Farmersgirl Kitchen

Saturday, 22 March 2014

Pan Fried Salmon and a Syrian Potato Salad

So, apparently, Spring is here! Here in Scotland it still feels like winter with rain, wind and even some flurries of snow further north. We did have a few days of more spring -like weather and I wanted to make something fresh and light.

The salmon fillets were simply seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper and pan fried skin side down first until the salmon goes opaque about 2/3 of the way up the side of the fish. Then turn over and cook for a couple of minutes on the other side.

Syria is not a country I know much about and I wasn't aware that it also had its own cuisine. The book, Almond Bar, is named for the restaurant in Sydney, started by Sharon Salloum and her sister, Carol, to bring to life their mother's love of food. Sharon feared she might not be able to emulate the passion her mother puts into food but, after much blood, sweat and tears, she likes to believe that she has done her parents and family proud.

Almond Bar starts with a look into The Syrian Pantry, some ingredients are familiar, like chickpeas, Bulgar wheat and Haloumi. Others such as Baladieh, a semi-soft cheese, Freekeh, a green dried wheat grain and grey courgettes. There are also a couple of pages of Middle Eastern Food Suppliers to ensure you can make the recipes in the book.

Spice Blends are crucial to capturing Middle Eastern flavours and there are the instructions for four different blends. We then move on to a chapter of Sauces and Dips, I liked the Smoked Aubergine Dip, Mint and Walnut Sauce, a vibrant Beetroot Dip and the classic Labne, a dried yoghurt dip.

Finger food is a speciality of The Almond Bar and this chapter if full of tempting bites from Za'atar Pizzas to Scallops and Basturma Drizzled with Pomegranate Butter.

Learn how to make Arish Cheese and Shanklish in a step by step guide.

I think the Sharing Platters look amazing and are one of my favourite ways of eating. There were some delicious recipes like Lemony Lentil Soup, Crushed Chickpeas with Yoghurt Almonds and Pine nuts, Za'atar Prawns with Pumpkin Mash and a step by step photo guide to making Falafel.

On to Salads and Sides including one of my favourite salads, Fatoush or Toasted Bread Salad, Tabouli, Haloumi, Lentil and Watercress Salad and Salatet batata- a Syrian Potato Salad which Sharon's mother's recipe, a light fresh, well balanced salad.

Salatet batata (Potato Salad) serves 4

4 main crop or Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes

2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

1/2 brown onion, thinly sliced

Large handful of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Small handful of mint, roughly chopped

Dressing

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp salt flakes

1 tsp sweet paprika

60ml (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil

60ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice

Rinse the potato cubes to remove any excess start, then place in a medium saucepan and cover with enough cold water to come 2cm (3/4in) above the level of the potato. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 min until tender but not soft enough to fall apart. Drain and leave to cool to room temperature.
To make the dressing, place all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix together well.
Combine the potato, tomato, onion, parsley and mint in a bowl, pour over the dressing and gently toss to coat. This salad is best served while the potato is still lukewarm bu it can be made ahead of time, refrigerated and served cold as well.

We are not finished with Almond Bar by any means, it's time for the 'Mains'. There are some really luscious dishes such as Middle Eastern Lamb Dumplings, Stuffed Small Aubergines, Minced Lamb, Parsley and Onion Skewers, Chilli Fish, Spaghetti Cooked in Milk and Cannellini Bean, Tomato and Beef Stew to name just a few.

Syrian Desserts bring a delicious Middle Eastern twist to the usual favourites, I was taken with Rosewater Ice-cream, Fig Sorbet, Sweet Semolina and Coconut Slice, Turkish Delight with Pistachio and a number of recipes using 'Middle Eastern Clotted Cream'.

Who is it for?
This is a book for the adventurous cook, someone who likes big flavours and likes to create food for sharing.

Pros
This is a beautiful book, the photographs, the styling and the graphics are stunning. There are over 100 classic and contemporary recipes with many suitable for vegetarians and plenty for meat eaters too. I loved the huge variety of small dishes in the sauces and dips section, finger food, shared plates, salads and sides. These reflect the Middle Eastern way of eating, the importance of celebrating food and sharing.

Cons
Some of the ingredients could be a little difficult to source, most of the suppliers are in London and the South East although there are some online suppliers.

The Verdict

This is an excellent book to add to your collection, even if you already own some books of Middle Eastern cookery. I will definitely be returning to make more of the recipes.

