15 LichField Road556835 Singapore
Have you ever eaten real Lebanese Tabouleh ? If so, this recipe is probably very similar to the one you ate / made. If not, then please try it, as it is soooooooo delicious, fresh, flavorful, and healthy ! Yes healthy as it blends parsley and mint with tomatoes, lemon, EVOO and very little wheat. You can even make it GF using quinoa, cauliflower or brocoli rice instead of bulgur. It’s been super hot lately in SG and this very simple salad has been on rotation in our menu over the last few weeks I must confess 🙂 Of course it is an entree and not enough for a meal, but from a nutrition point of view, it brings you so much antioxidants, vitamin A, K and C (parsley contains 3 times more Vitamin C then oranges). Recipe is super basic, it just requires a bit of time to finely shred / mince the herbs (use a herb grinder if you have one to save time :). Make it shortly before eating to ensure you maximize vitamin intakes !
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
– 4 bunches Parsley super super finely shredded
– 1 bunch mint super super finely shredded
– 3 super finely sliced green onions
– Optional 1/2 red onion diced super thin
– 2 large ripe tomatoes finely chopped and deseeded
– 1/4 cup super fine Bulgur
– Juice of 2 lemons
– 1/4 cup EVOO
– Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Soak the bulgur in water and set aside.
- Mix together all the herbs, tomatoes and onions
- Drain the bugur and add it to the bowl.
- Add the lemon juice, EVOO, salt & pepper then mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
- Taste check and adjust the lemon, salt and pepper if needed.
Being in Lockdown and far away from home, I guess some days I just crave for the food I grew up with. As a kid, I loved quiches, which were my Mum go to dish when she was running out of time and ideas 🙂 Being already a vegetarian I loved those days ! It’s also one of the first savory dish I learnt to cook by myself. At first using pre made dough my Mum would buy at the supermarket (to save time again 🙂 but then when I started to learn how to read food labels (scary :)) I decided to make my own dough. Except for “pate feuilletée” which requires some skills, you have no excuse not to make your pie pastry ! In the recipe below I have twisted a little the dough adding a few tsp of thyme, you can also add some spices or even seeds… when you make your own, combinations are infinite !!
If asparagus are not in season, switch for brocoli, broccolini, spinach… and you can also replace the feta with soft goat cheese. Whatever the combo, I promise it will turn out super yummy !
Recipe just below. Happy Baking and eating.
Serves 6
Ingredients
Quiche
- A Bunch of green asparagus, washed and trimmed
- 100 g crumbled soft real feta cheese
- 3 large pastured eggs
- 250 ml full fat fresh milk
- 1 medium red onion thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp grated organic lemon zest
- 4 tbsp chopped herbs (chives and parsley)
- A pinch of grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
Dough
- 200 g T55 flour, 100 g butter, 75 ml water, 5 g sugar, 3 g sea salt (optional: 2 tsp dried thyme or 1/2 tsp turmeric or 1 tbsp poppy seeds…)
Instructions
Start making the dough:
- Mix all dry ingredients. Add the butter cut in small pieces and mix using your hands to get a sandy texture. Don’t overdo it ! Make a well in your “sand” and add the water gradually. Using your hands incorporate the water to the dough until you get something homogenous and smooth. Cling wrap it and put it in your fridge for 30 min. It is then ready to be used 🙂
- Preheat your oven at 190°C fan forced
- Mix your liquids: eggs, add the milk, mix well, add the lemon, chopped herbs, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Roll your dough and transfer it to a pan layered with baking paper. Top with your liquids, then add the red onions and finish with the crumbled feta and the asparagus (I chose to keep them in full as I find it nicer 🙂 but you can cut them if you prefer)
- Put in the oven for 30 min, until it is nicely golden brown.
- Enjoy with a nice salad as a main meal.
Another salad ! And again Brocoli ! You are going to think we love brocoli at our place ! And you’ll be right 🙂 My kids used to be a little reluctant, I guess when I was busy working in corporate and asking my au pair to cook them brocoli, it was probably not the yummiest meal of the week for them 🙂 And I do remember eating some watery green little trees at my grandma’s place (I love my grandman don’t get me wrong) as a teenager, which I really found tasteless and would only force myself to eat as I was told to be polite and because they were good for me !
And yes Brocoli is good for you : this super veggie is loaded with fiber, antioxidants to reduce inflammation, and vitamin C to aid iron absorption ! And yes it is also super tasty and versatile when you cook it well. Think, roasted coated with a little evoo and spices, boiled and blended with cashews for a creamy soup, shredded as an alternative to grains in tabouleh, and even better mixed with fruits for a creamy smoothie… The list is endless and this time it is a very simple yet very tasty salad I propose you to make. 20 min max, only a few ingredients, and you’ll thank me after tasting it for sure !
INGREDIENTS (Serves 4 as a side)
- 1 large brocoli ( or brocolini, or cauliflower)
- 1 red onion
- 100 gr haloumi cut in small bites ( or smoked tofu for vegan alternative)
- 45 grs roasted walnuts chopped ( or any nuts)
- 3tbsp goji berries ( or cranberries, raisins,…)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro ( or parsley if you prefer)
- 2 tbsp evoo
- Zest and juice of 1 organic lemon
- 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- Optional chili flakes
DIRECTIONS
- Separate the brocoli florets from the stem. Don’t throw it away, you ll use it later.
