Life has been hectic for me since I have become a mom! 🙂 I am getting back into the swing of things and should be back to regular posting soon but until then I asked my food blogger friends to share their favourite vegetarian or vegan meals with me & you and answer my questions in a short interview.
The first guest on my blog is my dear friend, Regula from Belgium who writes the beautiful Miss Foodwise blog (did you know that her blog is Jamie Oliver’s favourite one? :)). If you haven’t visited yet, I suggest heading over right away for stunning, mouthwatering recipes, amazing food photography and great, historical stories about British food and culture. Regula is sharing a fresh, spring-summer salad recipe with you all. Here is Regula…
“I’m very excited to be on Zita’s blog today. We met two years ago at Food Blogger Connect and have been friends ever since. It’s so lovely to have friends all over the world, you learn about everyone’s culture and food. I bring you one of my favourite salad recipe that is very easy to make.”
Peas and Broad Beans Salad
Ingredients (serves 2-3)
– a bunch of fresh mint
– 2 cups fresh or frozen peas
– 2 cups broad beans
– 250 g Ricotta
– pepper and salt
– olive oil
– 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Method
Take the broad beans out of their pods and cook them for 10 minutes (not any longer!), then peel them. Blanch your frozen or fresh peas for 20 seconds (longer if you don’t like a pea al dente).
Take the leaves of the mint and dress them on the plate. Toss the peas and broad beans over the mint leaves and combine with your hands sprinkle over the lemon juice. Tear the Ricotta and arrange over the peas, broad beans and the mint. Season generously with olive oil, salt and pepper.
*****
Interview to get to know Regula a bit more…
Where are you from? Where do you live?
R: My name is Regula and I was born in Belgium where I still live.
What is the name of your blog?
R: Miss Foodwise is my blog about British food and culture.
How long have you been blogging?
R: I have been blogging almost every week for 1,5 years. It started out as a blog collecting all my pictures of food finds in Britain and Italy, my two favourite foodie nations. I then decided to focus on my biggest passion: Britain and its culture, of course this means food and I put it all to paper – or screen – with my camera.
When did you start cooking/baking? Who (where) did you learn cooking/baking from?
R: I started cooking thanks to ‘The Naked Chef‘ -I must have been 12 – making notes of every episode in my little red book.
What is your signature dish?
R: I don’t really have a signature dish as I think cooking constantly evolves. Ask me again in ten years! 😉
What is your favourite vegetarian/vegan meal?
R: My favourite vegan meal is a cauliflower couscous we made in Tuscany with friends, you know as you were there. 🙂
Where do you get inspiration from?
R: Where do I get my inspiration from… my love for Britain of course, and the travels I do around the country.
What was the most memorable food you have eaten during your travels?
R: The most memorable food I’ve ever eaten during my travels was a fish meal on the coast in Tuscany. We first went on a boat to catch mackerel and then had a gorgeous dinner watching the sun set over the golden beach.
Name three things you always have in your fridge!
R: Eggs, butter and cheese so I always have a simple meal.
Is there a food that always reminds you of home?
R: My mums Moussaka, I’ve tried to cook it myself but it never tastes the same as she cooks it. So when I think of home I think of Moussaka and the family sitting around the table and my dad making silly jokes.
What would people be surprised to find in your kitchen? Is there anything you want to share?
R: I always have a can of vegetable macedonia tucked away to create a post war salad with my grandmother used to make. I’m not a fan of canned verggies but this salad has to be made with it as my nan made it like that too.
—
All photos are courtesy of Regula Ysewijn.
