Fresh salmon tartare

September 23, 2014January 7, 2017 Belinda

I adore any form of “tartare” and usually make them with tuna, so this is a lovely new addition to the repertoire.

Serves 6
1lb skinless fresh salmon fillet (preferably not farmed)
1/2 lb smoked salmon, thickly sliced
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 3 to 4 limes)
1/3 cup minced shallots (about 2 big shallots)
2 tbsp good quality olive oil
1/4 cup minced fresh dill (and some more sprigs for garnishing)
3 tbsp drained capers
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp whole-grain mustard
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

(1 loaf good granary bread, thinly sliced and toasted, for serving) or celery sticks!

Cut the fresh salmon and the smoked salmon in 1/4 inch dice. Place the salmon in a mixing bowl and add the lime juice, shallots, olive oil, dill, capers, two mustards, salt and pepper.
Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours for the salmon to marinate.
When ready, toast the bread and taste the salmon for seasonings. Serve the tartare with triangles of the toast.

Baking · Chocolate · Dessert · Do-ahead · Gluten Free

Ginger chocolate oat bars

September 15, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

Anything with ginger is wonderful, but this combination is terrific, besides being very easy to make.
3 1/2 oz butter
3 1/2 oz jumbo oats
3 1/2 oz rolled oats
1 lb 72% dark chocolate
5 fl oz heavy cream
5 1/2 oz dried cranberries
5 1/2 oz dried cherries
5 1/2 oz crystallized ginger, chopped

Melt the butter in a pan. Add both types of oats and cook for three minutes. Transfer to an oven dish that will fit in your fridge.
Place a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Add the chocolate and cream to the bowl and leave to melt for 15 minutes without stirring.
Add the cranberries, cherries and ginger to the oats and stir.
When the chocolate has fully melted, give it a little stir and then pour over the oats and fruit. Fold the chocolate through and then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
When set, break into pieces by hand and serve

Asian flavors · Gluten Free · Poultry

Grilled soy – mustard chicken thighs

September 5, 2014February 7, 2016 Belinda

Another terrific and easy recipe, this time with Asian flavors for either grilled, broiled or even oven roasted chicken thighs. These recipes are so good for crowds with lots of rice to soak up the tasty juices.

Serves 6
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, (about 1 1/2 lbs)
3 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
1 tbsp Chinese or Japanese sesame oil (preferably toasted)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 heaped tsp chopped orange zest
1 heaped tsp chopped fresh ginger

With a sharp knife, trim away all the fat from the thighs. Place the pieces on a plate.
In a blender or small capacity food processor, mix the soy sauce, mustard, garlic, fresh cilantro, parsley, sesame oil, olive oil, orange zest and ginger to make a rough paste.
With a spatula spread this paste evenly over the surface of each chicken thigh.
Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate and marinate for 2 hours.
A half hour before you are ready to cook the chicken, remove it from the fridge.
Preheat the grill, broiler or oven. (If you’re using an oven set it to 400 F)
If cooking the chicken on the grill or broiler, turn it once until it is brown and fairly firm to the touch, 15 to 20 minutes approximately.
If using the oven, it might take up to 30 to 45 minutes until brown.
Serve at once.

Asian flavors · Gluten Free · Poultry · Whole30 compliant

Easy spicy roasted chicken thighs

September 5, 2014January 7, 2017 Belinda

This is a recipe adapted from a recipe of Suvir Saran, chef at Devi, Gramercy Tavern in New York.
Chicken thighs tossed with spices, marinated for up to one day and roasted is so easy to make and can be doubled or trebled for as many people as you like.

