Thursday 10 July 2014

Hot fruity salsa

I saw this recipe in one of our BBQ books to be served with prawns but didn't have all the ingredients so I improvised (with peach, apricot and pink grapefruit, parsley instead of coriander, 1 green chili instead of 2 red chilis)

2 apricots
1 peach
1 pink grapefruit, juice and flesh of
1 lime, juice of
pepper
salt
fresh parsley
fresh mint
1 clove of garlic
1 green chili, with seeds
1 red chili, with seeds

Blend all the ingredients. It's hot hot hot. I couldn't eat it. Next time I'm going to deseed the chillis. Serve with prawns, other fish, white meat or veggie kebabs/barbecued veggies.)

Friday 4 July 2014

Mascarpone-and-Berry Dessert

Use whatever berries you like with this. It'll be wonderful.

(serves 4-6)

250 g mascarpone
100 g natural yoghurt (3.5 %)
200 g strawberries
100 g blackberries
maple syrup to taste
toasted, chopped pistachios for sprinkling

Blend all the ingredients. Check the flavour. Chill for an hour.

Wednesday 2 July 2014

Avodcado and Strawberry Dip


I'm not sure why but I'm crazy about strawberries this year. I've served them with roasted asparagus and scattered them over spaghetti with pesto. After slicing some over mashed avocado I wondered if I could blend the two together and the experiment worked, even though the colour is a bit insipid. You can really taste the strawberries. For my next experiment, I'm going to make a dessert of avocado and strawberries. Watch this space.

1 large, very ripe avocado
125 g straberries
2 tbsp Greek-style yoghurt
2 tsp parseley-and-lime oil
1 small garlic clove, crushed
lime juice to taste
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

Place all the ingredients in a blender. Chill for an hour to firm up. Use as a dip or spread on toast, crisp bread or crackers.

Marinated Mozzarella di Bufala

1 mozzarella di Bufala
1 tbsp coriander and lime oil
freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Rip the mozzarella into chunks, mix with the herb oil and marinate in the fridge for an hour or longer. Optionally sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper before serving. Delicious!

Parseley or coriander and lime oil

I love flavouring oils in different ways and though I really like pesto I sometimes prefer something a little less heavy. So I leave out the cheese and nuts and concentrate on the oil and herbs.

1 bunch of coriander or parseley
100-150 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 smal garlic clove, crushed
a wee squeeze of lime juice
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

Blend and transfer into a sterilised jar. Keep in the fridge and use within a week.