Honey Roasted Plum, Gruyère and Pine Nut Salad

(Photos by Alex Tchouchev)

Plums

Aged gruyère 

Pine nuts (roasted)

Rucola

Baby spinach

Red onions 

Vinaigrette 

Honey

Balsamic Vinegar 

Olive oil

1. Slice the plums and pit them before marinating them in the fridge in some honey and balsamic.
2. In a pan with some olive oil, caramelize the plums and sauté them until they are slightly soft. Place them aside to chill. 
3. Wash your salad greens and top them with sliced gruyère, red onions, toasted pine nuts and the plums before tossing in vinaigrette

Grilled Eggplant Caprese with Sundried Tomato Pesto

A small eggplant

A tomato

Bufala mozzarella 

Olive oil

1 clove of garlic

Sundried tomato pesto 

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Slice the eggplant and marinate it in a ziplock bag with olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed garlic
2. Ideally, leave it to marinate for an hour in the fridge, but if you are short on time it will still be delicious
3. Place the eggplant on a grill pan until it is cooked and there are char lines
4. Slice the tomato and mozzarella
5. Stack the eggplant, mozzarella and tomato with the sundried tomato pesto between each layer
6. Top with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar 

California Rolls & Salmon Nigiri

You will need:

California Rolls

• Sushi rice
• Japanese wine vinegar
• Avocado
• Nori 
• Sesame seeds
• Mayonaise
• Crab meat

Nigri

• Very fresh salmon
• Wasabi
• Sushi rice
• Japanese wine vinegar

1. Cook the rice, once ready, mix with the vinegar and keep refrigerated until cool
2. Slice the avocado in long thick strips
3. Use a rolling mat and cover it in seran wrap before lightly sprinkling sesame seeds over it
4. Place a layer of rice over the rolling mat and place down the nori sheet
5. On the side closest to you put down the avocado, crab meat and some mayonaise
6. Roll it up and slice it with a sharp knife

1. To make the nori, with wet hands ball the rice
2. With a very sharp knife finely slice the salmon
3. Place a small amount of wasabi between the samlon and rice before you lay the salmon on the rice

Barbecued Corn on the Cob with Mint Feta Butter

This probably seems like a very odd combination... but it is surprisingly tasty!

Photo by Alex Tchouchev 

Corn

Fresh mint leaves 

Feta 

Butter (room temperature)

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Use a food processor or finely chop mint and crumble feta in butter. This really comes down to your personal taste and how much of each you want. Add some salt and pepper and mix until you are happy with the taste of your mint feta butter. 
2. Lightly brush the corn with the butter you have made and wrap the corn in foil. Barbecue it! 
3. Add some more of you mint feta butter for garnish and serve while its hot!

Sundried Tomato Pesto

Very simple!

Start with the ricotta pesto and add about 1 whole cup of sundried tomatoes.

Instead of using regular olive oil, I also substituted the olive oil from my original recipe with the oil from the bottle of sundried tomatoes.

Put them in the blender/food processor with your other ingredients and enjoy :)

Haricot Vert with Fresh Parmesan & Lemon

• Green beans (haricot vert)
• Fresh parmesan
• Lemon
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Wash and chop off the stems on the haricot vert
2. In a saucepan simmer the beans in in water until they are about 70% cooked and then run them under cold water
3. Mix them with olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon, salt and pepper and sliced parmesan

Spanish Rice

• 2 cups of rice (rinse first)
• 1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1/4 of a cup of sundried tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons of dried rosemary
• 2 tablespoons of sundried tomato oil (from the jar of sundried tomatoes)
• 1 onion
• Salt & pepper

1. While you cook your rice, wash your peppers, take half of each and dice finely along with the onions
2. Cook the peppers & onions in a saucepan with sundried tomato oil

3. Mix with tomato paste, rosemary, finely chopped sundried tomatoes and salt and pepper
4. When the rice is cooked, mix it all together, ohm nom nom

Dolma

• 22-25 fresh vine leaves (spray-free), or 400g jar of preserved vine leaves
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (100g) medium grain rice, washed and drained
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons currants
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup water 

For Garnish:

• 1 cup water, extra
• the juice of 1 large lemon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, extra
• lemon wedges, to serve

