PRAWN & MANGO WRAPS

This is a light and easy meal that screams 'summer' to me. I like to buy prawns all ready to be cooked, but sometimes I do the dirty work myself; peeling, deveining and removing their tails. It's up to you which way you go. I can see myself eating a lot of these wraps over the hot months! 

INGREDIENTS

• 250g prawns, peeled, deveined & tails removed, uncooked 
• 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce 
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 8 small tortilla wraps or mountain bread wraps 
• a handful of mixed or green lettuce, washed and roughly shredded
• 100g cucumber, thinly sliced into rounds
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced thinly
• 1 small mango, cut into cubes, around 100g 
• Optional- a handful of fresh coriander leaves

COOKING 

1. Combine the prawns and sweet chilli sauce in a small bowl. 

2. Heat and swirl the oil in a medium fry pan over medium-low heat. Add the prawns and cook, stirring regularly, for 2 - 3 minutes or until the prawns are pink and no longer translucent. Remove from heat immediately so they do not continue to cook. 

3. Lay a wrap down flat on a plate or chopping board. Arrange 1/8 of the cooked prawns, lettuce, cucumber, avocado, mango and coriander if using in the middle of the wrap and fold to wrap. Repeat until all wraps and ingredients are used. 

Serves / 4 / 2 wraps per serving 

Total Preparation & Cooking time / max 15 minutes (this does not include prepping the prawns)

x Emily 

OMELETTE with CHICKEN & GREENS

A large portion of the recipes I make up come from experiences I have eating out. I had a delicious Asian Chicken Omelette at a Brisbane cafe recently which is where the inspiration for this versatile lunch or dinner omelette comes from. You can make each omelette individually, so that each serving has their own omelette (which is very cute) or you can make one big omelette in a large frying pan and then divide it into four even portions. You could make this omelette vegetarian by omitting the chicken and adding more vegetables, such as carrot, wombok (Chinese cabbage) and / or Chinese greens, such as buk choy and pak choy. 

Ingredients

• 500g chicken breast, preferably free-range, fat trimmed and cut into small even pieces 
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 3cm fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 8 eggs, preferably free-range
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce 
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 cup water 
• 3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil 
• 150g green beans, trimmed and cut into small even pieces
• 1 head of broccoli, stalk and florets cut into small pieces
• Optional- a handful of fresh coriander leaves, to serve 
• Optional- 1 extra spring onion, finely chopped 

Cooking

1. Combine the chicken, garlic, ginger and oyster sauce in a medium bowl. Place in the fridge to marinate for at least 10 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, make the omelettes. Whisk 2 eggs, 1/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon soy sauce and 1/4 of the spring onions in a tall glass.  Heat a medium frypan over medium-low heat and add 1/2 teaspoon oil. Swirl to coat the pan then pour in the egg mixture. Cook for around 2 minutes on the first side or until the egg is almost set on one side. You can either flip the omelette in half so that it overlaps or you can flip the entire omelette over, however the latter method is quite tricky! Cook the omelette on the second side for only 1 minute or until set. Remove from heat and place each individual omelette on a serving plate. Continue this process until all four omelettes are cooked. 

3. Once the omelettes are cooked, heat the remaining teaspoon of olive oil in the fry pan over medium-low heat and swirl to coat. Add the marinated chicken and cook for around five minutes, stirring often, or until the chicken is cooked (the test: the middle of the largest piece of chicken is white, not pink). Remove the cooked chicken from the stove and divide evenly between the four plates, keeping the chicken liquids in the pan. Place on top of each omelette or to the side. 

4. Add the beans and broccoli to the pan and cook, covered, over medium-low heat for around 4-5 minutes or until the broccoli is just starting to become tender (the test: you can slide a fork into the stalk of the biggest broccoli floret and encounter just a little resistance). Remove from the heat and divide the cooked vegetables evenly between the four plates. Place the vegetables on  top of each omelette or to the side. 

