Mediterranean Mini Quiches

I tell you, it doesn’t take me much to make me happy. One thing is to have a well stocked pantry and a few extra ‘luxury’ ingredients. I was scrounging for something a little bit nicer for lunch one day and I spotted the jar of olives and roasted capsicums I had in the fridge. I also had some feta cheese and ham and immediately thought of something mediterranean. I was reminded of Laney’s Pancetta crusted quiches she cooked for the Blogger cook off final a couple weeks ago and decided to line the quiches with ham I had in the fridge.

They were really easy to throw together and made all that much nicer with some of my favourite ingredients, olives and roasted capsicum. Using the ham as the ‘pastry’ case made it a little lighter than using pastry.

They don’t have to be Mediterranean. You could use leftover roast or grated vegetables, cheese, ham, tuna, corn, onion, herbs, mushrooms and the list goes on. Make smaller sized quiches for a bite sized canapé.

Serve with a side salad for a light, filling lunch. I’ve got some in the freezer too for a quick lunch.

Mediterranean Mini Quiches

• 6 slices ham, pancetta or bacon
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs water
• Kalamata olives, roasted capscium, feta cheese
• 1 tbs dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried basil
• salt & pepper
• oil spray

1. Spray inside 6 Texas sized muffin tray.
2. Line each with a slice of ham.
3. Beat eggs, add water and add other ingredients.
4. Pour into ham case.
5. Bake on 170 deg C (350 deg F) until set on top (approx 15 mins).
6. Serve with a salad or vegetables.

Serves 6.

Mediterranean Salmon Salad

I had my neighbours over for dinner the other night wtih Mediterranean Salmon with Cheesy Herb Risoni and we had one piece left over. I was so glad no one else grabbed it because I had my eye on it for lunch the following day.

I didn’t want to over complicate things. The John West salmon had already been marinated in a delicious garlic, tomato and bell pepper (capsicum) sauce. I cut the salmon into bite sized pieces and tossed through some baby spinach leaves, stuffed olives, cherry tomatoes, char grilled capscium and eggplant and topped with some shaved parmesan. A simple dressing of balsamic vinegar, garlic and olive oil and that was lunch. I savoured every mouthful. Sometimes the simple things in life are the best.

 

 

 



Add this simple salmon salad to your weekly meal plan or sign up to the What2Cook easy 5 day meal plan, delivered straight to your Inbox. Delicious!

Mediterranean Salmon with Cheesy Herb Risoni

Never one to knock back the offer of free food, I’ve been lucky enough to have been selected to try the new range of John West seafood, found in the chiller section of the supermarket along with my favourite, Gourmet Garden herbs in a tube. The arrival of the seafood at this extremely busy time couldn’t have been better. Dinner is a breeze to put together with this wonderful range.

I can’t even remember what I’d been doing all day. Life has been so stressful lately but all I knew was that I promised a friend I’d cook her one of John West’s new varieties of salmon. By the time I got the kids home, removed the plastic film from the packet of salmon, covered with a piece of alfoil (instructions didn’t state this but I wanted to keep the salmon really moist), put water on to boil for the risoni, sorted the kids out, dinner was practically done. I had some baby Roma truss tomatoes in the fridge and I just popped them in the oven about 10 mins before the salmon was cooked. The taste of the salmon was delicious with a hint of basil, garlic and bell peppers (capsicum). Saves having to worry about glazes or marinades.

source

 

I got some inspiration from the What2Cook web site. They cooked the Mediterranean Oven Bake salmon with a creamy mash and a selection of vegetables. Using what I had, I decided on risoni (orzo) which is a small pasta grain and stirred through some grated parmesan and 2 tablespoons of Gourmet Garden Mediterranean seasoning. I served that with the roasted truss tomatoes. My friend said it was delicious and a great way to serve salmon. She thought I was pretty fantastic for ‘going to all this trouble’ but I just said “it was nothing, really”. (And it really wasn’t.)

 

 

If I’d taken the salmon out of the oven safe container and cooked in the microwave for a couple minutes I would’ve had dinner on the table in record time. It could’ve been done, I’m sure of it. Maybe next time. This one packet of salmon could’ve easily fed four adults. Stay tuned for some more recipes from the John West range available from the chiller section of the supermarket. I’ve got company coming for Christmas drinks and I’ll have some quick, easy and tasty ideas for canapes.

 

Mediterranean Salmon with Cheesy Herb Risoni

• 1 packet of John West Mediterranean Salmon
• 1/2 cup risoni (or rice or pasta or 2 servings of mashed potato)
• baby Roma egg tomatoes, roasted with a drizzle of olive oil and salt
• 2 tablespoons of Gourmet Garden Mediterranean seasoning
• 2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese

1. Follow instructions on packet to cook salmon. (I covered pan with alfoil to keep salmon moist.)
2. Boil risoni (or pasta, rice etc). Once drained well, stir through parmesan cheese and Gourmet Garden Mediterranean seasoning.
3. Add tomatoes to the oven approx 10 mins before end of salmon cooking time.
4. Serve salmon on top of risoni and spoon over any remaining sauce.

 



Disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post. I received food products and a gift card. All thoughts and ideas are my own.