Spicy Turkish Ezme Salad

With ingredients like this you can anticipate the taste and goodness.

From raw ingredients to raw taste!

On our recent trip to Turkey we enjoyed many mezze platters and I absolutely loved the spicy salad that accompanied the hummus. I had to ask what the ingredients were and I was desperate to recreate it at home. Our wonderful waiter could not name all the ingredients but he did give us a link to an online recipe. In my usual fashion I searched several sites which all varied and then decided to take the best and modify it to my taste. Although I like the taste of raw onion I don't like still tasting it at 3am when I wake up; so replacing white or red onion with spring / salad onions made the perfect amendment.

Ingredients:

2 large tomatoes, peeled (I also de-seed them)

3-4 spring onions

1 clove garlic

2 chilli peppers  (I also like to add a pepper to make the whole dish go further)

1/4 bunch parsley

1 Tbs lemon juice

2 Tbs pomegranate molasses

1 tsp pepper paste (I use harissa paste)

2 Tbs olive oil

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp sumac

pinch dried mint

Method:

Chop the tomatoes, onion, garlic, chillies and parsley as fine as you can.  I have read that a food processor does not give the same texture and alters the flavours; I also find it quite satisfying to handle the food and chop with a mezzaluna. I had wanted a mezzaluna for years and once I was given one I didn't really use it ... now I am using it all the time!

chop as finely as you can

Mix the chopped vegetables in a bowl. 

Mix the lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, olive oil and pepper paste until smooth. 

Add mixture to the salad, add salt and spices, mix well. Chill and serve.

This salad is well worth the effort of finding pomegranate molasses and sumac, and I found each at Waitrose supermarket but there are other outlets on line.

Serve with a selection of salad leaves, hummus, tzatziki and anything else that you love ... with plenty of warm pitta bread or flat bread to dip in these luscious flavours.  Watch this space for home made hummus and tzatziki when I have mastered them.

A perfect sharing platter

Braised Fennel and Peppers

Colour and spice and all things nice

With spring in full flow I am getting lovely fennel in my vegetable box but was growing tired of the same old recipes. Luckily Riverford provide suggestions every week for using my veg so this week I tried something new.

serves 4:

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

25g butter

2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and cut into thick slices

2 red peppers, sliced

1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted and ground

1 tsp fennel seeds, toasted and ground

2 garlic cloves, crushed

150 ml white wine

Method:

Heat the oil and butter in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the fennel and peppers. Cook, stirring until beginning to soften and brown. Add the coriander and fennel seeds, then the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the wine, cover and simmer until it has almost evaporated and the veg is tender. Stir to stop it sticking; add a splash of water if needed. Check the seasoning and serve.

Presentation is not my strong point and it may look like a mess but it tastes delicious and is full of yummy, healthy things. Give it a go!

Beetroot and Carrot Burgers

It has been far too long since I have attempted to inspire ... but this recipe was too good not to share.  I am not normally a fan of true vegetarian meals although I love my veggies, but this quick and easy (albeit messy) recipe has to be tried.  Delicious, nutritious and moreish!

The recipe was one listed on Riverford's website and I had beetroot and carrots to use up so it seemed a sensible choice.  And to think that I might have missed discovering such a wonderful dish.  At this time of year the days are long and drab and there is little colour in life ... bring on ruby red beetroot, vibrant green and psychedelic carrot and you have a kaleidoscope for dinner:

Ingredients:

250g  beetroot, grated weight

250g carrot, grated weight

100g medium oatmeal

3 eggs lightly beaten

1 shallot or small onion, finely chopped

3Tbsp dill, chopped

3Tbsp fresh parsely, chopped

oil for frying and roasting, e.g. sunflower

8 Portobello mushrooms

400g spinach

salt and pepper

Method:

• Use your hands to mix the beetroot, carrot, oatmeal, eggs, shallot, dill and parsely in a bowl, seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Press together, cover and chill in the fridge for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 180*C  / Gas 4.
• Divide the mixture into 8 similar sized balls, squeezing them together in your hands, then flatten a little into burger shapes.
• Heat a thin layer of oil in a large frying pan and fry the burgers on each side for 3-4 minutes, until golden.
• Transfer to a non-stick baking tray. Put the mushrooms on a separate non-stick baking tray.
• Drizzle with oil and season. Put both in the oven for 20 minutes.
• When they are ready, melt a knob of butter in a pan. Add the spinach and stir for a couple of minutes, until wilted. Season.
• Spoon the spinach onto the mushrooms and top with the burgers.

I halved all the ingredients and it was a perfect meal for two.  I would encourage everyone to try this and challenge the way you think about beetroot.

Sweet Tooth? Cookies for Everyone!

Having made a whole smorgasbord of savoury snacks in my felt larder I thought it was time that I ventured into the sweet zone.  Everyone loves a cookie and they are the easiest to do.  I struggled with the doughnuts but am pleased to see that they look alright from a distance. I'm relying on the fact that small children will be unlikely to be critical.

