foliage

CRISPY BRUSSELS SPROUT SALAD WITH BACON CRUMBS & CRANBERRIES

As a child, I had a fear of brussels sprouts appearing on my plate at dinner time. It was the height of dinner-time disappointment.

What resembled a tiny cabbage, that tasted bitter and totally unappealing as a small child, it nearly brought tears to my eyes when I got the “no dessert unless you eat all your dinner bribe”

Damn you Brussels sprouts.

As I matured, and my love for vegetables grew, the mini cabbage came back into my life, often covered in parmesan cheese or bathing in a warm creamy white sauce of god-damn deliciousness. Not particularly good for the health conscious.

The Brussels Sprout originated in Brussels, hence it’s name, and are commonly misspelled, did you know the correct spelling/pronunciation is actually BRUSSELS Sprouts not Brussel Sprouts?!? You learn something new everyday! Brussels Sprouts are also little power houses FULL of nutrients, particularly Vitamin C and K, powerful antioxidants.

Below is a cute little pot of cooked lentils.

Did you know that lentils were the first pulse crops in the world, with carbonised remains of little lentil bodies found alongside grecian human habitations dating back to 11,000 BCE- thanks, Wikipedia!

Cooking the Brussels Sprout until it’s within an inch of its life is.not.okay, overcooking Brussels Sprouts can reap disastrous results, when overcooked, they release a compound that leaves them with a sulphuric/bitter like taste, probably a memory that sticks in a lot of our taste-memory banks! I think the general “trend” was to cook those mini cabbages in a bubbling cauldron of water for FAR too long. Who ever implemented that cooking strategy anyway?!?

I was tossing up between using pancetta or bacon for this recipe, but my love for bacon and it’s smoky hue won me over. It just has a bit more depth, and who doesn’t love bacon, he is a standout in this salad.

CRISPY BRUSSELS SPROUT SALAD WITH BACON CRUMBS & CRANBERRIES

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Foliage

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the salad:
1 cup of De Puy Lentils, brown or green lentils (the non mushy type)
2 cups of brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and halved lengthways
1 handful of roughly chopped walnuts
¼ cup flat-leaf parsley
1 cup mixed leaf mesculin
¼ cup dried cranberries
4 rashers of free-range bacon
Olive oil
For the Dressing:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons himalayan salt & cracked pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Rinse and cut the the bottom of each brussels sprout off (about ¼" ) and slice in half lengthwise. Toss with 2 tablespoons olive oil and a good grind of himalayan salt and cracked pepper and roast for 25 minutes or until brussels sprouts are slightly browned and tender.
Rinse your lentils under running water in a sieve to remove any debris, combine 2 cups water and 1 cup lentils to a large saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, so gentle that you only see a few bubbles and cook uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Lentils are cooked when they are no longer crunchy, and most if the water has evaporated, if there is some water remaining, simply drain this off, add ¼ teaspoon of salt once cooked and stir.
Whilst your sprouts and lentils are doing their thing, heat a fry pan over medium heat and cook your bacon rashers for 3-5 minutes per side until nice and crispy, place on a paper towel lined plate. Once cool, break or cut into bacon crumbs or “bits”
Throw your walnuts into the pan and give these a quick 2 minute fry in the bacon oil to give them a bit more flavour.
Make your dressing by combining honey, balsamic, oil & salt and pepper, whisk with a fork and set aside.
Combine lentils, bacon crumbs, cranberries, walnuts, sprouts, parsley, mesculin and toss with your honey balsamic dressing, serve warm as a side or as a main!

BAKED NECTARINE, FETA & BACON SALAD

Stone fruit is one of my favourite things about summer, peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, cherries. Such a delicious treat and I really do not eat them enough over the summer months. There is something special about roasting or baking stone fruit, particularly peaches, apricots and nectarines, they are so warming and comforting, and baking really draws out the sweetness making them even more delectable! This salad was so much fun to make, it is so easy, looks incredible and the flavours are on point.

The balsamic reduction works really well with this baked nectarine, feta & bacon salad, super easy to make by simply reducing balsamic and maple syrup (or honey) over a low heat, this takes about 10 minutes with regular stirring and a watchful eye. TIP: Try to avoid over-reducing , as once the dressing cools, it hardens, which is annoying but can easily be resurrected by gently heating in the microwave or in a saucepan over a low heat.

You could use cow or goats feta, whatever works for you, just chop it up into little cubes to dot all over your salad towards the end. There is something magical that happens when you combine salty cheese with the sweetness of a baked nectarine!

Brushing these pretty little yellow ray’s of sunshine with butter and baking them gives a sweet/creamy flavour and encourages the fruit to golden. You could also use peaches if you are unable to source nectarines, the texture of the peach skin is a little fuzzier, and I personally prefer the smoothness of the nectarine.

This baked nectarine salad is perfect as a side dish to chicken, I devoured this with some easy peasy baked chicken and it was very satisfying. If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes!

