Family cooking is like a ‘great expedition’ everyone wants something different, they are hungry, they need it to look good and smell good & I need to succeed.. I wanted to share my quick eats from this weekend!
So on Saturday I went to a farmers market in Ealing and came back with amazing, colourful farm fresh produce. Using fresh ingredients can even make a quick meal look and taste so divine.There was a small Persian shop, I would have missed it, if not for the smell of freshly baked seeded sangak bread. All I can say is: tasty and amazing value for money. I also came across courgette flowers, my absolute favourite thing!! So hard to find in supermarkets but these freshly grown female flowers were perfect. And I had to buy the round courgettes to stuff and bake as well, they were a must.
With all the vegetables bought I had a lot of choice for making different things. My first choice for the weekend was Italian!
Quick easy pizza using the Persian bread, pizza sauce and what ever topping everyone had in mind- the bread is so long you can literally get two types of pizza topping on each half- perfect for family meals, sharing and easy to pick up and eat with your hands, a bit of competition for the New York Slice. No baking required, literally top it, grill it and eat….this is what I call yummy ‘FastFood’! And just simply adding basil or fresh herbs can make all the difference.
There is something about courgette flowers that makes me feel like I’m still in Italy….I stuffed them using some Soft Chive Goats Cheese from Lidl, with added seasoning and extra fresh Chives from the garden. Great value for money and the quality was superb-Lidl is like a hidden gem for certain ingredients especially for cheap eats for the family (second time I’ve ever visited as it was near the food market but it was worth it this time). I have to say that this was by far the best treat I’d had all day, crispy fresh courgette flowers oozing with delicious cheese, they tasted even better than I thought they would, ingredients and method on the recipe’s page. I will definitely be heading back to the market again. And it’s not for everyone SO the courgette stems can be sliced and fried as courgette fries with chilli flakes!
It was a carby meal but I have to say it’s a fab cheap eat getting almost 8 large slices out of it and you get to share it at home, get your hands dirty and relax with a glass of red wine. The courgette flowers were an added bonus almost making it a little bit more fine dining – if you can call it that!