1. After trimming the stalks of the leaves, cook them in boiling water for 5 minutes and then drain and rinse them in cold water
2. Cook the onions in olive oil until golden and mix them with the rice in the pan. Add the pine nuts, parsley, mint, salt and pepper
3. Cover with 3/4 of a cup of water and cover, leaving it to cook until the rice has absorbed the water and is cooked.
4. Put the filling in the centre of each leaf, then tightly wrap the filling in the leaf. 
5. Use any extra leaves and line the bottom of a pan with them. Place the dolmas very close together so they don't unravel. Pour in water, olive oil and lemon juice over them, Cover the dish and leave them to simmer on a low heat for about an hour. 
6. Leave them to cool and then serve :)

Vegetable Biryani

A favourite

A delicious recipe from Cooking Thumb

For the rice:

• 1 cup of Basmati rice
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 a teaspoon of olive oil
• 1 black cardamom & 2 green cardamoms
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves 

For the vegetables:

• 1/2 a cup of green beans (chopped in one inch pieces)
• 1/2 a cup carrots (sliced in pieces)
• 1/4 a cup of peas
• 1 tomato (chopped in slices)
• 1 cup of thinly sliced onions
• 1/2 a tablespoon of ginger paste
• 1/2 a tablespoon of garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves
• 4 green cardamoms
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 a teaspoon of tumeric powder
• 1/2 a teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
• 1/2 a cup of yogurt
• 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of coriander leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon of saffron dissolved in 2 tablespoons of warm milk

1. Heat up some oil in a pan and add cumin, cinnamon, cloves green cardamoms and bay leaf and saute for 10 seconds before adding the ginger and garlic paste and cooking for another 20 seconds
2. Toss in all the vegetables (except tomatoes) and add salt, cover & cook for 2 minutes
3. Add the tumeric, cayenne, lemon juice and tomatoes then lower the heat
4. Add the yogurt and coriander
5. Add the cooked rice and put it over the vegetables and before mixing it, pour the safron and milk mixture over the dish. Cover the pan still without stirring it and leave it on a low heat to cook for 30 minutes
6. Turn off the heat and leave it covered for another 10 minutes before stirring it and serving. 
7. Garnish with coriander, tomato and lemon

Black Bean Garlic Stir Fry

Delicious on noodles or rice... or even by itself!

• 2 carrots
• 1 red and 1 yellow capsicum (bell peppers)
• 2 medium sized onions
• A cup and a half of tofu in strips
• 5 eggs
• 3 cloves of garlic
• A small handful of bean sprouts
• For the sauce: salt, pepper, black bean sauce, canola oil, sugar, water, cornstarch, oyster sauce (optional), sesame oil, low sodium soy sauce - all to taste! Make sure you keep tasting your sauce to make it just how you like it. 

1. Slice the tofu into strips and fry it in a pan with oil, salt and pepper. Make sure it is crispy on the outside  before putting it aside
2. Scramble the eggs and pour them into the pan, mix them slightly while they cook to keep them fluffy and flip the cooked egg as you would an omelet. Cut it into strips the same way you cut the tofu and set aside. 
3. In a pan or wok, place your sliced onions and garlic to simmer in oil and black bean sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and some soy sauce. Meanwhile peel the carrots and slice them into long strands. Chop the capsicum into slices. 
4. Once the onions and garlic are slightly cooked, toss in the carrots and capsicum and stir well. 
5. In a bowl, mix together some water and cornstarch and pour it into the pan. You may want to add some sugar depending on how the sauce tastes to you. Add sauces until you like the taste. 
6. Before serving, toss the tofu and egg strips in and mix them before garnishing them with bean sprouts. 

Vegetable Soup

 This recipe is one based of of a delicious soup my mother would make. The nice thing about it is you can toss in any vegetables you like and that are in season.

• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 3 medium sized yellow onions
• 1 head of broccoli 
• 2 stalks of celery
• 2-3 fist sized potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 2 cubes of vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 litres of water (approximately)
• 1 large tin of tomatoes
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Some sugar (if you find the tomatoes have made the soup bitter)
• Mild paprika to taste
• Cumin to taste
• Coriander powder to taste
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

While these were the veggies I used, feel free to be creative with this recipe and use whatever you like - peas, squash, anything

1. Finely chop the onions and mince the garlic. Let them simmer in the olive oil in your pot for a few minutes until the onions are translucent
2. Pour in the hot water mixed with the stock cubes, slice the tinned tomatoes and pour them in as well
3. Since I am truly lazy, I like to prepare all my vegetables (peel and chop the potatoes and carrots in large pieces, chop the celery and brocoli) and then... I just throw them all in together. I add a bit of spices and salt and pepper, cover up the soup and let it cook on a medium heat.
4. Once your veggies are cooked, use a hand mixer to blend some of your soup to make the broth thicker. (You could also use a blender too!)
5. Continue to taste and season your soup until it is how you like it and enjoy!

Macarons

Macarons are a delicious and gluten free desert. You can make them in all sorts of flavours. This one is for strawberry macarons. More flavours to come :)

• 50g ground almonds
• 140g icing sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• Pink food colouring paste
• 3 tbsp good-quality strawberry jam

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius
2. Line 2 large baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
3. Mix together the ground almonds and icing sugar in a bowl. 
4. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and then combine the bowls and add the castor sugar 
5. Slowly combine the two bowls and add a tiny bit of red or pink food colouring, mix well 
6. Use a piping tube (if you dont have one you can use a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off), place approximately a tablespoon of your mixture onto non-stick baking sheets well spaced apart. 
7. Before baking them, set them aside for about 10 minutes and then bake them for only 5 minutes. Then carefully flip the paper over (the macarons will be stuck to it so they wont fall off) and bake them for another 4 minutes.
8. Leave them to cool before laying raspberry jam in between them and making little sandwiches

Spinach Gruyere Quiche

1 tablespoon of butter
3 bunches of baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of Gruyere grated
1 clove of garlic
8 eggs
2 cups of whole milk
Just under a full teaspoon of grated nutmeg
Pie dough (yessss, I cheateddd)

1. Stem and wash the spinach, grate the cheese, preheat the oven (depending on the guidelines for the pie dough)
2. Saute crushed garlic in butter for a few minutes before adding the spinach and letting it wilt
3. Finely chop the spinach along with the shallots
4. In a bowl beat the eggs with the milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg as well as 3/4 of the Gruyere
5. Mix in the spinach and shallots and stir
6. Pour the mixture unto the pie dish and top with the remaining Gruyere
7. Bake depending on the instructions of your pie dough. 

Teriyaki Glazed Salmon

• Salmon fillets
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 tablespoons of tamari
• 6 tablespoons of squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon of freshly minced ginger
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil

1. Wash the salmon
2. Mince the garlic and ginger
3. Marinate the fish in a ziplock bag with all the ingredients for at least an hour in the fridge
4. Grill the salmon on a high heat until it is almost fully cooked, then on a very high heat grill it on either side before serving. 

Roasted Capsicum, Olive & Feta Pasta

• 5 red capsicum (bell peppers)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 onions
• Olive oil
• 1 small tin of good quality canned tomatoes drained
• 6 Kalamata olives
• A handful of crumbled feta cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Sugar to taste
• Pasta (if you dont want gluten, opt for a gluten free pasta)

1. Halve the capsicum and bake them in the oven marinated in olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper
2. Finely chop the onions and fry them in olive oil until they are cooked, combine then with the drained tinned tomatoes
3. When the capsicum are cooked, finely shop them and add them to the onions and tomatoes, add salt, pepper and sugar as you taste to see what the sauce is lacking
4. Blend the sauce 
5. Garnish with feta, chives and olives

Edamame

A delicious snack, commonly served in Japan with a cold beer.

