Curried Potato Salad with Cauliflower

Last week I posted a recipe taken from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 'Take Three Good Things' that used potatoes, asparagus and halloumi (find the recipe here). 

This week I have tried another delicious recipe from this cookbook (available on Amazon) using potatoes, cauliflower and curry as the three key ingredients. I made this for my lunch today and it took me no more than 15 minutes to prepare.

Recipe - Curried Potato Salad with Cauliflower
Serves 4

Ingredients:

400g new potatoes, cut into approx. 2cm chucks
Half a medium cauliflower, trimmed & cut into small florets
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper (to season)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons plain natural yoghurt
1 tsp of curry paste (I actually used a teaspoon of mild curry powder as a substitute, but this still worked well)

Method:

1. Bring a large pan of water (with a pinch of salt) to the boil. Add the potatoes and simmer for about 3 minutes. Then add the cauliflower and cook for another 3 minutes until both are just tender. Drain and leave to cool.

2. Make the curried mayonnaise whilst the veggies are cooling - combine the mayo, yoghurt and curry paste/powder in a bowl.

3. Once the potatoes and cauliflower are cool mix them with the curried mayo. Season with some salt and pepper, and add the squeeze of lemon juice.

Done!
A great quick lunch idea. I actually think it would also be nice served warm - just mix the potatoes and cauliflower with the mayo mixture before they have cooled. I think I'll try it this way next time.

Lisa x

Tweet

Tomato Soup with Orzo (Recipe from June 2013 Jamie Magazine)

I think I'm currently going a bit Jamie crazy! I do love most of the recipes of his that I've tried - and after writing about the June 2013 Jamie Magazine on Friday I was inspired to have a go at one of the recipes over the weekend. I decided to try to make 'Tomato Soup with Orzo' (which appears on pg 119) as it uses storecupboard ingredients which I already owned. Plus, I had a box or orzo which has been sat in my cupboard unused for months (probably a year or so actually!) and I didn't really know what to do with it until now. It's basically pasta that looks like rice....

Recipe - Tomato Soup with Orzo
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp dried mint
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
750ml chickent or vegetable stock (I used chicken)

100g orzo pasta

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a big saucepan and add the onion, garlic, mint and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over a medium high heat until the onions soften.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. Use a stick blender to blitz the soup until smooth.
3. Add the stock and the orzo and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the orzo is tender.
4. Serve! I added a couple of roughly torn fresh basil leaves too on serving, just because I love the tomato/basil combo.

A quick and easy recipe to make a filling and tasty soup!

Lisa x

Tweet

Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup Recipe

On Monday I wrote about my busy morning of soup-making. After preparing my soups (and having some for lunch!) I first wrote about the celery and potato soup I made - the recipe for this can be found here: http://foodloverlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/celery-and-potato-soup-recipe.html

Today I will continue by telling you about my recipe for the roasted pepper and tomato soup that I also made on Monday and enjoyed for my lunch yesterday. I only wanted to use up what I had in the house, so finished off the red and orange peppers I had left over following the BBQ my friends and I had at the weekend. I didn't actually have any fresh tomatoes, but had plenty of tins of plum tomatoes so I decided to try using those - and the soup turned out great. This soup was so straightforward to make but had lots of flavour!

Recipe - Roasted Pepper and Tomato Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Olive oil
1 red pepper
1 orange or yellow pepper
1 onion (I used a red onion)
2 x 400g tins of plum or chopped tomatoes
500ml chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Dollop of creme fraiche (optional)
A few roughly torn basil leaves (to garnish)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Chop the peppers into strips, ensuring the stalk and seeds have been removed first.
• Peel and roughly chop the onion into chunks.
• Place the onion and peppers into a roasting tin with a couple of glugs of olive oil and roast for 20-25 minutes. I love the smell of roasting veggies!
  
• Once roasted, tip the vegetables into a large pan, add the 2 tins of tomatoes and 500ml of stock (I used chicken stock). Bring to the boil, then pop the lid on the pan and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Blend the soup until completely smooth - I used a hand-held stick blender as I find this the easiest & most straightforward method. Season the soup to taste.
  
• Serve with a little creme fraiche stirred through if desired, and a little torn basil to garnish.

I actually found this my favourite of the two soups, and have divided the leftovers (of both soups) into individual portions in tupperware boxes and frozen to re-heat in the microwave for future meals.

Lisa x



Tweet

Celery and Potato Soup Recipe

My friends and I were determined to make the most of the sun this bank holiday and decided to throw a BBQ yesterday, while the sunshine lasted! A group of us all gathered at my friend Flo's house in sunny Surrey, each of us bringing some food which we had quickly negotiated in advance. I was in charge of bringing crisps, dips and veg sticks, (or the 'crudité' as my mum would say!).

I popped into Sainsbury's in the morning and bought some carrots, celery and red & orange peppers and took a big tupperware box full of veg as there were 18 mouths to feed. But I went a bit overboard with the amounts purchased and afterwards I realised I still had quite a lot left over... and when I have lots of veg I love to make soup! I'll have some for my lunch, then freeze the rest to eat in future (when I'm lazy and want something healthy but can't be bothered to prepare anything).

