raw beetroot, caraway, lemon balm and mint salad

This big bowl of raw beetroot salad flavoured with caraway, lemon balm and mint is a crunchy super food Summer salad. Beetroot is packed with powerful antioxidants and nutrients. This recipe is inspired by a big bunch of beetroot I needed to use up and some lemon balm I had found while out for a little foraging walk.  Caraway and mint are perfect flavour partners for beetroot - bringing out their earthy sweetness.  The lemon balm adds a fresh, citrus hit to this beetroot salad which also adds an interesting contrast to the earthy beetroot. 

Check out this link for more information about foraging for lemon balm. Remember to be careful when foraging and never pick or use anything unless you are 100% sure what it is.  Here are a few foraging rules to make yourself familiar with if you are going to find this herb in the wild. You can of course buy lemon balm from some supermarkets and may even be growing some in your garden if you are lucky.  

This raw beetroot salad is perfect for a Summer picnic or BBQ and would make a great accompaniment to roast or BBQ meat or fish.   I hope you enjoy and let me know how you get on with making this.   

raw beetroot, caraway, lemon balm and mint salad

recipe by:  chip butties and noodle soup 

preparation time:  10 minutes

ingredients:

1 bunch beetroot (about 4-5 beetroot)

3-4 sprigs lemon balm 

3-4 sprigs mint

glug of red wine vinegar

glug of olive oil

1 tsp chilli flakes

3 tsp caraway seeds

pinch sugar

salt and pepper

method:

1. gently roast the caraway seeds in a pan until they become fragrant then remove from heat.  
2. wash and peel your beetroot then grate.  Be careful as beetroot stains everything pink and gets everywhere - probably not a good idea to wear anything white while doing this! 
3. chop up the herbs then add these to the beetroot with your glugs of oil, roasted caraway seeds, chilli flakes, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar and mix well. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary.  
4. let it stand for a minimum of 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to mingle.  

I have entered this recipe into July's cooking with herbs hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage

I am also entering this recipe onto: Four Seasons Food hosted by Delicieux and Chezfoti to go with their BBQ and BBQ sides theme.

I have also entered this recipe into Javelin Warrior's Made with Love Mondays over at Cookin w/ Luv

I have also entered this recipe onto No Croutons Required hosted by Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa from Lisa's Kitchen.  This month the topic is seasonal salads/soups.  

Coopers Restaurant Consultants #riverfood launch 21 July 2013

I was invited to attend the launch of #riverfood and Coopers restaurant consultants on London's South bank.  #riverfood is Coopers restaurant consultants unique take on the current trend for pop up and street food dining.   #riverfood champions local, fresh and seasonal food sourced from the Thames and the surrounding areas. 

"Thousands of species of edible fish live in rivers all around the world, so it’s hardly surprising that over 125 different types can be found in the fresh river waters of the United Kingdom. Despite the current interest in locally sourced ingredients, regional recipes and even foraging, few chefs have as yet to explore and serve food from this rich and diverse supply...until now."

On a beautiful sunny July day our meeting place was the Festival Pier on London's South bank.  Once all aboard the Thames river boat  MV Royalty we were treated to a selection from the impressive menu below.  

 

We were welcomed aboard with refreshing watermelon or grapefruit cocktails - the perfect cooler for the beautiful sunny weather we had.  

Next up were sea-salty fresh hollowshore oysters with shallot vinegar and Tabasco jelly. I spoke with Phillip Cooper, consultant chef and one third of Coopers restaurant consultants about his menu.  I was told that "cooking is simple when you have good ingredients" and good ingredients were not something that were in short supply.  We continued to be served a fantastic selection from the menu. 

cockles

 

Jack Pike sausage with green peppercorn and Puy lentils

smoked pike

rainbow trout tartar with avocado and belle radish

sauteed zander with white onion, bay and smoked bacon

The jack pike sausage with Puy lentils was a particular favourite.  A peppery, mousse-like sausage finished on the BBQ served with vinegared Puy lentils....but then saying that the hollowshore oysters with Tabasco jelly did occupy my thoughts for some days after the event!  Simple, pure flavours with a hint of heat from the Tabasco jelly - faultless.

Although the invite said that we would be "staying put" we were surprised with a magical boat trip on the Thames and had the chance to take in the sights, beautiful weather and delicious food - happy days!





My only disappointment of the day was not being able to sample the delicious sounding desserts.  Maybe next time....?  I will definitely be keeping up to date with #riverfood and look forward to their next pop up foodie event.











You can follow Coopers restaurant consultants on facebook and twitter.

I was an invited guest of Coopers restaurant consultants

frozen vodka, raspberry and mint cocktail

My frozen vodka, raspberry and mint cocktail is a refreshing Summer cooler for these hotter days. It is a frozen, blended, alcoholic smoothie type cocktail - with 1 of your 5 a day added for good measure!

I have also tried this recipe with strawberries and it works equally well so feel free to use either or mix and match depending on your preference.    

