Thursday

Coriander Pesto with Soba Noodles




This is one of my favourite recipes to have when I am feeling a bit sluggish and crave some carbs (usually on Monday after the weekend or on a Thursday before I head to orchestra). It is also very simple to prepare and rich in flavour.

Soba noodles are native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat flour. Buckwheat flour, despite the name, is not actually made from wheat. They are roughly as thick as spaghetti, and they are prepared in a variety of hot and cold dishes.

Nutritionally buckwheat provides vitamins B1 and B2, several minerals, and nearly twice the amount of proteins found in rice. Rutin, a kind of bioflavonoid that includes the catechins of green tea and the polyphenols of red wine, which is not found in other grains or beans, is contained in great quantity in buckwheat. 

The soba noodles you can normally find in the supermarket
This coriander pesto does not have any parmesan cheese, instead you use nuts combined with olive oil to provide the creaminess. The anchovies can be substituted with 1 sheet of nori (seaweed) shredded and soaked in water for a  few minutes or 1 more tbsp of organic tamari (strong gluten free soy sauce) or organic shoyu (normal Japanese soy sauce).

The leftovers are great to take to work for lunch the next day as well!

What you need to serve four lucky people:
  • two bunches fresh coriander, roots removed and chopped including the stems
  • 1 bunch asparagus, wooden ends removed, cut into thirds and then halved length ways
  • 250g snow peas, trimmed
  • 4 anchovies - optional to make vegetarian replace anchovies with  nori or an extra 1 tbsp of shoyu.
  • 1 cup roasted macadamia or cashew nuts*
  • 1 small red chillies, chopped - or 1/2 tbs chili powder
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp tamari or shoyu
  • 1 packet uncooked soba noodles
How to cook it:
  • Place the coriander, nuts, anchovies, tamari, lime juice, chili, olive oil and garlic in a processor and process until blended into a paste, season with some pepper.
  • Cook the soba noodles as per packet directions - about 4 to 6 minutes.
  • Heat the coconut oil in a wok or frying pan.
  • Toss the red onion and asparagus constantly on a medium-high heat until the onion is soft and the vegetables are bright green (about 1-2 minutes), add the pesto to coat the vegetables. Take off the heat.
  • Drain the soba noodles once just cooked and rinse thoroughly with cold water to stop the cooking process.
  • Add the soba noodles to the pan - mix to combine the noodles and pesto.
  • Divide among 4 plates or bowls and serve with chopsticks.
  • Yum!
Make it naughty: sprinkle 1 tbsp of freshly grated parmesan to each plate just prior to serving.

Sources:
 
* Note to roast raw nuts, preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius and roast for approximately 5-10 minutes, checking them every couple of minutes so that they don't burn. They should be a caramel colour on the inside.

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Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato and Green Bean Stir Fry with Coconut Turmeric Rice


This is a recipe I have adapted from an Asian vegetarian cook book I picked up at the Lifeline bookfest.

The sweet potato provides a lovely sweet taste and contains nutrients such as vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin D, iron and magnesium. The crunchy green beans, spring onions and peanuts are a great contrast to the soft sweet potato and the brown rice satisfies the healthy grains quota.

Cooking the rice in coconut milk is optional. There are differing opinions about whether coconut milk/cream is healthy, so my general suggestion would be not to have it too often and only use it in small quantities.

This meal is a great healthy substitute when you feel like Malaysian or Indonesian takeaway, simple and delish!


What you need to serve four lucky people:

For the stir fry:
  • 1 medium sized sweet potato, peeled and diced into 2 cm pieces
  • 300g green beans, tops and tails removed and chopped into 2cm pieces
  • 3 red chillies, chopped (use the small chillies if you like it spicy)
  • 1 brown onion diced
  • 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped and extra for garnish
  • 1/2 bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced spring onion
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp ketjap manis (sweet soy sauce)
  • 1 tbsp  tamarind paste
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1tbsp water
For the rice:
  • 2 cups of uncooked brown rice, thoroughly rinsed
  • 1 cup of light coconut milk
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1cm grated fresh turmeric (1tsb dried if you don't have fresh)
  • 1 kaffir lime leaf cut into thin slices (can use dried or from a jar if you don't have fresh)

