ASIAN CHICKEN SALAD

I have always wanted to use Wombok, or Chinese cabbage in a salad, but was hesitant to buy this vegetable as I had no idea what it tasted like. In October this year I was down in Victoria for a dear cousin’s wedding. The blushing bride happened to make an amazing cold salad which featured wombok that tasted out of this world. So a special thanks goes out to my lovely cousin Jo for introducing me to new culinary tastes.

INGREDIENTS

• 300g chicken breast, roughly chopped
• 150g green beans, trimmed and cut into 4cm pieces.
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
• 150g cucumber, thinly sliced
• 4 cups wombok (chinese cabbage), roughly shredded
• 1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoons sesame oil 

COOKING

1. Steam or boil green beans for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain. 

2. Cook the chicken in a frying pan until light golden or just cooked. Shred the chicken into small pieces. 

3. Place the wombok, chives, cooked chicken, beans and cucumber in a large serving bowl. 

4. Combine the sweet chilli sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, white wine vinegar and fish sauce in a jar with a screw-top lid and shake well. Pour this dressing over the salad to serve. 

Serves 4 

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HOMEMADE FOCACCIA

I attempted to make bread for the first time today! A sweet potato, red onion and sage focaccia to be exact. I had reservations about kneading bread, as I had heard that it was a bit of a bitch on your arm muscles. Maybe it was because of my excitement or because the amount of bread I made was quite small, but the kneading process was actually rather fun to me. Perhaps I won’t be saying that after baking an entire loaf of bread. The link below explains kneading in a very straightforward way. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWj8oHMPFm0

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 medium red onion (150-200g), finely sliced
• 400-450g sweet potato, cut into thin round slices
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 7g dried yeast (2 teaspoons)
• Cooking oil spray
• 1/8 cup vegetable oil
• 2-3 heaped tablespoons fresh shredded sage
• 1 tablespoon ground sage 

COOKING 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius fan-forced. Lightly spray a baking tray (the measurements of the one I used were 15cm x 26cm). 

2. Place sweet potato slices on a large plate and cover with glad wrap. Microwave on high for 5-7 minutes or until slices are tender. 

3. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add red onion and stir for 3-5 minutes or until onion is soft and transparent. 

4. Combine salt, yeast, flour, garlic, warm water and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Place the dough on a floured surface (such as the kitchen bench or a floured chopping board) and make sure your hands are covered in flour. Knead the dough for around 5 minutes or until smooth. (NB- A really good idea is to do the test that they do in the youtube link above to see if the bread is kneaded enough). 

5. Press the dough into the oiled tin. Place the sweet potato slices and red onion on top of the dough. Sprinkle the ground sage over the vegetables evenly. Bake for around 20-25 minutes or until the bread is golden. Add shredded sage to serve. 

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FLAVOURFUL FAJITAS

Another Mexican inspired dish for you! Fajitas is up there as one of my favourite Mexican specialties, but whenever I eat mexican cuisine at a restaurant I have trouble ordering them as they usually arrive on a plate with bucket loads of grease and taste only of heavy cheese. This recipe below is light and the tomato salsa makes the dish taste extremely fresh. The spices added to the chicken give it a delightful kick. I have found that marinating the spices with the chicken for a small amount of time prior to cooking the chicken increases the flavour.

INGREDIENTS


TOMATO SALSA

• 1 small red salad onion (100-120g), finely chopped
• 350g tomato, roughly chopped into cubes
• 100g cucumber, roughly chopped into cubes
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

FAJITAS

• 1 medium red capsicum (300-350g), deseeded and finely sliced
• 1 medium brown onion (150-200g), finely sliced
• 450g chicken breasts, sliced into strips
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin 
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4-8 soft flour tortillas, any brand or flavouring. (gluten-free are preferred). 

AVOCADO TOPPING

• 1 avocado, peeled with the stone removed and diced.
• pinch of sea salt & ground black pepper
• 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tablespoon lime juice 

COOKING

1. Place the chicken and spices (cumin, ground coriander, paprika and oregano) in a bowl and mix well. Leave to marinate for a while. 

2. Combine all the ingredients for the tomato salsa in a bowl. Refrigerate for around 30 minutes. 

3. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the brown onion and capsicum and stir-fry for around 4-5 minutes or until the onion is translucent.  Add the marinated chicken to the pan and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is coloured and just cooked (that is, no pink flesh of the chicken can be seen). 

4. Optional- wrap the tortillas in aluminium foil and heat in an oven of around 200 degrees celsius for 5 minutes or so. NOTE- I found that I was able to skip this step if you serve the chicken mixture warm.

5. Mash all the ingredients of the avocado topping together so that it forms an almost smooth paste. This seems to work better with a fork. 

6. Spoon a decent amount of the chicken mixture into the middle of a tortilla. Place a few tablespoons of the tomato salsa on top, followed by 1 tablespoon or so of the avocado topping. Serve warm. 

Recipe adapted from ' 200 Low Fat Dishes' from Hamlyn cookbooks. 

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RED KIDNEY BEANS WITH A BITE OF CHILLI

Image found at http://www.hoseatrading.com/export.php

As I become increasingly interested (some might say obsessed) in cooking, I find myself asking more questions about what particular food I use. Questions arose when I came across a recipe the other day for red kidney beans. What are these beans and what are their health benefits, I wondered.

