Tag Archives: side dish

Spiced cauliflower with peas

A year ago I visited “Taste of Dubai”. It was a large, full of fun and activities festival, dedicated to food, cooking and eating! It brought together restaurant and street food, music performances, cooking classes and live cooking demonstrations. You could order some nice food, relax and enjoy the music, another great way to spend the evening was to cook along with top chefs. Many world-famous and celebrity chefs were invited to the festival, and I could watch how they are preparing amazing and tasty food, and then taste it. Among many chefs was Dhruv Baker, he is known as a winner of MasterChef 2010, and I didn’t miss a chance to sign his cookbook ‘Spice’.

Honestly speaking, I’ve prepared only few recipes from his book so far. 😀 They were not spectacular as I expected: for example, “caponata” turned out as a regular eggplant stew, that I make often too – only without vinegar and olives. But I really liked this recipe made from fried cauliflower florets with peas, tomatoes and a mixture of spices. Mustard seeds, fresh ginger and cumin infuse the dish perfectly, while chilli adds a mild spiciness. The final addition of fresh coriander leaves on top and lime juice adds a beautiful touch. I served this simple but tasty cauliflower with roasted chicken.

I am curious about all new foodie things and lately, I have discovered on the Internet that the combination of cauliflower and peas is a common in Indian cuisine. I really liked this easy and healthy dish. Spices do wonders! 🙂

Spiced cauliflower with peas

Servings: 2
Time: 30min
Difficulty: very easy
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Adapted from “Spice” by Dhruv Baker.

Double the qauntity of cauliflower and peas to serve the dish as a main vegetarian course.

Ingredients

200-300g cauliflower

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

3 small round chilli

100g frozen peas

1 large tomato, finely chopped

2-3 tsp lime juice, optional

some fresh coriander leaves, chopped

salt, white pepper to taste

Method

Wash the cauliflower and cut into small florets.
Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat, add mustard seeds. As soon as the start to pop add all spices and stir for a minute.
Add cauliflower florets and stir to coat with spices. Cook on a medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes.
Add frozen peas and tomato, season to taste. Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for 20 minutes or until cauliflower is cooked.
Arrange on a serving plate, drizzle with lime juice if using and top with coriander.

Enjoy!

Fried cauliflower with peas, mustard seeds and round chilli

Salad with sauteed vegetables

I want to thank all for your lovely comments on my previous post!

What’s the weather in your country? What do you do to stay chilled? Hiding at home, eating ice cream all days long or chilling near the swimming pool with a cocktail..;) In Dubai almost everybody is hiding inside houses, malls.. Moreover, it’s Ramadan, to drink or eat in public is prohibited until the sunset.

I’m trying to eat more balanced and healthful meal this month, like the below salad. It’s summery and..just eat the salad, man! 😀

Salad with sauteed vegetables

Servings: 2-3
Time: 30mins
Difficulty: easy
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Aromatic herbs make it so good and appetizing! Eat as is or with grilled sausages.

Ingredients:

2 zucchini/6-7 baby/~600g

2 medium apples, juicy and sour

6 cherry-tomatoes or 1 large tomato

1 red onion

1 clove of garlic, smashed

zest and juice of half lemon

1 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 dried

2-3 Tbsp parsley/coriander/mint, finely chopped

salt, white pepper to taste

1-3 Tbsp olive oil

Cut the onion and slice into half moons. Heat the olive oil in a pan and fry the onion until tender.
Chop the tomato and apples, add to the pan along with garlic and thyme, mix and sauté for 2-3 minutes more. Discard the garlic, put the vegetable mixture in a bowl, set aside and keep in a warm place.
Slice zucchini, add it to the frying pan along with lemon zest and sauté on a medium hit until tender. Add more oil if needed.
Add the veg mixture into zucchini, mix and heat for 1-2 minutes.
Put all the veggies in a big serving bowl, add mint and/or parsley, salt&pepper and squeeze lemon juice. Drizzle some extra olive oil over the salad, if desired.

Enjoy!

milkandbun.com

5-star Salad

I feel very honoured that I took the 1st place in the challenge held by Angie – Thenovicegardener. This was my first time I won in food-blogging contest and hope not the last. Thank you all who stopped by my post and made comments about kulebyaka. The kulebyaka is so Russian and delicious pie, and I hope one of you will make it one day. 😉 Feel free to ask me if you have any questions about the kulebyaka preparation.

Is it Friday yet? Oh, yes! That means one more party at Thenovicegardener. Does anybody would like ‘a 5-star salad’? Why 5-star, because it looks posh and the portion is so small like from a high-class restaurant. Moreover, it’s healthy and tasty.

Actually, I made it from the cauliflower remains, when I cooked this soup. 🙂

5-star Salad

Servings: 1
Time: 10-15min
Difficulty: very easy
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Ingredients:

7-9 small cauliflower florets

1 red or yellow capsicum

1 small shallot

1 clove of garlic, smashed

1-2 tsp almonds, sliced and roasted

1/4 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/4 tsp fresh parsley or basil, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil + 1/3 Tbsp butter

The dressing:

1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard

1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp small capers

freshly ground sea salt and white pepper

In a frying pan heat the olive oil and butter. Add the onion and cook until soften but not browned for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the capsicum, garlic, thyme, and sauté for 5 minutes or until the pepper is soft and browned. You can add the cauliflower along with capsicum and sauté it too, or leave it raw. Pick out and discard the garlic.
In a small bowl or glass, combine all ingredients for the dressing and give it a good stir.
Arrange the vegetables on a serving plate, sprinkle with almonds, parsley or basil; pour over the dressing.

Enjoy!

You can also check out these recipes, using the capsicums: the salad with chickpeas and Russian stuffed capsicums.

Cabbage casserole with farmer cheese

White cabbage is widely used vegetable in Russia, it’s eaten raw in salads, pickled to eat during the winter and braised in various stews.

Nowadays it’s pretty popular to eat healthy dishes, such as cauliflower soup, sautéed Brussels sprout, fish with broccoli and etc. It seems like everybody forgets about this simple beauty – the white cabbage.

Even Greek philosopher Pythagoras said: “It is a vegetable, that helps to have a courage and cheerful mood”. In ancient Russia it was a belief, that if one has a headache, they should cover their temples with cabbage leaves to release the pain.

The below recipe is a very simple dish with a modern twist, using fresh ricotta and your favorite cheese. It could be eaten alone or as a nice side dish. A must try! 🙂

Cabbage casserole with farmer cheese

Servings: 4
Time: ~2h
Difficulty: not too tricky
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Adapted from Russian magazine ‘The school of gastronomy’

Ingredients:

400-500g white cabbage, thinly sliced

1 small onion, sliced

100-150g fresh homemade ricotta/cottage cheese/farmer cheese

60g any grated cheese + 1Tbsp for the top (Emmental/Gouda/Red Cheddar)

1Tbsp Parmesan cheese for the top, optionally

2 big or 3 small eggs, whites and yolks separated

40g butter

50g flour

400ml milk (preferably low fat)

2Tbsp bread crumbs, homemade

pinch of nutmeg, cumin

1Tbsp fresh chopped dill or 1tsp dried

salt, white pepper to taste

1Tbsp olive oil+1Tbsp butter for frying

Preparation:

1) First, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and turn the heat to low. Sift the flour into the butter, stirring continuously to combine them. Add the milk a little at a time. Cook for 8 minutes more, stirring continuously until the sauce becomes thicker. Remove the saucepan from the stove and let it cool.

2) Meanwhile, put olive oil, butter and onion in a pan, and fry for 4 minutes. Add cumin and fry for 1 minute more.

Add the cabbage, sprinkle with dill and stir fry for 10-15 minutes. Transfer the cabbage into big bowl.

3) Add egg yolks into the sauce, one at a time, nutmeg and combine thoroughly.

4) Pour the sauce into the cabbage, add cheese, ricotta, salt, white pepper and give it a good stir.

5) Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy, then carefully combine with cabbage mixture.

6) Grease the baking pan with butter, sprinkle with bread crumbs, add the cabbage mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in preheated oven 180C/360F for 40 minutes.

7) Serve warm. Enjoy!

Layered salad with chicken and prunes

August 5, 2013
milkandbun
7 comments
blog, Blogging, chicken, cooking, dinner, DIY, eggs, food, food photo, lunch, photography, recipe, Russian, Russian recipe, salad, side dish

In Russia you can find large variety of salads, especially with mayonnaise dressing. Such salads are little bit heavy and could nourish you easy, especially during winter time.

Despite the fact that they’re tasty, better to cut down mayo dressings and replace it with sour cream or yogurt.

The below wonderful salad could be served not only for a family dinner, but for any festive occasion. It consists of simple ingredients, tastes good and deserves to be in your cooking book 🙂