This recipe came about in an attempt to make a 3 course trifle themed meal. Actually four courses, because someone else made the starter. So four trifle courses…
It’s actually an handy and hygienic way of serving a cheese course: everyone gets their own pot/plate/jar.
Ingredients
Cheeses: a slice each per person
A blue-ish, e.g. Castello Blue (Triple Cream Brie, with blue in it)
A soft, e.g. Camembert
A hard, e.g. Cheddar
A fresh, e.g. Cherry Bocconcini or torn Mozzarella
You layer the ingredients, and add in the other garnishes when they will most add to the flavour of the cheese. So: blue cheese, seeded cracker, camembert, dried apricot, smoked almonds, wafer cracker, cheddar, drizzle of honey, water cracker, confit tomatoes, fresh herbs and cherry bocconini.
Savoury trifle, because there are no rules anymore
Being of British descent, this is properly termed porridge. But pumpkin pie and pumpkin pie spice is such a US thing, it should probably be called oatmeal….
While my liquid diet challenge was great for lunches and dinners, eating soup for breakfast was a bridge too far for me. For the most part, I don’t eat breakfast. But the medical issue I am dealing with is exacerbated by fasting, and that means no missing of breakfast.
So what to do about a liquid breakfast diet? I was also supposed to avoid or minimise dairy and fats: so no/minimal milk and no other ingredients that would make smoothies taste palatable.
After looking at liquid diets of this ilk online, porridge (oatmeal) became an option. But only if I processed the oats to cut them down even finer (like home-made steel cut oatmeal). And only if I didn’t use milk in it (or minimal milk in it)
I also had half a tub of pumpkin puree that I’d defrosted by accident thinking it was tomato paste (labeling freezer containers is for those who don’t want adventure in their lives.) How about Pumpkin Pie Porridge/Oatmeal?
Bowl of fancy pumpkin porridge
This will serve 1.
Ingredients
1/2 cup oats: process them in a blender to make the oats even finer (they will cook quicker and also good if you are on a liquid diet)
3-5 tbsp pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp – 1/4 cup low fat milk
1-11/2 cup water
Brown sugar to serve
Pop your oats and water into a small saucepan on a low heat. The secret to cooking oats on the stovetop is use a low-medium heat and always be close to stir, by their very nature they congeal as they cook so they develop heat pockets: stirring is important to keep the heat evenly distributed.
As the oats start to soften and expand (should take half a minute to a minute), add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup. Stir well to combine and then let cook for half a minute.
Maple syrup and pumpkin add some sweetness, so taste the porridge, At this point add the low fat milk and you may need to add a teaspoon of brown sugar at this point as well. Porridge should not be too sweet, so don’t go overboard.
Once the oats are cooked and the liquid absorbed into them (maybe 4-5 minutes tops), spoon into a bowl and top with a scatter of brown sugar. Because you added some milk in the cooking process, there’s no need to add additional milk to this.
And just think: you’ve eaten a vegetable as part of breakfast!!!! You’re already started on your 5 and 2 for today, you hero!
Full disclosure: this is a photo of a half measure of the recipe
Risotto is super nice, super economical, can stretch to feed many (this recipe makes enough for 6) but it’s rarely a dinner party go to because you have to stir it so much. Well: enter the oven baked risotto, where once you’ve done the prep, you can chuck it in the oven, and all you need to do is check it occasionally to top up the stock.
And a red wine risotto is quite unusual! With the contrast of the dark red of the wine staining the rice and the bright orange of the pumpkin, this is one of the easier WOW moment dishes you can make for a dinner party!
Ingredients
This makes servings for about 6, with some left overs or second helpings.
800gm of pumpkin cut into wedges with the skin on
4 tbsp cup olive oil
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
1/2 cup Merlot
100gm butter diced
3 shallots, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups medium grain rice
1L stock (I use 2 tsp vegeta stock powder to 1L boiling water)
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan plus 1/2 cup more to serve
Preheat oven to 180°. Toss pumpkin with 1 tbsp olive oil and rosemary and roast until pumpkin and skin are tender (~40 minutes). Set aside.