BAKED NECTARINE, FETA & BACON SALAD

Author: Foliage

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the salad:
4 medium sized nectarines, stones removed and cut into halves
1 tablespoon of organic butter
2 cups of rocket foliage (arugula)
4 rashers of free-range bacon
1 ripe avocado, diced
½ block (100 grams) of feta cheese
¼ cup roughly chopped almonds
For the dressing:
½ cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons organic maple syrup or honey
Himayalan salt & cracked pepper

Method

For the dressing:
In a medium sized saucepan, add balsamic vinegar and maple syrup or honey.
Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, once simmering, reduce heat and continue to simmer on low to reduce, this will take about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on it as it can burn easily! Once it has thickened to your preference (you want it reasonably sticky) remove from heat. It does thicken further on cooling so be careful to not over thicken or burn the dressing. If you have gone over-board with the thickening, you can re-heat it in the microwave or on the stove- crisis everted!
For the salad:
Wash and put rocket leaves through a salad spinner to remove excess water or set aside to drip dry in a colander.
Pre-heat oven to 180ºC and line a shallow baking dish with baking paper.
Rinse, de-stone and cut nectarines into halves, melt butter in the microwave or in a saucepan and brush over the flesh side of the cut nectarines. Place into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the nectarines start to golden and bubble on the surface. Once cooked remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
Bring frying pan to medium heat on the stove top, place bacon rashers into the pan and fry until cooked (approximately 5 minutes) once cooked, place on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
In the same pan add slivered almonds and cook until golden in the bacon fat. Remove from heat and set aside on a paper towel with the bacon.
Dice feta and avocado into cubes- be sure to wipe down the chopping board between the feta and avocado, or it will look messy!
Now that the nectarines have cooled, slice into quarters, and chop cooked bacon rashers into 1cm pieces.
To serve, arrange rocket onto each serving plate, top with bacon, quartered nectarines, almonds and feta cheese. Drizzle with the balsamic reduction. Serve!

QUINOA, CURRANT & HALOUMI SALAD

The Middle East consists of a group of countries from North Africa through to Asia. Many of these regions label their dishes the same, but may have a completely different list of ingredients! The stand out ingredients in this cuisine include grains and pulses like lentils and chickpeas, olives, vegetables, grilled meats, herbs, cheese and yogurt condiments.

Flat breads are the most common form of bread and are often used to scoop food up with, yum yum. I personally, have not ventured to the Middle East, one day, I would love to go and experience what it has to offer, particularly Morocco, but the political unrest I do find somewhat unnerving. So, I turn my kitchen into a middle eastern cooking den instead!

I LOVE Haloumi, for those of you who know me, or have been reading some of my recipe blogs, you may have noticed the frequent occurrence of the cheese gifted by the gods- Haloumi. It’s salty, its creamy, it’s buttery and god-damn delicious and if I could put it in every meal, I would. When choosing Haloumi, I go for Mainland, it has less sodium than most other brands at the supermarket, has great taste and holds its shape when cooked! The classic grain-based middle eastern salad usually comprises of wheat based grains such as couscous, today I had my beautiful gluten-free friend over for dinner, so I decided to use quinoa and buckwheat to add in a bit of nutty texture (buckwheat isn’t actually wheat its a grain, contrary to it’s name) Alas, the quinoa, currant, haloumi salad was created, and it’s delicious.

The creaminess of the haloumi, the sweetness of the currants, the citrus in the dressing and the nutty, protein packed mother-grain, quinoa. I served this with butterflied lamb shoulder, and was pretty pleased with the outcome!

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 30 minutes Serves 4-6

QUINOA, CURRANT & HALOUMI SALAD

This Quinoa, Currant & Haloumi Salad is the perfect Mediterranean crowd pleaser! Healthy and so many flavours!

Author: Foliage

Ingredients

For the salad:
1 cup of quinoa
¼ cup organic vegetable stock
200 grams mainland haloumi, sliced into 1-2cm thick rectangles
½ onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons fresh chilli
1 Tablespoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoons garam masala
1 can organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained
¼ cup slivered almonds
¼ cup currants
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
5 dried apricots chopped into quarters
½ cup flat leaf parsley- roughly chopped
2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves
optional: ½ cup buckwheat
for the dressing:
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
A good pinch of sea salt and cracked pepper

Method

For the dressing:
Start by making the dressing, mix the juice of 1 lemon, with ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper, pop into a jam jar and shake well to emulsify dressing.
Heat the oil, chopped garlic, onion, chilli, cumin and garam masala over medium high heat in a pan, cook until fragrant, around 2 minutes add the drained and rinsed chickpeas and pan fry for a further 5 minutes, remove from the pan and set aside.
For the quinoa:
Rinse quinoa to remove some of the bitterness, bring quinoa, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 cups of vegetable stock to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for around 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Return the pot to low heat and cook, covered, for another 5 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed. If using buckwheat, bring 1¾ cups of water to the boil, add a tablespoon of butter, add buckwheat, reduce heat to a simmer and let cook with the saucepan lid on for approximately 10 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
For the haloumi:
Add the haloumi to a dry frying pan, you don't need to use any oil in your pan if you are using a non-stick, if not, pop a dash of oil in the pan.Cook the first side of the haloumi. After a minute or two, the haloumi will begin to release some liquid, flip the haloumi, set aside on a paper-towel to absorb excess oil, once cool cut into thirds.
To assemble:
Combine quinoa, spiced chickpea mix, baby spinach, parsley, almonds, currants, apricots, cranberries and haloumi. Toss well with your basic lemon dressing, great as a main meal, feel free to substitute the haloumi for grilled chicken. Delicious the next day as well!

FATTOUSH SALAD

Fattoush Salad- a salad derived from the Middle East that comprises of fresh, crunchy summer vegetables- tomatoes, cucumber, onion, fresh herbs, toasted flat bread, brought together through a tangy, citrus dressing that reminds you of summer.

This is a summer go-to of mine as it seems to be a crowd pleaser, the crunch of the toasted bread, the complexity and “zing” of flavours in the dressing and the fresh crisp vegetables.

This recipe was inspired by my mum, and the abundance of tomatoes I have in my garden at present, a salad she has been making for some years that we would keenly offer to “assist” with, and by assist, I mean eagerly hovering by the oven waiting for the delicious garlicky, finger-lickingly good chips from the oven to be pinched, before they even entered the salad.

I have played around with this recipe to include a little more complexity through the dressing and have added a few extra fresh herbs to replace the spice mix, and added a little more foliage, Enjoy!

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