Trio of Grilled Aubergine, Feta and Mint

Well wouldn’t you know it, we are slap bang in the middle of  National Vegetarian Week  and what better way to celebrate by indulging in a favorite vegetable of mine; the aubergine. No, let’s correct that. The grilled aubergine. Fried aubergine just doesn’t taste the same! Stick it under the grill until the skin gets crinkly and the flesh collapses inside and renders the most marvellous smokey notes. Top with garlic infused olive oil, a spritz of lemon juice and little squares of cold, salty feta and fresh mint and you have a really mouthwatering combination. This dish really does signal the start of Summer for me and while it won’t challenge your inner Delia, your taste buds will approve. The recipe is inspired by Simon Hopkinson’s  The Good Cook programme which aired a couple of years back.  I’ve adapted it by reducing the amount of olive oil, I’ve used mint instead of parsley (because everyone knows that mint and feta make a superb combination). I’ve served it with rocket leaves, tomatoes, olives, red onion and a vinaigrette dressing to enhance the Greek accent to the dish. You can visit the recipe and learn how to prepare the aubergine here. Serve with a couple of slices of crusty bread and you have a flavoursome lunch.

Close up on Aubergine, Feta and Mint Salad

While, I don’t adhere to a vegetarian diet myself, I am becoming more aware of the amount of meat I consume and am increasingly finding ways of serving and cooking an array of different vegetables.

Here are some of my other popular vegetarian salads.

This Thai Coriander Salad is deliciously light with a lemongrass and rice wine vinegar dressing. Ideal when you want to cool down during a heatwave. The recipe can be found here.

Thai Cucumber Salad

Another recipe which has proved popular on the blog is this Warm Halloumi, Lentil and Tomato Salad. A satiating and nutritious dish and a good way of serving halloumi.

Warm Halloumi, Lentil & Tomato Salad

This wonderful Aromatic Moroccan Salad packs a punch using chilli, tumeric, lime, garlic and cumin in the dressing and a selection of roasted vegetables.

Aromatic Moroccan Salad

Another way of using grilled aubergine is this wonderful Asian Dressed Aubergine dish. This time the skin is used in the dish to add to the fragrant notes of coriander, lime, mint and basil. Tastetastic!

Asian Dressed Aubergine

And lastly, how about some refreshing fruits to start your morning off? This fruit salad uses rambutans, pineapple, mango, kiwi and strawberries all drizzled with a dressing of sparkling water and a dash of lime. Hydration is the key!

Refreshing Fruit Salad

How will you be celebrating National Vegetarian Week?

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Fiery Spaghetti Puttanesca

This to me is an ideal dish for those evenings when you are short of time, only have a few ingredients to hand or when you just don’t feel like spending too much time in the kitchen cooking. Please reassure me that you all go through those days too…. Yes? Hooray for Fiery Spaghetti Puttanesca!

It is however, likely to split opinion; those that detest it for its for anchovy content and those that love it for the salty and sharp flavours brought about by the olives, anchovies and capers. Years ago I was never a great fan of anchovies but this dish “turned me” so to speak. The way the little fish break up and melt in a thick, silky, salty sauce just waiting to be lapped up by those spaghetti strands. Truly delicious and made in a matter of minutes. What’s more you can use the olive oil in the tin of anchovies to fry the shallot, garlic, chillies and anchovies.

If you follow my blog, you’ll know I like a bit of heat in my dishes so I have added 2 chillies to make a fiery hot Puttanesca. I appreciate not everyone enjoys so much heat so remove the seeds and only use one chilli pepper with this dish.

If I have a spare red pepper, I like to grill, peel and add to the dish. Although not a true Puttanesca, I do feel it works well in this pasta dish.

For additional texture, I toast some crusts of brown bread and add for extra crunch.

Fiery Spaghetti Puttanesca with croutons

Who says pasta has to be boring? To be honest, I feel like a bit of a “cheat” posting this up as there is minimal cooking involved but it is a recipe I turn to time and time again.

