Sweet Potato, Cumin and Ras-el-Hanout Spread

I don't like buying ready-made or processed foods. Instead, I look at the list of ingredients and most of the time find that I can easily recreate a product myself but without additives, preservatives etc. Of course, not all products have "bad" stuff in them such as the dips/spreads available on Saturday at the health food shop for customers to try. One was a sweet potato dip with ras-el-hanout and really tasty. When we saw the price for a 150-g-tub we checked the list of ingredients. Easy! We had all the ingredients at home. 

400-500 gsweet potato
1/2 can chickpeas
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ras-el-hanout
sea salt
black pepper
juice of one lemon
good glug of olive oil

Cut a sweet potato lengthways, drizzle a little EVO into a roasting tray and roast for about 45 minutes at 200 °C/gas mark 6 until soft. Scoop out the flesh and leave to cool. Then season with pepper, salt, toasted ground cumin and ras-el-hanout. Add crushed garlic,  drained chickpeas, lemon juice and EVO. Blend, check the seasoning and enjoy.

Rocket, Orange and Avocado Salad

Last week, there weren't any blood oranges at my favourite discounter and I thought that's the season over. Yesterday, however, they were back so I grabbed another bundle. Last night, we had a vegetarian carbonara, which I was going to acccompany with a rocket salad. That's when I discovered two very ripe avocados and decided to try something a bit different. Ordinary oranges will work well with this recipe.

1 bag unwashed wild rocket (approx. 100 g)
1 ripe avocado
2 (blood) oranges
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
balsamic
extra virgin olive oil (EVO)
1 tsp orange marmalade, optional

1. Make the dressing. Squeeze one of the oranges. Add salt, pepper, balsamic, EVO, orange juice and marmalade, if used, to a bowl and whisk together.

2. Wash and spin the rocket. Place into a salad bowl.

3. Peel the second orange and chop into the segments. Add to the rocket.

4. Cut the avocado in half, twist and separate the two halves. Gently squeeze the half that contains the stone so it drops out. With a teaspon, scoop out the flesh in chunks straight into the salad bowl.

5. Pour the dressing over the salad, mix and serve immediately.

Sautéd Leek with Maple Syrup

Sautéd leek with garlic mash and grilled broccoli and blood orange salad
(the salad is a modified recipe from an Ottolenghi cookbook)

I really like leek but don't make it that often as a side veg and if I do I tend to oven roast or barbecue it. The other day, however, I decided to sauté it. I'd planned to add mushrooms and a touch of soured cream and serve it with pasta but my other half wasn't keen so I kept it simple. Turned out it was delicious and we'll certainly make it again this way.

3-4 leeks
olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
maple syrup

Finely slice the leek, wash and shake out the excess water.
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Sauté the leek over a high heat until the water has evaporated. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Keep cooking until the leek starts to brown. Turn down the heat and cook until soft. Drizzle with maple syrup and turn up the heat for a minute or two. Serve.

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.

Sautéed Savoy Cabbage with Balsamic Glaze

My other half loves cabbage and I have to admit the savoy cabbage looked great at the store last week – dark green, very curly leaves on the outside, tender yellow on the inside. Still it's supposed to be summer and cabbage in summer. I wasn't too happy but in the end came up with something light and very tasty.

1 savoy cabbage
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
water
balsamic glaze

Finely shred the leaves of a savoy cabbage, removing the stalks. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a frying pan and sautée the savoy until it starts to brown. Season with pepper and salt. Add a little water and simmer adding water as necessary until the savoy is cooked to your liking. There should be very little cooking liquid left. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool until tepid or at room temperature. Drizzle over some balsamic glaze, toss, check the seasoning and enjoy.

Potato and Aubergine Hot Pot

My other half runs a cooking group at work, twice a week. Funny, she never cooks at home, well hardly ever... Erm, change of subject ;)

Today, they made stovies and tonight we used the idea at home and came up with this.

