Duck Breast with Asian Style Salad

If only you had made my Asian Flavoured Bread and Butter Pickle then this recipe would be a doddle. I used the vinegary brine as a base for the dressing for this salad, along with some of the pickled cucumbers, onions and chilli.
Never mind, you can still make a lovely dressing from scratch.

The dressing
Ingredients

• small clove of garlic, peeled and crushed or grated
• 1 cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• a dash of soy sauce

Preparation

• Put all ingredients into a jar with lid. Shake it, shake it, shake it ! Ready !

The duck breast

Ingredients

• 1 duck breast
• 1 heaped tsp Chinese 5-spice
• salt

Preparations

• Score the skin and rub the breast all over with salt and the 5-spice
• Place it skin side down in a cold pan and fry over medium heat for about 6 minutes
• Turn over and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes
• Take it out of the pan and let it rest for 10
• Slice the breast meat in thin slices.

The salad

You can use many variations of vegetables for such a salad. The choice is yours.

Ingredients

• 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
• my pickled cucumber (you can use fresh cucumber and slice in fine batons)
• 200 grs (or thereabouts) beansprouts. You can use them raw or slightly blanched.
• a piece of both red and green pepper, sliced in thin batons.
• red or green chilli (to taste),  sliced in rings at an angle
• a handful of cooked rice noodles (cooled)
• 1 or 2 spring onions, sliced at an angle
• coriander leaves

Preparation

• Put all the ingredients (except the coriander) into a bowl and mix it well with the dressing.
• Leave to stand for at least 15 minutes.
• I arranged some lettuce leaves on a plate before spooning on some of the salad.
• Add the sliced duck breast.
• Sprinkle with some coriander and drizzle with sweet chilli sauce (if you have it)

Thinly sliced white cabbage and radishes would be a great addition too.

This recipe is enough for 2 servings as a lunch or dinner even. You can easily adapt the quantities  to your needs.

I was on my own when I made this - Bert was away (haha !). The next day I served myself the second portion like this :

And if you are vegetarian, you can always use some marinated tofu instead of duck, of course.

Have a good weekend all !
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

Halloumi Salad (255 cal) - 5:2

Halloumi Salad 255 cal

Inspired by fellow food blogger Lavender & Lovage

Ingredients

• 65 gr halloumi cheese, sliced 200 cal
• lettuce, mixed leaves and basil, loads - 100 grs only contains 10 calories
• 30 grs red pepper, sliced 15 cal
• 60 grs cucumber, sliced wow 5 cal
• 160 grs tomatoes, I used yellow, sliced and cherry toms, halved 25 cal
• 1 tbsp Balsamico, mixed with a smidgen of stevia powder. Let's say 10 cal to be on the safe side
• 5 grs fresh from the greenhouse mild chilli pepper. I'm not even counting those calories !

Preparation

• arrange the salad leaves on a plate, mix in some basil if you have lots.
• place the other vegetables in an orderly fashion on top
• heat a non stick pan on the hob and fry off the sliced halloumi till golden.
• arrange the halloumi slices over the salad.
• drizzle with balsamico
• from a hight (you can stand on a chair if you like) sprinkle with Maldon sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

I'll be visiting Lavender and Lovage quite often in the future and steal all the recipes to eat myself back to health and a long life. ;)

Patricia xxx...x

Salade Liègeoise

There is a low pressure area hanging over me and the weather isn't helping.  Nothing to shift it but this autumnal Belgian dish. A warm hugging salad.

Ingredients

• potatoes (I like nice yellowy and waxy potatoes)
• french beans (I used some from the freezer)
• lardons (smoked  will give you an extra hug)
• onion, chopped or sliced
• knob of butter or a little vegetable oil
• parsey, chopped
• chives, chopped
• white wine vinegar
• seasoning (sea salt and lots of freshly cracked black pepper)

Preparation

• Peel potatoes, and cut in halves or quarters.
• Cover them with cold salted water in pot and bring to the boil on the hob and cook till ready.
• Bring water to the boil in another cooking pot, add some salt and cook the beans al dente.
• Drain both potatoes and beans, set aside.
• Fry off the lardons in some butter/oil, add the onions for a couple of minutes.
• Scoop them out  and deglace the pan with the vinegar.
• Bring all the ingredients together (including the parsley and chives) in a bowl and add the juices from the pan (ie vinegar)
• Toss.
• And toss some more.
• Serve on a plate willst still hot/warm and sprinkle over more black pepper.
• Let yourself be hugged.

It is great on it's own, but you can add hardboiled eggs, halved or quartered.  Eat it as a side dish with roast pork.

If you happened to have some leftovers, it is also tasty when it's cold, so pack some for your lunch box.

 

 

Thank you for visiting me on this dreary summer's day.

Patricia xxx...x



Thank You Chooks - Egg Salad

I  love prawns very much. Trouble is that Bert does not do prawns. Oh well, a piece of cod for him then. The star here however is the egg salad (or egg mayonnaise)

Seeing our lovely chooks are very productive and egg salad is just the thing to bulk out any plate of food....and the tummy.

