Cauliflower Feta Fritters

This is a really yummy little vegetarian dish that serves well as a starter, or as part of a buffet. I've made it three times in a short while, one of those our big 13-course dinner, since discovering them on one of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen. It's been really well received each time, and my baby loves it too. (The toddler, not so much.) Keeping the baby in mind, I haven't added any extra salt to these. You can, of course, but the feta is so salty you really don't need to. I also add a little pinch of ancho chili - not enough to add any real heat, but a slight smokiness.

A little cumin yogurt and pomegranate seeds are perfect with these! (Never mind the unripe ones in the awful photo above...)

And everything can be prepared well in advance. The fritters heat up well in the oven, so you can make them ahead of time, if you want to.

Cauliflower Feta Fritters
makes 12

1 head of cauliflower
100 g feta cheese
zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove
1 egg
125 ml all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ancho chili powder

To serve:
100 ml thick yogurt (greek or turkish style)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 pomegranate

Cut the cauliflower into large florets, and cook in lightly salted water (or just water, if you're worried about salt) until soft - about 6-7 minutes. (It will depend on how large you cut your cauliflower.)

In a large bowl, grate the lemon zest and the garlic - a Microplane comes in handy here. Add the egg and whisk.

When the cauliflower is cooked, rinse it with cold water and let it dry on a towel, then add to the bowl. Mash with a potato masher until it's all well-mixed. Crumble in the feta. Add flour, baking soda and chili, and mix into a uniform batter.

Fry in a little bit of olive oil until lightly golden on both sides.

To serve, stir together yogurt and cumin, and pick the seeds from the pomegranate. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of pomegranate.

Roasted cauliflower with capers vinaigrette

This is a simple little salad, or side dish, that goes with a lot of other foods. I loved it beside beef and roasted potatoes, but there's many ways this could work. Maybe as part of a buffet?

Roasted cauliflower with capers vinaigrette

2 tbsp capers
1 garlic clove
2-3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 head cauliflower
Small handful of yellow raisins

Cut the cauliflower into florets, and toss with a little bit of olive oil. Roast at 200°C for about 20 minutes, until softened.

Finely chop the capers and garlic, and whisk with the red wine vinegar and olive oil. Toss with the cauliflower and the raisins. It'll be quite salty, from the capers, so you might not need to add much more salt. But by all means, season to taste.

Vegetarian Potstickers

I've made dumplings at home a few times now. My friend Jenny had asked me to show her how to make them, and as she's a vegetarian,  this was the first time to try out a veggie filling! My friend Christina joined us too, for a fun day in the kitchen. Dumplings are pretty labor intensive, so it definitely helps to have some extra hands around. Especially when you have a somewhat whiny baby, with chickenpox, to console at the same time...

(And for that same reason, please excuse the awful  iPhone photo..)

I improvised the filling, but it went something like this:

Vegetarian Potstickers
1/2 small leek, cut into coins
200 g mushrooms
1/2 small head of napa cabbage (often sold as "kinakål" in Sweden)
1 large carrot, grated
fresh ginger, about a thumb-sized piece, grated
1-2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sambal oelek
2 tbsp fresh coriander
1 tbsp corn starch
salt, pepper
2 tsp peanut oil

First, put the leek, the mushrooms and the cabbage in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Heat the peanut oil in a saucepan, and fry the veggies - add the grated carrot as well, until softened. Ideally try to drain out excess fluid at this part - we didn't and our filling was quite wet.

Place the softened veggies in bowl, and add your aromatics - ginger, soy, sesame oil, sambal oelek (or finely chopped chili), and coriander. Add the corn starch as well, and season with a little salt and pepper.

dough:
(enough for about 50 small dumplings)
300 g flour
180 ml boiling water

Place the flour in your food processor. Put the lid on and start the machine. Add the boiling water through the tube, with the machine running. Stop after a few seconds - the dough should look crumbly, and hold together if you pinch it.

Knead the dough carefully - it's HOT! - on your kitchen counter for about 30 seconds, or until it looks supple and elastic. Place in a ziploc bag and seal it. Let the dough rest for at least 15 minutes, but no longer than two hours.

Now, time to actually fill and fold some dumplings! I don't have any photos of this so go to Dagmar's post on the subject which is much more thorough than mine. But - to put it simply, this is what you do:

-roll out the dough, using a pasta machine. Not too thin - they should be fairly thick. I went to 3 or 4 on my machine.

-cut out rounds, using a large glass

-place a spoonful of filling in the middle of each round, fold, and start pinching the edges together.

Repeat. And work fast - you don't want the dough to try out. (In fact, keep whatever dough you're not rolling in the sealed ziploc bag.) It helps to be at least two people, working together.

Next, heat some oil (I like peanut) in a frying pan with a lid. Have a small glass of water nearby. When the oil is hot, add some dumplings - but don't overcrowd the pan. Fry until the bottom is golden. Then, add the water and quickly cover with the lid, and let the dumplings steam for 5-7 minutes (a few more minutes if cooking from frozen). Remove the lid, and re-crisp the dumplings.

Quick Pad Thai

I've made Pad Thai several times before. It's one of my favorite take-out foods, and I like the homemade versions as well. This one - well, I'm not going to claim that it's authentic, but it *is* good. Really good. Using frozen wok vegetables obviously speed up the process - a lot.

Feel free to use any noodles - I normally prefer rice sticks, but my husband much prefers egg noodles and he got his way this time.

Add some chicken, shrimp or beef if you'd like!

Quick Pad Thai
serves about 3

400 g frozen wok vegetables
1 tbsp oil (peanut, or a neutral cooking oil)
1 egg
200 g noodles

sauce:
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 lime, juiced
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
3 tbsp water
1/2 tsp sambal oelek (chili paste - you can use fresh red chili instead)
1 garlic clove, minced

to serve:
fresh coriander
lime wedges
toasted cashew nuts, coarsely chopped

Start by cooking the noodles according to the package instructions - some need soaking in hot water, others might require boiling.

Mix the sauce - just add all the ingredients in a bowl and stir together.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok, and fry the vegetables until crispy. Push them to one side and add the egg. Stir-fry until set, then add the noodles and sauce. Stir well.

Cook for a minute or two and serve - preferably with extra lime wedges, fresh coriander and chopped cashew nuts.

Recipe in Swedish:
Turbosnabb Pad Thai

Parmesan Asparagus

So simple, so tasty.

Break off the woody end of each asparagus spear. (I find that it will snap in the right place if you just hold one end in each hand and.. snap.) Halve, and place, cut side down, in a roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 200°C for ten minutes. Grate some parmesan, and sprinkle on top of the asparagus. Bake for a few more minutes, until the cheese is bubbling. And serve. Yum!