OLIVE OIL CROUTON SALAD WITH BABY PLUM TOMATO AND BASIL

Wickedly tasty salad that can be eaten as a snack or a starter in summer. Food cannot get any simpler than this, although this salad is dry you have a back ground of olive oil from the croutons and enough moisture from the the baby plum tomatoes to make this salad work!

RECIPE;

PER A PERSON - LET YOUR COMMON SENSE PREVAIL IF SERVING MORE THAN ONE AS A STARTER!!

12 olive oil croutons
2 baby plum tomatoes
5 basil leaves torn
1 tbsp of parmesan cheese
1 tsp of lemon
Pinch of sea sal and one good turn of the pepper mill.

Place the croutons and tomatoes in a serving dish/bowl, season with the salt and pepper. Scatter the basil leaves and grated parmesan then add the lemon. Serve!

NOTE;
Croutons can be frozen or stored for a couple of days in an airtight container.

TOMATO AND MOZZARELLA SALAD

Simplicity is sometimes all it takes to awaken those taste buds. Take five good quality ingredients, some quality sea salt and a touch of black pepper, add the time it takes to slice some tomatoes, tear a little mozzarella, then add the oil and vinegar, and i guarantee nothing short of heaven! I will not give measurements for this but rather a guide as success will depend fully on your appreciation of quality produce and especially your own palate. I prefer more oil than most!

RECIPE;

Tomatoes (assorted varieties if possible).

Mozzarella

Basil

Balsamic vinegar (best you can afford, a little goes along way)

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper

Method;

First slice your tomatoes, arrange as you wish, cut side up. Season to your liking. Tear the amount of mozzarella you desire and place randomly around the plate and over the tomatoes. I like to allow a tablespoon of oil per person, a little less if serving as a starter. Drizzle the oil around the plate, then do the same with Balsamic vinegar allowing a teaspoon per a person. Tear fresh basil leaves to finish the dish. Finish by randomly scattering the leaves around the plate!

SALAD

What can be better on a summers evening than freshly picked leaves from the garden, soft boiled eggs and croutons with a little fresh dressing made in the present. Well lots really but those things that are better are normally not attainable. What little summer we actually have in the UK, we better make the most of , as like all good things they don't tend to last. With the short season for asparagus and new potatoes nearly over, and fresh broad beans and peas making an appearance it will not be long before autumn will be upon us with the next batch of fresh ingredients. Back to the present do our salads have to be complicated or will simple really do? Simple is best, what do you really need too do, to freshly picked produce? Now freshly picked is a new term being coined in our household having taken the plunge to try and grow some of our own food. With the allotment on the go, some enthusiasm and a very heavy handed fiance who at the beginning of our foray into the garden was more akin to killing off our baby plants while trying to transplant them into larger pots(it should be noted that i have not put as much effort in as the baby plant killer and neither do i possess her new found skills in the world of horticulture, and all references to this homicdal maniac are purely of a light hearted note). After the first mishaps, we reluctantly replanted and lo and behold we have our first crop, and boy is it good too eat fresh leaves that we have actually grown, but what to do? Keep it simple, in all honesty the leaves only need a light dressing of oil and vinegar, a little seasoning then on to the fork into the mouth. I love simple salads, spend some time in Italy and you get a salad of leaves with a dressing nothing complicated just fresh. When we do buy in asparagus we pair with a little butter and lemon, this believe me is heaven. If we feel the need to impress a little hollandaise sauce or a nice buttery sabayon, but why go to all that effort when the ingredients are fresh and so bloody tasty. When the tomatoes come -again a light dressing and some torn basil leaves, salt and pepper, leaves paired with soft boiled egg and croutons are a delight. Try Making your own croutons -it's dead easy, what i do is find some day old bread cut into cubes, rub a baking tray with some garlic for a hint of background flavour, pour a little olive oil on the tray and toss your bread in the oil so that it just coats but not saturates, season then put into a pre - heated oven for 8-10 minutes or until as crispy as required. I have debated about giving recipes for salad, but leaves, oil and acid can not really be described as a recipe more a method. Fresh herbs can be used in your salads and what you have to hand rather than a regimented amount or type. In reality there are well known herb combinations like cucumber and mint, fresh peas with mint will make a great salad with a little ham but dill is just as famous as a pairing for cucumber as well as fresh broad beans, dill is also great with finely sliced fennel. Tomatoes and basil is another well known combination, try chives with tomatoes, and a little shallot or red onion. A little chervil or parsley with your leaves or a hint of thyme in your dressing will all work wonders or use a little thyme with whatever leaves you choose. Parsley and garlic a classic Italian combination, try finding a way to incorporate these into your fresh produce and you will be happy. A little cheese combined with your salad can lift a simple salad to new meaning, and being realistic a little good quality mozzarella with fresh tomatoes and olive oil is tasty as can be, feta is a well known cheese used in salads although not to my taste. Fresh rocket with a little hard cheese such as grana pandano,parmasen or a nice pecorino is a loving match, tart this up with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar a nice hunk of crusty bread, sat in the garden or failing that anywhere you like your front room if need be, you could be forgiven for feeling all Mediterranean.

