It’s one of these super easy meals, which despite minimum effort they still manage to look, well, super appetising.
You’ll need:
a bag of freshly rinsed rocket,
3 smoked mackerel fillets
2 medium ripened pears
about 100/150 g of stilton/gorgonzola cheese
1 small green onion
smoked almond flakes
olive oil, balsamic glaze
Place rocket in the serving bowl and follow with the rest of ingredients; thickly sliced pears, shredded smoked mackerel, chunks of cheese and thinly sliced onion.
Sprinkle generously with smoked almonds and finish with olive oil and balsamic glaze.
One of good things about the weekend is that local fishmongers are very freshly stocked with their “catch of the day”. I love that feeling when standing in front of iced shelves fully covered by sea food and you just simply don’t know what to buy?
Every time when I think I’ve had enough time to make a decision whilst queueing, and I hear “what can I get you, Sir?”, my fishmonger can read from my eyes – I DON’T KNOW! Are you after some fish? Had it last time, I reply back. Scallops? He continues. Not this time. Why don’t you have a bunch of Razor clams? Why don’t I! I reply enthusiastically. Never mind the inpatient clients behind me, waiting to be served. I just got I didn’t know I wanted! Which makes my weekend a bit more exciting.
Razor clams are this type of seafood which doesn’t require a lot of preparation; good old salt and pepper plus, shaved shallots, butter and ginger…and they’re ready to go in the oven!
Roast them at 200C for about 10min on greaseproof paper, turning the tray around to ensure that clams cook evenly. Once they open, sprinkle generously freshly grated gruyere cheese and roast for another 5mins until cooked through.
Once they’re ready, serve on a piece of bread or baguette, garnished generously with chopped parsley or chives.
PS. Just make sure the clams are rinsed throughly of sand before seasoning them.
I have a vivid memories of my grandparents taking my brother and I for the weekend trips into the woods. I remember the Autumn ones especially because of the mushrooms about which most of my family was mad about. Well, let me tell you picking up a mushroom has nothing to do with picking up a wild berries or herbs. It takes a skill which to this day I seem to lack. So whilst my grandparents, supported by my helpful brother, were busy adding one mushroom after another into their baskets, I was just wondering what we’ll make out of them. Chanterelles in particular. Their characteristic, slightly spicy aftertaste, reminds me of autumn and of precious moments spent with family. As I couldn’t compete with my granddad’s mushroom creamy soup and my grans marinated fungi, I created this dish out of what was available in their garden: shallot onions, kale, garlic and pasta. Who would have thought that just a few ingredients could create such tasty meal?
To serve two, you’ll need;
a handful of chanterelle mushrooms
1 medium shallot onion
a bunch of kale
2-3 garlic cloves
one fresh chilli
2 tbsp of butter
cheese to finish
it goes like this:
Rinse mushrooms out of sand and grass and dry them gently on paper towel.
In a non stick pan melt a table spoon of butter and add the mushroom, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover by lid. Sweat on a low heat for about 10 mins, stirring occasionally. This will keep them moist rather than fried which wouldn’t be ideal for this particular meal. Meanwhile in another pan, fry shallots with a chunk of butter. Once they soften, add sliced garlic and kale. Stir gently until soft and slightly caramelised. Mix the veggies into the mushroom and add finely chopped chilli. The spiciness of the chilli will warm up the flavours perfectly.
In a large pan boil your favourite pasta ( I chose fusilli which is just perfect for that meal) Once the pasta is ready, mix all together. If, like myself, you’re a butter addict , at this stage you can add another bit of butter before serving.
Grate some parmigiano or gruyere cheese and enjoy your meal!
My takeover of this Italian classic has a twist, obviously.
Firstly, I’m using a linguine pasta instead of usual spaghetti. Secondly I’m shredding quite a bit of a fresh ginger into the sauce when the clams are just about to open and using a garlic puree instead of cloves. The slightly spicy, yet warming flavour of this super easy dish seem to be the perfect solution for an early autumn dinner with friends or in your own company with a glass of good white pinot.
Here’s how it goes – serves 2 hungry humans:
3 medium sized ripened tomatoes 1 shallot onion 500 g of fresh clams 1tbsp of garlic puree a generous chunk of fresh ginger root salt, pepper, parsley to garnish 300g of good quality linguine 250ml of tomato pasta if you prefer the sauce than broth.
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add finely chopped onions and fry until they begin to soften, then add the garlic puree. When onions are about to colour, follow with adding the chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5mins. Meanwhile in another pan, prepare the linguine pasta. When the sauce is consistent, add chopped parsley and clean clams and simmer for additional 10mins which allows a perfectly ready clam when the pasta is cooked.
