#fresh chervil

[askwhatsforlunch]

Pomegranate and Apple Red Cabbage Salad (Vegan)

Inspired by a Scandinavian recipe in this month's issue of The Simple Things, this bright and vibrant Pomegranate and Apple Red Cabbage Salad, glistening like jewels in a Winter's sunlight, brings a bit of colour and crunch to your lunch, and covers three of your five-a-day! Happy Monday!

Ingredients (serves 2):

1 heaped teaspoon pure honey (I used local Lucerne Honey, bought at the market)

1 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

a pinch of fleur de sel and freshly cracked black pepper

a quarter of a red cabbage

1 apple, rinsed

a quarter of a juicy pomegranate

a couple fluffy sprigs Garden Chervil 

In a medium bowl, combine honey, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, fleur de sel and black pepper. Stir energetically until well-blended. Set aside.

With a sharp knife, finely shred red cabbage.

Halve and core apple, then cut it into thin slices.

Release pomegranate seeds, removing any white bits.

Finely chop Garden Chervil.

Add shredded red cabbage, sliced apple, pomegranate seeds and chopped Chervil to the bowl, and toss gently to combine and coat in dressing.

Serve Pomegranate and Apple Red Cabbage Salad immediately, or chill in the refrigerator until serving time.

[askwhatsforlunch]

Garden Herb and Goat's Cheese Pasta (Vegetarian)

A hearty pasta dish always bring some sort of comfort to the one who eats it, all the more when it is as deliciously creamy as this Garden Herb and Goat's Cheese Pasta. And it's a very simple recipe, too! Happy Thursday!

Ingredients (serves 1):

1 ½ cup short pasta (like penne rigate or rotini)

1/3 cup good quality soft goat's cheese

a small bunch Garden Chives 

a small bunch Garden Chervil 

1/2 fluffy sprig soft Garden Rosemary 

a pinch of fleur de sel or sea salt flakes

1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons Rosemary Olive Oil

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook penne according to package’s directions, about 9 minutes until al dente.

Spoon goat's cheese in a medium bowl.

Finely chop Garden Chives, Chervil and Rosemary. Add chopped herbs to the bowl.

Season with fleur de sel and black pepper, and drizzle in Rosemary Olive Oil. Give a good stir until perfectly blended.

Once the penne are cooked, drain quickly, saving about 2 or 3 tablespoons of the cooking water, and stir both into the herby goat's cheese mixture, until the pasta is beautifully coated.

Enjoy Garden Herb Goat's Cheese Pasta hot, with a glass of chilled dry white wine, like a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc or Côtes de Gascogne.

[askwhatsforlunch]

Octopus Salad

Whether or not you're on holiday, the first spoonful of this beautifully fragrant Octopus Salad will so vividly take you to the seaside, you will hear the waves roll onto the sand! Happy Tuesday!

Ingredients (serves 2 to 3):

a small bunch Garden Chives 

a few sprigs Garden Dill 

2 fluffy sprigs Garden Parsley

2 fluffy sprigs Garden Chervil 

½ lemon

a small garlic clove

a good pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/4 teaspoon Piment d'Espelette or (slightly less) Cayenne Pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 red onion

365 grams/1.8 pound cooked Octopus 

Finely chop Garden Chives, Dill, Parsley and Chervil, and spoon into a salad bowl. Thoroughly grate in the zest of the lemon halve.

Peel garlic clove, and grate it in, as well.

Season with a pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and Piment d'Espelette.

Drizzle generously with olive oil, and give a good stir, to mix.

Then, thoroughly squeeze in the juice of the lemon halve, stirring energetically until well-blended. Set aside.

Peel and finely chop red onion, and stir into the bowl, coating in oil, herbs and spices.

Finally, cut the Octopus into small chunks, and stir into the salad bowl. Toss well to generously coat in dressing.

Place salad bowl in the refrigerator to chill, at least one hour.

Serve Octopus Salad cold, with a glass of chilled Pays d'Oc Rosé.

[askwhatsforlunch]

Cucumber Octopus Salad

Fragrant and refreshing, this Cucumber Octopus Salad makes a delicious Summer lunch. Happy Friday!

Ingredients (serves 2 to 3):

a small bunch Garden Chives 

a few sprigs Garden Dill 

2 fluffy sprigs Garden Chervil 

½ lemon

a good pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper

¼ teaspoon Piment d'Espelette or (slightly less) Cayenne Pepper

4 tablespoons olive oil

½ red onion

365 grams/1.8 pound cooked Octopus 

1/3 large cucumber, rinsed

Finely chop Garden Chives, Dill and Chervil, and spoon into a salad bowl. Thoroughly grate in the zest of the lemon halve.

Season with a pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and Piment d'Espelette.

Drizzle generously with olive oil, and give a good stir, to mix.

Then, thoroughly squeeze in the juice of the lemon halve, stirring energetically until well-blended. Set aside.

Peel and finely chop red onion, and stir into the bowl, coating in oil, herbs and spices.

Finally, cut the Octopus into small chunks, and stir into the salad bowl. Toss well to generously coat in dressing.

