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I really love this salad, it is has an unusual combination of tastes & textures. Until recently, I had never had a salad with chickpeas in it, let alone one which has chickpeas as a main ingredient. This is a brilliant salad to serve during the summer months.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups of cooked & drained chickpeas
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white (wine) vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsely, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 sweet vidalia onion, or shallot
• salt & fresh ground black pepper to tasts

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare the salad dressing by mixing the vinegar, olive oil, garlic & parsley in a small bowl. This will now act as your marinade.
2. Place the chickpeas & the onions in a medium sized bowl & mix. Pour the marinade into the medium sized bowl & mix well.
3. Season to taste then cover the bowl with plastic wrap & place in the fridge over night.
4. Remove the salad from the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving as it is best eaten at room temperature. Just before serving, check the seasoning & re-season if desired.

TIPS:

1. It is important to use as high a quality olive oil as possible, it really makes a huge difference to the salad.
2. If you do not want to cook the chickpeas yourself, you can use canned (boiled) chickpeas – just rinse them & drain them well before using.

The flavors in this quick and easy dish are excellent.

You will be pleasantly surprised.

This dish is definitely company worthy.

We enjoy chicken glazed this way very much and hope that you will also.

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 roasted or bbq whole chicken or pieces
• ½ – ¾ cup liquid wildflower honey
• ½ cup good quality sherry
• 1 tbsp meyer lemon juice
• 1 tbsp dark soya sauce
• 2 tbsp finely chopped garlic chives
• 1 tbsp finely minced garlic
• 1 finely minced shallot
• 1 ½ tsp pureed fresh ginger
• ¼ – ½ tsp coarse sea salt
• ¼ – ¾ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 – 2 tsp potato flour
• 2 thinly sliced scallions (garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place previously cooked chicken, in an oven proof dish.
3. Combine the honey with the sherry in pan, on low and heat for 2 – 3 minutes.
4. Next add the lemon juice and soya sauce to the honey mixture and blend well.
5. Now add the chives, garlic, shallot, ginger, salt, pepper flakes and potato flour to the honey and sherry, stirring until mixture boils and starts to thicken.
6. Pour the glaze over the chicken and bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 30 – 35 minutes.

TIP:

1. Baste often for that perfect glaze.
2. Watch that the chicken doesn’t burn, because it can change very quickly.
3. We love this served with rice, mashed potatoes or a simple green salad.

I bought 600g of delicious, sweet French shrimp recently & wanted to try cooking them in a new recipe. I came up with this particular recipe over the weekend & everyone loved it.

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

For the Shrimp Sauce:

• 600g French shrimp, fresh or frozen
• 800g chopped plum tomatoes
• 800ml water
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 large brown onions, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Schwartz Season All
• 1 tsp Schwartz Italian Seasoning
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp concentrated tomato puree

For the Basmati Rice:

• 3 cups Tilda basmati rice
• 4  1/2 cups water
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp tumeric

DIRECTIONS:

1. Fry the onions until golden brown and translucent. Add the garlic, tomatoes & seasonings, stir well & cook for one minute.
2. Add the water, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Remove sauce from heat. Using an imersion blender, puree the sauce, then add the tomoato puree.
4. Return sauce to a simmer and reduce until you have a nice thick sauce. Turn off heat once you have achieved this.
5. Cook the rice by bringing the water to a boil in a pan. (I like to use a cast iron pans for this).
6. Add the salt, turmeric and olive oil to the boiling water then pour in the rice, stir once then cover. Bring pan back up to the boil and immediately turn the heat down to low. Cook until the rice is yender – approximately 15 minutes.
7. Leave the lid on the rice & set pan aside.
8. If you’re using pre-cooked shrimp, heat the sauce through, mix in the rice & then mix in the shrimp. Cover & cook on a low heat for a few minutes – just enough to heat the shrimp. Re-season and serve with a fresh mixed salad.
9. If you’re using raw shrimp, add them to the sauce & cook on a medium heat until they become pink &  are no longer translucent. Then mix in the rice. Re-season and serve with a frsh mixed salad.

TIPS:

1. You can use regular shrimp in place of the French shrimp. I like the French shrimp as they are small & sweet. You could also cook them with the tail on for a pretty dish.
2. If you do not have Season All, use an equal mixture of blackened cajun seasoning and Old Bay seasoning.
3. For a different presentation, do nit puree the sauce and then you can serve it on top of the rice.

This is a very simple dish & is bursting with flavour. You can have it as a main dish served with bread or omit the chicken / meat & have it as a side dish.

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

• 500 g dried haricot beans
• 2 1/2 liters water
• 6 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 3 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 (400 g) can plum tomatoes, pureed or 400 ml passata
• 6  cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
• 6-8 pieces of chicken, lamb or beef
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• olive oil & vinegar to serve

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. The night before you want to make the beans, place the dried beans in a large bowl & cover with cold water. Allow to soak overnight, then rinse & drain before use.
2. After 30 minutes, remove the lid & simmer uncovered for a further 30 minutes. Do not let the sauce become too thick as when you add the olive oil & vinegar for serving, it thicken the sacue up automatically.
3. Pour 2 litres of water over the beans, add the salt & pepper. Cover & cook on a medium heat – so the loubia is on a fast simmer – for 1 hour.
4. After 1 hour, add 500ml extra water & the pureed / liquidised tin of plum tomatoes / passata. Add the garlic, 2 tsp salt, 2 1/2 tsp paprika & 1 1/2 tsp cumin. Cover & cook for 30 minutes on medium heat as before.
5. Check seasoning, you may need additional salt, then serve piping hot with plenty of fresh crusty bread.
6. Either add 1 tablespoon of olive oil & 1-2 tsp vinegar to each bowl before serving or let people add it themselves at the table.

TIPS:

1. You can make this easily in a pressure cooker; just reduce the water to a total of 2 litres, add a chicken stock cube & take care with the seasoning. It should only take 45-50 mins in the pressure cooker.
2. These beans taste even better the next day, so try to leave some leftovers!
3. For tasty spicy beans, use the hot paprika or add a chilli to the cooking pot.
4. Make this a delicious vegetarian dish by omitting the meat & using a good vegetable stock in place of the water.

This delicious variation on a side-dish classic is made with red potatoes and flavored with a full head of roasted garlic.

This recipe is an accompaniment for Chicken and Mashed Potatoes with Herb-roasted Tomatoes and Olive Broth.

Makes 6 servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1head of garlic
• 1tablespoon olive oil2 1/2pounds red-skinned potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2cup whipping cream
• 1/4cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 2tablespoons sour cream
• 1/4cup chopped fresh chives

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut top 1/4 inch off head of garlic to expose tops of cloves. Place in small baking dish. Spoon oil over; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until garlic cloves are tender, about 45 minutes. Squeeze garlic cloves from skins and mash in small bowl.

Cook potatoes in heavy large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 18 minutes. Drain; return to pot. Stir over low heat to allow excess water to evaporate. Add whipping cream, butter, sour cream, and roasted garlic and mash together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in chives and serve.