Showing posts with label Dressings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dressings. Show all posts
I don't always eat hedonistically calorie laden goodies here in my English Kitchen. Sometimes I actually eat healthy stuff.
You know . . . things like fruit and salads . . . full of freshness and vitamins, instead of fat and calories . . .
Waldorf Salad is a classic which combines the perfect balance of sweet, crunchy, nutty and tangy flavours!
You might not think the words "Waldorf Salad" and healthy go together, and most times you would probably be correct.
You might not think the words "Waldorf Salad" and healthy go together, and most times you would probably be correct.
Most times it is cloyingly clogged with tons of mayonnaise . . . as good as it might taste, it's not that good for you to indulge in it very often . . .
Until now that is. This version is light and absolutely as delicious to eat as it is beautiful to look at! I found this recipe in a Donna Hay book, so you know it's going to be good and healthy too.
Until now that is. This version is light and absolutely as delicious to eat as it is beautiful to look at! I found this recipe in a Donna Hay book, so you know it's going to be good and healthy too.
I cannot claim the original credit for it, although I have adapted it somewhat to the ingredients I happened to have in my own kitchen.
I am a great believer in making do with what you have on hand. I switched out the watercress in her recipe for baby gem leaves and salad cress (mustard cress).
I am a great believer in making do with what you have on hand. I switched out the watercress in her recipe for baby gem leaves and salad cress (mustard cress).
I also didn't go to the trouble of dragging out the food processor to make a little salad dressing. I simply mashed everything together with a fork and it worked a charm.
I thought it would be a lot of fun to top the salad with the top of the apple, which is sliced really thinly, instead of being chopped . . . and
I thought it would be a lot of fun to top the salad with the top of the apple, which is sliced really thinly, instead of being chopped . . . and
I toasted the walnuts because . . . well . . . toasting just makes nuts taste better, don't you think?
Altogether it was easy and it was light. It was fresh. It was delicious. It was healthy . . . with crisp apples and toasty nuts, ribbons of celery (de-stringed of course) and
Altogether it was easy and it was light. It was fresh. It was delicious. It was healthy . . . with crisp apples and toasty nuts, ribbons of celery (de-stringed of course) and
a wonderfully light blue cheese dressing. I do hope you will give it a go. I think you'll agree with me. This is fabulous.
This
has a beautiful presentation. By all means if you don't want to
present it like this, feel free to cut the apples into cubes, along with
the celery. This is so pretty though when you do it the other way.
3 ripe Granny Smith apples, washed well
1 firm stalk of celery, washed and de-stringed
(Just use a sharp knife to grab the strings at the ends of the stalk and gently pull,
they will easily pull awa)
100g toasted walnuts, chopped coarsely (1 cup)
1 head of baby gem lettuce, washed and leaves broken into bits
a punnet of salad cress (a large handful)
For the dressing:
75g of good quality whole egg mayonnaise (1/4 cup)
the juice of 1/2 lemon
2 TBS water
1 tsp sugar
fine sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
100g mild blue cheese, crumbled (1/2 cup)
You
will want all of your elements ready prior to cutting the apples as
they quickly turn brown. Alternately toss them with a tsp of lemon
juice to help prevent this from happening.
First make the
dressing. Mash all of the dressing ingredients together with a fork,
until you have a smooth dressing. Set aside.
Cut the
stalk of celery into thirds and then thinly slice each third into
ribbons. (Now you know why you want it de-stringed) Alternately cut it
into thin slices crosswise. Tear up your baby gems and divide them
between each of four salad plates. Scatter the celery on top. Thinly
slice the apples horizontally. Discard any seeds. Arrange them
decoratively on top of the celery. (Alternatively cut them into
cubes.) Scatter with the toasted walnuts and the cress. Drizzle with
the blue cheese dressing and serve immediately.
