Must Remember This Mushroom Pilaf Recipe

It will only take 30 minutes to cook this beauty.
Ingredients:
a couple of cups of quinoa
olive oil
2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
200g of different sorts of mushrooms

1 large finely chopped onion

juice of 1 large lemon
1 tablespoon dried basil
a bunch of fresh oregano finely chopped

Firstly make the quinoa. Usually 15 minutes boiling time is enough but check with packet. While the quinoa cooks, chop the vegetables.

When the quinoa is done set aside but keep warm. Heat a splash of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and the chopped onion and stir over medium heat until slightly softened. Add in the mushrooms. Season with sea salt and pepper. Cook till the mushrooms feel tender. In a cup mix the lemon juice with the herbs and set aside. When the mushrooms are ready scoop the quinoa in the mixture and then pour over the lemon and herbs mix. Toss well. Goodnight.

New Joy

Happy Kitchen just opened in London Fields and it' s food heaven.
Vegan, gluten free & organic. That does not mean that everything tastes like cardboard. The opposite. Super friendly staff, the best brownies EVER, and cherry smoothie. Need I say more?

Feta Saganaki Is Not A Japanese Recipe

It sounds Japanese but is Greek and I am homesick (again) so I cooked it today. With sesame seeds and honey. For a moment I was magically transferred to my favorite place in Athens, eating with Anna. Here is the way to make it :

• 250g feta
• 1 small egg
• 1/2 teaspoons ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoons ground paprika
• olive oil

• flour (used gluten -free all purpose and it was great)
• sesame seeds

• 1 teaspoon oregano

• 3 tablespoons honey

Cut the feta into long chunks, so they look like little fingers and place in the freezer for 15 minutes. It is very important to do that so they wont break while cooking.

Mix the egg, pepper, paprika and oregano in a bowl and beat well. Roll each piece of feta in the egg mixture, then roll in the flour. Once you have done all of them, roll each piece in the egg for a second time, then roll in the sesame seeds.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, and cook the feta on each side until golden. Once they are ready remove and drizzle with a little honey and serve immediately.

Generally speaking feta saganaki is harmful for your heart to have every day and for your figure too, but if you serve it with something healthy like asparagus you can reduce the levels of guilt.

Caponata and Sopranos Re-run

We recently started watching again The Sopranos. I guess it was an inevitable result of the lack of some serious action in our lives,which is mostly full of wet nappies and teething issues at the moment. The best company to watch Tony Soprano's killer lines is Sicilian Caponata with bread and some fine red wine.
Here is the easy recipe :

§ 100g green pitted olives
§ a handful of capers drained and chopped
§ 4 medium aubergines, chopped
§ salt and ground black pepper
§ extra virgin olive oil
§ 1 big red onion chopped
§ 30ml red wine vinegar
§ 3 medium tomatoes chopped
§ a tbsp sugar or honey
§ handful parsley chopped

1. Sprinkle the aubergines with salt and leave to drain in a colander for 30 minutes.
   
2. Heat some of the olive oil in a saucepan and brown the aubergine on a moderate heat for 10 minutes. When cooked, set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
   
3. In a separate saucepan, heat the remaining olive oil and sauté the onion along with the tomatoes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the olives and cook for 20 minutes.
   
4. Add the cooled aubergine and the capers.
   
5. In a separate bowl, mix together the red wine vinegar and sugar. Add this to the pan and cook for 10 minutes or till the red wine vinegar has been absorbed.
   
6. Transfer to a large bowl, add the chopped parsley and mix well.
   
7. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil to serve.
8. Serve hot or cold.
   

Apologies for the bad iphone photo, it looks like I have -temporarily- lost my lovely camera. It must be somewhere between those unused nappies and the rattles.

Cauliflower Steak. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Preheat oven to gas mark 2. Using sharp heavy knife and starting at top center of cauliflower head, cut two 3cm thick slices of cauliflower, cutting through stem end. Set cauliflower steaks aside.

Cut into florets all left from the remaining cauliflower head. Steam florets for 10 minutes, set aside and then add milk in medium saucepan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Transfer the mix in to a blender. Add 1 cup cooking liquid from the steaming water and puree until smooth. Keep warm.

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Brush cauliflower steaks with additional oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add cauliflower steaks to skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer skillet to oven and bake cauliflower steaks until tender, about 10 minutes.

Divide puree between 2 plates; top each with cauliflower steak.

Here served with parmesan on top.

Get Stuffed With Goodness

Stuffed mushrooms with goats cheese and watercress are quick and tasty though I must admit that I cheated the last time I made them and used ready made Putanesca sauce from Waitrose. Sorry!
You will need :
5 portobello mushrooms
a bunch of watercress
capers (if not already in the sauce)
1 jar of putanesca sauce

Fill in the mushrooms -after a nice rinse- as seen in the photos. Stick in the oven for 15-20 minutes
and serve with wild rice. Success.

A Fish Friendly Tote

By Katharine Hamnett