Decadent Mushroom Pâté

I suppose I should be writing something about the festive season and how festive it was (it wasn’t really, but it was better than 2020) and/or what I’m resolving for the New Year.  Resolutions seem moot given the curved ball that is Covid, and which has derailed the last resolutions I made at the beginning of 2020.  Perhaps, instead of resolutions, there is a smidgen of hope.

In the meantime…

It’s no secret that I am very fond of things mushroom.  It’s also no secret that I’m constantly on the look out for plant-based dishes that I could add to my repertoire(s) at home and at the market.  This recipe was a lucky find for two, no, three, reasons:  it’s a great market product, flavour combinations are heavenly and, best of all, it’s versatile.

Deep flavours

A miscellany of mushroom dishes (clockwise from the top left): stuffed, soup, omelette, pickled and risotto.

A restauranteur friend of ours, is of the opinion that fresh mushrooms have no flavour.  Years ago, he shared his secret for flavour:  mushroom soup – the powdered version.  I didn’t understand.  With hindsight, I realise that quality mushroom soop powder should have a goodly quanity of dried mushrooms.  Now they do have flavour.

I’ve always, and instinctively avoided raw mushrooms.  They have no flavour and worse, if they get wet develop the worst kind of slimy texture.  A pet peeve:  mushroom slices in a green salad.  Pickled mushrooms? Well, that kind of slimy silky texture I’ll take any day.  As a matter of fact, that reminds me of a salad that the chef at the hotel where I worked for a university vacation used to make, and which I must try to replicate (again) and write down next time we have a surfeit of mushrooms.

This pâté is a slow cook that both combines and develops deep flavours.  The combination and the process.

Chunky Mushroom Pâté

Plant-based, easy, but not so quick mushroom pâté

  • skillet or wok
  • serving dish or 4 ramekin dishes
  • 15 ml olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 500g mushrooms, sliced
  • 15ml fresh thyme, finely chopped
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 60g nuts (pecan, walnut, almond)*
  • 125ml dry white wine
  1. In a large skillet (use a wok), sauté the onion and garlic until glossy and beginning to caramelise, 7 to 10 minutes.

  2. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook over a low heat until the liquid from the mushroom has evaporated, 18 to 20 minutes.

  3. Add the wine and turn up the heat and simmer until the liquid evaporates, 8 to 10 minutes.

  4. Then transfer mushroom mixture to a food processor, add the nuts and another tablespoon of olive oil. Blend for about 30 seconds, until the mixture is as smooth or as chunky as you would like.

  5. Pot into a single bowl or three or four ramekin dishes.  Chill before serving.

I have made this with walnuts, pecan nuts and almonds.  All work equally well although there are subtle differences in flavour.  If using the pecans and/or walnuts, toast before adding them to the mixture.

Appetizer, Drinks, Snack
vegan
appetiser, plant-based, snack, tapas, vegan

Versatile

I mentioned that this is a versatile product.  It is, for two reasons:  the pate makes a great addition to a plant-based tapas platter (some say it’s a great substitute for chicken liver pâté.  Others vehemently disagree.  I tend to make it a little chunky which makes it fabulous to stir through pasta.  Which brings me to my next point.

The process is the real secret

Mushrooms are like good wine and cheese:  they need time to develop their flavour.  If you read the recipe properly, the mushrooms are effectively cooked twice:  the first time to release and allow all the liquid to reduce and effectively cook out.  The second after adding the white wine which is also reduced so that there is little if no liquid left.  While this is going on the onion caramelises, softens and releases its sugars.  With the addition of garlic and fresh thyme, I’ve begun using this process for our regular pasta night.

The mixture is not puréed as it is for the pâté, but rather left chunky and the nuts are optional.  With a good glug (or two) of olive oil, a bit more fresh thyme and a Parmesan style cheese.  Or not.

Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa

Photo: Selma

Post script
If this post might seem familiar, it’s because I’m doing two things:

  • re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine….?
  • and “re-capturing” nearly two years’ worth of posts.

I blog to the Hive blockchain using a number of decentralised appplications.

  • From WordPress, I use the Exxp WordPress plugin. If this rocks your socks, click here or on on the image below to sign up.