Serves 4
8 chicken thighs, with skin, pierced all over with a small knife.
5 cloves garlic, peeled
1 x 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded, or cayenne pepper to taste
Juice and zest of 1 whole lemon
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp salt , or to taste
1 tsp cumin powder ( I use ground roasted cumin seeds as there is more flavor)
1 tsp coriander seeds or ground coriander
Heat the oven to 400 F
Season the chicken thighs well with salt and pepper and put them in a bowl. Mince the garlic, ginger and jalapeno pepper.
Toss with all the remaining ingredients or put in a small food processor and grind to a paste.
(It’s okay if the coriander seeds are not fully pulverized as they will add a bit of crunch)
Rub the mixture thoroughly into the chicken.
* At this point you can cover and refrigerate for up to one day.
Put the thighs, skin side up, in a roasting pan. Roast for 25 to 35 minutes or until done.
Serve with rice or couscous.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Poultry

Roast chicken with dates, olives and capers

August 30, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

Thanks again to the incredible Yotam Ottolenghi for another Middle Eastern winner. The combination of sweet dates, briny green olives and tart capers, complements this dish so beautifully. It is best to prepare this dish 2 days before you need to serve it and leave it in the fridge to marinate so all the wonderful flavors permeate the chicken

Preheat the oven to 350 F
8 whole chicken legs, drumstick and thigh attached and skin on.
5 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 oz fresh oregano, plus extra for garnish
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
4 oz pitted green olives
2 oz capers, plus 2 tbsp of their juices
3 oz Medjool dates, pitted and and quartered lengthways
2 bay leaves
4 fl oz dry white wine
1 tbsp date syrup or treacle
Salt and black pepper

Place the chicken in a large, non reactive bowl and add all of the ingredients, apart form the wine and date molasses, along with 3/4 tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper.
Gently mix everything together, cover the bowl and leave in the fridge to marinate for 1 to 2 days, stirring the ingredients a few times during the process.
Spread out the chicken legs on a large baking tray, along with all the marinade ingredients. Whisk together the wine and date syrup/treacle and pour over the meat. Place in the oven and cook for 50 minutes, basting 2 or 3 times, until the meat is golden brown on top and cooked through.
Remove from the oven, transfer everything to a large warm platter, sprinkle over some freshly picked oregano leaves and serve.

Baking · Do-ahead · Fruit

Simple banana chocolate chip cake

August 30, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

We love banana bread, so when I found this recipe, it seemed to combined two wonderful flavors. I love cakes that are simple and you don’t have to cream the butter and sugar.

2 large or 3 medium very ripe bananas. The riper the better, as they are easier to mash
6 oz butter
8 oz superfine (caster) sugar
10 oz self-raising flour
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
pinch of salt
2 tsp good quality vanilla essence
3 large eggs
1 packet of chocolate chips (dark or milk)

Preheat the oven to 350 F
Grease and line the bottom of an 8 inch tin, round or square
Melt the butter and sugar in a large saucepan over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Remove from the heat.
Add the flour, baking soda and salt to the sugar and butter mixture and mix well.
Mash the bananas and mix in the vanilla essence to the bananas
Beat the eggs
Add the banana mixture and eggs to the mixture and beat together.
Leave the mixture to cool before adding the chocolate chips, otherwise they will melt.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook for approximately 1 hour. It’s cooked when it’s a nice brown color and if you put a skewer in, it comes out clean.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Meat

Simple summer stew of tomato, merguez sausage and cannellini beans

August 29, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

Such a simple, summery stew to serve with just a green salad. if you can’t find merguez sausage, try using chorizo. This is so easy to throw together and full of flavor, thanks to the sausage.

Serves 4
A splash of olive oil
6 Merguez or Chorizo sausages
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1lb 6oz ripe tomatoes
7 fl oz chicken stock
2 x 15 oz cans Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
A good handful Italian parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan or Le Creuset braiser on high heat. Roughly chop the sausages and fry until browned and beginning to crisp around the edges. transfer to a plate and lower the heat to medium.
Add the onion to the pan and fry for about 5 mins or until softened, adding the crushed garlic to the pan after a couple of minutes so it doesn’t burn.
Quarter the tomatoes, then add to the pan with the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Season and stir, then simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the Cannellini beans to the pan with the browned sausages. Simmer for 10 mins or until the sausages are cooked through and the sauce is thickened.
Roughly chop the parsley, then stir through the stew. Divide it among 4 serving bowls. Sprinkle with ground black pepper and serve with some crusty bread and a green salad.

Appetizers · Asian flavors · Fish · Gluten Free · Nuts · Pasta · Salad

Crab, mango, basil and cilantro noodle salad

August 29, 2014February 8, 2016 Belinda

This is a recipe from the wonderful British food magazine called “Delicious”. This is so easy to throw together and no cooking other than boiling a kettle!

Serves 4
8 oz ribbon rice noodles (Thai Taste is a good brand)
1 large very ripe mango
A large bunch fresh Thai basil or regular basil
A large bunch fresh cilantro (coriander)
4 oz fresh white crabmeat
4 tbsp salted peanuts
Dressing
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
Juice 1 lime, plus wedges to serve

Bring a kettle of water to the boil. Put the noodles in a large bowl ans cover with plenty of freshly boiling water. Leave for 20 minutes, stirring now and then. Drain, then rinse under warm water to remove the starch. Drain and set aside in the bowl.
For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl. Slice the “cheeks” off the mango, score the flesh into slim wedges, then scoop them out, discarding the skins.
Chop the herbs, setting aside a few whole leaves. Toss the chopped herbs through the noodles with the mango, crabmeat and dressing, then divide among the plates. Chop the peanuts, then scatter over the noodles with the reserved herbs.

Serve with lime wedges and sliced chile if you like.

Dairy-free · Do-ahead · Meat · Poultry

Coq au vin

August 29, 2014September 8, 2022 Belinda

We had a really lovely coq au vin last night with close friends, sitting outside on the patio. It was one of those really simple recipes that is full of flavor and you can make ahead and put in the fridge overnight.
The depth of flavor to this dish is huge, especially as you caramelize the onions and mushrooms separately then add to the chicken them halfway through the cooking.
One time I served it with mashed cauliflower and a tomato, mozzarella, basil, avocado and red onion salad and it was divine. Another time I served it with mashed sweet potato and my “Easy cheesy zucchini bake” and it also went down a treat.

Serves 4 to 6
2 oz bacon fat or olive oil
4 – 5lbs chicken legs and thighs, seasoned well with salt and pepper
6 thick slices bacon, chopped
3 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
3 good sized leeks, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp flour
20 fl oz good red wine (one you would drink)
4 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tsp herbes de Provence
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
12 oz cremini or baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
A 14 oz bag of frozen pearl onions, defrosted then dried with paper towels.
3 oz butter

Preheat the oven to 325F
Heat the bacon fat or olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish with a lid, like Le Creuset. Add the seasoned chicken pieces and brown on all sides.
Transfer them to a plate. Add the bacon, celery, leeks and garlic to the casserole and fry until the bacon is crisp. Stir in the flour and cook gently until it becomes a paste. Gradually add the wine, herbs and salt and pepper, stirring. Bring to the boil.
Return the chicken to the casserole, cover and put into the preheated oven for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, fry the onions and mushrooms in the butter for 5 to 10 minutes until nicely caramelized. After the 45 minutes are up, add them to the casserole, and stir well.
Re-cover and continue to cook for 1 hour or until the chicken is well cooked through.

Asian flavors · Fish · Pasta · Soup

Quick and easy spicy prawn soup

August 26, 2014February 8, 2016 Belinda

We love our soups and even eat them through the summer months, sometimes replacing main courses with them, if they are substantial enough.
This is a recipe from the wonderful BBC Good Food website, and I altered it a little to suit our taste buds. It is very light and full of flavor.

Serves 4

1 tbsp sunflower oil
10 oz bag crunchy stir-fry vegetables
6 scallions, chopped on the diagonal, green and white parts
6 oz shitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
2 tbsp Thai green (or yellow) curry paste . You may want to start with 1 tbsp if you’re not too much into spicy food.
15 oz can reduced fat coconut milk
7 fl oz vegetable or fish stock
11 oz medium straight-to-wok noodles
8 oz bag large raw prawns, shelled and de-veined
A handful of roughly chopped cilantro

Heat a wok, add the oil then stir-fry the vegetables, scallions and mushrooms for 3 – 4 minutes.
Take them all out and set them aside, then tip the curry paste into the pan and fry gently for 1 minutes.
Pour in the coconut milk and stock. Bring to the boil, drop in the noodles and prawns, then reduce the heat and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes until the prawns are cooked through.
Stir in the vegetables, add the chopped cilantro and serve. Easy isn’t it?