Category: Vegetables

Green Casserole was invented by Dorcas Reilly in the test kitchens of Campbells Soup. The traditional recipe used two of their products; condensed cream of mushroom soup and French’s fried onions. Campbells estimated it was served at 20 million Thanksgiving dinners in 2020. I’ve experimented with ‘gourmet’ versions and – to be frank – I still find it uninspiring. There’s plenty of rich food on the table, a green bean salad is fresh, bright and crunchy. Also, easy to make ahead and doesn’t use any oven space.

Green Bean Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Feta, Red Onion & Dijon Vinaigrette 

Serves 10–12 as a side

Ingredients 

For the salad

• 1.2 kg fresh green beans (regular or thin haricots verts), trimmed 
• 400 g cherry tomatoes, halved (mixed colours look prettiest) 
• 1 medium red onion (about 150 g), very thinly sliced 
• 200 g feta cheese, crumbled (use Greek feta in brine for best flavour) 
• – Optional: 50 g toasted pine nuts or flaked almonds for extra crunch 

For the Dijon vinaigrette (makes about 150 ml) 

• 3 Tbsp Dijon mustard 
• 2 Tbsp honey 
• 60 ml red wine vinegar 
• 120 ml extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 small shallot, finely minced
• ½ tsp fine sea salt 
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper 

Instructions

Make 1–2 days ahead 

1. Blanch the green beans:  
   – Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 Tbsp salt. 
   – Add green beans and cook 3 minutes only (they should stay bright green and crisp-tender). 
   – Immediately drain and plunge into a big bowl of ice water for 2 minutes. 
   – Drain well, pat dry with a clean tea towel or paper towels. 
     → You can store the blanched beans in the fridge up to 2 days at this point
   
2. Make the vinaigrette  
   – Put mustard, honey, vinegar, shallot, salt, and pepper in a jar with a tight lid. 
   – Shake well, then add olive oil and shake again until thick and creamy. 
   – Taste and add a little more honey or salt if needed. 
     → Keeps in the fridge for 1 week.
   
3. Assemble the salad (up to 2 days ahead) 
   – In a large mixing bowl, combine blanched green beans, cherry tomatoes, and sliced red onion.
   – Pour over about ¾ of the vinaigrette and toss gently. 
   – Transfer to your serving bowl. 
   – Cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate.
   
4.    Serving
   – Take the salad out of the fridge 30–60 minutes before serving so it’s not ice-cold. 
   – Scatter crumbled feta (and toasted nuts if using) on top. 
   – Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the top, give it a gentle toss, and serve. 

This salad is light, colourful, and gives everyone a fresh break from all the rich foods. Kids and adults both love it, and you’ll get tons of compliments with almost no work on the day. 

Make ahead mashed potatoes was a game changer for me. I love mashed potatoes but making enough for 12 people can turn the kitchen into a bomb site. And it’s normally a last minute thing so when you get up from the Thanksgiving table it’s all waiting for you. This one also uses the slow cooker for warming so it saves precious oven space on the day.

Can be made 1 to 3 days ahead.

Recipe – Makes enough for 10 to 12 people.

Ingredients

• 4 kg Yukon Gold potatoes (or half Yukon Gold / half starchy floury potatoes), peeled and cut into 4 cm chunks 
• 225 g salted butter, cut into pieces 
• 300 ml heavy cream (whipping cream, 35–38% fat) 
• 250 ml whole milk (plus a little extra when reheating if needed) 
• 225 g full-fat cream cheese, softened – this keeps them ultra-creamy after reheating – use Philadelphia, there is something about that is not replicable
• 2½–3 tsp fine sea salt (start with 2½ tsp, adjust to taste) 
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 
• Optional finishing: 3–4 Tbsp chopped fresh chives or parsley 

Instructions

1. Put the peeled potato chunks in a large pot, cover with cold water, add 1 Tbsp salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer 15–20 minutes until completely tender when pierced with a knife. 

2. While the potatoes cook, gently warm the butter, cream, and milk together in a saucepan until the butter melts and the mixture is steaming hot (do not boil). 

3. Drain the potatoes very well. Let them sit in the colander for 3–4 minutes so excess steam evaporates. 

4. Return the potatoes to the still-warm pot and place over the lowest heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly, to dry them out further (this step prevents watery mash). 

5. Mash or rice the potatoes (a potato ricer gives the silkiest texture).  I get out the ricer, one of it;s few outings every year but there is no substitute.

6. Immediately add the warm cream/butter mixture, the softened cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Fold gently with a large spatula until just combined – do not overwork or they turn gluey. 

7. Taste and add more salt if needed (they should taste slightly overseasoned because the flavor mellows in the fridge). 

8. Transfer to a buttered 23×33 cm (9×13 inch) baking dish or two smaller dishes. I put mine straight into the slow cooker pot. Smooth the top, dot with a few extra knobs of butter, and sprinkle with chives or paprika if you like. 

