Pea and Fennel Crostini

Thinking about this combo now I'm sure it has already been done.....however, I am always a little slow with these things!

I was getting dinner together, the usual scenario, and I was was thinking about what vegetables I was going to serve with my sausages. In the fridge there was: half a carrot, a few cobs of corn and a bag of peas in the freezer.........that was it! So I had a look at what was ready in our vegie patch (sorry for not updating pics of our vegie patch. It is in full swing as usual but I am just so busy keeping up with everything else - so apologies to everyone) Anyway, the fennel was looking gorgeous..........what to do, what to do!


Ingredients

360 - 380g fennel (not including fronds) fronds removed and fennel chopped into thin wedges

200g frozen peas

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Rustic baguette

How to make your pea and fennel crostini

Pop your oven on to 180C. Grab a heat proof dish and throw in the fennel with some extra virgin olive oil. Pop it in the oven for about 45 minutes. Make sure the fennel doesn't char, you want it to be lovely and silky soft. With about 20 minutes to go, grab another heat proof dish and throw in your chopped rustic baguette and drizzle it with extra virgin olive oil. When both the bread and fennel are ready, pop the fennel in a bowl. Meanwhile, pop your peas in a microwave proof dish with about 2 tablespoons water and microwave for about 3 minutes (depending on your wattage) drain and add to the fennel. Grab your bamix and blend roughly, till your desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve!

I haven't tried it but roasted garlic pureed through might be nice too.....let me know if you try it!

Grab a large plate and throw on the warmed chopped baguette. In a small dish add your pea and fennel puree.

Great mixed with Tuna and salad or enjoy instead of mashed potato! YUM

Australia Day Salad

Australia Day is less than a week away. Usually everyone gets out their blue, red and white - shirts, shorts, thongs, everything.........I thought I would focus on green and gold - the colours we Aussies normally wear to the Olympics. This salad would go beautifully with another Australian tradition - barbecued lamb......mmmmmmmmm. Have some friends over and celebrate!

ingredients

2 small zucchini, sliced thinly
3 golden squash, sliced thinly
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cob of corn, kernels cut off
3/4 cup cous cous
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1and a 1/2 tablespoons honey
a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
about 8 baby mint leaves
salt and pepper

250g haloumi

how to make your australia day salad

This salad will make a good side at a bbq or will serve 4-5 people for dinner with some lamb.
Boil the kettle. pop the cous cous in a saucepan, throw over the water and put the lid on. set aside for 5 mins.

In a bowl, put together the lemon juice, honey and mint leaves. set aside.

Grab a large frying pan and pop in some olive oil over a medium-high heat. Now throw in the zucchini, squash, peas and corn. Keep stirring, you want it all to cook through without burning.

Add some oil or a tablespoon of butter to the cous cous and over a low flame, stir it through until well combined.
Add the dressing to the vegetables, turn down the heat. Give it a good stir. Take off heat. Add the cous cous and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. stir to combine.

Slice the haloumi thinly and throw on a hot bbq or hot oiled frying pan, about 1 minute a side. Place the haloumi over the top of the salad.

Serve with some lemon wedges.

enjoy!

high tea - part 2 - spring pea morsels with dill and lemon creme fraiche

Whenever my Mother-in-law pops over for dinner I always do a roast of some description and she always brings along fresh peas.I don't know how that started but it's become a little tradition of ours. The roast and veggies go in the oven while we sit around, shell peas (and eat the occasional one too) and share stories.
The taste of fresh peas at the moment are out of this world!! It is Spring after all!.So that's really how this recipe came about. I wanted to use fresh peas and not too many other ingredients to make something yummy and simple. You don't have to serve them with the creme fraiche as it is a little expensive, I know. You could use sour cream if you prefer, or I've even popped these in pita bread with tomato sauce sauce for the kids and BBQ sauce for us - delish!!

ingredients

makes approx 15 - 20. Depending on how big or small you make them.

180g - 200g fresh peas, bit more than a cup of peas (you'll need approx 500g before podding)
1 large potato, cooked (Do this this the night before and keep it in the fridge until you're ready)
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
approx teaspoon of fresh chives, finely chopped
1 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon of plain flour, plus a little extra flour for rolling morsels in
salt and pepper


about 125g creme fraiche (You could make double the amount of morsels and use the whole container of creme fraiche)
a few sprigs dill
about a teaspoon of lemon juice

Mix through the creme friache and the lemon juice and top with the dill sprigs. Make this just before serving. (I forgot to take a photo of the creme fraiche on the day so sorry you can't see the two together but it looks really pretty with the dill sprigs. Not to mention the lovely fragrance and the delicious taste!)


how to make your spring pea morsels

Shell the peas the night before so you won't have to worry about them on the day as it can be a little time consuming. (but sooooo worth it).Get the whole family involved!

On the day: Blanch the peas in boiling water for a minute or so. Drain and place in a blender (I use a stick blender which I LOVE!) add the garlic and give it a quick wizz. Now get out your potato and give it a good mash. Add the puree to it, along with the baking powder, flour and chives. Add salt and pepper to taste and give it a good mix.

Get out your fry pan pop in a good slosh of olive oil and set to a medium heat. Roll each morsel in flour lightly and set aside on a plate. When the oil has heated enough drop in the little morsels and fry. Try and pop them in all together so you'll have a similar cooking time for all of them. When lightly browned, flip over (Careful, it is a wet mixture and turn down to low so that they cook through but don't burn. Mine look just slightly overdone but they were still yummy!) When ready, drain on absorbent paper (if you like) and then pop on your serving platter with the dill and lemon creme fraiche on the side.

Don't forget the toothpicks so your guests can get at those morsels and woof them down! YUM-YUM.