Tomato Salad with Parsley, Feta & Pistachio – Guest Post by Joanna Bourke

Tomato Salad with Parsley, Feta & Pistachio – Guest Post by Joanna Bourke

by | Mar 26, 2017 | Guest Post, Recipes

This week I have the honour and pleasure of sharing a simple and delicious summer salad, created by Joanna Bourke, from The Chopping Board with us all.

I got to know Joanna through Instagram a few years back and really resonated with her no nonsense approach to food, as well as how we should eat and enjoy it. I particularly liked this blog post about the ebb and flow of life, and how letting our eating follow a similar rhythm is really nourishing.

I hope you will enjoy our conversation and learning a little bit more about Joanna and the great work she does!

I shared this purple smoothie over on Joanna’s blog.

Guest Post by Joanna Burke

Can you tell us something about yourself and your work?

My family have always enjoyed food and I’ve been cooking since I was young. My Dad had a fast-food business in Dublin and I worked there through my teens and college years.  In 2014 I was working in Finance in San Francisco and started a blog of family recipes that I had in a notebook. In those days, my blog was called Some Like It Hot, after our takeaway! I loved sharing recipes and getting into food photography, and it was a great connection to home. Shortly after, I left my job in Finance and came home to Ireland to do the cookery course at Ballymaloe Cookery School. Since then I’ve been doing event and retreat catering in Ireland and abroad.

 

I’m curious about your journey to become an entrepreneur and a chef? Can you please tell us how you came to do the work you do now?

After cookery school, I took a career break and tried lots of different things to get a range of experience in the food industry, I worked with caterers and took on my own catering gigs , I got work experience in kitchens and did a month of private cooking in France. Getting blisters on my hand after a morning chopping veggies in a busy kitchen was a sign I wasn’t cut out to be a restaurant chef!

In the last year I’ve been cooking at yoga and women’s business retreats in Wicklow, Cotswolds, Provence and Normandy. I’ve been lucky to travel to new places, meet interesting people and cook in some beautiful kitchens. At retreats, people often gravitate to the kitchen for a glass of wine and a chat about what’s for dinner. It’s the heart of a house, and my favourite place to be. And of course, I love it when people really enjoy my cooking. I’m still blogging, but the blog is now called The Chopping Board – good things start at the chopping board!

 

How would you describe your food philosophy?

I wouldn’t call it a philosophy so much as an absolute enjoyment of everything food-related – I love cooking and eating out, looking at food on Instagram, and I’m usually thinking about my next meal.

At Ballymaloe we were completely spoiled with fresh vegetables and herbs picked from their farm every morning, the best organic and local meat produce, and fish caught locally in Ballycotton. Back in the real world, it’s a little harder (and expensive) to access this kind of produce. Farmer’s markets are great to get a sense of what’s in season and get the fresh vegetables growing in your area. Regardless of where you buy your food, a little bit of love and care in cooking can bring anything to life.  Great basics for cooking – butter, olive oil, sea salt, spices and fresh herbs can really bring out flavour.

Generally I think a little of what you fancy does you good. I usually cook pretty good meals for myself, but when I don’t feel like it my favourite takeaway is a Base pizza with a Peroni.

 

Which 5 ingredients will one find in your pantry? 

Oats to make granola and smoothies, honey also for granola and salad dressings,  Heinz tomato ketchup, Bachelor baked beans. The spices I use the most would be cumin and paprika.

 

Do you have an all time favorite recipe you keep coming back to?

This last winter I was doing a lot of one-tray roasts where I would add whatever I had to a roasting tin, and add some olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Potatoes, onions or leeks, chorizo, carrots and peas all work really well together. Roast a a high heat for about 40 minutes, or until vegetables are golden and crisp.

 

Tell us something about the recipe you are sharing today! Why this particular recipe?

