Courgette, Parmesan & Hazelnut Salad and Green Bean, Spinach & "Falafel" Salad - Salad Days # 3 & # 4

My Salad Days project continues and today I have two salads for you.  My first salad, a Courgette, Parmesan and Hazelnut  Salad could not be simpler.  Like all dishes which are incredibly simple, however, it relies entirely on good quality.

Begin with the freshest, crispest courgettes you can get your hands on.  I like to pick them fresh out of the garden literally moments before I use them, which means there's usually a few flowers I can use as well.  I also like to use the the little baby ones that are literally no bigger than your index finger, though they grow so quickly there's usually a few slightly larger ones as well.  If you happen to have different varieties and colours of courgettes/squash at your disposal use them too.

To put the salad together, cut your courgettes (as many as you like) as thinly as you can - a mandoline is really useful if you have one - and go for a variety of shapes.  I cut some into rings and some into long ribbons using a vegetable peeler.  Place the courgettes in a bowl with plenty of shaved parmesan and roasted hazelnuts.  Squeeze over some fresh lemon juice and a generous slosh of the best extra virgin olive oil you can get your hands on.  Hazelnut oil or walnut oil would also be great alternatives.  Season generously with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Toss everything together gently to combine and transfer to a serving dish.

PS - Don't you love this gorgeous bowl made for me by my lovely friend, Clare Strange

My second salad today is a Green Bean, Spinach & "Falafel" Salad with a Harissa Dressing.

This was another incredibly simple salad to put together.  I happened to have some mixture leftover from a batch of these Pea, Feta & Quinoa Fritters, so I rolled it into teeny, tiny fritters and fried them until crispy.  You could just as easily use some falafel mix instead. While they were cooking, I blanched some green beans, then tossed them together with some baby spinach leaves and diced cucumber.  Nestle the little fritters amongst the salad leaves and beans. The dressing is a simple combination of 2 tablespoons of harissa with 1/3 cup of natural yoghurt - if necessary thin with a little water if necessary to achieve a "dressing-like" consistency.

This dish delivered all the things I love in a good salad - some protein from the quinoa and feta, great texture contrasts from the crispy fritters, crunchy beans, and soft velvety spinach, and finished off with a great dressing that packs a real flavour punch.  This salad makes a complete and satisfying meal on its own.

As I mentioned earlier, these are salad number 4 and 5 in my Salad Days, 28 days of salad project.   What's that you ask?  Well,  I've said it here a dozen times or more ... I love salads.  A big bowl, substantial salad is hands down my favourite meal any time of the year.  Such is my love of salad, that I'm challenging myself to come up with a different salad every day for the month of February - that's 28 days of salads - and I plan to share as many of them as I can with you.  I'll also be doing some flashbacks to some of my favourite salads I've shared in the past.

What's more, I'm giving you the opportunity to share some of your favourite salads with me too.  Have a favourite salad you'd like to share?  Simply link up your salad recipe using the linky tool at the bottom of this post.  The linky will be open all month, and you can join in any day or every day, and link as many recipes as you like.  Feel free to grab the Salad Days badge from the sidebar to include in your post if you'd like to.  There's really no rules around linking up, other than please, use your manners and link your post back to this one.  Linking old posts is fine too, just please edit them to include the back link.  Thanks for sharing your favourite salad with us.

Lettuce & Pea Soup

Spring has well and truly sprung in my part of the world and, after the dreariness of winter, the arrival of new growth and the abundance of all things green is definitely a welcome sight.  Tender lettuce leaves and the first of the season's asparagus send me rushing to the kitchen with new enthusiasm, ready to create dishes with the lightness and lushness that befits the season.

Like most other parts of the world, however, spring here in New Zealand can be a pretty changeable affair - weatherwise anyway.  Warm, sunny days one minute - cooler, drizzly days the next.  It was such a day today - cool and gloomy.  Just perfect for a nice bowl of soup for lunch, but a soup on the lighter side, a soup that positively screams spring.

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, we're ladling it up, making Nigel Slater soups, stews, curries and other bowlfuls of goodness.  Nigel's "Soup of lettuce and peas" from Tender, vol. I, made the perfect lunch for today.  I reduced the original recipe a bit, since I had no need to feed six people.  This amount was just right to give me two good sized bowls today, and enough left over to take to work for my lunch tomorrow.  In other changes, I swapped in some leek instead of shallot, used parsley instead of mint, and finished things off with a swirl of coconut cream since I have some left over from last night's Shrimp & Curried Coconut Risotto (one of my favourite old recipes that I come back to time and time again).  In hindsight, I think a little grated lemon zest and a spritz of fresh lemon juice would work well here too.

