Tomato Salad

 It seems like tomatoes just taste as good as I remember them as a child. This salad - or dressing lifts them to a higher level of yum...and its super easy.

Ingredients

• 1 kg tomatoes (I like to use a mix of varieties)
• 1/2 small red onion peeled
• 10 g fresh basil plus extra for serving
• 2 garlic cloves peeled
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Chop the smaller tomatoes into halves and the larger ones into quarters. It’s quite nice to have a mixture of different sizes here, so don’t worry about making them all perfectly even.

2. Combine the red onion, basil, garlic and a good pinch of salt and black pepper in a food processor. Blitz into a rough paste, making sure it retains a some texture. Add it to the tomatoes along with the olive oil, red wine vinegar and another big pinch of salt. Give everything a good stir, then let the salad marinate for at least 20 minutes, or for up to 4 hours.
3. Spoon into a serving dish, avoiding any tomato juice left at the bottom of the mixing bowl. Serve topped with an extra crack of black pepper and a few sprigs of fresh basil.

SMASHED CUCUMBER SALAD

 SMASHED CUCUMBER SALAD

Serves 4-6

1 telegraph cucumber

¼ teaspoon salt

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

1 orange bell pepper, deseeded, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, deseeded, chopped

1 shallot or small red onion, finely sliced in rings

½ tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

DRESSING

1 teaspoon runny honey

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar (or Chinese black vinegar)

1 tablespoon Tamari

Wash the cucumber and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel. Trim off ends, cut in half lengthways, then scoop out seeds and discard. Place cucumber halves flat-side down on a chopping board and cover with greaseproof paper. Using the flat underside of a solid flying pan (or a rolling pin), smash the cucumber until starting to split—don't smash it to the point of oblivion! Cut smashed cucumber in long strips, then in chunks slightly on the diagonal (approximately 2cm pieces). Place cucumber chunks in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and toss them to combine. Place colander over a bowl and set aside for 1 hour to allow salt to draw out excess moisture.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients and whisk to combine (or use a jar with a lid and shake to mix). Set aside until salad is ready to serve.

Add drained cucumber chunks, shallot rings, tomato, bell pepper, sesame seeds, and dressing in a large salad bowl. Toss to combine and serve.

Smoked fish fattoush

This is a new recipe and a bit of a bringing together of a few different ingredients and cooking methods from a range of sources. 

Fattoush is a Middle Eastern salad made from toasted or fried pieces of pita bread, mixed greens and smoked fish. 

I used my home made sour dough bread which was a few days old. I've got a sourdough starter which lives in my fridge and comes out to play every couple of weeks. The bread is a labour of love which starts days before even baking and in very labour intensive - but worth it.

The fish came from my brother from Australia who was in NZ and went out fishing. I used a slightly adapted Nadia Lim's method for smoking rather than getting out the Weber smoker as fish has such a short smoking time.

It is absolutely a 'do again' recipe with everyone enjoying it and a few suggestions for next time.
Isabella said "less herbs".
Michael (first time smoked fish eater) suggested trying it with smoked chicken.
The toasted sour dough bread was quick to disappear!
Everyone really liked the dressing - a nice zing which 'cooked' the red onion a bit.

Ingredients

800 g	Smoked fish
1	Lebanese cucumber
1	Red onion
16	Cherry tomatoes
½ cup	Fresh parsley
½ cup	Fresh mint
½ cup	Fresh coriander
3	Pita breads
3 cloves	Garlic
¼ cup	Lemon juice
¼ cup	Extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup	Roasted almonds

Directions

1. Remove skin and bones from the smoked fish.

1. Place roughly chopped cucumber, finely sliced onion and tomatoes in a large bowl. Scatter with finely chopped parsley, fresh mint and coriander leaves.

1. Flake fish and mix through salad. 

1. Cut the pita breads in half and toast until golden, then break into bite-sized pieces and add to salad. (I used sour dough bread sprayed with oil, sprinkled with smoked garlic salt and baked in over)

1. In a small bowl, combine crushed and chopped garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and oil. Mix through salad and scatter with chopped almonds.

  

Crunchy Peanut Satay Slaw

This coleslaw has a really yummy peanut coconut dressing. Its worth the little bit of extra effort!
Its a Marion Gadsby recipe - her recipes are great!

Ingredients:

4 cups (300g/10.5oz) shredded cabbage (red, white or a mix)

1 cup (100g/3.5oz) carrot strips

½ cup podded edamame beans

½ cup mint leaves

2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced

2 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

Peanut Satay Dressing:

2 tbsp smooth peanut butter

¼ cup coconut milk

3 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 garlic clove, roughly chopped

1 tsp palm sugar

Method

STEP 1

For the peanut satay dressing, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside until ready to serve.

​

STEP 2

In a large bowl, place the cabbage, carrot, edamame, mint and spring onion. Add dressing half the dressing and gently toss until well combined. Add more dressing if necessary. Top with roasted peanuts and serve.