So tell me truthfully, are you a lover or hater of anchovies? Let me know in the comments below!

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Since this uses a lot of store cupboard ingredients and minimises the use of adding extra olive oil, I’m adding this to Credit Crunch Munch challenge owned by Helen and Camilla and guest-hosted this month by Janice.

Also, because I’ve used basil in the dish, I’m going to enter this into the Herbs on a Saturday challenge owned by Karen and guest-hosted this month by Anneli over at Delicieux.

I’m also adding this to Bloggers Around the World challenge whose theme this month is Italy and is hosted and owned by Chris over at Cooking Around the World.

Nut Crusted, Twice Baked, Cheddar and Chive Soufflé

A few years ago, I had a bash at soufflé making. If memory serves me well, it was a goat’s cheese with spinach recipe outlined on a reputable supermarket’s recipe card. There is something dreamy about sinking your teeth into a big cheesy puff, isn’t there? I used a large ramekin dish to bake the soufflé and despite following the recipe to the letter, I achieved a lovely rise and a crusty top, but an uncooked sludge in the centre! What a disappointment and what a waste! Not sure what the problem was, oven temperature? Size of ramekin dish? Well ever since then, whenever I make soufflés, it tends to be the smaller and twice baked variety. Foolproof recipe? Well, to the extent you pretty much know what you are getting at the end of baking..I would say so.

I’ve previously referred to my love of cheese before.  I think for savoury soufflés, there has to have an element of cheese in the recipe. It works so well. I like the combination of tangy cheddar and chive as the strong mature notes of the cheese stands up to the onion-like flavouring of the chive. I had thought about using gruyère but was worried that the strong chive may overpower the sweet nuttiness of this cheese.

To add a futher texture dimension to the dish, I added a hazelnut and breadcrumb crust and have adapted this Epicurious recipe. Refer to this post for an easy way of removing hazelnut shells.

This dish works well as a starter or a lunch dish, served with salad and slices of baguette. It’s also ideal for preparing at dinner parties as you can part bake the souffles the day before.

Works well with some salad leaves and a vinaigrette dressing

I would say the only tricky part is the timing in that you have to work pretty quickly to fold in the beaten egg whites into the roux-like mixture and not lose any of the air you have worked so hard to achieve in the previous steps. The acidity in lemon juice allows more air into the egg whites effectively changing the shape or “denaturing” the protein so always remember to add some lemon juice to the mixing bowl when whisking egg whites.

Have you had any disasters with soufflés before? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

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I’m entering this post into the One Ingredient Challenge whose theme this month is cheese. The challenge is owned by Laura over at How to Cook Good Food and Nazima over at Franglais Kitchen and is hosted this month by Nazima.

Since I have chives in the ingredients, I’m also entering this on into Herbs on a Saturday hosted by the lovely Karen over at Lavender and Lovage.

Mackerel, Bacon and New Potato Salad

I thoroughly enjoyed Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking series that aired on the BBC recently. I think my favourite episode was the Surf and Turf theme. Wonderful recipes of Lamb and Anchovy and the classic combination of Scallops and Chorizo, but the dish that spoke to me the most was the Mackerel and Bacon Salad.

I love Mackerel. It is such an underrated fish. It is so cheap and packs lots of flavour. It also brings certain nutritional benefits:

• It is a good source of omega -3 fatty acids
• It is rich in protein and vitamins A, D and B12 and the anti-oxidant mineral selenium
• It is classed as a superfood
• It is recommended for lowering the cholesterol and overall contributing to a healthy heart

We have eaten this salad 3 times since the episode aired on TV and it never fails to disappoint. You get the salty and smokey notes from the mackerel and bacon, paired with the earthiness of the new potatoes and the dish is brought together beautifully with the acidic white wine vinegar, mustard, dill and caper dressing. Lip smackin’ loveliness!

