Freekeh Salad With Lamb Sausage

Ingredients:

150 g freekeh

4 lamb sausages

1/2 courgette

3 grilled pickled red peppers, cut into stripes

Handful roasted almonds

bunch of fresh parsley. chopped finely

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp lime juice

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of cumin seeds

salt & pepper

*

Freekeh or farik is a cereal food made from green wheat that goes through a roasting process in its production. It is an ancient Arabian, super-nutritious, low in fat, high in protein and fiber food that is digested slowly. This was her first attempt to cook with this old-new super-food and the salad came out really tasty. Cook freekeh until soft with a pinch of  salt in a saucepan. Meanwhile fry the sausages on a frying pan, add a bit of olive oil, courgette and cook until al-dente and sausages are done. Add the freekeh and stir altogether adding cut slices of red pepper, roasted almonds and all the seasoning.  Super easy.

Bon Appetit!

CousCous With Lamb Sausage And Mint Yogurt

Ingredients:

1 cup couscous

4-6 lamb meat sausages

100 g canned chickpea

8 dried dates, sliced

Bunch of fresh baby spinach leaves

1 cup white yogurt

bunch of fresh mint leaves, chopped finely

bunch of fresh parsley leaves, chopped finely

pinch of dried out chicken bouillon

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of chili powder

pinch of curry powder

cumin seeds, grounded

salt&pepper

*

Such a great couscous alternative. Put couscous into a bowl with the sliced dates, pinch of nutmeg, chili and curry powder, grounded cumin seeds, salt, pepper and dried out chicken bouillon. Pour over boiling hot water, cover with a lid and let rise and soften. Meanwhile start to fry the lamb sausages. No need to use any oil for frying. At the end throw in chickpeas and  heat it up on the oil from the lamb sausages with a pinch of nutmeg. Prepare yogurt sauce by simply mixing finely chopped mint leaves and parsley leaves with the yogurt and season with salt and pepper. Place sausages on a plate, put couscous on a bed of fresh baby spinach leaves, top with chickpeas. Serve with the yogurt sauce..

Bon Appetit!

Macrel With Sweet Potato Salad

Ingredients:

2 smoked macrel fillets
3 medium size sweet potatoes
3 stalks celery sticks, chopped
2 tbsp kalamata olives, chopped
1 tbsp capers
bunch of fresh parsley, chopped finely
bunch of fresh argula leaves
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon maple syrup
salt&pepper
*

She came across this recipe in a Dutch magazine called Red and wanted to try it out immediately. The combination of salty smoked macrel, sweetness of the potatoes and sourness of the capers made this dish an extraordinary taste buds experience. Simply boil the sweet potatoes until soft for about 10 minutes depending on their size, but be careful not to overcook them as they would not hold shape while cutting. Meanwhile prepare the rest of the ingredients and throw them in a bowl, mix with cooked skinned and cubed sweet potatoes. Season with chopped parsley, salt, pepper, lemon juice and maple syrup and stir gently altoghether. Serve with the macrel filet on side or with pieces incorporated in the salad.
Bon Appetit!

Couscous With Chickpea And Chicken Sausage

Ingredients:

1 cup couscous

4 chicken sausages, cut into rounds

200 g canned chickpea

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 carrot, cut into thin slices

1 tbsp olive oil

Bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped finely
pinch of dried out chicken bouillon

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of chili powder
pinch of safran

curry powder

cumin seeds

salt&pepper

*

This recipe also falls under the "what to do with the opened 800 gram can of chickpeas" story :). Put couscous into a bowl with a pinch of nutmeg, salt and dried out chicken bouillon. Pour over boiling hot water, cover with a lid and let rise and soften. Meanwhile start to saute the chicken sausage cut into rounds on a bit of olive oil, add thinly sliced carrot and red bell pepper. Add a bit of water, season with cumin seeds, curry powder, nutmeg and pinch of chili along with safran and stew until carrot is soft and sausage is well cooked. At the end throw in chickpeas and couscous, stir well together. Finish off with some finely chopped fresh coriander, salt and pepper.
Bon Appetit!