9. Cool completely, then cover tightly: press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, then cover with foil. Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Reheating on Thanksgiving Day – two best methods

Method 1 – Oven (gives the best creamy texture)** 

• Remove from fridge 1 hour before reheating. 
• Dot with 2–3 extra Tbsp butter and splash 3–4 Tbsp milk or cream over the top. 
• Cover with foil and bake at 180°C (fan 160°C) for 30–40 minutes. 
• Remove foil, stir well, and continue baking 10–15 minutes uncovered until piping hot. Stir again before serving.

Method 2 – Slow cooker (mostly hands-off) 

• Transfer cold potatoes to a buttered slow cooker. 
• Dot with butter and add a splash of milk. 
• -Heat on LOW for 2–3 hours, stirring every 45–60 minutes. Switch to WARM until ready to serve. These stay silky-smooth and taste like you just made them

Yet another courgette (zucchini) recipe! Why, you ask? It’s too early for garden glut. I have signed up for a veg box delivery service to help us eat more vegetables in the winter. There’s a couple of purple cabbage recipes on the way as well. Guess what there’s a lot of in the veg box – oh yes, courgettes.

This is a quick bread recipe, so raised with baking powder and baking soda, not yeast. I used buttermilk (full fat obvs) for my recipe but any fermented milk product will probably do the trick; Greek yoghurt, creme fraiche, sour cream. There’s no butter or oil in the recipe so it does need the fat from the dairy products to achieve a good texture. Keep an eye on consistency, I found this batter relatively dry. If yours is too dry to spread in the pans, thin it out with milk.

You can also be flexible with the herbs: I used dried basil and dried chives because that’s what I had in the cupboard. You can also try some garlic or add in a handful of finely chopped spring onions.

One ‘must’ with this recipe – use small (1 pound) loaf pans and line them with parchment or purchased paper liners. Otherwise – a sticky mess and possibly new pans in your future. Also, try disposable miniature loaf pans for single portions, reduce the cooking time. My recipe made 3 modest small loaves, you could possibly cram the batter into 2 small pans.

Let’s get cooking.

Recipe

Ingredients

450 grams of courgettes (2 medium)

1 tsp sea salt

125 grams of plain white flour

125 grams of whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tablespoons dried chives

2 tablespoons dried basil

150 grams cheddar cheese

3 large eggs

170 grams buttermilk (3/4 cup)

Instructions

1. Grate the courgettes, add the teaspoon of sea salt, stir through, put in a colander in the sink and drain out the liquid. Leave for at least 30 minutes. When you’re ready to cook the recipe, put the courgettes in a clean tea towel and squeeze out the remaining liquid. Put to one side.
2. Preheat the over to 180C (350F). Needs a lower temperature and a longer cooking time to bake through.
3. Grate the cheese, put to one side.
4. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, baking soda, remaining salt) until well combined.
5. Add the shredded courgettes to the dry ingredients, it should look like the individual shreds are coated with flour.
6. Add the basil and chives (and any other spices of your choice) and the grated cheddar, combine with your hands or a baking whisk.
7. Beat together the eggs and buttermilk, in a separate bowl.
8. Fold the buttermilk and eggs into the dry mixture. As with any quick bread – do not beat or overstir, just until its combined. Makes it tough.
9. Using your trigger scoop, fill your prepared pans about 2/3 to 3/4 full. If you’ve gone for fuller pans, line a baking sheet and put them on that. Unless you like cleaning your oven, you’ll be glad you did this.
10. Bake for an hour in the lower part of the oven, if using 1 pound loaf pans, 45 minutes if using smaller loaf casings. It seems like a along time, but it’s a thick batter and needs the time to cook through. If the tops look too brown, cover with a piece of foil but don’t undercook.
11. Cool completely before removing. Lovely with just butter. We also toasted and had with our boiled eggs in the morning.

Thank you for reading the blog and trying the recipes. Let me know how it went in the comments below or on social media @mamadolson on Twitter and Instagram.

I love buffalo wings. I remember eating buffalo wings so hot it burned our lips and made us cry in the snack bar overlooking the ice rink at Rockefeller Center. If food had no consequences for weight or health I’m pretty sure I could live on buffalo wings, chocolate ice cream, deep fried zucchini and champagne. Sadly, this is not the case. I’ve had to seek out an alternative to buffalo wings. And inspired by the buffalo cauliflower (discontinued!) at Smith & Wollensky London, I’ve been trying out various methods for oven baked buffalo cauliflower. I do have a deep fat fryer but I’m afraid to try a deep fried version – it might be irresistible. So baked it must be.