- Coat the florets with 1 tbsp evoo, cumin powder, salt and pepper and optional chili flakes. Add the onion cut in quarters to the same bowl and mix well. Transfer to roast in preheated oven at 190 deg C fan forced for 20 min ( until you get a nice roasted colour)
- At the same time, grill your halloumi as per package instructions.
- Once done, take it out and leave to cool down
- Cut the stem of the brocoli to get some crispy brocoli match sticks you ll add to the salad later.
- Once your brocoli and onions are at room temperature, transfer in your salad bowl the roasted broccoli and onions, the raw brocoli, the walnuts, herbs, goji, grated lemon and toss.
- Drizzle with your lemon juice and 1 tbsp evoo. Toss well again. Finish adding the chargrilled haloumi, add more herbs, cracked pepper, chia seeds sprinkle and serve immediately 🙂
Wether you are in the mood for a brunch or a quick and easy lunch, those frittatas are meant for you !
Light and fluffy, thanks to the use of a rich ricotta filling, vegetarian, gluten free and nutritious with the addition of crispy quinoa, they are terribly yummy !
Quick and easy recipe just below !
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
- 100 grs uncooked quinoa
- 8 big free range eggs
- 200 grs ricotta
- 200 grs halved cherry tomatoes
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 2 chopped spring onions
- A handfull chopped basil leaves
- 2 tsp fresh thyme
- Salt and cracked pepper
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan forced.
- Cook the quinoa, rinse and drain
- Combine the eggs, garlic and ricotta in a bowl and stir well
- Add the herbs, onions, tomatoes and 2/3 quinoa
- Season with salt and pepper
- Pour un muffin tins lined with paper cases. Top with the remaining quinoa
- Bake for 25/30 minutes (should be golden)
- Eat hot or at room temperature, with green leaves salad, or a nice sauce (avocado green dressing, tomato sauce, pesto….)
Note: can keep for 2 days in the fridge. You can also play with different herbs to vary flavors
A vegetarian my whole life, I had never eaten meatballs and was always intrigued by these popular stuff my kids used to crave for ! Each time I was going to IKEA they would fight to come with me… just to eat those !!!
When I moved the family diet towards more plant based dishes, I hesitated to try to replicate “carnivore” dishes as I am really not a fan of mock up alternatives.
However I had seen so many nice vegan meatballs recipe that seemed super flavorful and healthy that one day I decided to try it for the kids …. and I ended up eating them too 🙂
Rose told me they were not like the original ones, but were almost better. And she liked very much the texture. Thank god, my kids can appreciate what is good for them !
You can make the meatballs only and have them on their own with spaghettis, a salad… But if you follow the whole recipe and have them with the indulgent tomato and pumpkin sauce you will give yourself a real yummy healthy treat !
Follow the link below and as always share your feedbacks.
LOL
http://chickpeaandberries.com/spinach-gf-vegan-meatballs-creamy-pumpkin-tomato-sauce/
As I write this post, I realize I have been super lazy at updating the blog lately !
With the holidays, and a fe personal things going on, I did not have much time and was not really in the mood to write anyway.
So I feel I need to apologize for those who have been waiting for some of the recipes I posted on IG !
Today I shared those extremely tasty and easy patties, that are extremely flexible and can also be prepared in batch and frozen to have some always handy !
Made those a few days ago because I had cooked lots of grains and wanted to use them in a different kind of dish. Also those beauties are a great way to “hide” herbs and greens in kids meals. Used spinach in those ones but you could use chard or other green leaves.
Follow the link below to make the recipe and let me know your thoughts.
When Rose and Leopold first saw the cake, they told me: “Mum you forgot to remove the pears stem” :))))
But no, my loves, it was done on purpose. It is my friend Bridget, who recently showed me some beautiful cakes featuring entire fruits and veggies. And as I am always in the mood to try something new I thought I would give it a go.
So today I baked a fruit loaf with this technique, using fresh pears I had and lots of nuts and spices.
I adapted some recipes I had found but did not dare for the first trial to make a vegan loaf.
Will be for the next variation.
If you want to make this pretty loaf, follow the link below 🙂
The Holidays have officially started ! And Rose and Leopold are so excited to go back to France !!! I had to figure out something to do this morning to use all their energy and turn it into a fun family activity… So we baked shortbreads. The real British ones, so buttery, they crumble between your fingers.
I have tried some plant based alternatives a few times, but not so satisfying. So I stick to the original recipe, which I don’t do so often as we are more on balanced healthy cooking usually 🙂
But they love them so much, that once in a while it is pure pleasure to see them eat them until the last crumb !
If you can’t wait to try them, follow the link below 🙂
Living in Singapore, we eat salads all the time. At the moment I love mixing fruits with veggies and grains to create new flavor combinations and twist traditional recipes. It’s the magic of vegetarian and vegan cuisines, anything is possible, you reinvent recipes everyday !
If you want to try this one, follow the link below.
I hope you will enjoy it and share any comment you might have with me !