Borlotti Bean Salad with Chive Flowers

This is a staple of the summer salad table. A nutritious but also delicious garlicky vinaigrette dresses succulent beans. The addition of edible flowers is simply an opportunity to show off and scoff the yummy chive flowers which are out all over my garden at the moment!

For enough beans to serve 4-6 people easily you need
1 tin borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tbsp avocado oil
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
handful chives, finely chopped
salt and pepper
3-4 chive flower heads, broken into the individual flowers

Mix everything together and decorate with the chive flowers. Delicious with all sorts fo salads or as a side for things like quiche etc

Butterbean and Gruyere Burgers

Not exactly healthy, these given the amount of cheese in them. But they taste nice. Eat in moderation lol!

For 4-6 burgers you need:
1 can butterbeans, drained
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
handful chives, finely chopped
large handful grated gruyere
1 egg
salt and pepper
fresh breadcrumbs

Begin by blitzing the beans and onion in a food processor till roughly mushed. Some texture in the beans/onion is fine. Tip into a mixing bowl and add everything else aside from the breadcrumbs. Mix well. You should be left with a sticky but mostly cohesive paste. Form into burgers and coat in breadcrumbs. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a medium oven for 15-25 mins till brown and bubbly. They will fall apart a bit, don't panic. Serve with a green salad and some tomato salsa. Yummy.

Risotto Cakes with Goat's Cheese

I had some left over risotto from Friday night and have been meaning to try and make some risotto cakes for ages. They worked pretty well :)

For about 6-8 cakes you need
leftover risotto (I used a butternut squash one)
Goat's cheese - I used about 1/4 of a log

Place the risotto into a bowl and mix to break it up (assuming it's cold and has been in the fridge). Pick up a dollop, about the size of a golf ball, and squidge it in your hand. Push some goat's cheese in to the centre and close the risotto around the cheese. Shape into a ball. This is easier than it sounds. Repeat till all the risotto and cheese has been used up. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a hot oven for about 20-30 mins til crispy on the outside and piping hot. Serve with a green salad and maybe a tomato sauce if you like.

Courgette Fritters

I found some courgettes looking lonely in the fridge earlier and needed to do something with them. So this is what I did.

For 2-3 portions you need
2 courgettes, sliced on the diagonal into slices about 1/2 a cm thick
2 eggs
2-3 tbsp plain flour
salt and pepper
oil for frying

Mix the eggs with the flour till a smooth, thick batter is formed. Season. Dip slices of the courgettes into the batter and then fry in batches until puffy and golden brown. Drain. Serve hot or warm.

Spiced Chickpea and Parsley Patties (v)

Have you noticed I like Middle Eastern food?! Another gorgeous recipe here :) this time based on one by Ghillie Basan.

For about 8 patties you need
1 tin drained chickpeas
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
large handful parsley, finely chopped
2 tsp each of ground cumin and corriander
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
grated zest of a lemon

Whizz the chickpeas in a blender till smashed then tip into a bowl and add everything else. Squish together to form patties and lay on a greased baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 5 mins each side before serving with a selection of other mezze (we had olives, houmous, pitta, tapenade, tabouleh, tomatoes, garlic yogurt etc).

Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Chips (v)

Lex loves any vegetables that are orange, so we often have sweet potatoes and butternut squash (served for him with a side of orange pepper...). He also loves Moroccan spices so this recipe combines the two for a healthy side dish which makes me feel better about him scoffing down coco pops for breakfast and jelly for pudding...

For 4 portions you need
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 12 small wedges
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into about 12 small wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp moroccan seasoning/spices
salt and pepper

Toss the vegetables in the oil and spices. Roast in a hot oven for about 20 mins till tinged with black and soft in the middle. Eat as you wish.

Tabbouleh (v)

There are countless variations for this recipe, and mine changes depending on what I have in the fridge, but the staples are always a grain (quinoa, bulgar wheat or cous cous); lemon juice; chopped corriander and parsley; cucumber and tomatoes; garlic and lashings of olive oil. The recipe below is what we had today...

For 4-6 portions you need:
1 cup bulgar wheat
2 cups boiling water
2 tsp stock powder
1/2 a cucumber, diced
2-3 tomatoes, diced (if you can be arsed then skin them but if you can't you'll live...)
1 clove garlic, crushed
large cup each of corriander and parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
4 tbsp good quality olive oil
juice 1/2 - 1 lemon
salt and pepper

Begin by soaking the bulgar wheat in the stock and boiling water. Leave to absorb for about 30 mins. Meanwhile prepare the other ingredients and then mix into the grain. Leave to marinate and then eat. We had it as part of a mezze platter with falafel, olives, houmous, pitta and semi dried toms. Sunshine on the table even if it's peeing down with rain outside...