Lime, Chilli and Gin cured Salmon with pickled cucumber and radish, avocado and wasabi mousse, pea shoots and trout crisp

Well, I thought this was a pretty good competition entry, until I realised that it was entered by me, and I'm not a teachers pet so I had absolutely no chance whatsoever. Anyhow, I still thought it was good enough to share on here, as my family enjoyed it and i thought it was one of my nicer looking plates of food.

It may look difficult, and too chefy, but I promise you it's really easy. The salmon can be prepared ahead. And even though the pickled vegetables look complicated, there really simple. All you need is a really sharp knife and a peeler if you don't have a mandolin.

The avocado mousse is super delicious and creamy, just make sure you do it no more than an hour before, otherwise it will discolour. If your serving a lot of people it can easily be plated up before hand, if your luckier than me and have loads of bench space.
Its also be easily adaptable, swap out the salmon with sea trout if you can't find salmon. If your intolerant to dairy just take out the cream, it will be less creamier but otherwise the same. If you can't get hold of the cucumber or radishes both can easily be swapped with carrots or courgette both which could be sliced either way depending on the thickness, but since the radishes were in season i used those.

Ingredients 

For the trout:

X4 100g portions of trout

2 limes, zest

2 chillis, finely chopped

150g salt

150g sugar

150g Gin                                                           

For the pickle:

1 cucumber

100g radish

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

½ tsp sugar

¼ tsp salt

For the mousse:

1 avocado

2 tsp wasabi

1 tbsp extra thick double cream

Pea shoots

1.    Remove the skin from the trout and set aside. Thinly slice the trout.

2.    Dissolve the salt, sugar in the gin, before adding the lime and chilli. Lay the slices of trout on a tray before covering in the cure. Cover and leave to cure for 1hr (or until firm) in the fridge.

3.    Meanwhile, make the pickle by dissolving the sugar and salt in the vinegar. Finely slice the radishes and the cucumber lengthways before adding into the liquid. Leave to pickle for 1hr, stirring occasionally.

4.    When almost ready to serve, blend together the avocado and cream. Add wasabi to taste. Season.

5.    Pat the skin dry, before lightly oiling, season and place on a tray in a hot oven (190c), until golden and crisp.

6.    When ready to serve, wash the trout to remove the cure.

7.    To serve, smear the mousse on the plate, place the trout on top, roll up the cucumber and sprinkle over the radishes and pea shoots.

Simple Coconut Biscuits

This is a delicious coconut biscuit, which pairs wonderfully with the previous two desserts, but could also be a gluten free and fancy take an on Anzac biscuit. These are perfect to serve with any tropical dessert, like my passion fruit posset and my passion fruit granita. They would also be perfect with any tropical sorbet or ice cream, in place of the the typical boring and bland wafer.

These are quite obviously no lookers, but if you like coconut then there one of the best coconut biscuits you'll have (as its basically just all coconut).They also seem really healthy as its just egg white which is high in protein, and sugar... errr......maybe not! but at least they don't have butter!!

The only downside is that you have to do the Great British Bake Off pose by constantly staring into the oven until it's baked, as they can quite easily go from a lovely golden colour, to a super dark brown colour, which makes the coconut taste bitter.

These are super fragile, so be careful when you handle them. Along with either of the passion fruit desserts from my previous posts, these can be made up to 3 days ahead just kept in a airtight container, to make dinner party hosting, that little bit easier and less stressful.

Ingredients 

1 egg white 
100g desiccated coconut
1 tsp sesame seeds 
50g caster sugar

1. preheat the oven to 180c 
2. beat the egg whites until fluffy 
3. stir in the sesame seeds, sugar and coconut 
4. lay out teaspoonfuls of mixture onto a non stick lined baking trays, lightly press the mixture in rounds
5. bake for 8 mins, or until golden brown at the edges
6. take out and leave to cool slightly and "set" before moving to a cooling rack and leaving to cool completely

Passion fruit Granita

Told you I was having a thing with passion fruit. Don't worry there's more coming too!! The simplest and one of the best ways to eat it is spooned on top of plain Greek style yogurt, but sometimes it should be a hero without anything, just a little bit of sugar and help from the freezer, and you have a super tasty, but refreshing summer dessert.

Its super simple to make along with most of my other desserts, because who has that much time these days. Especially when its summer when all you want to do is be outside and socialising, reading or sunbathing. If your like me then have always wanted to make granita, but always thought you needed some fancy ice cream/sorbet maker, but you actually don't then i hope this recipe will tempt you into how easy it really is. 

To separate the most amount of juice from the seeds, i blitzed the pulp quickly before sieving. I served this as a "pre" dessert, as a small pallet cleanser in between the main and dessert but you could easily serve this as a main dessert, just enlarge the serving dish and portions.  

