June 2015 - Emma's Little Kitchen

June 30, 2015

Red White & Blue (And Green!) Patriotic Power Salad

This red, white and blue patriotic power salad makes a healthy addition to any July 4th party! When you’re a displaced Brit residing in the USA, July 4th can be a tricky holiday to navigate. I mean, it’s not like I come across many people …

Food for Friends, Salads, Side Dish

by Emma

7 Comments

June 26, 2015

Flourless Almond Cake with Balsamic Roasted Cherries

This flourless almond cake is sweetened with maple syrup and vanilla, and topped with rich, syrupy balsamic cherries to create a delicious gluten free, refined sugar free dessert. Let me introduce you to my current favourite Summer dessert- a flourless almond cake with balsamic roasted …

Baked Goods, Dessert

by Emma

6 Comments

June 22, 2015

Courgette & Green Bean Salad with Tahini Mint Dressing

This Courgette Green Bean Salad with Tahini Mint Dressing is a satisfying combination of taste and texture, perfect for a light Summer meal.

I think we are long overdue a vegan recipe, aren’t we? Sorry vegan friends, it seems I’ve been pretty into cheese lately. Fortunately this Courgette & Green Bean Salad will satisfy carnivores, vegans and everyone in-between.

Here’s the rundown: lightly cooked courgettes tossed with a splash of lemon and chili, crisp blanched green beans, crunchy toasted almonds, and a creamy tahini mint dressing. There is so much pleasing texture and light, bright summer flavour in this, I can actually eat it for dinner with no accompaniments and feel completely satisfied.

A glass of chilled white wine wouldn’t go amiss though…

Enjoy!

Courgette & Green Bean Salad with Tahini Mint Dressing

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

6 mins

Total time

11 mins

This Courgette Green Bean Salad with Tahini Mint Dressing is a satisfying combination of taste and texture, perfect for a light Summer meal.

Author: Emma

Recipe type: Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the Salad:
¼ cup slivered, sliced or flaked almonds
1 tbsp olive oil
3 medium sized courgettes sliced into rounds (I like to use a mix of yellow and green)
1 large handful of trimmed green beans
4 large handfuls of salad greens
½ tsp chili flakes
juice of half a lemon
For the dressing:
3 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup (or honey if not vegan)
1 tbsp finely chopped mint
½ garlic clove, minced
2-3 tbsp water to thin the dressing out
generous pinch of salt and pepper

Method

Prepare Salad:
Heat a skillet over a medium high heat, add almonds and toast for just a couple of minutes giving them all a good shake as you go. When the almonds are golden and fragrant, quickly remove from the skillet and set aside.
Return the skillet to the heat and reduce to medium. Add the olive oil to the pan, and then the courgette slices. Fry until both sides are golden, about 4-5 minutes. Remove the slices to a dish, squeeze over the lemon juice, sprinkle with chili flakes and set aside to cool.
Bring a pot of water to the boil. Add green beans and blanch for just a minute. Drain, and immediately transfer to a bowl of iced water to refresh. Drain again, and set aside in the colander to dry out a little
Make Dressing:
In a jug or jar, whisk together the tahini, vinegar and maple syrup. Add mint and garlic and mix. Thin the dressing out with water a little bit at a time, whisking between, until the desired consistency is reached. You want it to be creamy but not too thick, and not too thin!
Assemble Salad:
Arrange the salad leaves in a large, shallow serving dish. Top with the cooled courgettes and green beans, give everything a good mix. Finally sprinkle over the toasted almonds and drizzle with the tahini dressing.
Serve immediately

Notes

Adapted from River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

I would only dress this salad when you are ready to serve it, the creamy dressing can be a little heavy to let it sit.

Mains, Salads, Side Dish

by Emma

4 Comments

June 17, 2015

Redeeming Broccoli Chickpea Bowl

This redeeming broccoli and chickpea bowl is the epitome of simple, healthy cooking. All you need is a handful of ingredients and less than 15 minutes! Hi friends! It’s been all systems go these last couple of weeks (apologies for the patchy posting schedule!). In …

Mains, Side Dish

by Emma

10 Comments

June 10, 2015

Maple Peach Dutch Baby

A large whole wheat “dutch baby” pancake filled with sweet maple-roasted peaches. I absolutely adore sweet juicy peaches in the Summer months, so when I saw a punnet for sale at the shop the other week, I snapped them up. I should have known then …

Breakfast

by Emma

9 Comments

June 3, 2015

Bulgar, Lentil and Cucumber Salad

This Bulgar, Lentil and Cucumber Salad is hearty and filling, with a fresh light summer flavour.

I love the challenge of creating a meal from an understocked kitchen, don’t you?! This salad was the result of some cupboard staples, a handful of herbs languishing in the back of my fridge and a scrap of leftover feta. The shining star was a beautiful crisp cucumber, lovingly grown and bestowed on me by my friend Stephanie. All tossed together, these otherwise unpromising ingredients became a beautiful, hearty summer salad.

I was going for a tabbouleh vibe here, and the final result is a satisfying contrast of nutty bulgar and lentils with the crisp, fresh cucumber, herbs and lemons. I probably overuse feta in my cooking, but it really is the perfect finishing touch for this salad, so I highly recommend not skipping it!

Enjoy!

Bulgar, Lentil and Cucumber Salad

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

This Bulgar, Lentil and Cucumber Salad is hearty and filling, with a fresh light summer flavour.

Author: Emma

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Salad:
½ cup bulgar wheat*
½ cup dried green lentils
3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped mint
1 large cucumber, cut into bite sized chunks**
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup very finely chopped red onion
⅓ cup feta, crumbled
Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of chili flakes

Method

Put the bulgar wheat and lentils in a medium saucepan, cover with about 2 cups of water and bring to the boil, reduce to simmer for about 12-15 minutes until bulgar and lentils are tender. Transfer to a colander or sieve to drain off any excess liquid and cool down while you prepare the rest of the salad. I usually chop my vegetables while the lentil-bulgar mix is drying and cooling
Toast pumpkin seeds in a hot dry pan until nutty and fragrant (barely 2 minutes), set aside.
Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.
Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, mix together the bulgar, lentils, herbs, cucumber, pumpkin seeds and onion. Pour the dressing ingredients over the top and give everything another quick mix. Sprinkle the feta over the top and serve!

Notes:

This salad tastes amazing if you are able to let it sit for a while because the flavours really develop. If you have the time, I recommend making it a day ahead or at least make a double batch so you can enjoy the next day too!

*If you can’t have/can’t find/don’t have bulgar, replace with quinoa or another grain.

**I usually keep the skins on my cucumber, but if you have a very bitter-skinned cucumber, then I would peel it

Salads

by Emma

13 Comments