A new favourite cookbook made it’s way in to my hands the other week; The Green Kitchen by David Frenkiel & Luise Vindahl. Better know to food bloggers behind Green Kitchen Stories. If you love good, nourishing, flavourful food alongside stunning photography then you should head over there to check it out. In their own word The Green Kitchen is “delicious & healthy vegetarian recipes for every day”.
My introduction to this cookbook was at a cooking class with Felicity at Cook the Books. And what a great introduction, great in that Felicity whipped up some of the dishes from the book.
To kick things off a virgin mojito followed by quinoa cauliflower & ramsons* cakes, well spinach for us a no ramsons here in NZ. This is almost as good a way to eat cauliflower as these cauliflower & cumin fritters. Fritters definitely seem to be cauliflowers calling.
*Ramsons: Allium ursinum – known as ramsons, buckrams, wild garlic, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek or bear's garlic – it is a wild relative of chives native to Europe and Asia. Sweet & astringent like leeks, onions, spring onions & chives. The little white flowers pretty & edible too.
Next up a fennel & coconut tart, this one also gluten free. The crust made with rice flour, chestnut flour & potato flour for a rustic, nutty flavour. Being Cook the Books we weren’t finished there. We also got to sample some fragrant hazelnut, aubergine & mushroom parcels my favourite of the night a twist on risotto; mascarpone beanotto with mushrooms & spinach. This is comfort food; hot, earthy & just a little creamy it was a dish that you just want to eat a little bit more of, and a little bit more of....
But wait there was more, dessert of course! Decadent beetroot & chocolate cake & decadent it was, chocolaty of course, rich & not too sweet it was most definitely my kind of cake. A good dollop of homemade mascarpone was the cherry on the top so to speak.
This book is full of dishes that I want to try, but what I have been enjoying this past week is this red pepper & rosemary spread. Packed full of roasted red peppers, a little cayenne, toasted sunflower seeds & rosemary it is sweet yet a little herby & it goes with just about everything! Spread a top some crackers, on top of some Swiss chard fritters or vegetable burgers,on the side with some grilled chicken I have been eating it just about every day.
Red Pepper & Rosemary Spread from The Green Kitchen
Ingredients
3 large red peppers, halved & seeded
75g / 2.5oz / 2/3 cup sunflower seeds
Pinch of cayenne
Juice of a half a lemon
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked
Salt & pepper
Directions
Pre heat oven to 200C / 400F
Place the peppers on a baking tray, pop in the oven & roast for about 40 minutes or until a little blackened & charred. Remove them from the oven & set them aside to cool.
Heat a frying pan over a medium heat, add the sunflower seeds, cayenne & salt & toast for a few minutes. Just lightly toast them. Once the peppers are cool peel off the skins & then roughly chop them.
Place the peppers in the bowl of a food processor along with the sunflower seeds, lemon juice & rosemary & puree until smooth. Taste & season with salt & pepper.
Place the spread in an airtight jar, pop it in the fridge & it will keep for a couple of weeks...if it lasts that long...
It is bright & fresh, sweet & a little mellow; a very friendly little condiment that is the perfect companion to all sorts; crackers*, frittatas, chicken, fish...well you get the drift.
If you like this you might like this Marinated Peppers with Pecorino
One year ago A Taste of Persia
Two years ago Auckland Eats - Queenie's Lunchroom
Three years ago Supper Club #3
Enjoy!
Could I substitute the rosemary with thyme, or would that be weird?
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