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Posts Tagged ‘side dish’

Stir Fried Sweetcorn

Posted in Food, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , on 15 August 2012| Leave a Comment »

We could have eaten buckets of this, it was so tasty! Locally grown corn cobs usually hit the shops in September but as the seasons seem to be all out this year, we’ll have to wait and see. To remove the corn form the cobs you need to tear off the husks, then run a knife downwards to remove the kernels – easy!

Stir-fried corn with chilli, ginger, garlic and parsley – to serve 2 as a side dish 

  • fresh corn kernels (one corn cob per person)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp if chopped ginger
  • 1 tsp of chopped chilli
  • a handful of chopped parsley
  • 1-2 tbsp soy sauce

Get your wok nice and hot. Heat the oil, then add the corn and stir-fry along with the ginger and chopped chilli.

When the corn is almost cooked, add the parsley and soy sauce and toss through.

Tastes really good with roast chicken and potatoes!

(Original recipe from Jamie Oliver’s Jamie’s Dinners, Penguin 2004.)

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Greek Briam (oven-baked vegetables with fresh herbs)

Posted in Food, Greek, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 17 July 2012| 8 Comments »

This has such great flavours that we made it two days in a row – it’s even great cold the next day so don’t be put off by the large quantities. Serve with barbecue lamb or just some feta cheese.

Briam – to serve 8 

  • 150ml extra virgin olive oil, plus a bit extra to grease the tin
  • 500g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut lengthways into ½ cm thick slices
  • 6 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 large courgettes, sliced
  • 1 large aubergine, cut into 1cm thick slices
  • 1 large green pepper, cut into chunks
  • 1 large red pepper, cut into chunks
  • 1 large red onion, thickly sliced
  • 15-20g dill sprigs
  • 15-20g flat-leaf parsley sprigs
  • 200ml passata

Preheat the oven to 190ºC.

Oil a large roasting tin (about 26 x 36 cm) well and spread the potatoes on the base in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper, then scatter over the garlic and courgettes. Season again, then add a layer each of the aubergine, peppers and onion, seasoning between each layer. Scatter over half the dill and parsley sprigs, cover with tomato slices and then add the rest of the herbs and season again. Pour the sieved tomatoes over the top, followed by the olive oil.

Cover the roasting tin tightly with foil and bake for about 1½ hours or until the vegetables are tender.

If you have a lot of juices in the tin, carefully pour them into a wide pan and boil until reduced and concentrated. Pour back over the vegetables and leave to cool a bit before serving.

(Original recipe from Rick Stein’s Mediterranean Escapes, BBC Books, 2007.)

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New Potatoes with Rosemary

Posted in Food, Italian, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 20 June 2012| 3 Comments »

Rosemary flavoured potatoes are available everywhere in Tuscany and we love them!

Patatine Novelle al Rosmario – to serve 4

  • 25g butter
  • 100ml olive oil
  • 1 fresh rosemary sprig
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 750g new potatoes

Heat the butter and oil in a large pan, add the rosemary, garlic and new potatoes, then cover. Cook on a low heat until golden brown. Discard the garlic and rosemary and sprinkle with some sea salt to serve.

(Original recipe from The Silver Spoon, Phaidon Press Ltd. 2005)

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Jamie’s Favourite Coleslaw

Posted in Food, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 5 June 2012| 28 Comments »

This is really fresh and tasty and a million miles better than the gloopy shop bought stuff. It’s also really handy to make if you have a food processor; use the slicing attachment for the cabbage and onion and the julienne attachment for the carrots and apples. Great side dish for a barbecue.

My Favourite Coleslaw – to serve 6

  • ½ a white cabbage, core removed and cut into quarters
  • 1 small red onion, peeled
  • 3 carrots, peeled
  • 2 red apples, washed and cored
  • a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
  • juice of 1-2 lemons
  • some mayonnaise
  • 1 heaped tsp English mustard

Slice the cabbage as finely as possible or slice using a food processor. Then slice the onion in the same way and mix with the cabbage in a large bowl.

