side dishes

Herby Potato Salad

Seaneen's Sunnyside KitchenLeave a comment

Potato salad is lovely summer dish, but not everyone is a fan of mayonnaise.

  • Herby dressing, just waiting for the spuds

This version is a little bit lighter and can be enjoyed by vegans too.

Waxy potatoes are probably best, but either is fine. This is such a great side dish, it goes with virtually everything.

Ingredients

750 Grams Potatoes (cut into 4-5cm chunks, I like to leave the skins on but peel them if you prefer)

1 Tsp Salt

1/4 Red onion (finely sliced)

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1 Tbsp White wine/cider vinegar

1 Tsp Mustard (I like to use grain mustard but Dijon mustard is fine too)

4 Tbsp Chopped herbs (I used coriander and parsley because it was what I had, but dill or mint or a mixture will also work)

Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Add the potatoes and salt to a pot and add enough cold water to cover the potatoes. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are soft, and drain the cooking water (Hold back 2 Tbsp of the cooking water)
  2. In a large bowl add the onion and sprinkle with the vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes (this will help stop that harsh raw onion flavour). Add the oil, mustard, herbs, and cooking water you held back from the potatoes and stir
  3. Add the potatoes while they are still slightly warm to the bowl and mix well to ensure they are coated with the dressing, this will allow them to help soak up the flavour

Broad Beans with Mint

Seaneen's Sunnyside KitchenLeave a comment

I’m guilty of falling into food ruts, making the same thing or using the same ingredients.  The great thing about Summer is that so many gorgeous vegetables like broad beans come into season.

Yes it is a bit more fiddley to shell the beans, but it’s a good job to do while chatting in the phone or even better if you have kids, little fingers are made for jobs like this.

As a kid I wasn’t a fan of broad beans.  I’d only ever had them with the tough whitish green slightly bitter layer left on and boiled to within an inch of their life.  Fast forward and while visiting a friend her Mum made this dish.  With the outer layer removed the beans are  sweet and tender.  Add a mint dressing and you have a really light Summery salad.  This is also great in wraps and sandwiches.

It’s really worth taking the time to peel the outer coating.

Ingredients

1Kg Grams Broad beans in pods

2 Tbsp Oil (I used rapeseed oil, but any neutral tasting oil will do)

1 Tbsp White wine or cider vinegar

2 Tbsp Fresh mint (finely chopped) or 1 Tbsp dried mint

Method

  1. Remove the broad beans from their pods, and then peel off the whitish outer coating. This will show the tender green bean inside, gently pull the two halves apart
  2. Once you have shelled all the beans, blanche in boiling water for 1 minute and then transfer quickly to a bowl of cold water (this will help keep them bright green
  3. Add your oil, vinegar and mint to a large bowl and stir, add the beans and make sure they are well coated
  4. Season with salt and pepper if you feel it needs it

Slow Roast Cherry Tomatoes

Seaneen's Sunnyside KitchenLeave a comment

Do you ever get a bit over zealous when shopping and have stuff hanging about the fridge that you forget about. I do this more often than I should. I recently found a tub of cherry tomatoes that I had forgotten about and were starting to go a bit soft. I decided to cook these long and slow and they tasted fantastic.

I used these as a side dish, but they would be fantastic stirred into some freshly cooked pasta, or served cold in salads or on some crusty bread with some soft cheese. These are every bit as tasty as sun-dried tomatoes. I made quite a small batch of these (because it was a small tub of tomatoes), but I’m definitely going to make bigger batches next time. These can live in your fridge for 3- 4 days in an air tight jar.

All the ingredients combined together and ready for the oven

Ingredients

250 Grams Cherry tomatoes (halved)

1 Tbsp Olive oil

1/2 Tsp salt

2 Cloves of garlic (roughly chopped)

3-4 Sprigs of thyme or 1/2 Tsp dried thyme

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees
  2. Place all the ingredients on a baking sheet and mix well to ensure the tomatoes are coated in the oil. Bake for 20 minutes
  3. Reduce the heat to 140 degrees and cook for a further 30-40 minutes, until the tomatoes start to look wizened up and starting to char

Pineapple Salsa

Seaneen's Sunnyside Kitchen1 Comment

It’s barbeque season and although I do love meat, the side dishes can take your barbeque to a whole other level.