Book: Almond Bar
Author: Sharon Salloum
ISBN: 978-1-909342-57-6
Published by Jacqui Small Publishing
Cover: Hardback
RRP: £25.99

Many thanks to Jacqui Small Publishing for providing me with a copy of Almond Bar, I was not paid for this review and all opinions are my own.

I'm entering this meal for three blog challenges: Family Foodies challenge for March is Fab Fast Food and this was a quick meal to make. Family Foodies is run by Vanesther at Bangers and Mash and Lou at Eat your Veg. The 'Salatet batata' is ideal for No Croutons Required, the vegetarian soup and salad challenge run by Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen and Jac of Tinned Tomatoes. Lou at Eat Your Veg is also hosting Four Seasons Food for Spring with the theme of 'Something Fishy', Four Seasons Food is alternately hosted by Anneli at Delicieux.

Posted with Blogsy

Labels: Almond Bar, Family Foodies, Four Seasons Food, mint, No Croutons Required, onion, parsley, potoato salad, salmon, Syria, tomatoes

Saturday, 10 August 2013

Summer Soup with Herbs

Even in the summer, you sometimes feel the need for a bowl of soup. This weekend I decided to make a pot of soup using summer vegetables and herbs. It's not a million miles from minestrone and was created with what I had available in the fridge and the garden.

Summer Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 stalks of celery
2 medium courgettes (zuchinni),cut into large chunks
200g carrots, peeled and diced
4 ripe tomatoes, deseeded and chopped.
1 ltr vegetable stock
salt and pepper
bouquet garni of rosemary, thyme, marjoram and chives
2 tbsp Orzo pasta (or other small pasta)
4 tbsp chopped flat leaved parsley

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onion, celery and carrots. Put the lid on, turn the heat down to medium and let the vegetables sweat for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the courgettes and tomatoes, put the lid back on for another 3 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable stock and bouquet garni and season with salt and pepper.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes then add the pasta and simmer for another 5 minutes until it is cooked.
5. Add the chopped parsley just before serving.

I'm entering this recipe for Cooking with Herbs run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage.

I'm also adding this to No Croutons Required. No Croutons Required is a monthly vegetarian soup and salad challenge.
It's hosted by Jac at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen.This month Jac is hosting and the theme is 'Seasonal'.
My seasonal ingredients are courgettes, tomatoes and herbs.

Posted with Blogsy

Labels: celery, Cooking with Herbs, courgette, herbs, No Croutons Required, Soup, summer

Monday, 19 November 2012

Sweetcorn Chowder for No Croutons required

It's Lisa's turn to host 'No Croutons Required' this month: "As the winter holidays are soon upon us, this month I want you to come up with a vegetarian soup or salad that you would serve as part of a special holiday meal. It can be simple or elaborate - the choice is up to you."

We had a family party yesterday, it's usually a pre-Christmas party, but the weather has prevented us from holding it a couple of times, so we decided to bring it forward. The soup I made for this celebratory meal was a Sweetcorn Chowder, it was easy to make and lovely and creamy, the herby cheese really adds to the flavour and I had lots of positive comments from my guests.

Sweetcorn Chowder (serves 8)

4 shallots, finely chopped
2tbsp olive oil
400g (14oz) potatoes, peeled
50g (2oz) flour
350g frozen sweetcorn
900ml (1 1/2pt) vegetable stock
2 bay leaf
400ml (7fl oz) milk
50g Boursin (herb) cheese
bunch flat leaf parsley

1. Sauté the shallots in the olive oil gently for 4 minutes, making sure they don't colour. Cut the potatoes into small cubes. Add to the shallots and cook for a further 2 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and add the flour, mixing well.
3. Add the frozen sweetcorn to the pan along with the stock and bay leaves. Mix well, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add a little of the milk to the Boursin cheese to slacken it, mix into the rest of the milk then add to the soup and bring to the boil again and serve topped with finely chopped parsley.

Labels: Boursin, chowder, No Croutons Required, parsley, potato, Soup, sweetcorn, Sweetcorn Chowder

Friday, 12 October 2012

Seasonal Cheese and Leek Flatbread Sandwich

Jacqueline has set us a slightly different challenge for this month's No Croutons Required, she says "I would like to focus on what is often served alongside soup or a salad. I am thinking of the humble sandwich. Toasted or plain, I would like you to come up with an interesting sandwich. The only stipulation is that it must be suitable for vegetarians."

