With her free database of healthy, low-waste and pantry-friendly recipes (available by emailing rozannestevens@gmail.com), chef and culinary researcher Rozanne Stevens has garnered quite the COVID-19 quarantine following. Her focus on food is to keep things simple, healthy and delicious.
Serves four
People often ask me what my favourite thing is to cook. It depends on my mood, but I do love creating beautiful salads that are light and fresh but still satisfying. By adding protein and some carbs to the mix, it’s easy to turn a leafy salad into a main course meal.
I find myself making versions of this classic salad a couple of times a week during spring, when asparagus is in season. You can also use traditional green beans. Mangetout, sugarsnap peas and even small florets of blanched broccoli would be lovely. Think crunchy and green.
While fresh salmon is delicious, tinned salmon works perfectly fine in this recipe. Just drain and mix with the dressing. It also works well with tinned tuna or sardines.
Ingredients
For the salmon:
250ml water250ml white wine2 salmon fillets1 bay leaf1 tbsp capersA few fresh dill fronds1/2 lemonFor the salad:
250g baby potatoes, halved6 free-range eggs1 bunch asparagus or green beans250g cherry tomatoes, halved2 baby Cos lettuces, leaves separated and washed2 tbsp capers, drainedsmall bunch of dilllemon wedges, to serveFor the dressing:
1 small garlic clove, peeledjuice of 1/2 lemon1 tbsp olive oil1 tsp Dijon mustard1 tsp honeysalt and pepperDirections
1 In a large pot of water, boil the baby potatoes for 15-20 minutes until just tender. Drain and set aside.
2 Meanwhile, pour the water and wine into a small saucepan and add the fish. Add the bay leaf, capers, a few dill fronds and a squeeze of lemon. Slowly bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for four minutes. Allow to rest for three minutes before gently flaking the fish into large pieces.
3 Place the eggs in a pot of cold water and bring up to the boil. Reduce to a vigorous simmer for six minutes. Drain and cover with cold water, then peel off the shell and cut the eggs in half.
4 Blanch the asparagus for green beans for three minutes, then refresh in ice water.
5 Pour all the dressing ingredients into a clean jam jar and shake to emulsify.
6 Gently toss together the baby potatoes, hardboiled eggs, asparagus, tomatoes, lettuce, capers and flaked salmon. Drizzle over the dressing and sprinkle over the fronds of dill. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Salmon Nicoise Salad.
Serves 4
We all have those moments or times in the day when we get the nibbles and we want something to munch on. We may not even be really hungry, and it could be out of sheer boredom or frustration from our current situation. Rather than go on the rampage and work your way through the cupboards and fridge, be ready for the next snack attack with some easy options that you can prepare.
Popcorn is a great snack option, filling, full of fibre and fun to munch on. And it is actually considered a wholegrain, so it's pretty wholesome. You could of course just pop a bag of microwave popcorn, but where would the fun be in that?
Doing something creative, especially with your hands, is also a great distraction when you are stressed, and has been proven to help disrupt negative thought patterns. This also helps us focus more in the present moment and avoid mindlessly shovelling food.
This recipe might sound a little bonkers, but the contrasting sweet and salty flavours and the crunchy textures really work. These are proven flavour combinations; presented to you in a new way. It is also a great way to use up produce like apples and celery that we buy with the best of intentions to be healthy, but don’t get around to eating.
Ingredients
2 tbsp sunflower oil220g popcorn kernels OR 1 bag of microwave popcornSea salt3 stalks of celery1 red apple, thinly sliced250g seedless grapes50g roasted cashew nuts1 tbsp smoked paprika60g melted butter Directions
1 Place a large pot on the hob and heat the sunflower oil. Add one kernel of popcorn to test the heat of the oil. If it pops, it’s ready the popcorn, cover with a lid, shake and pop until the popping noises stop. Alternatively, you can pop a bag of microwave popcorn.
2 Add all the popcorn, cover the pot with a lid and wait until the popping stops.
3 Remove the tough fibres of celery stalks by starting from one end of the celery, grabbing the strings and pulling down the lengths. Thinly slice the celery.
4 Season well with salt, then mix through the celery, apple slices, grapes and cashews.
5 Sprinkle over the paprika and drizzle over the butter just before serving.
Waldorf salad popcorn.
