Posts Tagged With: simple

Roasted Cauliflower Hearts with Hazelnuts and Creamy Asparagus Sauce

Posted on May 21, 2016 by leroy watson

Roasted Cauliflower Hearts with Hazelnuts and Creamy Asparagus Sauce

I know this may sound complicated, but it ain’t! A light and simple summer time lunch which is a bit of a looker and won’t have you hanging out in the kitchen or shops for too long. The method is so easy and there are only a handful of ingredients. You want to be outside right, dancing in the sunshine, listening to reggae!!!

This is what you could call a restaurant style dish, I served it recently to some friends and it’s that kind of Saturday night dinner party plate. Dishes like this look much more complicated than they actually are, I think that makes for a good restaurant dish. Making our lives easier in the kitchen doesn’t mean the quality and presentation of food has to suffer. The contrary is generally true. The more chilled and effortless we are in the kitchen, the better the end product. Thats how it works in the BHK anyway!

KING CAULI
Cauliflower is so versatile and its finely getting some real kudos in the ‘foodie’ world. Long overdue! I actually endured the glorious cauliflowers former incarnation recently, that drab and vacuous, steamed way beyond death thing, that graces serving dishes in function rooms across Britain. It was at a wedding. Any flavour that the poor florets had were mercilessly boiled out. What a shame, I only hope they used the stock.

Cauli makes our sauce here super creamy, it actually contains pectin, like apples, which helps to thicken things up nicely. I use cauliflower in soups and stews when looking for a touch of silky creaminess. I’ve even used cauliflower in a chocolate torte which was actually really nice. It was for my Mum’s 60th birthday cake, which was admittedly, a bit of a risk. But no one could have guessed, primarily because I didn’t tell them about the secret ingredient until after they’d eaten at least two slices and showered compliments on the richness of the torte etc. Then I went in, a bit smug. No one was that surprised. They know what I’m like.

Of course, we’re all crazy for roasted cauliflower at the minute and bar maybe potatoes, few veggies can match cauli when it is nicely caramelised and a bit charred around the edges. Yumah!

A plate fit to grace a party

Recipe Notes
You’ll probably have a little too much sauce from this recipe. You can thin it down with vegetable stock to make a lovely soup.

If your hazelnuts are not toasted, just pop them on a baking tray and into the oven for 10 minutes. Keep your eye on them.

You can easily cook the cauliflower on a bbq if you prefer. Cauliflower is perfect for all kinds of bbq style behaviour.

Asparagus can be substituted for a number of veggies in this dish. What ever is looking good and seasonal, I’m thinking peas, broad beans, kale, even peppers or squash. Cauliflower is fairly neutral and takes well to many other veggie flavours.

I served this with pan fried mushrooms and spinach with roasted potatoes. Unless you are looking for a light meal, I’d advised some of your favourite, complementarty sides.

The Bits – For 4
1.25 kg cauliflower (a big one)
600g asparagus spears
3 cloves garlic
500ml soya milk (unsweetened)
1 big handful toasted hazelnuts (finely chopped)
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Do It
Preheat an oven to 225oC.

Cut off the asparagus tips (first three-five inches), then chop the stems until you get to the woody bit. Try some, if it’s fibrous, you’ve gone too far.

Trim the leaves off the cauliflower by slicing off the majority of the base stem. Then cut into 3/4 inch slices straight across, use a long knife. Now cut off the ‘hearts’ of cauliflower, basically nicely shaped florets. The more broken, smaller pieces of cauliflower, add to a saucepan for the sauce. This should be roughly 1/2 the cauliflower. Use any leftover pieces of stem for the sauce.

Drizzle some oil onto a large oven tray, add the cauliflower hearts and season with salt and pepper. Toss a little so they are covered with oil and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Until they are well caramelised, I’m talking dark brown colours and charred bits here.

Add the soya milk and garlic to the cauliflower in the saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is just breaking down. Add the asaparagus and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes more then leave to cool. You can do this in advance, preferably before the cauliflower is roasting in the oven. Using a stick blender or food processor, blitz the sauce until nice and smooth.

