Foodie Friday - Lentil, Roasted Vegetable And Halloumi Salad

Hey Guys x Happy Friday x  I know Foodie Friday posts have been a bit thin on the ground this year but today I'm going to share with you one of my favourite and easiest, gluten free and vegetarian recipes, that proves that salad doesn't have to be boring.

If you've been reading my blog for sometime, or if you follow me on Instagram, then you'll already be quite familiar with this recipe or least what it looks like. I first discovered this recipe  last July in my first Hello Fresh box (you can read about my experience here) and it's rapidly become one of my go to dishes.

You can find the original Hello Fresh recipe of Lentil, And Chargrilled Vegetable Halloumi Salad here x and I have to say I love it but here I've made a few tweaks to make it just a little bit easier and even more flavourful.

In the original recipe the peppers and the courgette or either fried or char grilled. I normally use my George Foreman grill but since it's just a tiny one, it can take a while so in this version I decided to roast my vegetables in the oven instead. I also sprinkled them with a bit of lemon zest before I put oven and I added some extra lemon zest to my dressing to make it extra zesty.

Lentil, Roasted Vegetable And Halloumi Salad

1 x Large Courgette 

1 x Large Red Pepper 

1 x Can Green Or Brown Lentils

 1 x Lemon

Fresh Thyme 

1 Bag Of Rocket 

Pack Of Halloumi

Olive Oil

Salt And Pepper To Taste

1. Preheat your oven to 200° C, then rinse and dry your lemon, then zest or finely grate the peel into a small bowl.You just want the yellow parts as the white pith can be a bit too bitter.

2. Then chop your vegetables, my courgettes were quite small so I used two. Cut them in half length ways and then chop them into chunky half moons. Core and deseed your pepper, and cut it into similar size pieces. Again if their just small ones use two, you can also use yellow or orange peppers. Put the vegetables into a roasting dish or onto a baking try and drizzle over some olive oil, and a little bit of the lemon zest. Give it a mix so all of the vegetables are covered and then pop them into the over for around 20-30 minutes.

3.Now it's time to make your dressing, first of all juice half of your lemon, and put the juice into a small bowl.

Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, a little bit more of the lemon zest and some salt and pepper. Then add a couple of sprigs of thyme (I used about 3 here). You just want the leaves so just run your fingers down the stalks and the leaves should come loose. You can used dry thyme at push but your probably won't need quite as much. Mix all of the ingredients together and set aside.

4. Now it time start opening tins and packets! First up the rocket and given the recent press coverage regarding salad leaves and e-coli, this stuff needs to be washed and washed well. Give it a good wash and rinse, then drain it and dry either by using a salad spinner or wrap it up in a tea towel to soak up the excess water.

5. Lentil time! Obviously you can cook your own - lentils are one of the easiest pulses to cook but for ease just open a tin of good green lentils. Again give them a good rinse and leave them to drain.

6. Next up, open your halloumi, and drain off the excess liquid that usually resided in the packet. Cut it into to thick slices, at least a centimetre wide. This wasn't a full packet so I only ended up with 5 slices - whoops!

7. Mix the remaining lemon zest with some olive oil 

and then coat your halloumi slices in the olive oil and lemon zest mixture.

8. Take a large salad bowl and then add your lentils 

and your washed and dried rocket.

9. Put your oil and lemon covered halloumi into a large pan, and turn the heat up to medium, and keep an eye on it, turning occasionally

10. By this time your vegetables should be about done, the courgettes and peppers should be soft, and slightly charred and crispy.

Take them out of the oven, and carefully pour the vegetables into the lentil and rocket mix and give it a stir

Then pour over your dressing  and give it a good stir, then add salt and pepper to taste and give it another gentle mix.

11. It can take a while but by this time your halloumi should be golden brown and crispy - be careful not to burn it.

12 Put the salad mix in to bowls,

top with the halloumi slices and serve.

This recipe easily feels two hungry people, but if you want it to feed more people, then just add some more veg and some more lentils and maybe a little bit more halloumi ( read about my love for halloumi here).

Whether you char grill your vegetables or whether you roast them in the oven, this is still a super tasty, filling and simple salad to make. Salad doesn't have to be boring and this dish definitely isn't - the salty halloumi, compliments the earthiness of  both the thyme and the lentils, the peppery taste of the rocket and the tang of the lemon perfectly.

This salad is pretty much perfect as it is but I guess you could mix it up a bit and use either a different pulse, or even a grain or rice as a base, and try maybe some different vegetables like aubergine or maybe red onion, and of course you could change the cheese, and sticking with the Mediterranean / Levant theme you could go for a feta or a goats cheese.

