Sweet and sour aubergine ragu with oyster mushrooms

November is being hailed as a World Vegan Month. While no-one in our family is a vegan, I cook lots of vegetable dishes that just happen to be vegan-friendly.
Aubergines and potatoes are my most favourite vegetables, I am happy to eat them as often as possible.
A few years ago I tried to grow my own aubergines, but there was one plague after another - slugs, caterpillars, some kind of mould etc, so I've not succeeded. After that gardening disaster I just buy them in the shops.
I rarely peel the aubergines (unless the recipe asks for that specifically). The modern varieties are not bitter, and I don't pre-salt them either to remove bitterness.
Sweet and sour aubergine ragu with oyster mushrooms is a tasty comfort food.

Sweet and sour aubergine ragu with oyster mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 red onion
5+tbsp olive oil
2 medium carrots, grated
2 medium aubergines
1 sweet pepper
1-2 clove of garlic
2 big tomatoes
3-4tbsp fresh lemon juice
2tbsp Clarks maple syrup
a punnet of oyster mushrooms
fresh dill (optional)

The sweet pepper is listed in the ingredients list, but is missing in the photo, as I added it after I took the photo

Start by frying a finely chopped red onion in 2 tbsp olive oil, keep stirring for 3-4 minutes, then add grated carrots, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Cube the aubergines and slice a pepper, add to the onion and carrot mix, with more of olive oil.
Aubergines tend to absorb quite a lot of oil, so if you're counting calories, add a dash of water, and cook stirring frequently.
Add a finely chopped clove of garlic, chopped tomatoes, lemon juice and maple syrup. You might need a big glug of water. Cover the pan with the lid, and cook simmering, on low heat, for half an hour or so, until the aubergines are soft.
Add the mushrooms in the last five minutes of cooking.
Serve with rice, or as a side dish to a meat course. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, like dill or parsley.
If you don't like oyster mushrooms, they can be easily swapped for chestnut mushrooms.
I served the ragu with the arancini (rice balls).

In this recipe I used Clarks Original maple syrup, which was one of the products in the latest Degustabox food box. It's a natural blend of Pure Canadian maple syrup and carob fruit syrup. It's suitable for both vegetarians and vegans.

If you enjoy cooking with aubergines, check out the following recipes:

Aubergine curry (Indian recipe)

Aubergine ikra (Russian recipe)

Caponata (Sicilian recipe)

Pasta 'ncasiata (Sicilian recipe)

Freekeh with aubergines and cashews

What are your favourite aubergine-based recipes?

Rice and mushrooms-stuffed peppers

Stuffed peppers have always been one of my favourite comfort foods. I remember as a child going into my auntie's kitchen garden, where she grew most flavourful sweet peppers (as well as fiery little chillies, which would make you gasp if you were silly enough to have a bite of a fresh one), and picking a few for dinner, along with big-sized beef tomatoes and a bunch of fresh herbs.
My grandma and auntie were great cooks, and in summer the smell of the food cooked in the summer kitchen would waft around the garden, making your mouth water.
They lived in a small town in the South of Russia, and I enjoyed visiting them. For me, a city girl, their town was full of promise and discoveries, including a local speciality - a blue ice cream named after the river Don. I loved going to the market and seeing local produce, heaped up on wooden tables. Ah, memories, memories...

Stuffed peppers are also one of my Mum's signature recipes. She cooks them in a deep pan, simmering in soured cream and herbs sauce. She makes different versions - a mix of rice and minced meat with lots of herbs for the meat eaters, or rice and mushrooms for Lent days.

In this recipe I use whole peppers as vessels for stuffing. I like to use a mix of mayo and soured cream, but as this recipe is a vegan one, the soured cream is not included. I have tried soy and other dairy-free yogurts, but they don't have the same level of acidity as the soured cream.
If you're not a vegan, mix the mayo with soured cream or thick Greek yogurt.

