Beetroot Salad, Smoked Salmon and Courgette Fritters

Just a little something I threw together the other night for dinner with vegetables that are growing sparsely in our garden. Even the courgettes are letting me down this year.

For the courgette fritters I can recommend the link to my recipe here.
I added spring onions/scallions instead of a 'normal' onion, a few sweet and sour chopped up gherkins and a tablespoon of capers.

I grabbed a few beets and boiled them till tender. Peeled and sliced them. I put them aside in a dressing made with honey, stem ginger syrup, olive oil and white wine vinegar. Season with salt and black pepper. Oh and fresh dill !

A tub of sour cream (200 grs) and a heaped tablespoon of horseradish sauce was a nice accompaniment for the whole dish.

Serve with the smoked salmon and lettuce leaves it made for a lovely and refreshing dinner.

Patricia xxx...x

Celeriac Risotto and Scallops

I live by the sea and unless I go out for a dive (which I never do by the way), there is no scallop to be found for me to buy anywhere near.
Luck would have it that I found frozen ones in Lidl. I bought two packages as it is only a temporary article. Don't sneer ! Lidl is the only one that delivers on price/quality here in the area and where possible, their products are local (as in Irish). Again, don't sneer ! Frozen scallops are great if you treat them well.
Treat them well by defrosting them slowly. Dry them off properly with kitchen paper, et voilà, ready to use.

I had bought them way before Christmas and was contemplating how I would be serving them. I came across a photo on Pinterest and even though the link was broken it had the ingredients listed for scallops with parmesan risotto. I did my own thing, as you do. Not my first time cooking risotto or scallops.

Ingredients for 2 greedy buggers

• 1/4 celeriac, peeled and cubed small

• 250 ml chicken or veggie stock
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 fat garlic clove, grated
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 250 ml white wine (dry)
• 750 ml chicken or veggie stock, keeping it on the hob at simmering point.
• 2 handfuls of grated parmesan
• salt and black pepper
• 12 scallops
• salt and black pepper
• 1 heaped tbsp butter

Preparation

• Start with cooking the celeriac in 250 ml stock till tender.
• Use a stick blender or food processor to puree the celeriac. Set aside.

• Sautee the onions in the olive oil till translucent. 
• Add the garlic and the rice.
• Stir and coat the rice grains in the oil.
• Add the white wine and stir till it has evaporated/ soaked up by the rice.
• Pour in ladle per ladle of hot stock and keep stirring to prevent anything sticking to  burn the bottom of the pan and to release the starch in the rice, which makes it creamy. Each ladle needs to be evaporated before the next one goes in. Do this on a low setting.
• Keep going till the rice is cooked through but still al dente. I have to admit that I needed a bit extra water as I didn't use Arborio, but another unspecified risotto rice which takes much longer to cook through.
• Add in the pureed celeriac and heat through.
• Take off the heat and stir in the cheese.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover with lid and set aside.
• In a frying pan melt and slightly brown the butter.
• Season the scallops and sear in the pan, 1 minute on each side.
• Serve the risotto on plates (warmed), delicately put the scallops on top and don't forget the cooking juices from the pan (coz that's the best bit, I tell ya)

Delicately, for the picture.

Then add some more and tuck in.

Patricia xxx...x

Salmon and Prawn Laksa - It is Just a friggin' Soup.

I've been wanting to make laksa for some time now, but 'exotic' ingredients, like rice noodles, are often hard to come by in this neck of the woods. Let alone, laksa paste or lemongrass. So most of the time improvising is on the agenda. But that is okay, because I'm an improvisatrice extraordinaire, even if I do say so myself.
I can't think of a time that I have ever had the honour of eating laksa, but looking at recipes on the web, I could 'imagine' the flavours. A choice had to be made though, last Monday, whether  it was going to be a fish based, chicken or vegetarian laksa. I opted for this recipe from BBC GoodFood .
While I had foraged the not-too-far shops over the last month or so, I had most ingredients in the house, except for laksa paste or Thai red curry paste, but in the freezer was a small (very small) plastic container with homemade Malaysian curry paste

