'Prawn, fennel & feta salad' ticks all the boxes to enable you to fit in your jeans.



Easy, tasty, healthy prawns with feta

Salads have blossomed into a whole new genre in the last few years.  They can be as simple as a bowl of crisp greens, served as a side dish or like this salad, can come into their own to be satisfying enough to serve for lunch with some crunchy bread, or as a starter. 


With the wonderful texture, flavour and colour of fresh, raw vegetables, 'Prawn & Feta Salad' is high in protein, low in fat and carbohydrate, with the added advantage of a low GI estimate, so it ticks all the 'fit in your jeans' boxes. 
Clara

 Prawn, fennel and feta salad
Serves 4 as a lunch salad
3 lebanese cucumbers, peeled, shaved into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
I baby fennel bulb, shaved
¼ cup fennel sprigs (the green ferny tops are full of flavour)
24   large cooked prawns, peeled, deveined, tails intact (choices here to buy or cook your own green prawns, which is what I do since it only takes a minute.)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp honey
small clove garlic, crushed
Sea salt and cracked pepper, to season
200g / 7oz  Bulgarian or Danish feta, or goats cheese, drained, crumbled

Divide cucumber, shaved fennel and fennel sprigs between 4 plates. Top each
salad with 6 prawns.
To make dressing, whisk or shake  to combine the oil, vinegar, honey and seasoning.  Drizzle over salad.
Sprinkle feta over each salad and serve.
 


Fennel - versatile and tasty

 Fennel has a delicious sweet aniseed flavour and is great served raw in salads, although it may be sauteed, stewed, braised, grilled.  It features prominently in Mediterranean cuisine, where bulbs and fronds are used, in side dishes, salads, pastas, and vegetable dishes.   The lovely feathery leaves are delicately flavored and similar in shape to those of dill.
The best way to slice it,  is to do so vertically through the bulb. If your recipe requires chunked, diced or julienned fennel,  first remove the harder core that resides in the centre before cutting it as finely as you can, or use a mandolin slicer.  

Nutrition and health benefits

The seeds, leaves, and roots of the fennel have been used as medicinal agents as far back as ancient China when it was widely acclaimed for its weight loss, anti-aging, and cosmetic capabilities - and still it today.
Used for congestion, conjunctivitis, stimulating appetite (which is why Italians serve fennel as an appetizer), and increases the flow of breast milk, it has also been used to treat colic in infants. Fennel also serves as prevention against muscle spasms and helps to relieve gas and an upset stomach. Fennel is an antispasmodic, diuretic, expectorant and stimulant.

Artichoke and pesto bruschetta creates a great story

While I'm on a roll - well not exactly a roll, more a slice of Italian  ciabatta  or sour dough - but rolling on from crostini to bruschetta.  From small bites to bigger bites - where a more substantial topping can be sustained.

As debated in the last blog, there doesn't appear to be much difference but I may be committing heresy by saying this.  Also, while we are into semantics -   some say bruschetta and others bruschetti - why is this so? By the way, Google wants to replace it with  'Bridgette' - hmmmm.   Obviously  to do with grammar - is it to do with plurality or gender??? I need to consult our expert 'rels', Alvina and Umberto in Tuscany (rels - short for relatives since Australians like to shorten and give fond / often unflattering  names to those they love.)

Anyway, I have an amazing pesto and artichoke bruschetta to share with you.  I have to say that I am not the greatest fan of artichokes unless they come as hearts in a can, which is very unClara.  I know the statement I am about to make may engender a response from Tuscany, however, the ritual of cooking the artichoke and then somehow finding enjoyment in sliding one's teeth along a prickly leaf, eludes me. 

But, those lil ole hearts from a can or even better, char-grilled, marinated artichokes from a good deli, are another story.  

artichoke bruschetta story.
It's very simple - you can buy a good pesto or make your own using Alvina's recipe, by blending a bunch of basil with 2 cloves of garlic, a handful of walnuts (pinenuts or almonds) with about 3 tablespoons olive oil, extra virgin of course, then when it is pureed, add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and more olive oil if you desire.  Spread each toast with pesto then top with a piece of artichoke heart and add a fresh basil leaf.
Variations - Add a few rocket leaves instead of basil, add pitted black or stuffed green olives, add a few shavings of pecorino, or  some cherry tomatoes. 

More to come - how about walnut toast with warm goat's cheese and fig?

