, split in 2
4 oz butter, cut into cubes
finely grated zest and the juice of 1 large orange

Heat the oven to 250 F
Put all the ingredients in a Dutch oven with a lid.
Put over medium heat, stir well then cook everything for 5 minutes until the butter is melted and everything is well mixed together.

Transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours. Season before serving.

Appetizer Vegetarian · Vegetable sides

10 minute Portobello pizzas

Belinda

The perfect low-carb pizza with the added flavor of earthy portobello mushrooms and ready in 10 minutes!.
From the wonderful blog, “Cafe Delites”

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Serves 6

6 portobello mushroom caps, stems removed, washed and dried with a paper towel
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
6 tsp Italian seasoning (or a dried oregano and basil leaf blend), divided
3/4 cup pizza sauce (garlic and herb)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or a pizza cheese blend)*
30 miniature-sized pepperonis**
6 or more cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced thinly
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to broil / grill settings on high heat. Arrange oven shelf to the middle of your oven.

Combine the oil, garlic and 4 teaspoons of the seasoning together in a small bowl. Brush the bottoms of each mushroom with the garlic oil mixture and place each mushroom, oil side down, on a lightly greased baking sheet / tray.
Fill each mushroom with 2 tablespoons of the pizza sauce per cap, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, 6 pepperoni miniatures and tomato slices. Broil / grill until cheese has melted and is golden in color (about 8 minutes).

To serve, sprinkle with the remaining Italian seasoning (or mixed herbs), and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Recipe Notes
*I find using dry cheese such as shredded mozzarella gives the best results. Using fresh mozzarella may cause the mushrooms to release some liquid during the broiling / grilling process.
**For the miniature pepperonis, I bought normal-sized pepperonis and cut them with an apple corer like this one to get miniature sized ones. (I used 8 slices.) However, you can use whatever you can find!

TIP: Do NOT over bake them! They WILL release a lot of liquid if left in the oven for too long! Make sure your oven is preheated well and HOT when putting them in.

Fish · Gluten Free

Creamy garlic Tuscan salmon

Belinda

A stunningly creamy, silky restaurant quality recipe from the blog “Cafe Delites”

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4 Servings

4 salmon fillets, about 6 oz each and skin off (or Trout or any white fish)
Salt and pepper, to season
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
6 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1/3 cup dry white wine (OPTIONAL) — (do not use a sweet white wine)
5 oz (150 g) jarred sun dried tomato strips in oil, drained of oil
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp cornstarch, mixed with a little cream
1 tbsp fresh parsley chopped

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the salmon filets (or fish if using) on both sides with salt and pepper, and sear in the hot pan, flesh-side down first, for 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked to your liking. Once cooked, remove from the pan and set aside.

Melt the butter in the remaining juices leftover in the pan. Add in the garlic and fry until fragrant (about one minute). Fry the onion in the butter. Pour in the white wine (if using), and allow to reduce down slightly. Add the sun dried tomatoes and fry for 1-2 minutes to release their flavors.

Reduce heat to low heat, add the heavy cream and bring to a gentle simmer, while stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.

Add in the spinach leaves and allow to wilt in the sauce, and add in the parmesan cheese. Allow sauce to simmer for a further minute until cheese melts through the sauce. (For a thicker sauce, add the milk/cornstarch mixture to the centre of the pan, and continue to simmer while quickly stirring the mixture through until the sauce thickens.)

Add the salmon back into the pan; sprinkle with the parsley, and spoon the sauce over each filet.
Serve over pasta, rice or steamed veg.

 

Breakfast · Dairy-free · Egg based · Gluten Free · Vegetable-related · Whole30 compliant

Shakshuka with tahini and olives

Belinda

This is the most wonderful brunch or lunch, oozing with flavor and goodness.

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Serves 2 – 4 (but can easily be augmented)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 large organic, pasture-raised eggs
3 medium tomatoes – roughly chopped
1/2 medium onion-diced
5 cloves garlic-roughly chopped
2 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
1&1/4 tsp harissa
1 handful green olives – pitted and roughly chopped for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

For the tahini mixture;
2 tbsp tahini
1 clove garlic-finely grated
2 tbsp lemon juice
Approx 1/4 cup water
pinch of sea salt

In a bowl, whisk together the tahini, garlic and lemon juice. The mixture will be clumpy. Keep whisking and slowly add 1 tbsp water at a time until the tahini loosens and can loosely coat the back of a spoon. Season with a pinch of salt- set aside

Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the oil, onions and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt and sauté for 10 to 15 minutes until soft.
Season the onion mixture with the smoked paprika and sauté for 60 seconds- stir constantly to prevent burning.

Add the tomatoes and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir, lower the heat to medium low and cover with a lid. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the Harissa.
NOTE- If the tomato mixture dries out during the cooking, add 1-2 tbsp water.

Remove the lid and crack the eggs into the sauce one at a time.
TIP- Use a spatula to create a small “well” in the sauce and add the egg into the well so that the eggs cook in the sauce rather than over the top of it.

Cover with a lid and cook until the whites have hardened but the yolks are runny; approx 6 to 8 minutes.
For firmer yolks, cook for a bit longer.
Remove from the heat, drizzle with the tahini and garnish with the olives

 

Dairy-free · Salad · Uncategorized

Crunchy fennel salad with grapes, dates, olives and almonds

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