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 ‘Vegetarian’ Category
When I was young, I despised tomato soup. I always thought it tasted of tomato sauce, which is strange because I liked tomato sauce (ketchup) on everything. But now, I appreciate its subtle acidity and its gentle sweetness. And when served with a rich, oozy, toasted cheese sandwich, it’s simply perfection. I call these my ultimate toasted cheese because they are by far the best I’ve tasted. They are simple with only one secret ingredients, a slow-braised onion purée flavoured with butter and white pepper. This purée mimics the texture of the melted cheese and infuses the sandwich with sweet, buttery, peppery flavour which is just to-die-for. I’m not quite…
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 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…
Even though a turkey, gammon, duck or even goose might be the main attraction for your Christmas meal, the sides can make or break a Festive lunch/dinner and so, I always try to put as much effort into them as I do the meat (even more so when I have vegetarian guests joining us). I don’t think Christmas would be Christmas without roast potatoes. Everyone is going on about duck fat lately and I’m afraid, I’ve jumped right on that band wagon. There is nothing like a potato perfectly roasted in duck fat. Crunchy and salty on the outside, fluffy and creamy on the inside. Pure perfection. Definitely not something…
During summer, we all look for delicious desserts which can offer a source of nutrients while still tasting good, and so, when Special K asked me to come with a fabulous recipe I thought this one would be just perfect. An added bonus is that tart requires no cooking. Simply assemble in little time. I decided to use the Special K and make a tart shell from it. I combined the crushed Special K with a little melted butter and sugar and pressed it into tart cases before allowing it to set in the fridge. When you are ready to serve, you pop the Special K tarts out of their tart cases and fill them with…
I am not ashamed to say that I am a Guacamole freak. I adore it and could have it everyday. The only thing I don’t like about guacamole is that traditionally, chopped tomato is added. I don’t know why this is but it gives me the heebie-jeebies and I can’t handle the texture. However, when it’s left plain with a little bit of chilli, lemon, salt & pepper, I could gobble it up by the bowl full (and often do). Recently I had avocados in the house and wanted to create a side salad for dinner and without lettuce or cucumber, I decided to make this guacamole salad. Even…
(Thanks to my amazing husband Chris for creating this stunning image for World Egg Day) As today is World Egg day, I decided to round up all my favourite Simply Delicious Egg recipes and share them with you. I adore cooking with eggs as they are incredibly nutritious and when cooked right, they are one of the most delicious things to eat. Silky, soft and almost cheese-sauce like, like Julie Powell said in “Julie & Julia”. I love them on their own, with asparagus and hollandaise, on a soft roll with bacon or on top of a stack of crunchy potato rosti’s. For breakfast, lunch and dinner. And so, here…