Rice and mushrooms-stuffed peppers
Ingredients:
3 sweet peppers
1/2 red onion
1 carrot, grated
3tbsp rapeseed oil
2 Portobello mushrooms
about 125g coconut rice (half a pack of precooked rice, I used Tilda coconut rice)
5tbsp vegan mayo
1tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves and mint
salt and pepper

Cooking time: 30+ minutes

First cut out the tops of the sweet peppers and remove the seeds from inside.
Pre-cook the peppers in salted boiling water for 5-7 minutes. You don't have to precook and just roast the peppers in the oven with the stuffing, but it will take much longer.
In a medium pan heat up 2tbsp rapeseed oil and fry finely chopped red onion and grated carrot, stirring frequently. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the chopped mushrooms and 1tsp vegan mayo. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
Add the precooked rice and mix well.

Spoon the rice and mushrooms mix into the peppers, and top up with a dollop of mayo. Place the peppers in a medium deep ceramic or roasting dish.

Put the dish in the oven preheated to 180C.

In a small bowl mix the remaining mayo with lemon juice and herbs, pour it over and around the peppers.

Cook for about 15-20 minutes.

I've first tried Hellmann's vegan mayo a couple of months ago, and since then bought it a couple of times. It is creamy and tasty, and you won't guess it's dairy-free.

It's definitely a perfect alternative to a dairy-based mayo.

If you're a fan of Hellmann's Vegan Mayo, you might want to enter a competition which is running until the 28th of July.
I enjoy entering creative cooking competitions, and wanted to share the competition in case you might have missed it.

Here are T&Cs for Hellmann's Vegan Quick Eats Competition (partially reproduced with permission from Hellmann's PR):

1. This promotion is open to residents of the UK aged 18 or over except employees of the Promoter, their families, agents or anyone professionally connected with the promotion.

2. To enter, join the Hellmann's Vegan Deli Club Facebook Group (the "Facebook Group") and create a post (each, and Entry)

For the entry to be valid, the post must include the following:
a photo of your "Quick Eat"; and the following as it relates to your original dish:
- name of your quick eat
- description of your quick eat
- total time to make (preparation and/or cooking)
- ingredients
- recipe to make your quick eat
- and include in your post #quickeats and #hellmannsvegan
For the entry to be valid, entrants must use the hashtags #quickeats and #hellmannsvegan.

3. The opening date for entries is 17:00 BST on 17th June 2019 and the closing date for receipt of entries is 11:59 BST on Sunday 28th July 2019.

4. There are three prizes in total. The overall winner will receive 1 x £1,000 in the form of a wire transfer, the second and third winners will receive £150 each in Amazon vouchers; and 150 additional randomly selected eligible Entries will receive a £5 Amazon voucher, up to £10 per winner (£5 voucher excludes challenge winner and runners up).

5. The overall winner and runners up may not win more than one prize. The winners of the £5 Amazon vouchers may win up to £10 in Amazon vouchers.

6. No applications from agents, third parties, organised groups or applications automatically generated by computer will be accepted. No incomplete or corrupted entries will be accepted. Entries will only be accepted if they comply will all entry instructions.

For the full T&Cs please visit the Facebook group, as there are 24 clauses of the promotion.



I really wanted to alert you to the competition, as it's exactly the type of creative competition I wish were more widely available.

If you do join in, I wish you all the best. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed as well.

In case you are not sure where to buy Hellmann's Vegan Mayo, I found it in Sainsbury's locally, but it's also available in Tesco, ASDA, Amazon Pantry and Ocado.

Sweet and sour peppers (agrodolce di peperoni)

I was planning a meat-free menu for our Italian guests last weekend and browsing online for ideas for side dishes that would go with the main which was a baked risotto layered cake. I wanted to cook a dish with sweet peppers, and needed something hassle-free as the main was rather time-consuming.

Gennaro Contaldo's Agrodolce di peperoni on Good Food Channel looked easy and simple. Actually the Russians cook something similar with sweet peppers, only without anchovies. The Southern Russian cuisine is an amalgam of its southern and western neighbours, with the flavour influences from Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, and of course the Greek and Jewish communities from the Crimea.

