Superfood Salad

This salad will make you feel on top of the world- it's THE thing to eat if you've let yourself go a bit recently (me, all the time...), as it's packed full of things that are good for you. Admittedly it's a bit of a faff, as it involves roasting the veggies and toasting seeds, but if you do this in one big batch at the start of the week, then you can just store all the ingredients in the fridge and that's all the hard work done- all you have to do is put it all together each day.

The real winner of this salad for me is the dressing- it's really zingy with all the citrus flavours, and really wakes you up- perfect for a grey old autumn day. I wanted to add avocado as well, but unfortunately mine wasn't ripe (first world problems hey?). The feta is optional, but I adore the combination of beetroot and feta. Halloumi would also work beautifully.

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes
Handful of tender stem broccoli
Handful of pumpkin seeds
Smoked paprika
Olive oil
Coconut oil (optional)
Couple of bulbs fresh beetroot
Handful of fresh spinach
Lettuce (I used a few baby gem leaves)
Handful of pomegranate seeds
Avocado, sliced
Small block of feta (optional)

For the dressing:

Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Juice and zest of 1 orange
1 tbsp Dijion mustard
1 tbsp white wine or balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

1. Peel and chop the sweet potato into chunks. Place on a baking tray, add a drizzle of olive oil or a teaspoon of coconut oil (this will give it a nice flavour). Season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle over a light dusting of smoked paprika powder. Roast at 200°C for approx. half an hour (giving it a shake around every 10 mins or so), until the sweet potato is soft and starting to caramelize. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

2. Put the pumpkin seeds in a baking tray, add a tiny bit of olive oil, and dust with some smoked paprika and salt. Roast for approx 20 mins, shaking every 5 mins. Keep an eye on these because they can catch and burn very quickly.

3. Wash the beetroot and cut into chunks. Add to a baking tray with some olive olive, salt and pepper and roast for about 20 mins. Then add a splash of water to the tray and cover with tinfoil. Continue to roast for another 20 mins or until the beetroot is soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

5. Whilst the veggies are all roasting, wash and blanch the tender stem broccoli for approximately 5 mins, or until it is cooked. Careful not to over cook it- you want it to retain a bit of crunch. Drain and leave to cool.

4. Once the beetroot is cooled, the skin of it will easily peel off- probably best to wear gloves for this as it can stain your hands purple.

5. For the dressing, mix all the ingredients together, season with salt and pepper and have a taste- alter the quantities according to how sharp you like it.

6. Add the spinach, lettuce, cooled sweet potato, broccoli, cooled beetroot, avocado and half the pomegranate seeds to a bowl, and pour over half the dressing (keep some back so that people can add more to their salad at the table) and toss it all together.

7. Once you've plated up, finish with the toasted pumpkin seeds and the rest of the pomegranate seeds scattered on the top, and the feta crumbled over if your using it.

Big Belgian Road Trip 2014

Great line up- Belgian beer!

I recently spent a great few days in Belgium, with some wonderful family and friends. We visited the city of Brussels, then drove down to Antwerp. where my lovely Godmother and her husband live. We spent the entire time eating and drinking our way around (why can't every day be like that?), having far too much fun, sampling some great local delicacies, including a lot of different beers...when in Rome! We've all returned with our waistbands a little tighter, but our spirits a little brighter, having thoroughly enjoyed immersing ourselves (perhaps a bit too much..) in Belgian culture.

Mopping up some of that beer with bar snacks at 'Monk' 

On our first night in Brussels, we were staying with some family friends, who made us the most delicious and comforting vat of beef in beer, with amazing Ghent mustard (seriously strong mustard from Ghent, Belgium) and cheese toasted croutons floating on the top- something I will definitely be recreating at home. It was so homely and delicious, not too fancy. and exactly what we needed after a fair old journey being cooped up on the Eurostar. Suffice it to say, I didn't take a picture of this, partly because I had left my camera in the van, and partly because there's a huge groan around the table these days whenever I start snapping away at the food...so I toned it down on this occasion!

The next morning we set off into the centre of Brussels, and spent the day wandering the streets, stopping here and there for a beer or bar snack. Of course no visit to Belgium is complete without a cone of triple-fried chips, in my case smothered in both mayo and ketchup. The salty, crispy goodness of triple fried Belgian chips is just the trick to nurse a Belgian beer hangover.

Triple-fried....the start of a catastrophic weekend for the diet.....

Beers all round in the sunshine

One of the culinary highlights of the trip had to be our moules lunch in Antwerp. My Uncle Jeremy, who's also a huge foodie and knows Antwerp like the back of his hand, booked us a late lunch at 'Maritime' in the heart of Antwerp, where all of us enjoyed huge pots of steaming mussels, cooked with white wine and cream and garlic, served with frites and washed down with cold, crisp white wine. Heaven! It was the start of the mussel season, so obviously we had to make the most of it (it would be rude not to).

Best mussels in Antwerp

Fantastic Moules frites

Yet another memorable meal during our visit, was the 3 course extravaganza that we were treated to on arrival in Antwerp, cooked by my Uncle Jeremy. He'd made a Belgian feast for us, starting off with avocado stuffed with dressed brown shrimp served with a frozen gazpacho-filled tomato, followed by stuffed veal escalopes served with a kind of cheesy, mashed potato bake which I believe is called 'Stoemp'. The meal was rounded off with a light, refreshing orange sorbet, served in the orange, followed by some beautiful cheese and crackers. It was a real occasion, and it is one of the nicest thing in the world when someone goes to the effort of preparing such a special meal for you- it felt like Christmas!

What a night...

Lovely retro dessert 

Everything a cheese board should be.

Unfortunately, we had to head back to the UK at some point, and we did so with full stomachs, probably still a bit merry, and of course a van full of Belgian wine, cheese, ham and salami (we went totally overboard...absolutely no self control). All in all, it was a magical weekend, full of laughter, surrounded by the two best things in life- family and food. We've decided to make it an annual occurrence, so here's to next year!

The Gang with our moules- so many smiling red faces!