Bacon, Halloumi and Baby Roast Potato Salad

Ah, at long last. My food mojo is back. The mojo where I dream up random combinations and they make it into reality. I kind of dreamt this one up very vaguely based on the idea of a delicious Halloumi and steak salad we had back at our South African themed Christmas meal (my other half is from SA) and several times since too. I've taken the basics from it and changed it up a little - and made a heavenly salad in the process! This got a big thumbs up from my man (even though it was salad haha! and its low in FODMAP's and gluten free without any compromise on flavour!

The potatoes make this an easily gluten free meal - though you could swap out for another carby item or leave out altogether. Lemon and maple syrup may seem a bit of an odd combo in a salad but the lemon cuts through the sweetness and the slight smoke of the bacon complements the sweetness of the maple so well together - I've used this in a few other salads and it works a treat. And I am fully signed up to the capers club now - only took 34 years!! Plus I am definitely liking Halloumi now, its a bit like aubergine - cook it well its heaven - cook it bad, ah well yeah that will be hell then!!

Serves 2

120g Halloumi, 1cm dice

3 tsp garlic infused oil

3 unsmoked bacon rashers, diced

1 large tomato, diced

1 tbsp. capers, rinsed and drained

1 tbsp. cornflour

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. maple syrup

50g baby spinach

8 new potatoes
Black pepper
4-5 Basil leaves to garnish

Start by pre-heating the oven to about 200o. Coat the potatoes in a little of the oil, place in a shallow baking dish and roast for 45 minutes, or until cooked through.

Meanwhile, coat the halloumi cubes in cornflour.

Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan, cook the bacon until crispy and lift out onto paper. In the same pan, add the capers and tomatoes, fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring often over a moderate heat until the tomatoes are starting to soften.

Push the tomatoes and capers to the side of the pan and add the prepared halloumi, fry without turning for 3 minutes or until golden and turn over and fry until golden all over. Stir in the lemon juice and maple syrup, coat everything well. Season with black pepper.

Place the spinach in a large serving bowl or plate. Halve the potatoes and place on top of the spinach, spoon over the bacon & halloumi. Scatter over the basil.

This is definitely a summer keeper! I love the salty little fried cubes of tasty cheese and they are weirdly addictive! Your salad may lack some depending how ahead you are with timing!!

Cauliflower Cheese and Gammon Soup

Now if I recall correctly, I once saw a recipe at some point for Cauliflower cheese soup and it slipped to the dark recesses of my mind as one of those hmm one day recipes... but when faced recently with the usual dilemma of er what to make for dinner but even more so as I was far away from home and in my aunties kitchen, and a fridge full of leftovers the filed away thought magically resurfaced with a ooh could I try it out? Would it work? Would it be weird.... 

On the Sunday prior I had made a fairly majestic mustard spiked cauliflower cheese but despite our best efforts, there was a tub leftover... that was until Wednesday, arriving home post a long drive and day to the lovely River Cottage clutching my lovingly hand made Apple, blackberry and Goats cheese soda bread and wondering what I could serve with it, the Cauliflower cheese soup idea came back to fruition and a star was born! I think in future I will have to make extra Cauliflower cheese purely to make soup with its leftovers! It tasted so good and was a perfect accompaniment to my bread! Oh and my home made butter!

Lovely leftovers!

Now I think it was gammon, it was either that or a bacon joint, either way it was another leftover that got added!

Making the finishing touches:

Serves 2

Easy

Ingredients:

400g leftover cauliflower cheese

1 clove minced garlic

400ml vegetable stock

1/2 tsp spicy Polish spicy mustard (if not a little more wholegrain-this is presuming your cauli cheese was already containing mustard too)

50g shredded cooked gammon or bacon

S&P

1 tsp oil

mint leaves to garnish

Heat the oil in a saucepan, saute the garlic until softened, add the cauliflower cheese and stock, cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the mustard, then blitz with a stick blender adding the gammon at the very end for a few seconds, season to taste

Serve, garnish with mint leaves if you have some or a similar herb.

As my recipe used up lots of lovely leftovers I am entering it into one of my favourite blog challenges - Fab Food 4 All's Credit Crunch Munch which was born from Fuss Free Flavours!

Baked Egg and Potato Wraps

I've been umming and arring over typing this recipe up...on one hand it was delicious..on the other it does not win any beauty prizes! In the end I obviously have if you are reading this far but may I suggest you tweak to your own liking? My boyfriend enjoyed it but wanted meat to make it complete, Saying that I do think a sneaky bit of ham would be most pleasant but for me it was tasty on its own... I think they would make a tasty breakfast wrap too, maybe folded more into a parcel shape to be more transportable. Definitely going to explore that option more as I ate my second one cold the next day and was equally tasty hot or cold!

