Beetroot, Feta and Mint Salad

Three simple ingredients for this delicious salad – great for leftovers too!

~ 3 med-large beetroot
~ 1/4 block of danish feta
~ handful of mint leaves

Clean the outsides of the beetroots with a scrubbing brush and cut into chunks, about 2cm square
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and a little olive oil and roast at 180C for about 30 minutes, or until soft when a fork is inserted
Place in a serving dish and allow to cool for about 10 minutes
Dress with juice of 1/2 a lemon and some olive oil as well as a little more salt and pepper
Crumble over the feta, tear the mint leaves and sprinkle them over the top

Lamb with Lentils & Cauliflower

After slow roasting a lamb shoulder for Sunday lunch, there was plenty of leftover meat so I created this easy dish to use up the leftover meat – it’s kind of like a cross between a pilaf and a fattoush!

~ 3/4 cup dry french green lentils – boiled for 20 mins and drained
~ 2 cups cauliflower florets
~ 1/2 tsp cumin
~ 1/2 tsp ground coriander
~ 1 tsp flour
~ 1/2 red onion, sliced and then halved
~ 2 cups leftover lamb shoulder meat, chopped into chunky pieces
~ handful of green beans, cut into 5cm pieces
~ handful almonds, chopped
~ juice of 1 lemon
~ salt & pepper
~ olive oil
~ 2 tomatoes, diced
~ handful of feta, crumbled
~ fresh coriander leaf

Place the cooked lentils in a large bowl with juice of 1/2 lemon, olive oil, salt & pepper
Coat the cauliflower in cumin, coriander & flour and pan fry with a little olive oil, adding water in small amounts as it fries
Place in the bowl with the lentils
Saute the red onion in a pan until soft, then add the lamb meat and green beans
Add the almonds for the final minute or so, then add everything to the bowl with the lentils and cauliflower
Throw in the tomatoes, feta and fresh coriander as well as the juice of the other 1/2 of the lemon
Check seasoning and add salt & pepper if required

Stuffed Mushrooms

After I forgot to get meat out of the freezer, and forgot to pick up any on my way home, we were bound for a Meatless Monday!

I used two Portobello mushrooms, removed the stalks and chopped them up to add to the stuffing

Stuffing:
~ 1/2 onion, finely chopped
~ 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
~ stalks of the mushrooms, finely chopped
~ drizzle of olive oil
~ salt and pepper
~  1/4 cup pinenuts (I used flaked almonds and a sprinkle of chia seeds)
~ 2 tbsp breadcrumbs

In a small pan, fry the onion, garlic, mushroom stalks, salt and pepper in olive oil on a medium heat until they start to caramelise
Add the nuts and toast for a further couple of minutes
Add the breadcrumbs and remove from heat.
Place the mixture in a bowl along with:
~ 2 tbsp feta
~ handful of chopped parsley (or coriander)
~ juice of half a lemon
~ a little more olive oil to bind the mixture together

Spray a baking tray with olive oil
Sit two Portobello mushrooms on the tray, upside down
Place mixture in the cups of the mushrooms
Bake at 180C for 15-20 minutes.

I served this with a rocket balsamic salad and a Quinoa Cauliflower Salad

Before going into the oven:

Ready to eat!

 

Zucchini Slice

I’ve adapted this recipe from Belinda Jeffrey’s Feta and Dill Pie to be more like a dish my mum used to make a lot while I was growing up.  It can be served warm or cold, with or without a salad, and you can basically throw in any extra things you like such as bacon, capsicum, tomato.

Serves 8 – 190 cals per serve

In a large bowl, mix the following:
~ 3 med-large zucchini, grated (skin on)
~ 2 med carrots, grated (I peeled mine)
~ 1 onion, peeled and finely sliced (or grated)
~ 6 eggs
~ 1/2 cup chopped chives
~ small handful fresh basil and dill, chopped
~ 1/2 cup grated cheese (you can use cheddar, tasty or even pecorino/parmesan)
~ 1/2 tsp ground paprika
~ 1/2 tsp ground coriander
~ 1/4 tsp ground cumin
~ 1/2 tsp crushed chili (you could use a small fresh one chopped if you wanted to)
~ salt and pepper
~ 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
~ 1 cup flour**
~ 1 tsp aluminium-free baking powder (try Bob’s)

Line a dish (mine was 30cm x 20cm) with baking paper
Place the mixture in the dish – it should be a thick batter consistency
Add 1/2 block (100g) of crumbled feta to the top and press it into the mixture.  I used Lemnos sheep’s feta
Decorate the top with sliced tomatoes
Bake at 180 C for 45-50 minutes (even though it may look ready before this, it really needs the full time.)
Cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

**N.B. I always use wheat-free flour, I find Orgran works really well in all recipes, however coconut flour also works really well.  The general rule with coconut flour is to divide the quantity by 3 – so try 1/3 coconut flour to start with and see if the mixture is this enough – add more 1 tbsp at a time until the mixture gets to the desired consistency.

Other ideas for additions to this: leftover cooked chicken, bacon/ham, finely sliced kale, spring onions…

I had this with chicken breast that I’d shallow poached in balsamic vinegar, and wrapped in tin foil to retain the moisture, as well as a Quinoa, Kale and Pomegranate Salad.

Steak with Asian Salad & Beetroot Feta

This meal was reasonably quick – the longest part is the potatoes so allow about 40 mins prep and cooking time!  The steak was inspired by Jamie Oliver’s 30 minute meals.  I had some leftover watercress from previous nights’ dinners so went searching for a salad that could use this up!

Roast Potatoes

~ preheat overn to 180-200 C
~ cut 2-3 potatoes into wedges
~ place in a roasting tray with a little olive oil and some rosemary leaves
~ bake for 25-30 mins until golden

Beetroot Feta Salad (Jamie Oliver)

~ 1 tin of baby beets, drained and quartered
~ drizzle of balsamic vinegar
~ juice of 1/2 lemon
~ handful of mint, torn
~ 1/3 packet of feta, crumbled

Place beetroot in a bowl and cover with balsamic vinegar and lemon.  Top with mint and feta.

Asian Watercress Salad

~ 1/3 bunch of watercress, chopped coarsley
~ 1/2 bag of bean sprouts (mung beans)
~ handful of corriander, chopped coarsely
~ handful of mint, chopped coarsely
~ 1 lebanese cucumber, sliced into ribbons using a vegetable peeler
~ handful of peanuts or cashews, lightly toasted in a fry pan

DRESSING:
~ 1 tbsp lime juice
~ 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
~ 1 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari)
~ 1/2 tsp grated ginger

Place all the salad ingredients (except the nuts) in a bowl and mix with your hands.
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk with a fork.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and top with the nuts.

Steak

~ 2cm cube of ginger, chopped finely
~ 1/2 large chilli, chopped finely
~ Olive Oil
~ 2 portions of steak, around 200g each

Combine the chopped chilli and ginger on a board with some olive oil and spread to cover the area of 2 steaks
Fry the steak in a pan until cooked medium rare.
Place the steak on the board with the chilli and ginger and allow to rest – turn to coat both sides of the meat
Slice the meat on an angle and serve on top of the Asian Salad.
Top with the remaining sauce left on the board.