Red Pepper and Kidney BeanTagine

My creative pot (metaphorically speaking) was placed on the back burner the past few days in favour of a relaxing few days away with friends. We wallowed in the hot springs, made liberal use of the waterslides, putt-putt and trampolines and spent our nights braai-ing. If you've ever contemplated a midweek break but was unsure if you should go ahead: wonder no more!

We came back refreshed, energised and steamy from the inside out and was welcomed home with wintry Cape weather - cold, overcast and drizzling.

This type of weather lends itself to such a wide array of comforting foods though, that it's impossible for me not to be at least a little bit glad when waking up to the beating rain. Apart from the culinary possibilities of cold weather, I think few things beat snuggling up under a duvet with your man/a good book/your adorable little kitten. Some form of hot beverage on standby goes without saying of course...

This is strictly speaking not a tagine as it's cooked on the stove top in a plain old saucepan, but tagine sounded a hell of a lot better than stew or hotpot. Besides, I'm allowed some artistic license, right? Whatever the name though, this is one seriously comforting mix of vegetable goodness and smoky heat from the spices used. It is both delightfully light and deliciously filling - the perfect rainy day meal for you and your man. Or cute little kitten...

Red Bean and Red Pepper Tagine

Adapted from food24 (originally sourced from Ideas magazine) 

Serves 6

1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

3 red bell peppers, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 tsp (5 ml) cumin seeds, finely ground

2 tsp (10 ml) smoky hot paprika

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tins (410g each) peeled and diced tomatoes

125g baby marrows (zucchini)

salt, to taste 

2 tins (410g each) red kidney beans, drained

1/4 cup fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped

1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and peppers, saute until softened. and add peppers, onion and garlic. 

2. Add cumin, paprika and cinnamon and cook for a few seconds or until fragrant.

3. Add tomatoes and babymarrows, season to taste with salt, cover and cook for 15 minutes over medium-low heat.

4. Add beans and gently reheat until simmering. Sprinkle with coriander and mint and serve with couscous.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 200.5 , Total fat 3.3 g, Saturated fat 0.5 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.7 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.8 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 633.9 mg, Potassium 908.2 mg, Total carbohydrate 35.7 g, Dietary fiber 12.4 g, Sugars 4.0 g, Protein 10.0 g 

Good source of: Vitamin C 243.0 %, Vitamin A 79.3 %, Manganese 33.8 %, Folate 26.5 %, Iron 22.7 %, Vitamin B6 22.4 %,

Grilled Green Chef's Salad

Summer seems to have made a brief comeback as we're approaching May. Hey I'm not complaining. Okay I am, but just a little bit. You know how I feel about summer, but I'll admit it's nice to have an excuse to whip up a deliciously crunchy meal in the midst of all the soups and stews we've been having.

I encountered this salad on fellow South African blogger's site, Jamie Who. And it looked absolutely fantastic. So when the sun shone down in what was surely the sensory equivalent of surround sound yesterday, I knew this would be the perfect foil to the warmth.  Layers of crunchy fresh leaves, salty cheese, nutty seeds, char-grilled babymarrow (zucchini) and lightly steamed broccoli was just the ticket. The best part? Feeling incredibly sophisticated as we ate this beauty of a salad, even while we were barely out of our pj's and lounging on the couch. Yes, that's how we roll and let me tell you, it is highly recommended. Fancy salad + Couch potato style = Pure awesomeness.

Grilled Green Chef's Salad 

Adapted from Jamie Who

Serves 3

1 tbsp olive oil

200g babymarrow (zucchini), sliced lengthways

1/2 head broccoli, broken into florets

1 pillow bag herb salad

1 handful rocket (aragula)

a few basil leaves, roughly chopped

a few mint leaves, roughly chopped

1/4 cup blanched almond slivers

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

3 tbsp shaved pecorino

salt, to taste

freshly ground black pepper

mixture of balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil, to dress

1. Toss babymarrow with one tablespoon of olive oil. Heat a griddle pan over high heat, then place the babymarrow slices onto the griddle. Grill for a few minutes, turning once, until cooked through but not soft, and with clear griddle marks on both sides. 

2. Steam broccoli briefly, until just cooked, then quickly place under cold running water to stop the cooking process and fix the colour.

3. Mix leaves and herbs in a large bowl, then divide evenly among the plates. Arrange broccoli and babymarrows on top and scatter with almonds, pumpkin seeds and slivers of shaved pecorino cheese. 

4. Sprinkle with salt and grind some black pepper on top, then dress lightly with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil. Serve immediately.

