Lentil Salad with Basil and Lemon

Its Australia Day, and what is more Australian than lentils….well lots of stuff actually…but as you may be aware, I have been home from a cruise for less than a week, and talk about struggle with being home and getting back into the swing of it all! Can’t even bring myself to go to the shops, and so this was one of those; Must blog, have stuff in the cupboard, fridge that will do, and actually turned out quite delicious. So it is accompanying us to our BBQ and swim in a little while.

I wanted to add quinoa, but fresh out…need to order some from Honest to Goodness, as they stock an Aussie grown variety, that is nutty and delicious and un radiated….

So if you have it, add it…and actually, this lends itself to adding or subtracting just about anything that takes your fancy…Happy Straya day!

NEED:

200g lentils (I used green and red)

1200g water

Zest 1 lemon, finely grated

Juice 1 lemon

60-70g Fini EVOO plus some more as needed

Good pinch Murray River salt

1/4 red onion, diced

3 spring onions/shallots, sliced on the angle

1/2 red capsicum, diced

2 stalks celery, sliced

Good handful basil leaves, shredded (any variety, I used Thai as I have a garden abundance at the moment, adding a nice anise flavour)

300g cabbage, red or green, shredded

Other salad greens of choice

pistachios, pepitas, sunflower seeds to taste

DO:

Place lentils into simmering basket and pour water over.

Cook 30 min/100ºC/speed 3. Remove lentils and place into insulated serving bowl with lemon zest, juice, EVOO and salt. Stir and cover to marinate whilst you prepare the rest of the salad.

Prep remaining ingredients as directed and place all in large bowl. Stir through lentils and add more oil or seasoning as needed. Serve warm or cold.

Pasta Carbonara

It was bound to happen. In fact, I am amazed it didn’t happen sooner. Upon announcing that I was making pasta carbonara tonight for dinner, my (16yr old) son was pretty excited…why I wonder did I not do this recipe before?? Its a puzzle, but thanks to Julianne Block for asking the question…and magically, here it is! (Now Julieann, go sing my accolades far and wide!!)

YUMMY, and so easy, it just may become a staple…perhaps we might add it to the Dinner Spinner app…did you buy one yet? If not why not?

Get with the program kids. I mean, really…

NEED:

50g Parmesan, cubed

1 large brown onion, quartered (200g approx)

4 cloves garlic

300g speck bacon, cubed

200g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced

620g liquid chicken stock OR equivalent water and stock paste of choice

2 tbsp Umami paste

300-400g long or short pasta of choice (100g per serving is an average!)

200g cream

Sea salt to taste (depends on saltiness of your speck)

Cracked black pepper to taste

Few Italian parsley leaves and or basil leaves to garnish

DO:

Place Parmesan into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 8. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place onion and garlic into Thermomix bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 4.

Scrape down sides of bowl and add speck and mushrooms. Saute 10 min/Varoma/Reverse + speed 2.

Add liquid, Umami paste, and pasta and cook for time stated on pasta packet 100ºC/Reverse + speed 1.

Add cream, seasoning and herbs. Serve immediately with grated parmesan over.

Fruity Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Another of the Celebrate and Bake class recipes that you may have missed…fantastic as a vegetarian main dish, or as a side dish to accompany all the usual at Christmas time. Make sure you charr the peppers, so a hot oven is essential…we managed to do them in a pizza oven in Mandurah, the BBQ in Newcastle with great results and of course in Sydney we had the luxury of the Kleenmaid Inspiration Gallery and so had our pick of the best ovens in the country. (I want a Butlers Pantry in my house!!…and the butler to go with it, but Kleenmaid don’t sell those!) I would say that most of the classes picked this as their favorite….other than the Speck and Salad Pizza, which recipe appears in my little book Dinner Spinner. If you haven’t ordered yours yet, please do so and then order them for all your thermomix owning friends/family/acquaintances and possibly neighbours…you won’t be disappointed…

NEED:

170g quinoa

1L water

Handful each fresh mint, basil and parsley

4 spring onions/shallots

½ tsp each ground cinnamon, allspice, paprika

100g dried figs

100g dates, pitted

40g craisins (dried cranberries)

70g pistachios

50g pine nuts

Sea salt to taste

Cracked black pepper to taste

6-8 capsicums, (peppers) in a variety of colours

EVOO as needed

Additional snipped herbs, toasted pine nuts to garnish

DO:

Place quinoa into simmering basket, insert into Thermomix bowl and pour water over the top. Cook 15 min/100ºC/speed 3. Remove quinoa and place into a large bowl to cool. Drain and dry TM bowl.

Place herbs, spring onions and spices into Thermomix bowl and chop

5 sec/speed 7.

Add figs and dates and chop 3 sec/speed 6.

Add nuts and seasoning and chop 3 sec/speed 4.

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Line a large baking tray with paper. Cut peppers in half and remove seeds and stalk carefully.

Stir nut and herb mixture into quinoa and mix well, adding a little EVOO to the mixture.

Stuff peppers with mixture and arrange on prepared tray. Drizzle with a generous amount of EVOO. Roast for 40 minutes or until capsicum skin is soft and filling is well cooked.

SERVE:

With a dollop of Minted Yoghurt, and garnished with additional snipped herbs and pine nuts.

Minted Yoghurt

Chop some fresh mint, add a pinch of sea salt and stir through some Greek-style yoghurt.

Quinoa and Chicken Salad with Orange Balsamic Dressing

Its no secret if you follow me at all that I just love fruit in a salad. I have been a bit busy (and I hope you know why!!) and so haven’t written up a recipe in a week or so. Today was scorching hot in Perth and salad was the only option. Quick, painless, not a lot of heat involved and very filling. Gotta love that quinoa…My hungry son couldn’t finish a plate of this in its entirety…I have found the answer at long last, to hollow teenage legs. I was going to say this feeds around 4-5 adults…but I have revised it and think we could go 5-7…or 4-6 with lunch the next day. Enjoy!

NEED:

120g quinoa

1L water

2-3 chicken breast fillets

Fini EVOO as needed

Handful spring onions/shallots

Handful each basil, parsley and mint leaves

1tsp each ground paprika, cinnamon and all spice

2 stalks celery, cut on the angle

Handful dried cherries or craisins

Handful pine nuts, toasted

Sea salt to taste

Salad greens of choice

1 tin chick peas, drained

1 orange, peeled and segmented

Orange Balsamic Dressing

Finely grated zest 1 orange

Juice 1 orange

4og balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp ground cumin

80g Fini EVOO

DO:

Place quinoa into simmering basket and water into Thermomix bowl. Insert basket and steam for 15 min/100ºC/speed 3.

Set aside to cool.

Char grill chicken breast fillets on a grill pan, brushed with EVOO and on an extremely high heat. You could use a BBQ for this or induction max. Cover pan, turn heat down and allow chicken to finish cooking right through. Set aside to rest before slicing into pieces.

Place spring onions/shallots, herbs and spices into Thermomix bowl and chop 2 sec/speed 7.

Add celery and steamed quinoa and stir through 4 sec/Reverse + speed 2.

Place all ingredients except chicken into large salad bowl while you make the dressing.

To make dressing place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 10.

Toss through salad and serve immediately with chicken slices on top.

Chicken Mango and Noodle Salad

Perth has been having a mini heatwave…of sorts, and now it is all cloudy and threatening, but I do have the airconditioner in full swing. The first air conditioning day for the season in fact…here we go…summer is on its way!

So for a hot day, a quick and easy salad. Make the dressing. Chop the cabbage, fire up the barbie or the grill and dinner dilemma is solved…to everyones satisfaction I think.

Speaking of Dinner Dilemma’s being solved…VERY SOON…in my store (see tab above), I will have my first little self published project available for sale. Now let me just make a fuss…21 fabulous recipes, all main meals with lots of variety, whether you are carnivore or vegetarian, whether you enjoy Asian or Mexican food, spicy, salads, winter warmers, its a bit of a mixer and hopefully you will find that you have a new friend in the kitchen in this book. It is small enough to carry in your bag;  just call it a prehistoric app…bring it out at the shop to just check on a recipe ingredients and yes, dinner is sorted. It will be that easy…so hope to have a big SOLD OUT sign up really soon!

In the meantime, enjoy this…

NEED:
Dressing;

20g peeled ginger root

1 lemon grass stalk, white part only

1 kaffir lime leaf

1 red chili

2 cloves garlic

30g palm sugar

Pinch sea salt

40g fish sauce

100g lemon or lime juice, fresh

60-80g Fini EVOO

Handful fresh mint leaves

Salad;

One chicken breast fillet between 2 servings

1/2 Chinese cabbage

Few spinach leaves or other salad greens of choice

1-2 avocadoes

1-2 mangoes

1-2 pkts Changs fried noodles

DO:

Place all dressing ingredients into Thermomix bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 7. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place up to 400g of cabbage at a time into the Thermomix bowl and chop 4 sec/speed 4. Remove from bowl and place on serving platter. Repeat with remaining cabbage until all is chopped. Place a few baby spinach leaves or other greens on top.

Meanwhile heat a griddle pan over a high heat on Induction 12. Oil it and then cook each chicken breast, until well charred and marked. Turn heat down to medium heat, (Induction 6), cover and cook until cooked through completely. Rest chicken,  covered in pan with heat turned off.

Chop avocado and mango and toss through the dressing.

Slice chicken on the diagonal and arrange over bed of greens, top with avocado, mango and drizzle with dressing. Garnish with noodles and additional sliced red chilies.

Voila, Summer is Served!

Ravioli and Mediterranean Veggie Salad

I love summer, my energy levels increase (watch out!) and the sun just makes me happy. We have had a few sunny days, evocative of what is to come later in the year and I got all inspired with summery food…hope you enjoy, and pull this recipe out on a hot day when you need it the most. Now I am mid edit of my upcoming book…and not a heck of a lot of blogging going on. SO; simple, delicious, quick and on here! (Which is the main thing right dear reader?)

NEED:
1 batch pesto

500g pumpkin, cubed

1 small eggplant, cubed

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 small zucchinni, sliced

EVOO as needed

Sea salt to taste

Enough spinach for your diners

1 punnet grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 large red caspicum, diced

Few basil leaves to garnish

500g ravioli, frozen

1L water

DO:

Prepare pesto and set aside.

Preheat oven to fan forced 180ºC. Line a large baking tray or two with paper.

Prepare vegetables, toss together and spread across the prepared trays, drizzle with oil and season. Roast for around 20-25 minutes or until caramelised and fragrant. Cool.

Place spinach, tomatoes, capsicum in large salad bowl.

Heat water in Thermomix bowl for 8  min/Varoma/speed 2.

Place ravioli into Thermomix bowl and cook as directed at 100ºC/Reverse + speed soft. (Check time to cook ravioli on package for time.) Drain and cool slightly. Toss with pesto and then roasted vegetables. Add to salad and serve warm garnished with basil.