Zucchini Carpaccio with Parmesan

Today we bring you another beautiful yet simple salad, Italian in style, featuring zucchini and parmesan. The zucchini is marinated in oil and lemon juice then placed on a bed of rocket with slivers of parmesan. The salad is then scattered with a toasted breadcrumb mixture of onion, olives and feta. Perfect. Easy. Delicious.

Similar recipes include Grilled Zucchini and Fennel, Zucchini, Lemon and Dill Salad, and Salad of Zucchini and Tomatoes.

Browse all of our Zucchini Salads and all of our hundreds of Salads. Or explore our Early Autumn dishes.

Turmeric Oil

Turmeric Oil is a great pantry staple, to drizzle over soups, new potato salads, baked vegetables, dals, fried snacks, in dressings, and so much more. Want a change? Make it with mustard oil.

Don’t forget that turmeric stains, so be careful when using the oil.

Similar recipes include Herb Oil, Parsley Oil and Chilli Oil.

Browse all of our Oils and all of our Turmeric recipes. Or explore our Early Autumn dishes.

Caprese Salad | Insalata Caprese

This is one of the most awesome Summer Salads, and, better still, it takes just a minute to two to prepare. Of course it is awesome, it originates from the Italian island of Capri, and you can just feel the summer sea and breezes in this salad. So simple – great tomatoes, sweet basil and fresh mozzarella. In Italy it is usually served as an antipasto, not a contorno (side dish).

The salad was created in the 1950s at the Trattoria da Vincenzo as a light lunch for regulars. They’d order a just-picked tomato and fresh fior di latte (cow’s-milk mozzarella — no buffalo on Capri). The salad has evolved on the island to include a few leaves of rughetta (wild arugula) and a pinch of dried wild oregano, both local products. Elsewhere in Italy it takes the form of just tomato, mozzarella and basil.

The dressing is always only a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Vinegar is thought to destroy the delicate flavour of the cheese and is never used in Italy. Because this salad is so simple, top-rate ingredients are necessary – floury tomatoes, rancid oil and rubbery processed mozzarella are unacceptable.

In fact this is so good that it is worth making double the amount, and using the remainder to pile onto flatbread, garlic toast or just on slices of fresh beautiful bread. Or turn it into another classic Italian salad by adding cubes of dried or crispy baked bread.

Similar dishes include Salad of Rocket and Radicchio with Parmesan, Ensalada, and Marinated Buffalo Mozzarella and Tomato.

Browse all of our Tomato Salads and all of our Italian recipes. Or explore our Mid Summer recipes.

Tomatoes Stuffed with Feta and Basil

An Italian beauty – stuffed tomatoes with feta, basil, olives and wine. Stuffed tomatoes are a bit retro, yes we admit, but that does not mean that they are without flavour. Classic Italian flavours make this a great addition to our several Stuffed Tomatoes recipes.

Baked feta is a classic dish too, baked in a terracotta dish (if you have one) with olives, tomatoes and olives. A variation on this recipe is to use a vegetable – capsicums, pimentos or tomatoes, for example – to hold the feta and accompaniments as they bake. Totally delicious.

Similar recipes include Baked Feta, Baked Dakos, Baked Pimentos with Feta, and Baked Ziti with Feta.

This recipe is one of the vegetarian recipes from our first blog which was in existence from 1995 – 2006. You can see more of the Retro Recipes series, our vegetarian recipes from that first blog.

Feel free to browse recipes from our Retro Recipes series. You might also like our Stuffed Tomatoes recipes  or you browse Italian recipes . Check out our easy Early Autumn recipes .

Onion Pachadi

This Pachadi is a lovely one, flavoured with sauteed onions, green chillies and creamy coconut. Delicious! The play of flavours and textures – I know you will love it. It is another recipe to add to our Raita and Pachadi series.

You might like to read What is a South Indian Pachadi?

Similar recipes include Cucumber and Tomato Raita, Pomegranate Raita, and Carrot Pachadi.

Browse all of our Raitas and all of our Yoghurt dishes. Or explore our Early Autumn dishes.

We’ve been making this Mung Bean Soup for decades, and it is cross-posted on our Heat in the Kitchen site as well. It appears there as part of our retro recipes – recipes from our 1996-2005 blog.

