Weekend Herb Blogging #326 - Recap

It's been great fun hosting this week and what I love most about WHB is having those "haven't seen that before" or "what a great idea" moments. I can assure you, you'll be saying it too.

Thanks again for joining and sharing your knowledge and good food - I hope to see you again next week when Terry from Crumpets & Co is our host - full details can be found in the hosting announcement.

As usual, I've presented the dishes in order of main ingredient and we begin with:

Almond

Parmesan, Almond and Pepper cookies
Brii from Briggishome

Brii has baked a lovely buttery cookie - flavoured with parmesan and a little pepper. There's a lovely textural element coming from the addition of almond meal and grated parmesan.


Banana

Moist Banana Muffin
Vivan from Vivan Pang Kitchen

Picture perfect muffins that Vivan promises are "super easy and super moist" - with their adorable almond crusted tops you'll want to make a double batch.


Capers

Pike or Trout in Sauce
Cinzia from Cindystar

Cinzia has prepared a zingy sauce - made with olive oil, anchovies, capers and a little cinnamon that is used to marinade poached trout or pike. The poached fish is left to infuse for at least half a day to ensure it soaks in those lovely flavours. Be sure to take a peek at the pike - that's a scary face!


Cauliflower

Cauliflower Risotto with Tofu Bacon
Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe

How do you get a creamy risotto if you're a vegan? Well, Johanna supplies the answer - you use cauliflower! You boil the cauliflower until soft and then blend it with some of the cooking water and stock powder. You then proceed as normal in making the risotto and near the end add in the cauliflower mixture. Brilliant!


Collard Greens

Collard Wrap with Hummus, Artichoke Hearts and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Janet from Taste Space

Janet has been going wrap crazy of late and she's come up with a fabulous idea for an alternative wrapper - using collard green leaves! She's given this wrap a touch of the mediterranean by filling it with hummus, artichoke, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, basil and garlic chives.


Horseradish

Horseradish Mayonnaise



My offering of a home-made mayonnaise infused with fresh horseradish.


Mango

Mango Yoghurt Chiffon Cake
Cheah from No-Frills Recipes

Who doesn't love a Chiffon Cake - I know it's hard to resist but Cheah's mango studded version makes it virtually impossible. It's a triple mango feast with diced mango, mango yoghurt and pureed mango all going into the mix.


Mixed Herbs/Peas

Many Herbs and Pea Risotto
Rebecca from Veghotpot

It's a good week for risotto lovers and vegans because Rebecca is also sharing a vegan friendly risotto. With a gorgeous summery feel, it's flavoured with fresh aromatic herbs, mint, dill and chives.


Mushrooms

Russian Mushroom Salad
Rachel from The Crispy Cook

It's quite true that even knowing just a few words in another language opens barriers and Rachels experience in an Ukrainian deli is testament to that. Enamoured by the offerings, she's tried her hand at replicating one of the dishes and created this delightful mushroom salad. At its base is a buttery sauté of garlic, onions and mushrooms and it's bound in a mayonnaise and sour cream dressing.


Mustard Seeds

Honey Wholegrain Mustard
Claudia from Honey from Rock

Not being able to find a decent mustard at the local shop proved fortuitous for Claudia since she discovered just how easy it is to make your own mustard. Mustard seeds are first soaked in a mix of vinegar and water and then it's all blended with your choice of flavourings - in this case honey & turmeric. Let it rest for a few days to settle and you're ready to go - the flavour possibilities are endless.


Red Yeast Rice

Red Yeast Rice Mantou Sponge
Vivian from Vivan Pang Kitchen

This is an ingredient I've not seen before but it does look fantastic - red yeast rice, Vivian tells us, is a bright red fermented rice used to colour things like peking duck. Vivian also shares the secret to make these stunning steamed buns.


Wild Blette
Quique
Giuseppina from The Adventures of a Very Personal Chef

You're probably wondering what Blettes are - well they similar to chard and grow wild in the hills around Giuseppina's "secret garden" in Gordes. With her friend Theresa, they've used the blettes to make an old Niçois recipe for Quique - a type of pasta that uses shredded blettes in the dough.



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