Summer vegetable spaghetti with feta and black olives

 

End of the veg box again - onions, courgette, lemons and red pepper - added a few green beans, feta and olives and this was the delicious result.  Summery, but also filling, saltiness from feta and olives, sharpness from lemon. Fab. Quick too.

Olive oil

Onion

Garlic

Salt

Courgette

Red pepper

Green beans

Italian herbs

zest and juice of a lemon

spaghetti

black olives

Feta

Basil

1.  Sweat down chopped onion in olive oil, with a pinch of salt, then add crushed garlic.

2.  Add chopped red pepper, courgette and green beans (I would have added spinach if there was any available, so add/substitute with what you have available).  Let them soften for a few minutes.  Add a pinch of italian herbs.

3.  Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water, as per packet instructions.

4.  When pasta is al dente, add a couple of spoons of pasta water to veg and toss in drained pasta, stir.

5.  Add chopped zest and juice of a lemon, black olives, shredded basil and crumbled feta.

6.  Serve, grind on black pepper, scoff, bask in smugness.

Red Thai Fish Curry

 

A few vegetables, some fish and a jar of thai red curry paste .. ta dah!  Red thai fish curry ... in under 30 minutes.  Just the thing for a bunch of hungry people after an afternoon of walking.

Jasmine rice
Coconut oil (or other mild cooking oil)

Onion

Garlic

Thai curry paste

Mushrooms

Red pepper

Green beans

Cod

Pak choi

Coconut cream

1.  Fry chopped onion gently in coconut oil until soft.

2.  Add crushed garlic and red thai paste to taste (the brands have different strengths, read their instructions), fry for another couple of minutes.

3.  Prep vegetables and chop into bite sized pieces.

4.  Cook the rice - I use the adsorption method - cover with cold water 1 inch over the surface of the rice in the pan, heat to boiling, then slam the lid on and turn the heat right down  It should be ready in about 12 minutes, but it's quite forgiving if you leave it alone and let it steam.

5.  Add most of the veg to the curry sauce, but not the pak choi.  Fry for a couple of minutes, then add some water and simmer until a bit soft, about 10 minutes.

6.  Add thicker stems of pak choi, stir in, and simmer for 1 minute more.

7.  Add coconut cream and dissolve into the sauce, add more water if it's too thick.

8.  When the coconut cream is fully mixed in add chunks of cod, lay over soft green leaves of pak choi.

9.  Put the lid on and let the curry cook gently for another 5 minutes.

10.  Check that the fish is cooked - opaque throughout.

11. Serve, scoff, receive praise.

Roast salmon, with dill and mustard sauce, garlicky beans and a kind of pilau - for Moulin Rouge!

Many Saturday's we have movie night, and I try to theme dinner with the movie.  This week it was Moulin Rouge! so I took a French take on dinner.  It's not restaurant quality presentation, but though I say it myself I was very, very tasty.

Double peeling the broad beans is tedious, but the resulting beans are worth it, as you don't have to chew the rubbery green coatings.






Broad beans
Green beans
Tomatoes
Garlic
Olive oil

Salmon fillets
Olive oil

Butter
Shallot
Dill
Dijon mustard
Juice of half a lemon
Flour
Natural yogurt

Olive oil
Shallot
Rice
Stock

1.  Prep the broad beans by podding and peeling grey layer.  Chop green beans and finely chop tomatoes.  Sautee gently in olive oil, with A LOT of crushed garlic.  Add a little water/stock and simmer, with a lid on for about 30 minutes.
2.  Drizzle salmon fillets with olive oil, cover with foil and roast for about 20 minutes.
3.  Melt a good bit of butter, and add very finely chopped shallot.
4.  Start the pilau, sautee finely chopped shallot in olive oil.  Add rice, turn in the oil until every grain is coated with a film of oil, then fry a little longer until the rice starts to cook slightly.  Now add flavourful stock, stir in, turn the heat right down and put the lid on.  Should be ready in 15 minutes.  Turn the heat off and let it just sit there and keep warm in the steam.
5.  Finish the sauce by adding dill, a teaspoon of dijon mustard and a spoonful of flour.  Whisk in lemon juice.  It might look a bit split but just keeping whisking.  Just before you are ready to serve stir in natural yoghurt, keep it on a very low heat.
6.  Serve, scoff ... it was delicious.

Feta stuffed courgette, tomato and garlic green beans

Making the most of the lovely summer vegetables … today courgettes and green beans.  The feta added to the courgette adds a lovely salty sharpness.

