Filo pies - Turkey and pepper, chick pea and pepper. National Pie week: day 7, pie #4

 Once again a veg dodger and a vegan version were required - so I made one fil pie with turkey mince, and the other with chickpeas.  Served with patatas (not very) bravas, and a lovely salad with avocado.  Delicious.

The trick with these meals is to make the bulk of it to be shared between the two versions, and then add the meaty / protein alternatives to the appropriate dish.

For this meal start with the pepper filling, the spinach and the turkey (or other) mince filling - then move on to the potatoes.  Return to complete the fillings, build the pies - bake, then construct the salad.

Onions
Olive oil
Garlic
Celery
Peppers (red, orange and/or yellow)
Paprika
Spinach
White wine

Mince (turkey, … or … )

Potatoes
Tinned tomatoes
Chilli

Filo pastry

Salad leaves
Tomatoes
Spring onions
Avocado
Mixed seeds
Garlic
lime juice

1.  Chop onions.   Gently fry about half in olive oil for the pepper mixture, about a quarter in olive oil for the turkey mix, and a quarter in olive oil for the (not very) bravas sauce.
2.  Add crushed garlic to all three pans, stir and continue to fry gently.
3.  Chop potatoes into 1cm cubes, toss in olive oil and a little salt, roast for 45 minutes or so.
4.  Add chopped celery and peppers to the pepper mix, with a pinch of paprika and salt.  Continue to fry until soft, adding white wine and water to allow to simmer gently.
5.  In a fourth pan wilt spinach in a little water.  Turn the heat off as soon as the spinach is wilted.
6.  Add the mince to the second pan of onions and fry until slightly browned,  keep moving in the pan.
7.  Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, salt and chilli flakes, and half a tin of water to the final batch of tomatoes and simmer to create the sauce for the potatoes.
8.  Build the pies - grease pie plates with a little olive oil - layer on three layers of filo, brushing with olive oil each layer - build the veggie one first.  On the bottom - half of the spinach, then peppers, then drained rinsed chickpeas.  Top with three layers of filo, each brushed with olive oil.  Tuck in the edges and drizzle the edge with olive oil.  Repeat with the meaty one - pastry, spinach, peppers, mince, pastry.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.
9.  Salad - add leaves, chopped tomatoes, chopped spring onions, scooped out sliced avocado and seeds.  Spritz with lime juice to prevent avocado oxidising.  Drizzle with a little olive oil.  Serve with a little extra dressing made from lime juice, crushed garlic and olive oil.
10.  Serve, scoff …. it was good.

Tapas tea

We fancied a bit of a change, and a bit of a cheer up - with the weather being continuously grim.  So, for the veg dodger pork and chorizo, for the pescatarian garlic prawns … and for the using up of the veg box - potatoes, onion and pepper, creamy cabbage, avocado and radish salad and some manchego … delish.

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Yellow (or whichever) pepper
Potatoes
Sherry
Cider vinegar
Pork loin chops
Chorizo
Cabbage
Lemon
Egg
Soya cream (or sour cream)
Little gem lettuce
Radishes
Avocado
Cherry tomatoes
Prawns
chilli flakes

1.  Chop one white and one red onion.  Sautee the white onion in olive oil, add a little crushed garlic.  Then add chopped pepper, sliced potatoes, a splash of sherry, a splash of cider vinegar and some water.  Simmer gently, turning occasionally.
2.  Sautee half the red onion in olive oil, add chopped pork loin chops and chopped chorizo.  Brown a little, then leave to stew gently.
3.  Sautee the other half of red onion, with a little garlic, add shredded cabbage and a little water.   Season and cook until soft, squeeze on juice of half a lemon.  Whisk an egg into cream, add to the cabbage mixture and stir in.
4.  Chop salad vegetables, spritz with lemon juice to stop the avocado discolouring.
5.  Fry crushed garlic, prawns and a little chilli in olive oil.
6.  Serve, scoff ...

Burritos - or something similar

 Tonight we felt a bit of an American vibe, so I thought we would go with burritos.  Probably not terribly authentic, but they tasted good and we were all filled up.

I cheated with microwave rice and shop bought wraps -but why ever not?!

There were two versions - one for the pescatarian and one for the veg dodger.  That's the beauty of things like this, people can pick and mic.

Onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Cumin
Red kidney beans
Red onion
Courgette
Red pepper
Fajita spice
Lettuce
Radish
Tomatoes
Avocado
Lime
Red chilli
Cooked rice
Salmon
Steak
Wraps
Sour cream

1.  Chop 2 red onions - one into small dice for the refried beans and one in strips for the spiced vegetables.
2.  Sautee the onions in olive oil, in 2 separate pans.
3.  Crush garlic and add to both pans.  Add a good pinch of cumin to the refried beans pan, and a pinch of fajita spice to the veg pan.
4.  Drain and rinse a tin of red kidney beans and add to the onion and cumin, add a splash of water and heat through.
5.  Chop courgette and red pepper into strips, add to the veg pan and stir fry.
6.  Chop the salad bits and present on a tray, spritz the avocado with lime juice.
7.  Roast the salmon in the oven for 15 minutes.
8.  Remove the beans from the heat and mash them gently, spritz with lime juice.  Keep warm in the oven.
9.  Sprinkle wraps with a little water, wrap in foil and put in the oven to heat through.
10.  Cook the steak - to your preferred level of done - ours was medium rare - 3 minutes on each side, leave to rest for 5 minutes.  Cut into strips.
11.  Serve, with sour cream and hot chilli mayonnaise …. scoff

Smoked salmon salad wrap

Had a late meeting, but wanted a simple, yet tasty snack …. so

Corn tortilla
smoked salmon
red onion
avocado
lime
radish
Lettuce

5 minutes - done!

1.  Finely chop a little red onion.  Finely slice radishes.  Scoop flesh from avocado and slice, squirt with a little lime juice to keep it looking green and to add a little extra sharpness.
2.  Sprinkle corn tortilla with a little water, microwave on full for 10 seconds each side (softens the wrap).
3.  Lay smoked salmon slices onto the tortilla.  Arrange the veg on top, wrap.
4.  Serve, scoff …. so easy, so quick, so tasty.

Salad days

Todmorden has seen a full 2 weeks of summer weather!  This is fairly unheard of!  This beautiful sunshine has led me to thinking of salad.   This dinner actually took 2 days to make, as the beetroot were baked and the chickpeas were soaked and cooked - but you could do it in an hour using tinned chickpeas and vac packed beetroot.

All of the ingredients can be found from Todmorden market.  The Mediterranean Pantry (chickpeas, olive oil, roasted peppers, balsamic vinegar, oregano, garlic), The Crumbly Cheese (feta) and Kev's veg stall for the veg/fruit.

Bake the beetroot, washed but not peeled, with garlic cloves and olive oil for about an hour, until a knife can pierce them without resistance.  Cool a little, then peel (I always wear gloves) and chop into chunks.  While still warm drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Soak chickpeas overnight, and then boil for at least an hour.  The chickpeas are done when you can squash them between your fingers.

Potatoes
Olive oil
white onion
red pepper
garlic
oregano
lemon
feta

Chickpeas
Roasted red pepper (from a jar, in oil)
red onion

Tomatoes
Red onion
Radish
Basil

Beetroot
Apple
Avocao
Red onion
Lime
Balsamic vinegar
olive oil

Potatoes, red pepper and feta

1. Peel the potatoes (I used Cyprus, they were delicious) and cut into wedges.  Place into a roasting pan.
2.  Add quarters of white onion, chunks of red pepper  and sliced garlic.
3.  Slosh on a glug of olive oil, a sprinkle of oregano and the juice of half a lemon.
4.  Add half a cup of water, cover in foil and bake for about 30 minutes ... the water means that the potatoes and pepper will steam as well as bake which makes them extra juicy.
5.  After 30 minutes remove foil, return to the oven for about 45 minutes.  The red pepper will char a bit, but it will be delicious.
6.  Remove from the oven, crumble feta over the pan.

Chickpea salad

1.  Chop red peppers from a jar.
2.  Mix chickpeas, red pepper, oil from the jar and finely sliced red onion.

Tomato salad

Mix chopped tomatoes, finely sliced red onion, torn basil and finely sliced radish.  Drizzle with olive oil (sparingly).

Beetroot, avocado and apple salad

Mix chopped beetroot, chopped avocado, finely sliced red onion and chopped apple together.  Immediately add the juice of a lime and turn ingredients until they are all lightly coated - this will help prevent the apple and avocado oxidising, and discolouring.  Splosh in a little more balsamic if needed.

Serve, scoff  ... 7 of your 5 a day ... result!

Smorgasboard (well, a little one)

A gloriously sunny day in Yorkshire, and the veg dodger out, so we had a mini version of a smorgasbord.

A smorgasbord, incase you want to know, is a Swedish buffet which usually has both hot and cold dishes.

Ours had:-

Fried potatoes
Smoked salmon
beech smoked anchovies
Leafy salad
Tomato, avocado, onion and basil salad

No recipes - but - smoked anchovies are amazing - you should try them (even if you think you don't like anchovies).

Smoked mackerel and a medley of salads

A sunny day in Todmorden - miracles never cease!  So, a medly of salads for tea tonight.  There is no real recipe for this - boil the pasta, chop vegetables, open a tin and flake smoked mackerel - remember to squeeze lemon onto the avocado, or it will go brown.  I added garlic mayonnaise to my celery, apple and almond salad, but it's not universally liked, so I left it off the main serving.