The health giving benefits of a fresh salad are not to be dismissed, but be aware even the so called fresh leaves in sealed bags harbour chlorine and crap to keep the product fresher for longer. We actually stopped buying salad packed like this two years ago, and will now only buy open lettuce. Back to oil and dressings with all the crap that is found to be circulating about oil being bad for you, the high calorie content, people still go and stock there fridge with store bought processed dressings that harbour all kinds of unsavoury ingredients such has saturated fats and trans fatty acids. A home made dressing is not only better tasting but cheaper, less calorific and actually good for you. Remember you control the sodium not some board room director with huge profits in mind at the expense of your health and waistline. I think even worse are the half fat dressings, although they might contain half the fat they usually contain twice the sodium, and encourage people to use twice as much, which in turn defeats the object as you are back to square one. So the moral of this long winded rant would be buy some cheap pots and a little compost, a packet of salad leaf seeds(cut and come again variety) and plant your own, then reap the benefits! Not only is this healthier and more tasty there is a certain amount of satisfaction to be had from seed to table in the comfort of your own backyard, or failing that a window box or sunny window sill!

OLIVE OIL CROUTONS

Don't just throw your stale bread out, it makes wonderful croutons! This recipe for Olive oil croutons makes unbelievably tasty croutons that are a welcome addition to salads or soups or eaten alone as a snack, they are that good!

Pre - heat your oven too 200c/400f/ gas 6. Cut the crusts off your day or two old bread cut into cubes about 1" square place on an oiled (olive) roasting tin or a tray and toss to coat in oil. The croutons will need to be liberally coated. Place in the hot oven for 5 minutes, remove and turn the oven down too 150c/275-300f/ gas 1-2, turn the croutons over and place back in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, season with sea salt and a touch of ground black pepper. Can be frozen or will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container.

HUMMUS RECIPE 2

I have come to the conclusion after a little experimentation with this dish that dried and soaked chick peas give a far superior flavour to hummus than tinned, although tinned still give excellent results. On the downside there is a lengthy wait with overnight soaking and a rather long simmering time, but worth the wait to the patient cook, with the flavour not diminishing quite as fast as when made with tinned chick peas


THE RECIPE;
Serves 4

200g dried chick peas(soaked overnight)
2 tbsp tahini
1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of reserved cooking water
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

METHOD;
Soak the chick peas overnight, then drain and rinse well. Cook according to manufactures instructions or approx 1hour 30 minutes.( place the chick peas in 2lt of cold water with no salt. Bring to the boil, boil for 15 minutes then reduce the heat and simmer until cooked through) Drain and refresh in cold water. Add the drained chick peas to a food processor, then blitz. Add the tahini paste,garlic, paprika, and half of the lemon, then blitz again. At this point use the 2 tbsp of reserved cooking water to loosen the hummus, blitz again and taste. After tasting, adjust seasoning with sea salt and ground pepper and add the other half of the lemon if required. Serve in dish with the remaining extra virgin olive oil drizzled on top!

NOTE;
This dish is at it's best within 4 days, but is not suitable for home freezing. Suitable for veggies and vegans.

HUMMUS(HOUMMUS) RECIPE ONE!

Although middle eastern in origin, Hummus is now widely known throughout the world. It is said that Hummus has been with us since the birth of Delia or more to the point a time span somewhere in the region of 7,000 years - whichever is true you can bet your mother in law that a food would have to be very special to last that amount of time and still evolve. Unfortunately the big stores have added their mucky paws to the evolutionary process, with there own chemical glop being passed off as hummus, and worse still they are selling them at prices, that when added up- probably work out cheaper than making your own.Worrying as it is there is a solution to this travesty. Regain your sense of pride and make your own, the extra little bit of cost will not break the bank. The taste will be far superior to supermarket slop.
This recipe requires the use of tinned chick peas, but is still very good. Hummus recipe 2 will be using dried chick peas that are soaked overnight!