I have slightly adapted the recipe, changing the method - cooking in the oven rather than fried - but the changes are minor (for a full recipe see the link above)

Sweet and sour peppers
Ingredients:
4tbsp olive oil (2 +2)
3 sweet peppers (red, orange and yellow), deseeded and cut into big slices
2 anchovies
1 clove of garlic
a handful of olives stuffed with garlic
1tbsp salted capers, rinsed
1tbsp caster sugar
2tbsp apple cider vinegar

Slice the peppers in half, deseed them and then slice each half into 3-4 pieces. Place the pepper in a deep ceramic dish or tray, drizzle with 2 tbsp of oil and place the dish in the oven preheated to 180C for about 25 minutes.
Heat 2tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan, add the anchovies and garlic, and fry the garlic for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Add the sliced olives, capers, sugar and vinegar and mix into the peppers which should be cooked through by now. Leave the peppers in the oven, which has been turned off.
You can eat these peppers warm or cold. They make a tasty side dish, or a snack to go with cheese and bread.

You don't need salt, as the anchovies give it a salty taste. For a vegetarian version, omit the anchovies. I have searched online what's the best substitute for anchovies in vegetarian dishes, and there is a product called an umeboshi paste. I haven't used it myself, so cannot say what it tastes like, but apparently chefs use it in vegetarian recipes. I'll see if I can find it locally.
Does anyone use it, and would you recommend it?

I used the remains of Willy's Apple Cider Vinegar, which was one of the products in the January Degustabox. It's a tasty vinegar from the Herefordshire countryside.
It adds a lovely sour note to the peppers.
If you don't have this vinegar, any good apple cider vinegar will work well.

Very garlicky roast peppers

I'm still catching up on the last weekend's stash of newspapers. Reading Feast magazine while sipping my coffee, I nodded in agreement with Fiona Beckett who wisely says "I know it's an unfashionable view these days, but January is not a time for abstention. Moderation maybe, but no booze at all? That makes an already miserable month even more dismal."

It's not that we drink much. Certainly not on par with numerous Insta and Twitter posts, announcing it's Gin o'clock to the world. A couple of days ago, when I was sorting out the recycling, I realised we only had 2 empty bottles to put in the black box after Christmas - from the sweet dessert wine we opened for Christmas, and Aperol, which my husband has been drinking for a while and only just finished. Nothing like the full, overflowing black bins some of our neighbours have. They must have been partying at full steam (she says wistfully, remembering the parties of old.)

As it's an Orthodox Christmas today, I asked my husband to open the bottle of prosecco yesterday night. I bought a set of The Modern Cocktail Champagne Toppers (in 4 flavours) in Lakeland (reduced to £3.49), and was curious to try it. Alas, two flavours we have tried were rather disappointing. If I had to pay a full price, I'd be pretty peeved.

Then on the 14th the Russians will be celebrating the so called Old New Year (the start of the new year according to the Julian calendar). It's not a formal holiday, but is traditionally observed with parties and having family get-togethers. I might raise a glass of something like G&T to mark the occasion.

So, not a Dry January for me then.

And while we don't do the Veganuary either, here I am with yet another vegetable recipe.
The original recipe appeared as one of the recipes of the day on the Russian food site Povarionok, which I mentioned recently. The author of the Fried peppers à la Odessa says his grandma used to cook the sweet peppers like that. The origins of the recipe are from Odessa, a port city on the Black sea, in what is now Ukraine. The cuisine is heavily influenced by the Greek and Jewish heritage.

I have slightly adapted the recipe. The original recipe asks for 6 cloves of garlic. I used 3, and even then found it way too garlicky. I think 2 would be better, unless you are a garlic fiend, then go full Monty.

Very garlicky roast peppers
Ingredients:
about 6 Romano (long-pointy red) peppers
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2tbsp olive oil
1tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2tsp sea salt
1/2tsp black pepper, ground
1/2tsp caster sugar (optional)

First roast (or fry) the sweet/Romano peppers, sliced in half and drizzled with 1tbsp of oil, for about 20 minutes. Take the peppers out, put in a bowl, cover it with a cling film or plastic bag, and let them cool. Peel off the skins and discard.
In the meantime make the garlic paste - crush the garlic using a garlic press, add the salt, and combine together, then add the oil, vinegar, black pepper and a pinch of sugar and mix well.
Mix the peppers with the garlic paste, cover the bowl, and place it in the fridge for 3-4 hours (or longer).

