Author Archives: EvaH
Sumptuous Salad Starter
The dressing and the nuts are really the main ingredients in this salad. Any thinly sliced raw vegetable can be used, for instance red cabbage, leek, peppers… Just keep it beautiful and colourful.
2 carrots, thinly sliced
4 beetroots, thinly sliced
½ cucumber, thinly sliced
Mixed dark green salad leaves
Pecan nuts, toasted
Pine nuts, toasted
Dressing:
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 tbsp Tahini
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
- Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl.
- Mix the salad dressing in a salad shaker.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad.
Zander with Serrano Wrapping and Portobello Mushrooms with Spinach
If you can’t find Zander, any white, firm fish fillet can be used. Sometimes I add a few drops of sherry to the mushrooms but it is not necessary, Portobello mushrooms are so full of flavour on their own.
Serves 4
500 g Zander fillets, skin and bones removed
4 slices Serrano ham
2-3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
0.25 g saffron strands
150 g Cherry tomatoes, red and yellow, halved
Spring onions, green part only, finely sliced
100 ml white wine
½ cube chicken stock
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp butter
Basil, shredded, for decorations
100g fresh spinach leaves
300g Portobello mushrooms, sliced
Butter
Rice, cooked according to package instructions
- Cut the fish into 4 portions, wrap the ham around it. Fry in butter on medium heat for a few minutes per side.
- Melt the saffron in a frying pan and sauté with the garlic in some olive oil. Add the tomatoes and spring onions. Then add the wine, stock, salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes.
- Take off heat and stir in the butter.
- Fry the mushrooms and the spinach in separate pans
- Arrange the mushrooms and spinach on the plate. Fill a ring mold with rice. Add the fish on top and spoon the tomato sauce on top. Finish by decorating with basil.
Saffron Parfait with Raspberry Coulis
Wonderful, different dessert. Quick to make but needs 3-4 hours in the freezer.
Serves 6
4 egg yolks
2-3 drops of vanilla extract
100 g caster sugar
0.5 g saffron
250 ml whipping cream
Raspberry Coulis:
300 g (frozen) raspberries
3 tbsp powdered sugar
- Whisk the eggs with the sugar and vanilla until fluffy.
- If using strands of saffron, not the ground kind, use a pestle and mortar and grind the saffron threads to a powder. This is easiest done by also adding some sugar to the saffron.
- Add the saffron to the eggs mix.
- Whisk the cream separately, then fold in the egg mixture.
- Pour in cake tin and freeze for 3-4 hours.
Coulis:
- Thaw the raspberries.
- Add the sugar.
- Puree in blender.
Vegetable Casserole, Potato and Parsnip Bake and Grilled Pineapple with Baked Mascarpone Cheese
Friday Shortcut Gourmet:
Vegetable Casserole with Capers
Many people aren’t too keen on capers, but please don’t leave them out entirely. They give such wonderful balance to this dish!
3 Courgettes, cut into thick slices, then halved
1 onion, sliced
Olive oil
Salt
4 stalks of celery, chopped
Broccoli, cut into small florets
2 tbsp tomato puree
6 tomatoes, quartered
100 g green olives, pitted
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp white vine vinegar
Coriander leaves to decorate
- In the oil, gently fry the courgettes and onions. Season.
- Add the celery and broccoli, fry another few minutes.
- Add the tomato puree, stir through, then add the tomatoes
- Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the olives, capers and vinegar, simmer another few minutes.
- Decorate with coriander
Potato and Parsnip Bake with Ham
A straightforward, easy recipe, but oh so tasty! Guests tell me it is possibly the best potato casserole they’ve had!
6 potatoes, thinly sliced
1 parsnip, thinly sliced
250 ml single cream
100-200 ml Gruyere cheese, grated
Salt and pepper
A few tablespoons of butter
Sliced cooked ham
Cucumber
Mango
Herbs
- Oven at 180C
- Grease a casserole
- Layer potato, parsnip, salt and pepper and a bit of cheese.
- Continue layering with a last layer of potato.
- Finish by pouring the cream and placing a few knobs of butter on top.
- In oven 50-60 minutes.
- Serve with ham, decorated with cucumber, mango and herbs.
Grilled Pineapple with Baked Mascarpone Cream
Wonderful and different variation to the crème anglais or ice cream usually served with grilled pinapple. Start by making the Mascarpone Cream in advance as it needs to be chilled for a couple of hours.
