Solata s hruško, popečenimi orehi in prelivom s pečenim česnom

Sredi decembra, pa že ves teden živim na solatah. Ne ravno sezonsko. Ampak verjetno zato, ker ni snega. In zato, ker moje telo ve, da bodo prihajajoči dnevi težki. Pa se je kar samo odločilo za mini detox.

Tale recept sem pobrala pred parimi leti v Kanadi. Orehi so bili seveda karamelizirani na javorjevem siropu, če je kdo za upgrade. Pa tudi kakšen kos dimljene postrvi ali pa lososa bil čisto za zraven. Trik je pa seveda v prelivu s pečenim česnom.

Solata s hruško, popečenimi orehi in jogurtovim prelivom s pečenim česnom

Sestavine (za 4 osebe):

• mešana sezonska solata
• 2 hruški (lahko tudi jabolka)
• 2 pesti orehov
• 3 žlice olivnega olja
• 4 žličke sladke paprike
• 2 žlički agavinega ali javorjevega sirupa
• ½ žličke soli
• 200 ml tekočega jogurta
• 50 g naribanega parmezana
• 5 strokov pečenega česna (potrebujemo celo glavico česna*)
• sok ½ limone
• sol, poper
• rezine dimljenega lososa ali postrvi (po izbiri)

* Priporočam večjo količino česna, saj ni smiselno greti pečice zgolj zaradi ene glavice česna. Pečen česen se lahko uporabi v solatnih prelivih, na brusketah in crostinih, ali pa kot dodatek jedem. Hrani se v hladilniku.

Priprava:

1. Glavico česna vodoravno prerežemo, tako da vsem strokom odrežemo vrh. Postavimo na kos aluminijaste folije za živila, prelijemo z 2 žlicama olja in robove folije upognemo proti notranjosti. Postavimo na pekač in pečemo na 150 – 160 °C približno 45 minut.
2. V kozici segrejemo 1 žlico olja in dodamo orehe. Ob stalnem mešanju pražimo 1 minuto. Prelijemo z agavinim sirupom, nato dodamo sladko papriko in sol.
3. Pripravimo preliv: z vilicami pretlačimo 5 strokov pečenega česna, primešamo jogurt, nariban parmezan, sok polovice limone, sol in poper.
4. Hruški po dolgem narežemo na tanke rezine in naložimo na solato. Prelijemo z jogurtovim prelivom in potresemo s praženimi orehi.
5. Po izbiri lahko dodamo tudi rezine dimljenega lososa ali dimljene postrvi.

 

Ta recept je nastal v sodelovanju s Spar Slovenija in njihovo revijo Dobro zame.

Tabule. Meta. Olivno olje.

Med sedenjem na balkonu, čiliranjem in opazovanjem svojega zelenjavnega vrta sem razmišljala, kaj pripraviti za kosilo. Pogled mi je obstal na čudoviti zeleni meti… Tako sem nekako prišla do tega, da je minilo že skoraj 10 let, kar sem prvič obiskala Francijo ( in verjetno tudi 10 let, kar sem zatreskana vanjo…). Kakor koli, tisti čas sem bivala pri družini na jugu, v mestu Antibes. Tabule je bil le plat de resistance. Vsak dan. Vsako kosilo. Narejen je bil iz kus kusa, svežega paradižnika, mete in rozin. Mwah… V življenju nisem jedla česa podobnega in ne, nisem bila največji fen. Ampak z leti postanemo pametnejši… enkrat ali dvakrat obkrožimo svet in na koncu upamo, da se bomo nekoč na domači grudi vsedli v restavracijo in naročili humus, pa falafle in tabule. In potem se enkrat vrneš in ugotoviš, da se je tvoja želja uresničila. Mezze.

Tabule izhaja iz bližnjega vzhoda in ga navadno strežejo kot mezze. V poletni vročini (kar trenutno ni the case) ni boljšega kot skleda svežine. Tabule je pravzaprav solata iz mete in petršilja, paradižnika, spomladanskih čebulic, z veliko limone in potresena z bulgurjem. Ja, v bistvu je bulgur za okras.

Moj recept je en velik mix. Brusnice in pistacije so padle v skledo, ko sem bila v Kanadi. Bulgur je pa seveda veliko boljši v primerjavi s kus kusom. Mislim sicer, da pri nas ni najbolj common zadeva. Škoda, ker je zdrav: bogat je z vlakninami, poleg tega pa ima tudi okoli 10% beljakovin. Bulgur naredijo tako, da pšenico najprej skuhajo, posušijo, olupijo in zdrobijo. Zato tudi ni potrebno, da ga kuhamo, temveč ga lahko samo namočimo in pustimo, da se zmehča.

Skratka, eno izmed teh treh za zraven, pa kakšno zelenjavo z žara. Yum!