Serve warm, topped with extra spring onions and/or coriander, if desired. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / max 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 25 minutes 

x Emily 

PRAWN & VEGETABLE RICE NOODLES

I love eating prawn vermicelli salads when I go out to Vietnamese restaurants. Making your own is actually very easy and cheaper! I like to buy ready made prawns, that is, prawns that have already been peeled and deveined themselves, if I am time poor. Otherwise super fresh prawns will do, they will just require a little more prep time to remove their shells, tails and faeces track. I love the thicker rice noodles, but you could substitute for vermicelli. As there are only 50g cooked noodles per serving, the carbs are relatively low and the meal is light. Add whatever vegetables you have on hand that can be eaten raw. 

INGREDIENTS

Noodles 

• 250g uncooked prawns, peeled, deveined & washed
• 2-3cm fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 2 spring onions, plus extra to serve, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil 
• 100g pad thai rice noodles (thicker than vermicelli)
• 150g green beans, trimmed and cut into small pieces 
• 1 large carrot, grated 
• 1 lebanese cucumber or 1/2 a continental cucumber, diced
• Optional - a handful of fresh coriander leaves, washed & roughly chopped 

Dressing 

2 teaspoons fish sauce 

the juice of 1 large lime

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

2 tablespoons water 

COOKING 

1. Marinate the prawns with the ginger, garlic, chilli, spring onions and oil in a medium bowl. Place in the fridge until step 4. 

2. Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan filled halfway with water to the boil, covered. Once boiled add the noodles and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the noodles are tender but not mushy. Remove from the heat and drain the noodles in a colander under cold running water, separating the noodles with a fork. 

3. Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in a small bowl and stirring to combine. 

4. Heat a small to medium fry pan over medium-low heat. Once warm add the prawns and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the garlic and ginger is cooked and the prawns are pink in colour. Remove from heat. 

5. Place the cooked prawns in a large serving bowl with the cooked noodles. Add the beans, carrot, cucumber, a handful of spring onions and coriander, if using and toss well to combine. Drizzle the dressing over the top and toss again. 

Serves / two 
Total Preparation time / max 15 minutes (longer if you need to prepare the prawns yourself) 
Total Cooking time / 15 minutes 

x Emily 

GRILLED TUNA BROWN RICE SALAD

Creating more recipes that use fish has been a fun challenge for me. I have found myself loving tuna steaks and wanting to cook with them a couple times a week. This salad includes a small amount of brown rice, however you can omit the rice for a super light meal. Just make sure that without the rice you do not get hungry after dinner and snack on something else! 

Ingredients

Salad

• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 2 large handfuls of lettuce or baby spinach or mixed 
• 1 large tomato, thinly sliced
• 100g green beans, trimmed and chopped into small pieces
• 120g continental or Lebanese cucumber, diced
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 30g reduced-fat feta, crumbled 
• 250g tuna steak, cut in half 
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 
• aluminium foil 

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1 spring onion or 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons water 

Cooking 

1. Bring the rice and 1 and a 1/4 cups of water to the boil, covered, then simmer for 8 minutes or until all water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove from heat. 

2. Meanwhile, prepare the salad by chopping and tossing the lettuce, tomato, beans, cucumber, spring onion and feta in a large serving bowl. 

3. Make the dressing by pouring all ingredients into a small bowl and stirring. 

4. Stir the tuna steak with the olive oil. Bring either a grill plate or a frying pan to high heat. Add the tuna and leave to cook for 2 minutes each side. After this rest the cooked tuna for 2 minutes wrapped loosely in the al foil. Once the 2 minutes are up, carefully slice the tuna. 

Add the brown rice and tuna to the salad and lightly toss. Drizzle the dressing on top and divide into 2 bowls. 

Serves / two 

Total Preparation & Cooking time / max 20 minutes 

x Emily 

BEETROOT, LENTIL & SUMAC SALAD

When the weather gets hotter and the days get longer, I like to get creative with salads, much to my husband's horror. Now, salad can be very boring and mundane if you just use the same ingredients every time, the token tomato, lettuce, cucumber and store bought dressing. However, if you get imaginative and add beans, lentils, eggs etc, your salad can turn into a main meal. Which is what I did the other afternoon. I highly recommend buying the spice sumac to flavour some of your salads. Sumac is a Middle Eastern spice that grows wild in the mid-east and Italy. It is purple in colour and has a sharp, sour lemon taste- don’t let this put you off though! It is superb in salads and is also used as a seasoning for meat. One teaspoon is all you need. If you are a vegan or do not eat eggs, substitute the hard boiled eggs for 1 ripe avocado. 

 INGREDIENTS

• 3 medium or 2 large beetroot, peeled, ends trimmed and cut in half or quarters to cook faster 
• 4 eggs, preferably free range
• 1 x 400g tin of brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1 large tomato, sliced into thin wedges
• 2 large handfuls of lettuce (I like to use mixed lettuce)
• 1 teaspoon ground sumac
• 80g reduced-fat feta, crumbled
• Optional- if not using eggs, 1 ripe avocado, roughly chopped 

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius and wrap the beetroot halves in foil. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until beetroot is tender (that is, you can slice the beetroot with a knife easily). Remove from oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes, then remove the foil and slice beetroot into thin wedges. 

2. Meanwhile, bring a small saucepan of water with the eggs to the boil, covered. Once boiled continue to cook for 5 minutes, then turn off the stove and rinse the eggs under cold water. Let them sit in the cold water for a few minutes, as this will stop them from cooking further and cool them down so they can be peeled. 

3. Prepare the lentils, tomato, lettuce, sumac, feta and avocado if using in a medium to large bowl. Toss well. 

4. Peel the eggs and cut into halves or quarters and place on top of the salad. Serve hot or cold.  

Serves / 4
Total Preparation & Total Cooking time / around 40 minutes (including roasting the beetroot)

x Emily 

PRAWN SALAD with GREENS

Even though it is only the beginning of spring, I'm already feeling like making meals fit for summer! This is a perfect meal for a late dinner, as it is incredibly light and healthy. I'm really getting used to making seafood a few times a week and I feel like I'm reaping the health benefits already. Prawns are a complete & great source of protein, as they contain all nine amino acids and 100g of prawns contains a whooping 25g of protein, around the same amount as chicken & beef contain. This seafood is very low in calories (always nice to hear!). 100g of prawns contains a mere 115 or so calories. Whilst prawns do contain higher than average levels of cholesterol, they are made up of GOOD cholesterol due to their healthy fats (Omega 3 fatty acid). Prawns are also a rich in Vitamin B-6, B-12, iron and zinc. They may not be the cheapest meat option, but who isn't willing to spend some money on their health? 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 3cm fresh ginger, grated 
• 200g green beans, trimmed & cut into 3em pieces
• 1/2 a bunch buk choy, roughly chopped
• 1/2 a bunch pak choy, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 300g raw or cooked prawns, shelled & tails on or off 
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• Optional- fresh coriander leaves, torn and 1 spring onion, finely chopped

COOKING 

1. Heat olive oil in a medium fry pan over medium heat, swirling to coat the pan. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes or until fragrant. 

2. Add the cut beans to the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring, before adding the buk choy & pak choy. Add the soy sauce to the pan and stir well, then cover for 2 minutes or until the buy & pak choy are tender (the beans can still have a little crunchiness to them). 

If the prawns are raw: remove the vegetables from the pan and add a small splash more olive oil to the pan over medium heat. Add the prawns and cook for 1-2 minutes or until they become cloudy in colour. 

If the prawns are cooked: remove the vegetables from the pan and place them in a medium bowl with the cooked prawns. Drizzle the lime juice on top and add the coriander and spring onion, if using. Toss well and serve. 

Serves / 2

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / under 10 minutes 

x Emily

SEARED TUNA with ASIAN GREENS

In my effort to eat more fish, tuna has become the star meat! I love how the taste of tuna steak is not the least bit fishy, especially when combined with Asian flavours. Here is my latest tuna creation; Seared Tuna Steak with Asian Greens. I really like adding edamame to stir frys, however if you are not a fan of soy beans or do not have access to them, you can use 1/2 a head of broccoli instead. I stress that everyone has different stove heatings and likes their tuna cooked differently, so cook it to your liking. In this recipe this tuna is cooked medium rare, not rare. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup brown rice 
• 2 tablespoons kecap manis
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2cm fresh ginger, grated
• Optional- 5cm lemongrass, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 x 150-200g tuna steak
• 1/2 a bunch pak choy, end removed and roughly chopped
• 1/2 a bunch buk choy, end removed and roughly chopped
• Either 1/2 a head of broccoli, finely chopped into even sized florets OR 100g edamame beans, shelled (weighed after shelling)
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped, to serve 

COOKING 

1. Bring the brown rice and 1 cup of water to the boil in a small to medium saucepan over high heat, covered. Once boiled, reduce to a simmer and cook for around 10 minutes or until all water is absorbed and the rice is just tender. 

