Ilse's Kitchen - culinary adventures of a girl who loves to eat

Here we go again - the fourth cucumber, avocado and smoked salmon recipe in the sequence and definitely a great one to add to the list. Creamy, delicious and simple, the result you get is worth much more than the 7 or so minutes of time it takes to prepare this recipe.  Ingredients (serves 1): 3/4 cucumber 35g smoked salmon  2 tablespoons cream cheese 1/4 red onion, sliced 1 avocado 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 small clove garlic, minced 1 tablespoon olive oil  salt and pepper to taste 1 tablespoon capers optional as garnish: black sesame seeds  Instructions: 1. First, cut the cucumber into spaghetti noodles. You can do this using a spiralizer or a julienne grater. Set aside in a large bowl. 2. Using a hand blender, blend together the avocado, mustard, olive oil, and garlic until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  3. Mix the blended avocado with the cucumber noodles. Place in a dinner bowl and top with the smoked salmon, cream cheese, c...

I’ve been doing a lot of smoked salmon dishes lately. They’re all slightly different, but one thing many of them have in common is the avocado-salmon pairing, which is just lovely. Here’s yet another take on it, in a simple fuss-free salad with this lovely recipe by Melanie of the Fuss Free Cooking blog. Ingredients (serves 2): 60g arugula (rocket) lettuce 100g smoked salmon, torn into pieces 1 avocado, sliced 1/2 large cucumber, sliced into half moons 2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted 1 lime, juiced 4 tablespoons olive oil optional: drop of sesame seed oil Instructions: 1. In a small bowl, mix the lime juice, olive oil, sesame oil and 1/2 of the sesame seeds. 2. Toss the arugula, avocado and cucumber in a bowl and top with the smoked salmon. Drizzle over the dressing. 3. Top with the remaining half of the sesame seeds and serve.

It’s already that time of year for picknicks, and lunches beneath parasols, and soaking up the sun. The warmth has had me wanting cool foods to eat and gazpacho is a definite summer favourite. It's packed with healthy veggies, but still refreshing and light. Here's a lovely subtle watermelon version.  Ingredients: 400g fresh watermelon (preferably seedless), peeled 2 large roma tomatoes, cored 1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded 1/2 red bell pepper, core removed 1/4 red onion, peeled 2.5 tablespoons fresh mint 1.5 tablespoon olive oil 1.5 tablespoon red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 teaspoon cracked fresh black pepper 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin 1 slice of white bread Garnish: a few finely chopped veggies. Instructions: 1. Take the bread and remove the crust. Run it under cold water until it is soaked, then squeeze the water out with your hands. 2. Take all the ingredients including the soaked bread and toss them in a blender. 3. Refrigerate for 3-...

I’m a big dairy fan, and almost always have yoghurt in the house. Usually Greek, as I like my yoghurt thick and creamy. So when I was looking for easy smoked salmon recipes and came across these salmon yoghurt bowls by That Clean Life, it looked like a pretty good idea. Why not savoury yoghurt bowls, instead of sweet? This is basically the yoghurt bowl version of a salmon-cucumber-avocado roll, minus the rice. Not bad, not bad at all :) Ingredients (serves 2:) 100g smoked salmon 1/2 cucumber, peeled and sliced 1 avocado, sliced 1 cup Greek yoghurt (I used cottage cheese) 1 tsp fresh dill, chopped some flakey sea salt or fleur-de-sel 2 tsp avocado oil (I used olive oil) 2 wedges lemon Instructions: 1. Divide the yoghurt over two bowls. Top with the cucumber, avocado and smoked salmon. 2. Sprinkle over some sea salt and oil. Garnish with fresh dill and a lemon wedge and serve.

Because I have been going out and getting ingredients I never use, I had some halloumi in the house. It's a cheese from Cyprus that is traditionally made from a mix of sheep and goat cheese. In terms of texture it falls somewhere between feta and mozzarella. It's great for grilling because its texture holds up really well when heated. I decided to try it in a simple, straightforward Cypriot recipe - halloumi with cucumber.  Ingredients (serves 2 as a starter): 250g halloumi, rinsed with fresh water and cut into slices  300g crispy cucumber, cubed handful fresh basil leaves handful fresh mint leaves 3 tablespoons olive oil  1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional) freshly ground black pepper Instructions: 1. Slice the halloumi. Heat a grill pan. Rub the halloumi with some olive oil on each side and place on the grill. Turn when browned and do the other side. (This should take a couple of minutes per side). 2. Place the cucumber on a plate, top with...