Asparagus and olive absorption rice with saganaki

Asparagus & olive absorption rice with saganaki

This dish serves 4, with some left over for lunch. It takes about 20 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups rice
• 3 cups water
• 2 bunches asparagus, ends snapped off and the rest trimmed into short lengths
• a large handful of good quality, halved olives
• a half head of garlic, roasted in olive oi
• a knob of butter
• olive oil to start the rice off
• 200 g saganaki, cut into four, dusted in flou
• olive oil for frying
• lemon juice for squeezing
• chilli, salt and parsley to taste 

How it’s done:

1. Make the absorption rice: Put a medium pot on the stove on high. Add a flat tblsp of sea salt to the pot, then a splash of olive oil. Pour in the rice and stir to coat it well. Add three cups of water and stir. Put the lid on. When the water boils, stir the contents then turn down low for 10 minutes.
2. Add the asparagus & olives: After 10 minutes is done, turn off the heat and stir the chopped asparagus, roasted garlic, parsley, butter and olives into the rice. Put the lid back on the pot and leave the rice sit for another 10 minutes.
3. Prepare the saganaki: When the rice is sitting for its dutiful 10 minutes, divide 200 g of saganaki into four, cake-shaped pieces. Coat them in flour. In a non-stick pan, add olive oil and a some chilli flakes. Fry the saganaki on each side for a few minutes. When it’s golden brown, squeeze a half a lemon into the pan.
4. Putting it all together: Using a nicely shaped tea cup, spoon the asparagus and rice mixture, as though you’re making a turret on a sandcastle. Turn it upside down onto a plate or into a large bowl. The shape is delicious and holds well. Overlay the mound of rice with two pieces of saganaki, then squeeze a little lemon juice over the top.
5. Serve it up: Serve it on large plates and provide your guest with a knife as well as a fork (remember, there’s always the saganaki). If you have pretty serving bowls, they’re a good option too. Eat this dish quickly, while the saganaki is at its piping hot best.

For a vegan option, replace the saganaki with flour-coated tofu, fried in hot olive oil. Give it the chilli-flake and lemon-juice treatment. Did you know that adding lemon juice to high carbs can hep to slow down the GI effect and keep you fulller for longer. That’s big news.

roast vegetable cous cous with green beans and haloumi

This dish serves 4, with some left over for lunch. It takes about 30 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 500 g cous cous
• 500 mL boiling water
• 250 g pumpkin, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• a can of artichokes, drained and quartered length wise
• a jar of halved black olives, drained
• a half a red onion, chopped finely
• 250 g green beans
• 200 g haloumi, cut into cubes and tossed in rice flour
• olive oil for frying and roasting
• ducca plus, a bit of rosemary, plus some chilli flakes to taste

How it’s done:

1. Prepare the vegetables: Place drained artichokes and olives in a bowl with the chopped pumpkin and onion.
2. Roast the vegies: Preheat oven to around 200 degrees C. Pour a little olive oil over the vegetables, add some salt, a little sprinkle of chilli flakes, some ducca and stir. Place vegetables onto two baking trays, and put them the into the oven. Turn them over at about the 20 minute mark, then let them roast for another 10.
3. Prepare the green beans: Towards the end of the roasting time, top and tail the beans and cut them into bite-sized lengths. Cover them in salted, boiling water and cook them until they’re a pretty bright green (3-4 minutes). Remove them from the water and reserve the salted, boiling water for the cous cous.
4. Prepare the cous cous: Pour the packet of cous cous into a separate bowl. Pour two and a bit cups (about 500 mL) of water from the cooked beans into the bowl and stir constantly until the liquid is absorbed and the cous cous cooked (about four minutes). Add a little olive oil at the end and stir.
5. Putting it all together: Remove the roast vegetables from the oven and stir them into the cous cous. Add the green beans and stir a little more. Put the bowl into the warm oven for the few minutes it takes you to fry up the haloumi in some good olive oil with a sprinkling of chilli flakes. 
6. Serve it up: Go on a hunt for the prettiest, largest bowl in your house, or serve up individual dishes. Pour fried haloumi over the top and add a few lemon wedges. For the vegans, this dish has no dairy other than haloumi, so replace it with fried tofu or even raw, chopped zucchini.

