Salads of Substance…

For most, the mere mention of “salad” and they suddenly feel like a “rabbit”!  Perhaps if you’re eating your mundane lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber and if you lucky a drop of cheese! For me salads are nothing short of BRILLIANT!  They scream excitement, flavour and fun!  (not to mention they look simply gorgeous)!   The thing to remember, and what I try to teach is that you need to experiment with your combinations and flavours.  Don’t be afraid to try something new just because its not in the “recipe”.. we are not baking a cake here so have FUN!

Anglo-Asian Lamb Salad

Ingredients

2 teaspoons garlic oil

1 lamb loin, approx. 250g

1 packet (approx. 180g) salad leaves

3 x 15ml tablespoons chopped mint

FOR THE DRESSING

2 x 15ml tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)

1 x 15ml tablespoon redcurrant jelly

2 x 15ml tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped, or 1/4 teaspoon crushed chillies

1 spring onion, finely sliced

Method

1.	Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan, and cook the lamb for 5 minutes on one side, and then turn it over and cook for another 2 1/2 minutes on the other.
2.	Wrap the meat in foil, making a baggy but tightly sealed parcel, and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
3.	In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients.
4.	Open the foil parcel, and empty the meat juices into the dressing. Cut the lamb into very fine slices or strips and add them too; the acid in the dressing will “cook” the lamb a little more while it steeps. If the meat is not rare, I’d leave it for just a short time, but for a longer time if it seems undercooked. You want it still gorgeously pink to sit on its salad.
5.	Divide the salad leaves between 2 (or 4) plates and then arrange the soused lamb with the dressing over each one. Finally scatter the chopped mint on top.

Smoked Chicken and Mango Salad

Ingredients

250g Smoked Chicken sliced

1 lg Mango sliced

125g roasted sunflower seeds

1pkt Salad Greens

1sml red onion sliced

½ punnet rosa Tomatoes sliced

1 stem spring onions chopped

½ red pepper sliced

Method:

Arrange all the above ingredients in a salad bowl, serve drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil

Fig and Parma Ham Salad

Ingredients

Figs

Parma Ham

Mozzarella sliced

Fresh Basil

Dressing:

6 Tbls Olive Oil

3 Tbls lemon juice

1 Tbls Honey

salt and black pepper

Method:

Criss-cross the figs but not quite to the bottom – 1 fig per person is always a good start. Then, using your thumbs and forefingers, squeeze the base of the fig to expose the inside. At this point you’ll think, ‘Oooh, that looks nice, I think I’m quite clever …’ or at least I do. More importantly, it allows your dressing to get right into the middle of the fig. Then arrange the parma ham, mozzarella and fresh roughly chopped basil on the plate. Combine the dressing ingredients and drizzle over the salad. Serve with fresh bread rolls.

Roasted squash, prosciutto and pecorino salad

Ingredients

1 butternut squash
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small dried red chilli
1 heaped teaspoon coriander seeds
20 slices of prosciutto or Parma ham
4 handfuls of rocket
6 tablespoons extra virgin
olive oil
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 small block of pecorino or Parmesan cheese

Method:

Preheat your oven to 190°C. Carefully cut your butternut squash in half, keeping the seeds intact. Remove the two ends and discard them. Cut each half into quarters and lay in a roasting tray. Rub with a little olive oil. In a pestle and mortar pound up a flat teaspoon each of salt, pepper and your chilli and coriander seeds. Scatter this over the squash. Roast the squash for half an hour or until soft and golden. Allow to cool a little.

Lay your prosciutto on 4 plates — let it hang over the rim of the plates and encourage it to twist and turn so it doesn’t look neat and flat. Tear up your warm squash and put it in and around the ham. Sprinkle over the seeds and the rocket. Drizzle over the olive oil and balsamic, add a tiny pinch of salt and pepper, and use a vegetable peeler to shave over the Pecorino.

