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Posts Tagged ‘Scallions’

Pork and Asparagus Kebabs

Posted in Barbecue, Food, Gluten-free, Pork, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 27 June 2023| Leave a Comment »

After such a long, cool and wet Spring we are finally having sunny weather in Ireland and so we’re cooking anything over fire … on sticks … and lots of salads. Long may it last!

Wine Suggestion: If you’re having this as a starter we’d highly recommend a good, dry Oloroso like the Bodegas Hidalgo Oloroso Faraon which is nutty, smokey, round and honeyed on the nose, but with an enveloping roundness and richness on the palet, despite being bone dry. Very savoury and great with food.

Pork and Asparagus Kebabs – serves 4

  • 500g pork fillet, cut across the grain into ½ cm thick slices
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1-2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 250g asparagus, woody ends snapped off and cut into thirds (don’t buy the very skinny stuff for this as it will be difficult to thread onto the skewers)
  • 1 bunch of scallions, sliced into thirds

Put the pork into a large bowl, then add the garlic, smoked paprika, olive oil and sherry vinegar, then stir well to coat. Cover and put into the fridge for an hour or two, then stir in the asparagus and scallions to coat in the marinade.

Thread pieces of pork, aspargus and scallion onto skewers.

Prepare your barbecue for direct cooking, then place the skewers directly over the heat and cook for about 10 minutes, turning a couple of times to ensure they brown and cook through.

(Original recipe from Foolproof BBQ by Genevieve Taylor, Hardie Grant: Quadrille, 2021.)

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Thai Carrot & Radish Salad

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 18 June 2023| Leave a Comment »

A tasty Thai-style salad that we served with barbecued chicken.

Thai carrot & radish salad – serves 4

  • 4 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
  • 1 lime, zested and 2 tbsp juice
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 Little Gem lettuce (we could only find Romaine the day we made this)
  • 2 carrots, cut into thin batons
  • 10 radishes, finely sliced
  • 4 scallions, sliced finely on the diagonal
  • a handful of coriander, roughly chopped

Mix the chilli sauce with the lime zest and juice, and fish sauce to make the dressing.

Arrange the lettuce leaves in a large bowl. Toss all the remaining ingredients with the dressing and add to the lettuce. Serve immediately.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Roast Chicken with Coconut Rice and Beans

Posted in Chicken, Food, tagged , , , , , , , , on 21 March 2023| Leave a Comment »

This is all cooked in the oven in one tray and it’s super tasty.

Wine Suggestion: This works really well with Viognier, especially if it has a bit more depth than some entry level ones. We would have loved to open a Condrieu, but in the absence of that it was Jean-Michel Gerin’s Le Champine Viognier from the slopes near the more famed appellation. So well balanced with a purity of stone fruit flavours and a hint of nuttiness that lends itself to this food pairing.

Roast chicken with coconut rice and beans – serves 4

  • 8 chicken drumsticks
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 tbsp jerk seasoning
  • 25g butter
  • 275g basmati rice, rinsed
  • 1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
  • 350ml hot chicken stock
  • a bunch of scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 x 400g tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6.

Rub the chicken drumsticks with the oil and jerk seasoning.

Generously grease a large roasting tin with the butter.

Add the rice, then pour in the cococnut milk and chicken stock.

Scatter over half the scallions, then the kidney beans, garlic and thyme and stir gently.

Arrange the drumsticks on top, then cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil and roast for another 15 minutes or until the drumsticks are golden brown and cooked through.

Garnish with the rest of the scallions and serve.

(Original recipe from More Midweek Meals by Neven Maguire, Gill Books, 2022.)

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Pomegranate-glazed Aubergine

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 8 November 2022| Leave a Comment »

We served this with steak but it would be nice with other vegetable dishes too.

Pomegranate-glazed aubergine – serves 4

  • 2 large aubergines, peeled and cut into 2.5cm rounds
  • 3-4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 scallions, finely sliced on the diagonal
  • a generous handful of salted peanuts, chopped

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7.

Line a large baking tray with baking paper.

Set the aubergine slices onto the baking tray, then brush both sides with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 22-25 minutes until cooked through but not browned.

Mix the pomegranate molasses and maple syrup together, then use a pastry brush to brush evenly over both sides of the aubergines, then sprinkle with some flaked sea salt. Roast for another 5-6 minutes or until glazed and sticky.

Scatter with the scallion and peanuts before serving.

(Original recipe from Persiana Everyday by Sabrina Ghayour, Asteer, 2022.)

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Baked Potatoes with Charred Spring Onion Sour Cream

Posted in Barbecue, Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 18 June 2021| Leave a Comment »

This recipe is from Chasing Smoke: Cooking Over Fire Around the Levant by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich. They have memories of cooking potatoes in bonfires as children and how delicious they tasted. They really are delicious and if you’ve made the effort to light your barbecue you may as well throw a few potatoes in the embers too.

