I have had this salad recipe in my to make file for a couple of years now.It's one that I collected from those booklets that Waitrose used to put out seasonally.  I have a whole bunch of those and I am slowly cooking  my way through them.

 

I thought this salad looked really interesting . . . with a wonderful variety of textures, flavours and colours . . .

 

You get the salty creamy tang of the Feta cheese, along with the crunch of savoury toasted almonds . . . a sweet hot bite from the sweetfire pickled beetroot . . . not obnoxiously hot, but it's there . . . and then there is that lovely green from the coriander, the nuttiness of the couscous . . . and then that spicy, orangy dressing . . .



Altogether, they make for one pretty fabulous salad.

 

I served it with Nigel's Roast Chicken.



It was good . . .very, VERY good.

 

*Beetroot, Feta, Almond and Couscous Salad*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A deliciously different salad, with lots of lovely flavours and textures, and plenty of colour.

the grated zest and juice of 1 orange (scrub the orange really well first)
200ml of boiling water (scant cup)
50g of toasted flaked almonds (scant 1/3 cup)
200g of Greek Feta Cheese, crumbled (7 1/2 ounces)
1/2 of a 180g pack of Sweetfire pickled beetroot, diced (about 5 or 6 small beetroots)
20g pack of mint or fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped roughly (1/4 cup)
150g of couscous (scant cup)
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
salt and black pepper to taste

Put the couscous into a bowl.  Pour over 200ml of boiling water.  Cover and let stand for 10 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed.

Whisk together the oil, orange juice, zest and cinnamon while you are waiting. 

Fluff up the couscous with a fork and pour over the dressing.  Taste and adjust seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste.  (Be judicious with the salt as the Feta cheese is salty.)

Fold in the cheese, beetroot and mint or coriander.  Serve.

Note, if you cannot get the hot and sweet pickled beetroot, use normal sweet pickled beetroot, drained and add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper to the dressing.

Speaking of salads, have you checked out my newest cookbooklet yet?  Great British Picnics.  It's up in my right hand side bar . . .   At the risk of  tooting  my horn a  tiny bit . . . you really don't miss out on something which is also very good.  It will be taken off in a few weeks time, so you will want to grab one now while you can!

 

Sixty years ago, the English writer GK Chesterton wrote, `If an Englishman has understood a Frenchman, he has understood the most foreign of foreigners. The nation that is nearest is now the furthest away.'   We even chose to measure the distance between differently . . . for us it's miles . . . for them kilometers . . . We tend to think of them as roly poly individuals wearing berets, with ropes of garlic hanging around their necks . . . and then tend to think of us as being rather "toffee-nosed" and tasteless . . . capable only of cooking a good roast beef.



Our relationship has always been tenuous at best . . . a real love/hate kind of thing!  We noticed when on those times we have spent in France . . . you can get delicious cheeses from all over the world . . . but there are no British Cheeses, or at least we have never been able to find them.  The Toddster finds that very hard to take . . . a world without cheddar is a world that is missing something very dear to his heart!

 

I do like French food as a whole though . . . well with the exception of brains and snails . . . oh and frog's legs, that is.  (Just imagine all those poor frogs having to get around in wheelchairs!  Poor things!  It may taste like chicken . . . but . . . um . . . I'm not fond of chicken with freckles.  'Nuff said!!)

 

Anyhoooo . . . I do love most French food, and I think most Brit's do.  A lot of the higher class restaurants here in the UK carry French dishes on the menu . . . seriously.  Love . . . hate . . .



This is a delicious salad, which one might easily find in any French Bistro . . . but, when you look at it . . . it's not really any different than an English Salad . . . except that it uses a tasty vinaigrette instead of salad cream.

 

For years the English did not do salad very well . . . and indeed, it can still be very difficult to find a decent salad when out and about here in the UK.  Britain . . . a salad does not have to be just a bunch of lettuce leaves, some sliced cucumber and tomato and spring onions on a plate, with a squeeze packet of salad cream on the side (If any dressing is offered at all, it often isn't.  What's with that???).