Too few people understand a really good sandwich.James Beard

My Mum probably makes the best sandwiches, she always ensures that there was plenty of filling and that the filling goest right to the edge of the sandwich, the best way to achieve this is by cutting off the crusts. But I'm not going to make that kind of sandwich because ever since the early stages of the Great British Bake Off, I've been hankering to make some flatbreads.
I used the recipe for 'Magic Bread Dough' from Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall's River Cottage Veg Everyday.It's an interesting mix of strong and plain flour and something I haven't tried before.

There is plenty of dough to make several different flatbreads. For the dough for my sandwich I added some chopped rosemary. You can cook the flatbreads on a griddle but I put them in a hot (240C) oven for about 5-10 minutes.

This one is more like a pizza. I spread the dough with, one of my favourite sauces, Maggi Chilli and Tomato Sauce straight from the bottle. Then sprinkled over some grated Lockerbie Cheddar Cheese.

For the sandwich filling, I adapted Hugh F-W's Leek and Cheese Toastie from River Cottage Veg to lower the calorie count.

Leek and Cottage Cheese Flatbread Sandwich

15g butter
2 medium leeks, trimmed and finely chopped (white and pale green part only)
A couple of sprigs of thyme, leaves only
3 tablespoons of cottage cheese
1 tsp cornflour
50g cheddar
1 large rosemary flatbread
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a frying plan and add the leeks. Cook gently until softened. Stir in the thyme. Mix the cornflour with some of the liquid from the cottage cheese and add to the pan, add the cottage cheese and warm through. Take off the heat and add two-thirds of the cheese .

Pile the leek and cheese filling onto one half of the flatbread and fold over, sprinkle over the rest of the cheese and place under a hot grill for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts.

Serve with salad

I served my sandwich with a Carrot, Cucumber and Apple Salad with chopped Pistachio nuts

To finish off, I'd like to show you the sweet flatbread that I made, using the basic dough a few dried apricots, chopped white chocolate and ground almonds.

After it was baked, I glazed it with honey and put it back in the oven for a couple of minutes.
I'm entering this for No Croutons Required run by Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa from Lisa's Kitchen.

Herbs on Saturday run by Karen at Lavender and Lovage

and also for Simple and in Season, a seasonal challenge created by Ren Behan at Fabulicious Food, this month hosted by Franglais Kitchen

Labels: apples, apricots, carrots, flatbread, ground almonds, Herbs on Saturday, Leeks, No Croutons Required, salad, sandwiches, Simple and in Season, white chocolate

Saturday, 18 August 2012

Watercress Open Sandwich with Coconut

As usual Saturday lunch was a a bit of a forage in the fridge. I sliced a couple of very thin slices of sourdough bread and spread them with lighter than light Helmann's mayo, then piled up a mixture of watercress and baby salad leaves. Some slices of red pepper and tomatoes topped it off.

Then I remembered that Jac at Tinned Tomatoes was looking for soups or salads that featured coconut for No Croutons Required, so I sprinkled a little dessicated coconut on top. This is almost as bad as the 'Tart' cake that Dom from Belleau Kitchen entered for Alphabakes, but if he can get away with it, I'm sure I can!

No Croutons Required is hosted alternately by Lisa from Lisa's Kitchen and Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes

Labels: AlphaBakes, Belleau Kitchen, coconut, Lisa's Kitchen, No Croutons Required, Tinned Tomatoes

Thursday, 14 June 2012

Tabbouleh - Bulgar Wheat Salad

I regularly make a Bulgar Wheat Salad to take to work for my lunch and rarely use a recipe. But I liked the sound of a recipe I found at 'What's Cooking America' I've made a few minor changes to the ingredients, this version didn't have mint in it and I love mint and have loads growing in pots at my patio. My parsley is a bit sparse (not shown) so I had to buy that.

Tabbouleh - Bulgar Wheat Salad

1 cup bulgur wheat
2 cups water
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped spring onion
Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Put bulgar wheat in a deep bowl. Bring water to a boil, pour it over the bulgar and let it stand for an hour. Drain bulgar well and return it to the bowl. Add olive oil, olives, parsley, basil, red pepper, walnuts, spring onion, lemon juice, salt, and pepper; mix lightly. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours or overnight.

I'm entering this salad for the June 'No Crouton's Required' - Leafless Salads. No Croutons Required is a challenge run by Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen I'm hoping that parsley and mint count as herbs rather than 'leaves'!!!