Crab & Avocado Salad with Japanese Dressing

Ingredients

2 x 15 ml tablespoons mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)

1/2 teaspoon wasabi paste

1 x 15ml tablespoon rice vinegar

few drops sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon Maldon salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt

1 long red chilli pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

200g crab meat

approx. 1 teaspoon lime juice

150g rocket salad

1 ripe avocado

1–2 teaspoons chopped chives

Method:

In a bowl that will take the crab meat later, whisk together the mirin, wasabi paste, rice vinegar, sesame oil and salt. Then remove about 4 teaspoons to another big bowl large enough to fit your salad. 2.To the first, more generous amount of dressing, add the finely chopped chilli and then the crab meat, and fork through to mix thoroughly. 3.To the small amount of dressing in the other bowl, add the lime juice and then the salad leaves and toss well to mix, before arranging on four plates. 4.Spoon a quarter of the mixture into a metal American 1/3-cup measure, or a small ramekin, squishing down to get it all in, then unmould in the centre of a salad-lined plate. 5.Just turn over, tap and the crab meat should fall out. Repeat with the remaining crab meat and the 3 other plates. 6.Using a rounded teaspoon measure, scoop out curls or humps of avocado and dot around on top of the salady bits. Spritz with a little lime juice. 7.Sprinkle the chopped chives over the mounds of crab and take the plates to the table.

Ricotta and tomato tart with Basil and Rocket

Ingredients: The filling Depending on your rosa/cherry tomato sizes, about 30 tomatoes cut in half 1 1/2 cups Ricotta cheese 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped 1 cup rocket leaves, whole 1/2 cup white sugar Extra virgin olive oil to dress Salt and pepper to season The pastry 1 frozen puff pastry roll 1 egg beaten for basting Flour for dusting

Method:

Let’s start with the pastry base; making your own puff pastry is fussy and time-consuming, so stop on your way home from work and pick up a frozen puff pastry from your local store. We won’t tell if you don’t! Pre-heat your oven to 160ºC while the pastry is defrosting. Once ready, gently roll it out onto a floured surface until it is about 1cm thick, keeping its rectangular shape.

Tip: work quickly with the pastry when uncooked so it doesn’t soften and stretch.

Cut the pastry to roughly a 30cm by 20cm rectangle. Lightly grease a cold baking tray and carefully line it with the pastry. Use a fork to pierce the pastry in the centre, leaving about a 2cm border unpierced all the way around the rectangle. Now baste the border of the base with the eggwash.

Now to fill the centre of the tart: sprinkle the ricotta evenly, excluding the unpierced border. Chop and sprinkle half the basil on top of the ricotta cheese. Now fill the entire centre with the tomatoes, making sure the skins face upwards. Season well with salt, pepper and sugar.

Place in the oven for about 30 minutes, until the tart sides have risen and are golden brown. The tomatoes skins should be cooked and half caramelized. Yummy!

Once ready, serve straight onto your chosen serving platter. Sprinkle the leftover chopped basil and whole leaves of rocket evenly over the tart and dress with extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately!

Tip: by using a large coffee cup to cut the pastry into smaller tarts, you can create individual portions that present really beautifully!

Quinoa and Avocado Salad with Dried Fruit, Toasted Almonds, and Lemon-Cumin Vinaigrette

Ingredients

3 Tbs. raisins (preferably a mix of dark and golden)
2 Tbs. dried apricots, thinly sliced
1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed well
Kosher salt
1 large lemon
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. sweet paprika
2 medium firm-ripe avocados pitted, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 medium scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
2 to 3 Tbs. coarsely chopped toasted almonds
Freshly ground black pepper

Method:

In a medium bowl, soak the raisins and apricots in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a saucepan, bring 2 cups water, the quinoa, and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and tender, 10 to 15 minutes. (The outer germ rings of the grain will remain chewy and white. Some germ rings may separate from the grain and will look like white squiggles.) Immediately fluff the quinoa with a fork and turn it out onto a baking sheet to cool to room temperature.

