Fennel and Quinoa Salad with Herbs

Looking for a recipe yesterday to help use up our glut of herbs and chillies, I came across this vegetarian dish, devised by Yotam Ottolenghi. I replaced the limes with lemons as we always have plenty of those, and didn't add any extra salt near the end. It was absolutely delish!

4 servings:

About 70ml olive oil
3 medium fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
1 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp cider vinegar
Salt and black pepper
150g quinoa
300g broad beans (fresh or frozen)
1 green chilli, deseeded and chopped
1½ tsp ground cumin
25g chopped mint
25g chopped coriander
25g chopped dill
3 limes or 2 small lemons

1. Pour 50ml oil into a large sauté pan, add the fennel and cook on low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and soft. Add the sugar, vinegar and some salt, and cook, stirring, for two minutes, then move pan from heat.
2. Add the quinoa to a pan of boiling water and simmer for 8-10 minutes. (It should still have some bite.) Drain into a fine sieve, run under cold water, shake to remove excess liquid and add to the fennel.
3. Add the broad beans to a pan of boiling water, cook for one minute, drain and refresh under cold running water. Press beans gently to remove leathery skins, then stir into the quinoa and fennel mixture, with the chilli, cumin and herbs. Season with black pepper and salt if desired.
4. Using a small, sharp knife, trim off the tops and tails of the limes or lemons. Remove the skin and white pith. Over a bowl to catch any juice, remove the segments from each lime or lemon by slicing between the membranes. Cut each segment into three and, with the juice, add to the quinoa salad.
5. Add the remaining olive oil and taste, adjusting the seasoning as necessary and possibly adding a little more olive oil if it seems a bit dry.

Quick Macaroni Cheese With A Twist!

Serves 4 - 6

1lb / 500g penne pasta
1 large onion, chopped
1 can condensed tomato soup, large
6ozs mature Cheddar cheese

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the onion and pasta, and cook as directed on the pasta packet. Tip into a colander and drain.

Turn your grill to 'High' and warm a large ovenproof dish.

Tip the drained pasta and onion back into the pan. Stir in the condensed tomato soup and half the cheese. Mix thoroughly over a low heat to warm through, then tip the mixture into the warmed ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and grill till brown and bubbling.

Serve with a green salad or green vegetable such as broccoli.

Delicious!

Yummy Green Bean Salad

Our bean plants are producing fruit like there's no tomorrow! We've also got lots of mint, so here's a salad I'll be making tonight:

Serves 6 to 8

600g trimmed green beans (if very large, cut into manageable lengths)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

1. Steam the beans for 10 minutes, then refresh under cold running water. Shake well and pat dry. Leave to fully cool.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a small pan, add garlic and fry quickly till crisp and lightly golden. Leave to cool.

3. Whisk together remaining oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and stir in the mint. Pour the mixture over the beans and mix well.

4. Tip into a serving bowl and scatter over the garlic in its oil. Chill if desired.

Steps 1 and 2 can be done the day before if wanted – put the beans and garlic (in its oil) in separate bowls, cover with cling film and store in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Baked Beetroot with Creme Fraiche and Dill

Demolished last night with cold leftover chicken and salad leaves. Salad, beetroot and dill were fresh from the garden. Yum!

Serves 4

4 medium raw beetroot
Roughly chopped dill sprigs to garnish

FOR THE SAUCE
2 tsp coriander seeds, cracked
150ml creme fraiche
2 tsp creamed horseradish
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 200C / 400F / Gas 6. Wrap each beetroot in foil and bake for 1 - 1.5 hours until they feel tender when squeezed.

2. Meanwhile make the sauce: reserve one teaspoon coriander seeds, then mix together all the remaining ingredients.

3. Remove beetroot from oven, and split each one down the centre (quarter them if they're big enough). Top with the sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining coriander seeds and dill sprigs.

Just fab! And the beetroot leaves and stems are in a food bag in the fridge, waiting to be used as a vegetable side-dish tonight.

Quick Spelt + Rye Bread

Spelt flour is an ancient wheat. As it’s easier to digest, it can be eaten by most people who, like me, have an intolerance to modern wheat. Spelt contains gluten, so not suitable for coeliacs, but ideal for bread-making. However, the gluten is more fragile than that found in modern wheat, so it won’t stand up to lengthy kneading and baking. This loaf recipe is the final result after much experimentation, and I hope you’ll enjoy it.


QUICK SPELT & RYE BREAD

(Makes one MEDIUM loaf on a FAST-BAKE programme in your bread machine.)

125g rye flour

375g stoneground spelt (or a mix of white spelt and stoneground spelt, or all white – I generally use half of each)

320ml warm water

1.5 tablespoons olive oil

1.5 level teaspoons salt

1.5 level teaspoons fast-action dried yeast

Mix the spelt and rye flours together in a large bowl.
Add the water to your bread-machine’s pan, then add the salt and olive oil.
Spoon in the mixed flours.
Make a well in the centre of the flours and sprinkle in the yeast.
Put the pan in your bread-machine and set to medium / fast-bake programme. If using white spelt in your flour mix, set crust setting to ‘Dark’.

Swiss Chard Recipe

Like so many veg growers, OH and I have an enormous glut of Swiss chard (and other beets), thanks to the cold spring we experienced this year, conditions they apparently love. So here's a recipe I'll be trying out today:

Ingredients

2 large bunches Swiss chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 strips thick-sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Directions

Slice the stems into 1-inch pieces and reserve. Stack the chard leaves into a pile. Roll together into a bundle and slice into 1/2-inch ribbons.

Heat oil to a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and saute until browned, rendering the fat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. Add chard stems, cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then season with salt and pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.

Begin to add the chard ribbons in batches. Once the chard wilts down, add the next batch and the balsamic vinegar. Stir occasionally until completely tender, about 5 minutes.

Serves 3 to 4.

(I'll be serving this for dinner with braised lamb's liver and red peppers. Yum!)