In a frypan, fry shallots and garlic in remaining oil under fragrant and tender. Add in rice and cook stirring until rice is well coated and starting to turn white. Decant the frypan into a good sized baking dish (a large ceramic rectangular one is perfect: mine is about 23cm x 33cm) and pour over the merlot and stock (if all the stock doesn’t fit in, leave to the side as you can top up when cooking). Mix well to combine, dot the risotto with the butter cubes, season and pop into the oven.
Full disclosure: this is a photo of a half measure of the recipe
At about 15-20 minutes, take the risotto out of the oven and stir. Add any remaining stock at this point and stir in half of the pumpkin. Return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes (check seasoning and if the rice is cooked and adjust the cooking time accordingly).
Then take out, stir in the parmesan and then while that is incorporating strew the rest of the pumpkin over the dish. Have extra parmesan at the table, and let everyone serve themselves.
Salsa and soup…and evidence that I cannot neatly ladle soup into these bowls.
Ingredients
Soup
Makes about 6 servings
1 kg of carrots, peeled and chopped into lengths
1 brown onion, diced finely
1 garlic clove, crushed
1-2 tsp dried rosemary
Olive oil
Vegeta stock powder
Salsa
Makes about 4 servings.
1/4 of a thinly sliced red onion
1 tsp red wine vinegar
handful of basil and parsley, finely chopped
1 cup of roasted red peppers, diced
Soup: Heat your oven to 180°, pop some baking paper on a sheet pan and tip on your carrots. Drizzle with olive oil and rosemary and a sprinkle of salt and pepper then pop in the oven for 40 minutes or until soft. You will need to turn them once or twice to ensure they get lovely and roasted all over. Meanwhile boil a kettle and mix your 1-2 tsp vegeta with 2 cups of boiling water.
Once your carrots are roasted you are GTG for the rest of the soup. In a large saucepan, cook your brown onion until soft and translucent, then add your garlic into the pan, cook until fragrant and then add your carrots. Stir well and cook for a minute or two, then add your 500mL of stock and another 500mL of water. Bring to the boil and then cook on a low heat with the lid on for about 40 minutes, season to taste.
Take off the heat and cool, then blend in a blender or an immersion blender. Once blended and cooled, you can chill (or even freeze) the soup at this point and reheat when needed. If the soup is a little too thick, add a little water when you reheat and check the seasoning.
Souper
Salsa: Combine red onion and the vinegar in a bowl and let stand for at least an hour until the onion softens. Then add in the herbs and capsicum, stir well and season with salt and pepper then let stand for about 30 minutes. Spoon on top of soup just before serving.
Marinading to release the flavours
Hot tips: Grit your teeth and respond with “No it doesn’t” when one of your friends leaps to assume it has coriander in it because there is something green in it (and they have apparently forgotten the numerous times over the years they have highlighted they don’t like coriander to you and the numerous times you have remembered that particular dislike without needing to be prompted when catering for their culinary preferences as they stand for this particular month). And grit your teeth and respond with “NO it doesn’t” when another of your friends says “is that tomato” (because they have forgotten the numerous times over the years they have highlighted the fact they don’t like tomato and the numerous times you have remembered that particular dislike without needing to be prompted when catering for their particular culinary idiosyncracies.) Then have another glass of wine.
I freely confess that I had two agendas for planting nasturtiums in my backyard:
I do love the flowers, and their leaves, and the fact that they spread everywhere each year…enroaching a little bit more on each part of my tiny back garden
I’ve always wanted a source of edible flowers on tap, and boy do I have that this year.
Flowers…not just for decoration
This salad is just a simple riff on an italian salad, which I jzuzzed with my nasturtiums.
Too pretty to eat? I think not.
Ingredients
Several large handfuls of rocket
1 pear, thinly sliced (go for a Beurre Bosc or a Golden Pear)
Shaved parmesan (you know it has to be freshly shaved)
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
2 tbps Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Nasturtium flowers, as many as you think your guests will eat
Arrange layers of your rocket, pear and parmesan on a platter. Mix up the balsamic with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and then artfully (has to be artfully) arrange your nasturtium flowers around the platter. Serve!
Serves 4.