Olive oil
courgette
red onion
oregano
feta
green beans
cherry tomatoes
garlic
new potatoes







1.  Cut the courgettes in half length ways, scoop out the central flesh with a spoon.  Dice this flesh finely.
2.  Finely chop a red onion, mix with the courgette flesh, a good pinch of oregano and a splosh of olive oil.  Mix well, squishing the courgette and onion together.  Fold in chunks of feta.
3.  Heap the mix back into the courgettes.  Drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 30 minutes.
4.  Top and tail beans, and cut into bite sized pieces.  Splosh a little olive oil into a frying pan - add beans, cherry tomatoes, crushed garlic and a cup of water.  Bring to the simmer and cook for about 15 minutes (add a little more water if it looks like its going dry).  The tomatoes will split - I usually help them along by squishing them with a spatula.
5.  Boil/steam new potatoes.
6.  Serve, scoff  … lovely summery goodness.

Seared scallops, with roe sauce, garlic beans and herby courgettes

The picture really does not do this justice - it was delicious.

We found some lovely looking scallops in Leeds, with the coral attached - this is quite unusual these days, so I thought we would treat ourselves.  And, what a treat it was!

Scallops
Butter
Olive oil
Red onion
Garlic
Cognac
Lemon
New potatoes
Green beans
Courgettes
Tuscan mix

Make the sauce first, then half prep things, then finish off with the scallops.

1.  Finely chop a red onion, and crush a couple of cloves of garlic.
2.  Sautee half the onion and half the garlic gently in a mixture of olive oil and butter, until they are soft.
3.  Put the other half of the onion, with a good pinch of salt, in a big bowl, with some olive oil - into which you mix the hot potatoes when they are ready.
4.  Put the other half of the garlic into a small frying pan with a knob of butter, which you will melt and add to the green beans when they are done.
5.  Chop courgettes, put into a bag with a spoon of Tuscan mix, jiggle it about until they are all covered, they add in a glug of olive oil, and jiggle it about again.
6.  Separate the coral from the scallops and rinse both parts gently.
7.  Add a glug of cognac to the softened onions and garlic, then add the corals.  Cook for about 3 minutes.
8.  Boil new potatoes, steam prepped beans on top.
9.  Transfer coral mixture to a small blender, add a grind of black pepper and a squirt of lemon juice.  Zizz until fairly smooth.
10.  Griddle the courgettes, for a couple of minutes each side, then keep warm.
11.  Sear the scallops in a hot pan for a minutes or two each side.
12.  Toss the beans in garlic butter, and the potatoes in chopped onion.
13.  Serve, scoff

… have seconds, and then thirds.

Asparagus and green beans with feta and walnut pesto

What a collision of events - summer has hit in Todmorden, so let's make the most of the weather with some delicious in season asparagus, it's also National Vegetarian Week and Love Your Local Market fortnight ... so I made this fabulous dinner with every single ingredient available from Todmorden Market.  Feta from The Crumbly Cheese, Olive oil, walnuts and garlic from me (The Mediterranean Pantry), and all the veg from Kevin on the outside market.




Baby new potatoes
Green beans
Asparagus
Feta

Baby spinach
Baby plum tomatoes
Spring onions
Radish

Walnuts
Extra virgin olive oil
Garlic
Lemon
Mint
Basil

1.  Boil the potatoes.
2.  Steam the asparagus and green beans over the potatoes.  To prep the asparagus simply bend it gently, it will naturally snap where the stem gets a bit woody.  Top and tail the beans, and but them in half.  I steam the veg over the potatoes - put them on 5 minutes after the potatoes have come to the boil.
3.  Meanwhile make the pesto.  Whizz together a small handful of walnuts, two big handfuls of basil and about 8 mint leaves with 2 big cloves of garlic (just peel and crush slightly with the back of a knife and add to the food processor), with a glug of olive oil, a spritz of lemon juice and grated lemon zest.
4.  Toss together baby spinach, tomatoes, spring onions and radish with a drizzle of olive oil.
5.  Chop feta into chunks.
6.  Gently toss together potatoes, beans and asparagus with the feta chunks, and drizzle with the pesto (you don't need that much, it packs a punch).
7.  Serve with the salad, scoff.

Herby potatoes, green beans and feta

Slightly Greek inspired dinner tonight.  Had it been warmer I probably would have done potatoes with a salad, but it was a cold drizzly kind of a day, so I opted for a warm dish - some might still call it salad.