  • Join Hive using this link and then join us in the Silver Bloggers’ community by clicking on the logo.
Original artwork: @artywink

Jambalaya Juggle

jambalaya

There were certain things about Sunday Suppers that were always a juggle: the kitchen arrangements, for starters.  It’s an open plan space and in large part occupied by the stove and other appliances.  Working surfaces are limited, so I have to be super organised.  To begin with, there was a lot of juggling which, with practise and better organisation, became a lot easier.  Like ensuring I’ve got all the bits out and don’t have to go thundering around the house to fish out dessert dishes or ice bowls or…  It doesn’t really matter as long as didn’t have to make like a duck, diving for food in a pond when guests were enjoying supper.

Jambalya recipe

One-size-fits-all

JambalayaDifferent seasons also presented juggles of a different kind.  Each week’s menu needed to suit carnivores, vegetarians and increasingly, vegans.  Somehow, somehow, in summer this is easier to do.  Not that I am complaining.  I enjoy(ed) the challenge and I enjoy discovering dishes that are sufficiently versatile that they can accommodate a range of dietary requirements.  One of these is the humble jambalaya.

A couple of years ago, I had a short stint doing street food type suppers for a friend of mine who had a little wine bar in the village.  When winter approached, the type of fare had to shift from a boerewors roll (a type of hot dog) to something that might be a little more substantial and which would stay hot.  For various reasons I canned the idea of stir fry (I don’t have the equipment and when the wind howls – as it does – the gas flame just blows out).  Similarly, paella and risotto went the same way, but for different reasons, but my research – which was focused on the vegetarians – threw up a Jambalaya recipe.

Jambalaya

I had only ever heard or read about Jambalaya in novels set in Louisiana or New Orleans.  The word had certain appeal.  I liked the basic ingredients – onions, peppers, butternut squash – and, of course – herbs and spices including chilies.  I had found a one-size-would-fit-all dish:  with the addition of slices of chorizo or similar some cooked chicken or shrimp, I had found the solution.

That first attempt was a hit.  I came home without as much as a grain of rice.  I have since looked a little more into the origin of the dish and, like the bredie* I wrote about a while ago, it’s a great example of the fusion of foods from different cultures, and reflecting the history of Louisiana:

Jambalaya has its origins in several rice-based dishes well attested in the Mediterranean cuisines of Spain, West Africa and France, especially in the Spanish dish paella (native to Valencia), West African dish jollof and the French dish known as jambalaia (native to Provence). Other seasoned rice-based dishes from other cuisines include pilafrisotto and Hoppin’ John. (Source)

I have, since making that the first time, made adjustments, some necessitated by my own preferences and others simply because of what may (or may not be available).  One of the key changes is to replace the herbs with McGregor Herbes de Provence and to roast the butternut to add later and/or to use it as a garnish.  A third change, for vegetarians, has been to add chickpeas (plain or spiced – recipe to follow in time) or lentils.

So, without further ado, here is my basic jambalaya:

Basic, slow cooked Jambalaya

meat or vegetarian proteins added later

Serves 8

The quantities are such that the basic dish, once prepared can be split into two, making it easy to do both meat and vegan meals at the same time.  It’s also done in a slow cooker which is not just easy, but really encourages great flavour development.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
4 sweet bell peppers (all colours, chopped)
1 chilli (de-seeded if you don’t like heat) and chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ bunch soup celery, finely chopped
1 tin peeled, chopped tomatoes or 2 – 3 fresh tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 – 2 fresh or dried chillies, chopped
2 cups rice
2 cups vegetable stock
25g (sachet) tomato puree
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp McGregor Herbes de Provence
½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Jabalaya recipe steps

For vegans

1 tin of lentils or chickpeas or other spicy vegan substitute

For carnivores

1 large chorizo sausage and/or left-over bits of cooked chicken or frozen mixed seafood

What to do

  1. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, peppers, andJambalaya and peas celery to oil.
  2. Cook onions until they begin to soften, about three minutes then add in garlic, chilli and tomatoes. Continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes
  3. Add the Worcestershire sauce and rice. Cook rice in mixture for 1-2 minutes before adding liquids.
  4. Finally, add remaining ingredients.
  5. Once combined, pour into the slow cooker and set to low.
  6. Do not disturb for 3 – 4 hours, but watch the liquid. Once it’s all been absorbed, open the lid and stir.  If the rice is not cooked, add more liquid and replace the lid and allow to cook until the rice is soft.
  7. At this point, add your choice of additional ingredients, replace the lid and allow these to cook/heat through.