Just before serving, grab a frying pan, add a dash of oil and on a high heat, cook the asparagus tips. Fry for 5 minutes, until they caramelise and then season with a touch of salt and pepper.

Serve on big warm plates, add a few spoons of sauce to the centre, use a spoon to form a circle/ square (depending on the shape of your plate), form a row of asparagus tips along the centre, with four large cauliflower florets either side. Finish with a good scattering of hazelnuts. Or anyway you fancy.

This kind of dish demands a nice glass of chilled white wine (with or without bubbles).

Enjoy!!!!!

Categories: Dinner, gluten-free, healthy, photography, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: cooking, food, plantbased, recipe, simple | 3 Comments

Ginger & Chocolate Treats (Simple festive fun)

Posted on December 18, 2015 by leroy watson

Ginger & Chocolate Treats

This is a relatively inexpensive and super delicious festive treat or gift. These sweet thangs are warming and dangerously moreish. Add to that the fact that they only take a few minutes to get together and we have ourselves a Christmas classic! At least in the Beach House anyway. If you’re the kind of person who loves licking chocolate off things (who doesn’t!!!) then this is the one for you.

This recipe basically an assembly job, dipping crystallised ginger into dark vegan chocolate. The sweet ginger combined with the bitter chocolate is an utter sensation!

I find crystallised ginger way too sweet to eat as it is, so dipping it in chocolate is the perfect way to make it appealing to all. The process, like most festive cooking shenanigans, is loads of FUN! The ginger is also very warming we find, especially helpful up here in wild and wonderful Wales.

One part of Christmas that we love is the way that it focuses our minds on how we eat and how we can feed our loved ones. We tend to get more creative and throw ourselves into crafts, arts, baking, all sorts of activities that we maybe overlook in the year.

Pop these into little bags with fancy bows and you’ve got a gorgeous little crimbo pressie for loved ones, neighbours, work colleagues, the postie…….. With any leftover chocolate, why not pop a few nuts into the mix, or dried fruits. Walnuts are particularly satisfying as the chocolate sticks in the nobbles and bobbles of these funky nuts.

Recipe Notes

You may like to dust these treats with cocoa/ cacao or even cinnamon.

Ginger & Chocolate Treats – still a little soft to scoff

If you are short of time and still want to create some homemade magic, here we are:

The Bits

250g crystallised ginger
150g very dark chocolate (70-80% cocoa content is best)

Do It
Boil a kettle. Add boiling water to a small saucepan. Pop a glass bowl over the saucepan and gently warm the water. Break up the chocolate and pop in the bowl.

Stir and melt the chocolate until it has mostly melted. Keep stirring, the rest of the choc will melt.

Using a skewer (cocktail sticks are best) dip your ginger pieces into the just melted chocolate and place on a chopping board/ tray covered with greaseproof paper. Be sure to allow excess chocolate to drip off, shake it a little, so there is just enough to cover the ginger. Otherwise you’re left with a puddle of chocolate that sets in a funny shape (this however can look very cool!)

Leave to cool at room temperature and once the chocolate has solidified, eat one to test it. At least one……..Then bag up, pop in a sealable container, gift wrap………enjoy!!!!

Any spare chocolate? Grab some nuts/ dried fruit and coat them for extra treats.

Nutty Chocolate Delights!

Foodie Fact

Although this recipe is by no means the healthiest one we’ll post, ginger is still ginger and has some shining bonuses to make our bodies smile.

Ginger is especially good for the digestive system, both soothing and inflammatory. Ginger is also packed with anti-oxidant properties and is generally immune boosting and can help with nausea. All of this sounds like a perfect reason to incorporate more ginger into our diets (these treats being the sweetest by a mile!)

Our little ‘naff’ tree sparkling away

Categories: Recipes, Vegan | Tags: chocolate, christmas, gift, ginger, homemade, plant-based, recipe, simple, treats, vegetarian | 3 Comments

No-Knead Everyday Loaf

Posted on April 25, 2015 by leroy watson

No-Knead Everyday Loaf

Risk free, no brainer baking. Perfect! If you have never made bread before, start here…….if you’re a pro kneader, give this one a whirl, you’ll be surprised by the results.