Clara

Is crostini a mini bruschette? Is bocconcini really mozzarella?

Some vital questions!   Qu 1 - Crostini or Bruschetta?   Is crostini a small bruschetta? 




The difference is fuzzy.

Give up? Yes, crostini is smaller and is served as an aperitivo but the correct answer is that crostini is usually made with white bread instead of sourdough but the difference is fuzzy.   

The Italians simply grill a half-inch slice of ciabatta, rub it with a cut clove of garlic, drizzle it with oil, and season it with salt and pepper.



My favourite method, being an 'ovenphile' is to  preheat oven to 160°C/ 320 F.  Line an oven tray with baking paper and bake slices which have been sprayed on both sides with olive oil,  for about 8-10 minutes or until golden and crisp. While hot, rub with garlic.  Add prepared topping of your choice. For approx 12 crostini, here a few favourites but you can use your imagination and personal taste to create the perfect Italian aperitivo, whether it be a crostini or bruschette.

tapenade with goat's cheese

Intense flavours offset with
goat's cheese & basil

Process the following in a food processor; 1 cup (175g) pitted kalamata olives, 4 anchovy fillets, drained on paper towel, coarsely chopped, 1 tbsp drained capers, 1 garlic clove, crushed, then add ¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil to make a smooth paste. 

Spread on crostini, then sprinkle with crumbled goat's cheese and torn basil.
Or  for green olive tapenade, replace black olives with 1 cup green olives.

mixed herb crostini 

Roughly chop  any mixture of soft herbs like fennel tops,  basil, parsley, mint, chervil or thyme leaves. Take six cherry tomatoes and halve them, then rub one of the halves into each of your hot crostini. Grate some pecorino or Parmesan over the top and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with good-quality extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the chopped herbs.

cannellini beans with garlic
Pound a couple of sprigs of rosemary gently in a mortar and pestle with a little salt. Add a good swig or two of extra-virgin olive oil and stir, then put to one side. Fry two sliced cloves of garlic in a little olive oil until lightly golden. Add 1 ¾ cups of good-quality drained and rinsed cannellini beans and continue to simmer gently for approx seven minutes. Season the beans well with salt and pepper and a little red wine vinegar, then mash to a coarse puree using the back of a fork. Spread onto hot crostini and spoon rosemary oil over the top.

prosciutto, figs, and mint
For this delicious concoction you need six large ripe figs, halved, 12 slices of prosciutto, and a small bunch of fresh mint. Drape piece of  prosciutto over  hot crostini and squash a piece of fig on top.  Finish with mint leaves and serve drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil, a drop of balsamic vinegar, and some freshly ground black pepper.

blue cheese with pear
Salty, sharp blue cheese combined with sweet, juicy pear is sublime. (75g / 3 oz Gorgonzola or any good blue cheese) 
Peel and core the pear, then slice it into 12 thin wedges.
Top crostini with a sliver of blue cheese, a slice of pear and a good grinding of black pepper.  Serve immediately. 

ham & smashed pea crostini

Use a  narrow baguette to make these crostini .  Fry  2 finely chopped shallots in olive oil , add  140 g/5 oz frozen peas and a slurp of white wine then cover and cook gently  for about 5 minutes, until the peas are tender. Turn the peas and juices into a food processor, season with salt and pepper and process to make a chunky puree.

Cut 3 strips of proscuitto into 12 pieces ( cut each in half lengthwise, then across). Prepare the toast,  spoon the smashed peas on top and finish with a twist of ham. Drizzle with a little more oil, if liked, and a grinding of black pepper.
Sprinkle the crostini with mint and serve immediately.

I'm just a baby!

 Qu 2 -  What is bocconcini - is it the same as mozzarella?
Bocconcini are Italian cheese balls about the size of cherry tomatoes. They are actually a fresh type of mozzarella. small, semi-soft, white and rindless,  unripened, usually made from a combination of water buffalo and cow's milk. Bocconcini are packaged in whey or water, have a spongy texture and absorb flavours.

buffalo mozzarella and chilli
Deseed and finely chop a fresh red chilli.  Top each hot crostini with 1/4  Buffalo mozzarella (for 12, approx 180 g / 5 oz,  torn into quarters)  and sprinkle with chilli.   Add a little seasoning and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and fresh torn basil. 

There are endless possibilities.
Clara