What's better than a lovely get-together with your best friends and even better food? ;) I love these dinner nights, as well as long brunch dates or truly, anything that's food-related and means some quality time with beloved ones. That veggie feast was one these delicious and fun nights and i can only advice you to try it out soon! It's both - a light summer dish or ideal for the change of seasons too, when you add roasted pumpkin for some autumnal flavoring.
Happy meal!
Love, Julie.
Mixed couscous veggie salad with halloumi
Ingredients:
1 cup of halloumi cut in little pieces
1/2 cucumber
3 tomatoes
small can of kidney or black beans
small can of sweet corn
small red onion
1 cup of couscous
handful of green beans
mixed fresh or frozen herbs
olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper
balsamic syrup
Take a pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil, season it with a pinch of salt, put the couscous into the water, stir it once, take the pan away from the stove, put a lid on and let it rest for 7min.
Meanwhile cook a handful of green beans until tender; when they're ready put them under cold water.
Cut the tomatoes, cucumber and the red onion in small pieces and put everything in a big bowl, add the couscous, green beans the kidney beans and corn, season everything with 2 tbsp of olive oil, 3 tsp of balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and the herbs, mix everything together and let it rest for a few minutes.
Now take a pan, preheat it on medium heat, add one tbsp of olive oil and roast the halloumi until it gets brown and crunchy, it will take 3 min approximately.
Put the halloumi on the salad and sprinkle some balsamic syrup on the top, serve while the cheese is warm.
Cabbage salad
Ingredients:
1/2 large white cabbage, shredded
tiny piece of white onion (1/4 cup)
3 tbsp of vegetable oil
3 tbsp of white wine vinegar
1 tsp of caraway
1 cup of vegetable stock
1 tsp of white sugar
1 tsp of dijon mustard
salt and pepper
Put the shredded cabbage in a big bowl and salt it very well, let it rest for 15min.
Take a pot, put it on medium heat, add 3 tbsp of oil and sweat the onion until it's soft (it should not get any color). Infuse it with the vegetable stock, vinegar, mustard, caraway, 1 tsp of sugar, one pinch of pepper and salt, let the mixture cook for 5 minutes.
Pour the warm vinaigrette over the shredded cabbage, mix everything well and put a lid on the bowl.
Let the salad rest for at least three hours, if possible make it a day before you want to serve it and let it rest overnight to get the best result.
Baked zucchini sticks
Ingredients:
4 medium zucchini
about 1 cup bread crumbs
Teaspoon non fat milk
1/3 grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
olive oil
Wash and dry zucchini. Cut off ends and cut in half lengthwise, then cut lengthwise again. Now cut them in half - mine were about 3 inches long. Beat egg in a shallow bowl, then beat in about 1/2 teaspoon of milk. Place breadcrumbs in another bowl and mix in the parmesan cheese (if desired). Now put the zucchini sticks (4 at one time) in the egg beat, after that coat them with the parmesan-breadcrumb.
Drizzle some olive oil in a baking pan and rub around with a paper towel-mixture to coat the bottom of the pan. Bake the coated zucchini sticks at about 425 (210°) for 10-15 minutes, turn pan around in the oven so they will brown evenly.
White dip
Ingredients:
1 cup of sour cream
1 cup of yoghurt
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp mayo
1-2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 tsp of herb salt
pepper for tasting
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, maybe add a little extra salt and fresh herbs (e.g. parsley & chives) and let the dip rest for one to two hours.
Enjoy!