Sweet potato salad with coriander and sweet chilli sauce

Delicious warm, though leave some aside for tomorrow’s lunch. It’s tasty cold too.

This salad serves 4. It takes about 45 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

• 3 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into (approx.) 1cm cubes, and tossed in a tblsp olive oil, some salt to taste and a sprinkle of rosemary
• a bunch of fresh coriander, washed and chopped finely
• 1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped mixed nuts, preferably dry roasted & salted (I like combination of almonds, pecans and macadamias)

How it’s done

1. Bake the sweet potatoes:  Bake the sweet potatoes in a hot oven (try 200 degrees Celcius in a fan-forced oven) for about 30 minutes, turning the potatoes once during this time.
2. Prepare the rest of the salad: Place chopped coriander and nuts in the bowl you tossed your sweet potato in before you baked it. Add to this your cooked sweet potato and sweet chilli sauce, and toss gently.
3. Serve it: Grab a good friend and a nice Sparkling Shiraz, find a brightly coloured bowl to serve the salad in, think about pairing it with some tofu & greens, quickly stir fried, or with pear & haloumi salad. Enjoy!

plum & mandarin jelly

This dish serves 12. It takes about 15 minutes to prepare plus 2 hours to set.

Ingredients

1 kg jar or tin of blood plums and juice

2 x 375 g tins of mandarin pieces and juice

3 tblsps brown sugar

the juice of a lemon

1.5 tblsps agar agar

How it’s done

1. Make the jelly: Pour all juice, including the squeezed lemon, into a medium-sized saucepan, and heat to boiling. Turn down the heat, then add agar agar and brown sugar, stirring until they are dissolved. Add the fruit, then turn the heat off.
2. Set the jelly: Pour jelly into a large jelly mould or, if you prefer, a number of small moulds. Put the dishes onto a flat tray and leave them for a couple of hours to set in the fridge. Agar agar sets much more quickly than gelatine, and it’s a seaweed product.
3. Remove jelly from the mould: After a couple of hours, poke the jelly gently with your finger. If it springs away   from your touch, then it’s done. Take it from the fridge, and put it in a large container of hot water for 20 seconds or so. This loosens the outside layer of jelly, ensuring it holds its shape when you upend it on a plate.
4. Serve it: If you’ve used a large mould, you can slice the jelly as you would a cake. Otherwise serve individual jellies on exquisite plates, with a small amount of unsweetened, pouring cream (pouring cream without gelatine, that is).

tomato & goats cheese spaghetti

tomatoes with garlic engage in a great conversation, though tangy goats’ cheese has the final word

This dish serves 4, with some left over for lunch. It takes about 20 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 500 g spaghetti cooked though slightly firm
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped finely
• a sprinkle of brown sugar and salt to taste
• a slurp of olive oil and a tblsp butter for frying
• 4 large truss tomatoes, chopped
• 130 g goats’ cheese
• ¼ cup hot water
• 100 g spinach leaves
• 60 mL tamari
• chilli flakes and salt to taste
• grated Parmesan or Romano cheese to serve

How it’s done:

1. Cook the pasta: Place spaghetti in a large pot of salted, boiling water, stirring to prevent strands sticking together. Boil it until al dente. Take it off the heat and add cold water to the pot to arrest cooking. Drain, though don’t rinse.
2. Make the sauce: Fry garlic in olive oil and butter in the same pot, or using a large frying pan depending on how much you enjoy washing up. Add a little brown sugar and salt. Your aim is to get the garlic soft though not brown. Add chopped tomatoes and chilli flakes, stirring all the while. Add hot water then goats’ cheese, stirring in the cheese until it’s evenly distributed. Mix the spinach leaves and tamari through, then add the cooked spaghetti, continuing to mix the sauce through the pasta.
3. Serve it up: Using tongs, take one scoop of spaghetti mix and twirl the scoop in the centre of a large and flattish bowl (the larger the bowl, the nicer the effect). Add a smaller twirl on top of that to gain a bit of height. Sprinkle spinach leaves around the sides of the dish, and top with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

roast potatoes, beans & olives

serve this as a main with a lively tomato salad, or prepare it as a side dish for a family gathering

This dish serves 4. It takes 1.25 hours to prepare, though most of this is baking time.