Overall this dish mostly consisted of leftovers and bargains - I picked up a lot of eggs reduced to 25p and as a result have been making lots of egg-citing recipes! I think August might be an egg free month....! The wraps had been loitering in the fridge far too long but still passable when baked, and the potatoes were left from the previous night. I always like to cook a few extra to help form the next meal, saves time especially on a busy evening!

Talking of busy life right now seems busy but good busy. Its been a hellish few months in all honesty with family, friend and work issues but it all seems to be smoothing over at last, and I hope normality is on the horizon! My blog as a result has been just about simpering along, mainly as I needed to focus my energy elsewhere, plus its also given me some breathing space, I have been blogging so long I think get lost along the way at times, I love making recipes and that's all I want to do and share with you all along the way, and hopefully I will ease back in the blogging saddle.

Serves 2-4 depending on hunger

Ingredients:

4 wholemeal wraps

500g leftover cooked potatoes, diced

75g good quality mayonaise (I love Waitrose's one with extra virgin olive oil)

2 boiled large free range eggs, diced up

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

80g grated extra mature cheddar + 1 tbsp

1/2 tsp Italian herb mix or dried mixed herbs

4 tbsp ready made tomato based sauce (I used a special edition balsamic ketchup)

Pre-heat the oven. Line a 26cm tray bake/ roasting tin and pre-heat oven to 200o.

Combine the eggs, potato, mayo, cheese and mustard.

Lay out the wrap, spoon a quarter into the middle, fold up the bottom, tuck over the mixture and roll tightly, place in the baking tin, tucking in the ends and repeat with the remaining three. 

Spoon over the tomato sauce, sprinkle with the cheese and herbs, bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

Serve with a lightly dressed salad.

Whilst the wraps were not intended for breakfast originally, the leftovers did indeed become my breakfast and this dish would work easily for breakfast, brunch or dinner so I am sneaking in to

Belleau Kitchen's Simply Eggcellent #5 - how do you like your eggs in the morning? round-up:

Also as they used up my reduced eggs, the last of a jar of mayo, abandoned wraps and leftover potato I have put them in Fuss Free Flavours Credit Crunch Munch round-up too, held by Fab Food 4 All this month:

Disclaimer: Happy Eggs sent me a voucher to cover the cost of the Eggs, though the supermarket over charged me and then refunded me more than I had originally paid, so they are super free-free range eggs if that makes sense!

Courgette and Mozzarella Piadina

This recipe is one that's been loitering for the past few months - I think I made it even last year but had for some unknown reason not blogged it! The original recipe was taken from a Waitrose freebie magazine, no idea which one though as it was torn out a few months back! I've since made it a couple of times, changing the fillings each time and the base piadina is so easy to make its a handy standby!

Piadina meant absolutely nothing to me prior to making this but fortunately the picture helped to show us a nice, neat bread kind of thing stuffed with nice things. Frying bread is not something I regularly dabble in but I have made the odd doughy thing over the years that way.. and as our oven, is well temperately challenged and this recipe appealed as it didn’t involve it at all!

The piadina were fairly quick and easy to make and assemble, though having a second pair of hands also helps! Also reading the recipe from start to finish… Probably the best way of describing it is that its a cross between a pizza and pitta bread ! I didn't quite fully understand some of the instructions in the original recipe and I have changed it to how it worked for us. 

Serves two:

Ingredients:

2 courgettes
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 small garlic, crushed
½ red chilli finely chopped
1 lemon, finely grated zest only
250g self raising flour
125g mozzarella, drained. Torn into small chunks
20 basil leaves

Salt
Spray oil

Cut the courgette length ways into thin slices. Heat a frying pan and gently saute the courgettes until softened and golden. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar, garlic, chilli and lemon zest, season to taste.

Meanwhile place the flour in a large bowl, a pinch of salt and stir in 6-7 tbsp of cold water. Use a fork to mix it in and bring it together, then knead lightly until you have a soft dough.

Divide into two balls, lightly flour the worktop and roll out to form an 18 cm circle. Repeat with the other ball.

Heat a large heavy based frying pan, spray with oil and place on of dough circles. Gently fry on both sides, greasing as needed for 2-3 minutes or until lightly risen. Remove from the pan and repeat with the other circle. If the pan gets too hot just remove for little bursts to stop it burning.

With the removed circle, carefully use a sharp bread knife to make a large pocket, fill with half the courgette mixture, chunks of mozzarella and basil leaves. Repeat with the other one. Return to the pan, place a heavy saucepan on top to weigh it down and cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until cooked and lightly golden. Repeat with remaining piadina.

