Smoked Salmon and Tomato Salad

Although when I want to have something light to eat in winter months, I usually choose soups, I do fancy salads from time to time. The below recipe is, in my opinion, a great option for a winter salad: it is light but - thanks to the smoked salmon - substantial enough to keep you going and not feeling hungry for a few hours. The tomatoes, capers and lemony, slightly spicy dressing balance out the oily fish so you end up with a pretty refreshing and very delicious salad that can be made in a few minutes and is impressive enough to be served to your guests too.

Smoked Salmon and Tomato Salad

Ingredients

• 50g rocket,
• 150g cherry tomatoes, cut in halves or quarters, if bigger,
• 40g sundried tomatoes, cut into strips,
• 150g hot-smoked salmon, flaked,
• 1 tbsp capers,
• 2 tbsp radish sprouts,
• salt and pepper,
• 1 tbsp olive oil,
• 1 tbsp lemon juice,
• 2 tsp sweet chilli sauce.

Serves 2.

Instructions

1. Arrange on two plates the first six ingredients.
2. Mix the olive oil, lemon juice and sweet chilli sauce in a small bowl till combined to make a dressing and pour over the salad, season.

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Salad with Roasted Peppers and Tomatoes [vegetarian]

This salad is all about the wonderful combination of ingredients: tasty tomatoes with sweet roasted peppers, salty anchovies, slightly acidic capers, crunchy pine nuts and fragrant basil. I prefer to finish it off just before serving as I don’t like when the tomatoes go soft from being covered by dressing for too long. But a lot can be prepared much earlier to ease the pressure in case the salad is to be served for guests. The peppers can be roasted, peeled and cut even a day earlier and all the ingredients can be arranged on a serving plate a couple hours before serving so you only have to prepare the dressing.

This delicious, summery salad is an ideal solution, if you are looking for an accompaniment to your grilled or roasted meat for gathering with family or friends but it will also suit a salad buffet very well.

INGREDIENTS (4 portions, if served with other dishes):

3 red peppers,

3 tomatoes (I used raspberry and black tomatoes),

3 anchovies, drained and chopped,

1 tbsp drained capers,

1 tbsp pine nuts,

1 garlic clove, thinly sliced,

Dressing:

3 tbsp olive oil,

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar,

1 tsp lemon juice,

a few basil leaves, chopped,

salt and pepper.

METHOD:

1. Preheat grill in an oven.
2. Cut the peppers in half, remove stalks and seeds, cut in half lengthways again and arrange the quarters skin side up on a baking tray; put under the hot grill till the skin chars (this will take approx. 10-15 min. but check frequently as required time depends on a grill).
3. Put the charred peppers to a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool.
4. Peel the peppers and cut them into strips.
5. Cut the tomatoes into bite-size portions.
6. In a big bowl arrange the tomatoes, peppers, sprinkle with anchovies, capers, pine nuts and garlic.
7. Mix all the dressing ingredients until combined and pour over the salad, season.
8. Stir the salad before serving.

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Orecchiette with Broad Beans and Tomatoes [Vegetarian]

Although in summer I prepare a lot of salads for us, it is nice to have something just slightly heavier from time to time, like pasta. Since hot weather doesn’t really go that well (at least in my opinion) with heavy and creamy sauces, one day I came up with this tasty pasta recipe below.

The great advantage of this dish is that the majority of ingredients I used are probably available in lots of kitchens on daily basis with broad beans being the only exception. I usually buy, cook and shell 1 kilo at a time and that way the preparation of this pasta dish takes me 20 minutes - the time I need to cook the orecchiette. If you don’t already have cooked broad beans, the preparation will take you a bit longer. But it is worth it as you will end up with a perfect, summer dish: pretty light but filling enough so that you will not look for a snack just an hour after your lunch.

INGREDIENTS (for 2 portions):

150g orecchiette,

3 tbsp olive oil,

1 shallot, finely chopped,

1 garlic clove, finely sliced,

200g cherry tomatoes, cut in halves,

3 anchovies, chopped,

150g cooked broad beans, shelled (or 300g, if you are cooking them fresh and still have to shell them)

salt and pepper,

grated Parmesan cheese to serve.

