Homemade Croutons

Ingredients

220 grams of day old bread
4-5 table-spoons of homemade rosemary oil
Grated sea salt
1 small handful of parsley
1 big garlic clove

Making Homemade Croutons

Making croutons is absolutely awesome I have to say. And what is the point of buying them really, its oil old bread and herbs. I have old bread and herbs and some really good oil. Not even 10 minutes of work and suddenly the house smells absolutely amazing and I’m eating croutons that top the best store brand.

What you need is some day old bread, that is ready to soak up oil and herbs, a preheated oven, 175 degrees Celsius a bread knife, a mixing bowl and a baking tray covered in baking paper. Some would say that the crust must go when you are making croutons, but I chose to keep the crust. Seriously, what a waste, and they didn’t look or taste any worse for it. In fact I think it made them even more crispy. In any case I cut the bread in cubes and added them to a bowl. I took out a small bowl and added oil, finely chopped parsley, pressed garlic and a round of grated salt. Mix it well together before you pour it over the bread, mix well to make sure that all the bread has soaked up some oil. This is when I added my 5th spoon of olive oil. I’m not sure if it was even a whole table-spoon, but it was enough to cover all the pieces. Transfer the bread pieces on to your paper covered baking tray and fry in a preheated oven for 15-17 minutes. I say 17 because well I forgot mine and they didn’t take any harm from that. Leave to cool on a baking rack and store them in an airtight container. Serve with salad or soup.

Tzatziki with Mint

Ingredients

1/2 big cucumber
300 grams of greek yoghurt
4 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons of freshly chopped mint

Making Tzatziki with Mint

Peel the cucumber and cut it in half, so that you can spoon out the seeds. Discard both the seeds and the peel, the first holds all the water and the second a bitter taste. Cut the cucumber into small pieces and add to a serving bowl. Press the garlic through a garlic press and chop the mint. Add both to the cucumber. Add the yoghurt and give it a good stir. Season with salt and pepper. There is no right amount here, add a little at a time, stir and taste, and you decide when enough is enough.

Serve with pita bread and kebab or garlic bread. Anything barbecued!