Fried Fish with Blistered Broccoli and Yogurt Sauce | You've Got Meal!

This post is supposed to be about a simple healthy recipe. Actually, when I think about a whole healthy dish the first option is some fish (simply cooked), broccoli (I love it in any way) and a cold yogurt sauce (no cooking required).

So, "surprise, surprise" last week we did just that because I wanted something really light.

For the fish:

• You will need fillets, so if you have a whole one, you need to try to fillet it.
• We used zander fish, you can also use perch or other fish of your choice.
• You will need to season the fish, just salt and pepper on both sides will be fine, we also added some chili flakes.
• Pour 1 tbs oil in a pan and fry the fillets on both sides, until golden/ golden-brown 

As a side:

• We have used broccoli like this in this dish.
• Cut the broccoli into florets, keeping a long enough stalk for each floret.
• Cut each one in half so you have a flat surface to place them in a skillet. 
• Heat up some olive oil on high heat, put the veggie with the flat side down in there and cook until you get a brown color. 
• Turn the broccoli on the other side and pop the pan in the oven for 10 minutes. 
• When plating the broccoli, add a splash of lemon juice, some chili slices or flakes and garlic slices.

The sauce is super simple, one you can use every time you have no idea what sauce to cook, if you run out of time or you you just need some freshness to your dish.

• Mix in some yogurt with lemon juice.
• To spice things up, add one crushed garlic clove, some paprika, pepper and dried oregano.
• Being so light, this works best with fish and salads.

Enjoy,

Roast Chicken Salad | You've Got Meal!

This week we had a great organic chicken to cook and for such a beauty we had to make a roast,a simple, full of flavor whole chicken roast. There is only the two of us in this household, so we can't be done with a whole roasted chicken in one dinner, so the next day we had to use the leftovers in a fresh and healthy salad.

This is also a great way to take some of the previous evening dinner at the office for lunch. Plus, it happens to all of us, once the spring arrives we just want to make the most of those beautiful fresh vegetables.

You will need:

• chicken leftovers (for 2 portions we had half of the breast and a thigh)
• 2  handfuls of cress
• about 6-8 radishes
• 6-8 cherry tomatoes
• a handful of pomegranate seeds
• 1 medium red onion

For the dressing:

• 150 g yogurt
• the juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• fresh coriander leaves
• salt and pepper

Wash the cress leaves thoroughly, place them in a salad bowl with the chicken. We cut the chicken pieces in big cubes. Add the tomatoes, halved and the radishes cut in quarters. Cut the red onion in thin rings, add it to the bowl, then sprinkle the pomegranate seeds on top.

For the dressing, crush the garlic, add it to the yogurt, pour the lemon juice over them and season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped coriander and mix well. 

Pour the dressing over the salad and you are done! It would be great if you would comment below telling us how do you use your weekend roast leftovers.

XO XO,

Broccoli and Anchovies Tagliatelle | You've Got Meal!

This recipe is about using some of the most common items in your pantry, in order to create a super simple and easy to cook fresh pasta recipe that is sure to give you a lift after a hard day’s work or accompany a nice glass of Pinot Grigio for brunch.

The ingredients are: 

• Tagliatelle, of course (home made from 200 grams of flour and 2 eggs, quantities that make enough for 3), 
• 8-9 anchovies fillets, 
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, 
• 400 grams of broccoli florets, 
• about 100 grams of red pepper (we used the Kapia for this because of the shape), 
• 50 grams of capers, 
• the juice from half a lemon, 
• salt, pepper, chili flakes,
• fennel leaves or parsley for garnish

We talked a lot about homemade pasta in past posts, and we most certainly hope that you guys give it a try because it’s definitely worth the extra effort. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil; it should be big enough to give both the pasta and the broccoli room to boil. I suggest starting with the sauce (if you can call it that) after the water starts boiling as it takes very little time and you want the pasta done in time. So, in heavy base large frying pan, heat up some olive oil on medium heat and pop in the sliced peppers and anchovies, cook them until the fish dissolves in the hot oil, it will take about 3 minutes. Again, keep in mind that you need to synchronize your pasta with the anchovies very well. 

