my favourite dish

When I try to think of my favourite dish, it’s not sticky toffee pudding (though it’s divine) or blue cheese (the orgasmic guilty pleasure) that comes to mind. No, it’s something far healthier but so alive with flavour it’s almost unreal. I had a hankering for it last night, and stopped off on the way home to pick up a cucumber, as it was the only ingredient I was missing.

Once home I headed straight for the kitchen, slicing that cucumber, scooping out the seeds, and then chopping finely. Into a bowl they went, covered with the juice of ¾ of a lemon. Next, I chopped up a few tomatoes (admittedly not at their best at this time of year, but I was on a mission.)

Out comes the food processor, ready to take on two generous handfuls of parsley and a smaller one of mint. With those lovely fragrant herbs added to the mix, I then added a couple of spices – salt, pepper and cumin.

Now actually, I could have stopped here and enjoyed what is a rather mouthwatering salad. But two ingredients more and I knew I’d be in seventh heaven. So in goes the crumbled feta and, once it has been softened with freshly boiled water and the remaining juice from the lemon, the bulgur wheat.

Tabbouleh. O ye of the mezze. It’s so amazing. I’ve got so much respect for this little dish-that-could. The flavours are so tangy, so light. Each spoonful is a joy for my entire mouth. (That might sound silly, but to me, it really means something, the fact that this dish awakens so many taste buds.)

I don’t think my recipe would match those of the Greeks and Turks that eat it regularly – for one, they don’t use feta. And I believe they use even more parsley than I do. (Which doesn’t surprise me – I actually wouldn’t mind eating parsley by the mouthful sometimes. And just to be clear, I mean flat-leaf parsley, not the curly variety.)

Eat it as a salad on its own (as I’m doing today for lunch) – or as a side dish with chicken (just grilled), fish (haddock with fresh thyme perhaps?), lamb (lean meatballs?) or beef. It’s perfect on a mezze plate with other Mediterranean classics like hummus, roasted aubergine, stuffed vine leaves, tzatziki… I could go on. And it’s healthy – my version doesn’t have a lick of olive oil, and to be honest, it doesn’t need it. It’s light for a reason. You must make it.

Here are the ingredients I use – and the quantities – to make two salads:

1 medium cucumber
3 tomatoes
2 large handfuls of parsley, stalks removed
1 small handful of mint, stalks removed
1 large lemon
1 tsp cumin
salt and black pepper
50 g feta
100 g dry bulgur wheat, soaked in freshly boiled water for thirty minutes, then rinsed with cold water

Tell me what you think...or what your favourite dish that's actually healthy is!

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...

Sorry I've been missing in action this week. It's my last week at my current job, so although I am cooking - cooking away in fact, I just haven't quite gotten it together to blog it up. So here's a recap of the first half of the week.

Monday: pasta puttanesca, for two

Wholewheat linguine, 1 can of chopped tomatoes, 1/2 can of chopped black olives, 1 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper, and capers (if you have them - I didn't this time).

With 100 g of pasta, the sauce, and a generous fresh side salad (spinach, tomatoes, portobella mushrooms, cucumber, balsamic dressing), the calorie count comes to just under 500.

I've made a similar one before: see here

Tuesday: bulgur wheat with aubergines and mint

I bow before the greatness that is Nigel Slater. His Kitchen Diaries are truly a culinary bible. It makes me so happy to sit down with his book at the beginning of each month, year after year, to get inspiration for the next thirty or so days. Each time, something new takes my fancy

I wasn't sure at first how this would qualify as a winter recipe, but it completely works. It's rich and nutty. My only quibble with the wonderful Nigel is his (over)use of oil. To fry the onions and aubergine, he calls for six - count 'em, six! - tablespoons of oil. I used two, and a splash of stock (which you'll be using later anyway, so it's not inconvenient).

As it's January, I used drained chopped tomatoes in place of whole ones. Instead of pine kernels (what are they?) I used pine nuts. The mint, a surprise touch, was absolutely perfect. I would absolutely do this again, but next time, I'll spoon a bit of harissa on the side. And healthy too: Nigel says it serves 2, but it likely serves 4. A serving and a half (my size) comes to about 500 calories. Fab!

Wednesday: Chorizo, leek and butter bean stew

Now, I know chorizo's not the healthiest meat at the deli, but it is so delightful. On a cold night, its rich, warm spicy tones ooze satisfaction. Paired with leek, our winter staple, and creamy hearty beans (butter beans or flageolet beans work fab), you can't go wrong.

(serves 2)

125 g chorizo

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

1 can of butter or flageolet beans, drained

1-2 leeks, sliced lengthways and then chopped

1 pint of chicken broth

a large handful of parsley

3 tbsp creme fraiche

Slice the chorizo thinly and add to a med-hot saute pan. Add the sliced onions and saute gently for about five minutes. Add a splash of broth to prevent burning.

Add the leeks and garlic and stir fry for another three minutes. Again, add stock if necessary.

Add about 2/3 of the beans, reserving the other 1/3. Then add the stock in increments, to make sure the mixture bubbles away. Once all of the stock is in, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Season well.

Puree the reserved beans with a hand blender or food processor and add to the mixture. Chop the parsley in the food processor too and set aside.

After 15 minutes, remove from the heat and stir in half of the parsley and all of the creme fraiche.

Ladle into two separate shallow bowls and top with the rest of the parsley. Serve immediately.

Calories: 575 per serving. And I'm warning you, it's gorgeous! The only way you might want to bulk it up would be by adding spinach leaves - they would work well.

So what's on for Thursday (my last day on the job!)? Well, I'm allowing myself a free day, a splurge day, whatever you want to call it. So it's going to be Taco Night at our place, with no worries of calories. I'll get back to those on Friday. See you then!

brightly-coloured salad for a rainy day

Autumn is grey now. Gone are those lovely marigold-tinged and rust-tinted leaves hanging precariously from tree branches. They’re all on the ground now (at least in London), turned to mush by the deluge of rain we’ve had this week.

The only place I’m going to be conjuring up autumn thoughts is in a bowl. It’s not too hard: start with soft green baby spinach, and add some bulgur wheat (100 g, cooked weight, which nets about 110 cals), sliced cooked beetroot (in rounds, which looks great), and that year-round staple, lanky orange carrot, peeled and sliced into thick matchsticks. Top it off with a bit of reduced fat feta (about 25 g crumbled), some freshly-ground pepper, and a capful of white wine vinegar. Divine.

I’ve had this for lunch most days this week, complemented by half a pot of M&S country vegetable soup (in the chilled section, and only 105 cals per half pot!), and loved it each time.

comparing carbohydrates

Since diets such as Atkins and the South Beach became popular, a widespread anti-carbohydrate movement has been brewing. I think some of this unfounded.

Sure, toss out crisps and cakes. But many starches and grains are quite good for you and help to fill your stomach. Comparing calories is a useful exercise.

carbohydrate	Average serving size	Calories*	Calories per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Potatoes, uncooked	150	112.5	75
Sweet potatoes, uncooked	150	139.5	93
White pasta, uncooked	100 g	352	352
Wheat pasta, uncooked	100 g	315	315
Brown rice, uncooked	50 g	176	352
Bulgur wheat, uncooked	50 g (1.75 oz)	179.5	359
Couscous, uncooked	50 g	182.5	365
Quinoa, uncooked	50 g	270	360
Chickpeas, dry weight, uncooked	50 g	167.5	335
Butter beans, dry weight, uncooked	50 g	145	290
Chickpeas, canned, cooked	¼ can (60 g)	71.5	119
Butter beans, canned, cooked	¼ can (60 g)	59	98

*calories are estimated based on varieties available at a local supermarket and should be used only as a general guideline

Many find it surprising that potatoes are actually LOW in calories. But consider the fact that most people, when eating potatoes, consume much more than one serving, sometimes wolfing down two or three.

Also, whereas brown rice, couscous, and bulgur wheat are often eaten without any extra additives, potatoes – and pasta – often receive a buttery treatment. The calorie amounts listed above refer to the plain carbohydrate in question that is boiled and served.

