It’s Valentine’s today, and if you want to make something a little lighter and healthier for your special person this salad is perfect. It’s also quick and easy. I prefer to use pink grapefruit as its less sharp than regular ones.
I have shown the quantities for 2 people. It makes a great lunch dish served with wheaten bread, or reduce the quantities for a refreshing starter.
Serves 2
Ingredients
2-3 Handfuls of rocket or mixed salad leaves
1 Pink Grapefruit (cut into segments), and juice set to one side)
1 Avocado (sliced or cubed)
250 Grams Frozen prawns (thawed)
2 Spring onions/scallions (finely sliced)
1 Tbsp Olive or rapeseed oil
Method
Add the salad leaves to a large bowl and drizzle with oil and the remaining grapefruit juice and mix well
Divide the salad leaves between 2 plates
Scatter the rest of the ingredients across the ingredients and enjoy.
Some ingredients are so good that you need to do very little with them. Crab claws are one of these ingredients.
Butter and garlic can make most things taste better but match them up with sweet meaty crab claws and within 5 minutes you have one of the most delicious things you’ll ever eat. It might seem like a lot of garlic and butter and you can scale it back if you prefer, but this isn’t an everyday dish, so I think it’s worth the splurge.
If you don’t cook fish at home because you think it can be a bit like hard work, this is really quick and easy. Crab claws usually come ready cooked so there is no preparation, All you’re really doing is heating them.
Ingredients
250 Grams Crab Claws
50 Grams Butter
3 Cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp Parsley (finely chopped, optional)
Method
In a large pan heat the butter, when it starts to melt, add the garlic and the crab claws
Cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the crab claws are heated through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with a salad or crusty bread, yum!
One of the numerous things I’m missing in lockdown is a cheeky visit to a well known Swedish furniture super store. This includes spending twice what I meant to and eating my own weight in meatballs.
You can freeze the meat balls (before they have been added to the sauce), and these make a really handy mid week meal. They can be added to a tomato sauce with pasta or in a meatball sub.
This creamy version is great for anyone following a keto or low carb diet. It’s also great with mashed potatoes or pasta for anyone who anyone who is isn’t reducing their carb intake.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
500 Grams Minced beef
250 Grams Minced pork
1 Egg (beaten)
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Black pepper
1 Tsp Garlic granules, or 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
For the sauce
250 Grams Mushrooms (sliced)
1 Tbsp Oil
250 ml Beef stock
250 ml Double cream
1 Tbsp Chopped parsley (optional)
Baked meatballs
Method
Add all the ingredients for the meatballs to a large bowl and mix well with your hands to make sure the ingredients are well combined.
Make meatballs slightly smaller than a golf ball and place in an oven proof dish. When all the mix has been used to make the meatballs, refrigerate for at least an hour to set
Preheat your oven to 180 degree and bake the meatballs for 25 minutes
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the mushrooms stirring occasionally until soft.
Add the beef stock and cream to the mushrooms and alow to simmer over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the sauce has started to thicken.
Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce, and simmer for s further five minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and then serve
I have to give a shout out to my friend Nuala for turning me into this, and I love it.
If you haven’t used Sichuan pepper before you can by it ready ground in most big supermarkets. You can also buy packets of the whole peppercorns, and are reddish black in colour. While there is some heat, they are also really aromatic and work nicely in lots of other recipes.
This makes a great mid week dinner and is ideal for anyone following a low carb diet. If you’re not then enjoy this with rice or noodles. I used frozen greens to save time.
Ingredients
250 Grams Minced pork
500 Grams Green beans blanched on boiling water
Thumb sized piece of ginger (grated)
2 Cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
2 Scallions/spring onions (finely chopped)
1 Red chilli pepper (finely chopped)
2 Tbsp Soy sauce
1 Tbsp Sesame oil
1 Tsp Ground Sichuan pepper
Method
Blanch the green beans in boiling water and drain
Fry the minced pork in a large frying pan or wok until no longer pink
Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for a further 5 minutes. If the mix starts to catch in the pan you can add a little water to stop this
I don’t make soup that often (some soups are a little dull).
Anything with cheese in it gets my vote, and this is rich and satisfying.
Ideal for anyone following a low carb diet, this is also delicious with crusty bread. I made this with vegetable stock so it’s suitable for vegetarians but you can use chicken stock if you prefer.
