Now it’s summer, I’ve been eating more and more salad bowls for lunch, so reckoned it was about time to feature one here on A Different Kitchen.
This one throws together some of my favourite tastes, including feta, black olive and rocket leaves, in a tahini dressing. The quinoa boosts the protein intake and fills you up without being heavy on the carbs. Good as a lunch bowl, but also suitable to serve as a side alongside a mains.
Servings
Enough here for a couple of servings.
Timings
12 – 15 mins. That’s how long it takes to boil and cool the quinoa, during which time you can be getting ready the rest of the salad and the dressing.
You Will Need:
70g quinoa
about 70g feta cheese, cut into cubes
about 12 – 15 pitted black olives from a jar, cut in half
Place the quinoa in a saucepan with boiling water. Reduce and simmer for 12 – 15 mins.
While the quinoa is cooking, prep the other ingredients and place in a bowl. Make up the tahini dressing.
Drain the quinoa when cooked, and cool in a sieve under cold running water. Shake dry and add to the salad ingredients, stirring in to mix. Coat with the dressing and serve.
Customise It!
I used a packet mix of black, white and red quinoa just because it helps the dish look more interesting, but plain quinoa will work just as well. Feel free to sprinkle a few sesame seeds over the bowl before eating.
Here’s a track that’s been popping up recently on the playlists Spotify auto-generates for me, based on my other listening – clever that, especially when the track turns out to be one I find I like. Here’s Moby with Bodyrock.
This weekend we spent a few days down in the New Forest in our motorhome. A short cycle ride down to the beach, and along the coast, brought us to Mudeford Quay, a local sea fishing centre and home of a fresh fish stall.
Being a working quay, there is always lots going on to watch and do. Think you can catch a crab with a line and some bait? This is a good place to have a try (see below). Just make sure you don’t fall off that wall into the Solent!
There are views over to the Needles on the Isle of Wight, and a little ferry traversing the strong currents between here and Hengistbury Head.
The sea fish stall is as unpretentious as the rest of this delightfully busy area. Here it is tucked away behind the nets and lobster baskets, its roof heavily weathered by the sea air.
Inside, local catch of the day is sea bass, mackerel and bream. We chose a couple of mackerel, which this helpful lady cleaned and filleted for us, before biking them back to the camp site.
That evening, I wrapped them in foil parcels and cooked them on my Cadac Safari Chef. This is a portable and versatile grill that plugs directly into the gas tank of the motorhome. It makes al fresco cooking a breeze.
As you can see from my photo, it is obligatory at this stage of the process for the chef to have a chilled craft beer alongside 🙂 . Today’s choice is Neck Oil by Beavertown Brewery.
12 minutes later and the foil parcels are opened carefully, revealing the tender flakes of the baked fillets.
Cooked, freshly caught mackerel tastes great, so needs little added – just some lemon and a few twists of black pepper. We ate them with steamed new potatoes and broccoli as the sun was setting. Oh, and with a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio, of course.
From sea to plate in under 24 hours!
So what musical track can I pair with this post? There is such a choice: Hooked on a Feeling? Under the Sea? Maybe Rose Royce with Fishing on a Star? Anything by Fleetwood Mackerel?
I’ve settled on this one: Kayleigh by Marillion. The name of their lead singer? Fish, of course 🙂
Today’s challenge was to cook up a consignment of summer veg, freshly picked at our local community farm, into a meal for 2. The veg selection included leaves of chard, tomatoes, a courgette, and mange tout. I combined it with a few ADK kitchen stand-bys – chopped mushroom, onion, bacon and crushed garlic into the meal shown above.
Servings
Light lunch for 2.
Timings
15 mins to prepare.
You Will Need
6 leaves of chard
3 slices streaky bacon
half an onion
1 clove of garlic
2 mushrooms
1 courgette
3 – 4 tomatoes
12 – 15 mange tout
Method
Chop the bacon and fry until crisped. Remove to a plate to stay warm.
Crush the garlic clove and add to the warm frying pan. Chop the mushroom, onion and courgette, then add to the pan. Add in the tomatoes and let them reduce to form a squishy sauce.
Wash the chard and place in a steamer for 5 – 10 minutes. Add the mange tout for the last 3 – 4 minutes.
Remove the chard and mange tout, and pat dry with kitchen roll.