Zucchini Puree with Tomatoes

  
Boy it really must seem like I'm a negative Nellie, but lemme have just this one more gripe. And then I'll be perky & positive for a few days. Pinky swear.

So you get two types of people: 

a) go-getters
b) lazy asses



I am not afraid (but a teensy little bit ashamed) to admit that I fit neatly into the last category. Of course I sometimes kick into gear, but mostly the laziness takes over and wrestles me down. I like to call it the path of least resistance... Having said that though, I also understand that if you want to be a lazy ass, you also give up your rights to complain when things are done by someone else. You need to pick your poison I think. 

Which is why it grates me so when I have to take care of something that is actually supposed to be someone else's job (am I talking about my dear colleague again? Perhaps...), and then that person has the audacity to point out everything that is wrong with the completed task. Bite me!

*Breathe in, breathe out*

Let's move on to more pleasant subjects though, shall we? Like food. Specifically Moroccan food. More specifically Moroccan mezze. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm you know you want some. This zucchini puree is about as easy as they come. Boil/steam your babymarrows, mash them up roughly with a fork and toss with a garlicy tomato sauce. Lovely as a dip or thickly scooped onto crusty bread. Can be made ahead and kept in the fridge (covered) for a few hours or even a few days. Low maintenance. Perfect for lazy asses.

I'm submitting this to Regional Recipes (February's theme is the Middle East), hosted by Joanne of Eats Well With Others and created by Darlene from Blazing Hot Wok. 

Zucchini Puree with Tomatoes

(Slada Bil Gharaa Wal Tamatem)

Adapted from Arabesque (Claudia Roden)

Serves 3 - 4 as part of a mezze selection

250g zucchini, cut into thickish slices

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tin whole peeled tomatoes (with juice)

salt & black pepper, to taste

fresh parsley or coriander to garnish (optional)

1. Steam the zucchini until tender. Remove from heat and roughly mash with a fork.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan. Add garlic and tomatoes and cook over medium heat until sauce has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Gently combine tomatoes and zucchini and spoon into a serving bowl. Allow to cool down, then garnish with fresh herbs and serve with crusty bread and other mezze.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 36.8, Total fat 1.9 g, Saturated fat 0.3 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.3 g, Monounsaturated fat 1.1 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 43.1 mg, Potassium 443.9 mg, Total carbohydrate 4.0 g, Dietary fiber 1.2 g, Sugars 0.8 g, Protein 2.5 g

Good source of: Vitamin C 52.4 %

Chickpea, Apricot & Walnut Salad

Carrying on with my Tex-Mex theme (as evidenced by my Spicy Mexican Beef Skewers and Tex-Mex salad), I bring you... well.... a not so tex-mex-y salad. But it did hang out with some cacti... so I think we can at least give it honorary Tex-Mex status! Eh... probably not, right? Oh dear.. now the salad is skulking away in shame.



Come back salad! All is forgiven. Tex-Mex or no Tex-Mex, this one can rough it up with the best of them. And it's pretty pleasing on the tastebuds too. Especially as leftovers the next day - there's just something about hanging around for a day that seems to bring out the best in some dishes.

Chickpea, Apricot & Walnut Salad
Serves 6

2 tins (400g each) chickpeas, drained
150g babymarrows, sliced diagonally and lightly steamed
100g dried apricots, chopped
50g walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dried chilli flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt

1. Toss chickpeas, babymarrows, apricots and nuts together.

2. Combine spices, lemon juice and oil to form a dressing and drizzle over salad. Toss lightly to combine and serve cold or at room temperature.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 166.3, Total fat 1.3 g, Saturated fat 0.1 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.6 g, Monounsaturated fat 0.2 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 242.9 mg, Potassium 573.0 mg, Total carbohydrate 35.4 g, Dietary fiber 6.1 g, Sugars 13.5 g, Protein 5.7 g

Good source of:  Vitamin A 30.5 %, Manganese 30.0 %, Vitamin B6 24.9 %, Vitamin C 23.0 %, Folate 15.7 %

Bibimbap

You know how sometimes everything seems to go wrong in the kitchen?

Well I had one of those experiences last night. We were going to bbq some chicken and I had a coleslaw in mind as side-dish. But when I peeked into the fridge Mr Limp & Listless was peeking out from the vegetable crisper (now there's a misnomer if I've ever heard one!), and so the coleslaw idea was tossed out.