Here is how I set to work.
Ingredients - serves 3 as a main course

• sunflower oil, 2 to 3 tbsp
• butternut squash, the neck only, peeled and cut into 1.5 to 2 cm cubes
• courgette, one that has been laying around the kitchen for a while (but you can use a fresh and firm one too), de-seeded and cut into similar size cubes as squash
• laksa, Thai red or homemade Malaysian curry paste, 2 to 3 tbsp.
• lemongrass stir-in paste, a squirt
• 1 tin of coconut milk, 400 ml
• chicken stock, 600 ml, more or less ( can be made from a stock cube)
• rice noodles, 150 gr, soaked in boiling water and drained (according to the BBC Good Food website). Don't use this cr*p, because they become too mushy :

• fresh beansprouts, 300 gr
• salmon, 300 gr, sliced or cut into chunks
• king prawns, the frozen kind, but defrosted. 1 handful (a shovel sized hand)
• fish sauce, a splash
• juice of half a lime
• chilli, red or green or yellow, as many as you like and as hot as you can stand, sliced into rings
• a small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped.
• 3 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal.

Preparation

• Heat  the oil in a pan and sautee the butternut squash for 5 minutes
• Add courgettes and cook for another 5 minutes while regularly stirring. 
• Spoon in the paste of your choice, together with the lemongrass squirt and coat the vegetables, cook for a few minutes.
• Pour in the coconut milk and stock, simmer for 10 minutes
• Add noodles, beansprouts and fish, simmer for another 2 minutes or till the salmon has lost its translucency.
• A splash of fish sauce.
• Turn off the heat and add the prawns. If you use the kind I used they are already cooked and just need heating through.
• Stir in the lime juice, some of the coriander, chilli and spring onions, keeping some behind to sprinkle over the served dish.

And there you have it.  It tasted just as heavenly as I imagined.

If by any chance my recipe scares you, I won't be offended if you use the one from the Good Food website. Well, maybe just a little bit.

Patricia xxx...x

Ratatouille with Grilled Prawns - (366 cal) - 5:2

When you get this kind of still life from your garden, there is only one dish that springs to mind. Ratatouille !  



Ingredients  231 cal per person
serves 4

• 130 grs onions, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 850 grs courgettes, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
• 370 grs aubergines, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
• 330 grs red peppers, cut into 2.5 cm squares
• 2 to 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• thyme
• rosemary
• vegetable stock 250 ml
• red wine vinegar, a dash
• 620 grs tomatoes, red and yellow, roughly chopped
• seasoning
• a pinch of sugar (or do what I did, use Stevia)
• fresh basil, as much as you like

Preparation

• In a pan deep-ish pan, heat a tbsp of olive oil and sautee the onions with the garlic.
• In the meantime use another pan to heat up another drizzle of olive oil. Fry off the courgettes.
• When they are nicely coloured, add them to the onions which are still on the hob on a low heat.
• Next into the pan are the aubergines. Brown on all sides. Add to the onions.
• Repeat for the peppers.
• Now add bay leaf, thyme, rosemary and stock to the vegetables, together with the vinegar.
• Leave to simmer till the veggies are soft but not falling apart (20 minutes or so)
• You then drain the vegetables off the cooking liquid, preserving the liquid, which will go back into the pan on the hob to be reduced untill it tickens. Take off the heat.
• Add the vegetables again with seasoning and stevia. Top with the tomatoes, lid on for 10 minutes.
• Stir in the basil and serve.

