SWEDISH SALAD

Perfect for summer eating; this fruity salad is so full of flavour and different texture with a lovely combination of the sweet fruit and savoury chicken coated in a mildly spicy, creamy mayonnaise. 

Ingredients: 
1 roasted chicken cut into strips
12oz long grain rice
2 green and 2 red eating apples, halved, cored and thinly sliced
3 bananas, peeled and sliced thickly
Grapes
Lemon juice
300ml double cream
210ml mayonnaise
2 tsp mild curry powder
Salt and pepper
Parsley to garnish


Bring a pan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the rice and cook until tender.  Drain and spread out on a platter to cool.  Sprinkle the fruit with lemon juice and set aside.  Now whip the cream to the same consistency as the mayonnaise and gently fold into the mayonnaise to combine.  Add the curry powder.  Fold in the chicken along with the fruit, season and add more lemon juice to taste.  Pile the mixture on the bed of rice and garnish with the parsley.

Cherry Tomato & Fish Bake

A wonderful tasty but simple dish all baked in the oven.  The sweet cherry tomatoes are bursting with flavour and combine with other juices to make, when thickened with a few spoonfuls of crème fraiche, a creamy sauce covering the fish. Serves 6. 

6 pieces of frozen white fish fillets

2 punnets of cherry tomatoes 

2 leeks or onions, sliced

6 tablespoons crème fraiche

1 mozzarella ball thinly sliced

3 oz grated cheddar 

Fresh or dried basil, marjoram and tarragon 

Salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 230°C.  In a large shallow oven proof dish place the fish and brush with olive oil.  Cook for 10-15 minutes.  Whilst the fish is cooking, gently fry the onions or leeks in a small amount of butter and olive oil, until softened.  Remove the fish from the oven, sprinkle over herbs and seasoning and dollop the spoonfuls of creme fraiche into the juices, mixing in as best you can.  Scatter the tomatoes in and lay the slices of mozzarella over the fish.  Finally sprinkle with the cheddar and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until bubbling and browning.  Serve with roasted baby potatoes and French beans.

Summer Pasta Salad

Ingredients

For the dressing:

100ml (4fl oz) olive oil

30ml (2 tbsp) white wine vinegar

1/2 level tsp caster sugar

2 level tsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper

grated rind of 1 lemon

few snipped chives

For the salad:

8oz courgettes

1/2 cucumber

4oz dried pasta shapes

8oz broccoli florets

2oz toasted walnut pieces

2oz pitted black olives

8oz (220g) can red kidney beans, drained

7oz (198g) can sweetcorn kernels, drained (or use frozen)

2  small cans of tuna

juice of 1/2 lemon 

  Whisk together the dressing ingredients.  Dice the courgettes and cucumber.

  Cook the pasta shapes in plenty of boiling, salted water for 5min.  Add the broccoli florets and continue to cook until broccoli and pasta are just tender.  Drain well.

  Empty tuna into a small bowl, keeping it in small chunks and sprinkle over the lemon juice

  Toss together salad and dressing about 2hr before serving to allow the flavours to combine.  Cover and refrigerate; allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Coronation Chicken Pasta Salad

serves 6

Mild but flavoursome, this is an excellent dish for summer outdoor eating.

12 oz pasta, cooked in salted water, drained and cooled (toss in a little oil to prevent sticking)

1 small, whole, cooked chicken, cut into short strips

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 tsp Garamasala

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp tomato purée

4 fl oz red wine

1 bay leaf

Juice 1 lemon

5 oz no-soak dried apricots (if not soft, simmer in water for a few minutes)

1/2 pint mayonnaise

4 fl oz crème fraiche or plain yoghurt 

1/2 glass white wine

Salt and pepper

Fresh parsley, chopped

  In a frying pan, heat the oil, add the onion and cook for about 3 minutes, until softened.  Add spices, tomato purée, red wine, bay leaf and lemon juice.  Simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes until well reduced.  Take out the bay leaf and leave to cool.

  Purée the apricots and onion sauce together using a blender, until smooth.  Stir into the mayonnaise and crème fraiche.

  Mix the pasta into the sauce along with white wine and chopped parsley.  Season with salt and pepper and extra lemon juice if needed.  Gently fold in the chicken and garnish with more fresh parsley.

  Serve with a crisp lettuce and tomato salad. 

Variations:  Instead of pasta, just mix the sauce with cooked chicken and serve in a baked potato or as a filling for crusty white rolls.

Chicken Salad

Serves 6 as the main attraction and 12 as a side.

Influenced by salad nicoise, with a few substitutes and additions, this chicken salad is bursting with flavours and looks wonderfully colourful displayed in a wide shallow salad bowl.   

SALAD

1 small whole cooked chicken, torn into strips

4 oz green beans, trimmed

Crispy heart of a cos lettuce or a whole gem, sliced

1/2 cup pitted black olives, halved

6 large tomatoes, quartered

6 sun dried tomatoes, chopped

4 hard boiled eggs, quartered

Generous bunch of fresh herbs (chives, parsley, mint, thyme, basil marjoram), finely chopped

DRESSING

4 tbsps virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsps wholegrain mustard

2 tsps Dijon mustard

3 tsps fine sugar

salt and pepper

  Cook the green beans in boiling salted water for 3 minutes.  Drain, wash under cold water and pat dry. 

  Put all the other salad ingredients, except the chicken and eggs, in a large shallow salad bowl and toss.  Mix up the dressing and drizzle over, toss again.  Add the chicken and beans and then arrange the eggs on top.  Garnish with salt and pepper and a few herb leaves (basil, parsley).  

  Serve with crusty fresh bread; French stick is lovely, warm and crisp from the oven.    

Mini Soda Bread Pizzas

Serves 4

 

Base:

8 oz wholemeal flour

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

¾ pint of milk soured with a tablespoon of lemon juice

Salt

1 teaspoon of honey

Topping:

Tomato pasata or crème fraiche and tomato paste

Fried onions

Black olives

Tomatoes

Mushrooms

Cheese

Herbs

Anything else you fancy!

Measure the flour into a medium sized bowl. Add the honey to the soured milk and work into the flour to form a moist dough. Flour a board and your hands and divide dough into four equal balls. Flatten into mini pizza rounds and place on a floured baking sheet. Smear on tomato paste and pile on your toppings. Bake in a preheated oven at 190ºC for about 15 minutes, or until slightly risen and golden.

Tuna English Muffin Melts

Serves 4

Perfect for a filling, fast and healthy lunch or snack.

4 wholemeal, multiseeded or white english muffins cut in half

1 tin of Tuna, well drained

3 tbsps Creme Fraiche or natural thick yoghurt

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

1 tsp dill weed

8 thin slices of a good mature cheddar

Salt and pepper

Butter

1. 
   Preheat oven to 160°C and place in a baking sheet to warm through.
2. 
   Make up the filling in a medium sized bowl stirring the tuna, creme fraiche, celery, dill and seasoning together.
3. 
   Lightly toast the muffins, butter and then pile on each half a muffin the tuna mixture, topping with a couple of slices of cheese.  Put the lids on and  heat in the oven for about 5 minutes, until the cheese starts to melt.  Serve straight away with a crisp tomato salad.