Julienne the carrots and apples with a mandolin or food processor or cut into matchsticks. Add to the bowl along with the chopped parsley, a few dollops of mayonnaise and the mustard. You can adjust the quantities of lemon juice and mayonnaise to how you like it. We just added the juice from one lemon and a few good dollops of mayonnaise. Season to taste and toss together.

Et voila!

(Original recipe by Jamie Oliver in, Cook with Jamie, Penguin Books, 2006.)

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Crispy New Potatoes

Posted in Food, Healthy, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 30 May 2012| 5 Comments »

My Dad keeps talking about these potatoes that I made before which he says I squashed a bit and then put them in the oven to crisp up. I had no recollection of these squashed, crispy potatoes until I came across these. Is this them Dad? If so I’ll make them for you next time I see you.

Crispy New Potatoes – to serve 4

  • 16 smallish new potatoes, leave the skins on
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • paprika

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, drain and then put back on the warm ring to dry off. Spread the potatoes out on a baking tray and squash them a bit using a potato masher. Be careful here as you only want them a bit squashed and not completely smashed (though I smashed one or two and it just made them even more crispy so don’t worry too much).

Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle over a little paprika, salt and pepper. Now roast in the oven for about 20 minutes or until nice and crispy.

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More Courgettes!

Posted in Food, Healthy, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 26 May 2012| Leave a Comment »

We eat tonnes of courgettes over the summer months so it’s good to try some new ways to cook them. This makes a great side dish for a barbecue.

Courgettes with crispy cheese crumbs – to serve 4

  • 6 courgettes, cut into chunky batons
  • pinch dried chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 85g dried or stale breadcrumbs
  • 3 tbsp grated Parmesan
  • 4 tbsp passata

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the courgettes in a baking dish or roasting tin and toss with the chilli, thyme and 1 tbsp oil and seasoning.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Mix the rest of the oil with the garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmesan and some seasoning.

Stir the passata into the courgettes, sprinkle with the cheesey crumbs and bake for another 10-15 minutes until crispy.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Zucchini Fritte

Posted in Food, Healthy, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 24 May 2012| Leave a Comment »

This is a really simple courgette side dish. Don’t worry about cooking the courgettes at the last minute as they taste just as good at room temperature, so cook them a little in advance.

Fried courgettes – to serve 6

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 courgettes, sliced
  • ½ red chilli, sliced into rings
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • handful parsley, chopped

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then fry the courgettes for about 5 minutes or until starting to brown.

Add the chilli and garlic and fry for a further minute. Season with salt, then toss with the parsley and serve.

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Harissa Sweet Potato Wedges

Posted in Food, Healthy, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 22 May 2012| 7 Comments »

Healthy side-dish with delicious flavour. We had these with a barbecue and they tasted great. Serve with some sour cream and chives if you have it – or mayo!

Harissa sweet potato wedges – to serve 4

  • 1kg sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedgees
  • 1 tbsp harissa paste

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss the wedges with the harissa in a bowl and then transfer to a baking tray and cook for 40-45 minutes.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Stoved potatoes

Posted in Food, Potato, Side dish, tagged , , , , , , on 16 May 2012| Leave a Comment »

These are yummy and give a totally different texture to new potatoes. Keep turning them regularly so you get them nice and brown all over.

Stoved potatoes – to serve 6

  • 50g unsalted butter
  • 500g baby new potatoes

Melt the butter in a large frying pan with a lid. Wait until it foams before adding the potatoes. Turn the potatoes and make sure they all get coated in butter and are in a single layer. Sprinkle over some salt.

Cover and cook gently for about 30 minutes, shaking the pan regularly, until the potatoes are tender. Leave them in the hot butter until you’re ready to serve them and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

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Green beans with shallots

Posted in Food, Healthy, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 2 May 2012| Leave a Comment »

This is an easy and absolutely delicious way to serve green beans. It even perked up ones that had flown from very far away as our local shop hasn’t got the new season ones yet…any day now we hope!

