Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts
I have quite a few cookbooks in my collection actually. I've never actually counted them all . . . but there were (at last count) probably close to 1000. (Don't judge me.) I've been collecting cookbooks since I was about 16 and as I am now 59 (how did that happen???), that's a pretty long time. I do have my favourites and I wanted to show you one of those today . . . it also happens to be one of my oldest ones. In fact . . . this cookery book was published before I was even born.
One of the things I like most about food blogging is that I am often given the opportunity to try new things. I am an adventurous soul and this aspect of food blogging really appeals to me. I was recently sent some Halum Cheese.
I am sure you are all familiar with Halloumi Cheese, which is a cheese of Greek origins, made from sheep and goats milk, and sometimes cow milk. Well this is a very similar cheese. Milky's Halum is a British Halloumi-style cheese. I like that! It makes me happy to use home grown and produced ingredients. If I could buy everything British, I would be ecstatic!
Produced in Britain, from 100% fresh British cows and goats milk using a traditional family recipe, Milky's Halum is hand-folded and sprinkled with dried mint by expert cheese makers to create a gorgeous springy (& squeaky) texture.
It's texture and high melting temperature makes it the perfect cheese for grilling. It browns beautifully and holds it shape, just like Halloumi cheese, except it's not . . . it's Halum and it's made right here in the UK.
It has a mild salty flavour, with just the merest hint of mint, which makes it the perfect salad cheese as well. I chose to make a warm salad for our lunch today using this cheese and it was just gorgeous.
I found this Halum to be less salty than the traditional Halloumi cheese, which I really liked. It wasn't over powering in the least, and yet it wasn't bland either. It took on a lovely golden brown colour which looked gorgeous in the salad and added some extra texture.
The dressing for this salad is slightly sweet and tangy, with a hint of Dijon mustard, and herby dill. I used lemon rapeseed oil, but you could use just plain olive oil. I, personally, liked the addition of the lemon, which you could get by using lemon juice instead of vinegar I suppose . . .
The warm cooked potatoes marinate in the dressing while you grill the cheese. It's a beautiful mix of soft rich potatoes, sweet and ripe baby plum tomatoes, crisp and bitey radishes . . . and then there is that slightly chewy rich golden salty cheese. In short . . . the perfect salad for a cold autumn day! (I got some really tiny radishes in my veggie box this week that were just perfect!)
I am sure you are all familiar with Halloumi Cheese, which is a cheese of Greek origins, made from sheep and goats milk, and sometimes cow milk. Well this is a very similar cheese. Milky's Halum is a British Halloumi-style cheese. I like that! It makes me happy to use home grown and produced ingredients. If I could buy everything British, I would be ecstatic!
Produced in Britain, from 100% fresh British cows and goats milk using a traditional family recipe, Milky's Halum is hand-folded and sprinkled with dried mint by expert cheese makers to create a gorgeous springy (& squeaky) texture.
It's texture and high melting temperature makes it the perfect cheese for grilling. It browns beautifully and holds it shape, just like Halloumi cheese, except it's not . . . it's Halum and it's made right here in the UK.
It has a mild salty flavour, with just the merest hint of mint, which makes it the perfect salad cheese as well. I chose to make a warm salad for our lunch today using this cheese and it was just gorgeous.
I found this Halum to be less salty than the traditional Halloumi cheese, which I really liked. It wasn't over powering in the least, and yet it wasn't bland either. It took on a lovely golden brown colour which looked gorgeous in the salad and added some extra texture.
The dressing for this salad is slightly sweet and tangy, with a hint of Dijon mustard, and herby dill. I used lemon rapeseed oil, but you could use just plain olive oil. I, personally, liked the addition of the lemon, which you could get by using lemon juice instead of vinegar I suppose . . .
The warm cooked potatoes marinate in the dressing while you grill the cheese. It's a beautiful mix of soft rich potatoes, sweet and ripe baby plum tomatoes, crisp and bitey radishes . . . and then there is that slightly chewy rich golden salty cheese. In short . . . the perfect salad for a cold autumn day! (I got some really tiny radishes in my veggie box this week that were just perfect!)
(about the size of a small child's fist)
75g of small radishes (a generous handful)
(about 1 cup)
1/2 TBS olive oil, cooking grade
a small handful of fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
I have to say I adored the flavour of Milky's Halum Cheese. Uncooked, it was mild with a nice texture, slightly squeaky like cheese curds. Grilled simply in some olive oil, it took on an almost buttery flavour which was incredibly moreish. I could have eaten it on it's own without any salad or other accompaniments. In fact . . . the bits that I didn't use in the salad, quickly disappeared as Todd and I couldn't stop picking at them.
Reasons why people love Halum:
- Fantastic flavour
- Versatile and simple to cook with
- Excellent shelf life
- Made in Britain using all British ingredients
- Low food miles
- Made with fresh milk
- Less salt than Cypriot alternative
- Hand-folded from a traditional family recipe
Milky's is a family owned Lebanese and Mediterranean dairy run by Nabil & Youssef Assi in Wembley, London. It produces fresh Mediterranean cheeses and yoghurts on a daily basis using fresh cow's milk from farm supplier Harefield using non-animal renet making our products suitable for vegetarians. Established over five years ago, Milky's is the leading supplier of dairy products to Arabic restaurants and delicatessens in the UK. Fresh milk, a touch of fine sea salt, citric acid make its Great Taste Award winning white soft cheese. Milky's only use non-animal Renet in their cheeses which makes them ideal for vegetarians.
Milky's Halum Cheese is available at Waitrose.
Many thanks to the Milky people for sending me this gorgeous cheese to try. We here in The English Kitchen just loved it!
Back during the war years there wasn't a lot of meat to go around and so families often dined on such favourites as Woolton Pie, which was an adaptable dish of vegetables, created at the Savoy Hotel in London by its then Maitre Chef de Cuisine, Francis Latry.
It was one of a number of recipes commended to the British public by the Ministry of Food during the Second World War to enable a nutritional diet to be maintained despite shortages and rationing of many types of food, especially meat.
It wasn't named after the chef, but after the 1st Lord Woolton, Frederick Marquis, who became the Minster of Food here in the UK in 1940. It was a simple recipe which involved dicing and cooking potatoes (or parsnips), cauliflower, swede, carrots and, possibly, turnip.
Rolled oats and chopped spring onions were added to the thickened vegetable water which was poured over the vegetables themselves. The dish was topped with potato pastry and grated cheese and served with vegetable gravy. The recipe could be adapted to reflect the availability and seasonality of ingredients. And most people had Victory Gardens in the back yard and grew a lot of their own veg, so it was quite practical and filling as well.
This isn't a Woolton Pie per se which I am showing you here today, however loosely based upon it, but a sort of Veggie Shepherd's pie. There is no oats involved. There is no pastry. Just lots of tasty vegetables and a nice hot topping of cheesey mash.
It's so tasty, I guarantee you won't miss the meat, but if you have any die hard carnivores in the family, you could always offer this in smaller portions and serve a few chops on the side. Myself, I could quite happily sit down to a plate of this and nothing else.
*Gardener's Pie*
Serves 6
Printable Recipe
This all vegetable pie might be filled with humble ingredients, but there’s nothing humble about the taste. This makes a delicious lunch or supper dish. It’s also a great accompaniment to roast beef or lamb if you really must have some meat, but trust me when I say that it is truly satisfying on it’s own.
For the filling:This all vegetable pie might be filled with humble ingredients, but there’s nothing humble about the taste. This makes a delicious lunch or supper dish. It’s also a great accompaniment to roast beef or lamb if you really must have some meat, but trust me when I say that it is truly satisfying on it’s own.
2 pounds of floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
(use a King Edward, Maris Piper, or good Idaho potato)
2 ounces butter
¼ cup of sour cream
1 TBS finely grated onion
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces grated strong cheddar cheese
A little warmed milk if necessary
Pre-heat the oven to 220*C/450*F/gas mark 7.
Peel and chop the onion. Peel and dice all the other vegetables into a uniform dice. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and vegetables and cook them over medium high heat, stirring from time to time until they just start to colour. Add enough stock to just barely keep them from sticking to the pan and reduce the heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has evaporated and the vegetables are still crispy tender. Season them to taste with some salt and a good grinding of pepper. Stir in the herbs, and then pop the whole mixture into a pie dish. It may seem a bit dry, but not to worry, the final baking in the oven will release all those delicious vegetable juices.
For the topping put the potatoes into a pan of salted boiling water and cook them until they are fork tender. Drain well and return the potatoes to the pan. Give them a good shake over the still warm burner to dry them out a bit and then mash them well along with the butter and sour cream. Stir in the cheese and grated onion. Add only enough milk to make them nice and fluffy. You don’t want the mixture to be too loose. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Pile the fluffy mash on top of the cooked vegetables and bang the pie dish into the heated oven. Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the topping is nicely browned. Serve hot.
We have been trying to eat less meat in this house lately, and much more in the way of vegetables. Partly for economics and partly for other reasons. You may have noticed . . .
I had some chestnut mushrooms that needed using up the other day and so I thought to corporate them into a macaroni and cheese casserole. It ended up being really, really delicious!
I did an herbed cheese sauce, using two types of cheese along with some tarragon. I love the flavour of tarragon. It goes really well with cheeses and mushrooms actually . . .
I also added some chives and thyme. Both for flavour and colour. You could use fresh herbs, but I think when they are being incorporated into a sauce like this, it doesn't really matter. I always use the Bart Freeze Dried Herbs though . . . they hydrate really well, so it's almost like fresh herbs. Change your herbs often. I change mine at least twice a year.
The Toddster always says he doesn't like pasta, but then he has two helpings of whatever it is I make. Methinks he doth protest too much! In any case, I hope you'll make this. It's really, really, really good!
I had some chestnut mushrooms that needed using up the other day and so I thought to corporate them into a macaroni and cheese casserole. It ended up being really, really delicious!
I did an herbed cheese sauce, using two types of cheese along with some tarragon. I love the flavour of tarragon. It goes really well with cheeses and mushrooms actually . . .
I also added some chives and thyme. Both for flavour and colour. You could use fresh herbs, but I think when they are being incorporated into a sauce like this, it doesn't really matter. I always use the Bart Freeze Dried Herbs though . . . they hydrate really well, so it's almost like fresh herbs. Change your herbs often. I change mine at least twice a year.
The Toddster always says he doesn't like pasta, but then he has two helpings of whatever it is I make. Methinks he doth protest too much! In any case, I hope you'll make this. It's really, really, really good!
*Herbed Mushroom Mac & Cheese*
Serves 6fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 TBS butter
1 shallot peeled and minced
(Or the equivalent in cracker crumbs)
1 TBS butter, melted
Cook the macaroni according to the package directions until al dente. Drain well and then stir this into the mushroom cheese sauce. Spread into a shallow buttered casserole dish.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.
Since I was ill in September I haven't been able to look at a pizza. Pizza was always one of my favourite things . . . it makes me sad that it isn't any longer. I can't get enthused for Chicken Parm either. I had made Chicken Parm Enchiladas that day and well, you know. I haven't even been able to look at the photographs since! It may be a while before you get to see those!
I don't know if it is the combination of the sauce and the cheese and meat or what, but it's been a no go for about a month now . . . until today. Today I decided to create a delicious roasted root vegetable pizza, with a whole wheat crust!
All I can say is wowsa! You get a nice thick crust, not unlike a foccacia . . . and then all of those sweetly caramlized root vegetables nestled amongst not one, not two, but THREE cheeses!
Just look at all of that delicious scrumminess . . . butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, red onions . . . roasted until sticky sweet with some salt, pepper and olive oil . . . nestled on top of that crisp and nutty flavoured crust . . . beneath a blanket of cheese.
A sprinkle of fresh thyme leaves lends an herby touch, which altogether made for a very tasty pizza if I don't say so myself! I do hope you will give it a try! I don't think anyone will be disappointed! Even the Toddster loved this and he's not a pizza fan at all!
*Roasted Root Veggie Pizza*
Serves 4olive oil
While you are roasting the vegetables make the crust. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl Add the hot water and olive oil. Stir togerher well, then tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for five minutes. Turn the bowl over top and allow to stand for 10 minutes. At the end of that time, pop your pizza stone if you are using one into the oven.
I promised to show you something delicious to do with the leftover pumpkin from the fritters yesterday and it here it! Pumpkin Escalloped Potatoes! These may be the tastiest escalloped potatoes you will ever eat! Seriously!
Layers of thinly sliced sweet potatoes and white potatoes, baked in a lucious cream and pumpkin sauce . . . a sauce that is so easy to make even a child could do it. You simply heat the cream and pumpkin together with a bit of garlic and some seasoning.
You just pour the sauce between the layers as you are creating them. I like to alternate the potato slices for looks. You also sprinkle a mix of cheeses between the layers . . .
It's so very simple and so very delicious. People will think you have slaved all day, but it takes merely minutes to put it together. I like recipes like that. Very little effort, but mega results! It's win/win all round! It would make an excellent side dish for the holidays!
*Pumpkin Escalloped Potatoes*
Serves 8
Mix all the cheeses together. Set aside.
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 don't do it very often, and my waistline shows it, but occasionally I do like to try to eat something healthy, and by that I mean low fat and filled with fibre. I do eat healthy for the most part . . . just not low fat, which I suppose means unhealthy. I can't win!
The other day I had some cabbage that needed using up and so I decided to make something for our lunch with that. It's amazing what you can do with just a few simple ingredients and a bit of ingenuity.
One potato, a small cabbage, a large shallot and a tin of beans. That's all this is . . .oh and a smattering of Parmesan on the top. So simple and so tasty.
You cut the potato into small cubes and brown them slowly in ajust a touch of of olive oil. Once they have begun to brown you add some thinly sliced shallot, and then a well drained tin of cannellini beans . . .
You let them brown too, or as much as you can do . . . beans are not something which are easily browned. Then you toss in the cabbage and some fresh thyme leaves . . .
Continue to cook until the cabbage is nice and tender and then serve up. If you cut the cabbage really thin, that shouldn't take too long. Of course if you are impatient you can parboil the cabbage first . . . just drain it really well.
Then again, you may enjoy a bit of crunch. I do enjoy the crunch . . . but my tummy doesn't. I'm afraid my cabbage has to be a bit well done . . . getting old is a pain in the pattootie in a lot of ways . . . and the way that things like this affect my innards is just one of them. (I know! TMI!)
Any ways, this was economical, simple, hearty, delicious and quick.
*White Beans and Cabbage*
Serves 4
This is hearty and satisfying and not altogether unhealthy. I love this.
2 TBS olive oil
1 medium floury potato, unpeeled and cut into small dice
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large Eschalon Shallot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 425g tin of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed and drained again (15 ounce)
1/2 of a small cabbage shredded finely, about 3 cups
the leaves from one sprig of fresh thyme
freshly grated Parmesan cheese to serve
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Toss in the potato cubes once it is hot and stir fry, seasoning with some salt and black pepper, once the potatoes are tender and have begun to brown, add the shallots. Cook and stir for a few minutes, then scoot them to one side with the potatoes. Add the beans in one layer and allow them to brown slightly, scrape them up and allow them to brown some more. Toss in the cabbage and season again lightly, adding the leaves from the thyme. Cook for another few minutes, until the cabbage is limp, but still maintains it's colour.
The timing of this depends on the kind of cabbage you use. A savoy is not as sturdy as a white cabbage, so will not take as long. Give it all a good toss and then slide the whole bunch into a large flat bowl to serve. Dust with a good dusting of Parmesan Cheese and serve, passing more Parmesan at the table.
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