Nigella’s Gloriously Simple Fatoush (Middle Eastern Green Salad)

Taken from one of my most loved cookbooks, Feast by Nigella Lawson. This Fatoush forms part of Nigella’s Mezze feast. If you buy just one of Nigella’s books buy this one.

The recipes are formatted into complete meal plans, starters, mains and desserts. So choosing a menu for a special evening or dinner party is a cinch! There are meal plans and recipes for religious holidays, children’s parties, romantic dinners for two, vegetarian dinners, and even a mezze for twenty people. It covers pretty much all angles! Plus there is a delicious chapter dedicated to chocolate cakes in all their glorious forms. Every single time I’ve cooked from this book – I’ve received lots of compliments – mmmmmmms and yummmmms.

I love this Fatoush recipe because it is a great way to serve a green salad with a difference.

The simple addition of some herbs, chillies and lime brings this salad to life. Whereas I would think twice about ‘just’ serving a green salad alongside a roast lamb joint, I have, and would serve a Fatoush as the main side. It’s simple and sophisticated. I’m not quoting this recipe word for word…but here are the essentials. Obviously presence of chillies means this isn’t a salad for the little guys.

Ingredients

4 spring onions
2 long green chillies (medium kick)
1 small to medium head of Cos or Romaine Lettuce
zest and juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Maldon sea salt
1 ripe avocado
4 tbsp chopped coriander
4 tbsp torn mint (don’t chop it goes black)

Wash and finely slice the spring onions and chillies, put in a medium mixing bowl. Add zest and juice of lime, a good pinch of sea salt, and olive oil, give it all a mix. Clean and tear your lettuce into large bite size portions arrange on a large platter or in a bowl. De-seed avocado and scoop out flesh and arrange on top of lettuce. Chop coriander and tear mint leaves and scatter on top of salad. Finally generously scatter spring onion and chilli and dressing over the top of the salad. Enjoy!

Salmon Nicoise a la Elaine

Calling this a ‘recipe’ is a bit of a stretch as it tends to be more of a pile up of what’s in my fridge! All, and any raw salad vegetables go in, olives, sun dried tomatoes, dried fruits, nuts, and seeds – topped with a grilled salmon fillet and a hard boiled egg. The first time I made this dish I was pregnant with my daughter and  on a mission to eat the most nutritious meal imaginable. I also had gestational diabetes so wanted a filling meal, high in protein and nutrients, but low in carbs. It was perfect and I am sure all that fish did my brain-box daughter the world of good!

Sometimes I add boiled new potatoes, not always.

A salad within the salad I include is grated carrot, apple and raisins with Italian salad dressing stirred through.

The only consistent elements for this recipe are the fillet of salmon drizzled with oil, seasoned and grilled, and the hard boiled egg, halved and served with an anchovy fillet on top. I always try to buy wild salmon – it is darker and has more flavour than farmed salmon and I am sure the healthier and more natural alternative to farmed fish.

Enjoy creating your own Salad Nicoise Au Saumon!

Meal Plan Mediterranean Stylie

Hi everyone, here’s this coming weeks meal plan. Just in time for the weekend shop! I’ll add recipes for the salad and pizza’s in next few days…

Monday – Meatballs, Spaghetti with Secret Seven Tomato, Garlic & Basil sauce
Tuesday – Salmon Nicoise Salad a la Elaine
Wednesday – Aubergine Parmagiano and Roasted Chicken Breast
Thursday –  Chunky Chicken and Vegetable Soup
Friday – Home-made pizzas

Secret Seven Tomato Soup

Eat together – suitable for whole family.

This is a great way to get everyone to eat their veggies. Make the soup as thick as you like by blending more or less of the stock with the vegetables. Extra-thick for babies, or medium/thick for toddlers and adults. I made this soup extra-thick as a pasta sauce and tested it on my “discerning” niece and nephew (8 and 10 years) who ate it all up. A vegetable triumph!

Serve with buttered bread triangles for dipping, and grated cheese which kids can sprinkle on top and watch melt. Want to posh it up for adults? Easy, serve with blob of soft cheese like mascarpone or cream in the middle, and or pesto, with extra black pepper seasoning.  For a spice kick add cayenne pepper – for adults only!!

1 carrot peeled
1 onion
1 medium potato peeled
1 large stick celery
250g  tin of tomatoes
1 small courgette peeled
small handful cauliflower florets
Bay leaf
2 tbsp Tomato puree
salt and pepper (add to adults individual bowls when serving if preparing for baby)
generous knob of butter
Recently boiled water (approx 900ml)

Equipment – medium/large saucepan, blender

Wash and roughly chop all the veggies into . Melt butter in saucepan over low-medium heat. Gently fry onion and celery for 5 minutes. Add carrot, potato, courgette and cauliflower, stir fry for additional minute. Add tinned tomatoes, bay leaf, water and seasoning. Don’t add more than 1/4 tsp of salt if soup is for babies. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and blitz with your blender and serve.