Baked potatoes with charred spring onion sour cream – serves 4

  • 4 baking potatoes, about 250g each

FOR THE SOUR CREAM DRESSING:

  • 8-10 scallions
  • 300g sour cream
  • 1 large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp flaky sea salt
  • black pepper
  • zest and juice of half a lemon

Wrap each potato in tin foil and place in the embers of your barbecue or campfire. Leave there for about 45 minutes or until a metal skewer goes in easily, turn them over a couple of times as they cook.

Meanwhile, char half the scallions on the grill for a few minutes on each side or until charred. Remove from the heat and finely chop.

Finely slice the green parts of the remaining scallions and set aside to sprinkle over at the end. Cut the remaining white parts into small pieces and stir into the sour cream along with the charred scalllions and the rest of the ingredients.

Remove the cooked potatoes from the fire and remove the foil. Cut each one down the middle and sprinkle with the flaky sea salt and fill with the sour cream mixture. Spinkle over the green scallions and some black pepper before serving.

(Original recipe from Chasing Smoke: Cooking over fire around the Levant by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, Pavilion, 2021.)

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Chopped Chicken Salad

Posted in Chicken, Food, Gluten-free, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 11 May 2021| Leave a Comment »

You should try this the next time you have some leftover roast chicken. In fact, it’s even worth cooking some chicken specially. Great for lunch with some fresh bread and butter.

Chopped Chicken Salad – serves 4 (generously)

  • 2 cooked chicken breasts, diced (or just use some leftover roast chicken which is what we did)
  • 3 celery sticks, diced
  • 4 scallions, sliced into rounds
  • ½ cucumber, deseeded and diced
  • 100g radishes, thinly sliced
  • 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 tarragon sprigs, leaves finely chopped
  • 2 thyme springs, leaves only
  • 1 heart of romaine lettuce or Little Gem lettuce, finely chopped
  • 50g watercress, stems finely chopped and leaves left whole
  • 50g rocket, roughly chopped
  • 50g Parmesan, finely grated

FOR THE DRESSING:

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • ½ tsp runny honey
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed

You need to start with a very large bowl, big enough to toss all of the salad ingredients together in.

Make the salad dressing in the bowl by whisking all of the ingredients together with some salt and black pepper.

Add the chicken to the dressing in the bowl and toss to coat. Fold in the chopped celery, scallions, cucumber, radishes and cherry tomatoes, then the herbs. Stir it all together and season with salt and black pepper.

When you are ready to serve, add the lettuce, watercress, rocket and Parmesan to the bowl. Toss everything together and serve as it is or tip out onto a large serving dish.

(Original recipe from The Hairy Bikers’ One Pot Wonders by Si King & Dave Myers, Seven Dials, 2019.)

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Ham Hock, Pea & Scallion Soup

Posted in Food, Pasta, Pork, Soup, tagged , , , , , , , , on 21 April 2021| 3 Comments »

This is nice soup for Spring. It’s filling and definitely tastes better by the second or third day. Ham hocks are still cheap, despite becoming a bit trendy, and they make a great stock. 

Ham hock, pea & scallion soup – serves 6

  • 800g uncooked ham hock
  • 2 bay leaves, scrunched
  • 8 peppercorns
  • 200g frozen peas (or fresh if you have them)
  • 100g small pasta shapes, cooked as per timings on the pack
  • a knob of unsalted butter
  • 1 bunch of scallions, trimmed and finely sliced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
  • juice of ½ lemon (optional)

Put the ham into a large, deep saucepan and cover with enough cold water to just cover, then bring to the boil. Drain, then refill the pan with fresh water, adding the bay and peppercorns. Bring the pan up to the boil again, skim off any froth, then reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour, or until the ham is tender the whole way through when pierced with a skewer. 

Remove the ham from the liquid and set aside. Add the peas to the stock and cook for a minute until tender (5 minutes if using fresh peas). Add the cooked pasta and leave on the heat. 

While the peas are cooking, heat the butter in a small pan over a medium heat and fry the scallions and garlic for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add to the stock along with the parsley. 

Shred the cooked ham from the bone, removing any skin and excess fat, then add to the soup. Season generously with salt and pepper and add a spritz of lemon juice if you like. 

(Original recipe from Home Cookery Year by Claire Thompson, Quadrille, 2020.)

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Greens with Sticky Sesame Rice

Posted in Asian, Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 9 March 2021| 1 Comment »

Sometimes all you want is a plate of greens. Here they are with a Japanese-style sauce and some sticky rice and sesame seeds. 

