Broad bean salad

I know a lot of people are not very fond of broad beans and I must admit I also had visions of grey, rubbery, overcooked and bitter broad beans. But hey, there's more to it that meets the eye! By peeling the tough grey outside layer of the broad beans you'll end up with a delicious, slightly sweet bean. Because we grow them in our veggie garden, we get the chance to eat these beans when they're young and tender and you don't even have to peel them. But I like them better when peeled.

We often eat this cold salad as a starter or side dish. The flavours are Italian and it goes very well with other Italian dishes or tomato dishes.

Ingredients:
- 1 kg broad beans (unshelled)
- 2 Tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 generous Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 3 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino)
- pepper and salt to taste

Preparation:
Blanch the broad beans in simmering water for about 1 minutes. Drain and let cool. Peel the broad beans and put in a bowl, together with the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with ciabatta or toast and a glass of red wine.

Once prepared serve immediately or the cheese will go soggy after a while.

Goat cheese salad

Maybe this salad doesn't look a million dollars, but I can guarantee you the taste is definitely there! The salad leaves are freshly picked from our garden and the cheese is home made. The honey-mustard dressing marries the flavours together. If you not really into the distinct goat flavour, try this recipe with some brie or Camembert.

Ingredients:
- Salad leaves (I use mesclun, rocket and butter lettuce)
- Soft goat cheese, such as chèvre in a round shape
- Walnuts
- Bread crumbs
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- Tomato, sliced in quarters (optional)
- Olive oil for frying

For the Honey-Mustard dressing:
- 125 ml (half a cup) of good quality Extra Virgin olive oil
- Good splash of red wine vinegar
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 2 tsp mild English mustard
- 2 Tbsp honey (liquid)

Preparation:
Arrange the salad leaves on a plate. Scatter the walnuts on top, together with the tomatoes. Heat a frying pan with some olive oil. Quickly dip the cheese into the egg and then in the breadcrumbs. Fry on both sides until golden. The trick is not to over fry it, otherwise the cheese will be runny and will leak out of its crust into the pan. (Like I did...) Place the cheese on top of the salad and drizzle with the dressing.

Dressing:
Whisk oil and vinegar together (The oil tends to separate from the vinegar, so beat vigorously or alternatively put the ingredients into a (jam)jar and shake until combined.) Season to taste, add mustard and honey. At this stage I tend to taste, because you want a combination of sweet, sour and spicy. If necessary I add more mustard, honey or vinegar. See what you like.

Variations:
- Pan fry some bacon and add to the salad.
- Add some peeled and diced cucumber.
- For a real indulgence; wrap the cheese in puff pastry (use egg wash to create a golden glow) and bake in the oven until brown.

Whitebait

My beloved hubby Paul bought some whitebait from our local fish shop. When living in NZ you have to try this National delicacy and it is a bit of a shame really that we haven't tried it before. It is very expensive and people are willing to risk their lives in order to catch the tiny baby fish.

Throughout New Zealand it is very common to eat the little buggers as a fritter. Just whisk an egg, season with salt and pepper and cook as an omelet. Easy as!

Paul added a pinch of ground paprika to the egg mixture to spice things up.

Potato Salad

This is my own version of the world famous potato salad. Dead easy, but really delicious and a true winner when organising a barbie.

Ingredients:
- about 2 kg potatoes ( I prefer to use Agria, but the pink ones will do as well. Just ask your green grocer for salad potatoes and you'll be fine.)
- 500 g sour cream (I use the light version)
- 2 heaped Tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 heaped tsp (English) mustard, mild
- salt & pepper to taste
- 3 spring onions, finely chopped

Preparation:
Peel and boil the potatoes for about 15-20 minutes until done. Do not overcook them, otherwise they'll fall apart. Drain and let cool. Whisk the sour cream with the mayonnaise until creamy and combined. Season with salt and pepper. Make sure the flavours are all a bit 'overdone' as this is the base that will give your potatoes flavour. It is quite hard to add more flavour once the potatoes are combined with the mixture. Add the mustard (If you don't like the tangy flavour of mustard, just add a little bit at a time and taste.) and the spring onions. Cut the cold potatoes in bite size chunks and mix with the sour cream mixture. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and let it cool completely in the fridge. This also gives the potatoes time to take on the flavours. Serve cold.
This salad is also nice for lunch. Eat with toast.

Variations:
- You can add some capers or gherkins if you like.
- If you don't like the 'lean' version, use mayonnaise only.
- Chives are also a nice addition instead of spring onions.

Summer Delight

Summer to me is all about flavours and smells. Our garden is packed with strawberries, raspberries and blue berries. Even the black currants are doing their best to outshine the other berries. On a lazy Sunday Paul and I fancied something nice to go with our coffee but it had to be a bit healthy as well...

Within the hour we had these lovely mini tarts topped with berries from the garden. You can go really crazy on this recipe as it is dead easy to make and the variations are endless. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
- 1 package of puff pastry (I confess; it was a store bought package)
- 0.5 liter milk
- custard powder (or you can use ready made custard from the supermarket if you're in a real hurry)
- sugar
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- fresh berries (or other fruit)
- icing sugar (optional)
- muffin pan

Preparation:
Preheat the oven according the instructions on your pastry packet. Make sure the puff pastry has defrosted before you start cutting it. I use a small plate or big saucer to cut circles out of the puff pastry. Line the circles inside the holes of your muffin pan. Don't let the pastry stick out of the pan too much otherwise the edges will collapse back inside and you won't be able to fill your tart cases afterwards. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle over sugar. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the pastry has a nice gold/brown colour. Take out of the oven and gently press the insides of the pastry cases flat with the back of a spoon. Let it cool on a wire rack and take out of the muffin pan to cool even more.
In the meantime, prepare the custard according to the directions on the back of the packet. I used half a litre of milk, 6 Tbsp custard powder and 6 Tbsp sugar. This will give you a thick, more pudding like consistency. Cool down in a sink with cold water and keep on stirring to prevent lumps. If you still have some lumps, no panic as you can easily get rid of them by straining the custard through a sieve. Pour the custard when cool in the tart cases and top with a variety of berries. Sift over icing sugar and they're ready to serve.

variations:
- Serve the tartlets with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or some whipped cream.
- Use slices of banana, apple, grape, pear. Heat some clear fruit juice (e.g. apple juice) and stir in some gelatin. Add the fruit mixture and let it cool in the fridge until almost set. Pour mixture over tartlets and let the gelatin set further until firm.
- Before adding custard to the tart cases, pour some melted chocolate on the base. This prevents the pastry from going soggy and tastes delicious as well.