Tricolor Sandwich

Tricolor Sandwich

The Vegetarian brought this sandwich idea back with him after a holiday in  Rome a few years ago. I thought it was a crazy combination but the light flavours worked perfectly. This is a refreshing sandwich which is great for lunch. Look what Khloe had for lunch! (see below).

Chunk of Buffalo mozzarella, sliced

Few Broccoli florets

Tomato, sliced

Basil leaves, torn

Olive oil

Sea salt and Black Pepper

Baguette, torn to your desired length

Gently boil the broccoli in salted water for a few minutes, drain and leave to cool or rinse under cold water.

Cut the baguette length ways, drizzle with olive oil, layer with the tomato slices, broccoli florets, mozzarella, basil and seasoning.

Khloe's Lunch

Caprese Salad

Caprese Salad

This is a simple and refreshing Italian salad made of tomato, mozzarella and basil. It is usually served as an antipasto (starter) as apposed to a side dish.

1 large beef tomato, sliced

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Ball of buffalo mozzarella cheese, sliced

Fresh basil leaves, torn into strips

Lay each slice of tomato on a plate, slightly overlapping, drizzle with olive oil and season. Layer each tomato with mozzarella and basil. Serve.

Italian Spring Salad

Italian Spring Salad

I asked the Vegetarian what he wanted for dinner and he said 'anything but salad' so as I was the one cooking, instead of paying attention to his request, I decided to make a salad anyway! Rather than being met with disappointment this potato, asparagus, sun-dried tomato, pine nut and basil salad went down a treat. Not only that but the portion I had been saving for lunch the next day was quickly eaten behind my back. I’m not going to lie, a HUGE argument took place but at least the salad was a success! This potato concoction is perfect for spring; the pine nuts give texture and the finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes and kalamata olives/anchovy fillets add a nice salty taste to it.

½ bunch of Asparagus
Handful baby potatoes
Few fresh basil leaves, chopped
Handful pine nuts
2 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped

Parmesan shavings

V: 5 kalamata olives, pips removed, sliced

P:  A few anchovy fillets

Boil the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until cooked. Drain, leave to cool and cut into quarters.

Cook the asparagus in boiling water for a few minutes, drain and cut each one into three.

In a dry frying pan cook the pine nuts on a medium heat until they start to turn golden.

Mix all the ingredients together and drizzle over the vinaigrette.

V: Stir in the kalamata olives 

P: Stir in the anchovy fillets

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.