Quinoa Salad

This came from my original blog - 'Wild Yeast and Sugar Pie.
I made it again this week and really enjoyed it. I didn't stick to the veges too much. It was more what I had on hand

In an attempt to get more healthy I am determined to find a recipe or two for Quinoa that are really nice. From everything I read about it, it really is a fantastic alternative to rice, couscous and pasta. I'm not sure the rest of my family will agree however.
"The nutrient composition is very good compared with common cereals. Quinoa grains contain essential amino acids like lysine and good quantities of calcium, phosphorus, and iron." Wikipedia
I tried a salad the other night where I cooked the quinoa with stock and added sautéed mushrooms, capsicum, onion and garlic...a bit of an experiment but it was fine.

Colourful Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa

• 2 cups Water

• Salt

• 1 carrot peeled and grated

• 1 red pepper seeded and diced

• 1 Cucumber washed and sliced (I used about half and diced it)

• 6 grated radishes (we have way to many needing to be eaten)

• 3 green onion sliced thinly

• 1 bunch Parsley chopped (I used coriander)

• The zest and juice of 1 Lemon

• ¼ cup Olive Oil (I used about 1/4 of a cup)

• Salt & Pepper 

Method

1. 1

1. Rinse the quinoa well in cold running water. This will easily rinse away the natural bitter coating on the seeds. Drain and toss into a small pot. Add the water and season with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover with a tight fitting lid, turn the heat to low and simmer until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

1. 2

1. Meanwhile get all the colorful veggies ready. Toss them into a bowl and when the quinoa is done (and cooled), add it as well. Add the lemon and olive oil, toss well, season with salt and pepper and serve.

"Quinoa is quite literally the greatest food. Ever. It is the only plant-based food that has all of the essential amino acids. NASA has declared it an essential staple food that will be used on the first manned mission to Mars."



Tonight when the rest of the family had pasta, I had quinoa. This recipe is one I found after pouring over loads when I googled 'quinoa recipes'. I like the fact that the veges are raw so therefore don't loose their nutritional value.

It was really nice. Fresh, crispy and healthy. I will make it again.

Charred Corn Salad

Isabella and I made up this recipe after seeing a few different recipes.
I think it's one of those recipes which you can add different things to and it will turn out great.
All of the quantities are approximate.
Isabella charred the corn on the BBQ. A good way for her to get used to using the BBQ with something that is really easy to cook and hard to overcook!

Isabella says - It had a nice smokey flavour. It's a nice fresh summer salad and a good way to use fresh corn.

Ingredients
Salad
4 heads of corn - charred on BBQ or over gas flame
1/2 red onion finely chopped
2-3 spring onion chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped or Chilli
1/2 pineapple chopped into small pieces
2-4 tablespoons of coriander
Salt and pepper

Dressing
Olive oil - approximately 2 tablespoons
Lime juice - approximately 2 limes

Method
Char corn on BBQ and allow to cool.
While the corn is cooling, prepare all salad ingredients and combine.
We often make salads in sealable plastic bags. They make it easy to mix ingredients and take up very little space in the fridge. They can be was he and used again.
Add lime juice and olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Cauliflower Rice Salad

We had a large cauliflower delivered in last week's Oooby Box which needed using up.I came across a recipe on Pinterest but modified (quite a lot) to suit what I had in the house to use.

Ingredients: 
1 medium-sized head cauliflower (about 2 lbs. before cutting)
2 capsicum, chopped
2 T olive oil
1 tsp. smoked garlic salt (or use your favorite all-purpose seasoning blend)
fresh-ground black pepper to taste
2 - 3 sliced spring onion 
1/4 - 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts or pistachio nuts
1/4 - 1/3 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese


Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 425F/220C. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray or olive oil.

Cut the core out of cauliflower and discard. Cut the cauliflower into smallish same-size pieces. Then using a food processor with the steel blade, buzz half the cauliflower at a time until it's chopped into small pieces (slightly larger than rice.) Don't overprocess or the cauliflower will start to puree. (You can also grate the cauliflower on the large side of a box grater if you don't have a food processor.) Chop the red bell peppers into pieces.

Put the chopped cauliflower into a bowl and toss with the red peppers, corn, olive oil, garlic seasoning, and black pepper. Spread the cauliflower mixture out on the baking sheet and roast in the pre-heated oven 20 minutes. Then use a large turner to turn the cauliflower over, spread it out again, and put back into the oven to roast for 20-25 minutes longer, or until it's starting to look toasted and is browned to your liking.

While the cauliflower cooks, slice green onions and grate parmesan cheese. Put a frying pan over a burner on high heat, add the pine nuts, and toast for about a minute, or until they are barely starting to get some color. (They can get too browned rather quickly; remove from the pan as soon as they are barely toasted.)

When the cauliflower is roasted to your liking, put it back into the bowl and toss gently with the sliced green onions, coarsely-grated Parmesan, and toasted pine nuts. Season to taste with salt and additional fresh-ground black pepper and serve hot, warm or cold.

Zesty Lime Prawn and Avocado Salad

We have made this a coulee of times and really like it. We don't stick too closely to the quantities though.

Isabella says: It's a summer treat with a vibrant flavour. I just loved it!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 2 limes, juice of
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt, black pepper to taste
• 1 lb jumbo cooked, peeled shrimp, chopped
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 medium hass avocado, diced (about 5 oz)
• 1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced fine
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions:

In a small bowl combine red onion, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Let them marinate at least 5 minutes to mellow the flavor of the onion.

In a large bowl combine chopped shrimp, avocado, tomato, jalapeño. Combine all the ingredients together, add cilantro and gently toss. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.