There is a nice little tip about removing the harshness from raw onion by leaving them in white wine vinegar. Previously I used ice cold water or lime juice for this but the white wine vinegar does the job best in my opinion.

I didn’t change much about the recipe at all. I used new potatoes as opposed to salad potatoes. I added green beans to introduce a bit of “greenery” to the mix. They pair nicely with new potatoes as they do so well in a traditional Salade Niçoise. I also needed to use up my remaining cornichons so I chopped them finely and added them to the dressing.

If you are a fan of Mackerel then you will love this dish!

I’m entering this post to “Dish of the Month” hosted by the very kind and talented ladies Janice over at Farmergirl’s Kitchen and Susan over at A Little Bit of Heaven on a Plate. I’ve been wanting to do this challenge for a while and time has just ebbed away so I’m so glad I’m able to participate this month!

Since Mackerel is such a cheap fish, I’m also entering this post to Credit Crunch Much hosted by the fabulous and friendly Camilla and Helen over at FabFood4All and Fuss Free Flavours.

And if that wasn’t enough, since this dish uses dill in the dressing and as a garnish, I’m also entering this to Herbs on a Saturday hosted by Karen over at Lavender and Lovage.

What’s your favourite way of serving Mackerel? Do let me know on the comments below!

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Celebrate Thai New Year with Glass Noodle Salad and Caramelised Prawns

An edited version of this post appears on Great British Chefs Blog.

Songkran or Thai New Year falls on April 13 and symbolises new beginnings for the people of Thailand. It plays host to what is sometimes known as the world’s biggest water fight. Whether a person is sprinkled with or soaked by a bucket of water, the symbolism remains the same. It represents a gesture of cleansing, luck and renewal. The Sanskrit word Songkran means ascending or moving on and describes so well the transformation in nature as animals emerge from hibernation and buds spring to life. An overall feeling of new beginnings and a new year.

Beach Life – Renaissance Phuket Resort, Thailand

As well as it’s breathtaking sandy white beaches and crystal clear waters, Thailand, or the Land of Smiles as it is commonly known, will always hold very fond memories for me as it was our honeymoon destination six years ago. Starting off in the capital Bangkok for a couple of nights, then heading up to Chiang Mai for some cooking lessons at the Dhara Dhevi, feeding the baby elephants breakfast in the Golden Triangle  and then enjoying some spa treatments and sunshine in Koh Samui. Never has such a place and it’s people made us feel so welcome and we were glad to recapture it’s magic when we returned to Phuket last year for a short break.

Our honeymoon included a couple of days on Thai Cookery lessons and with it came the introduction of the Glass Noodle Salad. Although, this recipe is different to the one we were taught at the time, it still contains the four staples of Thai cuisine:

• Sweet
• Salty
• Sour
• Spicy

Dressing for Glass Noodle Salad contains the 4 staples of Thai Cuisine.
Sweet: Sugar
Salty: Fish sauce
Sour: Fresh lime juice
Spicy: Bird’s eye chilli

In addition, the abundance of fresh herbs used in this salad, makes it an irresistible choice. Plenty of coriander, mint and the powerful aniseed notes given off by the Thai basil will transport you to Chiang Mai.

Fresh Herbs of Thai Basil, Mint and Coriander

Sprinkling the crushed toasted peanuts over the salad gives an additional layer of texture. Roasted rice will deliver the same crunchy dimension if peanuts are not a viable option.

Glass Noodle Salad can be served without prawns. Chicken will also work well with this salad.

Last, but not least layer those sweet, juicy king prawns on top. The palm sugar gives them a rich caramelised colour and texture. Prepare for a feast of flavours!

Ready to Eat – Glass Noodle Salad with Caramelised Prawns

As this dish has lots of fresh herbs, I’m entering this post to Herbs on a Saturday hosted by the endearing Karen over at Lavender and Lovage. Have a look at the lovely herby creations submitted so far!