Slice into quarters and serve with a nice dressed salad and sauteed tomatoes.

Zesty Orange and Red Grape Chicken Salad

So its 2015. Wow that kinda came around fast! I would really love to say that this New Shiny January the first we have dumped all the sugar, eaten the last sausage rolls and cleared the drinks cupboard...but that would be a lie! I am finishing off the last glass of Prosecco as I type this, opened at midnight for the celebrations (though we had to pause watching Frozen in 3D to watch the fireworks!)  and I am eating some rather nice pistachio nougat sweets my dad brought over. We are still surrounded by several tins of very nice biscuits, half a tub of heroes, a chocolate orange awaiting its fate and a fridge full of reduced vegetables! Oh and a Stollen, various half eaten bags of party snacks and a lot more still!

 

So vowing to be healthy this January is going to take a lot of will power and power walking and may well fail but I have been developing some healthier recipes and this gorgeous Zesty Orange and Red Grape salad makes a great start to the year! Its loaded with super food chia seeds, endorphin inducing red chilli and or course lots of lovely fresh salad leaves courtesy of Florette! It only takes a few minutes to prepare and you could sub white for red grapes if they are to hand.

 

I made two versions of this to suit our guests palates last night and for lunch today - this one was for the adults and our friends little one had it without the chilli in. Its great to serve as part of your buffet or in individual bowls but really needs to be eaten freshly prepared. If you wish to serve it cold, simply make up the chicken part, chill and allow to come to room temperature before tossing with the salad leaves. I did experiment a little by marinading one portion in the juice mixture vs straight into the pan and there was no notable difference so save time and simply add as you go along!

 

 

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 Cooked chicken breasts, finely sliced
1/2 an orange, juice
1 inch sliver of the orange peel
2 tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
125g Florette Mixed Salad Leaves - either Crispy or Bistro
1 spring onion, finely sliced
16 red grapes, halved
1/2 large red chilli, minced
1 tsp chia seeds
1/2 yellow pepper, sliced
1 tsp olive oil


Mix the orange juice and vinegar and put to one side. Cut the peel into fine slices.

Heat the oil, fry the pepper and spring onion for 1 minute over a moderate heat, then add the chicken, chilli and grapes, heat through gently turning in the pan for 2 minutes, pour over the juice mixture and allow to gently bubble away until reduced down - about 2 minutes or so.

Place the salad leaves in a large bowl or platter. Spoon over the chicken mixture and any remaining juices. Scatter over the prepared zest and chia seeds.

Serve warm or at room temperature.


We all really enjoyed this salad - its hint of chilli combined with the zesty orange scented chicken made it a very welcome winter salad and added a bit of lightness up against all the heavy winter feasting on pastries and cakes! If you fancy looking for more inspiration check out Florette's website which has lots of salad recipes to explore!

Many thanks to Florette who provided vouchers to cover the cost of the salad and a very lovely salad cook book!

Bacon and Cheese Tart

My boyfriend was away on holiday recently visiting his family in South Africa and I found myself alone with a packet of shortcrust pastry on its use by date... Obviously dangerous times cooking for one to be alone with so much pastry, however thanks to calling over to one of besties at work as to whether she would like some planned bacon and cheese tart for her lunch, to which was a yes (and an eventual can I have the recipe please as her hubby liked it too) another friend-colleague also overhead and agreed it sounded rather nice and so two pieces were instantly ‘sold’ and I only had to eat two portions myself…such hardship…!

Its quite a frugal tart meat wise, I used half a packet of ready chopped bacon trimmings so its relatively faff free too! Whilst I cook from scratch this damn cold weather plays havoc with my joints so a little less chopping is welcome! Also the cheese was the end part of a piece bought yellow stickered and the sour cream was leftover too from our beloved soured cream bundt cake, so it was great not to have the guilt of two cakes in one week, plus a good fridge raid too!

The pictures are not great as I didn't expect to like it so much but you get the idea of it!

*You will need a ready rolled shortcrust pastry sheet if you are lazy like me, or measure home made accordingly*

Ingredients:

1x ready rolled shortcrust pastry sheet

300g cooked chopped up bacon trim, fat removed

4 large eggs

1 tsp dried oregano

75g soured cream

30g double Gloucester cheese.

2 tbsp tomato puree

Bring the pastry to room temperature if you are organised (If not spend a few minutes massaging the cracks with cold water!), gently roll out the sheet, and measure to 26cm, trimming off the excess centimetres. (Makes excellent mini jam tarts for pudding)

Gently lower the pastry sheet into a square baking dish – roughly 8 inch pan, using your fingers to mould the pastry corners.

