Vegetarian Bolognese

As a child Spaghetti Bolognese used to be one of my favourite meals - either at home or to order on the rare occasion all eight of us went out for dinner. I remember the way the sauce would end up on my face as I happily slurped up the spaghetti. I still find comfort in enjoying a nice bowl of spaghetti bolognese. Sure, I still get sauce on my face (some things never change!) but the only thing that is different is that I now prefer my 'Spag Bol' meat free. Purists will scoff at the concept of a meat free bolognese, but what the heck - I will call it a bolognese nonetheless!

I cook this often as it is child friendly and my little man loves it; plus, it freezes very well so is a good healthy emergency meal. The lentils are the protein here, but to bump up the protein even more serve with fresh pasta. I especially love this bolognese with fresh, silky, homemade spelt pasta if I have the time to make it.

If you are keen to see a post on how to make fresh spelt pasta, please let me know by leaving a comment below! For now though, here is the recipe :)

Vegetarian Bolognese
An original Diary of a Ladybird recipe

Ingredients
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp cumin powder
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1 x 400g can brown lentils, drained and rinsed
2 handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
Salt and pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon sugar, or a natural sweetener such as xylitol* or powdered stevia*
* available at most health food stores

Method
1. Heat oil in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and bay leaf and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until softened.
2. Stir in the garlic and cumin and cook for a minute before adding the tomato paste, tomatoes, vegetable stock powder and half a cup of water. Season with a little black pepper and salt. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the lentils and cook for another 5 minutes, and then remove from the heat and stir through baby spinach.
4. Add sweetener to taste (basically to take the edge of the tomato tang) and add more salt if desired. Serve with your choice of pasta and some freshly grated parmesan.

Ciao for now, readers!

Anna x

Zucchini Cheesecake/Slice

A couple of months ago, I found myself browsing the book section of a department store one day when I picked up 'I Quit Sugar' by Sarah Wilson. While I am not one in favour of giving up sugar in all its forms, I am definitely in favour of consuming good things in moderation. For me, it's all about less and best. I am a conscientious eater, but when it comes to special occasions, I believe we should all be able to have a little cake. And if you know that that cake was made from scratch with love and the very best ingredients, then all the more reason to enjoy it guilt-free!

So why would I get the book then? While I love making cakes, coming up with new flavours, and so on.. I do have to be careful. If I were to eat cake all the time not only would I be the size of a house, but I wouldn't feel too crash hot either. 'I Quit Sugar' offers lots of useful advice about how we can cut back on sugar in everyday eating, plus it has loads of great healthy recipes. There are lots of high-protein recipes too, which as we all know goes a long way in keeping us full longer and keeps us from raiding the cookie jar at 3pm. And as a vegetarian, I'm always thinking about my protein intake!

In the book this dish is called a zucchini cheesecake, but I prefer to call it a 'slice' as in my mind a anything ending in 'cake' ought to be sweet. Hrmmm... but then again, I suppose banana bread really ought to be banana cake, because there's nothing savoury or bread like about it, is there?! This slice is listed in the breakfast section of the book. When we have this at breakfast I love it with some thyme roasted tomatoes and wilted spinach. I have enjoyed this at lunch and dinner too. It's great alongside a salad with a zingy lemony dressing. Ricotta is a good source of calcium and protein, so not only is this yum, but it's good for you too!

After making this a few times myself, I suggest you to opt for a good quality full fat ricotta from a proper deli rather than a supermarket. It really does make the difference for this recipe. For those of you in Brisbane, try New Farm Deli, Ingredients Deli in Kenmore, or Fruity Capers Deli in Toowong Village. All three are purveyors of quality cheeses.

