Speck, Watercress and Melon Salad

 

 

As we celebrate some glorious weather, here's a colourful and tasty Nigel Slater salad to get those tastebuds tingling. In place of speck (the Italian cured home), you could use smoked bacon or pancetta.

Speck, Watercress and Melon Salad

serves 2

Ingredients

half a large Charentais melon - chilled
watercress - 1 bunch
sherry vinegar - 1 tbs
walnut oil - 1 tbs
olive oil - 1 tbs
flat leaf parsley - 1 small bunch
speck - 8 thin slices (smoked bacon or pancetta)

Method

1. Scoop the seeds from the melon, slice away the skin and cut the flesh into six thin slices. Divide between two plates.
2. Wash the watercress, remove the tough stalks, then tuck it in among the melon. Mix the sherry vinegar with the walnut and olive oils and a little salt and pepper, then chop the parsley leaves and stir them into the dressing. Dress the melon and watercress. Lay the slices of speck over the melon and serve immediately.

 

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Spiced Root Vegetable Soup

 
 

It's cold; it's dreary. Most of us are locked down and in desperate need of some winter cheer. What better way to warm up a chilly day than with a big bowl of tasty soup.

Here's one made with seasonal winter vegetables, packed full of goodness and easy on the pocket.  So much better and cheaper than bought soups. You can increase the quantities and freeze the leftovers.

Serves 4
 

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 sweet potatoes, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 parsnips, chopped
1 red chilli, roughly chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
75g dried green lentils
1.3l vegetable stock
425ml milk
100g Greek yogurt or sour cream (optional)
1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onions and fry for 5 mins until softened. Tip in the remaining veg and cook for another 5 mins, adding the chilli and cumin for final 2 mins.

2. Add the lentils and stock to the pan. Bring to the boil, then lower heat and simmer for 25 mins until veg are tender and lentils are soft. Blitz until smooth with the milk and a little extra water or stock, if necessary. Season, then reheat until piping hot.

3. Ladle into bowls. If desired serve with sour cream or Greek yogurt. Sprinkle of chopped coriander.

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Mushroom And Walnut Pate

This is a delicious pate, ideal for when those vegan or vegetarian friends visit. Even your carnivorous friends will be impressed!

Mushroom And Walnut Pate

 Ingredients

117g walnuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
227g  button mushrooms, sliced
small handful chopped parsley
2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Method

1 Toast the walnuts in a large dry frying pan over a medium heat. Shake the pan often as they can burn quickly. As soon as they start browning on the edges remove them from the heat. Remove the walnuts from the pan and allow to cool.

2 Return the pan to the heat and add the olive oil. When hot add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onions soften and turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add in all the remaining ingredients, the mushrooms, parsley, rosemary, salt, and pepper and sauté until the mushrooms have cooked and reduced in size, another 5 - 8 minutes. If the mushrooms are sticking to the pan you can add a small splash of water to help release them. As the mushrooms cook they will release their own liquid.

3 If your food processor can handle hot food, add the mushrooms to the food processor along with the walnuts. If not, just let the mushrooms and walnuts cool first. Pulse, stopping to scrape the sides as needed until you reach a pâté texture.

4 Press into a container for serving using a spatula to smooth it, and let it chill completely in the fridge before serving.

Salter Digital Scales for accurate measuring

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Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup

IT'S World Egg Day. I love eggs. They are so versatile and so quick and easy if you want to rustle up a snack. What could be better than boiled eggs and soldiers? Then there are all the recipes that require eggs, including quiches, omelettes, frittatas, cakes, pancakes and mayonnaise - the list is endless.

To honour World Egg Day, here's a slightly more unusual recipe from The Incredible Edible Egg website. It is incredibly quick to cook. However, you might want to use your own broth, rather than canned.

Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cans  (14-1/2 oz. each) ready-to-serve chicken broth
1 can (8 oz.)  sliced bamboo shoots, drained
1 cup  shredded carrots
1 cup  frozen peas
1 can (4 oz.)  sliced mushrooms, drained
1/3 cup  rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp.  soy sauce
3/4 tsp.  pepper
1/4 cup  cold water
2 tbsp.  cornstarch (cornflour)
4  eggs, well beaten

Method

Combine broth, bamboo shoots, carrots, peas, mushrooms, vinegar, soy sauce and pepper in large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes.
Mix water and cornstarch (cornflour) in small bowl until dissolved. Slowly stir into hot soup. While gently stirring soup, slowly pour in eggs. Remove from heat immediately and serve.



