Bulgur Wheat Salad

This past week Compassion In World Farming were encouraging people to have a meat free week. The idea is to make consumers think about their meat consumption and the effects it has on the animals and our planet. As a die hard carnivore I was reluctant but eventually decided to partake. I made the decision a couple of years ago to eat poultry and eggs only if they are at least free range and after watching a chilling documentary a year ago, I decided on the same for pork. I see no reason why our over consumption of meat should lead to such terrible lives for these animals and with this in mind I've been pleasantly surprised with how smooth this meat free week has gone. 

It is true that I have missed the taste of salty bacon and a slice of salami on my pizza but not enough to give in. A simple tomato and mozzarella pizza is just as satisfying and the vegetable curry I made yesterday is certainly among the best curries I've had, quite eye opening. Strangely I've found myself feeling a little bit healthier during the week too. I've been flat to the boards in work but have generally had more energy than usual, although that could just be a mental thing. One of my favourite meals of the week was this salad. It's perfect for lunch but works just as well as a side for dinner and I will certainly be having it as a salad at my (hopefully many) summer barbecues. If I wasn't having a meat free week I probably would have used chicken stock to cook the bulgur but the vegetable stock was just as tasty.

Serves 4 (for lunch)

150g Bulgur Wheat (rinsed)
600ml Vegetable Stock (or chicken stock)
4 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
75g Mangetout Peas (sliced into 1cm pieces)
4 Radish (thinly sliced)
4 Chiquino Peppers (sliced)
8 large Basil Leaves (thinly sliced)
4 Spring Onions (sliced)
handful of Cashew Nuts
100g Feta Cheese (crumbled)

1. Bring the stock to the boil and add the bulgur wheat. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender. Drain well.

2. Dress the bulgur with the oil and vinegar while still hot. Stir well and set aside to cool.

3. When it has cooled add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. The feta should provide enough salt and the radish enough of a pepper hit but have a taste to make sure. Serve cold or at room temperature.

BBQ Season!!

BBQ Season

My favourite time of year is finally here! Although I relish the coziness of dark evenings in front of the fire, I particularly love the al fresco nature of summer and barbecue season. Nothing beats the whole family sitting outside in the (hopefully) sun enjoying good food and a few beers. For my birthday this week we took a chance, we decided to have a small family barbecue and hoped that the weather held up (it is the middle of May after all!). Thankfully the sun shone, the rain stayed away and we had a great evening together. 

Even though it was my birthday, I decided I'd take care of the cooking and with €50 to feed 12 people (including 2 fussy kids) I knew I had my work cut out! First thing to sort were the salads:

Egg Salad - Hard boil 10 eggs, peel and roughly chop. Mix with plenty of mayonnaise, finely chopped chives and season well. Sprinkle a little paprika on top.

Potato Salad - Boil 1kg of baby potatoes until tender, drain and put into a large bowl. Add plenty of extra-virgin olive oil and season well. Add some dried oregano and some finely chopped chives. Mix well.

Pasta Salad - Boil 500g fusilli pasta in salted water until cooked, drain and put into a large bowl. Add lots of extra-virgin olive oil, plenty of halved cherry tomatoes, chopped basil and season well. Mix thoroughly and squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon just before serving.

Spicy Rice Salad - Saute some garlic, chilli, onion and chopped red pepper over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add some turmeric and stir well. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes before adding 250g of rice. Add 500ml of vegetable stock and allow to simmer. Add more stock as necessary until cooked.

With the salads complete and in the fridge, I moved onto meats. For me, the most important piece of equipment for a BBQ is an instant digital thermometer. It allows you to get everything cooked perfectly without having to overcook for safety's sake I prefer to cook chicken in the oven first and then finish off on the BBQ. This method ensures they are cooked through without burning:

For the dry rub mix together; 1tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2tsp white pepper, 1tsp thyme, 1/2tsp smoked paprika, 1/2tsp dried oregano and 1/2tsp salt.

Lightly oil a large baking tray and lay out 15-20 chicken drumsticks. Sprinkle over 3/4 of the dry rub and massage it all over the drumsticks. Put into a 150 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until just cooked through. Char on the BBQ for a couple of minutes to add a bit of life. You can also brush some of your favourite BBQ sauce onto the drumsticks before they go on the BBQ for an extra hit of flavour.

Next I made burgers: spicy lamb for those of us keen on a bit of heat and plain beef for the more conservative!

Saute 1 onion, 1 red chilli and 2 cloves garlic (all finely chopped) in plenty of extra-virgin olive oil with some salt and pepper for 10 minutes until soft but not coloured. Allow to cool. Put 500g of lamb mince into a mixing bowl and add the onion mix, including the oil. Season well and add in half a beaten egg. Mix well. Lightly oil a large plate and with wet hands, shape the lamb mix into five patties. Lay on the plate, cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for an hour or two. Season each side and cook on the BBQ, brushing with BBQ sauce if you like.