This is bread making without all the fuss and mess. In fact, its as simple as; combining, baking, eating. This is a light loaf, with a slightly crumbly finish, like an Irish soda bread (without the faint twang of soda). You can really taste the yoghurt which is a nice addition, giving richness to the loaf.

This is a bread that we make regularly and is perfect for a quick loaf in a hurry. There is no proving or hanging around with this one. Mix it up, whack it in the oven and before you know it, your whole house is fragrant with the joys of imminent warm bread. Homemade bread is the only way to go and with recipes like this, its hassle free.

Adding sparkling water to your baking really adds a lightness to proceedings. Normal water works fine here also.

Jane nibbling on a ‘Tostada con Tomate’ – One of the recipes in our new cookbook – Peace and Parsnips

Modified from the awesome vegan baking book ‘The Vegan Baker’ by Dunja Gulin

The Bits – Makes a 1/2kg loaf (around 8-10 slices)

275g unbleached white flour

125g wholewheat flour

2 teas baking powder

50g rolled oats

1 ½ teas salt

250ml soya milk

225ml water (sparkling water is best)

4 tbs soya yoghurt (unsweetened)

2 tbs olive oil

Everything in neat bowls, probably the tidiest bread making recipe (no flour everywhere for a start)

Seed Mix

3 tbs rolled oats

1/2 teas caraway seeds

2 tbs flax/linseeds or sunflower seeds (any seed will do….)

Loaf topped and ready for the oven

Do It

Preheat an oven to 220oC (425oF).

Sift the white flour with the baking powder, then stir in the oats and salt. Mix well.

Mix in the wet ingredients and combine well with a trusty wooden spoon until a sticky dough is formed. It should be easy to spoon, add a touch more water if needed.

Line a loaf tin with oiled baking parchment, the neater, the better. Sprinkle half of the seed mix on the base and then spoon in the bread mix. Level with a spatula (a wet one works best) and sprinkle over the rest of the seed mix.

Pop in the oven and lower heat to 200oC (400oF) and bake for an hour. If you’re using a fan oven, check after 30 minutes that the top is not burning (our oven is a beast and tends to burn tops). Cover with more parchment if this is happening.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin. Turn out and peel off paper. Leave to cool further on a wire rack, the crust will now crisp up nicely.

Store as you do, this bread lasts well, 5 days.

We let it cool outside, meaning you can start eating it sooner!

Serve

Warm with Marmite and good olive oil or some of Jane’s lovely Apple and Tomato Chutney (coming soon on the B.H.K). This loaf is a good toaster.

Foodie Fact

Oats are a concentrated source of fibre and nutrients, a pocket battleship so to speak. They are very high in minerals like manganese, phosphorous and copper. It contains beta-glucan, which is a special type of fibre that actually lowers cholesterol. Isn’t nature kind! Have loads of fibre also means that oats help to stabilise our blood sugar level, meaning a better metabolism and less freaky weight gain. Oats are very cool.

Sunset last night from the BHK window

Categories: Baking, Peace and Parsnips, Recipes, Vegan, Wales | Tags: bread, cookbooks, cooking, food, no-knead, oats, simple | 2 Comments

Simple Blackberry Compote and Tips on Berry Foraging

Posted on September 4, 2014 by leroy watson

The BHK bumper blackberry crop

We decided to let our brambles run wild this year, the back of the garden has sprung into a thorny, berry heaven. Brambles are so prolific and need no encouraging to take over the joint! We’ve had a bumper crop with kilos of blackberries flying into the kitchen and looking for a home. I like what the brambles have done to the nether regions of our garden, creating a home for all sorts of cool creepy crawlies and a decent amount of little mice, which are big friends to our developing garden.

On our green and good isle, Britain, we are enjoying a good start to September, the extra rays of sunlight are resulting in some massive, succulent blackberries, so we’ve been making chutneys, wine (this recipe will no doubt appear here soon) and compotes/ jams. We are nicely stocked for the upcoming Christmas/ birthday present-athon. What better gift than a spicy chutney?