Wine Suggestion: We find this combination of flavours in the sauce work well with Riesling, especially if it’s the lighter styles with a touch of fruit. This could be a German Kabinett with lower alcohol, residual sugar and refreshing acidity, or one of the dry Clare Valley cuvées that leave a hint of sugar in making them very approachable in youth like Pike’s Hills & Valleys. 

Greens with Sticky Sesame Rice – serves 2

  • 1 tbsp caster sugar
  • 140g sushi rice
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 350g purple sprouting broccoli or other long-stemmed broccoli
  • 6 scallions, halved lengthways

FOR THE SAUCE: 

  • 2 tbsp brown miso paste
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
  • 2 tsp finely grated ginger
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and diced

Stir the sauce ingredients together with 1 tbsp water, then set aside.

Bring a large pan of water to the boil with the caster sugar and ½ tsp salt. Add the rice and boil for about 15 minutes (or whatever time it suggests on the pack) until just cooked. Drain well, return to the pan and sprinkle over the toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil. Cover and keep warm. 

Heat the sunflower oil in a wok until smoking hot. Add the broccoli and stir-fry for a few minutes until almost tender, add a splash of water now and then to create a bit of steam. Add the scallions and stir-fry for 30 seconds, then stir in the sauce and cook for another minute or two, stirring constantly. 

Divide the rice between 2 plates and top with the stir-fry. 

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Beef Phở

Posted in Beef, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 14 January 2021| Leave a Comment »

This will clear the sinuses and it’s delicious too. Nice and easy, tasty, and very handy for midweek.

Beef Phở – serves 2

  • 750ml strong beef stock
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and bashed
  • a thumb-sized piece of ginger, sliced
  • 2 red chillies, sliced
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • a bunch of scallions, sliced
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 100g flat rice noodles
  • 200g fillet steak, thinly sliced
  • a handful of beansprouts
  • coriander leaves
  • lime wedges
  • hoisin sauce
  • sriracha sauce

Bring the stock, garlic, ginger, half the chilli, star anise, cinnamon and half the scallions to the boil for 15 minutes. Strain and discard the solids, then bring back to the boil. Season with the fish sauce.

Meanwhile, pour a kettle of boiling water over the noodles and leave to soak for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse.

Divide the noodles between warm bowls. Add the steak and beansprouts to the simmering stock and remove from the heat, they will cook in the residual heat. Spoon over the noodles and add the rest of the scallions, chilli, some coriander and lime wedges. Serve with hoisin and sriracha.

(Original recipe by Anna Glover in Olive Magazine, Christmas 2015.)

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Smoked Paprika-Baked Courgettes, Tomatoes & Green Beans with Eggs

Posted in Brunch, Food, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 25 July 2020| Leave a Comment »

Smoked Paprika-Baked Courgettes, Tomatoes & Green Beans with Eggs

We’re really not brunch people, mainly as there’s so much going on at the weekends that we don’t have the time. Lockdown has provided us with some opportunities however. So instead of getting up early and out the door on a Saturday morning we’ve been coming downstairs in our pjs and making something nice for breakfast.

Smoked paprika-baked courgettes, tomatoes & green beans with eggs – serves 2

  • 2 large courgettes, cut into ½ cm slices
  • 200g small waxy potatoes, quartered
  • 150g cherry tomatoes
  • 6 scallions, trimmed
  • 2 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme plus a few whole sprigs
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • ½ tbsp smoked paprika, plus extra to serve if you like
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 125g green beans, trimmed
  • 2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 190C/400F/Gas 6.

Blanch the green minutes for a couple of minutes in salty boiling water, then drain and run under cold water to stop them cooking. Dry with some kitchen paper and toss with ½ tbsp of the olive oil. Set aside.

Put all of the vegetables (except the green beans) into a large baking tray and spread them out in an even layer. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, the thyme, chilli flakes, smoked paprika, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Toss everything together, then bake for 30 minutes, tossing the veg a few times.

Sprinkle the green beans over the top and return to the oven for another 8 minutes.

Break the eggs on top, season and put back in the oven for another 8 minutes for runny eggs.

Serve with a little more smoked paprika if you like.

(Original recipe from Diana Henry’s ‘From the Oven to the Table’, Mitchell Beazley, 2019.)

 

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Cheddar Cheese Risotto

Posted in Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 6 April 2020| 6 Comments »

Cheddar Cheese Risotto

We found Nigella Express on our bookshelves and thought it might be useful these days when we’re looking for simplicity and store cupboard ingredients. This is Nigella’s Cheddar cheese risotto that we made with some limp looking scallions and the dregs from a packet of chives. Also popular with the 6 year old.

Wine Suggestion: A full-bodied white with texture, depth and importantly a freshness to make it feel lighter than the body and rich food demand. Our choice the Rustenberg Chardonnay, a stand-by exemplar of an oaked Chardonnay.