The Jammy Dodger is in recognition of my childhood and the oreo is a nod to modern Americanism.  The chocolate spiral started out as a poorly representational sausage roll but was successfully reincarnated as a swirly chocolate delight.

Hope I've inspired you to get creative 

Felt Snacks

There has been a lull in my felt addiction and I thought I'd lost the craving.  However like all savoury snacks all it took was one little cracker and then I couldn't stop ....

I wanted to create some picnic food and searched my other addiction 'Pinterest' to find tutorials and came across detailed instructions.  I used this more for inspiration than to follow it literally.  Mainly because I didn't have any wadding and couldn't be bothered to pin out all the dimples.  I then thought that cheese triangles would be easy and I had a surplus of deep yellow felt.  There are only so many egg yolks a girl can make!  

Racking my brains for other easy picnic foods I decided on a sausage roll ... easy you might think.  Not so for this needle challenged crafter.  I seem unable to make anything cylindrical as my attempt at a cooked sausage proved.  Luckily my grandchildren are not yet sophisticated or talented enough to criticise my sewing ability (I am sure it will come).  The sausage roll needs some improvement and is exceptionally large but perhaps it's a snack for all the family .. in fantasy land it can be anything I want it to be.

By this time I'm getting quite carried away with the whole food thing and decide that baking will be easy and for once I was right.  It didn't take long to create a baguette freehand.  All bread is individualistic and rustic and mine is no exception. After the first creation I altered the design and who knows what the next batch will be like.

Every picnic needs a cuppa and therefore a Tea bag was a necessity.  One bag should be sufficient for the pot and by now I need a rest ... and perhaps a picnic!

Next time I need to add a few sweet treats and I know there are ample examples out there to inspire me.  I'm thinking cookies and doughnuts ....................

Leeky Cauliflower Cheese

If you think one cauliflower cheese recipe is much like another ... think again!

I discovered this recipe when it came with our vegetable delivery from Riverford. I cooked it one evening as I happened to have the ingredients in the house and no other inspiration. It is most definitely the best cauliflower cheese I have ever had.  This time I made it with a romanesco instead of a cauliflower and it is equally tasty.  I cooked it for a person who claims not to like cauliflower or leeks and she said it was good so it must be worth all the hype I'm giving it.  As the evenings draw in earlier, colder and damper it is the perfect comfort food.

Ingredients:

1 large cauliflower, cut into florets

2 leeks, trimmed and cut into 1cm slices

6 rashers streaky bacon, diced

60g butter

60g plain flour

500ml warm whole milk

1tsp english mustard

70g mature cheddar, grated

70g parmesan, grated

1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

pinch or two of cayenne pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 220*C / 200*C fan / gas mark 6.

Boil or steam the cauliflower until tender. Dice and fry bacon until crispy. Blanch the leeks in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes until tender.

Make the sauce by melting the butter, adding the flour and stirring for a couple of minutes.  Slowly add the warm milk, stirring all the time until you have a thick sauce. Simmer for a few minutes, then stir in the cheeses, nutmeg, mustard and cayenne pepper. Season to taste. Combine everything in an ovenproof dish. Grate over extra cheese if you fancy. Cook for 20 minutes or until golden on top.

Recipe serves two as a meal.

Aubergine, Tomato and Parmesan Bake

Receiving my vegetables from Riverford organic farms means that I don't get to choose which vegetables I have.  Some vegetables are harder to know how use than others and aubergines fit that category for me.  I tend to always make ratatouille so was very grateful when my son in law gave me a new recipe to try.  He recommended BBC Good Food for their aubergine, tomato and Parmesan bake.  However, those who know me also know that it is almost impossible for me to follow a single recipe.  When I searched on line I found a variety of recipes with the same title ... so I looked at several.  The were all similar but with minor variations, and they catered for larger numbers than I would normally cook for.  I based my recipe on a hybrid of BBC Good Food and Jamie Oliver.  I decided to use as many tasty ingredients as I could and at this time of year the more garlic and onions, used all the better for beating colds. This amount should feed 2 hungry people with some to spare.

Ingredients:

2 Aubergines, sliced 1cm width

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, sliced

Olive oil

1 tin chopped tomatoes

2 Tbsp tomato puree 

40g grated Parmesan cheese

20g basil leaves, torn

handful fresh breadcrumbs

1 egg

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C, heat griddle pan until hot.
• Slice aubergine and brush with olive oil and griddle in batches until browned and cooked through, turn half way through and set aside.
• Fry onions and garlic in olive oil and then add tomatoes.  Simmer for 10 minutes. Add tomato puree and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Layer aubergines in ovenproof dish and top with part of tomato mixture and basil leaves. Sprinkle with Parmesan, repeat with remaining ingredients. 
• Top with beaten egg and a little extra Parmesan and finally fresh breadcrumbs.
• Bake in oven for 20 to 30 minutes until topping is golden.

Dish up and enjoy a tasty and healthy meal.