Ingredients

• 500g potatoes, par boiled in their skins
• 375g green beans, steamed lightly, and cut into short lengths
• 200g black pitted black olives cut in half
• 1 tin or artichoke hearts, quartered
• a sprinking of duca
• good quality olive oil for roasting
• sea salt to taste
• a quarter of a red onion finely diced
• a handful of snow pea sprouts 
• 100g crumbled feta

How it’s done

• Prepare the roast vegetables: Cut the par boiled potatoes into wedges and place them in a large baking dish with the olives, green beans and artichoke hearts. Sprinkle duca then a generous drizzle of olive oil over the top. Add some ground sea salt to taste then stir to coat the vegetables in olive oil.
• Bake the vegetables: Bake for 20 minutes at 220º C then stir the mix. Return to the oven for another 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. When cooked, grill the mix on high to brown the potatoes. Remove from the oven. 
• Serve it:  Add chopped red onion, snow pea sprouts and crumbled feta, then stir and plate up.

potato & vegetable frittata

start this frittata with a potato and artichoke base, continue by building layers of vegetables you have on hand that look like they might fit, then top if off with some nice organic, animal-rennet-free brie, grilled

This frittata serves 4. It takes about 30 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

• olive oil for frying
• 150g cooked potato
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, chopped
• a sprinkle of chilli
• 1 can of artichokes, quartered
• 100g frozen peas
• 1 can of corn or kernels from two cooked pieces of corn
• 100g spinach & rocket mix
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• sea salt to taste
• 100g sliced rennet-free brie (I use Timboon organic)
• a sprinkle of sweet paprika

How it’s done

1. Prepare the frittata base: Heat some olive oil in a large, non-stick frying pan, add a little ground sea salt, then add the sliced, cooked potatoes. Fry on a high heat until golden on both sides. Add quartered artichoke hearts, chopped asparagus and a sprinkle of chilli. Turn the heat down to medium.
2. Add layers of vegetables: Add frozen peas and corn – there’s no need to stir the mix now. Add spinach and rocket mix.
3. Add eggs and cheese: Lightly beat eggs in   a bowl with a fork. Grind in some sea salt. Pour the mix over the vegetables cooking in the pan. Thinly slice the brie and layer over the egg & vegetable mixture. Place a lid on the fry pan to help the egg mix set. Turn the heat down a little so you don’t burn the base   and leave this cooking for ten minutes.
4. Add more garnish and grill the top: Turn the grill onto high, and turn the stove off. Take the lid off the pan then sprinkle the cheese with paprika. In the picture above, I’ve added onion and olives to half of the frittata – some people don’t like onions and olives, and some do, so you can cater for personal preferences easily. Grill on high until the cheese has browned.
5. Serve it: Slide the frittata onto a serving plate – it usually comes out easily, though if there’s any sticking, free the frittata up a bit using an egg lifter. Cut the frittata into 4 if it’s a main course or 8 if it’s a snack. Serve with some truss tomatoes.

mushroom pasta

Quick to make, looks pretty, tastes great.

This dish serves 4. It takes about 30 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

• 250g pasta (I used linguine, though any will do) cooked until it is al dente
• good olive oil for frying
• some ground sea salt
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 300g fresh Shitake mushrooms, sliced
• a sprinkle of sugar
• 100g feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 150g spinach leaves (or spinach leaf mix)
• a slurp of tamari
• a handful of chopped chives

How it’s done

1. Cook the pasta: Place pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water. The more water the better. Keep it boiling until it is al dente. Take it off the heat, then add some cold water to the pot to stop it cooking further. Drain, though reserve 1/2 a cup of hot water for the sauce.
2. Cook the mushroom sauce: Grind some salt into a frying pan, then pan fry the chopped garlic in good olive until it is golden brown. Immediately add all the chopped mushrooms, and sprinkle a little sugar over them. Keep the heat nice and high and stir the mushrooms around the pan for around 5 minutes. Crumble the feta cheese into the mix, then add the 1/2 cup of hot water. Add the spinach and stir. Pour a generous slurp of tamari over the mix. If the mix needs more liquid, you add a little more hot water (or pour 60mL cream over the mix). Mix until the spinach has wilted. Add the drained pasta and stir it through the sauce.
3. Serve it: Sprinkle chopped chives onto the serving plates then, using tongs, place the equivalent of one handful of pasta on the centre of the plate. Twist the pasta to form a small tower. Get a smaller amount of pasta from the pan and repeat this action. With tongs, pick a few pieces of spinach and mushroom from the pan and place them on top of and around the dish to serve.

fried potatoes with haloumi

Potatoes, olives and spinach team nicely with chilli haloumi and lime.