Unfortunately I wanted to come up with a more glamorous and witty cocktail name however due to the heat my creativity has slowed down slightly.  I have had to resort to merely listing the ingredients instead.  Any cocktail name ideas please feel free to let me know, and if it's a good one I may re-name it in your honour.  Enjoy and remember to drink responsibly!

makes enough for 2 long drinks

5 minutes to blend the cocktail together

ingredients:

mint syrup preparation time:  5-10 minutes for the mint syrup + cooling time: 

mint syrup

2 sprigs of mint

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

makes enough syrup for several more cocktails - store in an airtight container/bottle in the fridge.  

cocktail preparation time:  less than 5 minutes 

frozen vodka, raspberry and mint cocktail

2 cups raspberries/strawberries (leave out a few to garnish if you like)

2 measures vodka (I used 35ml measures) 

2 measures mint syrup

2 measures lime/lemon juice

mint leaves to garnish

1. to make the mint syrup add all the ingredients to a pan and bring to the boil for about 5 minutes to thicken slightly and dissolve the sugar.  Leave to cool and then strain through a sieve.
2. to make the cocktail add all your other ingredients into a blender with a cup of crushed ice and blend.  
3. garnish with a sprig of mint, a few raspberries and a Del boy umbrella if you have one....cheers, na drowie, salute - enjoy!  

I have entered this recipe into July's cooking with herbs hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage

I have also entered this recipe into Javelin Warrior's Made with Love Mondays over at Cookin w/ Luv

The Big Summer Salad

My Big Summer Salad is a big bowl of Summery, green beany, roasted peppery, salady goodness. Just throw together a selection of your favourite vegetables for this healthy and quick big salad.  

The weather and the green beans were the inspiration for this salad.  I wanted to use the beans in something more than a usual veggie accompaniment.  They are in season right now and I think a lovely addition to this salad.  

This is barely a recipe at all as it's so simple.  It's more a starting point for you to experiment and play around with the flavours and ingredients you want in your Big Summer Salad - just throw together your chosen selection of vegetables and you're almost there.  Perfect for this hot weather when you don't want to spend ages preparing a meal.  It's also great for using up fridge leftovers - I had some leftover roast chicken and peppers which I added to the mix, but you could use whatever you have that needs using up.  It would be really good with tuna or boiled eggs for an different take on the traditional Nicoise salad.  

The ingredient amounts are approximate and you can obviously leave out what you don't like, and add more of what you do. All you need to finish it off is dress with a few glugs of olive oil, the juice of a lemon and chopped fresh herbs.  The dressing really brings all the flavours together with a fresh citrussy zing!  

Let me know how you get on, and what you add to your Big Summer Salad.  

preparation time:  5-10 minutes

serves 2-3 as a main meal 

ingredients:

2 handfuls green beans

2 roasted peppers 

3 tomatoes 

handful of grated/finely chopped red cabbage

2 handfuls watercress/salad leaves

leftover chicken breast (optional)

juice of 1 lemon

few glugs olive oil

handful of chopped coriander/mint

salt and pepper to taste

method:  

1. top and tail the green beans then blanch in salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes.  Drain and run under cold water
2. chop all your vegetables how you want them (I left the beans whole and roughly chopped everything else which gave it a somewhat 'rustic' charm) and add to a big bowl
3. toss together with the juice of one lemon, a few glugs of olive oil, fresh chopped coriander/mint and salt and pepper to taste
4. serve with a big chunk of fresh bread and butter if you like and enjoy.  

A perfect accompaniment for a BBQ or Summer buffet.  Other dishes of mine that would go well with this to make a bigger Summer buffet lunch or dinner are my: 

roasted butternut squash,caramelized lemon and berbere houmous

rose harissa lamb with roasted vegetable and grain salad 

Samphire and tomato salad

I have entered The Big Summer Salad onto:

July's entry hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage

I am also entering this recipe onto: Four Seasons Food hosted by Delicieux and Chezfoti to go with their BBQ and BBQ sides theme.

I have also entered this recipe into Javelin Warrior's Made with Love Mondays over at Cookin w/ Luv

Coopers #riverfood: brand new foodie event London 21.7.13

I have been invited to attend #riverfood a new foodie event on London's South bank, giving a "posh twist on the food-to-go market". 

"Thousands of species of edible fish live in rivers all around the world, so it’s hardly surprising that over 125 different types can be found in the fresh river waters of the United Kingdom. Despite the current interest in locally sourced ingredients, regional recipes and even foraging, few chefs have as yet to explore and serve food from this rich and diverse supply...until now."

Coopers #riverfood is the brainchild of trio Phil Cooper, Arno Marsman and Andrea Britton of Coopers Restaurant Consultants. During a career spanning 30 years, Phil Cooper has established himself as one of the most successful chefs in the UK, working with respected names such as The Waterside Inn, Claridges, The Mirabelle and Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons to name a few.

Coopers #riverfood will be serving a variety of locally sourced, regional foods, with "ingredients sourced mainly from River Thames estuaries" - including items such as:

 Hollow Shore Oysters with Green Tabasco Jelly, Estuary Smoked Kipper with Clarence Court Egg and Cress, Pike and Green Peppercorn Sausage with Puy Lentils, Chargrilled Jack Pike with Oyster Sour

Cream and Roast Duck with Pickled Gooseberry.