It is tasty with plain boiled potatoes or rice.
Be warned though - if you are planning to go on a date, don't eat these peppers.

Bruschetta with grilled pepper, courgette and parmesan

The first month of the British summer was a bit of a downer with its incessant rain and grey skies. Now it seems the weather is trying to catch up on all the missed sunshine but today we are suffering from enjoying a heatwave. Slap on your sunscreen, you'll definitely need it. After a walk in town I came home, feeling that I am melting, just melting. With this weather who wants a heavy lunch?
Bruschetta with grilled vegetables sounds like a sensible option. Very tasty too.
Bruschetta is a type of antipasti, popular in Italy. It is made with grilled bread, which has been rubbed with garlic and olive bread and topped with grilled tomatoes or other vegetables.

Recently Lyle's has created a series of summer recipes including the recipe for char-cooked courgette and pepper bruschetta.
The addition of the black treacle to the glaze for bread creates an inspired twist on the classic recipe. The sweetness of the treacle works well with the saltiness of parmesan and earthy flavours of courgette and pepper.
In fact, it was so delicious, that I'm going to make it again very soon.

Char-cooked Courgette and Pepper Bruschetta (recipe courtesy of Lyle's)
Ingredients:
1tbsp Lyle's Black Treacle
3tbsp olive oil
2tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
4 thick slices of sourdough or rustic-style bread
2 large courgettes, sliced diagonally
200g roasted peppers (from a jar, drained) or 1 grilled sweet pepper
few shaves of Parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper
basil or parsley sprigs, to garnish (optional)

Preheat a char-grill pan or the grill
Mix together the Lyle's Black Treacle, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. Lightly brush the slices of bread with this mixture, then char-grill or grill the bread on both sides.
Brush the courgette slices with the glaze and char-grill or grill them until tender (about 1 minute per side). Arrange them on the slices of bread with torn-up strips of roasted pepper.
Finish off with shaves of Parmesan cheese, a little black pepper and some basil leaves or parsley sprigs. Drizzle with the remaining glaze, then serve.

Cook's tip: Char-grill or grill 4 small bunches of cherry tomatoes on the vine and serve them on top of the bruschetta, if you like.

I have sliced a sweet pepper and grilled it with a bit of olive oil and sea salt to use in this recipe, but buying a jar of already roasted peppers will save you time.

Disclosure: I received a couple of tins of treacle, some BBQ utensils and a supermarket gift card to buy the ingredients and recreate the recipe for testing. All opinions are mine.

Tefal OptiGrill

As much as I try to sway my family towards eating more vegetarian meals, we are still pretty much omnivores. In the last few weeks I have been testing Tefal OptiGrill, which is just the right kitchen appliance for anyone who's trying to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Tefal OptiGrill is an electric kitchen appliance for grilling. Tefal promises you can cook a restaurant quality steak with OptiGrill (but more about that later).
You can also cook food straight from the freezer on it.
It retails at £124.99- £150 (depending on the retailer, so have a good look around first if you decide to buy it). At this price, it is more expensive than some other brands of grills.
Is it a good investment?
The first thing I noticed, having unpacked the box, is the sheer size of it. It's a bit of a Hulk in the kitchen, and weighs quite a bit. I had to find space in my already over-crowded kitchen.
It is sturdy and solid, and looks stylishly industrial.

Its key features are an automatic sensor cooking with a thickness measurement and a LED cooking indicator.
There is plenty of room for several pieces of meat, or vegetables.
The handle makes it easy to open and close the metal lid, which presses the food down for even cooking.
Instructions in a small booklet are clear and easy to follow, even for technophobes like me.
Guide to LED colours tells you exactly when the cooking starts, then the colours change as the food is being cooked from rare to medium to well done.
Guide to cooking programmes lets you choose a variety of settings - burger, bacon, poultry, red meat, fish, sausage or manual mode.

