Homemade Sushi

Comfort Food

I've finally got (some of) my taste buds back after a nasty spell of the flu, but have yet to find the energy to cook up a big meal.

My comfort food:
Thr0w diced sweet potato into a pan of olive oil. Season with paprika, cayenne pepper, sea salt, black pepper and basil. Fry the sweet potato. Slice a courgette into thin strips, and add to the sweet potato along with a cup of cooked aduki beans. Simmer for a few minutes - the courgettes should be just cooked through. Remove from heat, add some feta cheese and serve with couscous. Season with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

A few weeks ago I was craving mash - another comfort food. However, I wanted something a bit healthier than just mashed potatoes (carbs in the evening is not a good thing unless you have a workout planned the next day!). I combined the mashed potato with mashed butter beans. To that I added steamed petit pois and sautéed leeks. I can’t remember what I served the delicious mash with, it obviously wasn’t anywhere nearly as good as the butter bean and potato mash.

Superpower foods

An interesting take on cooking programme (I wonder if the Food Channel at work will be picking this one up) on BBC2 this evening:
Cooking in the Danger Zone

Scorpian kebabs, barbequed rat, dung cakes, pork & rice custard... Not to mention, many, many types of penis while in Bejing. Apparently Water Buffalo penis is a rather delicious. Not sure I'd try it.

Marinated chicken & puy lentils served on rocket

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
2 chicken fillets
Goat’s yoghurt
Olive oil & balsamic vinegar
1 Lemon
1 large clove of garlic
2 large Portobello mushrooms
Handful fresh basil leaves
Bunch of Rocket
2 spring onions
Half a packet of cherry tomatoes



Marinate the chicken in goat's yoghurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper for 45 min.

Cook puy lentils in water according to instructions on packet.

Crush and chop the garlic. Cut the red pepper into 1 inch squares, and slice the Portobello mushrooms. Combine and sauté in olive oil. Add a dash of balsalmic vinegar.

Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard excess marinade. Oven-bake the chicken on 180 degrees for 30 min.

Rinse lentils in cold water once cooked, to cool slightly. Mix with red pepper and mushrooms. Add fresh basil leaves.

Finely slice the spring onions. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Mix with lentils, peppers and mushrooms.

Place the rocket on plate, Spoon lentil & vegetable mixture over. Lay chicken on top. Drizzle goat’s yoghurt on top, followed by olive oil & balsamic vinegar. Season with black pepper.

Linguine with salmon, fresh corgette, roasted red peper and fresh basil

This is a really simple summer time dish. perfect for a late lunch. A crisp sauvignon blanc would be a good wine to serve with this.

Ingredients
(Searves 2)
1 red pepper
1 red chilli
2 salmon fillets
1 courgette
fresh basil leaves
Olive oil
Black pepper
Sea salt
1 lime


Using a potato peeler or micro pane, slice the courgettes very finely.
Finely chop a half a red chilli, removing the seeds. Add to the courgette.
Roast the pepper in the oven, charring the skin. Take the peppers out the oven, deseed and de-skin. Cut into slices and add to the courgette and chilli.
Fresh Basil leaves - tear and add to the courgette.
Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the courgette.

Cook the linguine al dente. Drain and add to the courgette, mixing all the ingredients together. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Drizzle a good quality olive oil.

Pan-fry the salmon fillets in olive oil, first on the skin ensuring that the skin is crispy before turning over.

Serve the salmon on top of the pasta.