Lambs Lettuce with Sautéd Mushrooms

Just came home from 5 days in Berlin that envolved a lot of eating and drinking. So for now, it's salad days!

Serves 2 as lunch/supper or 4 as a starter.

100 g lambs lettuce
250 g mushrooms, sliced
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
vinaigrette

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the mushrooms when hot. Fry over a high heat http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifuntil golden all over and season with pepper and salt.

2. Meanwhile wash and spin the lambs lettuce and arrange on plates. Drizzle with a little vinaigrette.

3. Sprinkle with the hot mushrooms and serve immediately.

Variation:
If you're worried about the fat content, mix the juice of a lemon, pepper and salt and drizzle over the lettuce instead of the vinaigrette,

Roast Tomato Soup

I've recently started making soups with roast vegetables and have found that they're easy to make and very tasty.

1.5 kg vine tomatoes, halved
1 small red chilli, deseeded (optional) and finely sliced
5 large garlic cloves, greated
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
extra virgin olive oil
500 ml vegtable stock or stock of your choice
2 handfuls of breadcrumbs

1. Scatter the thyme sprigs into a non-stick roasting tray.

2. Place the tomatoes cut side up into the roasing tray. Seasson with pepper and salt. Scatter the garlic and chilli on top. Drizzle with olive oil.

3. Place in a pre-heated oven and cook at gas mark 6-7, 200-220° C, for 15 minutes. Then turn the tomatoes cut side down and cook for a further 20 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft.

4. Transfer everything into a saucepan. Add the breadcrumbs and stock, then purée. 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.

Multi-Layer Vegetable Bake with Asparagus

1 aubergine, cut into 1-1.5 cm thick slices
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
4 large vine tomatoes, sliced
500 g boiled potatoes, sliced
6 mushrooms, sliced
250 g green asparagus, whole with woody bits snapped off
1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
a small handful of freshly grated parmesan.

a few tbsp of rocket oil (see variation of the basil oil recipe)

1 quantity of béchamel sauce

1. Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in a large non-stick pan and fry the aubergines, if necessary in batches. Don't use too much oil. It's okay for one side to brown in a dry pan.
2. Place the aubergines with the oily side down into a large oven-proof dish,covering the bottom of the dish. Season with a little pepper and salt.
3. Place the peppers skin-side down into the hot pan without adding oil. Remove after a minute or when they have browned a little.
4. Distribute the peppers on top of the aubergines.
5. Scatter the mushrooms and chilli. Season with a little pepper and salt.
6. Cover the vegetables with sliced potatoes.
7. Drizzle the potatoes with 1-2 tbsp. of rocket oil.
8. Cover the potatoes with the tomato slices.
9. Drizzle the tomatoes with 1-2 tbsp. of rocket oil.
10. Place the asparagus on top.
11. Cover with the béchamel and a small handful of freshly grated parmesan.


Bake in the oven at 175-200°C or gas mark 5-6 for approx. 45 minutes, covering the dish for the first 35 minutes to prevent the sauce and cheese from burning.

Creamy Chicken Salad

This is a rich and creamy dish - real summer comfort food!

Serves 4-6

300-400 left-over free range or organic roast chicken, a room temperature
3 tbps of Greek yoghurt or soured cream
1 avocado, cubed
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
freshly squeezed lemon juice
frehsly ground black pepper
mixed salad leaves
a handful of cucumber slices, peeled, halved and cored
a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
vinaigrette (optional)

1. Mix all the chicken, yoghurt, avocado, egg, lemon juice and black pepper.
2. Place a generous portion of salad leaves on a individual deep plates. Scatter with cucumber and tomatoes and drizzle with a little vinaigrette, if used.
3. Place a couple of heaped tablespoons of the chicken mix on top.

Artichokes with 2 Dips

The first time I tasted artichokes was in France when at the age of 17 I visited my pen pal who lived abuot 6 km outside of Paris. They served them with a vinaigrette and a mayonnaise based dip, which may or may not have been aïoli. I've since introduced quite a few people to artichokes always serving them with two similar dips. :)

1 artichoke per person, cooked
freshly ground pepper
sea salt

Balsamic dip:
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Yoghurt and mayonnaise dip:
2 heaped tbsp greek-style yoghurt
1 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
a squeeze of lemon juice

1. Bring a pan of water that's large enough to hold your artichokes to the boil.

2. Add pepper and salt and add the artichokes.

3. Boil for approx. 30-45 minutes. They're ready when you can pull one of the other leaves off and the flesh at it's bottom is soft.

4. Tip into a collander and rinse with cold water to prevent them from cooking further.

5. Serve at room temperature with the dips and optionally fresh crusty bread.

Alternative dips:
1. classic vinaigrette
2. aïoli

Fricassee of Left-Over Chicken with Grapes

Traditionally a fricassee is made from boiled chicken but I thought I'd give it a try with my left-over roast chicken. I was also curious to experiment with using grapes and the result was rather yummy. The recipe below should be enough for four people.

350 g left-over organic or free range chicken, deboned and skin removed
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
250 ml whipping cream
2 handfuls of mixed red and white seedless grapes, halved
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
fresh parseley or coriander for serving, if at hand

1. Heat the olive oil in a heavy oven-proof saucepan (I used my Le Creuset) and sautee the onion and garlic until soft.
2. Add the chicken and grapes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Pour in the cream and season with nutmeg.
4. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to prevent from sticking. Check the seasoning.
5. Then remove from the heat, cover with a lid and cook in the oven at gas mark 5/200° C for 20-30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and the meat is piping hot.
6. Serve with rice.

Variation:
1. You could simply heat the fricassee on the stove. I decided to place it in the oven so it would be ready at the same time as the rice.

2. Try adding a teaspoon or two of capers, a tradional fricassee ingredient.