Puy lentil and halloumi salad

 A lovely homely salad, great for entertaining friends with plenty of other little dishes as a Mediterranean style meal.

200g of ready cooked puy lentils (or 80g dried puy lentils)
1 pack halloumi
Half a red onion
Juice of half a lemon
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
splash olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

1.  If cooking dried puy lentils, cover with boiling water with a stock cube and cook for 20 minutes.
2. Slice the onion into thin strips
3. Mix the onions, balsamic vinegar, puy lentils and lemon juice together in a bowl and leave. The acidity of the lemon juice and vinegar will take the sting out of the onions.
4. Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan on a medium-high heat. Slice the halloumi into thin strips and place into the dry griddle pan. Flip within 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown on the griddle pan side.
5. Mix the halloumi with the puy lentils, and season with a little salt and a good pinch of black pepper. Be careful with the amount of salt as halloumi is very salty.
6. Add a splash of olive oil to dress.
7. Can be served hot or cold. 

Guest blogger recipe by Jack. 

Crunchy panzanella salad

A classic Italian salad with a twist. The traditional salad has torn soggy bread, but this recipe makes rustic croutons to give a better texture.

Serves 4 as a side
Half 500g loaf artisan sourdough bread (or any other good rustic thick crusted bread)
1 tsp dried oregano
Splash of olive oil
Sea salt to taste
8 well ripened tomatoes
150g torn mozzarella
Large handful bashed and slightly torn fresh basil leaves
Olive oil
White wine vinegar
1 clove garlic

1. To make the croutons, heat the oven to 180 degrees. Slice the bread into 1 inch chunky pieces,  place onto a baking tray, and drizzle with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and oregano and toss to ensure the bread is covered. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until browned and crispy.
2. Meanwhile, slice the tomatoes into quarters, rip the mozzarella and bruise the basil leaves. Place into a big bowl and toss. 
3. To make the dressing, finely chop 1 clove garlic. mix 1 part olive oil to 3 parts white wine vinegar, or to taste. 
4. Once the croutons are browned, add to the salad bowl containing the tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. 
5. Dress the salad with the salad dressing.

This meal was served with.....
...watch this space

Guest blogger recipe by Jack.

Jamaican rice and peas with saffron rice

Madhur Jaffrey is definitely my favorite food author. I have 3 cookbooks by her and counting. My favorite cookbook by her is Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. It is my vegetarian bible. Every recipe I have made has been delicious. Unlike many vegetarian cookbooks that try to replace meat with alternatives, she uses traditional vegetarian recipes from all over the world. I would highly recommend it, although you will  need to build up quite a collection of different spices that need to be tracked down from international supermarkets.

This recipe is so hearty and filling. It is also amazingly cheap and can be made in bulk to feed a crowd (something I seem to always end up doing). Don't be fooled by the name, there are actually no peas involved at all, but red kidney beans. I also added chickpeas to this recipe to bulk it out a little more, but you can use whatever you have on hand.

Jamaican rice and peas with saffron rice

 Serves 4-6
2 cans kidney beans
1 can chickpeas 
475 ml Coconut milk
3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme or 3/4 tea spoon dried
4 tablespoons of finely chopped chives or 6 tablespoons finely sliced spring onions (white and green)
1 Scotch bonnet chilli, or other chilli to taste (I used crushed chilli flakes because that is what I had)
2 cloves garlic
1 finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice*
1 teaspoon paprika

1. Heat a splash of olive oil to a pan and add the onion. Fry for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the coconut milk, chilli, thyme, chives, ground allspice and paprika. 
4. Turn the heat down low, cover the pan and simmer for 25 minutes. 
5. Check seasoning by tasting. Remove the chilli (if using fresh whole) and sprigs of thyme before serving.

Saffron rice
300g basmati rice
Pinch saffron
Vegetable stock cube
Chilli flavoured olive oil

1. Add 1 part basmati rice to 2 parts boiling water (from kettle) to a pan on a medium heat.
2. Add the stock cube and saffron.
3. Cover tightly and turn heat to low.
4. Cook for 12 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed by the rice
5. Try not to stir the rice or remove the lid, as this lets the rice steam and not become sticky
6. Check that the rice is cooked, adjust seasoning if necessary and fluff up the rice. 
7. Serve and drizzle with chilli olive oil

*Allspice is a Jamaican peppercorn that you can pick up in international supermarkets, or online if you don't have access to such stores. It has a flavour of a mix of ginger, cloves cinnamon, so if you can't access this lovely spice, you can use a blend of those spices. They look like peppercorns the size of peas. I buy it whole and crush the spice in a pestle and mortar.

One happy customer !

Tofu stir fry with coconut satay sauce and buckwheat noodles

Ok so there are a few reasons why I haven't been blogging recently. One, because I just haven't found the time, and two, because I keep on forgetting to take photos of my creations. I know this is a bit of a weak excuse, but I find reading about food much more exciting when there is a picture included, so if I don't capture it, I don't blog about it. 

Well, I thought sod it, yes I made some good food, and yes I munched it down without stopping to think about you my lovely readers, so I'm sorry I didn't take a picture. I have however been cheeky and searched online to find something similar, so I have stolen this picture from Marcus Samuelsson's website.

I used this satay style sauce as a marinade for tofu, but I think it would be good as a dipping sauce, or I have seen Veggie num num use satay sauce as a topping for burgers. It is very versatile so use it as you wish.

Tofu stir fry with coconut satay sauce and buckwheat noodles

Serves 2

Half block firm tofu, chopped into 2cm chunks
Half yellow pepper, chopped into sticks
4-5 leaves of spring greens, sliced
Edamame (soya) beans
5-6 asparagus spears
Cherry tomatoes, whole
Buckwheat noodles

1. Marinade the tofu in the coconut satay sauce (below) for at least half an hour.
2. Heat some oil in a wok, pick the tofu out of the sauce and add to the wok.
3. Fry for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally to brown.
4. Add the spring greens, yellow pepper, asparagus spears and edamame beans, and fry for a further 4-5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat a pan of water and cook the buckwheat noodles for 3-4 minutes, or as packet instructions.
6. Drain the noodles and place in cold water.
7. Throw the cherry tomatoes into the wok and heat for a further 1 minute.
8. Add the noodles to the wok and add the coconut satay sauce. Heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring, and serve.
9. Sprinkle over some more fresh coriander, and a squeeze of lime.

Coconut satay sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
large handful fresh coriander, chopped (stalks and all)
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter (I use 100% peanut butter, no added sugar, salt or oil)
1 tsp demerara sugar (palm sugar would be best but I didn't have any)
1 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
Half can of coconut milk
Juice of 1 lime
1 green chilli, chopped
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
Splash water

1. Mix everything up. 

Spinach Pesto pasta

I made this to carb load the night before my triathlon (yes I have now completed my first triathlon and am very smug, I came 8th). It was perfect because it had wholemeal carbohydrates for energy, protein from the nuts, iron from the spinach and olive oil for the heart. My pesto is vegan as I don't add cheese, but you can add some if you like.

This meal was a favorite in my student house as it is cheap. To make it cheaper I often use walnuts, sunflower seeds or mixed nuts instead of pine nuts.

Sorry about the picture, again I forgot to take a picture of the actual meal so this is a photo of the leftovers. The main meal also included a huge avocado salad and rye and spelt bread, mmm.

Spinach Pesto Pasta

Serves 3
180g Wholemeal pasta
2 large handfuls fresh spinach (or 4-5 blocks frozen spinach, thawed)
Handful fresh basil (optional, this meal did not include this)
Handful pine nuts (or other nuts or seeds)
1 clove garlic
Olive oil
Nutritional Yeast*/ Cheese (optional, I didn't use any but you can add some if you wish)
Salt and pepper

1.  Place the wholemeal pasta in boiling salted water, cover and leave to cook according to packet instructions. Once cooked, drain.
2. In a dry pan over a high heat, add the pine nuts (or alternative) and toast until they have taken on a golden colour. 
3. Also add the garlic (skin still on) to the pan to cook a little to take away the strength of raw garlic. Once the garlic looks browned, crush and finely chop.
4. In a blender or food processor, add the spinach, basil (if adding), toasted pine nuts, garlic, nutritional yeast/cheese (if using), salt and pepper. 
5. Add about 1tbsp olive oil and begin to process. Slowly keep on adding olive oil until the ingredients have mixed and it has formed a paste. 
6. Check seasonings, add to the cooked pasta and serve with a big salad and good bread.

*Nutritional yeast has a nutty savory flavour, similar to cheese. You can get it from most good health food stores. It is great in pesto, mashed potato, anything that needs that savory taste that cheese can bring.

Homemade pizzas

Hi all, sorry I have neglected the blog recently, I have still been cooking but just forgetting to take a photo. I will try to remake the recent recipes so I can share what I have dreamed up with you.

This recipe was made by my mum at a family get together, so not really my own recipe. It is worth sharing though because my mum and I don't eat cheese, so I want to show that it is possible to have yummy pizza without cheese. Other family member's pizzas did have cheese and they also thoroughly enjoyed theirs.

Homemade pizzas

                           My Mum's cheese free pizza

 

                          My cheese free pizza        My brother-in-law and sister's cheesy pizza

 

                                     My Dad's cheesy pizza
Pizza dough

250g strong white bread flour
250g plain white flour
5g powdered dried yeast
10g salt
325ml warm water
About 1 tbsp olive oil
1 handful coarse flour (rye, semolina or polenta), for dusting

1. In a bowl, mix the flours, yeast, salt and water to form a sticky dough. Mix in the oil, then turn out on to a clean work surface and knead until smooth and silky. (Alternatively, if you have a mixer with a dough hook, mix the flours, yeast, salt and water on a low speed, add the oil and knead for 10 minutes). Shape into a round, and leave to rise in a clean bowl, covered with cling film until doubled in size.
2. Preheat the oven as high as it will go. Take a lime-sized piece of dough and roll it into a 5mm thick round. 

Tomato sauce
3 cartons passata 
1 tsp sugar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

1. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a pan and add olive oil. Cook for 1-2 minutes, ensuring it does not burn.
2. Add passata, sugar, salt and pepper to the garlic, turn down heat and let heat through
   

Toppings
This is where you can get inventive. A selection of topping that we had included:
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Onion
Olives
Courgette
Mushroom
Peppers
Sundried tomatoes
Cheese (goats/cheddar etc.)
Cured ham
Olive oil

To cook

1. Dust a rimless baking tray with coarse flour and lay the dough on it.
2. Add your tomato sauce and your toppings. 
3. Brush the crust with olive oil to crisp up the edges.
4. Bake until  the base is taking on some colour, seven to nine minutes. Scatter over any leaves or raw toppings, and tuck in.