Then I spied an plump aubergine and thought I'd roast it and perhaps add some lentils and feta to it for a quick side-salad. But clearly this was not meant to be either. I only had a handful of lentils and you know how I roll - I normally make enough for lunchboxes the next day, so a handful was really not going to cut it here. Us over here here at Casa del Pot are a hungry bunch...

Then I started eyeing up the flour innocently fluttering her eyelashes at me from her fridge prison and an idea started brewing - I could make a foccacia, grill it on the bbq and top it with roasted aubergines. Yes! Um, no. I don't know what happened, but that flour stubbornly refused to come together properly.

At this point I was pretty fed up. And irritated. And super-emotional snotty-nosed slightly teary-eyed.And of course once I started getting teary-eyed, everything just seemed Undoable and I seemed Unable to Cook and all I wanted was chocolate!

Okay so you're probably wondering what this has to do with Bibimbap? Seriously, longest roundabout in history, right? The point is - sometimes things don't work out as planned. Bibimbap is great for those times, since you can use pretty much any vegetables you have lying around (hell you can even substitute another protein for the mince) and it'll somehow work out. And taste uh-maaaaaaaazing. With absolutely no need to get all teary-eyed. Unless it will get you more chocolate.

Bibimbap

Serves 4

vegetable oil, for frying

200g minced beef

1 tbsp soy sauce (plus extra for serving)

2 tbsp sriracha (plus extra for serving)

2 babymarrows, cut into strips

1/2 red bellpepper, cut into strips

125g mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup beansprouts

2 cups rice, cooked

4 eggs

1. Heat 1 tsp vegetable oil in a wok, fry beef over high heat until browned. Add soy sauce and sriracha, fry another 1 minute, then remove from wok and set aside.

2. Heat another 1 tsp vegetable oil in the wok, add babymarrows, fry until cooked (but still crunchy), set aside. Repeat with bellpepper, mushrooms and beansprouts.

3. Lastly, break eggs into a medium sized frying pan, fry over medium heat for a few minutes until cooked to your liking.

4. To serve - spoon rice into serving bowls and allow everyone to add beef and veggies as desired to their bowls. Top with a fried egg and add some sriracha and soy sauce to taste. Mix it all up and enjoy!

Fusilli with Green Velvet Sauce

Do you detect the recurring theme here? Quick and easy meals invariably call for pasta at casa del Creative Pot and it seems that peas are a regular partner in crime. The reason for this is simple - peas are one of the only frozen veggies I have available, so when there's nothing else in the fridge, the humble pea leaps forward with both feet and demands that it be given centre stage.




Okay, maybe that's not quite how it goes, but I'm sure you get the idea. I got the idea for this pasta sauce in a Woolworths Taste magazine (I *think*) - they originally combined peas in a blender with some creamy bulgarian yogurt to make a delicious pasta sauce. I've since adapted it to included buttermilk instead of yogurt, and adding browned button mushrooms on top (which, incidentally is a delicious combo).

I didn't have any dairy products on hand this time though and seeing as we're on the end-of-the-month-salticrax (my fellow South-Africans will know exactly what I mean), I had to make do with what we had on hand - olives, capers and a few babymarrows. Oh, and a splash of wine. 'Cause wine makes everything better (that's a little something for future reference, just so you know). I unwittingly ended up with a vegan dish. Which was incidentally also pretty damn tasty. Don't be tempted to leave out the capers or olives - the peas need a bit of a kick in the behind to liven them up.

Fusilli with Green Velvet Sauce

Serves 4

250g fusilli (pasta screws)

1 tbsp olive oil

4 babymarrows, sliced

1 cup of frozen peas

1 tsp minced garlic

1/3 cup white wine

salt & pepper to taste

1 tbsp lemon juice

16 black olives, halved

2 tablespoons capers

1. Cook pasta until al dente in a big pot of boiling salted water. Toss with olive oil and set aside.

2. Cook babymarrows, peas and garlic in a little bit of water over medium heat for a few minutes or until babymarrows are soft. Transfer to a blender and blitz to a velvety green puree.

3. Return puree to saucepan, add wine and lemon juice and season to taste. Cook for a few minutes or until wine gets absorbed and sauce thickens slightly.