Zucchini Cheesecake
Recipe from 'I Quit Sugar' by Sarah Wilson. Serves 8

Ingredients
coconut oil, butter or ghee for greasing
2-3 large zucchini
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
550g ricotta
1/3 cup grated parmesan*
2 green shallots (or 'green salad onions' as they are called in supermarkets here in Australia), chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup chopped dill
zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup crumbled fetta**

* Original recipe calls for a whopping 3/4 cup of parmesan, but I found this much too salty.
** I think Dodoni or Bulgarian work well

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celsius and grease a 23cm cake tin or medium sized baking dish.
2. Grate the zucchini - you need 2 cups grated zucchini. Combine the zucchini and salt in a colander or sturdy sieve and let sit for 15 minutes, then use your fingers or a spoon to press out as much moisture as you can.
3. Combine the ricotta, parmesan, shallots, garlic, dill and lemon zest, then stir in the eggs and zucchini.
4. Pour into the dish and bake for 1 hour. Sprinkle with the fetta then return to the oven for 25 minutes or until the cheese has melted. The slice is est when left to cool completely so that it sets properly. Serve at room temperature.

If you end up making this I hope you enjoy it! I look forward to bringing you some more of my favourite recipes from this wonderful book. Kudos, Sarah Wilson!

xx

Mushroom & Pumpkin Wellington

When I picked up the December/January issue of Delicious magazine, I admit I was instantly drawn to the pages of incredible sweet creations offered by the publication. What I didn't expect, however, was a section dedicated to vegetarian Christmas dishes. Could it really be?! I was excited to say the least... it really isn't that often that vegetarian dishes get much of a look-in at this time of year, so a special feature by Jamie Oliver was a special surprise :)

No tofurkey here (yes - tofu if the shape of a turkey.. something I've never been able to get my head around...), but rather an interesting take on a classic - the Beef Wellington.When I turned to Jamie's Mushroom & Pumpkin Wellington I knew it would be a contender for a place at the Christmas table on the 25th, so I did a trial run today for dinner. There is quite a lot of work in this dish, but like a lot of Christmas dishes, the preparation is almost therapeutic and the result is rewarding. This beef-free wellington is packed with Christmassy flavours.. I especially love the sage and chestnuts in this dish, really delicious along with the flaky pastry.

Mushroom & Pumpkin Wellington
Adapted Jamie Oliver recipe from Delicious magazine (December 2010/January 2011 issue)

Ingredients

1 small butternut pumpkin (halved lengthways, seeds scooped out, peeled and cut into thick wedges)
olive oil
1 small dired chilli, crumbled
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 rosemary sprig, leaves chopped
2 red onions, sliced
75g chestnuts, roughly chopped
small bunch sage leaves (around 8-10 leaves picked)
2 slices sourdough bread
3 garlic cloves
1 lemon
50g unsalted butter
250g swiss brown mushrooms, thinly sliced
large bunch English spinach, trimmed
1/3 c pine nuts
2 tbsp sultanas
4 squares ready-made puff pastry
1 egg, beaten with a splash of milk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius. Toss the pumpkin wedges into a large baking pan with a splash of oil, the chilli and cinnamon - rub the pumpkin well to coat. Bash coriander seeds along with a little coarse salt in a pestle and mortar until fine, then add the rosemary and bash again for a minute or two until aromatic. Scatter this evenly over the pumpkin then cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until soft. Cool, then tear into bite size chunks.

2. Meanwhile, place a pan on medium heat and add a splash of oil and cook the onion. Season well and  cook gently for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened and lightly browned. Add the chestnuts and sage to the pan for the last few minutes of cooking.

3. While that's happening, toast the sourdough and rub with the cut sides of one of the garlic cloves. Tear the toast into small chunks, and once the onion is done, add the toast to the pan and mix everything together. Switch the heat off and season a little more and add the lemon zest. Set mixture aside.

4. Melt butter in a clean pan over medium heat and add the mushrooms and one clove of garlic, thinly sliced. Cook the mushrooms to 4-6 minutes until soft and quite dry. Squeeze in a little lemon juice, season well with salt and pepper, then tip into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Set puree aside.

5. Bring a large pan of salted water to boil and blanch the spinach briefly (around 30 seconds). Drain in a colander and press lightly to get rid of excess fluid, then place to one side.

