The idea for these luscious tomatoes came to me when I was left with an abundance of beautiful, ripe tomatoes after a shoot. I didn’t want to make them into a sauce because I loved the little stems attached and so decided to make whole roasted tomatoes. Because I’m such a fan of a good Caprese salad, I decided to halve the tomatoes and after roasting them, added a thin slice of mozzarella and a basil leaf. These tomatoes are absolutely addictive and really moreish. The tomato’s flavour intensifies during roasting and adding the mozzarella and basil adds a touch of luxury without upping the calories too much. Served on a…
Simply Delicious
A general food and cooking blog. I like to experiment and try all different types of cuisine and I have a passion for food photography and styling.
Archive for the ‘Salads & Starters’ Category
I am having a serious love affair at the moment. A love affair with the humble beetroot. This is an affair unlike any other. Quite intense, actually. I think about it all day and try to work it into every meal (mostly settling on having it simply roasted). And to think, as a child I absolutely hated it. But then, we didn’t have simple, whole beetroot in our house when I was young. We only had the bottled variety. Grated beetroot in a sweet, sour pickling liquid which looked almost black in the large bottles it came in. When spooned onto your plate it would bleed it’s purple liquor into…
I found the most beautiful cherry tomatoes on the vine while grocery shopping last week and just had to buy them. I adore juicy, sweet cherry tomatoes and these were so gorgeous, I couldn’t resist. What I wanted to do with them, I had no idea but I bought them anyway. I find that my favourite way of using cherry tomatoes is by roasting them slowly with some olive oil, Balsamic vinegar and garlic. Well, that and eating them just as is. Then on Saturday I went to the Hazel Food Market and bought some fresh peppered chèvre from Normal at the Belnori stand. Whenever I can I try to buy some…
When I saw this gorgeous salad on Smitten Kitchen, I knew I had to give it a go. I just love carrots with anything spicy and I love the idea of adding Feta cheese. I gave it my own spin and replaced the mint with flat-leaf parsley and simplified the Harissa dressing a little. I served this salad with a lemony roast chicken for dinner last night and I just loved it. The sweet carrot flavour is enhanced by the spicy Harissa and the creamy Feta balances out all the flavours perfectly. Just delicious. Print Harissa Carrot salad with Feta cheese Recipe type: Salad, Side dish, Vegetarian, Prep time: 10 mins…
I have been a terribly bad blogger of late. I have a few valid excuses, a few of which I’ll share with you later this week but for now, all I can do is hope that this delectable dip will make up for my lack of posts for the last week or so. I made this the first time for our NYE party and it was an instant hit. All of our guests loved it and I was begged for the recipe. I’ve made it a few times since then and I fall in love with it every single time. It’s spicy, salty, zesty and just perfect when served…
I always serve a salad in some form with our Christmas meal (this year it will be dinner instead of lunch) and even though a regular mixed or Greek salad works just fine, I wanted to turn up the dial and decided to pull out all the stops to make the salad a show-stopper. It might not be all that healthy but it screams Christmas and is just incredibly delicious. I love the way the goat’s cheese goes soft and oozy while the crust is beautifully golden and crunchy. The sweet tang from the pomegranate cuts through the richness the cheese offers. Served with a few toasted pine nuts on…
When thinking about what starter to serve as part of a Christmas/Festive meal, I always get stuck for ideas. I want to serve something special which will impress my guests but I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. I also like starters to pack quite a lot of flavour and depth without being too heavy or rich. I have always been a fan of serving a tarty-type thing as a starter. In my book I have a recipe for Caramelised onion & Goat’s cheese tarts and even though these would be just perfect as a starter (or, if made smaller a Canapé), I wanted something a bit more complex….
Christmas won’t be Christmas without a deliciously, sticky roasted sausage being serves as a canapé. They go perfectly with almost any drink from beer to cocktails and even bubbly and they are always a crowd pleaser. I wanted to use traditional Christmas flavourings to spice up my little pork sausages and so decided to make a glaze using wholegrain mustard, dijon mustard and maple syrup. I love how the maple syrup caramelises and goes wonderfully sticky and the subtle heat from the mustard. When I made these, they lasted all of 30 seconds with everyone reaching and pushing to get to them. Serve them in bowls and believe me when I…
I will be honest, I will work potato rösti into almost any menu if I can. There are few things I love as much as the crunchy, salty and hot surface of a fresh rösti giving way to the soft, cooked potato in the middle. I’m often surprised that I have any left to serve to guests while I’m frying them as I can almost never resist eating a few as I go. These are particularly fabulous as they are topped with cream cheese and beautiful smoked salmon and finished with some fresh dill. Over the Festive season I like to treat my guests (and myself) by using ingredients that…
When I decided to include starters & canapés in my Christmas special, I knew Melon & Prosciutto skewers would be part of it. Even though you can’t even really call it a recipe, as it is SO simple, it is till one of my favourite snacks to serve with bubbly or a cocktail. Not only is it easy and something you can make an hour or two in advance, it’s also just delicious and always seems to impress my guests. As melon is in season in South Africa at the moment, I try to get the most fragrant melon I can and you can either chop it into bite-sized cubes like…