A salad can be as diverse as the people who enjoy eating them.  To some . . . that aforementioned combination might well be the salad of their dreams!  To others . . . well, it's sadly lacking.
Early on in our marriage when I told Todd I was making us a salad for lunch, he turned up his nose and said . . . "I don't really like salad.  Salad is boring."  Well . . . he had never had one of mine and now he quite likes it, I am very happy to say!



I can say with all impunity . . . I have never served him a boring salad.  A salad is only as good as the ingredients used, and the dressing you choose to drizzle over it.  Fresh ingredients, with a delicious combination of colours, textures and tastes . . . with an incredibly scrummy dressing . . . perhaps some crisp croutons, homemade please. That's what makes a good salad GREAT! Nom! Nom!



 *Salade Composé*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

This literally means "Composed Salad."  The ingredients are layered on top of each other rather than being tossed together.  I love the tangy vinaigrette.

For the salad:
1 small French Baguette
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
60ml of extra virgin olive oil (1/4 cup)
6 rashers of streaky bacon, rind removed
150g of salad leaves (about 4 cups)
6 ripe plum tomatoes, sliced thinly
4 hard boiled eggs, halved lengthwise

For the Dressing:
60ml of sherry vinegar (1/4 cup)
80ml of extra virgin olive oil (1/3 cup)
3 tsp of good quality Dijon mustard
1 tsp runny honey
fine seasalt and cracked black pepper to taste

Put all of the dressing ingredients into a jar with a screw top lid.  Give it a good shake.  Set aside.

Preheat the grill to high.  Cut the bread into 1/2 inch slices.  Combine the garlic and oil for the salad.  Brush this mixture onto both sides of the bread slices.  Toast under the grill until golden brown.  Set aside and keep warm.  (Don't let them burn!)

Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet until crisp.  Place onto paper kitchen toweling to drain.  Set aside.

Layer the salad leaves in top of each of 4 chilled places.  Top with the bread slices, and bacon broken into chunky bits.  Top with the egg and tomatoes.  Give the vinaigrette another shake and drizzle some over each salad.  Pass the remainder at the table.

 

Ohh, by the way, speaking of salads . . . I don't know if you noticed or not but my newest Cookbooklet is out!  The Great British Picnic.  It's a fabulous little booklet if I don't say so myself.  Twenty Eight brilliant pages containing over 36  new recipes, including several types of flavoured mayonnaises, flavoured butters, beautiful sandwiches, delicious spreads, a variety of cool soups, refreshing beverages, picky bits, cakes and general scrumminess, all perfect for celebrating the summer season in a very British Picnic Way. (We are great picnickers over here!)  It's available now, for a limited time up there  in the right hand sidebar of my page.  I really had a lot of fun putting this together.  It will only be available until my departure to Canada at the end of this month, so you will want to act quickly if it is something you want to have. 

 

We had a really beautiful day here today. (It is Monday as I am writing this.)   There were the odd showers, but for the most part it was sunny and dry, and fairly warm, as long as you were out of the wind.  Pity it hadn't been like this yesterday during the Thames Jubilee Pageant . . . but it looks to be a lovely evening for the concert tonight at Buckingham Palace!



The shop shelves are starting to fill up with early British Strawberries now.  My plants in the garden have small green berries on them, but it's far too early yet for us to be eating our own.  (I do hope we get a taste before we go away at the end of the month.  I would hate to miss them!!)



There is nothing more beautiful to the taste . . . than a lovely British Strawberry.  Seriously.  The strawberries over here taste like the memory of berries from my childhood . . . you know the kind I mean . . . the ones you pinched and ate when nobody was looking, when you were crouched down picking strawberries for a summer job.  Back breaking labour  . . . yes.  Very little pay . . . yes . . . fringe benefits . . . all the berries you could eat without being caught!!  (I know.  I am a naughty girl!)

