Recipe - Cucumber and Raisin Salad

Ingredients

• Chopped cucumbers
• Fresh dill
• Golden raisins
• Lightly Roasted pine-nuts
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Combine all ingredients together

Recipe - Cucumber and Feta Salad

Ingredients

• Cucumbers
• Chopped Parsley
• Feta (Marinated in herbs and oil. Or, use a lemon's juice and zest to make a dressing with olive oil, slat and pepper.)
• Chopped Walnuts

Method

• Combine all ingredients together

Recipe – Chickpea and Asparagus Salad

Today’s experiment in fact worked out J

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. oil 800g chickpeas rinsed, drained, dried
• ½ tsp. chilli flakes.
• 2 ½ tsp. garam masala. 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2cm-piece ginger, peeled, 2 bunches asparagus
• 1/2 cup coriander leaves, chopped
• 1/4 cup yoghurt
• Juice of half a small lemon and season

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C/170°C fan forced.
2. Place chickpeas on a lined baking tray. Sprinkle with chilli flakes.
3. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon garam masala.
4. Season and toss to combine. Roast for 35 minutes or until dry and slightly crisp.
5. Meanwhile boil the asparagus until just cooked then immediately rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process, drain and dry
6. Meanwhile, combine garlic, ginger, turmeric, yoghurt, coriander leaves and 1 ½ tsp. garam masala in a bowl. Season
7. When the chickpeas are finished roasting add them and asparagus to a bowl and leave to cool.
8. Stir through a tablespoon of the yoghurt dressing, add lemon and season
9. Place the rest of the dressing in a small bowl for those that would like extra, either with this salad or also use as a dipping sauce for meat

Recipe - Watermelon and Tomato Salad

4 great ingredients. 1 awesome flavour. Serve as a side dish with nearly everything! Cherry tomatoes (halved) + watermelon (diced) + feta + fresh mint.

Recipes - Fig + Butternut Squash + Marinated Kale Salad With A Balsamic Reduction

Fig + Butternut Squash + Marinated Kale Salad With A Balsamic Reduction

Serves

4-6 as an appetizer

Ingredients

·         1 small butternut squash

·         several figs, quartered

·         a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

·         salt + pepper

·         the juice of ½ a lemon

·         a bunch of kale (about 4 cups), center ribs removed and chopped

·         1/2 cup of really good balsamic vinegar

·         a shallot, thinly sliced (preferably with a mandolin)

·         hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds

Method

Roast the butternut squash:

ü  Pre-heat the oven to 400º.

ü  Peel the butternut squash and slice it into cubes. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

ü  Cook for 30-40 minutes until the squash is tender.

ü  Remove from the oven, and set aside.

While the squash is roasting, prepare kale and figs, and make the balsamic reduction:

ü  Place the chopped kale in a bowl, squeeze the lemon over the kale, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and massage the kale using your hands. Set aside until you’re ready to serve.

ü  Place a medium sized frying pan over medium heat and place a little bit of olive oil in the pan. Sear the figs for a couple of minutes on each side until they begin to caramelize, remove and set aside. Then, in the same pan, add the balsamic vinegar and reduce to half. It should thicken up and look like a syrup. Remove from the heat and set aside while you assemble the salad.

Assemble the salad:

ü  Place the figs, squash, and shallots on top of the marinated kale. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over top, and finish with the hemp and pumpkin seeds. Give it a little toss and serve.

This recipe is from  http://www.whatscookinggoodlooking.com/whats-cooking-good-looking/2013/10/7/fig-butternut-squash-marinated-kale-salad-with-a-balsamic-re.html

Recipe - Cauliflower & Spiced Chick Pea Salad

Ingredients

• 2 medium (about 2kg) cauliflower cut into bite sized florets
• 4-5 tablespoons olive oil
• 400g chick peas
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 brown onions, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 400g low fat natural yogurt
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1 cup mint leaves, finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat oven to 200C. 
2. Place the cauliflower on two baking trays and drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the cauliflower until golden and starting to crisp up at the edges.
3. Roast the chick peas
4. In a dry frypan, heat the cumin and coriander until fragrant. Add some olive oil and saute the onion until golden and then add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the spiced onion mix to the chick peas while they are still warm.
5. Cool the chick peas and cauliflower. Once cool, add the yogurt, baby spinach, coriander, mint and salt and pepper and add a drizzle of olive oil to help it come together. Toss gently to distribute.
6. Optional: squeeze lemon over

Inspired by this recipe

Recipe - CousCous Salad

Serves eight as a side dish (if it’s the only side dish).