A Huge Collection of the Best Ever Chickpea Recipes

Chickpeas, and the flour made from ground chickpeas feature strongly in our kitchen.  Today we want to share with you our most favourite chickpea and chickpea flour recipes. Many of these recipes have been on our kitchen’s menu for over 20 years! They have been shared via our previous blog Food Matters from 1995 – 2006, in person with friends, and through this blog that has been running from 2006.  The older recipes of course don’t show the fashionable food styling that is current today, but here we believe in food for sustenance, food for flavour, and healthy food to keep the body healthy. We are not so much about food for entertainment. I do hope you enjoy.

Potato, Garlic and Rosemary Pizza

This pizza is one of my favourites – who does not like garlic on a pizza! It is the perfect meal for a hoard of hungry people in a hurry to eat. It makes a flavoursome meal with a minimum of fuss – just serve with a simple side salad. Salad leaves and tomato is perfect.

Make sure that you slice the potatoes thinly, otherwise they will not cook properly.

Similar recipes include Pizza on the BBQ, and Halloumi and Oven Dried Tomato Pizza.

Browse all of our Pizza recipes and all of our Snacks.  Or explore out Late Summer recipes.

Loquat Sweet Lassi | Indian Sweet Locquat Yoghurt Drink

It is loquat season as I write, and luckily our tree is laden down with fruit. Funny little things the fruit needs to be used straight off the tree, otherwise they bruise easily and can turn brown.

We make lassi with locquats, and they are delicious. Ice cold on a hot day, there is nothing better.

By the way, Loquats can also be spelt Locquats. Go figure.

Similar recipes include Black Grape Lassi, Mango Lassi, Sweet and Tangy Lassi, Strawberry Lassi, and Banana and Berry Lassi.

We have a range of sweet, fruit and salt lassi recipes for you to browse. Explore all of our Yoghurt recipes too. The Drinks recipes are here. Explore our Indian recipes and our Indian Essentials. Or be inspired by our Late Spring recipes.

Indian Sweet and Spicy Tomato Chutney

Who can resist a sweet tomato chutney? This one is from India but with unmistakable influences from the British occupation. The result is a wonderfully sweet, rich flavoured chutney with hints of spice. Adjust the chilli levels to your own preference.

Serve the chutney with rice, idli, dosa, chapati or as an accompaniment to other Indian dishes. Great as a dip and with fried snacks.

Not only is this chutney great with Indian dishes, it also goes well with Western dishes. Serve it with vegetable pies, in sandwiches and wraps, and over deep fried tofu. Drizzle it over soups and baked vegetables. You are limited only by your imagination.

This recipe can also be made in bulk and frozen, to add to soups, stews, braises etc during the Winter months.

Similar recipes include Roast Tomato Chutney, Eggplant Chutney, Green Tomato Chutney, and Fresh Radish Chutney.

Browse all of our Indian Chutneys and all of our Tomato Dishes. All of our Indian recipes are here, and our Indian Essentials are here. Or explore our Early Autumn recipes.

Horse Gram Lentils (Kollu) with Feta and Tomatoes

Horse Gram is one of our more recent discoveries. Well known and used in rural India, it has not found its way into other cuisines. You will need to buy it at your local Indian grocer, or perhaps online.

It is a special lentil, full of protein, and will hold its shape well when cooked. This makes it ideal for salads. Its earthy tastes makes it pair well with ingredients like beetroot, walnuts and pomegranate molasses. It contrasts well with crisp greens and mild acidic or sharp tastes like onion, sumac, rocket, baby spinach, lemon, and preserved lemon.

In today’s salad we use the sharpness of feta, onion and vinegar, the beautiful flavour of semi dried tomatoes, and pomegranate molasses in this salad. Do search your Indian grocery for this lovely lentil. You can also use Matki (moth beans) instead, or use a mix of both.

The recipe douses the lentils with vinegar, onion, salt, pepper, garlic and oil as soon as they are cooked. When warm, they soak in the flavours and aromas properly. Feta, lots of herbs and semi dried tomatoes are mixed in at the end. The result in such a bang of wonderful flavours.

Read more about Horse Gram (aks Kulthi Bean). It is easily purchased in Indian shops.

Similar recipes include Caprese Salad, and Horse Gram Vadai.

Browse all of our Horse Gram recipes and all of our Salads. Or explore our Late Summer recipes.