Darina Allen’s Sea Spinach Soup

 

darina allen sea spinach soup

Sea Spinach Soup

Sea spinach is at its sweetest and most delicious at present…. I absolutely love it and really want you to know about it so if you live near a rocky strand, look out for it – the shiny green leaves are unmistakable. It is, in fact, the ancestor to most cultivated varieties of beet, from beetroot to spinach beet. It can be cooked exactly like garden spinach and used in the same way, for example, try serving it in Middle Eastern style with raisins and pine kernels and a touch of cinnamon. Not surprisingly, because sea spinach is washed by the tides, it is full of iodine, minerals and other trace elements and it has an addictive salty tang. Sea spinach is tougher and slightly stronger in flavour than garden spinach, so it takes a little longer to cook.

The trick with these green soups is not to add the greens until the last minute, otherwise they will overcook and the soup will lose its fresh taste and bright green colour.

50g (2oz/1/2 stick) butter

110g (4oz/1 cup) onion, chopped

150g (5oz/1 cup) potatoes, chopped

600ml (1 pint/2 1/2 cups) homemade chicken stock, vegetable stock or water

425-600ml (3/4-1 pint/2 – 2 1/2 cups) creamy milk (1/4 cream and 3/4 milk)

salt and freshly ground pepper

225-350g (8-12oz/3 cups) sea spinach, destalked and chopped

Freshly ground nutmeg

Garnish

2 tablespoons (2 American tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) whipped cream (optional

Freshly chopped parsley

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. When it foams add the onions and potatoes and turn them until well coated. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and sweat on a gentle heat for 10 minutes. Add the boiling stock and milk, bring back to the boil and simmer until the potatoes and onions are fully cooked. Add the sea spinach and boil with the lid off for about 3-5 minutes, until the sea spinach is tender. Do not overcook or the soup will lose its fresh green colour.

Liquidise and taste and add some freshly grated nutmeg.  Serve in warm bowls garnished with a blob of whipped cream and some chopped parsley

Ballymaloe Cookery
@BallymaloeCS

 

Knockout Night-time Cookies

mbg night cookies

Haile Thomas is only 19 but has already graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition as a certified integrative nutrition health coach (at age 16) and launched a nonprofit, called HAPPY (healthy, active, positive, purposeful, youth). She was inspired to launch her health journey after her father developed type 2 diabetes and since then has begun working as a wellness and compassion activist and a vegan food and lifestyle content creator. Her first book, Living Lively, has 80 delicious, wholesome, super-powered plant-based recipes—including this one.

Help your body wind down in the evenings with these tasty and calming cookies. Have a cookie (or two!) a couple of hours before going to bed to get in all the natural melatonin (which helps to balance our sleep cycles) from almonds and cherries.

Knockout Nighttime Cookies

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

  • ½ cup mashed banana (about 1 medium banana)
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter
  • ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • ½ cup chopped raw walnuts
  • ½ cup dried cherries
  • ⅓ cup rolled oats (gluten-free if needed)
  • ¼ cup flaxseeds
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the banana, almond butter, coconut, walnuts, cherries, oats, flaxseeds, chia seeds, vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger until thoroughly combined. The batter will be moist.
  3. For each cookie, roll 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet, gently flattening the top with the palm of your hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden.
  4. Cool on a wire rack and grab a cookie! The cookies keep in an airtight container for up to one week.

Asparagus, Proscuitto & Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Screenshot_2020-08-01 Asparagus, Proscuitto Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Prep
Cook
Skill Accomplished
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Ingredients

4 Servings

Ingredients for 4 people

  • 3/4 box of Barilla® Jumbo Shells
  • 1 jar of Barilla® Tomato & Basil Sauce
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 9 ounces of frozen asparagus, chopped and cooked
  • 1 1/2 cup prosciutto chopped
  • 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese, freshly grated
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground

Instructions

  • Cook pasta according to package directions.