How to cook it:
  • put all of the ingredients for the rice into a pot, bring to the boil then lower to a simmer and partially cover with a lid (or if the lid has a steam valve you can cover it completely).
  • steam or boil sweet potato until just tender - you want it to still have some bite and hold together when poked with a fork - this should take around 10-15 minutes.
  • take the sweet potato off the heat and add the green beans to the pot of water for 30 seconds to blanch.
  • remove the beans and sweet potato, rinse in cold water to stop the vegetables from cooking further, drain and set aside.
  • check the rice and if it is cooked but still has a slight bite take it off the heat and pop the lid on the pan to let it rest- it should take around 20 minutes to be cooked to this point.
  • pour the coconut oil into a frying pan over medium heat.
  • once the oil has heated add the onion, garlic and chili and stir occasionally for around 2 minutes.
  • once the onion mixture has some colour, stir through the ketjap manis, tamarind paste, lemon juice and water and continue to stir for around 30 seconds.
  • add the peanuts, sweet potato and beans immediately and stir to coat. Make sure there is some mixture covering all of the potato and beans. If there doesn't appear to be enough sauce add more of the sauce ingredients until desired amount of sauce has been reached.
  • divide the coconut rice between four plates, followed by the sweet potato mixture next to the rice.
  • top the sweet potato mixture with spring onion, extra chopped peanuts and fresh coriander.
  • enjoy!
Make it naughty: use 1 cup of coconut cream instead of coconut milk for a creamier rice. If you like a sweeter stir fry add 1 tbs of grated palm sugar or brown sugar in with the ketjap manis, tamarind paste and lemon juice.

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Monday

Warm Lentil Salad with Creamy Eggplant

For my first post I would like to share one of my favourites for a warm autumn night. I have made this adapted Yotam Ottolenghi recipe a few times for friends and family and everyone always raves about it. The fresh flavour of the heaped herbs and texture of the puy lentils pair deliciously with the creaminess of the blackened eggplant and yoghurt.




What  you need to serve four lucky people:
  • two medium sized eggplants, pierced with a sharp knife a few times all over
  • 2 cups of dry puy lentils, rinsed
  • 1/2 cup each of finely chopped parsley and coriander 
  • 1 tbsp fresh dill (I normally use 1 teaspoon of dry dill if I don't have fresh)
  • natural yoghurt, approximately 4 tbsp
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar (good quality)
  • one large punnet of cherry tomatoes (grape if possible), halved
  • 1 large carrot, thoroughly washed and scrubbed, chopped 1cm cubes
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar/molasses sugar or 1 tbs agave nectar
  • 1tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp grapeseed oil
For stock*:
  • 2 small carrots chopped into big chunks
  • 2 celery sticks chopped into big chunks
  • 1/2 brown onion chopped into big chunks
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 thyme sprigs
*(note you could use a good quality pre-made vegetable stock instead if you don't have much time)

How to Cook It:
  • Heat the grill in the oven to 200g, place the pierced eggplants on a foil lined tray and put them directly under the grill for 1 hour, turning a few times. After an hour the eggplants should have deflated completely and their skin should have burnt and broken.
  • As soon as the eggplants are under the grill put the lentils in a saucepan and add one carrot, half a celery stick, bay leaf, thyme and onion . Cover with water and bring to the boil. Alternatively use vegetable stock, approximately the equivalent of 2 cups stock and 2 cups water. Simmer on a low heat for 25 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Drain in a sieve and remove and throw away the carrot, celery, bay leaf, thyme and onion if used.
  • While the lentils are cooking, add carrot, cherry tomatoes, 1 tbs of grapeseed oil, sugar or agave and toss to coat. 
  • Put drained lentils in a bowl and add 1 1/2 tbs of red wine vinegar, 1 tbs of olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, stir and set aside. Cover the bowl with foil to keep the lentils warm.
  • Take the eggplants out of the oven and turn the oven down to 140 degrees C. Cut a slit down the centre and scoop out the flesh. Let the flesh drain for 15 minute in a colander then mix with 1/2 tbs vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
  • While eggplant is draining, cook the vegetables in the oven at 140 degrees C for around 20 minutes or until carrot is tender but still firm.
  • Add the vegetables to the lentils, then add the herbs and stir gently. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. 
  • Spoon lentil mixture onto 4 serving plates, place the eggplant mixture on top of each plate followed by a tbs of yoghurt for each plate.
  • Bon apetit! 
Make it naughty - add some crumbled goats fetta or creme fraiche instead of the yoghurt.


Variations - add.a squeeze of lemon juice in at the end, add some chopped red onion (or whole small ones) in with the vegetables (or finely sliced raw if you prefer). 
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Saturday

Introduction

Following my mum's recent health scare, my family has dramatically changed the way we eat. My food philosophy is now based on fresh, light cooking with limited amounts of wheat, sugar, dairy or meat. Where possible make sure all your ingredients are organic and free range.



My beautiful Mum on a cooking course with me in Bali

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