The last couple of days were so cold here in London, all white and frosty but the sky was blue and the sun was shining for me. I sat in my kitchen (with the heating on, of course), behind the glass doors enjoying the view of my garden , feeling the sun on my skin, dreaming of summer….
I had Salad Niçoise for lunch for the last two days, which paired perfectly with my day dreaming and sun bathing…
I had it once with tuna and boiled eggs, no potatoes! I add quinoa to the salad on the second day to make it into a Quincoise …. Love that name.
Here is the recipe and some pictures I took. 
Quinçoise Salad or just Niçoise
Ingredients
Makes 2 big salads
- 100gr Salad leaves
- 150gr Green beans, steamed or boiled for 4 minutes
- 1 Roasted Courgettes, chopped (or even fresh courgettes spiralized)
- 4 hard-boiled Eggs
- 1 tin tuna
- 4-5 Kalamata olives
- 1 cup Quinoa, cooked
For the salad dressing:
- 1 small shallot, chopped
- 2-3 large cloves garlic, chopped
4 anchovy fillets - 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
Method
- Place all the salad ingredients in a serving bowl.
- Prepare the dressing by placing all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. The dressing will keep in the fridge up to 4 days and can be used on any other salad or vegetables.
For dinner Elana cooked for her family and guests, fish with capers wrapped in baking paper, she served it with the Thai inspired Kale salad from day 1. That dinner is carb free and delicious.
Fish with capers, rosemary and olives
serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 large (or 8 smaller) pieces of any white non-fatty fish fillets or loins eg:cod
- 4 tbsp capers in brine
- 12 olives in brine (pimento stuffed are nice)
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 anchovies fillets
- 2 cloves garlic (2 frozen cubes)
- 1-2 tsp fresh or dried dill
Method
- Line an ovenproof dish with foil, then line that with baking parchment*.
- Place fish in baking parchment.
- Add 4 tbsp lemon juice.
- Throw over capers and brine.
- Throw over olives and brine.
- Season well with rosemary, garlic and dill.
- Place one anchovy on each piece of fish.
- Cover with baking parchment so that fish is not dried out.
- Bake in oven for 30 mins at 180C.
Elana would also like to talk about cooking with aluminium and foil, please find her warning and explanation here:
*Cooking with Aluminium – Warning
Foil or aluminium is now known to be toxic, and chronic exposure through cooking may be a causative factor in osteoporosis and possibly neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s. Excess aluminium in the body also impedes the deposition of calcium in the bones preventing bone mineralisation. While studies are less adamant about the link between aluminium and Alzheimer’s than about the osteoporosis connection, it does point to evidence that aluminium is deposited in brain tissue. Studies have found aluminium build-up in autopsies performed on Alzheimer’s sufferers.
Contamination with aluminium occurs when food comes into contact with heated aluminium equipment or foil since heat causes aluminium from foil to leach out into foods in significantly harmful amounts. Researchers found dangerously high levels of aluminium in foods after being cooked, reheated and even cooled on aluminium foil. The higher the temperature the higher the leaching. Foil is not suitable for cooking and is not suitable for using with vegetables like tomatoes or citrus juice as foil and aluminium are unstable in the presence of acids (even when used for cold storage)
So here are a few simple steps you can use right away:
* Never cook, heat up, or place hot food on aluminium foil. Foil can be used to store only cold foods in the refrigerator.
* However avoid storing tomatoes, citrus fruit or spices in foil even if cold.
*Replace foil with baking paper for cooking and storing food while still hot or use glass storage containers.
* Never use aluminium pots or cooking utensils, instead use stainless steel pots and pans.
Elana & Karin
Two Healthy Cookies
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