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 - My Hello Fresh Experience

I think at some point we've all pondered the question - what do I have for dinner? It's one of the most obvious questions we ask ourselves on almost a daily basis but sometimes it's one of the hardest to answer.

How many times have you stood in front of the fridge, and all of a sudden your mind goes blank. Even if there is food in there, you can sometimes feel uninspired when it comes to food. Don't get me wrong I love cooking and I do experiment occasionally with food, when I have the time, but more often than not I make, and eat the same things over, and over again.

So what do you do when you're bored, the fridge is empty and you're lacking in inspiration? Well the most obvious answer is to let somebody else do the cooking, and go out for a meal or have a takeaway, but if you love being in the kitchen, there are other ways, you can read through some cookery books, you can take a trip to your local supermarket or farm shop or you could try one of the many meal delivery or box schemes that are out there.

Probably like most of you I'd seen the adverts for Hello Fresh on TV but it wasn't  something that I'd never thought much about, that was until I received a £25 gift card in a recent Glossybox. An odd collaboration with a beauty box but after a little discussion with Mummy Lou and a look at the Hello Fresh website, we decided to use the voucher and order a box.

Some meal boxes on the market deliver ready prepared meals but Hello Fresh is a little bit different. Every week the chefs at Hello Fresh create delicious, and nutritious recipes in their own kitchens, and instead of being sent a ready meal, you're sent the freshest and best quality ingredients to make the recipes in your own kitchen, usually in less than half an hour.

There are a few different boxes to choose from a Classic Box, a Family Box, and a Veggie Box. Obviously being a vegetarian, I went for the Veggie Box, which is ideal for lacto ovo vegetarians like myself - It contains no meat or fish but it does potentially contains eggs, and dairy products. My one issue is that some of the recipes do contain wheat or gluten but as you'll see there are ways round it.

The Veggie Box that I got costs £36 and comes with the ingredients to make three, generous main meals for 2 people, but you can also get a Veggie box that makes 3 meals for 4 people if you have more mouths to feed. The Classic Box works in a similar way and you also have the option of getting a 5 meal box, and the Family box provides 4 meals a week for 4-5 people.

The good thing about the Hello Fresh scheme is that it flexible, you don't have to buy what you don't want, you can pause and stop deliveries at any time or you can just get a one off box when you feel like it. All the boxes are delivered on a Monday and then you can see a preview of the next weeks meals and if you don't want them you can just pause your account.

I enjoyed my first box so much that I got another one delivered on Monday and this was it.

My boxes were delivered by DHL and I received emails from both them and Hello Fresh ahead of my delivery. My goodies came in a strong cardboard box divided up into a couple of section depending on the food type. All of the chilled items came with ice packs and well wrapped up in insulated packaging, and the rest of the items were well protected with brown paper.

All of the vegetables, fresh herbs and tinned items arrived in excellent condition.The vegetables were firm and unblemished, I received pasta that was made in Italy and the tinned tomatoes and lentils that I got were organic.

I also received a paper bag containing two fresh garlic cloves, and little individual, portion controlled plastic pots of spices.

Finally I received an insulated bag, filled with ice packs and my refrigerated items - fresh peas, real Cypriot Halloumi, a small tub of Creme Fraiche and some real Italian Buffalo Mozzarella. No smart price items here - just good quality, premium, authentic products

So you've got your ingredients then what ? Well for every recipe you received a full colour recipe card, that gives you full instructions on how to prepare every aspect of the dish. The card also provides allergy advice, and nutritional and calorie information. It also gives you a little bit of inspiration behind the dish and an idea of what to expect from it.

The first recipe that I tried this week was Lentil And Charred Vegetable Halloumi Salad.