Ingredients

Vegetables

You really can choose 4 vegetables that complement each other. Today I used

·         Mushrooms

·         Green Capsicum

·         Pumpkin

·         Eggplant

o   You could also use chickpeas and/or Spanish onion but I’d still keep it to 4 so there’s not too much going on

·         4 cloves garlic

·         1 tbsp. fresh ginger

·         1 tbsp. cumin seeds

·         Salt and pepper

·         5 tbsp. olive oil

·         1 cup quick-cooking couscous

·         1¼ cups boiling stock

·         70g Pinenuts

·         ¼ cup raisins

·         1¼ cups boiling chicken or vegetable stock

·         Juice of 1 lime and half a lemon

·         ½ a bunch flat-leaf parsley , chopped

·         ½ a bunch flat-leaf coriander, chopped

Method

1.     Preheat oven to 200 degrees

2.     Dice all the vegetables into small pieces

3.     Place the garlic, fresh ginger, cumin seeds, Salt and pepper; and olive oil into a food processor and blend

4.     Mix the marinade through the vegetables, spread them across a baking tray then bake for approx. 30 mins – longer if needed

5.     Meanwhile, mix the couscous with the raisins in a bowl and pour over the boiling stock. COVER with a dish towel, plate or plastic wrap to seal in the steam and let sit for 5 minutes.

6.     FLUFF the couscous with a fork to separate the grains.

7.     Dry roast the pinenuts and stir them through the cous cous

8.     When vegetables are cooked, stir them through the cooked vegetables

9.     Just before serving (or can do 2-3 hours before) stir through the herbs and lime/lemon juice

This recipe can be prepared the day before

Recipe - Wild Rice, Fennel and Almond Salad

Ingredients

• 50g butter
• Bunch of shallots chopped
• 2 bulbs fennel finely chopped
• 2 cups rice (all wild or a combination of wild and brown)
• Chicken stock (proportionate to the amount of rice)
• ½ bunch parsley, finely chopped
• 200g dryroasted almonds, coarsely chopped

Method

1. Melt butter in a saucepan
2. Add shallots
3. Add fennel
4. Add rice and Chicken stock
5. When rice is cooked cool down.
6. Stir through the parsley and dry roasted almonds
7. Season to taste and serve.
8. N.b sometimes I cheat and put the rice and stock in a rice cooker, then cook the shallots and fennel in a saucepan then transfer it in to the rice cooker when they’re cooked.

Recipe - Green Veg Salad

Chop to same size:

-          Roast waxy potatoes in onion, garlic, salt and pepper

-          Boil in separate batches of salted water

o   Zucchini

o   Peas

o   Asparagus

o   Beans

-          When cooled stir through

o   Fresh mint

o   Dried ricotta (or shredded feta)

o   Good Olive Oil

Recipe - Berry Arugula Salad with Tumeric Orange Vinaigrette

Berry Arugula Salad with Tumeric Orange Vinaigrette

(N.B I Subbed Arugula for Rocket)

INGREDIENTS

·         Candied Pecans

·         1 pound whole pecans

·         2 egg whites

·         1 cup confectioners' sugar

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon cinnamon

·         1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

·         Tumeric Orange Vinaigrette

·         1/2 large orange, peeled and segmented

·         1 tablespoon honey

·         1-1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

·         1 teaspoon dijon mustard

·         1 teaspoon ground tumeric

·         1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

·         6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         Salad

·         4 cups fresh baby arugula

·         3/4 cup Driscoll's Blueberries

·         3/4 cup Driscoll's Raspberries

·         4 ounces soft goat cheese

·         1 cup Candied Pecans (see recipe above)

·         Basalmic-Orange Vinaigrette (see recipe above)

INSTRUCTIONS

Candied Pecans

1.       Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2.       In mixing bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper. Whisk until frothy, then, place pecans in egg white mixture and coat generously.

3.       Arrange a baking sheet pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Spray or grease the pan with oil, then spread the pecans on the pan evenly.

4.        Sprinkle with the salt, then bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown, tossing every 5 minutes. Cool for 1 hour and store in plastic or glass container until ready to use. (Note: These are great during the holidays and always a great snack)

Tumeric Orange Vinaigrette

1.       Place all ingredients except oil into a blender. Blend on medium for 10-15 seconds until all ingredients are combined. With blender running, slowly drizzle in the Olive Oil. Then, finish with Salt and Pepper. Store in glass or plastic container in refrigerator until ready to use.

Salad

1.     Arrange the arugula among 4 salad plates. Place blueberries and raspberries on top of arugula. Then, crumble goat cheese and pecans over the salad, drizzle with vinaigrette and serve immediately.

http://www.driscolls.com/recipes/view/7664/Berry-Arugula-Salad-with-Tumeric-Orange-Vinaigrette