The Corkless Mind

Category: Vegetarian

  • Nigella’s Red-Hot Roast Salsa.

    Nigella’s Red-Hot Roast Salsa.

    Roasted Tomato Salsa 015-2

    At the moment I am cooking my way through Nigella’s book, At My Table.  I admire her careless abandon and prowess in the kitchen. One of my favourite recipes so far is the Roasted Salsa, and the Sticky Toffee Pudding.At My Table is perfect for anyone who wants to cook good, simple food.

    Roasted Tomato Salsa 126-2

    Roasted Tomato Salsa 096-2

    Tomatoes are a favourite of mine. My cousin introduced me to eating it in a whole different way. She would take an enormous bite of a juicy tomato and sprinkle salt on as she eats her way through the deliciously plump fruit. This to me was foreign and strange, seeing my mom only ever cook with it and never seeing anyone eating it as is. Now to this day, that is exactly how I enjoy eating a tomato. I love this recipe because I always have surplus tomatoes, and who doesn’t want salsa they know exactly what ingredients are in it!?

    Roasted Tomato Salsa 163-2

    Roasted Tomato Salsa 176-2

    Roasted Tomato Salsa 089-2

    Roasted Tomato Salsa 037-2

    Nigella’s Red-Hot Roast Salsa. 

     

    Ingredients: 

     

    • 10 Medium sized Roma Tomatoes (halved across the equator)
    • 4-5 Red Chillies, I used dried ones, you can of course stick to the original recipe and use fresh if you have any on hand.
    • 1 large Red Onion, peeled and chopped into eighths
    • 2 Red peppers, de-seeded and chopped into strips
    • 4 large Garlic cloves, peeled and smashed or bruised with  the back end of a knife
    • 1/4 teaspoon of Smoked Sweet Paprika
    • 1 teaspoon of Smoked Sea Salt flakes, plus more to taste
    • 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil

     

    Method:

    Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees C/200 fan. Add the halved tomatoes cut-side up in a large roasting dish. Add the chillies around the tomatoes, then the red onion wedges, strips of red pepper, and the garlic. Season with the salt, paprika and drizzle with the olive oil. Roast for 40 – 45 minutes, until everything is soft and slightly charred around the edges.

    Take out of the oven and set aside for 5 minutes. Pull off the stalks of the chillies and discard. Transfer everything into a large bowl or blender(If using a blender wait 10-15 minutes for the roasted mix to cool down further, to avoid explosions across your kitchen) and blitz with a stick blender or stand blender. Until smooth but with a little chunky texture. Blitz according to preference. Add a little more salt and store in a sterilized jar or wait to cool completely before serving with tortilla chips or spread over a breakfast burrito.

    I used this salsa in every way imaginable, to get the best out of it. I spread a generous amount over chicken breasts with garlic, parsley and a lemon juice, and roast in the oven for 15 minutes on high. This was such a great way to add moisture and flavour to the lean and sometimes bland part of the bird.

    Let me know in the comments section if you love salsa and the different ways you use it.

    Have a delicious week x

     

     

     

  • Oatmeal and mushroom risotto

    Oatmeal and mushroom risotto

    This week, Woolworths had finally launched Steel cut oats in their stores, as you can imagine the excitement was palpable  with so many foodies patiently waiting for it to hit our shores! Steel cut oats are different from regular rolled oats, instant oats, and quick cook oats, in that it is processed in different ways. Steel cut oats are toasted groats that are coarsely chopped into small pieces, and have a chewy texture and nutty flavour. Of all the variation of oats, steel cut oats take the longest time to cook, approximately 20-30 minutes, you can of course reduce the cooking time by soaking the oats overnight. 
    This recipe is adapted from the Savoury oatmeal risotto recipe from Geoffrey Zakarian, spotted on an episode of The kitchen. I love the unusual idea of savoury oats, as opposed to the accepted norm of oats, I.e honey drizzled oats, topped with fresh fruit or poached fruit, or simply sprinkled with brown sugar and dusted with cinnamon. I’m crazy about mushrooms, and always love experimenting with different kinds and variations. I added dried porcini to the chicken stock to add the extra kick of umami and meatiness to the risotto, added chopped shiitake mushrooms for added texture and flavour. 

    Oatmeal and mushroom risotto. 

    Ingredients: 

    2 cups of steel cut oats

    750ml chicken or vegetable stock 

    1 red onion finely chopped

    dried pieces of porcini mushroom

    Four shiitake mushrooms sliced 

    50 ml Olive oil, and extra for drizzling. 