Blackberries are such a bountiful autumnal bonus and along with elderberries, are two of my favourite fruity treats. This is such an abundant time of year, it seems like all the warm weather we’ve had this year has come to fruition. Its hanging from almost every bush! It makes all that messing around with soil and late night slug raids on the veg patch worth while. We can eat from the land and there are few things more satisfying than a fruit salad made from you’re own (British!) garden.

Berry foraging bonus – fresh lavender smells around the house

Blackberries are native to Northern Europe and they grow as far north as Siberia! Our berries, like most, just run wild all over the place. You can be more organised and precise and run them up trellises etc. But thats proper gardeners territory and we’re not there yet.

When making this compote, it will rarely get easier when playing with pots and pans. Two ingredients and a little heat, a jar and a cool place. All you need for a knockout compote. We took this in what is known as a ‘sugar free’ direction as a friend was visiting who is avoiding the heinous white powder. A sprinkle of dates sorts out all of our sweet tooth requirements and also brings a thicker texture to the party. Taste the compote after 5 minutes bubbling on the hob and add more dates if not quite sweet enough. We are not sure how long it will last in the fridge, this compote is not made as a ‘preserve’ but should be eaten soon after cooking. We’ve had a huge pot in the fridge now for over three weeks and its fine. I did think that the reduced sugar content would shorten its life, but its still soldiering on.

Good blackberries are essential for this type of embellishment free behaviour, raid you local hedgerow to find the finest blackberries. You will probably have a nice time too, just avoid those vicious thorns and if picking on a road, avoid speeding buses!

TOP TIPS FOR BERRY FORAGING

– Never pick anything edible around train tracks, they regularly spray chemicals around the tracks to stop weeds growing. Never pick berries that are cocked dog leg height, for obvious reasons.

– Be careful not to squash berries when picking them, if you do, we suggest popping them into your mouth. Try to keep your hands clean when picking fruit, the occasional scoff is very hard to resist (and all part of the fun).

– Only pick berries that are plump and soft, the ones that fall off in your hand. If you have to tug it, it ain’t ready for munching. Leave if for a few days and then go back for it (blackberries grow and ripen quickly).

– Use the berries straight away, that day. If they look dirty, or you don’t fancy wild berry munching, submerge berries in cold water when you get home, give them a swish around and then leave them to drain, laying them out on kitchen paper when ready. Handle them very gently, until they are dry-ish. Then pop in the fridge covered loosely. This works for us. But as mentioned, the sooner they disappear into happy bellies, the better.

– When picking blackberries, look at the white bit (where the stem should be), this is where maggots reside. If there are maggots hanging out, ditch the berry on the ground and continue undeterred.

– Don’t wear your new white shirt or trousers.

The Bits – Makes 2 regular jam jars

800g freshly picked blackberries

2 big handfuls of chopped dates (to taste)

Do It

In a large, heavy bottomed pan, add the blackerries and dates, bring slowly to a boil and leave to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the berries have broken down. Stir regularly, do not allow the base or edges of the compote to catch and burn.

Very easy Blackberry Compote with some Rye Bread

Serve

The resulting deep purple gorgeous-ness can be spread on warm toast with soya yoghurt or with chopped bananas and nut butter. Very pleasant when spooned over your morning bowl of muesli or even frozen and made into a sorbet (we haven’t tried this yet). You could also make a wonderful dressing with it, by adding balsamic vinegar and a touch of oil and seasoning.

Foodie Fact

Blackberries contain a low-calorie sugar substitute called Xylitol, which is low GI, meaning slow absorption into the blood stream. Blackberries are high in fibre and are full, full, full of antioxidants like vitamin C and chemicals called phenolic flavanoids (good guys).

See below for the physical after effects of a days blackberry picking.

Jane on Aberdaron beach yesterday, full of blackberries!

Categories: Foraging, Recipes, Wild food | Tags: antioxidants, blackberries, blackberry, blackberry picking, compote, food, foraging, healthy, nutrition, photography, recipe, simple, sugar free, vegan | 10 Comments

Nettle & Wild Garlic Pistou

Posted on May 26, 2013 by leroy watson

Jane and I have been visiting the local hedgrerows and forests recently and have regularly come back with a bumper crop of nettles and wild garlic. It is such a wonderful time of year for these abundant herbs, they’re also easy to identify so there is no reason why we shouldn’t all be taking advantage of one of natures finest freebies! The forests reek of fragrant garlic!!

