Sicilian salad

I’ve been on a foodie (and scenic!) magic trip recently, and came upon this fabulous salad in the SW of the island, namely in Ortigia, the old part of Syracuse.  I fell in love with this beautiful spot, and also in the restaurant, Porta Marina in Via dei Candelai.  We went there twice in three nights…says it all!

Here’s a version of their Sicilian salad: fennel, orange, olives and so much more….

fennel salad

 

Serves 2:

1 fennel bulb
1 orange
12 small black olives, pitted (we found the slightly shriveled ones the tastiest)
a generous handful of rocket
2 tbsp capers, well rinsed  – if they are small capers you may want to add some more
about 10 large raspberries; keep 3 for decoration
optional: anchovies; the original had them, but for vegetarian purposes, I left them out

Dressing: virgin olive oil, some lemon juice, the above mentioned raspberries and juice of half the orange

Method:

Using a mandolin, shave the fennel, saving the fronds for decoration.  If you don’t have a mandolin then try to slice it as finely as possible – makes all the difference.
Halve the orange.  One half will be juiced for the dressing.  Peel the other half, ensuring you don’t have any pith.  Cut this half into slices, then into small quarters.
Halve the black olives, removing the stones.
Rinse the capers well as they can be just too salty for this dish (although a bit of salt with the sweetness of the berries and orange is great.  Hence if you love anchovies, chopping a few into the dish would be tasty).

For the dressing simply mash the 7 large raspberries, adding the orange juice and olive oil to make it more liquid.  Be careful with adding salt, but freshly ground pepper is delicious.  Some lemon juice will add more interest, and you may want to add a dash of water if it’s too thick.

Carefully mix all the ingredients together with the rocket leaves, and add the dressing.  Dot the remaining halved raspberries on top.
Buon appetito!

 

 

Rainbow Vegetarian Platter

This creation came about when I was trying to think of a new recipe for our vegetarian son’s birthday.  I wanted to include his favourite tastes: chili, goat’s cheese, fried onions and roasted butternut.  I also wanted it to be special, a little showy!  Hence it became a two recipe meal: the portabello mushrooms with tomato/basil/garlic topping,  and the butternut slices with red quinoa, onions and goat’s cheese.
(The photo only shows one mushroom instead of two, apologies!  I forgot to take a photo in time 🙁

photo 2 mushroom and tomatoes

Serves 4

150g red quinoa
8 portabella mushrooms
4 small red onions, finely sliced
1 tsp red chilli, finely chopped – or dried chilli
1 garlic clove, pressed
long neck of a butternut squash (the rest can be tomorrow’s veg)
250g tomatoes, finely chopped
fresh basil, about 8 leaves
150g goat’s cheese,  grated or crumbled
200g mixed leaves – watercress, rocket, any other fresh salad greens
coconut oil for cooking
Marigold broth powder or broth cube
sea salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

Method:

Cut the neck of the butternut into 4 even slices.  Place in a moderately hot oven – 150 degrees (300 F or gas mark 2) – and drizzle with oil.  Roast until your tester fork says it’s cooked.  This will naturally depend on the length of your butternut neck and therefore the thickness of your slices, but 40 minutes normally does it for mine.  Don’t forget to turn halfway through.

Note: Charred edges are tasty and some recipes require caramelising but do keep to a minimum.  Burning your food forms HCAs and PAHS – heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are potentially carcinogenic.

The 8 mushrooms can go in the same oven.  Brush to clean them, then drizzle with a little oil and add freshly ground pepper.  Take them out of the oven after about 15 minutes (approx the same time you finish cooking the quinoa) otherwise they may be too floppy and not hold your tomato mix.

Place the finely sliced onions in a pan on the stove with 1 tbsp coconut oil and gently fry until soft.  I leave it on a low heat for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the red quinoa thoroughly, then place in a pot and cover well with water (about 1.5 inches).  Boil for approx 10 minutes until the white tails appear.  Al dente is what you want.  At this point stir in 1 tbsp Marigold broth powder for taste and turn off the stove.  Leave for a couple of minutes before removing excess water and placing it in a bowl.  Add the cooked onions and put aside – covered, so it stays a little warm – until the butternut is ready.  This quinoa mix will be the topping for the butternut slices.

Whilst the quinoa is cooking, the butternut and mushrooms roasting, you can chop the tomatoes and basil.  Place them in a second bowl.  Add chilli, garlic, sea salt and pepper.  This mixture will be the topping or filling for your mushrooms.

