Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Garlic Breadcrumbs

500g brussels sprouts
4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, to coat bottom of pan
5 cloves garlic, peeled

Handful of breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

PREPARATION

• Heat oven to 200 C. Trim bottom of brussels sprouts, and slice each in half top to bottom. Heat oil in cast-iron pan until it shimmers; put sprouts cut side down in one layer in pan. Mix breadcrumbs and garlic with 1 tbs olive oil and salt & pepper and sprinkle over sprouts.
• Roast until sprouts are quite brown and tender, about 20 minutes.
• Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Stir in balsamic vinegar, and serve hot or warm.

Lemon & Garlic Sauce - Good with Chicken

Sauté some finely chopped garlic,  lightly thicken with a little cornflour,  add some (homemade) chicken stock, lemon zest and juice and stir in some creme fraiche and tarragon or other herbs.

Devised in an emergency and found to be quite good.

Chicken (or Rabbit) in Mustard Sauce

Ingredients (for 4)

• 4 chicken or rabbit portions (on bone)
• 55g butter
• 250ml white wine (dry vermouth also works)
• 115g dijon mustard (wholegrain also works)
• 1 thyme sprig (tarragon also works)
• 115ml Greek yogurt
• salt and pepper
• Herbs to garnish (Parsley, thyme, tarragon)

Method

• Brown meat in butter in casserole pan and remove
• Add wine, mustard, herbs and seasoning and bring to boil
• Return meat to pan and baste with sauce
• Cover and simmer for 30 mins or oven cook at 170C, removing cover for last 15 mins
• Reduce sauce if necessary, discard herb sprigs, stir in yoghurt and gently warm through
• Serve meat covered with sauce and garnished with chopped herbs

Mejadra (or Megadarra)

From Yotam Ottolenghi book "Jerusalem",  a wonderfully flaoursome rice, lentil and onion dish.

Ottolenghi:  "This popular Levantine dish is a real old favourite of mine. It's one of my childhood flavours, and evokes memories of heaps of this stuff being sold both in restaurants and by street vendors. Whether eaten hot or cold, the combination of sweet spices and bitter-sweet onion is as comforting as can be. Spoon over some Greek yoghurt and tuck in, but watch out – it's not easy to stop. Serves four."

Make it into a vegetarian main course with e.g. some fried halloumi with spicy tomato jam

• 250ml sunflower oil
• 4 medium onions, thinly sliced*
• 250g green or brown lentils
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1½ tbsp coriander seeds
• 200g basmati rice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1½ tsp ground allspice
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt and black pepper
• 350ml water

*this first step is time consuming and can be omitted if shop-bought dried fried onion is used

Heat the sunflower oil in a medium-size heavy-based saucepan. When very hot, carefully add a third of the sliced onion. Fry for five to seven minutes, stirring occasionally with a slotted spoon, until the onion takes on a nice, golden-brown colour and turns crispy. Use the spoon to transfer the onion to a colander and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with two more batches of onion.

Meanwhile, put the lentils in a small saucepan, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until the lentils have softened but still have a little bite. Drain into a colander.

Wipe clean the saucepan in which you fried the onion and drop in the cumin and coriander seeds. Place over a medium heat and toast the seeds for a minute or two, until they release those distinctive aromas. Add the rice, olive oil, turmeric, allspice, cinnamon, sugar, half a teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir to coat the rice with oil, then add the cooked lentils and water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on very low heat for 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, lift off the lid and cover the pan with a clean tea towel. Seal tightly with the lid and set aside for 10 minutes. Finally, tip the rice and lentils into a large mixing bowl. Add half the fried onion and stir gently with a fork. Pile up in a shallow serving bowl and top with the rest of the onion

(Claudia Roden adds dates to the otherwise identical dish she calls megadarra)or 

Fried Halloumi Cheese with Lime & Caper Vinigrette

A Delia Smith recipe that may convince you to keep haloumi in your fridge at all time (It has a very long shelf-life). Suit brunch, light lunch or starter.  Fresh zingly flavour, light and easily prepared.


Ingredients (Brunch for 2 or starter for 4)

• Halloumi cheese - 1 no
• Flour - 2 tbsp,  well-seasoned
• Olive oil - 2 tbsp

      Dressing

• Lime - juice and zest of one
• White wine vinegar - 1 tbsp
• Capers - 1 heaped tbsp
• Garlic - 1 clove finely chopped
• Wholegrain mustard - 1 heaped tsp
• Corriander leaves - 1 heaped tbsp chopped
• Olive oil - 2 tbsp extra virgin
• Salt & pepper

Method

• Prepare dressing by whisking all ingredients together
• Slice halloumi into 8,  dry off,  dip in seasoned flour and fry in oil about 1 min each side until golden
• Serve on warmed plates with dressing over garnished with corriander leave

Chachouka

This is Hugh Fearnleigh Whittingstall's version of a classic North African / Middle Eastern dish.  Fantastic flavours, light, healthy and easy.