4. Toss with pasta, adding a little bit of water to loosen (if neccessary). Top with capers and olives and serve immediately.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 327.3, Total fat 6.8 g, Saturated fat 1.1 g, Polyunsaturated fat 1.0 g, Monounsaturated fat 4.5 g, Cholesterol 0.0 mg, Sodium 467.5 mg, Potassium 133.4 mg, Total carbohydrate 53.8 g, Dietary fiber 4.2 g, Sugars 4.2 g, Protein 10.4 g

Good source of: Vitamin C 21.5 %

Rainbow Rice Salad

This weekend was like those you dream of having. Relaxing, full (but not TOO full) of great friends, and even including an afternoon nap or two. Just what the doctor ordered. And on a relaxing weekend, you want a relaxing time in the kitchen too, right? This light salad promises just that. And look how pretty it turned out! I love colourful food... *smile*

Rainbow Rice Salad

Serves 5 (as main dish, more if served as a side)

1 1/3 cups uncooked brown rice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 large slices of ham (approx 100g), finely chopped

3 babymarrows, finely chopped

3/4 small yellow bellpepper, finely chopped

4 radishes (approx 60g), finely chopped

a handful of fresh basil, finely shredded

a handful of fresh parsley, finely shredded

salt & pepper to taste.

1. Cook rice in a big pot of salted boiling water until done. Don't overcook. Allow to cool down slightly, then dress with olive oil and lemon juice.

2. Add the ham and vegetables, as well as the herbs and mix through the rice to distribute evenly. Season to taste and serve.

Note: Yes, the babymarrows are eaten raw - try it, they're great that way. 

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 240.8, Total fat 6.5 g, Saturated fat 1.1 g, Polyunsaturated fat 0.5 g, Monounsaturated fat 3.0 g, Cholesterol 11.0 mg, Sodium 270.9 mg, Potassium 189.8 mg, Total carbohydrate 40.0 g, Dietary fiber 2.7 g, Sugars 0.2 g, Protein 8.3 g

Good source of: Vitamin C 71.8 %, 

Curried Chicken Noodle Soup

I've been feeling a bit under the weather for the last few days. It started with a scratchy throat on the weekend and progressed into some minor sniffles yesterday. Highly annoying as we're just entering spring - colds should be a thing of the past now! 

Anyway, as everyone knows chicken noodle soup is just the thing to beat the sniffles right out of the door.

Add to that some curry powder to burn those virusses on their way out and you've got a winning team! This was truly a delicious soup, so simple but with so much flavour. Received the thumbs-up from TheHusband as well, although that shouldn't really be such a surprise, chicken lover that he is.

Curried Chicken Noodle Soup

Adapted from Bowl Food

Serves 4

1 tbsp oil

220g skinless chicken breast

1 medium onion, sliced

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric

3 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

1 can (400ml) light coconut milk

180g thin dried egg noodles

125g babymarrows

1/3 cup fresh basil, torn

1. Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add whole chicken breasts and cook for about 8 minutes, turning once to brown evenly. Chicken should be almost cooked but with a little bit of pink in the middle. (Don't worry we're going to cook it a little bit more later on). Set chicken aside.

2. Fry onion in the same wok over medium heat for another about 5 minutes, or until soft. Add ginger, masala and turmeric, fry another 30 seconds to release the flavours, then add chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Slice the chicken thinly.

4. Add the coconut milk to the saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes. Now add the noodles, babymarrows and sliced chicken and let cook for another 5 minutes - noodles will be cooked through and babymarrows tender. Chicken should be fully cooked at this stage.

5. Lastly stir in the basil and serve piping-hot.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 405.0 , Total fat 14.3  g, Saturated fat 1.5 g, Polyunsaturated fat 2.2 g, Monounsaturated fat 3.9 g, Cholesterol 76.9 mg, Sodium 304.6 mg, Potassium 610.5 mg, Total carbohydrate 41.3 g, Dietary fiber 3.0 g, Sugars 2.9 g, Protein 25.7 g

Good source of: Selenium 57.9 %, Niacin 49.4 %, Manganese 35.3 %, Phosphorus 28.7 %, Vitamin B6 28.4 %, Vitamin C 24.1 %,

Jamie's Simply Dressed Greens

Except these aren't green! According to Jamie Oliver this is the how Italians serve their veggies - simply cooked/steamed and then drizzled with a garlicy vinaigrette. And let me tell you, I could eat an entire bowlful of veggies like this - the dressing is just enough to subtly flavour the vegetables without being overpowering. 

I defy anyone not to like vegetables when served this way (seriously, don't you get annoyed by people who say they don't like ANY veggies? Surely you must like SOME, right? It's not like they all taste the same!) And this would be good with almost any vegetable - zucchini is lovely as well (cut them diagonally for visual interest), even broccoli shines like a star upon receiving this treatment.  