For the homemade tagliatelle the cooking time was about 5 minutes, so we added the pasta to the water at the same moment as we started cooking the fillets. So, next, add the garlic and capers in the oil and cook for 1 minute. At the same time pop the broccoli in the pasta water and cook the vegetable and the tagliatelle for 1 minute – you want to sync the capers&garlic with the broccoli. After that, use whatever kitchen tool you need to remove the broccoli and pasta and put them in the anchovy pan. Mix the ingredients well so the tagliatelle are covered by the anchovy flavored oil. Remove from heat and sprinkle the lemon juice on the whole thing, feel free to add more if you find it necessary. For garnish you can use some parsley leaves, but we went for some fennel.

Enjoy,

Sticky Ribs with Goose Fat Fries | You've Got Meal!

Ah, sticky ribs, the reason God gave you fingers. And there you go. Enjoy! Just kidding, Mrs. G says I have to give you guys the full details of the recipe. Not that I wouldn’t have done that, but I think I mentioned before I’m kind of lazy. 

The main idea of the whole meal is to enjoy a Friday night sticky, greasy, delicious dinner made of some oven baked ribs, some potatoes cooked in goose fat, everything balanced by some crunchy and tangy salad leaves with beets and pumpkin seeds. 

The ingredients we used: 

• 3 single ribs, about 100 grams each (makes it easier to cook), 
• some potatoes, preferably new, 
• salt, pepper, 
• thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, 
• ketchup. 

For  the salad we had some crunchy iceberg leaves, with some radicchio rosso, an oven cooked small beet, cut into sticks, pumpkin kernels, salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and a tsp. of some not very strong mustard.

I find that cooking ribs has a positive effect on my mood, maybe because of the delicious smell of grease and condiments melting away into something great. Despite that, it has a definite negative impact on the look of the kitchen, especially if you pan sear it. So, I like to slow cook the ribs in the oven, in an covered tray until the fat melts and the meat gets nice and tasty.

1. Start of by rubbing the meat with the dry condiments and some salt. 
2. For the next step, you can choose to use a tray with a grill on top, so the fat will melt and fall into that, or you can place the ribs straight in an oven tin, in which case the fat will melt and the ribs will also cook in it. 
3. We went for the second, mainly because I find that cooking meat in fat of any kind makes it really tender and elevates the taste. 
4. So, we covered the tray with some tin foil, and cooked the meat for 80 minutes on a medium low heat, turning the ribs half-way and covering back the tray with tin foil. 
5. In the last 10 minutes, remove the tin foil and brush the ribs with some ketchup or barbeque sauce. Turn up the heat and cook in order to create a glaze.

Meanwhile, you can cook the spuds by, you’ve guessed it, frying them in goose fat. Start of by cooking them on high heat for a couple of minutes, in order to get some color, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for around 15-20 minutes, until you get a golden brown color on all sides.

The salad helps the meat and the potatoes tone down on the fatty note. Just make a vinaigrette with the juice of half a lemon, 3 tbs. of olive oil, 1 tbs. of red wine vinegar, 1 tsp. of mustard, salt and pepper. Mix the result with the salad leaves of your choice – choose some crunchy ones, the beet and pumpkin seeds.

This meal, that you’ve just got – pun intended, screams for some Cabernet or a nice, red ale, so take your pick with the alcohol.  A full, heart meal that can get you ready for a lazy weekend at home, perhaps in the company of some chicken wings? Because that’s the second reason God gave you fingers.

Guys, we try and give you in every recipe we post here our honest and explicit experience with food, and any feed-back or tips for further improving any dish is well appreciated. So feel free to comment, criticize or like any post here, can’t wait to be hearing from you!

Enjoy,

Chicken and Gorgonzola Roulade | You've Got Meal!