Ingredients (serves 4)

• Olive Oil - 3 tbsp
• Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
• Onion - large, sliced finely
• Garlic -  1 clove, crushed, minced or chopped finely
• Red pepper,  1 finely sliced
• Yellow pepper, 1 finely sliced
• Hot smoked paprika - half tsp
• Saffron - pinch
• Tomatoes - one 400g tin
• Eggs - 4
• Salt & Pepper

Method

• Fry cumin seeds gently in the oil for a couple of minutes,  add onion and cook gently for 8-10 mins until golden
• Add garlic and peppers and cook over low heat for at least 20 mins until soft and wilted
• Add paprika, saffron, tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer for 15 mins - taste and adjust seasoning.
• Make 4 hollows in sauce,  break in eggs and place under hot grill (or in hot oven) until white is set.  This can also be done in individual oven-proof dishes.

Leftover Roast Turkey (Chicken or whatever) & Orange Salad - Nigel Slater

Bursting with flavour - fast, light, healthy, interesting - I love this kind of food.

Ingredients

• Leftover roast turkey (chicken, whatever): 4-6 good handfuls
• Garlic - 3 cloves
• Honey - 2 tbsp
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Chilli sauce - 1 tbsp
• Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
• Wholegrain mustard - 1 tbsp
• Turkey stock (0r chicken gravy?): 200 mls

• Oranges - 2
• Grapefruit - 1
• Watercress (or whatever salad leaves are to hand) - 4 handfuls

Method

• Set the oven to 200C. Strip the meat from bones and tear into large strips
• Mix finely chopped garlic, honey, soy sauce, chilli, ketchup, mustard and stock in a mixing bowl.  Add meat and toss.
• Tip into a baking dish and bake 20 to 30 mins until glistening.
• Meanwhile, make the salad. Peel oranges and grapefruit with a sharp knife then chop small and  toss with the leaves.
• Pile the turkey (chicken) on the salad and serve

Turkish Spiced Pilaf

Occasionally,  you find something really special - both delicious and easy - this is one of those.  I found it in Rick Stein's Venice to Istanbul.  His original recipe has pine nuts but I think toasted flaked almonds are better.

Serves 6 - (note 50g rice/75g water per person gives moderate sized portions of rice for a dinner party but allow a bit more for main course only or younger male diners)

Ingredients

• 300   gms Jasmine or basmati long-grain rice
• 30     ml Olive oil
• 1       Onion - chopped
• 0.5    tsp ground cinnamon
• 0.5    tsp salt
• 6       turns of black pepper
• 450   ml cold water
• 2       tbsp sulatnas or currants
• 2       tbsp toasted flaked almonds
• Good handful of chopped flat-leafed parsley and dill

Method

Soak the rice in plenty of cold water for 30 mins, then drain.

In a saucepan,  gently soften the onion in the olive oil then add the rice, cinnamon, salt, pepper and sultanas. Mix thoroughly and add the cold water.  You can tip everything into a rice cooker at this stage and leave it - just turn on the cooker 20 mins before you want to serve.  Alternatively,  bring it all to athe boil,  then immediately reduce to a gentle simmer,  put lid on pot and cook for 10 mins until the water is absorbed.

Just before serving,  stir through the herbs and almonds.

Oven Roasted Chicken with Sumac, Pomegranate Molasses, Chilli & Sesame Seeds

This is a Rick Stein recipe (From Venice to Istanbul) and it's great with his Turkish Spiced Pilaf and Taze Fasulye (Green Beans in Tomato Sauce) or a green salad.

Serves 4 to 6

• 1   Whole chicken jointed into 8 pieces (or use bone-in, skin-on chicken portions)
• 3   tbsp Olive oil
• 1   tbsp Sesame seeds

    For the marinade

• 2   tbsp ground sumac
• 2   large cloves garlic, fine (chopped, crushed or grated)
• 1   tsp chilli flakes
• 1   tbsp tomato paste
• 1   tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1   tsp salt

Mix all the marinade ingredients together,  rub well into chicken and leave for one hour.

Heat oven to 2000C.  Put chicken in a roasting tin,  drizzle with olive oil and scatter the sesame seeds over.  Roast for 30 minutes

Sauce
If you like to have a sauce,  saute a chopped garlic clove and add some chicken stock, sumac, pomegranate molasses and chilli flakes.  Add any liquid from the roasting tin and stir in some yogurt (preferably Greek or whole milk - not low fat)

Tom Yum Soup

(Serves 6 people)

1,200 ml        Chicken Stock (Homemade best but stock cubes taste ok)

90 g              Tom Yam Paste (Mae Ploy is very good and widely available in Ireland)

3 Stalks         Lemongrass – chopped & bruised (keeps well in freezer)

6 no.              Dried Kaffir Lime Leaves

2 no.              Limes – juiced.

60 ml             Fish Sauce (Squid brand widely available in Ireland)

30 ml             Sugar

Sprinkle         Fresh Coriander - chopped

Prawns or Thin Sliced Mushrooms or Shredded Cooked Chicken

• Boil the stock – add paste, lemongrass, lime leaves & lime juice.  Simmer 20 mins
• Add fish sauce and sugar to get a balanced salt-sour-sweet-hot taste (may need to add a little more paste)
• Strain out the foliage,  add choice of prawns, mushrooms or chicken and sprinkle fresh coriander on each bowl

Brocolli, Chicken & Cashew Stir Fry