(serves 4 as a main course, 8 as a side dish)

1 kg potatoes
1 large aubergine
5-6 large tomatoes
1 onion
1 red onion
1 pint of stock of your choice
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
dried herbs of your choice
1 red chilli
3-4 cloves of garlic


Slice all the vegetables very thinly and layer them in a roasting tray seasoning with pepper and salt as you go: potatoes sprinkled with pepper and salt, onion rings. tomatoes sprinkled with pepper and salt and dried herbs, aubergines sprinkled with pepper and salt. Repeat the veggie layers.

Finely slice the red chilli, optionally removing the seeds, and finely grate the garlic. Mix with the stock. Pour over the veg. They'll be half covered in stock. Cover with tin foil and cook in a preheated oven at 220 °C for approx. 30-45 minutes. Check if the veggies are done or almost done. Remove the tin foil and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes.

Serve with a green salad for a main course or as a side dish.

Perada

When I made membrillo (quince cheese) for the first time last autumn I realised that fruit "cheeses" have been around for a long time. Knowing I couldn't get quince for another year and expecting the batch of membrillo to be finished well before then I made a mental note to try and make perada (pear cheese) some time.

Today, my favourite discount supermarket hat 25 % of Abate pears and I seized the opportunity. I came home with 2.5 kg of pears, went on the internet and found two recipes I liked. One is from a blog called LondonEats, the other from whatscookingamerica. I based my perada primarily on the LondonEats recipe but added apples instead of pectin as suggested by whatscookingamerica.

After cooking the fruit pulp for three hours without my spoon leaving a trail I decided I'd settle for a soft spreadable rather than a firm perada that can be sliced. I'm sure it'll be just as tasty.

2.5 kg pears
0.5 kg apples
soft brown (unrefined sugar), 1 part to 2 parts of fruit pulp
300 ml water
juice of 2 lemons
rind of 1 lemon, cut into strips with a speed peeler

1. Rinse the fruit, don't remove the skin but place whole into a couple of saucepans so there's just the one layer and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the fruit is soft. The fruit is soft when a pointed knife slips easily into the pears. As my pears were still firm, this took 30 minutes of simmering. I removed the apples earlier as their skin burst when they were done.

I thought the boiled pears looked reallz funky.

2. Drain and leave to cool. Once the pears are cool enough to handle, remove the skin and discard. The fruit now needs to be passed through a sieve using the back of a (wooden) spoon. You can either chop it up or run it through the food processor with the coarse grater disc inserted. The latter tip I gleaned from the membrillo recipe and it makes pulping the fruit much easier.

3. Measure out the pulp. The above recipe resulted in 1.8-2 l of pulp. As it was quite sweet already I used only 1 part sugar to 2 parts fruit.

4. Place the fruit pulp, sugar, lemon juice, water and lemon rind into a stainless steel saucepan. Stir well and bring to the boil. Simmer until the mixture is thick enough for a spoon to leave trails. Mine took 3 hours but never got that thick, perhaps because I didn't use pectin.

Remember to stir regularly to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Warning: Do be careful. The thicker the mixture gets the more it spatters and those spatters are roasting. My right hand got hit numerous times. Eventually, I got wise to the danger and put on an oven glove to stir.

5. Remove the lemon rind. It seemed a shame to discard it so I set it aside and placed a slice or two on the top of each filled jar. Pour into sterilised jars , screw on the lid and turn upside down until completely cool. Store in a dark cool place.  

Hummus with Cumin, Paprika and Fresh Coriander

There already is a basic hummus recipe in this blog but I do like this version so much I decided it deserved its own entry.

1 440 ml tin of chickpeas in water
3-4 tbsp tahini
juice of a lemon
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp freshly ground toasted cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 garlic clove, squeezed through a garlic press

Drain the chickpeas but catch the liquor. You'll need about one-third of it to ensure the hummus is creamy rather than dry.

Place all the ingredients into the beaker that comes with your hand blender or into the food processor. Whizz and check the flavour.

