Salmon & lentils with chorizo, asparagus and balsamic dressing

 Lorraine Pascale knows how to make simple turn amazing.

2 x 125g salmon fillets
75 g chorizo
100 g asparagus tips
400 g tin of puy or green lentils (I cooked dry green lentils beforehand instead of tinned lentils)
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Dressing:
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
a small dollop of Dijon mustard

Season salmon with salt and pepper. Fry fish in oil in a pan. Cut chorizo in bite size chunks and set aside. Trim asparagus and fry them in a dry pan, add chorizo and washed cooked lentils. Add rosemary leaves and cook for about 5 minutes. Whisk dressing ingredients together and drizzle over lentils and salmon.

Food of the World - Mushrooms with Tofu

350 g firm tofu
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp finally shredded ginger
5 tbsp vegetable stock
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves
200 g oyster mushrooms
200 g shiitake mushrooms
2 spring onions

Drain tofu and cut into 2 cm pieces. Put them in a shallow dish and sprinkle with sesame oil, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, ground pepper and ginger. Leave to marinate for 30 min.

Mix the stock with remaining soy sauce, cornstarch and sugar in a small bowl until smooth. Heat the oil in a wok and stir-fry finely chopped garlic until light brown. Add all the mushrooms and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked. Add the cornstarch liquid, then carefully add the pieces of tofu and gently mix for 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with spring onions before serving.

Seafood stew with fennel and thyme from Normandy

600 g mussels
2 1/2 chopped onions
250 ml dry white wine
12 parsley sprigs + 1/2 cup chopped parsley
2 tbsp butter
2 cups finely chopped leeks
2 cups diced fennel
clam juice (optional)
fresh thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
300-400 mg halibut fillets
scallops
250 ml crème fraîche
2 large egg yolks

Put washed mussels, 1/2 of onion, wine, 8 parsley sprigs in a large pot, cover and cook for approximately 5 minutes. Transfer mussels. Strain cooking liquid, discard onion and sprigs. Make 2 cups of this liquid.
Sauté the rest of onions, leeks and fennel for about 7 minutes in butter. Add mussel liquid, 4 parsley sprigs, clam juice, thyme, bay leaves. Simmer for about 25 minutes. Add scallops and halibut and cook for another 4 minutes. Transfer fish and scallops. Discard parsley, thyme, bay leaves.
Whisk crème fraîche and egg yolks, also whisk in 1/2 cup of hot liquid. Gradually stir yolk mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Return fish, scallops, mussels and heat everything for 5 minutes. Stir in chopped parsley and serve.

Food of the World - Cardamom Chicken

This dish has a highly aromatic sauce flavoured with cardamom. The yoghurt makes the sauce deliciously creamy. If you drain youghurt overnight, this makes the sauce richer by getting rid of any excess liquid.

1.5kg chicken or chicken pieces
25 cardamom pods
4 crushed garlic cloves
3cm grated piece of ginger
300ml natural yoghurt
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
grated rind of 1 lemon
2 tbsp oil
400ml coconut milk
6 chillies, pricked all over
2 tbsp chopped coriander
3 tbsp lemon juice

Remove seeds from the cardamom pods and crush them in a pestle and mortar. Ina blender mix the garlic and ginger with 50ml yoghurt to make a paste. Add the cardamom, pepper and grated lemon rind. Spread this over over the chicken pieces, cover and leave in the fridge overnight.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based frying pan and brown the chicken pieces. Add the remaining yoghurt and coconut milk, bring to the boil, then add whole chillies and coriander leaves. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and stir in the lemon juice.

Griddled Halloumi with Spiced Couscous

175g couscous
1/2 tsp each cinnamon, cumin and coriander
vegetables, such as tomatoes, courgette, broccoli, sugarsnap peas
300ml hot vegetable stock
250g halloumi cheese
juice of 1/2 lemon
drizzle of olive oil

Mix the couscous with spices in a bowl, pour over the hot stock, then cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Heat a griddle pan. Cut the halloumi into 6-8 slices and cookquickly on each side for 2 minutes. Mix the vegetables (griddled courgette slices, steamed broccoli and peas) and tomatoes into the couscous, squeeze in the lemon juice and drizzle with oil. Pile onto two plates and top with the halloumi.

Summer and lazy afternoons

Azuki bean soup

Azuki (or adzuki) bean is grown in East Asia, genetic evidence indicates that the azuki bean was first domesticated in the Himalayas. It is second most popular in Japan after soybean. Azuki bean is commonly eaten as a sweet dish, but this is a savoury dish, recipe of which I found in here. It claims that it helps diminish the appearance of dark circles around the eyes by cleansing the body and it's a great diuretic.

