Heirloom Tomato Salad

Heirloom Tomato Salad 

The heirloom tomatoes have a delicious flavour that no hybrid variety grown today in greenhouses will ever be able to match. They are different in size and shape, color, and taste, but each one is individually perfect. From the red ones that are the most acidic to the milder yellow ones, you can even have them beautifully striped pink and green, dark purple, pure green, and almost black. They are a vibrant collection worthy of making a statement at your table.

Fresh Heirloom Tomatoes at the market for sale

Here is a version of something I ate recently on my travels with the freshest of flavours that I replicated through my palate to share. Drizzle the best olive oil you can find and enjoy it as an appetiser or as a side to your grilled piece of chicken, fish, or steak.

Heirloom tomatoes with a wonderful Nori dressing.

1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cream or as needed
pinch of rock salt
1 tsp wasabi/horseradish paste
3 sheets of seaweed Nori; finely crunched

optionally, drizzle it all over with olive oil.

Mix this together with a spoon. 
Cover and chill for an hour or two, and serve with freshly sliced or diced heirloom tomatoes, lightly sprinkled with sea salt, and drizzled with light, best-quality olive oil.

Tips

Tomatoes are best served at room temperature and not chilled. 
The dressing can be chilled to stay thick. 
Loosen with cream to desired consistency. 

Wasabi paste, wasabi mustard, pure horseradish or freshly grated horseradish can be used for this recipe. 

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on Amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.

Photo courtesy Niloufer Mavalvala

Burrata Salad

Burrata Salad

A fun salad with a delicious package of fresh creamy burrata.

Have fun with this colourful and delicious salad. I have used the ingredients listed below, but make it your own. Keep in mind, colour, texture and taste while exchanging one vegetable for another. Here you have the crunch of the cabbage, the sweetness of roasted corn, the creaminess of an avacado and the sharpness of the hot pepper while the other ingredients compliment the final serving.

The Burrata is a wonderful creamy cheese made up of fresh milk originating in Italy. Literally translated burrata means buttery, quite the compliment to any good fresh cheese! While the outer shell is firm, it oozes with soft fresh creamy cheese when broken into. Each serving is meant to have a bit of the Burrata and a lot of the salad. The combination is quite delectable.

The most interesting vegetable in this dish is the artichoke. First grown in the Mediterranean region it was re-introduced to Italy and France in the 16th century by Queen Catherine de Medici. 
While it is made up of the stem, heart, choke, inner petals, outer petals and the thorns, there is an art to preparing this 'thistle'. Much of it is discarded as only the heart, stem and inner petals are edible.
Yet it continues to remain a delicacy for its healthy nutrients. Packed with fiber, Vitamin K and antioxidants, it contains good minerals to maintain our health.



1 whole fresh Burrata, at room temperature
3 cups coleslaw cabbage, thinly sliced
1 thinly slivered carrot
3 small diced cucumbers
3 ears of roasted corn kernels
2 large diced avocado
1 cup pickled artichoke, drained
1 roasted sweet red pepper, diced
6 pickled hot red peppers, drained and diced
Salt to sprinkle all over

Vinaigrette
Serve this with a vinaigrette

4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
pinch of brown sugar
pinch of salt 
one pressed clove of garlic

Shake well and drizzle all over.

Tips

Assemble when ready to serve.
The best way of setting this up is to choose a slightly larger than necessary round platter. Place the Burrata in the center. Now lay the cabbage all around, top with the carrots, cucumbers, corn kernels, avocado, artichokes, and red peppers. You will not be able to toss it later so neatly place it one over the other. Drizzle the vinaigrette all over the vegetables, carefully avoiding the burrata in the middle as it will stain immediately. 
Serve.


Although Burrata is well revered in Italy for many a century, it is only recently that it has found its way into North American markets. In Canada one can purchase an imported Italian Burrata as well as one that is locally prepared and it is available from time to time on supermarket shelves, Ask and inquire from your local grocery store.
If you wish to make something similar to enjoy at home here is how. Topli na Paneer

Red radish, firm tomatoes or green tomatillo, fresh crisp fennel, finely shredded raw beetroot are some alternate suggestions that will work well. 


For more delicious recipes click 
Niloufer's Kitchen: Spanish Tapas from read.amazon.com
and 
Niloufer's Kitchen: French Bistro from read.amazon.com

My published cookbook The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine is now available.

Asian Beef Salad

   

Asian Beef Salad

I have always enjoyed a tender slice of roast beef. In salads, sandwiches or simply served with roasted potatoes and gravy. This is my version of an Asian roast beef salad with healthy greens. The meat should be slightly warmed or at room temperature. The greens can be chilled or at room temperature as you may prefer. It has so many bold flavours and textures and tends to be a great crowd pleaser and can be prepared in advance.

Serves  4 to 6 persons

Ingredients

4 cups slaw; cabbage and carrots

1 cup broccoli florets

½ cup sliced radish

½ cup oil

1 tsp garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp ginger, finely chopped or crushed

Zest of 1 orange

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp orange mustard

1 lemon or lime freshly squeezed

A finely chopped red chillie

A pinch of salt

Optionally ½ tsp freshly grated ginger

1 kg/2.2lb Beef tenderloin

¼ cup light Soya sauce

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

1 long fresh red chillie finely chopped

1 tsp brown sugar

 ½ cup Mirin

For later; 1 tsp peanut butter

Step 1…Marinade a steak overnight in Soya sauce, ginger, red chilies, brown sugar, and mirin. Grill or braise it in a hot pan for 3-5 minutes on each side. Let it rest and then thinly slice it. Keep aside.

Step 2…. Dressing prepared sliced beef.

Boil down the juices from the marinade adding a tsp peanut butter to thicken. Cool it and mix it with the sliced beef.

Step 3….. Vinaigrette dressing

In a jar mix the oil, lemon juice, zest of an orange, brown sugar, orange mustard, crushed garlic, finely chopped red pepper a pinch of salt.

Mix well.

To serve, lay out the sliced roast beef in the centre of the platter and spoon the vegetables all around. Drizzle the dressing all over the vegetables only. Leave the remaining vinaigrette to add as necessary.

Tips

If there is no orange mustard available, add 2 tbsp fresh orange juice and use plain mustard to the dressing.

Instead of a fresh red chillie use dry chillie flakes

To read about an ancient cuisine you can purchase my cookbooks called The World of Parsi Cooking; Food Across Borders and The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine.  

For more amazing recipes click 

Niloufer`s Kitchen: French Bistro

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J2KMB4C

Granola and Beet Salad

Granola and Beet Salad

Eating healthy? Our vitamin and mineral balance is the root to good health. Hair, nails, skin and eyes all have a story to tell! They are shiny and thick when we are well and give away the tell tale signs when there is an off balance in our body.

Introducing a section of healthy foods to the blog. Initiated with the idea of being able to put together something tasty with a ingredients in minutes. You can snack on it  or eat it as a meal. Watch for the H 

For 2 persons

1/2 cup granola
1/2 cup mixed lettuce leaves
6 slices of beetroot
1 tbsp  balsamic vinaigrette
2  discs goat cheese
salt pepper sumac

Sprinkle the granola at the base of the plate. Place the lettuce leaves, topped with the golden beets  and the goat cheese on top. Sprinkle with freshly cracked mixed pepper corns and a pinch of sumac. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve.

Tips
For an additional touch you can caramelise the top of your goat cheese with a blow torch.
Add some dry fruit of choice to your granola like cranberry, fig or barberry( Zereshk).
You can choose to use a fruity balsamic vinaigrette  like a fig or raspberry flavour. 

To read about an ancient cuisine you can purchase my cookbooks called The World of Parsi Cooking; Food Across Borders and The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine.  
For good ideas and more recipes click and download
Niloufer's Kitchen: French Bistro
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J2KMB4C

Eggplant/Aubergine salad

Eggplant and Aubergine Salad 

Creating new salads, one discovers the joys of combining so many of one's favourite foods. I like to taste with my mind's taste buds while adding and tossing things from my pantry and fridge. 
It is fun, the only downside being I perhaps can never recreate it to the tee. I can live with that!! 
So here is something that was much appreciated by my guests for an impromptu lunch that I will share with you.