Twitter: @RozanneStevens
Instagram: @RozanneStevens
With her free database of healthy, low-waste and pantry-friendly recipes (available by emailing rozannestevens@gmail.com), chef and culinary researcher Rozanne Stevens has garnered quite the COVID-19 quarantine following. Her focus on food is to keep things simple, healthy and delicious.
Serves four
People often ask me what my favourite thing is to cook. It depends on my mood, but I do love creating beautiful salads that are light and fresh but still satisfying. By adding protein and some carbs to the mix, it’s easy to turn a leafy salad into a main course meal.
I find myself making versions of this classic salad a couple of times a week during spring, when asparagus is in season. You can also use traditional green beans. Mangetout, sugarsnap peas and even small florets of blanched broccoli would be lovely. Think crunchy and green.
While fresh salmon is delicious, tinned salmon works perfectly fine in this recipe. Just drain and mix with the dressing. It also works well with tinned tuna or sardines.
Ingredients
For the salmon:
250ml water250ml white wine2 salmon fillets1 bay leaf1 tbsp capersA few fresh dill fronds1/2 lemonFor the salad:
250g baby potatoes, halved6 free-range eggs1 bunch asparagus or green beans250g cherry tomatoes, halved2 baby Cos lettuces, leaves separated and washed2 tbsp capers, drainedsmall bunch of dilllemon wedges, to serveFor the dressing:
1 small garlic clove, peeledjuice of 1/2 lemon1 tbsp olive oil1 tsp Dijon mustard1 tsp honeysalt and pepperDirections
1 In a large pot of water, boil the baby potatoes for 15-20 minutes until just tender. Drain and set aside.
2 Meanwhile, pour the water and wine into a small saucepan and add the fish. Add the bay leaf, capers, a few dill fronds and a squeeze of lemon. Slowly bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for four minutes. Allow to rest for three minutes before gently flaking the fish into large pieces.
3 Place the eggs in a pot of cold water and bring up to the boil. Reduce to a vigorous simmer for six minutes. Drain and cover with cold water, then peel off the shell and cut the eggs in half.
4 Blanch the asparagus for green beans for three minutes, then refresh in ice water.
5 Pour all the dressing ingredients into a clean jam jar and shake to emulsify.
6 Gently toss together the baby potatoes, hardboiled eggs, asparagus, tomatoes, lettuce, capers and flaked salmon. Drizzle over the dressing and sprinkle over the fronds of dill. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
Salmon Nicoise Salad.
Serves 4
We all have those moments or times in the day when we get the nibbles and we want something to munch on. We may not even be really hungry, and it could be out of sheer boredom or frustration from our current situation. Rather than go on the rampage and work your way through the cupboards and fridge, be ready for the next snack attack with some easy options that you can prepare.
Popcorn is a great snack option, filling, full of fibre and fun to munch on. And it is actually considered a wholegrain, so it's pretty wholesome. You could of course just pop a bag of microwave popcorn, but where would the fun be in that?
Doing something creative, especially with your hands, is also a great distraction when you are stressed, and has been proven to help disrupt negative thought patterns. This also helps us focus more in the present moment and avoid mindlessly shovelling food.
This recipe might sound a little bonkers, but the contrasting sweet and salty flavours and the crunchy textures really work. These are proven flavour combinations; presented to you in a new way. It is also a great way to use up produce like apples and celery that we buy with the best of intentions to be healthy, but don’t get around to eating.
Ingredients
2 tbsp sunflower oil220g popcorn kernels OR 1 bag of microwave popcornSea salt3 stalks of celery1 red apple, thinly sliced250g seedless grapes50g roasted cashew nuts1 tbsp smoked paprika60g melted butter Directions
1 Place a large pot on the hob and heat the sunflower oil. Add one kernel of popcorn to test the heat of the oil. If it pops, it’s ready the popcorn, cover with a lid, shake and pop until the popping noises stop. Alternatively, you can pop a bag of microwave popcorn.
2 Add all the popcorn, cover the pot with a lid and wait until the popping stops.
3 Remove the tough fibres of celery stalks by starting from one end of the celery, grabbing the strings and pulling down the lengths. Thinly slice the celery.
4 Season well with salt, then mix through the celery, apple slices, grapes and cashews.
5 Sprinkle over the paprika and drizzle over the butter just before serving.
Waldorf salad popcorn.
Twitter: @RozanneStevens
Instagram: @RozanneStevens
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