Red onion

Olive oil

Garlic

Cherry tomatoes

Green beans

Potatoes

butter

Chives, parsley

Spinach

Feta

1.  Sautee chopped onion and crushed garlic in olive oil.

2.  Add potatoes, green beans, tomatoes and a cup of water.  Cover and boil until potatoes are cooked.  Take the lid off and simmer to allow the water to evaporate.

3.  Add a knob of butter and a small handful of chopped herbs.

4.  Turn off the heat, stir in a couple of large handfuls of spinach to wilt.

5.  Crumble feta on the top.

6.  Serve, scoff

Tasty and refreshing.

Sea bass with wilted greens

Sea bass from Paul today.  Delicious delicate sweet flavour.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Red onion
Garlic
Celery
Mixed herbs
Courgette
Green beans
Veg stock
Cavolo nero
Spinach
Sea bass

1.  Par- boil the potatoes, and then roast in olive oil for about 45 minutes.
2.  Sautee chopped onion and celery in olive oil until softened, add crushed garlic and a good pinch of mixed herbs..
3.  Add chopped green beans, soften a bit, then chopped courgette.  Stir around and then add a cup of veg stock.  Simmer for 10 minutes or so, then add roughly shredded cavolo nero.  5 minutes before serving add the spinach and let it wilt down.
4.  Pan fry the fish in olive oil - skin side first in a hot pan - 3 mins on the skin side and 2 minutes on the other side should be enough.
5.  Serve, scoff.

It was almost summer - so a summery dinner

It was a lovely sunny day in Tod - one of the very few we have had this year.  Infact, it seems to have been grey and wet since October with barely a break.  So, in honour of the improved weather, I choose to chuck together a summery type dinner.  It is, however, still Yorkshire, so an actual salad would have been too cold.

Once again, all ingredients available from Tod market ... from me in the Mediterranean Pantry:-



Olive oil
Garlic
Rice
Lentils
Greek salad seasoning
Calabrian fish crust mix

From Garry the veg:-

Onions
Spring onions
Green beans
Cherry tomatoes
Courgettes
Salad leaves

1.  Cook rice (1 cup rice, 2 cups water - bring to boil, lid on, turn right down and leave for 15 minutes).
2.  At the same time boil the lentils.
3.  Sautee spring onions and garlic in olive oil (quite a lot of olive oil), add a pinch of greek salad. seasoning.
4.  Add chopped beans and cherry tomatoes, Stir occassionally until its all cooked through, about 12 minutes.
5.  Meanwhile - put some calabrian fish crust mix in a bag - add sliced courgette.  Shake until all of the pieces are coated.  Fry these in a hot griddle pan, for a couple of minutes on each side.
6.  Finish the rice and lentils by frying onions in olive oil, then fold the rice and drained lentils through.
7.  Serve with salad leaves in a simple dressing (balsamic vinegar and olive oil for us).

Bacalhau (ish)

I had this in Portugal - well, you would, wouldn't you!  This was my first go at making it at home. Next time I might add saffron, tomatoes and/or mushrooms - but it was very nice as it was - a kind of fish hotpot.

Salt cod
Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Mixed herbs
Potatoes
Vegetable stock
Green beans
White cabbage

1.  Soak the fish for 24 hours, changing the water at least 3 times.
2.  Sautee the onion in olive oil, add crushed garlic and a few herbs.
3.  Peel and chop potatoes into chunks, add to the onion.
4.  Drain the fish, cut into pieces, and add to the potatoes, add stock and simmer.
5.  After 10 minutes, add chopped green beans.
6.  After another 5 minutes, or so, add the cabbage.
7.  Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
8.  Serve, scoff ... we all squished our potatoes with a fork to soak up the juices ... but you might be more couth!

Pan fried cod, with garlic and rosemary mini roast potatoes and steamed vegetables.

Sometimes, when you have a real quality product - less is more.  So, I decided to treat the cod really simply and just to fry it at the last minutes (oil the fish not the pan) ... but had enough time to make crispy baby roast garlic and rosemary potatoes.  This gave me enough time to finish off a bit of paperwork before I steamed the veg and fried the fish.