Eggplant, herbs, tomatoes, salad and more 

4 small Japanese eggplants 
250 g/ 8 oz or 1 cup of mixed small tomatoes
1 small pita bread,  rubbed with toasted with a rub of garlic, soft butter and chopped fine herbs like parsley or mint on it.
a handful of mixed herbs like fresh mint and parsley 
The zest and the fresh juice from one lime or limbu
salt
sumac
sunflower or pumpkin seeds
dried cranberries
125g/ 4 oz or 1/2 cup of feta cheese, curmbled
olive oil
garlic clove
drizzle of honey
4 cups of mixed greens, spinach, kale, lettuce, cabbage

Slice the eggplant into 1-inch rounds. Toss this with salt and olive oil. 
In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil and toss the eggplant in until it starts to colour. Try to flip it with the handle of the pan and don't use the spoon. Add a few drops of water from time to time as it helps caramelise faster. 
Remove the eggplants, set them aside, and repeat with the remaining eggplants. Sprinkle them with a tsp of sumac, lime juice, and a drizzle of honey. 
In a hot oven at 170 C | 350 F place the pita with rubbed garlic, smeared in butter and topped with herbs. This will take about 7 minutes to crisp. Cut it into pieces and leave it aside. 

To assemble, toss the greens, herbs, and the zest of the lime together and place them on a platter. 
Toss the tomatoes in a tsp of olive oil after cutting them in half or leaving them whole if you prefer. 
Sprinkle lightly with salt. Place all the eggplants all over. 
Sprinkle the pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds over. 
Now sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese over. Next, the crisp toasted pita chips. and cranberries.

The vinaigrette

If you like to serve this with a vinaigrette, make a light one with 4 tbsp of olive oil. One pressed garlic clove; a pinch of brown sugar and salt to taste; and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Shake well and drizzle all over. 

Tips
Do not assemble in advance, only prior to serving. 
Add dried cherries, figs, or apricots instead of cranberries. It is still as sweet! 
It will work well if you add walnuts or pecans instead of seeds.

Add pomegranate seeds for colour and texture. 

Add a tsp of brown sugar instead of honey, but while it is cooking rather than after, so it helps caramelise the eggplant. 
The melange of salad leaves gives a blend of texture and visually looks amazing. 
Sumac is found in Middle Eastern stores universally and is a tangy berry powder. Anar dana is the closest to it as a substitute. 
If Japanese eggplants are not available, use the ordinary ones cubed and diced equally. Discard the seed pouches within larger eggplants.

Photo courtesy Niloufer Mavalvala

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on Amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is an award-winning book. It was self-published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Art of Parsi Cooking: Reviving an Ancient Cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through Amazon Book Depot, Book Depository, and from the publishers.

Quinoa & Prawn Salad

Raw Quinoa Grains

In a saucepan, bring all of the ingredients to a boil. 
2 cups of quinoa. 
4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth, adding salt to taste. 
Bring this to a rapid boil, allowing the liquid to evaporate until the grain is visible. 
Cover, reduce to a simmer, and leave for 30 minutes to steam. Quinoa is a grain and may need 5 minutes extra, but not less. 

Fluff it up with a fork while warm and place it in a large bowl. 

Toss in a mixture; 
1 diced cucumber
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 red pepper, diced
sprinkled with salt and a squeeze of lemon.

2 cups of sautéed Moroccan prawns. 
Click on http://amzn.to/NKMoroccan for the recipe and more. 
This link is also available on my e-cookbook page on this blog. 

Sprinkle this with sumac powder or lemon zest and finely chopped coriander or parsley and serve warm. 

Tips
Soaking them overnight before cooking takes away the tad of bitterness the outer shell of this ancient grain can sometimes have. If you do not have the time, soak them for a few hours and drain. 

Chopped black or green olives can be added. 

A handful of cherry tomatoes, finely chopped parsley or coriander leaves, crunchy celery, or even finely chopped kale leaves can be substituted.


My published cookbooks are now available on Amazon 

The Art of Parsi cuisine; reviving an ancient cuisine

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders.