Pea, Edamame, Spinach and Feta Salad

This is a variation of a standard pea salad that I make quite often. Recipe found here  Just scroll to the bottom.

I have recently found that the local asian supermarket sells shelled edamame ready for cooking. I added a handful of those to the peas and mixed fresh young spinach with the dressed feta before burying them with the drained peas and beans. It wilted very nicely.

This is a fun quick lunch to make and so simple!

Warm aubergine and tomato salad with feta

This might just be my new favorite light summer dinner. I got the idea when a friend had this dish in a museum cafe recently after we had been to an exhibition.
Added bonus: It's dead simple to make.

Ingredients for two:
Two or three sprigs of thyme
One midsized aubergine, roughly diced
One clove of garlic, finely chopped
Four plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
A small glass of white wine of stock
Ca. 50 gr. of feta, sliced
Fresh basil, to taste
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Start by heating your olive oil in a deep frying pan. Add the thyme so you will know when it's hot enough. When the herbs start to sizzle you can add the eggplant with a large pinch of salt*. Fry the eggplant over medium to high heat and turn every couple of minutes until the vegetable is cooked through. This will take around ten minutes.
2. Add the garlic and turn up the heat. As soon as the garlic is fragrant (and before it burns) add your chopped tomatoes, give it a quick stir then add the wine and another pinch of salt*. Let it come to the boil, reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer with a lid for 5-10 minutes.
3. Check so see if you still need to let some liquid evaporate, check the seasoning of a final time. Then arrange it on a platter or in y bowl, top with the feta and basil (torn or roughly chopped at the last minute) and serve with some nice dark bread.

This dish is wonderful the next day. Reheat it in a microwave or eat cold, what ever you prefer.
*Seasoning a dish like this in stages will make it more subtle than just throwing in a lot of salt at the end. Just remember that you can always add more and err on the light side....

Fresh polenta

This is something I have been dying to try for quite some time now. The result is quite surprising. I love polenta as a quick, stodgy comfort food in the cooler seasons. Making it with fresh corn gives you something akin to a polenta soufflé. It is lighter, sweeter and creamier than its more well known cousin.
I don't think it would hold its own with a heavy meat stew... But I can't wait to try this matched up with fish or a lighter vegetable stew. You could substitute the feta for some other cheese but I think the sharp saltiness is perfect to counterbalance the sweetness of the dish.
The inspiration comes from the genius Yottam Ottolenghi.

Ingredients per person:
1-2 cobs of corn, the kernels cut off
A knob of butter
ca. 25 gr. of feta, crumbled
Salt and pepper

1. Put your corn into a pan and cover with cold water. Bring this to a boil and let it cook for 12 minutes.
2. Take the pan off the heat and pour off most of the water. Keep this, you might still need it. Blend your corn with a stick blender. Add back some cooking water if needed to get the polenta consistancy.
3. Add your butter and feta. Season to taste.

Happy 720th CH!

Today is my country's 720th birthday. I remember this day in years gone by, spent outside overlooking the lago di lugano. Eating meats and sausages from the barbeque for dinner and impatiently waiting for the darkness and the fireworks it contained. I can't recall a First of August with rain.

Today's recipe is semi-patriotic. It's two main components are red and white in color. It is a simple dish that can be assembled very quickly... Just in case you still need a side for tonight's celebrations...

Couscous salad with tomatoes and feta cheese

ingredients for two portions

8 cherry tomatoes, cut into eighths
ca. 70 gr. feta, cut to your liking
1/2 cup of couscous
fresh herbs, to your liking (I went with two sprigs of mint, three basil tops and one long green spring onion leaf), roughly chopped
olive oil
vinegar or lemon juice
seasonings

1. Cook the couscous in a small bowl by sprinkling with a pinch of salt and adding an equal amount of boiling water (1/2 cup). Cover it with cling film and leave aside for ca. five minutes while assembling the rest of the ingredients.
2. Combine the tomatoes and the feta in your salad bowl and drizzle with oil and vinegar (roughly a 3 to 1 ratio). Add salt and pepper and mix well. Add the roughly chopped herbs on top.
3. By now your couscous will have steamed. Loosen it up with a fork before adding it to the other ingredients and tossing the salad a final time. Season to taste.

Beef stew with couscous and a fresh pea salad

What do you serve hungry guests whom you would prefer to spend time with rather than slave away in the kitchen?

I really like the option of stewed meat. It is a dish where the main chunk of the actual work can be done hours before and the results are delicious and tender.
For this meal I wanted to use northern African flavors. I served it with couscous (also done in five minutes) and a pea and feta salad, which was really simple to make.

Ingredients:
ca. 900 gr. beef ragout
ca. 4 tablespoons flour
seasonings
Vegetable oil of choice
3 onions, roughly chopped
1 lemon, just the peel, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed
1 1/5 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
3 plum tomatoes, diced
olives, roughly a handful
2 bay leaves
water
to serve:
toasted sesame seeds
fresh coriander

1. Season the flower with salt and pepper in a bowl. Then toss the chunks of beef in it to cover. Preheat your oven to 150°.
2. In a pan that is oven proof heat some oil (I seem to use groundnut oil for all frying around here) to medium to high heat and fry off the beef until brown. If your pan is not big enough, do this in batches. Take the meat out and put it aside.
3. Turn down the heat to medium and add more oil if necessary. Add the chopped onions and the spices. Let the mixture fry until the onions are slightly softened.
4. Add the beef, the tomatoes, the olives, the bay leaves and enough water to cover. Let it come to the boil, put the lid on it and move the pan into the oven for about 1,5 hours.
5. Before serving, take out and check if the sauce has the desired consistency (if too dry add a little water, if too watery cook on the stove top without the lid) and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Maybe add a bit of lemon juice. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and coriander immediately before serving or let the guests do this themselves...


The pea salad went well with this because it added freshness and a bit of zing. Here's how I made it:
Boil a pot of water and add some frozen peas (you'll only leave them in for ca. 4 minutes). Into the serving bowl, grate 1-2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced chili to taste a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, lemon juice and chop 2-3 sprigs of mint. Drain the peas when they've come up to temperature, add them to the dressing and mix. Crumble over some feta and you're done. You don't need salt or pepper in this combination because of the feta, chili and garlic. Favorite new salad!