    Smoked sea salt flakes 

    Freshly cracked black pepper 

    1/2 cup Parmesan, I used Grana Padano 

    2 tablespoons of butter 

    A few basil leaves, torn 

    Method: 

    In a large pan, on a medium high heat, heat the olive oil then sauté the onion until translucent and soft, for 8 minutes. In a separate dry pan, toast the oats for 2 minutes until a nutty scent is emitted, then add to the sautéed onion, and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Add the dehydrated porcini mushrooms to the warm stock and set aside for a few minutes. 
    Add two big ladles of chicken stock to the pan with two big ladles of water, and bring to a simmer whilst stirring frequently until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add the shiitake and hydrated porcini mushroom, then add more water and chicken stock accordingly as you go along, cook for 25 minutes. 
    Stir in the butter, Parmesan and add the torn basil to finish. Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a little more Parmesan grated over the dish. 

    I could never perfect the ‘death dish’ before but this dish has proven to be incredibly simple and dare I say incredibly delicious! With loads of patience and vision for the end product, making risotto doesn’t have to intimidating! 

    The hydrated porcini in the stock with the shiitake mushrooms finished with the Grana Padano, elevated the dish into an umami bomb that supersedes all else! The steel cut oats lends a nutty flavour to the dish and a creamy texture that would fool anyone to think this is a norm for risotto. I would happily indulge in this risotto any day!
    Yesterday was probably one of the best lunchtime meals I’ve had in a long time! Every morsel packed with umami goodness and texture, made me mindfully consume my meal and sit down to enjoy good food the way it truly should be enjoyed. 

    **This post has not been sponsored, and thus all ingredients were purchased by myself**

  • Roast cauliflower and quinoa salad

    Roast cauliflower and quinoa salad

    This gorgeous warming salad is inspired and adapted by a recipe from the Gourmet Traveller Australia. As said in my previous post, I’m finding more ways to (excuse the pun) spice up my vegetables and make it into a main dish that is both filling and delicious. Thought I would share a little piece of news with you, I have recently started working for a recipe sharing site called Cookpad, I am expanding their reach to South Africa as their online community manager.They are very successful in Japan, Indonesia, the U.K and the U.S to name but a few. I am very excited to begin this journey to help grow their platform and reach in S.A and I can only hope that this is just the beginning of a fruitful and exciting journey with Cookpad! So if you are an avid home-cook based in South Africa, visit the site and sign up if you love sharing your recipes. Please follow this link if you are interested: https://cookpad.com/za

    A belated happy Mother’s Day to all the rockstar moms! I spent the day with my mom and family, and what a beautiful day it was! Seems that winter is unfortunately on hold for Cape Town at the moment with unusually warm weather in May and not a drop of rain in sight for the parched province.

    This recipe can be made ahead of time and as a great idea can be packed in for lunch to take to work. I usually boil quinoa for my partner and slow roast tomatoes with garlic, with a mix of baby spinach, toasted pumpkin seeds and some canned tuna or leftover chicken works just as well with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. It makes me so happy that I can make him something nourishing and uplifting for him to take to work.



    Roast cauliflower and quinoa salad with a yoghurt dressing: 



    Ingredients:
    300g sliced cauliflower florets

    1 tsp cumin seeds

    1 tsp fennel seeds

    1tsp ground cumin

    1tsp turmeric

    A pinch of sea salt

    1 tbsp olive oil

    1 cup of quinoa ( I used red and white)

    1 cup of vegetable stock

    100g baby spinach leaves

    50g almonds

    50g sunflower seeds
    For the dressing: 


    180ml plain double cream yoghurt

    Zest and juice of half a lemon

    1 garlic clove crushed

    Drizzle of olive oil.
    Method:
    Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. In a dry pan, toast the raw quinoa for 1-2 minutes on a medium to high heat. Remove and transfer to a small saucepan

    With the stock and bring to a simmer for 25 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is light and fluffy. Set aside to cool.

    Toast the spices, sans the turmeric in a dry pan for 30-40 seconds. Add to a pestle and mortar, adding the turmeric then grind. In a roasting dish, add the cauliflower, toasted spices and drizzle of olive oil, roast for 15 minutes until golden and crisp. To make the dressing, in a small bowl, mix together the crushed garlic, lemon juice and zest along with the olive oil.

    To assemble, in a bowl or plate, add the baby spinach, the quinoa, the roasted spiced cauliflower, almonds, sunflower seeds and a drizzle of olive oil and a lashing of dressing over the salad.

    Enjoy! 🙂