This is a pistou (French/ Italian) not a pesto (Italian), mainly due to the lack of nuts. If you add pine nuts, or another nut, you’d probably call it a pesto. Otherwise both are potent blends and something rather special to have hanging around the fridge.

There are a vast amount of edible shoots, leaves and berries that we are not aware of (by we, I mean us at the BHK!) We have books, we have TV programmes, but you cannot beat getting out there and having a look at whats growing for yourself. For example, we have recently learnt that young hawthorn leaves are a rare sweet treat. We’re taking it easy and adding a few new foraging delights to the menu each year.

Wild garlic and nettles have magical health properties. Nettle tea is a staple at this time of year and this pesto blend makes the most of both. It can be kept in the fridge for while and adds a unique flavour to anything it touches. Dressings, soups, stews, bread, to name a few we’ve stuck it in.

Nettles were used extensively in ancient Tibet and the Buddhist saint Milarepa was said to live on them when on retreat, turning green and enlightened. The kind of story that gets our imagination whirring.

Jane and I have gotten ourselves into a multitude of busy situations, gardening being but one. There has been much rain recently and today we managed to get out into the garden and pop the potatoes into the earth. We also have much beetroot, cavolo nero, spinach, rocket, rainbow chard, sunflowers and I can’t remember the rest. Needless to say, we are excited about the prospects of the Beach House Garden this year and have our fingers well crossed for a mild, wind-free summer. Very, very, very wishful thinking.

The Bits

60g nettle leaves, 40g wild garlic leaves, 4 garlic cloves (crushed), 100ml evoo, 100g vegan parmesan (Violife do a good one), 1 pinch salt and 2 pinch pepper

Do It

Blanch nettle quickly (10 seconds) in boiling water, this will keep them nice and green and take the sting out of them! Plunge (great word) into cold water. Pat dry.

Place all in a blender, blitz together until paste formed. Add a little more olive oil if you like in runny.

For old fashioned style, use a pestle and mortar. Simple as this.

Serve

In a pistou stew, see below, or spread on toast! It really comes to life tossed in warm pasta.

We Love It!

It literally grows on trees (or below them). This is our type of gardening, wander around pick it, no digging or engaging the brain. Go for a walk with a plastic bag and one rubber glove (those nettles take no prisoners) and you have a harvest on your hand.

Foodie Fact

Nettles contain bags of chlorophyll, calcium, iron, trace minerals, vitamins and proteins. They can be made into paper, hair lotions, thread, soil enricher (great on tomatoes!), disinfectant for stalls and stables, cups of tea…..It is a tonic, diuretic, astringent, anti-asthmatic, chi strengthener, anti-anaemic, laxative and a nettle brew can heal damage tissue. It strengthens kidneys, lungs, intestines and arteries with regular use.

Pistou Stew – Recipe to follow

Categories: Foraging, Healing foods, Recipes | Tags: foraging, free food, healing foods, nature, nettles, nutrition, pesto, pistou, simple, vegetarian, wild garlic | 13 Comments

Quick Green Lentil Stew

Posted on May 30, 2012 by leroy watson

This is one for the ‘Beach House Basics’ page; the place to go for simple food, prepared with love (of course!). Good food does not necessarily mean complex with loads of ingredients and this is one that we make regularly.

Sometimes, when writing this blog, I forget that people just want something easy. I normally put the more elaborate or special occasion dishes that we make, but really, the everyday food is just as good, just not quite as fancy.

This stew can be made with puy lentils, which many would class as the best, I feel that green lentils make a good substitute (and are cheaper). The lemon, chilli and coriander give the stew a lift, making it great for this time of year (its springtime in Britain).

Like so many recipes, this could be used as a side dish, but for me, it deserves to be center stage. Adding the potatoes means this is a definite main course filler.

The coriander is something we had in the kitchen, but you could use any fresh green leaf herb really and the lemon could always be a lime instead.

This recipe needs dried lentils that need soaking (overnight). Otherwise this is minimal fuss and maximum munch!