Finely grate the zest from the lemon and then squeeze 1 Tbs. juice. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon zest and juice with the olive oil, coriander, cumin, paprika, and 1/4 tsp. salt. In a large bowl, toss the vinaigrette with the quinoa, raisins, apricots, avocado, scallions, and almonds. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Sweet n Sour Sirloin Stir-Fry with Ranch Mashed Potatoes.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable, peanut or canola oil

1 small head red cabbage, shredded

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Method:

Heat the oil in large skillet over high heat. Stir-fry the cabbage for 5 minutes, then season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the vinegar and honey, sesame seeds and oil. Serve warm.

Grilled Hot-and-Sour Shrimp with Watermelon-Watercress Salad – Rachel Ray

Ingredients

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon mustard sauce (2 packets) or any other hot mustard

3 cups bite-size seedless yellow or red watermelon chunks (about 1 1/3 pounds)

2 bunches watercress, coarsely chopped

4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, with the tails on

2 tablespoons duck sauce (3 packets)

1 tablespoon soy sauce (2 packets)

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Juice of 1 lime

Method:

In a salad bowl, combine the rice vinegar, honey and mustard. Add the watermelon, watercress, scallions and bell pepper and toss; season with salt and pepper.

In a large skillet, heat the oil, two turns of the pan, over high heat. Add the shrimp and stir fry until pink and firm, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the heat and stir in the duck sauce, soy sauce, hot pepper sauce and lime juice; toss to coat. Serve on top of the salad.

Open-Face Smoked Salmon and Avocado Sandwiches

Ingredients

1-1/2 firm-ripe medium avocados, cut into medium dice
1 medium scallion, thinly sliced
3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro; whole leaves for garnish
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
1/2 to 1 tsp. finely chopped jalapeño
salt and pepper
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. toasted coriander seeds, coarsely ground
1/4 tsp. (scant) finely grated orange zest
8 oz. thinly sliced cold-smoked salmon, cut into 1-1/2 -inch-wide strips
4 slices sourdough bread (each 6-1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch thick), toasted very crisp
1 medium clove garlic, halved

Method:

In a medium bowl, gently mix (don’t mash) the avocado, scallion, chopped cilantro, lime juice, jalapeño, and 1/4 tsp. salt. In another medium bowl, mix the oil, coriander, and orange zest. Toss the salmon with the oil mixture. Rub the toasts lightly with the cut sides of the garlic clove. Divide the avocado mixture among the toasts. Pile the salmon strips on top. Garnish with the cilantro leaves and serve immediately so the toast stays crisp.

Ingredients

5 medium blood oranges
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium head radicchio, washed, cored, and cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces (about 5 loosely packed cups)
1 medium head butter lettuce,washed, cored, and cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces (about 4 loosely packed cups)
3/4 cup blanched hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
chunk Parmigiano-Reggiano or aged goat cheese

Method:

Finely grate 1 tsp. of zest and then squeeze 2 Tbs. juice from one of the oranges. In a medium bowl, whisk the zest and juice with the olive oil, vinegar, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.

Using a sharp knife, trim off the peel and white pith from the remaining 4 oranges and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices; remove any seeds.

In a large bowl, toss the radicchio and butter lettuce with the hazelnuts and just enough dressing to lightly coat (about 1/4 cup). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide the salad among 6 serving plates and top each with 3 or 4 blood orange slices. With a vegetable peeler, shave a few shards of cheese over the top.

Greek Salad

Ingredients:

lettuce or endive leaves, washed and shredded

6 small tomatoes, cubed

1small cucumber, peeled and cubed

175g feta cheese, cubed

100g black olives

a bunch of fresh marjoram

SALAD DRESSING

15ml lemon juice

salt and pepper

45ml olive oil

Method:

Line a shallow serving dish with the lettuce or endive leaves. Put the cubed tomatoes, cucumber and cheese on the bed of lettuce and scatter the olives over. Make the salad dressing by combining the lemon juice, salt pepper and olive oil together, shake well in a screw-top jar. Pour the dressing over the salad and scatter the marjoram leaves, mixing lightly.

