Butternut Squash, Potato and Chickpea Stew with Fresh Coriander and Mint

06/07/201429/01/2018 Moya5 Comments

Delighted with my feature in this months edition of Bahrain Confidential, thank you for visiting at home in one of my favorite places… the kitchen. 🙂 Below is the Bloggers Bytes section taken from the magazine. Considering we are in the month of Ramadan, I thought this dish would make a lighter alternative to serving Thareed at Iftar. This recipe consists of butternut squash, potatoes, chickpeas and baby sweetcorn, simmered in a tomato based broth and finished with a garnish of fresh coriander and mint. This dish is low in fat, easy to prepare and doesn’t take long to cook. If needed, you can make this dish the day before. Not a fan of butternut squash, use carrots instead.

Ramadan is also a time for giving and there are many charitable organizations around the Island that need the support of the local community. You can find charity deposit boxes in some supermarkets as well as some shopping malls where you can easily donate clothes and non perishable goods. Make a Difference (at Bahrain City Center Mall) is just one of the charitable organization across Bahrain, so keep an eye out when next out and about. For those celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, I wish you and your family a Ramadan Kareem.

Butternut Squash-Potato-Chickpea Stew-Coriander-Mint

Butternut Squash, Potato and Chickpea Stew with Fresh Coriander and Mint
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of olive oil
200g of thinly sliced red onions
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
fresh ginger (1 and 1/2 inch piece), peeled and finely chopped
1 or 2 small green chili, finely chopped
425g can chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato purée
500ml of chicken or vegetable stock
500g of butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
500g of waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh coriander
1 small whole dried lime, pierce with a knife
400g can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
100g of fresh baby corn, thickly sliced
1 extra tablespoon of chopped mint, for garnish
2 extra tablespoons of chopped coriander, for garnish
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, for seasoning

How to make:
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat, add the onions and cooked until softened. Add the garlic, ginger and chili, cook for about a minute stirring continuously. Add in the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, chicken or vegetable stock, stir together. Next, add in the potatoes, butternut squash, mint, coriander and dried lime. Season with some sea salt and ground black pepper. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Half cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes.

Next, add in the chickpeas and fresh baby corn, cook for a further 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Check seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Discard the dried lime. Place contents of the pan into a warmed serving dish, garnish with mint and coriander.

Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit in Healthy Shrimp and Kiwi Rolls

27/06/201427/06/2014 Moya8 Comments

Coming back from an event I feel excited knowing I can pass some healthy goodness to my family and readers, plus share recipes, like these easy and delicious Shrimp and Kiwi Rolls. Although more familiar with Zespri Green and Gold, Zespri have launched a sweet new variety of kiwifruit called Zespri SunGold into the Middle East markets.

These kiwifruit are available in Bahrain, just keep an eye out for the Zespri SunGold sticker. At the Zespri event, held at Top Chef Cooking Studio, a nutritionist gave us a talk on the nutritional benefits of the SunGold kiwifruit and afterwards Chef Paul Frangie demonstrated some of his delicious recipes.

The new larger variety of kiwifruit is exceptionally rich in vitamin C (has more than their green cousin), containing more than oranges. Vitamin C is known for boosting the bodies immune system, reducing tiredness and aiding collagen formation, essential for healthy skin, teeth and bones.
Contains vitamin E and minerals like folate and potassium.
High in fibre which is important for keeping the digestive system healthy and has an enzyme actinidin, aiding digestion of proteins found in meat, milk, yoghurt and legumes. You can also find more information by visiting the Zespri website.

Impressed by that fact that you can get most or all of your vitamin C intake (depending on your requirements) by eating Zespri SunGold kiwifruit every day. It’s such a nutrient-dense fruit super fruit, perfect for eating as a snack and tastes very refreshing… try a Zespri SunGold and taste the difference yourself. The SunGold kiwifruit is deliciously sweet, very juicy and when eating noted subtle taste of strawberries. With it’s smooth skin (no fuzz) and delicate golden flesh you can eat it whole… actually eating the skin doesn’t feel weird at all.

Incorporating Zespri SunGold into recipes is another way of enjoying your daily intake of kiwifruit and we enjoyed Chef Paul Frangie’s tasty Veggie burgers with Kiwi Salsa, Kiwi Jam, Kiwi Cheese Cake (served in shooter glasses) and Shrimp and Kiwi Rolls, all made with a healthy twist. Love using my handy Spife, a food tool especially made for cutting and scooping out the flesh of kiwifruit… makes eating them so easy.

Hubby is training for two big events, Challenge Bahrain on December 6th and going for another Ironman in New Zealand, March of next year. With all this training ahead I think it fitting to incorporate lots of Zespri SunGold goodness into his diet (also ours) with some healthy recipes.