So I actually made a couple of batches of soup this morning with some of the leftover veg, the first being a celery and potato soup to use up the remainder of the celery. Very healthy and delicious!

Recipe - Celery and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

Large knob of butter
1 leek, chopped
6 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped 
800ml chicken or vegetable stock (I used vegetable bouillon)
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper to season

Method:

• Roughly chop the leek, celery and potatoes (they don't need to be perfect as they will be blended later). 
• Melt the knob of butter in a large pan and add the chopped leek and celery. Cook on a medium heat until softened; about 5-10minutes.
• Add the potatoes, stock and the bay leaf. Bring to the boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Keep the lid on the pan during this time.
  
• Remember to remove the bay leaf before blending!
• Remove the soup from the heat and blend it - I used a stick blender as I find this the most straightforward method. You can buy stick/hand blenders in Argos for about £10 and they are great for blending soups.
  
• Reheat the soup for a few minutes if necessary and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• I didn't have any croutons, and so garnished my soup with a few crispy bacon bits.
   
  

So this was the first soup I made and enjoyed for my lunch today. The second soup I cooked was a roasted pepper and tomato soup which I will be heating up for my lunch tomorrow! More on that to come...


Lisa x



Tweet

Spinach, Leek and Feta Puff Pastry Tart Recipe

Earlier this week I made some asparagus and parmesan tarts (find the recipe here: http://foodloverlondon.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/british-asparagus-season-asparagus.html) and today I decided to use up the other half of my ready-rolled puff pastry to make another tart for my lunch - a spinach, leek and feta tart. Instead of following a recipe for this one, I used a bit of improvisation and (in my opinion!) the end result was actually very nice. I was a bit pressed for time, so instead of doing 2 separate tarts I made one big one with the remaining pastry and then cut it in half to share with my brother who is currently visiting. He's a bit of a fuss-pot with his veggies, so was surprised that he seemed so keen to try it, and he seemed to enjoy it as much as I did - shocker!

Recipe - Spinach, Leek and Feta Tarts
Serves 2

Ingredients:

Olive oil 

150g frozen spinach

1 leek, thinly chopped

1 egg

Half a pack of ready-rolled puff pastry (I used half a pack of Sainsbury's 375g puff pastry)

60g feta, cut into cubes

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Place the puff pastry onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Score a line into the pastry to make a thin border around the outside. 
• Defrost the spinach and drain away any excess water. 
• Pour a couple of glugs of olive oil into a non-stick frying pan. Add the leeks and spinach and cook on a medium heat until softened.
  
• Remove the pan from the heat and mix in the beaten egg.
• Pour the mixture onto the pastry and spread within the borders made previously.
• Sprinkle over the cubes of feta.
  
• Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the pastry has puffed up and is golden brown.
• The finished result...
  

I then cut this in half and shared it with my brother, with a bit of extra salad on the side.

Lisa x

Tweet

Pippa Middleton's Spicy Bean-Stuffed Peppers

Despite all the negative reviews and critism Pippa Middleton has received for her book 'Celebrate' (described as 'a comprehensive seasonal guide to simple and creative entertaining'), when I saw it for sale in my local WHSmith for dirt cheap (around £5 if I remember correctly) I couldn't resist buying myself a copy - mostly out of curiosity.

In the introduction, Pippa writes that the book was designed to be a 'useful and practical journey into British-themed occasions and I hope it offers welcome inspiration and ideas', and actually I have been inspired by some of the ideas outlined in the book.  While I'll admit that a great chunk of the book is aimed at ideas for feeding and entertaining children (which is pretty irrelevant to me at this time of my life), many of the food and cocktail recipes have tempted me and I now feel motivated to do some entertaining this year! In fact, I'm currently in the process of planning an afternoon tea party for a friend's birthday using some of the ideas Pippa provides - including making mini fruit tarts, traditional scones and homemade cake stands!

But for now I want to tell you about a recipe I made last week. Admittedly, it's actually from the Autumn section of the book as an idea for food on Bonfire Night, but I don't care as I would eat this meal at any time of year!  The recipe is for stuffed peppers, filled with spicy beans. I'm trying to cut down on the amount of meat I eat, and this appealed to me as a great idea for a vegetarian meal for myself. I made this for my family for lunch - we had 2 pepper halves each and that was just the right portion size for me.

Recipe - Spicy Bean-Stuffed Peppers by Pippa Middleton
Serves 4 (or 8 as a side dish - one pepper half each)

Ingredients:

4 large peppers (I used 2 red peppers, 1 orange pepper and 1 yellow pepper) 
1 tbsp olive oil 
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp tomato purée 
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 tin of red kidney beans in chilli sauce (or in water if you're not so keen on spicy food!)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
small handful of chopped coriander
1 fresh red chilli, halved, deseeded & chopped (I didn't use this and it wasn't really missed!) 
salt & pepper to taste
50g Parmesan, grated (or swap for a vegetarian-friendly cheese if preferred)

Method: 

• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• Cut the peppers lengthways, remove the seeds & membrane.
• Place peppers in a roasting tin, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast for 10-15 minutes.
• Whilst the peppers are in the oven make the filling - Heat a tbsp of olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the chopped onions, garlic and cumin and cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Add the tomato purée, carrots and celery and fry for 2 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients (except the parmesan) and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the juices have reduced.
• Remove the peppers from the oven and fill each with the bean mixture. Cover them with foil and then pop them back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
• Before serving sprinkle over some Parmesan (or other cheese).
• I served my peppers with a pot of sour cream which went down well with the family!