 

Sestavine:

• 250 g bulgurja
• 350 g češnjevih paradižnikov
• 2 veliki pesti suhih brusnic (ali rozin)
• 150 g pistacij (v lupini)
• 20 g metinih lističev
• 15 g petšilja
• 1 majhna spomladanska čebulica
• sok 1,5 limone
• 1 žlica staranega balzamičnega kisa
• olivno olje
• sol

Priprava:

1. Bulgur skuhamo po navodilih. Ne smemo ga prekuhati. Ohladimo.
2. Nasekljamo metine lističe, petršilj in spomladansko čebulico. Češnjev paradižnik prerežemo na polovice. Pistacije oluščimo in grobo nasekljamo.
3. Ohlajen bulgur pokapljamo z sokom limone, balzamičnim kisom ter zajetno količino olivnega olja. Dodamo nasekljane pistacije, brusnice, začimbe in spomladansko čebulico. Po okusu solimo in dobro premešamo. Na koncu vmešamo češnjev paradižnik.

Grilled eggplant with sundried tomatoes and pecan goat cheese

This is actually so easy to make that I shouldn’t even be posting it. But I can’t help myself. It looks nice and tastes soo good. Besides, with the abundance of homegrown goods and the lack of time to cook lately, this is a perfect fast food without renouncing great taste.

Whether using nuts, walnuts or pecans, it’s really important to oven roast the nuts for couple of minutes. This will give them an amazing crunchy texture and will enhance the nutty flavor which works really nice with goat cheese.

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant
• 150 g of soft fresh goat cheese
• 1 Tbsp of spreadable goat cheese or mascarpone
• handful of pecans
• sundried tomatoes
• fresh thyme
• extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

1. Get the cheese out of the fridge at least 30 mins prior to mixing. Oven roast pecan nuts for couple of minutes. Let cool, roughly chop and mix with both cheeses.
2. Cut eggplant in 1 cm slices and grill in a pan. Use little oil and cook covered on both sides. There’s no need to fry them in oil.
3. Assemble eggplant slices and goat cheese, top with sun dried tomatoes, thyme and good amount of high quality olive oil.

Peach and tomato salad with basil vinaigrette

When I stepped out on my balcony, I saw this little tomato hearts and I said to myself: Caprese! An italian classic, combining all the essential colors and flavors: red, green, white. Tomatoes, basil, mozzarella.

But since I went completely crazy this week by buying something like 10 kilos of homegrown peaches that I’m putting everywhere now, I thought why not combining them with sweet tomatoes. This is how I came up with this Caprese upgrade.

And instead of putting basil leaves only on top, I made a faux vinaigrette: basil leaves, good extra virgin olive oil, some garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. This is also a good way to use basil in case you don’t know what to do with it. Olive oil acts as a natural preservative, so this can be make ahead and stored in a fridge for couple of days. Just don’t forget to take it out on time since a high quality virgin olive oil will harden in fridge.

Ingredients:

• tomatoes
• peaches
• mozzarella
• basil leaves

For basil vinaigrette:

• bunch of basil leaves
• juice of half lemon
• pinch of salt
• garlic clove
• good amount of virgin olive oil (sth. like 1 dl)

Preparation:

1. Mix basil, salt and garlic in a mortar. While mixing add first lemon juice, and than gradually olive oil.
2. Cut peaches and tomatoes. Tear mozzarella in big chunks. Assemble.
3. Sprinkle with vinaigrette and garnish with some basil leaves.

 

Grilled aubergine spinach salad

There’s nothing better than picking up fresh veggies that have grown in your own garden. My mum’s garden is just marvelous. And guess what, this is the first year we’ve succeeded in growing aubergines. And spinach too, comes from the garden.

With products like this you should keep it simple. Toss some olive oil over aubergines and grill. If you’re using a pan, there’s a trick. Aubergines are actually like a sponge and require quite a lot of oil. So, instead of soaking them in fat, frying and loosing all the flavors, you can use just about a tablespoon of olive oil and cover the pan while cooking on medium heat. This will allow to cook on the inside. Also very important, seasoning with some salt while cooking will allow to release excess water. After a couple of minutes remove the cover and give them the finishing grill. Set aside, cover and let cool. This will give the aubergines a silky texture without loosing the flavors.

Ingredients:

• baby spinach leaves
• aubergine
• goat cheese
• roasted nuts
• thyme
• olive oil for cooking
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt, pepper
• pita bread (optional)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven at 200ºc. Roast nuts until they get lightly brown. When cooled crush in a mortar or roughly chop.
2. Toss some olive oil over aubergines and grill. If using a pan, heat one tablespoon of olive oil and follow instructions above.
3. When aubergines chilled, assemble salad: fresh spinach leaves and grilled aubergines, topped with goat cheese, sprinkled with roasted nuts and fresh thyme and a good amount of high quality olive oil.
4. Serve with grilled pita bread.