This dish serves 4 and uses 2 pans. It takes about 30 minutes to prepare, less if you have sliced, par boiled potatoes on standby in the fridge.

Ingredients

• olive oil for frying
• sea salt to taste
• 500 g par boiled potatoes, sliced
• 100 g pitted olives (stuffed green or black, whatever you prefer)
• 375 g spinach leaves
• a slurp of tamari
• 200 g sliced haloumi
• rice flour to coat haloumi
• a sprinkling of chilli flakes
• half a lime
• 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced into eighths

How it’s done

1. Prepare potato, spinach, olive mix: Fry sliced par boiled potatoes until brown, then turn them to brown the other side. When crisp on both sides, add olives, spinach leaves and tamari. Stir and turn off the heat.
2. Prepare the haloumi:   Slice 200 g   haloumi into 16 strips. Place   half   of the strips into a container of rice flour. Put on the lid then   shake the container to coat the cheese. Remove haloumi, then repeat   with the remaining   cheese.   In a second pan, heat some good-quality olive oil and place the haloumi in the hot oil. Sprinkle   chilli flakes on top. After about a minute and when the haloumi is brown on one side, turn it over and cook the remaining side. Transfer cooked haloumi to a plate.
3. Serve it: Scour your cupboards for some interesting plates. They don’t have to look the same – harlequin is in! Place some potato mix onto a plate. Lay slices of   fried haloumi onto the potato mix, then squeeze lime juice over the top. Complete the dish by placing sliced tomato where colour is needed. Eat the cheese quickly before it gets cold and squeaky!

potato pizza & green pizza

Oil-based pizzas with simple topping on store-bought bases make these quick and easy to make.

Three small pizzas serve 4 if they’re part of a mix of dishes. The pizzas take about 12 minutes to prepare if you make both types and 10–20 minutes to bake (green 10 minutes, potato 20 minutes).

Ingredients: general

• 3 small store-bought pizza bases (I like Bazaar yeast-free bases – they’re a little like roti bread)
• 1 clove of garlic cut in half
• a little olive oil to cover each base

Ingredients: topping

• 8 raw, medium-sized potatoes, thinly sliced
• a half tbsp fresh rosemary (or a sprinkle of dry)
• sea salt to taste
• 8 large feta-filled green olives, cut in half (oval-shaped halves)
• a handful of rocket and spinach leaves
• approx. 80 g grated (animal-rennet free) mozzarella cheese

How it’s done 

1. Preheat the oven to 210°C.
2. Prepare the bases: Pour a little oil on each base, then rub it across the base with a clove of raw garlic, cut in half. (Save the garlic for the green pizza. More on this later.) Place the bases on oven trays.
3. Top the potato pizzas (x2): Slice raw potatoes thinly and arrange them on top of two bases. Don’t overlap the potatoes too much – they’re cooking from scratch and you don’t want the bases to burn. Sprinkle the fresh or dried rosemary on the potatoes, and grind sea salt, to taste, over the lot.
4. Top the green pizza (x1): Thinly slice the garlic you used to rub on the bases, and distribute it evenly on one pizza base. Next, arrange the handful of spinach & rocket leaves then top this with halved olives, artfully placed. Sprinkle the pizza with grated mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake them: Place pizzas toward the top of the hot oven and bake for 10-20 minutes. The potato pizza takes around 20 minutes, or as soon as your potato has cooked through. The green pizza is ready at about the 10 minute mark, when the cheese has melted and browned.
6. Serve them up: Cut each pizza into eight and arrange on a large, flat platter.

Alternative toppings:

• Steam some broccolini and put it on the green pizza, under the olives & cheese. Substitute green olives with sliced kalamata olives. (See pic.)
• Instead of oil and garlic under the potato topping, spread some green olive paste.
• Substitute potato with sweet potato (kumara) and sprinkle duca and slivered almonds on top.

Serve with a nice soup, or salad and cannellini bean dip.