Prawn skewers  135 cal pp
serves 1

•  12 frozen tiger (or other) prawns, defrosted and shell removed. 150 grs (shelled)
• a drizzle of olive oil (you should have some left from the ratatouille)
• season with seasalt, curry powder

• Stick the prawns onto wooden skewers - 2 skewers of 6 prawns, each.
• Drizzle with the oil and season
• Put in a preheated griddle pan. Griddle on both sides till they have completely changed colour.
• Don't overcook as they become rubbery.
• Serve with ratatouille

Patricia xxx...x

Celeriac Salad and Smoked Salmon (245 cal) - 5:2

Celeriac is one of my (many) favorite vegetables. But I don't often use it in a salad.
Trying to find some tasty recipes for our fast days and still having some celeriac nicely wrapped in the fridge, I suddenly thought of Jamie Oliver's celeriac salad that I once made, eons ago, from his book Jamie's Kitchen.
We found it to be very tasty then when we had it with grilled tuna, which, for some sinister reason, we don't eat anymore.  Sourseability and extinction.
So now, I decided, smoked salmon would do just fine.

Ingredients
serves 2 - 245cal/pp

• 300 grs celeriac, outer layer removed and sliced into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
• 10 grs anchovies, chopped
• 30 grs capers
• 50 grs gherkins, chopped
• 15 grs grainy Dijon mustard
• 15 grs sour cream
• 30 grs yoghurt (low fat)
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• pinch of salt and black pepper
• 200 grs smoked salmon

Preparation

• mix the mustard, sour cream, yoghurt and vinegar
• add the capers, gherkins and anchovies
• season with salt and black pepper
• mix the dressing under the celeriac ribbons, maing sure they are nicely coated.
• divide over 2 plates, in a nice pile (it looks like you have more then ;)  )
• also divide the salmon (and no cheating pleasse, 100 grs each), and drape over the celeriac.
• sprinkle with extra black pepper and spring onion greens/chives
• and there you have it, eat it with gusto, but don't forget to masticate properly

Patricia xxx...x

Pan-fried Cod, Mashed Potatoes, Sauteed Leeks and a Wannabe Beurre Blanc Sauce

Sharp flavours that make my taste buds tingle.
I used homegrown leeks, the size of spring onions, but that didn't take away from the taste.

ingredients for the leeks and sauce. (serves 2)

• 6 of the finest leeks (or 2 of a normal size)
• 30 gr butter
• 100 ml chicken stock
• 1 or 2 tbsp capers
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Seasoning : salt,black pepper and nutmeg

preparation

• Clean the leeks and slice in rings
• Sautee in a little of the butter
• Add the chicken stock and simmer for another minute or so.
• Scoop the leeks out of the stock (or drain them in a colander)
• Reduce te stock a bit more
• Add the lemon juice and capers.
• Take it off the heat and stirr in the rest of the cold butter, bit by bit.
• Add seasoning to taste

For the fish

• Use cod or other white fish filets from a sustainable source (+/-200 gr per person
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• Vegetable oil (I used Olive oil) and yet another knob of butter.

• Dry the fish thoroughly and coat with the flour.
• Season with salt and pepper
• In a pan heat the oil with the butter.
• Pan fry the fish for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side,depending on the thickness.

Scoop some mashed potatoes on your plate

Arrange the fish on top (that is something my husband will never understand)

The leeks (that you kept warm) can also be arranged in a delicate manner (or not)

Scoop some (a lot) of the sauce over the fish and let it drip onto the leeks.

Finish off with a good few turns of the pepper mill.

Let the taste buds tingle

Patricia xxx...x

Fish and Chips, Tartare Sauce and Mushy Peas

I sometimes forget  that we once ran a Fish and Chips shop in Ireland (for about three months, ahum)
How did that come about ?
Well, there was this chippy in our village that only opened during the summer months as the owner was a teacher and lived in Dublin, so he would spend his holidays in Sneem, frying up bucket loads of fish.
We came to an agreement that we would keep it open during the winter on the weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).  We were full of good intentions and I would make lovely fresh foods.  He warned me, did John, that most people would not appreciate good food when they stumbled out of the pub after closing time.  How right was he !
There would be a trickle of appreciative punters coming early on in the evenings, but between 11 pm and 1 am it was mahem.
Sorry to say this, good people of Sneem, but when you're drunk, you suck.  
I'll leave it at that, because we are hoping to return one day ;-) and it was an experience that I don't regret.
Anyway, we soon figured out that it wasn't the most fulfilling job in the world.  We washed the pots, drained the fryers, locked the door and returned the keys.