Serving suggestion

Serve with roasted vegetables like butternut, cauliflower and broccoli or a side salad to make a hearty, complete meal.

Jambalaya serving suggestion

Download the recipe

A while ago, I decided (for my own convenience and yours, to create downloadable versions of the recipes I dream up. You’ll get the full jambalaya recipe here.

Post script

This is another of those posts that I’m finding and fixing.  Brings back memories of a very different time.  It seems so long ago, but it isn’t really.  Just eighteen months.

Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa

Photo: Selma

Post script
If this post might seem familiar, it’s because I’m doing two things:

  • re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I am adding them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine….?
  • and “re-capturing” nearly two years’ worth of posts.

I blog to the Hive blockchain using a number of decentralised appplications.

    • From WordPress, I use the Exxp WordPress plugin. If this rocks your socks, click here or on on the image below to sign up.

    • Join Hive using this link and then join us in the Silver Bloggers’ community by clicking on the logo.
Original artwork: @artywink
    • I also share my occasional Instagram posts to the crypto blockchain using the new, and really nifty phone app, Dapplr. On your phone, click here or on the icon, and give it a go.

Carrots, beans and other foods: a contemplation

Unless you’ve been under some or other lockdown a rock for the last few years, you cannot but know about the growing popularity of a plant-based diet. If you read my blog from time to time, by now you’ll also know a few things like:

  • I have long (like, thirty plus years) been a wannabe vegetarian.
  • My father was a gardener horticulturist, and I grew up in a garden that had the biggest vegetable patch in the universe. Growing vegetables and composting is in my genes.
Our emerging vegetable garden just under a year (2012) after moving to McGregor and having had to wait nearly 10 months to get it going
  • I am married to a dedicated carnivore who spent all of his working life in some or other role in stock farming, from beef to poultry and a few things in between – in Zimbabwe and South Africa. You could say, I married Farmer Brown.

A “sustainable” approach to doing things is not a new concept – to me

My 1978 Geography teacher who became a mentor and later a friend, was the first person, that I remember, talking about the dangers of global warming, climate change and environmental conservation, non-renewable resources, like water, coal and oil, as well as the hazards of plastic.

My Standard 8 (year 10) class with Ursula van Harmelen. I am in the front row, third from the right.

Those lessons stuck and I went on to study, along with English, Geography.

Debate

Needless to say, The Husband and I both have strong views about this plant-based fad trend that seems to have replaced the keto diet of a few years ago.

However –

“It” should be about more than just food. As a beef rancher, preserving and maintaining natural pasture was central to production, productivity and healthy beasties – his word – cows are still has favourite animal.

Cattle are still grazed in and around the village. This little herd often wanders past our house.

This brings me to a critical point that he constantly and consistently makes when the question of a dedicated plant-based diet inevitably comes up in conversation:

What about people who live in areas and where you can’t grow crops?

This applies to significant parts of South Africa: close to home, the Karoo. We live on the cusp of the Karoo – classified as a semi-desert. The recovered productivity of our vegetable garden is thanks to the investment in a borehole. Not too far away, is a “proper” desert, the Kalahari. Significant parts of central west and north Africa, are not arable and where communities, like those in the Sahara and the Sahel who live (or try) as they have for centuries. Yes, people forage, but they also hunt and/or keep livestock often leading nomadic lifestyles. If they could not eat meat and use animal products, they’d not (have) survive(d). As it is, these cultures are threatened; that, however, is another discussion for another time.

The conflict in many of these regions is associated with either the shortage, or decimation of, natural and traditional resources because of population growth, climate change and politics. The same applies to indigenous communities on other continents.

Busting the farmer myth

Back to The Husband: he refers, specifically to Matebeleland, the part of Zimbabwe where he ranched – free range – cattle in the late 70s. At the time, he was part of a team (in a multinational company) that roundly rejected the use of growth hormone in animal husbandry. Contrary to popular opinion, many (good) stock farmers are animal lovers, who treat their animals with great respect and humanity and are very concerned about the environment.
Before he fell into stock farming, The Husband was an aspirant vet. Agriculture and farming, are (with water) the source of life, never mind, livelihoods. He abhors, and hated working in, the broiler chicken industry and, similarly, dislikes the practice of feedlots, all of which have become necessary. Agriculture has had to consistently and constantly increase production to keep up with demand.