 

Anyways, British strawberries.  I love them.  I can't get enough of them during strawberry season, seriously.  I only ever very rarely have any at any other time of the year.  Those out of season berries never fail to disappoint, which is rather good in a way, because it makes me appreciate these seasonal British summer berries all the more!

 

I love to show case them in many ways . . . pies, crumbles, cakes . . . shortcakes!  I like to eat them on my cereal in the morning, and just out of hand as a snack.

Today I made this irresistibly deliciously different salad . . . which perfectly showcases these beautiful berries.

 

A lovely apple balsamic dressing, flavoured lightly with shallots . . . salty proscuitto crudo, mild and creamy buffalo mozzarella cheese, meaty and spicy wild rocket . . . and beautifully ripe and sweet British Strawberries.

 

I'm sure you'll absolutely adore this.  We did. (adapted from a Waitrose Seasonss cookbooklet, 2009)

 

 *Strawberry and Mozzarella Salad*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A delicious salad, which is not only simple and quick to make but makes a great  and unsual use of seasonal berries.

2 TBS Apple Balsamic Vinegar
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp caster sugar (fine sugar)
2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
2 X 80g packs or Italian Proscuitto Crudo (about 8 thin slices)
1 ball of Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese, drained and torn (about 1/4 pound)
250g of strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced (1/4 pound)
2 X 50g packs of wild rocket leaves, washed and dried (about 4 cups, arugula)

Whisk the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sugar and shallots together in a large bowl.  Season well with black pepper.  Set aside.

Divide the proscuitto between 4 chilled salad plates.  Scatter with the mozzarella.  Toss the strawberries and rocket into the bowl with the dressing.  Toss gently to coat.  Divide equally amongst the salad plates, placing it on top of the meat and cheese.  Drizzle any leftover dressing over top .  Serve immediately.

Note - You won't need any salt as the proscuitto is quite salty.

There is nothing like sitting down in the summer, and enjoying a tasty salad made from the freshest ingredients that England has to offer. I find organic vegetables are great in salads. They have a lot more flavour, and I love finding new recipes to bring out the best 
in these simple ingredients.







































 













 
I truly believe better looking food tastes better and it is always worth putting time into the presentation. Another great idea that I stole from chinese cuisine, is to add one or two decorative flowers. All you have to do is to take a slice of carrot and cut out the outline of a flowers.

About the Author: Sophie is from hungryhouse the UK’s leading delivery portal to order your takeaway   online. She is a food, travel and lifestyle blogger, who enjoys nothing more than combining the three.

Many thanks to Sophie for an informative post and a great recipe!

I have some guest posts over HERE this weekend!  I'm blogging about Street Party Food!  It's in three PARTS.http://mypassionforfood.co.uk/

 

My very British Husband is quite fond of telling me that eating peanut butter and jam together is completely insane.  That didn't stop him from scarfing down three of these as soon as I had them finished though!  (Me thinks he is a bit of a porkie pie teller and that he secretly LOVES the combination as much as I do!)



Could it be that I have finally indoctrinated him to my wild and wooly North American ways????  Could it be that his veins are beginning to run a tiny bit  with peanut butter and jam???  I like to think so at any rate!  This is a combination I love soooo much!  It's that sweet and salty thing!

 

Today I decided to indulge it by making little peanut butter cookie cups.  I was going to make them snickers cups . . . but then I got sidelined by the Thames Jubilee Pageant and so I just filled them with jam before baking and then topped them with a quick buttercream icing.  I wanted to sit and watch all the fun!
(Oh my but it was fabulous!  I've never seen anything like it.  Everyone was turned out beautifully.  I thought Kate was just gorgeous, as always, and the Queen looked positively radiant!)

 

This is the type of thing I would positively make for Her Royal Majesty, did she ever chance to drop in for tea.  I would want to bake her something to with her cuppa that was ludicrously North American and what can be any more North American than Peanut Butter and Jam!!  (I don't think she'd enjoy porqupine . . . not really.)

