Category: Vegetables

Recipe: Baked Eggs with Spinach, Cream and Parmesan

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An easy supper we come back to time and time again is these baked eggs with spinach, cream and parmesan. We tend to have all the ingredients at home most of the time, and as far as satisfying supper go, this is a great one.

It doesn’t take long to prepare, is easier than a shakshuka and super yummy! Perfect weeknight fodder, but it feels a little elevated with the cream and parmesan. Also great for brunch or lunch! Similar to oeufs en cocotte, but a little easier to throw together (no hot water!) and in a bigger dish so a bit more substantial.

Baked eggs with spinach, cream and parmesan, serves 2

2 large handfuls baby spinach, washed

1 tbsp butter

2-4 eggs

100 ml cream

grated parmesan

sea salt and black pepper

Add a little butter to a small non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Add the washed spinach and push it around until it has been wilted. If there is a lot of liquid in the pan squeeze the spinach to remove the excess water.

Butter two round gratin dishes with the remaining butter. Divide the spinach between the two dishes. Crack one or two eggs in each. Spoon cream into the dishes, some on top of the eggs. Grate a generous amount of parmesan into the dishes. Finish with a little salt and pepper.

Place in a 180C oven until the whites are almost set (cook for longer if you want them cooked through), approx 5 minutes. Serve with crusty bread.

Recipe: Chipotle Tomato Rice Stuffed Peppers

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I came across a recipe for Mexican chipotle rice somewhere a while ago and loved it. I have since lost the recipe but make my own version of chipotle tomato rice and it’s so good to stuff peppers with.

I just love this combination of soft baked peppers, the smoky flavoursome rice and the melted cheddar on top. It’s really good with just a dollop of soured cream and salad but you can also take it one step further and serve it with guacamole (or why not guacamole, soured cream and salsa and some tortilla chips?).

I make this every time we get peppers in our Oddbox, which luckily is quite often! Any leftover rice is great in a chicken fajita bowl or with any protein together with soured cream and vegetables in a bowl. This truly is a weeknight favourite of mine!

Chipotle tomato rice stuffed peppers, serves 4

For the peppers:

4 medium bell peppers, any colour, washed

2 tbsp mild olive oil

salt and peppers

For the rice:

1 tbsp mild olive oil

1 small shallot or 1/2 onion, finely chopped

240 g basmati rice

1 tbsp tomato paste

2-3 tsp chipotle paste (or more if you want more spice and smoke)

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp ground cumin

400 g tinned tomatoes

a full tin of water

1/2 stock cube

salt and pepper

200 ml grated cheddar

To serve:

salad

soured cream or guacamole

Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Cut the peppers in half lengthways and remove the seeds. Pour a little olive oil into an ovenproof dish and place the peppers in it, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the peppers in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the peppers are soft but hasn’t collapsed.

In the meantime, cook the rice by adding olive oil to a frying pan with edges or a large saucepan. Fry the onions or shallots on medium heat until softened. Add the rice and fry for a minute or so until translucent. Add the tomato paste and fry for a few minutes while swirling the rice around with a spatula or wooden spoon. Add the tinned tomatoes and fill the empty tin with water and add that to the pot too. Add the chipotle, stock cube, spices, salt and pepper. Stir properly. Bring to a simmer and cover with a lid for 10-12 minutes (or however long the rice needs to cook). Stir from time to time making sure it doesn’t get too dry. Adjust the heat accordingly or add water if needed. Once cooked season the rice to taste.

Remove the peppers from the oven and pour out any liquid pooled in the peppers. Stuff the peppers with the chipotle rice and scatter with grated cheddar. Put the tray back into the oven for 5-8 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Serve with salad and a dollop of soured cream or guacamole.

Recipe: Courgette Orzo Pasta with Lemon and Mascarpone

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November. How did we get here so quickly? It felt like August not long ago and the beginning of September just yesterday. We’ve been back in London fully for a while now and it feels good to not have to pack a bag for a while. To cosy up with candles and blankets at home.

This recipe is September for me, so I missed the cut-off, but with the milder temperatures we have now I think this still works. It’s absolutely delicious and a good way to use up any courgettes (I got some in my vegetable box only yesterday). It’s also a great way to make something comforting with vegetables (something I find hard).

Sometimes when I create a recipe it’s because I use what I have to hand. Other times I dream something up in my head and try to execute it. And most often, it’s a combination of the two.

In this case I had an idea of a creamy orzo pasta with courgette. With lemon, because it’s the obvious pairing and flavour enhancer. But the mascarpone part of the recipe came to me because I had half a packet left in the fridge and I needed to use it up. And it’s the ingredient what made this dish so lovely.

