Tomato-Courgette Galette

I've been following Deb Perelman's wonderful recipes for a while now and I love the idea of a savoury galette (she has many intriguing variations on her smitten kitchen site). With the abundance of courgettes in the veg-box and a recent smitten kitchen posted recipe (zucchini and ricotta galette), the following adaptation sprout out.

For the dough I used a standard pizza dough and had a helping hand from the breadmaker for the knitting process.

Roll out the dough in a circular shape add a couple of tablespoons of tomato pasatta, season and top with a handful of spring onions. Then add a round of courgettes slices, season and top with a second round of alternating tomato and and courgette slices. Top that with another handful of spring onions Finally sprinkle some hard cheese, drizzle a bit of olive oil, season with crushed pepper and fold the edges of the dough. Brush the dough with some olive oil and bake in a non-stick baking tray in 170° C for about 45'.

Serves 2-3.



Ingredients:

Dough:
● 300 g strong white flour
● 1/2 tsp yeast
● 1/2 tsp salt
● 1 tsp sugar
● 170 ml water


Filling:
● 1 large courgette
● 2 medium tomatoes
● 3-4 tbsp tomato passata
● 4 spring onion
● hard cheese
● salt and pepper

Tuna Salad with Tahini Dressing

A quick and very filling salad which has been a popular stable in the household for a while now. Tahini (which is basically sesame paste) is a healthy and nutritionally packed substitute for the standard mayonnaise in tuna salads.

To make the tahini dressing, first put the tahini paste in a big bowl and add some hot water (2-3 tbsp) to loosen it. The consistency should be similar to that of a nut butter (like peanut butter for example) so keep adding water to loosen it if necessary. Then add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and cumin.

In a ban boil the beans (the once I used where from a can and needed only 5') and in the last two minutes of boiling add the chopped broccoli. When ready, add to the dressing bowl and top with the tuna flakes and the rest of the chopped ingredients (lettuce, pepper and tomatoes) Drizzle with some olive oil (not too much as the tahini is pretty oily already), sprinkle some dried dill, and stir everything together.

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients:

● 1 large romaine lettuce
● 1/2 yellow pepper
● 5-6 cherry tomatoes
● 1 tuna can (in brine)
● 4-5 tbsp tahini paste
● 1/2 broccoli head
● 1 cannelini beans can (in water)
● olive oil
● lemon juice
● salt
● pepper
● dried dill
● cumin

Millet with Chestnut Puree

This is a probably an unlikely combination but that's what happens when one mistakenly buys a can of puree chestnut instead of the identically packaged lentils. In any case the result was successfully tasty in all its nuttiness.

To start with the millet, heat up some olive oil in a non-stick pan, add the millet and dry roast the grains over medium-high heat (I prefer them very lightly roasted). Then very carefully add two parts boiling water and the vegetable stock cube. Continue adding water as necessary and let it simmer for about 20'.

In another larger pan heat up some olive oil and add the chopped leeks until they soften. Then add the chopped carrots and season with cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper. When the millet is ready add the millet in the pan with the veggies. Finally add the chestnut puree with a bit of warm water and stir everything well.

Serves 2.

Ingredients:
● 1 can unsweetened chestnut puree
● 1 cup unroasted millet
● 2 small leeks
● 2 carrots
● 1 vegetable stock cube (gluten & dairy free)
● cinnamon
● nutmeg
● pepper