Beetroot and carrot burgers

Meat free Monday - today we had beetroot and carrot burgers - and the veg dodger had seconds!

This could be made vegan by omitting the cheese - but the melting saltiness is really nice in the middle of the burger.  It could be replaced by a few cashew nuts for a bit of crunch and flavour.

Onion
Beetroots
Carrots
Porridge oats
Olive oil
Cheddar
Garlic
Courgettes
New potatoes

1.  Grate the onion, beetroot and carrots - mix well together.  Add a big handful of porridge oats, plenty of salt and pepper and a good splosh of olive oil.  Mix together again.
2.  Cut cheddar into small cubes.
3.  Put potatoes on to boil.
4.  Finely chop garlic, chop courgettes into cubes.
5.  Make the burgers, packing cheese into the middle - I used rings to pack them onto the pan, but you can shape them by hand by moulding around the cheese, fry them at a medium heat, in olive oil for about 5 minutes on each side.
6.  Fry the courgette and garlic in olive oil in another pan - keep tossing around so that all sides get cooked.
7.  Serve, scoff … have seconds - you'll be surprised how tasty they are.

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!

Smoked mackerel biryani, roast beetroot with hard boiled egg

This dinner was made in stages, but is incredibly easy.  The beetroot was actually roasted yesterday, bunged in the oven while I was roasting potatoes.  The ricey bit - I'm calling it biryani because I used a biryani spice mix, and it uses raw rice, rather than kedgeree which uses cooked rice) takes a few minutes (about 8) to start, and then you just leave it gently cooking itself until 5 minutes before serving.  Eggs - simply put on to boil in cold water, done 3 minutes after the water starts to boil.



Roast beetroot

Beetroot
Garlic
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Smoked Mackerel biryani

Onion
garlic
Olive oil
Biryani spice
Basmati rice
Vegetable stock
Frozen peas
Smoked mackerel

Boiled eggs

Eggs!

1.   Wash beetroot, put, unpeeled, in a roasting dish with lots of garlic - just bash a few cloves and stick them in.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and cover tightly with foil.  Roast until beetroot is soft ... about an hour.
2.  Cool beetroot.  When cold - peel - I always wear gloves as otherwise you end up looking like an extra from the Texas chainsaw massacre - this time I had run out of gloves so improvised with 2 plastic bags on my hands ... clumsy, but it worked.  Chop into chunks and drizzle with balsamic.  Store in the fridge.
3.  Sweat off chopped onion and crushed garlic in olive oil, in a heavy bottomed pan with a tight fitting lid.
4.  Add a teaspoon, or so, of biryani spice mix (or curry mix of your choice).  Stir in.  Add basmati rice, stir until every grain has a thin layer of oil.  Add stock to 1 inch about the rice, bring to the boil.
5.  As soon as the rice boils stick the lid on it, and turn it RIGHT down.  Leave for 15 minutes.
6.  Boil the eggs.  (From cold, bring to the boil, simmer for 3 minutes, put under running cold water to cool quickly ... peel)
7.  Stir frozen peas into the rice, add flaked smoked mackerel - stir gently, slam the lid back on for 5 minutes.
8.  Serve, scoff

Pan fried salmon with spinach and hazelnut salad and beetroot

This is actually quite a quick dinner - as long as you bake the beetroot the night before!

Beetroot
Garlic
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

New potatoes

Salmon

Red onion
Hazelnuts
Spinach

1.  The night before, ie. bunged in the oven while that dinner was being made, put scrubbed, but unpeeled beetroot in a baking pan with whole garlic cloves, and a drizzle of olive oil.  Cover tightly with foil.  Roast for an hour or so, until the flesh is soft to a sharp knife.  Leave to cool.
2.  Cut new potatoes into "chips" and place on a baking tray, drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake for about 30 minutes.
3.  Peel and chop the beetroot, add balsamic vinegar and toss.
4.  Finely chop a red onion, crush some hazelnuts and sprinkle both onto baby spinach.
5.  Pan fry the salmon, skin side first, in a hot pan - 2-3 minutes each side.
6.  Scoff.

Parsnip and beetroot burgers with gorgonzola, roast squash and red pepper - and sprout tops

All has been quiet at Kitchen Fairies HQ for a few weeks - it's not that food hasn't been cooked and eaten - it's that I am preparing for a new adventure - which will come into fruition in the New Year ... so watch this space.

