Winter warm barely, mushroom and asparagus risotto

I love, love, love Barley. For its soft, squishy, and somehow really comforting feeling it gives. Perhaps because it reminds of the consistency of pasta. Like a big hug in your mouth. If that makes any sense at all...

I am also a huge risotto lover. So for me this is just a perfect combination, barley as risotto!

Basically you cook the barley the same way you would a risotto. Constantly adding liquid stock so that you slowly cook and fatten up the barley with the stock flavour.

If you want to go vegan you can omit the parmesan, this will only make the dish slightly less creamy and salty.

Barley is a great grain. It is high in fiber, which we all know is good for our digestive system. It is also a good source of a certain type of vitamin B, niacin. This B vitamin is specifically good at protecting again cardiovascular disease via its ability to lower cholesterol and lipoprotein levels, both of which can clog up arteries, increase blood pressure. Barley also contains significant levels of selenium which is a mineral we often lack. Selenium is essential for may enzyme functions, as well as being an antioxidant preventing oxidative stress from free radicals.

Ingredients needed for two are:

2,5 dl pearled barley
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 mushroom stock cube
4-5 slices of dried porcini mushroom (you could also use chanterelle but it will not give as much flavour so you need to up the amount, perhaps double even triple)
2 portabello mushrooms or 100-150 grams of your preferred mushroom
2 stalks of kale ( I used cavalero nero)
1/3 chilli, chopped & deseeded if you don't like too much heat
6-8 green asparagus
50-70 grams fresh parmesan, grated
drizzle of cooking friendly oil such as rice oil
4-5 dl boiling water
salt and pepper to taste
1-1,5 dl white wine or dry white vermouth
a knob of butter

1.  Boil the water and add 3,5 dl to a pitcher or bowl, crumble the stock cube into it. 
2. Use the rest of the boiled water to soften up the porcini. Make sure to keep the water they soak in as this will contain a lot of flavour. 
3. Fry the onion and chilli in a bit of oil till the onion has gone soft and a bit translucent. 
4. Add the barley, stir so it gets a bit of the oil coating it then add the wine. Allow the wine to evaporate by cooking it off slowly on a low heat. Keep stirring so that nothing sticks or burns to the bottom. 
5. Once the wine has disappeared, slowly add a little stock. You will keep repeating this each time you see that the barley is getting 'dry'. Basically once the moisture has been soaked up and the barley is about to stick to the pan. 
6. The barley needs to cook for approximately 20-30 minutes. Halfway through you want to take out the portion mushrooms, slice them and add them to the barley. Also add the soaking water, saving the last bit as this will contain a bit of git and sand. 
7. Once the porchini have gone into the barley, while keeping your eye on the barley chop the portable into cubes, heat some butter in a frying pan and add the mushroom. Fry on a low heat, you want to get them soft and sweaty. Season with salt and pepper. Place them on a plate while you now add the kale to fry in the same pan, adding a little butter of the pan seems dry. You want to fry them for about 6-10minutes, this will retain some of their bite. Add the asparagus to the plate of portable mushrooms.
8. Lastly add the chopped kale to the frying pan, again adding a little butter of the pan seems dry. Fry for approx. 2-4 min, you want to retain some of their bite. 
9. Now put back the portabello and asparagus and set aside, off the heat. 
10. All the while you have been adding stock to the barley. You should be about done, so taste. You want the barley to be bouncy in consistency, not hard and not mushy. 
11. If your barley is cooked add the parmesan, perhaps also a splash more of the stock to loosen it all up a bit. Stir so that the residue heat melts the parmesan. Taste, perhaps some fresh pepper or a pinch of salt?
12. If your happy with the barley risotto, plate and then top with the portable, asparagus and kale.

You could add a drizzle of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.

Flakey, feta, veggie quiche

This is well and truly inspired by my mother. She always made quiche this way, using puff pastry instead of making her own. She always insisted this gave a lighter fluffier quiche so that the filling part would be the contents not the dough. I have to say I have to agree. Also if you buy good puff pastry, now days you can get spelt, whole wheat and all using butter and other natural ingredients instead of shortenings and other bad fats. 

The great thing with this quiche is that you can use any veggies you have at hand. I love broccoli as it tends to crisp up and yet retain some bite. I also love onion or leek as this brings softness and sweetness. Also peppers and tomatoes on-top are yummy for the same reason, soft and sweet. The feta brings it all together with saltiness and creaminess. 

 For this quiche I used - feeding 2-4 people (large portions for 2):

4 squares of spelt/alternatively whole wheat puff pastry (make sure you get the stuff that isn't made with strange fats it should be butter no other)
1/2 courgette
1/2 head of broccoli
1/2 long green paprika
1/2 long red paprika
1/2 leek (or a medium red onion)
1 block of feta (mine was 250 grams), diced
3 eggs
salt and pepper
2 stalks of kale (I used cavalero nero)
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 stalks of thyme, stalks removed
2 garlic clove, minced
drizzle of frying oil (rice oil)

Other veggies I recommend would be green asparagus, mushrooms, spinach. You could also add pesto after its come out of the oven, yum.

