Spent the last 20 minutes writing up making this soup
Then I don’t know what I did but it’s gone… The post and the healthy verdant green spinach soup…
Archives for category: Vegtables
Half a red cabbage
2 eating apples cored and cubed
1 red onion
100 gms of fresh cranberries
250 mls turkey stock (use chicken or vegetable stock if no turkey stock unavailable)
small glass of mulled wine optional can be replaced with read wine or just leave it out
¼ teaspoon of fennel seeds
Bunch of fresh thyme
Oven 180 C.
Thinly slice the red cabbage, chop the onion and cube the apple. Then layer it into the dish add the stock, herbs and put it into the oven. The fennel adds a slightly different flavour at this time of year which I think works very well with the dish and turkey.
If you are cooking a turkey put it in the same oven 30 minutes before the bird is schedule to be finished cooking. If there is no room in the oven this dish can also be simmered slowly in a pot on top of the cooker hob.
Check 10 minutes to end of cooking and stir – sometimes when I make this I include 2 cloves of crushed garlic at this stage but its an extra the dish does not really need. I include it at this cooking point the flavour is fresher.
My Cookmakebake festive baked red cabbage and cranberries dish reheats really well the next day which means you can cook it a day ahead or its a great one for left overs. Plus yeah I like it in a turkey sandwich too!
Its very easy to make this a vegetarian option by not using turkey stock.
Note: There is no fat or oil used in the recipe, it does n’t need it.
The apples in this recipe were from the bottom of the fruit bowl, a great way to use em up! But I think apples and red cabbage are a match made for each other. Don’t peel the apples the extra dietary fibre is useful in the diet at this time of year.
a different sort of vegetable salad side dish
a small red onion
1 a yellow pepper
3 large juicy plump tomatoes
3 stalks of celery
1 garlic clove
Juice of half a lemon
¼ teaspoon of hot mustard
a glug of Irish rapeseed oil (okay use Olive oil if you need to)
1 tablespoon Capers (optional)
1 green chilli (optional)
Salt
Pepper
A pinch of hot paprika
Take the bowl you are going to serve the salad, chop the garlic clove in half and run it around the bowl, it adds a hint of garlic and is a wonderful technique to add an extra layer of flavour.
Chop the onion finely and place it in the bowl season it with salt and pepper, mix and add the lemon juice. this wilts the onion slightly. Add the mustard and mix.
Chop the yellow pepper and celery finely add to bowl.
Keep the tomatoes large add to bowl. Pour the glug of rapeseed oil over the salad – sparingly it does not need much.
Chop the chilly finely add to bowl and use as much as you want. I liked this salad with a kick.
Add the capers to bowl. If you are using salted ones wash them and dry them off on kitchen paper.
Mix and leave to sit. Sprinkle the paprika over it before you bring it to the table and toss nce again before serving.
I made this to accompany crab claws and some left over monkfish that was served cold. I had a little mature cheddar on the side too. It was delicious and think it would go great with BBQ meat, roast chicken and steak too.
I suppose it is an unconventional way to make a salad dressing making it in the bowl as you go along. But it works and I will make this again.
Hope you try it, if you do let me know what you like about it.
Happy making!
This beetroot relish can be served to spice up a salad or a main meal. I like it served as a salad in it’s own right and it is rather good with pecans.
1 medium beetroot
1 small red onion
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pinch of salt
Peel the beetroot I prefer to do this with a small sharp knife. Using a large toothed grater grate the beetroot. Or chop into small pieces.
Finely chop the onion.
Mix all the ingredients together and leave for at least twenty minutes to let the flavours mingle.
Serve as a side dish and allow people to help themselves or pile on top of a green salad to add… well a kick.
You can add more cayenne pepper to suit your pallet.
This year I have discovered I like beetroot raw rather then vinegared or cooked. But I am the only one who likes it in our house.
Beetroot is said to have very positive effects on the blood and other health inducing properties.
This is based on a party starter where you bake tomatoes with garlic, herbs, olive oil and rounds of soft goats cheese to a melting deliciousness. Served with chunks of bread to dip into and enjoy.
But it was last Friday night after a long hard week. I’m was exhausted. I wanted some thing wholesome. No meat but goats cheese, chickpeas or just veg?
Ingredients:
1 Aubergine
1 courgette [zucchini]
1 small red pepper
2 small/medium red onions
4 large cloves of garlic
500ml Passata
6 sundried tomatoes
8 pieces of dried porcini mushrooms
1 can of chickpeas
3 table spoons sliced black olives
4 large potatoes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon of olive oil
good grist of black pepper
Set oven to 200C.
Boil the kettle . Place the dried porcini mushrooms and sundried tomatoes into 300ml of boiling water from the kettle for 15 minutes.
Cube aubergine, courgette and pepper and place into a large deep casserole dish. Quarter the onions, crush the garlic and add them along with herbs to the dish mixing well to coat everything.
Add the passata and stir well.
Place in the oven and cook for 25 minutes.
Drain and reserve the liquid from the mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. Discard the mushrooms. Chop the sundried tomatoes.
Open the can of chick peas, drain and rinse.
Peel the potatoes and cube. In a bowl coat the potatoes with olive oil and grist of black pepper.
After twenty five minutes remove the vegetables, stir and add the chickpeas, reserved liquid, sundried tomatoes, black sliced olives. Stir once more. Place the potatoes on top of the dish and place back in the oven cook for a further 45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked and nicely browned.
Friday night one dish bake bliss.
Serve with a fresh green salad dressed with lemon juice and a splash of olive oil.
cookmakebake 