Salsa Verde (or how to use up the herbs in the bottom of the fridge…)

Posted on May 12, 2011 by Louise

As the fridge-cleaning process enters day four, I am left with the herbs (basil and parsley, plus some mint I’d forgotten about), anchovies, capers, cherry tomatoes, eggs, halloumi, two packets of feta, black olives, two frozen chicken legs and a bunch of asparagus. I went off-piste a bit because I have had to buy another lemon (for the risotto), leaving me another half to use up, but I made stock with the bones of the ready-roasted chicken so whereas I spent on one I saved on the other.

I wanted to make a chicken with feta dish; however, the herbs, which I bought at the weekend, are starting to look a bit limp so I need to use those up first. And salsa verde, I discover after a recce through my cookbooks, is the perfect solution, Continue reading →

Posted in Fast food fixes, Salsa and sauce recipes, Summer recipes | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Asparagus Again?

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Louise

Less than two weeks into the very very short season and I’ve already had asparagus four times: Benedict (twice), steamed with just butter, salt and pepper and steamed with olive oil and Parmesan. So, now that I’ve sated the desire simply to eat the stuff, I can think about cooking with it. And risotto is one of the best places to start. Continue reading →

Posted in Asparagus recipes, Nigel Slater, One pot, Spring vegetable recipes, Vegetarian recipes | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Chicken Caesar salad recipe

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Louise

On day two of the fridge-emptying exercise I decided to use up the roasted chicken. Whereas a packet of feta will last a lifetime, or near as dammit, a rotisserie bird, even from a reliable supermarket like Waitrose, isn’t quite so forgiving. And, since I also have some romaine lettuce (long-leaved and crunchy), Parmesan, anchovies, stale bread and, what’s more, it’s still madly sunny in London, well, Caesar salad was the obvious choice. Continue reading →

Posted in Chicken recipes, Cookery writers, Donna Hay, Fast food fixes, Salad recipes, Summer recipes | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gnocchi with olive oil, garlic and red chilli

Posted on May 9, 2011 by Louise

Anyone who has a small, under-the-counter, larder fridge will recognise the problem: there comes a point when you just have to eat what’s in it so that you can defrost it. The negative side of such a small fridge is that this usually needs to happen every three months, unlike larger fridges and fridge-freezers which always seem, like a Tardis, to keep on swallowing more and more food and ice without creaking. However, the advantage of the small version is that it is much harder to lose, and therefore waste, food since there just isn’t room to store over a few days’ worth of stuff.

This week I need to clean out my tiny two-shelf with an ice-box number, so I thought I’d find recipes that use up its contents. Continue reading →

Posted in Fast food fixes, Salsa and sauce recipes, Summer recipes, Vegetarian recipes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Halloumi salad recipe for a hot Friday night

Posted on May 6, 2011 by Louise

England’s seasons seem to be shifting. I’m typing this outside, on an evening worthy of June or July rather than early May and as London swelters other parts of the country are literally burning: there are forest fires in Wales! So whereas once upon a time December was cold but not snow-cold, and August was summer not autumn, now we’ve had snow two Christmases running and August tends to be a bit damp and grey. So, rather than on-the-cusp food, hot dishes that are a bit spring-like, I need salads. Not just some green leaves, but something full-on that can be a meal or a starter and which requires very little heat in the kitchen. Continue reading →

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Fast Food 1: Roast Chicken without an Oven

Posted on May 5, 2011 by Louise

I set out for work this morning full of good intentions about what I was going to cook and eat tonight. But then my three-hour meeting turned into an eight-hour one and, although it was a very rare meeting because it was interesting, challenging and I learnt something, all I could think about in the supermarket on the way home was, well, wtf is the fastest thing possible?

And then I saw the tell-tale queue and little red stickers and I knew my stomach and temper were saved. Just after 7pm, which is usually when I walk through the shop after my commute looking for inspiration, my local shop reduces some of its prices. And recently I noticed that the price of a hot, beautifully moist, herby, buttery chicken is often halved in the rotisserie. Tonight it was so over-stocked that they had reduced the price even further, from £5 or so to 99p. Reader, I bought two. Hey, it’s cheaper than cat food and why not treat them as well as myself?!

When I got home all I needed was some salt and pepper, a plate and some salad. How to make a cat (one of them, of course, turned his nose up) and myself happy for very little expense or effort.

Posted in Chicken recipes, Fast food fixes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Avocado and Pepper Salsa recipe

Posted on May 4, 2011 by Louise

Salsa, which is just a fancy word for sauce (or, in fact, is the word for sauce in Spain and Italy) is a brilliant weapon for your weekly culinary arsenal. It’s fast and flexible (if you don’t have a bit of this, add a bit of that instead) and it can transform the most basic of starches and proteins with just a deft bit of chopping. This is one of my favourites. It’s from a book called Leith’s Latin American Cookery, written by Valeria V. Sisti and, although I sometimes make it as an accompaniment for grilled lamb or chicken, often on a hot evening I just make a big bowl of it and eat it with toasted pitta bread. Continue reading →

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A is for Asparagus Benedict

Posted on May 3, 2011 by Louise

I’m not sure there is any moment of the year, in food terms, that rivals the beginning of May.  At least not in Britain. Because this is the time of year when British produce comes into its own: suddenly it’s possible to eat new potatoes from Jersey, strawberries from Kent and asparagus from Worcestershire. My grandparents used to grow all three in their garden and allotment and, although I knew all about Jersey Royals and strawberries when I was younger, I didn’t discover asparagus until I was an adult. And, oh my, now I’m addicted.

So, when May comes around, I buy more of it than any other vegetable and, since the season only lasts for six weeks, I’m always looking for ideas for cooking it. Continue reading →

Posted in Asparagus recipes, Spring vegetable recipes, Summer recipes | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Delia’s Chicken with Sherry Vinegar

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Louise

It’s a bank holiday in Britain today, which means I have time to cook something a little more complicated. But, although more time-consuming, this is still a relatively fast and easy dish (I’d say two hours from start to finish, and the last 45 minutes of that is the chicken doing its thing without you) and light on the shopping. I’ve had Delia Smith’s Summer Collection on my book shelf for nearly twenty years and in every one of those years, give or take a few, I’ve made this recipe. Chicken with vinegar is a French classic and as soon as the first sunshine arrives and, along with it, the new potatoes I think of this. Continue reading →

Posted in Chicken recipes, Summer recipes | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

A Daily Solution to an Eternal Problem

Posted on May 1, 2011 by Louise

Staring at the endless packets of meat in the supermarket the other night, I noticed a couple of young women shopping. They were moving up and down the aisle as if the supermarket was a form of torture and, having thrown some chicken rather violently into their trolley, one of them stopped. ‘We still haven’t got anything for tonight though,’ she said to her friend, ‘but I’m not sure I can be bothered. I just feel like going to McDonald’s.’

I knew exactly how she felt. Continue reading →

Posted in Random bits that don't belong in a category... | Tagged , , | 10 Comments