For me, the whole point of orzo is to create something a bit risotto like, but with pasta. It has a different, silkier texture than rice and feels lighter somehow. But the creaminess is important. And mascarpone offers that in the nicest possible way. For me this bowl of courgette and orzo tastes of summer slowly becoming autumn, the trees changing colour, of tanned legs in trousers instead of shorts, of the clearer fresher air that september brings.

Courgette orzo pasta with lemon and mascarpone, serves 2

200 g orzo

1 small shallot, finely chopped

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 – 1 1/2 medium courgette, cut in half and sliced

1/2 lemon, zest and a little juice

1/2 packet mascarpone

grated parmesan

salt and pepper

Cook the orzo al dente in a saucepan. In a non-stick frying pan, heat upp the butter on medium heat and fry the shallots until soft. Don’t let them brown. Remove from the pan. Add the olive oil to the pan and turn the temperature up to medium-high. Add the courgette half moons and fry until soft and a little brown. Take the pan off the heat and add the onions back in. Lower the temperature to medium and place the pan back on the heat. Add the mascarpone and lemon zest, salt and pepper and stir until creamy. Reserve some of the pasta water in a mug and drain the orzo through a sieve. Add the pasta to the courgette mixture and add a little of the pasta water. Stir in a handful of grated parmesan and adjust the seasoning if needed. Spoon the pasta into bowls and sprinkle with some more grated parmesan before serving.

Recipe: Tomato Toast

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Hello!

I feel like I finally have time to write on here again. This weekend was the paus button I so very much needed. I feel so lucky to have had such a lovely summer, but we have been on the move quite a lot (Norfolk, London, Sweden, Paris, Norfolk, London, Norfolk and now back in London again) and for some reason, writing blog posts is the first thing to go when I have a lot on. It takes a lot of time, and requires more writing than say Instagram, so although I love it it’s a bigger mountain to climb. But I’m here now and hope I will have time to tackle a lot of the back log this autumn. But if I go quiet on here, you can always pop over to Instagram where I pretty much post every day.

One recipe I really want to share with you before tomato season is truly over for this year, is this simple tomato toast. It’s barely a recipe; more an idea, and a call to really enjoy those last good tomatoes of the season. Because a simple recipe require the ingredients to be good quality. There is little point making this in January with imported tomatoes that have barely seen the sun.

But back to the recipe/idea. When I was little we had a weird and wonderful thing in Sweden; salmon mayonnaise. It came in a tube, was salmon pink and tasted heavenly. I don’t remember it tasting of salmon per se, but it had an umami flavour that paired so well with tomatoes. So I basically grew up eating a version of this open-faced sandwich. Salmon mayonnaise has since been continued in Sweden, but still exists in Finland, so there have been a few rare occasions I have been able to get hold of some.

But this tomato toast is just as good as my childhood version but with readily available ingredients.

It’s my favourite lunch from August to October and the flavours are so so good together I think anyone who likes tomatoes will love this!

Tomato toast, serves 2

2 slices good bread, toasted (flimsy white bread is discouraged here)

salted butter

2 tbsp Hellmann’s mayonnaise

3-4 ripe tomatoes, washed, dried and at room temperature, thinly sliced with a serrated knife

a small bunch chives, finely chopped

salt and pepper

Let the toasted bread cool a little before spreading a very thin layer of butter on top. Spread a thicker layer of mayonnaise on top. Arrange the tomato slices on the toasts, as closely together as possible. Sprinkle with chives, a good pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Enjoy!

Recipe: Old-Fashioned Vegetable Soup

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When I was little my granny looked after me until I started nursery at four years old, and I still remember being around her every day. We would grow vegetables in the garden and pick them as needed and make lunch together, all the while granny was happy and singing and playing with me. She made everything fun and lighthearted and was such a joy to be around.

I miss her so. But through memories our dear ones live on.

She made a version of this soup quite often, and often boiling a piece of meat first to have on the side and using the broth for the soup. I don’t remember the taste of the meat very well, but the soup has stuck with me and a while ago I decided to recreate it with the vegetables I had on hand.

I started with softening some leeks, then adding carrots and potatoes, cubed small, and cooked until almost soft in homemade chicken stock. Then I added the kale and peas and adjusted the seasoning and removed the bay leaf. It’s probably the most classic vegetable soup there is, and each family have their own version. It’s similar to French pot au feu and the addition of pesto or pistou when serving would work really well. Or just eat it plain tasting each vegetable as it hits your tongue.

Old-fashioned vegetable soup, serves 2

1 tbsp butter or mild olive oil

1 leek, washed, but in half lengthways and then sliced quite thinly

2 medium carrots, peeled and cubed small

2 medium firm potatoes, such as Maris Piper, peeled and cubed small

750 ml -1 litre chicken stock, to cover

1 bay leaf

100 ml frozen petit pois

2 strands of kale, stalks removed and leafs torn into bite size pieces

salt and pepper

Add the butter or oil to a medium-large saucepan and sweat the leeks without browning, for a few minutes until soft. Add the cubed potatoes and carrots and fry for a minute or so in the oil. Add the stock to cover the vegetables generously. Add a bay leaf, put a lid on and bring to the boil. Lower the temperature to medium-low and put the lid half on. Let it cook for approx 10 minutes or until the carrots and potatoes are cooked but still a bit firm. Add the kale and peas and cook for a minute or so. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf and serve.