I first had this years ago in a restaurant with barbecued pork and I fell in love. It’s one of those Summery side dishes that goes with pretty much every thing. I use it in wraps, in salad and rice bowls and could eat a bowl of it on its own.

I use fresh pineapple in this recipe, but if you can’t find it, canned pineapple will also work. This takes 5 minutes to make, but I like to leave it in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the acid in the pineapple to help soften the raw onion flavour which works well. You can leave the out or increase the chilli depending on your taste.

Ingredients

500 Grams Pineapple (cut into 2cm chunks)

1/2 Red pepper (cut into 2 cm chunks)

1 Red chilli pepper (seeds removed and finely sliced)

1/4 Red onion, or 2-3 scallions/spring onions (finely sliced)

2 Tbsp Coriander (mint also works well)

Juice of 1/2 Lime

Method

  1. In a bowl combine all the ingredients and stir well. Chill for 30 mins before serving.
  2. This will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for 3-4 days

Roast Vegetable Couscous

FeaturedLeave a comment

Autumn sometimes sees a glut of great vegetables as growing season comes to end.

I love to roast these vegetables up to bring out their sweetness. Then it’s time to decide if I’m making a soup with them or a side dish like this.

If like me you like roast big batches of vegetables this can be even quicker to make as you’ll have these made already. This is really versatile, you can swap out different vegetables as they come in season.

If you’re vegan, you can enjoy this along with roasted chickpeas. I like it with griddled halloumi, or roast chicken and Greek yoghurt. It can be served hot or cold, and it’s ideal for lunch boxes.

Halloumi with roast vegetable couscous

Ingredients

200 Grams Couscous

Vegetable stock

1 Large courgette (Sliced)

100 Grams Cherry tomatoes

1 Red pepper (Sliced)

2 Tbsps Olive oil

3-4 Cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp Red wine vinegar or lemon juice

1/2 Tsp Cumin

1 Tsp Dried mint, or 2 Tsps fresh mint (chopped)

50 Grams Pomegranate seeds

Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Add the oil, sliced courgette and pepper to an oven proof dish, mix to make sure they are coated and bake in an oven pre-heated to 200 degrees. Include the garlic gloves (left whole with their skins on)
  2. After 20 mins remove from the oven. Stir and add the cherry tomatoes and sprinkle over the vinegar. Bake for another 15 mins (or until the edges of the peppers starts catch)
  3. In a heat proof bowl add the couscous cumin and mint. I recommend checking the instructions on the packet about how much liquid to add. (Then add the corresponding amount of vegetable stock)
  4. Once you have removed the vegetables from the oven, take the roasted garlic and squeeze out the soft centre and stir into the couscous
  5. Stir the vegetables into the couscous and serve

Greek Lemon Roast Potatoes

Seaneen's Sunnyside Kitchen2 Comments
Crispy, herby deliciousness

OMG I love a spud (maybe it’s my Irish DNA). Just when I thought roast potatoes were practically perfect in every way. I discovered these.

Potatoes roasted with garlic and herbs in olive oil and lemon juice, are little flavour bombs. I could eat a bowl of these on their own. However, they’re also fantastic with chicken or fish. I have also been known to fry up left over ones (the only reason there were left overs was because I was physically incapable of eating any more) the next day and topping with a fried egg, yum!

Ingredients

750 Grams Potatoes

1 Lemon (juice only)

50ml Olive oil

1 Tsp Dried thyme

1 Tsp Dried oregano

1 Bulb of garlic

Salt

Par boiled potatoes, ready for the oven

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees
  2. Peel the potatoes, and cut into 3-4 cm chunks. Par bowl in salted water for 5 minutes
  3. Put an oven proof dish in the oven
  4. In a bowl, add the oil, herbs and lemon juice. Cut the bulb of garlic into four
  5. Drain the potatoes, add the garlic, and oil mixture then transfer to the preheated dish
  6. Put in the oven and bake for about 1 hour, mixing roughly every 20 minutes, until golden and crispy