Not so good a blogger but a tasty salad

A year without posting in English - not so good...

Let's start again. With better luck (I hope) and more stamina to go on.
First to go - salmon wasabi salad

Wasabi and fish is a natural combo and not only in sushi. A few years back I got this period of wasabi-sauce with tuna steaks. Now that tuna is partly on the forbidden list (at least in Finland it is a bit hard to find the MSC certified or other sustainable tuna), it is time to vary. So salmon it is - at least for now - not bad at all either.

Salmon salad with wasabi sauce

Salad base
green salad (lettuce)
mint leaves
basilic leaves
coriander (cilantro) leaves
whole peeled almonds
a couple of carrots
cucumber
salt + pepper + rice wine vinegar

Salmon in 1cm slices

Sauce : 
wasabi
lemon juice
salt
sunflower oil

Wash and dry the salad and herbs. Slice the carrots thinly with a peeler. Roast the almonds slightly on a dry pan and chop a little smaller. Slice the cucumber.

Mix the salad together. (Leave part of the almonds for sprinkling on the top in the end). Season and add the rice wine vinegar. Mix again.

Slice the salmon and roast the slices on the pan in a little oil.

Mix the wasabi, lemon juice and salt. Add oil gradually, mixing all the time. Taste for the heat you want. The taste evolves and deepens over time, so it is good to make the sauce a few hours earlier.

Put the salad base on a big plate. Add the salmon slices on top and sprinkle some almonds. The wasabi sauce can either be poured on the salmon slices or served in a separate bowl for everyone to add as they wish.

Beetroot and Apple Meet Feta

Early spring in Finland is the time of the year when vegetarians get seriously frustrated. There is not much local greens available and even the imported vegetables seem a bit, well, wintery.

I'm not a vegetarian, but when the sun gets brighter and the days get longer, I start getting these cravings for something fresh. This recipe has saved the day more than once.

Beetroot and apple meet feta

(as a starter for 4 adults - 2 hungry ones get a lunch if completed with bread... )

3-4 smallish beetroots
balsamic vinegar
salt
1-2 Granny Smith -apples
pine nuts lightly toasted in a dry pan
feta cheese
rucola
Black pepper

Originally this recipe was made with raw beetroot but lately I've started to prefer the cooked ones as they have this nice sweetness in them that contrasts nicely with the acidity of the apples and the tartness of the cheese. So, cut  a cross on top of the beetroots. Add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and some salt on each. Wrap in folio and  cook in the oven (200 degrees) for about 30-45 minutes, until a knife enters the beetroot with practically no resistance.

Let the beetroots cool to room temperature and peel them.

Cut the apples and beetroots to pieces according to your taste. Rinse the feta and wash the rucola.

Build you salad on the plates by adding the ingredients as you like them. Add some black pepper.

If you want, you can still add some balsamic vinegar, but this is good without it as well. 

Warm salad for the cold spring

We still have snow on the ground... Spring is the time when the heavy stews and roasts give place to light salads and everything green, but in this cold weather we still need something that warms. Luckily the world is full of wonderful recipes for warm salads.

Also, we should eat more vegetables, for ecological reasons, for health reasons and also, for economical reasons. For some reason though, I seem to often lack inspiration and imagination. Most of our regular recipes have meat. This one doesn't  but it still gives you this hearty feeling of not being hungry soon. It also warms you up, both because it is eaten warm and because it has heat from the spices.

I think the original recipe has been taken from the Delicious -magazine, but this is probably no longer like the original. Evolution takes place in the kitchen.

Warm Aubergine - Halloumi Salad

2 aubergines (eggplants) in pieces
1 garlic with cloves separated but not peeled
1-2 tbsp Harissa-paste
2 tbsp olive oil
2 handfuls of dried chickpeas soaked and boiled according to the package instructions
1 red oignon sliced
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
(1 red chili if you really like the heat - we passed as children ate this also)
a package of halloumi sliced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 rtbsp oil
rucola and coriander (cilantro)

Put the oven on to 190 degrees (C) Roll the garlic cloves in oil and put them to the oven for a while (15-20min). Mix the aubergine pieces with oil and harissa and add with the cloves. Leave into the oven for about 30min - until the aubergine is cooked and garlic soft and mushy. Mix in the chickpeas and put back to the oven for 10 minutes.

Once the aubergine is in the oven add some white wine vinegar on the oignon. Add some salt and pepper and leave aside.

Take the aubergines and garlic and put them into a serving bowl. Brown the halloumi slices on a pan with little oil. (With the chili if you use it). Add to the salad, you may want to cut them into bitesize pieces.

Mix the lemon zest and juice with the oignon. Add oil to your taste. Check for the seasoning. Mix with the salad.


Add rucola and coriander. Mix and serve.


The leftovers are great with pasta the day after (just add a bit of the pasta cooking water).