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Butternut Squash Soup

There's a definite chill in the air now and my thoughts have turned to warming soups with crusty rolls. Making soup can be about as easy or complicated as you like to make it. There is plenty of butternut squash in the shops at the moment and they make a wonderful soup. Some days I don't have a lot of time but here's a video of a tasty and healthy recipe using just five ingredients.


Warming soup recipes to nourish the soul, and help use up all those extra vegetables .







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Asparagus Salad with Avocado Dressing

THE asparagus season is nearing the end so take advantage of it while you can. Traditionally, the season runs from St George's Day (April 23) until Midsummer's Day (June 21) so  you should still have a couple of weeks to buy fresh British asparagus, or you may be savvy enough to be growing your own!

This salad is fresh and delicious and you don't even have to cook the asparagus as it is shaved into ribbons. It makes a lovely starter or part of a light lunch.

Ribboned Asparagus Salad with Avocado rdessing

Serves 4


Ingredients

800g asparagus
1 cucumber
16 cherry tomatoes
100g flat-leaf parsley
20g parmesan, freshly grated
For the dressing
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
½ ripe avocado, stone removed
Salt and black pepper

Method
1 Snap off the tough ends of the asparagus. Using a vegetable peeler and starting from the bottom end of the asparagus, shave upwards to create thin ribbons. Place all the ribbons in a large serving bowl.
2 Slice the cucumber lengthways and cut into bite-size pieces. Cut the tomatoes in half and coarsely chop the parsley. Add these to the bowl.
3 Place the dressing ingredients in a blender and blitz until creamy. Add a dash of oil or water if necessary. Dress and toss the salad so it's evenly coated.
4 Top with parmesan shavings, then serve.


Recipe via The Guardian supplied by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl of greenkitchenstories.com



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Ramiro Peppers

Ramiro peppers are a sweet variety of the common pepper. They are slightly smaller and pointed and are ideal for salads or grilled or stuffed.

Here's a recipe from Riverford Organic Farms that's ideal for a starter or a light lunch.

Ramiro Peppers Stuffed With Mozzarella and Pesto

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 ramiro peppers
100g mozzarella, sliced
2 tbsp pesto verde
olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Place the peppers under a hot grill for 10 mins, turning occasionally, until the skin is blackened in places, but not all over.

Remove from the grill and leave to cool.

Make a slit in the cooled peppers from top to bottom, taking care not to slice through both sides. Open them out a little and, taking care not to tear the pepper, remove the seeds. Fill the peppers with the mozzarella and pesto. Season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven until the mozzarella has melted.

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Asparagus, Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Filo Cigars

BRITISH asparagus is in season from the last week of April to the third week of June and it's absolutely delicious. I love it lightly steamed with a little bit of butter or hollandaise sauce. But if you want something a little more substantial for a special starter or lunch, try this recipe. It's from the British Asparagus website where there are lots more lovely asparagus recipes.

British Asparagus, Smoked Salmon and Horseradish Filo Cigars
Serves 4
Preparation 20 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Ingredients
6 - 8 British asparagus spears
6 - 8 sheets Jus-Rol filo pastry
50g butter, melted
240g London cure smoked Scottish salmon
2 tbsp English Provender Company hot horseradish
Method
1 Preheat the oven to 200c/gas 6.
2 Blanch the asparagus in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and refresh under cold running water. Set aside.
3 Cut the sheets of filo in half lengthways to give you long strips and keep covered until you are ready to use them to prevent them drying out.
4 Cut the smoked salmon into long strips, roughly the length of the asparagus spear. Don't worry if you can't get long enough pieces, it's fine to patch it together.
5 Working with one piece of filo at a time (keep the rest covered up), brush one side with butter. Lay a strip of smoked salmon at one end of the pastry, spread it with a little horseradish and top with a piece of asparagus. Roll up the filo sheet around the salmon and asparagus to give you a cigar shape. Repeat until you have used all the ingredients.
6 Lay the cigars on a baking sheet and brush with a little more butter and bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp. Allow to cool a little before eating as the asparagus will be very hot!

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