*Waldorf Salad*
Serves 4they will easily pull awa)
For the dressing:
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I do the same thing every year. I buy in far too much veg for the holidays and then am left with a surplus which I am trying to use up at the beginning of the new year. It's usually a whole lot, but not a whole lot of anything, if you know what I mean.
When I looked into my vegetable drawer yesterday I saw a whole lot of normal carrots, a couple of white carrots (Yes, I did say white. Apparently that's a variety. I got them in a veg box in December) a few purple carrots (see my last explanation) an acorn squash, a small to medium sized white turnip.a bunch of fresh thyme and a few other odds and sods . . . most not in quantities large enough to cook any one thing, with the exception of the orange carrots.
I peeled and chopped them into large pieces and added a chopped red onion and then I roasted them in a hot oven along with some garlic, a good grinding of black pepper, a few sea salt flakes, some olive oil and a few springs of that fresh thyme . . .
Then . . . I roasted them in that hot oven for about 20 minutes, stirring them now and then . . . until they were all nice and cooked through and beginning to caramelize. There is nothing so tasty as caramelized oven roasted root vegetables . . . and while they were making their magic, I cooked some wheatberries in some vegetable stock until tender . . .
And then . . . I tossed them all together in a bowl . . . the cooked wheatberries and the roasted vegetables and I added a deliciously tangy lemon vinaigrette . . . made with a couple of the lemons from my fruit bowl on the counter . . .
After that I added a few broken up and toasted English Walnuts . . . again leftover from our Christmas Celebrations . . . and a handful of dried cranberries, just for some chewy sweetness and texture . . . and I mixed, them all together, yes I did, and sprinkled some flat leaf parsley over top, leftover again, from Christmas . . . and then . . . do you know what we did???
We ate it. With large lumps of buttered crusty bread and some leftover stilton crumbled over top. And do you know what else???
It was very, very . . . very good.
*Roasted Roots and Wheatberries with a Lemon Vinaigrette*
Serves 6 to 8peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
a small handful of flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
60g of dried cherries or dried cranberries, coarely chopped (1/2 cup)
Preheat
the oven to 220*C/425*F. gas mark 7. Toss the diced vegetables on a
baking sheet with about 2 TBS of olive oil, some salt and black pepper
and the sprigs of thyme. Roast in the heated oven, on the bottom rack
for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring them once or twice. They should be
cooked through and beginning to slightly caramelize.
Once cooked, drain the wheat berries and toss them into the dressing, whisking it first. Add the roasted root vegetables, discarding any thyme branches. Stir in the cherries or cranberries and the nuts, if using. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Toss in the parsley and serve.
You may serve this warm or at room temperature. You can make it several days in advance, in which case you should store it in the refrigerator and then bring it to room temperature prior to serving. Do not add the nuts or parsley until just before serving. A bit of feta, blue cheese or stilton crumbled over top makes a nice addition!
Sometimes the nicest things drop through my mailbox, and certain times of the year it gets more exciting than ever. I was especially excited the other day when I opened a box to find this tasty treat inside!
It was a personalized stocking, just for me and filled with lots of little packages . . . but what could they be. Why cheese of course and a very timely arrival as well! As we all know there is nothing tastier or more welcome during the holidays than a deliciously appointed cheeseboard to share with your guests!
I am no stranger to the wonderful cheeses which are produced by Castello Cheese. I often buy their Danish Blue, which is one of my favourites when it comes to blue cheeses. Here is what I found inside all of those lovely little festive packages . . .
Not one, but two packages of their lovely Danish Blue . . the Traditional and the Extra Creamy. A creamy blue cheese, bursting with flavour and thick with blue veins. This has always been my choice when making my homemade Blue Cheese Salad Dressings . . . and an absolute favourite with my Baby Gems Salad.
*Little Gems With a Blue Cheese Dressing*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
This is one of my favourite salads. Simple ingredients, complex flavours. It all adds up to a truly delicious salad. Just perfect for these warmer days.
