BEEF NOODLES WRAPPED IN LETTUCE

Last week I had a strong desire to cook Asian-style stir-fries. I had no idea where this longing came from, as the weather was very steamy and humid. Nevertheless my craving subsisted and I bought quite a large quantity of rice noodles. The first dish I made was randomly put together consisting mainly of left over purple cabbage, lettuce, bean sprouts and green beans. Throw in some lean beef mince and noodles and you have yourself a filling, somewhat contemporary Asian stir-fry. If you are not a fan of purple cabbage, but still want to make the dish colourful, opt for red capsicum and/or carrot. You can drizzle sweet chilli sauce over the lettuce bundles to serve, but I find that kecap manis is a strong enough flavour.

INGREDIENTS

• 500g lean minced beef
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 3cm fresh ginger, grated 
• 150g purple cabbage, finely shredded
• 200g green beans, thinly sliced 
• 150-200g bean sprouts
• 200g rice noodles (gluten-free)
• 1 iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup kecap manis sauce
• 1/2 cup water 

COOKING 

1. Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium to high heat and swirl to coat the surface area. Add garlic, ginger and beef mince, using a metal spoon to break apart any meat lumps. Cook  for 4-5 minutes or until mince is browned. Add purple cabbage, beans, bean sprouts, kecap manis and water. Stir-fry ingredients for 4-6 minutes or until vegetables are tender. 

2. Meanwhile, soak rice noodles in boiling water in a large bowl. Soak for 3 minutes, separating the noodle strands with a fork. Drain well. 

3. Add noodles to the mince and vegetable mixture and toss to combine. Spoon noodles and mince into the centre of the iceberg lettuce leaves and serve. 

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MAPLE SYRUP PANCAKES

If you have glanced at my blog more than once, you may have noticed that a very important meal of the day is missing : BREAKFAST. As I start most days at 4:15am, I can’t seem to motivate myself to cook at this time, as it would require awaking 15-30 minutes earlier. I have recently decided to focus more on cooking breakfast on the days that I allow myself a decent sleep in. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Its extremely vital to kick-start that metabolism of ours with the first meal of the day. Today, Sunday, was the first day of my cooking-breakfast regime. As I was suffering from non-creativity this morning, I made pancakes. I paused when combining the traditional flour, sugar, eggs and milk together and poured a generous dash of maple syrup in the uncooked batter. I would highly recommend this, as the cooked pancakes came out of the frying pan with more flavour than usual. Stay tuned for more breakfast posts in the coming weeks!  

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup self-raising flour 
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 50-75g fresh or frozen raspberries
• Cooking spray
• Extra maple syrup

COOKING 

1. Mix flour and caster sugar together in a medium bowl. Add egg white, vanilla essence, milk and maple syrup and whisk well to combine until batter contains no lumps. 

2. Heat a shallow frying pan with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the pancake batter into the pan and cook on low heat until bubbles appear on the surface. Turn and cook until pancake is slightly brown. Remove from pan and cover, keeping warm whilst you repeat this process. The batter should make around 4 large pancakes. 

3. Serve with raspberries and extra maple syrup, if desired. 

Serves: 2 

Preparation & Cooking Time: 15 minutes 

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DUKKAH EGGS ON A BED OF SALAD

I discovered Dukkah last year in Victoria when I was at a Harvest Festival. My aunt was particularly excited to introduce me to this unique blend of nuts, seeds and spices and directed me to a stall which specialized in this tasty condiment. I tried an almond blend of dukkah with olive oil on bread (how it is traditionally eaten) and was utterly amazed by the burst of flavour I encountered. Needless to say I purchased quite a large amount of this aromatic condiment.

A customary dukkah mixture consists of chopped toasted nuts (often hazelnuts, however I prefer the almond base) with sesame, coriander and cumin seeds and spices. Traditionally eaten by dipping bread into olive oil and then dukkah, it is fast becoming more common to sprinkle dukkah on salads, warm vegetables and on meat before cooking. This versatile condiment, appetizer, snack and antipasti can also be made into a dip, added as a toping to yoghurt or fruit or blended with rice with create a spiced and aromatic dish. Last night I was extremely tired, and thought that combining eggs with dukkah would be an interesting creation. Give it a try for yourself or create an imaginative use for dukkah.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs, halved
• 1 x 410g tin of sliced beetroot
• a generous handful of lettuce (I used iceberg, but butter or cos lettuce would be nice)
• 2 large tomatos, finely sliced into wedges
• a handful of alfalfa sprouts
• 2 tablespoons of dukkah, any blend 
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

COOKING 

1. Hard boil 2 eggs and cut in half. Coat eggs in sesame oil. Place 1 to 1/2 tablespoons of Dukkah on a clean surface and roll the halved eggs around until they are coated well with the ingredient. 

