Leftover potato, blue cheese and onion pizza

I remember when we were kids each week one day for dinner my mother would take out what she called her "buffet dabba". Now that yellow coloured dabba had many partitions in it and its where she would store leftovers that were so little that they didn't deserve a dabba of their own. Mom being mom would sell it to us by saying,"see this is like a buffet we each get five things to eat :) Very creative, mum. Leftovers suddenly didn't look so bad (Though there were times when extra portions of a recipe were made just because they tasted better as leftovers)

The other day I had some leftover boiled potato from a potato mash I had done, some pita bread from a middle eastern dinner we hosted (More about it in the coming week), some blue cheese from yet another batch of my oh-so-favorite blue cheese savoury muffins I had made for a friend and plus at 42 degrees at the end of working day I didn't want to spend more than 5 minutes in the kitchen and still wanted to put something decent on the table.

That's when I remembered a man who I love, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. And his book, River Cottage Veg Everyday. I often get emails or comments that I don't write about vegetarian food on the blog. And this book here has beautiful, very doable and quick vegetarian recipes. Must have, really.

The one that I am posting here is not even a recipe actually. Because I just put three things together and we had a lovely dinner. DH who was really nervous about eating a potato pizza gave the sublime combination a thumbs up and Sara polished off all the blue cheese and potato on hers (she very generously passed on all the onions to me and then proceeded to eat the bread). We had some fresh green salad and super big glasses of orange tang with a splash of grenadine.

I used leftover pita bread here but I love his recipe for the magic dough which I've made often and will share with you soon.

Leftover potato,blue cheese and onion pizza
Serves a hungry family of two adults and a toddler

Ingredients
pita breads if you have leftovers or make your pizza base or buy a pizza base if you are feeling lazy like me. I used three.

For the topping
3 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little extra to trickle
2 onions quartered and sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped rosemary ( I used dried and half the quantity)

200 gms cold, cooked potatoes cut into thin slices

75 gms blue cheese ( The recipe asked for 150 gms but i didn't have that; actually 75 gms worked just fine)

salt and freshly grounded black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Heat the oil in frying pan over medium heat and add the onions. Once sizzling, lower the heat and cook gently, stirring from time to time,until they are soft and golden,about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the garlic,rosemary and salt and pepper.

2. Spread a third of the onion mixture evenly over the pita bread, then a third of the potato slices, then a third of the cheese. 

3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Repeat for the other two pita breads.

5. Trickle with a little more oil and bake for 8-10 minutes until the base is crisp and the top bubbling.

Enjoy. And the next time try a beetroot and cheddar one :) 

Recipe : Adapted from the book River Cottage Veg Everyday

Images: Personal Album
While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. 
They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.

Baked fish with sticky sauce

“Even a fish could stay out of trouble if it would just learn to keep its mouth shut.”

And since it didn't quite learn the above it always lands on our dinner plate:) We love fish. Baked and grilled never fried. I have never been a big fan of anything fried. Hence , no affinity for fried fish whatsoever.

And when there is brown sugar and fish sauce involved (both of which are loved at home) then the recipe automatically becomes a big favorite. This one comes from my all time favorite book, Bill's Everyday Asian ( an earlier post from same the book,here). I like the fact that when it says Everyday Asian it really means recipes for everyday cooking. Almost all of the recipes ask for very little chopping, very few ingredients, cooking time is very little (well most cook on their own in the oven) and are very healthy.

Baked fish with sticky sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 kg fish,snapper, sea bass, pomfret (Actually whatever you fancy)

1 lemon sliced

2 tablespoons light flavoured oil

3 garlic cloves,sliced

3 cm piece of ginger, peeled and julienned

3 red chillies,thinly sliced

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

4 tablespoons fish sauce

100 ml lime juice

2 spring onions,sliced

a handful of mixed herbs, basil,mint and coriander

Instructions

1.Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius and brush a baking tray with oil.

2.Make three deep slashes on either side of the fish, insert the lemon slices in the slashes and place on the tray and bake for 20-25 minutes.

3.Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok over high heat.Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.

4.Add the sugar,fish sauce and lime juice and cook for 5-6 minutes or until syrupy. Pour into a jug and set aside.

5.Serve the fish, drizzle over the sauce and dress with spring onions and mixed herbs.

Recipe: Bill's Everyday Asian by Bill Granger
Images: Personal Album
While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. 
They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.

Hoisin chicken with a bean salad

Some weekdays all you want to do is reach for a bottle of sauce and come up with dinner that is not only kid friendly but also gets made on its own. The ones with kids would understand this perfectly.

Hoisin chicken takes minutes to put together, works beautifully for children who love to get their fingers and faces all sticky (adults too!) and with a side portion of bright greens it makes the mum in you feel happy that your child is being fed well:)

Having said how it makes my little girl happy, let me tell both the DH & I love its sweet, salty and spicy glaze that comes from the perfect combination of the hoisin and the chinese five spice powder. Its a perfect family meal for when you are too tired to cook or you to no time to marinate.

Hoisin chicken with a bean salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

100 ml Hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese chilli sauce

2 teaspoons grated ginger

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder

8 chicken thighs (About a kilo)

Bean salad (recipe below)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1.Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with foil. 

2. Mix the three sauces, ginger, garlic, lemon juice and the chinese five spice powder in a large bowl.
3.Add the chicken and leave it to marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Arrange the chicken on the baking tray and bake for 30-35 minutes. serve with the bean salad and a generous sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.

Bean salad

Ingredients
200 gms beans, cut into 5 cms lengths
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons rice vinegar ( you could even use the regular one)
2 teaspoons honey

Instructions

1. Blanch the beans in a pan of lightly salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes until they are bright and tender yet crisp

2.Rinse under cold running water and drain well

3.Combine all the other ingredients to make a dressing.

4. Drizzle over the beans.

I also added some fresh cucumber (in a simple vinegar and sugar dressing) to the meal. 

Image : Personal album

Recipe:Adapted from Bill's Everyday Asian by Bill Granger
While you enjoy reading this post with visuals.Please do not use them without asking. 
They belong to Orange Kitchens unless otherwise stated.