Arrange a bed of chard on each of 2 plates. Top with the tomatoey mix, then place the mange tout and bacon on top. Serve.
Customise It!
You can add or swap in any veg that is seasonal or which you have to hand. Chopped peppers would be fine. I also had green beans to hand so could easily have swapped those for the mange tout. Leave out the bacon and sprinkle with roasted nuts for a vegetarian/vegan option.
Here’s a track I came across recently on my ear buds while out and about in the sunshine. I found myself pacing my walk in time with the beat. Great fun – try it out! This is Overseer with Pump Action.
The time has come to leave the Dordogne after a lovely holiday, and head back to the UK.
We have certainly dined well during our stay, as should be clear from my last few posts. My favourite meal in France remains a very simple one, however – a summer spread of cheese, paté, hams and salad that we have enjoyed outside in the sun most evenings, as shown in my photos above and below.
We’ve enjoyed baguettes from the local boulangerie, baked fresh and collected every morning, and best eaten the same day. They have a crisp exterior, and soft, buttery textured inner that carries a real taste.
A visit to the fromagerie is always fun, as there are so many French cheeses to try. We’ve usually opted for a cheeseboard comprising a soft, a hard and a blue: in the one below the soft is a Vieux Pané, the hard cheese a Tomme de Montagne, and the blue a Basque Bleue.
Paté de fois gras goes well spread on a hunk of baguette, and local cured hams from the charcuterie have been tastily paired with chunks of ripe, golden melon from that marché in Bergerac.
Enjoyed with a glass of Bergerac Rouge, of course. While watching the sun set.
Time to say au revoir.
I’ve downloaded my listening for the journey back from Bergerac Airport. I’ve chosen a 2023 digital remaster of New Order’s Substance album, which is sounding even greater than ever. Here’s a track to show what I mean: Confusion ’87.
Yay – it’s the time of year when fresh asparagus appears in our shops. I came across the beautiful bundles of spears shown below in a shop on a vineyard this week, while visiting the New Forest.
They were grown just over the Solent on the Isle of Wight, so very few food miles have been travelled in getting them to my plate!
Asparagus has a unique and delicate taste, and is quick and easy to prepare and cook. Nutrition-wise, it has a lot to say for itself, packing high levels of Vitamins A and C, potassium, iron and calcium.
I decided to make it the main feature of this dish, supported by a mild tasting vegetable risotto. You can see the finished article in my main photo at the top of the post.
Servings
A meal for 2.
Timings
15 – 20 mins to prepare and cook.
You Will Need
1 red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
6 – 7 small chestnut mushrooms, chopped
100g risotto rice
500ml chicken or veg stock
8 fresh asparagus spears
2 – 3 scallions (spring onions) chopped
some blue cheese to crumble in
Method
Heat some oil in a saucepan and fry the onion, pepper and mushrooms for a few minutes.
Add the rice and turn the heat down while you stir it in. Then pour in the stock and bring to the boil.
Wash the asparagus, and trim/discard about 1cm from the end of each spear. Place the spears in a steamer basket on top of the saucepan. Reduce the temperature to a simmer and let the risotto cook, and the asparagus steam, for about 10 mins.
Remove the steamer basket and set to one side to stay warm.
Turn up the heat under the saucepan if necessary to reduce the risotto to the right consistency – there should be minimal liquid left and the grains should be a little sticky with the coating.
Stir in the chopped scallions and crumble in the pieces of blue cheese. Stir to combine so that the cheese is just melting in the residual heat.
Spoon the risotto into two bowls and top each with 4 spears. Serve.
Customise it!
Feel free to add in any other fresh veg you have to hand – chopped celery, carrot, peas or green beans will all go well. I didn’t use garlic as I didn’t want to risk drowning out the delicate flavour of the asparagus. Avoid chilli or any strong spices, though some gentle fresh garden herbs torn in should be fine.
Spring is definitely in the air now, and daytime radio is starting to brim with those classic tracks I love to hear in the good weather, played driving along with the windows down, of course.
Lauren Laverne played this one on 6 Music this week, while I was out in the car, and it had my fingers tapping on the steering wheel. I especially like the dreamy guitar track, once famously sampled by Ice Cube. I still prefer the original however. Here it is to share: The Isley Brothers with Footsteps in the Dark, Parts 1 & 2.
