butter

Warm bulgur wheat salad with yogurt dressing

| adamcockle

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Despite what the British weather would lead you to believe, it is – in fact – summertime.  There is no better summer teatime treat than this fresh, herby, zesty salad recipe.

Ingredients:

For the salad:

  • 200g bulgur wheat
  • 100g green beans (trimmed)
  • 100g asparagus (woody ends chopped off)
  • 1 large courgette
  • A generous handful or two of fresh herbs (I used chives and parsley)
  • Zest of one lemon
  • Pinch of dried chilli flakes
  • 1tbsp butter
  • Salt and pepper to season

For the dressing:

  • 5tbsp full-fat yogurt (I used greek style)
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1tsp English mustard
  • 1tsp maple syrup
  • Salt and pepper to season

Method:

For the dressing:

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Cover and pop in the fridge to get nice and cold.

For the salad:

Preheat your oven to 180C

Put the bulgur wheat in a large bowl and cover with boiling water (so that there is about an inch of water above the level of the wheat).  Add a pinch of salt and stir together.  Cover and leave aside for about 15mins.  After this time the grains should have plumped up but still have a nutty bite.  Drain off any excess water and leave aside in a sieve or colander for the remaining liquid to evaporate.

Meanwhile, place the butter in a large frying pan set to a medium high heat.  Once the butter starts to sizzle, pop in the lemon zest and chilli flakes and stir together for a moment or two.  Add the drained bulgur wheat to the pan and stir together for a few minutes until the butter has been absorbed and the grains start to crackle and pop.  Transfer the bulgur wheat to a clean bowl.  Finely chop the herbs and mix in with the warm bulgur wheat.

Dice the vegetables into bite-sized pieces and place on a large baking tray.  Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.  Pop in the oven for about 10 – 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender and then stir together with the bulgur wheat.

Serve warm with a drizzle of cold yogurt dressing.  I had my salad with some simple panfried chicken breast on the side.

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BMT Spaghetti (Bacon, mackerel, tomato)

| adamcockle

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I don’t know about you, but my shopping can be a little . . . chaotic.  Most of the time I go to the supermarket with no idea what I’m going to buy, or what meals I’m going to make in the week.  I tend to grab items at random, and hope that it all comes together into something delicious when I get to the kitchen.  This recipe is the product of one such shopping trip.

Ingredients:

  • 200g spaghetti (I used wholewheat)
  • Packet of cherry tomatoes (about 300g)
  • 4 rashers bacon (I used smoked streaky)
  • Pinch of chilli flakes
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 1tbsp butter (or my citrus and herb compound butter)
  • 4 pre-cooked mackerel fillets
  • Parmesan cheese to finish

Method:

Set your pasta cooking by following the instructions on the packet.

Chop the bacon into fine strips (I use scissors for this) and fry in a large frying pan, adding a little bit of oil if you need to.  Once the bacon starts to turn golden around the edges, halve the tomatoes and add them to the pan.  Fry on a medium-high heat until the tomatoes have released their juices and the pan looks dry.

Add the chilli, butter and lemon juice and continue to cook until the lemon juice has sizzled away.  Remove the skin from the mackerel fillets and flake them into the pan.  Stir everything gently together, trying not to break up the pieces of mackerel. Drain your pasta and add to the pan, stirring together with the sauce for a minute until everything is well coated.

Serve with a generous grating of parmesan cheese.

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Simple sides: citrus and herb compound butter

| adamcockle

butterblog

Add extra zipp to steak and seafood, or stir into risotto and scrambled eggs . . .

Ingredients:

  • 250g salted butter (at room temperature)
  • 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
  • Zest of 1/2 a lemon
  • Zest of 1/2 an orange
  • Pinch of chilli flakes (or more if you like it spicy!)
  • 1tbsp fish sauce
  • 1tbsp maple syrup
  • Ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Place the butter in an electric mixer and, using the paddle attachment, whip the butter on high speed until smooth.  Add in the rest of the ingredients and whip for another minute or two until everything is incorporated.  Splodge your herby, zesty butter onto a large piece of parchment paper or clingfilm and roll into a tight, sausage shape.  Pop in the fridge until firm.  Simply slice off pieces as you need them.

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