Good news and bad news. Baked buffalo cauliflower tastes fabulous = good news. I cannot make it crunchy = bad news. My recipe below makes it less soggy and less messy but crunchy it is not. Still a great way to make cauliflower interesting (without cheese sauce and macaroni) and it’s relatively healthy.

There is a bit of ‘in and out’ of the oven with this recipe. And some tips to decrease the soggy quotient but it’s fairly simple. I started with a recipe from Cookie&Kate and adapted it for European ingredients, methods, measurements and eliminating garlic.

I use Frank’s Red Hot Sauce in my wings, feel free to use your favourite. Here’s a great article on hot sauce from Spruce Eats. Make it vegan by using your favourite butter substitute.

Recipe

• 1 large head of cauliflower (kilo or more)
• 15 grams or 2 tablespoons of corn flour (corn starch for Americans)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 to 4 tablespoons of your favourite hot sauce, to taste (see above for choices)
• 30 grams unsalted butter, melted

Equipment

Four things can help with this recipe – it’s all about more crisp and less soggy.

• Use a Ziplock bag to coat the florets with corn flour and spices.
• Put parchment paper on your baking sheet(s)
• Try using a fine mesh rack over the baking parchment
• Use the fan oven

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan oven (220C no fan)(425F) with racks in the bottom half of the oven.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent the cauliflower from sticking. If you have fine mesh racks (say for cookie cooling or similar use those as well)
3. Cut the cauliflower into florets no more than 5 cms (2 inches) in size.
4. Put the cornstarch, cumin and pepper in a Ziplock. Shake to mix. Add the cauliflower florets and shake until well coated.
5. Drizzle in the olive oil and toss again until lightly and evenly coated.
6. Arrange the florets evenly across the prepared baking sheets. Space them out well – they would fit on a single baking sheet but spaced out gives a better result.
7. Roast the cauliflower for 20 minutes on the lower rack, then gently toss. Return the pan to the lower rack and bake until the cauliflower is tender and golden, about 10 more minutes. 
8. Meanwhile combine the hot sauce and melted butter. Whisk to combine. Taste, and stir in another tablespoon of hot sauce if desired. Once the cauliflower is golden, transfer it to the bowl and gently toss until the cauliflower is well coated. 
9. Arrange the cauliflower on the pan in a single layer once again. Return the pan to the oven and bake until the cauliflower is blistered in spots, about 10 more minutes. Serve as desired with blue cheese or Ranch style dressing.

Thank you for reading the blog and cooking the recipes. Tag me @mamadolson on Instagram or Twitter if you’ve got photos. Leave your comments and ask your questions below.

I stumbled across this ‘recipe’ the other day and it’s so simple and so good that you wonder where has it been all your life. Let me sum up – baste slices of courgette (zucchini you Americans) or aubergine (eggplant again for los Americanos) with olive oil and herbs and spices of your choice, throw on a hot grill, turn over, remove and eat.

I had tried different ways to cook courgettes on the grill as we (well the Davinator) often cooks over naked flame in the summer time. We have actually had a summer this year, some warm dry weather, rising to high 30s (38 = 100C) for two days. I tried courgette kebabs, making courgettes into ribbons and threading on kebabs – producing okay outcomes but nothing as lovely and simple grilling them.

We served these to some family members (2 of our grown children and their partners) and they gobbled them up so I’m claiming universal appeal. Five minutes of prep, 10 minutes on the grill and you’re ready to eat. Surprisingly – these did not stick to the grill either. ‘Cook until soft’ says the Davinator.

Recipe – generous for two people

Ingredients

• Olive oil (use the good stuff)
• salt
• pepper
• a small bunch fresh parsley or coriander (cilantro)
• substitute any herbs that you like, fresh or dried
• one large or two medium courgettes

Method

1. Find a flat bottomed dish, coat the bottom generously with oil, add salt, pepper and your choice of fresh or dried herbs and stir in.
2. Top and tail the courgettes. Slice lengthwise, about 1/2 to 1 cm thick. As you slice them, lay them in the dish, turn over and stack to one side. When all sliced and in, turn them all over a couple of times, cover the dish with cling film and carry it out to the grill.
3. Place on a hot barbecue, give them approximately 5 minutes per side on the high heat. You might want to pick them up and move them to keep them from burning. When they are soft and golden, they are ready to eat.

You can do the same with aubergine and if you have some beefy tomatoes, slice those and try them alongside.

Thank you for reading the blog and cooking the recipes. Leave comments and tag me if you’re cooking them, @mamadolson on Instagram & Twitter.

I came across a version of this recipe in the Silver Palate ‘New Basics’ Cookbook. The Silver Palate was a gourmet take out food store on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, opened in 1977 by two women, Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins. It was a novel concept for its time and they eventually wrote 3 cookbooks. They are all good cookbooks and mine have fallen apart over the years from usage. Their ethos; great ingredients cooked with care make good food. Good food shared with friends makes great meals.

