Roasted Squash, Chickpea & Bulgar Wheat Salad

This is a super winter salad and can be eaten warm or cold! It’s a version of the Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad from Sprouted Kitchen, a super site!! Apologies for the lack of photos, I have been very lazy lately but decided not to let it stop my from posting!

Serves 2 or 3 for lunch, depending on how greedy you are!

1 tin chickpeas, rinsed well and drained
1 squash, peeled and chopped into chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
Good squeeze of honey
1 tsp each of ground ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and dried thyme
1 clove garlic
Juice of a lemon
A few hundred grams of bulgar wheat

Mix all the ingredients except the bulgar wheat and put into an oven preheated to 180 degrees C for about 20-30 minutes until the squash is tender and the chickpeas have some bite.

In the meantime cook your bulgar according to instructions. How much you add depends on how filling you want the salad to be, the bulgar soaks up the flavour and adds a nuttiness!

Mix in the bulgar to the roasted squash and chickpeas and add some freshly ground black pepper and extra lemon juice if it needs a kick.

And there you have a very low maintenance salad to look forward to on cold days!

Hilan Chinese Restaurant

Last weekend boyfriend and I had been together three years and wanted to head out for a meal. He requested Chinese, so after some serious internet research (menupages), we decided on Hilan Restaurant on Capel Street. It had super reviews and was tipped to be very authentic, which is unusual in Dublin where many places use packet sauces…no joke, I found the corner they’d snipped off in my dinner once!

We arrived and were happy to find the restaurant full of Chinese diners really enjoying themselves, a good sign! I spotted some lovely dumplings on the way in and tried to order the fried version for my starter…although I got it wrong by ordering wantons rather than dumplings, they were still delish and full of juicy prawns. The boyfriend also has a soft spot for prawns and ordered them fried but was a bit disappointed with them, they were nice with a light batter and sweet chili dipping sauce, but uninspired.

The main courses were just fantastic though! We shared half a crispy duck with pancakes, which was perfectly tender and full of flavour and had lovely crisply skin and sizzling seabass in chili and ginger. I happily demolished my half of the duck, but the seabass was the real star of the show. It was cooked whole so stayed lovely and juicy and surrounded by a really punchy sauce! I was delighted!!

I have to say I’d really recommend the restaurant and will definitely be heading back. As well as an extensive menu of regular and a little less regular chinese dishes, they also have korean barbeque and chinese hotpot which both looked amazing! They also do wine by the glass and very reasonable chinese bottled beer. For an extremely recession friendly meal out (€43 for the two courses, and €75 total including two glasses of wine and four bottles of beer!) and something a bit different, give it a go!

Hilan Chinese, 45 Capel St, Dublin 8-  01 874 8677

Moroccon Squash Pie

This is a truly lovely dish! I made it for my veggie cousin on christmas day, and had to sit beside her to make sure I got some myself! It was a huge hit with the committed meat lovers too!!

The recipe is a slightly pared down version of Allegra McEvady’s you can pop over there if you want to see how great it looks!

Serves 4

1 packet filo pastry (jus rol is good)
2 courgettes
1 onion
1 small butternut squash
Handful of coriander
Lemons
Pinenuts
Handful of sultanas / raisins / dried chopped dates
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
Tin puy lentils
Glug of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Natural Yoghurt

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C. Chop your squash into cubes, melt a little butter in a saucepan and saute for a few mins. Then add a few tablespoons of water, cover and cook for about 10 mins. Keep an eye that it doesn’t dry out but don’t add too much extra liquid either!

In the meantime grate the courgettes and squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Grate the onion too but keep it separate. Toast the pine nuts on a tray in the oven but watch carefully as they burn super easily.

When the squash is tender, mash it and add the cumin and coriander, and also the grated onion and mix well.

Add the pine nuts, juice of one lemon and handful of sultanas etc to the courgettes and mix well.

Then lay out three sheets of filo so that half is on the middle of the tray and half is hanging over the edge in different directions. Brush each sheet with melted butter as you lay it down. Then spread the squash mixture in a circle in the middle  and lay another 3 sheets in different directions over it, again brushing with melted butter as you go. Then put the courgette mixture on top in a circle and gather all the layers of pastry into the middle and brush with butter.

Pop into the oven for about 20 minutes, until it’s browned. While its cooking mix the drained and rinsed lentils with the fresh, chopped coriander, drizzle of olive oil, juice of a lemon and harissa or paprika.

Serve the pie with the lentils and some natural yoghurt…yum!