The veg box was full of wintery wonderfulness, so, this is what happened ...

Parsnip and beetroot burgers

3 parsnips
2 beetroot
1 lemon
2 onions
porridge oats
olive oil
gorgonzola

1.  Grate parsnips, onions and beetroot - squeeze in the juice of the lemon to stop discolouration.
2.  Mix well, and mix in porridge oats - season.
3.  Shape into burgers and put on greaseproof paper.  (I wrap them individually in greaseproof for freezing - which works very well.
4.  Bake in hot oven, on a greased baking tray for about 10 minutes.  Turn, top with cheese and bake again until melted.

Roast squash and red pepper

1 squash
1 red pepper
4 fat cloves of garlic
Olive oil
chili flakes

Prepare veg - sprinkle with seasoning, turn in olive oil to cover all pieces, roast for about 40 minutes

Sprouts

Shred sprout tops and steam for 10 minutes.

Simple, delicious, vegetarian - gluten free - if you use the right oats.

Smoked mackeral, beetroot pasta salad with mustard dressing.

Corn on the cob glut in the veg box, and some beetroot cooked already to use up.  So cooked up a bit of pasta with the corn kernals and steam some green beans, flaked some smoked mackeral and toss in dressing.  Serve with some shredded iceberg.  Dressing - crushed garlic, mustard, fresh lemon juice and olive oil - salt and pepper.

I used to peel my squash .... not any more!

Well, I used to peel my squash ... but I have seen Jamie Oliver tell me it's not necessary so many times now, that the last couple of times I have cooked squash - I haven't ... and do you know?  he's right!  Infact. it's probably nicer unpeeled.  The first time was butternut squash - which I thought - OK, that makes sense it's not too tough a skin - and it was delicious. Tonight was acorn squash (I think, I'm not an expert) much tougher skin - it was absolutely fabulous.

So from start to finish:-

Roast beetroot

Beetroot
Olive oil
Garlic

1.  Roast beetroot (whole, skins on) in olive oil, with garlic cloves in the pan - covered with foil - for about 2 hours.
2.  Allow to cool.
3.  Remove skin, and chop, toss in a little balsamic vinegar.

Roast squash

Squash
Olive oil

1.  Cut the top and bottom off the squash, scoop out seeds etc, cut inot wedges.
2.  Roast wedges in olive oil for an hour or so.

.. at the same time

Spicy potato wedges

Potatoes
Olive oil
Cajun seasonning
salt

1.  Chop potatoes into wedges.
2.  Roast in olive oil, sprinkled with cajun seasoning and salt for about an hour.

Cheesy kale and cabbage

Olive oil
Leek
Garlic
Kale
Cabbage
Mixed cheese, diced (we had stilton, gorgonzola, cheddar and cheshire left over from Christmas)

1.  Sautee chopped leek in olive oil.  When soft aff crushed garlic.
2.  Add kale - shredded, after cutting out tough stems.  Add to the pan, with a splash of water.  Simmer for 5 minutes.
3.  Add shredded cabbage, and simmer again.
4.  Chuck in diced cheese, transfer to an oven dish and bake for 20 minutes.

Serve, scoff... have seconds.  Blimey, it was good.

Pop up restaurant

Yesterday, my friend and I, hosted our first popup restaurant.  It was fantastic - but we took very few pics as we were too busy.  This is the gluten free scone with smoked mackeral pate, beetroot jam and horseradish cream.  It was followed by vegan moussaka, coleslaw and green salad, and finished with strawberry and rhubarb, hazelnut crumble with ginger ice cream.

Gluten free scones

Rub olive oil spread into self raising gluten free flour with a teaspoon of baking powder (it really needs extra raising agent), salt.  When is resembles breadcrumbs form into a soft dough with an egg and a splash of soya milk.  Bake at 180 for about 12 minutes.

Mackeral pate

Zizz 3 packets of flaked mackeral fillets and 1 box of medium tofu until smooth.  Add black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Chill.

Beetroot jam

2 red onions, finely chopped and sauted off in olive oil.  Finely chopped beetroot - about 8.  A handful of sugar, a splash of red wine, a few chili falkes and a good splosh of sherry vingar - simmer to let flavours meld - add water if it gets too think.

Horseradish cream

Grate about 1 inch horseradish root finely.  Add 1/2 carton double cream, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Taste to adjust.