Cheddar cheese risotto – serves 2 adults and 1 child

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • a few scallions, chopped
  • 300g risotto rice
  • ½ tsp Dijon mustard
  • 125ml white wine
  • 1 litre hot vegetable stock
  • 125g cheddar cheese, cubed
  • 2 tbsp chopped chives

Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan, then add the scallions and cook until softened.

Pour in the rice and stir for a minute so the rice is all coated in the butter and oil.

Turn up the heat, then add the Dijon mustard and white wine. Keep stirring until the wine has been absorbed.

Gradually add the hot stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring until absorbed before adding another. Keep going like this until the rice is al dente – about 18 minutes.

Stir in the cubes of cheese and keep stirring until the cheese has melted. Taste for seasoning, then ladle into warm bowls. Top with some chives if you have them.

(Original recipe from Nigella Express, Chatto & Windus, 2007.)

 

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Watercress & Scallion salad

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 2 May 2018| Leave a Comment »

Watercress & Scallion salad

We love this green salad with barbecues as the scallions taste amazing and you’re not likely to get the barbecue out just for a green salad.

Watercress & scallion salad – serves 8 to 10

  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 shallots, sliced into fine rings
  • 2 tsp caster sugar
  • 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 3 bunches scallions, trimmed
  • 4 bunches of watercress (or failing that a bag of mixed salad leaves as we had to resort to this time but it we prefer it with watercress)

Heat a pan over a medium heat, then fry the shallots for a few minutes with a splash of oil, then add the sugar and vinegar. Bring to the boil, then set to one side.

Toss the scallions in a little oil then cook on a hot barbecue for a a couple of minutes on each side (use a griddle pan if that’s easier). Put the scallions in a bowl with the shallots and the rest of the olive oil. Season and toss with the watercress.

(Original recipe by James Martin IN: BBC Good Food Magazine, April 2008)

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Rillette & Cornichons on Scallion Sourdough

Posted in Food, Pork, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 26 September 2016| Leave a Comment »

Rillette & cornichon on scallion toastWe can’t resist those little plastic tubs of pork rillettes found in the fridge section of French supermarkets. Here’s what happened the end of the tub we brought home. No more rillettes until next year… unless we try making it ourselves of course.

Wine Suggestion: because we brought the rillette back from the Loire, a good Chenin Blanc was called for. The Chateau Hureau Samur Blanc “Argile” was rich and full while still being dry and textured enough to work with the fatty pork and sour pickle of the cornichons. Lighter dry wines might taste weak in comparison so make sure the wine you choose is good enough to stand up to the flavours of the dish. If you want to push the boat out a good, aged sweet chenin blanc, like a Bonnezeaux or Vouvray Moelleux with luscious botrytis would also be superb.

Pork Rillettes & Cornichons with Onion Sourdough – serves 2

  • 2-3 scallions
  • 4 slices of sourdough bread
  • pork rillettes
  • small handful of cornichons

Put 2-3 scallions in a food processor with 5 tablespoons of olive oil and some seasoning, then blitz to a paste. Soak the sourdough in this green oil.

Fry the bread in a non-stick pan until very crisp on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper, then spread 2 slices with the rillettes and add a few sliced cornichons. Top with the remaining slices of toast and drizzle with any remaining onion oil.

(Original recipe from Eat by Nigel Slater, Fourth Estate, 2013.)

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We didn’t think this would be good enough to blog, but …

Posted in Food, Healthy, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 7 April 2011| 2 Comments »

… it was. You know when you read a recipe and it looks tasty enough, but nothing special; good for a weeknight. Well this looked like that, and then had such great balance of flavours it had to make the blog. It did take longer than we expected, but the pizza-like aromas from the oven had us salivating and it was worth the wait. More like a veggie pasta bake than a frittata we reckon.

Easy oven frittata (serves 4, or less if you’re hungry)

  • 1/2 tsp oilve oil
  • 85g fusilli, macaroni or small pasta – we used conchigle
  • 1 bunch of scallions, chopped
  • 85g frozen peas
  • 85g frozen or tinned sweetcorn
  • 1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 large eggs
  • 150ml milk
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 50g good Irish cheddar, grated (Bandon Vale worked well)
  • 2 tbsp parmesan, finely grated
  • a green salad to serve

Preheat oven to 190C / fan 170C and grease a 1.2 litre baking dish with olive oil

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for 8 minutes. Add all the veg and cook for a further 2 minutes. Drain and tip into baking dish.

Beat together eggs, add thyme and milk and beat a little more. Mix in most of the two cheeses and some black pepper and a sprinkle of salt. Pour into the baking dish, stir, then scatter remaining cheeses on top.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden and set. Cool for a minute or two and serve with the salad leaves.

Surprisingly tasty and low fat too! What more could you ask for?

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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