You’ll need cream cheese and a stronger flavoured cheese. I used a mix of mature cheddar and parmigiana, blue cheese works really well too, but use what you have.
This rich creamy soup is even tastier topped with crunchy croutons, or crispy bacon (if you’re not vegetarian)
Ingredients
1 Large head of broccoli (roughly chopped)
1 Small onion, or 3-4 spring onions/scallions (chopped)
1 Tbsp Oil
750 ml Vegetable stock (I used a stock cube)
200 Grams Cream cheese
50 Grams Strong flavour cheese (grated)
Salt and pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a large pot, and add the onion. Fry over a medium heat until soft but don’t brown
Add the broccoli and vegetable stock. Cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes or until the broccoli is soft
Add the cream cheese and stir until it has melted. Using a blender or hand held blender, blitz until the the soup it is smooth (how smooth you make it is up to you)
Return the soup to the pot and add the stronger flavoured cheese. Heat for a further 5 minutes and stir well to make sure all the cheese has melted. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed
I love pork belly. If I go to a restaurant (remember those). I’m really predictable, if pork belly is on the menu that’s what I’m ordering.
If you haven’t tried it before, it’s pretty rich and can be fatty, but it’s also really tasty. I enjoy it, cooked long and slow, and then crisped up in the pan.
Pork belly lends itself particularly to Asian flavours. I like to marinade the pork, usually over night but at least for an hour.
This is really versatile, and freezes well. It’s great served with salad (if you’re following a keto or low carb diet), or sliced in sandwiches with coleslaw. Its also really good sliced and served with noodles. You can crisp it up on a barbecue instead of the pan for a delicious smokey flavour.
Marinade the pork for at least 1 hour
Ingredients
500 Grams Pork belly strips
2 Tbsp Soy sauce
1 Tbsp Sesame oil
2 Tsp Chinese five spice powder
1 Tsp White wine vinegar (or what ever vinegar you have, just not something really strong like malt vinegar)
1 Tbsp Sesame seeds (optional)
Method
Cut the pork belly into 2-3cm thick strips
Add the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, and five spice powder, to an oven proof dish and mix.
Coat the pork strips with the marinade. Cover the dish and refrigerate overnight (or for an hour at least)
Preheat your oven to 160 degrees, put the covered dish in to cook for 90 minutes,
Remove from the oven. Heat a frying, and add the pork to pan.
Crisp for a few minutes on each side, and then sprinkle with sesame seeds
This is the perfect salad for people who think they don’t like salads.
What makes it so good is the ranch dressing. I’m warning everyone in advance, this isn’t a salad for the diet conscious. Ranch dressing is rich and creamy and makes just about anything taste fantastic. It’s doubles as a dip, and is also fantastic in sandwiches with tortilla chips, chicken wings, or if you’re one of those people who like to dip their pizza, (FYI the Italians are horrified by this and have threatened to take pizza back if the rest of the world doesn’t behave itself. I won’t tell them if you don’t).
The salad hits all the bases, soft chicken, crispy salty bacon, sweet cherry tomatoes, and a rich creamy dressing. You can always use the shop bought ranch dressing if you don’t have time or the ingredients, but do yourself a favour and give it a try. This is great for anyone following low carb or gluten free diet.
Serves 2
Ingredients
For the salad
2 Cooked chicken breasts or chicken thighs (shredded or cut into cubes)
4 Rashers of streaky bacon (cooked until crispy and cut or crumbled into 2cm strips)
2-3 Scallions/spring onions (finely chopped)
Handful of cherry tomatoes (halved)
2 Handfuls of salad leaves
For the dressing
2 Tbsp Mayonaise (I use shop bought)
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1/2 Tsp dried dill
1 Tsp Chopped parsley (or 1/2 tsp dried parsley)
1/2 Garlic powder
1 Tbsp Lemon juice/ or 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Milk to loosen the dressing to the consistency you like (for people following a keto diet they can use cream)
In a jar with a lid, add all the dressing ingredients except the milk/cream. Check the flavour and add salt and pepper if you think it needs it.
When you are happy with the seasoning add a little milk/cream to loosen the mixture and shake the jar. Check the consistency, and add more milk/cream if you want a runnier dressing
Combine all your salad ingredients and drizzle with the dressing before serving
The dressing will keep quite happily in a sealed jar in your fridge for 4-5 days
Seaneen's Sunnyside Kitchen 