Herb Pancake Wraps with Goat's Cheese

I  made this to have for lunch the day after pancake day and although not strictly a pancake, as it doesn't have any milk or flour, it was a lovely wrap filled with fresh bursting flavours.

Herb Pancake Wraps with Goat's Cheese (from Good Food Magazine June 2015)
(Serves 2)

1½ tsp oil
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 large courgette, coarsely grated and squeezed dry
2 large eggs
2 tbsp chopped basil
2 tsp thyme leaves
50g soft goat's cheese
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
6 black olives, rinsed and halved
2 handfuls watercress

Heat 1 tsp oil in a frying pan and add the spring onions and courgette. Cook, stirring frequently, to soften the courgette and get rid of some of the moisture.

Beat an egg with 1 tbsp water, half the herbs and some black pepper. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan, pour in the egg mixture and swirl the pan to set it thinly on the base. Cook for a couple of mins, flip over and cook for another min, tip onto a plate and repeat with the other egg, 1 tbsp water and remaining herbs.

Spread the goat’s cheese down the centre of each pancake and top with the courgette mix, scatter over the tomatoes, olives and watercress, then roll up and serve.

Watercress and Cheddar Scones

I love making savoury scones. I love them with a warming bowl of soup. These are delicious, cheesy and slightly peppery because of the watercress.

Watercress and Cheddar Scones (from The Veg Hog)
(Makes about 8)

100g watercress, large stalks removed and coarsely chopped

225g self raising flour

pinch salt

pinch cayenne pepper

55g butter

50g mature cheddar cheese

150ml milk

Mix the flour, salt and cayenne pepper, and rub in the butter with your fingertips until it forms coarse breadcrumbs. Add the cheese, milk and watercress and knead lightly into an even dough.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Spread the dough about 2 cm thick on a surface and cut scones from it with a cutter. Place onto a lined baking sheet and brush the tops of the scones with a little milk.

Bake them for about 20 mins until the tops are golden brown. 

Hot Mustard Lentils with Beetroot and Spicy Sausages

Looking for an interesting way to use up merguez sausages I came across this recipe using lentils and beetroot. I cheated a little and used ready cooked beetroot that I heated up in some foil in the oven for about 20 mins, making this a really quick and easy meal. It was also really satisfying.

Hot Mustard Lentils with Beetroot and Spicy Sausages
(from Good Food Magazine January 2015)
(Serves 4)

500g raw beetroot
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 tsp caraway seeds
8 merguez sausages
2 x 250g pouches ready-cooked puy lentils
75g watercress, stalks removed

For the dressing
4 tsp Dijon mustard
juice 1 lemon
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Heat oven to 180C. Top and tail the beetroot, then cut into wedges. Put the beetroot in a roasting tin, drizzle over the olive oil and toss with the onion, garlic and caraway seeds. Roast for 45 mins until the beetroot is tender and the onion is sticky and charred.

Heat the grill and cook the sausages until golden. Make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients. While the beetroot is still warm, toss with the lentils and dressing.

Put the watercress into a bowl, top with the beetroot and lentils and serve with the sausages on top.

Potato and Smoked Trout Salad with Capers and Wholegrain Mustard

I bought the Skinny Meals in Heels books a couple of years ago and I have only used it once or twice, I was flicking through it and found all these great salad recipes using stuff I mostly had in the fridge, freezer or cupboard. This was a very tasty salad and nice to have a potato salad without a creamy dressing.

Potato and Smoked Trout Salad with Capers and Wholegrain Mustard
(from Skinny Meals in Heels by Jennifer Joyce)
(Serves 4)
(6 WW ProPoints per serving)

600g potatoes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp finely chopped dill
1 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
4 handfuls watercress
150g smoked trout, flesh broken into chunks

For the dressing
2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp caster sugar

Place the potatoes into a pan of water and bring to the boil. Cook for 10 mins or until tender, then drain. When cool enough to handle, cut into thick slices. Place in a bowl and toss with the vinegar and some salt and pepper.

Mix together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over the potatoes and add the dill, capers and onion. Arrange the salad on plates with the watercress and top with the smoked trout.

Smoked Trout and Farro Salad

The original recipe used spelt and I have made this before using spelt but this time I used farro which was just as good. I'm still experimenting with lots of different grains and loving trying all the new things now available.