Non-stick plates have large grooves which leave a distinct pattern on the grilled food. The lower plate is slightly sloping down for any excess fat or juice to pour into a removable juice collection tray.
As I have mentioned already, the grill is easy to clean. You can unclip the plates and wash them under the tap (or dishwasher). You can also leave it until later (and I do mean much later, like the next day) for cleaning.
Sensor cooking adapts the cooking temperature according to the chosen setting and the thickness of the food.

The first food I have cooked with OptiGrill was a batch of chicken mini-fillets, which came in a pack, already marinated with mango and chilli flavour (found in Tesco). The chicken cooked really fast, with a nice grilled pattern over it.

I served them with a cider and cream sauce and grilled peppers.

Kebabs were also grilled to perfection.

For me this gadget proved that it's worth every penny just for the beautiful way it works with sweet peppers. We all love sweet peppers which acquire the most intense sweetness after being grilled. They need a tiny bit of oil. Be careful when you place the pepper pieces over the grill, as they might be slipping down. They don't need much seasoning. I have already cooked sweet peppers several times, using OptiGrill, with different oils, including a chilli-flavoured olive oil.

Mixed grilled
sweet peppers

Overall, we had perfect results with almost every meal I cooked, using OptiGrill. Except that my steaks were a failure. I have clearly overcooked them. I did cook them as well done, but they were thin to start with, and turned out as tough as old boots. If anything, my boots are softer. I'm just not good at cooking steaks.
My husband has politely eaten half of his steak, and said "Sorry, I'm not very hungry". Then polished a whole baguette. I don't blame him.
I will try again, choosing a medium setting next time.

What else did I try to cook on OptiGrill? Burgers were juicy and tender cooked on medium. What is great about OptiGrill cooking is that all the extra fat melts and slides down onto a mini tray which collects all fat and juice.
Just the other day I cooked chorizo-flavoured burgers, and assembled a tower with a poppy seed roll, grilled peppers, burger and mango. It you like a combination of meat and fruit, this is totally lush. Sweetness of mango and peppers goes very well with the smoky spicy flavours of chorizo.

I would definitely recommend OptiGrill - it is easy to use and as easy to clean, it collects all the juice and fat, it allows you to cook healthier foods as it uses less oil, and it is suitable for a wide range of foods.
The only con I can think of is its size. Yet, if the kitchen space is not an issue, then there is nothing to complain about.
It would make a super gift for any foodie.

Disclosure: I received Tefal OptiGrill for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Green pepper and sweetcorn tortilla

Today is a World Vegetarian Day. It initiates the whole month dedicated to the vegetarian way of living. To celebrate the Vegetarian Awareness Month many bloggers and brand sites are posting a variety of recipes. Apparently a few days ago, on the 27th of September to be precise, it was a Hug a Vegetarian day. You wonder sometimes who comes with these ideas, and why should I hug a vegetarian on that particular day, and not on any other. Incidentally 4 October will be the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi.
Moving aside from this useful piece of trivia, did you have a meat-free meal today? We did, as I cooked a tortilla.
The idea for a tortilla was suggested by Green Giant who rustled up a few recipes for the World Veggie Day.

Green pepper and sweetcorn tortilla
Ingredients:
1 big potato, boiled and diced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4tbsp olive oil + more
1 medium green sweet pepper, deseeded and chopped
3 small tomatoes, chopped
1tbsp fresh basil, chopped
4 medium eggs
4tbsp sweetcorn
2 heaped tbsp hard grated cheese
salt and pepper

Peel and cook a big potato, let it cool before dicing. In a frying pan pour 2tbsp of olive oil, when sizzling, add the finely chopped onion as well as a bit of thyme. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is soft and slightly browned. Remove from the heat. Slice the sweet pepper and tomatoes and cook with 2tbsp of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of fresh basil.
In a big mixing bowl beat the eggs. Season well. add the diced potatoes, onions, peppers and tomatoes, grated cheese and sweetcorn. Mix well. Pour into a frying pan and cook under the grill until set, or like me, pour in the oiled cake tin and bake in the oven at 180C for 15 minutes.
Cut into slices and eat hot.
It will keep well for another day, if you won't finish it all in one day. Just wrap it cold in cling film or foil and keep in the fridge overnight.

