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 

BUCKWHEAT NOODLES with CHINESE CABBAGE, EGGPLANT & EDAMAME

This noodle dish was adapted from another amazing salad recipe from the Arthur Street Kitchen cookbook. We have been feeling a little under the weather in my household and as soon as this happens I know that we need to up the vegetable intake fast. Hence this weeks' recipes will be packed with nutrients and vitamins and will be very colourful. The reason for the strange edamame quantity of 227g is because they come in a 454gram frozen packet from all major supermarkets and Asian grocery stores, hence this recipe calls for half a packet. Make sure to thaw and pod the edamame yourself before adding it to the pan (and if you have never podded edamame before it is an oddly satisfying experience!). I tried to make this recipe as simple as I could using less ingredients, however you could certainly add ginger, garlic and chilli when you fry the spring onion for added nutrients and flavour. Buckwheat noodles are a favourite of mine, due to having no gluten, however you could also use soba, ramen or udon noodles.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large eggplant (400-500g), cut into even 2-3cm pieces 
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground sumac 
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 250g buckwheat noodles 
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped, plus extra to garnish
• 1 Chinese cabbage, washed & base chopped off 
• 227g frozen edamame beans, thawed & podded
• 2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce 
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• the juice of 1 ripe lime
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds 
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds 

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Toss the eggplant pieces, sumac, olive oil and a pinch of sea salt & black pepper in a large bowl, then place in a single layer on the prepared tray. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes or until eggplant is tender. 

2. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the buckwheat noodles for 3 minutes over high heat, stirring often. Remove from heat and place in a colander, rinsing with cold water and draining. 

3. Heat the sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the spring onions to the pan and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add the Chinese cabbage and stir until it has just wilted. Add the sweet chilli sauce, oyster sauce and lime juice to the pan and continue to stir until all ingredients are combined. Add the edamame and stir-fry for 1 minute, stirring. 

4. In a large bowl, toss the cooked noodles with the roasted eggplant and Chinese cabbage & edamame. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and garnish with extra spring onions. 

Serves / 4

Total Preparation time / 15-20 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 30-35 minutes 

x Emily 

BROCCOLI SALAD with CHICKPEAS, CANNELLINI BEANS, LEMON & HAM

A client loaned me the most amazing cookbook; ‘Community; Salad Recipes from Arthur Street Kitchen’ by Hetty McKinnon. It is a beautiful collection of recipes that will enthrall any reader and will make you think about salads in a much more extensive way than you probably ever have before. It is not a vegetarian cookbook, however all the salad ingredients are vegetables, spices & herbs. Below I have adapted one of Hetty’s popular brassica recipes to include some ham and some extra beans for protein. Hetty offers each reader of her cookbook and taster of her Arthur Street Kitchen salads a chance to discover more meaningful ways to bond and relate through food, which to me is the absolute point of eating (besides avoiding starvation, of course!). 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (liquid form)
• 2 heads of broccoli (1 kg), cut into even-sized florets & stalks thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 
• 100 -150g good quality ham, finely chopped
• 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, washed & drained well
• 1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans, washed & drained well
• 1 generous handful of mixed lettuce, washed & drained well
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• the zest & juice of 1 large lemon 
• sea salt & ground black pepper 

COOKING 

1. Combine the oil, broccoli and garlic in a large bowl and toss well. 

2. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add the broccoli-garlic-oil mixture. Keep stirring the broccoli, garlic and ham frequently so that they do not burn. Add a few splashes of water to the pan if the ingredients start to stick. Continue to stir until the broccoli is just soft and the garlic and ham are lightly golden. 

3. Combine the broccoli mixture with the chickpeas, beans, lettuce, parsley and zest & juice in a large serving bowl. Toss well to combine all ingredients and add sea salt and pepper to taste. 

Serves / 4 for a main meal 

Total Preparation time / 10 - 15 minutes 

From pan to plate  / 10 - 15 minutes maximum 

x Emily