Smoked Trout and Farro Salad (adapted from Good Food Magzine September 2014)
(Serves 1)

60g farro

85g tenderstem broccoli

juice ½ orange

1 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

140g hot-smoked trout, flaked

large handful watercress

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the farro according to packet instructions, adding the broccoli for the last 3-4 mins. Drain and leave to cool.

Mix together the orange juice, parsley and farro, then top with the broccoli, trout and watercress. Pack into a lunchbox or serve.

Salmon Sandwich with Wasabi Mayonnaise

This was a really lovely sandwich, with a hint of horseradish from the wasabi. I served it on homemade wholemeal bread.
















Salmon Sandwich with Wasabi Mayonnaise (from Rajib's Collection)
(Serves 4)

6 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp grated ginger
11/2 tsp wasabi powder
1 tsp mirin
2 tins salmon, drained and flaked
2 spring onions, chopped
1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
8 slices wholemeal bread
1⁄3 cucumber, thinly sliced
50g watercress

Stir together half the mayonnaise, the rice vinegar, ginger, wasabi powder and mirin in a bowl. Add the salmon, spring onions and sesame seeds and mix well to combine.

Spread the rest of the mayonnaise over one side of each slice of bread. Divide the salmon mixture evenly among four of the slices. Top with cucumber slices and watercress. Put the remaining bread slices on top. Serve.

Steak, Roasted Pepper and Pearl Barley Salad

This works served both hot and cold and it's a very tasty little salad.

Steak, Roasted Pepper and Pearl Barley Salad (from Good Food Magazine June 2013)
(Serves 2)

100g pearl barley, rinsed

1 red pepper, sliced

1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 red onion, cut into 8 wedges

1 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra

1 large lean steak

50g watercress

juice ½ lemon

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Put the pearl barley in a large pan of water. Bring to the boil and cook for 25-30 mins or until tender. Drain thoroughly and transfer to a bowl.

Put the peppers and onions on a baking tray, spray with cooking spray, toss and roast for about 20 mins until tender.

Meanwhile, rub the steak with a little bit of oil and season. Cook in a frying pan for 3-4 mins each side. Set aside to rest for a few mins.

 

Mix the cooked peppers and onions into the barley with the lemon juice and smoked paprika.

 

Divide the watercress between two plates. Top with the barley, peppers and onions. Thinly slice the steaks, and place on top of the salad. Serve.

Potato and Salmon Salad with Lemon

This was a really tasty different potato salad.

Potato and Salmon Salad with Lemon (from Tesco Real Food)
(Serves 4)

1kg new potatoes
1½ tbsp capers, drained
12 olives, roughly chopped
8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil drained
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
6 spring onions, sliced
handful of parsley, chopped
2 salmon fillets, cooked                                                                                                                                                                                      
100g watercress

Cook the potatoes in boiling water until tender, drain well and return to pan.

While potatoes are still warm, add the capers, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest, juice, oil, onions and parsley. Season and mix everything together well. Cool slightly.

Put the watercress in the bottom of a bowl or a lunchbox. Top with the potato mixture and then flake the salmon over the top. Serve.

Asian Salmon and Bulgar Salad

This is a weird combination but it really works. I sometimes end up with strange things to eat when I'm trying to use stuff up and I need whole grains, this was perfect.


















Asian Salmon and Bulgar Salad
(Serves 4)

3 tbsp plus 2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tsp Thai curry paste
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
200g bulgar wheat
50g sugar snap peas, halved
4 salmon fillets
1 bunch of watercress, large stems discarded
50g bean sprouts
160g enoki mushrooms
1 tbsp chopped mint
1 tbsp chopped coriander

Preheat the oven to 200C. In a small bowl, mix 3 tbsp of the oil with the vinegar, curry paste, soy sauce and mustard and season with salt and pepper.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the bulgar wheat according to packet instructions. adding the peas for the last 2-3 mins. Drain and leave to cool.

Bake the salmon for about 8-10 mins depending on the thickness of your fillet. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Put the rest of the oil into a frying pan and cook the mushrooms for about 5 mins until soft,. add the bean sprouts and cook for 1 min more.

In a large bowl, toss the bulgar, watercress, mushrooms bean sprouts, mint and cilantro together. Add 5 tbsp of the dressing and toss to coat. Mound the salad on plates and top with the salmon. Dab the remaining dressing on the salmon and serve.

Peppered Herring, New Potato and Watercress Salad

This was really easy and quick to make, it was also incredibly flavourful. The orginal recipe uses mackerel but Sainsbury's have started selling smoked herring and I thought I'd give it a go. It's really nice, much easier than the faff of fresh herring with all the bones.

Peppered Herring, New Potato and Watercress Salad
(adapted from Good Food Magazine May 2011)
(Serves 6)

750g baby new potatoes, larger ones halved

5 tbsp light mayonnaise

small bunch chives, snipped

200g watercress

270g pack peppered herring fillets

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 mins. Drain and allow to cool for 10 mins.

Make the dressing by mixing the mayo with most of the chives.

Divide half the watercress between 6 plates, chop the rest roughly and mix with half of the mackerel, the potatoes and mayo. Toss so that everything is covered in the dressing.

Pile the mackerel-potato mix on top of the watercress, then top with the rest of the mackerel and chives

Watercress and Feta Frittata

This was a meal designed to use up leftovers. I had one egg white leftover from making burgers the other day and I was desperately trying to think of something to do with it. Make a meringue was my first thought but to go to all that effort for one meringue?! I then remembered someone saying to me that they enjoyed egg white omelettes, so I thought I'd compromise and make a one egg, one egg white frittata and have it for breakfast for a couple of days.

The recipe also used up the end of a block of feta, the rest of a bag of watercress, and half an onion that I had sitting around in the fridge which had been bought for some other purpose but that needed using. In that way making it a frugal breakfast, or in fact a dish that could be enjoyed at any time of day! I'm adding it to this months Credit Crunch Munch, set up by Helen of Fuss Free Flavours and Camilla at Fab Food 4 All.

Watercress and Feta Frittata
(Serves 1)

20g feta
1 tsp oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
40g watercress, large stalks removed
1 whole egg and 1 egg white
40ml milk
black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Line a small square baking dish with some parchment paper and add the feta cheese.

In a frying pan over a medium high heat, heat the oil, add the onions and fry until golden. Add the watercress and stir until wilted.

When the watercress is wilted add it with the onion to the feta cheese in the tray.

Put the eggs in a bowl, and beat with a little black pepper. Pour over the top off the feta watercress mixture.

Bake in the oven for approx 15-20 mins, until egg mixture is set and slightly golden on top.

Watercress, Spinach and Potato Soup

I am still eating soup a couple of days a week even in the warm weather. It's a really easy lunch and I often have it when I know I am going out for dinner so I can splurge more points in the evening. This is delicious, don't let the colour put you off, mine turned out a kind of khaki green, but it is so tasty and the soft cheese helps to make it creamy.



Watercress, Spinach and Potato Soup (from http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/)

(Serves 4)

cooking spray
50g watercress
100g spinach
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 medium potato, chopped
1l vegetable stock
100g low fat soft cheese

Spray a large saucepan with cooking spray and add the onion, saute for a few mins until transparent. Add the garlic clove and cook for 1 min.

Add the potato, spinach, watercress and stock and simmer for about 20 mins or until the potato is soft.

Blend until smooth and then add the soft cheese and blend to incorporate. Reheat to serve.

Watercress and Blue Cheese Pasta

One of my friends and colleagues at work gave me some home grown watercress and I knew I had to try this recipe. Blue cheese and watercress! Two of my favourite things!! This was tasty and worked really well and I don't seem to be noticing that I'm having slightly less pasta than I was before, its still a filling portion and its amazing how a little blue cheese goes a long way.

Watercress and Blue Cheese Pasta (from WeightWatchers Weekdays)
(Serves 4)
(11 WW ProPoints per serving)

350g dried pasta
50g blue cheese
100g low fat soft cheese
4 tbsp skimmed milk
175g watercress, chopped roughly
salt and pepper

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions, drain.

Meanwhile, put the cheeses and milk in a large pan and heat, stirring gently, until they are melted and combined smoothly.

Toss the pasta with the sauce and watercress and season. Serve immediately.

Fattoush

Last Saturday I had to work, so I was looking for something that I could pack up easily and take for lunch. I had heard about Fattoush ages ago and never got around to making it, and then I found a recipe in one of my WeightWatchers cook books and thought perfect! Fattoush is an Arabic bread salad made from pieces of toasted pitta combined with mixed greens and other veg. It is delicious, I didn't have any peppers so I used green beans instead, not strictly authentic, but they needed using up and I love green beans in salad!

Fattoush

(Serves 4)
(3 WW ProPoints per serving)

2 medium pitta breads
8 cos lettuce leaves, washed
1/2 cucumber, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 red or orange pepper, deseeded and diced
a bunch of watercress, chopped roughly
a bunch of mint, chopped

For the dressing

juice of half a lemon
2 tbsp low fat natural yogurt
1 tbsp french or wholegrain mustard
salt and pepper

Toast the pittas in a toaster or under the grill then cut into small squares.

Place two lettuce leaves on each serving plate. Put all the other salad ingredients, including the bread, into a large bowl.

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Pour over the salad and toss together. Spoon onto the lettuce leaves and serve.

Salmon and Watercress Lasagne

So I am officially on holiday! However, instead of having a nice lie in on Saturday morning I got up at 7.30am and headed off to Borough Market! I bought a few things there, but couldn't find what I was looking for, which was something for lunch for myself and my sister. I then went to Chapel Market in Islington to buy my vegetables and whilst I was there I had a pang of nostalgia and for lunch decided we would regress to childhood. So I bought a carton of Carrot and Coriander Soup and some poppy seed knot rolls which we duly had for lunch!

I have had a very productive weekend, I have been out to the garden centre and bought my compost and a few plants and I spent today getting the garden ready for planting as well as doing the housework. Hopefully the rest of my holiday will be more relaxing!

On Friday night I cooked for myself and Ben and tried this Salmon and Watercress Lasagne recipe. It was ok, I quite liked the mustard flavour, but it needed to be a bit more creamy, maybe the cream of leek soup would have been a better bet. I served it with garlic bread and then proceeded to try and slice the top of my thumb off whilst cutting it! Lots of blood but not too much damage done!



Salmon and Watercress Lasagne (from www.goodfoodchannel.com)
(Serves 4)

450g thick salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 3cm cubes
4tbsp wholegrain mustard
8cooked lasagne sheets
60g watercress
1tsp fresh thyme
50g butter, plus extra for greasing
200ml double cream, or cream of leek soup
100g cheddar cheese, grated, or 50g Cheddar plus 50g mozzarella

Set the oven to 180C/gas 4 and lightly grease a rectangular ovenproof dish with butter or oil.

Put the salmon cubes in a bowl and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the mustard and stir well to coat the salmon.

Lay half the lasagne sheets in the bottom of the prepared dish. Scatter over all the salmon pieces and the watercress.

Top with the remaining pasta sheets. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and dot evenly with the butter. Pour over the double cream and scatter with grated cheese.

Cook for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown and bubbling, then serve immediately, accompanied by a salad of watercress dressed with extra virgin olive oil.

Daring Cooks June 2011: Potato Salad

Jami Sorrento was our June Daring Cooks hostess and she chose to challenge us to celebrate the humble spud by making a delicious and healthy potato salad. The Daring Cooks Potato Salad Challenge was sponsored by the nice people at the United States Potato Board, who awarded prizes to the top 3 most creative and healthy potato salads. A medium-size (5.3 ounce) potato has 110 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium and includes nearly half your daily value of vitamin C and has more potassium than a banana!

I love potato salad!! I make it all the time, this Smoked Salmon and Watercress Potato Salad is one of my staple recipes but I have never put it on the blog! It is so tasty and it also makes a great pasta salad. I don't like the heaviness of a just mayonnaise potato salad so I add yoghurt, sour cream or creme fraiche to it and this makes it a bit lighter and healthier too!



Smoked Salmon and Watercress Potato Salad
(Serves 1)

2 pieces of smoked salmon
handful of watercress
3 potatoes
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp yoghurt or sour cream or creme fraiche
squeeze lemon juice
1/2 tbsp chives, chopped
salt and pepper

Chop up the smoked salmon into small slices.



Chop each potato into about 4 depending on the size of your potato and boil for about 15-20 mins. Leave to cool.



Whilst the potatoes are cooling, mix together the mayonnaise, yoghurt, lemon juice and salt and pepper.



When the potatoes are cool, add them to the creamy mixture, add the watercress, smoked salmon and chives, stir together and serve.