6. Place a small dry pan over medium heat and toast the pine nuts for 1 minute until light brown. Tip onto a plate. Thinly slice remaining garlic clove. Return the pan to the heat and add a splash of oil, then the garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes before adding the pine nuts, sultanas and spinach. Fry everything together until warmed through and smelling delicious. Season well and turn off the heat.

7. Once almost fully defrosted. lay the squares of pastry on top of each other, leaving a 1 cm overlap between each. Roll out between baking paper to an even 2mm thickness, and the approximate dimensions of an A3 piece of paper. Spread the mushroom mixture all over, leaving a 1cm gap on the edges of all 4 sides of the pastry (I forgot to do this, but it's fairly important once you're sealing up the wellington).

8. In a large bowl, combined the pumpkin, onions and spinach mixtures.

Spoon in a thick line down the middle of the pastry. Hold one side of the paper and lift it with the pastry, towards the centre of the wellington so it starts to cover the filling.

Peel the paper back, leaving the pastry in place. Brush some eggwash along the centre edge and pull the other side of pastry over it so that it overlaps, containing the filling in a log shape. Brush the ends with eggwash and fold in the pastry to seal it. Carefully roll onto a lined baking tray, with the sealed side down. Brush all over with egg wash and score lightly in a criss-cross fashion.

9. Bake for 45 minutes at 200 degrees Celcius, until puffed and golden. Slice thickly to serve.

So, the verdict on Jamie Olier's vegetarian wellington recipe? It's tasty, it's certainly Christmassy, and it looks great... It is a time consuming dish to make, but something like this wellington would be ideal at Christmas in a cold climate because it is so warming and comforting. I don't think this is quite the 'it' dish I was after for the Christmas menu, but good thing the Delicious magazine has plenty more recipes for me to try... If only I had more time to sample them all!

So, to all the vegetarians/vegans out there, what's your ideal savoury Christmas dish?


Ladybird x

Slut's Spaghetti

(Sorry Mum...)

With a name like that, how could I resist trying this new Nigella Lawson recipe?! Here is what the lady formerly known as the 'domestic goddess' has to say about this dish, the first in the chapter entitled 'Off the Cuff'.

Well how could I resist this translation of pasta alla puttanesca, whore's pasta as it usually is described in English? The general consensus seems to be that this is the sort of dish cooked by slatterns who don't go to the market to get their ingredients fresh, but are happy to use stuff out of jars and tins... Or maybe I should just attribute the name to the fiery tang and robust saltiness of the dish?

The original recipe calls for sardines, but I've made this dish vegetarian by omitting them and amping up some of the other flavours.

Slut's Spaghetti
Adapted recipe from 'Kitchen' by Nigella Lawson
(serves 2-3)

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced, chopped or grated
1/4 teaspoon crushed chilli flakes
250g spaghetti
half 400g can chopped tomatoes
75g (drained weight) pitted black olives, chopped a bit
1 x 15ml tablespoon small capers, well rinsed and drained
1-2 x 15ml tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesan cheese, to serve

Method
1. Put water for pasta on to boil, though you don't need to get started on the sauce until it is pretty well boiling.

2. Pour the oil into a wide, shallowish frying pan, casserole or wok, and put on a medium heat.

3. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook, stirring, for a minute. Add the tomatoes, olives and capers and cook for 10 minutes, stirring every now and again, by which time it will have thickened slightly. Taste for seasoning, then stir in the chopped fresh parsley.

4. Meanwhile, salt the pasta water and put your spaghetti on to cook.

5. Just before the pasta is ready, remove about half an espresso cupful of cooking water, and reserve it. When the pasta is cooked as desired, drain and add the spaghetti to the sauce in your pan, adding a little reserved pasta water, if needed, to help amalgamate the sauce.

