Potato Carrot Gratin with Feta

 Here's a nice new side dish that's perfect for early fall, and goes very well with chicken or pork. Or hey, anything. Or nothing - it's a good vegetarian main dish as well, perhaps with a hearty bean salad on the side. The flavors really complement each other - the salty feta, the earthy carrots... very yummy indeed.

Potato Carrot Gratin with Feta
serves 4

900 g potatoes, peeled and cut into smaller pieces
300 g carrots, peeled and cut into smaller pieces
1 red pepper, cut into smaller pieces
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp neutral oil (like canola)
 salt, pepper
150 g feta cheese
300 ml cream

 Prepare the veggies. Fry on medium heat in the oil for about ten minutes in total - start with the potatoes and carrots and add the pepper and onion towards the end. Season with salt and pepper.

Put half of the veggies in an oven-proof dish. Crumble in the feta. Top with the remaining veggies, and then add cream. Bake at 200°C for about 45 minutes, or until everything is cooked through. Watch closely though, you might want to cover the dish with foil to prevent burning.

Carrot Soup with Cashews & Feta

Soup, especially puréed, is one of few dishes I can pretty much rely on my toddler to eat. He loves it - almost regardless of what goes in it, as long as it's not too spicy. And as long as he can't see it, I guess. We, his parents, are however not huge soup fans. His dad often complains that it's not filling, and I often find it plain and boring. But since Titus loves soup, I keep an eye out for interesting recipes and this one caught my eye at Ann-Louise's Swedish blog: Lilla Matderivén. Carrots are always good, and with the textural addition of cooked cashews and the zippiness of feta cheese... yeah. Good. Very.

I added a handful of lentils to pack some extra protein in there, and omitted fresh thyme since I didn't have any. I also added some toasted cashews to serve on top, for more crunch. Next time, I'll add some fresh cilantro on top, too. (Titus won't touch any toppings, by the way.)

Carrot Soup with Cashews & Feta
serves 4

3 shalotts (or 1 small onion), diced
1 tbsp neutral oil
700 g carrots, sliced
75 ml cashew nuts, raw (a large handful)
75 ml red lentils
1 litre vegetable stock
150 g feta cheese, divided
Handful of cashew nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Fry the shalotts (or onion) in the oil, on medium heat. When it looks transclucent, add carrots, cashews and lentils. After a few minutes, add the vegetable stock.

Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil. Then, cover with a lid, lower the heat and let it simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes. Check to make sure the carrots are soft. Crumble in half of the feta (reserve the other half for serving) and then use an immersion blender to purée the soup until very smooth.

Serve with the reserved feta, and some toasted cashews.

Carrot & Leek Risotto with Mix-Ins

I've had zero food inspiration for a while now, and I constantly whine about this on my twitter and facebook. (Well, it feels like it's pretty constant.) Thankfully, I have lots of foodie friends, ready to provide inspiration or just remind me of stuff I really like. Like risotto. It used to be one of Titus favorite foods too, but he's a pretty picky eater right now. We placated him by serving separate bowls of mix-ins, and a pretty basic (but still flavorful) risotto. He ended up eating all of the corn (as usual) and some risotto - not bad.

Carrot & Leek Risotto with Mix-Ins
serves 3


1/2 leek, finely sliced
2 large carrots, coarsely grated
1 tbsp butter
300 ml risotto rice (use your favorite, I'm very partial to arborio)
200 ml white wine
1000 ml vegetable stock
handful of parmesan cheese
1-2 tsp runny honey
1/2-1 tsp chipotle sauce

Heat the butter in a large pot, and the stock in another pan. Fry the leek and the carrots in butter for a few minutes without letting it color. Add the rice and turn up the heat. Let it color a little. Add the wine, and let it bubble fiercely for a minute or two. Then start adding the stock. Add more as soon as the rice looks dry. It should take about 20 minutes in total - taste the rice so you know when it's done. It should have a little bite to it. You might not need all the stock, or you might need more. (just add hot water then.)

Stir in the cheese, and season with honey,  and a little bit of chipotle sauce. Use regular chilli powder or cayenne pepper if you can't get chipotle, but the lightly smoked flavor really works here.

Mix-ins:
100 g mushrooms, quartered
100 g bacon, chopped
100 g peas, thawed (or fresh)
100 g corn, thawed (or fresh)

Fry the bacon and place in a bowl. Fry the mushrooms in the bacon fat, and serve in a separate bowl. Just serve the corn and peas, separately, as they are.