You will need:

• 1 pound of fresh edamame (soy beans)
• 2 tablespoons of salt and more for garnish depending on how much salt you like

1. Wash the pods and remove the stems
2. In a pot of water, boil the edamame with the 2 tablespoons of salt and let them cook for about 4 minutes
3. Drain them and garnish with salt
4. When eating them, suck the pods and eat the beans inside, leaving the pods aside

Avocado Maki

You will need:

1. A ripe avocado
2. Nori sheets
3. Rice
4. Japanese rice vinegar
5. Ginger, wasabi and soy sauce for garnish

Steps:

1. Wash and cook the rice either in a pot or rice cooker
2. When the rice is cooked, mix the rice vinegar throughout it and leave the rice in the fridge to cool
3. While it cools, finely slice the avocado
4. Once the rice has cooled, lay  down the rolling mat and place the nori over it
5. Spread the rice all over of the way over the nori, leaving half an ich on either edge without rice
6. Place your avocado slices on the rice near to the edge of the mat
7. Lift the mat and tightly roll it up, shaping it into a square if you would like to
8. Brush water with your finger over the outside edge of the nori without rice and press it against the roll so it sticks
9. With a sharp knife, cut the roll into pieces and serve with wasabi, ginger and soy sauce

Pad Thai

Nom :)

Recipe inspired from Rachel Cooks Thai

You will need:

• For the sauce:
• 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste
• 1 tablespoon of fish sauce (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon of white sugar
• 1 tablespoon of peanut sauce
• For the noodles:
• 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
• A tablespoon of shallots
• 1 teaspoon of salted cabbage
• 1/4 cup of tofu
• 4 tablespoons of Thai wok sauce
• 2 eggs
• 2 ounces of thick rice noodles
• 1/4 of a cup of bean sprouts
• 1/4 of a cup of Chinese chives
• 2 teaspoons of roasted peanuts
• Lime or lemon slices for garnish

1. Dissolve the sugar into the tamarind paste and mix the sauce ingredients in a saucepan
2. Chop the shallots, chives, garlic and cabbage
3. Roast and finely chop the peanuts
4. Slice the tofu into strips and fry it until it is crispy on the outside
5. Scramble and cook the eggs
6. In a pan with some oil, sauté the shallots, garlic and cabbage
7. Cook the noodles and add them to the pan with the cooked garlic, add the eggs, tofu and Thai wok sauce along with the tamarind sauce
8. Fry the noodles and add the bean sprouts, chives and peanuts (they don't need to cook, just mix them in and take them out)
9. Garnish with lemon or lime :)

Light Tuna Salad

You will need:

A tin of tuna (preferably in water and not oil)
Half a stalk of spring onion
A tablespoon of chopped red capsicum (bell pepper)
1 1/2 tablespoons of chopped celery
A teaspoon of light mayonaise
A tablespoon of low fat plain yogurt
Half a teaspoon of dijon mustard

1. Finely chop the capsicum, celery and spring onion
2. Remove the liquid from the tuna and mix the fish well with the mayo, yogurt and mustard
3. Add the veggies and voila :)

A song from Thoraya :)

Vegetarian Tagine

Tagine is a traditional Moroccan dish usually served with couscous. I actually had mine with quinoa, but to each their own :)

Sadly, I dont have a tagine pot so I just used a deep pan with a lid.

You will need: 

3 small - medium sized onions

3 medium sized carrots

1 large zucchini

2 tomatoes

1 tablespoon of fresh parsley (finely chopped) 

1 tablespoon of fresh coriander (finely chopped) 

1/3 of a cup of canned chickpeas

A pinch of stevia (or a teaspoon of sugar)

2 tablespoons of rasins

Olive Oil

Seasoning:

1/2 a cup of water

1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 a teaspoon of cumin seeds

1 teaspoon of coriander powder

1/2 a teaspoon of saffron

1 teaspoon of ras el hanout

1/2 a teaspoon of ground ginger powder

Salt to taste

1. Place the pan or pot on a medium heat and drizzle olive oil in it while it heats

2. Chop the onions and place them in first (Put only 1 onion in and keep the other two aside)

3. Then the peeled and chopped carrots, the chopped zucchini and the diced tomatoes last

4. Mix together all your seasonings except for the cinnamon in a bowl with the water and mix it before pouring it over the vegetables.

5. Place a lit on the pot and let it cook slowly (you may need to add more water, so check frequently)

6. In another pan, fry the remainder of the onions in some olive oil until they are golden and cooked before adding the raisins, cinnamon and stevia (or sugar if preferred) to caramelize them

7. Mix well and let the onions and raisins sit until the tagine vegetables are soft

8. Add the chickpeas, onions and raisins and chopped parsley and coriander and put the lid back on and let the tagine cook for another 5-10 minutes on a low heat.

9. Serve with couscous or quinoa

Some classic Buddha Bar