Celebrating Birthday dishes

As I promissed here are some of the things I made for saturday evening, celebrating my birthday with the family. I made those two salad and two dips and cucumber stick for appetizer. My mother made also two salad (one green and a beet & apple salad), my sister made a rolled up herb bread from the recipe I gave her and a rhubarb cake. My brother brought the prosecco to prost. This way everyone made something. For the grill everyone brought their own stuff as I didn't won't to support their meat eating! I guess I can never change their mind about the meat, too bad..
Anyway I had a great eveing, thought the weather was cold and rainy and I missed sitting outside so badly.

Back to basic. Those two salad are one of my favorite beside other salad serving as side while grilling. They are good to make ahead and this will let you timespace the next day if you need to prepare fresh stuff.  A few days ahead I also made vegetable antipasti, stored in big glases in the refrigerator, of course this was too much and so still got them, which I'm not mad about. This way I already got my dinner done and with the leftover salad - perfect - no cooking today! Glad about that!

On note: The carrot salad is quite spicy and therefore not really made for small children. If you know that you will have children at the table eather make the salad less spicy or make on part without the harissa!

Now enjoy!

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Moroccan carrot salad with Harissa

Serves 8

 

1 kilo carrots

2 tablespoons Harissa

4 tablespoons chopped preserved lemon (about one lemon)

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped

salt & pepper to taste

Direction:

Cut the carrot to rounds about 1/2 cm thick.

Boil 4 cups of water and add salt.

Boil the carrot for 10 min until soft but still have some bite to it. Drain, let dry and cool.

Mix the carrot with the rest of the ingredients and let it sit in the fridge at least over night.

 

Before serving check and see if the salad needs more salt or vinegar. If its too spicy for you add a little agave nectar to reduce the spice.

 

Serve at room temperature.

 

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Gazpacho Salad

 

 

Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

2 big tomatoes (about 600g)

1 Cucumber

salt & pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 red pepper

1 piece of watermelon or normal melon

3-4 springonion

1 Tbsp. tomatopuree

2-3 Tbsp. vegetable broth

1/2 - 1 tsp. Harissa

1 1/2 Sherryvinegar or white vinegar

4 Tbsp. native oil

 

Direction:

Cut the tomatoes crosswise and overbrew them a short time (to peel them afterward), drain under cold water. Peel and cut out the stalk. Cut into quartes, deseed and chop into 1 cm pieces.

Peel the cucumber and cut lenghtwise in half, dessed and cut into 0.5 cm pieces. Put them together with the tomatoes in a big bowl and season with salt and pepper.

 

Cut the watermelon from the Peel, deseed and dice small. Peel the peppers with the peeler thin, quarter, core and dice small. Wash the scallions, and cut into thin rings. Mix the vegetables.

 

Mix the tomato puree with broth, Harissa and vinegar, stirr in after and after the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Taste the sauce and pour it over the vegetables, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours with frequently stirring.