Additional options:
Serve individual plates of salad with a poached egg or two on top for a light dinner, or quartered soft boiled eggs
Sprinkle capers in the salad for a tangy bite (goes really well if you are including the egg)
Mushrooms to the left, tomatoes to the right…stuck on a platter for you
I have to confess that I am one of those people who can’t be trusted with a tub of plain cottage cheese: I like it. No: I really like it.
Cottage cheese is more savoury than ricotta (which I also like, but not quite as much). You can eat it straight from the tub, have it on salada crackers for lunch (when your boss might ask you if you are dieting, to which you reply: no I just like cottage cheese), you can add it in place of ricotta to many savoury things….and I have started using it in place of cream cheese (contentious I know) when I make canapes.
There are a couple of rules around cottage cheese:
Never, ever, ever buy pre-flavoured cottage cheese. Buy it unadulterated and add any flavourings you want after the fact…if there is any cottage cheese left over once you’ve attacked the tub with a spoon.
Always buy 500mL, never the 250mL. You will always be able to eat more of it than you think
Don’t leave me alone with a tub of it, if there is a spoon in easy reach
Beginnings of a nice high tea
I invented this recipe when I had Les Chicas over for high tea: it’s a great one for vegetarians and very cheap and simple to make.
Ingredients
8 slices of baguette bread
Spray olive oil
8 tbsp cottage cheese (let’s say about 150mL of your 500mL tub)
a selection of fresh herbs, finely sliced: I went with parsley and chives from my garden
6 cherry tomatoes sliced in two
3 button mushrooms sliced thinly
sprig of rosemary
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Pop the cottage cheese in a bowl, mix through your finely sliced fresh herbs and season with salt and pepper. Pop in the fridge to infuse until you are ready.
Spray olive oil onto each side of your baguette slices, and toast until both sides are golden under your grill, leave to cool.
Oil a small baking dish, place your cherry tomato halves in it and pop in the oven to bake until they are slightly dried and charred (takes about 15-20 minutes at the most). While the tomatoes are baking, heat olive oil and rosemary in a small frypan and fry your button mushroom slices until they are luscious and softened.
To serve: top each crostini with a tbsp of the cottage cheese mix, then place either mushrooms or cherry tomato halves on each crostini. You will end up with 4 of each type of crostini. Grate some salt and pepper over your crostini and challenge anyone who says cottage cheese is only a diet food.
This is another soup from my winter 5:2 fasting days. With the peas, it’s a bit more filling than the zucchini soup.
Pop Aye’s favourite soup?
Ingredients
1 brown onion, diced
4 sticks celery, sliced
200gm frozen peas
250gm frozen spinach
1 zucchini, diced
1.7L water
1-2 tsp vegeta stock powder
Olive oil
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Heat the olive oil in a large pot, add the onions and celery, cook until onions are translucent. Add in the zucchini and cook until it softens a bit. Add the water and stock powder and simmer for about 20-30 minutes (celery should be softened). Add in the peas and frozen spinach and cook for about 5 minutes.
Take pot off heat and cool, then blend to combine (it’s easiest if you use a stick mixer).
Makes about 5 servings, and each serving is around 60-70 calories.
This is another recipe for my 5:2 diet days: it’s warming and filling while also being very low calorie and easy to make.
Ingredients
Eggplant (diced into 1.5cm cubes)
Zucchini, medium sized (slice into 1cm thick slices, then quarter those)
1 brown onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1 jar tomato passata or two tins diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
Dried thyme (I use sprigs I’ve harvested from my garden)
Dried rosemary (two large pinches)
Olive Oil
t tsp Vegeta stock powder
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Heat the oil in a large casserole pot, add the onion and fry until translucent. Add the garlic, rosemary and thyme and the eggplant and continue frying until the eggplant is slightly softened. Add the zucchini and stir to mix well and coat it with the oil. Add 2 cups of hot water and the vegeta stock powder and simmer with the lid on for about 5 minutes. Add your tomato paste and your tomatoes (either the passata or the tinned tomatoes), replace the lid and bring to a simmer, then turn down low and cook for about 30 minutes.
This makes about 6 serves, and is about 80-100 calories per serve tops.