To serve as a palette cleanser i just popped a few tiny mint leaves on top, as i didn't want the extra passion fruit and coconut to over complicate the refreshing flavour. These coconut biscuits, pictured below are great served with it and my other passion fruit dessert, passion fruit posset (recipe for the biscuits is on its way!!). 

Serves 10 as dessert or 20+ as a small palate cleanser
Ingredients

460g caster sugar
500ml passion fruit pulp, strain to make 250ml juice (around 18-24) 
1250ml of water
2 tbsp lime juice
coconut milk, optional
pulp from 4 passion fruit, optional

1. Put the sugar and water together in a saucepan and stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. set aside to cool
2. Add the strained passion fruit juice and lime, stir to combine.
4. Pop in a shallow tray and into the freezer, for 2 hrs or until setting around the edges.
5. Using a fork rough up the crystals, and return to the freezer.
6. Repeat each hour, until its all frozen around 3 hrs.
7. Once frozen pop into containers, and keep in the freezer until needed.
8. to serve as a palette cleanser, top with tiny mint leaves. To serve as a dessert, spoon over the extra passion fruit and a little coconut milk. 

Carrot and Lentil Soup

Personally, i think that January, when it still cold and wet, is a rubbish time of year to go on a diet. Luckily soups are healthy, and are perfect for those freezing days, where you just want to stay bundled up in bed all day and the frost still hasn't thawed by lunchtime. This is definitely my favourite soup that I've ever made, despite losing the tip of my thumb at least twice!!(graters are dangerous things you know!)

By far tastier than shop bought soups, and better for you, without any preservatives. The lentils which are full of protein, and fibre to fill you up, without the need to snack later in the day. The carrots, add essential vitamins and minerals, antioxidants that will help clear skin and aid digestion . The added bonus of the chilli and cumin seeds, add flavour and added health benefits such as keeping away the flu, and clearing away the sniffles.

Personally I would love to make with chicken stock, as I think it tastes better, but if your vegetarian, or like me have a vegetarian in your family, then feel free to use vegetable stock. If your vegan use a dairy free milk, or top with more stock. I personally like to top with feta cheese for an added tang, plus it helps it to cool down quickly, as I'm very impatient but feel free to not put it on, or add a dollop of plain yogurt if you don't have any. 

Ingredients 

2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chilli flakes
olive oil
750g carrots, grated 
140g red lentils
1 l veg/ chicken stock
1/2 cup milk

1. lightly toast the cumin and chilli flakes, until fragrant, set aside around half
2. add the rest of the ingredients, bring to boil, then simmer for 15 mins or until the lentils are cooked
3. blend until smooth
4. sprinkle with the reserved cumin seeds and chilli, sprinkle with feta or a dollop of yogurt if wished

Roasted Carrots ,Chickpeas ,and Lemon Quinoa Salad

Just when you thought it was over; I go and give you another salad recipe. This is the salad, I'm most likely to take to college, as it's super tasty and good for you, and a more interesting than a sandwich, and cheaper than the canteen. Plus, its super easy to pack in a box, and its not too smelly for the train, which is my most common lunch place, since we hardly ever get a break.

I know salads are a summer thing, but since this one is colourful and filling, I can eat it any time of the year. I promise comfort food, and more Christmas recipes will be coming soon, as well as party foods. Plus, the carrots and chickpeas can be served warm, and are lightly spiced, so are more suited to this time of year. Not to mention, that the other side of the world is in spring at the moment (I'm obviously thinking of them in this post).

This is super easy to make on Sunday nigh,t and it'll last for the whole week. Have a couple variations each day to prevent yourself getting bored. Toss with rocket or spinach to bulk the quinoa out. Or try this recipe, if you just have the quinoa left.

Since my sister was eating this, I didn't add harrissa to the chickpeas and carrots, but if you like a little bit of heat, add about 1 1/2 tbsp once the chickpea have been added.I used a mixture of red, white, and black quinoa, just because it looks pretty, but a don't think it has any more health benefits, so feel free to use ordinary quinoa.

Ingredients

750g carrots

230g chickpeas

2 tsp cumin powder

Olive oil

1 lemon

Mustard

Salt and pepper

375g Quinoa (with leftovers)

Handful coriander 

100g Feta

1. Preheat the oven to 180c

2. Chop the carrots into even sized pieces, toss in cumin powder and olive oil. Pop in the oven until the carrots are cooked.

3. Meanwhile cook the quinoa

4. Once cooked drain the quinoa, toss in a lemon vinaigrette( lemon zest & juice, mustard, olive oil and seasoning, to taste)

5. When the carrots are almost tender, toss in the chickpeas until warm, coat in Harissa paste and more cumin if needed

6. To serve plate the quinoa, top with the carrots and chickpea, crumble over the feta and sprinkle the coriander on top.