This recipe will be a good dinner for two people, though we normally cook in bulk and dip into it over a few days.

Green Lentil Stew

The Bits

1 cup of green lentils (soaked overnight) or one tin, 1 clove garlic (finely chopped), 1 great carrot (chopped) , 2 large tomato (chopped), a few new potatoes (sliced), 1/2 teas of chilli flakes, 1 big handful of coriander, juice of half a lemon, a glug of olive oil, 1 pint of good veg stock (as needed).

Do It

Drain soaked lentils (a quick wash for them) and cover with your veg stock (approx 1 inch above lentils) in a saucepan. Add a little sea salt and bring gently to the boil, then cover and simmer. Cook as per packet guidelines (30 minutes should do), try one for ‘bite’.

Once lentils are 10 minutes from being cooked, stir them and add your potatoes (it should be looking quite stew-like by now) and cook for 5 minutes, then add your garlic, chilli, carrots and tomatoes, cook for a further 5 minutes. Then stir in the olive oil, lemon juice and coriander and place a lid on the stew, turning the heat off. Let the flavours marinade for a few minutes and then serve.

Serve

We normally have it topped with a little olive oil and toasted sunflower seeds, with brown rice and yoghurt. Just by itself with a fresh green salad is also great.

We Love It!

This is perfect for when you only have a small window of time to work your kitchen magic!

Foodie Fact

These wonder legumes are filled with cholesterol lowering fibre, they also help to maintain your blood sugar levels. They contain high levels of six important minerals, two vitamin B’s and protein, with hardly any calories.

Categories: Budget, Dinner, Healthy Eating, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Recipes, Side Dish, Vegan | Tags: clove garlic, cooking, dinner, food, green lentil, puy lentil, quick, recipes, simple, stews, vegan, vegetarian | 9 Comments

Chilli & Onion Marmalade (Beach House Basics)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by leroy watson

Buster smells cooking

I have always loved this gooey, sweet stuff. I remember years ago, I made my first batch and was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy it was. This is the case with so many recipes, you just need to give them a go. For this reason, we have created the Beach House Basics page (see at the top of the page).

The Beach House Basics will be a page dedicated to simple, cheap and normally quick recipes that we cook regularly. With just a little time and effort, we can make so many more homemade goodies, to our own taste and not rely on mass produced, factory made fare.

The Beach House Basics page will not include the ‘Foodies Fact’ and ‘Boozie Bit’ section. It will be straight to the point, that is, great recipes.

We would love you to get involved with the Beach House Kitchen, letting us know your favourite, most simple and rewarding recipes. We’ll pop them on the ‘Basics’ page with a nice link you.

This recipe reflects my taste, hence a little chill and coriander. The basic recipe, without spices, is great on its own and I normally omit the sugar, the onions being sweet enough. Onion Marmalade is a great staple relish to have hanging around, always there to add a delicious tangy sweetness to your plate.

Sweaty Onions

The Bits

6 white onions, glug of olive oil, 1 teas chilli flakes, 1 teas coriander seeds, 1 teas black mustard seeds, 1 bay leaf, 2 tbs balsamic vinegar, 1 tbs brown sugar (depending on your sweet tooth), s + p to taste.

Do It

Slice onions finely, heat a large heavy bottomed saucepan on medium heat, add olive oil, add onions, and all other ingredients (except the vinegar), gently cook (don’t brown) stirring regularly for roughly 45 minutes. The onions will gradually brown and go sticky. Add the vinegar halfway through cooking, taste to check for balance of sweetness with sharpness. Add more balsamic or sugar if you like. The flavours will mellow when cooled. At end, take out bay leaf.

When cooled, put in a nice jam jar or tupperware, ready to be lathered on biscuits or crackers, preferably with a nice lump of potent cheddar.

If you are not planning on using the onion marmalade immediately, wash a Kilner jar or a couple of jam jars, rinse thoroughly, then dry in a warm oven. Stand them upside down on a clean tea towel.

For jam jars, fill them, then cover the marmalade with a disc of waxed paper while still hot, then seal with a dampened disc of clear plastic, secure with an elastic band and screw back on the top. Label and store in a cool, dark place for up to 2 months, then use as required.