caramelised pumpkin salad with beetroot and goats cheese

I love warm salads and this one is particularly autumny but I could eat it all year round. It’s got the creamy goats cheese with the beetroot and pumpkin which are a marriage made in heaven, then you have the crunchy almonds with pea shoots. It’s perfect as a light supper with some crusty bread to mop up the vinaigrette, with my Manoushe or any of my Middle Eastern recipes on here. If you press on the word vinaigrette in the ingredients bit it takes you to the recipe.

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vegetarian chirashi

Chirashi is delicious deconstructed sushi in a bowl. I have made this recipe with black rice because I not only love it, it’s low glycemic and packed with nutrients and flavour. Then I added my favourite things like avocado, edamame beans, pink pickled onions and eggs, and made a dressing that I think works well with those ingredients. I made it for one, but you can make it for two or more.

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vegan chirashi bowl

A very tasty colourful vegan version of a chirashi sushi bowl, with sweet roasted aubergines and black rice which is low glycemic and tastes delicious… this super healthy bowl is perfect for a vegan dinner or with sashimi if not.

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roasted aubergine and chick pea shawarma with forbidden rice

Belazu sent me a jar of their spicy shawarma paste and I immediately thought of roasting aubergines and chick peas with it. To that I added their forbidden black rice and a little salad and garlicky yogurt it became a shawarma bowl. You can also serve this in a warm flatbread wrap with tahini or humus instead of the rice. It’s Middle Eastern and spicy, creamy, salty and super healthy.

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asian rice bowl, steamed vegetables with crunchy ginger fries

This recipe is super healthy. It’s a bowl of  rice with steamed vegetables and crunchy fried ginger with spring onions and cucumber with a very tasty sauce made with vegetarian oyster sauce. Its vegan, but you could serve it with roast salmon or sashimi if you prefer. I use black rice, as it’s low glycemic and I love the taste and look of it. It’s perfect for dinner for two but you can multiply it for a dinner party.

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roasted sticky aubergine with forbidden rice

This recipe is really easy and tastes fantastic… the aubergine caramelises in the baking process and becomes sweet and sticky with a hint of chilli. You could have it on its own with the rice, with roast fish or as a side dish with sashimi.

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italian octopus and white bean salad

This salad is very simple and takes moments to prepare…it’s got all the classic Italian flavours of fresh lemon, parsley, olive oil and balsamic vinegar with tender octopus, which I buy ready cooked from my Spanish deli in Portobello Road or my local fish monger in Primrose Hill but you can also use the jars of it in olive oil that some supermarkets and delis stock. It’s a perfect starter to a pescatarian dinner, or just as a light supper with crusty bread to mop up the dressing.

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chilli prawns with a smashed cucumber salad

I have recently discovered Asian smashed cucumber salads and I’m hooked. It’s the combination of the cucumber with a creamy sesame dressing with coriander and ginger which is fantastic. I paired the salad with prawns fried in chilli and coconut oil and garnished it all with sesame seeds, fresh coriander and crispy onions… perfect for a summer dinner or date night, or in the winter when you miss the summer like me.

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quick pickled shallots

These pickled shallots go a pale rose colour from the pink outer bits of the shallot. They are ready in about half a day, so you can start using them fairly quickly. They are sweet savoury with a bit of acidity so they work really well with cheese, in sandwiches, salads, tacos, with burgers and delicious with barbecued food. The list is endless. They are super easy to make too and last in the fridge for several weeks.

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beetroot caviar

I had this delicious beetroot dip in the restaurant Le Pain Quotidien in Marylebone with warm sourdough bread an avocado dip and humus. It was so delicious I had to put it on the blog. Its called caviar because the beetroot looks a bit like caviar when you blitz it in the food processor. It’s super easy and can be serve on roasted rye bread or sourdough with chopped eggs, slices of avocado, swirls of sour cream, capers, chives or whatever you fancy. It’s brilliant for canapés and in sandwiches too or as a dip for crudité.

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