Roasted Autumn Veg (GF) (V) (EF)

The recipe is just for the roasted butternut squash and other vegetables but as you can see from the picture I've taken, my dad decided to roast some chicken legs in the oven at the same time. I don't know what marinade he used so for now I'll just give the roasted veg recipe here. It all tasted really good; the saltiness of the halloumi complimented the sweetness of the butternut squash and it all just went well together. I can't take the credit for this recipe. I found the lovely recipe on the following link:

http://www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/r/roasted_autumn_vegetables_with_halloumi_cheese.html

What's really awesome about this recipe is that not only it tasted great as a roast yesterday but also today, I chopped bits of the roast veg (everything except the roast chicken and halloumi) into some chicken quinoa (chicken curry cooked in garlic infused oil mixed with quinoa) and that combination tasted great too.



Gluten Free
Vegetarian
Egg Free

Cheat's chocolate mousse (GF) (NF) (V)

Belated Eid Mubarak! This little dessert helped bring a little festive vibe into the house. This is a cheat's recipe which for us meant buying the vanilla custard ready made from the supermarket. Of course if you have certain food sensitivities then make sure the custard you get is suitable for your requirements. A typical custard is made using eggs, milk and/or cream with sugar so I think it would be unrealistic to find an egg free or dairy free version of this recipe. Some people like to add other flavours to this recipe such as orange zest and a little juice to give it that chocolate orange taste. If you don't have a nut allergy, then garnishing with crushed nuts just before serving would add a nice texture.

As this is a halal blog, I'm particularly happy that this recipe works because Cadburys keep advertising their 'pots of joy' on TV and when I checked the ingredients list, the pots contained pork gelatine (the same is true of Cadburys chocolate mousse which also lists pork gelatine as an ingredient)- so no joy pots for us then... but it doesn't matter, because this recipe is quite nice so you can make your own mousse anyway.



Gluten Free
Nut Free
Vegetarian

100g dark chocolate (leave aside 5g chocolate shavings for garnish)
300ml double cream
200ml vanilla custard
2 teaspoons icing sugar

- Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then leave to cool slightly

- In a separate bowl, whip the double cream till you get soft peaks

- Stir icing sugar into the ready made vanilla custard, then stir into the melted chocolate till combined

- Fold in the cream until it's all mixed in, then spoon into espresso cups or ramekins

- Top the mousse with shaved bits of dark chocolate, then leave to cool in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before serving

Mango lolly (GF) (DF) (EF) (NF) (Vegan)

Salam and Ramadan Mubarak,

This year's Ramadan definitely seems hotter than last year, so I decided to try and make juice lollies again and alhamdullilah I'm so glad I did! This is just the thing for iftar when the weather gets too hot (especially for kids). My mum tried making this with mango and orange juice but it didn't taste as good as it wasn't sweet enough.

- Just pour a carton of Rubicon mango drink into lolly moulds and place in the freezer overnight (you may have to pour hot water over the mould before serving as sometimes that makes it easier to remove the lolly from it).

Hassleback potatoes (GF) (DF) (EF) (NF) (Vegan)

This is one of my favourite potato dishes. If you're not vegetarian, then I'd suggest eating these with roast chicken legs because they take roughly the same time to cook in the oven. I'd use roughly 9 new potatoes per person (depending on size, or only 4-5 if other veg will be served) if I were to serve this as part of a main course or else this can be made with larger white potatoes as well.



Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Egg Free
Nut Free
Vegan

9 new potatoes
3 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
a pinch of black pepper

- Preheat an oven to gas mark 8

- On one side of each potato, make cuts that run down 3/4 of the potato and are spaced 2-3mm apart, then rinse the potatoes and put them in a pan of cold water

- Bring to the boil, then take the pan off the stove 13-15mins after placing it on there as this allows enough time for the bottom (uncut part) of the potatoes to become slightly tender without being mushy

- Drain the potatoes, then scatter them on a roasting tray (cut side up)

- In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients, then brush over the top of all of the potatoes

- Place in the oven for 23 mins, then take out of the oven, brush on the remaining oil, turn the oven down to gas mark 7 and roast for a further 20 mins, by which time it should become crispy on top and ready to serve

NB: If you intend to roast this with marinated chicken legs, then the oven should be set at gas mark 7 throughout and the tray should be on the top shelf.

Butternut squash soup (GF) (DF) (EF) (NF)

I know the picture is unimpressive to look at, but I'm not a food stylist and this tastes really nice. The recipe does require the use of stock and whilst some people might cut corners and use a stock cube, I prefer to use homemade chicken stock so have included the recipe for that as well. If you want to make this a vegetarian or vegan soup, then use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.If the soup turns out to be too thin, I add a little pea protein powder as this helps thicken it but without spoiling the flavour.

I was going to say this may be the wrong time of year to post the recipe as it's a real winter (or autumn) warmer but then again, we've had so much snow throughout March, maybe this will turn out to be the right time of year for it after all lol!



Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Egg Free
Nut Free

For the chicken stock:

A portion (half a pound) of boney pieces (necks, wings) of chicken, raw
1 small (or half a medium) onion, peeled and chopped in 4 chunks
1 carrot, chopped into 4 chunks
1 garlic clove, peeled
A little fresh parsley
3 peppercorns
Half a teaspoon salt


For the squash soup:

1 medium butternut squash
2 tbsp olive oil
2 potatoes
1 onion
1l vegetable or chicken stock
salt and pepper


- Place all the stock ingredients in a pan with about one and a half litres of cold water, bring to the boil, then skim the scummy layer off the top for a few mins, then turn the heat down to low to allow it to simmer for 2 hours

- Skim it, then leave it to cool for 30 mins, then skim it again from the top, then pass everything through a sieve and use the stock to cook with (or else refrigerate/freeze the stock if it’s being saved for another occasion)

- For the butternut squash soup, chop the butternut squash, onion and potatoes into cubes.

- Warm a large pot and add in olive oil. Add in onions and cook till soft.

- Add in potatoes and squash. Cook for a minute or so.

- Add in stock and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or until potatoes and squash are soft.

- Using a blender or food processor, blend the soup until smooth. If too thick, add a bit of water.

- Season with salt and pepper.