I'm also entering the salad for Karen's Herbs on Saturday challenge at Lavender and Lovage.

I can really recommend this salad. It keeps well in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days, so you can make it ahead and make plenty, have it several times or, like me, take some to work for your lunch.

Labels: Bulgar wheat, Herbs on Saturday, No Croutons Required, salad, Tabbouleh

Friday, 27 April 2012

Sundried Tomato and Carrot Soup

Oh dear, I missed the deadline for No Croutons Required. This is a soup I've been making for years with carrots and tinned tomatoes, but I've never included sun-dried tomatoes before and it certainly added a depth of flavour to an already gutsy soup.

It's pretty easy, just an onion, some peeled and chopped carrots, 2 tins of tomatoes, some stock and about 6 sun-dried tomatoes. Cook them up until the carrots are soft, then liquidise or blitz until smooth.

Go and check out the round up of this month's challenge (the one I missed!) and join Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen and Jac at Tinned Tomatoes in this challenge next month.

Labels: carrots, Lisa's Kitchen, No Croutons Required, Soup, sun dried tomatoes, Tinned Tomatoes

Saturday, 10 March 2012

Curried Parsnip Soup

I haven't taken part in No Croutons Required (NCR) for a few months. It's Lisa's turn to host and also her birthday, she loves spicy food and has asked for spicy soups and salads this month.

There was a special offer on the veggies at the supermarket last week and parsnips featured in the offer so I ended up with a couple of packs of parsnips and decided to make a curried parsnip soup.

Curried Parsnip Soup

600g Parsnips peeled and chopped

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1tbsp Pataks Jalfrezi curry paste

1 litre vegetable stock

salt & pepper

250ml milk or cream

chopped parsley

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or pressure cooker, add the choppped onion and cook gently until transparent. Add the curry paste and cook for about a minute, add the parsnips and cook in the oil and curry paste for about 5 minutes until coated and slightly browned.

Add the vegetable stock and seasoning and cook until the parsnips are soft.

Let the soup cool slightly, either liquidise or use a stick blender to puree the soup. Add the milk or cream and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Serve sprinkled with parsley.

This is a very simple soup, but was really delicious. I've never made it with curry paste before but as I always have some in the fridge, I will definitely do so again. It seemed to add a depth of flavour as well as a little heat to the soup.

Labels: Jalfrezi, No Croutons Required, parsley, Parsnips, Pataks curry paste

Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Festive Photos for No Croutons Required

Frozen Herbs

Pine cones in the snow

The road at the end of our lane

I feel like I'm cheating a bit here as these photos are from January 2010. December is the month for a festive photo for Jac's and Lisa's No Croutons Required challenge hosted at Tinned Tomatoes blog. Searching through my photos, these seem to be the most snowy and festive.

And here is another festive photo from 2008!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Labels: 2008, 2010, December challenge, festive photos, No Croutons Required, snow

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Double Bubble Easy Tomato Soup!

Yes, indeed! It's a double challenge this time because Dom from Belleau Kitchen and Jac from Tinned Tomatoes have got together to run 'Random Recipes does No Croutons Required'. As these are two of my regular challenges I just had to join in.

There weren't any real instructions as to how to choose your Random Recipe this month just that it should be a soup or salad to meet the requirements of No Croutons Required.

I decided to pile up the cookbooks I own, which actually mention Vegetarian in the title. The first three have been well used and, I have to say that, looking at the photograph, rather disgustingly grubby (blush). However, I have probably had them for about 20 + years so maybe not so surprising.

Gail Duff's Vegetarian Cookbook is a fantastic book and was much used in my 'wholefood' period in the late 70's early 80's! Rose Elliot is, of course, one of the most popular of British Veggie food writers. And it is interesting to see that Pamela Westland features, as it was her Casserole Cookbook that my last Random Recipe came from.

So with a bit of random magic, the book of choice was:

There aren't actually very many soup recipes in this book, I decided to go for the first one I came to and it was EASY TOMATO SOUP.

And there it is! A lovely creamy soup of the consistency of the famous Heinz Tomato Soup, rich colour and super quick and easy to warm you up on a cold day.

print recipe

Easy Tomato Soup

by Rose Elliot November-24-2011

Thick and creamy soup, very quick and easy to make.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
350g potatoes, peeled and diced
450g fresh tomatoes, peeled and sliced
400g/14oz tin tomatoes
900ml vegetable stock
sea salt and black pepper
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil or parsley

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion.2. Fry for 5 minutes then put in potatoes and tomatoes and continue to cook over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.3. Add the water or stock and bring to the boil.4. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.5. Blend the soup until smooth. Reheat gently,6. Serve in heated bowls with chopped fresh basil or parsley sprinkled on top.