Beetroot, Carrot and Strawberry Salad

We eat salad year round but I am looking forward to the warmer months when salad as a main dish is irresistable.

Today at the supermarket, I couldn't resist the shiny, plump looking strawberries from Spain but I should have shown some restraint. They taste only faintly of strawberries. Ach well, as we say in Scotland. I'm not going to waste them. Some of them, I spontaneously added to a side salad tonight.

I think that some toasted chopped walnuts would go well with this. For a non-vegan version, add chunks of buffalo mozzarella or goats cheese.

1 carrot
1 raw beetroot
1 handful of strawberries
1-2 tbsp fresh basil
1-2 tbsp fresh parsley
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp maple syrup (or honey)
2 tbsp balsamic
4 tbsp extra virgine olive oil
juice of half an orange

Peel the carrot and beetroot, then coarsely shred. Chop the herbs. Half the strawberries lengthways and slice. Mix the veg, herbs and fruit. Make the dressing and toss the salad. Leave to marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

Carrot and Coconut Soup

Serving in matching coloured bowls is not mandatory ;)

1 kg carrots
300 g potatoes
1 l vegetable or chicken stock
1 can of coconut milk
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 red chilli with seeds
1/2-1 tsp toasted and ground cumin
olive oil

1. Peel the carrots and slice into 5 mm thick pieces, peel and dice the potatoes.
2. Finely chop the onion, garlic and chilli.
3. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion, garlic and chilli for 2-3 minutes without browning. Add the carrots, potatoes and cumin. Mix, then pour in the stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the vegetables are soft. Whizz and add the coconut milk. Heat through and check the seasoning.

Chickpea and Vegetable Pan

Today's recipe comes without too many instructions. It was spontaneous, vegan and delicious. Just try it using your imagination. Serve with warm crusty bread, e. g. ciabatta, pasta, potatoes, couscous, millet, buckwheat, rice or... or...

red onion, sliced
aubergine, diced
courgette, cored and sliced
mushrooms, sliced
1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tin chopped tomatoes
splash of red wine
sea salt
black pepper
toasted cumin seeds, ground
garlic, crushed
olive oil
chopped parsley or coriander to serve, optional

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and start sautéing the onion and aubergine. Once they start browning, throw in the courgette and mushrooms. Add the garlic and seasoning. After a few minutes add the can of chopped tomatoes and the wine. Cover and simmer until the veggies are almost done. Add the chickpeas during the last five minutes. Serve sprinkled with freshly chopped parsley or coriander if at hand.

Aubergine and Sundried Tomato Dip

Today, I really needed to use up two aubergines I bought last week and decided on a baba ganoush. Only, I had no tahini in the house. After raking through the food cupboard to find something to thicken the dip with – I like using this kind of thing as a spread – I spotted a pouch of sundried tomatoes. These are soft but don't have any oil on them, other than what's needed to separate them, a bit like raisins. The result is really tasty. Will have to do this again. If you don't have this type of sundried tomatoes to hand just use the ones in oil and don't add any oil to the dip until it's been blended and you know if it needs more oil

2 aubergines
juice of 1/2 lemon
5-6 sundried tomatoes
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp toasted, ground cumin
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Pierce the aubergines all over with a fork and roast in the oven at 220° C/ gas mark 7 for 90 minutes. Scoop out the flesh and leave to cool.

Combine all the ingredients and blend. Check the seasoning. Serve sprinkled with some chopped herbs, e. g. basil, coriander.

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.)

Golden Beet Salad

I love beetroot and I love the patterns when you cut them opten and all the wonderful differently coloured varieties. Their earthy flavour goes really well with a sweet dressing, though by that I don't mean adding honey, maple syrup or sugar. Instead I'm referring to the type of vinegar I use. With red beetroot, balsamic is wonderful but it discolours the beautiful golden colour of these beets, which unfortanatley oxidise very quickly anyway.