Brush the tomato puree over the pastry base and sprinkle over the bacon pieces

Beat the eggs, ½ the cheese, oregano and soured cream, season with Salt and pepper. Pour over the prepared base, sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake for 35-45 minutes or until cooked through and golden. 

The tart was really tasty served hot, with sweet potato mash and some fried romano peppers (5 for a £1 in one of the grocers near my dad!) but also worked well cold too the next day for lunch and would be ideal for a buffet style dinner too!

As my tart is very frugal, using ready chopped bacon trim (88p a packet!) plus cheese scraps - you could use any old cheese really - it would be ideal for a quick Christmas time supper or part of your boxing day buffet, without breaking the piggy bank - I have sent my tart over to this months Credit Crunch munch, from Fuss Free Flavours and Fab Food 4 All:

Veggie Secret Sausage Kebabs

Whilst I can make a perfectly decent barbecue sauce, I was trying to have a raid on the numerous jars collecting in the fridge (there is one full shelf and stragglers in the door and lurking on other shelves! I really am trying harder to use them up!) and I stumbled across a neglected opened jar of Opies Smoked Garlic BBQ Sauce I think my dad had originally bought over back in the summer – it’s a really tasty sauce and had me scheming as to how I would use it up....

In the meantime I was sent some veggie friendly sausages – now in the past the thought of a veggie sausage had me running to the hills as I had never found a decent one and I've been subjected to some pretty insipid non-beast’s along the way! Whilst I have mastered a veggie sausage roll with excellent they are not actually sausage shaped or suitable to cook on the grill and this is where my Secret Sausages stepped in! Reading the blurb off the back of the packet I tried, they hare 90% less fat, 50% of the calories and 35% less salt vs a regular sausage. Oh and 3 sausages count as 1 of your 5 a day too! Sounding like a health food right? All quite impressive indeed….

…But how do they actually compare vs a pork versions you may wonder? Okay so succulent meaty pork they are not but in their own right they held their shape well after being diced up and cooked, had a pleasant, slightly coarse texture that resembled the nice vegetables inside, not some mashed pulp of gawd knows what! Whilst they were not exactly very exciting on their own, flavour wise, livened up with the bbq sauce they worked a treat and would be a very acceptable vegetarian offering say for example at a bbq or a family gathering. I do cook mostly from scratch but I am only human and use a handful of cheat ingredients for when time is short and these are definitely something that’s handy to keep in the freezer on standby!

This particular packet of Secret Sausage's were Rosemary and Garlic, and they are made with green beans, mixed peppers, rice and rosemary, plus garlic of course! They are vegetarian society approved product as well as being gluten free so are suitable for special diets.

Ingredients:
6 Rosemary & Garlic Secret Sausages
½ a large courgette
1 medium red pepper
BBQ sauce, to glaze - about 1 cup
Spray oil, to cook

Makes 4-6 kebabs

Using a sharp knife cut each sausage into 3 equal pieces. Halve the courgette length way's and again so you have four long quarters. Slice into 1 cm chunks.

De-seed the pepper and cut into half inch squares.

Thread alternate pieces of courgette, sausage and pepper onto the kebabs. Spray with oil and grill for about five minutes, brush over the bbq sauce and cook for a further five minutes, turn the kebabs over, grill lightly before glazing again until cooked through – about 5 minutes.

Serve with my herby beans (my next post) or a nice salad or as we are now winter mash is perfectly acceptable!

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As I finally used up the last of my neglected jar of Barbecue sauce I have entered my Kebab's into Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary's No Waste Food Challenge which is being held by Slice Off Me this November!

Disclaimer: I was sent a variety of Secret Sausage's for review. I recevied no payment for this and all images, text and opinions remain the property of Anne's Kitchen.

Spicy Mushroom & Bean Sausage rolls

Now calling these ‘sausage’ is a bit misleading as there's no Pork in them and the term parcels implies something much larger and I can’t think of anything smaller than rolls. Plus I was making alongside their meatier counterparts so I decided to keep the ‘sausage’ part…you understand I am sure what I am waffling on about!

I have never made a veggie version of sausage rolls before, see I am actually rather fond of properly made pork ones when not in veggie phase but some bought outside of home are often rather questionable in their quality and after trying a truly awful, dry and claggy vegetarian sausage roll from a health food shop, it was time to embark on my own.. plus I was making these prior to going to see my wonderful auntie in the west country, who also by chance is a vegetarian so I thought she wouldn’t mind at all being a guinea pig! So I lovingly made these up from scratch, parcelled up and took them for a road trip!

Considering they are my first ever attempt at a veggie friendly sausage roll, I am super happy with them, plus everyone loved them! The spicing was perfect – hints of chilli, cinnamon and more from the Baharat seasoning, which was randomly picked up last year on holiday in Jersey, the filling texture was chunky but still fine enough to munch without pulling half the filling out and the vegetables all complemented each other very well. Wrapped in a loving puff pastry blanket what more you can want?

