Egg based

Spiced lentil and tomato baked eggs

September 4, 2011February 8, 2016 Belinda

Serves 2

The ingredient amounts are pretty flexible and you can sub things in and out as you wish – remember this is a casual, easy dish.

Extra virgin olive oil and optional butter

1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed or sliced and roughly chopped
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds. or ground cumin (I roast mine)
1/2 tsp chipotle flakes (substitute; 1/4 tsp paprika + 1/4 tsp chilli powder or cayenne
1 tsp paprika
350 mls tomato passata
salt and ground pepper to taste
1 cup cooked puy lentils (You can get these already cooked in vacuum packs in most supermarkets)
4 to 5 eggs
Juice of half a lemon
Fresh chopped parsley
Sliced crusty bread (more white than grainy for this) brushed with extra virgin olive oil or butter and grilled until the tops are crispy.Preheat you grill for the bread.
Heat the 1 tbsp olive oil and butter in a medium/large heavy-ish frypan on medium heat.
Stir in onions, cook until softened and start to brown on the edges.
Stir in the garlic, cook until softened. meanwhile, bash the cumin, salt, chipotle and pepper in a mortar and pestle.
Sprinkle half over the onions and garlic, breathe deeply, and reduce heat to medium low. let sizzle a little for a minute, then stir in tomatoes, lentils and lemon juice. Let this mixture reduce on low heat for about 10 minutes (or until your desired consistency)
taste, add more salt if necessary.
Crack over eggs, and sprinkle everything with the other half of your salt/spice mix.
Cover and let simmer for 5- 7 minutes, depending on how cooked you want your egg yolks. While the eggs are cooking, grill your bread.
Uncover, and sprinkle over the parsley and an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve hot with your
just toasted bread.

Fish · Gluten Free

My Mediterranean Fish dish (CleanCuisine)

August 20, 2011January 10, 2016 Belinda

Yesterday I bought some orange roughy, normally when we eat white fish we like either Halibut or Chilean sea bass as our everyday fish, but sea bass is so pricey that I decided to try orange roughy.
I also decided to try a dish with mainly pantry ingredients and it turned out so well, here it is.
The amounts of ingredients can be varied according to taste, but this is approximately what I did.
It was gorgeous, robust but very light!

serves 4

2lbs orange roughy or halibut fillets (a firm fish works better for this dish)
3 good sized onions, sliced
4 big cloves garlic, crushed
3 lemons plus grated rind of them all.
1/3 cup drained capers
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
10 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and pepper
butter and olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large shallow, heavy frying pan that is oven proof and has a lid, (I use a large round, shallow, Le Creuset pan) and saute the onions and garlic very slowly in the butter/olive oil mixture for about 30 – 40 minutes or until caramelized, adding the capers, olives, lemon rind, salt and pepper.

Add the lemon juice and cherry tomatoes. Mix well and lay the seasoned fish fillets on top, spooning some of the goodness below on top of the fillets. Sprinkle a little lemon juice over the fish fillets and put the lid on.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. Check to see if the fish is done. There should be a good amount of juice too.
I serve it with a rice pilaf made with sauteed leeks, spinach and dill weed.

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

Eggplant Gateau

August 20, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

Eggplant is so simple, elegant and utterly Provencal using only eggplant, cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic and parmesan.
All you need is a loose bottom cake tin. I use a round 9″ diameter one, but it doesn’t really matter what shape or size, just make sure it’s non stick and you spray olive oil as an extra guarantee that it’ll come away from the tin when ready to serve.

Serves 6

3 medium eggplants, thinly sliced
olive oil, to drizzle
Large piece of unsalted butter
2 lbs cherry tomatoes, halved
3 – 5 garlic cloves, minced
large handful of fresh basil
sea salt and ground black pepper
8 – 10oz grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Heat the oven to 350 F.
Thinly slice the eggplants and lay the slices out on two large oiled baking sheets. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 8 minutes, till softened and lightly browned.

Melt butter in a large saute pan and cook the cherry tomatoes with the garlic until softened and pulpy. Tear the basil leaves and stir in, season with salt and pepper.