2. Combine beetroot, lettuce and tomato in a medium bowl. Top with alfalfa sprouts. Add coated eggs to the salad and sprinkle remaining dukkah evenly on top of the salad. 

Serves 2

Preparation & Cooking time: 8 minutes 

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10 MINUTE GLUTEN FREE SPAGHETTI

When I began to eat mainly gluten-free, the food I missed most was pasta. For some people giving up pizza, bread and/cookies may be on the top of their list, but I just adore pasta. I must have been Italian in another life (although my Dutch & Russian pale skin greatly opposes this idea). Due to the void that not being able to eat wheat pasta created in my life, I try to fill it with eating GF pasta every fortnight. I came up with the recipe below last Saturday night, as I was in the kitchen with my sister. She was making a salad of her own and this recipe suddenly popped into my mind as I watched her chop. I have made quite a similar pasta dish in the past which features on this blog (GF pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and crème fraiche- check it out!), however this is a much easier and faster recipe. A quick note- don’t skip on the fresh herbs! If you don’t want to add chives/ they are not available to you, substitute them for fresh parsley or basil.

INGREDIENTS

• 250g Gluten-free spaghetti 
• 1 large tomato, finely sliced
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 100ml light Philadelphia cream for cooking
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
• pinch of sea salt & pepper 

COOKING 

1. Bring a large saucepan of warm water to the boil. Add spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes or until spaghetti is al dente or soft (depending on your pasta preference). Drain well.  Meanwhile, slice tomato and cut chives. 

3. Combine all ingredients together in a large serving bowl. 

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ROSEMARY & TOMATO RISOTTO

I purchased the most beautiful, aromatic bunch of fresh rosemary at the Eagle Farm Markets this past Sunday. I consider myself very restrained to not have spent all my $40 solely on herbs, as one market stall has the most superb array of fresh sage, coriander, oregano, tarragon, basil, parsley, chives, dill and of course rosemary. As I drove home I pondered what dish to create for lunch that would feature rosemary as its signature ingredient. Hence my extremely simple but tasty Rosemary & Tomato Risotto below. The rosemary is fragrant but not overpowering, and the tomatoes give the dish a juicy taste. You can certainly add more tomatoes or other vegetables, such as artichokes or green beans to increase the vegetable content.


INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup doongara rice
• 1 medium brown onion (100-130g), finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 cups water 
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary 
• 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons reduced-fat grated cheese 

COOKING 

1. Heat a large saucepan on medium to high heat and add oil. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until onion is soft. Add rice and stir until coated. 

2. Add stock, water, tomatoes and rosemary and bring to the boil. Simmer, for around 15 minutes or until rice has absorbed. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. 

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BEETROOT, LENTIL & SUMAC SALAD

We have just endured a stifling heat wave in Brisbane. I can’t remember the last time that the weather was 38 degrees at 4pm. And lets not forget about the 100% humidity in the air. Due to this scorching weather, my body could not tolerate any hot or even remotely warm food this week, as I would break into a sweat if I even turned my oven on. I decided to use this week to get creative with salads. 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 yesterday afternoon. I highly recommend buying a small sachet of sumac to flavour 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. 

 INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 450g tin of sliced beetroot, rinsed and drained
• 1 x 400g tin of brown lentils, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 a large tomato, sliced into thin wedges
• 1 teaspoon sumac
• a handful of lettuce (I used butter lettuce)
• 3 hard boiled eggs, halved. 

COOKING 

1. Bring a small covered saucepan of water to the boil. Add 3 eggs and cook for around 5-7 minutes. Turn off the stove and leave the eggs in the saucepan whilst you prepare the salad. 

2. Combine the beetroot, lentils, tomato, lettuce and sumac in a medium to large bowl. Toss well. 

3. Remove eggs from the saucepan, cool in cold water and peel off the egg shells. Halve the eggs and place them on top of the salad. 

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