Fragrant Baked Tomatoes

I tried this recipe ages ago when it first appeared in the Irish Times. It’s a great idea and super tasty…a quick veggie curry that can be served with rice, noodles or with bread to mop up all those lovely juices!

2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
5 cardamom pods
1 tin of coconut milk
10 tomatoes, halved
Squeeze of lemon juice
Bunch of coriander

Preheat an oven to about 180 degrees C. Heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the onion until soft.  The add garlic, ginger, chilli, cumin and cardamom. Cook for about 5 minutes until fragrant. Add the tin of coconut milk and cook for another 5 minutes until reduced. Put the tomatoes, cut side up, in a baking dish and pour over the sauce. Cook for about half an hour until lovely and browned. Squeeze some lemon juice over them and scatter some chopped coriander on top. Yum!!

Rogan Josh

Although Rogan Josh is usually made with lamb, I used beef instead as Boyfriend isnt a huge lamb fan – either will be fine! This is just the thing for a friday evening, it only takes 10 minutes to get it going and then it will happily cook away while you unwind after the week, maybe with a little glass of wine like I did! Just don’t get so relaxed that you totally forget to take a picture….

This recipe is based on Anjum Anand’s from Indian Food Made Easy. I just love her recipes both from the show and from her own website. This isnt a fussy dish, so just use whatever spices you have to hand, it’ll all blend well as it cooks anyway and don’t worry about the long list of ingredients, there’s very little chopping really!

Serves 4

1 onion, chopped
a few peppercorns
few cardamom pods
a sprinkling of ground cinnamon or a cinnamon stick
1 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves or 6 whole ones
1 lb of stewing beef
6 garlic cloves, smushed
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped or 1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tin tomatoes
1 small carton of natural yoghurt, with 1 tbsp of flour mixed in
fresh coriander, chopped

Heat some oil and add the chopped onion and peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Cook until the onion browns and then add you beef and cook for a few more minutes stirring. You’re not really trying to brown the beef, just to add a little colour. Then add your garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin and chili powder. Mix well and stir to allow the spices cook a little and become fragrant. Then add the tin of tomatoes and yoghurt and stir well. Put on the lid and allow to simmer for about 1-1 1/2 hours, until tender.

Serve with basmati rice or if you’re lazy like me, a few naan breads rubbed with a garlic clove before they go under the grill and sprinkle the coriander over the rogan josh…delish!

Chicken with Plum & Ginger

This is a version of the Chicken with Plum, Ginger and Soy in the Avoca Cookbook, which has so many lovely warming winter dishes! They use quite a bit of jam though, whereas I prefer to just stew some of the plums with water and a little sugar for a similar effect. This is such a tasty dish, and it smells just gorgeous!

Serves 4

8 plums
4 chicken breasts
3 tbsps sugar
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, smushed
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 dash worchester sauce
1 tbsp ground ginger

First make the stewed plums. Cut four of the plums into eighths and stew in a little water until softened. Add in the sugar and allow the bubble away, while you make the rest of the dish.

Brown the onions in a separate pan and then add them into the stewed fruit. Brown the chicken and add that too. Then add the garlic, soy sauce, worchester sauce and ginger and the four remaining plums also cut into eighths. Mix it all together and put into an oven preheated to 180 degrees C for 40 minutes.

Serve with mash, noodles or rice…yum!

Coffee and Almond Crunch Cake

So it’s been a while…studying law is demanding enough but there were Christmas finals, then Summer finals, then Solicitor’s entrance exams and I didn’t have much time left for creative cooking. Plus by the time dinner rolled around I was always so starving that I’d forget about photos until I’d eaten it all! But things finally seem to have calmed down enough to get back to blogging. Im excited to get down to cooking and posting…plus it means more delish things to eat!

For the moment ill leave you with this cake. It’s another Gordon Ramsay recipe and it was really lovely and moist. The  coffee gave a lovely flavour and the crunch giving an interesting texture. It was quite sweet and so great with a strong coffee, perfect for getting through these dark, cold autumn afternoons!

The only thing to note is that the bigger the tin, the less crunch there will be on each piece of cake…Gordon recommends a 20cm tin, so that’s probably best!

For the cake

170g butter
170g caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
½ tsp almond essence
100g ground almonds

4 tbsp cold espresso or very strong coffee
100g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder

For the crunchiness

60g plain flour
40g brown sugar
40g butter, chopped up

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C and line the base of the tin with greaseproof paper or parchment. Rub a little oil around the sides and base of the tin to ensure it comes out easily later.

Rub the flour, sugar and butter for the topping together with the tips of your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs.