This recipe is ridiculously quick and easy to make, deliciously fresh, and light enough that you could actually serve this as part of a multi-course meal.  I seldom have soup other than as a meal in it's own right, but this one could definitely fit into a bigger meal without filling you up too much.  It's pretty and elegant, and I wouldn't hesitate to serve this to company.  I hope you'll give it a try.

Pea & Lettuce Soup Recipe
Adapted from recipe by Nigel Slater
from Tender, Vol. I
Serves 2
Click here for the free recipe card

1/2 an iceberg lettuce (or other lettuce of your choice)
generous knob of butter
1/2 a small leek, thinly sliced
1-1/2 cups frozen peas
2 cups vegetable stock
large handful of flat-leaf parsley
flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
coconut cream to finish

Separate lettuce leaves, wash thoroughly, and set aside.

Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan.  Add leek to the pan and saute until they have begun to soften, but not brown.

Roughly chop or tear the lettuce and add to the pan, stirring occasionally.  As soon as the lettuce begins to wilt, add the peas, stock and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper.

Bring to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 7-10 minutes, until the peas are cooked through and the lettuce is thoroughly wilted.

Remove from heat, and blitz until smooth either in a blender or using a stick blender.  Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.

Serve immediately, and finish with a drizzle of coconut cream.

If you would like to get to know Nigel Slater a little better, and to see what everyone else has cooked up this week, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links ...

... or check out Tender, Vol. 1 and Nigel's many other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK, or Fishpond NZ.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the delightful Michelle at Ms. enPlace, at Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays hosted by my lovely friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen, at Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollum.

           

Minted Pea, Feta & Quinoa Fritters

With St Patrick's Day looming large, at I Heart Cooking Clubs this week we are celebrating the Eating of the Green, preparing Donna Hay dishes which are green or feature green-hued ingredients.

To be honest, I've never really been one to enter into the spirit of St Patrick's Day, but eating green food ... now that is something I have no trouble getting excited about.  Many of you, I know, are right now enjoying the first flushes of spring and all things gorgeous and green will be bursting onto the market.  In my part of the world, however, it's autumn and green things are becoming a little more scarce, so I was pretty happy to have one more "green fling" before life becomes all about pumpkins, mushrooms and root vegetables.

These pea and quinoa fritters with a tahini dressing, which appeared in the spring issue of Donna Hay magazine, have become one of my favourite dishes over the last few months.   The great thing about these is that with frozen peas they can really be made any time of year.   As a final nod to the disappearing summer, I added some mint to the mixture (not much of it left in the garden now), and also included some feta (because that always reminds me of holidays in the Greek Islands, and so always seems very summery to me).  As you'd expect, these are delicious, hot and crispy, straight out of the pan, but they are just as good the next day, and delicious at room temperature too. 

Minted Pea, Feta & Quinoa Fritters Recipe
Adapted from recipe by Donna Hay
from Issue #71 of Donna Hay Magazine
Serves 2 as a main meal or 4 as an appetiser
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

Fritters:
1/3 cup white quinoa
2/3 cup water
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup rice flour
1 tablespoon tahini
small handful mint leaves
small handful flat-leaf parsley
flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
100g feta, crumbled
olive oil for frying

Tahini dressing:
2 tablespoons tahini
juice of a lemon
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon olive oil
flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
baby spinach leaves
blanched snow peas
extra virgin olive oil

Begin by putting quinoa and water in a small saucepan, and set over high heat until it comes to the boil.  Turn the heat down to low, cover the pan, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove pan from the heat, leave the lid in place, and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Remove quinoa to a medium bowl and set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the tahini dressing by placing all ingredients in a small bowl and whisking until smooth.  As you begin to mix the ingredients together it will look a little as though it is "curdled".  Don't be alarmed, just keep whisking and it will come together in a smooth sauce.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Set aside.

Put the peas, tahini, rice flour, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper, and half the quinoa into a food processor and blitz until you have a coarse paste.  Return to the bowl containing the remaining quinoa, add the crumbled feta, and mix until well combined.

Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan set over medium heat.  With wet hands, shape mixture into small fritters, and cook in the hot pan until golden and crisp on both sides.

