QUICK BERRY MINT ICE CREAM

Everyone loves a quick tasty pudding, especially if it's practically healthy! This recipe is great if you want to impress with no stress and little time to spare.

BERRY ICE-CREAM

*Jamie Oliver's recipe from FOOD REVOLUTION

• 1 x 500g pack of mixed frozen berries
• 150g (5½oz) fresh blueberries
• 3-4tbsp runny honey
• 1 x 500g tub of natural yoghurt
• A few sprigs of fresh mint
• Put 4 small glasses in the freezer for the dessert

BERRY ICE-CREAM: 

Get the glasses and the frozen berries out of the freezer. Divide the fresh blueberries between the glasses. Put the honey and yoghurt and leaves from the sprigs of mint into the food processor and whiz, then add the frozen berries and whiz again until combined. Spoon the frozen yoghurt over the fresh berries and serve. 

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.

SUMMER CORIANDER & MINT ROAST CHICKEN

 This recipe is perfect for the hot weather we have been experiencing lately. Light, zesty and incredibly tasty. It is also delicious to eat cold a few day later, so perfect to make on a Sunday and use the remaining meat for work lunch boxes or easy evening meals.

RECIPE 

*Adapted recipe from "Chicken Lemon cumin and Mint" Epicurious | May 2002 | Lori Longbotham

2kg Whole Chicken *preferably free-range

A good handful of fresh mint leaves

A good handful of coriander (cilantro) leaves & stalks *leaves for serving

Zest & juice of 2 lemons

2 Garlic cloves crushed & minced

1 tsp Ground cumin

1 tsp Paprika *preferably hot

1/4 tsp course salt

freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

METHOD

1. In a food processor or wizzer, combine the coriander, mint, lemon zest & juice, garlic, cumin, paprika and seasoning. Blend together whilst slowly pouring in the olive oil, until it starts becoming more of a rough paste pulp.
2. Place the chicken on a large baking tray *one that will fit in your fridge. Take your marinade and spread all over, loosening the skin on the breast of the chicken and spread under the skin and  underneath the chicken too. Making sure you get it round the legs and wings. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or over night. I prepped this a day before so ended up marinading for 24 hours. 
3. Preheat the oven to 200° FAN. Let the chicken stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
4. Roast the chicken for 15 minutes at 200° before reducing the temperature down to 180°. Cook for another 65 minutes and base the chicken half way through, making sure it doesn't dry out.
5. Once cooked cover with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
6. Pour the juices from the pan into a jug, skimming off the fat from the top. Carve the chicken and serve a drizzle of the juices over the meat with marinated courgette salad, herby cous cous.

 *Any leftover cold meat also works perfectly in a salad with the leftover orange saffron puree made from the Saffron orange salad recipe, bean sprouts, chilli, peeled courgette and lots of fresh 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.

Moroccan Honey & Mint Bundt Cake

If like me you have loads of left over fresh mint and dozen of eggs in the fridge that  need using up, this is the recipe for you!

I have to say this is the first cake I have ever baked that contains fresh herbs and I like it! Why have I never done this before?! It just shows that is always worth a good google when you have an abundance of particular ingredient. You end up finding unique new recipes.

The original recipe had a lot more coconut and no ground almonds in it. But due to a limited amount of coconut, I improvised and it seemed to work.

Here is the recipe I used:

Moroccan Honey & Mint Bundt Cake

Ingredients

For the cake batter

160g butter, softened

310g sugar

1½  teaspoons dried or fresh chopped mint

6 eggs

100g desiccated coconut

130g ground almonds

210g self-raising flour

10-15 Cup Bundt Tin (or you can use 20cm spring-release cake-tin with baking paper)

Method

Preheat the oven to 150ºC.

Beat the butter, sugar and mint until they begin to change colour. Add small quantities of the egg, coconut, ground almonds and flour, beating well between each addition to prevent the mixture from curdling. Repeat until you have used these ingredients up.

Butter a large Bundt cake-tin and then lightly dust with flour. Pour the batter in. Bake for 1–1½  hours (you can make the Mint Syrup during this time).

Check the cake is baked by inserting a skewer in the centre. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for 5–10 minutes.

For the Mint Syrup

200ml water

180g sugar

1½  cups roughly chopped fresh mint

Place the water, sugar and mint in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 30–45 minutes. Strain through a sieve and discard the mint leaves. Use the syrup as directed.

To finish

75g butter

180g honey

180g flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 170ºC.

With the cake still in the tin, prick 60–70 holes in the top. Pour the Mint Syrup evenly over the cake, allowing it to soak in. Once soaked in fully, turn cake out onto a lipped baking tray.

Place the butter, honey and almonds in a saucepan and melt together, stirring until well combined. Do not allow to boil. Remove from the heat and immediately spread this topping on the cake.

Place the cake back in the oven and bake the topping to a light amber colour, approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool in the tin for 20–30 minutes.

Remove the cake from the tin carefully and remove the baking paper gently while still warm.

Dust with icing sugar before serving warm with a blob of creme fraiche.

Have to say it's great to be back back blogging and I plan to do a lot more this year. Hopefully I stick to this promise this year!

Tap soon....