Greek-ish salad

I call this vibrant salad a Greek-ish salad as I have zero Greek credentials and everywhere I look there is debate and criticism on what a Greek salad really is. It seems that a number of Greeks get quite hot under the collar about this, perhaps their most famous national dish. Some insist that the salad should be onion-free whilst others say that finely sliced red onion is a vital component (and that this is the way their mother/grandmother/great-grandmother made it). Controversy also surround the use of cucumber which, to me, has featured in all 'Greek' salads I've ever tasted. There is also disagreement about herbs - fresh or dried? Dressing - plain olive oil, olive oil and lemon juice or something more elaborate?

My take on all of this is that there is no such thing as a truly 'authentic' recipe. There are recipes. There are variants. All are valid. There is no such thing as a 'wrong' recipe. There are many ways of creating a good 'Greek' salad. This version is mine and it contains the things that I love and the combination of flavours that work for me.

I served this alongside some harissa turkey burgers (recipe to follow) and it was a real hit. Wonderfully fresh, vibrant and crunchy and beautifully colourful too. If you can get those knobbly, hard-skinned cucumbers for this salad, so much the better. You'll definitely need to peel them and cut out the seeds but they are crunchier and (in my opinion) much more flavoursome. Obviously this salad is all about the quality of the ingredients - it would be miles better when tomatoes are actually in season. I was lucky enough to find some on-the-vine tomatoes with plenty of flavour in my local supermarket but I know this would have tasted much more wonderful with fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes, still warm from the sun! Go for the best feta you can afford too - there is quite a difference in flavour.

My Greek-ish Salad

Serves 2 as a side dish

Ingredients:

Half a red onion

1small  lemon

4 good-sized tomatoes

Half a long cucumber or a whole knobbly, crunchy one

100g good quality feta cheese

small handful Kalamata olives

4tbsp good quality extra-virgin olive oil (Greek, if possible!)

1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

1. Half an hour before you want to eat the salad, slice the onion very finely and place in a bowl with the juice from the lemon. This will soften the onion and take away some of the harsh flavour of raw onion.

2. In a small bowl, measure out the olive oil and sprinkle in the oregano with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Set to one side.

3. Chop the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces and remove the seeds and mushy middle bit (unless you love seeds and mush, in which case feel free to leave them in!). Peel the cucumber and remove the seeds/fleshy core. Chop the crunchy flesh into small pieces. Cut feta into small cubes and olives into rough quarters.

4. Assemble the salad just before serving. Throw tomatoes, cucumbers, feta and olives into a bowl and mix gently to combine, season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle softened onions over the top and pour over most of the lemony juices over the salad. Use your judgement here - I found I used just under the juice of a whole lemon! Finally pour over the oregano oil which will mingle nicely with the lemony juices.

5. Devour and mop up the gorgeous juices with crusty bread!

This salad would be great with so many things - a side dish at a barbecue, alongside some simply-grilled fish or chicken, a summery lunch time dish, with grilled and marinated lamb chops....

And here is my lovely Sinbad enjoying the Spring-like sunshine in the garden. Absolutely irrelevant to this recipe, but equally lovely...

Sinbad, the husband and I are off on holiday next week. We're heading to Aldeburgh on the Suffolk coast. we plan to eat lots of fish and plenty of picnics (probably in the rain, knowing our luck!). Look forward to sharing it all on our return!

Summer squash and sweetcorn salad

Since I am now mainly cooking for two people, rather than one, I decided that it was time to re-instate my weekly veg box order. This week I was delighted to receive a rather attractive pattipan squash. I usually associate squash with the autumn and had a brief moment of depression when I wondered whether summer really was over already.

I then read the accompanying recipe sheet and realised that this was a variety of summer squash. I also read the accompanying recipe and decided that it sounded rather good. It was for a salad of roasted squash and corn (torn off the cob rather than from a tin!) with rocket, feta and a sweet chilli glaze. We decided to roast a chicken and serve it alongside the bird for a summery supper.

I made the classic error of not reading the recipe through before I started and I then realised that both the corn and squash needed time to cool before adding to the salad. I didn't have time for this and the squash was fresh out of the oven when I added it to the peppery rocket leaves*. It actually didn't matter a bit and was perfectly delicious as a 'warm' salad. As we were eating it immediately, the leaves didn't wilt at all. However, we did have to throw the excess away which was a shame. Next time, I'll make it with more time to spare and try a cold version to take for lunch at work.