Demand driven by both population numbers and the almost universal shift towards a “western” style diet which has seen red meat consumption burgeon.

Ethics and spirituality-based choices

Other arguments for dietary choices are based on ethics and spirituality (or religion). These I understand and respect. When someone says to me that s/he will eat nothing with a face, I get it. I also acknowledge, in my own admittedly hypocritical Piscean way, on working very hard at not thinking about the journey an animal must take from pasture to plate.

Climate diet

A couple of weeks ago, I heard a discussion about the climate diet. Of course, I listened with only half an ear, but thought (with my Geographer’s brain),

That sounds to me like “proper” seasonal food: eat what’s mostly indigenous, in season and available locally.

McFadyen also introduced the concept of “flexitarian”: someone who moves between omnivore, vegetarian and vegan. This is just like me, and, more reluctantly, The Husband, who admits to being most comfortable as an omnivore. He waxes lyrical about how humans’ dentition proves that we are designed to be omnivorous.

Fact checking

I did a little research ahead of writing this because one source to which I’d only paid half a mind wasn’t enough. Initially, what popped up suggested that one had to eschew all meat and dairy in favour of a plant-based diet. On further delving, my research revealed that my instinctive understanding was on point: the climate diet is part of living more lightly (being among other things, carbon and environmentally conscious) and, particularly, a climate-friendly lifestyle. Again, I came across “flexitarian,” a notion making its way on to menus in a country with as many dedicated carnivores as South Africa, Australia.

“Climating” one’s diet, is essentially how I grew up, and how we live. We:

  • live in an alternate technology home which is, by and large, more energy efficient than a conventional build
  • have solar water heating (off the grid is a pipe dream…)
  • compost and recycle
  • eat from the garden. A lot (of one thing at the moment…)
The spring vegetable and herb garden eight years later (2020) with a borehole and “normal” winter rains that broke the three-year drought
  • eat between three and four meat-free main meals a week and on a Monday, the meal is often entirely plant-based

And

  • as far as practical (budget is a big consideration), we get our meat, other fresh produce and groceries from local suppliers
  • we limit our shopping (with lists and meal plans), as far as possible, to one 50-odd km round trip to the nearest town per week
  • we cook (with gas or The Husband braais) – from scratch. When I don’t cook, I use up “leftovers” which are not really left over because I’ve planned meals around them. I also cook more than we need, to freeze for those evenings when cooking is a chore and not a joy. They do happen!
  • garden surplus and gleanings are processed into chutneys, pickles, preserves and jams

Compromise

I’ve often described myself as a salmon – swimming against the stream. My shift away from eating meat pre-dates the current trend. When I lived alone, before shacking up with anyone settling down, I rarely ate meat – at home or when I dined out. I just simply didn’t. In this country, many men’s preferred diets are vleis, rys en aardappels (meat – preferably red – rice and potatoes), so until pretty recently, menus (especially in platteland country) tended to red. Now, when we dine out, my (now more varied) choices remain mostly vegetarian or vegan.

The Husband, happily, has always enjoyed vegetables so I didn’t have the hard task of introducing them to his diet. In the same meal. I did give The Husband a baptism of fire, in a sense. Twenty-one years ago, not long after we’d got together, a vegetarian friend came to dinner. The menu: roast vegetables with parmesan cheese and a mixed salad. All set, and waiting for said guest to arrive, his question:

So, where’s the meat?

My reply:

There isn’t any.

He admits that I correctly read the thought bubble above his head: he was contemplating the closest burger joint to which he might escape if he was still hungry after dinner!

He didn’t. Escape. He wasn’t still hungry…

Not really

Although I suggest that introducing more and more meat free meals was a compromise, it wasn’t really. I am lucky that not only does The Husband enjoy vegetables, but he’ll try anything at least once. If he enjoys it, he’ll eat it again. And again. Folk who follow me on Instagram will know that when I try a new vegetarian or vegan dish, my notes often include The Husband’s response. The highest accolade is not: “delicious” or “you can do that again”, which he says quite often, but rather, “you can add that to your regular repertoire”.

