Feasting at Home

“Spring will come and so will happiness. Hold on. Life will get warmer.” ~Anita Krizzan

Spring is such an exciting time of year, especially when it comes to cooking! While most fruits won’t trickle into the farmer’s market until the warmer summer months, rhubarb, strawberries, and pineapple are all jewels of the season. And there are plenty of bright, green veggies to help you bid adieu to winter.

Spring Pea Soup with Fresh Herbs

The bright green colour of this Spring Pea and Fresh Herbs Soup is lovely. It will fade a little if you save the soup for the next day, but what you trade-off in colour, you gain an even deeper flavour that comes from the ingredients melding together. The lemony yoghurt topping is cool and creamy and brightens up the dish.

Ingredients:

1 1⁄2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10 Scallions, thinly sliced
1 1⁄2 tbsp Chopped Fresh Tarragon or Basil
3 cups Fresh or Frozen Green Peas 3 cups Vegetable Stock
2 tbsp Chopped Fresh Mint
1 Lemon, zested and juice reserved Kosher Salt (to taste)
1⁄4 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper 3 tbsp Whole Yoghurt or Plant-based Yoghurt
1⁄4 tsp Ground Coriander

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add scallions and tarragon or basil and cook, stirring occasionally until scallions are softened. Add peas and stir. Add vegetable stock and bring mixture to a simmer and cook until peas are tender. Remove soup from heat, and use a blender to puree the soup with the mint until smooth. Return the soup to a pot, stir in 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Keep soup warm until ready to serve. Combine yoghurt, lemon zest coriander, and a pinch of salt. Dollop soup servings with 2 teaspoons yoghurt mixture just before serving.

Pasta Salad with Spring Vegetables

Ginger-roasted cherry tomatoes, skillet-charred snap peas and scallions, and plenty of fresh basil and mint make this lighter pasta salad eminently delicious.

Ingredients:

Roasted ginger tomatoes:

9 Garlic Cloves, crushed
3 sprigs Thyme
3 (2-inch) strips Orange Zest
1 (3-inch) piece Ginger, peeled, cut into very thin matchsticks
4 cups Cherry Tomatoes
6 tbsp Fresh Orange Juice
1⁄4 cup Olive Oil
1 tbsp Light Brown Sugar
Kosher Salt (to taste)
1⁄4 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Charred peas and onions:

1 large Onion
2 tbsp Olive Oil, divided
3 cups Snow Peas, trimmed Kosher Salt (to taste)

Pasta and assembly:

300g Fusilli or Penne Pasta
Kosher Salt (to taste)
2 tbsp (or more) Fresh Lemon Juice 2 cups Thinly Sliced Basil, divided 2 cups Thinly Sliced Mint, divided 1⁄4 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper Olive Oil (for drizzling)

Instructions:

Roasted ginger tomatoes:

Preheat oven to 160°C. Toss garlic, thyme, orange zest, ginger, tomatoes, orange juice, oil, brown sugar, salt, and a pinch of pepper in a baking dish. Roast, gently tossing mixture every 15-20 minutes, until tomatoes are tender and just bursting but still intact. Pluck out and discard thyme and orange zest.

Charred peas and onions:

Heat a skillet. Add 1 tbsp oil, then add the snow peas. Cook, tossing once until charred on both sides. Transfer to a large bowl. Heat remaining 1 tbsp. oil the in same skillet. Add the onion slices. Cook until charred. Transfer to bowl with snow peas; season with salt.

Pasta and assembly:

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, until al dente. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and let cool. Add tomato mixture, snow peas and onions, lemon juice, 1 1⁄2cups basil, and 1 1⁄2 cups mint to pasta and toss gently to combine; season with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice if desired.

Serve pasta salad topped with remaining 1⁄2 cup basil and 1⁄2 cup mint and a drizzle of oil!

Banoffee Pie

Everyone needs this banoffee pie recipe in their lives! If you are an ardent fan of bananas and toffee, a match made in heaven, then you are absolutely going to love this banoffee pie!

Ingredients:

2 cups Crushed Digestive Biscuits 5 + 1⁄2 tbsp Butter, melted
2 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1⁄2 cup Dulce de Leche

8-10 slices of Bananas
1 cup Whipped Cream Chocolate Shavings, to garnish

Dulce De Leche:

1 can Condensed Milk 115 g Butter
150 g Brown Sugar (Dark) 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

a pinch of Salt

Instructions:

For the Dulce De Leche, melt the butter in a pan over medium flame. Add sugar, condensed milk, vanilla, and salt and mix well. Stir continuously until the mixture turns dark and thick.

Cool down the mixture completely.

For the banoffee pie, in a bowl combine digestive biscuits, melted butter, and cocoa powder. Mix until it all comes together. Spread it on a tart tin. Refrigerate for 30-40 minutes. Spread a generous layer of dulce de leche on the crust. Place banana slices on top. Cover with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate shavings.