Lamb Chops With Pistachio Crust

Ingredients:

4 lamb chops

1 teaspoon mix of Provencal or Italian dried herbs

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts

1 tbsp  bread crumbs

1 tbsp soft butter

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

5 medium size potatoes, with skin, washed and scrubbed

1 tbsp dried thyme

salt&pepper

*

The spring season always brought some lovely fresh ingredients such as asparagus, green peas, strawberries or chicory. Lamb meat belonged to the main spring meat representatives. She altered recipe she found here and a delicious spring dinner option was discovered. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking sheet on the oven plate. Put whole potatoes with skin to boil with a pinch of salt and caraway seeds for about 20 minutes. Season each lamb chop with Provencal or Italian herbs with a bit of salt and ground black pepper.

Heat a spoon of olive oil in a frying pan over high heat. Place lamb chops on the pan and fry, browning on all sides for about 3 minutes. Transfer lamb onto the baking sheet; set aside.

Stir crumbled pistachios, bread crumbs, butter and a pinch of salt and black pepper in a bowl. Spread mustard on the fat-side of each rack of lamb. Pat pistachio mixture on top of mustard. Bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden and lamb is pink in the center for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile once the potatoes cooked, slice them up and throw them into the frying pan which you used for sealing the lamb chops. The fat from lamb will give potatoes some flavor. Season with dried thyme, salt and pepper.

Bon Appetit!

Roasted Aubergine With Couscous Filling and Feta Cheese

Ingredients:

1 larger aubergine

50 g couscous
2 stripes prosciutto ham, chopped roughly
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Handful dried apricots, chopped
Handful pine nuts
Bunch of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
Pinch of cinnamon powder
Pinch of grained nutmeg or powder
1 tbsp virgin olive oil
salt&pepper
*

Tasty not only summer meal with a bit of exotic Arabic feel to it. Wash the aubergine and prick it couple of times with a fork, place it whole on a baking paper in a baking pan and bake in oven at cca 200C for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile place couscous in a bowl and pour boiling water over so that it just covers the amount, put a lid over and let it rise. Take out the aubergine and cut it in half. Scoop out the soft inside but be careful not the penetrate the sides. Chop it finely and add it to the already risen couscous along with chopped prosciutto ham, apricots, mint leaves, pine nuts, olive oil and season with salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir all together and fill the aubergine with the mixture. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese, put back into oven and bake for another 10 minutes or so until the cheese starts to brown. Serve on a bed of salad leaves and optionally with white yogurt dressing which can be made from Greek yogurt with salt, pepper, dash of lemon juice, chopped fresh mint and coriander leaves. If you prefer vegetarian version, just omit the prosciutto ham.
Bon Appetit!

Beef Skewer With Apricots And Green CousCous

Ingredients:

300 g beef meat, cut into squares

1/2 cup dried apricots or alternatively prunes

Fresh Spinach leaves

1 cup couscous

1/2 cup of fresh or frozen green peas, boiled

Alternatively green beens

Bunch of fresh mint leaves

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

3 tbls olive oil

Salt&Pepper

Skewers
*

This meal was met with a warm reception by the boyfriend :) It has a little exotic feel to it and can serves as filling but healthy lunch or dinner alternative:

Stick the beef squares on a wooden skewer combining one piece of beef with one apricot at time, sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried rosemary and fry slowly on a frying pan with a bit of olive oil until done.

Place couscous in a bowl and pour over boiling water. Allow some extra water so that the couscous has enough liquid to rise. Cover with a lid and wait a few minutes until couscous swells up. Mix with salt, pepper, finely chopped mint leaves and about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add boiled green peas and stir.

Serve all on a bed of fresh spinach leaves and alternatively accompany also with green beans.

Bon Appetit!