Dice cucumber, and stir into the salad, coating well in dressing, too.

Place salad bowl in the refrigerator to chill, at least one hour.

Serve Cucumber Octopus Salad cold, with a glass of chilled Pays d'Oc Rosé.

[askwhatsforlunch]

Hollandaise Salmon Pasta

This beautiful Hollandaise Salmon Pasta, with its more-ish silky sauce, makes good use of leftovers and a hearty and tasty lunch. Happy Tuesday!

Ingredients (serves 3):

2 ½ cups short pasta (such as penne or rotini)

a small bunch fresh Garden Chervil 

3/4 cup Chervil Hollandaise Sauce

about 180 grams/6 ounces leftover Poached Salmon

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

In a pot of salted boiling water, cook penne according to package’s directions, about 9 minutes until al dente.

Finely chop Garden Chervil.

Once the penne are cooked, drain quickly, saving about 1/3 cup of the cooking water, and return pasta to its pot. Stir in Chervil Hollandaise Sauce, and return over a low flame, gradually adding starchy pasta water until a smooth sliky sauce coats the pasta beautifully.

Flake in Poached Salmon, and cook, over a gentle heat, until warmed, stirring often to prevent sauce from curdling. Fold in chopped Chervil, and season with black pepper.

Serve Hollandaise Salmon Pasta hot, with a glass of chilled dry white wine, like Sauvignon Blanc or Cheverny.

[askwhatsforlunch]

Radish and Cucumber Salad (Vegan)

This refreshing Radish and Cucumber Salad is a delightfully light and fragrant lunch, especially enjoyable when eaten in the garden, whence all the herbs come from!

Ingredients (serves 1):

1 heaped teaspoon Dijon Mustard

1/2 teaspoon demerara sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

a fluffy sprig Garden Dill 

a fluffy sprig Garden Chervil

a fluffy sprig Garden Parsley 

1/4 cucumber

half a dozen radishes

In a small bowl, combine Dijon Mustard and demerara sugar. Give a good stir until sugar starts dissolving. Stir in apple cider vinegar and olive oil until well-blended.

Finely chop Garden Dill, Chervil and Parsley, and stir into the Mustard mixture until combined.

Peel and dice cucumber.

Cut radishes into thin slices.

Add cucumber dices and radish slices to the bowl, and toss well to coat in dressing.

Enjoy Radish and Cucumber Salad immediately, with a glass of chilled Chardonnay, or chill until serving time.

[askwhatsforlunch]

Lemon and Garden Herb Asparagus

These bright, fragrant and delightfully buttery Lemon and Garden Herb Asparagus make a delicious May Day lunch! Have a good one!

Ingredients (serves 2):

about 2 dozens green asparagus, rinsed

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 lemon

3 fluffy sprigs Garden Chervil 

a small bunch Garden Chives 

half a dozen leaves fresh mint

a pinch of fleur de sel or sea salt flakes

Chervil Hollandaise Sauce, warmed, to serve

Trim the bottoms of the asparagus.

Bring a large, deep pan of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir in coarse salt, and add the asparagus. Cook, 5 minutes.

Once cooked, immediately plunge the asparagus in a bowl of ice water, to stop cooking. Drain thoroughly.

In a large frying pan, melt butter with olive oil over a medium flame. Once the butter is just foaming, grate in the zest of the whole lemon. Cook, 1 minute.

Finely chop Chervil, Chives and mint, and add half of the chopped herbs to the pan. Cook, 1 minute more.

Add asparagus to the pan, shaking gently to coat them in herbs and butter. Cook, shaking often, about 5 to 7 minutes until just browning. Sprinkle with fleur de sel. Add remaining chopped Chervil, Chives and mint, and toss, to coat.

Serve Lemon and Garden Herb Asparagus immediately, with warm Chervil Hollandaise Sauce, buttered Sourdough toasts and chilled dry white wine, like a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.

[askwhatsforlunch]

Ray with Herb Caper Butter Sauce

The delicate flesh of the fish is beautifully, generously enhanced with the delicious sauce in this Ray with Herb Caper Butter Sauce! It makes an elegant lunch or dinner for two, as well! Happy Friday!

Ingredients (serves 2):

a small bunch Garden Chervil 

a small bunch Garden Chives 

1 heaped teaspoon coarse sea salt

1 litre/1 quart water

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

630 grams fresh ray wing, cut into two

Garden Herb Caper Butter Sauce, warmed

Tear Garden Chervil and Chives into a large, wide, deep pot. Add coarse sea salt and cover with water. Stir in apple cider vinegar.

Lower ray wing pieces into the pot so they are submerged. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat. Once just boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, 15 to 20 minutes, until the ray is cooked.

Gently lift cooked ray wing pieces from their broth (it's excellent to make soups or risotti!) and drain well before placing onto serving dish.

Drizzle ray very generously with warm Garden Herb Caper Butter Sauce.

Serve Ray with Herb Caper Butter Sauce hot, with spinach and boiled New Potatoes .