6. Serve with some shaved/grated Parmesan cheese and tuck in!

The Verdict
Quick, easy and its flavour so punchy, this one is one of my new Nigella favourites. The name gets some giggles too, making it quite the talking point over dinner! ;)


Love,

Ladybird x

South Indian Vegetable Curry

This year has been a bit up and down for me health-wise, and so all things health have been on my mind of late. It will all be fine, but it's been a little emotionally and physically exhausting at times... In the spirit of good health I bookmarked this recipe in this month's Cookbook of the Month, 'Kitchen' by Nigella Lawson. It is a great way to pack loads of vegetables into a delicious curry.

Indian cuisines features regularly in the Ladybird household for two key reasons. First, Mr Ladybird and I both love indian vegetarian cuisine and all of its glorious diversity and, secondly, Mr Ladybird is Indian-Australian so indian food is close to his heart.

For me, dry roasting spices (cumin and coriander in this case) in a pan and then grinding them in the mortar and pestle is well worth the effort. It tastes so much better than packaged ground spices!

South Indian Vegetable Curry (serves 6)
Recipe adapted from Kitchen by Nigella Lawson - items in italics are either new additions, or ingredients where the original quantity has been altered.

2 x 15ml tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, peeled, halved and cut into half moons
1 large garlic clove, chopped
sea salt flakes
1 green chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
2cm chunk fresh ginger, peeled and cut into fine strips
1/4 teaspoon crushed chilli flakes
good pinch mustard seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 x 400ml can coconut milk
600ml vegetable stock
approx 2 teaspoons raw sugar
1 x 15ml tablespoon tamarind paste
350g cauliflower, broken into florets
100g fine beans, trimmed and halved
125g baby corn, halved
150g sugar snap peas
2 x 15ml tablespoons chopped coriander

Method

1. Heat the oil in a thick-bottom casserole or large saucepan and add the mustard seeds. Once they have almost finished popping, immediately add the sliced onion and garlic sprinkled with some sea salt and fry until it begins to soften, then add the chopped fresh chilli and ginger strips and stir every now and again while cooking for a minute.

2. Now add the crushed chilli flakes, the turmeric, and ground cumin, coriander and ginger. Stir well and cook for another minute or so before pouring in the coconut milk, stock ,sugar and tamarind paste. Stir to combine.

3. Bring to the boil, add the cauliflower florets and baby corn first and cook for 10 minutes, then add the other vegetables. Check the vegetables after about 5 minutes or so to see if they are almost done, letting them cook for longer if they need it.

4. Once the vegetables are tender season well to taste with salt (and sugar if needed). Sprinkle with the fresh coriander, in a bowl on top of some basmati rice or with some warmed Indian flatbread on the side for dunking.

The Verdict
I tweaked this recipe quite a bit because I felt that it needed a bit more 'oomph'... not that it wouldn't have been nice otherwise, but because I personally found it slightly insipid without the extras. Everyone's palate is different though...


Till next time...

Ladybird x

Mushroom and Potato Soup

The wet, dreary weather over the weekend saw the return of soup to the Ladybird household. I chose to use the ingredients I had on hand to make a comforting a nutritious soup. It's packed with mushrooms - one of my very favourite vegetables. Not only are mushrooms packed with B vitamins, but they are also high in particular antioxidants.

Mushroom & Potato Soup
An original Ladybird recipe

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 large sebago potatoes (400g), peeled and diced
250g swiss brown mushrooms*
250g button mushrooms*
1 tsp fresh, picked thyme leaves (plus extra to garnish)
1 bay leaf
5 cups vegetable stock
1/2c thickened cream
salt and pepper, to taste
* rinsed and patted dry with paper towel, then sliced (no need to peel)

Method
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until the onion softens.
2. Stir in the potato and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Turn the heat up to high and add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season well.

4. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then reduce to medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Blend (I use a stick blender) until smooth, and season further if required.
6. Stir in the cream, and voila, tasty soup is ready! Serve in bowls garnished with fresh thyme, along with some crusty bread.

All in all a delicious and quick soup, and satisfying to create something with the most basic of ingredients. Soups are great like that, you can use whatever you have a create a wholesome meal out of it!


Love,

Ladybird x

Green Pancakes with Lime Butter

As part of the Cookbook of the Month feature for September, here is the first recipe I'd like to share with you from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. This is a delicious weekend brunch recipe. I really wanted to make this for breakfast this morning, however, because I had to work today I decided to make it for dinner instead.. a bit strange, I know!

These pancakes are packed with veggies and flavour and here is what Ottolenghi has to say about them:

This recipe brought lots of compliments round my way after I first published it in 2008. I guess these pancakes are so comforting they somehow take you back to your childhood, when the joy of textures and flavours is still pure and unadulterated. Brunch is an ideal meal for them, served with a salad of seasonal leaves and possibly also a slice of freshly grilled haloumi or a piece of smoked fish.

Green Pancakes with Lime Butter
Serves 3-4

250g spinach, washed
110g self raising flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 free range egg
50g unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
150ml milk
6 medium spring onione (100g in total), finely sliced
2 fresh green chillies, thinly sliced*
1 free range egg white
oilive oil for frying
* I deseeded mine

Lime Butter
100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
grated zest of 1 lime
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1 tbsp chopped coriander
1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 tsp chilli flakes


First, make the lime butter. Put the butter in a medium bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until it turns soft and creamy. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Tip everything out on to a sheet of clingfilm and roll into a sausage shape. Twist the ends to seal the flavoured butter. Chill until firm.

Wilt the spinach in a pan with a splash of water. Drain in a sieve and, when cool, queeze hard with your hands to remove as much moisture as possible. Roughly chop and put aside.

For the pancake batter, put the flour, baking powder, whole egg, melted butter, salt, cumin and milk in a mixing bowl, and whisk until smooth. Add the sping onion, chillies and spinach and mix with a fork. Whisk the egg white to soft peaks and carefully fold it in to the batter.

Pour a small amount of oil into a heavy frying pan and place on medium-high heat. For each pancake, ladle 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan and press down gently. You should get smallish pancakes, about 7cm in diameter and 1cm thick. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, until you get a good golden-green colour. Transfer to kichen paper and keep warm. Continue making pancakes, adding oil to the pan as needed, until the batter is used up.

To serve, pile up three pancakes per person and place a slice of flavoured butter on top to melt.

Stay tuned for more from the Cookbook of the Month!

Ladybird x

Goat's Cheese and Leek Tart

For my last birthday Mr Ladybird gave me the Bourke Street Bakery (BSB) cookbook... lucky me! :). This is no ordinary cookbook.. as it says on the cover it really is the ultimate baking companion.

It contains recipes for exactly the kind of beautiful baked goods you'd expect from BSB, perhaps Sydney's most iconic bakery. Bread, croissants, tarts, cakes... endless baked goodness.. Mmmm :) The recipes are very detailed, and contain lots of tips and step by step instructions, with lots of pictures to guide you along the way.

My most recent creation from the book was this delicious savoury tart.. and here is the recipe for you all to try. I haven't included the shortcrust pastry recipe as it is somewhat involved and very long (perhaps another blog post in its own right). However, you could use a simple shortcrust pastry recipe instead, no problems.

Goat's Cheese and Leek Tart
1 quantity savoury shortcrust pastry
35g butter
1 large leek (about 200g), white part only, washed and finely sliced
80ml (1/3 c) white wine
300 ml pouring (i.e pure) cream (35% fat)
300g soft goat's cheese
4 eggs
3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celcius. Roll out the pastry and use it to line the base and sides of eight 10cm, fluted, loose-based tart tins. Place in the refrigerator.
2. Melt the butter in a frying pan and saute the leek for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the wine, swish it around, and allow it to evaporate completely. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. Heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat and crumble the goat's cheese into it, stirring continuously until the cheese has completely dissolved and the cream thickens. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Putt the eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and mix for about 3 minutes on high spped, or until light and fluffy. Add the cream micture, thyme, salt and pepper, and continue mixing on low speed for about 30 seconds to combine.
5. Put the pastry shells on a baking tray lined with baking paper and scatter the cooled leeks into the shells. Pour over the cream mixture to fill each tart.
6. Carefully slide the tray onto the middle shelf of the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 180 degree celcius and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden.
7. Remove from the oven and cool a little before serving.

