Here is lunchtime on bank holiday Monday. Looking into the fridge what can I make quickly and efortless and of course what goes together well. So here it is salmon, potatoes and french beans - they certainly do not dislike each other:)
Salmon crushed potatoes and french beans quick assemble
Serves 2
Ingredients:
120g of smoked salmon - cut into smaller strips
150-200g boiled new potatoes
50g boiled and halved french beans
half a lemon cut into wedges
100g of cream cheese
3 tbsp of natural yogurt
dill
2 spring onions or chives
salt and pepper
1tsp of drained capers
Let's do it:
Mix cream cheese with yogurt, add some lemon juice, dill, spring onions, capers and season. Check if the flavours are to your liking. Using fork crush the potatoes with 2tbps of the cheese/yogurt mixture and transfer to a plate. On top of potatoes arrange the salmon and beans. Cover with the rest of the cheese/ yogurt mixture. Decorate with lemon wedges/ slices. Serve with bread.
We've been having a really nice weather this bank holiday weekend! This awaken a desire for a summer dessert, which in this instance is a crustless cheescake.
This is inspired by Hugh F-W 's recipe published in the Guardian in September 2012: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/sep/07/damson-recipes-hugh-fearnley-whittingstall
Summer berry crustless cheesecake
Ingredients:
500g ricotta
100g light cream cheese
50g unsalted butter - melted and cooled slightly
2 tbsp semolina
100g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
grated zest of one lemon and one lime
Berries:
1 punnet of raspberries, one of strawberries and one of blueberries but any fruit combination will do - all together around 500-600g of fruit
Let's do it:
Preheat the oven to 170C (fan assisted) and butter a springform cake, preferably 20cm - mine is 24cm which worked well although the cheesecake was flatter.
Mix the cheeses with a wooden spoon until smooth and stir in all other ingredients. Transfer into the springform and bake for around 30-35 minutes until set.
Serve with fresh berries, berries compote (which I made with 50g of caster sugar and good squeeze of lemon juice). Also good addition make ice cream, frozen yogurt or plain yogurt.
Happy Bank Holiday;)
I can't believe that it's been so long since my last post, I guess it only proves that time flies:) And what a cliche this is;-)
Anyway back with a cake recipe. Adding vegetables to your cake is no longer a strange idea. This one is with a courgette but also coconut berries and lime.
It is adapted from Harry Eastwood's book Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache
Very berry courgette lime and coconut cake
Ingredients:
for the base
80g caster sugar
20g unsalted butter
pinch of salt
120g desiccated coconut
30g fine semolina
for the sponge:
2 medium free range eggs
150g caster sugar
150 g peeled and finely grated courgette
zest and juice of 2 limes
120g white rice flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
200 g of frozen berries mix
Let's do it:
Preheat the oven to 180C (fan assisted) Line the base of the spring form tin with a baking paper and brush sides of the tin with a bit of sunflower or any other oil.
Base - butter, sugar and a pinch of salt put in a saucepan and dissolve until it becomes a paste on a low gas. Tip the coconut and semolina to a bowl add the paste and mix together with your hand, it will be loose and crumbly. Transfer this into the spring form and bake for up to 15minutes. Be careful as sugar and coconut burn easily so 12-13 minutes maybe enough.
Sponge - beat the eggs with sugar using a hand mixer until light and pale. Add the courgette and lime zest and beat shortly. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and lime juice. As the rice flour is very light I stir all the remained ingredients with a spoon as the batter was very spluttering when I was using the hand mixer. Pour the mixture over the base. Gently rub little flour on berries which will prevent them falling to the bottom of the cake and scatter them over the top. Bake for 30 minutes.
Take out of the oven and cool in the spring form before removing.
Taste wonderful but even better on the next day!