For another healthy vegetarian tortilla follow the recipe created by Green Giant. It uses much more sweetcorn in the recipe for obvious reasons.

Image credits: Green Giant

Sweetcorn and spinach tortilla (recipe courtesy of Green Giant)
Ingredients 
2 medium onions
3 tbsp olive oil
300g bag spinach
250g/9oz potatoes
340g Green Giant sweet corn
6 large eggs
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Method
1. Peel and finely slice the onion, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in the frying pan and cook the onion over a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened.
2. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut into small dice, put into a pan with light salted water and boil for 8-10 minutes until just tender, drain. Add to the onions and cook for a further 5 minutes.
3. Cook the spinach in a large pan of boiling water for 1 minute until just wilted. Drain in a colander and immediately transfer to a bowl of cold water to stop cooking. Drain again, squeezing to extract excess water. Place on a board and roughly chop. Transfer to a large bowl.
4. Drain the sweet corn, add to the spinach with the potato and onions.
5. Lightly beat the eggs, season then stir into the vegetables.
6. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan then add the egg mixture and cook over a medium low heat 10 -15 minutes or until almost set.
7. Remove from the heat, scatter over the cheese and pop under a hot grill for 2 minutes until the top is golden. Cover and stand for 10 minutes so the steam firms up the tortilla.
8. Run a palette knife around the edge to loosen the tortilla then slide onto a large flat plate. Cut into wedges and serve warm or cold.

If you liked this recipe, the Green Giant has plenty more of recipes and ideas on their site.


If you are a vegetarian or just try to celebrate the Vegetarian Awareness Month by staying meat-free (even some time during this month), you are welcome to link-up your vegetarian recipes.
It's a one-off linky in honour of the Vegetarian Awareness Month.
I will comment on all posts, RT and G+.

An InLinkz Link-up

SPAM-tastic peppers + SPAM BBQ giveaway (c/d 23 May 2015)

Peppers stuffed with Spam and rice

SPAM is definitely a cultural icon. It arrived to Britain in 1941, when the country was plunged into austerity and the cooks had to employ their ingenuity to cook meals from the limited range of foods. In her fascinating book "A history of English food" Clarissa Dickson Wright wrote "Tinned Spam was perhaps the ultimate triumph of meat packaging - a pork luncheon meat crammed into tins". But even after the wartime restrictions and rationing ended, Spam stayed. It has been in and out of fashion, and many a family have nostalgic memories about their meals with Spam.

Personally I haven't tried it until I came to the UK over 20 years ago, and I believe it was my buddies-students who introduced me to this convenient ingredient, which is quick and easy to prepare.
It is made from more than 90% prime shoulder pork and leg ham. You can slice it, chop, grill, fry and even mince, depending on the meal you are preparing.
If you enjoy eating alfresco or plan a picnic or a BBQ, I have a lovely recipe suggestion, using SPAM.

Peppers stuffed with Spam and rice

You will need a pack of mini-peppers (about 300g). Chop off the tops and remove the seeds. Mix 100g of finely chopped Spam and 50g of cooked basmati rice + a teaspoon of dried mixed herbs. Stuff the peppers and cook on a grill until pepper is cooked on both sides.
Serve hot, with a chunk of nice bread and a selection of pickles - gherkins, olives and cocktail onions.

Peppers stuffed with Spam and rice

Now that I hopefully have wetted your appetite, I also have a SPAM-tastic giveaway for the coming summer. Lovely people from SPAM have offered a SPAM BBQ hamper worth £50 for one of my blog readers. The hamper is packed with such goodies as a charcoal bucket BBQ, an apron, a spatula, a recipe booklet and some SPAM.

Image credit: SPAM 

To be in with a chance of winning, please enter via a Rafflecopter gadget.