The overall message in my opinion is clear: carbohydrates are not bad, in fact they are very good. But eat the recommended portion size and refrain from loading the carbohydrates full of fats – instead complement them with vegetables. (They'll be flattered.)

wednesday's lunch special

Today's lunch was a variation on one I made a few months ago, with bulgar wheat, peaches and ham, and similar to the dinner salad that won the best 'summer salad award'. With late summer upon us, I felt like bulgar wheat was a good option: filling yet light.

(serves 1)

50 g bulgar wheat

2 slices cooked ham, sliced

¼ ball of mozzarella

5 cherry tomatoes, halved

50 g baby spinach leaves

1 nectarine, quartered and then halved

Lemon juice

Calories: 298 (very respectable)

I decided to have bulgar wheat in my salads all week long, just to make a change from chickpeas and butter peas. I've found that the bulgar wheat really helps to fill me up and sustain me through the afternoon. (I get the sensation, as I do with couscous, that the grains expand in my stomach).

Unlike couscous, though, bulgar wheat holds its texture and form better, not tending to get mushy. It also has a nutty flavour that I really like – to get the nutty taste without all the calories of throwing in a handful of pumpkin seeds or cashew nuts is extremely satisfying.

Bulgar wheat is also relatively low-calorie: 50 g of dry bulgar wheat will cost you about 180 calories. While that is more than ¼ of a can of butter beans, it is also more filling, and you'll have less of a tendency to snack.

park lunch

I was approached in the park today at lunch. Before you start worrying for my safety, however, I must tell you that in fact, it was about the salad I was eating. That morning, I had created what I felt was a ‘mini-masterpiece’ salad:


(serves 1)
baby spinach leaves
1 peach, quartered, peeled and broken into chunks
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
75 g cucumber, sliced and quartered
2 slices of wafer-thin ham, cut into think strips
about 35 g mild French goats cheese

The man, in his late thirties, shyly approached, and asked, “Did you get that salad from around here?” I must say, there are some lovely places to eat lunch on Lower Marsh, down behind Waterloo Station – Ruby Marsh and Coopers Vegetarian Deli, to name a couple. “No, I make my salads at home,” I told him, to which he replied, “Oh, that’s why they are so good then.”

Very pleased with his compliment, I thought back to the origins of this salad for me, which was really only four days prior.

I was going to prepare a salad on Saturday afternoon when I was stuck for ideas. I looked at my fruit bowl, where six Spanish peaches sat colourfully. I bought them in the excitement of seeing local (well, European) peaches at the supermarket for the first time in months and months. But they were, in fact, a bit tart, so they sat. Until now. An entry in Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diary popped into my mind, one in which he described a quick meal he had made with mango and bulghur wheat. I believe he served it with ham as well. Well, why not peaches, I thought, as I got to work.

Thirty minutes later I put the finishing touches on the grandmother to the salad I ate in the park.

(serves 1)
50 g bulghur wheat
5 cherry tomatoes, halved
Baby spinach
2 slices of wafer thin ham
Juice of half of a lemon
Basil leaves

It was lovely, and even my husband liked it, although he confessed to me later that he couldn’t quite get his head around tomatoes and peaches together. To me, it makes sense.

Monday rolled around and I couldn’t get the salad out of my mind. Instead of my stalwart salad (see other blog), I attempted a recreation – this time, approximately the same as Saturday. But I missed the other vegetables I’m used to having at lunch – cucumber – and the cheese.

Tuesday comes and I tweak it again. I love this version, but for different versions than I loved the weekend version. I think they suit their days, if that makes sense. I did miss the bulghur wheat, but as it can take up to 30 minutes to soften once boiling water has been poured onto it, it may not be the ideal ‘quick meal’ to make in the morning.

Oh, for those who ask where the dressing (lemon juice) went in the second version – I realised that with the juicy, ripe peaches added plenty of juice for the salad. It kept better, and in fact, when the soft goats cheese mixed with the peach juice, a lovely impromptu dressing was born.

Intrigued by Pete’s comment about the implausibility of peaches and tomatoes, I searched Epicurious for the two ingredients and got six hits. A notable entry was the peach and tomato gazpacho (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/232601). I may just have to try that this summer. It evokes thoughts of a sweltering summer afternoon being rewarded by a surprising soup. And I’ve made melon salsa before, so why not peach salsa?