Confit peppers & Feta

I AM BACK!!!!!! Sorry guys for being quiet for so long, the Christmas period was absolutely hectic! Between the evening classes, organising the French invasion (my family came over to celebrate Christmas), which meant I had to organise the house for 7 people staying for a week. The most challenging part was the feeding process! Especially when I decided that the Christmas meal should be a SEVEN-course meal… Needless to say that after they left, it took me an entire week to recover! But it was absolutely great to see them and catching up.

Last Saturday I turned 30 (eeeeeeek!!!) and with some close friends and Mister Lapin we went to a lovely gastro-pub: The Cholmondeley Arms. It used to be a school so the building is fascinating, the food is yummy but more importantly, they are known for the Gin Bar! Over 100’! Personally, I HIGHLY recommend the Botanist with cucumber…

So the recipe for today is very tasty and could be served as a light starter or as an amuse bouche.

Ingredients for 2 pers:

- 2 red peppers

- 3tbsp olive oil

- 1 crushed garlic

- 80gr feta cheese

-  Salt & pepper

Method:

Slice finely (1cm max) the peppers and wash them. The ideal way to cook them is steaming. However, if you can’t, boiling water will do! Cook until soften.

In a saucepan on low heat, add t he olive oil, crushed garlic and peppers. Cover. Cook for at least 30min. The idea is to confit the peppers so very low heat and the longer the better!

Dice the feta cheese, reserve.

When the peppers are cooked to your taste, add the feta, toss and leave for a few more minutes so the feta can warm up a bit.

Serve immediately. You can add some crispy bread with it if you wish.

Ta-dah!

Griddled courgettes, steak & chickpea dressing

As usual, I received my veg box this week. I LOVE veg boxes! It’s like receiving a present: you never know what you are going to find in it. Well in fact, you can find out if you check their website but doing so would be like opening a Xmas present before the big day... RIDICULOUS!

Along the beetroots, spinach, leeks and apples, I found a B.E.A.utiful courgette. Not the tiny ones you find in the supermarkets all year long, no, no, no! A big one with distinctive shades of green and bits of soil stuck to it. This means my courgette has grown in a field!

The other day, I found this recipe from Anjum Anand, which seemed yummy. But because of my allergies to spices and Mister Lapin’s love of meat, I had to make some changes.

It was very tasty, fresh and full of flavours. I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did!

Oh, and sorry for the "pictures". I was kind of starving and didn't take any pics of the preparation. Then I used my phone for the ones below: total fail I say!

Ingredients (2 pers)

• 1 large courgette
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 200gr tin chickpea, drained and rinsed
• 2 steaks
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 red onion finely chopped
• Parsley chopped
• 100gr feta cheese crumbled
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 small garlic clove, peeled
• 15gr-shelled pistachios
• 2.5 tbsp olive oil

Method

Heat a griddle pan. Cut the courgettes into slices, no more than ½ cm thick with a mandolin. Drizzle the slices with olive oil and griddle in single layers, in batches, for 3 min on each side.

Transfer to a warm oven as you cook.

Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, gently cook the chopped onion for a few minutes. Tip into a bowl and stir together with the chickpeas and lemon juice. Season to taste. Using a stick blender, blend the chickpea preparation with 2 ½ tbsp olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and pistachios.

Once all the courgettes slices are griddled, use the same pan (to keep the taste of the courgettes) to griddle the steaks.

Cut the steaks into slices of around 3cm thick, Arrange the courgettes on a platter, add the steaks and drizzle with the dressing. Toss the parsley with the feta and scatter over it.

Ta-Dah!