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!

Brie, bacon and spinach omelette

I've spent much of last week looking after my two small nephews. The eldest is three and the younger is 18 months so I'm sure you can imagine that I was rather rushed off my feet. We had a lovely time but I was glad to have help on hand for some of the time. My mother came for a couple of nights and on one of the days cooked me this rather delicious omelette for lunch.

In fact this is more fritatta than omelette in that it is made with potatoes. Not only potatoes though, it also contains lovely melty brie, bits of bacon and a handful of spinach. Served alongside some salad it made for an extremely tasty lunch. I thought it was perfect hot with the brie melting into the other ingredients, but I can imagine it would work well cold too for a picnic or a filling lunch to take to work.

Her recipe came from one of those supermarket recipe cards. I think it was from Sainsburys - apparently it is also good if you switch the spinach for cooked green beans.

Brie, bacon and spinach omelette

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

3 large free range eggs
2 rashers of bacon, chopped (or use lardons)
5 spring onions, chopped
100g baby spinach leaves
100g cooked new potatoes, sliced
Approx 130g Brie

1. Cook the bacon in a non-stick frying pan until just golden then add the spring onions and cook gently for a further 3 minutes. The bacon should give off enough fat of its own accord, but if not, add a little olive oil. Meanwhile, cook the spinach in a little water and then squeeze dry.

2. Add the potatoes and spinach and heat through.

3. Slice the brie and lay the slices on top of the vegetable and bacon mixture. Pre-heat the grill.

4. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat together with a fork. Season well with salt and pepper. Cook in the pan for a few minutes until the egg has started to set on the bottom. Place pan under the pre-heated grill to cook and brown the top. When just firm, remove from oven and slice to serve. Accompany with sliced tomatoes and a green salad.

Creamy sausage and leek pasta

I'm all at sea with the changing weather at the moment. One minute it is hot and sunny and I'm rolling out the barbecue and sipping on a cool glass of rose and the next, I'm layering up the sweaters and wondering whether I should light the fire. Food-wise, it is a mine-field.

At this time of year, a little cold snap has me shying away from the salads and fresh spring greens that have been featuring in most of my recent meals and instead I crave a little of the comfort that comes with something a little more hearty.

I can't pretend to you that this is a healthy supper. Not in the slightest. But it was jolly good. And super quick to whip up after work. It felt like a real treat and certainly warmed me up on a chilly evening.

You could use any good quality sausages for this creamy pasta dish. Mine were 'pork, wholegrain mustard and buttered onion' ones. They were very good though next time I might go with a plainer pork and herb option.

Creamy sausage pasta with leeks and mushrooms
Serves 1 but easily doubled/tripled etc

3 good quality sausages

handful pine nuts
1 large leek
1 small clove garlic
handful of mushrooms of choice
small glass white wine
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 heaped tbsp of creme fraiche
sprinkling of sage
handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley
pasta shapes

1. Toast the pine nuts in a dry pan and set to one side. Start by chopping the sausages into half inch chunks. Slice the leek, garlic and mushrooms.

2. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large non-stick pan and add the sausage chunks. Brown on all sides before adding the leeks. Once these have started to soften (you may need a touch more oil or butter), add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook over a low heat while you prepare the pasta.

3. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta - cook as per packed instructions.

4. When the sausage/leeks etc are cooked through, turn the heat up a little and pour in the wine and two mustards. Bubble for a few minutes until the smell of alcohol has disappeared and the liquid has reduced a little. Lower the heat and stir in the creme fraiche and herbs. Stir well to combine and heat through.

5. Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Stir well to coat thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle over the pine nuts and garnish with more herbs before serving.

Harissa chicken

If there was one thing I could change about my kitchen it would be the size of the fridge.

Actually, there are quite a few things I'd change about it but the fridge is the main bug-bear. It is small. It is one of those under the counter jobs and frankly it simply doesn't house the quantity of food I would like it too. Part of the problem is that a whole shelf is taken up with pots and jars. I am the condiment queen. Redcurrant jelly, red onion chutney, horseradish sauce, four kinds of mustard, chilli jam, rhubarb ketchup... You name it. I've got it. No doubt most of these things don't need to be stored in the fridge. But that is where they live. The top shelf also houses all manner of half used jars of Thai green curry paste, pesto and tomato purée. This over-crowding leaves me with just one shelf for meat/dairy/fish and then a vegetable drawer. It isn't ideal.

If you could change just one thing about your kitchen, what would it be?

I've been trying to cut back on the number of jars so that I can make better use of the space. In a bid to do so I came across a half-jar of harissa. I love this pungent paste made with red chillis, spices and (in this case) rose petals. A North African staple, I love it smeared onto lamb chops in particular.