Pear, Blue Cheese and Walnut Salad

Ingredients

Dressing

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 medium shallot, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1/2 cup olive oil

Salad

1bag mixed baby greens

2 large ripe pears, halved, cored, thinly sliced lengthwise

1 cup crumbled blue cheese

1 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped

Method:

Whisk first 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Toss greens in large bowl with enough dressing to coat. Divide greens among 6 plates. Top with pear slices, dividing equally. Sprinkle with cheese and walnuts. Drizzle lightly with remaining dressing and serve.

Happy HEALTHY Cooking!

For the love of Chicken….

For many of us chicken is part of our staple diet.  That said, its phenomenal how versatile it actually is.  You can make it into snacks, a creamy dish, chili dish, burgers, the list goes on and on….Not surprising its one of my favourites along side fresh vegies!

I’ve compiled a few recipes some old, some new.  Try them out and remember to experiment have fun when you cook…who knows you could surprise even yourself!

Chicken ala King

What you need

1 Onion finely chopped
100g mushrooms sliced
2 Tablespoons) flour
1 ½ cups Milk
200ml chicken stock
500g poached chicken in bite size pieces
splash of cream
Salt and pepper
1 red or green Pepper chopped
2 tablespoons sherry(if desired)
3 tablespoons butter for frying

The process

In a pan on a medium heat, add butter and a little oil and cook the onions, peppers and mushrooms until soft. Add the flour and cook for a minute or two stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat, add the milk slowly and stir constantly, add the stock, bring to the boil and stir until smooth and quite thick.

Add the chicken and cream(not essential) and season with salt and pepper and finally, if you want the sauce really rich add the sherry and combine it all.

Serve with pasta or rice.

Chicken Pie

What you need

1 whole chicken
1 liter chicken stock
1 onion roughly chopped
Pinch of whole black peppercorns (about 8 or so)
2 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
salt and black pepper
2 egg yolks lightly beaten
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 punnet mushrooms chopped(250g)
1 packet bacon chopped into small pieces
Handful of chopped fresh parsley
1 roll frozen puff pastry (400g)
1 egg
Milk

The process

In a large pot on a medium to high heat, heat the stock, add the onion, peppercorns, mixed spice and cloves. Pop in the chicken and allow to simmer for about 40 minutes. You want the stock to be bubbling slowly, so adjust the heat down if it is boiling.

Remove the chicken and allow to cool until you can handle it with your hands. Leave the stock on the stove and allow it to continue simmering until it has reduced by about half.

Now peel off the skin and remove as much meat as you can, making sure there are no bones or cartilage in your pie of chicken meat. Toss out the bones and the skin and break up the meat into morsel size pieces.

Fry the bacon pieces in medium until well cooked, remove and set aside.

Add your mushrooms to the simmering stock and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes until soft. remove from the heat, get a whisk add the egg yolks and whisk fast until the mixture turns creamy and thickens. Add the lemon juice, stir, taste and season a little with salt and pepper.

Now add the chicken, parsley and the bacon to the creamy mushroom sauce and mix to combine everything.

Cover and allow the mixture to cool.

Take 6 small oven proof bowls of about 6cm deep and 10cm diameter, butter them lightly and share the mixture evenly between them. If you are using ramekins fill them to 3/4 full.

Now place a piece of pastry over the top of each bowl, brush with a mixture of egg and milk, pierce the center with a knife and place in a 200 Celsius oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the pastry is beautifully browned.

Chicken Schnitzel

What you need

1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese(optional)
Salt and black pepper

1 egg beaten
6 boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons each of oil and butter

The process

The first thing to do is to take each chicken breast, remove the skin, butterfly them and pound with a wooden mallet or bottle until they are about 1-1.5cm thick.

Next mix the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper and parmesan together in a bowl.

Dip the chicken breasts into the well beaten egg, allow most of the excess to drip off and then coat with the breadcrumb mixture.

Once they are all coated, place them one by one back into the breadcrumbs to ensure that they have a nice coat of breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil and butter together in a pan on a medium heat and gently fry them until the crumbs are golden brown.

