Roasted vegetable salad

Roasted vegaletable salad with balsamic dressing and yoghurt on the side

A couple of weeks ago salad club was roasted vegetables. This was the list of ingredients:

• Roasted aubergines
• Roasted mixed peppers and onions
• Roasted squash or pumpkin
• Roasted sweet potato
• Roasted potato
• Sundried tomatoes
• Feta cheese
• Pineuts
• Balsamic dressing
• Yoghurt 

For some reason, the person who was allocated squash/pumkin was unable to find any so brought aubergine instead. (Really? Two weeks before Hallowe'en?? Where was he looking? An aubergine shop?) This means we had 2 lots of aubergine, but no squash.

I invited everyone to tell me how they prepared their vegetables but only received four replies. I love the different styles so have copied them verbatim below.

For the sweet potato (as described by Yuki)

Peeled and chopped sweet potato into bite size chunks.
Place in baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle cinnamon on top.
Put in oven at 180C and roast for 25mins. 

Paula's comment:  as expected from Yuki, practical, no nonesense, easy to follow instructions. 

For the potatoes (as described by Kate)

1lb of new potatoes
handful of chopped fresh dill
enough olive oil to cover the potatoes
Salt for taste

Paula's comment: I think these were then roasted in the oven, though at what temperature and for how long I don't know. I would also suggest that you simply drizzle olive oil over the potatoes, then toss to coat, rather than submerging them in oil.  

For (one of thee ) aubergines (as described by Amber)

we washed the aubergine, then chopped into cubes, put it in a colander and salted them for 30minutes, then rinsed, then tossed with olive oil, salt, chilli flakes, pepper and  italian mixed herbs. we baked it spread flat on a baking tray and placed in the oven at 180 for around 1 hr, checking and turning occasionally. 

Paula's comment: aw, how cute - love how Amber always says 'we' . Rehan (the other half of the 'we') is welcome at Salad Club any time.

For the balsamic salad dressing (as described by Gina)

Leave a couple minutes earlier so you have time to stop at Tesco
Check email to remember what ingredient assignment is
Locate salad dressing isle at Tesco
Spend a few minutes browsing for the best looking bottle of balsamic
Select and remove from shelf
Continue to check out and pay for your item
Store in fridge until salad club begins
Shake well and serve. 


Paula's comment: Top marks Gina, especially given that you subsequently had to miss Salad Club. Again. 

For the yoghurt side dish

This was my ingredient - it's something my Polish sister-in-law often serves with roast vegetables. 

• About half a large tub (200-250ml) natural or Greek yoghurt
• 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed in their skins
• A handful chopped parsley
• A handful chopped dill
• A small lug of olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

1. Mix all the ingredients together at least an hour before you want to serve to let the yoghurt take up the flavours.
2. Remove the pieces of garlic before serving.

This was a tasty and filling salad, despite the lack of squash and only half the amount of feta since the other half was mouldy. Cheap too.

Hummus and pesto – tastes of summer

 

Two things I never buy are hummus and pesto. Why? Because supermarket hummus is a slushy gloop and pesto in a jar tastes of watery chemicals. Admittedly the stuff you buy in delis is usually good, but also expensive. Homemade versions outshine every time, and are so easy and cheap to make. Making your own also means you can adapt the flavours to suit your own tastes. 

It’s difficult to give exact measurements for these recipes – you will need to tinker to get the flavour and texture you want. The added bonus is that the dish will be unique each time you make it.

Give it a go – really, the hardest part is washing up the food processor. 

Hummus ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas, or equivalent cooked chickpeas.
• 1 small clove garlic, finely chopped. One of the cloves you find in the centre of a bulb is about the right size.
• 1 tablespoon tahini paste. There really is no need to explain what tahini is these days. If you can buy it in Sains, no need to explain.
• Juice of half a lemon.
• Olive or rapeseed oil and a little water, enough to make the hummus the consistency you like.
• Pinch paprika (optional).

A note on oil

What oil you use will greatly affect the flavour of your hummus. I like a subtle little kick to my hummus and so add a tiny amount of chilli oil (homemade of course) to the Spanish extra virgin olive oil I normally use.

This time, though, I used my new favourite ingredient – rapeseed oil. This produced a deliciously creamy hummus with a deep golden colour. It almost made up for the lack of sunshine outside on this soggy June day.

How to make hummus

1. Put the chickpeas, garlic and tahini, lemon juice and a large drizzle of oil into the food processor then switch it on.
2. When the mixture turns to a pulp, add a little water (or the juice from the chickpea tin/cooking juice) and process again.
3. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in more oil.
4. Stop and taste – season.
5. Add the paprika if using.
6. Switch on the processor again and continue drizzling in oil till you have the consistency and flavour you want – you may want to add more seasoning or lemon juice, or, if you think it’s too oily, add more water.

That’s it. It takes seconds.

And now you have a tasty snack in the fridge and a couple of free lunches.

Hummus for lunch

Hummus is great as a snack with raw veg such as carrots, sugar snaps and celery. Have you seen how much tiny tubs of these sell for in sandwich shops? Go on, whizz up some homemade stuff and take it to work – it will keep in the fridge for a few days in a plastic tub.

One of my favourite lunches is toasted pita bread spread with hummus and stuffed with salad. It even makes something as boring as lettuce and tomato taste interesting.

Hummus is actually quite filling, and so works well as part of a mezze with other salads or veg. Yesterday for lunch I had a green salad with a small amount of leftover roast chicken and toasted seeds, some homemade coleslaw and a dollop of hummus.

Or try some with a grilled lamb chop and green salad for your evening meal.

Pesto

Traditionally pesto is made with basil and pine nuts, but there are lots of variations, such as coriander and pine nuts, basil and cashew nuts, or rocket and walnuts. Here is the recipe for the traditional basil and pine nut pesto.

Pesto ingredients

• 1 handful pine nuts
• 1 large bunch basil
• 1 very small clove garlic, or half a normal clove
• 1 handful grated Parmesan
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste

How to make pesto

I never fart around with the ‘bash using a pestle and mortar, slowly fold in the Parmesan’ school of pesto making.

Simply toast the pine nuts very lightly, rip the basil leaves a little, crush the clove of garlic, with the flat blade of a large knife, finely grate the Parmesan, and put the whole lot in the food processor, then add some olive oil and switch it on.

Turn off the motor, taste, and season with the lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Add more olive oil till the pesto is the consistency you like.

Done. Go on, Claire Ashtaker, give it a go.

What to do with pesto

Traditionally you use pesto as a light coating for pasta with a large surface area such as fusili or spaghetti. I like to stir it through some pasta then add smoked salmon or hot smoked trout with some cherry tomatoes. Roasted vegetables also work well. For a creamier (ie higher fat) version mix equal quantities (say 1 tablespoon) of pesto with mayonnaise.

But pesto works with any number of flavours and food types. Here are some of my favourites.

Fish

Spread some pesto over a fillet of white fish or salmon before oven-roasting for about 10 minutes at 190⁰C (the Magic Cooking Number).

Or poach the fish in water for 10 minutes and serve with a spoonful of pesto on the side.

Chicken

A dollop of pesto is a brilliant accompaniment to roast chicken, especially when served with roasted vegetables or salad and bread warm bread.

Mozzarella salad

For tomato and mozzarella salad you need to use really good tomatoes (or, as we used to call them, tomatoes). Flecked with pesto, a plate of white, red and deep green salad can sometimes be more inviting to the eye than it is to the palate.

Ripe, juicy peaches make a delightful partner to buffalo mozzarella, roughly torn into pieces. A little basil pesto on the side is just the saucy little wink this dish needs.