3 cups of azuki beans soaked overnight
2 tbsp of cumin
1 tsp of white pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 diced carrots
2 tbsp of finely chopped fresh ginger
3 cloves of garlic
1 large onion
1 lime juice
3 tbsp of fresh chopped coriander leaves

Put the soaked beans into a pot, cover in cold water and bring to boil. Drain the beans, then add fresh cold water again. Simmer for 30 minutes, then add cumin and white pepper. In a frying pan, sauté diced onion, carrots, ginger and crushed garlic until tender. Add this mixture to the beans, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until beans are cooked through. During the last 15 minutes only, add salt to taste. Adding the salt any earlier will harden the beans. Just before serving, add lime juice and coriander.

Raspberry cupcakes

No occasion necessary.

250 g raspberries
150 g flour
80 g ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
100 g sugar
salt
1 egg
250 g butter
+ 1 tbsp of melted butter
1/2 tsp grated ginger
icing sugar

Mix flour with almonds, baking powder, sugar and a pinch of salt. Beat the egg with butter, add ginger and 1 tbsp of melted butter. Add this mixture to flour and mix well. Pour the batter into paper muffin cases and press a raspberry into each cake. Bake in the oven (180C) until golden. Powder in icing sugar.

Spiced carrot soup with coconut cream

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 small red chilli
1 tsp grated ginger
500 g carrots
1 sweet potato
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 L chicken stock
juice of 1/2 lime
2 tbsp palm sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
200 ml coconut cream
grated nutmeg

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the chopped onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add crushed garlic, chopped chilli, ginger, chopped carrots, sweet potato, lime leaves and stock. Bring to boil,then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 min.
Allow to cool slightly, take the lime leaves out, then puree in a blender. Return to the pan with lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and gently reheat. Whip cream until thick. Pour the soup into glasses and top with the coconut cream and sprinkle of nutmeg.

Rice Noodles with Tender Sweet-Chilli Meatballs

800 g pork mince
2-3 cm piece ginger, grated
2 chopped garlic cloves
60 ml sweet chilli sauce
4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
200 g rice noodles
1/2 cucumber
1 small red onion
handful of mint leaves

Mix pork, ginger, garlic, 1 tpsp of chilli sauce and half of the coriander in a bowl. Roll into walnut-sized balls and bake in a pre-heated oven (180C) for 20 min.
Place the remaining sauce in a bowl and dip meatballs one by one, then return them to the oven for another 5 minutes.
Prepare the rice noodles according to the packet instructions. Slice cucumber and onion and combine them with mint and remaining coriander.

Citrus bean salad

200 g green beans
1 red onion
3 oranges
300 g can cannellini beans
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup

Cook green beans for 5 minutes in salted boiling water, drain and refresh under cold water. Toss the beans with thinly sliced onion, 2 oranges peeled and cut into segments, and drained cannellini beans. Beat together olive oil, grated zest and juice of 1 orange, mustard and syrup. Season and pour over salad.

Spicy Spinach and Carrot Muffins

200ml semi-skimmed milk
25g butter
100g spinach
250g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 medium carrots
good pinch of crushed dried chillies
good pinch of black pepper
50 g fresh Parmesan
75 g savoury seeds mix
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 190C. Place the milk and butter in a large pan over a high heat. When the butter has melted, stir in the spinach and bring just to the boil. Remove from heat and pour into liquidiser or food processor. Whizz until spinach is finely chopped. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
Sift the flour, baking powder and soda into a large bowl. Add the coarsly grated carrot, chillies and season. Stir in most of the Parmesan and seeds, reserving a tablespoon of each. Add the egg to the spinach mixture, then beat with a wooden spoon together with flour. Divide between muffin cases, sprinkle with reserved seeds and Parmesan. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Chicken with Grainy Mustard Sauce

2 boneless chicken breasts
6 rashers of streaky bacon
250 g spinach leaves
60 g firm goat's cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
200 ml stock
200 ml white wine
4 heaped tbsp -->crème fraîche
1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard

Flatten each breast to 1 time it's original width. Stretch 3 bacon rashers on a board into rectangle. Lay a breast on top, repeat with remaining bacon and chicken. Cover each with 4 spinach leaves, put cheese cubes in the middle. Season with pepper. Roll each one up, secure with cocktail sticks.
Heat half the oil in a frying pan. Cook the chicken over a high heat for 3-4 minutes until golden, turn, cook for 3-4 minutes more. Add stock and wine. Simmer for 20 min., turning chicken halfway. Remove chicken, stir in crème fraîche and mustard.
Heat remaining oil in a large pan, add remaining spinach, season. Cover and cook for 2 minutes to wilt the spinach.