The upshot is that our diet is as climate-friendly as it can be, and it is “flexitarian”. That is the compromise: I prefer to cook one meal rather than two, and after all these years, it seems to be working for us.

About those beans and carrots

It’s taken a while to get to the point: there are times that although I do have a weekly meal plan, the planning fairy deserts me and the already sparse headline is reduced to “veg something”. The “headlines” are prompts and not much more. If, by the time we get to that point in the calendar and my imagination remains a wasteland, after checking the garden and pantry for ingredients, and I’m still not inspired, I turn to the interweb. Usually it doesn’t take long to find something that gets the juices flowing. This happened late last year when I discovered carrots and fresh coriander (a classic combination) in the fridge. There are always beans in the cupboard and, at the time, there was a little roasted butternut.

In the end, that evening’s supper combined carrots, haricot beans and harissa served on a bed of wild rocket, topped with the roasted butternut and fresh coriander. All piled on flatbreads.

Truth be told, I didn’t follow the recipe properly. I used harissa and just winged it. It was sufficient of a hit to get a “you can add that to your regular repertoire”…

The next time I made it, I did pay proper attention to the recipe. Partly because I couldn’t find the piece of paper with my notes and because we had wonderful green beans in the garden. I figured that they’d make a great addition: just as carrots like coriander, so green beans like cumin.

I “lost” the butternut and harissa, and instead of using white (haricot beans), I used red beans. I’d forgotten about the rocket until I looked at the photograph, but it wasn’t missed. This time, instead of flatbreads, I served the dish on a bed of one of South Africa’s traditional staples, umngqusho, which consists of dried corn (samp) and dried beans that are soaked and boiled until soft. On its own, it’s a meal, but rather bland and traditionally served with a type of local spinach or a sauce – with or without meat. But I digress. As usual.

This time round, I did a much, much better job. The addition of the green beans took it to another level. They enhanced an already an already versatile dish that can be eaten as a cold or warm side salad or main meal. Using the red, instead of white beans didn’t affect the flavour. In future, my choice will be guided, to a large extent, by the visual impact I’d like the salad to make. If it’s to be a side on a platter, I’d probably choose white beans.

On the umngqusho: as I said, it’s bland. Before plating, I stirred through some finely sliced sweet chillies (deseeded) and some fresh tomato chilli sauce left over from another meal.

The verdict this time round:

you can add that to your regular repertoire…

The full recipe, and my notes, are available for you to download here and, if you do, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine….?

A last word or three

My ruminations on dietary choices are partly a function of ongoing conversations that happen around our table, and partly rising to the tongue-in-cheek challenge from my blogpal, Katie (on WordPress and on the Hive blockchain as @plantstoplanks). Unlike The Husband, she is a dedicated herbivore. That said, we have much in common including our love of cooking, food and flavours, which transcends the Atlantic and our specific dietary paths.

Since 2104, people around the world have been encouraged to participate in “Veganuary“. Back on the blockchain and in a “community” in which I play a little, it was suggested that we document our journey (or not) to a plant-based diet. It did give me cause for pause and provided the opportunity to share my thoughts.

Also, some of my blogpals, anyway, have been waiting for the first 2021 Fiona treatment of some or other topic. How could I disappoint them?

Disclaimer

None of the above is intended as either a judgement of, or attack on, the move to plant-based foods – there is much to recommend that choice. Nor is it a defence of my choices, but rather contemplation of a constant conundrum.

Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa

Photo: Selma

Post Script

  • In search of English writing, research and editing services, look no further: I will help you with –
    writing – emails and reports, academic and white papers

    formal grammar, spelling and punctuation
    more information here
  • If this post might seem familiar, it’s because I’m doing two things:
    • re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I plan to add them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine….?
    • and “re-capturing” nearly two years’ worth of posts.
  • I blog to the Hive blockchain using a number of decentralised appplications. From WordPress, I use the Exxp WordPress plugin. If this rocks your socks, click on the image below to sign up –

Image: @traciyork

  • I also share my occasional instagram posts to the crypto blockchain using the new, and really nifty phone app, Dapplr. On your phone, click the icon below, and give it a go.