THE RECIPE;

2 x 400g tins of chick peas

2 x tablespoons of tahini

1 x lemon

1 x clove garlic

1 x tsp paprika

2 x tsp of extra virgin olive oil

Seasalt and Black pepper to taste

METHOD;

Drain the chick peas in a colander and rinse thoroughly, then drain again! Add the clove of garlic to a food processor with the knife blade fitted, and pulse on full power until finely chopped! Now add the chick peas, lemon juice, tahini - plus the salt and process on full power until a paste is formed. Add the paprika and pulse again. Taste and adjust seasoning adding more salt and a little pepper if required then finish with extra virgin olive oil, give this another process, depending on the consistency that you desire! Serve as you wish but especially good with pitta or flat breads.

NOTES;

Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Not suitable for home freezing and is at its best during the the first 24 hours, when placed in a refrigerator it will last 3-4 days, but a loss of flavour is to be expected. Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds, that is common in ethnic grocers and supermarkets. Tahini is liable to seperate during storage, stir well before use.

PESTO WITH COUS COUS

This simple recipe came to light with the need to use the last 4 tablespoons of homemade pesto!

Serves 4

100g pancetta
1 medium onion
olive oil
4 tablespoons 0f homemade pesto/shop brought pesto
400g cous cous - cooked to the brands instructions
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan, over a medium heat, add the pancetta, once coloured a little
add the finely diced onion. Cook the onion until soft and translucent, then add cooked cous cous and toss. season with salt and pepper to taste then stir through the pesto, serve ! A quick easy supper.

PAPARDELLE WITH HOMEMADE PESTO

Allow 100g of Papardelle per a person and a tablespoon of pesto.

Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil(allow 1 litre of water for 100g of pasta), cook pasta to preference or packet instructions. Drain pasta and add back to the pan, add a table spoon of cooking liquid, then stir through the required amount of homemade pesto(recipe can be found under the heading pesto) if using.

Finish with a grating of Parmesan, and season with freshly ground salt and pepper.

Shop bought pesto could be used!

FETTUNTA

Fettunta is tuscan bread and oil. Fettunta translates as slices oiled.



A very basis preparation which relies on good quality ingredients.



Often eaten with antipasti or as a stand alone snack, i sometimes wonder if this the original garlic bread.







Method;







Country bread



Garlic



Extra virgin olive oil


Half a ripe tomato



Salt and pepper(freshly ground)



Lightly toast the bread on both sides, rub with garlic on one side then drizzle with oil, an optional rub with half a ripe tomato, gives this bread a nice colour as can be seen in the above picture.
season with salt and pepper.







I like to add a little finely sliced basil to this bread!

PESTO

This recipe for pesto, is wonderful for the home cook to attempt, although made with the help of a food processor, the result is very robust with good flavour!

Better results would be achieved with a pestle and mortar, but just the small step from shop bought to homemade is a revelation!

100g pine kernels/nuts(lightly toasted)

200ml extra virgin olive oil

50g fresh basil leaves(approx 2 handfuls)

25g Parmesan(freshly grated)

3 medium cloves of garlic

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method;



First lightly toast the pine nuts in a saute pan without colouring or burning, toast until they release a little aroma!

Place basil leaves and garlic cloves into a food processor, and pulse gently, until roughly chopped, now add the pine nuts, pulse again, add a little oil to loosen then lightly season. Now add the parmesan pulse again, and add the rest of the oil in a steady stream.


Taste and adjust seasoning!


This will make approximately 350g

This pesto will keep in an airtight container, for about 7 days.



Note on pesto:

Pesto is a ligurian speciality, that is now wide spread throughout italy. A measure of pesto's success and taste is revealed by it's use all over italy, and it's rampant spread across the world.
Pesto is a sauce, with vivid green colour, that can be used with pasta, minestrone and other dishes to add colour and flavour. Pesto can be made with other varieties of nuts, sometimes.
walnuts are used, and some commercial varieties might include inferior nuts!
There are many versions of pesto, with each recipe being personal to the cook, some remain secret to this day!

If ligurian oil is available, please use as pesto is a ligurian speciality. Each oil brings it's own unique taste, and pecorino could be substituted for parmesan, the variations are many!