Dished Up: Broccoli and Bacon Salad

I adore barbeque season. The joy of eating outside combined with a plate loaded with different flavours is my idea of heaven. And our family sure know how to do a bbq! I love to try out new recipes for both salads and desserts but there is one dish that we bring out every year; Broccoli and Bacon Salad.  Just this salad alone provides sweet, salty and tangy delights and 3 of your '5 a day'. Our church provides some mean catering for weddings and this salad is often on the menu. A friend brought the recipe over from America so it's original source is unknown. If the dish is good enough for weddings is definitely good enough to grace your menu this summer.



What you need:
3 medium broccoli, cut into florets
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1-1.5lb bacon
1/2 cup of toasted flaked or roughly chopped almonds
3/4 cup raisins, soaked in water for an hour or overnight
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup vinegar






What you do:
1. Blanche the broccoli in boiling water until it is tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Chop the bacon into cm cubes and fry it until crisp.
3. Put the broccoli and bacon in a large bowl with the chopped onion, toasted almonds and soaked raisins.
4. For the dressing mix together the sugar, mayonnaise and vinegar until smooth.
5. Just before serving pour the dressing over the salad. Gently fold the dressing through salad mixing the ingredients and covering them in the dressing taking care not to break up the broccoli. Serve immediately.

If you're allergic to nuts the almonds can easily be substituted with pumpkin seeds.

Our Mum made the broccoli salad in the photos and I was on pudding duty so I made a chocolate and coconut banoffee pie from the BBC Good Food website. If you like sweet desserts you should try this but read the comments as getting the coconut cream thick enough can be challenging. we had it alongside a lemon cheesecake and some summer fruits. One dessert sometimes simply isn't enough.
Cassie xx

Dished up- Salmon and Broccoli Pie

We recently had a great day out at the Wisley garden's taste of autumn festival. My husband and his hollow legs needed a snack half way around so he bought himself a salmon and broccoli pie. Just a snack you know. I had a nibble and I have to say it was yummy and was inspired to make something similar at home. When I had a quick look online I couldn't see a recipe I fancied so thought I'd have a go at one myself.

What you need......

For the pastry

• 110g Butter
• 175g Plain Flour
• Salt

For the filling

• 3 skinless salmon fillets cut into 2.5cm cubes
• A small head of broccoli cut into florets
• 1 pint milk
• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• Salt and pepper 
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of half a lemon
• Egg

What to do....

1. Make a batch of Delia's quick flaky pastry and pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes. 
2. While it's chilling preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius, put your broccoli in some boiling water for 4 minutes. The broccoli should be barely cooked otherwise it will be soggy after going in the over. Drain really well.
3. You can use the same pan to make the béchamel sauce. Put the milk, butter and flour in the pan over a low heat. Stir with a balloon whisk continuously until the sauce is thickened. Stir through the lemon zest and juice and season well to taste.
4. While the sauce is still hot stir the salmon chunks into it. The residual heat in the sauce will begin to cook the salmon meaning you don't have to precook it and leaving the fish lovely and moist. 
5. Roll out two thirds of the pastry at gently as you can to about the thickness of a pound coin and line a 25cm pie dish. Line with baking paper and fill with baking beans. Bake for 15 minutes then remove the beans and paper and return to the oven for a further 3 minutes. 
6. Stir the broccoli into the sauce with the salmon. Roll out the remaining pastry and cover the pie with it sealing with egg wash. Trim the edges and decorate as desired with the pastry scraps, piercing a hole in the top to let steam out. Paint with the egg wash and pop it back in the oven for 30mins. 
7. Let the pie rest for 5 minutes before serving.

We had the pie between 2 adults and two small children but if you serve it with either new or mashed potato and some green beans I think you could easily stretch it to serve 6 adults. 

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Cassie xx