This refreshing server can be added to your mezze platter with easy and beauty.
Chop 2 cucumber with the skin into thin slices.
For the dressing, whisk 2 tbls of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbs of Rice wine vinegar or Red wine vinegar, 1 tsp of brown sugar, red chilli flakes and the dill leaves ( washed and chopped fine).
Soak the cucumber in the dressing overnight for the pickled flavour, sever cold with a dip of your choice.
This flatbread serving was an excellent appetiser for a Sunday brunch. I like working on one wholesome starter than many small nibbles.
Flatbreads were whole-wheat tortillas purchased from the super-market, it’s faster, convenient and gets crisp well enough to not miss the authentic thin crust.
The recipe is fairly simple and so are the ingredients…so I am not going to this is a typical ‘ingrédients & préparation’ style.
The base I used was of fresh homemade hummus, the recipe shared before can be seen via this link: https://indianbornconfusedgourmet.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/homemade-hummus-and-crispy-pita-bread/
Before layering the tortilla with hummus, spray for garlic olive oil on both sides.
Now top the hummus layer with peppers, olives, roasted pine nuts, caramelised onions, jalapeños.
Sprinkle some Greek seasoning, chilli flakes and some mozzarella cheese. Grill in a pre-heated conventional oven for 8-10 mins at 180 degree.C.
Once 80% done, top the flatbread with a few rocket and fresh basil leaves and dollop some feta cheese.
Grill for another 2 mins and server with a drizzle of chilli-garlic olive oil.
Which I usually pre-prepare and stock, to be used with different preparations.
So Sunday brunch parties have to start with a good cooler. I love to serve Pimm’s (A well know British liquor) with cucumber or orange. So this time the mood was set on Melon (Honey Dew) the seasonal fruit.
One can do a mix of different melons like watermelon, honey due and musk melon, but I stuck to just one and worked on enhancing that flavour.
So lets get the ingredients ready :
Chilled White Wine (750ml), one can use any dry white wine for making sangaria.
Melon Liquor 80ml , Midori the Japanese brand is amongst the best or else Joseph Carlton is great too.
1 fresh melon, 1/2 of it cut into thin slim slices and the rest half used to scoop out balls.
Freeze these melon balls and we add when we serve chilled to keep the sangria cool.
A ginger beer or ginger tonic or gingerale.
1 Lemon’s juice and some Lemon Zest
Some sage leaves for garnish.
Preparation:
Take a deep, wide mouth container (jug). Pour the white wine, the melon liquor , ginger beer and the melon juice reserve. While you chopping the melon, do not discard the juice, reserve it aside and in-fact scope some more out.
Add to the mix cut melon strips, few rings of lemon and sage leaves.
Stir well, cover with a lid and refrigerate overnight.
Serve in a frosted wine glass with a chilled ball of melon.
Refreshing Right!!
Watch the space for recipes , pictures and more…
Saw this post on http://wit-and-humor.com/ and thought it was worth sharing…. Already see our traditional Diwali gifting becoming healthier and overtly competitive too. Share your comments too…
Bircher Muesli was developed around 1900 by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Brenner for his patients and is still a very popular breakfast throughout Switzerland and Germany.
Ever since there have been many variations, however the authentic recipe calls for fresh fruit than grains and soaked the raw oats overnight.
I like to stick to the original as far as possible and have fun with the toppings.
You can have a taste variation with both nuts and fruits. Blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, banana to prunes, dried figs, hazelnuts, pecan nuts, muskmelon seeds and the choice of palate is yours.
Ingredients:
Rolled Oats 2 cups
Juice of one apple
Curd (slim milk) 1 cup
Juice of 1/2 a Lemon
Milk (slim) 1/4 cup
Honey
1 Coarsely grated apple
Dried Cranberries 1 tbsp
Pecan Nuts or walnuts or almonds and or hazelnuts
Cinnamon Powder 1 tsp
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Preparation:
Take the rolled oats in a deep bowl. We will soak the oats overnight in curd, lemon and apple juice. Mix well and leave aside in the refrigerator.
In the morning, pull the bowl out stir once and add some milk to your required consistency. Top with grated apple, cinnamon powder, nuts, a tsp of honey and another fruit of your choice. I used dried cranberries with some fresh pomogranate.
Serve chilled. You can also make these and keep in short glasses to be eaten as an energy snack anytime during the day…post a walk or a workout.
Kale leaves are rocking the Green charts and HOW!
Having heard so much about this leaf and finally spotting this in the store, I tried the apple salad variation with raw kale leaves and the tofu variation the next day with steamed kale leaves.
This queen leaf in rich in iron, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin A, a good antioxidant, high in fiver, zero fat and a great anti-inflammatory too.
Ingredients:
Kale leaves 250 Grms
Tofu 250 Grms, cut into cubes
Oyster-Mushroom sauce 2 tbsp
Julienne of Ginger 15-20
Sesame oil 3 tsp
White Sesame seeds 2 tsp
White pepper 1 tsp
2 Spring onions finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
Finley chopped Red chilli
Preparation:
Wash clean the Kale leaves and drain them in hot boiling water for 5 mins. Rinse with cold water to retain the green colour.
In a skillet heat some sesame oil and roast the sesame seeds along with ginger and garlic. Stir fry the onions into this mix and add the tofu cubes. Cook in high flame for 3-5 mins adding the oyster-mushroom sauce.
Coarsely chop the kale leaves and add to the skillet. Stir fry adding the seasoning of white pepper and salt. Cook for 3 mins and we are good to go!
Serve with steamed rice or quinoa.
— Is it possible to get over a peanut allergy? In Stanford Medicine Magazine, Melanie Thernstrom reports on how oral immunotherapy (OIT) is helping to fix food allergies. Thernstrom’s son Kieran was allergic to eggs and nuts before going through OIT, and now can eat the foods without his parents worrying:
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This mother of all grains is rocking all weight watchers , good conscious beings and how. Available in red, black and white, I bought mine online from a organic food store #desiorigins.com
Ingredients:
White Quinoa 1.5 cups (soaked for 30mins)
Water for boiling the grain 1.5 cups
Red wine vinegar 1/4 cup
Brown sugar 2 tsp
Cucumber 1 cup
Mint leaves 1/2 cup
Cherry tomatoes (optional)
Garlic 3 cloves
Spring onions with shoots 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Green olives 1/4 cup
Feta Cheese 5-6 cubes
Extra virgin olive oil
Mixed herb seasoning
Kosher salt
Preparation:
Boil the water and add quinoa to it and simmer for 10-15 mins. Cook till you see the tails out. Cover with a lid for another 10 mins.
Take 1/4 cup water and bring it to a boil, addd 1/4 cup red wine vinegar and brown sugar to boil again. Set aside in a beaker and cool. Cut cucumber (without peeling, just remove seeds) into small think cubes.
Take a jar and fill it with cucumber , cherry tomatoes and cloves of garlic. Add the red wine vinegar mix to the jar and seal aside for a day ( one can you this proration as a stand alone accompaniment for salads or snacks or sandwhich a etc.).
In a non sticky skillet, heat some olive oil and add cumin seeds and some squashed garlic to it, toss till the cumin seeds start crackling , follow with spring onions. Sauté for a few mins and set aside to cool.
Plate the cooked quinoa in a serving platter and add the sauté onions, mint leaves, pickled cucumbers and tomatoes (without the vinegar dressing).
Toss over gently and add the dressing made from extra virgin olive oil and mixed Greek herbs.
You can squeeze some fresh lime in the dressing if need be. Serve with some feta cheese and green pitted olives on the top.
Indian Born Confused Gourmet 