Category Archives: Sauces and vinigarettes

Salad therapy – Kerala dry chicken with coconut & yogurt dressing

We had a relative visit us over the weekend and had prepared some of Anna’s mum’s dry roast chicken curry as a snack.  We had some left over and this has formed the inspiration for this salad.  The dressing is simple to make and probably could work well with any Indian grilled/baked chicken dish (ie. tandoori chicken or chicken tikka masala).   The recipe for the chicken  (Chicken Ularthiyathu) was posted in an earlier blog – link below.

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The Dressing

What do I need to make it?

  • 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
  • 3 tbsp yogurt
  • 1 green chilli chopped
  • Handful of fresh coriander and mint
  • Salt to taste

How much will I make?

100-150 ml

How do I make it?

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend to a fine paste.   Place warmed left over chicken pieces over salad leaves of choice and drizzle the dressing over.   Enjoy.

Related Links:

Chicken Ularthiyathu –  http://wp.me/p3oBch-M

Salad therapy – figs & honey

I absolutely love figs both the fresh and dried variety and this is my humble tribute to the wonderful fruit.  There are some combinations that seem to be made for one another and figs and honey is one of them.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 bag of salad leaves
  • 2 figs quartered
  • 10-12 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 baby cucumber
  • 100 gms feta cheese

For the vinaigrette

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp Greek honey
  • 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp English mustard (adds a bit of heat to the vinaigrette)
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side salad

How do I make it?

For the vinaigrette – mix the mustard and honey first and then add the oil.  Whisk with lemon juice, salt & pepper till you get a nice creamy vinaigrette.  Place the remaining ingredients in a large salad bowl – dress with vinaigrette and toss gently.   Transfer into serving dishes and enjoy.

Salad therapy – Mediterranean flavours

Had a lovely salad tonight using the last of our garden cherry tomatoes and an Apache chillie in the vinaigrette.   The vinaigrette was a bit of an experiment but I think the flavours work really well together.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 1 bag of mixed salad leaves
  • 12 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 baby cucumber deseeded and chopped into bite size pieces
  • 100 gms of feta cheese cubed

For the vinaigrette

  • 1/2 red onion finely chopped
  • 1 green chillie de-seeded and chopped
  • 2 tsp of capers chopped
  • Lemon rind and juice of half the lemon
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • Handful pomegranate seeds
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 2 big portions or 4 side salads

How do I make it?

Prepare the vinaigrette by add the oil to the chopped ingredients and then whisking in the lemon juice.  Place the salad ingredients in a large bowl and dress the salad with the vinaigrette.   Transfer into salad bowls and enjoy.

Garden fresh – tomato salad

Our garden pots of tomatoes are in full bloom and we have managed to pluck enough to use in our daily cooking and salads and some.  This evening’s salad was predominantly garden fresh cherry tomatoes with cucumber, salad leaves and feta cheese.  It was dressed with a Dijon mustard vinaigrette and then finished off with some fresh figs and toasted walnuts.  All in all both of us enjoyed the fruits of our labour and look forward to experimenting with new dressings to compliment our garden fresh tomatoes.

 

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Honey/mustard vinaigrette

What do I need to make it?

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • Juice and zest of one lemon
  • 1 tbsp candied orange and lemon peels
  • Salt & pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Enough to dress 4 side portions of salad

How do I make it?

Mix the mustard and oil first and then add the lemon zest and juice – give it a good whisk.   Add the honey and adjust the seasoning.  Finish off with the candied orange and lemon peels and keep vinaigrette aside.  Place salad leaves, tomatoes, cucumber and feta cheese in a large bowl and mix in the dressing.   Serve the salad in bowl and garnish with toasted walnuts and fresh figs.

Salad therapy – Mediterranean delight

One can argue whether it’s Greek or Turkish influenced but the bottom line is we have hit upon a wicked dressing for our Mediterranean inspired salads moving forward.  One of our cupboard or fridge essentials is Tahini paste (ground sesame seed paste).  It allows us to make our own humus and mutabal at home and now a third use as a core ingredient in a salad dressing.

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What do I need to make it?

  • 2 tbsp Tahini paste
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Dresses 2 main salad portions or 4 side portions

How do I make it?

Dead simple – whisk all the ingredients in a bowl and pour over some mixed salad leaves, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes and cucumber (FYI – tomatoes and cucumber from our garden :-)).  Would have added some olives but didn’t have the queen olives we love in our salads.

Summer treats

Some of the things we look forward to during the English summer – strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, asparagus and Jersey royal potatoes.  Tonight we had 2 out of the 3 treats and I managed to whisk a hollandaise sauce for the first time.  I expected to scramble the eggs but was pleasantly surprised with the outcome (next challenge will be to make a poached egg breakfast with ham and hollandaise).  If you have never made this sauce try the recipe below which was straight forward (recipe courtesy of Love Food – Sauces).

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Hollandaise Sauce

What do I need to make it?

  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 115 gm unsalted butter – slightly softened and diced
  • Lemon juice (optional)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Around 175 ml

How do I make it?

Pour the vinegar and water into a small heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil.  Boil for 3 minutes, or until reduced by half.  Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.  Put the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl and beat in the cooled vinegar water.  Set over a saucepan of gently simmering water, ensuring that the the base of the bowl does not touch the simmering water.  Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens slightly and lightly coats the back of the spoon.  Keeping the water simmering, add the butter, a piece at a time, stirring until the sauce is thick, smooth and glossy.  Add a little lemon juice if the mixture is too thick and to give a more piquant flavour.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.  We had the sauce over some steam asparagus .

Jersey royal potato salad

What do I need to make it?

  • 750 gms Jersey royal  potatoes, boiled, peeled and cubed
  • 4 sprigs of spring onion chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • 150 ml sour cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How much will I make?

Serves 4

How do I make it?

Place boiled cubed potatoes in a large bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients and give it a good mix.  Enjoy.