Ingredients

• eggs (obviously) 8 or so - quantity depending on how many times you want to eat egg salad in the next couple of days (morning, noon and night)
• mayonnaise - also depending on the quantity of eggs - for 8, about 2 tbsp mayo
• 1tsp Dijon mustard
• 1tbsp tomato ketchup
• cayenne powder - to taste
• 1tbsp capers (I use the ones in brine)
• 1 chunky or 2 tiny spring onions, sliced.
• black pepper, freshly ground

Preparation

• Put the eggs in a cooking pot, so that they sit snuggly next to each other. Cover with water and add a splash of white vinegar.
• Bring to the boil. From that point cook the eggs for another 8 minutes. Drain and run cold water over them.
• Leave to cool and peel.
• In a bowl, bring together the mayo, mustard, ketchup, cayenne and capers.
• Chop up the eggs in a rustic style (ie. not small)
• Fold into the mayo mix with the sliced spring onions, keeping some of the green to garnish.
• Sprinkle wit black pepper.

I bet you weren't looking for an egg salad or egg mayo recipe, but here you have it anyway.

Patricia xxx...x

Chicken Caesar Salad

Now, to many this is nothing new as it is widely known and well liked in English speaking countries.
I was tought this particular recipe by Martha, a Canadian acquantance, about 20 years ago (gosh, I'm getting on a bit).
It's been a while since I last prepared caesar salad and don't really know why I suddenly felt the urge.  Must have been the spring weather. It felt quite nostalgic eating it again.

Normally this is made with romaine lettuce, but iceberg works well too.

Ingredients

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled
• 1/2 tbsp mustard powder
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp Worcester sauce
• 1 coddled egg (*)
• 1 tin of anchovies
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 5 tbsp sunflower oil
• 3 heaped tbsp freshly grated parmesan
• seasoning (salt and freshly cracked black pepper)
• shavings of parmesan
• croutons (**)
• cubed cooked chicken (***)
• romaine or iceberg lettuce

(*)You coddle an egg by dropping (you know what I mean ;) ) it with shell in water that has just boiled. Leave for one minute. Take it out and leave to cool.
(**) Croutons, made from sliced and cubed bread. Either fry in  a pan with some oil or spread them on an oven tray and toast them in the oven.
(***)The chicken can be blanched, panfried or leftover roast chicken. I had fillet of chicken (our home grown) which I dowsed (when cubed) in a marinade.  Juice of 1/2 lemon, splash of olive oil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, salt, black pepper, garlic powder,paprika and a pinch of cayenne.  Then shallow fried in a pan. hm-hm.

Preparation

• In a jug/beaker, put the garlic, Worcester sauce, lemon juice, mustard, coddled egg, 1/2 of the anchovies.
• Use a hand held blender and blend till smooth.
• Add the oil and blend again. You should have a creamy consistency.
• Now step away from the blender and add the grated parmesan.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• That's your dressing ready.
• Rip the lettuce leaves in large pieces toss with the dressing (only just before serving), croutons, slivers of the anchovies, chicken and finish with the shavings and more black pepper.
• Whoah !

Patricia xxx...x

Griddled Marinated Courgettes

When they start growing, they won't stop.  I have a problem with picking them before they get too big and then finding interesting ways to prepare them so we don't get bored with eating courgettes every single day during summer ;-)

It is no hardship as we like courgettes. 

An easy to make and delish stand-by, these griddled beauties,  for salads,  on bruschetta, on pizza, in quiche or omelette, on your cheese sarnie, in a pasta dish and they make a nice change in a moussaka. Do I need to say more ? Very versatile.

Ingredients    quantities are approximates

• medium sized green and yellow courgettes, 1 of each
• 1 medium patty pan squash or 2 smaller ones (I used the white variety)
• coarse seasalt
• freshly ground black pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• handful of freshly chopped mint
• olive oil
• sunflower oil

Preparation

• Slice the courgettes lengthways, 1/2 cm thick
• Put the patty pan flat on the work surface and slice vertically, into 1/2 cm discs
• Bring all the slices into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, toss them around, so the courgettes are all slightly coated.
• Use a griddle pan (is not a necessity, but makes it look nicer) and let it get rather hot.
• Griddle the courgettes a few at a time on both sides

• When cooked through, bring them into a bowl.

• Squeeze a little lemon juice over the courgettes, a sprinkle of salt, black pepper and a drop of olive oil.
• Finish all the sliced courgettes like this, but beware of too much salt.
• Add the mint and toss.
• Adjust the seasoning and lemon juice to taste
• It can be kept in the fridge for a good couple of days, but you then need to cover with sunflower oil (don't use olive oil for this as it will be too bitter)

Will be seeing you at the next courgette meeting, I hope.
Patricia xxx...x

Beetroot and Feta Salad

I just couldn't wait any longer to have a taste of the beetroot we are growing.  They were therefore on the small side, but it didn't take away from the flavour.

I love that sweet, earthiness of the beets and the colour and it works well with the saltiness of the feta.



Ingredients  (which I used)

• 10 small beets (smaller than a ping pong ball)
• 150 grs feta (from sheep milk)
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2 tbsp chopped mint
• 2 tsp honey
• Juice of 1 lemon (the zest I used in the courgette fritters)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Preparation

• Wash the beets thoroughly and cut off the leaves,  leaving stalks of about 3 cm (btw, you can also eat the leaves in a salad or sauteed like spinach, but this time I gave them to the chicks and they were very appreciative)
• Put in a cooking pot covered with water on the hob. Cook until tender (al dente)
• In the meantime make your dressing with all the other ingredients and crumble in your feta.
• When the beets are cooked, you can drain  off the liquid, cut the beets in half and add them to the dressing whilst still hot.
• Toss and leave to cool, put in fridge or a cool place till serving (I know ! You can use this as a warm salad too)

I served this salad with courgette fritters, panfried pollock and salmon.