I'm looking forward to it - and will let you know all about it when I come ashore next week!

Tickets for this event can be purchased at: http://riverfood.eventbrite.co.uk. 


Join the Conversation: @riverfoodLDN #riverfood 

roasted butternut squash, caramelized lemon and berbere houmous

I love houmous.  It's perfect for a quick snack on fresh bread, or as part of a larger mezze meal or BBQ accompaniment.  This recipe is packed with flavour and has influences from Africa with the traditional Ethiopian spice mix berbere.  This would be great with some warmed flat bread and smokey BBQ-ed lamb or falafel.  Check out this great falafel recipe on how to eat properly - by the brilliant Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi from their book Jerusalem

preparation time:  10 minutes
cooking time:  20-30 minutes

ingredients:

400g tin cooked chickpeas 

1 medium sized butternut squash

1 head of garlic

1 lemon (I used fresh lemon but a preserved one would be lovely too)

8 tbs olive oil

4 tbs plain yogurt 

2 tbs cumin seeds

1 heaped tsp berbere spice mix 

small bunch coriander/parsley chopped (keep a little back for garnishing)

salt and pepper to taste

method:

1. preheat the oven to 200C.
2. wash and roughly chop your squash - you can peel it if you want but I didn't bother as it softens down in the cooking process.  
3. add your squash to a roasting pan with the head of garlic.  Leave this unpeeled as it helps protect the garlic inside and produces wonderfully sweet and soft roasted cloves.  Add the cumin seeds and toss the squash and garlic in about 4tbs of your olive oil.  Roast for 20-30 minutes.  It's done when the squash is slightly caramelized and a knife pierces it easily.  
4. about 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time add the roughly chopped lemon - so it can soften and caramelize too.
5. when it's cooked and slightly cooled remove the skins from the garlic cloves then add to a food processor with the squash, lemon, chickpeas, yogurt, remaining olive oil, chopped herbs, berbere spice and salt and pepper.  You may need to whizz this up in a few lots depending on how big your processor is.  This would also work well with a hand held blender.  
6. serve garnished with more herbs and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!

I am also entering this recipe onto: Four Seasons Food hosted by Delicieux and Chezfoti to go with their BBQ and BBQ sides theme.

July's entry hosted by Karen at Lavender and Lovage

Review: Foodilic Western Road Brighton

I was recently asked to review Foodilic on Western Road, Brighton.  This branch was launched on 15th May and is Brighton's second Foodilic (the first being on North Street). There is also a third to open soon in North London on Pentonville Road. 

Foodilic's ethos is one that appeals to me - "delicious and nutritious".  

"Foodilic provides quality, great tasting and healthy food options. We aim to appeal and excite with great, value-for-money, fresh nutritious, mostly organic produce."

Do this well and you can't go far wrong. So the question was: would Foodilic live up to its own PR?   

Mr Chip Butties and myself went along on a lovely warm July evening earlier this week. We were greeted by happy, chatty staff who seemed genuinely interested in the food they were serving and providing good customer service...a very good start.  

At Foodilic Western Road you order and collect your food from the counter.  There is a large display of freshly prepared salads, roast meats, salmon and fresh bread.  There are also several hot options including beef and chicken stews and Mediterranean pastries - feuillete - with fillings ranging from smoked chicken to roasted sweet pumpkin. Everything looked delicious and it was going to be difficult to choose...

After a few minutes of us faffing around deciding what to have Mr CB went for the confit duck leg, tabbouleh, carrot salad and a few slices of roast aubergine with melted haloumi cheese.  I had honey and lemon roast chicken, avocado and mango salad and beetroot salad. 

To drink we both had a mixed apple and beetroot juice that had been freshly prepared.  I knew this meal was going to be doing us good. Packed with bright colours, fresh ingredients and nutrients.  

 We were not disappointed.  The flavours were zingy, fresh and everything had been beautifully prepared. The salads were ultra fresh.  A particular favourite was the avocado and mango salad - ripe and fragrant fruit which complimented my honey roast chicken perfectly. 

And now for dessert....well, this was equally hard to choose - but as there were 2 of us we were luckily able to share.  We ordered the hot sweet roast pumpkin feuillete, which was flavoured with vanilla - served with a cold yogurt sauce and an Ischler - which I can only describe as a giant, overstuffed wagon wheel! Crunchy biscuits sandwiching fluffy soft meringue and covered in chocolate - delicious. 

I could definitely get used to this place!  Gushing praise indeed but places like this are few and far between - especially in a big place like Brighton and should be recognised when they are doing a great job.   

I will definitely be back...next to try is the breakfast menu which had smoked haddock kedgeree and eggs Benedict to name just a few of the items on offer.  Another customer ordered the eggs Benedict while we were there and I did have a momentary pang of food envy!  

Delicious, fast and healthy food - perfect for an informal meal or take-away.  Foodilic provide the kind of food I like to cook at home - simple and full of flavour.  All this and very reasonably priced too.  What more can you ask for?  Well done Foodilic - keep it up!  

163 Western Road, Brighton, BN1 2BB

Tel: 01273 760 190

westernroad@foodilic.com

www.foodilic.com