As they say in the Land of Smiles, “Sawasdee pi mai”. Happy New Year to all those celebrating!

What dishes will you be preparing to mark Thai New Year?

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Maple and Pecan Squares with a Cinnamon Biscuit Base

While the world and and his wife are having a crack at baking Hot Cross Buns or sponges adorned with Easter eggs and the ominipresent Easter Bunny, I’ve been baking something completely different for Easter. That’s right, I did say baking. The problem, however was finding something that if made, would be easily consumed. I’m fairly fussy when it comes to sweet things, and my other half tends to be ten times worse (I suppose that’s what happens when you are brought up in Paris and every fourth shop is either a boulangerie or a pâtisserie filled with the finest  “tartes” or viennoiserie. Becoming accustomed to such fine food, can make you a bit more picky when alternatives are on offer). However, the old grey matter fed me an idea.

When I worked in Canary Wharf, I would pop out for lunch and grab a quick sandwich or soup but I would always be craving sugar come 4-5pm. Quite often I would work until 9pm and so my blood sugar level would plummet and I relied on something sweet just to power me through the remainder of the working day. My fuel came in the form of  Pret a Manger’s Pecan Pie. It did the job every time. Do you know it? I’m pleased to say my husband, is also partial to the odd slice so I was headed in the right direction. I’ve read that Pecan pie has it’s origins with the French settlers of New Orleans but I’m not sure if there is any truth in this story!

It wasn’t until after baking these that I remembered from Katharine’s blog that Pret actually have an e-book  documenting a few of their recipes which I think is really good-spirited of them. I had to laugh when I looked at the ingredient list – it was so different to my own! I suppose the main differences are that they use golden syrup, eggs and cornstarch. I use maple syrup and coconut cream and I add cinnamon to the base.

This recipe makes 16 small -ish squares. Eating one will put a spring in your step.

Maple and Pecan Sweetness ovenbound!

Maple and Pecan Squares with a Cinnamon Biscuit Base

I’m always paranoid about tarts, cakes and biscuits tasting very buttery but the base was just right and the spicy notes provided by the cinnamon brought a warm comforting sensation. And the finished article? Really delicious! Within an hour of making them, we had already gone through a quarter of the batch. I suspect the remaining ones will not be around for long!

Having had a tour around some websites and food blogs there is some really inspired cooking and baking for Easter.

I spotted this recipe for  Jerusalem Artichoke and Vanilla soup with Scallops. I’m sure that would be a lovely way to mark the beginning of Easter Sunday Lunch.

Most people have a traditional roast at Easter and I thought Dom‘s Roast Lamb with Honey, Rosemary, Garlic and Granola Crust was worth drooling over.

Giulia over at Jul’s Kitchen has prepared her own Tiramisu in an Eggshell. Clever presentation I thought!

A few brave people have had a crack at making their own Easter eggs including Greg who mastered an engineering project when he constructed this 80 kg chocolate egg. What a belter!

Have you been baking or cooking anything to celebrate Easter? Please let me know in the comments below!

Hope you all have a very Happy Easter!

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From the Japanese section of Hong Kong Flower Show 2013

Last week saw the opening of the Hong Kong Flower Show 2013. In an attempt to make good use of what remained of last weekend, I dragged my OH down to the show which lasts for just over 1 week. What I didn’t realise was that half of Hong Kong would be joining us! Despite the hordes of people attending with what seemed like paparazzi size lenses and the non stop click clicking of their cameras, I managed to get a few pictures. Overall, I would say I was mostly impressed with the Thai and Japanese section of the flower show. Very elegant and clean in design.

Beautiful Orchids and Pansies

I’ve talked before about my lack of “greenfingered-ness” but I do love the colour and vibrance that these little beauties bring and very much admire the great skill, care and attention that goes into maintaining and exhibiting these flowers.

We don’t have a garden in HK, space is a commodity as you can imagine so the most we have is a little balcony but I would be loathed to put anything on it due to the intense heat that HK endures during the year.

