meals with salad – My Whisk and I

Balsamic Roasted Beetroot Salad

November 15, 2021November 14, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

30ml butter, melted
15ml olive oil
83ml balsamic vinegar
30ml water
15ml sugar
1,2ml salt
about 12 small/medium beetroot
baby spinach
5 fresh peaches, stoned and quartered
100g goats cheese
30ml honey

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Add the melted butter, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a small bowl and whisk everything together. Set aside.
Wash and scrub the beetroot and cut off the hairy parts at the root. Half or quarter each, depending on its size and place them in an oven tray.
Pour the balsamic mixture over and cover the pan with aluminium foil.
Bake the beetroot for 30 minutes, remove the foil, turn the beets and bake for a further 30 minutes or until fully cooked and beautifully glazed.
Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool. Reserve the pan juices.
Arrange the baby spinach, cooled beetroot and peach quarters on a serving platter and break the goats cheese over it.
Mix together 45ml of the reserved pan juices and the honey and drizzle over the salad.
Serve as a side or with a fresh crusty bread as a lunch.

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Quinoa Salad

October 19, 2021October 17, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

Quinoa is an ancient grain that is a complete protein and has a deliciously nutty flavour. This salad offers all the nutrients you need for a meal on its own or as a side dish to whatever else you are cooking.

45ml olive oil
30ml lemon juice

375ml quinoa, cooked according to the packet instructions
250ml tightly packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
half a red onion, finely chopped
125ml feta cheese, crumbed
1 apple, chopped into small cubes
a small bunch of chives or any other soft, fresh herbs, chopped

Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice together and set aside.
Add all the other ingredients to a bowl and mix through.
Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the salad and serve.

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Mushroom Galette

April 29, 2021April 28, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

A galette is simply a free-form French pastry with either a savoury or sweet filling. Easy and quick to make, this mushroom galette is creamy, has depth of flavour and makes a perfect light lunch.

400g puff pastry
125ml cream cheese at room temperature

45ml butter
30ml vegetable oil
500g mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml thyme, lightly chopped
45ml port or sherry
250ml mozzarella cheese, grated

Egg wash of 1 egg and 15ml milk, whisked together

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the pastry big enough to cut a 26cm-diameter circle.
Place the pastry circle onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Spread the cream cheese onto the pastry with the back of a spoon, leaving a 2cm border of pastry, all around.
Set aside.

Heat a heavy bottom pan on high heat and add the butter and oil. (If your pan is not large enough to accommodate all the mushroom at once, add half the butter and oil).
Add the mushroom to the pan and fry at high heat so that the mushroom caramelises, about 3 minutes.
Now add the garlic and thyme and cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
Spoon this mixture into a bowl to cool and put the frying pan back onto medium heat.
Add a splash of oil and cook the onion until soft. Add this to the mushroom mixture.
Put the pan back onto the heat once more and add the port, scraping down the pan with a spatula. Scrape the caramelised bits left in the pan as well as the reduced port onto the mushroom mixture.

Sprinkle two thirds of the grated mozzarella cheese onto the cream cheese and pastry.
Spoon the cooled mushroom mixture on top of the cheese and finish with the rest of the mozzarella.
Fold the 2 cm pastry that extends beyond the filling over and onto the mushroom mixture.
Brush the folded pastry with the egg wash and bake the galette for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
Serve as an aperitif or as a light lunch.