Friday, June 27, 2014

RUSTIC PUMPKIN QUINOA SALAD






Pumpkin and sage are like the beach and ice cream; they just go together. This quinoa salad has a wintery feel to it with the use of root vegetables. I love the slight sweetness & naughtiness of the maple syrup as a scant dressing. This was just a thrown together lunch for a good friend popping over, until I observed how my meat-loving fiancée devoured it with gusto. Loving this colder weather as it means I can experiment with robust ingredients to create good ole comfort food that is healthy and nutritious.

Ingredients

  • 600g pumpkin (weighed when chopped), cut into even 1-2 cm pieces, skin removed & seeds peeled
  • 1 large turnip, cut into even 1-2cm pieces
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1/2 red onion, cut into thin wedges
  • a handful of fresh sage, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ground sage
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil (liquid form)
  • sea salt & ground black pepper

  • 1 cup quinoa 
  • 40g goat's feta, crumbled into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons organic maple syrup


Cooking 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

2. Toss the pumpkin, turnip, garlic, onion, fresh & ground sage, oil and salt & pepper in a large mixing bowl, then arrange in a single layer on the baking tray. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until tender and slightly golden. 

3. Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa with cold water twice. Place the quinoa in a small saucepan with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until all the water has evaporated. Leave for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. 

4. Place the roasted vegetables and cooked quinoa in a large serving bowl. Add the goat's feta and maple syrup and toss well to combine. Serve warm with fresh sage leaves, if desired. 

Serves / 4
Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 
Total Cooking time / 30 minutes 

x Emily 

Monday, June 23, 2014

ASIAN-INSPIRED CHICKEN SALAD




Brisbane's Brown Dog cafés’ delectable Cashew Noodle Salad inspired this recipe. I was lunching there with a dear friend last week and this Asian-inspired salad and lime tea was the perfectly light lunch. I have made this recipe twice since then, perfecting the dressing ingredients and quantities (actually remembering to write them down helps, which I do not often do!). It looks like a lot of steps, however if you do not muck around you have had this salad ready in 30 minutes. I love the idea of baking meat in the oven instead of pan-frying it, as your meat is cooked much more evenly and always comes out insatiably tender. Also, the oven warms up my un-insulated house in winter.


INGREDIENTS

Salad

  • 500g free-range chicken breast, thinly sliced into even 5cm pieces
  • 1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce 
  • 375g rice stick noodles (pad thai thickness)
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped / crushed
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
  • 2 Lebanese cucumbers, cut into even small pieces
  • 1/4-1/2 cup tightly packed fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped, plus extra leaves (optional)
  • 1/2 cup cashews 
  • Optional- fresh Chinese shallots, finely chopped 



Dressing
  • the juice of 1 large lime
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons water 
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil 
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius and line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

2. Combine the chicken, sweet chilli sauce and garlic in a medium bowl and stir well to combine. Place in the fridge to marinate for a minimum of 10 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water just over 1/2 full to the boil. When boiled add the noodles to the pan and cook, stirring frequently so they do not stick, for 5-6 minutes or until the noodles are just tender. Remove from the stove and drain & rinse well in a colander under cold water. 

4. Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisking well to combine. 

5. If the chicken has been marinating for at least 10 minutes, place it on the prepared baking tray in a single layer. Cook for 8 minutes and then remove from the oven, leaving to sit and continue cooking for at least 2 minutes. Cut into the biggest piece of chicken you can see to make sure that it is no longer pink inside and is instead white in colour. 

6. Whilst the chicken is baking, dry-fry the cashews on a low heat in a small frying pan on the stove. Stir regularly to make sure that they do not burn. 

7. Combine the noodles, chicken, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, coriander and toasted cashews in a large serving bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the noodles and toss well to combine. Top with extra coriander and/or chinese shallots, if you wish. 

Serves / 4 - 6 
From fridge to plate  / 30 minutes if you are fast / 40 for the more leisurely 

x Emily 


Saturday, June 14, 2014

ROASTED BEETROOT & POTATO HERB SALAD with WASABI MAYO



This recipe is yet another product of inspiration from the Arthur street kitchen Community cookbook (as all my recipes this past week have been). I altered the original recipe ‘roasted beetroot with caramelized turnips, edamame beans and wasabi mayo’ in an attempt to turn it into more of a Russian salad. I remember eating oodles of beetroot and potato as a child and one bite of these ingredients takes me right back. The rosemary and thyme goes beautifully with the root vegetables and Chinese shallots and add additional layers of flavour. The wasabi mayo is an acquired, nose-clearing taste and may not be for everyone. I find that this roasted salad tastes delicious both with and without the mayonnaise.