Why have egg and cress sandwiches, when you can be totally extra and have egg and two cress sandwiches?
Is it egg and two cress, or egg and two cresses?
It’s all very Famous Five, but these are absolutely delish sandwiches to serve at a high tea (or to take on a picnic where you solve mysteries accompanied by potted meat sandwiches, seed cake and lashings of ginger beer).
Substantial high tea, artfully photographed.
Embarrassingly: the reason why I purchased the lebanese cress is because I saw Shane Delia’s cooking show and decided I simply must grow lebanese cress… Now that I have grown it successfully: I’ve been struggling to find recipes to include it in. Luckily a shortage of home grown watercress, a surplus of lebanese cress and an impending high tea led to this recipe-spiration 😉
Note to self: find time to search for Shane Delia and locate his recipes using lebanese cress.
Sandwiches hiding behind neverfail chocolate cake
I cut my sandwiches into 4 triangles, and people will generally eat 2-3 triangles per person. I’ve written this recipe so you can easily make as much as you need for your high teas, picnics and assorted mystery-solving adventures.
Aerial perspective.
Ingredients
1 hard boiled egg per sandwich (peeled, obvs)
1 spring onion, green part only chopped finely (0.5 of an end per sandwich is a good ratio but it does depend on how long your spring onion is)
4-5 sprigs of lebanese cress per sandwich, leaves only (cut the leaves off the stalk)
2-3 tbsp of watercress leaves (or land cress leaves) per sandwich, leaves only (cut the leaves off the stalk)
1 dessert spoon of egg mayonnaise per sandwich
2 slices of white sandwich bread, buttered (or nuttelexed, or margarined: whatever your preference)
Salt and pepper to season
Mash your boiled egg(s) in a bowl: I like to use a potato masher to break them up finely, and then a fork to stir. Add in the spring onion, lebanese cress leaves, water/land cress leaves and egg mayonnaise. Stir well with the fork to ensure the egg and other ingredients are completely and evenly mixed through.
Taste, and add salt and pepper to your liking.
You use about 1-2 dessert spoons of this mixture per sandwich, so pop your spoonfuls of egg-and-two-cress-mixture on one of the slices of bread and smooth out evenly to cover the whole slice of bread, then cover with the other slice of bread and THEN cut into 4 triangles.
#Chefsrecommendation
These sandwiches aresomuch more satisfying as triangles.
This Mac N Cheese is a little bit extra, if I do say so myself. It’s not for the calorie counters, or the carb and dairy avoiders. Oh no: not for you. Not for you at all.
Ingredients
1.5-2 cups of elbow macaroni (dried)
2 tbsp butter
1-2 cup milk
1 cup stock made up (I use vegeta vegetable stock)
100gms provolone, finely grated (you could substitute a tasty cheddar)
100gms parmesan, finely grated
100gms gruyere, finely grated
Panko breadcrumbs
Olive Oil
Cook the curly macaroni in salted water and drain. Oil a large baking dish and pre-heat the oven to 170°C.
In a large saucepan (it needs to be large because you will be adding the macaroni to it), melt the butter and add the spring onions and when you can smell the cooked onions, add the flour (you’re now making a roux), stir while cooking. If it starts to stick add a tiny bit of olive oil (less than 1/2 tbsp) and keep stirring. and the roux is a nice golden colour, add 1/3 of the milk to it, turn the heat down to low-medium and stir until fully combined. Now add the rest of the cup of milk and stir until combined.
Turn the heat up to medium and add the pasta, and stir until covered in sauce (congratulations, you’ve just made pasta with white sauce). The sauce should be starting to thicken at this point, so turn down the heat to low-medium and then add your provolone, parmesan and gruyere cheese one at a time, stirring thoroughly when you do.
Once the cheese has melted into the white sauce, take off the heat. Tip out into your baking dish (you can freeze any surplus and microwave, it’s very nice). Tuck your pieces of Creamy Blue Castello into the pasta in the dish (making sure every part of the dish has a portion of goodness), top with panko breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of parmesan and/or gruyere and a drizzle of olive oil.
Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes (it’s already cooked, you are just heating the top and melting the cheese). Then serve…#yourewelcome
life at 1:1 scale 