The Recipe Room

Beef Stroganoff, the popular Russian a dish, is a classic that doesn’t take too much time and can be fun to make! There are many variations, but this recipe, with tender beef fillet strips in a sour cream, onion and mushroom sauce, involves flambéing the meat in brandy.

The first time I made it, my flatmate and I had some laughs at my attempt at flambéing. I was careful, though, and no accidents occurred! And I learned two important things. 1) The alcohol won’t ignite if it’s cold; it should be warmed slightly first. 2) The food shouldn’t be left with the liquor too long before lighting; otherwise it will absorb the alcohol and acquire a harsh taste.

Another good tip is to chill the meat in the freezer for about half an hour beforehand to help cut the beef into thin strips.

If you are really hungry, you could always pair this dish up with Russian rye bread, in keeping with the Russian theme.

Wanted: perfect salad for taking on a picnic.

Well, here it is! It is a perfect complement to your typical protein dish such as a tuna or salmon steak. Chicken might also be a good choice. Try this chicken and avocado baguette with pesto mayonnaise. It’s great warm or cold!

Adding pieces of fruit in salads is a great way to make the salad slightly more interesting and healthy. Pears or apples add that extra tang and juiciness, and chunks of a delicious cheese gives it an even more luxurious feel.

As we fast are approaching the picnic season (although we are not there just yet, at least not in London), I am trying to come up with new ideas for dishes to be eaten outdoors and from plastic containers. The thing is – it must not be too runny and messy. Simplicity is the word. And, of course – yumminess! (If that word exists?) Washed down with a cold beer while lounging on a blanket in the park is my idea of paradise.

I hope you give this easy salad a try as it will tick all your boxes: easy; tasty; healthy; and portable. Enjoy!

I try not to eat a lot of meat, but recently I have taken a shining to finding lamb dishes, and the other day I went on a splurge to a Moroccan restaurant searching for something new and interesting. There I realised that couscous is a rice substitute that I had overlooked. After seeing that I could combine lamb and couscous together, I thought I’d try this lamb with couscous and apricot salad, which is a really light and fresh lunch that won’t leave you feeling heavy in any way.

If you are a vegetarian, you could also try this pistachio and cranberry couscous with goat’s cheese. Either way, couscous makes a satisfying salad!

As it is equally delicious served warm or cold, it is also ideal for a spring picnic. Just put the lamb in one container and the couscous and apricot salad in another and combine them on arrival!

What we need:

• 600g lamb, cubed or cut into small pieces
• 400g of couscous
• 12 dried apricots
• 1 tablespoon of pressed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 dl of cashew nuts
• 30g raisins
• a handful of chopped almonds
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 3 pinches of ground pepper
• 2 pinches of salt
• 10 coriander leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick (to garnish)

How to make it:

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.
2. Fry the lamb in a frying pan in the butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Place the meat in an oven-safe form and place in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes until ready.
4. In a sauce pan, boil the couscous according to the instructions on the package.
5. Meanwhile, chop the apricots into small pieces.
6. Mix the olive oil with the lemon juice and cinnamon.
7. Add the apricots, cashew nuts, raisins and almonds with the lemon juice/olive oil mixture.
8. Add the couscous when it is ready. Mix it all carefully. Add salt and pepper according to taste.
9. Serve the couscous salad as the base on a plate and place the lamb on top.
10. Sprinkle over the coriander leaves and garnish with the cinnamon stick.

Time needed: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Level: Easy

Attention fish lovers: Sweet chilli fish with rice is a dish for those of you who like the taste of the delights from the sea but don´t really have the patience to cook dishes which use up a lot of your precious time.

You know who you are: you are always on the run, and your greatest wish is for food to cook itself, but you also want your food to be healthy. You are tired of ready-made microwaved food and of counting just how many E-numbers have been thrown in.
Here you will learn how cooking fish dishes need not be difficult or time-consuming, and your health will thank you.

This dish literally cooks itself; while the rice is simmering, you have time to tend to other things. All you have to do is chop an onion or garlic, mix the ingredients, and the rest takes care of itself.

This sweet and sour chilli fish dish is an easy, no-fuss, midweek dish. Just don’t forget to put the timer on!

What we need:
• 600g of cod
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 garlic clove or 1/2 yellow onion
• 1 decilitre of parsley
• 50-75g of butter
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon of sambal oelek

Tip to save time: You can also use a ready-made sweet chilli sauce instead of lemon, honey and sambal. It can be found in most food shops. With the remaining sauce, try sweet chilli and lemongrass prawns!

How to make it:
1. Set the oven to 225 degrees Celsius.
2. Place the cleaned fish in an oven-safe form and sprinkle some salt over it.
3. Chop the garlic and parsley.
4. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Mix in the garlic, lemon juice, honey and sambal oelek.
5. Slowly pour the mixture over the fish.
6. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20-25 minutes.
7. Serve with whole grain rice mixed with lightly cooked vegetables. (These can be defrosted frozen vegetables which are added at the last minute to the rice.)

Time needed: approximately 25 minutes
Serves: 4
Level: easy (especially when using the ready-made sauce)

In honour of the versatility and history of Feta cheese, here is a recipe for Greek grilled toast with Feta cheese and cherry tomatoes.

Feta cheese is delicious on just about everything. It makes salads more interesting, such as in this healthy and original superfoods salad. I love the name “superfood” because to me, it means a food that is well-rounded and gives me all the nutrients and vitamins I need to get through the day. I think these toasts are superfood as well because it has elements from all the food groups.

Did you know that this Greek curd cheese is believed to have been made for thousands of years? Due to its proud heritage, the title “Feta cheese” has been copyrighted since 2002 so that only cheese made exclusively in Greece with sheep or goat’s milk has the right to bear the name within the European Union.

Try forming them into different shapes to give them an extra twist! How about cutting these toasts into small pizza slices? Or perhaps a Mickey Mouse head? Why not try them in the shape of a heart for your sweetheart? All you need for the shapes are cookie-cutters or a large glass, and some imagination. Serve and surprise your friends or partner with your ingenious toast shapes! They’ll love it!

What we need:

• 8 slices of toast bread
• 1/2 a teaspoon of butter on each
• 16 cherry tomatoes
• 8 black olives, pitted
• 150g of Feta cheese
• a few leaves of fresh basil or coriander leaves

How we make it:
1. Cut the bread into the shapes you want them (I am partial to the heart-shaped ones, but I made the round ones that you see in the picture for simplicity’s sake. To do so, I used a large glass to cut around the bread).
2. Butter the bread that you are going to use.
3. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.
4. Chop the olives into fine pieces.
5. Mix the tomatoes and olives and spread them on the toast.
6. Grate the Feta cheese and sprinkle over the toast.
7. Place some leaves of fresh basil on each.
8. Grill in the middle of the oven for 8-10 minutes.
9. Serve with an iceberg and tomato salad.

Serves: 2
Time needed: 20 minutes
Level: Easy