I'm submitting this to Weekend Herb Blogging #200, hosted by Cook Almost Anything

Jamie's Simply Dressed Greens

Adapted from Jamie's Italy 

This is not really a recipe, as it will depend on your tastes, but the basic premise is this:

1. Simply steam your veggies, or cook in a liiiiiitle bit of water (keyword here is little - we don't want to drown out all the nutrients).

2. Make a dressing using 3 parts of olive oil to 1 part lemon juice. Add a 1/2 tsp of minced garlic - increase if you are a garlic slut like me, or if you have a particularly large amount of veggies - but remember the garlic won't be cooked, so it's flavour will remain quite intense. Lastly add a handful of chopped up herbs - again, you can use almost anything you like of the soft leafy varieties (I wouldn't recommend the woody ones) - so experiment with parsley, fennel, dill or whatever else strikes your fancy.

3. As soon as the veggies are done (they should be crisp-tender and not mush), drain them (if necessary) and immediately toss with the dressing. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and serve warm or lukewarm.

Indian Pork with Pickling Spices

This is what I made last night, based on Meena Patak's recipe. It is hands down one of the best tasting things I've had in a while. And so simple! Let me tell you, the lemon pickle flavour is out of this world! 


If you haven't tried it before, and you can get your hands on a bottle (I use Patak's Lemon Pickles. How original...), please do yourself a favour and and give it a whiff. That alone will convince you of the wonders that lie inside that bottle. 

This is so different from the normal flavours I associate with Indian food, you know, spicy & creamy & tomatoey, but you know, sometimes you just don't feel like something heavy & creamy. Right? Right. So this one is for when you feel like something a bit lighter, more zesty and refreshing. Best of all, it only takes about 30 minutes. Now that's what I call a good deal.

Indian Pork with Pickling Spices

Serves 3

1 tbsp oil
450g pork, cubed
half of a medium yellow bellpepper, sliced into strips
125g babymarrow, sliced diagonally into thickish slices
a handful of springonions, chopped (i like to chop into biggish pieces, but it probably doesn't make a difference)
2 tablespoons of lime pickle
2 tablespoons of mango chutney (if you can't get mango, use normal chutney, but add a bit of sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup uncooked brown rice

1. First get your rice going - add 2 cups water, salt and cook for about 25 - 30 minutes.
2. Next, heat up the oil in a pan and add the pork. Fry for about 3 - 4 minutes over high heat, then add yellow bellpepper.
3. Fry another 2 - 3 minutes, stirring every so often, then add babymarrow.
4. After another 3 minutes, when babymarrow is starting to soften, add the spring onions, lime pickle and mango chutney. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower heat, cover with lid and cook for another 5 minutes until veggies are soft but still crispy and pork is cooked through.
5. Serve over brown rice.

Nutritional info (per serving): Calories 402.0 Total Fat 19.6 g Saturated Fat 5.3 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g Monounsaturated Fat 3.5 g Cholesterol 62.5 mg Sodium 1613.7 mg Potassium 86.6 mg Total Carbohydrate 19.2 g Dietary Fiber 2.1 g Sugars 0.3 g Protein 29.1 g

Gnocchi with Ratatouille & Feta

This is such a simple dish but it's really good. If you haven't made it yet... well what are you waiting for?

Gnocchi with Ratatouille & Feta


Serves 4

1 aubergine, cubed
2 tomatoes, chopped
4 babymarrows, thickly sliced
200g mushrooms, sliced
1 onion
garlic
salt & pepper
a pinch of sugar
herbs - dried or fresh (basil, thyme, parsley)
feta cheese (black pepper is a nice addition)
olives (optional)
approx 1 1/2 cup potato gnocchi

1. Cook the gnocchi in a pot of boiling, salted water.
2. Meanwhile, start making the ratatouille. Saute the onions, with the garlic and mushrooms, until see-through. Add the egg plant, and stir-fry for about 5 minutes. Add the baby marrows, cook for another 5 minutes, finally adding the tomato. Season well with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar and herbs.
3. Simmer, with the lid on until everything is soft and the tomato has formed a sauce. Add olives, and serve over gnocchi, with feta cheese sprinkled on top.

TIP: For a quicker version - use a tin of ready-made ratatouille. Heat it up with a teaspoonful of chopped garlic and some herbs and continue as above.

Nutrional info (per serving): Calories 479.7 Total Fat 19.2 g Saturated Fat 4.8 g Polyunsaturated Fat 1.6 g Monounsaturated Fat 10.9 g Cholesterol 16.7 mg Sodium 1,990.5 mg Potassium 846.2 mg Total Carbohydrate 66.7 g Dietary Fiber 5.5 g Sugars 3.4 g Protein 14.2 g