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Balsamic Roast Tomato and Red Onion

Recipe, WBIAGW, , , , , , ,

Knowing the boy was staying with his Nan Friday night I wanted to cook something up that wouldn’t be on our usual menu. Anything green or with any spice is a no go to his 13 year old palate, hell at times it seems anything that isn’t processed within an inch of it’s life is too much for him to handle, fish comes from a box in breadcrumbs or batter in his world so I tend to cook more than the standard pasta or meat and 2 veg when he’s not around.

So with that in mind while in Sainsbury’s in the week I bought 2 beautiful fresh Tuna steaks. I ummed and ahhed over how to serve them and finally decided to pan fry them in lime and black pepper and dish them up with Crunchy Chilli Potatoes, Mangetout and Balsamic Roast Tomatoes with Red Onion, as sides go it couldn’t be simpler.

It was essentially a posh fish n chips with tomato sauce 😉

Balsamic Roast Tomatoes and Red Onion

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I made this to serve 2 but again this can be scaled really easily to serve more (or less)

Cherry tomatoes.
Red onion
Balsamic vinegar
Black pepper

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 and at the same time heat a tablespoon of olive oil in heavy bottomed pan one the hob.

Throw in a hand full of cherry tomatoes (I used 4 per person).

Quarter a small red onion and add to the pan.

Cook until the tomatoes are going soft and the onion is starting to colour.

Put a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar in an oven proof dish and add the veg toss to coat in the vinegar, added more if necessary, sprinkle with ground black pepper and put on the top shelf of the oven.

Cook for 15 minutes or until the tomatoes are completely soft but still holding their shape.

Serve immediately.

Because this was going with Tuna flavored with lime I served on top of fresh coriander. Just yum!

Cheat’s Paella

Recipe, WBIAGW, , , ,

This isn’t really a paella it’s more of fish, rice salad but it’s roots are definitely in the Spanish dish and it’s really really easy.

Cheat’s Paella

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Frozen vegetable rice (I used a Sainsbury’s steam in the bag thing)
1/2 Tin of ham
1/2 Tin of tuna in spring water
King prawns, cooked and ready to eat (as many as you like, and I like a lot)
Soy sauce
Cos lettuce

I made this for 2 of us so with that in mind you can scale up or down as you like.

Stream the rice as per the instructions on the bag.
While this is cooking drain the tuna and open the ham.
Cut the ham into small strips and flake the tuna into a bowl.
Once the rice is cooked put into a bowl and stir in the ham tuna and prawns.
Serve immediately over a bed of Cos lettuce (I like the crunch) with a sprinkling of soy sauce.

Job done, simple easy cheat’s paella.

Vegetable Pastry Slice

Recipe, WBIAGW, , , , , , ,

Last night I had my friend Catherine over for dinner and it gave me the opportunity to try out a variation of a recipe I’d read online a while ago.

I hadn’t got all the veg in the house that I remember was in the original but I had enough that I thought it would work.

Here’s what I made

Vegetable Pastry Slice
(Makes 4 slices)

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One pack of pre rolled puff pastry
2 red onions
1 red peppers
8-12 Cherry tomatoes
Some  Mushrooms
Roasted red pepper pesto
Mozzarella
Cheddar

Take the pastry out of the fridge before you start, that way it will have warmed slightly be less cold before you’re ready for it and is less likely to crack when you unroll from the pack.

Pre heat oven to Gas mark 6 (or whatever that equates to in °c/°f)

Peel and quarter the onions and separate the layers and slice the peppers.

Chop mushrooms into quarters.

Heat some olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan and throw in the veg, after a couple of minutes throw in the mushrooms and either 2 or 3 cherry tomatoes per slice (dependant on taste). Remove pan from the heat when the veg is starting to look charred and the tomatoes soft.

Unroll the pastry, lie flat and cut into quarters.

Now take a sharp knife and score a line all the way around the rectangle about 1cm in from the edge being sure not to cut all the way through. (Don’t worry if you do a little in parts turn the pastry and smooth with your finger to rejoin the edges), and place on a baking tray.

Using the score lines as a guide spread the pesto over the inside of the slice.

Now spoon the vegetable mix equally on top of the pesto.

Milk or egg wash the visible pastry and put on the top shelf of the oven.

Cook for approx 10 mins or until the pastry is starting to puff.

Remove from the oven and crumble the mozzarella and as much grated cheddar as you like over the veg.

Season with black pepper and return to the oven for 5 minutes, or until the pastry has browned and the cheese melted.

Finish with a couple of leaves of fresh basil.

I served these with rocket, cherry tomatoes and olives with a balsamic dressing.

Variations, I think this would work with roast vegetables too and I’m planning on trying a similar method with ham, asparagus and cheese. In fact I think you could use this method to top the pastry with just about anything!

With thanks to our friend Jez Turner for the mozzarella, made with his fair hand.