Vegan moussaka

Potatoes, peeled boiled and cut into thick slices.
Sauce 3 chopped onions sauteed in olive oil, add chopped celery, chopped red pepper, courgettes and mushrooms.  Add red lentils, a good few herbs, lots of garlic and a few chili flakes.  Add a splash of red wine, some vegan bouillon, 2 tins of chopped tomatoes and water.  Simmer, stir, simmer, season etc.  I added a teaspoon of cinnamon at the end to ring the changes.
Make a litre of white sauce with soya milk (I just thickenned with cornflour, but could have done a bechamel) flavoured with bay and nutmeg.
Put the moussaka together - lentils, sauce, then potatoes - drizzle with olive oil and bake for an hour until top is crisp and golden.

beetroot and carrot burgers with crispy, herbed courgette

Veg box surplus of beetroot and carrot - yay!  these burgers are delicious.

No, really, I promise - delicious!

Some beetroot
Some carrots
an onion or more
garlic, crushed
rolled oats
olive oil
herbs
cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

courgette
cornmeal (polenta)
salt and pepper, and herbs

1.  Grate cleaned carrots and beetroot.
2.  Add crushed garlic, herbs, seasoning (chili if you fancy) oats, a good glug of olive olive oil and mix well.
3. slice courgette, toss with polenta - with salt pepper and herbs.
4.  Heat olive oil in 2 frying pans - start frying burgers first, then courgette..
5.  Turn burgers over, put sliced/grated cheese on top.
6.  Start frying courgette slices in hot olive oil - dont keep tossing - turn when done on one side..

when done - scoff - with mayonniase to taste

Don't add the cheese or mayonnaise and it's vegan and lactose free too.

Grilled mackerel, beetroot in horseradish and leftover root veg bake

The only part of this which is a "recipe" is the beetroot in horseradish.  The root veg are yesterdays leftovers heated through, and the mackerel is grilled on a hot grill - skin side first, with a little olive oil on the fish.  My grill was not hot enough - it needs to get really hot.  I also braised some celery - in the oven, with olive oil and white wine - covered with foil.


Beetroot
olive oil
garlic
natural yogurt
horseradish

1.  Put beetroot, washed and whole in a baking tray, add splosh of olive oil and a small handful of garlic cloves.
2.  Cover with foil and roast for an hour or so.
3.  Peel and chop the roast beetroot, squeeze on the roast garlic, leave to cool slightly.
4.  Mix together 3 spoons of natural yogurt and 1 spoon of horseradish.  Stir into the slightly cooled beetroot.

Beetroot and carrot burgers with roasties and red cabbage slaw

What do you do with loads of beetroot and red cabbage?  Well, we did this ... and it was delicious.

Burgers

1 onion
garlic
2 large beetroot
4 carrots
porridge oats
cumin seeds
salt & pepper
1 egg
Blue cheese
tomatoes

Potatoes
olive oil
salt

Red cabbage slaw

1/2 red cabbage
2 carrots
1 onion
mustard seeds
lemon juice
balsamic vinegar
olive oil

This is a job for the food processor!

Start the potatoes

1. Chop and par-boil
2.  Tip into oven tray with hot oil - toss, sprinkle with salt, and roast for 1 hour (ish) at 180.

Other stuff

1.  Start with the slicing blade and shred red cabbage wedges.
2.  Swap the blade for the grater blade, grate the all the onion and carrot - split into 2 batches - 1/2 with the salw, 1/2 for the burger mix.
3.  Take furry bits from beetroot, scrub well and grate them too - add to the burger mix.
4.  To the burger mix add cumin seeds, oats and 1 egg to make a sticky batter.
5.  To the slaw add lemon juice, onion seeds, vinegar, seasoning and olive oil - mix well, and stick in the fridge until ready to eat.
6.  Heat olive oil in pan - add spoonfuls of beetroot mix - squash down into patties - you might want to shape a bit with wooden spoons, but it's not important really.  Fry for about 4 minutes, turn over and fry on the other side.
7.  Keep warm in the oven until everything is nearly ready - the add cheese on top (if you fancy) and (again, if you fancy) sliced tomatoes.

Scoff

Excellent use of veg box goodies.

Could have been vegan if there was no cheese and omitted the egg from the mix - it works, the patties just don't hold together as well (I made some without egg, so I know it works).

Beetroot, horseradish and feta blini

This looked quite impressive, but was set upon as soon as it reached the table - and then people had seconds before I managed to remember to take a pic.