Details

Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 4

Labels: Belleau Kitchen, challenge, No Croutons Required, potato, Random Recipes, Rose Elliot, Soup, The New Vegetarian Cookbook, Tinned Tomatoes, tomato

Saturday, 1 October 2011

Butternut Squash, Feta Cheese and Roasted Pepper Quiche

Last Sunday my friend came over for lunch. I thought that some kind of quiche or flan with salad would be ideal. I had already bought the butternut squash, so went off in search of a recipe that would incorporate this.

In the end my recipe is a kind of combination of a couple of different recipes. Some of the butternut squash flans were made by pureeing or squishing the squash! A bit like pumpkin pie, no texture, yuk!

My shortcrust pastry comes, as usual, from the Avoca Cookbook I have blogged it before HERE

I blind baked the pastry case and then made the filling as follows:

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 onion sliced

dessert spoon of brown sugar

olive oil

jar of roasted peppers, drained

pack of feta cheese

3 eggs

2 egg yolks

250ml single cream

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 200C, put the butternut squash and two tablespoons of olive oil in a roasting tray and roast until soft and golden brown.

Gently fry the onion in a little olive oil until soft, add the brown sugar and let it caramelise.

Take the blind baked pastry case, put the caramelised onions in the base, add the roasted butternut squash, chopped feta cheese and roasted peppers.

Beat the eggs, egg yolks, cream and seasoning together. Pour into the pastry case.

Turn down the heat in the oven to 180C and bake for about 40 minutes or until the egg is set.

Serve warm or cold with salad.

It was very nice, lots of texture and flavour, the saltiness of the feta went very well with the sweet squash and peppers. The only thing that bugged me was that the filling leaked out of the bottom of the tin, something that hasn't happened to me for years! Fortunately, I managed to get it out of the tin without too much trouble.

I am also entering this in the October 'No Croutons Required' challenge over at Tinned Tomatoes, the theme is 'squash' and I'm hoping that this counts as 'salad'.

Labels: Avoca, butternut squash, eggs, feta cheese, No Croutons Required, quiche, roasted red peppers

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

Grow your own!

This month the challenge at 'No Croutons Required' is to make a soup or salad using something you have grown yourself. That was going to be a bit of a challenge for me as it has been raining non-stop here for what seems like weeks, combined with fierce winds my little courgette plants looked like they had given up early.

No Croutons Required is hosted by Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa's Kitchen

However, one nice day last week seemed to perk them up and I managed to harvest four teeny tiny courgettes and a handful of radishes and some herbs.

I used the veg peeler to cut thin strips from the courgettes and finely sliced the radishes, I made a simple dressing with Champagne vinegar, olive oil, honey, Colman's mustard powder and some salt and pepper.

Because the courgettes were so young, they made a delicious salad with the peppery radishes and the sweet and sour dressing.

If you'd like to see more entries to No Croutons Required, head over to Lisa's Kitchen.

Labels: champagne vinegar, colman's mustard, courgette, honey, No Croutons Required, radish, salad, Vegetables

This Page

Farmersgirl Kitchen

Saturday, 22 March 2014

Pan Fried Salmon and a Syrian Potato Salad

Saturday, 10 August 2013

Summer Soup with Herbs

Monday, 19 November 2012

Sweetcorn Chowder for No Croutons required

Sweetcorn Chowder (serves 8)

Friday, 12 October 2012

Seasonal Cheese and Leek Flatbread Sandwich

Leek and Cottage Cheese Flatbread Sandwich

Saturday, 18 August 2012

Watercress Open Sandwich with Coconut

Thursday, 14 June 2012

Tabbouleh - Bulgar Wheat Salad

Tabbouleh - Bulgar Wheat Salad

Friday, 27 April 2012

Sundried Tomato and Carrot Soup

Saturday, 10 March 2012

Curried Parsnip Soup

Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Festive Photos for No Croutons Required

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Double Bubble Easy Tomato Soup!

Saturday, 1 October 2011

Butternut Squash, Feta Cheese and Roasted Pepper Quiche

Tuesday, 20 September 2011

Grow your own!

About Me

Links

Previous Posts

Archives