To serve, arrange baby spinach leaves and snow peas on a serving platter.  Arrange fritters over the top and drizzle with the tahini dressing (if dressing has thickened while it has been standing, thin with a little water until you reach the consistency of runny cream).  Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

If you would like to get to know Donna Hay a little better, and to see all the fabulous dishes my friends have come up with, then do go visit I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely Michelle at Ms. enPlace, Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollam.

          

Chargrilled Artichoke Hearts on Pea & Feta Crostini

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, we're "Getting Saucy" with Donna Hay, and whilst the Pea & Feta Puree I bring you today, atop crunchy sourdough crostini, is not exactly a sauce or dressing, I figure it's near enough.

I was inspired by this recipe from Donna's website, but made a few simple changes ... I adjusted quantities a little to suit my tastes and needs;  I decided to add some goat feta to the puree instead of finishing with shaved parmesan;  and I also added a few capers.

This made a delicious light meal, or would also be great for an appetiser.  The pea puree has a wonderful balance of flavours and texture - sweetness from the peas, brightness and freshness from the lemon, some salty tang from the feta, and a little brininess from the capers.  A little mint would be a nice addition too if you have some on hand.  You could use this in a multitude of ways:  serve as a dip with fresh vegetables or pita crisps;  instead of artichokes hearts, top the crostini with some smoky chorizo or sweet scallops for a fabulous appetiser;  or even as a side dish with some grilled salmon.

Chargrilled Artichoke Hearts on Pea & Feta Crostini Recipe
Inspired by recipe from Donna Hay
Serves 2 as a light meal or 4 as an appetiser
Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

4x slices sourdough bread
extra virgin olive oil
1x clove garlic

1 cup frozen peas, thawed
grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
75g (3 oz) goat feta
1x clove garlic
1 teaspoon capers
freshly ground black pepper
4x chargrilled artichoke hearts, cut into quarters
extra virgin olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C (390 degrees F).

Brush slices of bread lightly with olive oil, both sides, and place bread on an oven tray.  Bake bread in the preheated oven until toasted and golden.  Remove from the oven and rub both sides of the bread with garlic clove.  Set bread aside to cool.

Put thawed peas, lemon zest, feta, garlic, and capers in the bowl of a small food processor, and pulse a few times until ingredients are combined but still have some texture.  Season liberally with freshly ground black pepper.

To assemble, spread toasted bread liberally with pea puree.  Top each one with a couple of pieces of artichoke, and finish with another grind of black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

This was quick and easy to put together, and I will definitely be making this again.  I hope you'll give this a try.

If you would like to get to know Donna Hay a little better, and to see all the fabulous dishes my friends have come up with, then do go visit I Heart Cooking Clubs and check out the links.

I'll also be sharing this post this week at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the lovely Michelle at Ms. enPlace, Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth at Beth Fish Reads, and at Foodie Fridays hosted by Designs by Gollam.

          

The Best & Worst of the Internet and Gorgeously Green with Ottolenghi

As the title of this post suggests, this week I've experienced the very best and worst of what the internet has to offer.  I've been the victim of some unwanted and rather "creepy" attention - a sad reminder that not everyone out there uses the internet with the same decency and respect that you or I might.  However, I'm not going to dwell on that.  At the same time, I've been reminded just how much the internet in general, and the food blogging community in particular, can enrich our lives.

When I first started my blog, a little over four years ago, it was really to find an outlet for expressing my food and travel experiences, and a place to record the food that I love to share with family and friends, so that others may be able to share it too.  It never for one moment occurred to me that this would become an avenue for meeting some truly wonderful people and developing great friendships.

The very first time I arranged a meeting with a fellow blogger, it seemed a little strange.  The lovely Sasa and I had been visiting each other's blogs for a little while, and exchanged a few tweets.  When we both happened to be visiting family in Auckland at the same time we decided to meet for a coffee.  I have to say, I hadn't gone out to meet a complete stranger since the last time I'd gone on a blind date (most unsuccessfully I might add), almost 30 years earlier.  So I was nervous.  What would she be like?  Would we find plenty to talk about?  You know ... the usual stuff.  I needn't have worried.  From the instant we met there was never an awkward moment.  And what do two food bloggers meeting for the first time talk about?  Well, you might reasonably expect that it would be about food, right?  But no.  We talked about relationships, both past and present;  our families, and our relationships with them;  travel;  yoga;  studying and making a new start;  old jobs and old habits;  hopes for the future;  and so on.  In short, all the things that a couple of friends who'd known each other for years might talk about.