I’m sure I did. Positive. I did.

Butternut and lentil salad with harissa

You know when you could have sworn that you’ve done something and you have clear memories. Of. Exactly. What. You. Did.

Well, I had that experience with this a Moroccan Lentil and Butternut Salad recipe. I was convinced that I’d written about it. A long time ago. Because, I realised, I’ve been making this salad for well nigh eight years, and quite regularly. The first time, it was part of a Christmas spread when we had vegan diners, and quite a long time before plant-based eating had become quite the thing that it is. It came from a magazine but, as is my penchant, I’ve made it my own. I now realise that I’ve been making it since before I started blogging in 2016.

Last Saturday morning, ahead of the market, I posted this on my Instagram account advertising my vegan offerings for that morning’s market in McGregor.

Butternut and lentil salad with harissa

Moroccan lentil and butternut salad and vegan garlic mayo (a non-authentic aioli – depending who you speak to) on offer at the Saturday market

In my dreams

In my IG post, I explained briefly what it was, adding that it included homemade Harissa.

Then Katie J asked if I’d shared the Harissa recipe.

Nope. But I shall.

As a nutrition coach and fitness trainer, Katie’s a whizz at plant-based food, herself (find her – and her recipes – on WordPress or as @plantstoplanks on Hive).

So certain was I, that I’d “done” the lentil salad, that I trawled this blog and my crypto blog where things were saved after my earstwhile host absconded.

Nothing.

I searched all my pics – even the “lost ones” – thats another story.

Nothing.

Clearly, I’d dreamt all that.

Harissa notes

Katie’s question was, however, the nudge I needed to tidy up the Harissa. That, I knew, I’d not done because it was still on a scrappy piece of paper complete with crossings out and undecipherable notes. It had been on my mental (very) “to do” list. For a couple of years. Again, I’ve made it my own. When I searched online for for a recipe, I discovered that some:

  • include garlic, others don’t
  • liquidise or make a puree, others don’t
  • include tomatoes, others don’t
  • are hotter (with chillies, cayenne, etc.) than others, which really is a personal preference.

All include roasted or charred bell peppers, chillies and spices – cumin, coriander and fennel. In considering my requirements and the recipes which call I leave the tomatoes. One can always add them if need be.

Butternut and lentil salad with harissa

All of that said, Harissa really is a simple, spicy roasted pepper (and chilli) paste. It’s flavour is distinctly North African and Middle Eastern. My last batch was finished off in the broad bean burgers. Because the Moroccan lentil and butternut salad benefits from a goodly amount, I had to make a new batch.

Butternut and lentil salad with harissa

About 500ml Harissa. Stored in repurposed jars. The lid of the large jar is scruffy which explains the equally scruffy photo. Note to self: take another, prettier photo. Don’t wait years…

Stores well

I make a batch of Harissa once or twice a year. My notes say that it can be stored for up to a month in the fridge. I have, however, stored it successfully for much longer by doing two things:

  • gradually decanting into a smaller, sterilised jars as I use it.
  • covering the top of the harissa with olive oil which effectively “seals” in the red paste (also a great way to extend the life of a pesto).

You can download a PDF of the recipe here.

Dream becomes reality

This lentil and butternut salad is, like so many of the things I make, versatile. It consists of roasted butternut and lentils with a “dressing” of sauteed onion, garlic, harissa and tomato paste, with fresh parsley and coriander (cilantro) added last.

Butternut and lentil salad with harissa

Lentil and butternut salad served with sides of couscous and a mixed salad

It’s a meal on its own and it can be eaten warm or cold although flavours do develop if it’s allowed to stand over night. If you do that, and want to eat it warm, reserve the fresh herbs to add just before serving.

You can download a PDF of the recipe here.

A few last things about this salad:

  • If vegan doesn’t do it for you, a dollop of tzatziki or a crumbling of feta cheese adds a different and delicious dimension.
  • It has featured on our Sunday Supper menu and sells well at the local market.
  • It keeps well in the fridge. I haven’t tried it, but I suspect it would freeze satsfactorily – without the fresh herbs.
  • As I mentioned, it benefits from standing which also makes it a great make-in-advance dish that can also stretch over a week. It not only saves cooking but because one doesn’t have to finish, one doesn’t feel as though one is eating lentil salad for seven days in a row.