Ingredients
  • 900g beetroot (4 large beetroots), peeled & cut into 2cm even pieces 
  • 700g potatoes (sebago or low-carb kestrel potatoes), peeled & cut into 3cm even pieces
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 3-4 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and the sprig discarded
  • 3-4 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed and the sprig discarded
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup Japanese mayo
  • juice of 1 large lime
  • 1 tablespoon fine wine vinegar 
  • 1/2-1 scant teaspoon wasabi paste
  • 1 cup loosely packed Chinese shallots 


Cooking 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line 2 medium/large baking trays with baking paper. 

2. Toss the beetroot with 1 teaspoon olive oil, sea salt & pepper and half of the thyme, rosemary and garlic in a bowl, then place in a single layer on one of the prepared trays. Toss the potato with the same ingredients and place in a single layer on the other prepared tray. Place the beetroot tray at the top of the oven and the potato tray slightly lower. Roast for 40-45 minutes or until tender. (The potato may cook slightly faster than the beetroot, so check the trays regularly as you approach the 40 minute mark). 

3. Meanwhile, make the wasabi mayo by combining the Japanese mayo, lime juice, vinegar, wasabi paste and a pinch of sea salt in a small bowl and whisking well to combine. Word of warning: if you are not a big fan of wasabi add a tiny amount of wasabi paste at a time and taste test before adding more. If the mayo is too thick, add a few splashes of water or more lime juice. 

4. Combine the cooked beetroot & potato with the Chinese shallots in a medium serving bowl and toss to mix. Add a few small dollops of the wasabi mayo and stir well to combine, then enjoy! 

Serves / 4 as a side
Total Preparation time / 15-20 minutes 
Total Cooking time / 45-50 minutes 

x Emily 


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

SWEET BROCCOLI SALAD with QUINOA & EDAMAME






This recipe is straight from the Arthur Street Kitchen cookbook ‘Community’ and is the tastiest way I have ever eaten quinoa! Initially I did not fancy quinoa much, so I have tried my hand with this grain in various ways, so trust me when I say that I have eaten it a lot. The sweet sauce is a revelation and whilst the ingredients may sound strange together, they work beautifully to create a slightly sweet, faintly sour and a somewhat nutty dressing. I have kept the recipe very similar to the original, just omitting all the oil and nigella seeds (as they are difficult to source). Black sesame seeds are delicious and can be found in all health food stores. Mirin is a sweet rice wine, similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content and a slightly sugary taste. Mirin seasoning is much more accessible, hence why I used it and is available from all major supermarkets. If you cannot find it, you can substitute it with rice wine vinegar. The edamame quality may look odd (227g), but it is exactly half of a standard packet of edamame that you can buy from all major supermakets (454g) in the frozen food aisle. This unique salad is great as a filling lunch and is impressive enough to be served as a vegetable dish at a dinner party. I myself ate it for dinner last night with a boiled egg on top.

P.S- Probably a good idea to explain what edamame is as well! Edamame is a type of bean commonly found in Taiwanese  Chines, Japanese, Indonesian and Hawaiian cuisine. It is a green soybean that are boiled or steamed and served with salt. They have recently found increasing popularity as a healthy food item, due to it's high iron (for a plant food), it's protein content and its substantial levels of vitamin C & A. 


Ingredients

   1 cup quinoa (170-200g) 
   1g (a pinch) of stevia
   2 heads of broccoli (around 1kg), cut into similar-sized florets, with the stalks cut into small pieces
   227g frozen edamame beans, thawed & podded
   2 heaped tablespoons white sesame seeds
   2 heaped tablespoons black sesame seeds
   a handful of fresh coriander leaves, washed 

Sweet sauce
   3 tablespoons tahini
   1 medium garlic clove, crushed or finely chopped
   1 teaspoon soy sauce
   a pinch of sea salt
   1 heaped tablespoon honey
   1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
   2 tablespoons mirin seasoning 

Cooking 

1. Rinse the quinoa well with cold water. Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil with the quinoa. Once boiled, reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water. Turn off the heat and leave the quinoa in the pot for 8 minutes, covered. After this time remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. 

2. Meanwhile, bring another medium / large saucepan of water to the boil, adding a pinch of sea salt and the stevia to the water. When boiled add the broccoli and cook for 3 minutes or until just tender. Add the podded edamame beans to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute, then remove the vegetables from the heat and drain in a large colander under cold water. 

3. Make the sweet sauce by whisking all the sauce ingredients together as well as a few tablespoons of water. You want the consistency of the sauce to be quite runny and easy to pour onto the salad, so carefully add more water as you see fit. The sauce should taste slightly sweet from the honey, slightly sour from the vinegar and a tad nutty in flavour from the tahini. 

4. Place the quinoa on a large serving plate or in a large bowl. Add the broccoli edamame mixture and 1/2 of the sesame seeds and toss well to combine. Sprinkle the remaining sesame seeds and coriander leaves over the salad and pour the sauce on top. Enjoy! 

Serves / 4 - 6
Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 
Total Cooking time / 30 minutes maximum 



x Emily