   Et voilà...

   
Lisa x 

Tweet

British Asparagus Season - Asparagus & Parmesan Tarts Recipe

It's currently the British asparagus season so I've been trying to make the most of it! I was first inspired whilst reading my April/May 2013 copy of 'Jamie' Magazine, which had a picture of a very tasty looking asparagus tart on the front and a feature called 'Spear of the Moment'.

One of the recipes was for a Asparagus and Pecorino tart which reminded me of a recipe I've had saved in my 'online recipe binder' on the BBC Good Food website for quite a long time - 'Asparagus and Parmesan Pastries'. I really fancied an asparagus tart for my lunch today, so decided to try this recipe over the Jamie Oliver one as I had all the ingredients needed already in my kitchen and it also looked a little more speedy & simple to make (I wasn't feeling particularly energetic this morning!)

I only needed to feed two people, so halved the recipe and it turned out well - they didn't take too long to prepare, and they were very straightforward to make. I'll definately be making them again.

Recipe: Asparagus and Parmesan Tarts
To serve 2

Ingredients:

3 tbsp mascarpone
20g Parmesan, grated
a handful of finely chopped basil (I just roughly tore mine into small bits)
zest of ½ a small lemon
half a pack of ready-rolled puff pastry (I used Sainsbury's own 375g pack)
asparagus spears (I used 6 spears per tart)
½ tbsp olive oil

Method:

• Heat the oven to 200°C. 
• Mix the mascarpone and the grated parmesan, basil, lemon zest and season.
• Cut the ready-rolled puff pastry in half to form the base of two tarts. Place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment. 
  
• Score around the edges of each tart to make a thin border, then spread the mascarpone mixture within these borders.
  
• Wash and trim the asparagus to the right length for each tart. Toss the spears in oil, then arrange on top of the puff pastry.
  
• Bake the pastries for 20-25 minutes until golden.
  
• Serve with salad if desired.

I adapted the original recipe to make 2 tarts - the recipe to serve 4 people can be found on the BBC Good Food website here:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/6671/asparagus-and-parmesan-pastries 

I recommend giving this recipe a try whilst British asparagus is still in season - until mid-June.

Lisa x
Tweet

Tasty Baked Camembert with Garlic & Rosemary

I spent the first 3 months of 2013 travelling around Australia and New Zealand having the time of my life - making new friends, enjoying the sea and the sun, learning to surf, exploring the big cities, and getting very overexcited when I saw my first kangeroos and koalas. During my trip I also discovered my love of double coat TimTams, Vegemite and Fergburger (a burger place in Queenstown, New Zealand), despite trying to stick to a tight budget!

Whilst in Brisbane I was lucky enough to stay with an Australian friend for a week - and I got completely spoilt! Not only was it amazing to have a comfortable double bed in my own room (which was greatly appreciated after 2 months of sleeping on lumpy mattresses in noisy shared hostel dorms), but I was so well fed! My friend Nic cooked some fantastic food whilst I was there, including tasty stuffed peppers, melt-in-the-mouth slow cooked pulled pork and lots of amazing home-baked bread. On one occasion we had the latter with a beautiful baked brie, which Nicola had cooked in a cheese baker. I knew I wanted to buy one as soon as I was back in the UK.

I absolutely love cheese, and so does my dad - so for his birthday last week I decided I would get him his own cheese baker. He's not the world's most domesticated man so whether he'll actually use it himself is yet to be determined! But I thought he would enjoy a baked camembert for his birthday lunch so I used his new present to cook for him.

I bought the cheese baker from Amazon: 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Creative-Tops-Gourmet-Cheese-Baker/dp/B007PCH8JW


Recipe: Baked Camembert with Garlic and Rosemary

Ingredients:

1 boxed camembert
1 clove of garlic
A large sprig of rosemary
Fresh bread to dip in!

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 200ºC
• Slice a clove of garlic into thin slithers
• Strip the rosemary sprig of its leaves, so you have only the tips.
• Using a sharp knife poke slits into the top rind of the camembert in several places.
• Push half the slices of garlic and half the rosemary into the slits.
• Turn the cheese over, make several more slits with a knife and poke the remaining garlic and rosemary into these holes.
• Ensure all plastic packaging has been removed from the camembert and place it into the cheese baker. 
• Place the lid on the cheese baker and put it in the preheated oven.
• Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is lovely and gooey inside!

Pre-baking:

 Enjoying the gooey camembert with bread:

The one camembert was enough for 3 people for lunch - served with a crusty loaf and some carrot sticks for dipping in. My dad seemed to really enjoy it (as did I!) so I think the cheese baker was a success!

Lisa x
 
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Tweet