This pesto came about when I forgot to bring basil pesto to an event I was cooking at. I didn’t have any basil and parmesan with me, but I did have parsley and feta, hey ho.  I then added pistachios for some crunch. I’ve added it to tomatoes here for a summer salad but it also works great with pasta.

straightforward nutrition

 

Tomato Salad with Feta & Parsley

Serves 2

4 tomatoes, diced

30g flat leaf parsley (1 bag)

100g feta

70g pistachios

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

Juice of half lemon

To make the pesto, add the parsley, feta, olive oil, lemon juice, pistachios to a blender and blend until smooth.

 Taste, and add salt and pepper, although the feta will bring it’s own saltiness.  

Mix with tomatoes and serve on it’s own, or with pasta or scrambled eggs.

 

Joanna Bourke is a Ballymaloe-trained cook, cooking wholesome, nourishing food at events and retreats in Ireland and abroad.  www.thechoppingboard.ie

Buckwheat Tabbouleh with Strawberries – Summer Salad Series part 2

Buckwheat Tabbouleh with Strawberries – Summer Salad Series part 2

by | Jul 26, 2015 | Gluten free, Recipes, Salad

I know, I know it might not feel all that much like summer at the moment… It has been a temperamental one here this year, that’s for sure. But before the strawberry season is well and truly over, I thought I’d share this next salad recipe as part of my Summer Salad Series.

If you went ahead and bought some buckwheat to try out the raw buckwheat porridge, I’m giving you another opportunity to use them up here!

This recipe is an infusion of ideas from two of my favourite food bloggers and cookbook writers. I used the buckwheat tabbouleh recipe from Emma Galloway’s fab book and fused it with the idea of adding fresh strawberries from Sprouted Kitchen’s book which I bought some time ago.

If you pre-cook the buckwheat you can whip this salad up in no time. Of course if you are not a major fan of buckwheat you can substitute with another grain of choice. In traditional tabbouleh bulgur wheat is used. Bulgur is made cracked whole wheat and hence not gluten free.

 

straightforward nutrition

 

Tabbouleh is such a great dish for increasing the intake of fresh herbs. The key to a good tabbouleh is to use plenty of fresh flavoursome herbs. Ideally you want to keep the ratio of herbs to grain 1:1. So basically you end up with a very green, herb-y salad.

Fresh herbs like coriander, parsley and mint offers an excellent way to naturally support digestion and elimination as they offer a good source of natural enzymes and are also very cleansing to the body.

If you don’t have strawberries to hand, you can simply leave them out. Or why not try replacing them with another type of berry? Perhaps red currants for a tangy experience or maybe blueberries to add another colour dimension!

I’ve used pomegranate molasses here, as to be true to Emma’s original dressing but you can swap it for maple syrup if you wish. It will make you dressing a little sweeter though.

 

summer salad

Recipe inspired by My Darling Lemon Thyme & Sprouted Kitchen

 

Buckwheat Tabbouleh with Strawberries

Serves 4

1/2 cup raw hulled buckwheat groats

About 10 strawberries, washed, hulled & halved

A bunch of fresh coriander

A bunch of fresh parsley

A bunch of fresh mint – use less mint than the rest of the other herbs if you are using a particular strong variety

1/2 cucumber, washed & diced

10 yellow or red cherry tomatoes

3 spring onions, finely chopped

For the dressing:

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp pomegranate molasses ( or sub for maple syrup)

Sea salt & Black pepper, to season

Handful of pecan nuts, roughly chopped

Start by cooking the buckwheat groats. Bring 250 ml water with a pinch of salt to the boil. When the water is boiling add your rinsed buckwheat groats. Cover the saucepan with a lid, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15-20 min until all the water is absorbed and the grains are cooked through. Set aside to cool completely.

Tip- The buckwheat groat will appear a little transparent once cooked through. They should still hold their shape though.

Finely chop the herbs and set aside.

Make the dressing by mixing all olive oil, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses in a small bowl. Taste and season accordingly.

Once the buckwheat is completely cold, mix in the dressing and then add the rest of the ingredients. Gently give the whole salad a toss. Scatter the chopped pecan nuts over and serve.

You can serve the salad as it is on it’s own or as a side to a summery garden party. (If the weather permits!)

 

buckwheat tabbouleh