lunch

Smoked Mackerel Pate

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  • I love this spread on some crusty bread.

This is a total crowd pleaser. I’ve never met anyone who didn’t love this (apart from those people who totally hate fish).

When people hear pate, they tend to think it’s going to be complicated. This recipe has only 5 ingredients, and takes 5 minutes to make. It makes a brilliant starter with crusty bread, or I enjoy it on a toasted bagel for lunch. It also makes a good topping for baked potatoes.

Just 5 ingredients and 5 minutes make this super tasty pate

The pate has lots of flavour, but if you want to mix it up a bit you can swap out the parsley and lemon juice for coriander and lime, with some finely chopped chillies.

Ingredients

200 Grams Smoked mackerel

100 Grams Cream cheese

Juice of half a lemon

Small handful of chopped parsley

Ground black pepper

Method

  1. Remove and discard the skin from the fish
  2. Break up the mackerel in a bowl, and flake with a fork
  3. Add the cream cheese, lemon juice, and parsley and mix until the pate is smooth. Taste and add black pepper to taste (you can also add more lemon and parsley if you prefer)

Green Eggs and Ham Fritatta

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Super tasty way to use up leftovers

I hate food waste. So when I see stuff has been hanging about the fridge for a couple days I try to find a way to use it up.

I had some lardons left from another dish I had made. I also had some feta cheese and vegetables. I decided to make a fritatta, which is great to slice up and use from breakfast or brunch, and makes a great lunch box filler.

Fritatta packed full of green veggies, salty bacon and feta cheese.

Ingredients

8 Eggs

100 Grams Feta cheese

100 Grams Lardons (cut up streaky bacon would also work)

1 Onion (finely chopped)

100 Grams Kale (cooked)

100 Grams Frozen peas (thawed)

1 Tbsp Chopped parsley (optional)

Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Heat a large pan, and add the lardons
  2. Fry until crispy, and then remove from the pan
  3. Add the onion to the pan, cook over a low heat until soft
  4. The kale, parsley and peas, and crumble the Feta cheese into the oan
  5. In a separate bowl, crack 8 eggs and beat, before adding to the frying pan.
  6. Remove the pan from the heat and mix all the ingredients well
  7. Transfer to a 8 inch x 12 inch baking tin. Bake for 15-20 minutes in an oven pre heated to 200 degrees. Cook until just firm and allow to set in the tin

Baked Onions

Seaneen's Sunnyside KitchenLeave a comment

This was inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe, but mine are slightly different because I made with what I had in the fridge. You can make these as a starter or lunch dish, they also make a nice side dish with a larger meal.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Onions (about the size of a tennis ball)

4 Slices of prosciutto (you could also use streaky bacon, or Parma ham

2 Tbsp Double Cream

1Tbsp Butter

2 Tbsp Breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp Parmesan

Salt & Pepper

Ingredients

  1. Peel the onions and put in a pot of water just coming to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and allow to cool
  2. Cut the top of the onion and hollow about an inch of the centre of the onion and set to one
  3. Trim the bottom to make sure the onion can sit upright in a baking tray
  4. Chop the centre of the onion you removed, fry in the butter until it has started to colour, add the cream and salt and pepper then reduce the cream is no longer runny
  5. Wrap the hollowed out onion with a slice of prosciutto. You can use the woody part of a stalk of rosemary for more flavour if you have it. A cocktail stick works just as well at holding the prosciutto in place
  6. Divide the fried onions between the hollowed out onions, and top with the bread crumbs and parmesan.
  7. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes, until the topping is golden and crunchy

Sweet potato, green lentil, and feta salad

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Sweet Potato, green lentil, and feta cheese salad

The salty creamy feta, the earthiness of the lentils is balanced by the sweet potatoes and is damned delicious.

This makes a good vegetarian lunch served with some greens and because of all the protein is pretty satisfying.  It also goes really well alongside barbequed chicken.  But as always, put it with what suits you.

Ingredients

200 Grams Feta Cheese (see food hack)

200 Grams Cooked Green Lentils (I used dried lentils because that was what I had in the cupboard, but you can also use pouches or cans of lentils if you don’t have time).

4 Sweet Potatoes

3 Tbsps. Olive Oil

1 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar

Salt and Pepper

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, and add Tbsp. of oil to a baking sheet.
  2. Dice the sweet potatoes into 2 cm squares and add to the baking sheet, bake for 30 minutes or until tender.
  3. Dice the feta cheese into 2 cm squares.
  4. Add the remaining olive oil and vinegar to the lentils and combine with the sweet potatoes and feta cheese.
  5. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

(Food hack; use supermarket own Greek salad cheese, it costs less than ”feta” and is exactly the same thing).

Halloumi, Orange and Hazelnut Salad

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Halloumi, orange and hazelnut salad

This is a quick and easy recipe, that makes a tasty lunch.  It’s also great as a simple starter, that can be done with little fuss if you are cooking for other people. 

The bright tangy orange balances the salty cheese and crunch of the nuts brings it all together.

Ingredients

1 Large orange

225 grams Halloumi

1 Tbsp. Olive oil

25 grams Hazelnuts

1 Packet of mixed salad

Olive oil and vinegar to dress the salad

Method

  • Cut the peel from the orange, making sure you take all the white pith off.  You should cut out segments (leaving the skin between the segments behind), or cut the peeled orange across thinly in rounds if you prefer.  (This can be done in advance, this is useful if you are making this as a starter).
  • In a dry pan toast the hazelnuts, until they smell nutty.  Don’t leave these unattended as they can burn. (This can also be done advance if you are making this salad as a starter).
  • Heat a frying pan with a tablespoon of oil, slice the halloumi in 1 cm thick slices and fry until golden brown on each side.
  • Divide the salad between the plates and dress with your preferred dressing (for this salad, I prefer olive oil and white wine vinegar)
  • Distribute the orange segments and hazelnuts between the plates and top with the fried halloumi.

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