2 TBS cider vinegar
2 TBS heavy cream
3 1/2 ounces extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces blue cheese
2 fat little gem lettuces
2 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 TBS sugar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Whisk the vinegar and cream together with a little seasoning. Whisk in the sugar until it dissolves. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Fold in the cheese.
Wash the lettuces and dry them really well. Cut the lettuces into wedges lengthwise and fan them out on 4 chilled salad plates. Drizzle over the dressing, dividing it equally amongst the salads. Sprinkle evenly with the spring onions. Serve immediately.
*Blue Cheese Salad Dressing*
Makes 10 servings
Printable Recipe
One of my favourite salad dressings is Blue Cheese. You can't get a decent one in the shops and so I prefer to make my own. Marks and Spencer used to do a really good one, but you can't buy it anymore, well, at least not around here anyways! Plan ahead as this tastes better upon sitting overnight.
1 cup good quality Mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
1/2 to 3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
2 TBS grated onion
4-5 drops of Tabasco sauce
1 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 tsp salt
a dash of cayenne pepper
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp white sugar
6 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk, adding as much of the buttermilk as you need to give it a good consistency. You want it to be pourable. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Cover and chill for 24 hours before serving. You may need to add a bit of regular milk if it is too thick. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving.
Castello Creamy Blue . . . Sharp and salty this blue is perfect with salty nuts, crisp digetives and sweet fruits such as sweet cherries, figs, juicy grapes . . .
Castello Creamy White . . . a cheese which has a wonderfully creamy texture and buttery taste, not unlike that of Brie, but unlike a traditional Brie, it has a consistently soft texture. Oh so good . . .
Included as well a lovely little Castello Pineapple Halo. Filled with alluring chunks of pineapple and chopped papaya and rolled in toasted almonds, this is lucious and almost incredibly impossible to resist, spread upon a crisp cracker, or onto sticks of crisp celery. Delicious!
The Toddster insists that no good cheeseboard would be complete without a nice slab of cheddar, and I would have to agree. Included in my lovely stocking was a nice package of the newest member of the Castello family . . . Tickler Cheddar! This is an award winning extra mature cheddar with a sweet, strong and tangy taste which is bound to impress any cheese connoisseur. With it's distinctive taste and slightly crumbly texture this was the real prize in my stocking! Produced at the Taw Valley creamery, Devon and matured for up to 18 months, this was fabulously tasty and the one I find myself slicing a little sliver off of each time I pass the refrigerator. It's a good-un!
I prepared and served a lot of cheeseboards during my stint as a personal Chef down South. Every dinner party ended with a delicious cheeseboard after their dessert. Here is what I learned through my experiences and my top tips for you to have the best cheese board ever.
1. Make sure your board includes a nice variety of cheeses. A good cheddar is a must, as is something creamy for spreading . . . a nice blue, something fruity, something sharp, something smelly and covered in ash for interest. Just don't over do it. Three or four different cheeses is a perfect balance.
2. Allow all of your cheeses to come to room temperature before serving. This helps to bring out the very best of their flavours.
3. A bit of fruit is always welcome . . . quartered figs and sliced crisp apples and ripe pears, sweet grapes in more than one colour. (Be sure not to forget your grape scissors to your guests can clip off their own little clusters.)
4. Something salty . . . smoked almonds, roasted cashews, toasted walnut halves . . . all great.
5. Something different to jazz things up . . . crystalized ginger, some honey comb, pickled walnuts.
6. A nice variety of crisp breads and crackers. There are so many nice ones out there today to choose from. Don't forget the Digestives either . . . these are usually the ones which disappear the fastest! You can get then in finger shapes, which are a really good size and not as crumbly as the big round ones.
7. Have fun!
Many thanks to Castello Cheese for sending me this lovely assortment of cheeses in it's fun stocking! To find out more about them and see their whole range and to find out more about stockists, be sure to check out the Castello Home Page.
Follow them on Facebook.
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I do confess that I enjoy a great veggie burger from time to time. Back home where I am from there is this restaurant in town called Pasta Jax and they make the best Barley Burgers I have ever eaten. I wish I knew how they made them because I miss that occasional indulgence over here!
The people at Fage recently asked me if I would like to particpate in their 7-day #TryTotal Challenge. I happily agree for a couple of reasons. One because I love a good challenge and two because I adore Total Greek Yoghurt. It's my favourite of all yoghurts! So rich and thick and creamy good!
My challenge pack actually arrived on Sunday when I was at church. It included a tasty recipe a pretty much everything I needed for the challenge, with the exception of some tomatoes, the lettuce and a bit of oil.
The recipe was for these delicious chickpea burgers. As I said I do enjoy a tasty veggie burger once in a while. These were lovely and moist, probably due to the inclusion of yoghurt in the mix, and classic Med flavours like sundried tomato paste, garlic, fresh basil and a bit of heat from some chilli flakes.
What really made them as well was this creamy lucious yoghurt dressing that you make to spoon over top of the cooked veggie patties. Filled with chopped olives and red onions and basil, it was incredibly tasty!
They were sooooooo good. Todd didn't even miss the meat. They were huge too! A real mouthfulto say the least. I think I will make these often. I think I would love them even without the bun actually. They would make a nice sub for meat in any meal, just on their own without the buns. I hope that you will try them. I just know you would love them!
*Jumbo Italian Spiced Chickpea Burgers*
Serves 4
salt and pepper
Oil for frying
To serve:
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
4 ciabatta rolls
Put
the bread into a food processor and qhire to make crumbs. Add the
chicpeas, basil (reserve a large sprig for later), tomato paste, yogurt,
garlic and chilli. Season with some salt and pepper, and blitz until
everything is well chopped and coarse. Shape into 4 large patties.
Spray
a large nonstick frying pan with some sunflower oil. Heat over medium
heat. Add the patties and cook for 5 minutes per side, until each is
deep golden brown and piping hot.
Meanwhile, chop the reserved basil and mix with the olives, onion and yoghurt. Set aside.
Split
and toast your ciabatta rolls. Add a few salad leaves and tomato
slices to the bottom of each. Top each with a hot burger and then some
of the yogurt sauce mixture. Serve immediately. Many thanks to Total Greek Yoghurt for inviting me to participate in this challenge!
I can remember being taught many years ago, I believe in Home Economics at school . . . how to make a good sandwich. Or maybe I read it in a book, in any case I was just a young girl when I learned the following rules about sandwich making.
One - always seal your bread, to the edge with butter, or marg, or something which is going to keep your bread from getting soggy from the filling. Nobody wants a soggy sandwich, which is especially important when we are talking about fillings which are wet . . . like tomatoes or cucumbers . . . or in a sandwich which is going to have to sit overnight or longer.
Two - Don't be stingy with your fillings. There should be more filling than bread. There is nothing worse than a sandwich that tastes like bread, but nothing else. And spread it to the edges folks! I have purchased far too many store sandwiches that have a pile of filling stuck in the middle and nothing on the outer edges, rendering the edges dry and inedible . . . tasteless.
Three - Air is your enemy. If you aren't serving them right away, keep them well covered and chilled. What I do is I dampen a white cloth with cold water and wring it almost dry and then I place it over the sandwiches and then cover with cling film making sure it's well sealed. Or I place them back (uncut) into the empty breadbags and seal and put them in the fridge.
Four - Don't store different kinds of sandwiches together. Nobody wants to eat an egg and cress sandwich which tastes like tuna or salmon, or vice versa. It just makes sense to me, but may not be something someone else has thought of. I am a bit pedantic about this.
Five - Use the freshest, finest ingredients you can afford to use. That can mean the difference between a sandwich and a . . . SANDWICH!
Having said all that I have one heck of a sandwich to share with you here today. I think the BLT (Bacon Lettuce and Tomato) Sandwich has to be just about everyone's favourite sandwich. That's pure diner food, and a popular choice when having lunch out.