A Carpet of Flowers

Japanese Flowers at the Hong Kong Flower Show 2013

Japanese Flower arrangements

Most of the crowds attending this event have now been displaced to watch the Rugby Sevens which Hong Kong is hosting this weekend. I think if I was attending the show again, I’d probably wait a few days for the crowds to dwindle. Hong Kong is extremely efficient when it comes to crowd management. Access to the event was possible via the Octopus Card. This card is very similar to the Oyster Card in London (London adopted this card after the roll-out in Hong Kong) but brings so much more. As well as transport, you buy convenience store items, pay for on-street parking and even your electricity bill with it! Now that is what I call a smart card

Hope these pictures brighten your day. Wishing you all a fantastic week!

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Beef and Guinness Stew

Before I took the name of my husband, my maiden name was Duffy so you can imagine Irish blood runs through my veins. I have only visited Ireland on a few occasions but each time, the welcome has been very warm and genuine. With this great nation, comes big hearts and it is a country of which I am very fond. Although, not renowned for it’s soaring temperatures, (a bit like Scotland!), the fields of Ireland are very green for a reason! However, the Irish know how to have fun and good craic is guaranteed each time you visit.

Growing up as a teenager, one of my favourite films was The Commitments, I’m a big fan of soul music and while I listened to the soundtrack incessantly, it was not just the music that made the film for me, the humour and the overall theme of overcoming hardship made it compelling viewing.

At University, if I was in the company of my Irish friends, then it would always lead to an evening filled with belly-aching laughter. I have such happy memories and my time there was more enjoyable in part, thanks to them. Among my favourite comedians are Ed Byrne and Dara Ó Briain. You will understand why if you view this clip here.

It would of course be remiss of me not to mention that beautiful accent too. Okay…. I might be slightly biased! If, you haven’t seen it already, there is a film on Jenny Keogh’s website celebrating Irish slang and phrases here. It brought a huge smile to my face. What do you think of it?

A Bottle of Guinness

It is true what they say, you know, you haven’t tasted the real thing, until you actually drink Guinness in Ireland. It tastes completely different and far superior to any other Guinness I have tasted since. Any trip to Dublin should include a visit to The Guinness Brewery I was very much encouraged about the history of Guinness and how well Arthur Guinness provided for his employees. The sites of Dublin from The Gravity Bar are not to be missed and you can spend some time poring over the many successful advertising campaigns from the Guinness empire.

Guinness – One of Ireland’s finest exports

So with it being St. Patrick’s Day on Sunday 17 March, I thought I would make a dish that I have resorted to time and time again using one of Ireland’s finest exports. This Beef and Guinness Stew is quite rich but the slow cooking renders the beef into a melt in the mouth texture, contrasted with the large chunky pieces of carrot and served alongside buttery, fluffy mash – this dish is comfort food all the way. You can find the recipe here.

Intensely flavoured slow cooked Beef and Guiness Stew

Although, it is probably not the most original when it comes to celebrating Irish cuisine, I do make this dish quite a lot, especially in the colder, Winter months. It is such an easy dish to prepare and the slow cooking means that you have plenty of time to catch up on other things. All the better for me!

Serving mashed potato is the obvious choice for me but to accentuate the Irish experience, you could serve it with Colcannon (leaving out the ham!). Rachel Allen has a good recipe here.

Other Irish recipes I spotted that look rather appealing include:

Irish Cabbage and Bacon Soup with Blarney Castle and Sourdough Toasts by GirliChef

Irish Soda Farls by Niamh Shields

Farmhouse Cheese and Caraway Soda Bread Puddings by Ruth Cousineau

So if you are inspired by any of them, why not give them a go?

Guinness can be a very rich, I enjoy it very cold in a half pint, any more then I would find it quite rich. My hubbie on the other hand can sink a few pints quite easily. What are your thoughts on Guinness? Are you a fan? I’d love to know in the comments below!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all celebrating!