You can make the beef burgers the same way but I just mixed 500g of mince with salt, pepper and half a beaten egg and continued as above.

The last bit of cooking was some Nolan's of Kilcullen sizzler and plain pork sausages which were brushed with BBQ sauce and placed on the BBQ until cooked through.

The small amount of cash left over was spent on 12 cans of San Pellegrino orange and lemon and Ali baked a beautiful orange and almond cake for dessert (and to hold the birthday candles).

 I'll have plenty of BBQ posts up over the summer, it's good to take advantage of whatever little sun we get!

Arancini with Sea Bass and Pesto

Arancini with Sea Bass and Almond Pesto

I've always been intrigued by Arancini, little balls of leftover Risotto breaded and fried until golden. It took me until now to cook some and two things struck me...1. It was absolutely worth the wait and 2. Why have I not made these beauties before?! They do give off the impression that they'll be somewhat complicated or lots of hassle but they really aren't. To be honest, the ones I made are misshapen and slightly burnt in places but it doesnt seem to detract from their deliciousness at all!

I really wanted to make the Arancini and when I was trying to think of something to accompany them, I noticed that the fish monger's in Newbridge had a special on Sea Bass and I also wanted to start using up the mountain of homemade Pesto sitting in my fridge, all these elements came together beautifully!

This may sound like a lot of elements to prepare but none of it is very time consuming and everything cooks very quickly so you won't be spending hours over the stove. The Arancini are great served at room temperature so you can cook these first and then your Sea Bass. The Salad can be prepared before anything else and you can make your Pesto a week or two in advance if you wish! I didnt make a Salad Dressing as I didnt want to take from the Pesto and I also served two fillets of Sea Bass per person as they were quite small, if they are larger then one per person should suffice.

Homemade Almond Pesto

40g Basil Leaves

50g Almonds (Peeled and Toasted)

1 Clove Garlic

25g Pecorino Romano/Parmesan (Grated)

120ml Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Put the Basil, Toasted Almonds and Garlic into a Pestle and Mortar with some Sea Salt and bash into a fine Paste. Add the Cheese and slowly pour in the Oil, stirring all the time, Taste and add Sea Salt and Pepper if required.

For a more traditional Pesto, replace the Almonds with Pine Nuts. This is a really tasty Pesto that works great on almost anything. It will keep for a few weeks in the fridge but make sure you keep a layer of Olive Oil on top to stop the air from getting to it. For an alternative Pesto recipe click here.

For the Salad

1/2 Ramiro Red Pepper (sliced)

1 Plum Tomato (sliced, then roughly chopped)

10 Radishes (5 quartered, 5 thinly sliced)

1 Baby Gem Lettuce (roughly pulled apart and torn)

 

For the Arancini

400g leftover Risotto of any kind (I had Chorizo and Veg)

40g Pecorino/Parmesan

4 Eggs (beaten)

100g Dried White Breadcrumbs*

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

Vegetable Oil for Deep/Shallow Frying*

For the Sea Bass

Sea Bass Fillets (I served 2 per person)

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper 

4tbsp Rapeseed Oil

1tbsp Pesto per person.

1. Prepare your Salad, mix well and leave in the fridge until needed. Put the Risotto into a large bowl and add the Cheese, 2 beaten Eggs, a little Sea Salt and Pepper. Mix well with wet hands and shape into balls slightly smaller than golf balls, you should get about 15-16. Put into the fridge to firm up for about half an hour.

2. Prepare your Sea Bass by seasoning the skin well with Sea Salt and Pepper and allow to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, Put the other two beaten eggs on one plate and the breadcrumbs on another. Season the breadcrumbs and mix well. Roll the Arancini in the egg and then the breadcrumbs and Deep or Shallow Fry* for 5 or 6 mins until golden and crispy before draining on some Kitchen Paper. Leave to one side while you cook the Sea Bass.

3. In a clean pan, Heat the Oil until almost smoking and add the Sea Bass Fillets, skin side down. Season the top and cook until almost finished (until the top is going white) before flipping them and cooking for 30s-1 minute on the flesh side, remove from the pan and plate up!

4. Start by putting a 1/4 of the salad on each plate and topping each one with 1/2tbsp of Pesto, lay the Sea Bass Fillets on top and smear these with the other 1/2tbsp of Pesto. Serve with the Arancini.

*I Shallow Fried my Arancini and wouldn't do it again. They lost their shape very quickly and although I enjoyed their rustic look, I feel that deep frying would be the better option.

*If you haven't got dried white breadcrumbs, simply put a few slices of white bread into a food processor and pulse until fine. Spread on a baking tray and put into the oven at about 70-80 deg until dried, an hour or so should do it. Keep in an airtight container.