Warm Broccolini, Mozzarella and Chilli Salad

The weather has suddenly turned colder after a record-breaking autumn of days over 20º. The only slight dip in the temperature seemed to demand a warm salad rather than a cold one.

I took broccolini, trimmed it a little, then steamed it.

Meanwhile in a saucepan I heated some olive oil and added a sliced garlic clove, a finely sliced red chilli and a good tablespoon of capers. I stirred this mix until the broccolini were just tender. I added the juice of half a lemon to the mixture and salt and pepper.


The broccolini was placed over a mixture of salad greens on a plate, buffalo mozzarella was torn into pieces and added to the plate. The hot dressing was now poured over. A few torn basil leaves were scattered over.

This was a delicious salad. The hot dressing wilted the greens just a little while the tang of capers and the acidity of the lemon juice went beautifully with the creamy cheese. Definitely warm to go back to more than once.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔
East of cooking: ✔✔✔✔✔

Thai-Spiced Polenta with Sweet Chilli Bok Choi

From New Vegetarian Kitchen, Nicola Graimes, Duncan Baird Publishers, 2011.

This was one of those recipes wherein you have to be cooking two things simultaneously so that they both end up ready at the same time: one was the polenta and the other the stir-fried vegetables.

To begin I prepared all of the ingredients. I measured out 2 cups of vegetable stock in a saucepan and placed by the side 100g polenta, a teaspoon Thai spice powder and 10g butter. For the wok I prepared two bok choi by cutting off the green leaves and then slicing the white section into quarters; I chose sufficient baby broccoli for the dish; I washed, topped and tailed some snow peas; I chopped an onion, chopped some garlic, grated a little ginger and sliced a red chilli. I also prepared the sauce: 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce and 2 teaspoons sesame oil. All was now ready to begin.

I added a little vegetable oil to the wok and began frying the chopped onion. I turned up the heat under the saucepan and poured the polenta into the water, giving it the occasional stir as it was heating up. Now the broccoli and the white parts of the bok choi were added to the wok. They were given about 2 minutes. The polenta by now had boiled so the heat was turned down and I continued stirring. The remaining ingredients were added to the wok: the leaves of the bok choi, the snow peas, the garlic, ginger and chilli. These were stir-fried for a couple of minutes more when the sauce mixture was poured on and the vegetables tossed. The spices and the butter were stirred into the polenta.

To serve, the polenta was spread on the plates and the vegetables added on top.

This quick dish turned out to be full of flavour. The polenta was creamy and bursting with taste from the spice while the vegetables had that great mix of sweet, salt and heat added to them.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔    

Black Bean, Jalapeño and Mozarella Quesadillas

From New Vegetarian Kitchen, Nicola Graimes, Duncan Baird, 2011.

It felt like a Mexican evening so quesadillas seemed the answer.

I took out a large frying pan and heated up a little olive oil. A chopped onion then went in until softened. I then added a chopped garlic clove, some chopped jalapeño chilli and a red capsicum, seeded and cut into slices. These were sautéed for a while longer to soften the capsicum a little though not for it to lose some crunch. Now in went a tin of black beans, drained and rinsed. I used a fork to crush these a little as they mixed with the other ingredients and heated through. The mixture was tasted and seasoned.

I now grated some mozzarella cheese. While it was not stated in the recipe I think by the description that they were calling for buffalo mozzarella. I just had normal and actually felt this would work better in a quesadilla.

I laid out two small tortillas and sprinkled mozzarella on them. Now I added the mixture from the frying pan, leaving a little space on the edge. Some more mozzarella was sprinkled over this and another tortilla placed on top. Olive oil was brushed over the surface.

These then went into the oven under the grill for a few minutes and were then carefully turned to grill the other side.

They were served with a fruit guacamole and a tomato salad. I always enjoy a good quesadilla and these were quite good ones. They had a pleasant touch of chilli heat and the mix had a spiciness to it that was enjoyable. The drawback was that being cooked under a grill had over crisped the tortillas. The next time I make them they will go in the frying pan the way I generally cook them.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Beetroot Carpaccio with Goat’s Cheese and Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette

From New Vegetarian Kitchen, Nicola Graimes, Duncan Baird Publishers, 2011.

I had never tried eating beetroot raw so thought I would give it a go with this simple salad recipe.

The first task was to make the dressing. The juice of half an orange was mixed with a little balsamic vinegar, a quarter cup of olive oil and a pinch of salt. This was then beaten until it had thickened. It was then tasted and a few adjustments made until it was just right.

A beetroot was then peeled and sliced on a mandolin at the thinnest setting. The slices were placed in a bowl with water to just cover them and a squeeze of lemon juice was added. This was left until it was time to put the salad together.

At serving time the beetroot was drained. A mix of salad leaves was arranged on the plate. The beetroot was placed on this, alternating it with goat’s cheese. The dressing was poured over and it was ready.

I’m not convinced about raw beetroot. It was not unpleasant. It certainly went well with the goat’s cheese and the dressing had a nice tang to it. However, the full rich sweetness of cooked beetroot was missing—and it needed quite a bit of chewing.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Spring Vegetables with Crunchy Walnut Crumble

Spring Vegetables with Crunchy Walnut Crumble

from New Vegetarian Kitchen, Nicola Graimes, Duncan Baird Publishers, 2011.

Spring vegetables in the middle of winter but the vegetables were readily available—carrots, green beans, courgettes, asparagus—so why not?

Recipes from this particular book have been pleasant though nothing to really get excited about. They all look especially enticing from the coloured photographs but don’t always match up in taste. I was looking forward to this one being a bit more than average.

There were three elements: the vegetables, the mayonnaise and the walnut crumble. The vegetables were steamed—easy—though I did not totally copy the pattern. The recipe calls for them to be steamed in different batches of vegetables. I put them all together.

The mayonnaise had garlic and harissa added to it. I left out the garlic but the harissa made the mayonnaise magic. I’ve been adding harissa to mayonnaise ever since.

The crumble was no problem, just a little bit of tossing in a pan.

When all the ingredients were put together the dish turned out to be a pleasant way to have a dish of vegies. It was eaten with rissoles made from left-over risotto.

I’ve given it four ticks for taste mainly for the mayonnaise.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