The garden is now chock-full of sun-warmed tomatoes on the vine and cucumbers that seem to grow bigger by the day – see my photos below.
There’s enough to provide sides to meals for a little while to come, so I’ve been looking out ideas for tasty dressings to vary things up a little.
I’m a big fan of tahini – the spread that is made from ground roasted sesame seeds. In fact, tahini on a slice of wholemeal toast is one of my favourite snacks. Its taste is reminiscent of peanut butter, but without the sugar. It is said to have a number of health benefits in a diet, being a good source of fibre, protein and healthy fats.
I’ve used it in a stir fry sauce before, and wanted to incorporate it in a salad dressing. Following some research, I settled on a recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. A tablespoon of tahini is added to core ingredients of olive oil, runny honey and cider vinegar. Shake it up in a jar till it’s rich and creamy, then drizzle over your salad, with a sprinkling of sesame seeds to top it off.
Servings
This should be enough to go with a couple of week night meals for 2 – keep the screw top jar in the fridge and use as you wish.
Timings
10 mins to prepare.
You Will Need
a clean screw top jar or container
1 tbsp tahini
4 tsp cider (or white wine) vinegar
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp runny honey
a couple of twists of sea salt and ground black pepper
half a clove of garlic, crushed (optional)
sesame seeds to sprinkle
Method
Put all the ingredients (other than the sesame seeds) in the screw top jar and shake well to combine. Pour over your choice of salad and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.
Er, that’s it.
Customise it!
Add more black pepper if you wish. A squidge of lemon juice might be nice. If the consistency is too thick, just add a few more drops of olive oil. Why stop at salad – drizzle it on a baked potato, or use as a dip for fries.
Here’s a song I heard on the radio this week, which I hadn’t heard in a long time. The band who recorded it are now in their 45th year, no less, with a hectic tour schedule this summer. I very much liked UB40 in their early years, and went to see them live in their home town of Birmingham. I remember the thudding bass and drums of their reggae beat, and that they did extended dub versions of some of their tracks. I do feel they lost their edge a little when they started doing cover versions of older songs, though it clearly brought them commercial success.
This is one track from those early years – One in Ten.
This week, while staying close to the English south coast, I enjoyed a day in the old town of Wimborne in the county of Dorset.
At the centre of the town is the impressive Minster, a church that has stood here since the 12th Century, no less (see my photos above and below). It is still in service and visitors can enter for free to explore its charms.
The surrounding market town is home to many other very old buildings, some dating from the 15th, 16th and 17th Centuries. Many are now independent cafes and delicatessens, with an accent on food and drink produced locally.
Unable to resist its foodie charms, temptation got the better of me and I came back with a reasonable haul of local produce.
Initially I was looking for some Dorset Blue Vinny, a well-regarded local cheese, but opted instead for the less well-known Cranborne Blue from the Book & Bucket Cheese Company. A local producer, they started up during Covid to make use of a nearby farmer’s milk surplus. They are now thriving and winning awards.
I am slowly working my way through the complete range of Dorset Tea, a company with its origins in Bournemouth, and bought some of their Mint Tea blend on this occasion.
Apples feature strongly in foods around here (it is said that Dorset was once home to 10,000 acres of apple orchards). I picked up a Cider Chutney from Southbourne producer Dorset Made Food , and a can of Muddy Scamp from the Purbeck Cider Company.
I couldn’t leave Wimborne without a can of Corbel, a West Coast IPA from the town’s own craft brewery Eight Arch Brewing Company.
Here’s a shot of all this Dorset booty – a memory of a very enjoyable day.
You’ll see that I have included links to the websites of these local producers, so do please feel free to check them out.
I’m pleased to report that, since my previous post (see Cranberry and Pistachio Cookies) the sun has indeed come out again, and that I have been back to the beach for more sea swimming. Music wise, I was ecstatic to get a ticket for Queens of the Stone Age when they tour this November. I have seen them three times before and they bring a lot of excitement to the stage. You can expect this to be the subject of a future post.
All in all, this seems an aptly titled track to add to the ADK Playlist (I can’t recommend the nutrition-free diet that Josh Homme sings about, however): QOTSA with Feel Good Hit of the Summer.
What to do on a summer’s day by the beach when the sun doesn’t shine? Why, bake cookies, of course!