This also allows you to discard one or two of the ones which haven’t opened during cooking.
Mix the sauce into the cooked linguine and stir gently with freshly and finely grated ginger.
Serve in a bowl with a sprinkle of chopped parsley which perfectly compliments this
oh-so-delicious meal!
It was summer 2006 and it was love from the first taste. We were holidaying in Tuscany and it was there that I discovered this easy, quick to prepare and cooling dish for hot summer days.
This somehow retro salad is usually made of tomato, mozzarella and basil; however as you might already notice, I love, love, love improving traditional meals with some iterations, which in this case is addition of avocado. It makes this salad a bit more substantial and succulent, perhaps. Garnished with pesto and balsamic vinegar… you don’t need anything else to enjoy a ‘molto delicioso’ meal!
To serve two you’ll need:
2 ripe tomatoes ( buffalo is ideal!)
2 mozzarella bowls
1 avocado, halved
2 tablespoons of good pesto
salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic vinegar
sourdough bread on the side
It is as simple as this: soak 20 grams of chia seeds in a 300ml oat milk and leave in the fridge overnight. The following morning serve with berries/banana/cocoa nibs or anything you like most. It is so surprising how such quick and easy meal can be so filling and keep you going until lunch time without any craving for a sweet snack! Well, one thing is clear – scrambled eggs are going to be on hold for quite some time now.
PS. You can obviously use any other milk as an alternative, however oat milk is way more neutral by flavour than lets say coconut milk.
I do love an idea of Sunday roast. I also love this hot, summer weather. However eating hot meals during the heatwaves doesn’t seem to be a bright idea, right?
Here comes the solution; duck confit roasted with apricots, apples and almonds.
Served chilled! Additionally I mashed the potatoes and grilled an extra apricots, sprinkled with lemon juice, almond flakes and vanilla. As apricots are a bit tart, its a perfect solution to keep this meal succulent yet not too sweet. Sophisticated yet not exaggerated, this meal is a perfect solution if you like to cook for someone special 🙂
All you need is:
2 good quality duck legs
2 apples
10 medium soft apricots
1 lime
small cup of almond flakes
small cup of whole almonds
marjoram, coarse pepper and sea salt to season the duck
4 Mary Pipes potatoes to make purée
generous spoon of butter to mash the potatoes
To grill apricots:
Place halved fruits on the baking tray, sprinkle generously with lemon juice, lemon zest, almost flakes and finish with vanilla pods. If you like it sweet, additionally you could add cane sugar top so they’ll caramelise nicely. Grill for about 10-15 mins.
In a cast iron pan, place duck legs seasoned with salt, pepper and thyme.
Add halved fruits, almonds and shallot onions. Cook in preheated oven at 180C for about 90 mins, checking occasionally if everything is roasting well. Fruits will add an extra moisture to the meat so there is no worry about duck being dry.
Just about 10 to 15 minutes before the end of the roasting process, remove the lid so all fruit will caramelise nicely.
Serve hot or cooled, just up to your taste!
TIP: This meal goer really well with classic potato purée and served with honey mustard.
I m not sure where to start… Yes, its a tomato soup but not the usual one, thats for sure. As in some of previous posts this recipe came to my mind rather naturally. And spontaneously. And under the strong influence of my friend Anna, who’s obsessed with coconut oil. Both, coconut milk and oil, play a crucial role in this meal; it creates a great alternative to the obvious gazpacho cream that we are all used to.
What’s also great about this meal? you can serve twitch a number of different dishes. I recently cooked for a group of friends and relished in watching their surprised faces as they delved into this mouthwatering dish. There’s nothing better than delicious meal with an element of surprise. Don’t you agree?
The soup is easy to prepare:
You’ll need:
2 shallot onions
1 red pepper
a decent chunk of ginger
chili pepper (amount depends on how spicy you like it soup to be )
1 tsp of turmeric
1 good quality tomato passata
1 can of cherry tomatoes – whole
1 can of coconut milk
In a heavy bottomed pan roast on coconut oil: onions, ginger, chilli and peppers until soften. When the mixture is ready add chopped pepper and follow by both, coconut milk and tomatoes and simmer for about 5 mins. At this moment pour the passata and simmer for additional 10 mins on a very low heat.
Once a soup is cooked blend it through to achieve a creamy structure.
Tips:
This soup could be served both ways: hot or cold, depending on the weather and taste preferences.
I steam my lobster through with onion, spices and coconut oil as they’re adding a flavour to it. Take it out just before milk and tomatoes are added to avoid overcooking.
