beetroot salad
After a few weeks of Internet-deprivation, I’m now online again. It’s nice, but actually the time off-line hasn’t been all bad either. One of the nicer things was this salad. Enjoyed with a nice glass of cold white wine out on the patio, it was a definite culinary hit!
You’ll need:
1/4 kg beetroot
lettuce (I used marché and rocket/aragula)
200 g goat’s cheese
quinoa enough for two people
roasted pine nuts
And here’s how to:
1. Peel the beets and cut them into wedges. Boil them until soft (app 30 min).
2. Prepare the quinoa according to the instructions on the package.
3. Rinse the lettuce and spread it on a platter.
4. Spoon the slightly cooled quinoa over the lettuce.
5. Place the beets on top.
6. Cut the cheese into pieces and spread it evenly over the beets. It’ll melt slightly, which is exactly the point.
7. Sprinkle with oil and some balsamic vinegar. Add some pepper and salt and finish by spreading some pine nuts over the salad.
halloumi wraps
Yay, summer is finally here! All those long, dark winter nights have been replaced with light and sun and warmth! Well, with light anyway, becuase the past few days have been horribly cold. But last week when the weather was fine we had a nice picnic by the water with wine and these very easy to make and easy to bring wraps.
If you’re not familiar with halloumi, it’s a salty cheese from Cyprus that that has a very unique texture. Since it has a much higher melting point than oridnary cheese, it’s perfect to grill – it turns out nothing like your ordinary grilled cheese! If you haven’t, you should find some and try it. It’s delicious!
Balsamico syrup is one of those things I over-use. I’m crazy about anything slightly acidic so I’m a huge fan of vinegar. This way, however, you get some of the tartness of a vinegar but with a lot of added sweetness and the texture of, say, mustard, which makes it much more easy to manage.
You need (per person):
1 tortilla (mine was flavoured with garlic and herbs)
1 tbsp cream cheese
lettuce
5 cocktail tomatoes, coarsely chopped
some spring onion, chopped
100 g halloumi
balsamico syrup
a little olive oil
salt, pepper
How to:
- Rinse and shred the lettuce and chop the tomatoes and the onion.
- Slice the halloumi and grill it in a frying pan in a little oil until it is golden.
- Spread the cream cheese over the wrap and put the lettuce, tomatoes and onions on it
- Add as much balsamico syrup as you like and add a little salt and pepper.
- Finish by putting the slices of halloumi on top and wrap it up.
Now, put on your bikini, grab a wine bottle and a blanket – and head out into the nice summer weather!
gnocchi gratin
I think I’ve mentioned before that I love gnocchi. The other day I decided to try something new with them – putting them in a gratin. The results were quite good. I mean, it won’t win any prizes for good looks, but it tasted great and was really easy to make.
You need:
250 g gnocchi (Italian pasta/potato dumplings)
2/3 cup cottage cheese
50 g feta cheese
100 g of frozen spinach
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tsp forest spice blend
salt, pepper
How to:
- Defrost the spinach.
- Mix the cheeses, the spinach, the garlic and the spices using a food processor.
- Put the gnocchi in a bowl and pour the cheese mix on top. Stir until it is thoroughly blended.
- Put it in a oven-proof dish and bake it at 200 °C (400 °F ) for 20 – 25 minutes.
