Tuesday 29 March 2016

COOKING UP A SUNDAY FEAST


Another week, another Sunday spent with some of my favourite people, this time my fellow foodie and hosting enthusiast Maddie, cooking up recipes found on Pinterest over a few glasses of wine, an activity to end the weekend that for me is hard to top. As always these dishes are veggie friendly, relatively healthy (in this case we will count the  french fries as more of a vegetable than deep fried carb) and a real joy to eat.

With all prepping done whilst enjoying some chilled white wine and crisps- keep your eyes peeled for a long overdue ultimate crisp ranking on this blog from the girl that deems herself a bit of a crisp 'connoiseur'- and with ingredients that cost virtually nothing, this was not only a fun and cheap way to spent an afternoon but it also resulted in some SERIOUSLY tasty food with every dish on my list of things to make again! After all you don't always need to go to restaurants for a high standard of food or be a super talented home chef and I hope the below recipes will prove just that!

PARMESAN TRUFFLE FRIES WITH ROASTED GARLIC MAYO

I freaking love truffle oil, in fact it is one of my favourite if not favourite savoury flavour. Yes, it isn't cheap but a little goes a long way AND Sainsbury's happens to stock a very reasonable and large £2.5 bottle of the stuff that also happens to taste like the real deal. Here it is the real star of the show and boy does it perform. It makes, when drizzled on top, the shop bought skinny fries a thing of beauty here and when combined with mayo and a whole head (!) of slow roast garlic ( this does take a while in the oven but is worth the wait) becomes almost heavenly. I think me and Maddie seriously struggled to share this between us....it was that good. This is extravagance at its best and a dish you won't, or anyone you cooked it for, forget in a while.

Recipe here

ROAST BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH FETA, HONEY & SESAME SEEDS

This recipe takes the humble butternut squash (or pumpkin as the original recipe calls for) and elevates it into something quite special. And it couldn't be simpler to do so. After roasting the squash and sesame seeds you finish the dish with crumbled feta, dried chilli, honey and good glug of another favourite ingredient of mine, balsamic vinegar. The result is a beautiful marriage of earthy, sweet, fiery and salty flavours - sunshine on a dish, not only in the way it looks, but also in the amazing array of flavours it delivers.

Get the recipe here

HONEY SOY ROASTED BROCOLLI & BRUSSEL SPROUTS

The poor Brussel sprout does not have an easy life. Most people only eat this veg once a year, over-boiled, tasteless and as sad side show to their Christmas dinner. They can however be pretty damn tasty and are in fact one of my favourite green veggies. I particularly love them roasted, featured almost weekly as part of my hangover cure roast vegetables, though they also taste rather spectacular here in this Asian inspired dish. We added broccoli for extra crunch and as these two always go well together, tossed them in oil, honey and soy sauce and let the oven do it's roasting magic. Finished off with a sprinkle of sesame seeds I dare any out and out sprout eater to try this dish and not at least reconsider their reservation! Come on, give it a go - you may just be converted!

Get the recipe here

ROASTED CABBAGE WITH ONION DIJON SAUCE

This was the most surprising of the dishes particularly considering that whilst I've always enjoyed cabbage I had never been wowed by it. However here the combination of moorish yet tangy mustard, butter and onion sauce with the slightly charred cabbage was truly outstanding. I love tasting vegetables in a way I'd never expected and this recipe elevated cabbage from a mere side dish (and not a particularly popular one at that) to a truly outstanding dish that left us oooing and ahhing. It may not be an obvious choice but one you won't regret.

Get the recipe here

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Stella!! I'm so glad you made and loved the truffle fries. They are seriously addictive and by far one of my favorite recipes :) - Jessica

Regina Hilary said...



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