Author Archives: EvaH
Cheesy Tomato Almond Dip
If you have some leftovers from last week’s “Tomato Almond Sauce” you can quickly make a great dip by just adding some Philadelphia cream cheese to the sauce and maybe also some smoked paprika powder.
Serve with nachos or cut up vegetables.
Nutty Bite Sized Pies
This recipe provides a great base for a lot of different toppings. By adding some cinnamon you can even make it as a base for a dessert, maybe cheesecake?
Here I’ve made it with two different toppings. You might recognize some of the ideas from an earlier recipe “Nutty Guacamole Pie”.
300 g toasted (blanched) almonds
1 red apple
1 large sweet potato
2 carrots
50 ml lemon juice
Salt
1. Mix all in a blender.
2. Spread into pie tin, bake at 175 C for 40 minutes
3. Set aside. Can be refrigerated for later use.
4. When cool, cut into bite size squares.
Topping 1. Red pepper hummus
200 g chickpeas
4 tbsp lemon juice
100 g roasted marinated bell pepper (drained)
2 tbsp Tahini
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp smoked paprika powder
A few drops of Tabasco
Salt
Up to 50 ml olive oil
1. Combine all ingredients (except olive oil) in a blender.
2. Run until smooth.
3. Slowly incorporate the olive oil
4. Set aside
Topping 2. Avocado crunch mix.
1 celery stalk, chopped
½ apple, cut into fine cubes
1 avocado, mashed
3 tbsp lemon juice
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
Garnish:
Roasted macadamias or hazelnuts, halved
Rocket salad
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Assembly:
1. Cut base into bite sized portions.
2. Spread with one of the toppings.
3. Garnish.
Scallops Citrus Salad
A wonderful salad where everything, except the scallops, may be prepared in advance. Great as a starter or a main course.
1-3 large scallops per person (depending if starter or main course)
Butter for frying
1 grapefruit
Baby gem lettuce
Cherry tomatoes, halved
½ avocado per person
Crab meat, canned, 40-50 g per person
Dressing:
Any preserved grapefruit juice from the cutting
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
1. Cut away the grapefruit peel and then “segment” the fruit. That is, cut away the thin, white membranes separating each wedge. Preserve any juice that seeps out.
2. Combine the ingredients for the dressing and whisk/shake together.
3. Prepare the salad, including the crabmeat, and place on serving plates.
4. Drizzle with dressing.
5. Keep the scallops refrigerated until you need them. Wash and dry them thoroughly.
6. Heat a frying pan with some butter. When hot, add the scallops. Place them a bit apart in the pan. Leave them for 2-3 minutes (depending on size) before turning. Add some cold butter when you turn. Fry another 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately on top of the salad.
Sour Cream Bread with Mushrooms and Tic Tac Toe Rice, Almond Tomato Sauce and Courgette Spaghetti
Friday Shortcut Gourmet:
Tomato Rice Cubes with Almond Tomato Sauce and Courgette Spaghetti
Tic Tac Toe Dinner!
This is a fun dish that can be served together with many different foods.
Go easy on the smoked paprika powder since it can be quite over powering.
Any vegetable you’d like to chop up and include is fine.
I’ve chosen red and white rice since they present themselves so nicely but you may also use quinoa or other grains.
Can be prepared ahead of time and heated in the oven just before serving.
Serves 8
200 ml red rice
Water to boil the rice in
200 ml white rice
Water to boil the rice in
Onion, finely chopped
Salt
Black pepper
½ tsp smoked paprika
50 g Parmesan cheese
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
4 medium sized tomato
1. Cut the tomatoes into fine strips and then chop them into a tomato concasse. Set aside.
2. Boil the rice according the manufacturers specification. Add some salt, when almost done, add some pepper and smoked paprika powder.
3. Fry the onion in a pan, when done, add to the rice.
4. When the rice is ready, remove from the heat and add cheese and lemon juice.
5. Let cool slightly.
6. Stir in the tomato concasse.
7. Using a mold (I use Japanese rice molds) create small rice cubes.
If you save for later, then please refrigerate at this point. If not, then place the cubes on a baking sheet and bake in oven for 5-6 minutes, until piping hot.
Serve the rice cubes with Courgette Spaghetti and Tomato Almond sauce (see below). Chorizo sausage also goes very well with this dish.
Tomato Almond Sauce
Super quick and very rich and tasty tomato sauce.
1 can of chopped tomatoes – 400 g
50 g ground almonds
1 small red chili
1 small garlic clove
300 g (including the oil) marinated roasted red pepper
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt
1. Combine all ingredients except the almonds in a blender. Blend well.
2. Pour into a saucepan and simmer a few minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add the ground almonds.
Sour Cream Stove Top Bread
This bread is a life saver. Can be made in a few minutes and then be used with absolutely everything! Savoury and sweet, just let your imagination go wild. Below I have a few suggestions.
Basic recipe:
125 g sour cream
250 ml gluten free flour mix
1 tbsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
1/2 tbsp psyllium husk (see link)
Butter
1. Combine all dry ingredients. Add the sour cream. Mix well. It will be a sticky dough. Use gloves or dust your hands with flour.
2. On a baking surface covered with flour, roll into a thick loaf.
3. Cut into 6 pieces.
4. Press each piece to create a thin round cake. I like to use a “cake scraper”, see photo.
5. On low to medium heat, melt some butter in a frying pan and gently fry each “cake” a few minutes on each side until lightly browned.
This bread is wonderful, warm and fresh with just some butter and jam.
Or serve with the Mushroom Anchovy Salad on top.
If you make the “cakes” smaller they are very useful as canapé bases.
Recipe variations:
1) Add some chopped rosemary to the dry ingredients and crumble a small piece of goats cheese into the sour cream. This creates a savory bread that goes well with soup or stew.
2) Add 1 tbsp of honey to the sour cream and serve as a dessert with whipped cream and strawberries.
3) Add some cinnamon and honey for a tasty, sweet snack
4) Please create your own variation and share in the “comment” section below.
Mushroom Anchovy Salad
A salty mushroom dish that can be used as a starter with green salad or on bread as appetizers.
2 anchovies
Olive oil
400 g mushrooms, chopped
15 green olives, sliced
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped
Parsley, chopped
Salt (if needed)
Pepper
1. Melt the anchovy in some oil
2. Add the mushrooms, sauté over medium heat until all liquid has evaporated
3. Add the olives and the sundried tomatoes
4. Season with salt and pepper
5. Take off heat, add the parsley
Fruity Quinoa Rice with Grilled Mackerel
The Fruity Quinoa Rice is really the most important part of this dish. Instead of serving mackerel with it, you can choose chicken or some smoked fish if you prefer.
Any leftover rice will be delicious the next day, refreshed with some sautéed portobello mushrooms, some pieces of chorizo and, maybe, some paprika powder too.
Serves 6
100g pistachio nuts (including shells)
50 g pecan nuts, cut into pieces
70 g dried apricots
300 ml quinoa
300 ml red rice
Vegetable bouillon (to cook the rice in)
1 leek, finely chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
A handful of peppery rocket salad, finely chopped
3 medium sized mackerels, whole (but cleaned)
Salt
Olive oil
- Shell the pistachio nuts and dry fry all the nuts in a pan.
- Cut the apricots into smaller pieces.
- Cut the rocket salad finely.
- Cook the quinoa a few minutes less than the instructions on package indicate.
- Cook the rice in vegetable bouillon a few minutes less than the package instructions indicate.
- In a large pan, fry the leek and garlic in some oil.
- Add the cooked quinoa and rice. Sautee a few minutes.
- Drizzle some olive oil on top. Add the vinegar and salt and pepper. Taste. Season some more.
- Mix in the nuts and apricots.
- Stir in the rocket salad.
- Score the back of the mackerel in 3-4 places and the coat the fish with olive oil and salt.
- Place the mackerels in the oven under a hot grill and grill for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through. (If you have a combination steam oven, use 30% steam during the grilling.)
Glorious Gazpacho made with ripe tomatoes and Avocado Choco Cake
Sunday Adventurous Gourmet:
Glorious Gazpacho
Many are not aware, but Gazpacho normally contains breadcrumbs which are blended with the tomatoes to create a slightly thicker soup. This version does does not need any breadcrumbs.
Choose your tomatoes with care, they are your main ingredient!
Serves 4 as a main course
1 kilo ripe tomatoes, cut into pieces
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
25 ml white vinegar
25 ml olive oil
A pinch of salt
Garnish; a small chopped cucumber, chopped red pepper or chopped green pepper
1. Place all vegetable pieces in a blender.
2. Add vinegar, oil and salt.
3. Blend until smooth.
4. Add water until desired thickness (about 50 ml)
5. Add more for oil for a creamier soup.
Chill in refrigerator several hours.
Garnish with cut up vegetables on top and a few drops of olive oil.
Serve with some gluten free potato bread.
Avocado Choco Cake
Dates, avocado, banana, coconut and chocolate – this is a wonderful, moist cake! The sweetness comes from the dates and the banana (and the optional honey, of course), almond flour and grated coconut replaces flour and the fat comes from the avocado and the banana. Can’t say it is a totally healthy cake but it is no sugar and no butter/oil anyway (and dairy and gluten free).
Most importantly though, I love this cake because of its wonderful taste!
200 ml almond flour
100 ml desiccated coconut plus 2 tablespoons extra (for the base of the tin)
200 ml cocoa powder
1,5 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
(1 tbsp honey – optional)
1 medium sized avocado
3 eggs
10 dried dates
1 ripe banana, medium sized
Oven at 200 C
1. Mix all dry ingredients
2. Whisk the eggs fluffy
3. Add the avocado to the eggs. Mix together.
4. While still in its peel, squeeze banana soft and then add to the avocado mixture.
5. Add the honey (if using)
6. Mix the dates with a blender. Add a bit of avocado mix to the dates in order to get them to blend better. Combine with the remaining avocado mix and then add the cocoa mix.
7. Lightly grease a cake tin with oil. Sprinkle some shredded coconut on the bottom. Spread the mix evenly. Bake in oven 12-14 min, cool and then chill in fridge.
Serve with cream* and mashed raspberries
* either soy based yoghurt or ½ whipped cream and ½ Greek yoghurt.
Roasted Vegetables with Chevre Dip and Apple Mustard Sauce
Sunday Adventurous Gourmet:
Apple Mustard Sauce
Goes well with many dishes; chicken, vegetables, pork… Nice and crunchy.
150 ml quark
100 ml mayonnaise
2-3 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper
12 walnuts
1 apple, finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1. Mix the quark, mayonnaise, mustard and seasoning.
2. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan, cut into quarters or smaller.
3. Place the apples in a bowl with the lemon juice. Add the celery. Pour the quark mix on top.
4. Stir most of the walnut pieces into the mix but leave a few out for decorations.