Peperoncini in padella: Sautéed Peppers

Baked egg with sautéed peppers

The salvaged lemon-roasted potatoes!

I was extremely excited this evening as I knew the Vegetarian would be at band practice so I was looking forward to a meaty feast.  The rain was pouring down and I had forgotten my umbrella so instead of taking my time visiting the butcher, veg lady and Mediterranean store I darted into my local supermarket. I spent ages choosing which meat I wanted to eat and finally decided I was in the mood for chicken. I wasn’t sure how I was going to prepare it so I bought a few options and walked up the hill thinking about all the different delicious things I could cook. When I got home, now completely soaked, I discovered the Vegetarian was there along with the band as practice had been moved to our sitting room, and in all my earlier excitement I had forgotten to buy the chicken! Not wanting to face the rain again I opted for a vegetarian dinner after all. But luckily I found some sneaky salami in the fridge to tide me over for the night.  

I managed to concoct a tasty pepper dish which I planned to serve with lemon-roasted potatoes but unfortunately disaster struck again at the last moment when instead of tossing the potatoes, I threw them into the air along with my grandma’s serving dish and both came crashing to the floor.

To top things off, whilst I was salvaging what I could of the potatoes, my friend Catherine sent me a text with a photo of her and her newly purchased Ginger Pig sausages!

2 sweet red peppers, de-seeded, de-skinned and sliced into thin strips

1 small onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed and sliced

Handful cherry tomatoes

2 celery stalks, sliced

Few leaves of basil, torn

1 tbsp capers

2 tbsp liquid from caper jar

2 free range eggs

Sea salt and black pepper

Olive oil

Heat the oven to 180º/ Gas mark 4.

In a large frying pan gently fry the onion, garlic, celery and peppers until soft. Add the cherry tomatoes, capers and liquid from the jar the capers were in. Season and stir in the torn basil. Continue to fry over a medium heat until the tomatoes are cooked through and the liquid has evaporated.

Divide the sautéed peppers into two small round dishes. Make a well in the middle of each dish and break an egg into it. Bake in the oven for about 8 minutes.

Serve with lemon-roasted potatoes and dip asparagus into the egg yolk.

Catherine and her Ginger Pig sausages

Ratatouille with Crumb Topping

Ratatouille with Crumb Topping

Fillet of Sea Bream, Ratatouille and Roasted Baby Potatoes

I had a craving for vegetables so I decided to make a delicious ratatouille. This dish can end up quite mushy so to avoid this, make sure the vegetables aren't cut up too small. The breadcrumb topping on this particular recipe adds a lovely crunch.

 

Serves: 4

Ratatouille:
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/2 aubergine, chopped into chunks
1 red onion, quartered
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1 courgette, halved then cut into chunks
Handful cherry tomatoes

A few sprigs rosemary

A few sprigs thyme
1 tin chopped tomatoes

Handful, capers

Olive oil

Sea salt & pepper

Crumb Topping:
300g spinach
15g roughly chopped basil
3 slices brown bread
Chunk of butter

Chunk of Parmesan, finely grated 

Heat the oven to 180º.  Place all ratatouille vegetables except the tinned tomatoes and capers in a dish, sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and scatter with the fresh herbs. Roast for 35 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes and capers to the dish, stir the ingredients together and return to oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, lightly toast the bread and then place in a food processor and turn into crumbs. Wilt the spinach in a pan then add the bread along with the butter and basil. Stir until the butter is melted then remove from heat.

Add the crumb topping to the dish, sprinkle with Parmesan and return to oven for 10 minutes.

I served this with a fillet of sea bream, the vegetarian had a poached egg and we both had a few roasted baby potatoes. There were some leftovers from the ratatouille which I heated for lunch the next day.

Spicy lentil stew: chorizo or tofu

Spicy lentil stew with chorizo

It was such a lovely sunny day today that I mentally prepared the perfect salad to have for dinner. Unfortunately for me a minute before I was about to jump off the bus to leisurely visit the vegetable lady, the rain started to pour down uncontrollably like it wasn’t going to stop. Everyone on the bus was in a state of panic and people in the streets were darting for cover. Something took over me and I automatically joined in with the panic and ended up running home and knocking over anyone in my way. Suddenly feeling cold in my spring outfit I had a rummage through my fridge and came up with this warming dish. By the time it was ready, the sun was shining again but I was happy to be eating a dish full of flavours. The vegetarian liked his tofu version too.

Approx 250g puy (French) lentils

1tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground cumin

1tsp paprika

1tsp chilli flakes

1 tin chopped plum tomatoes

1 tin or equivalent of water

A few sprigs of thyme and rosemary

Squidge of tomato puree

1 small red onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped

2 red peppers, chopped into chunks

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

V: Chunk of tofu, chopped

M: Chunk of chorizo, chopped

Fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil for about 8 minutes. Once the onion has softened add the spices and stir for a minute. Stir in the red pepper and add the tinned tomatoes, lentils and water. Bring to the boil and tomato puree and herbs. Leave to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, and adding more water if necessary so that the sauce doesn’t dry out.

After 20 minutes, divide the mixture into two pans. Add tofu to one and chorizo to the other. Continue to cook both for a further 20 minutes.

Serve with salad and crusty bread.

Around the world in recipes

Val d'Isere

The recession has hit me badly and I can't afford to travel, instead I have decided to cook myself around the world in recipes. As it is the ski season, I will start my journey in the French Alps. 

Raclette cheese

I will begin my French feast with a raclette. Raclette cheese originated in the French speaking alpine areas of the Valais in Switzerland. According to local legends, the trend of melting this semi-firm, cow's milk cheese began when the local farmers set up camp for the night and the cheese accidentally melted next to the fire. One farmer, not wanting to waste any, quickly scraped it off the rock and discovered it tasted even more delicious. The trend quickly spread and is now very popular among the Valais ski resorts. 
The traditional dish is served with boiled potatoes, gherkins, pickled onions and a selection of dried meats.
I don't have a fancy raclette melting device so I just melted the cheese under the grill and served with roasted vegetables.

Serves: 2
Big chunk of Raclette cheese, chopped
Handful, baby potatoes
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into chunks
1/2 courgette, sliced length ways
1 red pepper, chopped into chunks
4 garlic cloves, peeled
6 mini gherkins
Olive oil
Honey
Sea salt and black pepper

V: 1 parsnip, quartered length ways.

M: Selection of dried meats: salami, proscuitto, Viande des Grisons

Heat the oven to 180º. Put the carrot, pepper, courgette and garlic into a baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil and seasoning. 
Separately place the parsnip in an ovenproof dish. 

V: Drizzle with olive oil, honey and seasoning. 

Place both dishes in the oven for approx 20 minutes.
Boil the potatoes until soft but firm (approx 15 minutes). 

Divide the chunks of raclette cheese between two oven proof dishes and grill until melted (approx 5 minutes). Serve straight away as the cheese quickly hardens.

M: Serve with dried meat selection.