Thoughts are turning towards Christmas. When I was a teenager we started making our Christmas pickles and chutneys in October to give them time to mature. Of course, back then, we ate them with turkey sandwiches or slabs of cheese. Pickles and chutneys go just as well with a cold nut roast. You can make…
Category: Side dishes
Spelt Salad with Broccoli, Walnuts and Pomegranate
Having developed a recent interest in the macrobiotic diet and its emphasis on whole grains, I am a recent convert to spelt. They call it dinkel in Germany and I think that is a much nicer name, making it sound more whimsical. I actually prefer the spelt raw and soaked for about 24 hours. I…
Pomegranate and Tomato Salsa
There are some very large pomegranates in the supermarkets in Berlin at the moment and they are really juicy. This is deliciously fresh and healthy and works really well served with the eggplant pilaf. We like it spicy in our house, so bear this in mind! Use the best tomatoes you can find. Ingredients…
Brussels Sprouts with Mustard,Cumin and Fennel Seeds
Brussels sprouts are just coming into season in Europe. I hated these as a child and now cannot get enough of them. We eat huge piles of them in our house all through the season. They are best after the frost has been in them so taste much better in the winter. I could eat…
Roasted Tomato, Corn and Cucumber Salsa
Tomatoes are so plentiful and cheap at the moment and corn is bang in season. Roasting the corn and tomatoes for this salsa gives a lovely sweet flavour. The cucumber makes it fresh and light. I like it spicy but you can make it to your own taste. Preparation time 15 minutes Cooking time…
Romesco Sauce
This sauce originates in Spain and is a little like a pesto. The authentic recipe combines almonds and roasted red peppers but I used tomatoes as they are so delicious and plentiful at the moment. Like with pestos, you can use other nuts like pinenuts or walnuts or even seeds. You can use this for…
Super Food Quinoa Salad with Walnuts, Pomegranate and Cranberries
All of the ingredients in this salad are highly nutritious and it is super tasty. I am impressed with the versatility of quinoa and it is so easy to prepare. Walnuts, pomegranates and cranberries are all great foods for the Autumn. This dish is a complete meal but and it could also be served with…
Swiss Chard with Raisins and Pinenuts
Swiss chard is incredibly good for you. It can be slighlty bitter if it is old when eaten so the best way to avoid this is to buy it very fresh or grow your own. It is traditional in Spain to add pinenuts and raisins to spinach but it works well with chard too. I…
Roasted Corn and Butternut Squash Couscous Salad
Couscous can be very dull and you need to add a lot of flavour to make it into something wonderful. This dish has sweetness from both the squash and the corn plus bags of freshness from the mint and coriander. We like our food spicy so you can also add chill like I did to…
Roasted Corn and Pepper Salad with Black Beans
Yesterday, my friend Claudia gave me some fresh, green peppers of the pointy variety (like large chillis). We don’t have a special word for these in the UK. We had the peppers barbecued last night while sitting in her garden, under a huge walnut tree, in idyllic surroundings, yet right in the centre of Berlin….