Potatoes
olive oil
rosemary
garlic
carrot
green beans
broccoli
cod fillets
salt and pepper

1.  Cut the potatoes into 1cm(ish) cubes and par boil.  
2.  Prep the veg (ie. peel the carrots) and chop the veg into bite sized pieces.
3.  Put some olive oil in an oven dish, and heat it for a few minutes, ready for the potatoes.
3.  When the potatoes are al dente ... or not quite done - drain them - chuck them into the prepared dish.  Add rosemary and crushed garlic, and salt and pepper.  Turn in the oil so that every piece has a light coating of oil and herbs.  Stick back into a fairly hot oven for 35-45 minutes.
4.  Do the stuff you need to do ... 15 minutes before dinner is required - steam the veg.
5.  5 minutes before dinner is required fry the cod in a hot pan - as I said before, oil the fidh, not the pan - but make sure the pan is hot - fry skin side down first for 2(ish) minutes turn over and finish off.

Serve and scoff!  Delicious.

Grilled prawns with vegetable risotto

The weather outside is dreadful, the forecast is something frightful etc etc ... I am really hoping that the predicted torrential rainfall doesn't result in further floods.  But, in the meantime, tried to capture some sunshine with the help of frozen prawns and some tasty seasoning.

olive oil
chopped onions
crushed garlic
italian herbs
green beans
arborio rice
white wine
stock - made from organic vegan bouillon
frozen peas

king prawns

1.  Sautee onions in olive oil, until nearly soft.
2.  Add crushed garlic, a good pinch of herbs and some chopped green beans.  Stir about a bit.
3.  Add a good handful of arborio rice and stir in the pan until every grain has a light coating of oil.
4.  Chuck in a glassful of white wine, simmer.
5.  Add stock, made up from stock powder and hot water, a ladle at a time, letting it simmer and absorb into the rice.
6.  Heat a tiny amount of olive oil on a griddle pan.
7.  When the rice is just before al dente (ie. just under done, should take about 10 minutes from first addition  of stock) chuck in a handful of frozen peas.
8. Griddle the prawns on the hot pan - a couple, or three, minutes per side (from frozen) should do it.  Should you be lucky enough to have fresh prawns it would only take a minute or so each side.
9.  When risotto is done turn off the heat - it will enjoy resting and soaking up the juices for up to about 10 minutes.
10.  Serve risotto, top with prawns and scoff.

Tonight we had a risotto sceptic, and a prawn sceptic ... but clean plates (and seconds) all round.

Potatoes, eggs and green beans

Our eggs from the bantams, and our potatoes from the allotment - some green beans and an onion ... delicious supper dish.

Olive oil
Onion - diced
New potatoes
Green beans
Garlic
chili

1.  Boil potatoes in salted water for about 8 minutes, steam the green beans on top.
2.  Sweat down onion in olive oil.
3.  Remove softened onion from pan and fry the potatoes in olive oil until they start to brown and crisp up.
4.  Add back the onions, the steamed beans and the crushed garlic and chili.
5.  Toss about for 5 minutes or so.
6.  Push the ingredients apart slightly, to provide little spaces for the eggs, break them in.
7.  Cover the pan so that the tops of the eggs, as well as the bottoms, cook.  It shouldn't take more than about 5 minutes.
8.  Serve with a grinding of black pepper.

Roasted squash with barley groat and vegetables.

Roast squash in olive oil with garlic and red onion.

 

Sautee onion and garlic, peeled and chopped carrots, green beans and sweetcorn (this was kernals taken off the cob), in a little olive oil.  Add water and simmer gently until veg is nearly done - add shredded kale a little vegetable stock and simmer again until done.  Meanwhile boil groats for 15 minutes, drain and mix with the veg.  Season - quite a lot - add some chopped herbs.

 

It's an earthy dinner, very filling and good for you.

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.

Potato and pea curry

What can you do with some potatoes, green beans and some peas, and 20 minutes?  Well, this .... and it was truly delicious.

Olive oil
Mustard seeds
Cumin seeds
Fennel seeds
Chili flakes
Turmeric
Diced potatoes
red onion, chopped
Garlic
Chopped green beans
Water
Frozen peas
Garam massala

1.  Sautee red onion, garlic and spices in olive oil.
2.  Add diced potatoes, turn over in oil and then add water.
3.  Simmer, add green beans.
4.  Simmer more, add frozen peas and a smidge of garam massala when nearly done.

Beware, you may need seconds, or thirds.

Cauliflower, mushroom and green bean curry

A vegan curry was called for - so a vegan curry was invented.  And very tasty it was too.  One of the people around the table had thirds.