1 pineapple, cut into thick slices
1 tbsp cinnamon
3 tbsp brown sugar
½ vanilla bean pod
4 egg yolks
50 ml brown sugar
250 g Mascarpone Cheese
2 tbsp milk
- Oven at 175C
- Scrape out the vanilla seeds from the pod and add to egg yolks
- Add the sugar and whisk until fluffy
- Mix the cheese and milk.
- Add the egg mix.
- Pour into greased casserole dish. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Let cool
- Whisk the mixture again and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Coat the pineapple with the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- On a heated grill (or in a hot grill pan), fry the pineapple until the grill lines have coloured both sides.
- Serve with the mascarpone mixture.
Pepper and Feta Sauce, Marvellous Midday Muffins and Old Fashion Apple Pie
Sunday Adventurous Gourmet:
Pepper and Feta Sauce
A versatile sauce that goes well with egg dishes, chicken and most vegetables. Can also be used as a dip.
200 g Grilled peppers in olive oil
100 g Feta cheese
50 ml lemon juice
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt
Discard the olive oil. Process the ingredients until smooth. Chill (gives a firmer texture).
Marvellous Midday Muffins
This recipe was part of a great brunch my daughter served me a while back.
Serves 4 – makes 12 small muffins
8 mild sweet piquante peppers
6 mushrooms
3 shallots
Fresh spinach, a handful
8 eggs
20 pecan nuts, chopped
4 slices prosciutto ham
- Oven at 200C
- Chop peppers, mushrooms, shallots and spinach and place in greased muffin tins.
- Pour whisked eggs on top (fill up to max 2/3 of the tins)
- Top with the pecans.
- Bake in oven 12-15 minutes or until slightly browned.
- Place one muffin on the serving plate, the ham on top and then the other two muffins on top.
Old Fashion Apple Pie
A wonderful, sweet pie with a layer of cinnamon flavoured cake on top
4 apples, cut into thin slices
100 g butter
½ vanilla pod
175 ml sugar
120 g gluten free flour mix
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash of salt
1 large egg, whisked
Whipped cream
A few drops of vanilla essence
1 tsp cinnamon, to dust the ready pie
Oven at 180 C
- Grease a pie tin and place the apple slices on the bottom
- Melt the butter
- Split open the vanilla pod, scoop out the seeds, add to the melted butter and let cool
- Combine all dry ingredients
- Add the cooled butter and remaining ingredients together
- Spread the mix over the apple slices.
- Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes.
- Before serving, dust the pie with some extra cinnamon.
- Serve with whipped cream flavoured with a few drops of vanilla.
Baked Avocado, Cod Casserole with Cashews and Chocolate Fondant Surprise
Friday Shortcut Gourmet:
Baked Avocado
I love to make this dish with avocados but you can make it with other vegetables too.
Serves 4
2 avocados, halved with stone and peel removed
150 g Mozzarella, diced
25 g walnuts on small pieces
75 g grilled peppers, cut into pieces (I sometimes roast my own with olive oil and garlic, sometimes I buy the ready-made)
Basil leaves, shredded
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper
(chilli flakes or Tabasco if you want it a bit spicier)
4 gem lettuce leaves
- Oven at 200 C
- Cut off a bit of the round bottom of the avocado to make a steadier stand. Put the cut off piece in the hole where the stone used to be. Place the avocados on greased baking sheet.
- Mix all remaining ingredients together.
- Spoon the mixture on top of the avocados.
- Baked until the mozzarella has melted and started to brown (15-20 minutes).
- Serve on a piece of gem lettuce.
Cod Curry with Cashews
This is a great dish to serve on a Friday night when you don’t have a lot of time to cook. The curry can be prepared in advance (a day ahead) and only the fish added at the finishing stage.
Serves 4
500 g Cod Loins, cut into chunks (I would do 12 pieces, allowing for 3 per person)
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 small fennel, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
400g chopped tomatoes
100 ml single cream
100 ml coconut milk
2 tsp red curry paste
1 tbsp honey
1 broccoli, cut into small florets
Salt and pepper
Fresh coriander leaves for decoration
200 ml cashews
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
Salt from a salt mill
200 ml Greek yoghurt
- Sauté the onion, when soft add the fennel and the pepper and gently sauté another few minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, the cream+milk, the curry paste and honey and let simmer a few minutes.
- Add the broccoli. Simmer another 5 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper
- Add the fish, simmer until done (6-7 minutes depending on the size of your chunks)
- Dry roast the cashews in a pan. Add the cumin and salt towards the end.
- Serve with the coriander and cashews sprinkled on top and the Greek yoghurt spooned over.