Recipe of the Day: Potato Salad with Gherkin and Egg

It sounds positively gross I know, but this little potato salad is a lovely twist on the traditional potato and mayo mixture. The creaminess of the mayonnaise against the sharp, crunchy gherkins is an absolute delight especially when you get a lovely piece of egg to add to the mixture of textures. It is so easy to assemble and makes a difference when you fancy something weird yet wonderful.

Serves around 6-8
Ingredients:
16 medium Potatoes (any that you have will do. Preferably waxy)
Two Gherkins
One white onion
Four Eggs
Mayonnaise
1 tsp pureed garlic
Olive oil

Peel and chop the potatoes into desired sizes and boil until soft enough to put a knife through but hard enough to hold and not crumble. Drain the potatoes away and leave to cool.

Boil the eggs with the potatoes to save a pan and remove them after 6 minutes and put them into a bowl of cold water. Chop the onion into slices, put into a bowl with a knob of butter and microwave for one minute, stir then microwave for another minute. Chop the gherkins into small chunks and add them to a bowl with the onions. Peel and chop the eggs being careful to peel and chop one before peeling the others in case they need further boiling and then add them to the bowl with the gherkins.

Season with salt, pepper and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and the garlic as an optional extra.

 

Add a large dollop of mayonnaise and stir through until everything is mixed together and evenly coated. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve 🙂

 

The Joys of a Simple British Breakfast

When you work in retail it can be really hard to get up in the morning especially when you start to think about nagging customers, endless mess and the never ending nine hour day. But what gets me up is the prospect of having enough time to enjoy a proper breakfast especially as I ride my bike to work. Most of the time I tuck into a lovely bowl of golden syrup porridge but today I opted for the traditionally British bacon and egg sandwich. Yum!! And I can tell you, it most definitely put a smile on my face 🙂

A healthy little pud

I felt like something sweet but I didn’t want to run straight to the chocolate tin. I found some low fat natural yogurt in the fridge, drizzled it with some honey and enjoyed it guilt free! Wish I had a little granola though. Next time 🙂

When Dad Finds the Kitchen

Most of the time I will cook the dinner in our household, not because I have to but because I love it, a passion which I believe got from my dad. My dad was a single parent to my sister and I after my mother passed away in 2001. I grew up watching him cook hearty meals for the three of us when he could have been microwaving a ready meal. I tried my best to help do little things like cut an onion or supply the tea. However the situation, he was my true inspiration and creator of my mentality that says there is always time for fresh food no matter how difficult things get. There are some days my dad comes home a little later than usual with pounds and pounds of meat after visiting the Indian butcher. This time he came home with industrial sized bags of spices and a huge bunch of coriander as well. Despite complaining about a bad back this week, he set to work on making his famous tandoori chicken accompanied by our family’s lovely tarka dal. I would put the recipe up if I knew it but he keeps his methods secret so none of us might out do him. And so instead readers, a picture will have to do!

Tandoori Chicken with Rice and Tarka Dal

My dad doesn’t really cook that often but you know that when he does it will be a massive treat. This meal really was delicious and I ate way too much of it but these sort of things have to be savored. Let’s hope dad’s in a cooking mood again soon!

Recipe of the Day: Courgette, Mushroom and Bacon Pasta

Courgettes are in season at the moment so I love to use them in as many recipes as possible. They are incredibly versatile being perfect for salads, roasting and sauteing but today I used them for pasta.

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

500g Fresh Spaghetti 
150g Mushrooms
2 Courgettes
4 rashers of bacon
2 egg yolks
100ml olive oil
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Oregano
2 tsp Garlic Puree

Put a pan of water on to boil. Slice the mushrooms, courgettes and bacon and lightly fry in some olive oil. When the courgettes begin to soften add the pureed garlic and the herbs and stir through. Keep and eye on it because If the garlic burns it can taste bitter. Put the spaghetti into the pot of boiling water (fresh pasta will only take a couple of minutes). Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the olive oil until it has emulsified. Drain the spaghetti and stir in the courgette mixture. Take off the heat and pour in the egg/olive oil emulsion, stir through thoroughly, season with salt and pepper and serve.