It's On!

If I am not in labour this Sunday I think I will check out the new market in my neighborhood.
Bring it on Clapton.

www.chatsworthroade5.co.uk/

Mascarpone Dreams

Roast squash with mascarpone, Parmesan & sage
For lazy days - so easy to make

1. Spoon olive oil into each half of butternut squash, add the dried sage and finely chopped garlic. Salt & pepper.
2. Roast at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 for 40-50 minutes or until tender and toasted around the edges.
3. Spoon the mascarpone into the hollows and stir, season and scatter with Parmesan. Stick in the oven for another 15 minutes till cheese melts nicely. Add fresh chopped parsley on top and serve. Chives work too.

Fruity Indoors BBQ

Exotic Quinoa

Mango Blueberry & Quinoa Salad is inspired by a similar salad available at M&S
but with more ingredients added.
It is an absolute winner and friends keep asking for the recipe.

Quinoa Salad:
• quinoa
• cucumber
• red rice
• 1 red pepper finely chopped
• lemon & basil oil dressing (see recipe below)
• beans, chickpeas or similar - optional
• blueberries
• 1 mango
• rocket well chopped
• dried cranberries
• a few coconut pieces
• sunflower seeds or mixed seeds


Lemon & Basil Oil Dressing:
• basil infused oil
• lemon juice
• garlic puree
• honey
• lemon zest
• salt & pepper
you can add crushed chilies (optional) for a spicier version
Simply prepare the quinoa and rice and combine all the ingredients. adding the dressing in the end.

Winter in the Med

Mediterranean stuffed peppers in the oven are quick, easy, yummy and comforting.

Here is what you need:
• 50g brown basmati rice
• 1 each red, orange and yellow pepper
• 1 bag watercress, roughly chopped
• a handful of baby plum tomatoes chopped
• 50g/2oz pitted black olives, chopped
• 50g/2oz drained sun-dried tomatoes
• 50g/2oz cheddar cheese, grated
• feta
• 25g grated Parmesan

Cook the rice in boiling salted water for 20 mins or according to pack instructions and drain.
Preheat the oven to 200C/fan180C/gas mark 6. Cut the peppers in half , length-ways and cutting through the stalks. Remove the seeds and discard; place them in a roasting tin, cut side up.
Mix the rice, watercress, olives, feta and sun-dried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes together with half the cheddar cheese. Season to taste. Spoon the mixture into the peppers and scatter over the remaining cheddar and all parmesan.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the peppers are tender. Serve with salad.

Swedish Chef

People have different opinions about IKEA and I respect them all.
I also understand the love-hate relationship others have with the place and what it represents.
But we have to congratulate the IKEA chaps on their new coffee table book. It is so clever and beautiful and inspiring.
Have a look here: www.demo.fb.se/e/ikea/homemade_is_best/index.html

Gigantic

No I am not going to start waving flags suddenly, believe me this came as a surprise.
As a kid I used to hate gigantes, those farty big beans that my grandmother would cook with such pride, devotion and zest.
Then I loved them suddenly , one hot summer night in Ios, with ouzo. But I was drunk so I forgot everything about them.
Last weekend a friend came over to stay with us which was a good excuse for a BBQ and a little dinner party. He offered and cooked Gigantes beans in the oven, 'plaki' as they call them in Greece. My boyfriend went ballistic. Why have I never cooked that masterpiece for him in the past?
Well this weekend I finally did. Being lazy, I used canned butter beans, nothing of the patient soaking overnight process that grandma loved and was such an important part of her 'Gigantes' ritual.

Ingredients

300 grams gigantes beans or butter beans
2 bay leaves
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1/3 cup of olive oil
6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and blended or 1 can of whole tomatoes (500 grams)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup white dry wine
1 cup of parsley, finely chopped
2 stalks celery ribs, finely chopped
3 big carrots, finely chopped
fresh oregano, finely chopped
A few sprigs of dill, finely chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon thyme honey (optional)
2 cups water

Directions:

Soak beans in plenty of water, overnight. Or use canned beans if you are lazy like me.
Drain and add fresh water and bring to a boil and remove any froth with a slotted ladle. Drain them again and add fresh water and bay leaves and bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until almost cooked (about 1 hour and 30 minutes) and then drain and discard the bay leaves.
Preheat oven at 180o C 350o F.
Heat olive oil in a sautéing pan and sauté onions and garlic until translucent.
Add chopped celery, carrots, parsley, fresh oregano and beans and mix.
Add wine, honey, tomato, salt and pepper and water and mix.
Cover the sautéing pan or cook in a casserole dish in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes until the beans are soft and the sauce is thick, mixing at regular intervals.

Serve with olives, feta cheese, tzatziki and bread.