For some strange reason, people tend to appreciate meat roulades at a dinner table. Apparently, there seems to be some sort of fear of making such a dish or trying it. I remember my mom cooking meat rolls only a couple of times and on special occasions. And I remember my dad saying we have to say it was good. Don’t know why he said that, the dish was great. Is that ok, Dad? You’re now safe if she reads this post.

For me, making a roulade is a more interesting way of using a rather dull meat like chicken breast. Combine that with a couple of savory ingredients like Gorgonzola cheese, artichokes, cipolline borettane and the all-mighty bacon and you can elevate the pour poultry piece. 

Let’s talk ingredients: 

• a couple of pieces of chicken breast meat, 
• sweet gorgonzola, 
• artichoke hearts, 
• cipolline borettane (you can caramelize some baby onions if you don’t have them around), 
• thin bacon strips for covering the rolls, 
• salt, pepper, chili flakes. 

You can use a whole breast, but be careful how you cut it. The idea is to get a couple of pieces of meat that you can tenderize with a meat hammer (or a rolling pin) and bring to a shape works for the roulade. We got 4 “sheets” of chicken meat from 1 breast, enough for some medium rolls.

Place the flattened meat on the work surface and season it with salt, pepper and chili flakes on the inside. Put a small amount of cheese in the center and a couple of artichoke hearts and roll the meat. Don’t overdo it with the cheese, too much of it will melt and burn in the pan/oven. 

Use the bacon strips to cover the rolls, make sure they’re nice and covered all over the place -  it will help you keep the cheese in and not burn. We also made a roll using the same amount of cheese and some cipolline borettane instead of the artichokes – asparagus will also work really nice. Cook the roulade in the hot pan, medium high heat, in a couple of tbs. of olive oil, for 2-3 minutes, then straight in the preheated oven,190 Celsius for 15-20 minutes.

As a side dish, we tried to mix things up with some Jerusalem artichokes. So, we got a couple of nice potatoes, pop them in the oven to bake, alongside some Jerusalem artichokes and garlic, none of those peeled, only cleaned. After the potatoes are done, remove 1 quarter of the spud and use a spoon to remove the inside of the remaining potato. Use a knife or a spoon to remove the Jerusalem artichoke’s white insides, and mix that well with some Gorgonzola, salt, pepper and the potato you pulled out. Use the mixture to fill in the spud, sprinkle some hot paprika on top. Serve the potato with the chicken and some valerian salad sprinkled with some lemon juice and olive juice. As an added bonus, grab a chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and enjoy a light, simple dinner.

Enjoy,

Cod, Couscous and Zucchini | You've Got Meal!

Let me assure you right from the beginning that there is more to this dish than an enumeration of the ingredients listed above. The fish works great with the fluffy, flavored couscous, the mellow zucchinis elevate the combo and a harissa-yoghurt sauce brings everything together. 

So let’s talk ingredients: 

• a couple pieces of cod (we used some frozen ones), 
• about 150 grams of couscous,  
• sun dried tomatoes, 
• spring onions, 
• 2-3 garlic cloves, 
• 2 medium zucchinis, 
• 1 lemon, 
• Greek yogurt,
• Harissa sauce.

1. Start of by cooking the zucchini: cut them in medium sized chunks, give them a good splash of olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper and place them in an oven proof pan, with 2 halves of a lemon. Cook in the preheated oven, medium-high heat for around 20 minutes. Taste from time to time, just to make sure you don’t overcook the vegetables.
2. Next, the couscous. I think that the only thing simpler than cooking couscous is eating cereals for breakfast. Put the couscous in a bowl, pour hot water over it until in covers it for about 1 cm. Use some cling film to cover the bowl and wait until all the liquid is absorbed. Use a fork to fluff the couscous. Mix in some finely chopped sun dried tomatoes with a couple tbs. of their oil, crushed garlic and spring onions.
3. You can cook the cod any way you feel like it: grilled, seared, in the oven. We rolled the cod pieces in some cornmeal crust and then we fried the fish in some olive oil until it got a beautiful golden crust.
4. Plate everything, including  a healthy amount of yoghurt and Harissa sauce next to the fish and veggies. Grab your favorite salad mix (indulge yourself with that little cheat) and place a nice hand of the crunchy leaves, sprinkle a splash of the baked lemon juice on top. Be careful though, the juice gets a fair amount of bitterness from the zest when cooked, so it may be a little bit overwhelming. 