This will make enough for 13 generous cocktail sized sausage rolls – simply double up the filling to use the whole pastry sheet up!

Ingredients:

1 puff pastry ready rolled sheet, halved down the middle to form two long rectangles (do this whilst still rolled! Mine was bought from Sainsbury's)

200g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ red onion, finely chopped

½ red romano pepper, diced

1 medium carrot, coarsely grated

100g cooked black eyed beans

1.5tsp baharat seasoning

1 egg, beaten

Poppyseeds, to decorate

Method:

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan, gently cook the onion until softened, stir through the mushrooms, carrot and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes, sweating them down – be careful not to burn them, stir through the garlic, baharat, and the beans and heat through, press down lightly to gently mash the beans, season to taste with salt and pepper – the mixture should be fairly dry looking and well mixed. Remove from the heat and allow to cool down.

Pre-heat the oven to I would approximate at about 200o - my oven has been on the blink for some time (and housing company apparently deny) so mine was 240o on the dial..

Open out the pastry sheet, brush the top and bottom halves with the beaten egg. Arrange the cooled mixture down the middle keeping it well together, to form a long sausage, pat down to form a column of sorts. 

Gently pull up the bottom half of the pastry over the mixture, brush the top with more egg and pull up the top side, gently teasing over – you want about a centimetre or so of overlap. Brush all over with egg and sprinkle with poppyseed's. Gently press the knife almost through to the bottom to form slices, on the nice sheet they provide with the pastry.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the pastry has puffed up and cooked through. Allow to cool on the tray for ten minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Serve warm. If they get the chance to cool that far! They can also be reheated in a warm oven for about 10-15 minutes. Oh and they travel well too! 

Perfect for picnics, late brunches..snacks and light lunches too! Pretty much no excuse needed really.

I am sending these over to Treat Petite for November held by Cakeyboi and this months host The Baking Explorer - as mentioned above I made these with my Auntie T in my mind - all through my up's, down's and frankly inside out stages she has been my rock and its lovely to say thank you in the best way I know how - baking something that tastes great!

My veggie rolls are perfect for all the family - and for the great Family Foodies challenge, which has gone Vegetarian for November and so I have sent them over to the lovely hosts Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash

Honeyed Chorizo, Chia and Baby Potato Salad

The previous day to making this rather delightful salad, whilst out shopping in Oxford, I had eaten a less than delightful salad in a cafe, described simply as 'Chicken and Chorizo salad'. It 'simply' consisted of 4 thin slices of out of the packet ready sliced chorizo, some sliced green lettuce, some under ripe tomato slices, a few token strips of cold, bland chicken and er oh a couple of slices of cucumber on a cheap brown plate. No dressing, no seasoning, no nothing. It was a sad sight. After a little hunting I clutched the found bottle of salad cream in its slightly sticky bottle like a prize. Oh and don’t forget the amount of ready ground pepper I had to adorn it with in order to force it down with.

Needless to say I decided to try and make myself a decent chorizo based salad and I was rather delighted with this. Crispy greenery, spicy delicious slices of chorizo tousled with a slightly sweet tangy glaze over wholesome potato chunks. This is a real salad and one which will be a keeper! Serve warm if you can but cold is just fine too.

By adding the cucumber to the pan, it wilted slightly in a good way and actually got fully eaten by my boyfriend who normally hates the stuff! Its a good job he doesn't read my blog!

Easy - Serves Four

Ingredients:

100g spicy chorizo cooking sausage (mine was labelled Picante)

1 small orange pepper, de-seeded and sliced thinly

100g crispy salad mix

500g baby new potatoes, halved

1 heaped tsp Clear honey

2 tbsp good Balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp chia seeds

2 inches cucumber, halved lengthways, de-seeded and cut into thin half moons

4 cherry tomatoes, quartered

1 tsp olive oil

Method:

Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender and drain well.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a saute pan, and fry the peppers for 2 minutes and stir through the chorizo, fry until golden and releasing its lovely orange hued oil. Stir through with the potatoes, cucumber and tomatoes for a further minute. 

Make a well in the middle of the pan, pour in the balsamic vinegar followed by the honey and toss together with the ingredients, to thoroughly coat everything. Remove from the heat and cool for a couple of minutes before assembling.

In a large bowl scatter out the salad leaves and spoon over the pan contents. Sprinkle with the chia seeds and serve.

Also keeps well for the following days lunch! 

Mezze Made Easy with Olives Et Al

One of my favourite meals to serve is a series of smaller dishes - I so much prefer sharing my foods and really enjoy the whole social side to it as well. Whether you call it Tapas, Mezze or even picky bits I always like to try out new dishes, along with a few favourites too! I always think when sharing food of an old Friends episode, where one of the characters Joey is on a date and the guest steals a chip and Joey is bereft and mutters the immortal line 'Joey doesn't share!' Fortunately none of us are of that thinking and the more sharing the better! Its also a great way of trying out new dishes on a small scale, that way if something doesn't work at least its only a small portion!

The following dishes all got made, using a mixture of what we had in the cupboards and using a few key items the nice people at Olives Et Al gave to me. I've always enjoyed their products - that was until the local farm shop changed management and I couldn't get their olives anymore, however it was very handy to be also given a jar of their Smoky Chipotle Chilli olives - I really do prefer getting olives marinaded in lovely oils – not only you get delicious flavoursome olives but then you have a double bonus in the form of also lovely oil leftover to be used in other treats! One of my most simplest forms is to make flavoured toasted breads. English muffins work well, baguette or ciabatta slices also are great too! To be honest if its made of flour and isn’t cake its worth a shot! Simply brush with the oil and grill!

First up is a really nice, light dish that can be made inexpensively - I used Smoked Salmon trimmings which worked out at about 70p, a small avocado and the lovely Mojo dressing to bring it all together. As Avocado's discololour fairly fast, make sure you mix this dish quickly - it will keep for about an hour without browning. I love this Mojo dressing so much - despite it saying Pink Grapefuit, which really does not appeal this was surprisingly tasty, sligtly smokey and zingy - one of my favourite ones I have tried to date I think!

Mojo Avocado and Smoked Salmon Salad

70g smoked salmon trimmings

1 small ripe avocado, cut into ½ cm pieces

8 tsp Mojo dressing

Combine all the ingredients together lightly and allow to chill for 30 minutes before serving

Harissa Lamb kofte

250g lean lamb mince

½ tbsp Olives Et Al Harissa paste

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tbsp milk

Mix by hand everything together, then roll into small meatballs, about the size of a walnut and place in a shallow, greased baking dish and bake in a hot oven for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. Dot with a little dab of harissa to garnish on serving

I have tried a few different Harissa's but liked the Olives et Al one as it was in liquid form and easy to combine with the lamb! Its very tasty but has a kick so do be warned! Beef or turkey mince would work well too here in lieu of lamb.

Chorizo Tomato Stew

This last dish was my own invention, and doesn't involve Olives Et Al in any form but it was so tasty I have to sneak it in! I love using chorizo when cooking as its so versatile, keeps well in the fridge and a little goes a long way and imparts so much delicious and spicy flavour! B is a huge fan of chorizo too so I know dinner will be a hit pretty much everytime I use it!

100g spicy chorizo, cut unto ¼ cm slices

½ red onion finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1x 400g tin plum tomatoes, good quality

In a dry frying pan cook the chorizo until its starting to colour and release its lovely amber oil, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then push to the outsides and add the vinegar, allow  it to burn off the alcohol then stir in the tomatoes. Use a wooden spatula to lightly break them up, season with s&p, turn down the heat and cover, cook for about 40 minutes until the sauce has reduced, stirring occasionally. Season to taste if needed.

Its a lovely dish, rich tomatoey and full of flavour, it also is very good if you stir through some sliced cooked new potatoes for an alternative dinner!

Here is a round-up photo - there is also a very nice roasted vegetable bulgar salad I will post later!

I hope my dishes give you a little inspiration for your next dinner! Do let me know if you try them!

Many thanks to Tedi and Olives Et Al for my samples.

Smoked Aubergine Puree AKA Baba Ganoush - for Random Recipes & Alphabake A

So this months Random Recipe and Alphabake entry was planned earlier in the week, in good time for the deadline - which is er today.. however I had a bit of a flare and spent two days in a zombie state...these new painkillers sure are strong but if they sort out my hip it will be worth it! It was already fun climbing stairs with a pair of dodgy knees but throwing in the hip is just no fun! I think this week I survived mostly on tea and ready to eat cocktail sausages which are kept in the drinks fridge (my weakness!). 

Fortunately this morning with the rain brought a brighter day after and I actually made it out of the house, albeit with my boyfriend driving and it was only to the garden centre but it was still nice to see daylight! Plus it has a great food hall and I picked up something for my dad's birthday which I better not write here just incase he reads this...

So enough of me rambling - I normally ask my boyfriend to choose at random but he was out and being unable to bend at the time I reduced my selection to the shelf at arm level and methodically counted to ten whilst moving my arm back and forth - the neighbours already know I am a bit special so hopefully just carried on by... the book turned out to be 'Just like mother used to make' which my mum actually did buy for me a few years back. Its full of homely recipes but seems to solely be used for drop scones so it was about time a new recipe was tried from its floury pages! I then as per the chosen letter of A for this months theme, then closed my eyes and moved my finger up and down the tiny A section for a further 10 seconds and out came Baba Ganoush - which is technically B but its made with aubergines and listed under A so it became the chosen recipe! For some reason I have always loved the name Baba Ganoush, it sounds so exotic like some foreign dancer or stage presence!

The recipe itself is a doddle to make, apart from that I have the slowest oven in the world so took double the time stated but it was delicious. B had never eaten it before and in all honesty I wasn't sure if I had but I love anything aubergine'y so really it couldn't be bad... its best eaten with loved ones, the garlic breath is entirely worth it!

I scaled the original recipe down slightly - I always find aubergines vary so much in size - my dad actually picked it up for me as he lives near lots of great little ethnic grocers and was coming around for lunch - and assumed mine was a medium to large sized one and I have scaled the recipe accordingly. I also subbed the extra virgin olive oil for extra virgin rapeseed oil, mainly as the EVOO I have is very tasty but also very peppery and I wanted to taste the aubergine and the latter oil is nice and buttery tasting....mmm butter! And the lemon juice was from a bottle shh!

Also whilst it says to use a food processor, I am lacking this one essential piece of technology and used the liquidiser which worked a treat - if using a food processor don't worry about chopping things up before hand. I finished it off with a little smoked paprika as it made the smoosh a bit more attractive and a little more smokier too!

Makes one bowl of lovely dip/ puree/ smoosh

Easy

1 med/ large aubergine

1 clove garlic

2 tsp tahini

1 tbsp extra virgin rapeseed oil

1/4 tsp salt (I used himalayan)

few twists black pepper

2 tsp lemon juice

Smoked paprika to garnish if desired

If you are lucky enough to have a gas hob, sear the aubergine all over until skin is wrinkled. If like me you don't, place the whole aubergine in the oven, on its highest setting until the skin has wrinkled. The book claimed 20 minutes. Mine was more 45 minutes.. and it burst, guessing that was a good sign it was ready.. place in a bowl and cover, leave to cool.

Once cooled, remove the skin and discard the stalk, chop roughly and place in the blender with everything else. Blitz to form a smooth puree. Taste and adjust accordingly - I added a little bit more lemon and salt to mine to taste. It says to leave it 30 minutes to thicken but my cooked aubergine had been left whilst out for a good few hours and I served it up after about 5 minutes and was perfect for us! 

Spoon the mixture into a serving bowl and sprinkle over a little smoked paprika if desired.  

I served ours with a little fridge raid feast - toasted pitta breads, olives, rosebud beetroots and carrot sticks. B loved it, he did comment that this meal would be something he would never had considered before meeting me. I guess thats a good compliment! It was clean plates all round after!

Overall verdict? A resounding yes to enjoying it now and yes to having it again! I loved its silky smooth texture and little hum of lemon and garlic, definitely a keeper. 

Many thanks to this months hosts for the inspiration to give some love back to the cookbooks: 

Dom at Belleau Kitchen 

Caroline Makes 

The More Than occasional Baker 

Chargrilled Pepper Stuffed Mushrooms

One of my favourite easy meals for one is making stuffed mushrooms, either as a simple starter with some nice leaves or making a larger portion into a more substantial meal. This particular one was somewhere in-between, the mushrooms needed using up and I ate them over two nights alongside dinner. Any excuse really!

The chargrilled red pepper paste is from Sainsbury's and its addictive stuff! Add's a real depth to dishes especially when chargrilling peppers on an electric hob is a bit of a no-no! I love the earthiness from mushrooms and the the tangy, tasty filling with a delicious cheesy crunch is a winning combination! I first discovered it late last year at a cookery event and its a regular ingredient now, I just wish it came in bigger jars!

Ingredients:

2 large flat mushrooms

2 heaped tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs

2 tsp chargrilled red pepper paste

1 tsp basil paste or a few fresh leaves shredded up

2 tbsp mature cheddar grated

Pre-heat the Oven to 200o 

Easy

Trim and destalk the mushrooms, zap for a minute in the microwave to soften.

Place the cooked mushrooms with the remaining ingredients in a bowl, combine and stuff into the mushrooms.

Spray a little oil on foil lined tray and and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked through and it smells delicious in your kitchen!

Three Ways with Smoked Salmon

Up until about 18 months, perhaps two years ago I really didn't 'get' smoked fish, just could  not understand what the fuss was about. I recall laying out prettily a packet of smoked salmon at a garden party for my auntie when I was probably about ten years old and nibbling it - eurgh what are these people eating!! I guess its like olives - I adore them now but back then noooooooo way!!