Layer 1/4 of the eggplant slices over the base of the cake tin, top with 1/3 of the tomato mixture, then sprinkle well with some parmesan cheese.

Add another layer of eggplant, then another 1/3 of the tomato/basil mixture, then more parmesan cheese.
Repeat this again, finishing with a layer of eggplant to cover, then a generous sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Don’t worry if you use more ingredients than the recipe says, you can really put as many layers as you want.

Put the cake tin on a baking sheet so that if any juices run out, they won’t mess up your oven. Bake it at 350F for about 30- 45 mins, looking at it after 30 to see if the top is nicely browned.
It will be done when the cheese topping is bubbling and browned.
Let it stand for 5 minutes, then slip out of the tin onto a large plate.
Cut into wedges and serve.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Vegan · Whole30 compliant

Oven dried heirloom tomatoes

August 1, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

I have in my oven at the moment, 8 sliced heirloom tomatoes slowly releasing their sweet smell as they very slowly “oven-dry” for 2 – 3 days.
By that I mean, I cut the tomatoes in 1/2 (or sometimes 1/3rds if they are big). I then lay them on a silicone mat on a baking tray and sprinkle them with olive oil, salt and freshly ground pepper, then sprinkle chopped fresh thyme, garlic, marjoram and a spray of balsamic vinegar on them.
The oven has a pilot light, so is always warm, but I set it to 200 degrees or the lowest it will go and leave them in for 2 -3 days, checking on them from time to time.

They are wonderful in pasta dishes or sandwiches and store so well in the fridge.

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 · Whole30 compliant

Terrific rustic baked tomatoes

June 19, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda2 Comments

This is a recipe my good friend Anneke gave me and you can’t get better than this for a really tasty, rich but healthy starter.

Ingredients
Very ripe tomatoes (preferably vine tomatoes and lots of them) peeled and halved
lots of fresh basil
lots of garlic, thinly sliced
anchovies (unrinsed)
good extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

** Serve with good fresh ciabatta bread, sliced and lightly baked in the oven with garlic cloves rubbed into each slice while still hot.

Layer the bottom of a baking dish (one you would be happy to serve the dish in) with basil leaves, so that they cover the bottom of the dish, then lay thinly sliced garlic over that.

Season lightly and sprinkle olive oil over the basil and garlic.
Stack the peeled and halved tomatoes cut side down in the baking dish, cramming as many in as possible, even more than you think can fit and squash them down a little with your hand releasing some of the juices.

Put the unrinsed anchovy fillets in between the cracks in the tomatoes.

Sprinkle with a good amount of good olive oil, season with ground pepper but not too much salt due to the saltiness of the anchovies.

Cook in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 2 to 2 1/2 hours uncovered and serve at room temperature with the really good baked and garlic rubbed bread.

Do-ahead · Gluten Free · Meat · Pasta · Sauces

My special bolognese sauce

June 15, 2011September 9, 2022 Belinda

Serves about 6

Olive oil and butter
1lb Sweet Italian Sausage, crumbled finely
1lb Ground pork
1lb Ground lamb
4oz small cubed pancetta
1 and 1/2 large onions diced finely
3 carrots diced finely
3 sticks celery diced finely
Garlic 3 cloves crushed,
Tomato paste (1/2 a small can)
1 x large jar of (San Marzano) marinara sauce
Whole milk (1 cup at least)
1 cup Chianti (at least)
1 tbsp fennel seeds, ground in mortar
fresh rosemary, chopped fine
salt and pepper

Chop fine all the vegetables and garlic and sauté in large pan of olive oil and butter.
Add the pancetta and ground fennel seeds and stir over moderate heat.
Add the sausage meat from the sausages, removing the casings and crumbling as fine as possible. Stir into vegetables and brown.
Add the pork and lamb and stir over a high heat to brown. Keep it all from sticking together.
Add red wine, milk and tomato paste and stir in Marinara Sauce. Stir well and lower heat and simmer for 1 and ½ hours.
Season and add parmesan cheese and cream if necessary before serving.
Stir the cooked pasta into the sauce and add more on top when serving in the bowls.
The milk is great and acts like cream and tenderizes the meat.