Summer squash and sweetcorn salad
Serves 4 as a starter or side-dish (2 as a main)
Recipe from Abel and Cole

Ingredients

1 summer squash (we used a pattipan squash, the recipe suggests onion squash)
1 garlic clove peeled and chopped
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cobs sweetcorn
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp red chilli jam (I used Jules and Sharpie red pepper jelly)
1 bag fresh rocket leaves
100g feta cheese (recipe suggests 200g, but this seemed too much to me)

1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Halve the squash and scoop the seeds out with a spoon. Cut into small wedges or chunks of around half and inch square. Keep the skin on as it is very thin and helps the squash keep its shape.

2. Place squash in a roasting tin with olive oil, garlic and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and mix together with your hands to ensure all is well coated. Roast for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, remove husks from corn and place in a large saucepan of water. Bring to boil, put a lid on the pan and simmer for around 20 minutes until tender. Drain and cool (run under cold water if short of time). When you are able to handle it, cut the kernels off the cobs trying to keep them in large panels rather than individual kernels. Use a sharp knife for this - the panels should come off fairly easily.

4. Remove squash from oven and add butter to pan immediately. Dot the chilli jam over the top and pop back into the oven for then minutes to give squash colour and a sticky glaze. Remove from oven and cool (optional)*.

5. Take a large salad bowl or plate and add the rocket. Add the squash and toss together. Add corn and fold through. Finally, crumble the feta cheese over the top.

A lovely asparagus and quails egg salad

I'm always on the look out for simple starter ideas. When I have guests it is always here that I fall down. Usually I don't bother and just make some nice nibbles and canapés, or I'll whip up some smoked mackerel or chicken liver paté and invite everyone to dig in. But occasionally, a proper starter is called for. Here is where I fall down. I usually want something that can be made in advance, or that is very simple to prepare so that I can focus on the other parts of the meal.

This little salad fitted the bill perfectly - simple but extremely tasty and just the thing to whet the appetite without being too copious. I found the basic recipe here on the Waitrose recipe site which I have only recently discovered.

I cooked the quails eggs and asparagus a little in advance and just assembled at the last minute. It was pretty and summery and I'll be making it again.

Asparagus and quails egg salad
Serves 8


5 sticks asparagus per person (normal size, not asparagus tips)
16 quails eggs
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large bag mixed salad leaves (rocket or baby leaves are good)
1 large bag watercress

1. Snap the asparagus stems at the end to get rid of woody part and then plunge into a pan of boiling water. Cook for around 4 minutes, until just tender. Drain and then lay stalks out on plates to cool.

2. Place quails eggs in a pan of cold water. Bring to boil, remove from heat and leave to stand for 30 seconds before removing the eggs and peeling them under cold running water.

3. Whisk together the mustard, garlic, vinegar and oil with a good pinch of salt and some black pepper. Put salad leaves and watercress in a large bowl and pour over half the dressing. Toss the leaves to coat and then divide between eight plates.

4. Toss the asparagus in the remaining dressing and pop 5 bits on top of each pile of leaves. Cut quails eggs in half and arrange four halves on each plate. Serve and enjoy!

Parmesan chicken with swiss chard (...and an award)

I'm always on the search for speedy things to do with chicken. I know that legs and thighs and every other bit of the chicken has more flavour, but sometimes, I do just fancy a simple bit of of chicken breast. In the same way that whilst I adore the melting richness of foie gras (no apologies made), sometimes, I prefer the idea of a simple rustic paté. Sometimes a lean and healthy chicken breast is exactly what I hanker after.

Of course, this particular chicken breast started out as a lean and healthy bit of chicken, but then I coated the thing in lovely, less healthy Parmesan. But I served it with salad leaves fresh from the garden, so I can pretend that that makes up for it. Let's not mention the dressing.


Before I tell you more about this rather tasty supper, I'd like to share my great delight in being given an award by the lovely Rosie from Rosie bakes a 'peace' of cake. For those who haven't yet discovered, Rosie produces a constant stream of gorgeously tempting cakes and bakes; her passion for baking is a great source of inspiration. I really am thrilled that she chose me for the 'Arte e Pico' award which is awarded for creativity, design, interesting material and contribution to the food blogging community. Thank you Rosie, I really am touched.

Of course, I must pass the award on. The rules are as follows...

