Pineapple Salsa

1/4 fresh pineapple, very finely diced
1 heaped tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime, or more to taste
1/2 red chili incl. seeds, very finely chopped
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Mix all the ingredients and marinate for approx. 30 minutes.

White Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

I've just returned from a few days in my home state in Germany where I was just in time to catch the end of the asparagus season. White asparagus is not readily available in Scotland and it'd been three years since I last tasted it. Even though it wasn't that cheap I bought nearly two kilos of the stuff, enough to accompany two meals.

My godson love asparagus with an Hollandaise sauce but is generally happy with the powdered stuff enriched with an egg yolk and/or some cream. He also thinks the world of my cooking so I decided to  give him and the rest of the family a treat: homemade Hollandaise sauce!

It's been decades since I last made it and without any internet connection we first checked my mum's sparse selection of cookery books – no joy – then phoned around without reaching anyone nearby. In the end, we spoke to my other half's sister in London who did an internet search and, knowing we like Jamie Oliver, gave us his recipe, which I modified as I simply couldn't bring myself to make a sauce, in which two servings were made using 2 egg yolks and 100 g (!) of butter. Admittedly, that was probably meant as a main course but still...

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.)

Hot garlicky, chili and herb kind of pesto but not really pesto

Cooking for one is never much fun but sometimes there's noone else to have dinner with and I refuse to eat ready meals. Tonight is one of those nights. The fridge is full of veggies. I love making things in the oven. But instead of adding chili, garlic and oil to the roasting tray I made this "kind of pesto".

1 whole bulb garlic - yes, that is a lot of garlic!
1 small onion
1 small medium red chili
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
extra virgin olive oil
a handful of basil leaves

Blitz. Done. Use for all sorts of things. Store in a sterilised jar in the fridge.

I drizzled some over a tray of veg and served them with pasta.

Sorrel Pesto

Readers of this blog know that I love pesto. I try all different kinds of ingredients and so far they've all turned out to be extremely tasty. Yesterday, I spent some me time having one of my weekend cookathons during which I prepared three different kinds of wild flower pesto: sorrel pesto, ground elder and dandelion blossom pesto.

2 large handfuls of sorrel leaves

1 small handful of freshly grated parmesan

1 small handful of roasted cashew nuts, chopped

1 garlic clove, squashed

freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil as needed

Wash the sorrel, spin and combine with all the ingredients in a food processor or the beaker of a handheld mixer and blitz. Transfer into sterilised screw-top jars, top up with olive oil to seal and screw on the lid.

Dandelion Blossom Pesto

Readers of this blog know that I love pesto. I try all different kinds of ingredients and so far they've all turned out to be extremely tasty. Yesterday, I spent some me time having one of my weekend cookathons during which I prepared three different kinds of wild flower pesto, dandelion pesto, ground elder and sorrel pesto.

500 g dandelion flowers

1 small handful of freshly grated parmesan

15 roasted Brazil nuts, chopped

1 garlic clove, squashed

freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil as needed

Wash the dandelions, spin and fry in olive oil for about 5 min. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or the beaker of a handheld mixer and blitz. The amount of olive oil depends on how runny you want the pesto to be. I prefer it to be quite thick rather than excessively oily. 

Transfer into sterilised screw-top jars, top up with olive oil to seal and screw on the lid. The ingredients above resulted in approx. 600 ml of pesto. This pesto is quite rich so you need less of it than of other herb-based pesto varieties.

As one jar was only half full, we at it that night with spaghetti and scattered some more freshly ground parmesan and a few ground ivy blossoms over the top. It was to die for!

Ground Elder Pesto

Readers of this blog know that I love pesto. I try all different kinds of ingredients and so far they've all turned out to be extremely tasty. Yesterday, I spent some me time having one of my weekend cookathons during which I prepared three different kinds of wild flower pesto: ground elder pesto, sorrel pesto and dandelion blossom pesto.

2 large handfuls of ground elder

1 small handful of freshly grated parmesan

1 small handful of whole almonds, chopped

1 garlic clove, squashed

freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil as needed

Wash the ground elder, spin and combine with all the ingredients in a food processor or the beaker of a handheld mixer and blitz. Transfer into sterilised screw-top jars, top up with olive oil to seal and screw on the lid.

Mental Pasta Sauce

Last night I raked through the fridge and came across three lightly wrinkled sweet red peppers. They weren't useful as a veg anymore but fine for use in a soup or sauce. So I gathered a few more items, all of them fresh, I hasten to add, and set about making a pasta sauce. If you don't like anchovies, use capers or some chopped olives instead. If you don't like either of these ingredients, just season the sauce with a little salt.

When we were eating I asked my other half: "So, what do you think?" The answer was "Mental!"

1 red onion
1 whole bulb garlic
1 small red chilli, chopped
3 sweet red peppers
1 courgette
a few good glugs of olive oil
1 tin of anchovies in olive oil
a few sprigs of fresh oregano
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tin tomatoes in thick sauce
150-175 ml red wine
freshly grated parmesan
fresh rocket

1. Chop all the ingredients into fairly small bits. Pick the leaves off the oregano and chop them finely. You can leave the anchovies whole as they disolve in the hot oil. Use the oil from the can, too, for a more intense flavour.

2. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and add all the ingredients apart from the wine, tomatoes and seasoning. Sauté over a medium heat until the veg are starting to brown stirring occasionally to prevent them from sticking.

3. Season with black pepper. Add the wine, tomatoes and paprika. Bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer you can leave it the better. My sauce bubbled away for about 2 hours and tasted, well, mental ;)

4. Before serving, lightly blend the sauce. Serve with pasta topped with freshly grated parmesan and rocket leaves.

Coriander Pesto

This is a gorgeous alternative to the traditional basil-based pesto. Don't worry about the coriander being to strong-flavoured. Combined with all the other ingredients it makes a yummy pesto. Pasta and home-made pesto = bliss :)))

(serves 4)

50 coriander, washed and spun (or dried really well)
40 toasted hazelnuts, skin removed
4 garlic cloves
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
a good lug of extra virgin olive oil (about 20 seconds' worth)
2 small handfuls of freshly grated parmesan

Put all the ingredients into food processor and zap or into a beaker and purée with a handheld blender. Any left-overs will keep in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container and covered completely with olive oil.

Thrice Cooked Tomato Sauce

You need:
vine tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper
salt, optional
demerrara sugar
dried oregano or basil
extra virgin olive oil
garlic

Halve the tomatoes and sauté cut side down for a few minutes in an non-stick pan until browned - try not to disturb them during this time.

Place cut-side up into a roasting tray, season with pepper (and optionally salt), sprinkle with oregano, demerrara sugar and finely julienned garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and cook at 200° C/gas mark 5 for about 45 minutes or until softened.

Leave to cool, then remove the skins, chop the tomatoes and transfer everything (juice included) into a heavy saucepan, e.g. Le Creuset. Simmer for at least an hour until the sauce has thickened. Check the seasoning and serve.

Boozy Bolognese

Okay, so the Italians call it ragù and baulk at the idea of eating spaghetti, this is a very tasty recipe. Just use a pasta type that'll catch all the lovely juices :)

500g mixed mince (half pork, half beef if possible)
1 onion chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
dried basil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
curry powder
paprika powder
Worchester sauce
100g tomato purée
125ml red wine
1 tin (440ml) chopped tomatoes

1. Sauté onion, garlic for 5 minutes until soft but not browned. Add the basil, stir for 30 seconds, then add the meat.

2. Brown the meat all over. This should take about 10 minutes. Add seasoning.

3. Lastly add the tomato purée, red wine and chopped tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve with enough pasta for 4.

Charmoula (Rick Stein)

This is not my own recipe. It's by Rick Stein and I originally found it on the BBC food website but it has since been taken down (January 2016).


2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1½ tsp ground cumin
½ red finger chilli, seeded and chopped roughly
½ tsp saffron strands
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juice only
1½ tsp paprika
1 tsp salt

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes: The easiest tomato sauce ever

This is so simple and quick to assemble and tastes so delicious. We use it as a tomato "sauce" with pasta, as a side dish with fish and serve it hot or cold.

Basic pasta sauce for two people:

350 g cherry, cherry plum or cherry vine tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper
seasalt
1/2-1 level teaspoon of brown sugar
2-3 garlic cloves, finely sliced
extra virgin olive oil

1. Place half of the garlic in a roasting tray and add the tomatoes on top.
2. Season and sprinkle with the remaining garlic and the sugar.
3. Drizzle with a generous amount of olive oil
4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at full whack for 20-30 minutes or until some of the tomatoes start to brown.
5. Remove vines if used.

Serve with pasta and optionally freshly grated parmesan.



Variations:
1. Add some dried herbs: oregano, basil, herbes de Provence, a bayleaf or similar
2. Add fresh herbs, for example a sprig of thyme, oregano, marjoram
3. Sprinkle with freshly chopped basil before serving.
4. Drizzle with a couple of teaspoons of balsamic vinegar.

Béchamel Sauce

The following recipe makes a relatively small amount of a thick sauce that can be served with a side dish of kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, leafy vegetables such as savoy cabbage, cavolo nero, spring greens or spinach etc.

It's also an essential ingredient when making lasagne or moussaka.

2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1tbsp wholemeal flour
150-200ml semi-skimmed or whole milk
50g parmesan, coarsely grated
1(free-range organic) egg yolk
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

1. Heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a non-stick pan.

2. When the oil is hot, sprinkle in 1 tbsp of wholemeal flour. Stir the flour into the oil and wait till it bubbles.

3. Slowly start pouring in the milk while constantly stirring to avoid lumps.

4. Keep stirring, bring to the boil, then turn off the heat.

5. Stir in the egg yolk and the parmesan. Season with black pepper and keep stirring until you have a thick smooth sauce. Taste to check the seasoning, you may not need to add any salt.

Tomato Salsa

I love the freshness of the tomatoes, the slight heat and the versatility of this tomato salsa. It goes so well with a tray of roasted root vegetables, fish, chops and is great as a dip with tortilla chips.


5 tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped and optionally deseeded
1 small red onion or shallot, finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

1. Place the tomatoes in a bowl, boil some water and pour the water over the tomatoes. After a minute, remove the tomatoes and take their skins off.

2. Cut the skinned tomatoes into quarters, remove the seeds and place the tomato quarters into a colander to let them drain.

3. Chop the tomatoes and place in a bowl.

4. Chop the onion and chilli and add to the tomatoes.

5. Season with pepper and salt and leave to marinate at room temperature for at least half an hour before serving.

Tip:
Any leftovers can be used in a sauce the next day.

Rocket Pesto

There is some truly wild rocket growing in our garden. I planted it from seed using a packet of 'wild rocket' for the first time about 4 years ago and got a really good crop the first year. After it flowered, it self-seeded in a well-behaved manner in the first year, i. e. it just sprung up again in the same area. From then on, there was no containing it, which is partly my fault as I couldn't bear tearing it out from between the flagstones of the seating area. The last couple of years that wasn't so much of a problem as I harvested it continually and some of it got trampled by us and friends we had over for BBQs. But this year it's rained so much, we've hardly used the garden so it's been left to grow where it wants. I keep harvesting it but, to be honest, it's gone rampant. This afternoon, however, I felt a cull was really unavoidable. I gave my heart a push and started pulling the rocket plants out, roots and all. After cleaning it, I had 135 grams - some of which you'll see in the Grapefruit & Avocado Salad we had as a starter tonight. But approx. 100 grams went into a rocket pesto. This recipe is based on/inspired by the rocket pesto recipe from Sophie Grigson's 'Sunshine Food', one of my all time favourite cookbooks.

Alright, my blurb says that there'd be dishes I invented and here, for the second time in as many days I'm posting a recipe from a cookbook. Why? Because creating some recipes from scratch would be like reinventing the wheel. So why not take advantage of what's already out there and tweak if necessary? That's what I've done here. And, pardon the pun, I think this rocket pesto simply rocks ;)


100g wild rocket, roughly torn
60g toasted almonds, roughly chopped (I didn't blanch them but just left the skin on)
60g parmesan or pecorino, broken into chunks
2-3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
freshly ground black pepper
125-150ml extra virgin olive oil

Whiz all the ingredients in a food processor until you get a smooth pesto. Use what you need and transfer the remainder into a sterilised jar and top with olive oil to seal.

I only own an upright blender, which I use for my breakfast smoothies, and a hand-held blender and they're both really hard work, if not useless, as there is not much liquid to work with here. So I'm finally going to invest in food processor!



Variations:
1. Use hazelnuts - as per Sophie Grigson's recipe.
2. A few weeks ago, I used toasted pine nuts but I have to admit that I prefer the pesto with almonds.
3. Use basil and toasted pine nuts to make a classic pesto.

Slow cooked tomato sauce

This sauce can be made in advance, for example over the weekend, and also freezes well. So preparing dinner on a Monday or any other weekday night won't take any time at all. Just cook some pasta or gnocchi, throw together a quick salad and you have a tasty meal. The sauce also goes well with grilled fish. Or use it to top grilled pork chops, add a slice of mozzarella and grill for a minute or two until the cheese is melting.


3x 440ml tins of chopped tomatoes in thick sauce - you can also use tinned tomatoes in tomato juice
2 onions, finely chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 fresh or dry bay leaves, rolled up and held together with a cocktail stick
120ml extra virgin olive oil
50ml red wine or 1tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 lightly heaped tsp brown sugar
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt

1. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan, e.g. Le Creuset, and gently fry the onions and garlic for approx. 5 minutes until tender but not browned.

2. Pour in the tomatoes and stir through.

3. Season with pepper and salt. Add the bay leaf, sugar and wine. Stir, cover and bring to the boil.

4. Turn the heat low and simmer gently for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours stirring occasionally.

5. About 15 minutes, before the end of the cooking time, take the lid off to let some of the liquid evaporate and thicken the sauce. Remove the bay leaves and check the seasoning before serving.

Variations:
1. Use dried basil instead of bay leaves.
2. Add some sun dried tomatoes and/or black olives.
3. Add some fresh chilli to give the sauce a bit (or a lot of) heat.