I served the tarts with a simple rocket and pear salad. This salad went really well with the tarts and offset the strong flavours of the goat's cheese and leek. To make this salad combine fresh, washed rocket with a little finely slinely sliced, firm Packham pear. Yum :) Dress with a quick balsamic dressing like this one:

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

soft brown sugar, to taste (I used 3/4 tsp)

Combine ingredients in a small, screwtop jar and shake in your best maraca shaking style :)

Although I am fortunate to live close to Bourke Street Bakery, there is a very special satisfaction from making your own tarts from scratch... Oh so delicious and very rewarding :)

Ladybird x

Polenta rounds with wilted spinach and roast mushrooms

Over the weekend  I discovered a new diet. I came to the realisation that the easiest way to curb your appetite and lose weight is to watch the television series Man vs. Wild. In each episode, a British guy called Bear is stranded in a region of the world and shows you how to survive and find your way back to civilsation. As fascinating as it all is, it's pretty gross, especially when it comes to what he eats.... Let's just say there are usually live animals involved - frogs, snakes, fish.. You name it, he eats it, cooked or uncooked. And it doesn't do much for my appetite.. in fact, it pretty much kills it.

Alas, Mr Ladybird is a diehard fan of the show, so somehow I still end up still watching it, albeit often peering through hands and screaming "Ewwww...!". So with Man vs. Wild a regular part of evenings in the Ladybird household at the moment, the size of our dinners on those evenings miraculously decreases, at least for me anyway. On such an evening, I decided I wanted to make something small with polenta. Polenta is one of those ingredients I really love but don't use enough, so I wanted to change that.

I decided to make polenta rounds topped with wilted spinach and delicious roast mushrooms. So here is a 'kinda-sort-of' recipe to this dish...

Polenta
This part of the dish can be made ahead of time, even 1 or 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge. This recipe will make a medium size slab of polenta which you can use for this dish, as well as others of your own creation. For example, polenta rounds topped with a fresh pesto and a slow roasted balsamic tomato, or you could even have some grilled polenta alongside some eggs, etc for a hearty savoury brunch.


Ingredients
500 ml water
500 ml milk
30 g parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsb butter
175 g polenta
salt and white pepper


Method
1. In a heavy-based saucepan, bring milk and water to boil and then whisk in the polenta until thoroughly mixed.
2. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer for 40 mins, stirring occasionally to stop it sticking.
3. Remove from heat, season, and mix through parmesan and butter.
4. Pour into a greased tray to set, smoothing to make it as flat as possible. It should be about a 2 cm thickness (I used a brownie tray and this worked well).
5. Allow to cool, then cut out two rounds with a food stack ring or egg ring.
6. Fry in a small amount of olive oil in a pan, turning once. Alternatively, brush with a little olive oil and cook on a griddle/chargrill pan unti lovely grill marks appear.

Mushrooms
I made the mushrooms by quartering button mushrooms and tossing them in a dish along with 2 crushed cloves of garlic, fresh thyme, olive oil, a small knob of butter and salt and pepper. I roasted them for 20 mins at 200 degrees celcius, and then crumbled a little dodoni fetta over the top and mixed through. The fetta lended a nice salty flavour to the mushrooms, and the creaminess of the fetta formed a light sauce when mixed with the pan juices.

Spinach
Wilting spinach is really quick and easy, and a good way to pack lots of healthy spinach into a meal with minimum fuss. In a large pan heat a drizzle of good olive oil and throw in a generous couple of handfuls of washed baby spinach leaves. Season and toss until the spinach is wilted, then remove from heat and use immediately.

To assemble the dish, carefully top cooked polenta pieces with wilted spinach and then mushrooms and a sprig of fresh thyme. Using a food stack ring may help. These are available from kitchen supply stores. Bon appetit!


Hope you all have a wonderful week :)

Ladybird x