I’ve adapted this recipe over time, eliminating garlic, adding more vegetables and a mustard coating for the lamb. This is a great meal, with reasonably quick prep and not much fuss. One big dish to wash up. Eight generous servings. It’s a family style food with gourmet level taste. I recently cooked this dish in a self catering holiday let – notoriously short on speciality cooking implements. The only thing I really missed was my handheld mandolin but I had a great sous chef in my friend Lisa. She’s an artist (see her work here) and her nimble fingers made short work of the repeated ‘slice thin’ instructions below. Sharp knives and a sous chef or a mandolin highly recommended. You’ll also need a little rack or some skewers to hold the lamb slightly above the level of the vegetable gratin.

Time to get cooking.

Ingredients

• 1 kilo of good quality potatoes, well scrubbed, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper
• 2 large onions thinly sliced
• 2 medium courgettes, thinly sliced
• 5 medium tomatoes cored and thinly sliced
• 100 mls dry white wine
• 100 mls olive oil
• 1 leg of lamb, with bone in (approximately 2 – 3 kilos)
• 3 tablespoons of grainy mustard
• Several sprigs of fresh rosemary

Method

• Strip the leaves of the rosemary and chop small. Reserve half for the mustard coating.
• Preheat oven to 200°C (180C if fan)
• Pour a slug of olive oil in a gratin pan or roasting tin.
• Arrange potato slices in bottom of pan.
• Season with salt, pepper, some of the rosemary.
• Add a layer of courgettes and seasoning.
• Add a layer of onions and seasoning.
• Add a layer of tomatoes and seasoning on top.
• Drizzle with wine and oil.
• Trim the thicker portions of fat from the leg of lamb.
• Mix the remaining rosemary with the mustard and just enough olive oil to make a thick paste.
• Cut several shallow cuts in the lamb fat.
• Place lamb on a sturdy rack directly on top of gratin pan so the lovely fat and juices run into the vegetables.
• Season the lamb with salt & pepper, then cover well with mustard paste.
• Roast, uncovered, for about 1 hour and 15 minutes for rare lamb (1 hour and 45 minutes for well-done); no need to turn the lamb or baste.
• Remove from oven and allow to sit for 20 minutes before carving.

If you’re feeling the need, you can include a green vegetable or a salad with the lamb and gratin. (We didn’t). The Davinator suggests a Grignan-Les Adehemar as the perfect wine accompaniment. Or, another mid-Rhone syrah based red wine.

Thank you for reading the blog and cooking the recipes. Find me on Twitter and Instagram ‘@mamadolson’ on both.

It’s that time of year – the garden plot is producing in abundance. Courgettes (zucchini) are always reliable, productive and seemingly disease resistant, at least in my garden. Here’s a link to 50 Ways to Use Your Squashes for ways to deal with the glut that that often results. One of the easiest is to oven roast them. Roasting has the benefit of helping you use up what ever excess you have in the garden or the refrigerator, it’s low calorie and vegan.

The roast vegetables in the photo include two yellow courgettes, some cavolo nero, two slightly aged shallots and the last handful of cherry tomatoes. I always use courgettes in this dish and usually an onion or two. But I’ve also included broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, peppers, aubergines (eggplant) and kale as well. This dish is very flexible. I wouldn’t use crunchy root vegetables like carrots, celery and radishes but otherwise most vegetables will blend nicely. I hate beets (beetroot) so never put them in any thing.

I’ve included a recipe below but it’s for illustrative purposes. Improvisation is your friend with this recipe. Change up any or all of the ingredients and the spices.

Recipe

Ingredients

2 medium sized courgettes (zucchini) 300 to 500 grams

1 bunch of cavolo nero or kale

2 large shallots or 1 onion

10 cherry tomatoes

Toasted sesame oil or olive oil

1 teaspoon of chilli flakes

2 teaspoons of dried chives

Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160C. Prep a shallow flat roasting pan – I use glass because it cleans well. Put a tablespoon of oil in the bottom of the pan.
2. Strip the cavolo nero off the stems and chop the leaves into 2 to 3 inch pieces. Place in the roasting pan.
3. Top and tail the courgettes. Cut in half, then split the halves. Cut courgettes into chunks and place in the roasting pan.
4. Peel the shallots or onions and slice into rounds. Throw into the pan on top of the courgettes.
5. Take the tomatoes off the stems and put in the roasting pan.
6. Drizzle another tablespoon of oil over the top of the vegetables. Sprinkle the chilli flakes and chives over the vegetables and top off with a twist of salt and pepper.
7. Place in the oven for 30 minutes. Give it a stir about half way through the roasting time.
8. Remove from the oven and serve. If you make extra, they are lovely cold or reheated.

Thanks for reading the blog, making the recipes and your comments and feedback.