Recipes

Fish in Beer Batter

ingredients

• 4 x 175 gr fish filet (haddock, cod, halibut... from a sustainable source)
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• 225 gr self raising flour
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 250 ml cold beer
• 100 ml cold water
• 2 liters vegetable oil (I use sunflower oil) It might seem like a waste of oil, but when cooled, I drain and store it for later use - just label it ie. 'fishy oil'

preparation

• Prepare the batter by sieving the self raising flour and paprika into a bowl.
• Pour in the water and beer.
• Mix well and put in the fridge for half an hour.
• Pour the oil in a deep cooking pot (or use deep-fat fryer) and heat to about 180° c (I have a special frying pot for the hob, that I keep for frying anything but chips) I check the heat of the oil by dropping in a small piece of bread, when it starts to colour golden brown, I know it is hot enough.
• Dry the fish filets thoroughly with kitchen paper and cover with the corn flour.  Shake of the excess.
• Then dip the fish into the batter (that you have stirred a little after its rest in the fridge).
• Carefully sink the fish into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. You may have to turn it halfway through the cooking time, so that it colours nicely on both sides.
• Scoop out the fish with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Chips
We love a good quantity of chips, because we are greedy, so the amount of potatoes you use is entirely up to you.
I double fry them, we all do in Belgium.  The first fry you can do well in advance, so you can let the chips cool down completely, gives better results (apparently), but it is not a necessity.
Use floury potatoes, they brown nicely and don't go limp like their waxy relative.  Now, when I am in the mood for chips, any old potato will do.

ingredients

• 2 large potatoes per  person
• vegetable oil (I use sunflower oil - about 3 liters in my deep fat fryer)
• sea salt

preparation

• Heat the oil in the fryer to 120° c
• Peel the potatoes and wash them in  cold water.
• Dry them well in a clean kitchen towel.
• First cut them in 1 cm thick sliced and then cut them into chips - work lengthways for longer ones. I cut them in the towel and dry them very well
• Put a good handfull of chips into  the frying basket. Fry them for about 5 minutes. Don't overload  or they will be soggy from the word go.
• When they become more transluscent, lift them out and drain on kitchen paper in a tray. Spread them out to speed up the cooling process.
• Do the rest of the potaoes the same way.
• For the second frying, heat the oil to 195° c.
• Cook the chips in somewhat larger batches than the frist time.  They will only need a minute till they are golden.
• Drain them again on kitchen paper and add salt straight away. Serve.

Mushy Peas
No, this isn't a recipe for a sluggish grey - green mush, neither is it going to turn out electric green.  Just a fresh tasting, slightly sweet and minty dollop of peas.
This was originally made with dried peas, which are always a good pantry item to have as they are full of goodness.... but I used frozen - it is quicker.

ingredients

• 400 gr frozen garden peas
• 1 knob of butter
• a good few mint leaves ( you can cheat and use a tsp of mint sauce, but hey ho,  only if you don't have fresh mint at hand)
• Salt and black pepper

preparation

• On the hob, melt the butter in a pan.
• Pour in the frozen peas
• Leave to simmer on a low heat, with lid on until tender, stirring occasionally.
• Take a spoonful of peas out and set aside.
• Use a handheld blender to puree the peas, add seasoning and the chopped mint.  Stirr in the whole peas.
• They can be reheated just before serving.

Tartare Sauce
Lots of recipes around, and even I have many variations.  This is the recipe of a very basic tartare sauce.

ingredients

• 2 large gherkins
• 1 small onion, peeled
• 1 tbsp capers
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise

preparation

• finely chop the gherkins and onions  (or grate them - don't be a wuss) and chop the capers
• mix into the mayonnaise together with the parsley. 

How easy was that !