 

  • Rinse cooked shells under cold water and drain.
  • Cover and set aside.

https://www.barilla.com/en-us/recipes/blue-box/barilla-jumbo-shells-with-asparagus-prosciutto-ricotta-cheese-and-barilla-three-cheese-sauce

 

 

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Screenshot_2020-05-07 Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter(2)

0 Ratings
5
Photo and Styling by Julia Gartland
Active Time
5 MIN
Total Time
55 MIN
Yield
Serves : 6

This is the simplest of all sauces to make, and none has a purer, more irresistibly sweet tomato taste. I have known people to skip the pasta and eat the sauce directly out of the pot with a spoon.

Reprinted with permission from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. Copyright 1992 by Marcella Hazan. Published by Knopf.

How to Make It

Step

Put either the prepared fresh tomatoes or the canned in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for 45 minutes, or until the fat floats free from the tomato. Stir from time to time, mashing any large piece of tomato in the pan with the back of a wooden spoon. Taste and correct for salt. Discard the onion before tossing the sauce with pasta. Serve with grated Parmesan.

Notes

May be frozen when done. Discard the onion before freezing.

Recommended pasta: This is an unsurpassed sauce for Potato Gnocchi, but it is also delicious with spaghetti, penne, or rigatoni.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/tomato-sauce-onion-and-butter

Crispy Baked Hake with Yogurt Tartar Sauce

crispy-baked-hake-with-yogurt-tartar-sauce

Panko breadcrumbs, if available, make the coating extra crispy but they are not essential.

Serves 4

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 hake fillets, approx. 175g each, skinned and boned
  • 25g butter, melted
  • 75g of stale breadcrumbs or Panko breadcrumbs
  • 15g finely grated cheese
  • 1 tablesp. chopped parsley leaves
  • 40g plain flour
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Yogurt Tartar Sauce

  • 150g Greek style yogurt
  • 1 teasp. Dijon-style mustard
  • 1 tablesp. capers, drained and finely chopped
  • 1 small gherkin, finely chopped
  • 1 tablesp. chopped parsley leaves

To Cook

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C (400°F). Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Brush a little of the melted butter over the parchment paper.

Place the breadcrumbs in a shallow dish with the grated cheese and parsley. Place the flour and egg in separate shallow dishes.

Season the hake with a little salt and black pepper. Dip the hake, one piece at a time, into the flour, shake off the excess, then dip into the egg and finally into the breadcrumb mixture. Place on the baking tray. Brush the remaining melted butter over the top and sides of the fish. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Meanwhile make the Yogurt Tartar Sauce:
Place yogurt, mustard, capers, gherkin, parsley, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Mix well to combine.

Serving Suggestions

Serve the sauce with the crispy hake, tender stem broccoli and sautéed potatoes.

Nutritional Analysis per Serving

Protein: 43g 

Carbohydrates: 44g 

Fat: 17g 

Iron: 2.3mg 

Energy: 504kcal 

http://www.bordbia.ie/consumer/recipes/fish/pages/crispybakedhakewithyogurttartarsauce.aspx

Flahavan’s Oaty Blueberry Muffins

flahavans blueberry muffins

Ingredients
100g (4oz) Flahavan’s Progress Oatlets (plus extra for topping)
50g (2oz) Flahavan’s Oat Bran
150g (6oz) self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
75g (3oz) brown sugar
100g (4oz) pitted dates, finely chopped (or any dried fruit you have)
1 beaten egg
250g (10oz) Natural yogurt
100g (4oz) melted butter
125g (5oz) Blueberries (or any fresh or frozen fruit you have)
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/ Gas mark 4).
2. Place the oats, oat bran, flour, bicarbonate of soda, sugar and dates into a large bowl and mix well.
3. Then add the egg, yogurt and cooled melted butter to the bowl, stir gently to combine and fold in the blueberries.
4. Grease a muffin tin or line it with muffin cases and divide the mixture between the cases.
5. Sprinkle oats on top of each muffin and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until risen and golden brown.
Serve warm or cold.