Blini

self raising flour and buckwheat flour (about 2/3 to 1/3)
egg
soya milk
salt
sour cream/ natural yogurt

Mix flours together, whisk in egg, then add soya milk and yogurt.  Mix to thick batter.  Fry in light olive oil - a couple of minutes each side.

Topping

beetroot
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
sour cream
horse radish cream
feta
pine nuts
(smoked salmon)

Chop beetroot and toss in good olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Mix a couple of spoons of horseradish into sour cream.  Roast pine nuts til golden (or roast pine nuts until burnt, then get lovely sister in law to roast another batch until golden - this works too).  Lay blini on big platter add beetroot, horse radish cream and crumbled feta.  Fling pine nuts over the top.  Some people might also enjoy adding smoked salmon.

Veggie tapas

The new veg box comes tomorrow - which is great.  We have lots of veg left in the fridge - which is great.  The trick is to make nice dinners out of stuff which doesn't always immediately go together without just shouting stew, casserole, curry.... and chucking it in and hoping for the best.

Tonight, carribbean squash, balsamic roasted beetroot, spinach with nutmeg and parmesan, roasted heritage tomatoes, charred chicory .. all brought together with garlicky mustard yogurt dressing.  Yum.

Turn oven to 180C.

4 beetroot
2 red onions
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

1/2 decent sized squash, peeled and chopped into big bite sized pieces, seeds and middle stringy bit scraped out and discarded
carribean seasoning
olive oil

1 onion, finely sliced
2 big handfuls of spinach
olive oil
water
garlic
freshly grated nutmeg
black pepper
parmesan, grated

chicory
olive oil

tomatoes
olive oil
salt

natural yogurt
1 tbsp grainy mustard
crushed garlic
olive oil
lemon juice
seasoning

pine nuts

1.  In a roasting dish - put unpeeled beetroot, quartered red onion, a good splosh of olive oil.  Lid on - in the oven (will take about 90 minutes)
2.  Argue with the squash, battle it into pieces - I aim for about 2-3 cm cubes, but obviously the vegetable doesn't provide those proportions - so my best guideline is pieces which, in polite company, one would cut into two pieces before cramming into one's gob.  Put in roasting tin, sprinkle with carribbean seasoning (or mix of chili and herbs etc), toss about, cover (with foil if no lid).
3.  Have a sit down, ... cup of tea.. watch a soap.. for about 40 minutes
4.  Galvanise yourself, put tomatoes in an oven proof dish with splosh of olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt.  Put dish in oven.
5.  Have another little sit down, listen to some nice music - about 20 minutes.
6.  Finely slice an onion and sautee gently in olive oil, after a few minutes chuck is chopped (or if baby spinach, just chuck it in) and washed spinach, allow to wilt for a minute, add a tiny splash of water to allow it all to wilt.
7.  Grate a little nutmeg (be careful with nutmeg, it can get medicinal) into the spinach, squish in garlic, grind in some black pepper, stir around, clamp on lid and steam for a bit.
8.  Check that the veg are ready... by sticking a sharp knife into the beetroot and squash, when they are nearly ready...
9.  Cut chicory into quarters, sear in a hot pan.
10.  Take the beetroot out of the oven, take its lid off, and let it cool down.  When it is cool enough, peel and chop into nice, bite sized pieces, and stir in balsamic vinegar.
11.  Actually, in the middle of step 10 - make the yogurty dressing... mix crushed garlic, grainy mustard, seasoning, yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning ... to taste (think of 1 tsp garlic, 2 tsp mustard, 6 tbsp yogurt, 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice.... but this really is to taste, so try as you go)
12.  Gently toast some pine nuts.  (If I hadn't burnt these, I would have spinckled them elegantly on the spinach).
13.  Present to appreciative crowd, and scoff

Rice and lentils, roasted veg, beetroot and kale

All elements of the "recipe" quite simple - but together it was very good, and very nutritious.

Cook rice and lentils, and mix together when cooked.

Peel and chop carrots and parsnips, add wedges of red onion, spritz with lemon juice, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with caribbean spices.  Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes, remove foil and continue to bake until veg is soft and slightly "caught" around the edges.

Bake the beetroot with garlic cloves and olive oil and black pepper - cover with foil.  Peel when hot, chop and splash on balsamic vinegar.

Steam kale for about 12-15 minutes, after grating on fresh nutmeg.

Scoff.  Some garlic yogurt sauce would have been nice if you like that kind of thing.

Bring on summer - spicy hake with 3 salads

There was some sun today - hurray! So, I thought I would try to prolong the good sunshiny vibes with a salad dinner.  I had spicy hake, but also chucked a burger in for the victim ... just as well, as spicy fish was properly poo-pooed (silly! was delish).  OK - in order of cooking - beetroot, borlotti bean and mozzarella, coleslaw, waldorf (kind, sorta, ..ish) salads... spicy fish "goujons", green salad.

recipes - such as they are - beetroot, borlotti bean and mozarella salad.  I had beetroot and borlotti beans in the veg box this week, so made it from scratch - vacuum packed beetroot, and tinned beans would be proper tasty, and much less time consuming.  So, starting from the raw state... roast washed (but not peeled) beetroot in a tray with garlic, slosh of olive oil and splash of balsamic until beetroot is soft - I cover tray in foil and test after about an hour, knife should go in with very little resistance.  Meanwhile, pod and then boil borlotti beans - takes about 12 mins from boiling - but depends on beans.  Cool beetroot, cool and drain beans.  Skin beetroot (I always use gloves) and cut into bite sized pieces.  Mix together beetroot pieces, beans, chopped radish, mozarella - torn into bite sized bits, basil leaves, seasoning, olive oil - taste...yum yum - add splash of lemon juice/vinegar if needs a little sharpness.  Sorta waldorf ... well, as kids we hated walnuts, so Mum invented this with almonds... it may have morphed over the years, but it's proper simple, so morph it yourself.. Chop a fair bit of celery into small, but still chunky, chunks, add some chopped onion... chop apple - add - squirt with lemon/lime juice - mix up until all apple has touched acid juice, at this point I added chopped orange and red pepper.  Chuck in handful of almonds, small spoon of mayonnaise, good teaspoon of horseradish and about 2 tbsp of natural yogurt - season - taste, adjust... should be crunchy, savoury and refreshing.  Coleslaw... everyone has their own recipe - but finely shredded red onion, about 3 times as much red cabbage and white cabbage, grated carrot - lemon/lime juice or cider vinegar, and good pinch of rock salt... let sit for 30mins, cabbage will start to soften slightly.  Stir in splodge of mayonnaise and some natural yogurt (adjust proportions depending on whether you are trying to reduce fat (0% mayo lowest fat... all mayo if you are a skinny imp wanting to chunk up).

Spicy fish - was hake (could've been most white fish, tuna or salmon) - cut into strips and tossed in flour and fish curry spices - fried - hot and quick...

Delish.

Lettuce... OK - for completeness - I tossed it in lime juice and a whisper of olive oil.

Butternut squash, spinach and feta filo pie

Victim suggested it would be better as individual tarts - but all in all, not a bad veggie offering.  So, roasted a butternut squash with garlic with a splash of olive oil for about a hour.  Made filling by softening red onion, a clove more garlic, a grated courgette and a handful of chopped mushrooms in olive oil,  added roast squash and good amount of spinach - heated gently and mixed until spinach wilted - added cumin, more garlic, chili and whatever curry spices were to hand - looking for gentle flavouring, not heat.  Took off heat and stirred in feta.  Made pie by scuffily layering fio sheets in a kind of overlapping diamond shape - brushing with olive oil every sheet.  Dollop mix in the middle, grind on some black pepper. Top with one layer of filo, olive oil, and sprinkle on pine nuts.  Scrunch up ends of remaining filo sheets over the top of the pie.  Brush with olive oil, and sprinkle on sesame seeds.  Bake for 30ish mins... depnding on your oven (about 180C).  Salad - beetroot, spring onion, chopped carrot, cherry tomatoes - dress with balsamic vinegar and olice oil, topped with radish sprouts.  Best thing.. leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  :)

Beetroot and feta salad

Well, it was prettier, but gathered victims fell upon it (me included) as we were hungry.  Some carnage followed (see stain on tablecloth) but thumbs up all round. (recipe:  assorted leaves including bog standard lettuce, lamb's lettuce, rocket and watercress, beetroot in balsamic, feta, red onion... dressing with mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic).  Followed by boeuf bourgignon (with rice and mash (don't ask!), green beans and peas (again, don't ask).  Finally, apple and cherry spongey pudding with (and without) ice cream.  All gathered victims left VERY full, so we had to leave the Scalectrix tournament to the cats.