Fortunately time has passed, and my taste-bud's have matured - and I am finding myself rather partial now to smoked salmon! It started with trying out smoked mackerel at a restaurant, as it came as part of a seafood starter platter thingy and then progressed onto smoked trout a food forum friend sent me, then finally smoked salmon!

A few weeks back 'The Handpicked Foodstore' sent me a rather delicious packet of their MacGilvray Smoked Salmon and it vanished very quickly! It was buttery soft, carried a gentle smoky flavour and made mine and B's meals that bit more special! Something like this is a rare treat for us, I am a budget queen but its nice to have something like this once in a while!

Lovely layers of Smoked Salmon!

 A honestly perfect way to eat breakfast - Buttered white toast, topped with creamy scrambled eggs and a scattering of smoked salmon strips! Heaven!

We had dinner guests last week, and as typical one of them was running late so I knocked up some quick canapes whilst wating - simply a tub of Divo ricotta cheese, a sprinkling of Divo Parmigianno Reggano seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon juice, atop a ritz cracker (so classy!) and a twist of smoked salmon and a sliver of cucumber! This dish however was hit and miss - me and the boyfriend really enjoyed it but my dad and brother were not so fond of the creamy filling. Ah well, more for us!

Last but not least - Stir-fried noodles with peppers and mushrooms, with the last few pieces of the smoked salmon. Unfortunately someone knocked at the door, then my phone kept ringing and by the time I ate it, it was lukewarm....was tasty at least still!

Many thanks to The Handpicked Foodstore who supplied me the Smoked Salmon, and to DIVO Italiano for the Ricotta and Parmigiano Reggiano

Spicy Vegetable Chickpea Pancakes

A few weeks ago after a nice lie in and having done the Sunday morning excitement of cleaning the flat, lunchtime had arrived. However knowing we were going out for a all you can eat Chinese that evening, we needed something fairly light for lunch... The only problem being that the fridge was pretty bare apart from half a carton of tomatoes and 3 tired looking cauliflower florets leftover from the Cheesy Cauliflower Pizza and a few other odds and ends lurking in the salad draw...

So what to do....Fortunately my B has become quite tolerant of eating vegetables, and in general vegetarian meals so that seemed a fairly logical route as we had no meat or fish to hand. I had remembered seeing a while back a recipe for pancakes made with chickpea flour (known as Gram or Besan flour) that didn't require anything other than water and a little stock powder - result! They are also known as Socca but I find that word doesn't seem as attractive to me! Makes me think of American football!

I looked at a few different recipes, and after perusing No Bread is an Island's post about these pancakes made one of his versions. And they were delicious! I wasn't too sure how many pancakes we would end up with but this just made 3, in a 24cm frying pan, which was ideal. Mine is from Dunelm Mill, who accidentaly shipped me the wrong one a few months back and its been invaluable, I have been thoroughly testing it and its brilliant value for money, holding up to whatever I throw at it, so to speak!

Now I will be honest in that the ingredients are not measured as since sharing a kitchen, I felt a bit odd writing things down with a stranger often present but have tried to remember it as best as I can! I also accidentally fried mine in oil, rather than in a dry pan but it made them so crispy it was a happy accident!

The filling for the pancakes was pretty much made up as I went along. After the discovering of grated cauliflower during the pizza recipe, I repeated for the filling as it cooks so fast that way. The grated mozzarella was also leftover from the pizza recipe, and stored in the freezer and it worked perfectly, is also suitable for vegetarians too. Though if you wanted to make it vegan just simply leave it out.

Makes 3 pancakes

Ingredients:

Pancakes-
100g chickpea flour
1tsp vegetable powder
225ml water
1 tsp oil + extra for greasing pan

Filling-
Approx 200ml passatta
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
3 grated cauliflower florets
1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves
3 tbsp grated mozzarella
2 sliced spring onions
1/2 diced red pepper
1/2 small green chilli
s&p

Start by heating a dash of oil in a small saucepan, fry the pepper, cauliflower and spring onions until softened, stir in the chilli, cumin and passatta and allow to simmer away whilst making the pancakes, it should be a fairly dry mixture.

To make the pancakes, mix the flour, water, olive oil and stock powder together until smooth - it will be fairly runny.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in the frying pan to a medium-hot heat. Swirl in the batter mixture and turn the pan to form a thin pancake. Cook for about two minutes or until golden brown and flip briefly to cook the inside for a further minute or less. Place on kitchen paper and repeat to make a further 2 pancakes.

Season the filling to taste, add the mozzarella and fill the pancakes. Serve immediately.

On the inside: