Tag: Mediterranean

Cauli ‘couscous’

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Cauliflower – the ‘new’ potato! That’s like saying orange is the new black…
Look, like orange {as in the colour – not the fruit}, cauliflower is not for everyone – but me, I like it! {I don’t care much for orange though…}
I find it much lighter than potato and it lends an interesting twist to the meal.
Hubby – not such a fan…! Although he did enjoy the cauli-mash.
With my blender well and truly broken from a previous terrine-blending-exercise, I had to settle for slightly more course couscous, as I had to crumble the raw cauliflower with my fingers. {Stick blender did not do the trick – it made it into a mush.}
Right, so with my slightly large couscous as a base, I whipped up quite a tasty Mediterranean-inspired couscous salad.

You will need:
Cauliflower, crumbled or blitzed into a crumbly texture
Olive oil
Salt
Wholegrain mustard
Small Roma tomatoes
Green pepper
Chorizo sausages
Sundried tomatoes
Feta cheese
Fresh sweet basil leaves
Olives
Bird’s eye chili, finely chopped {adds a nice kick!}

Pour boiling water over the cauliflower couscous and let it sit for 15minutes or so. Drain through a sieve and drizzle with olive oil and about a tsp of wholegrain mustard. Season with fine salt and mix well.
Fry the chorizo in olive oil and add diced green pepper & chili – fry until well cooked and golden – then let it cool to room temperature.
Toss all the other ingredients together {as much of each as you like}, as well as the couscous and chorizo & peppers.

Such a perfect meal on a hot summer’s eve – and quick to make too! Enjoy with a cold glass of dry white vino. Cheers! X

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Mediterranean Chicken

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I’m suffering from blog-withdrawal! It’s been 5 days since I’ve posted anything, but I’m back now! {We’re going through a rough patch of sleep-training with the boys…}

Anyhoo, so I wanted to dedicate this entire {or most of it in any case} week to terrines and even though they are not at all tricky to make,they do require some planning ahead. You cannot just decide at lunchtime, oh let’s have terrine for dinner… Perhaps I will make one later today for tomorrow.

Right – so, to get back to my Mediterranean chicken – here it is, roast chicken with Roma tomatoes, garlic, capers and fresh basil.

I just love the simple flavours of the Mediterranean, where you actually taste the goodness of each ingredient. We spent a month sailing in Turkey when I was younger and I have some of my best food memories from there! We would have the simplest lunch of just roasted peppers in olive oil, tomatoes, lettuce, feta cheese and freshly baked bread. Perhaps some olives too. Dinner at little seaside cafés would be a choice of fish, chicken or lamb {most probably goat!} served with salty roasted potatoes and a lettuce salad. It would be so tasty because everything is fresh and naturally organic. Oh and of course they have fresh bread and olive oil with just about everything!

You will need the following for my Med chicken:

1 whole chicken, butterflied

3 or 4 cloves of garlic, kept whole and in their skin

a handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped

1 punnet {probably around 400g} of small Roma tomatoes {cherry tomatoes will also do but make sure you use red and juicy tomatoes}

freshly ground sea salt

olive oil

capers

To butterfly your chicken, use a sharp large chef’s knife to cut out the back bone. You will need to press down on the chicken to break the necessary bones and allow it to be flat. Remove the entire backbone and open up the chicken with the cavity facing down into the baking dish.

Rub the chicken with olive oil and give a generous sprinkle of ground sea salt. Scatter the tomatoes & capers all around the chicken and add the whole garlic cloves.

Bake for an hour at 180C until cooked, golden & crispy. Sprinkle with chopped basil just before serving.

 

 

 

Mediterranean Chicken

Enjoy! X