This version here today is the absolute BEST BLT you will ever eat. Seriously. With a Basil Pesto Mayonnaise, crisp bacon, fresh ripe tomatoes, house dressing and lots of lively fresh rocket leaves . . . and a sturdy baguette (I used an Olive Flute today) . . . this is a simple sandwich that is anything but simple. This is bound to become a firm favourite and much requested sandwich.
Trust me on this one. Would I lie to YOU? Never!
*Two Hander BLT*
Serves 2 - 4
(Depending on appetites)
freshly ground black pepper
a couple of handfuls of fresh rocket (baby arugula)
Whisk together the basil pesto and the mayonnaise. Set aside.
Roasted Beetroot and Goat's Cheese Salad with an Orange Marmalade Vinaigrette
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
I just adore beetroots. I picked up a couple of nice bunches when we were in town the other day at the Green Grocers . . . a bunch of regular ruby coloured ones and a beautiful bunch of golden globes. Call them heirloom if you must . . . but . . . they're beetroot and they're tasty, and they're pretty to look at.
Then we had lunch in Cafe Rouge and I had the most delicious Goat's Cheese Salad ever . . . I just adore goat's cheese, which is pretty amazing for a gal who grew up eating Velveeta and was afraid to eat anything stronger. I've come a long way baby! Their salad was quite simply baby greens with some slivered roasted red pepper on top, and some balls of soft goats cheese . . . and a tangy French Vinaigrette. It was lovely.
I kept thinking about it once I got home and knew that I had to do something similar here in my English Kitchen . . . but I wanted to incorporate some beetroot into it if I could . . .
Something magical happens when you marry beetroot and goat's cheese together. These two things are the perfect partners . . . the beetroot, all sweet and earthy . . . the goats cheese, so rich and tangy . . . the two together are a pretty unbeatable combination.
I decided to marry them in a salad, but not just any salad. A salad composed of baby salad greens, fresh and crisp from the garden . . . the beetroot roasted in it's peel until tender, and then sliced once cooled atop the salad . . . the goat's cheese rolled into balls and then into toasted walnuts . . . three perfect little globes crowning the greens and beetroot . . . but wait . . . it's gets better . . .
I added an Orange Marmalade vinaigrette . . . delicious. A nice wallop of Dijon mustard . . . white wine vinegar and olive oil and then a huge dollop of fine shred orange marmalade . . . ohhh baby . . .you know what I like!
This was the perfect dressing for this salad. The Orange Marmalade adds a touch of sweet and a hint of bitter, then the heat of the mustard and tang of the vinegar, along with the richness of the olive oil. I think I've created a monster because I shall be craving this for days to come!
*Roasted Beetroot and Goat's Cheese Salad*
with an Orange Marmalade Vinaigrette
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Earthy and rich and tangy delicious. This is a winner all round.
150g log of soft Goat's Cheese (about 3/4 cup)
4 medium sized beetroot, washed, trimmed and unpeeled
6 cups of baby salad greens (try to get a nice mix including baby
beetroot greens)
a large handful of walnuts, toasted and then chopped
For the Vinaigrette:
4 tsp Dijon mustard
3 TBS good quality olive oil
3 TBS white wine vinegar
2 TBS good quality orange marmalade
(fine shred if possible)
pinch salt
1 TBS freeze dried parsley leaves
You
will need to roast your beetroot early in the day or the night before.
Take a large sheet of aluminum foil. Place the beetroot into the
centre of the foil. I used a mixture of golden and red beetroots. Pull
the side up over the beetroot and seal them in the foil. Place them
into a preheated 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. oven and roast them for 45
minutes to an hour until they can be pierced easily with a sharp knife.
Remove from the oven and the foil. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Store in the fridge until you need to use them.
Divide
your goats cheese into 12 equal sized pieces. Roll each into a ball
and then roll them in the chopped toasted walnuts. Chill until you are
ready to serve the salad.
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