Greek style savoury cake

 Great for a picnic, an apéritif or a light summer lunch with a mixed greens salad. Don't be shy, keep the basic recipe and substitute the ingredients with leftovers eg, salmon, or that piece of leek, courgette, etc. In winter, I like to pair up a warming soup with a savoury cake for a hearty meal 😻

 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 150g f flour, I used 80g white flour and 70g buckwheat flour
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 50g grated emmental (or cheddar cheese)
• 1 marinated red pepper cut into cubes
• 5 to 6 sun-dried tomatoes cut unto small pieces 
• 8 green olives cut into quarters
  
• 75g feta cheese cut into cubes
• Half a ball of mozzarella cheese cut into cubes
• I T olive oil
• 2T fromage blanc
• 1t black pepper
• 1 t dried parsley
  

Method:

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder and spices with the emmental and combine. 

Add all the other ingredients except the eggs, olive oil and fromage blanc. Mix with a spatula until all ingredients are coated with flour.

Add the eggs, mix gently until eggs are incorporated, the mixture will be quite sticky.

Lastly drizzle in the olive oil and add the fromage blanc. The batter should be thick but not dry, add a little more olive oil/fromage blanc if it's too stiff. Don't overmix, just bind it all together gently with a silicone spatula. The batter should look like this:

Pour into a cake pan and bake at 180° for 45 minutes until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

 

Rabbit à la moutarde

 

Rabbit is a very lean meat and also very versatile, it can be made with prunes, Mediterranean style, baked or with red wine... Here is my version of the famous Lapin à la Moutarde. It's delicious even the next day if there's any left as everyone asks for seconds 😀

 

Ingredients:

• 1 rabbit (ask the butcher to cut it into pieces
• 3/4 bottle of white wine
  
• 200g Dijon mustard
  
• 200g button mushrooms, roughly chopped
  
• 2 carrots, finely sliced
  
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1/2 leek finely chopped
• 2 t yummy spice
  
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• A bouquet garni
  
• Crème fraîche & chopped parsley
  

Method:

Slather each piece of rabbit with a generous coat of mustard. Heat a large cast iron pot with a little cooking oil then add the pieces of rabbit one by one. Lightly brown the rabbit, add the onion and leeks. Wet with some wine if the pieces stick to the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle in the yummy spice. Once the onions & leeks have softened, add the carrots, mushrooms, garlic and bouquet garni. Pour in the rest of the wine, cover and leave to simmer for about an hour or more. The rabbit and vegetables must be thoroughly softened. 

 

 

Before serving add a few dollops of crème fraîche. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with rice, mashed potatoes or tagliatelles.

Can be made the day before and re-heated, adding the crème fraîche and parsley just before serving. 

                        Bon appétit!

Cauliflower Gratin

Cauliflower at it's best...make an easy bechamel, steam the cauliflower, bake and enjoy! Comfort food for those cold winter days ⛄

Ingredients:

• 1kg fresh or frozen cauliflower 
• 600 ml Bechamel sauce (see recipe link)
• Breadcrumbs and grated cheese for the topping
  

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Steam (or boil) the cauliflower. Drain and place into an ovenproof dish.

Spread the bechamel sauce over the cauliflower, covering the florets completely.  Sprinkle evenly with the breadcrumbs and some Parmesan or Emmental cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

 

 

Pumpkin Soup

Winter blues? Make this full-bodied, comforting and creamy soup for when it's too cold to go outside! Also, pumpkin is super low in calories, only 26 kilocalories for 100gms and is an excellent source of provitamin A, beta-carotine and Vitamin A.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 kg pumpkin
• 1 onion
  
• 1T turmeric
• fresh cream (optional)
• sunflower or pumpkin seeds (optional)
  

Method:

Fry the onion and turmeric in some cooking oil. Add the peeled and diced pumpkin. Cover with water and let simmer for 40-50min or until the pumpkin is soft, then blend the soup with a stick blender.

 

Enjoy with cream or and/or a sprinkle of seeds.

 

Bechamel

Bechamel (Mornay sauce) is a versatile white sauce that can be used in lasagna, gratins, etc. Add grated cheese for macaroni cheese.

 

Ingredients:

• 50g butter
  
• 50g flour
  
• 600ml cold milk 
• 1t Dijon mustard
• Nutmeg
  

Method: 

Melt the butter in a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. When the butter is melted add the flour.

Whisk the flour and butter together into a paste.

Slowly add part of the cold milk whisking it into the paste. continue until all the milk is used and it is smooth. 

Add the teaspoon of Dijon mustard and grate in some nutmeg. Stir over medium to low heat until the sauce thickens and add the cheese if using.

Turn down the heat and let it simmer slowly for a couple of minutes. Season to taste with pepper. You can use a pinch of nutmeg and add your favourite grated cheese.