T&Cs:
Only one entry per person is allowed (however, you can tweet daily to increase your chances).
The giveaway is open to the UK residents only.
Once the Rafflecopter picks the winner, I will check if the winner has done what was requested. I will contact the winner, if they do not reply within 28 days, the prize will be allocated to another person.
Please don't forget to leave a comment, as it is the only mandatory step, I will make sure the winner selected by Rafflecopter has complied with T&Cs.

The giveaway will close on 23 May 2015 (at midnight)

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Olé, olé, olives!

These days we are more conscious about the origins of the foods we consume. Reading the stories of the products makes them more special. I have a soft spot for olives, and typically have a couple of jars in the pantry, as well as some plastic containers with olives in the fridge. Fragata offers a wide selection of Spanish olives and other Mediterranean products.
Fragata was founded in 1897 by Don Santiago Camacho Roman in Seville. Since then, Fragata has conquered the hearts and stomachs of the Spanish and has remained a family favourite for more than a hundred years. Their products are now sold across the world, and are widely available in the UK as well.

Olives are such a versatile ingredient in cooking, from snacks to soups, from salads to stews. Pick your preferred choice of olives and ready, steady, cook. A plain chicken and potato soup will be much improved by an addition of a handful of pitted green olives.

Pitted Green Olives are a staple food in Spain. They are eaten both in cold and hot tapas and are a great ingredient for many Mediterranean dishes, not just the Spanish cuisine. I am happy to dig in the cold jar of olives straight from the fridge.

They are lovely in easy and quick chicken dishes like this tomato and sweet pepper chicken recipe. Just pan fry mini chicken fillets in the olive oil, with the sliced sweet pepper, a few tomatoes, finely sliced garlic. Add one tin of chopped tomatoes or a jar of plain tomato and herb sauce, a good handful of olives, and cook on low until the chicken is done. Colourful and bursting with flavours, it is an easy dish for a midweek dinner.

Garlic stuffed olives are lovely on their own, and equally fab in cooking. I used them in a chicken bake, with the olive oil, carrots, celery, herbs and lemon zest. These juicy flavourful olives will enhance many a meat dish, and will work well in lots of salads.

Another suggestion for using green olives is to bake them in a focaccia (buy a focaccia bread mix, just follow the instructions, then add a good amount of olives on top, sprinkle with herbs like rosemary and thyme and bake). Absolutely delicious!

Fragata Pimiento Piquillo are sweet Spanish peppers. If you manage not to eat the whole lot straight from a jar, make a super-sandwich with cream cheese and pimiento piquillo.
I have mentioned these lush sweet peppers earlier in summer, when I posted a recipe for Mediterranean Salad.

I have seen on Fragata site that they suggest stuffing the peppers with prawns, cucumber and onions and roasting for an authentic Spanish tapas dish. Sounds very exciting, and I must try this recipe soon.

Anchovies are like Marmite, love them or hate them. While I enjoy eating anchovies, all my guys don't like them, and there is no convincing them in how tasty they are. I tried and failed.
Spanish olives stuffed with anchovies are Manzanilla olives, stuffed with anchovy puree. They make a lovely snack on their own. For a slightly more sophisticated twist you can also serve them drizzled with good olive oil and sprinkled with freshly grated lemon or orange zest.
If my family showed some enthusiasm, I would have added them to the homemade focaccia or ciabatta bread, or topped a pizza with. Alas, they don't share my passion for anchovies, so I eat them in salads made just for myself.

A simple bean salad makes a lovely lunch or dinner, just assemble the ingredients together, pour the dressing and enjoy. Just the other day I made a big plate of bean salad with 70g rocket leaves, one thinly sliced apple, a handful of baby tomatoes from our garden, a handful of olives stuffed with anchovies and dressing made of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add some parmesan shavings on top. For a budget version, buy an economy supermarket own tin of mixed beans, and rinse it well.

Four products which I mentioned today are just a few of Fragata range of foods which is more varied (apart from a wide selection of olives you will find capers and pickled garlic).

For more Fragata news and recipe suggestions, visit Fragata on Facebook.

Disclosure: I received a selection of Fragata products for the purposes of reviewing. All opinions are mine.