Putting it all together:

On a bed of your mixed greens, place two mushrooms and fill them with the tomato-basil-chilli-garlic mixture.  I drizzled some of the delicious juice on the greens.

Meanwhile place a round of the hot cooked butternut slice on your plate and top with a generous spoonful – and more – of the quinoa/onion mix.  Crumble goat’s cheese on top.

And that’s it, your rainbow plate of delicious food.

There are loads of variations on this meal, just replace and add, eg. puy lentils or chick peas instead of the quinoa.   Try to keep the separate flavours.  Often,  vegetarian dishes can become vegetable stews or just one big mixed lump of food which doesn’t do justice to the unique flavours and colours.

Berry Chia dessert

This must be one of the easiest desserts I’ve ever made – and it’s delicious.  The only thing you have to remember is to soak the chia and dates at least an hour before you make the dish (don’t soak them together!) 

berry chia dessert

The chia gives it ‘body’  and the frozen blueberries make it like a soft ice cream – cold and refreshing.  Add the other berries fresh, once you’ve blended, to add even more great anti oxidant support.

Read more

Butternut stacks with quinoa lentils

This is one of those quick and delicious recipes which looks impressive with not a lot of work. It’s a short-cut of a recent new recipe I tried that had kale pesto glueing it all together.  In my opinion it was too gluggy, and not worth all the pesto work.  Instead I’ve relied on spicing up the lentils – you could add chopped coriander or basil for more taste if you like.  It’s one of those dishes that can become Thai or Indian or Italian, depending on the spices and herbs you like to use.

butternut quinoa lentils

Read more

Quinoa pizza base

I’ve been trying out a few gluten-free options for pizzas this week, changing the recipes I’ve found to suit our taste-buds, and then doing a taste-test with the family and some friends. This quinoa one is delicious and quick to prepare.
Next week I’ll post a buckwheat/almond version!

pizza

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No-grain granola

paleo muesli

This breakfast granola is all about avoiding grains.  I could’ve called it a ‘Paleo muesli’ or ‘Anna’s granola in Mon major’ or ‘Gluten-free granola’ or a ‘Nutty breakfast’… and all would be correct.

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Crispy quinoa herb burgers with roasted butternut

Appleaday Quinoa Burger

This has become our recent favourite burger, the recipe tweaked and improved to suit our tastes.  Finally, a vegetarian burger with a delicious crispy outer coating and not something which falls apart.  Lots of flavours and textures here, which even our paleo older son enjoyed.There are quite a few ingredients but don’t let that put you off as it’s all very easy, especially second-time round (which happened in the same week, as everyone enjoyed it so much).

The burger recipe is one of those ‘toss-together-all-the-ingredients’ recipes – after you’ve cooked the raw quinoa of course!

If you don’t want the feta in the burger I suggest adding some extra spices such as cumin, crushed coriander seed or some finely grated ginger.

Second-time round, instead of the guacamole (for those avocado NON-afficionados) I roasted more butternut then mashed it up, adding the yoghurt, sea salt, pepper and some cayenne – simple and delicious.

Serves :4

For the quinoa burgers and roasted butternut:

150g red or mixed quinoa
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp potato flour
1 heaped tbsp tahini
2 handfuls chopped soft-leafed herbs such as basil and parsley, or dill and coriander
1 butternut pumpkin (100g peeled, grated & squeezed dry; the remainder  chopped in large chunks and roasted as a side dish)
1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
50g pumpkin seeds
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
generous pinch cayenne if you like a ‘bite’ to your burger
200g feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
coconut oil for roasting the butternut and frying the burgers

 

For the Guacamole

2 ripe avocadoes, mashed
1 large, or 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (I used the current Marmande tomatoes, delicious!)
2 heaped tbsp chopped herbs  – your choice, how about coriander or parsley, dill or basil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
generous squeeze of lemon or lime to suit your taste buds
1 finely chopped red chilli – if you like some heat
2 tbsp Greek yoghurt (optional)

Anything else?

A mix of salad greens as an accompaniment

Method:

Cook the quinoa for about 10-15 minutes in 500ml of water with some sea salt.   Place the chunks of pumpkin in a roasting tin and drizzle with coconut oil, season and roast for about 30 minutes, until tender and golden.

Mix together the cooked quinoa, and all the other ingredients EXCEPT  100g of the crumbled feta and firmly press into 12 small burgers.  I used my clean hands for the mixing as the tahini was being awkward and didn’t want to mix…

Space them out on a baking sheet and cook in the oven on a medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, turning halfway so they crisp up but don’t catch.

