Bruschetta

Bruschetta

Bruschetta was originally created in Italy in the 15th century as a way of salvaging bread that was going stale but now it is a very popular starter across the country and found on the menu of most Italian restaurants, if not all. There are many variations for the toppings but I have created a basic recipe below. 

6 plum tomatoes, diced

¼ red onion, finely chopped

1tbsp parsley, chopped

A few sprigs fresh oregano, chopped

Sea salt and black pepper

Olive oil

1 garlic clove, halved

2 ciabattas, halved

For the topping, place the red onion, chopped tomatoes and olive oil into a bowl and mix well. Add the parsley and oregano and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Toast the ciabatta under the grill for a few minutes on each side, rub the garlic in, drizzle with a little oil and spoon over the topping. Serve.

Aubergine Parmigiana

Aubergine Parmigiana with lemon chicken and green veg

Aubergine Parmigiana

I was first introduced to Aubergine Parmigiana by my Italian ex-flatmate Alessio. He cooked it early in the morning, leaving it to cool before we took turns to carry it across London to a picnic in Victoria Park. It smelt amazing and I couldn’t wait to try the dish. We tore pieces of baguette and spooned the intensely flavoured aubergine into our hungry mouths. It was delicious, so I quickly wrote down what I remembered from Alessio’s cooking (as he refused to share his grandmother’s secret). I have now cooked my version many times and not had one complaint – even Alessio was impressed when I made it for him.

Serves: 4 as a side dish

2 aubergines, sliced to discs with ½ cm width

2 cans (approx 400g each) chopped tomatoes

Handful fresh herbs – parsley, thyme, rosemary

1 bay leaf

2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

Tomato puree

1tsp sugar

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Chunk of Parmesan cheese, finely grated

Sprinkle the aubergine disks with a little salt and leave the moisture to be absorbed while you make the tomato sauce.

In a medium sized pan heat a glug of olive oil and fry the onion gently until it starts to brown, add the garlic and cook for a minute. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, almost fill one of the empty tins with water and add that to the pan too. When the tomatoes start to bubble add a squidge of tomato puree, a teaspoon of sugar and sprinkle over the fresh herbs. Stir everything together and season to taste. Leave on a medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, brush a large frying pan with olive oil and gently fry the aubergine disks for a few minutes on each side. They will start to appear almost translucent. Leave these to drain on kitchen paper and repeat the process until you have used all of the aubergine.

Heat the oven to 180º/Gas mark 4.

Layer a baking dish with tomato sauce, aubergine discs, more tomato sauce, a little seasoning and cover with a layer of finely grated cheese. Repeat until all ingredients are used.

Place in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

I like to cook this dish a few hours/a day in advance, letting the flavour intensify before re-heating again just before serving. 

M: I was in the mood for Chicken so cooked up a few chicken thighs (they are cheaper and have more flavour than chicken breasts).

2 chicken thighs

Juice of ½ lemon

Few sprigs of rosemary

Sea salt and black pepper

Olive oil

Gravy: Knob of butter

Tbsp flour

Heat the oven to 180º/Gas Mark 5.

Rub the chicken thighs with the olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary, sea salt and black pepper and place them into an ovenproof dish along with the leftover lemon peel.  Cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

5 minutes before serving make a little gravy by melting a knob of butter in a pan and off the heat quickly stir in the flour until you have a paste. Gently add the juices from the chicken and return the chicken to the oven. Mix the gravy together over a medium heat and season to taste.

V:  The vegetarian was at work late so he had his dish with a simple poached egg and green veg (cooked similar to this)when he got in.

My First BBQ!

My first BBQ!

Lemon Roasted New Potatoes

On Easter Sunday I made my first ever BBQ! I have always been in charge of the food that goes on to a BBQ but never had to man the fire too. As I was with my mum and 92 year old grandma this weekend, I pulled the short straw and somehow ended up with all the responsibilities as they read their books in the gleaming sunshine. My mum was a great sous chef for a bit but she soon got bored and retreated back to the garden. My BBQ was an absolute disaster to begin with but after three hours, three attempts and three phone conversations to friend, boyfriend and brother I finally managed to keep the coal burning long enough to cook the food on top. I think I know where I went wrong and pretty sure the next BBQ i do will be a great success.  We had chicken marinated in lemon, rosemary, paprika and honey. Minted lamb kebabs, chipolatas, minted halloumi kebabs, cauliflower and lemon roasted new potatoes.

The lemon roasted new potatoes were delicious so I will share this recipe with you.

Lemon Roasted New Potatoes

2 handfuls new potatoes, halved

1/2 juice of lemon

1/2 lemon,cut into wedges

Handful parsley, finely chopped

Sprig rosemary

1 bay leaf

4tbsp vegetable stock

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Heat the oven to 200º/Gas mark 6.

Add all the ingredients together in an oven-proof dish, drizzle with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper. Cook in the oven for about 50 minutes, turning occasionally. 

Green Beans with Parsley and Garlic

Leek fritters, halloumi and green beans

Green beans with parsley and garlic

So the detox didn't last very long, I met friends for dinner and accidentally ordered wheat, meat and dairy in one dish! I've decided to try again next week as I couldn't resist having a few glasses of wine too. Today I made leek fritters from Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook Plenty. I followed the recipe exact apart from adding spinach to the Vegetarian's mix and bacon to my portion. Ottolenghi suggested mixing the batter in with the vegetables which saved the fiddly mess that usually occurs when you try to dip the mix into the batter. I served the fritters with corriander and parsley yoghurt dip, grilled halloumi cheese and this simple but very tasty green bean dish.

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Handful parsley, finely chopped

Handful green beans

Small knob of butter

Sea salt and black pepper

Par-boil the green beans for about 5 minutes, drain.

In a frying pan melt the butter, add the rest of the ingredients and fry together for a few minutes. Season with sea salt and black  pepper.

Morrocan style rice: Chicken or Sweet Potato

Morrocan Style Rice with Chicken

Morrocan Style Rice with Sweet Potato

I was lost and staring aimlessly at the ingredients in my cupboard this evening when my friend Claudia called with the genius idea of mixing them all together with a bit of spice. The vegetarian was happy with his sweet potato combo while I enjoyed a tasty bit of free-range chicken. 

Serves: 2 with leftovers for lunch

200g rice
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic

2 peppers 1 green, 1 yellow, chopped into chunks

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp tumeric

1 tsp chilli flakes

Handful parsley and mint, roughly chopped

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Boiling water

V: sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled

M: 1 free range chicken breast, cut into chunks

1 chicken stock cube, crumbled

Fry onion and garlic in olive oil until soft then stir in the spices until distributed evenly. Add the peppers and fry for a few minutes. Divide the mixture between two pans.

V: Par-boil the sweet potato in salted water, about 7 minutes, drain and stir into one of the pans along with the vegetable stock cube and 100g of rice.

M: Add the chicken to the other pan and fry for a few minutes until the colour changes then stir in the rice and stock cube.

Pour boiling water into each pan to just cover the rice. The ratio 2:1 can help which means adding about 200g of boiling water into each pan. Stir, season and cover each pan using tin foil and a lid to ensure minimum steam gets out. Cook on a low heat for 12 minutes and leave to stand for 5 minutes before stirring in the chopped herbs and serving.