CBC 15 - Broccoli, Feta and Tomato Salad

Chocoholics and baking fiends should look away, for the next few post have a decidedly savour bent to them!  Hubby and I have taken to packing our lunches for work and this salad has once again made its way back onto my weekly menu.  When I first moved to Edinburgh I made this salad for dinner quite a few times a week, its quick and easy to make, the ingredients cost pretty much next to nothing (this is a very important element to ones menu when one was on a temp!), its fairly healthy and above all else, it tastes pretty good too. 

Now is the part where I have to admit which cook book this comes from in order to qualify for my Cook Book Challenge .... deep breath, apply the same strategy as removing a band aid ... Ainsley Harriott's Friends and Family Cookbook.  I have nothing against Ainsley, except for maybe that hip shimmy, arm flailing in the air  like a maniac move he seems to love.  In fact most of the recipes of his that I have tried I seem to like quite a bit but I can't help but feel a little shameful for having bought this book.  I blame my local book retailer for reducing the price and shameless praying on my vulnerable book fetish.  How dare they!  ;0)

Broccoli, Feta and Tomato Salad
400g broccoli, broken into small florets
100g feta cheese, cut into cubes
225g cherry tomatoes, halved
6 tbsp mustard vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Blanch the broccoli for 1-2 mins in a pan of boiling salted water, then drain and refresh under cold running water.  Tip into a bowl and scatter over the feta and tomatoes.  drizzle over the vinaigrette and fold until well combined.

Serves 4
Adapted from Ainsley Harriott's Friends and Family Cook Book (said it twice now!)

Mustard Vinaigrette
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
a pinch of caster sugar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 small garlic clove, crushed
A small bundle of fresh chives, snipped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the vinegar in a screw topped jar, add the sugar and a good pinch of salt, then shake until the salt has dissolved.

Add the oil to the jar with the mustards and garlic and shake until you have formed a thick emulsion.  add the chives, season to taste and then chill until needed.

Makes enough to dress 1 large salad (serves 4)
Ainsley Harriott's Friends and Family Cook Book (thrice!)


To avoid the dressing from cooking the broccoli beyond the fresh, vibrant green that comes from blanching it, I pack the salad and dressing into separate containers to transport to work. 

Crusty Pasta and Broccoli Bake

The other night Hubby and I were watching Masterchef Australia. The remaining contestants were given 30 minutes to produce a romantic meal and Julie decided to make the first meal that she ever cooked for her Husband. This got us to thinking about the first meal I ever cooked for my Hubby. At the time I had no idea what a fussy eater he was and I was a strict vegetarian so I picked a pasta and broccoli bake from one of the latest food magazines. I can still remember the look on his face when I showed him what we were eating, safe to say he was not best pleased! But after tasting it he really enjoyed it and went back for seconds, now it is one of his favourite dishes!

Crusty Pasta and Broccoli Bake

400g penne or macaroni

1 red onion, roughly chopped

250g head broccoli, stalks chopped small, florets halved

1 veg stock cube

1 heaped tsp french or german mustard

1 heaped tsp grainy mustard

200g pot half fat creme fraiche

100g grated mature gruyere or cheddar

Small handful parsley leaves, chopped

4 tbsp fresh white breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs or thyme

Boil the pasta, onion and broccoli stalks in plenty of lightly salted boiling water for about 7 mins, then add broccoli florets and cook for another 3 mins. Reserve about 400ml of the water, the drain the pasta and vegetables.

Return the reserved water to the pan and dissolve the stock cube, whisk in the mustard and creme fraiche, season to taste. Bring to the boil. Stir in the drained pasta, vegetables and half the cheese, mixing until melted. Stir in the parsley. Heat the grill.

Tip the pasta and vegetables into a shallow ovenproof dish. Mix together the remaining cheese, breadcrumbs and herbs and scatter on top of the pasta.

Grill for about 3 mins, turning if the top starts to brown. Don't let it burn or the cheese will toughen. Remove and let the dish stand for 5 mins before serving.

Serves 4

Chicken Pie

Hubby and I are very certainly back on the old calorie counting regime [sigh]. My motivation levels are quite low this time round, chocolate just tastes so good! But if I want to fit into my lovely floaty aqua dress for a friends wedding in September (I know! Ages away - plenty of time to loose those [few] extra pounds right?) then I guess I had better start now, especially as Easter is just around the corner and all those yummy chocolate recipes are going to come oozing out of the woodwork to tempt me off my virtuous path!

If I didn't tell you this was a weight watchers recipe I'm guessing you'd never know!

Chicken Pie

Low fat cooking spray

1 large onion, peeled and sliced

3 x 150g skinless chicken fillets, cut into 2cm strips

250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced thickly

1 garlic clove, crushed

400ml chicken stock (made from a cube is fine!)

2 tsp cornflour

2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh tarragon (I couldn't lay my hands on any so I used a good sprinkling of dried mixed herbs instead - worked pretty well too!)

175g broccoli, cut into small florets

250g ready rolled puff pastry

2 tsp milk

Heat a large frying pan and mist with low fat spray. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 mins, adding a little water if it looks like sticking. Add the chicken and cook for 3 mins before adding the mushrooms. Saute the mixture for a further 5 mins until the juices from the mushrooms have been released and evaporated. Stir in the garlic and stock and simmer gently for 5 mins. Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C.

Blend the cornflour with 1 tbsp water and add to the pan with the tarragon, stirring continuously until thickened. Remove from the heat and season to taste. Stir in the broccoli and spoon into a 1.2 litre pie dish. Set aside to cool for 5 mins.

Roll out the pastry a little more thinly to fit the top of the pie dish. Trim the edges and use the trimmings to stick round the rim of the dish. Brush the trimmings with a little of the milk and carefully lay the pastry over the top. Knock together the pastry edges to seal the pie. Make 3 small slashes in the top and brush with the remaining milk. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 mins, or until the pastry is golden and puffed up. Serve hot.

* To freeze the pie, cool the filling at the end of step 2, then top with the pastry. Cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the fridge before brushing with milk. Bake for 30-40 mins, covering the top if it gets too brown.

Serves 4

Irresistible Mag - Spring 2010

This was really nice. we' ll be having this again very soon. In fact its so nice that I would even make it for the next time we have company over, although I think I'll make them in individual pie dishes, there is something a bit more extravagant about a whole pie all to yourself!

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup

We had this soup for dinner a few weeks ago - I completely forgot to post it! [Hanging head in shame]

Broccoli and Blue Cheese Soup
1 large onion, roughly chopped
Olive oil
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 litre veg stock
1 head broccoli, about 300g, roughly chopped
100g blue cheese, such as Stilton or Roquefort, crumbled

Cook the onion in 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan until soft (about 5 mins). Add the potato and stock and simmer until the potato is tender (about 10 mins). Add the broccoli and cook for 3-4 mins until just tender but still bright green.

Add half the cheese and whizz to a smooth soup in a blender. Season then serve with the rest of the cheese crumbled over.

Serves 4
Olive, Aug 10

Blue Cheese and I are still developing our relationship so I opted not to crumble some more over the top.  The soup wasn't at all 'boy's sock' tasting (sometimes I find blue cheese can smell a bit like its been stuck in a teenage boys sneaker for a few months - hence the boy's sock description), it was fresh and flavoursome with a subtle hint of blue cheese.  I think we might be having this one for a starter on Christmas Day, the addition of the cheese makes it a special occasion kind of soup in my very humble opinon ;0)