Pancakes

Delicious pancakes! Don't add the eggs for a lighter version.

 

Ingredients:

• 200g flour
• 350ml milk
  
• 2 eggs
• 25g butter
• 2 T sugar
• 1 t vanilla essence
• 1/2 t spiced rum
  
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
  

Method: 

Blend all the ingredients together and cook the pancakes.

Airfried Bhaji

Makes 10-12 bhajis.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 red onions (1.5 if large)
• 50g flour
  
• 50g chickpea flour
• 100ml cold water
  
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 green chilli pepper
  
• 1/2 t baking powder
  
• 1/2 t turmeric
  
• 1/2 t coriander
• 1/2 t cumin
• 1/2 t cayenne powder
• 1/2 t salt
  

Method:

Mix the flour, chickpea flour, spices and baking powder together, then add the water and stir to make a thick batter. Slice the onions, garlic and green chilli pepper finely, then add them into the batter and mix well. Let the mixture rest for 10min.

Line the airfryer with cooking oil. Form little patties with the batter and airfry them for 5-7min, turn them over and airfry for another 5-7min. Let them cool down on a paper towel before serving.

Cornbread

Try cornbread at your next BBQ or for a snack and why not with fried eggs at breakfast... Adding corn kernels to the cornbread give it a unique texture.

 

Ingredients:

• 180g cornmeal
  
• 120g flour
• 100g melted butter
• 180ml milk
• 120g canned corn
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 T lemon juice
  
• 2t baking powder
• 1t baking soda
  
• 1t sugar
  
• 1/2 t salt
  

Method:

Preheat the oven to 230C. Add a cast iron skillet, if using.

 

Mix the milk and lemon juice and set aside for 5min. Mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt together. Beat the sugar and eggs until creamy. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.

 

If using the cast iron skillet, carefully remove it and drop in a blob of butter, lightly greasing the skillet, if not grease a cake mould with butter. Pour in the mixture and bake for 20min at 200C.

 

 

Banana bread

Deliciously simple banana bread!

 

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 small overripe bananas
  
• 300g flour (150g white, 150g whole)
  
• 3 large eggs
• 70g butter (melted)
• 1/2 plain yoghurt 
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  
• 40g muscovado or coconut sugar
• 1 T rum
  
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t baking powder

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mash the bananas and set aside. 

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, then add the Baking powder & soda, walnuts and sugar, mix together.

Add the eggs one by one and then the melted butter to form a creamy dough. Finally add the mashed banana, stir well to combine. 

Pour into a greased loaf tin (or a silicone mould) and bake for 25min at 180°C, then set to 160°C and bake for 20min.

 

Spanish Tortilla with vegetables

This recipe concerns the Spanish omelette, not the Mesoamerican flatbread. It is made with vegetables instead of potatoes for a healthy and delicious version. It is perfect for using up those vegetables and left over cheeses in the fridge, especially raclette cheese! Serve with a green salad for a summer lunch.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 6 to 8 eggs (depending on size)
  
• A head of broccoli, broken into florets and steamed (crunchy)
  
• A punnet of cherry tomatoes,
  
• 1/2 red pepper, roughly cubed
  
• A handful of mushrooms, roughly chopped
  
• 1 shallot, finely sliced
  
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic
• Herbs & spices (don't forget the smoked paprika!)
• Black pepper
  

 

Method:

Prepare the vegetables.
Beat the eggs with the black pepper until fluffy.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

In a cast iron skillet, lightly fry the shallot on medium heat in a little cooking oil. After a few minutes, add herbs and spices and the red pepper, cook for a further few minutes, then add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have rendered their juice, then add the broccoli and the finely chopped garlic. Slowly add the beaten eggs and cheese, stir a little and let the omelette cook. As soon as the sides start to turn brown, remove from the heat and transfer to the hot oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheeses melt and turn golden brown.

Salmon and spinach lasagna

A delicious, healthy comfort food for those cold winter weekends... ring the changes with cod and/or chard or whatever you have in the freezer and/or cupboard! Made for and dedicated to my lovely daughters <3

Ingredients:

• 3 fillets of salmon
  
• 1 large bag of baby spinach, washed and ready to use
• 1 package lasagne sheets
  
• 1 cup fresh cream
• 250g ricotta cheese
• 200g grated Emmental or cheddar cheese
• 1 ball of fresh mozzarella
• 2t yummy spice
  

Method:

In a non-stick pan cook the salmon until almost done. Remove the skin and flake the fillets with a fork, set aside.

Rinse the spinach, add to the same pan. On medium heat, wilt the spinach.  

 

Add half a cup of fresh cream to the spinach, stir well. Add the ricotta and mozzarella, allow to soften. 