Recipe: Aubergine Pizza Toast

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This recipe is the culmination of my struggle to come up with yummy ways to eat aubergine for my boyfriend who doesn’t particular like aubergine. I struggle to understand why as it’s one of my favourite vegetables, but I accepted the challenge and after having tested a few different dishes (layered melanzane parmigiana – edible, but not great according to him; quick aubergine and courgette lasagne – better!; non-layered melanzane – he thought this was a lot better than the layered version and something I can make again (hurrah!); fried aubergine with lumpfish roe and dill for canapés – this was a no go) I somehow came up with this aubergine pizza toast. I obviously liked it and luckily the boyfriend did too!

There are no complaints when I cook aubergine this way, so since its inception I have made it many many times! It’s perfect for lunch or dinner together with a green salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (trust me on this, the balsamic goes SO well with this!) but I have no doubt I will adapt them into canapès some time soon, as they would be perfect pre-supper and are vegetarian!

Aubergine pizza toast, serves 2

I often roast the aubergine the day before, refrigerate and heat up again (either in the oven or in the microwave) just before assembling the toasts.

1 aubergine, peeled and cut into 1, 5 cm cubes

1 tbsp mild olive oil

salt and pepper

4 pieces sourdough or seeded bread

olive oil

1 garlic clove, cut in half

1-2 tsp dried oregano

4-5 tbsp tomato sauce

1 ball (125 g) buffalo mozzarella, sliced

grated parmesan

To serve:

good olive oil, to drizzle

salt and pepper

8 basil leaves, if you have

green salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar

Pre-heat the oven to 200C fan. Place the diced aubergine in an ovenproof dish drizzled with olive oil. Drizzle with more oil. Add salt and pepper. Stir until evenly coated and roast in the oven for approx 15 minutes or until soft and a little dark around the edges.

Place the bread on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and put in the oven to toast until golden brown, approx 5-10 minutes. Rub the garlic, cut side down, over the bread slices. Divide the cooked aubergine between the bread slices. Scatter with oregano. Spoon the tomato sauce on top. Divide the mozzarella and grate the parmesan over the toasts. Put the tray in the oven until the mozzarella is melted and bubbly.

Transfer the toasts to plates (two per plate) and add the finishing touches; , basil, a drizzle of good olive oil, sea salt and black pepper. Serve with a green salad, dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Recipe: Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Hazelnuts, Rocket, Prosciutto and Tomato Crème

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One of the best discoveries of last year was how easy it was to roast a whole head of cauliflower at home. I’ve had it in restaurants but it’s SO easy and delicious to make at home.

I have a very complicated relationship with cauliflower as I love the taste of it, but my stomach struggle with the high insoluble fibre content. But as I tried it again a few times last year, I discovered I could eat it if I made sure not to eat too much or eat other things high in fibre on the same day. So yay, I found a way to eat it again!

And last week I came up with this combination of how to eat it and it was so so good. I like the different textures and flavours and the tomato crème just brings it all together.

As you can see from the pictures, we also had some potatoes with it, because we needed carbs, and they totally worked, but didn’t really add much, so if you want more carbs with it I would suggest some good crusty sourdough bread on the side instead.

Whole roasted cauliflower with hazelnuts, rocket, prosciutto and tomato crème, serves 4 (as a large starter or smaller main course)

1 large head of cauliflower

75 g salted butter

salt and pepper

handful of hazelnuts

Tomato crème:

200 ml full fat creme fraiche

2 tbsp mayonnaise

2 tbsp slow-roasted tomatoes in oil

To serve:

8 prosciutto slices

rocket

Pre-heat the oven to 200C fan. Place the whole head of cauliflower in a large ovenproof dish with sides. Place the butter on top of the cauliflower and place in the hot oven for 45-60 minutes. The cauliflower should have a nice brown colour and feel soft when pierced with a pairing knife. Spoon the melted butter over the cauliflower a few times while it cooks.

Place the hazelnuts on a small oven-proof tray and roast for the last 5-10 minutes the cauliflower is in the oven. Shake a few times while cooking, make sure they don’t burn.

For the tomato crème: Mix the slow-roasted tomatoes in a small blender or chop finely. Mix with the creme fraiche and mayonnaise in a bowl. Add salt and pepper.