Now, I know I did!

Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa

Photo: Selma

Post Script

  • If this post might seem familiar, it’s because I’m doing two things:
    • re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I plan to add them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine….?
    • and “re-capturing” nearly two years’ worth of posts because of this.
  • If you’re interested in a soft entry into the world of crypto currency and monetising WordPress blog, use the fantastic plugin to post directly to the Hive blockchain. Click on the image below to sign up –


Image: @traciyork

In yet another aspect of my life –

English writing, research and online tutoring services
writing – emails and reports, academic and white papers
formal grammar, spelling and punctuation
more information here
 

A burger’s a burger, or is it?

broad bean

I associate burgers with quick food.  They are, if one gets them “done”.  They’re not if they’re home made from scratch.  I make both meat and plant-based burgers.  One has to go a long way to find a good vegan or vegetarian patty.  Especially at a restaurant:  I’ve had some really memorable (for all the wrong reasons) ones.  The first vegetarian was – going on 34 years ago – in a burger joint in Johannesburg.  Instead of a slab of rubber, it was a huge, juicy black mushroom.  That joint went on to become one of the biggest local burger franchises in the country, and which last time I had one of their burgers, still set the bar for me.

But, I digress, as usual.

Garden Loot

We do eat meat, and as I keep on saying, The Husband is an avowed carnivore.  That said, he does enjoy his greens vegetables and, over the last nearly twenty years that we’ve shared a life, he’s had to endure many a meat-free meal.  Initially, it was with great reluctance and surprised relish.  Now, he’s less reluctant, but I do get very skew looks when I introduce something new to the repertoire.

So it was with these burgers.

This year, thanks to good rain and regularly watering the garden, we’ve had a surfeit of garden loot.

One spring afternoon’s harvest

The first pickings are young, tender and sweet.  As the season progresses, and the crops mature, they’re less so.  Also, as one picks, it’s easy to miss pods so some do get a trifle long in the tooth.  Not one to let much go to waste, I always look for ways of better dealing with “tougher” beans and peas. Let’s also be honest, one does need some variety when there are just the two of you and what feels like a year’s supply of, well, whatever.

That’s not always the case with broad (fava) beans – the season is short – and besides enjoying them as they are, they’re really versatile.  Anyhow, since I wrote that, some six years ago, we’ve moved to eating more meatfree meals.  On a Monday, at least, we’ve joined the  Meat Free Monday movement and often the meal is entirely plant-based.

I really do enjoy searching out new recipes and ways of doing things.  So it was with these burgers. If not the accompaniments.

The broad bean crop was coming to an end and beans were coming in thick and fast.

Five litres of broad beans

A while before, I’d been looking for not just things to do with beans and came across this burger recipe.  At the time, what a waste of broad beans, I thought.  Not so, when the beans got somewhat bigger and more chalky.  I admit, too, that there’s something about getting your mouth around a burger and messing all over one’s hands, face and just generally, that’s rather satisfying!

So, I gave them a go:

Broad bean burgers

These burger patties have a chickpea base with the broad beans added in towards the end of the process.  The flavours – mint, coriander, cumin and harissa – are southern Mediterranean and middle eastern – and delicious.  So much so that when I made these the first time, The Husband had a second helping and declared that they could become a regular part of the repertoire, expressing regret (again) that the season for broad beans is so shortlived!

The first time we ate them was on flatbreads which we folded over the patty.

We agreed that the simple leaf dressing of olive oil and lemon juice and the yoghurt dressing was nothing short of heavenly.  His –

You can do these again!

Is all the confirmation I needed.  So I have, and the next time – with equal enjoyment, I served them with my home made, brown sourdough rolls.

If you’d also like to make these, download the recipe here.

Before I go

I have blogpals in different parts of South Africa and the world.  Three, in particular, encourage and inspire me as I continue to experiment in my kitchen – and especially with plant-based food.  Katie (@plantstoplanks) in Atlanta, a personal trainer and nutrition coach, whose WordPress site is full useful information, and The Kitchen Fairy (@thekitchenfairy) in Canada, who shares cooking videos via YouTube and Instagram. Much closer to home, is Lizelle (@lizelle) in Durban.  Thank you all for your encouragement and inspiration to grow my repertoir and confound The Husband’s taste buds!