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Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Biscotti

There is something so pleasing about the smell of toasted hazelnuts permeating every room of the home, don’t you think? I knew I was onto a winner when hazelnuts were included in my Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Biscotti. I’m still on a quest to reduce the amount of butter used in my baking recipes and I wasn’t to be disappointed with this one as it contains absolutely no butter at all. Niente!

Originating from Italy, the biscotti (twice baked/cooked) so named as the dough is rolled into a baguette/sausage shape and baked once, then sliced diagonally and baked a second time to give a firm and crunchy texture. Legend has it that the biscotti was considered a favourite snack amongst sailors as it was considered to be mould resistant and ideal for those long sea journeys.

This biscuit is perfect for dunking in your coffee whether it be at breakfast time or afternoon. It also serves as a nice accompaniment to a vino santo if you are feeling that little bit more indulgent.

Coffee with Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Biscotti

Having decided I was going to use hazelnuts, there was only one thing I wasn’t looking forward to and that was shelling the hazelnuts. My dread was very much short lived as Amy’s blog post tutorial on shelling hazelnuts using bicarbonate of soda worked like a dream. See for yourself here. Pretty nifty, eh?

Hazelnuts pre-shelling

Hazelnuts post shelling

I really love discovering new ways to save time on preparing food. This recipe will serve approximately 18 slices based on approximately 1.5cm slices. This is my first attempt at making biscuits without butter and I will definitely be making them again – it also helps that my husband is a hazelnut addict!

Are you a fan of hazelnuts? How do you use them? Please tell me in the comments below!

I’m entering this into the No Waste Food Challenge (Eggs) owned by Kate over at Turquoise Lemons and hosted this month by Elizabeth over at Elizabeth’s Kitchen.

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Sticky, Spicy and  and Smokey Chipotle Lamb Stew

Raw! Red raw! My body has been suffering of late from the cold. It’s just the type of weather that will force you to hibernate for days. Things that require urgent attention, suddenly can wait another day as I find an excuse not to venture out into the blast chiller of the great outdoors. I had thought that the plummeting temperatures were coming to an end but it was very much short lived when we saw temperatures reach -2 degrees  °C. Brrr, someone pass me that extra blanket.

Alas! We have winter stews to provide that additional heat during the bitterly cold weather. As it’s National Chilli Day on Thursday I thought I would make something with Chipotle; a smokey and dried chilli pepper used more commonly in Tex-Mex cuisine. Those of you familiar with my blog will appreciate my love (borderline obsession) with chilli.

What this dish lacks in finesse, it compensates in terms of flavour; we found ourselves licking our chops and appreciating the smokey hot notes long after we had wolfed down the dish. Those of you that have a hankering for BBQ flavours and using beer in cuisine will also not be disappointed.

The richness in the dish is derived from the smoked paprika, chorizo and chipotle and chilli paste . This is balanced by the sweet, plump vine cherry tomatoes, a sharp burst of squeezed lime and fresh herbs. Ideally, you should serve this with something starchy to stand up to the bold flavours. I served it with a baked potato sprinkled with tangy mature Cheddar and chopped spring onion.

We sat scoffing away at this dish during the RBS Six Nations Scotland vs Ireland match while sipping away at some Corona beer. A perfect way to spend Sunday afternoon while Baltic conditions continued outdoors.

Sticky, Spicy and Smokey Lamb Stew washed down with Mexican Beer

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What is your favourite way of using chilli in a dish? I’d love to know in the comments below!

As this recipe has a generous portion of fresh coriander and parsley, I’m entering this post into Herbs on a Saturday challenge hosted by the very talented Karen over on Lavender and Lovage.

I’m also posting this recipe to the One Ingredient Challenge hosted by Laura and Nazima. This month, the ingredient is the mighty Chilli – Hooray!! Submit your entries to Laura’s blog over on How to Cook Good Food.