Panzanella

An easy to make salad, colorful and with a plethora of flavors! Eaten on its own, it could be a dieter's ambrosia, but I had to, just had to add the heavy mayo. What's a salad without the fattening dressings yar!

Ingredients

• 1 head of lettuce
• 3 tomatoes chopped in large chunks (or 250 g cherry tomatoes, halved)
• 1 zucchini chopped
• 1/2 cup olives
• 1 capsicum diced
• 1 cup sundried tomatoes (I made oven dried tomatoes on my own)
• 2 tsp crumbled feta cheese
• 1 day old Italian bread cut into pieces (you can use sliced bread also)
• a drizzle of olive oil
• salt to taste
• pasta seasoning

 Just throw all the ingredients together in a bowl, add salt and seasoning.

Chill and serve with dressing of your choice. I used mayo and honey and mustard dressing.

Note: To make oven dried tomatoes, chop the tomatoes into half, season with a little salt and garlic and place on a baking tray. Keep the temperature of the oven to the lowest setting, preferably 100 degrees, and place the baking tray in it. You will need to keep the tomatoes for around 3 hours. Keep changing the places of the tomato slices from time to time so they are all evenly cooked.

Happy Cooking!

Cheese Stuffed Tandoori Potatoes with Couscous Salad

I found this recipe on bbc good food. So I guess I should post a link back to the original recipe.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11206/baked-ricottastuffed-tandoori-potatoes

It turned out quite fantastic really. The only change I made was the salad. I made it healthier and more filling by adding couscous to it.

Couscous is what we call dalia in Hindi or saanja in Marathi. It is very nutritious and a healthier option for the diet conscious as it is full of fiber which makes it very filling too.

This is my recipe for the couscous salad.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup couscous
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 large cucumber peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup corn, boiled
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 bunch coriander finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Steam the couscous in a steamer for twenty minutes. Press a grain in between your thumb and forefinger to see if it has become soft. Remove it onto a plate and let it cool for a few minutes.

To this add the tomatoes, cucumber, corn, coriander, and lemon juice. Season it with salt and pepper as per your taste.

Serve with the tandoori potatoes as a beautiful multicolored, healthy and soul satisfying meal.

Happy Cooking!