Easy Peasy

I heart peas! Always have, always will. I bought a basketful of them the other day. Fresh and sweet. And never enough.
When it comes to peas creativity fails me. Every time. There's only three dishes I've ever made with fresh peas. And that's just fine by me. I make chilled pea and mint soup, a pea, pancetta and pecorino crostini topper and this little recipe right here. Creature of habit that I am, I'll probably stick to them.
Because there's not a lot of cooking involved, the quality and freshness of your ingredients is of the utmost importance here.
Fresh, organic (if possible) peas and mint and the best quality feta you can find. I've been buying my feta cheese from the same place for years. From a sweet old lady at the farmer's market. She's small, shy and as cute as they come. She also sells the best filo pastry outside of Greece, Kalamata olives and fresh mint. (Spanakopita? Good thinking!) Oh, and she also just passed her driving exam. Again. Annoying, (as she put it), but once you turn 80 they make you to do these crazy things from time to time. Such is life! Her words, not mine.

Green peas with feta, yogurt and mint

Ingredients:

2 lb fresh peas in the pod, shelled
1/2 lb best quality feta cheese
1/4 lb Greek yogurt
1/4 lb creme fraiche
1 bunch of scallions, finely sliced
handful of mint, shredded
2 tbsp olive oil
juice and zest of 1 lemon

Cook peas in boiling water just until al dente. Drain well. Mix with olive oil, scallions and mint.
In a separate bowl mix yogurt, lemon zest, creme fraiche and feta. Add to pea mixture. Season to taste with sea salt, pepper and lemon juice. Serve with warm pita bread. You can also sprinkle some sumac on top for good measure.
Ultra delish both warm and cold.

Bella Italia and a recipe

I've already done this countless times in my head. Create this post, I mean. Create, recreate and so on...Considered the many things I should write about. The good, the great, the unexpected, the magic of it all. Just trying to share all the incredible experiences I've had, complete with the sounds, smells and yes even the soundtrack of the whole trip, as all good stories need a soundtrack. Try Gianna Nannini , Madonna's Miles Away or Open Road by Grace. I've had these tunes in my head for months now, playing over and over again...And every single time they take me back to the long, scenic drives in the south of Italy and the poppy fields of France. The lemon scent in the air in Amalfi; savouring every bite of the world's BEST pistachio gelato in Polignano-al-Mare, while the rough waves hit the rocks so hard your feet start trembling; gazing for hours at wild horses in the south of France, need I say more??
It all started in March, when we shuttered our humble abode and set off on a pilgrimage to the culinary motherlands of France and Italy. Being quite aware of the fact that not much can be done to temper the self-indulgence of this story's premise I will rely on just a few of the pictures to give you a taste of what it was like. For me.
















Strawberry Mozzarella salad with Prosciutto di Parma






After having mozzarella and prosciutto for lunch almost every day while in Italy, I felt (at the time) that I needed a break from both. Clearly this so called break did not last long. I found some gorgeous local strawberries at the market and just couldn't resist. On my way home I dropped by my local Salumeria for some fresh mozzarella and a few slices of prosciutto and hey presto lunch!

For the dressing mix some extravirgin olive oil with grainy mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Toss some sliced strawberries and mixed Italian greens with the dressing. Serve with torn mozzarella pieces and a few slices of prosciutto.Enjoy!
More on Italy and France coming soon...

Moroccan red quinoa salad with butternut squash, chickpeas and goat cheese

Thankfully I'm not one of those people who need a lot of convincing to try something new. (Except when it comes to things like horse meat salami and such). I have no problem trying new foods when travelling or getting to know the culinary delights of a different culture. I discovered quinoa a while ago by accident. I saw this recipe in a newspaper that someone left behind on the subway.( See? It pays off to take public transit:)) That recipe never made it to my kitchen, I don't even remember what was in it, but I did some research on this wonder grain as soon as I got home. Turnes out, quinoa has been a staple of South American cuisine for centuries. I wonder what took us in the Northern Hemisphere so long to discover the "mother of all grains".
Lately I have been using this wonderfully versatile grain quite often. Whether it was a black been quinoa salad to accompany some barbecued Mexican fish wrapped in banana leaves ( oh, summer where art thou?) or just a quick Indian spiced mango and cilantro quinoa salad, I made sure to use it at least once a month. The benefits of quinoa are endless; it has a very high protein content, it's a great source of dietary fiber and it's also high in magnesium and iron. In its natural state, it has a bitter coating, called saponin. Most quinoa sold in North America has been processed to remove this coating.
Quinoa is cooked much like rice, 2 cups of water to 1 cup of grain for 15 minutes. It should be al dente, mild tasting and somewhat nutty when it's done.
This Moroccan salad is a very satisfying one; eats like a meal, rich with flavour and very filling because of the squash. The cumin seeds and preserved lemons give it that distinct Moroccan flavour that I tend to crave in cold winter months. For a great recipe for preserved lemons click here.


Ingredients:


1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cubed
5 garlic coves, unpeeled
1 tbsp light olive oil
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp honey
1 cup cooked chickpeas
2 cups cooked red quinoa
4 oz soft, mild goat cheese
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 preserved lemon, peel only, sliced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted, crushed
juice of 1/2 lemon
pinch of salt
freshly ground black pepper
some mixed greens (optional)


Preheat oven to 375F. In a bowl toss squash with garlic cloves, light olive oil, soy sauce and honey.Pour squash in a roasting tin and bake for 40 minutes or until squash cubes are soft but still holding their shape. Remove from oven. Put squash in a large bowl. Reserve garlic cloves.
Add chickpeas and quinoa to squash. Peel and coarsely mash reserved garlic cloves, add cumin seeds, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice salt and pepper.
Add dressing to squash mixture, then add preserved lemon peel. Mix well. Serve in large bowls, with toasted pumpkin seeds
and crumbled goat cheese on top.