Creamy Salmon Pasta

300 g penne
300 g broccoli
300 g boneless skinless salmon fillet
150 g packet soft cheese with garlic and herbs
140ml single cream
2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste or chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, adding small florets of broccoli for the last 3 minutes of cooking. Meanwhile, put the salmon in a frying pan, season and just cover with water. Bring to boil, then simmer covered for 6 minutes until flesh flakes easily with a fork. Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
Mix the soft cheese with the cream and sun-dried tomato paste to make a smooth sauce. Season to taste.
Drain the pasta and broccoli, then tip back into the pan. Pour in the sauce and stir well, Flake the salmon into large chunks and gently mix into the pasta. Season with black pepper and serve.

Pepper Chicken Potato Crush

3 garlic cloves
3 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
100 g goat's cheese, cut into 6 rounds
3 strips of roasted peppers in oil
a few fresh thyme sprigs
300 g small potatoes
85 g rocket salad

Preheat oven to 200C. Chop garlic cloves and mix with 1 tbsp of oil. Make 3 diagonal slits accross each breast. Reserve half the garlic mixture and spread the rest over the chicken and into the slits.
Halve each cheese slice and tuck two halves, a piece of pepper and some thyme into each slit. Season and bake in an oiled shallow dish for 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked.
Meanwhile, cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes. Drain, return to the pan and coarsely crush with a fork. Stir in rocket to leave to wilt. Stir remaining into the garlic mixture, season and stir into the potatoes.

Moules

Food of the World - Vegetable Torte

150 g asparagus
4 tbsp olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 courgette
2 large garlic cloves
100 g spinach
1 tbsp chopped basil
75 g grated Parmesan
250 g ricotta
250 g mascarpone
4 eggs

Wash the asparagus and remove the woody ends. Slice the stems and boil asparagus for 2 mins. Preheat the oven to 180C. Heat the olive oil and cook the onion until soft. Increase the heat and add sliced courgette and cook until it's soft and golden brown. dd the garlic and then spinach. remove from the pan, add the asparagus and basil, season with salt and pepper and leave to cool.

Grease a 20cm tin with butter and dust with about 1tbsp Parmesan. Mix together the ricotta , mascarpone, eggs and 50 g Parmesan and add to the cooled vegetables. Mix well. Spoon the mixture into the tin and scatter with the remaining Parmesan. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes. Leave to cool for 30 minutes, then chill in the fridge for about 3 hours until it has set. Serve with salad.

Food of the World - Arancini

They are specialty of Sicily, and the name means "Little Oranges". Isn't it cute?

large pinch of saffron
250ml white wine
100g butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 large crushed garlic clove
750 ml chicken stock
2 tbsp thyme
225 g risotto rice
50g grated parmesan
100 g mozzarella, cubed
75 g breadcrumbs
oil for deep-frying

Leve the saffron to soak in the wine while you prepare the risotto. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes until softened but not browned. Add the thyme and rice and cook, stirring, for 1 minute to seal the rice. Add the wine and saffron and stirr until the wine is all absorbed. Add several laddles of stock, stirring continuously, so the rice cooks evenly. Keep adding the stock, stirring frequently. Continue this way for about 20 minutes,or until the rice is creamy. It is not so essential to keep the rice al dente. Remove from the heat and stirr in the parmesan, then spread ot onto a tray covered with clingfilm, leave to cool and,if possible, leave in the fridge overnight.
To make the arancini, roll a small amount of risotto into a walnut-sized ball, press a hole in the middle,place a small piece of mozzarella cheese inside and press around. epeat with the rest of the risotto. Roll each ball in the breadcrumbs. Deep-fry the arancini in batches, drain on paper towels. Serve hot or in a room temperature.

Food of the World - Leek and Potato Soup

Apparently, it can be served hot or cold. Hot version is traditional French, and cold version is called Vichyssoise, as it is believed that it has been served for the first time in Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York by a French chef from Vichy.

50 g butter
1 chopped onion
3 leeks, white part only, sliced
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
200 g potatoes
750 ml chicken stock
220ml single cream

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the onion, leek, celery and garlic. Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring. Add chopped potatoes, stock and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and leave to simmer for about 20 minutes (covered). Allow to cool a little before puréeing in a blender.
Return to clean saucepan, bring the soup gently to boil and stir in the cream. Season with salt and white pepper and reheat without boiling.
Few tips: you can also make it without celery and / or without cream (a healthier option?)

Stuffed peppers

Delicious hot or cold