Open sandwich with roasted tandoori salmon and courgette carpaccio

A gazillion events, loads of photos, no time. 

Keeping it simple - this was from a lunch buffet we served a couple of weeks ago. Marinade the courgette in salt, lemon juice, thyme & olive oil

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Birthday meal cooked near Burford, Oxfordshire

Chocolate and almond torte with white chocolate ganache and berries - birthday cake aka torte becomes dessert to serve at the table family style

Served this up last night at Field House near Burford - love doing parties at this house. They only have an aga and the kitchen is more of kitchen-sitting room with 180 degree views of the countryside - great relaxed feel. Seriously chocolatey! I'd had quite an audience watching me prepare - five of them aged between 4 and 7 - most put out that I was cooking for their parents & grandparents rather than them. Next time guys!

Orzo risotto with grilled prawns and scallops & courgette carpaccio - lucky they were plain white plates or the pattern would have eaten too - went down rather well!

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Gluten free canapé bases - smoked salmon on polenta croutes with courgette carpaccio

"Wow - There! That has to be it!"

As wow houses go the 134 Hotel in Stroud does it rather well. Talk about standing out on the street! It's one of those places you know you're going to fall in love with before you've even entered the front door. 

 The principle hen of the hen party we were cooking for was on a strict gluten and wheat free regime, so the menu had been designed around this. Polenta makes a great gluten free alternative to pasta (polenta instead of lasagne sheets?) or bread (think polenta pizza base). On this occasion we used it as a canapé base.
You can buy ready made polenta in the supermarket - shaped like bricks. Tastes like them too! So, as the Tewkesbury shops don't sell raw polenta (well health food shop would., but no time to get there) we had to pick some up in Stroud and cook it at the house as soon as we got there.

Polenta, veg stock, salt, butter, parmesan, thyme, garlic - that's all you need. Keep the stock to a minimum and you make a set-able polenta in 7 minutes. Lay out on a tray and flatten it to the right thickness and it just needed about 10 minutes in the fridge to cool before cutting- can't get fresher than that!

Tikka chicken on mini poppadums (poppadums are also gluten free - made with chickpea flour)
Lady Grey smoked chicken on sweet potato scones (had also made a gluten free version of those)
Smoked salmon on polenta croutes with courgette carpaccio

Related posts

Other canapés we have served
Canapé cookery classes

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Meat Free Monday #23 - Courgette and wild nettle fritters with balsamic roast cherry tomatoes and nettle pesto

So I posted that on Sunday in between loads of washing tea towels and chef jackets - and got the following response - always good to hear from guests after the event.
A little walk from the kitchen down the old railway line is a great long nettle patch. This is just a small part - much more grown up now. From growing in the ground to cooked in c. 20 minutes - can't get fresher.
Grated courgettes, cooked nettles, bit of nigella's pancake mix (no sugar) to bind, ground cumin, coriander and chilli.
On roasted celery and peppers.


Related posts

Cooking with nettles
Other nettle dishes

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Carpaccio of courgette with pickled mushrooms, rocket, parmesan and beetroot dressing

A vegetarian version of the adults starter last Sunday night near Cirencester.
Courgettes are so versatile. And so nice raw, sprinked with a little maldon salt and lemon oil and left to macerate. Curling them like this and popping the pickled wild mushrooms inside was a last minute idea (they're always the best).

Also nice as courgette noodles with orange zest.


Related posts

Pickled mushrooms

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