Mix together all the guacamole ingredients, easy.

Now put your  dish together.  Begin with a mound of greens at the bottom then the burgers, topped with some crumbled feta (or dollop of guacamole if you’re not using feta).  On the side, a generous dollop of guacamole, and the chunks of roasted butternut.

Great colours, great taste!

 

Real tomato ketchup

tomato_ketchup_recipe-healthy-eating

Tomato ketchup and roasted spicy nuts have been this year’s Christmas home-made yummies to give to friends.  The ketchup is easy and delicious – add more chilli if you like yours to have a real kick.

For approx 3 bottles

3kg tomatoes
1 red pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 red onions, finely chopped
50ml apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sharp paprika
a pinch cayenne
3 tsp ginger, freshly grated
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp coriander seeds

 

Method:
Halve and de-seed the pepper then cut it, and the tomatoes, into chunks.  Combine both in a pot with the finely chopped onions and garlic and some water.
Leave to simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally and adding more water if it’s too thick at this early stage. Remove from the stove and blend until smooth.  Add the vinegar and spices and simmer for another 1.5 – 2 hours, until it thickens.
Do a taste test and add seasoning if required, then pour into sterilized jars.
Seal and turn upside down until cooled. The ketchup will keep, unopened for about a year. Once opened, store in the refrigerator.

Roasted savoury nuts

roasted-nuts-and-seeds-recipe

All about nuts and seeds at the moment.  I’ve just posted more about them here on the blog and  Appleaday facebook page because I seem to have spent weeks roasting different combinations for presents.
This recipe is such an easy and delicious addition to the festive season and they will store for a couple of weeks in airtight containers… if you’re very good at self-control.

Ingredients:

100 g cashew nuts
100 g macadamias
50 g brazil nuts
50 g almonds
100 g pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
25g butter
1 generous tbsp thyme or chestnut or dark honey (ideally manuka…but too expensive at the mo)
about 4 small sprigs rosemary and thyme, leaves removed, finely chopped
sea salt, freshly ground pepper
pinch or three of cayenne or chilli powder

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees centigrade and arrange the nuts on a sheet of baking paper.  Bake until golden and crunchy, c. 15-20 mins.

Meanwhile, heat the honey and 3 tbsp water until dissolved.  Remove from the heat and stir in the spices, butter and salt.

Quickly fold in the nuts and transfer them back to the baking sheet and spread them out as much as possible so they’re not touching (they’ll clump otherwise due to the honey).

Bake for another 5 or so minutes in the oven until a lovely caramel colour, then remove and allow to fully cool.

Butternut chickpea casserole

Butternut Chickpea casserole recipe

This is a combination of two old recipes which I tweaked yet again for appleaday’s recent online Detoxathon.  It was one of the dishes participants yummed about the most.  Such an easy one-pot dish, it has a wonderful selection of spices, including cinnamon, ginger, coriander, turmeric and saffron.Cinnamon must be one of my all time favourites, my ‘rescue’ spice for anyone trying to get off sugar cravings.  However, it not only improves insulin efficiency and regulates blood sugar, but it also acts as an antimicrobial (some studies showing it’s effective against the likes of H.pylori!), and the cinnamaldehyde component apparently blocks the release of inflammatory agents in our cells.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons research shows it can reduce inflammation linked with neurological disorders like Parkinsons and Alzheimers.
Research will continue, but this dish is staying as it is.

Serves 4-6

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 red onion, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 leek, finely sliced
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground turmeric
100g red lentils
1 x 400g can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed
pinch of saffron
1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 x 400g organic chopped tomatoes
400g butternut, peeled and cubed
800ml vegetable stock
handful of spinach, sliced
generous handful parsley, chopped
generous handful coriander, chopped

Method:

Heat the oil in a pot over a medium/low heat and add the onions and leek until they are transparent. Then comes the celery, garlic and spices (not saffron) until aromatic.
Next step, the saffron, lentils, cans of chickpeas and tomatoes. Stir well then add the chopped parsley and half of the coriander. Cook for about 10 minutes over a low heat.
Mix in the cubed butternut and stock and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until the butternut squash is cooked.  Turn the heat off, add the spinach and return the lid so that it wilts slightly but keeps its green goodness.
Add a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Serve with rice or quinoa and scatter the remaining coriander over the finished dish.