I love finding new recipes and thanks to buying the occasional Hello Fresh box I've lots of new recipes and new ingredients. Cooking for me is all about experimentation, and that's really why I love the Hello Fresh scheme, you get your box and your basic recipe, but then if you like it, you can make it again and again, changing cooking methods and ingredients based on what you like and what you have to hand.If you're interested in trying out some new recipes and trying out Hello Fresh for yourself then you can find out more about them here and you can use my coupon code A2NEYL * for £25 off your first box. Do you think salads are boring? Let me know your thoughts and your favourite salad recipes x

*Affiliate Coupon Code

Foodie Friday - Using Buckwheat As A Grain And A Recipe

As much as I love cooking and eating sometimes it can all get a bit boring. I don't know about you but I tend to eat the same things again and again. Over the last few months though I've made a real effort to try and mix it up a bit and to try something new. I've been trawling through recipe books, magazines and the internet to look for new meals and recipes to try, and of course I've been ordering a few boxes from the Hello Fresh scheme ( read about my Hello Fresh experience here).

I've found quite a few lovely recipes that I'd like to share with you but in today's Foodie Friday post. I'm going to focus on a recipe and an ingredient that came courtesy of a Hello Fresh box - Buckwheat!

As someone with wheat and gluten intolerance's I'm all too familiar with buckwheat. Despite it's name it isn't actually related to wheat, it isn't even strictly a cereal instead it's related to both the sorrel leaf and rhubarb. The grain or seed can be ground into a flour and made into all sorts of things from pancakes, blinis and galettes, to noodles and even chocolate brownies.

I have to say I'm not a fan of buckwheat flour when it's used in sweet things, the flavour for me just dominates and doesn't work but something that I have become a fan of is the buckwheat grain or seed itself

Buckwheat can be used in any way that you would use rice, cous cous or Bulgar wheat. You can use it to make a type of porridge, or you can use it as an accompaniment to stews and vegetable chillis like I have below. The grains have a subtle nutty taste and they take on flavour really well

You can find both buckwheat flour and the grains in most major health food shops and larger supermarkets and the grains in particular are something I would really recommend. A 100g of dry buckwheat grains is just 343 calories, and it is a good source of protein, carbohydrate, fibre, and B vitamins,

Most of the packets that you buy, should have cooking instructions on them but I have to be honest and say after trying a few different methods Hello Fresh's is the one that works for me. I'll talk about it more in the recipe below but it's basically an absorption method that leaves the grain, looking and feeling dry but soft and with a bit of a bite to them.

The recipe below is a very slight adaption of the original Hello Fresh recipe that introduced me to buckwheat as a grain, and I personally think that it's a winner. It sounds a bit strange with the spices and so on but please, please give it a chance and prepare yourself for a taste explosion.

Mexican Bean & Buckwheat Bake With Creme Fraiche

1 x Can Beans - Kidney, Black, or Black Eyed Work Best

1 x Red Pepper

1 x Yellow Pepper

1 x tbsp Olive Oil

2 x Cloves Garlic

1 Medium or 2 Small Red Onions

1 Cup or around 150g Buckwheat Grains

1/2 Vegetable Stock Cube or 1/2 Vegetable Stock Pot

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/2 ts Cinnamon

2 tbsp Creme Fraiche

Red Chilli or Pickled Jalapenos To Taste (I use about a tablespoon)

100g Cheddar Cheese

1 x tbsp Olive Oil Or A Few Sprays Of Low Fat Cooking Spray

Salt And Pepper To Taste

To Serve

Chopped Chives or Green Parts From A Spring Onion

Creme Fraiche

1. Pre heat your oven to around 220°C - Core and deseed your peppers and chop them into bite size chunks, and put them onto a baking tray. Drizzle over 1 tbsp olive oil and roast in the oven for about 15 minutes till they're soft, and just starting to colour.

2. Bring 225ml of water to the boil and add your stock cube or your stock pot

Then add your buckwheat  - bring the pan back to the boil, then cover with a lid and turn the pan down to the lowest heat and leave for about 10 minutes and don't be tempted to take the lid off to have a peek

3. Then peel and finely slice your onion and your garlic and your chilli. I used about half a fresh red chilli here but I like it hot. Add as much or as little as you like - you can also use pickled jalapenos which are a good store cupboard / fridge substitute.

Then  in a large frying pan either heat up either a tablespoon olive oil or if your saving calories a few sprays of Fry Light, and add your onions, chilli and garlic, and cook for around 5 minutes till soft.

4. Then add your spices - the cumin, the paprika and cinnamon - The amounts I've given work but again you can add what you like - my mum isn't that keen on cinnamon so I tend to add a little bit less. Stir in the spices and cook for about a minute.

Then drain and rinse your beans - the original recipe uses black beans but none of the supermarkets near me seem to stock them so I've experimented with a few different types of canned pulses and I think it works best with either a black eyed bean or a kidney beans so I'm using kidney beans here x Add your beans and a touch of salt and pepper to taste. Cook or a minute or two until the beans are warmed through and remove from the heat.

5. By this time your buckwheat should be done so take off the lid and have a look. All of the water should have been absorbed by now and the buckwheat should be softened and dry and appearance. If it's still a bit wet cook it over a low heat for a little bit longer.

Like rice or cous cous, try not stir it, just fluff it up with a fork, then gently stir it into the vegetable and bean mix

Then remove your roasted peppers from the oven but leave the oven switched on x

and then stir your peppers into your bean and buckwheat mix

and then stir in 2 tbsp creme fraiche.