And so it has been with every food blogger that I have gone on to meet since.  I know now, without a shadow of a doubt, that a passion for food and generosity of spirit go hand in hand.  I know now that the common denominator in this food blogging community is not just the obvious love of good food - it's warmth, passion, kindness, compassion, generosity, a zest for life, humour, creativity, and so much more.

Through my love of all things Ottolenghi, which you're all by now very well aware of, I came across Beth Corman Lee's blog OMG! Yummy and, through her blog, discovered the wonderful Tasting Jerusalem community, hosted by Beth and her long-time friend Sarene Wallace.  From the outset, I was impressed not just with Beth's lovely food, but also her warmth and enthusiasm, her genuine excitement at discovering and experimenting with new ingredients as we cook together, and her very obvious hunger (pardon the tragic food pun) to learn more.

So, once I planned this trip to the Bay Area of San Francisco, and discovered that Beth lived nearby, I knew that I wanted to meet her.  And, despite her busy family life, and my fairly busy holiday schedule, we managed to connect this week and arrange to meet for lunch in Mountain View (the small city in Silicone Valley where I am staying).

The main street of Mountain View is a lovely tree-lined boulevard, with probably half a mile of side by side cafes (both sides of the street), covering just about every type of cuisine you can imagine.  I can tell you that the smells wafting up the street, come midday, are absolutely amazing.  So as you might expect, we agreed to meet outside a cafe, and then we strolled, eyeing up the many choices on offer.  It didn't take us long to discover a Mediterranean cafe called Ephesus, with predominantly Greek and Turkish influences, that looked promising.  When the menu revealed to us a number of dishes that, through our shared love of Ottolenghi's food, we had either tried or have on the "must try" list, we knew this was the place for us.

Of course, starting our meal with the hummus was a no-brainer, and discussion of its merits by comparison to those of Ottolenghi's naturally ensued.  On the recommendation of our waiter, Beth opted for The Alexander - a veritable mountain of shaved lamb and beef in a rich tomato sauce, served over chunks of bread, with a cooling pool of yoghurt on the side.  As soon as I noticed Maqluba on the menu, I couldn't not have it.  Maqluba is a layered savoury "cake" of tomatoes, aubergine, chicken, cauliflower, rice and spices, and I've had this one marked to try in my Jerusalem book since the day I bought it.  I loved the way at Ephesus they had made the dish in individual moulds, and now I can't wait to get home and try making this dish.

So, food aside, just as in the case of every other food blogger I've ever met, my conversation with Beth revolved around family, children, growing up, our travels - places we've been and places we hope to go, work history, our hopes for the future, and our time together ran out long before we ran out of things to talk about.  It was such a joy to meet Beth and lovely to make a new friend.

Speaking of Ottolenghi, at I Heart Cooking Clubs this week our theme is Gorgeously Green.  Now I've been cooking like a mad thing this week - lasagne, shepherds pie, fish and caper kebabs, Jamie Oliver's fantastic fish pie, a batch of Nigella's flourless chocolate brownies, a batch of chocolate caramel crispy cakes, a batch of these divine raw lemon & coconut truffles, and numerous big batches of roasted tomato pasta sauce - all to stock up the freezer for my daughter before I head back home to New Zealand.  But in terms of coming up with something gorgeously green to share with you this week, well I'm afraid I just dropped the ball and somehow it didn't happen.  To compensate, however, I thought I'd give you a little bit of a round-up of a few gorgeously green Ottolenghi dishes I've made and shared in the past.  Hope you find something you enjoy.

Baked Artichokes & Broad Beans:  This was one of the first Ottolenghi dishes I ever made, and still one of my favourites.  The use of artichokes and broad beans makes this a quintessentially spring dish, but with both vegetables being readily available jarred and frozen this is a great dish to bring a little bit of the lightness of spring to the table any time of the year.  Leftovers I found kept well for a couple of days.

Broccoli, Leek & Blue Cheese Pie:  This pie got rave revues in my house when I first made it - so much so that I was called upon to make it twice in one week.  It is both easy and economical to make, tastes great both hot and cold, and reheats well should you be lucky enough to have leftovers.  In actual fact the leek filling tastes so good that half of it usually doesn't even make it into the pie, and I imagine it could be used as a great accompaniment to some grilled or roasted chicken.