Coq au Vin Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb bacon slices
• 20 pearl onions, peeled, or 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 3 lbs chicken thighs and legs, excess fat trimmed, skin ON
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups red wine (pinot noir, burgundy, or zinfandel)
• 2 bay leaves
• Several fresh thyme sprigs
• Several fresh parsley sprigs
• 1/2 lb button mushrooms, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp butter
• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Method

1 Blanch the bacon to remove some of its saltiness. Drop the bacon into a saucepan of cold water, covered by a couple of inches. Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, drain. Rinse in cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Cut the bacon into 1 inch by 1/4 inch pieces.

2 Brown bacon on medium high heat in a dutch oven big enough to hold the chicken, about 10 minutes. Remove the cooked bacon, set aside. Keep the bacon fat in the pan. Working in batches if necessary, add onions and chicken, skin side down. Brown the chicken well, on all sides, about 10 minutes. Halfway through the browning, add the garlic and sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. (Note: it is best to add salt while cooking, not just at the very end. It brings out the flavor of the chicken.)

3 Spoon off any excess fat. Add the chicken stock, wine, and herbs. Add back the bacon. Lower heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove chicken and onions to a separate platter. Remove the bay leaves, herb sprigs, garlic, and discard.

4 Add mushrooms to the remaining liquid and turn the heat to high. Boil quickly and reduce the liquid by three fourths until it becomes thick and saucy. Lower the heat, stir in the butter. Return the chicken and onions to the pan to reheat and coat with sauce. Adjust seasoning. Garnish with parsley and serve

Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients

1 Lg onion halved and sliced

4 chicken breast fillets cut into strips

1 green pepper cut into strips

2 celery stalks chopped

5ml salt & pepper

5ml chinese five-spice

1 green chili finely sliced

100ml plum, hoisin or sweet soy sauce

30ml butter or oil

40ml cornflour

Method:

Combine the cornflour and spice and coat the chicken strips with the mixture. Heat 10 ml of the butter or oil in a wok or large frying pan and stir-fry the chicken strips in batches until lightly browned and tender.

Add more butter as needed. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the onion, celery, chilli and green pepper strips to the pan and stir-fry until the vegetables are tender.

Add the chicken and sauce of your choice to the vegetables and stir-fry until heated through. Season with salt and pepper and serve with basmati rice.

Cape Malay chicken, mutton or fish curry (serve 6)

Ingredients

2 kg chicken or mutton or fish pieces

4 chopped onions

6 peeled and chopped tomatoes

6 potatoes cut in rough pieces

Frozen peas

1 teaspoon turmeric, 1 tsp garam massala, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp cumin, 5 cardamom seeds, 1 tsp cinnamon, 5 crushed garlic cloves, 5 whole cloves

50ml sunflower seed oil

Fresh coriander

‘Side dish’

3 sliced bananas mixed with Bulgur yoghourt.

Method

Mix all spices.

Add the onions and fry the mixture with the oil for few minutes until it smells nice.

Add the meat, the tomatoes and 250ml of water. Simmer for around 1 hour until the meat is tender.

Add the potatoes and peas and cook for another 45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

Serve the curry sprinkled with chopped coriander, the banana dish and sweet chutney on the side.

Note: I also sometimes put in about 125g chutney when I add the potatoes for that sweeter taste!

HAPPY COOKING!

Weeknight Winner!

Worked all day, tired, just want something decent to eat with all the flavour and without the fuss?  Pork stir-fry with ginger and cashew nuts!  Its healthy, full of flavour and whats more it literally takes no longer than 25min from start to finish!

Pork Stir-Fry with Cashew Nuts

• 2cm fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 15ml soya sauce
• 10ml brown sugar
• 1 pork fillet(400g), thinly sliced
• 30ml sunflower oil
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and cut into strips or chunks
• 1 green pepper, seeded and cut into strips or chunks
• 1 red pepper, seeded and cut into strips or chunks
• 50g cashew nuts
• 300g dried egg noodles, cooked

Method

1. Mix the ginger, soya sauce and sugar with 30ml water. Add the pork and stir to coat.2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok. Stir-fry the meat over a high heat for three minutes. Add the peppers, the marinade and the nuts. Cook for a further four minutes, stirring continuously. Serve with the noodles.

Happy Cooking!