When opting for vegan version – simply skip the lobster and garnish with sliced avocado instead sprinkled with some chives and a splash of vegan single cream (here used Oatly)
Classic with a twist.
As my addiction to the onion soup is known by my nearest and dearest, I have have tried countless variations of this meal all over London. Europe, actually. However it has to be said in my quest for the best; good things take time. And a creative mindset! Whilst I was preparing the ingredients to make my own onion soup, I had this thought – why don’t I make this soup less usual way? Why don’t I…add some celery and pears? Yes, pears! A stroke of culinary enlightenment, materialised in the soup!
Its funny how a little upgrade to the classic food brings it to another level.
Pear works so well with thyme and white wine, that from now on, I can’t imagine making it any other way. Also, to those who like my partner, are not a soup onion lovers for its richness and heaviness – pear and celeriac makes it much more lighter. Especially in a creamy version (featured image). Ideal served garnished with gruyere and fresh thyme.
You will need all the ingredients for bone broth which are;
2 carrots,
2 parsnips,
a quarter of celeriac root
a whole bunch of garlic sliced into two halves,
3 bay leaves,
1 large pear, halved
a half of unwaxed lemon,
a half of leek,
a few leaves of celery,
bouquet garni,
pinch of smoked salt
pinch of black or coloured pepper
a beef bone marrow or whole poussin (I used both)
Additionally, to prepare in another pan:
6 medium shallot onions
100g of butter
a bunch of fresh time
bottle of decent white pinot grigio (e.g. Tesco’s own range is perfect)
Whilst cooking the broth with the pear in one pan, in another you can carmelise sliced onion on melted butter with bay leaf. When onions are soften, add a handful of thyme and stir on a lower heat, finishing with a 250ml of wine and cover by lid to avoid evaporation.
When the onion is very soft, place it into the broth (at this stage take out cooked poussin/chicken) and simmer together for 20mins, adding the remaining wine from the bottle. You can serve soup both ways; classic with melted cheese or as a cream, where all soup is blended with everything but bone and meat.
Good malted rye bread will be as good as classic baguette to be served with.
Comfort food. Classic of the classics. Quintessentially French ‘manger’.
This autumnal meal, in Anglo-Saxon dictionary also known as a Burgundy Beef, is a great option for weekend cooking for many reasons. Especially when you host a small dinner party for your friends. Its a really good warmer and indulgent enough to not bother with a starter. Unless a crusty baguette is considered as a starter…
As usual, I didn’t follow any particular recipe to make this excellent meal, so here are ingredients used in order to create the #boeufbourguignon
600g of good quality diced beef
8-10 chestnut mushrooms
4 shallot onions
4medium carrots
2parsnips
bunch of lemon thyme
1 whole garlic
2 tablespoons of dried garlic leaves
2 tablespoons of smoked salt
2 tablespoons of white/green pepper
1 bouquet garni
3 bay leaves
2-3 cox apples
3 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
1 bottle of reasonably good wine (cheap=bad)
2 tablespoons of goose fat or good butter to fry the meat
From my experience it is good to fry the seasoned (with salt&pepper) beef in a heavy bottomed dish, ideally using goose fat. This not only fries the meat well but also keep it moist at the same time. When the meat is done, put it to the side and using the dame dish braise the onions, mushrooms, thyme, garlic, ginger and herbs until golden brown and softened.
When ready, add the meat and braise together for a few minutes with a generous splash of wine from the bottle.
At the same time on a low heat – using another pot – braise together (using a remaining spoon of goose fat) chopped carrots, parsnip, apple and dried garlic leaves cover with a lid to keep the moist. The smaller the chunks of the veggies, the shorter the time of braising. It shouldn’t take more than 10 mins to do so. Do not worry if some of the chunks aren’t soft enough. They’ll will be when mixed with meat and wine for additional 3 hrs of cooking.
When all is ready to be mixed together into one large heavy bottomed pan, finish it with the remaining wine from the bottle and stir well. Braise the contents, covered with lid on a very low heat for about 3-3,5hrs unit beef is very soft and succulent and flavours are just perfect. Don’t worry, when it comes to boeuf bourguignon, you’ll know when it tastes perfect.
TIP; Divide wine into 3 parts so you’ll know how much to use and when.
1st part for braising the meat,
2nd for braising the vegetables
3rd for the final stage when both, beef and vegetables are mixed together.
Serve in the bowl with topped with a fresh baguette. And a glass of red wine, obvs!
Here’s how it goes – serves 2 hungry humans:
The soup is easy to prepare:
style dispenser 