Turns out that kidney beans in general are packed with cholesterol-lowering fibre, as many beans are. When combined with a rice dish like below, kidney beans become an (almost) fat free source of protein. In addition, kidney beans are an excellent source of iron, for all those vegetarians or infrequent meat eaters out there. There are several more benefits that I discovered; however in the interest of boring you I will cease my lecture here. If you are looking to whip up a low-fat, mexican-isk dish with a bite, look no further.  

INGREDIENTS 

• 250g chicken breast, cut into 2cm pieces
• 250g cherry tomatoes
• a medium sized head of broccoli, cut into small pieces and the stalks sliced. 
• cooking spray
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red capsicum, deseed and chopped into 2cm pieces 
• 410g can red kidney beans, drained 
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 400ml chicken stock 
• 200g doongara rice 
• sea salt & ground black pepper

COOKING 

1. Lightly spray a large frying pan with oil and heat on medium heat. Add onion, capsicum, broccoli head and stalks, garlic and chicken. Cook, stirring for 3-5 minutes or until chicken is coloured. 

2. Add the chilli powder, smoked paprika, rice, beans, tomatoes and stock to the pan. Add the salt & pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 25-30 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. 

Serve with chopped fresh coriander or parsley if you wish. 

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POTATO & KUMARA GRATIN

'gratin'. What I particularly love about this type of cooking is that you can place virtually any vegetables, breadcrumbs, herbs and some form of cheese together and the dish always turns out delicious.  I swear that the gratin recipe below becomes tastier everytime I cook it.  Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I slightly change the ingredients everytime. If you are looking for a hearty and cheap vegetarian dinner, I strongly recommend that you continue reading. 

INGREDIENTS 

• 700g kumara (sweet potato), peeled & thinly sliced into round slices
• 900g potato, preferably with a waxy skin, peeled & thinly sliced into round slices 
• 200g cream fraiche  (reduced-fat if able to find)
• 300g vegetable stock 
• 1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme 
• 1 teaspoon ground sage plus extra to serve 
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese 
• cooking spray 
• 50-75g breadcrumbs
• sea salt & freshly ground pepper 
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed or 1 teaspoon garlic flakes 

COOKING 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius fan- force. 

2. Grease a square or rectangular roasting tin/dish with cooking spray. Combine the potato & kumara slices in a bowl and layer in the dish, sprinkling salt, pepper and garlic between each layer. 

3. Heat the creme fraiche with the vegetable stock in a saucepan until well combined. Pour this over the vegetables. 

4. Stir the parmesan, 1 teaspoon sage, thyme, breadcrumbs, sea salt & pepper together and dust over the vegetables evenly. Place the dish in the oven for around 35-40 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden and vegetables are tender. Serve with a pinch or two of extra ground sage if desired. 

Note- cookbooks will often tell you to eat/serve gratin immediately. I respectively disagree with this as I find this dish and similar others that I have made even more delicious the next day, warmed up or served cold. 

Serves 4 as a main meal or 8 as a side dish 

Preparation time : 20 minutes 

Cooking time: 40 minutes 

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SPEEDY BRUSCHETTA

INGREDIENTS

• 400g can white (cannellini) beans, drained 
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 small handful of cherry tomatoes, halved 
• a large handful of fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 4 large slices of sourdough bread, toasted in the oven or a toaster
• I used multigrain sourdough, but any nice bread will do. 
• 30g rocket leaves
• 200g mozzarella, torn into pieces 
• a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION 

1. Put beans, garlic, oil and lemon juice in a small bowl and mash into a rough paste with a fork. Add the parsley, salt, pepper and tomatoes and mix well. Spread the mixture over the toasted bread and top evenly with rocket and mozzarella. 

Serves 2 

Recipe adapted from Donna Hay cookbook 'No Time to Cook'. 

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RICE PUDDING

Below lies a recipe for a moreish rice pudding. I have cooked this a few times and placed it in the oven just prior to eating dinner. 1 hour or so spent baking (with just the occasional stir) and desert is served! You can substitute the sultanas for any dried fruit you choose, such as finely chopped apricots or figs.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup (100g) doongara rice 
• 2 1/2 cups (625ml) reduced-fat milk
• 1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
• 1/4 cup (40g) sultanas 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Optional- extra pinch of ground cinnamon, to serve 

COOKING 

1. Preheat oven to 140 degrees celsius fan-forced. Spray cooking spray on a round cake tin or baking dish. 

2. Wash rice until cold water and drain. Place the rice, milk, sugar, sultanas and vanilla essence in a dish and whisk lightly with a fork. 

3. Bake pudding, uncovered, for one hour, whisking lightly with a fork until the top skin occasionally. Sprinkle the pudding with nutmeg and cinnamon and bake for a further 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Add an extra pinch of ground cinnamon on top of the pudding when serving, if you wish. 

Preparation time- 10 minutes 

Cooking time - 1 hr 20 minutes 

Nutritional count per serving - 5.5g fat / 4.8g protein / 0.4g fibre 

Recipe from the AWW 1000 Best-Ever Recipes 

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