1. If you are using frozen puff pastry take this out at least 40min prior to starting. 
2. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C 
3. Chop all the veg into bite size chunks
4. Fry the (except the tomatoes) veg in an appropriate cooking oil; in batches. You want the slightly soften the veg, so between 2-5 minutes per batch. Begin with the broccoli and kale as these tend to need a bit longer.
5. Whisk together the eggs, add the thyme leaves and the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk again to make sure alls blended in. 
6. Take out a baking or quiche form (I used a round 20cm diameter form). Place the puff pastry in the form and make sure the pastry is lining the bottom nicely. Now brush on some of the egg, onto the inner casing of the puff pastry. This will stop any veg juices from making the puff pastry soggy.  
7. Bake the puff pastry for approx. 10-13min. you don't want the pastry fully baked, but you want to have the egg wash looking glazed and not soggy. 
8. Now add the fried veggies to the quiche form, patting down to make sure you fill all possible air holes. Pack those veggies in nice and tight. To the top add the feta, also pushing some pieces into any possible nooks and crannies. Then add the halved cherry tomatoes. 
9. Finally pour the egg mix over the entire quiche, try to divide it evenly. 
10. Bake the quiche in the oven for about 45min -1 hour. Depending on your oven. You will know its ready when the puff pastry is golden around the edges of the quiche, you poke the centre and around the sides of the quiche and the fork comes out dry (no egg wetness) and the veggies look crisp and soft. 

Serve with a large side salad, slathered in a good dressing.

Turmeric red lentil coconut soup

Simple, satisfying soup with a creamy feel, thats how I would sum up this soup. Apart from the main ingredients this soup also contains sweet potato, kale, ginger, carrot and a bit of my favourite moroccan spice Ras el hanout. It's a great soup to freeze and swipe out for a quick lunch or dinner. 

Turmeric and ginger are both potent anti inflammatory ingredients. Meaning they help fight anything that might be causing inflammatory responses in your system such as; refined sugar, white flour, alcohol, just to name a few. We want to avoid inflammatory situations in our system as they aggregate and cause trouble and lead to various chronic diseases, arthritis being an extreme example.

Ingredients for a soup serving 4 (large portions): 

3 dl lentils (I used a mix of red & semi brown)

1,5 veggie stock cube 

1 tube size fresh ginger, chopped finely

1/2 chilli, chopped 

1,5 onion, diced

1 spring onion, sliced 

3 medium kale leaves (I used cavalero nero)

1 large carrot, diced

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 tbsp coconut oil 

1/2 tbsp ground turmeric

1/2 tbsp ras el hanout

1/2 juice lemon 

4 dl water

1 coconut milk (200ml)

salt and pepper

The nice thing with this soup is it carries enough flavour to be eaten at alike warm temperature which makes it a nice spring/autumn time soup. 

1. In a large soup pan heat the coconut oil and fry the onion, chili and turmeric for 2-3 minutes. 
2. Now add the chopped ginger along with the diced carrot and sweet potato. Fry this for another 1-2 minutes, making sure to stir and get everything coated in the turmeric. 
3. Rinse the lentils thoroughly, then add them along with the water and veggie stock, stir. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Cook for 15 min. 
4. Now add the coconut milk, the chopped kale and spring onion. Allow to simmer for another 10min.  
5. Once the soup is done you turn it off the heat and add the lemon juice, stir. 

If you want to blend the soup (which I did), you will need to allow the soup to cool off slightly before whizzing it up. I like to use a hand blender as this allows me to keep allow for some chunky bits to remain. 

A kind of stir fry salad with tahini lemon dressing

You know when you have found something yummy and you just wanna keep making and eating it, day after day (pesto is one of those for me)? This is my second day of this stir fry salad and it's hitting all the right notes for me. Slightly sweet, sour, spicy, creamy and crunchy oh and lets not forget green, green, green. 

You could eerily make this into a more substantial dish for dinner with some steamed fish ontop or even grilled chicken. I added a soft boiled egg last and that wasn't bad. I bet a poached egg might be even better. Tinned tuna could also be a good portion addition. Some brown or red rice or quinoa would also be nice to beef it up a little. Although just as it is this stir fry salad is yummy! 

Here are the ingredients for 1 portion: 

1-2 tsp coconut oil (alternatively other frying friendly oil such as rice oil)

2 medium or 3 small kale (I used cavalero nero) leaves 

1/4 head of broccoli (depending on the size, basically you want 5-6 rosettes)

2-3 leaves of radicchio salad (red)

2 stalks celery

1/4 red chilli (deseeded if you don't like too much heat)

1 garlic clove 

handful of fresh parsley or wild ruccula 

1/2 ripe avocado 

Optional seeds or nut toppings - sprinkle of hempseed, roasted and chopped hazelnuts or walnuts, roasted pumpkin seeds and or sesame seeds 

You could also add fresh peas or replace the kale for spinach but not the baby kind as that will just get soggy, you would need the larger rougher type. 

Tahini, lemon dressing ingredients: 

1/2 lemon juice

1 tsp dijon or other strong mustard

1 tbsp tahini

pinch of salt 

1 tsp soy sauce (I like tamari as its gluten free)

optional 1/3 garlic clove minced

1,5 tbsp olive oil 

1. Begin by washing all your ingredients, then pat dry with a kitchen towel. 
2. Chop the chilli and garlic and fry lightly in the coconut oil. 
3. While the chilli & garlic fry chop the veggies into bite size pieces. 
4. Once the garlic is somewhat soft and shiny add the broccoli, stir and fry on a low heat. Fry for about 1min. 
5. Now add the kale and fry for another minute.
6. Then add the rest of the veggies and fry for another minute. Take of the heat but keep the veggies in the pan while you make the dressing, they will continue to fry a little that way. 
7. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Taste, you want a slightly creamy, salty, zingy flavour. add more salt or lemon juice if you require. 
8. Transfer the veggies to a plate or bowl and drizzle over the dressing. Scoop out half an avocado and slice into chunks, add to the veggies.
9. If you like, add any seeds or nuts of your preference.