1. You pick five blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and the link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4. Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

The five blogs I have chosen are as follows:

Indigo from Happy Love Strawberry
Jules from Domestic Goddess in Training
Joy from Almanzo's Belly
Peter from Kalfogas
Amanda and Tyler from What we're Eating









Back onto the chicken. I've been growing lovely Swiss chard in my garden. I love the way the red stalk contrasts with the deep glossy green of the leaves themselves. Oh - and they taste pretty good too. You can treat them like spinach; either eat them raw or wilt down and enjoy cooked. I ruthlessly stole the idea for this dish from my much loved BBC Good Food website. The original recipe is here. The succulent chicken had a lovely crispy cheesy coating and sat on a salad of baby Jersey Royals, peas, spring onions and avocado. I think that dressing the salad whilst the peas and potatoes are still warm really makes a difference.

Parmesan chicken with Swiss chard and Jersey Royals
Serves 2



Ingredients

2 skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
1 egg white
2 small handfuls of baby potatoes, Jersey Royals if you can find them
1 tumblerful of frozen peas
1 ripe avocado, cubed
4 spring onions, finely sliced
2 handfuls of Swiss chard or other fresh, peppery leaves
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Heat the grill to medium and get the grill pan ready. Chop the potatoes into cubes.

2. Whisk the egg white with a little salt and pepper. Coat each chicken breast in egg white and then in the grated Parmesan so that each breast is covered all over. Grill for 15 minutes, turning once, by which point the Parmesan should be nicely crisp and brown and the chicken piping hot in the middle.

3. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the peas for the final 3 minutes and then drain. Place in salad bowl with leaves, onions and avocado.

4. Whisk together the oil and vinegar and pour over the salad. Toss together lightly so everything is coated and nicely mixed together. Place on plates and top with chicken.

Enjoying the garden

What you see above may well not look especially exciting. It is, after all, just a plate of salad leaves drizled with some (particularly good) extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice and a little sea salt. But it was one of the most delicious things I've eaten in the past week. The key reason for this, is that it was just four minutes that elapsed between picking the leaves from my garden and eating them. Fresh as a daisy just tastes so much better.

I have to be totally honest here and confess that I have not grown these lovely leaves from seed. I've been wanting to grow a little more in the way of fruit and veg in my garden for a while, but the small city shoebox that I inhabit does not offer a huge amount in terms of garden. I am restricted to pots and (as the garden is so small) it all has to look nice. I can't hide the veg in a quiet corner. All is very much on display.


It was the lovely Wendy from A Wee Bit of Cooking who inspired me to finally get going on planting some edible plants. She has a envy-inducing vegetable patch and was kind enough to send me some tips and information regarding what grows well in pots. I read it all carefully. As I have little space inside for nurturing seedlings, I decided it would be best to plant established plants and go from there. I'm starting with tomatoes, strawberries, various salad leaves and lots of herbs.

Sage and Thyme

I wouldn't give up my London garden for anything in the world. Having outdoor space when living in such a gritty capital a luxury that keeps me sane. Whilst I love the hustle and bustle that metropolis has to offer, there is nothing better than arriving home on a warm evening and taking a glass of wine into the garden. I love breathing in the fragrant, floral air, watching the plants grow a little each day and even the daily battle with slugs and snails. It is a true retreat.

Agapanthus

I thought I'd share a few photos from my garden. If I can fight off the aforementioned slugs and snails, I hope to be enjoying tomatoes and strawberries later in the season...

Rocket, mizuna, chard, lollo rosso, lamb's lettuce, lamb's cress, coriander, chives and parsley

Tomatoes (totem)

I couldn't resist this pretty lavender tree - the smell is just gorgeous. I've seen quite a few recipes using lavender and have tried lavender ice-cream. I'm not yet convinced, I have to say!

Camelia

These sweet peas are a total mystery to me. They usually flower in the height of summer. Mine have never stopped flowering! They had flowers all through the winter months and are still going.

Strawberry plant

Geranium and trailing lobelia


Viola pansy

And finally (for it would be remiss of me to leave you with no food), here is my favourite seasonal delight: asparagus. I spent the weekend with my parents at home on the Isle of Wight and today we picked up a huge bunch of asparagus from a farm shop. This particular asparagus is grown on the shoreline, amongst the seaweed apparently. It was superb. Served simply with melted butter, some Parmesan shavings and plenty of black pepper; it was a real treat. Even more so because we served it along with some hard-boiled quail's eggs. Delicious. Summer is truly on the way...