 

Crisp peanut butter cookie cups . . . baked with a sweet dab of jam in the middle . . . then topped with a peanut butter flavoured butter cream frosting.  Oh so scrummishly moreishly decadently good!!  Bet YOU couldn't eat just one either!

 

*Peanut Butter and Jam Cookie Cups*
Makes about 36
Printable Recipe

Tasty little peanut butter cookie cups, filled with jam and baked until crispy and then topped with a peanutbutter flavoured buttercream icing when cool.  M-O-R-E-I-S-H!!

For the cookie cups:
200g of flour (2 cups)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
172g of unsalted butter at room temperature (3/4 cup)
135g of creamy peanut butter (3/4 cup)
96g of caster sugar (1/2 cup)
100g of soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
1 large free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla
seedless raspberry jam

For the frosting:
6 TBS unsalted butter at room temperature
100g of icing sugar (3/4 cup) sifted
135g of creamy peanut butter (3/4 cup)
3 TBS heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Have ready several mini juffin tins.  Spray with some nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter and peanut butter until thorougly combined.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Whisk together the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda.  Stir this in to make a soft dough.  Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls.  Place one in each muffin cup.  Press in with the bottom of a rolling pin, or a pastry damper to make a shell.  Fill the centres with about 1/2 tsp of jam.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.  They should be lightly golden brown around the edges.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove and set on a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

To make the frosting, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.  Spoon or pipe a little dab of this frosting into the centre of each cookie cup to cover the jam.  Allow to set completely.

Alternately the cookie dough can be rolled into walnut sized balls and pressed flat with a fork on a lightly buttered baking tray.   You can then bake them for about 10 to 12 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.  Put together with a layer of jam and a layer of the peanut butter flavoured buttercream!

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  If you can eat just one, you're a better woman than I am!!

 

 In any case if you didn't want to go to the trouble of making these as cookie cups, you could just bake them as regular peanut butter cookies and then sandwich them together with some of the frosting and some jam!

 

 

I was feeling very nostalgic today and so I made a Date & Nut loaf.  I just love Date & Nut loaf, and so does Todd.



My mother always made a beautiful one.  We loved it when she made it and when she made her War Cake for us at Christmas.  (It was full of fat sticky raisins! I love raisins.)

 

I couldn't find mom's recipe today though . . . so I used my ex mother in law's.  It's a really good recipe too.  Moist and scrummy . . . and filled with lots of walnuts and sticky dates.

 

Oh so perfect with a hot cuppa herbal tea.  Spread with butter . . . of course.  In for a penny, in for a pound!

 

Perfect for elevensies, or afternoo tea . . . or for just munching on when you feel a bit peckish.

 

It's very low fat . . . there are only 2 TBS of fat in the entire loaf.  That's not bad eh!
I think I'll have another piece!



*Mrs R's Date and Nut Loaf*
Makes one 8 by 4 loaf
Printable Recipe

A moist and delicious loaf to serve with tea.

1 cup dates, chopped (170g)
3/4 cup boiling water (6 fluid ounces)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 TBS butter
3/4 cup sugar (145g)
1 large free range egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour (150g)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (60g)
several whole walnuts to decorate

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.  Butter and flour an 8 by 4 inch loaf tin.  Set aside.

Put the dates into a bowl.  Pour the boiling water over top and add the soda.  Mix, cover and let stand until the mixture cools.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Stir in the flour and salt, then add the cooled date mixture.  Stir in the chopped walnuts Don't over mix.  Spread in the prepared loaf tin.  Smooth over the top.  Place a few whole walnut halves on top in a decorative manner.  Bake for 1 hour or until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Allow to sit in the pan for 5 minutes, before tipping out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Store covered in an airtight container.  This tastes even better the next day.  We like it sliced and spread with softened butter.

It's Saturday and I have a horrible cold.  I'm afraid I'm sadly lacking in inspiration and the energy to do much of anything.  I don't like to let any of you down, but for today . . . all you are getting is a repost of a cake I posted about a few years back . . .

