Tali's Tomatoes

Breakfast has always been a difficult meal for me. I love it but don't generally like cow products such as milk and yoghurt due to the pasteurisation/homogenisation process used in those products. I do, however, absolutely love goats cheese fetta.

The fetta, sweet omelette, creamy avocado and crunchy spinach inside the wrap is my idea of a perfect brekkie for the weekend, or even a weekday when I have time.

Although I usually like my eggs runny to get all of the possible goodness out of the egg (particularly the yolk), I know some people who don't, which is why this is such a versatile recipe - I can't think of anyone who wouldn't like it.

I have put the ingredients for one person below. Feel free to double, triple or quadruple if you are making breakfast for more than just yourself.

The original idea for this wrap is from Janella Purcell.


What you need to serve one lucky person:

• One egg
• 1/2 tsp agave nectar, honey, raw sugar or other sweetener
• Handful of baby spinach leaves
• Small handful goats cheese feta, crumbled
• 1/2 an avocado
• 1 wrap (I used wheat/rye)
• 1/2 tsp extra-virgin  cold pressed organic coconut oil
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp water

How to make it:

• Prepare the wraps by mashing and spreading the avocado over the wrap bread.
• Crack the egg into a cup and add the sweetener, salt and water, stir with a fork until combined.
• Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the coconut oil.
• Once the oil has heated up add the egg and swirl it around the pan until you have an omelette.
• Take the pan off the heat just before the omelette has completely cooked.
• Slide the omelette onto the wrap bread, followed by the fetta and spinach.
• Fold one side of the wrap over 1/3 of the way, fold the bottom up and then continue to roll until you have a wrap which stays together (this can take some practice and may be more difficult if you have small wrap bread).
• Enjoy while it's warm!

Make it naughty: add a thin layer of bacon or ham to the wrap when adding the omelette.

Variation: use any other kind of fetta instead of goat's cheese fetta.

What you need to serve four lucky people:

• 1 cup chana dal 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1/2 cup of celery, diced
• 1 heaped tbsp each of ground cumin, turmeric and garam masala
• 700 ml vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf 
• 1 cup chopped coriander leaves to garnish
• 1 lemon quartered, to serve
• 2 tbsp coconut oil or ghee
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup natural yoghurt
• 1 cup brown rice

Make it naughty: It is pretty much impossible to make this dish naughty, it is too healthy. Maybe if you had it with some butter chicken on the side, then it would be.

Make it healthier:  Add vegetables like carrot, pumpkin, eggplant or sweet potato in with the onions.

Variations: You can use fresh grated turmeric and cumin seeds instead of the ground powder.


*Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lentil; http://www.care2.com/greenliving/9-reasons-to-love-lentils-the-mightly-little-powerfood.html

The soba noodles you can normally find in the supermarket

• 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

• 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!

• 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

• 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)

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