Last week, I decided upon a speedy supper of harissa chicken. I'd spied a recipe in this months Delicious magazine and based my dish on that. I served my flavourful chicken with couscous flecked with coriander and parsley, roasted red onions, carrots and courgettes.

Harissa chicken
Serves 1

Ingredients

1 chicken breast or supreme, bone and skin removed
1 heaped tablespoon harissa
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Place chicken breast in a plastic sandwich bag and flatten using a rolling pin.

2. Spoon in the harissa and olive oil, smear all over the chicken and leave to marinate for 15-30 minutes.

3. Heat a frying pan until hot and fry the chicken breast for around four minutes each side, until cooked through (this will depend on the thickness). Set to one side to rest for a moment or two before slicing and serving with couscous with roasted vegetables, parsley and coriander.

Smoked trout and leek fritatta

Another busy week over. I've barely set foot in my kitchen and when I have, I've been pretty exhausted and cooked virtually nothing of note. Pasta. Sausages. Jacket potatoes. I've been away travelling with work again this week (Liverpool, Harrogate and Dorchester) and am hugely relived to find that I finally have a weekend at home in London with very few plans. No plans might sound dull but, at the moment, to me it sounds like heaven.

At lunchtime I finally got into the kitchen to make something a little more interesting than the convenient comfort food I've been indulging in all week. A while back I saw a recipe for a smoked trout and leek frittata in a magazine which stuck in my mind. I can't quite remember what else went into the recipe, but my version today seemed to work pretty well. I ate it hot with a peppery salad but think it would pack well to take to work for a cold lunch during the week too. Great for picnics too once the weather warms up!

Smoked trout and leek frittata
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

3 large eggs (preferably free-range, organic)
2 heaped tbsp half-fat creme fraiche
1 teaspoon horseradish cream/sauce
125g hot smoked trout
2 medium leeks
small handful baby potatoes
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
Knob of butter

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender (around 15 minutes). Cut into halves or quarters depending on size.

2. While the potatoes are boiling, finely slice the leeks and steam for around 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water and squeeze to get rid of excess water.

3. Crack eggs into a bowl and lightly beat or whisk together with the creme fraiche, horseradish and chives. Flake in the smoked trout, add the leeks and season with a little salt and plenty of pepper.

4. Pre-heat the grill to high. Take a smallish-medium non-stick saucepan and melt a knob of butter. Add the potatoes and then pour oven the eggy mixture. Cook on a medium heat for around ten minutes, until the frittata is starting to firm up nicely.

5. Place pan under the hot grill and cook for another ten minutes, until the top is evenly brown and the frittata is just set. Remove from oven and turn out onto a serving dish. Alternatively, wait until cold and wrap in foil.

A very clever (and speedy) chocolate mousse

From Nigel to Nigella.

And from Nigella to chocolate heaven.

Last week I had a few friends round for supper and was (as usual) running a short on time. I was in the mood for something chocolatey but most of my usual chocolate puds take more time than I had to spare. My mother was staying at the time and told me that she'd seen a repeat of Nigella's 'Express' programme the other day and had seen her make an impressively speedy chocolate mousse using marshmallows.

I got out the book and reached for the recipe and decided to give it a go. It really is ludicrously speedy and, most importantly, absolutely delicious. I had imagined that the addition of marshmallows would make a sweet, frivolous sort of mousse. The sort of thing that children love. Actually, who am I kidding? I love that kind of mousse too. However, this was not the case at all. These wicked little mousses are deeply serious. Richly indulgent and devilishly dark, you'll only need a small amount. Really. The recipe serves 4-6, but I think that I'd happily divide this between eight. And this is a serious chocoholic speaking.

The way this works is that the marshmallow replaces both the sugar and egg that you might ordinarily use in a mousse of this sort. When I poured the mixture into the serving cups, I worried that it was too runny but it soon firmed up in the fridge. I chose to decorate the top with bashed up bits of crunchie bar, a touch that I learnt from a certain Mr Ramsay. Incidentally, I much prefer these mousses to the ones I made back in February. Just pop any chocolate-covered honeycomb in the freezer for ten minutes or so and then bash it up with a rolling pin.


Alternatively, you might like to decorate the top with grated white chocolate for an attractive contrast. Alternatively, you might just like to enjoy these unadorned. Who am I to interfere?

Anyway, I won't repeat the recipe here because you can find it in all its wondrous glory over here. But I will tell you that no one would ever guess the secret ingredient in these mousses - they really do taste most sophisticated.

Would you care for a mouthful?