METHOD:

1. Boil the pasta in the salted water as per packet instruction.
2. On a medium heat warm up the olive oil, add the shallot, fry for a minute, add the garlic and fry for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the anchovies and tomatoes, cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes soften; add the broad beans and warm up.
4. Drain the pasta but keep half a cup of the cooking liquid.
5. Add the pasta to the sauce, stir and if it is too dry add a few tablespoons of pasta water, check the taste and season.
6. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

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2 Method Pasta with Squash, Mushrooms and Spinach [vegetarian]

It was almost like a love at first sight: I tried a pasta dish with pumpkin and mushrooms fried on plenty of butter and with double cream added to it for extra taste, and I fell for it completely. But just as it sometimes happens with falling in love, after the first euphoria the common sense takes over. In case of that wonderful pasta it was about fat: I knew I had to keep my cholesterol level under control which meant I couldn't have this dish as often as I would have liked.

So I had only one option: to come up with a healthier but still very tasty dish. What I didn't know then is that I would come up with two ways of making this delicious pasta dish and I would not be able to decide which one was tastier. And that is the reason why at the end I decided to include both methods. If you - just like me - don’t know which one to choose, I can give you some hints. If you prefer to have a very healthy option and an almost-straight-from-the-oven-to-the-table dish, choose the Roasting Method. But if you have more time to be involved in cooking and you are not so concerned about a bit of fat (as it does use a little butter), choose the Frying Method. However the truth is that whichever option you decide on, you will be very happy with the result!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 portions):

1 butternut squash (weighing approx. 1 kg), peeled, seeds removed and cut into 2cm cubes,

3 tbsp olive oil,

250g mushrooms (champignons), cut into quarters,

350g cherry tomatoes, halved,

2 garlic cloves, minced,

250g  spinach,

2 tsp thyme,

400g pasta (preferably tagliatelle or pappardelle),

Salt and pepper.

Parmesan cheese.

2 tbsp butter (for the Frying Method only).

METHOD 1 (Roasting):

1. Preheat an oven to 180 degrees (fan).
2. Place the cubes of butternut squash on a big baking tray, pour 1 tbsp of olive oil over them, sprinkle with salt and pepper, mix well (you can do it with your hands) and put to the hot oven for 20 minutes.
3. Take the baking tray out of the oven, move the squash around in case it got stuck to the bottom of the tray; push to one side; add the mushrooms and the tomatoes. Season, pour 1 tbsp of olive oil over the added vegetables and put back to the oven for further 20 minutes.
4. Approx. 5-10 minutes before the vegetables are done, cook the pasta per packet instruction. Keep half a cup of cooking water before you drain the cooked pasta.
5. In a big frying pan heat the 1 tbsp olive oil, add the garlic, spinach and fry only till wilted.
6. Add the roasted vegetables and thyme, season.
7. Pour a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water to the baking tray in which vegetables were roasted and deglaze it. You can do it by moving a spatula to dissolve the brown residue from the bottom of the tray – this way you will get some extra flavour.
8. Pour the sauce to the pan with the vegetables, stir and mix gently with the cooked pasta.
9. Serve with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese.

METHOD 2 (Frying):

1. In a big frying pan heat up 1 tbsp of each: oil and butter, add the mushrooms and fry them (stirring occasionally) for 5-7 minutes until golden, put aside.
2. In the same frying pan heat up 1 tbsp of oil and 2 tbsp of butter, add the cubed squash and thyme, fry on a medium heat for 15-17 minutes making sure the squash doesn’t burn. If it starts sticking too much, you may add a bit of boiled water.
3. Just before the squash is ready, cook the pasta per packet instruction. Keep half a cup of cooking water before you drain the cooked pasta.
4. Add the tomatoes to the squash and fry for 5 minutes more.
5. In another frying pan heat 1 tbsp olive oil, add the garlic, spinach and fry only till wilted.
6. Transfer the wilted spinach to the pan with the other vegetables, season and mix gently with the cooked pasta. If the dish is a bit too dry, you may add a few tablespoons of the pasta cooking water.
7. Serve with grated or shaved Parmesan cheese.

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