 

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) 

In a greased ovenproof dish, assemble the layers, starting with the lasagne sheets, then add the flaked salmon and some of the Emmental & parmesan.

Next layer will be the spinach/ricotta mixture, then a layer of lasagna sheets. Continue until all both mixtures are depleted. Add a last layer of lasagna sheets, spread with the remaining fresh cream and cover with the cheeses.

Bake in at 180° for about 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling.

 

Cheese soufflé

 Makes 1 medium-sized souffle or 2 smaller ones.

Ingredients:

• 350ml milk
• 100g goat cheese
• 100g ricotta cheese
  
• 50g flour
• 20g butter
• 3 eggs
  
• 1t mustard
• black pepper
  
• breadcrumbs
  

Method:

Prepare a bechamel type sauce by melting the butter in a pot with all the cheese, mustard and black pepper. Progressively stir in the flour and milk until it thickens. Pour the mixture into a bowl and let it cool down. Separate the yolks and whites of the eggs, and mix the yolks into the bowl with the mixture (using a stick mixer makes obtaining a smooth result easier). In a stand mixer beat the egg whites stiff.

 

Carefully and progressively fold in the egg whites into the thick sauce. Butter a mould and layer breadcrumbs. Fill it with the mixture.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Before baking, run a knife along the rim of the dish. This will create a top hat effect, preventing the souffle from puffing over the edges. Bake for 30min.

 

Butternut curry sauce

A creamy curry sauce using butternut squash, which I found whilst browsing BBC FOOD, which I adapted for a low sodium diet. This vegan curry sauce is easy to put together and perfect for batch cooking. Make extra sauce, freeze in portions and you can have creamy curry in minutes.

Try the sauce with pasta (delicious!) or with a tofu curry (original recipe) which tastes exactly like the Indian butter chicken recipe.

Ingredients:

• 500g butternut squash, peeled weight, chopped into small cubes
• 1 to 2 t cooking oil
• 1 T medium curry powder
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  
• 3 cm piece fresh root ginger, finely chopped
• 300ml coconut milk
• Garlic flakes
• Cayenne pepper or pepper 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6.

Place the butternut squash on a baking tray and drizzle over some garlic flakes. Roast for 30 minutes or until soft and starting to caramelise.

In a medium saucepan, heat a little oil. Fry the curry powder, garlic and ginger for a minute. Add the coconut milk and 200ml of water and bring to the boil. Tip in the cooked butternut squash and simmer for 10 minutes.

 

Blend the sauce using a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add some more water. Season with pepper or Cayenne pepper to taste.

Full English breakfast

 Serves 2.

Ingredients:

• 4 veggie, chicken or fish sausages
  
• 2 large eggs
• 1 jar baked beans
  
• 4 hash browns
• 8 small mushrooms
• 2 small tomatoes
• Worcestershire sauce
• mixed herbs
• black pepper
  
• milk
  

Method:

Slice the tomatoes and mushrooms in half. Fry the sausages, mushrooms and tomatoes on all sides. Heat up your baked beans and hashbrowns.

 

Mix the eggs, some black pepper and some milk with a fork in a bowl. Fry on low heat, constantly scrapping and moving to make scrambled eggs. Remove from heat as soon as there isn't any more liquid.

 

Heat the plates and nicely organise all the food on them. Sprinkle mixed herbs on top of the tomatoes and mushrooms, and WC sauce over the scrambled eggs.

Fish sausages

Three step veggie sausages, here they're made with fish, but they can be made with seitan, textured protein or simply a mix of your favourite vegetables. 

It's a good idea to batch cook these and freeze them. They keep well and taste good when reheated.

Ingredients:

• 400g cooked fish marinated in lemon juice and black pepper
• 150g cooked lentils or chickpeas
• 50g grated cheese (cheddar or emmental)
  
• 2 eggs + 1 flax egg
• 4 slices of toasted bread (I used Pelletier)
• 2 shallots
  
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 T potato starch
• 1 T pea protein
• 2 T tomato paste
• 1 T mixed herbs & spices
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T dried mushroom powder
  

Method:

Blend all the ingredients together on high speed.

Fill silicone  sausage moulds with the mixture. 

Steam for 20min, then pan fry them until crispy.

Makes about 24 sausages.

 

 

Bobotie

A typical South African dish, mingling Cape Malay spices with the sweet flavours of dried fruits and left over Sunday roast... tales from the past say that the slaves working in the Boer kitchens developed the recipe to  accommodate the left overs roast lamb from the previous Sunday lunch. Today the recipe has been adapted to use minced beef or lamb. There is also a fish version and I now replace the minced meat with green lentils, TVP or ground seitan for a delicious vegetarian version. Don't hesitate to play around with the spices to accommodate your palate. 

