Simple squash and the surf countdown

 

Squash is a strange sort of veggie. For a LONG time, I was baffled by their tough waxy skin and its seemingly bland taste. I always thought it was one vegetable of various forms, all tasting of nothing much. This whole outlook changed over the last few years. Now I can think of practically no other vegetable that is as tasty, versatile or magic to look at in a bowl of food or growing in a back garden. Now, it's simply a wonder food. Filling but not starchy. Bursting with a multitude of colours, textures and flavours depending on how you choose to cook it. A pantry staple. Have I gone on about it long enough?

 

Why bother to peel, chop and cook this simplest of squashes and what motivated this busylittlefoodie to do such a thing on a January day? Well, for those who know me best, I am in complete denial of the weather around me. All my clothes are summer clothes, more appropriate to beaches and barbeques than rainy, overcast January days in Ireland. It's fitting then that I'm a mere 5 (!!!!!) days away from leaving for New Zealand, I'm having cravings for smoothies, colourful salads and sunshine colours all around me. These are things that are decidedly missing at the moment. Instead of getting down in the dumps about it, I decided to embrace the Irish weather, winter salad style take 2.

 

This recipe keeps the warmth of hazelnuts that was in my last recipe but also has the added yumminess and warmth of toasted coriander seeds, honey roasted squash, plenty of garlic to keep colds and flus away, rocket for a fiery kick and chickpeas for energy and warmth.

 

This salad is great as it's made in 3 parts. Part 1: Roasted squash-can be done the night before or in a batch every few days. Step 2: Roasting the other veg, chickpeas and nuts-can also be done the night before and stored in fridge to add to greens for your lunch. Step 3: Add roughly chopped greens-takes 2 minutes. It's a great salad that can be chopped and changed and is perfect for people who want a hearty, fresh meal but say there's never time to make a fancy salad.

 

Hope you like it. I'll be posting once more, I hope, before I leave for New Zealand and then expect plenty of photos from Raglan. The surf countdown begins! Thank you for reading as always!

Bliss X

 



 

Ingredients: (Feeds 2)

PART 1: SQUASH

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into cubes

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 tbs honey

1 tbs olive oil/coconut oil

 

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Prepare squash. Stir through the garlic, honey and oil. Place squash on baking tray, covered in tin foil for 20 minutes until squash is almost completely soft.

 

 

PART 2: REST OF SALAD

While the squash is roasting, get cracking on the rest of the salad.

 

1 courgette, cut in half lengthways, then half again and then into chunks

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp ground cumin/1tsp cumin seeds

50 grams of hazelnuts (almonds or others work just as well)

200 grams of cooked chickpeas/1 can, washed and drained

200 grams of fresh spinach, washed and chopped roughly

100 grams of fresh rocket, washed and chopped roughly

 

Method:

In a bowl, mix the courgette, coriander, cumin, hazelnuts and chickpeas together, toss well. Once squash has had its 20 minutes in the oven, remove the tin foil and add your chickpea mix. Toss around in the tray and put in oven for 15 minutes to toast everything else. Once the time is up, tip all the tray ingredients, including all that lovely melted coconut oil and honey into a bowl with the spinach and rocket and toss gently. Add a squeeze of half lemon, serve and enjoy all those lovely colours and flavours!

 

 

 

All images and text copyright of Grace Brady @ busylittlefoodie

5 minute asian fish soup

Many foods in Asian cuisine inspire me greatly. Growing up, my best friend at school, Asako, was Japanese. When I'd call over to her house, there would be foods in jars, wrappers and packages of all shapes and sizes containing food that I had no idea how to begin thinking how it would taste, how you would go about cooking it or where it's key components even orginated from. Despite this complete lack of knowledge, I would stand transfixed as Asako or her mum opened the fridge or a press door and in a matter of minutes would have something unusually delicious ready to eat.

I remember her explaining tapioca pearl pudding to me, the different dipping sauces and which thickness of noodle went with each sauce. I have a funny feeling my interest in non-traditional preserves came from that house too since I couldn't get enough of pickled ginger slivers and soy plum preserve.

What initially looked like watery soup with a few noodles and greens thrown in, transformed once I tasted it into an aromatic, flavourful stock with exactly the right type of noodle for the type of fish or meat or vegetable that went in with it. Whenever I asked Asako "what the hell did you put into this to make it so good?", she'd always look surprised and answer with a few simple ingredients. I was hooked. When I went to visit her in Tokyo after I finished college, I went on a Japanese noodle soup binge and loved every minute of it, trying out new foods everyday. I grew up in a family that always experimented with food and would always ask if I wanted to try a new ingredient or dish when I was a kid. I am so thankful for that background of trying things out, especially when it came to food. I wasn't afraid of any of the 'strange' foods Asako presented me with when we were still at school, then came the Japan trip and I said yes to all foods, just to try. I was always happily surprised.

The weather in Ireland last week was amazing. 25 degrees, sunshine and blue skies. I was never happier and after the longest winter in the world, it was a welcome change for my body to want fresh salads, juices and smoothies rather than curries, wholegrains and roasted vegetables. This week, the weather gods have changed their mind and at 13 degrees, a salad wasn't going to cut it today. I wanted a warming soup that would warm my little soul up so that I could keep going throughout the day, despite the miserable weather.

It was then that I remembered the soups Asako would make. I was craving greens and a noodle salad but also some type of warm broth. Also, since I am temporarily back at the parent's house as I'm moving to the big smoke again, I miss the sea massively so some fish was definitely on the cards. Freshness and multipurpose of ingredients is paramount in Asian cooking. This recipe for my fish soup is inspired by the desire for sunshine, healthy eating that nourishes the soul and to hold onto that memory of Asako and our food adventures.

For those who are confused or even sceptical that a full meal for one can be made in 5 mins, be confused no more. Not only is this very nourishing but the freshness of the fish makes the soup into a stock. Fresh greens are only mildly cooked by the heat of the soup once you dish it up and any greens from silver beet to cabbage, leeks, kale and spinach can be used. I also topped mine up with some sprouts. The addition of dilisk seaweed is very beneficial for health sodium intake as well as iron while the fish and the stock soup it makes is a mineral rich cocktail. I could go on about the other nutrients and benefits of all the miso, soy sauce, mushrooms and sprouts but basically, it's all very good for you.

Most importantly, it's very very tasty. This soup has so many things going for it. Freshness, comforting warmth, nutritious broth, nourishing meaty fish, vibrant greens and melting garlic and ginger fragrance. It's become a staple of mine. Hopefully you'll be encouraged after making it to make it a staple in your own home.

I invested in a garlic plate at Christmas after breaking too many garlic crushers. It has been a godsend and I recommend you get one. It turns garlic and ginger into a paste-perfect for curries, dressings and sauces and is the easiest thing in the world to clean. Good buy pain in the arse garlic crushers! Have a look here.

This recipe feeds one for dinner but adding a greater portion of fish and another portion of noodles with some extra water will double the quantity easy-thankfully, it's not rocket science.

Ingredients:
1 clove of garlic (double if doubling recipe)
1 chunk of fresh ginger, about the size of your thumb nail
2 tbs miso paste
100g fresh to wok noodles, I prefer thick udon for this
1 portion of fresh white fish (hake or trout are best, with skin on)
3 tbs soy sauce
4/5 strands of seaweed (dillisk works well hear but kombu or nori would work too)
10 small dried mushrooms/fresh mushrooms thinly sliced
1 large handful of greens, washed and drained.
5 cups boiling water.

Method:
Peel garlic and ginger and grate to a paste
Add to medium pot with miso paste and soy sauce
Pour in water and noodles, mushrooms and seaweed and bring to the boil (1 minute)
Turn heat down to simmer and place fish gently, skin side up into soup.
Cover with lid and set timer for 5 minutes.
In the meantime, wash and rinse greens and cut/pull to size you like and place in large soup boul
After 5 minutes, check fish. If it is opaque and falling slightly apart then it is done.
Using fork/chopsticks, take out noodles and place onto greens, then pour over your stock.
Place fish on top, dress with herbs/chives/sprouts or leave as is.
You can peel the fish skin off at this point but I love to eat it as it's been scraped by my fishmonger already and tastes great!

 

 

That's it. I timed myself for cheekiness sake and the soup took 5 mins to cook while it took 4 minutes to prep, 2 to serve and about 5 minutes of arsing around with my new camera to take the photos I was happy with.

Hope you enjoy it.
In the next few posts, I'll be making food for the festival season! Body and Soul is a week away and I have homemade almond butter, hemp
energy bars, bliss balls and banana bread to get through so visit again and please tell me what you think of the blog, the recipes and your food likes.

Thanks!
Grace :)