Roasted Cauliflower in Tahini Dressing

Roasted Cauliflower in Tahini Dressing

One of my favorite vegetables is cauliflower. I love it raw, cooked, baked, and as cauliflower rice.

A few weeks ago I saw this version on a tahini dressing, and thought I had to try it. it didn’t disappoint.

The cauliflower is sprinkled with cumin and roasted in the oven, then placed on top of the dressing, with a topping of parsley, onion and almonds

This is the perfect side for a piece of grilled meat, like lamb or chicken.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:

Roasted cauliflower:

• 1 cauliflower, cut into bouquets

• 4 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon cumin

• Sprinkle of salt

Tahini dressing:

• 2 tablespoons tahini

• 6 tablespoons Greek yogurt

• 1 garlic clove,

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed

• Salt to taste

Topping:

• 4 tablespoons almonds, roasted and chopped

• 1 handful Italian parsley, chopped

• 1 small onion, finely diced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 430℉/220℃.

Place cauliflower on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, drizzle olive oil over and sprinkle salt and cumin, mix it so the cauliflower is evenly coated. Roast the cauliflower for 15-20 minutes. You want them to be tender with a bit of a crunchy texture.

Mix the ingredients to the dressing and season additional salt and lemon juice to taste.

Mix the topping in a bowl, and set aside

Spread the dressing on to a serving dish, place the roasted cauliflower on top, adding the topping on last.

Serve immediately.

Enjoy

Danish version:

Bagt blomkål med tahindressing

Ingredienser:

Blomkål:

• 1 blomkål, delt op i buketter

• 4 spsk oliven olie

• 1 spsk spidskommen

• Lidt salt

Tahindressing:

• 2 spsk tahini

• 6 spsk græsk yoghurt

• 1 fed hvidløg

• 1 spsk friskpresset citronsaft

• Salt, efter smag

Topping:

• 4 spsk grofthakkede ristede mandler

• 1 håndfuld bredbladet persille, groft hakket

• 1 lille løg, finthakket

Fremgangsmåde:

Forvarm oven til 220℃.

Blomkål:

Vend blomkålsbuketterne med olivenolie, spidskommen og salt. Kom blomkålen på en bageplade, med bagepapir. Bag blomkålen i 15-20 minutter indtil de er møre med lidt bid, og har fået lidt farve.

Dressing:

Bland alle ingredienserne sammen i en skål, smag til med ekstra salt og citron.

Topping:

Bland ingredienserne sammen.

Kom et godt lag dressing ud på et fad, kom det bagte blomkål ovenpå. Fordel toppingen øverst og server.

Enjoy!

Moroccan Style Roasted Carrots

Moroccan Style Roasted Carrots

I have been looking for more interesting ways to serve vegetables. Especially in the early spring, before all the summer vegetables gets in the stores.

The combination of flavors and textures from the dressing and topping really elevate the humble carrot into something special. These carrots are a new favorite, so I recommend to make plenty.

We had these carrots as a part of a Moroccan themed dinner, with roasted leg of lamb seasoned with ras el hanout, roasted cauliflower with tahini dressing and couscous.

The recipe is adapted from Julie Bruun.

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients:

• 10-12 carrots (the small ones with the top or thin snack carrots

• Oil for the baking

• A sprinkle of salt

  Dressing:

• 100 ml Greek style yogurt

• ½ teaspoon cumin

• ½ teaspoon ground coriander

• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon salt

  Topping:

• Fresh tarragon, chopped

• Almonds, roasted and coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven for 425℉ / 220℃.

Wash the carrots, and trim off most of green top part. Place the carrots in an ovenproof dish, and toss them with oil and a sprinkle of salt.

Roast the carrots for 15-20 minutes. Let the carrots cool for a minute, before adding dressing and topping.

Serve the carrots immediately.

Enjoy!

Roasted Tomato Pumpkin Soup

The is a base for a great roasted vegetable soup. You can use most vegetables. I use this when I have a lot of vegetables I need to use in my refrigerator. I have added peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, zucchinis, squash. But keeping pumpkin and tomato in the leading role.

The soup freezes well, so make a large batch so you have an easy dinner for a busy day.

Ingredients:

• olive oil for the roasting

• 1 small pumpkin (Hokkaido) (400g)

• 2 onions

• 4 large tomatoes

• 400 g cherry tomatoes

• 2 garlic bulbs

• 1-2 chili peppers

• 1 bell pepper

• 1 ½ teaspoon salt

• 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

• 2 ½ cup (600 ml) boullion (chicken or vegetable)

• ½ cup (ca 100 ml) heavy whipping cream

• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 440℉ (225℃).

Peel garlic and onions. Wash and cut all the vegetable in chunks, and place them on a parchment lined roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil.

Roast the vegetables for 20 minutes, then shut the oven off, letting the vegetables in the oven for another 15-20 minutes.

Pour all the vegetables in to a large pot. add the boullion and then let it simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Blend the soup either in a blender* or using an immersion blender. Add the cream and season the soup with salt and pepper.

Serve the soup with some good bread and maybe your favorite topping, like nuts, sour cream, or crispy bacon.

Enjoy!

* Be careful when working with hot soup in a blender.  If you need a new blender, consider a Vitamix. They are expensive, but they are worth all the money. They can liquefy almost anything and makes soup and margaritas so smooth and creamy. But the best part, you can blend hot soups without having to clean the soup of all your kitchen cabinets afterwards. Just saying. ;)

Green Bean and Asparagus Salad with Lemony Feta Dressing

Green Bean and Asparagus Salad with Lemony Feta Dressing.

This salad is a fresh and crisp side perfect for a summer BBQ. The creamy lemony feta dressing makes it a perfect parring to almost everything. It’s great with fish, chicken and even for ribs or roasts.

I was in search of a salad without leafy greens, a more crunchy salads. Previously I have been using green beans and snap peas for this, so I added some extra crunch with asparagus and radishes. The cheesy lemony dressing was a mix of my love of feta mixed with the taste of the lemon pepper pasta.

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

• 200g green beans, trimmed

• 1 bunch (10-15) asparagus, trimmed

• 125g snap peas

• 10 radishes, sliced

Dressing:

• 1 lemon, the juice from

• 2 tablespoons lemon olive oil

• 75g feta cheese

• freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Wash and trim snap peas, asparagus, and green beans. For the asparagus I hold each stalk about half way down its length, and at the thick end. Then bend the stalk until it snaps, discard the thick end. This way you only get the good crispy part of the asparagus.

Blanch the vegetables for 1 minute, by adding the vegetables to a large pot of boiling water. With a slotted spoon remove the vegetables from the boiling water and plunge them in a large bowl with ice water. Cut the vegetables into bite-size pieces. Spread the vegetables in a shallow bowl, and sprinkle the sliced radishes on top.

Mix all the ingredients for the dressing, using a fork to incorporate the feta to the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad, and mix it well.

Serve the salad as a side to your favorite protein, or to your summer BBQ.

Asparagus with Sauce Mousseline

Asparagus with Sauce Mousseline and shrimps.

Fresh white asparagus is a spring favorite. Here I mixed the expensive white asparagus with some cheaper green ones, making it obvious that the white asparagus are a tad sweeter.

Sauce Mousseline is basically a Hollandaise sauce, where you fold in some soft whipped cream. making as lighter, more airy sauce.

You can serve this as an appetizer or as a main dish by adding some green lettuce and a slice of good bread.

Serves 2-4.

Ingredients:

• 8 white asparagus

• 8 green asparagus

• 1 tablespoon butter (for cooking the asparagus)

• 1 teaspoon salt (for cooking the asparagus)

• green lettuce, I used field salad/cornsalad/mache lettuce

• hollandaise sauce

• heavy whipping cream, you need about 2-3 tablespoons soft whipped cream

• 150 g cold water schrimp

Directions:

Make the Hollandaise sauce, and make it come to room temperature. Whisk the cream to a soft peak, so it’s ready to fold into the hollandaise just before serving.

Wash all the asparagus.

The green ones: Hold each spear about half way down its length and at the thick end. Now bend it until it snaps. Discard the  little stub, or use it for flavor in a soup or casserole. 

The white ones: Cut just under 1 inch (2 cm) off the bottom. Using a vegetable peeler, and starting just under the tip of each spear, peel away the tough outer layer.
Bring about 2 inches (5 cm) water to a boil in a a large shallow pot, add salt and butter. Add the white asparagus and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the green asparagus and cook for another 2 minutes, until the spears are tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a dry kitchen towel to briefly dry. Serve the asparagus immediately placing it on top of some green lettuce.

Fold in the soft whipped cream in the room temperature hollandaise, so it ends up light and airy. Spoon the now sauce mousseline over the asparagus and sprinkle the shrimps on top before serving.

Enjoy!