A selection of salads

I am suffering from a blogging backlog. I have too much to write about and the longer I leave it, the longer the list becomes. Take tonight for example. I am sitting at the computer with a huge bowl of homemade blackberry ice cream. It is the first ice cream I've made with the machine given to me by friends for my birthday. It is soo delicious and I'm struggling not to tell you all about it here and now but there is still so much to write about the party at the weekend - so many recipes to share. And as for my holiday in Wales... well I've hardly started.

Anyway, I hope you'll forgive me for blogging about three salads at once in a bid to catch up with myself. Perhaps it would be easier if I just stopped eating for a week or so, then I wouldn't build up any more foodie thoughts.... No. I'd still be dreaming of food; it wouldn't work...

In truth, I made four salads on Sunday for the buffet, but one was a tomato and basil salad and I hardly think I need to write much about that. I've included the photo though as I so love the colours. The other three are worthy of note though (I think). Firstly, a cucumber salad. Very simple but really rather good in a pure sort of way.

Cucumber salad

Peel a cucumber and slice thinly. Sprinkle over plenty of salt and leave for an hour.
Drain in a sieve, rinse thoroughly with water and pat dry.
Dress the salad with finely chopped parsley, vinaigrette made with 1 tablespoon wine vinegar to 3 of oil (of choice) and a pinch of salt. Season with freshly ground pepper.

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Kate's Salad (Broccoli salad with sugar-snap peas and spring onions)

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Unusual this one. I have my dear friend Kate to thank for this. It is always a winner, even with those who don't usually care for salads. A male friend who shall remain nameless admitted that he 'saw all the raw broccoli and gave it a wide birth' until his girlfriend persuaded him to give it a try. Needless to say it was one of buffet dishes he enjoyed most and was even to be heard asking for the recipe (although only when out of earshot of any of his testosterone-filled, salad-hating male counterparts!).

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It may sound like an unlikely combination, but I urge you to try it. Its not the healthiest of salads (all that cheese, mayo and sugar), but you can use low-fat mayo and use slightly less sugar if you wish. The sweetness of the dressing is fairly key though. I find that children like this too (if you leave out the spring onions) with the crunchy sugar-snap peas a real hit.

Ingredients

1 large head of broccoli (or 2 small)

1 packet of sugar-snap peas (2 large handfuls)

1 medium bunch spring onions (salad onions/scallions)

1 large handful grated Cheddar cheese

Equal quantities of mayonnaise, red wine vinegar and caster sugar

1. Chop the broccoli into tiny/mini-florets. As small as you can... I'd say this photo was almost life-size, post-chopping.

2. Chop the sugar snap peas into 3 or four pieces. Slice the spring onions. Mix vegetables together.

3. Mix the dressing ingredients together (probably 3 tablespoons of each for this quantity). You may want to add a little more vinegar, but the dressing should be fairly thick.

4. Pour over the dressing and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle the Cheddar cheese over the top. If you are making a large quantity, you may wish to sprinkle cheese half way through the salad too (i.e. make it in layers).

Rocket salad with roasted red onions, pine nuts and Parmesan

No photo of this one, but its another winning combination that is very moreish. I served it without the Parmesan for the party, but it is great with the Parmesan shavings for a dinner party starter.

Ingredients (serves 4 as a starter)

1 large bag of rocket or watercress, spinach and rocket salad leaves

2 large red onion

Handful of pine nuts

Balsamic vinegar

Olive Oil

Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Chop onions into chunks (in half and then each half into quarters). Place in roasting tin, drizzle with good helping olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 35-45 minutes - until soft and caramelised.

2. Meanwhile, dry-roast the pine nuts by placing them in a dry, oil-free frying pan over medium heat. Shake the pan occasionally and watch carefully (it is easy to burn them). This releases more flavour than serving them un-roasted.

3. Chop the pine nuts coarsely and pour into a small bowl. Pour over a good slosh of balsamic vinegar (around 3-4 tablespoons).

4. When the onions are ready, remove from oven and scrape into a bow. Whilst still warm, pour over the pine nut and balsamic dressing. Taste to see if you need to add a little oil (I generally find the onions are coated in enough oil and do not need any further added to the dressing).

5. On four serving plates, layer the salad leaves with the sticky onions followed by shavings of Parmesan then more leaves, onions, cheese etc. Finish with a few shavings of Parmesan.

Notes - for a dinner party starter, I like to serve this with the onions warm. For a big side salad, they can be cool.