Basmati rice - cooked as you normally would

Curry

1 onion, chopped
Garlic, crushed
Olive oil
urad dhal - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
fennel seeds 1/2 tsp
turmeric 1/2 tsp
1 cauliflower, in florets
Mushrooms, cut into bite sized pieces
Green beans, topped, tailed and halved
1 tin coconut milk
Garam masala - 1 tsp (to taste)

1.  Sautee onions until soft, add seeds and garlic and continue to fry until it has a little colour.
2.  Add cauliflower, mushrooms and beans, and water and put a lid on so the veg soften a little.
3.  After 5 minutes add coconut milk and stir through.  Simmer gently for 15 minutes (ish)
4.  Add garam masala, taste and season, simmer for 5 more minutes - the veg should be soft, but not mush.

Serve, scoff.

Asparagus and green bean pasta salad with pine nuts

Yay!  Asparagus in the veg box! Yay!   oh, were you watching? How very embarassing!  But, frankly, I don't care - I was very very pleased to see the new season asparagus in the organic veg box - it's a late spring, and it's been a while coming.  I wondered whether to showcase the asparagus, as often happens, as a starter and then have our main dish - but I decided to go with our usual one dish dinner and to have asparagus as a delicious ingredient amongst others.

So, ...

Rape seed oil
Lemon
Chinese leaf
Lettuce
Watercress
Green beans
asparagus
Farfalle pasta
Pine nuts
basil
Parmesan (to serve)

1. Put water on to boil in a pan big enough to take the pasta, and hold steamers for the vegetables.
2. Remove the woody ends from the asparagus, chop the stems into 1 inch pieces, reserving the delicate spears.
3. Top and tail the beans and cut into bite sized pieces.
4.  Boil the pasta in water, after a minute or so put the veg pieces on to steam (not the spears, put them in 5 minutes later.
5.  Drizzle oil onto a serving plate, squirt on lemon juice and add some seasoning.  Chuck on the salad leaves .. whichever you are using.
6.  Lightly fry the pine nuts until golden brown - watch them, they WILL burn if you take your eyes off them.
7. Drain the pasta and veg, drizzle on oil and squirt with lemon, toss and add to presentation plate.
8. Liberally sprinkle on toasted pine nuts, shave on parmesan to date.

Scoff.  Bring on summer.

So, these are vegetables... and a happy new dinner

Get home late - open fridge - make dinner.  OK.  So, no veg box yet - and no onions ... ???

Lots of garlic though, and some green beans, and some mushrooms .... ideas began to form, and door to table - just under an hour, including proper crispy crust on potatoes.... yum

Olive oil
Potatoes, sliced
Celery, chopped
Green beans, chopped
Garlic
Mushrooms (button and chestnut)
White wine
Stock (cube in water)
Frozen peas
Little gem lettuce, cut into wedges

1.  Turn oven up to full whack.
2.  Slice potatoes into 1/2 cm slices and arrange in microwavable/ovenproof dish, with olive oil splished into the bottom.  Drizzle a little more over the potatoes.  Nuke for about 8 minutes - until the potato slices are nearly cooked.
3.  Meanwhile ... chop celery and green beans, and simmer gently in white wine and stock, with a clove of crushed garlic.
4.  Transfer potatoes to hot oven, to cook fully, and crisp up the tops.
5.  Chop mushrooms, cook gently in olive oil, over a low heat in a saucepan until they have released their liquid and concentrated down again.  Season with black pepper.
6.   Let everything tick over for 20 minutes or so ... making sure that nothing gets too dry.  If the mushrooms are all done - transfer to an oven dish and put in under the potatoes.
7.  Add frozen peas and lettuce to the green veg, allow to cook to 5 minutes.

Serve, scoff.... squeeze on lemon juice if you like it.  Honestly, this was brilliant.

Salmon fishcakes, stir fried radish and pak choi, steamed green beans

I don't much like tinned salmon - but I think it's fantastic in fishcakes.

These fishcakes are gluten free, and very simple.

There was radish, pak choi and cucumber left from the veg box, and I didn't actually quite fancy salad, so I did a bit of a stir fry.  I would recommend it.

So,  from start to finish...

Potatoes
Tinned salmon
polenta
olive oil
green beans
Onion
Bunch of radishes
Pak choi
cucumber
fennel seeds
chili flakes
celery salt
garlic
white wine


1.  Peel and boil potatoes.  Mash.
2.  Stir in drained tinned salmon and season.
3.  When cooled, squish into patties and toss in polenta.  (Put them in the fridge if you have time).
4.  Fry in olive oil, keep warm in the oven while the other stuff is finished off.
5.  Steam beans.
6.  Stir fry chopped onion in light olive oil, add pak choi stems, fennel seeds, radish, cucumber, garlic and chili flakes.

Yum. Light, fresh and filling and somehow suited today's autumnal sunshine.