COURGETTE & WATERCRESS SALAD // BULGAR WHEAT

These are two simple salads that we had with the Herby chicken on the previous post. Eating courgettes in a raw form follows the new trend of RAW FOOD eating which has the added benefits of retaining as many nutrients as possible that would usually be lost in the cooking process.

BULGAR WHEAT 

RECIPE

100g Bulgar Wheat 

1 tsp Vegetable stock, Bouillon powder is best

1 handful of fresh mint leaves chopped

1 tbsp Extra virgin oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

METHOD

1. Put the bulgar wheat in a bowl with the bouillon powder and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 10 minutes to soften and absorb the liquid. Drian off any excess.
2. Place in a bowl, stir though the mint, lemon juice and oil & season with freshly ground pepper.

A bit of yogurt mixed with lemon zest goes very nicely with this.

COURGETTE & WATERCRESS SALAD
RECIPE
*Adapted from "Marinated Courgette Salad with pine Nuts & Parmesan" BBC GoodFood

1 Large courgette (or 2 small ones), cut into long ribbons using a potato peeler.
2 Large handfuls of fresh watercress
1 Red chilli finely chopped
1 tbsp Extra virgin oil
1 tbsp lemon juice

METHOD

1. Whisk together the oil, lemon juice and chilli.
2. Toss the courgette in the dressing and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Add the watercress.
4. Place in a bowl, season with freshly ground pepper and scatter a few coriander leaves.

MINT PEA HOUMOUS // SAFFRON CHICKEN SALAD

I grew up understanding the importance of a Sunday Lunch. It wasn't the fact you were having a roast dinner, but the fact it was the one day in the week where the family would all sit together to eat. It is so easy to get wrapped up in day to day life, hectic schedules and social media that the 'here and now' seems insignificant. However the 'here and now' is all we have. Sit, take your time and eat rather rushing to consume food before hitting the next task. But the most important part is that you end up talking to one another.

Last week I made a simple Sunday lunch for Ben and his parents. The sun has been out in full force recently and rather than cooking a hot heavy rich roast dinner I thought a light summer zesty menu would fit the bill a lot better.

MINT PEA HOUMOUS
This was a last minute addition to the menu. I only decided to do this an hour before the Pickett's arrived. It's definitely an adapted recipe as I had to work with what was in the fridge and there was no fresh broad beans! Fortunately we already had a lovely fresh loaf of sourdough.

RECIPE 

*Adapted recipe from "Incredible smashed peas & broad beans on toast " Jamie oliver

450g Frozen peas, defrosted and drained.

1/2 Red onion, finely chopped

1 Garlic clove, peeled and crushed.

1 small bunch of fresh mint leaves

Juice of 1 lime

115g yogurt

50g Finely grated parmesan plus extra for serving

2 tbsp Extra virgin Oil *Highly recommend reasonably priced Sainsbury's Kalamata Extra Virgin Oil PDO £5.50

Freshly ground pepper and salt.

4 Slices of Sourdough bread, toasted & halved.

METHOD

1. Put the peas, onion, garlic, mint, lime juice, grated parmesan, yogurt olive oil and seasoning into a blender and whizz up. *I got a little carried away with the blender and think in retrospect that it would've been better to have it slightly courser with perhaps a few peas smashed by hand and then mixed through.
2. Chill the houmous in the fridge for a bit before serving.
3. Toast the sourdough and put a dollop of the houmous on the toast. With a peeler, peel a slither of parmesan place on top and fishing with a drizzle of olive oil, lime juice, fresh pepper and a mint leaf.

 

SAFFRON CHICKEN SALAD

I have recently got myself Ottolenghi's PLENTY recipe book. Now that I'm slowly gathering a library full of cookbooks I am made a decision to try to use recipes from the books I already have,  however I did get this recipe from his other cookbook 'jerusalem' which I haven't yet added to the collection. This was delicious recipe and I would do it again in a heartbeat! 

RECIPE

*Adapted recipe from "Saffron chicken and herb salad " Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi

1 Orange

50g Honey

1 tsp saffron threads

1 tbsp White wine vinegar

300ml Water

700g Chicken breast

4 tbsp Olive oil

2 Small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced *Try using a mandolin as long you don't cut your finger off!?

15g Fresh coriander leaves

15g Basil leaves

15g Mint leaves

100g Rocket

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 Red chilled, thinly sliced

1 Garlic clove, crushed

Salt and pepper.

METHOD

1. Heat the oven to 180°C. Trim and discard 1cm off the top and tail of the orange and cut it into 12 wedges, keeping the skin on but picking out any pips. Place the wedges in a small saucepan along with the honey, saffron, vinegar and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for about an hour. At the end, you should be left with soft orange pieces and about three tablespoons of thick syrup; add water during the cooking, if needed. Use a food processor to blitz the orange (skin and all) and syrup into a smooth, runny paste; again, add water if needed.
2. Rub the chicken breasts with half the olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper, and place on a very hot ridged griddle pan. Sear for about two minutes on each side, to get clear char marks all over. Transfer to a roasting tray and roast for 15-20 minutes, until just cooked.
3. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, but still warm, break it up with your hands into quite large pieces. Put these in a large bowl, pour over half the orange paste and stir. *The remaining orange syrup will keep in the fridge for a few days, and makes a good addition to a herb salsa to serve with oily fish.
4. Add the remaining ingredients to the salad, including the rest of the oil, and toss gently. Taste, add salt and pepper and, if needed, some more olive oil and lemon juice.

Firery Chutney - Wear glove trust me!

**Images on the way promise.......**

So on the weekend I made a couple of batches of chutneys. A firery one and a plum one....

This recipe is Pete's fav. It doesn't make loads & unless you've grown lots of red peppers, it isn't very cost effective. However it's BLOODY good!

Before you start take my advice when peeling the chillies - WEAR GLOVES otherwise your hands will be on fire - I know!

It's one of Jamie Oliver's recipes and is called:

cheeky chilli-pepper chutney

RECIPE:
• 8-10 fresh red chillies
• 8 ripe red peppers
• olive oil
• 2 medium red onions, peeled and chopped
a sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• a 5cm piece of cinnamon stick
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 100g brown sugar
150ml balsamic vinegar

METHOD
If you want your chutney to last for a while, make sure you have some small sterilized jars ready to go (see page 324). Place your chillies and peppers over a hot barbecue, in a griddle pan or on a tray under a hot grill, turning them now and then until blackened and blistered all over. Carefully lift the hot peppers and chillies into a bowl (the smaller chillies won’t take as long as the peppers so remove them first) and cover tightly with clingfilm. As they cool down, they’ll cook gently in their own steam. By the time they’re cool enough to handle, you’ll be able to peel the skin off easily.

When you’ve got rid of most of the skin, trimmed off the stalks and scooped out the seeds, you’ll be left with a pile of nice tasty peppers and chillies. Finely chop by hand or put in a food processor and whiz up. Then put to one side.

Heat a saucepan and pour in a splash of olive oil. Add the onions, rosemary, bay leaves and cinnamon and season with a little salt and pepper. Cook very slowly for about 20 minutes or so, until the onions become rich, golden and sticky.

Add the chopped peppers and chillies, the sugar and the vinegar to the onions and keep cooking. When the liquid reduces and you’re left with a lovely thick sticky chutney, season well to taste. Remove the cinnamon stick and the bay leaves. Either spoon into the sterilized jars and put them in a cool dark place, or keep in the fridge and use right away. In sterilized jars, the chutney should keep for a couple of months.