Grilled Fig Salad

Jamie Oliver called his Fig Salad "the easiest and sexiest salad in the world", and the Swedish and the Chef completly agrees with him. A Fig Salad is as easy as a salad can be and it is so tasty and good looking that is worth being named the sexiest of salads. Besides that, figs can go with so many different ingredients that you can make your own personal version of this salad, as long as you keep the balance of the flavours. In our version, the sweetness of the figs was combined with a salted white cheese and balsamic vinegar. The result is a great explosion of flavours in your mouth. And all this, with a salad...

Ingredients (serves 2):

4 figs
4 slices of salted white cheese
2 tbsp of almonds
1 tbsp of sesame seeds
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp of honey
1 tbsp of rosemary, finely chopped
Mixture of green leaves
Chives for decoration
Salt
Pepper

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, honey and rosemary. Whisk until emulsified (almost homogeneous mixture). Cut the stem of the figs and cut them in half, lengthwise. Transfer to the bowl and toss until the figs are coated in the vinaigrette. Place the halves of the figs, cut side down, onto a pre-heated skillet and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side or until the surface is golden. 

Season the remaining vinaigrette with salt and pepper. 

Place greens in a salad bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Plate the leaves with the grilled figs, big chunks of white cheese, almonds, and sprinkle some sesame seeds and chopped chives on top.

Note:

Do not overcook the figs or they will become mushy. 

Roasted Eggplant Beetroot Bruschetta

We love appetizers and the best are not only delicious but also easy to make. When we have a dinner party, it is good to be able to prepare some things in advance, so you spend less time in the kitchen and more time entertaining your friends and family. This bruschetta is very easy to prepare, even in large quantities, and you can make it in advance and store it in the fridge. 

Try it and let us know!

Ingredients:

1 eggplant
2 beetroots, peeled
1 green pepper
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 cup of green olives, deseeded
1 cup of raisins
4 tbsp olive oil
Baguette
Coriander

Pre-heat the oven to 200 ºC. Chop the eggplant, with skin, beetroot, green pepper, onion, garlic and olives in small pieces. Mix everything and add raisins. Drizzle with 2 spoons of olive oil and transfer to a large-bottom oven tray. Cook in the oven for about 40 minutes, stirring with a spoon now and then and drizzling more olive oil, so the mixture does not become dry. In the end, all the ingredients should be soft. Serve on toasted baguette slices and fresh coriander leaves.

This recipe was inspired by Alice Terras' recipe.

Healthy Apple-Cinnamon-Oat Bran Muffins

Whether you like to eat healthy or you are just looking forward to loose those few extra kilos you have been carrying around, healthy snacks seems to be a good step towards your goal. Greasy and sugary snacks seems to always be more handy and they surely are popular, but how good are they? We wanted and needed better snacks and looking for solutions on internet, a page from the magazine Women's Health popped up, showing some delicious muffins! We couldn't resist but try our own version of these beauties and it was a success!

If you are not really into healthy food or weight loss, just try it anyway because they are delicious! 

Ingredients (makes 8 medium muffins):
1/2 cup of oat bran
1 cup of wheat flour
1/4 cup of flaxseeds
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 egg
4 tablespoons of canola oil
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 apples
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 cup of cashew nuts

Pre-heat the oven to 180 ºC. 

In a large bowl, mix oats, flour, flaxseeds, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and baking powder. Mix well.

Peel off the apples and chop roughly. Place in a blender and add lime juice and sugar. Blend until you get a nice and smooth puree. 

In another bowl, beat the egg and add the oil. Whisk until creamy and add the apple puree. Mix well and add the cashew nuts, roughly chopped.

Make a well in the middle of the bowl containing the dry ingredients and pour down the wet mixture. Stir the mixtures gently without overdoing it. Spoon into paper lined muffin forms. 

Bake for about 25 minutes (it depends on the oven) or until the top springs back when lightly touched. Cool down on a rack.  

Notes:

This recipe can easily be adapted to other ingredients. Replace the apples by bananas, pears, peaches, etc. or replace the cashew nuts by any other kind of nut.

Adapted from the healthy muffins recipe of Women's Health magazine.