Category Archives: sides

Food Monday ~ Ratatouille

3 Replies

Ratatouille
Portions: 4

½ lb onions, peeled a chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb courgettes, washed & sliced
1 lb tomatoes, skinned & chopped
1 red pepper. Deseeded & sliced
1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion & garlic. Stir to coat with the oil and then reduce the heat. Cover with a layer of greaseproof that sits just on top of the onion, it helps to keep the moisture & flavour in, and it also speeds up the cooking. Put the lid on the pan and cook slowly for about 10-12 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.

Note for Nancy: Remove the greasproof 😉

Add the remaining ingredients & simmer with the lid on for about 30 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Food Monday ~ Roast Butternut Squash

17 Replies

Roast Butternut Squash 2
Preheat the oven to 180C.

1 Butternut squash
large pinch of salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 tablespoons maple syrup
3 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
handful of toasted pine nuts

Peel the squash, cut it in half long-ways, remove the seeds and cut the flesh into 3 cm chunks. Spread them out on a baking tray or in a roasting tin. Sprinkle with a little salt. Spoon over the butter, syrup and ginger. Roast until the tips of the squash chunks turn golden brown. Scatter the pine nuts over the top and serve with any roast meat.

Food Monday ~ Potato, Celeriac and Apple Rosti

14 Replies

Potato, Celeriac and Apple Rosti

110g  Maris piper potatoes
110g  celeriac
55g  cooking apple
55g  butter
2 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper

Grate the potato and place in a cloth. Squeeze out the juices. Peel the celeriac and grate. Peel the apple and grate. Mix the grated apple, potato and celeriac together.
Heat 30g butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a non-stick frying pan. When the oil and butter mixture is sizzling put in the potato, apple and celeriac and press down firmly. Season well and keep pressing down so that the strands form a pancake or rosti. Cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes.
Melt the remaining 25g butter on top of the rosti. Turn over with a spatula or by inverting on a plate in the pan and cook the other side until well browned. The rosti will keep when cooked through on a low heat for 20 minutes. Cut into portions and serve.

Food Monday ~ Braised Orange Celery

7 Replies

Braised Orange Celery
Preheat the oven to 180°C

4 large sticks of celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
300 ml stock
rind & juice of 1 orange
5ml coriander
25g butter
seasoning
Dice celery, onion and carrot. Heat the butter in a pan, add the vegetables, cover with a layer of greaseproof paper and sweat for about five  minutes.  Add the stock, orange rind & juice, coriander and seasoning.
Place all the ingredients in a casserole dish and braise for 45 minutes or until tender.

Food Monday ~ Roasted Butternut Squash 1

5 Replies

I am running behind time, so a short, but tasty recipe today.  I’ll make up for it next week.  I promise.

Roasted Butternut Squash 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C

Medium sized Butternut squash
Sunflower oil to drizzle
Chilli flakes
Tub of Greek yogurt
Pine nuts, toasted
Lemon juice

Slice a butternut squash in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle with a little oil and sprinkle with chilli flakes, then roast in the oven until soft.
Fill the cavities with Greek yogurt, toasted pine nuts and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Food Monday ~ Fennel and…..

Leave a reply

I love Fennel, be it bulb form or seeds.

Looking in my fridge a few minutes ago I spied the bulb variety.  Lunch sorted!

If I cut the bulb in two from top to bottom, one half will be enough for my salad and the remainder can be roasted tomorrow with the kitchen sink!  No! I do not roast the sink, but you know what I mean.

Now to prepare lunch

Fennel, Potato and Radish Salad (for one)

125g new potatoes
salt
2 or 3 sprigs of mint
half a fennel bulb
2 radishes
1 tablespoon of French dressing

Cook the potato in their skins in boiling salted water, with one sprig of mint, for 15 minutes.  drain well.
Slice the fennel, radishes and potatoes.  Strip the leaves from the other mint sprigs, and chop.
Place the fennel, potato, radishes and mint in salad bowl.
Pour over the dressing while the potatoes are still warm and toss well.

≤≥ ≤≥ ≤≥ ≤≥

Roast Vegetable selection with Fennel

My roast vegetables will be a pick and mix of what is in the veg box.   Even sized chunks of plain and sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, fennel, beetroot, Butternut squash, courgette, red onion halved or quartered and sometimes a whole clove of garlic topped and tailed.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

In a bowl I place two or three tablespoons of olive oil, and some black pepper and two teaspoons of chopped herbs of my choice for the day. Depending on my mood, I might add a dash of flavoured vinegar or a drop from an open bottle….  and mix them well together.

Then add in the vegetable chunks and toss gently to coat in the oil.  When ready to cook –spread in a single layer on an oven tray and roast for 35-40 minutess till wrinkly and tender.

Food Monday ~ Beer Battered Onion Rings

2 Replies

Beer Battered Onion Rings

For the batter:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon of finely chopped herbs of your choice
1 egg
1 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup beer
1 tsp salt
1 egg white, beaten to stiff peaks

Whisk first six ingredients together until smooth.  Fold in the egg white and allow to sit for an hour or so.
Heat oven to 140C.  Have tray ready to place onion rings on while the rest cooks.
Heat oil to 190C.  Dry each onion ring with a paper towel.  I gave them a whirl in a salad spinner.  Dip into batter and swish around until thoroughly coated.  Gently place in the oil and fry until golden brown.  Remove to tray in oven and continue frying until all the onion rings are done.

Food Monday ~ Lemon Carrots with Fennel

Leave a reply

Lemon Carrots with Fennel

6 small carrots, cut into match sticks
a bunch of salad onions/scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons lemon zest, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a deep pan. Add the carrots and cook until they begin to soften-about five minutes. Reduce heat to low, add everything else and cook very slowly for 15 minutes.  Serve warm, or at room temperature.

Food Monday ~ Orange Roasted Vegetables

5 Replies

Orange Roasted Vegetables
Preheat the oven to 200°C

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise.
4 medium parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise
8 shallots, halved
4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
Juice of I orange plus keep the orange skins
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 sprigs of rosemary
Pinch of fennel seeds
Pepper & salt
8 garlic cloves

Prepare the carrots, parsnips, shallots and sweet potatoes then place in a large bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients except the orange halves and garlic.  Toss to coat all the vegetables.
Spread the vegetables in a single layer on a roasting tray,  Add the orange skins and roast for 20 minutes.  Add the garlic cloves and toss the vegetables to prevent sticking, then even out once more and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes or until tender and slightly caramelised.  Serves 4

Food Monday ~ Ginger Glazed Carrots

4 Replies

Last week Rhyelysgranny had an interesting vegetable dish recipe over at Tea and Wheaten Bread that included cumin and cardamom pods.  Somehow it reminded me to hunt out this one again to share with you

Ginger Glazed Carrots

¾ lb Carrots
½ oz Butter
1½ tablespoons granulated Sugar
½ inch fresh root Ginger, grated or finely chopped
Salt & Black Pepper

Peel the carrots then cut into sticks.  Place in a pan with just enough water to cover.  Add all the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil & boil vigorously for 10-15 minutes or until the water has evaporated to form a glaze.

I am a true ginger fan, right from the root used in cooking to the preserved ginger in syrup or covered in dark chocolate!