Greens, yellow, red, black & blue

I am in the spicy meatball or kefta section of the tagine book.  Last week's was one of my favourite things - meatballs with poached eggs.  This reminded me of Turkish pizza with lamb & egg on top which I am keen to perfect.  This tagine is best made on the top of the stove and takes no time at all.  The meatballs are poached rather than fried.  Mix 225g mince with 1 finely chopped onion, 1 tsp dried mint, 1 tsp ras-el-hanout, 1/2 tsp dried chilli, a small bunch of finely chopped parsley & salt & pepper and make into about 12 small meatballs.
Fill a shallow pan with water & bring to the boil & carefully drop in the kefta.  Poach for 10 minutes turning occasionally.  Remove the kefta & drain.  Tip away all but about 300mls of the poaching liquid & add 1 tbsp butter, then bring to the boil.  Stir in a pinch of salt & 1 tsp dried chilli then return the poached kefta to the pan. I also added half a tin of crushed tomatoes because they were in the fridge and that was nice.   Cook over a high heat until almost all the liquid has evaporated then break an egg per person carefully between the kefta.  Cover & gently cook until the eggs are just set.  About 3-5 minutes.  Sprinkle over roasted cumin & chopped parsley.
We have been trying to eat more fish although it is always tricky to do it mid-week as it means a trip across town after work.  We often get some on Sunday at the market.   We had a lovely piece of salmon with pea salsa & crushed potatoes.  To make the pea salsa cook frozen peas as usual.  For 4, blend 1/2 cup each basil & flat leaf parsley, 3 anchovies, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 tbsp capers, 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp cold water, in the food processor.  Mix half with the drained peas & set aside the rest.  Boil some Agria potatoes & crush lightly with the back of a fork.  Mix through a little olive oil & season.
Brush both sides of the salmon, skinned, with oil & pan fry until cooked the way you like it,  Don't overdo it.  Serve the salmon atop the potatoes, then top with the peas & drizzle over the reserved salsa. 
I had some Chinese greens again & a few sprigs of broccoli & a couple of asparagus stalks so I cooked them the way I told you a few weeks ago & served with sliced pork & egg noodles.  The next day I did the rest of the choy sum, with mushrooms & served with a plain omelette.  Just keep playing around with these greens.  There is so much you can do with them and they are so fresh tasting.  And they look pretty on the plate.  Always a plus. 
We had guests at the weekend and to start served a plate of antipasto.  This included some of the olives we brined ourselves and they were truly delicious.
We then served the chicken & couscous I made not long ago.  This was a good meal for a crowd as you can prepare ahead.  And it was a crowd pleaser - you will note the plate had been disturbed before I got in the photo.   I served it with a green salad.
The piece de resistance though was the pudding.  As you know I can be a bit lazy in this department.  I wanted something light  - it is after all spring, ha ha.  I settled for individual lemon jellies served with lemon curd & meringue.  This was again easy because everything was done ahead.  You could do it a couple of days ahead.
Clarifying the jelly seemed a pain but it was not too bad.  I always freeze left over whites when I separate eggs & I clarify with these.  You can also use this method to clarify your stock & savoury jellies.  I made my jellies in little tin jelly moulds from my childhood.  Top everything off with a small dollop of gently whipped cream and serve with a shot of limoncello.  Of course I have heaps of meringues left.  Any suggestions? 
We picked our first cabbage this week.  They have not been a great success in that a couple bolted and the ones that hearted up are quite small, but they are cabbages & there are only 2 mouths to feed.  We made two meals from this little beauty.
The first night I steamed the cabbage, finely sliced, about 4 minutes, then tipped back into the pan with a knob of butter & a turn or so of the pepper grinder.  We served this with pork fillet & lentils.  It was quite cold here this week and this was a perfect mid-week meal.
The next night we had a coleslaw variation with chicken.  We didn't have any mung beans but used pea sprouts and there was something about it that made it better than I remembered.  More mint maybe.  Or perhaps it was just that deliciously fresh cabbage.
A couple of weeks back in Moore Wilson they had RWC themed macarons.  The black was liquorice & delicious.  Not sure what the blue flavour was but equally delicious and they look so cute. 
Have just been out in the garden and note that peas, rhubarb & broad beans coming along nicely.   I wanted to say "coming soon" but Peter suggests just say "coming".