Green beans with shallots – to serve 6 as a side dish

  • 400g green beans
  • 25g butter
  • 3 shallots, finely chopped

Cook the green beans in boiling, salted water for a few minutes, until just tender. Drain and cool under cold running water. (You can do this up to a day before and keep them in a plastic bag in the fridge).

Heat the butter in a large frying pan until foaming, add the shallots and cook for 4-5 minutes, until soft but not coloured. Throw in the beans and toss to coat, then cook for a final couple of minutes until heated through, then season.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Light & Spicy Potato Salad

Posted in Food, Healthy, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 25 January 2012| Leave a Comment »

This is scrummy! Like a potato salad but nice and light as it’s mostly low-fat yogurt rather than mayo. We served it with some spicy fish but it would also be great for a barbecue or a party. A dish we’ll definitely be repeating.

Potato salad with curried mayo – to serve 8

  • 1.25 kg salad potatoes, halved if big
  • bunch of scallions
  • 1 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds, plus extra to serve
  • 1 tbsp Madras curry paste (or whatever you have)
  • 200g low-fat natural yogurt
  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 4 sticks celery, thickly sliced

Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the white bulb end of the scallions and keep the green parts. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan, add the mustard seeds and cook until they start to pop and hop around. Add the chopped scallion and curry paste. Cook, stirring all the time, for a couple of minutes.

Tip the mixture into a big bowl and stir in the yogurt and mayonnaise with lots of salt and black pepper. You can leave the potato skins on or off.

Chop all but 2 of the green onion stems and add to the dressing along with the potatoes and celery and carefully mix it all together.

Pile the potatoes into a serving dish. Cut the leftover scallion stems into long shreds and scatter them over the salad with the mustard seeds.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Fondant Baby Spuds

Posted in Food, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , on 20 December 2011| Leave a Comment »

Jules made a fab dish that we’ll definitely do again! She says she was all inspired by Masterchef where they never have time to cook them through properly. Cook these when you’re not in a hurry.

Baby Potato Fondants – to serve 8

  • 1kg baby potatoes
  • 1 whole garlic clove, smashed once
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 200ml dry white wine
  • 50g butter

Put the potatoes, garlic and bay leaves in a large sauté pan with a lid. Add the wine and butter and put the lid on. Simmer for about an hour or until the wine has evaporated and the potatoes are coated in buttery juices.

Turn the heat down to low and sizzle the potatoes in the butter, shaking and turning them until completely cook through and crispy and brown on the outside (like the pic). Serve with a bit of sea salt over the top and whatever else you’ve cooked.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food Magazine, December 2011.)

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Side Dishes to Feed a Crowd

Posted in Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 8 December 2011| Leave a Comment »

Here’s a couple of easy side dishes that will feed loads of people! For the salad you can roast the squash and tomatoes and make the dressing ahead.

Cannellini Bean and Roast Squash Salad with Basil Dressing – to feed 12

  • 1kg butternut squash, peeled and cut into small chunks
  • olive oil
  • 500g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 shallots, roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 4 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • basil
  • 4 x 400g tins cannellini beans, drained (we didn’t have cannellini so used a mix of flageolet and haricot beans)

Heat the oven to 220C/fan 180C/gas 6. Put the squash on a baking tray with 2 tbsp oil and season. Roast for 20 minutes then add the tomatoes, turn up the heat to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 and roast for 15 minutes. Then cool.

Put the shallots, mustard, vinegar and basil in a processor and blend. Add 4 tbsp olive oil and 3tbsp of water and blend to make a dressing.

Put the beans on a platter. Top with the squash and tomatoes then drizzle over the dressing. Toss gently and serve.

Diced olive oil roasties with rosemary – to serve 12

  • 2.5kg potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
  • olive oil
  • a few sprigs of rosemary

Heat the oven to 220C/fan 180C/gas 6.