To assemble: Place two slices of prosciutto on each plate. Cut up the cauliflower (I usually slice it) and arrange on the plates. Drizzle with the browned butter from the dish. Chop up the nuts and sprinkle over the cauliflower. Add rocket and tomato crème. Serve with crusty bread.

Recipe: Huevos Rancheros

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Deep-frying corn tortillas until cripsy has been a revelation. I suppose it’s the same as the hard shells you can buy at the supermarket, but it tastes so much better!

That fried corn tortilla is the base for huevos rancheros, a dish I wasn’t sure I would like, but I absolutely adore it. I do cheat with store-bought refried beans, because the M&S ones are really good and comes in a small tin perfect for two portions of huevos rancheros. The other toppings are of course optional but I think there should be avocado, soured cream, some kind of salsa or tomatoes, a fried egg obviously, grated cheese and plenty of coriander and lime.

I could never eat this for breakfast (it is a breakfast dish!); it’s much too filling, but it would be great for brunch or for supper, which is how we’ve eaten it.

Huevos rancheros, serves 2

Inspiration from Matrepubliken.

2 corn tortillas

200 ml vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 small tin refried beans (I buy from M&S) or homemade

Toppings:

1 avocado, sliced

soured cream

salsa

grated cheese

2 lime wedges

coriander

Heat up the oil in a deep frying pan until 170C. Place one tortilla at the time in the oil and fry until crispy and golden, approx 30 seconds. Turn it around so it’s golden on both sides. Drain on kitchen towel.

In a separate frying pan fry the eggs on high heat. Heat up the beans. Place the crispy tortillas on plates. Add a fried egg to each, divide the beans and follow with the toppings, salt and pepper. Eat while it’s warm.

Recipe: Fried Greens with Crispy Fried Egg and Avocado

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In one of my twice-monthly oddboxes I came across a new to me vegetable. Kalettes. A cross between brussel sprouts and kale. They looked like leafy broccoli florets and tasted delightful. And my silly tummy could handle them (at least in small quantities). Yay!

We had them blanched instead of broccoli with roast chicken and although nice they weren’t amazing. But another night I fried them in oil with some onions and served it with a crispy fried egg, avocado and a cold sauce and they were SO good. So if you see them in a shop, I highly recommend buying a bag of kalettes and try this dish. I cannot wait to make it again! I think it would work really well with tender stem or purple sprouting broccoli or a mix of broccoli, brussels and kale, if you can’t find kalettes.

Fried greens with crispy fried egg and avocado, serves 2

1 small onion or large shallot, finely chopped

200 g kalettes, trimmed and cut in half

2 tbsp mild olive oil

salt and pepper

lemon juice

2 eggs

2 tbsp mild olive oil

Toppings:

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 avocado, sliced

cress

Sauce:

100 ml creme fraiche

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tsp dijon with basil

salt and pepper

a little squeeze of lemon

Mix the ingredients for the sauce and set aside. Heat up the oil in a medium frying pan on medium heat. Add the onions and fry until they just start to brown. Add the kalettes and fry until they also start to brown. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. In another frying pan (large enough for two eggs), heat up the olive oil on medium-high heat and crack in the two eggs. Fry until the white is set (cover with a lid for half a minute or so for the top of the white to set), the yolk is runny and the bottom is browned. Remove the eggs to a cold plate. Reheat the kalettes and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add a little lemon juice and divide between plates or large bowls. Add the eggs, tomatoes, avocado and cress. Serve with the sauce.

Recipe: Burrata with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes and Wild Garlic Pesto

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One of my favourite foods is undoubtedly burrata. It’s just so creamy and delicious and a nice weekend treat. But, it’s also the easiest thing to use for a lovely starter. When you have burrata you don’t have to work so hard with the rest; just make sure it goes well together.

So for a lovely spring time starter a few weekends ago I made minimal work. Apart from taking the burrata out of the fridge an hour ahead of eating I really didn’t do much; my appliances did all the work for me. The oven slow roasted the cherry tomatoes until jammy and sweet and the food processor made a really delicious wild garlic pesto to smother the burrata with. Add to that some bread and Bob’s your uncle.

Burrata with slow-roasted tomatoes and wild garlic pesto, serves 2

1 x 150g burrata

150 g cherry tomatoes

mild olive oil

1 tsp oregano or herbes de Provence

salt and pepper

1 batch wild garlic pesto

grassy olive oil for drizzling

salt and pepper

bread to serve

Preheat the oven to 150C. Wash and halve the tomatoes. Place them in an oven-proof dish and drizzle with mild olive oil. Add the herbs, salt and pepper and mix to coat. Place in oven for approx 1 hour.

Take the burrata out of the fridge an hour before it’s needed. Make the pesto.

To assemble, place the burrata on a deep plate, place the tomatoes around the burrata and dollop the pesto on top. Drizzle with a grassy olive oil and add salt and pepper. Serve with bread.