Regular readers will know that I do like being by the beach (searching ‘beach’ via my site search bar throws up no less than 10 different posts).
This week I am staying by the beach on the English south coast, and have already been for a dip in the sea. However, today it’s rather overcast and a little drizzly – hey, it is the British summer after all! Sun is forecast for the rest of the week so, for this one grey day, I decided to pursue other activities.
Which naturally involves some baking. Not wanting to stock up unnecessarily on ingredients, I had the brainwave of shopping at the local refillery – Almond & Co in Westbourne. They have a terrific range of staple foods and will sell as much or as little of each as needed, to take away in your own refillable container.
I decided to make a batch of cookie dough, using their organic dried cranberries and organic shelled pistachios. Here is the haul from my visit, all items individually weighed, priced and bar-coded.
I bought just the right amount of organic plain flour, and to make things a little different, added organic buckwheat flour at a ratio of 1:3 to the plain. My dough also contains the zest of one of their organic, unwaxed lemons.
Notice any trend here? Yes, everything sold is organic. As a refillery, they are also free of plastic packaging. I think it’s good to support a shop that is trying to help us all live and eat more sustainably.
I’m pleased with the results – see my main photo at the top of the post. It just shows that being away from home does not have to mean missing out on home baking, as long as there is a good refillery nearby.
Servings
Makes about 18 cookies.
Timings
15 mins to prepare, 15 – 20 mins to bake (shorter if you like your cookies soft and chewy, longer for crisper and more biscuity).
You Will Need
175g spread or margarine
85g caster sugar
170g plain flour
55g buckwheat flour
zest of 1 lemon
75g dried cranberries
75g shelled pistachio nuts
Method
Heat the oven to 180C.
Put the spread and sugar in a bowl and beat together, using a wooden spoon or electric mixer if you have one.
Sieve in the flours, add the lemon zest and mix again.
Chop the pistachios in 2 and add to the bowl with the cranberries.
At this point you need to get your hands in there and squidge all the ingredients together into a ball of dough. Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap in cling film, and leave in the fridge till the oven is up to temperature.
Line a baking tray with some kitchen parchment. Tear chunks off the dough and shape into a ball between the palms of your hands. Flatten to a disc the width of about 1cm and place on the tray. Place in the oven for 15 – 20 mins until done.
It isn’t necessary to cook all the dough at once. I used half and made 9 cookies, leaving the other half in the fridge to make up another batch later.
Customise It!
This baking idea involves using the resources available while away from your usual kitchen. It is easily adaptable to include other kinds of dried fruit or chopped nuts that you may be able to get your hands on. I swapped in buckwheat flour for a quarter of the plain flour, because the refillery I was shopping in had an excellent range of flours that I wanted to take advantage of. However, you can stick with all plain flour if you wish. I found the buckwheat gives the cookie a slightly darker colour and makes it crisper.
All being well, by this weekend’s post I will be able to report the return of the sun. Maybe I’ll take some cookies to enjoy at the beach. The next track added to the ADK Playlist needs no explanation – Kate Bush with Cloudbusting!
Summertime patty pan squashes are now starting to arrive in our farm shops and market stalls. They rarely feature on supermarket shelves, however, and consequently many of us are unsure how to prepare and cook with them.
My favourite method is to chop them into a roasting pan drizzled with olive oil, and place in the oven at 180C for about 20 mins. The chopped squash pieces sweeten and caramelise, and can then be used in a variety of dishes.
In this recipe, I have blended them with mashed kidney beans, tomatoes, onions and chilli in a stuffing for roasted peppers. The squash adds texture and sweetness. With the stuffed peppers emerging lightly charred from the oven, it all makes for a splendid looking vegetarian, and vegan, main, served with side veg of your choice.
Servings
4 adult servings.
Timings
20 mins to roast the squash before adding it to the rest of the stuffing mix. Then a further 25 mins to roast the filled peppers.
You Will Need
1 patty pan squash
2 peppers, red, orange or yellow
1 garlic clove
half an onion
1 medium red chilli
1 tsp ground cumin
half of 1 onion
1 400g can of kidney beans, drained and washed
1 440g can of chopped tomatoes
oil
seasalt and black pepper
a few handfuls of pumpkin seeds
Method
Peel the patty pan squash and chop roughly into pieces. Place on a roasting tray and drizzle with oil, then roast for 20 mins at 180C.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan, and add the garlic clove, crushed. Chop the chilli and onion and, as the oil begins to sizzle, add it to the pan with the ground cumin. Give it a stir and let it cook for a few minutes.