It is a fabulous cake though, so I am quite sure you'll all forgive me.  ☺

I wrote it at the end of a week when I had not much in the house too cook with and I hadn't gone grocery shopping yet.  I came up with a real cracker though despite my lack of ingredients.  And now . . . I'll leave you to it . . .



In the fruit bowl are some lemons and one lime that need using up along with a half a bag of pistachios, leftover from a night of indulgence in front of the telly  . . .



What to do, what to do . . . sigh . . . wheels turning, turning, turning . . . I'm having a rather lazy day today and am feeling a bit indolent . . .



I think  I'll bake a cake.  It won't matter what we have for our tea tonight, if I have a great cake to serve for after's.  A scrummy teatime cake . . . all moreishly buttery and rich.  Even spaghetti on toast will taste good if there's a lovely cake waiting in the wings . . .



If there's cake, even peanut butter sandwiches are ok for tea . . . coz . . . well . . .  there's cake for afters, people . . . home baked CAKE!!



Not just any cake though . . . a lovely moist and buttery cake, filled with crunchy pistachios and lemon, and topped with lucious candied lemon and lime slices and of course,  some more crunchily addictive pistachio nuts.  (I love, LOVE pistachio nuts!)



Baked until scrummy and then glazed while still warm with some of the syrup leftover from candying the fruit slices . . .  oh, it is soooo good . . . all sticky and sweet, and yet tart and tasting somewhat of honey . . . a bit amber in colour as well.



It looks beautiful.  All glistening and smelling so buttery . . .  and citrusy . . .  and good.  Bliss, pure and utter bliss . . . food for the eyes, for the nose and for the mouth . . .



I think a nice big slice with a dollop of creme fraiche on top will go down a real treat, don't you?  (I may even have two!)



*Lemon and Pistachio Cake*
Makes one 9 inch round cake
Serving  around 8 people

A deliciously tangy cake covered with sweet  candied slices of fruit and crunchy pistachios!  A wonderful teatime  treat!  Make sure you use good quality shelled pistachios (not the  roasted salted ones please).

For the candied fruit:
1 lemon  sliced
1 lime sliced
100g caster sugar (generous 1/2 cup)
100ml  of water (6 TBS plus 2 tsp water)

For the cake:
125g unsalted  butter, softened (2/3 cup)
75g caster sugar (a generous 3/4 cup of  superfine sugar)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
125g  plain flour (a  generous 1 cup)
pinch of table salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
125g  shelled pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped (about 4 1/2 ounces)
the  juice and grated zest of one unwaxed lemon
the zest of one lime

To  serve: icing sugar to dust

First do the fruit.  Combine the  sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat until the sugar  dissolves.  Bring to the boil and boil for several minutes.  Add the  sliced fruit, reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Remove  from the heat and allow to cool in the syrup before draining, reserving  the syrup.  Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/Gas mark 2  1/2.  Butter a 9 inch round cake tin and line with parchment paper.   Set aside.

Cream together the sugar and the butter until light  and fluffy.  Slowly beat in the eggs.  sift together the slour, salt and  baking powder.  Stir in to mix completely.  Stir in two thirds of hte  chopped nuts and the lemon and lime zests.  Stir in about 1 TBS of the  syrup from the drained fruit.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared  baking pan.  Top with the slices of candied fruit and sprinkle the  pistachio nuts evenly over top of all.  Drizzle with a bit of the  reserved syrup.  Bake in the heated oven on the middle shelf for about  40 minutes.  Test with a toothpick to see if it is done.  A toothpick  inserted in the centre should come out clean, and the top should spring  back when gently pressed.  Remove from the oven and allow to sit in the  pan for about 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish  cooling.  Brush the top of the cake with some more of the reserved  syrup.

If desired dust with icing sugar before cutting into  wedges to serve.

Know what people.  Having a bad cold is the pits . . . but having a rotten bad cold on the Queens Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend . . . is the worst thing of all.  All I want to do is go to bed with my hot water bottle and some aspirin . . .