The Recipe Room

This spinach and warm veggie salad recipe, smothered in a delicious creamy mustard sauce, makes a great starter or side dish for any occasion.  The warm vegetables make a welcome change to a typical cold salad and provide the perfect contrast to the bed of tender fresh spinach leaves.

If you have more of an appetite, you could also try this pita bread with fried vegetables, coriander and ricotta cheese. The extra carbs will give you an energy boost.

What you’re going to need:

• 2 medium-sized red onions
• 100g cherry tomatoes
• 1 fennel bulb
• 110g fresh tender spinach  leaves
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 bunch fresh parsley
• 1 slice whole-grain bread
• 65ml vegetable stock
• 2tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2tsp grainy mustard
• 2tbsp crème fraîche
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pinch of ground coriander

What you have to do:

1. Chop the red onions.
2. Trim the fennel, wash and cut into eighths lengthwise.
3. Wash and trim the spinach. Remove the thick stems, and wash thoroughly in cold standing water. Allow to drain thoroughly and transfer to plates.
4. Wash the lemon with hot water, remove a thin layer of zest, and chop finely. Squeeze out the juice and set aside.
5. Wash the parsley and finely chop the leaves.
6. Sprinkle the lemon zest and parsley leaves over top of the spinach.
7. Soak the bread in the vegetable stock.
8.  In a blender, finely purée the bread with the extra virgin olive oil.
9. Mix in the grainy mustard and crème fraîche and season to taste with 1.5 tablespoons of the lemon juice, along with the salt, pepper, and coriander.
10. In a wide pot, bring about 5cm of salted water to the boil for the vegetables.
11. Cover and cook the vegetables 5 minutes, or until they are tender and crisp.
12. Drain the excess water from the vegetables and arrange them on top of the spinach leaves.
13. Pour the mustard cream over the salad or mix it all together so that the entire dish is coated with the dressing.
14. Serve immediately.

 

Preparation Time:  20

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Serves:  4

Difficulty: Easy

Cheddar cheese, potatoes, cream, spinach and pine nuts, grilled to perfection au gratin, this spinach and potato gratin dish has quite literally every single one of my favourite comfort foods, all rolled together into one, big, brilliant recipe!  I make absolutely no claims as to the healthiness of this creation, but sometimes you just want to forget all about that and just eat something that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This dish definitely fits that bill!

Personally, I leave the skins on the potatoes, and since they’re supposed to be the healthy part anyway, I don’t feel too guilty about stuffing my face with this every once in a while. (Also try this potato au gratin with pesto and salmon steaks. Just take out the salmon to make it vegetarian, or perhaps you could replace it with tofu!)

 

This spinach and chickpeas recipe makes for a great starter or can even be served as a main course if you accompany it with some oven-warmed French bread and a bit of salad. (If you want to stick with the chickpea theme, try this carrot, chickpea and orange salad.)  As always, I suggest using dried pulses and rehydrating them overnight, but if you don’t have time, you can go ahead and use the precooked canned or bottled ones.

What you’re going to need:

• 300g chickpeas, soaked overnight
• 60ml olive oil
• 1 slice white bread
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/4tsp paprika
• 450g fresh spinach
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
• Salt and pepper, to taste

What you have to do:

1. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a pot with enough water to cover them completely.
2. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes over high heat.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover and let cook for 1 hour or until the chickpeas are tender.
4. Remove from heat and drain off the water.
5. Heat 30ml of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the slice of bread until it’s golden brown.
6. Set the fried bread aside on a plate.
7. Sauté the onion in 15ml of olive oil over low heat until it’s translucent.
8. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking over low heat for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes are dissolved.
9. Heat the rest of the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
10. Add the paprika and sauté for 30 seconds.
11. Add the spinach and cook for a few minutes until the spinach is tender.
12. Add the mixture of tomatoes and onions to the spinach, mix well and add the chickpeas.
13. Add the salt and pepper to taste.
14. Put the fried bread and the garlic in a blender and mix to form a smooth paste.
15. Add the bread and garlic paste to the spinach and chickpeas.
16. Add 170ml of cold water and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes.  Add more water if necessary as you cook.
17. Serve hot.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes + 8 hours soaking the chickpeas

Cooking Time: 55 minutes

Serves:  4

Difficulty: Medium