2. Meanwhile, pour the kecap manis, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, ginger, lemongrass if using and 2 tablespoons of water into a mug or small jug and stir to combine. Set aside near the stove. 

3. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat, swirling to coat. Add the tuna steaks and cook for 2 minutes each side. After this time return the tuna to the original side and pour the sauce mixture from step 2 over the top of the tuna. Cook the tuna for 30 seconds each side, making sure to cover it with the sauce. Remove the tuna from the pan, leaving the sauce in the pan and placing the cooked tuna onto your serving plates. 

4. Add the pak choy, buk choy and broccoli or edamame to the pan and cook, stirring often so that the sauce does not stick to the pan, for 3-5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove from heat. 

Serve each tuna steak with half of the vegetable sauce mixture and half of the rice. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds and half of the chopped spring onions on top of each dish. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / max 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / max 15 minutes 

x Emily 

SWEET SUMMER SLAW VERMICELLI

The name and adaptation of this recipe comes from one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s amazing vegetarian creations. Yotam likes to make this ‘slaw’ as he calls it, with caramelised macadamia nuts and lots of papaya, green cabbage, mint and coriander. Not being a fan of caramelising ingredients due to the high quantity of butter and sugar used, I decided to opt for a relatively small amount of peanuts and raw shallots. You could serve this salad naked, or with vermicelli noodles like myself to make it more filling. Definitely a summer salad for the hot steamy Brisbane weather! 

INGREDIENTS

Dressing

• the juice of 2 small limes 
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons water 

Salad

• 150g rice vermicelli noodles
• 1/2 a red cabbage, washed & finely shredded
• 2 large carrots (around 300g), finely grated
• 1 medium mango (around 100g), diced 
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil / coriander, torn 
• 1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
• Optional- 1 ripe avocado, diced 

METHOD 

1. To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl. 

2. Fill a large heatproof bowl with boiling hot water and place the raw vermicelli in it. Leave to sit for 5 minutes, then drain well with cold water. Place the cooked vermicelli in a large serving bowl and toss the red cabbage, carrot, mango, spring onion, basil, peanuts, dressing and avocado, if using, in the bowl. Serve cold. 

Serves / 4

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / max 10 minutes 

x Emily 

CHICKEN SALAD with ZESTY DIJON DRESSING

This recipe was initially going to be a Quinoa salad dish, however I wanted something light for a light dinner and decided to leave out the quinoa carbs. You could use whatever raw vegetables you have on hand, such as capsicum, cabbage, shallots, the list goes on. I like adding lentils or legumes to my salads for an additional hit of protein. As you may have realised with the ingredients in my recipes, I do not prescribe to the Paleo way of eating and think that eating lentils, legumes and grains is very important for my health.  You can also add a touch of crumbled feta or toasted almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds to this salad for more texture and flavour. Look back at my Poaching Chicken recipe for steps on how to poach correctly or if pressed for time, buy a free range cooked chicken! The zesty dijon mustard is a favourite of mine, as it is filled with flavour and is low in calories- try to use apple cider vinegar as it contains less sugar than other vinegars. 

INGREDIENTS

• 300g cooked chicken breast, shredded 
• 150g green beans, trimmed & roughly chopped
• 2 generous handful of baby spinach
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 x 400g tin of brown lentils, rinsed & drained 
• 100g carrot, grated 
• 1 Lebanese cucumber or 1/2 continental cucumber, diced 
• 1 small to medium ripe avocado, diced 
• 3-4 tablespoons fresh chives / basil / parsley, finely chopped 
• a generous amount of ground black pepper 

Zesty Dijon Dressing

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or minced 
• 1 heaped tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• the juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime 
• 2 tablespoons water 
• ground black pepper 

COOKING 

1. Combine all the salad ingredients in a large serving bowl and toss well to combine. 

2. Make the salad dressing by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl and stirring with a fork to combine. If the salad dressing is too thick, try adding a little extra water. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / around 20 minutes 

x Emily