Ingredients:

• 1kg minced meat or 4 cups uncooked lentils
• 1 red onion finely chopped
• 1 slice of bread
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
  
• 125g raisins
• 125g slivered almonds
• 3t apricot jam
• 2T spicy chutney
• 2T tomato paste
  
• 1t mixed herbs
• 2t ground coriander 
• 1t turmeric
• 2T Madras curry powder
• 3 eggs
• 250ml milk
  
• 4/5 bay leaves
• a little nutmeg
  

Method:

 

Lightly fry onion in a large non-stick pan. Add the lentils (or TVP or meat) Soak bread in 125ml of the milk; squeeze dry and add to lentils (or TVP, meat). Add the spices and sweat for a few minutes. Mix in all other ingredients except remaining milk, eggs and bay leaves. Simmer for about 20 minutes, the time for all the flavours to infuse. Preheat your oven to 180°C.

In the meantime, prepare the "custard", beat or place in a blender, the eggs, milk and a little nutmeg.

Grease an ovenproof dish, scoop in all the mixture from the pan and pour over the custard. Decorate with the bay leaves. Bake at 180°C for at least 30 minutes or until set.

Serve with Basmati rice and chutney.

 

 

Tuna and goat's cheese savoury cake

 This loaf is a complete meal, delicious for lunch with soup or a green salad. 

 

Ingredients:

• 200g flour
• 200g tuna
  
• 200g spinach
• 100g goat's cheese
  
• 100ml milk
• 3 eggs
  
• 1 small or medium onion
  
• 20 green olives
  
• 1.5t BP
• a drizzle of olive oil
  
• herbs & spices

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Chop the onion and cook it with the spinach and tuna. Allow to cool down before transferring to a bowl. Chop the goat's cheese and olives into small pieces. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, baking powder and spices together. In a big mixing bowl, mix the egg mixture, milk and flour together, then add all the other ingredients and lightly mix everything together. Transfer to a greased loaf tin.

Bake at 180°C for 50min or until a skewer comes out clean.

Allow to rest about 5 minutes, turn out on a cooling rack and let stand a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Sweet potato and red bean chilli

The spicy chilli with the sweetness of sweet potatoes for this all time favourite. My recipe is with seitan, but don't hesitate to make it con carne!

Serves about 6 without the rice option

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 cups of red or black beans soaked overnight
  
• 2 sweet potatoes, cubed
  
• 1 large red onion
• 500ml passata or tomato purée
• 250g minced seitan
  
• 2T tomato paste
• 1T yummy spice mix
• 1t cumin
  
• 1t Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 to 1t smoked paprika 
• A few leaves of dried celery, crushed
  

Method:

Finely chop the onion. In a cast iron pot, lightly fry the onions in a little cooking oil on medium heat, then add the spices, stirring to evenly coat the onion. 

 

 

After about 3 to 4 minutes, add the drained beans and stir to combine with the onion and spice mixture for a few minutes. Add the sweet potato and combine.

 

 

 

Pour in the passata, add the tomato paste, stir well, then add enough water to completely cover the beans (as for soup). Those beans need water to cook well!

Turn up the heat, allow to come to the boil, then lower to medium low and simmer for at least 2 hours until the beans are soft. If there is too much sauce, turn up heat once again and reduce to required consistency.

Top with  fresh coriander and serve with rice, mashed avocado and grated cheese.

 

Bon appétit!

 

Minestrone

 A hearty meal for a cold winter's day. Make extra because everyone will be asking for more. Don't hesitate to try different vegetables or even add red or white beans. there are no rules when it comes to soup!

 

 Ingredients:

• 2 carrots
• 1 cup fresh or frozen green beans
• 1 cup garden peas
• 2 turnips
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 big red onion
  
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 4/5 garlic cloves
  
• Small sized pasta
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1t mixed herbs fresh or dried
• 1t ground coriander
• 1t paprika
  
• 1/2 t or more Cayenne pepper (optional) 
• Freshly ground black pepper and parsley for serving
• Oil for frying
  

 

Method:

 Chop all the vegetable into small cubes, about 1cm x 1cm except the garlic, which must be minced and reserved for the end.

In a fairly big cast iron pot, add a little oil and on medium heat cook the onion until translucent. Add the spices, the celery and stir until fragrant. Add the vegetables one by one, stirring after each one, leaving the peas for last. Lastly add the tinned tomatoes, stir to incorporate. Then add water to largely cover the veggies.

Simmer for about a half an hour or until veggies start becoming tender. then add the pasta and adjust the quantity of water if necessary. Turn up the heat to a slight boil for the pasta to cook.

As soon as the pasta is cooked, add the minced garlic. Stir.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley, cracked black pepper and serve hot with garlic bread.