Fried Zucchini, Pea & Quinoa Salad:  This is one of those great recipes that you can play around with to suit what you have on hand.  Apart from the fried zucchini, which is really the hero of the dish, anything else goes.  In this instance I used peas instead of edamame, quinoa instead of pasta, and feta instead of buffalo mozzarella.  Get the picture?! 

If you would like to get to know Yotam Ottolenghi a little better, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up ...

... or check out Jerusalem and Ottolenghi's other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK or Fishpond NZ.

           

Spicy Vegetable "Samosas"

Our theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs this week, where we are cooking with the fabulous Madhur Jaffrey for the next six months, is "Spice Bazaar".  So many herbs and spices conjure up such wonderful memories for me.  I told you last week about my grandmother's spice cupboard - in a time when you typically would not have found much other than a bit of ground cinnamon and ground ginger in the cupboards of your typical Kiwi housewife, this was a pretty unique feature.  How I used to love the aromas of cumin, cardamom, turmeric and garam masala, smells which still transport me back to my childhood, though as a kid I never for a moment realised that wasn't the norm.  Not content with just her packets of ground spices, my grandmother also kept a small kitchen garden at the back door.  This wee garden always boasted several chilli plants, the ubiquitous clumps of parsley & mint, and lots of coriander plants.  Of course she would use this fresh, but she would also deliberately allow some of the plants to go to seed so that she would have a constant supply of coriander seeds.  Whilst such things might be common in many New Zealand gardens today, that was certainly not the case back then.

The other day I needed a bit of portable food to take to work for my dinner break.  With a bit of filo pastry in the fridge that needed to be used up, I thought some Spicy Vegetable Samosas would fit the bill perfectly.  Now do note that I am taking a bit of creative license here with the term samosa.  A true samosa normally uses quite a unique pastry which, after filling and folding, is then deep fried.  I'm still determined to give that a try, but on this occasion the filo was to hand, which made for a great substitute as well as saving on a bit of time.

The filling was delicious and "homely", and although I don't recall my grandmother ever making samosas, some similar kind of "savoury" - a flaky puff pastry case with a filling such as this - would have been far more likely to grace a plate for a gathering than the typical sausage roll.  Personally, I found these to be only very mildly spiced on the heat scale.  That said, the other mouth I feed declared them to be way too hot, so depending on your tastes you may want to cut back a bit on either the chilli or the cayenne pepper.

Spicy Vegetable Samosas Recipe

Adapted from a recipe by Madhur Jaffrey from

Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery

Makes 12

Vegetarian

12 sheets filo pastry

sunflower oil

4x medium sized potatoes (about 800g - 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 lb)

4 tablespoons sunflower oil

1/2 medium sized leek, thinly sliced

175g (6 oz) frozen peas, thawed

5cm (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, grated

1 small green chilli, deseeded & finely chopped

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander

3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

juice of 1x lemon

Cut potatoes in half and boil in their skins until fork tender.  Drain and set aside to cool completely.  Once potatoes have cooled completely, remove skins and cut into small dice.  You want the cubes of potato to be roughly the size of the peas.

Heat the 4 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the leeks and fry until softened, and just barely beginning to turn golden.  Add  peas, ginger, chilli, fresh coriander and water.  Stir for a few minutes until everything is well combined and peas are warm and tender.

Add potatoes, salt, ground coriander, garam masala, cumin, cayenne and lemon juice to the pan.  Stir to combine, and cook over gentle heat for a few minutes, stirring from time to time.  Taste and add a little more salt or lemon juice if necessary.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Lay sheets of filo pastry out on a clean tea towel on your kitchen bench.  You will be working with one sheet at a time and, as sheets can dry out and become brittle very quickly, you should keep the remaining sheets of filo covered with a damp tea towel while you work.

Place a single filo sheet on another clean tea towel in front of you, and begin to fill and fold your pastries, following the directions in the following photos:

Lay sheet of filo on tea towel with long edge towards you and brush lightly with with oil

Fold in one third from one of the short ends, and then brush the folded-in section with a little more oil

Fold in the remaining third and again brush with a little oil

Place filling in a roughly "triangular" shape on the bottom left corner of the filo

Fold the bottom right corner of the filo over the filling

Now keep folding, end over end, until you get to the top.

Then fold the end over and brush with a little more oil to seal.

Once all the pastries have been folded, place them on a baking sheet, seam side down, brushing the top lightly with a little more oil.  Put into a warm oven, preheated to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F), and bake until golden brown and crispy - about 35 minutes.