Tomato, basil and thyme salad with three types of tomatoes

Oriental Duck Salad

Last birthday I was given a year's subscription to BBC Good Food Magazine. Each month I look forward to the magazine dropping through the letter box as it is one of my favourite sources of new recipes and ideas. Tonight I decided to sample the Oriental Duck Salad from the September edition. It was absolutely superb - a great mix of flavours. Simple and quick to assemble yet extremely tasty.

Here is the recipe, written my way. I halved the recipe for myself, using a little over half the dressing, and it worked perfectly. Though the recipe is fairly generous in terms of tomatoes, rocket and spring onion. I had an avocado lurking around that needed eating and threw that in too. A good decision.

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 duck breasts, skin on

100g bag of rocket and watercress salad

small bunch of spring onion (salad onions)

FOR THE DRESSING:

1 garlic clove, grated

1 tsp fresh root ginger, grated

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp runny honey

1. Heat oven to 200C. Score the skin of the duck breasts and season.

2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a high heat, add the duck skin-side down and cook until skin is crisp (around 4 minutes). Turn over and quickly brown the underside then transfer to a baking tray.

3. Mix the dressing ingredients together and drizzle all but 2 tablespoons of it over the duck. Place in oven for 10 minutes for pink (longer if you like it well-done).

4. Meanwhile, slice spring onions on the diagonal and chop tomatoes in half. Toss together with the rocket and watercress.

5. Remove duck from oven and rest for 4 minutes. Slice into strips and toss into salad. Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve whilst still warm.

The best chicken salad (with honey and mustard)

This is one of my favourite late spring/early summer suppers. It is summery in that it is a salad, but substantial enough that you don't feel like you've been short-changed when you are hungry. I've even served this for supper to strapping young men and they too seem satisfied (...but maybe they are just being polite).

It doesn't actually matter what you put into it. Whatever is in the fridge will do. But there are certain key elements. The chicken with its honey and mustard marinade. Roasted red onions or shallots. Smoked bacon. Avocado. I include here the basic recipe that I put together for my mother and I on Monday night. I haven't included quantities - you'll know how much to throw in depending on the numbers! If you are weighing things out then you are defeating the object of an easy, throw-it-all-together supper.


Ingredients
1 chicken breast per person
Runny honey
Lemon juice
Dijon mustard
Wholegrain mustard

Baby new potatoes
Red onions or shallots (1 per person, if small)
Smoked bacon
Sugar snap peas
Green asparagus (English, when in season, is hugely preferable)
Pine nuts
Mixed leaves (I favour a mix of rocket, watercress and spinach)
Tomatoes (take your pick - I like sweet baby ones with lots of flavour)
Cucumber
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Place a baking tray in the oven with some olive oil in the base to heat up. Roughly chop red onions into wedges. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes, seasoned with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a little balsamic vinegar towards the end. ace
2. Slice chicken breasts into strips. Place into a bowl and drizzle over runny honey, equal quantities of Dijon and wholegrain mustard and a good squeeze of lemon juice. For 2, I would suggest a tablespoon of honey, a teaspoon of each mustard and half a lemon. Cover with film and put in fridge for half an hour.



3. Par-boil the new potatoes until just tender. Chop in half any large ones.
4. Whilst potatoes are cooking, sprinkle the pine nuts into a dry, non-stick frying pan and dry fry with no fat. When they start to brown, they are ready - remove them from heat. Keep a close eye on them as they turn from lightly bronzed to burnt in a matter of seconds!
5. Steam or boil both the asparagus tips and the sugar snap peas until just tender (al dente). Set to one side to cool a little.
6. Chop or snip the bacon into small pieces and fry in its own fat (add a little oil or butter if bacon very lean). When bacon nearly cooked, add a little fat and fry the potatoes.
7. Start to build the salad - leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, bacon, pine nuts....

8. Finally heat a little oil in a non-stick pan, slop in the chicken and cook gently until thoroughly cooked. Spoon over the salad and top with the asparagus as per the first picture.

Notes -
No dressing is needed due to the juices from the marinade, but a little balsamic vinegar may enhance the salad.

English asparagus is, in my mind, vastly superior to any other type. It is one of the things we do well. Let's celebrate it! The season is criminally short, so make the most of it. I also love it roasted and finished with olive oil, lemon juice and shavings of Parmesan.

Wine suggestions -

There are lots of flavours here. I'd be inclined to go with a fairly crisp white with no oak. Asparagus is the trickiest ingredient - it has a strong flavour which can make some wines taste unpleasantly metallic. The best match is sauvignon blanc. We drank Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc, 2006 from Marlborough, New Zealand.