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until it lightens and looks fluffy. Then beat in the eggs, one by one until they’re mixed in well. Add the almond essence and mix in. Then fold in the almonds with a large metal spoon. Fold in half the coffee, then the flour and baking powder and finally, the last of the coffee.

Scrape the mixture into the tin with a spatula and sprinkle the topping over the mixture. Bake for about 50 minutes in the pre-heated oven until a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Enjoy with nice cup of tea or coffee…really helps to get though the long afternoons!

Chorizo Potatos…Otherwise Known as the Best Thing Ever….

This dish is a perfect ode to chorizo…serve it with steak, with Mexican, with anything!!
Boyfriend informs me that out of everything I’ve made this is the best.

They’re inspired by the Patatas Riojanas on We Are Never Full!

Serves 4
6 or so medium potatoes peeled and cubed
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, smushed
Chorizo, sliced, a handful of slices is enough, but the more you add the more flavour there will be!
Chicken stock
Rosemary or mixed herbs

Fry off the onion and chorizo. When they start to take on colour, add the garlic. When it’s all browned, add the potatoes and stir to coat in the chorizo oil. Saute for 10 or so minutes and then add chicken stock, to almost cover the potatoes.
Cook for a further 10 minutes without covering and then add the herbs. Stir well and continue to cook until the potatoes are cooked and the stock has thickened into a sauce that clings to the potatoes.

I dare you not to lick the plate!!

Campo de Fiori

You know a restaurant is a bit special when you can only get a booking for 6.30 on a Wednesday in mid-January!
But there are many things about Campo de Fiori that are a bit special!
It’s an Italian restaurant that’s run by real Italians. It is always full. They use good quality ingredients and cook them well!

We went out to Bray to eat in Campo to brighten up a cold and wet week and it really did the trick!
There’s always a fight over the last slice of the gorgeous bread they serve with garlic and chili oils when you arrive.
Then to start, usually my parents and I share the seafood antipasti, a selection of cold and hot dishes….baby octopus and cherry tomato, prawns in garlic butter, seafood salad and marinated smoked salmon. My sisters M & E go for some garlic bread, more of the same fresh bread, toasted with more garlic oil.

The menu in Campo is in the traditional Italian style, with antipasti, meat dishes and seafood dishes (primo piatti), and also pizza and pasta. It’s all lovely!! My sisters got steaks and they were perfectly cooked, come with a choice of sauces and roasted rosemary potatoes.
My Dad got his favourite, the spicy sausage pizza! The pizzas are lovely and thin and always tasty!
My Mom went for seabass which was dressed nicely, although she felt it was a tiny bit overcooked.
And I had a truly fantastic lobster pasta with a creamy tomato sauce. It’s often on as a special and it’s really the best Italian dish I’ve ever had!

The service is good and the prices are average, which is great considering the quality! They also have a super wine list and have good individual glasses of wine too!
There are many great things about Campo de Fiori but one of the most important in our family is that it has something to suit everyone, so we can all go eat together and enjoy our meal without worrying if there’s something to suit the more picky people!!

Campo de Fiori
01 276-4257
1 Albert Avenue,
Bray,
Co Wicklow

Indian Butter Chicken with No Butter…

My lovely sisters M & E decided they should get me a cookbook for Christmas as it would be a nice present boyfriend and I could share! They got me a lovely book of Indian recipes, “A Taste of India” – some were old favourites, some had a new twist, and there was even a recipe for my favourite dish from Bombay Pantry! They’re absolute stars! But M also knew I’d make her lots of tasty dinners. She’s studying a lot for her Leaving Cert at the moment, and says that looking forward to a nice dinner at the end of it all, is the only thing that gets her through the day!

So this recipe is dedicated to M, who bought the book, loved the dish and ate the leftovers with gusto!

Also, strangely enough, there’s no butter in the dish, it’s actually super healthy and very easy!!

Serves 6
8ish chicken thigh fillets, available in Tesco and so much flavoursome than breasts
3cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
80g ground almonds
150mls plain (low fat if you like) yoghurt
1/2-1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves if you have them or 1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
4 cardamom pods
1 tin tomatoes or jar of passata
1 large onion, chopped finely
handful chopped coriander leaves

Put you garlic and ginger in the blender (or chop really finely) and mix with the almonds, yoghurt, spices, tomato and season. Stir in the chicken pieces and leave to marinate for 2 hours or more, even overnight if you’re that organised!

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees c, and soften the chopped onion in a frying pan. Add the chicken mixture, stir to combine and heat for a few minutes until bubbling. Stir in the coriander and put the mixture in an oven proof dish.

Bake for 1 hour and serve with pilau rice and naan bread, and watch for the whole spices!!