Until next time, be well
Fiona
The Sandbag House
McGregor, South Africa

Photo: Selma

Post Script

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And then there’s more:

  • If this post might seem familiar, it’s because I’m doing two things:
    • re-vamping old recipes. As I do this, I plan to add them in a file format that you can download and print. If you download recipes, buy me a coffee. Or better yet, a glass of wine….?
    • and “re-capturing” nearly two years’ worth of posts because of this.
  • If you’re interested in a soft entry into the world of crypto currency and monetising WordPress blog, use the fantastic plugin to post directly to the Hive blockchain. Click on the image below to sign up –
Image: @traciyork
  • I also share my occasional instagram posts to the crypto blockchain using the new, and really nifty phone app, Dapplr. On your phone, click the icon below, and give it a go.

In yet another aspect of my life –

English writing, research and online tutoring services

writing – emails and reports, academic and white papers
formal grammar, spelling and punctuation
more information here

Gazpacho – easy peasy!

This was not what was originally planned for today, but having shared pictures of the Gazpacho that we had this weekend, on Instagram and on my personal Facebook page, I was “inundated” with requests for the recipe.  I hadn’t made it for a while because our tomato crop last season was underwhelming.  To say the least.  This year, we’ve been deluged; it’s the time of the year when The Husband hears, “You can have anything you like for supper (or lunch or tea, or breakfast), as long as it’s tomato!”

We also have a surfeit of bell peppers and we have onions and garlic that were harvested late last year.

CucumPepperOnionTomatoJan2016
Basic ingredients for Gazpacho (tomatoes ready for skinning). Except for the cucumber, all our own produce.

The original recipe comes from Rose Elliot’s 1994 The Classic Vegetarian Cookbook, published by Dorling Kindersley, and which I bought from Exclusive Books at the Waterfront, not long after I moved to Cape Town a year after it’s publication.*

Gazpacho Recipe

What I do

Gazpacho is a no-cook dish.  The closest one comes to a hot gas stove (in my case, anyway), is boiling the kettle to skin the tomatoes.

I’ve followed that recipe to the word, but as you see from my notes, I’ve also altered things to make it my own.  Here are a few of my tips and what I’ve learned in the 20-odd years I’ve been making this:

  • unless you’re wanting to make a thick, heavy soup, leave out the bread;  I find that if tomatoes are really “beefy”, I still need to add water so that the soup is the right consistency
  • if it needs water, chill it first and be careful not to dilute it too much – add a little iced water and taste, repeating until you’re happy with the texture
  • in the absence of red onions, I have comfortably used white, but less because white onion is stronger than red.  Obviously, if you really like the stronger, raw onion flavour….
  • I’ve used red wine vinegar and Balsamic vinegar and my preference is for Willow Creek’s balsamic style Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar;  I use an extra 10ml.  Again, tasting as you go is important, bearing in mind how the flavours change and develop with chilling and standing
  • seasoning is a very personal thing, but I have found that leaving out the seasoning doesn’t detract from the flavour which makes this a very acceptable soup for people who have problems with both gluten and sodium
  • make it the night before, or at least a few hours in advance and refrigerate – the flavours meld and the soup benefits from being allowed to stand.  A good example of what my father would class as “second-day-soup”, i.e. better the second time round!
  • with the vinegar and the high vitamin C content of tomatoes, this keeps very well.  I make it in big batches, both for our own consumption or for the market

It’s pretty served in glasses or glass mugs:

GazpachoGlass2016

Gazpacho: easy, peasy, lemon squeezy.

A glut

It seems we’re not the only ones with a glut, so for those looking for other ideas of what to do with tomatoes, I’ll be sharing my bottling recipe and that for passata in a while.  It won’t be in the next two weeks as I’ll be travelling and will have limited time for “fiddling” in the kitchen…and on Fiona’s Favourites.

In the meantime, two other ways of using tomatoes:

Ratatouille which is great hot or cold, and uses loads of tomatoes and vegetables currently in season

A fresh tomato sauce that can be bottled or frozen

*No, it’s not on page 32…..

© Fiona’s Favourites 2016