6. Then pour your mixture into a oven proof baking dish, and top with your grated cheese

Then bake  for around 15 - 20 minutes until the cheese is melted, golden and bubbly

Then spoon onto plates, sprinkle with chopped chives or the green parts of a spring onion, and serve with creme fraiche. This would easily serve four people with the addition of a bit of green salad.

This recipe really surprised me apart from the unusual ingredient - the buckwheat grain - this dish really is an explosion of different tastes and textures in your mouth. You get the nuttiness of the grain, the creaminess of the creme fraiche, the sweetness of the vegetables, the heat of the chili, and the depth and exotic tastes of the spices. It sounds odd I know but this is a really quick, tasty and substantial dish that always leaves me wanting more. I'm definitely going to be continuing my experimentation with buckwheat so if you have any recipe suggestions (Slimming World fans in particular) let me know x 

Foodie Friday On A Saturday - Courgette, Basil And Ricotta Tart

I'm always on the hunt for new recipes and I've found some gems in all sorts of places from magazines, to food packaging and of course online. One of my favourite places to find recipes at the moment though is from supermarkets own free magazines. The majority of stores do them and you can find all sorts of recipes usually using  fresh ingredients that are in season.

Just before Christmas I found a recipe in the Tesco magazine that I had try. Eating a predominantly gluten and wheat free diet, I miss a lot of things but probably one of the biggies for me is puff or flaky pastry. vanilla slices, cream horns, savoury tarts and even the much maligned vol au vent, have all been off the menu. Okay I've had the odd little bit of the naughty stuff here and then but up until recently gluten free puff pastry was nigh on impossible to find. I've found the odd recipe on the internet and in recipe books for it but for me they always look so complicated and time consuming that I just couldn't justify the effort.

Salvation came in the form of one the dominant UK gluten free brands, Genius. As well as their popular bread and bakery line recently they've introduced a line of free from frozen foods, including sweet and savoury pies and even pastry. Frustrating as it can be at times, I'm pretty happy with own homemade shortcrust pastry but as soon as I saw it I had to try some of their frozen puff pastry. It isn't quite as puffy or flaky, as wheat pastry but it fulfils that puff pastry need.

First of all I used it to make a batch of yummy cheese straws, but for the second batch I bought I wanted to try something different so I tried a recipe from a Tesco magazine for a Courgette, Basil and Ricotta Tart. It was nice but it was bit bland and lacking in flavour so I decided to pimp it up a bit and enhance those basil flavours with my own version.

Courgette, Basil And Ricotta Tart

1 Block Of Puff Pastry

or 

1 Packet Of Ready Rolled Puff Pastry

1 x 250g Tub Of Ricotta Cheese

75g Grated Cheese

1-2 Tbsp Basil Pesto

1 Beaten Egg

Handful Fresh Basil Leaves - Torn

2-3 Courgettes

2 Tbsp Pine Nuts

Egg Or Milk For Glazing

1. If your puff pastry is frozen defrost as per the packet instructions - my Genius pastry needed to be defrosted overnight in the fridge. Lightly grease a large baking tray. Preheat your over to around 200°C

2. Put your ricotta, your egg, and half of your basil leaves into a large mixing bowl. Then add pesto to taste, and half of your grated cheese. The original recipe used Parmesan or Gran Padano but I just used a coloured mature cheddar here. You can use anything that has a bit of flavour.

Then stir everything together until it all the ingredients are combined - Then set aside.

3. If your using ready rolled pastry lay it straight on to your baking tray, or if like me your using a block of pastry roll it out on a floured board until you get either a large square or a rectangle depending on the size of your packet of pastry. Don't roll it out too thin though.

4. Then you want to score your pastry leaving a 1-2 cm border around the edge. Don't cut through it, you just want to score it so the edge of the tart rises a bit.

5. Spoon your cheese mixture onto your pastry base, 

and spread it out, remembering to leave your border free around the edges. How thick you spread it depends on how big a base you have - I only managed a large square with my pastry so mine is spread quite thickly.

6. Then slice your courgettes. The amount of courgettes that you'll need depends on their size and the size of your base - I used two here. Place the courgette slices on top of the cheese mix, you might need to half a few to cover the top completely.

7. Brush the border of your tart with beaten egg or milk and sprinkle your tart with your remaining cheese, and bake for around 20 minutes.

8. After about 20 minutes your tart should be starting to brown, take it out of the oven, scatter over the pine nuts and return to the oven for around 5 minutes until puffed and golden.

9. Take it out of the oven

 and sprinkle with the remaining torn basil leaves, cut into wedges, and serve either warm, or cold.

This is a lovely summer lunch or supper recipe, that could be served either on it's own or with salad. You could also make different shaped tarts and smaller ones for parties. This recipe using one pack of Genius Puff Pastry made a big enough tart to serve four people comfortably. I found it easiest to cut with either scissors or a pizza cutter, and the leftovers lasted a good 24 hours in the fridge.

The pesto wasn't included in the original recipe but I think it makes a big difference. Despite the number of steps this is a really easy recipe to make and it's something that I will definitely make again but I might switch the courgettes for something like tomatoes or roasted peppers. What do you think about this recipe? Let me know below x