A table laden with an array of ingredients for smoothies, we each blended our own concoction. I made a smoothie with kiwifruit, blueberries, raspberries and coconut milk… another easy way to enjoy some fruity goodness.

Loved the idea of adding kiwifruit to these Shrimp and Kiwi Rolls, these went down a treat at the event. When making them at home I poached the prawns instead of pan frying and seasoned the prawns (slicing in half lengthwise if large) when mixing with the lime zest and juice. Also, I squeezed a little extra lime juice over the avocado to stop them from discoloring. Rice paper rolls dry out easily, keep the rolls covered with dampened kitchen paper when making. Although I have not tried these together yet, the Spicy Mango Chutney would be a delicious dipping sauce for your Shrimp and Kiwi rolls, if you liked something a little different.

Thank you Zespri and the organizers for inviting me to the Dubai Event and introducing me to the Zespri SunGold experience that will help contribute to the health of my family and readers.

Shrimp & Kiwi Rolls

Recipe and method by Paul Frangie

Ingredients:

500g Shrimp
Rice paper (10-12 sheets)
1 Avocado
2 Limes
1 Red Onion
3 Zespri SunGold Kiwis
Bunch fresh coriander
Salt & pepper

Here’s how:

1. Preheat a frying pan on medium high. Once hot; season the peeled and de-veined shrimp with salt and pepper and place in the pan to fry on each side (about 2-3mins in total). Once cooked; remove, keep aside on a plate and allow to cool slightly.

2. Thinly slice the kiwi, red onion and avocado, pick leaves off coriander, and keep aside separately.

3. Zest and juice two limes, keep aside.

4. Once the shrimps have cooled slightly. Add lime juice & zest to shrimp, mix and leave to marinate.

5. Fill large bowl with warm water, and dip one sheet of rice paper in the water and place on chopping board.

6. In the middle of the rice paper add a small amount of shrimp a slice of kiwi, avocado, tomato and red onion, top with some fresh coriander.

7. Fold in sides and roll over rice paper to form a roll, keep aside. Using a wet knife slice rolls on the diagonal. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.

8. Serve & enjoy!

Tip for buying and storing: All Zespri Kiwifruit are sweeter when softer and are ripe when the fruit yields to gentle pressure. Do not buy overly soft kiwifruit that have wrinkly skin.
You can speed up ripening of firm kiwifruit by storing them at room temperature (away from sunlight) with apples and bananas. Or, slow down ripening by storing the kiwifruit in the fridge, away from all other fruits. With our hot weather I prefer to store my kiwifruit in the fridge.

in my kitchen · posts

In My Kitchen June 2014

08/06/201408/06/2014 Moya35 Comments

The most gorgeous assortment of swiss chocolate bark from Läderach was in my kitchen, but now it’s most likely sitting on my hips. For a time I was in chocolate bliss and loved the milk chocolate florentine and the white chocolate with pistachio, caramelized almonds and candied fruit… in fact they were all divine. Thanks hubby, delicious choice.

Once again joining Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial who runs a monthly theme “In My Kitchen“, where bloggers showcase some of their kitchen favorites.

In my kitchen we use lots and lots of freshly ground black pepper and would not be without my pepper mills. Love this cute metal spice mill which I picked up from a spice bazaar in Istanbul. Have you ever tried a black pepper mill in a kitchen shop and bought it because you were so impressed how easily it ground peppercorns? Got home, filled your new pepper mill and then found, it just didn’t grind the black peppercorns (even when adjusted) like the one in the shop. Check out the size of your peppercorns, you many need to look for smaller black peppercorns, this usually solves the problem.

Brought some color into my kitchen with this purple tea caddy, filled with a blend of White Ayurvedic and Samurai Tea from Teavana, a specialist tea shop in Bahrain City Center. It’s such a feel good tea, with ingredients of cinnamon, clove, lemongrass, coconut and papaya , to name a few. And having grown up in Ireland… we love a nice cup of tea.

Used for brewing special teas, love my hand-made Japanese cast-iron tea-pot (also from Teavana), embossed with cherry blossoms. Possibly drawn to this particular flower as our family home in Ireland had a cherry blossom tree. In full bloom it was quite spectacular to see. The cherry blossom symbolizes beauty and eternal love and of course spring time.

Mango season means lots of mangos in our kitchen and with our hot temperatures, Mango Lassi is a very refreshing summer drink. Bee pollen is a new ingredient that I started using and add some to smoothies we make. If you have any culinary uses for bee pollen, do let me know? Cardamom is one of my favorite spices and always found in my kitchen.
Sitting on top of the kitchen dresser and keeping an eye on all kitchen activities is this chicken, unfortunately no organic eggs from this one. Kind of ugly in a cute sort of way.

Last week I got to make some fresh pasta at an Italian cooking class and as a result have taken out my neglected pasta attachments. Intend putting them to good use, probably will have a pasta making day and make some extra for the freezer.