500 g golden beet
2-3 tbsp elderflower vinegar
6 tbsp elderflower oil
sea salt
freshly ground black or white pepper

Make the dressing. Peel the beetroot and grate finely. Mix and serve immediately.

Honey and Cumin Carrot Ribbons with Ribbon Pasta

(serves 2)

200 g pasta
4 carrots
1/2 tsp cumin, toasted and ground
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 garlic clove

Boil the pasta in salted water according to the packet instructions. Meanwhile, peel the carrots and cut into ribbons using a speed peeler. Heat some oil in a frying pan and add the garlic, cumin and fresh thyme. Soften for a minute or two without browning the garlic. Add the carrot ribbons, season with pepper and salt and sauté until the carrots are tender. Remove the thyme sprigs and serve.

Non-vegetarian variation with Kabanossi sausage croutons, fennel seeds, goats cheese, lime and fresh coriander. Leave out the honey and thyme.

1 thin Kabanossi sausage
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
fresh coriander
juice of 1 lime

Thinly slice the Kabanossi sausage and fry with the fennel seeds in a little olive oil until crisp. Remove from pan and drain on kitchen paper. Chop the coriander and goats cheese. Set aside.

Prepare the carrots as above leaving out the honey and adding the juice of half the lime instead. Cook the pasta.

Mix the carrot ribbons and pasta and divide onto two warmed plates. Add the goats cheese. Sprinkle with coriander and kabanossi and drizzle with the  juice of the remaining half lime. Serve immediately.

Beetroot Salad

I love fresh beetroot in all colours and in a variety of recipes. This is a new one but it's becoming a firm favourite. It's just a shame that the red beetroot stains everything. So make sure you wear vinyl gloves. On the other hand, the intense colour is great for colouring Easter eggs.

Raw beetroot has quite a strong, earthy flavour that's not to everybody's taste. But you can also make this salad with cooked beetroot. I just don't think it's as nice. ;)

1 bunch beetroot, approx. 500 g
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Peel and grate the beetroot, finely or coarsely depending on your preference. Make the dressing and mix with the beetroot. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes before serving.

Apple, Carrot and Celeriac Soup

Earlier this week, I felt like trying out some new stuff. The result was this soup and a salad made with apples, carrots and celeriac.

1/2 celeriac
6-7 carrots
2-3 Braeburn apples
750 g potatoes
1 onion
1 red chili
2-3 garlic cloves
1.5 l stock
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Ras el Hanout
Olive oil
1 tin of coconut milk or 250 ml single cream

Peel the celeriac, potatoes and carrots and cut into small cubes. Quarter the apples, core and cut into large cubes. Chop the onion, garlic and (optionally deseeded) chilli, then sauté in olive oil for 3-4 min. Add the Garam Masala and Ras el Hanout and sauté for a further minute. Add the vegetables, mix well and pour in the stock. Season with pepper and salt. Cook on a highish simmer until the vegetables are tender. Lastly, pour in the coconut milk/cream. Blend the soup and check the seasoning. Optionally serve with a tablespoon of freshly grated apple.

Apple, Carrot and Celeriac Salad

With the weather being so springlike, I decided to make a refreshing salad combining root vegetables and summery flavours. That same day, I also made a soup of celeriac, carrots and apples.


1/2 celeriac
3-4 carrots
2 Braeburn apples
herb salt
white peper
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp elderflower flavoured olive oil
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Peel the celeriac and carrots. Quarter and core the unpeeled apples. Prepare the dressing. Grate the vegetables and fruit finely or coarsely depending on your preference and pour the dressing over immediately to prevent the celeriac and apples from oxidising. Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

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.

Hazelnutty Salad

Yesterday, I bought hazelnut oil for the first time and of course had to try it out straight away. I used a bag of winter baby leaves, chopped toasted hazelnuts and a very simple dressing. I found I'd made too much dressing so I covered the remainder with cling film and stuck it in the fridge.

1 bag of baby leaf lettuce
chopped toasted hazelnuts
Herbamare organic herb salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp organic balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp hazelnut oil
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil