Month: April 2025

Crispy Rice Salad

FeaturedLeave a comment

One of my many faults is a total inability to judge the amount of rice I need to cook, which usually results in making enough rice to feed a small island nation.

As I hate food waste I was left with some leftover brown rice and decided to try a version of a dish I had once when travelling in Asia.  The results were yummy and I keep making this as it’s really versatile and you can swap around the veggies/herbs and protein to stop yourself getting bored with this.

If you’re  vegetarian/vegan you can swap animal protein for tempeh, nuts or tofu. I used a tahini dressing but again you swap this for a yoghurt dressing or just a plain vinaigrette if you prefer.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

For the crispy rice

200 Grams Cooked brown rice

1/2 Tbsp Soy sauce

1 Tsp Sesame oil

1 Tsp Chilli powder (less if you prefer it less spicy)

Large pinch of garlic or onion powder

For the salad

150 Grams Edamame (soy) beans (I buy these frozen from the supermarket and just defrost them as I need them)

100 Grams Red Cabbage (shredded)

250 Grams Prawns (I used pre cooked frozen ones that I defrosted)

Spinach

1-2 Carrots (grated)

For the dressing

1-2 Tbsp Tahini

1 Clove of garlic (minced)

1/2 Lemon

Method

  • Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees (Celsius)
  • Line a baking sheet with foil (I do this to save on washing up)
  • Add the ingredients for the crispy rice to a bowl and stir well to make sure all the grains are coated. 
  • Transfer the rice to the baking sheet and smooth out evenly and bake for 20 mins.  Stir once or twice (the rice at edges of the sheet will crisp up faster).  The texture should be crispy but with a bit of chew to it (it shouldn’t  be so crisp you feel like you’re eating uncooked rice).  Once cooked, allow to cool before adding to the salad
  • To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.  I usually add a couple of tablespoons of warm water to loosen the dressing, but it’s up to you, how thick you want the dressing
  • Add all the ingredients to a large bowl, and toss the dressing through and serve immediately

Santiago Tart

FeaturedLeave a comment

This traditional Spanish tart is usually presented with a cross on top which is meant to represent the cross of St James.  My attempt at this wasn’t very symmetrical, and I’m not religious, but I thought I’d at least try to follow up the tradition.

The smell of almonds and orange that will float through your home is amazing (better than any air freshener, and forget coffee if I was in the market for a house, I’d definitely buy somewhere if it smells like this cake)

Using an electric whisk makes this pretty quick to knock together and is a yummy treat for anyone who is gluten or dairy intolerant.

Ingredients

6 Eggs (separated on to yolks and whites)

250 grams Caster Sugar

250 grams Ground Almonds

Zest of an orange

1 Tsp Orange flower water (don’t be tempted to add more, it’s very strong)

Method

  • Pre heat the oven to 170 degrees (Celsius) and line an 8 inch baking tin with baking parchment
  • In a large bowl whisk the sugar and egg yolks tomorrow with an electric whisk until light and creamy and increased in volume
  • With a spatula, fold in the orange zest, orange flower water and ground almonds and 1 tablespoon of water
  • Wash the beaters of the electric whisk thoroughly (otherwise your egg  whites won’t whisk up properly) before starting to whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until  they form stiff peaks
  • Carefully fold the egg whites into the almond mixture trying to knock out too much air, but making sure the egg whites are thoroughly combined
  • Transfer the mix to your pre-prepared cake tin and bake for 50 minutes
  • Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out on to a wire wrack to cool.  Then when totally cool, dust with icing sugar

Rice Paper Dumplings

FeaturedLeave a comment

Everyone loves a dumpling and these are quick and easy.  They are a little fiddly to make at first, but once you’ve made a couple you’ll get the hang of it.

I used pork mince these but you can swap this for crumbled tofu if you’re vegetarian or vegan.  I also used shop bought stir fry vegetable mix, which makes this even quicker and easier.  The filling can also be used for rice bowls, and wraps

Ingredients

For the filling

250 Grammes Pork Mince

250 Grammes Stir fry vegetable mix

1 Red chilli (finely chopped)

2 Cloves of garlic (finely chopped

2 Teaspoons Grated ginger

2 Teaspoons Soy sauce

2 Teaspoons Rice wine vinegar (white wine vinegar will do if you don’t have this)

2 Teaspoons Sesame oil

For the dipping sauce

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

1 Teaspoon Honey or maple syrup

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Siraccha

For the dumplings

Rice paper sheets

Method

  • Heat a large wok or non stick frying pan and add the pork to the pan, use a spatula to break down and crumble the pork, stirring until its brown
  • Add the pre chopped vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes, before adding the rest of the ingredients (except to the sesame oil, add this at the very end), cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool
  • To make the dipping sauce, add the peanut butter and honey/ syrup to a bowl and pour in 2-3 tablespoons of boiling water and stir until you have a smooth sauce.  Add the other ingredients a little at a time (taste as you go to check you’re happy with the flavour)
  • To make the dumplings soak rice paper sheets in water.  I soak them one at a time in a flat wide dish and as I lift out one sheet to fill, I add another sheet to the water so it can soften while you’re making the dumpling.
  • Soak the sheet for about a minute, I think it works best when it’s the consistency of cellophane.  If you soak the rice paper for too long it will get too soft and be difficult to use.
  • When you lift out the sheet, put a dessert spoon of the cooled filling  in the centre of the rice paper.  Fold the two sides of rice paper together and then fold the top and bottom of the rice paper towards the centre (the rice paper should stick to itself).  This will create a little square dumpling
  • Heat a light drizzle of oil in a large frying pan. Cook the dumplings in batches, being careful to leave space between them or else will be assholes and stick to each other
  • Fry for 2-3 minutes each side, and serve immediately along with dipping sauce