Grilled Halloumi & Tomato Salad

I was in the mood for a nice salad today but wanted something that wasn't completely cold.  After a rummage in my fridge, I decided to use up the rest of a pack of halloumi for a quick and easy lunch.  Also a random tip for all you dieters out there - low fat halloumi doesn't taste all that different to the full fat stuff.  In fact, it's probably the best tasting low fat vegetarian cheese in my humble opinion. 

Ingredients:-
- Halloumi, sliced
- 1 tbsp flour
- Oil for grilling
- 1 large tomato cut into quarters or a handful of cherry tomatoes
- Two large handfuls of mixed salad leaves

How to:-
1.  Preheat the grill to a high heat.
2.  Slice the halloumi and pat each slice dry with a paper towel to remove any excess moisture.
3.  Lightly coat the slices in the flour and then drizzle a little oil over them.  Place under the grill for a few minutes until it's grilled how you like it (I've only lightly grilled mine as you can see), remembering to turn it over half way so that both sides are done evenly.
4.  Place the mixed salad leaves and tomato into a bowl and arrange the grilled halloumi slices on top.

Homemade Tomato & Basil Soup

Apparently Spring is on its way, but the weather here in England is firmly holding onto Winter for the time being.  For this reason alone, I decided to make a batch of tomato and basil soup to take to work this week.  When it's freezing cold and dreary looking outside, a warming bowl of soup has a tendency to make everything seem much better (or so my mother always used to say!).

Makes around 4 portions

Ingredients:-
- 1kg ripe tomatoes
- A large handful of fresh basil leaves
- 500ml vegetable stock
- 50g butter
- 300g onions, chopped
- Olive oil

How to:-
1.  Halve the tomatoes and spread them out on a baking tray.  Drizzle a little olive oil over them and then roast them for about 30 minutes or until softened at 220C / Gas 6.
2.  Heat the butter in a large pan and stir in the chopped onions.  Sweat over a low heat until they're soft.
3.  Add the vegetable stock to the onions, stir for about 5 minutes and then add the roasted tomatoes.
4.  Remove from the heat and transfer everything into a blender. 
5.  Add the fresh basil leaves, 3tbsp olive oil and blend until smooth.
6.  Season to taste and serve with warm crusty rolls.

Homemade Pizza with Mushrooms, Chilli & Rocket

If you love pizza as much as I do, you really need to try making one yourself from scratch.  It's a lot easier than what you might think and a lot healthier than fast food versions too.  Getting the dough to the right thickness that you want it can take some practice though, so this is often about trial and error.  Experiment with it and you will be rewarded with some seriously yummy pizza.  I've used mushrooms, chilli and rocket to top this one, but choose whatever you have in and fancy, the variations are endless!

Serves 4

Ingredients:-
- 350g strong white bread flour
- pinch of sea salt
- pinch of caster sugar
- 1 & 1/2 tsp of easy to blend dried yeast
- 200ml lukewarm water
- 4tbsp olive oil
- 200g chestnut mushrooms, finely sliced
- 85ml passata
- 3tbsp tomato puree
- 2 x 125g vegetarian mozzarella, drained, halved lengthways & sliced
- 2 red chillis, finely sliced
- 40g pack of rocket
- extra virgin olive oil to drizzle

How to:-
1.  Mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl.  Add the water and 1 tbsp of the olive oil and stir to form a soft dough.  Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead the dough for around 10 minutes or until very elastic.  Knead into a ball and return to the bowl.  Cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour until it's well risen and doubled in volume.
2.  Meanwhile, lightly oil a large baking sheet and set aside.
3.  Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the mushrooms on a high heat until cooked.  Transfer to a plate and allow to cool.
4.  Return to the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Using a rolling pin, roll it into a rectangular shape that's around 38 x 20cm and about 5mm thick.  Transfer to the baking sheet and leave for around 20 minutes until risen.  Preheat the oven to 220C / Gas 7.
5.  Mix together the passata and tomato puree, and season.  Spread evenly over the dough, leaving about 5mm for the crust.
6.  Arrange the mushrooms, mozzarella and chillis on top, overlapping the mozzarella slightly.  Drizzle the olive oil and bake for about 15-20 minutes, until golden.  Top with the rocket and drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil to serve.

[Base recipe from Vegetarian Living, September 2010]

Mum's Minestrone Soup

As a young child, I was an incredibly fussy eater and vegetables were not my friend.  My mum tried everything to get me to eat (or at least try) vegetables, but I often flatly refused unless they were covered in cheese, and even then, I'd still pick at my plate.  I don't remember how old I was, but one day I was in bed with flu and my mum made me a bowl of this Minestrone soup.  I ate everything and it soon became the only way I would eat any veggies for a long, long time.

My mum's homemade minestrone soup always had more carbs than vegetables in it (so that I would eat it I assume!), which makes it much more filling than the standard version, although many variations of minestrone exist and can be happily altered to accomodate all tastes.  This is the recipe that I still stick to and will probably be how I'll always make a good bowl of my mum's minestrone soup.

Serves 4

Ingredients:-
- 300g can of cannellini beans, drained
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 gloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
- 1.5 litres of vegetable stock
- 400g can of chopped tomatoes
- 2 large potatoes
- 150g dried spaghetti, broken into smaller pieces
- 50g petit pois or garden peas
- handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
- handful of fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

How to:-
1.  Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the onion, carrots and garlic.  Cover and cook on a low heat for around 20 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.
2.  Add the vegetable stock and chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil and cover and simmer for around 15 minutes.
3.  Then add the beans, potatoes and spaghetti, and bring back to the boil.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender (but still retaining their form).
4.  Stir in the parsley and basil, season to taste and serve with warm crusty rolls.

Stuffed Red Peppers with Soft Goat's Cheese

If you follow me on We Were Raised By Wolves, you may have seen that one of my New Year resolutions is to update A Wolf And Her Dinner at least once a week.  I love cooking and trying out new recipes, so it should be an easy resolution for me to keep!  Anyway, I thought I'd start the New Year off with one of my favourite simple, yet absolutely delicious, lunches that I enjoy making for myself at the weekend or whenever I have a day off.  I probably eat more stuffed peppers than I do stuffed mushrooms (though I do love both), and find that peppers are one of the few fresh foods in my fridge that keep for more than a couple of days, so they're always good to have in there as a back up.

This recipe involves soft goat's cheese as the main filling, but if you don't fancy that, you could use any other soft cheese; something like Camembert works just as well.

Serves 1 as a main, 2 as a starter

Ingredients:-
- 1 red pepper
- 50g soft goat's cheese
- 1tbsp pesto
- 1 small vine tomato, diced
- 4 pitted black olives
- 1 slice of wholemeal bread, crumbled
- extra virgin olive oil

How to:-
1.  Preheat the oven to 200C / Fan 180C / Gas Mark 6.
2.  Cut the pepper in half, discard the core and seeds, then place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
3.  Divide the pesto, olives and diced tomato between the pepper halves.  Add the soft goats cheese on top, finishing with the wholemeal breadcrumbs and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
4.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until the breadcrumbs are crisp and the peppers are tender.
5.  Serve with a green salad and balsamic dressing if desired or try it with some warm ciabatta slices.