Easy green

I would say that Slovenians, we’re a salad nation. It sounds funny, but if there’s no salad in your meal, your meal just doesn’t feel complete. And for me a good salad is often enough to make a perfect meal.

When making salads, I follow couple of simple rules: it has to be colorful, needs to have different textures and flavors and has to be a play between sweet and sour.

The main rule for composing big salads is: crunchy base vegetable + one or two colorful accessories + some crunchy details or/and cheese.

As far as dressing is concerned, it should always taste more slaty and sour. That’s how it will be perfect on your salad. And my basic rule is: never put white dressing on cheese.

Simple.

Colorful accessories.

I love putting fruits in salads. They add wonderful color and flavor. Oranges are superb in green salads. Just don’t forget to take off all that white skin.

Avocado is actually a fruit, not a vegetable. It is a good source of magnesium, potassium, vitamin K and vitamins B. It has high level of fat, but it’s good vegetable unsaturated fat. There’s about 15 g of fat in 100 g of avocado. You can easily use it as butter replacement in your other recipes.

Avocados are picked hard and green and will ripen properly at room temperature in one to two weeks. If you buy them hard and don’t want to eat them straightaway, keep them in fridge. If you want them to get ripe more quickly, put them next to bananas. And yes, you should always have them on stock!

 

Crunchy stuff: nuts and seeds

Black cumin seeds always remind me of my trip to Egypt where we had wonderful bread with black cumin seeds in the morning. It was years ago and at that time I had no idea what it was. I’ve just remembered the taste. Since I’ve rediscovered it, it’s my favorite thing on oranges and goat cheese.

Couple of crushed nuts like pistachios, almonds, walnuts, roasted or not, will give your salad a full rounded body. Salted roasted whole almonds add crunchy and a bit rustic flavor.

Soft goat cheese

 

 

Ingredients

• salad greens
• 1/2 avocado
• 1/2 orange
• handful roasted almonds (in shells)
• goat cheese
• olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• lemon thyme (optional)
• black cumin seed to sprinkle
• salt, pepper

Directions

1. Cut avocado chunks. Peel and cut oranges. Remove white skins.
2. Roughly crush almonds.
3. Make dressing. Mix olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, salt and freshly ground pepper.
4. Assemble green salad, avocado chunks and oranges, rough pieces of cheese. Sprinkle with almonds, cumin seeds. Top with  dressing.

zucchini fennel salad

Physalis berries (Physalis Peruviana) can be found under many different names as cape gooseberry, inca berry, aztec berry, golden berry, giant ground cherry, peruvian cherry. They are rich in vitamin C, essential amino acids, beta-carotene. They are packed with antioxidants and soluble fibre. They have a sweet taste with a sour finish.

And thyme… it needs no words. It’s an amazing herb that goes well with sweet and sour, salty and spicy. I especially like using lemon thyme that adds a hint of freshness to your dish.

Zucchini fennel salad with macadamia nut and physalis berries:

serves 1

• 1/2 zucchini
• 1/3 fennel
• physalis berries
• parmesan/feta/mozzarella (optional)
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• fleur de sel
• 5 macadamia nuts
• mountain and lime thyme

Directions:

1. Make thin slices of zucchini using a peeler. Cut fennel as thin as possible.
2. Roast whole macadamias in an oven at 200*c for couple of minutes, just till they get light brown. Let aside to cool. Roughly chop or using a mortar and pestle crush in big pieces.
3. Rinse well physalis berries, you can also cut them in halfs.
4. Compose salad by adding all listed ingredients, sprinkle with flour de del, thyme, olive oil and lemon juice.

salmon greens with soy orange dressing

It’s pretty colorless during winter here. That’s why I love spring in Ljubljana. I feel it coming. Sun, birds, flowers, riding my bike, people smiling everywhere… I love it! And what’s more, everything gets so colorful!

That reminded me of Tri express in Montreal, where I’ve eaten one of the best sushi ever. Full of colors, surprising combinations and tastes that pop up in your mouth. Pure magic!

So that’s how I came up with salmon salad with soy orange dressing…

Smoked salmon salad with orange soy dressing:

serves 1

• 2 slices of smoked salmon
• 1/2 zucchini
• 1/3 avocado
• 1/2 orange
• 1/3 apple
• 2 Tsp soy sauce
• chives

Directions:

1. Slice very thin stripes of apple and zucchini; slice avocado as thin as possible.
2. Squeeze half orange, add soy sauce.
3. Combine all ingredients on a plate, add dressing and sprinkle with chives.