Tomato and avocado salad

Cherry tomatoes
Finely chopped red onion
Radish
Avocado
Squeeze of lemon juice

Celery and apple salad

Celery
Apple
Almonds
Garlic mayonnaise (optional)

Pasta and mackerel salad

Pasta (random odds and ends of GF today)
Chopped red onion
Sweetcorn
Smoked mackerel

Green leaves
Olive oil
Sherry vinegar

Fajitas

Or should we say woman vs food!

We don't have fajitas very often, so I thought I would try to pull off the full monty - though I stopped short of a slaw as there were actually only 3 of us, and I had gathered enough for about 6!  Also, the cold did not put any of us in the mood for salad.

So - wraps - tortilla wraps from the packet warmed up for non-gf people ... homemade gf chapatti for gf person.  I tried both - the gf version was considerably nicer.

Rice - I happened to have some 7 grain wholegrain microwavable handy, so used that  - but any rice would be fine.

Refried beans:

Sweat leeks and garlic in olive oil, add cumin and a pinch of chilli flakes.  Drain a tin of red kidney beans and add, along with half a cup of water.  Simmer gently.  If I had any fresh herbs I would have added at the end - I didn't so just a spritz of lime juice, salt and pepper and a squish with a masher and they're done.

Red peppers:

Sweat leeks and garlic in olive oil, add a few mixed herbs and sliced red pepper.  Fry - let the peppers char slightly to get a nice smoky flavour, add a little water to allow them to soften without burning.

Fajita chicken:

Marinade chicken pieces in fajita seasoning and olive oil, I used thighs cut into strips, but some would prefer breast.  Fry until slightly crispy on the edges.  The veggie alternative was halloumi in fajita seasoning fried until slightly golden.

Guacamole:

Very finely dice a small onion, cut avocado into small pieces, or crush with a fork, add diced tomato and a spritz of lime.

Sour cream
Grated cheddar

(If you are making homemade chappatis make the dough first - gf flour, natural yogurt and enough water to kneed into a dough)

1.  Start with the refried beans.
2.  Then the peppers.
3.  Marinade the chicken and make the guacamole.
4.  Keep an eye on the stove top mixtures, marinade the halloumi.
5. Grate the cheese
6.  Warm the bread, make the chappatis.
7.  Serve, stack ... try to roll greedy sized thing up, spill it all down your front!  Delicious.

Tortilla with fennel, carrot and avocado salad

The organic box gave a lovely bunch of vegetables this week, and the biggest carnivore was away, so we figured on a meat free meal.  So, tortilla (or spanish omelette) with salad it was.

Onions

Olive oil

potatoes

Fennel

Carrots

Avocado

Lime

Sesame seeds

Avocado oil

Lettuce

Orange infuse olive oil

balsamic vinegar

eggs - lots of them

1.  Chop onions and fry until soft in olive oil.

2.  Cut potatoes into slices and boil.

3.  Finely chop fennel and carrots, sprinkle on sesame seeds.

4.  Beat together eggs, seasonned with salt and pepper, add a little water to loosen the mixture.

5.  Drain the potatoes and put into a large mixing bowl, add the onions, stir gently, then pour on the eggs.

6.  Tip the eggy potato mix into olive oil, in a large frying pan.  Cook over a a gentle heat for a few minutes  Then place in a medium oven, under a medium grill to cook the top.

7.  Finish the salads by drizzling orange infused oil and balsamic onto washed lettuce leaves.

8.  Slice and avocado and add to the fennel and carrot salad, squeeze on the juice of half a lime to prevent it from browning - drizzle with avocado oil.

9.  Serve, scoff.

Salmon (almost) tacos with potato wedges and coleslaw

I fancied something a bit spicy, but it's also a firmly established tradition to have fish and "chips" on a Friday - so a bit of a deconstructed salmon taco, with wedges, was invented.

Start with the potatoes, then gently chop stuff for the salads, make the dressing and fry the salmon ... easy peasy really.  Takes about an hour from walking in the door.

Potatoes
Olive oil
White cabbage
Carrots
Spring onion
Fennel seeds
Limes
Radish
Avocado
Cherry tomatoes
Natural yogurt
Chili sauce
Nachos
Salmon
Cajun seasoning

1.  Cut potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil and microwave for 10-15 minutes.
2.  Roast wedges until they are crisped and browned - about 30 minutes.
3.  Shred cabbage, peel and grate carrot, finely chop spring onions - mix together with a good pinch of fennel seeds, the juice of a lime and a splosh of olive oil.  Chuck some finely sliced radish on top.
4.  Halve the avodacos, remove the stone, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, and slice into wedges.  Mix with halved/quartered cherry tomatoes, spritz wiwth a little lime juice, to prevent avocado from turning brown.
5.  Put nachos in the bottom of the oven, turn the potato wedges over.
6.  Mix natural yogurt and a splash of hot sauce (to taste), and juice of half a lime to make the dressing.
7.  Sprinkle cajun seasoning on the salmon, and pan fry in a hot pan - about 3 minutes each side.
8.  Shout troops from wherever they may be, serve, scoff.

Veggie chilli, guacamole - rice and tortilla chips

Another bitterly cold day so I thought we deserved a bit a warming comforting summat.  Also, there was an avocado from the veg box which needed using up - so, why not a bit of chilli?

Veggie Chilli
Olive oil
Garlic
onion
carrots
red pepper
mixed herbs
chilli flakes
green beans
turkish beans
red kidney beans
vegan bouillon
water
salt and pepper

basmati rice

Guacamole
red onion
tomato
avocado
juice of half a lemon

tortilla chips
natural yogurt (or sour cream)

It takes about 45 minutes, start to finish ... but you could let it simmer away happily for longer if you were busy with something else.

1.  Soften chopped onion in olive oil.
2.  Add chopped carrots, red pepper and green beans with the crushed garlic.
3.  Turn all the veg over in the pan for a couple of minutes, then add a good pinch of mixed herbs and a sprinkle of chilli flakes.
4.  Add a teaspoon of bouillon powder and about a pint of water.  Simmer.
6.  Put the rice on - I put it in a cast iron pot, cover with water to an inch above the surface, bring to the simmer, cover and pop into a coolish oven.  This will wait patiently until you are ready.
5.  Add a tin of turkish beans (like greek giant beans, but a bit smaller - in a tasty tomato sauce).  Add a drained tin of kidney beans.  Simmer for another 20 minutes, adding water and seasoning as necessary.
6. While it's simmering chuck together the guacamole - chop a red onion, finely.  Chop a tomato and add to the onion.  Scoop the flesh out of the avocado and add that too - squish the mixture with a spoon.  Squirt on the juice of half a lemon - mix and keep covered, in the fridge, until you are ready to eat.
7. 5 minutes before serving pop the tortilla chips into the oven in an oven proof dish, to warm through.
8.  Serve, scoff - adding yogurt if you wish.  Grated cheese would be another possible garnish.

Lovely!  Would have been vegan except that I am not vegan, and I like the coolness of the yogurt.  The guacamole was particularly well received, as there was a bit of a crunch left in it - and we like that :)

Avocado, tomato and feta on toast

Toast bread, slice avocado - lay slices on toast, slice tomatoes, crumble on feta ... add spriggy stuff - peashoots in this case.  Scoff.

Crab cocktail

Well - bargain night at Waitrose - Cromer crab for £1 .. so, it would have been rude not to!  Mixed crab, chopped celery and tomato in mayonnaise - should have added chopped chili, but didn't have any fresh.  Season.  Chopped cos lettuce and tossed with good olive oil.  Chopped avocado and mixed with lime juice and black pepper.  Stack.  Victim was very pleased, though said presentation could have been improved by drizzle of lemon oil - and agreed about the chili.

Suppa chili con carne

Keeping to the spirit of souper December, coupled with the very stormy weather today made me think of chili - and I had seen it on a blog a while ago so feel justified (http://simply-delicious.co.za/2011/06/15/chilli-con-carne-soup/) in claiming it as a soup.  What is the definition of soup anyway?  According to the Free Dictionary "A liquid food prepared from meat, fish, or vegetable stock combined with various other ingredients and often containing solid pieces."  http://www.thefreedictionary.com/soup OK - it counts. Chop onion, celery and red pepper;  saute in olive oil.  Add chopped mushrooms, crushed garlic and chili spices.  Add mince and brown a little, add two tins of chopped tomatoes, some stock and simmer.  Simmer a bit more.  Add drained kidney beans and simmer a bit more.  Serve topped with avocado, natural yogurt and chili and a squirt of lime juice.  Victim scoffed happily, but claims again that I am a wuss with the chili.  

Chicken salad, with avocado, pine nuts and red pepper

Mix 1 tablespoon light mayonnaise, 1 tbsp natural yogurt, 1 tsp dijon mustard, splash of balsamic and grinding of black pepper.  Chuck in 2 chopped spring onions, 1 chopped roasted red pepper (from a jar), 1 chopped avocado and 2 chopped, poached, cold chicken breasts, handful of herbs from garden - mix.  Shred chosen lettuce, add chicken mixture and sprinkle on roasted pine nuts.  It's not even a recipe it's so easy.  Delicious.  Veg 3. Dinner - left over BBQ casserole with rice and brocolli so veg at least 7.  Eggs 3.