Par-boil the potatoes for 5 minutes then drain. Toss with 4 tbsp olive oil and spread on a baking tray. Season and cook for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the rosemary, toss then cook for another 25-30 minutes or until crispy and golden. Sprinkle with sea salt.

We served both dishes with some barbecued sausages – but you can serve them with whatever you like!

(Original recipes from BBC Olive, December 2011.)

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Irish Champ

Posted in Food, Irish Food, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 26 November 2011| 7 Comments »

We love  champ, and this recipe adds an extra layer of deliciousness. This idea is from Jamie’s latest book and we especially liked the addition of yellow celery leaves at the end.

King of mash: Irish champ

  • 1kg potatoes
  • 2 scallions
  • 1 leek
  • 150ml milk
  • 1 fresh bay leaf
  • 50g butter
  • a small handful of watercress (we omitted this as there was none in the shop)
  • a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley
  • a small handful of yellow celery leaves

Peel the potatoes and bring a large pan of  salted water to the boil. Cut the potatoes into 2.5cm chunks then add to the pan and boil fast for 12-15 minutes, or until completely tender.

Meanwhile, slice the scallions and leeks as finely as you can. Put them in a saucepan with the milk, bay leaf, butter and plenty of seasoning. Bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about 7-8 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and let them steam dry for a few minutes in the hot pot. Mash the potatoes, adding spoonfuls of the milk as you go. Taste and season. Roughly chop the watercress (if using) and stir through the mash (discard any thick stalks).

Just before serving reheat the mash with a lid on over a gentle heat. Stir in the parsley and celery leaves and serve with more butter if you like.

(Original recipe from Jamie’s Great Britain by Jamie Oliver, Penguin, 2011.)

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Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

Posted in Food, Party Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 24 November 2011| Leave a Comment »

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends! This is our contribution to the Thanksgiving Dinner we’re going to tonight – we hope it’s better than the ‘traditional’ tinned stuff we’ve heard about! It keeps well for a week which is useful when preparing for big feasts and a little bit of chilli does wonders for the taste.

Chilli Cranberry Sauce

Gently heat 100g golden caster sugar and 175ml white wine in a saucepan. Wait until the sugar has dissolved and then bring to the boil.

Add 1/2 a mild red chilli (chopped and with seeds left in) and 300g of fresh or frozen cranberries (ours came from Wisconsin), bring back to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes. You want the berries to burst but not collapse completely. Take the sauce off the heat. As it cools it will continue to cook and thicken.

 (Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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A Blackberry and Apple Sauce for Pork or Duck

Posted in Food, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 8 November 2011| 2 Comments »

We made this sauce as an incidental side to some duck legs and the side trumped the main … so much so that the legs will not be reviewed but this sauce definitely will! The revelation for us is the baking of the apples whole which seems to add something special.

Apple and blackberry sauce – to serve 4 (or more) on the side

  • 4 large Bramley apples
  • 150g blackberries
  • a little icing sugar
Score the skin of the apples round the middle to prevent explosions and put them in a baking dish. Bake at 180ºC/Gas 4 or thereabouts for about 40 minutes or until they have puffed up and the apple is soft and frothy.

Put the blackberries into a small pan with a tbsp of water and bring to the boil. Crush lightly with a fork.

Scrape the apple flesh off the skins into a bowl. Beat the sugar in with a fork and stir in the crushed blackberries.

(Original recipe by Nigel Slater, Tender: Volume II, Fourth Estate, 2010).

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Hot Buttered Beetroot

Posted in Food, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 7 October 2011| 2 Comments »

Here’s a really lovely side dish. Good with roasts or grilled meat.

Hot buttered beetroot – to serve 6

  • 3 medium beetroot, trimmed but not peeled
  • 25g butter
  • 1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves.
Cook the beetroot in a large pan of boiling salted water for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Allow to cool slightly, then peel off the skins – gloves are advisable! Chop the beetroot.

Melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the thyme and cook for a minute before adding the beetroot and tossing to coat in the butter.

(Original recipe by Tom Kerridge in BBC Good Food Magazine, October 2011)

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Easy raita for your curry

Posted in Asian, Food, Indian, Side dish, tagged , , , , , on 24 September 2011| 1 Comment »

So fresh and vibrant in flavour, much better than the raita you can buy in the supermarket and takes only a few minutes to make. We recommend you serve this with a curry (we cooked this one), a dahl, some rice and naan breads. An Indian feast!

Tomato, onion and cucumber raita – to serve 4

  • 1 small vine tomato, chopped into 1cm dice
  • 90g cucumber, peeled and chopped into 1cm dice
  • half a small red onion, finely chopped
  • large handful of chopped fresh coriander
  • 3/4 tsp roasted cumin powder (see below)
  • 1/3 tsp chilli powder
  • 400g plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
  • salt
To make the roasted cumin powder roast cumin seeds in a small dry pan, stirring constantly, until they have darkened quite a bit. Be careful as they can go from brown to black very quickly! Grind to a fine powder.

Stir all the ingredients together and season to taste.

(Original recipe from I ♥ Curry by Anjum Anand, Quadrille, 2010)

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Chargrilled Cauliflower salad

Posted in Food, Side dish, Uncategorized, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 30 August 2011| 4 Comments »

This salad from ‘Ottolenghi: the cookbook’ has just a few fresh ingredients and tastes fantastic! Really good with some grilled meat off the barbecue.

Chargrilled cauliflower with tomatoes, dill and capers – to serve 2-4

  • 2 tbsp capers, drained and roughly chopped
  • 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 120ml olive oil
  • 1 small cauliflower, divided into florets
  • 1 tbsp chopped dill
  • 50g baby spinach leaves
  • 20 cherry tomatoes, halved

You can make the dressing in a food processor or by hand (we used the processor). Mix together the capers, mustard, garlic, vinegar and some salt and pepper. Whisk vigorously or run the machine while adding half the oil in a slow trickle. You should get a thick, creamy dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Add the cauliflower to a large pan of boiling salted water and simmer for just 3 minutes. Drain and run under a cold tap to stop it cooking further. Leave in the colander to dry well, then put it in a mixing bowl with the rest of the olive oil and some seasoning. Toss well.

Heat a ridged griddle pan over the highest possible heat and leave it for 5 minutes or until it is really hot. Grill the cauliflower in batches – don’t over-crowd the pan. Keep turning until they are nicely charred all over and transfer to a bowl. While the cauliflower is still hot, add the dressing, dill, spinach and tomatoes. Stir together, taste and adjust seasoning again.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

(Original recipe from Ottolenghi The Cookbook published by The Random House Group).

 

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Roasted Garlic Toasts

Posted in Brunch, Food, Italian, Side dish, Uncategorized, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , on 28 August 2011| 4 Comments »

We love garlic bread but often the garlic is too raw and over-powering and it doesn’t love us back. For these toasts we roasted the garlic first before making the butter which gives a more subtle flavour.

You can make the garlic butter in advance.

Garlic Toasts (serves 4, easily multiplied for larger quantities)

  • 3 fat Garlic Cloves, peeled
  • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 tablespoon Flat-leaf Parsley, chopped
  • 4 slices of Crostini, or a demi-baguette, sliced diagonally
Preheat oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Put garlic and olive oil in a small roasting tin and season with salt and ground black pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes.
When cooked and golden, remove from oven, cool slightly and then mash the garlic cloves in a small bowl with a fork. Add the butter and parsley and mix thoroughly.
Put bread on baking tray, spread with the garlic butter and bake until crisp (roughly 5-10 minutes).
We served this with Jamie Oliver’s Pasta Bake to great effect.
Original recipe: Bill Granger’s “Every Day”, Murdoch Books

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