Warm lentil & smoked trout salad

I am a salad maniac, but in winter its usually warm food I crave. For that reason this dish is a great alternative. I recently learned how to cook lentils correctly. They need to be cooked almost as attentively as risotto. I love lentils and I love any smoked fish, to me this is a perfect marriage. But really you could use smoked trout or warm smoked salmon instead.

Ingredients
2 dl dried put lentils
1 file of smoked fish
3-4dl water
vegetable or chicken stock cube
1/3 radicchio salad head
2 stalks of celery
4-6 cherry tomatoes
a few stalks of flat parsley
1/2 carrot
1/2 onion

dressing - optional*
2 tsp french dijon mustard (or other strong mustard)
2 tbsp vinegar (balsamic or white wine)
1/2 lemon juice
salt & pepper
3 tbsp cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small clove of garlic

1. Chop the onion and carrot into dices 
2. Fry off the onions and carrot in a drizzle of cooking oil until glazed
3. Place the onions, carrots and lentils in a pan with the 3 dl of the water and bring to a boil 
4. Once the lentil water is boiling turn down the heat and allow to simmer 
5. Add the stock cube and then stir, allow to simmer for 30min. Add more water when the lentils look like they are 'dry'. 
6. taste the lentils after 30min, they should be soft and still hold their form 
7. Put the lentils to the side and allow to cool 
8. Chop the celery stalks into slices. 
9. Chop the parsley, discarding the thicker stalks 
10. Half the cherry tomatoes
11. * the dressing is optional, you could choose to simply drizzle the salad with a little cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper. If you do choose to make the dressing begin by mixing the mustard, vinegar, minced garlic, salt & pepper. Then add the olive oil till all has emulsified. 
12.  Finally put everything together, as with any other salad. 
13. Dress withe the dressing or drizzle some extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper. Both versions are delish. 

Green thai vegetable curry

As I have mentioned before, I have found the BEST thai curry pastes, full of vibrance and Thailand all you need to add are your own imagination and some fish sauce and possibly a squeeze of lime.

This combo came from what I had in the fridge, left overs. And the combo was fab!

Here is what I used:
1/2 pumpkin
1 aubergine
1 medium sized carrot
6 brussel sprouts
4-6 mushrooms - I had shit-take and they were perfect
1 red onion
2 garlic cloves
drizzle of cooking oil
drizzle of fish sauce
400ml coconut milk

1. Pre heat your oven to 180C. 
2. Chop all the veg into bite size pieces - save the garlic. 
3. Roast the pumpkin and aubergine in the oven for 40-50min. The goal is to create soft but still leaving some resistance 'bite'.
4. Fry the onion for 1min, to allow it to soften then add the brussel sprouts, carrots, allow to color slightly, 3min. 
5. Then add the mushrooms and roasted pumpkin & aubergine. 
6. Add the garlic and fry a moment. 
7. Add the coconut milk and the curry paste. Stir and allow to simmer, so that the paste dissolves. 
8. Season with pepper and fish sauce. taste, add more seasoning if you feel it's needed. 

Serve with rice or quinoa or a mix of both. 

Sweet potato, broccoli & barley soup

This is a really hearty and warming soup. Perfect for these winter days & nights.

The best part is you can make a big batch and eat it for lunch or dinner several times! That will make many home cookers happy not to have to think of a new dish & go shopping for it.

You could replace the sweet potatoes for pumpkin or regular potatoes, you could skip the celery if you're not a fan, you could add courgette. Basically its one of these soups that you use what you have in the fridge, really.

Roasted veggies & rice

This might be a bit too simple for some of you. It is very scaled back, but that doesn't make it any less to eat.

You can use any type of veggies, different all year around. I made this dish during the ned of the summer so therefore my vegetables were more Mediterranean but in winter roasted red beets, parsnips,  mushrooms, pumpkin etc can be used.

Lunch for 1:
1 dl brown rice or quinoa or half of each
3 cherry tomatoes
1/2 red or white onion
1/3 courgette
1/2 red paprika
3-5 small button mushrooms
Protein options - a boiled egg, chicken file, fish, tofu.

Really all you have to do is:

1.  Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. (peel if necessary) Chop your vegetables into your preferred size. 
3. Place the vegetables on baking paper on a oven tray. 
4. Season with salt & pepper
5. Drizzle a little olive oil and put in the oven till golden and when you poke the vegetables with a fork it should only have a little resistance. Depending on what type of veggies this roasting can take between 25-45min.
6. While the veggies roast cook your rice/quinoa. 
7. Plate and add what ever type of protein you like. Adding a little tszaziki (see recipe in my older posts) is delicious otherwise you can drizzle a little olive oil & lemon juice over the top. 

Moroccan inspired vegetable stew

This was a big favorite this summer. I discovered preserved lemons and combined with the Morrocan spice, El Ras hanout it is winner.

The preserved lemon really vibrant and adds a freshness without being sharp.

Ingredients that will feed 5-6 people:
2 tbsp el ras hanout
1 preserved lemon
3 dl chickpeas
1 courgette
1 squash pumpkin
1 red onion
1 - 2 garlic clove
1/2 de-seeded red chili
salt & pepper
drizzle of cooking oil

1. Half the squash pumpkin and de-seed. 
2. De-seed the chili, use a spoon and avoid touching the seeds. 
3. Chop all the ingredients - save the chick peas & preserved lemon. 
4. Drizzle some cooking oil in a large cooking pan, add the el ras hanout and fry off on a low heat for a few seconds. This process awakens the flavors in the spice. 
5. Then add the onion and allow to sweat, glazing slightly, then add the rest of the veggies. Fry to coat all the veggie in the spices. 
6. Now add the chick peas & lemon (which should also be chopped.)
7. Season with salt & pepper. 
8. Continue to fry on a low heat, stirring every so often to avoid burning on the bottom. 
9. The vegetables will now slowly begin to disintegrate, creating a kind of curry.  

Allow to cook another 6-10min, you want to end up with a stew. 

Serve with couscous, bulgur, quinoa or just on it's own.