I am probably the worlds biggest halloumi lover (read my post in praise of the squeaky cheese here) so this recipe was right up my street. Basically you char grill the red pepper and the courgette in a little bit of olive oil, before mixing with the drained green lentils and rocket. You then top it with an
easy salad dressing made with a sprig of thyme, some lemon juice, seasoning and olive oil. Then you toss the halloumi in a little olive oil and some lemon zest before frying it till golden. Top your salad mix with the halloumi and you're done x

In a word - amazing - The saltiness of the halloumi combined perfectly with the tangy dressing, the earthiness of the lentils, the pepperiness of the rocket and the sweetness of the peppers. This was a really nice, and surprisingly filling dish that I'll definitely make again. The only things I needed to add were some salt, pepper and olive oil, and I had some thyme and some lemon left over.

The next meal that I made was something I wasn't sure about at first but it's something that I will definitely make again - Mustard Seed Green Bean Salad With Roasted Sweet Potato.

This was probably the most complicated of the 3 recipes, because you were really making three separate things, it was still pretty simple though and the step by step instructions were easy to follow.
Seeing as I'm a bit of a sweet potato addict the wedges were easier enough to make and they were served with a creamy creme fraiche, lemon and ginger dip. Alongside that you made a salad with fresh peas, sugar snap peas, and green beans, with added red onion, red chilli, garlic and lemon zest, all topped with mustard, nigella, and coriander seeds roasted in oil.

This dish was a real taste explosion that made the most of some really fresh ingredients. The sweet potatoes were sweet and caramelised, the dip was zingy and creamy, and the bean salad was full of fresh flavours, with a hit of warmth from the raw onion, garlic and chilli, and spiciness from the roasted seeds. As I say this dish really surprised me by just how good and how filling it was, and by the multitude of different flavour sensations. I didn't use all the chilli as it was a little on the warm side and I had some ginger and some lemon leftover, and again the only thing I needed to add was oil, salt and pepper.

The final recipe was a nice quick and filling Italian meal, Rigatoni Caprese With Olives And Mozzarella.

This recipe came with a packet of Italian made dried rigatoni pasta which was obviously crammed full of wheat and gluten so I substituted it for the same amount of gluten free pasta. I couldn't find any free from rigatoni but pasta is pasta so fusilli it was. All of the recipes list the allergens quite clearly and it's pretty easy to substitute or replace your own ingredients if your don't like something or if you are allergic.

This was probably the quickest and easiest recipe of the three, you just a really basic tomato sauce, with organic tinned tomatoes, onions, garlic, black olives and lots and lots of fresh basil. Just mix your sauce in with pasta and top with some fresh basil and torn up buffalo mozzarella.

This was a really simple recipe but again it was a recipe that came into it's own because of the freshness and quality of the ingredients. The olives were strong and salty, the basil was hot and peppery and the mozzarella was incredible and easily the nicest that I've ever had. It was firm on the outside and beautifully creamy on the inside. The only additions were salt, pepper and olive oil but I have to admit that I add the a little bit of red chilli to give it a bit more of a bite. This wasn't the most exciting recipe of the 3 but it was a good staple recipe that could be the base for many more meals.

My Hello Fresh experience so far has been a good one,  the quality of the ingredients has really, really impressed me and the recipes have all been tasty, plentiful and easy to follow. Even if your not a regular cook I don't think you'd have a problem following the recipes and if like me you are a dab hand in the kitchen then these recipes will hopefully inspire you to experiment and try out new things and different ingredient combinations.

The boxes aren't cheap but with the box that I get each meal works out at around £6 per potion, per person which isn't that bad when you consider what you spend on a takeaway or in a restaurant. That said I won't be buying a box every week but for an occasional treat or for a when time is precious or when I'm lacking in inspiration, I'll definitely indulge again.

If you fancy trying out a Hello Fresh for yourself, just go to the Hello Fresh website, sign up using my referral code A2NEYL, and get £20 off your first box x  Whether you're a hardcore foodie or even if your just a lazy, this could be the answer to your stomachs prayers. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions please leave me a comment x