Trust, you can’t go wrong with this combo, it has everything you need – fish, veggies, couscous and a hell of a kick from the baked lemon juice. You can choose to replace the fish with another type, fresh herring or mackerel. Also, if you can’t get Harrisa sauce, just make your own, boil down some passata juice mixed with tomato concentrate, hot pepper jam, cumin, all spice, sugar, a touch of rose water and saffron. Or whatever  condiments you feel like having in your sauce – it’s just that easy.

Enjoy,

Oven Roasted Carp and Peas | You've Got Meal!

Big shocker right in the title, Internet – you can actually eat carp and it’s delicious. I’ve seen a lot of people who consider carp kind of a second-hand fish and don’t really consider it worthy for their kitchen. I can assure you that that is not the case. Fresh, river caught carp can be a knock-out at a table (in the good sense of the way) and it can hold its own against more popular fresh water fish like trout. The thing to remember here is that the bigger the carp is, the fattier it will be, so make sure to pick your fish accordingly. 

So, if you’re going for a nice oven roasted  filet, pick a leaner cut. But, let’s say, for a fisherman’s sour soup (yum, it makes my mouth watery just by typing it) or for grilling on a coal barbecue you can get a fattier piece (there is such a thing called carp belly and it’s great for this last category, with some grilled vegetables and some thyme flavored light brine).  

So let me take you through this recipe that literally takes to cook 15 minutes. You’re going  to need a lean filet of carp (about 200 grams per person), some fresh thyme leaves, a can of peas, some garlic cloves, salt, pepper and olive oil. 

• Simply rub salt, pepper on the fish and sprinkle with the thyme leaves and olive oil. 
• Place the carp on an oven proof rack, pop a tray under it so any juices won’t trickle directly on the oven. 
• Cook the fish on high heat for 13-15 minutes. In the last minute, heat up some olive oil in a pan, cook a couple of whole garlic cloves for 30 seconds, then give the drained peas the same amount of time to heat through, then add some salt and pepper. 

Plate the carp with the peas and sprinkle some lemon juice on top and you’re done. Nothing fancy, nothing elaborate, everything is done in 15 minutes. If you’re looking to try some carp, don’t overdo it in your first recipe, try something simple, with only a couple of flavors, that can give you an idea of the taste of the fish and I’m sure you’re going to be back at your fishmonger for more carp.

Enjoy,

Turkey Meatballs | You've Got Meal!

We stopped at this recipe one of these day just before our cooking inspiration was close to zero. You know those days when you have no special cravings, no idea what to cook and you just stare at your fridge and freezer, but no option satisfies you.

We got lucky when we spotted a large piece of turkey breast in the freezer. Turkey meat is a nice and lean meat that is very versatile. If you find the meat dull and you have a bigger piece it is a great idea to grind it or part of it for meatballs or burgers to get a great flavor. It is easier to add the flavor you want in meatballs or burgers.

That being said, we used about 600 grams of ground turkey and made some nice meatballs and served them with mashed sweet potatoes and some pickled cauliflower.

You will need:

• 600 g ground turkey
• 1 small onion, finely chopped or grated
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 eggs
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tbs salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 handful chopped fresh parsley

For the mashed sweet potatoes:

• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 medium potatoes (basically you need to have a 50/50 ratio of potatoes and sweet potatoes)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 50 g butter
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1. Mix all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and form balls from about 1 tbsp of composition.
2. Heat 2-3 tbsp olive oil in a skillet and fry the meatballs on all sides, about 7 minutes , until brown.
3. You can take them out on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
4. For the mash, boil the potatoes, mash them, add the butter, ginger and the seasoning and mix well.

Enjoy,