Roasted Red Pepper and Pomegranate Salad

• Roasted Tomatoes
  • 300g cherry or plum tomatoes
  • 1.5 tbsp olive oil
  • 1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Splash of liquid smoke (optional)

• Lemon and Olive Oil Vinaigrette
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/8 tsp mustard powder
  • 1/4 tsp agave nectar
  • 1/2 tsp fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, etc…)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

• Roasted Vegetables
  • 200g Courgette/zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 170g Onion, cut in large chunks
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil

• Tempeh
  • 150g Tempeh
  • 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • Olive oil for frying

• Salad
  • Several clumps of your favourite salad leaves. You know, enough for two people sort of thing.

• Directions/Method
  1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees celcius.
  2. Put the tomatoes in to roast first as they could take up to an hour. Simply mix the tomatoes with the oil, vinegar, and liquid smoke (if using) and pop in the oven (remember to put them in some sort of roasting container before placing them in the oven). Set your timer for about 45 minutes, but this is dependent on the size of the tomatoes and how gooey or burnt you like them. I like them to be quite well done, so keep that in mind with your own times.
  3. While the tomatoes are roasting, prepare the dressing. With a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic with the olive oil and salt until you have a smooth paste. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and place in the fridge until ready to use. Note: you could use a blender of some form for this, but it’s a very small amount of liquid so keep that in mind.
  4. Now to prepare the other veggies for roasting. For the courgette, cut into thick 1 inch slices. If it’s a fat courgette, cut lengthways down its centre first so you have 1 inch halved slices. Make sure your chunks of onion are also relatively large (to keep them from burning to a crisp). Generally I will slice one half of an onion once or twice in line with the root, and then again across the middle if it’s a large onion.
  5. Mix the courgette and onion chunks with the rosemary and olive oil and pop in the oven for the last 25 minutes of the tomato cooking time. If these are finished before the tomatoes, however, that’s fine. They’re quite nice a little cooler as it’s a salad and all.
  6. The tempeh should begin its preparation about ten minutes before you’re ready to serve the meal. Begin by pounding the garlic so its juices are exposed, and mix with the lemon juice, soy sauce, and oregano. Heat a grill pan to a relatively hot temperature (this is always hard for me to gauge because I’m one of those unlucky folk who have to cook on electric) with plenty of olive oil for frying. Slice your tempeh into 4 triangles and dip each one into the broth to coat and then place immediately on the griddle (or, if you don’t have one, a frying pan). Fry on each side for about 3-5 minutes, or until crispy and golden grill lines are visible.

• Ingredients:
  • half a round of camembert
  • 1 egg
  • hazelnuts, ground (but not finely)
  • about 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • sugar, to taste
  • about 1/8 cup raspberries
  • salad greens of some form

1. First make the dressing. Simply boil the raspberries and balsamic vinegar together, adding half a teaspoon or so of sugar (or to taste). I like my dressings to have a little bit of a kick, so I usually don’t add more than this. Simmer for a few minutes and, only if you’re picky about it, strain the seeds from the dressing. Personally I leave the seeds in. Whatever you do, pop the finished product in the fridge while you get down and dirty with the rest of the recipe.
2. Turn your grill on to a high setting. Halve the half-round of camembert (that’s right folks, now it’s in quarters!) and dip each piece in the egg before flinging into the crushed hazelnuts for coating. I say “fling” because I do in fact operate in such a manner when in my own kitchen. Make sure you coat the cheeses good and coated-like and then put them on a tray (the sort that can go in an oven or, more to the point, under a grill).
3. If you hadn’t worked it out by now, you need to place this tray under the aforementioned grill. Leave it under the heat for a few minutes, until the hazelnuts start to brown.
4. Remove and place immediately on a bed of salad greens and drizzle with that glorious raspberry vinaigrette you made a few minutes earlier (or if you were clever, maybe you made it a day ahead of time).