Remove from oven.  Can be served hot straight from the oven, or these are just as good warm or at room temperature.

If you would like to get to know Madhur a little better, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up ...

... or check out Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking and many of Madhur's other great titles available from Amazon USA, Amazon UK or Fishpond NZ.

         

I am sharing this post this week with my friends Michelle at Ms. enPlace hosting See Ya In the Gumbo, and with April at The 21st Century Housewife hosting Gallery of Favourites.

Fried Zucchini, Pea & Quinoa Salad for Cookbook Sundays

What do you do when life gives you zucchini?  Anyone who has ever grown a zucchini or courgette plant knows just how prolifically these things can produce.  I have just one plant in my garden, and I'm picking two to three of these wee babies every day.

The joy of growing them oneself is being able to pick them when they are little bigger than your index finger, often with the flower still attached.  This, in my view, is when they are at their absolute best - the skin is glossy and crisp, and the flesh delicate and creamy.  I've sliced them thinly with a mandoline and eaten them raw in all manner of salads.  I've grilled them.  I've grated them and turned them into Kolokithokeftedes - the courgette fritters, spiked with mint and dill, and served with garlicky tzatziki that I enjoyed so often on my Greek island holidays.  I've used them, shredded, in a raw pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil - one of my favourite ways to enjoy pasta in the summer.  I've stuffed the flowers and served them with a cherry tomato dressing - one of my favourite Mario Batali recipes which I promise to share with you shortly.  And, I've enjoyed both the flesh and the flowers in a delicate frittata, made for me by the lovely Sasasunakku when she came to stay - I hope she comes again.  (Digressing slightly, trust me when I tell you that Sasa is one of the best house guests I've ever had.  So if she ever suggests coming to visit you in your corner of the world, open the door as wide as you can - you won't be disappointed.)

The recipe I want to share with you today was inspired by a Pasta and Fried Zucchini Salad from one of my favourite cookbooks - Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi.

The original recipe combined fried zucchini with edamame, pasta and buffalo mozzarella.  However, lacking both edamame and buffalo mozzarella, and not wanting to venture out to the supermarket, I used some frozen peas and feta - both of which I had on hand.  I also swapped the pasta out for some quinoa, since I was in the mood for something a little lighter.  I cook quinoa up in big batches, and then store it in smaller quantities, in snaplock bags, in the freezer - it thaws pretty quickly, and is great to have on hand for a quick meal.  I do this too with things like cooked chickpeas, beans and rice.

Fried Zucchini, Pea & Quinoa Salad

Adapted from recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi

from Plenty

Serves 2

Vegetarian

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

4 small (or 2 medium zucchini), cut into .5cm (1/4 inch) thick slices

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/2 cup frozen peas

1-1/4 cups fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

flaky sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1-1/2 cups cooked quinoa

grated zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon capers

100g (3-1/2 oz) feta, crumbled

Bring a small pot of water to a boil.  Salt the water liberally, add the peas and blanch for just a couple of minutes.  Drain, refresh in cold water, drain again and set aside to dry.

Meanwhile, heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in saute pan over medium-high heat.  Fry the zucchini slices until golden brown on both sides - take care not to overcrowd them, so cook in batches if necessary.  Once cooked remove from pan and drain in a colander.  Put the drained zucchini into a small bowl, add the red wine vinegar, stir, and set aside.

In a food processor, blitz up half the basil with the olive oil, salt and pepper, until you have a smooth sauce.

Put the cooked quinoa into a serving bowl.  Add the zucchini and their juices, the peas, lemon zest, capers, basil sauce and feta.  Toss everything together gently, taste and add more salt and pepper as necessary.  Stir through the rest of the basil and serve.

I served this with some roasted shrimp on the side.  My favourite new way to prepare shrimp or prawns - toss the shrimp with olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper and smoky paprika;  spread in a single layer in an ovenproof dish;  bake in a preheated 180 degree C (350 degree F) for about 8 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and firm to the touch.

I hope you'll give this salad a try - the quinoa is healthy, nutritious, and has a lovely nutty flavour which marries well with the fried zucchini and feta.  A glass of pinot gris on the side and you have the perfect summer meal.

This dish is my contribution this week to Cookbook Sundays, where my friends are delving into their cookbook collections and sharing some of their recipes.  Do stop by to see what they're cooking - you might even feel inspired to link up a recipe from one of your own cookbooks.

I'm also sharing this at Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays hosted by Deb at Kahakai Kitchen.