Roughly blitz the kidney beans in a food processor with blade fitted. Add to the pan with the chopped tomatoes. Give it all a few good twists of seasalt and ground black pepper. Stir to mix, and let it cook for 4 – 5 mins to reduce.
Chop the peppers down the middle to give four halves, and carefully trim out the seeds and white membrane from each, using a sharp knife. Brush the inside and outside of each half with a little oil.
When the patty pan squash is roasted and nicely caramelised, scrape the pieces in to the food processor and lightly blitz. Add to the kidney bean mixture and stir in.
Spoon the mixture into each half pepper, and press down with the back of the spoon to make sure the cavity is filled. Sprinkle a few pumpkin seeds on the top, and place back in the oven, still at 180C, for 25 mins.
Remove and serve with accompaniment of your choice.
Customise It!
As shown in the photo, mine are served with seasonal baby potatoes and sprouting broccoli, but feel free to serve up with other favourite veg or whatever veg you have to hand. Couscous or rice would also make a good side.
I must admit to having a bit of a laugh when I saw the photo I’d taken, at the top of the post. Due to a combination of the background and the lighting, it looks like the stuffed peppers are about to travel off into deep space. However, that isn’t the milky way behind them – it is a roasting tray, and the only place they are about to travel to is a hot oven in the ADK KItchen.
It has given me an idea for the next track for the Playlist, however. It’s a song from the great R.E.M., whose music I have enjoyed for many years, including seeing them play live twice. Here they are with Man on the Moon.
Slaws are very useful dishes this time of year. They’re quick to throw together, and can be made well in advance of mealtime. They can be left to rest in the fridge, their flavours infusing while you take it easy enjoying the sun with an aperitif. Using fresh ingredients means minimal processing and little, if any, cooking.
I like experimenting with different combinations of raw ingredients. This is one I made recently, that delivers a good tasty crunch with sticks of celeriac, chopped scallions (or spring onions, from the garden) and roasted wholemeal croutons. The mayo and white wine vinegar dressing is spiced up with a little Dijon mustard and fresh dill. This is complemented with fine silky slivers of cucumber that bring some cool respite on the tongue.
Fancy giving it a go?
Servings
Served as a side salad alongside a main (such as a quiche) and other side salads, this will be enough for 4 adults.
Timings
10 – 15 mins to prepare.
You Will Need
half a cucumber
1tbsp white wine vinegar
3 scallions
200g celeriac
100g slices of wholemeal bread
a handful of fresh dill
some olive or rapeseed oil
2 good tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
seasalt and ground black pepper
Method
Cut the cucumber lengthwise into cylinder shapes about 10 – 12 cm long, and then cut each into quarters lengthwise. Scrape out and discard the soft, squishy middle. Then, using a veg peeler, shave each piece of cucumber into long, thin ribbons. Place into a serving bowl.
Next, cut the rough, outer edges from the celeriac and discard. Cut the remaining flesh into matchstick size pieces about 3cm long. Add to the cucumber.
Cut the scallions into pieces the same length as the celeriac sticks, and add to the bowl.
Add the wine vinegar and chopped dill, giving it all a good stir to coat the salad ingredients.
Mix the mayo and mustard and add to the bowl. Add a few twists of salt and pepper. Give it another good stir to combine, and then place in the fridge till mealtime.
Finally, cut the slices of bread into cubes, drizzle with oil and roast, spread out on a tray for 5 mins at 180C. Allow to cool.
Just before serving, take the salad from the fridge and arrange the wholemeal croutons on top. Then serve.
Customise it!
Try to keep to the 3 core ingredients but, beyond this, feel free to experiment e.g. cider vinegar if you prefer, or different fresh herbs to replace the dill. Melt parmesan over the croutons while roasting, or add garlic to the dressing. The possibilities are nearly endless!
Next track for the ADK Playlist is a very catchy tune that’s been playing this week in the ADK Kitchen. It will get your toes tapping as you chop those scallions and celeriac sticks. This is The Wiseguys with Ooh La La.
A Different Kitchen 