Raw Flapjack Squares

If you wanted a quick and healthy, but filling snack, then nothing fits the bill more perfectly than this. Perfect for making the night before, then chucking it in your bag in the morning. Before eating it as your lunch, on the train home, because people consistently don't give you a break ,and you end up eating lunch at home around 5, which is almost tea time. So this is the perfect snack, to keep back the hunger, without missing tea. 

As you can see in the photos i did two versions of this: One, i left the oats whole, to give more of a bite, and make it more flapjack like; Two, i blended the oats up finer to make oat flour, and make it more like a soft oaty cookie. 

I used chocolate chips in one of the bars, but not in the other, and can't say which i preferred, just what i was in the mood for. If you don't like chocolate, but still want to add something in, dried fruit such as apricot would work well, or if you're on of those extremely healthy types, add in seeds such as sesame or chia.

Ingredients

2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp almond milk or other dairy free milk (i used oat)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup oat flour (i just blended the same amount of oats up, until fine)
3/4 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup chocolate chips/ chunks 

1. melt the coconut oil
2. stir in the milk and sugar
3. mix in the flour, almonds and chocolate if using
4. press flat between greaseproof paper, and pop in the fridge until firm
5. cut into squares or bars, then keep in the fridge until consumed 

Coconut and Chocolate Balls

Continuing with the recent coconut obsession; Which is healthy right? Perfect, accompanied by (several) an episode of Orphan Black, (the rediscovered unhealthy obsession!); or TV episode of your choice. The dark chocolate, makes them seem extremely healthy, even though they're not really, which may have resulted, in them being eaten extraordinarily quickly; which may, or may not have been consumed at breakfast.

To make them healthier they are coated in dark chocolate, but milk would also work well, especially you prefer things sweeter, as the coconut isn't that sweet. Or if you really want to push the boat out, dipping it half and half, would look pretty. Or if your giving these away as a gift, drizzling them with white chocolate would look great too. 

I kept the dessicated coconut the same size, but feel free to blend it up finer,to make it more like a bounty bar. If you want something a bit different try adding zest of one lime, its really good trust me. Or if you love chocolate, adding cocoa powder would make a healthier version of chocolate rough, add more coconut oil, as it will make the mixture drier. 

Ingredients

1 cup desiccated coconut
2 tbsp honey/maple syrup or similar
2 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
100g dark chocolate, melted

1. melt the coconut oil, and mix in the honey or syrup
2. stir in the coconut, and press into balls( i let the mixture firm up a little, in the fridge before rolling)
3. once the balls are made, place in the fridge to firm up completely, about 30mins
4. once set, dip in the melted chocolate, coating the surface
5. chill until set

Chargrilled Courgettes, Aubegine and Pepper Salad

Still dreaming about this salad.....I'm not lying, I promise! Recently, I've been constantly craving it, as it was just so tasty, but unfortunately, its one if I have all the ingredients, and a lot of time on hand to make it, even if i used the barbecue to speed up the process (actually thinking about that, it would be x10 quicker....ah never mind, you live and learn!).

I think we need to talk about the ingredients, in this salad though...In particular the olives; i love them so much, i reckon i could probably eat the whole jar in one sitting. Not to mention the courgettes, which i love so much, that i can't even wait, for the ones my Dad grows to be ready! And aubergines, my new found love, and i don't even care that my sister and Dad don't like them, because now I'm trying to find, loads of other recipes to use them in.

Feel free, to take out any vegetables you don't like. Can we also take a moment, to appreciate that this salad doesn't have any feta in (yep, I kinda addicted to it), but of course, feel free to add it: Personally, i would tear over mozzarella, to basically have heaven on plate. I also used sundried tomatoes chopped pieces, but feel free to chop up whole sundried tomatoes,as they are easier to find. Serve this salad on its own, or as a side dish.

Ingredients

3 red peppers
3 aubergine
2 courgettes
2 red onions
1  large red chilli
1 garlic clove
6tsbp olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
12 whole sundried tomatoes
2 handful black olives( i used kalamata) 
fresh basil leaves

1. On large griddle pan/ saute pan/ barbecue, cook the peppers, aubergine, onions and courgettes, until softened and either browning, or have bar marks.
2. Meanwhile, mix together the oil, vinegar, finely chopped chilli and crushed garlic.
3. As the vegetables are done, add them into the dressing to marinate.
4. When all the vegetables are cooked, add in the olives, sundried tomatoes, basil and seasoning. Toss.
5. Serve, drizzle with more oil if wished.