Warm Rice Salad

As we roll through summer here in Western Australia salad becomes my go to veg option and now with the boys being teenagers, I need to bulk out the salads more to fill them up!

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

200g basmati rice

375mls water

120g iceberg lettuce, finely shredded

100g cucumber, finely sliced lengthwise, I use a potato peeler

4 large spring onions, sliced at an angle

80g fresh coriander/cilantro, roughly chopped

6 dried figs, chopped into 4-6 pieces each

1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced

80g shelled pistachios

25mls lime juice

25mls olive oil

1/4 teaspoon sumac

Salt and pepper

Method

Wash the rice, pour it into a pan with a tight fitting lid, add the water and cover. Bring the rice up to the boil and then simmer, covered for 12minutes. Turn the heat off and let the rice sit for 10minutes. Do not take the lid off during the cooking and sitting period!

Allow the rice to cool a little.

Heat a dry frying pan over medium heat and add the pistachios.

Dry roast for 3 minutes and then tip the nuts onto a chopping board.

Once the nuts are cool enough to handle, roughly chop.

Combine the lime juice, oil, sumac, salt and pepper, check the seasoning.

Fork through the rice and tip into a large bowl, add the vegetables, fruit and nuts, stir well, finally pour in the dressing and stir again before serving.

I sometimes keep a few pistachios back to throw on top at the end.

Roast Chicken With Creamy Lingonberry Sauce

Six ingredients make this a seriously tasty dish that’s as simple as combine, bake and baste.

If you don’t have lingonberry sauce, cranberry sauce works just as well!

You can mix the ingredients the day before you bake them if you want and this freezes well, just add a little more cream when you reheat it gently in the oven.

If you aren’t keen on chopping up a chicken, drumsticks, wings and thighs will work just as well.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

1.8kg whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces

4 tablespoons lingonberry sauce

2 tablespoons gluten free Worcestershire sauce

4 garlic cloves, crushed

250mls cream

Salt and pepper

 Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade.

In a roasting tin, combine all of the ingredients.

Cover tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes covered.

Remove the foil, baste with the sauce in the pan and return to the oven.

Bake for a further 30 minutes, basting regularly.

Once cooked and golden, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Slow Cooker Spice Rack Pork

At the beginning of winter I bought a slow cooker and a few months later I am a complete convert on nights when we are all coming and going.

The seasoning for the pork is very simple but don’t be tempted to add more liquid, it really doesn’t need any.

I love chimichurri and it goes so well here, cutting through the rich meat and adding a gorgeous splash of colour.

Serves 8. Any leftover meat freezes well with the pan juices and the boys have wraps with salad, pork and chimichurri for school in the days after we have this.

Ingredients

2kg boned pork shoulder/pork butt cut into 5-7cm dice

1 large orange, juiced

3 teaspoons dried thyme

4 teaspoons dried oregano

3 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Chimichurri Ingredients

20g parsley leaves

80g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks

1 green chilli, deseeded

1 lime juiced

2 garlic cloves

75mls olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Combine all of the pork ingredients in the slow cooker.

Cook on high for six hours.

To make the chimichurri…….

Process all of the ingredients, add a little more oil if you need to.

Pork And Mango Meatballs

Anyone who has read my blog knows we like a meatball in this house and these are no exception.

One of those fun recipes that evolve as I’m digging through the fridge looking for inspiration. The cream thickens to make a sweet yet savoury sauce, I serve these over rice.

Choose any mango chutney that you would happily eat on its own, not one that’s loitering in the fridge because it tastes awful!

Makes 18 meatballs and feeds 6.

Ingredients

500g minced pork

130g mango and ginger chutney

280g zucchini, grated and liquid squeezed out

1 red chilli, deseeded, halve lengthwise and sliced

10g fresh chopped chives

2 teaspoons ground cumin

Salt and pepper

250mls cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade.

Combine all of the ingredients, except the cream in a bowl.

Form the meat into golf ball sized meatballs.

Lay the balls in a roasting tin and pop into the oven.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until beginning to colour.

Take the roasting tin out of the oven and pour in the cream, swirl it around the meatballs, turning them as you go.

Return to the oven and bake again for 10-15 minutes until the cream has thickened and the meatballs have coloured.

Zesty Coleslaw

Another coleslaw recipe, this one is great with rich meat when you need something light and zesty as a side or as I’ve done with pulled pork tonight. It’s also nice and easy to prepare for a barbecue as you let it sit around after making to let all the flavours meld together.

Adjust the herbs to suit your tastes or what you have available.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

1/4 red cabbage, finely sliced

1 small red onion, finely sliced

140g snow pea sprouts, halved

2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint

1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill

3-4 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander, leaves and stalks

175mls sour cream

1 lime, juiced

Salt and pepper

Method

Combine the cabbage, onion, pea sprouts and fresh herbs in a bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk the sour cream, lime juice and seasoning.

Pour the sour cream dressing over the cabbage mixture and stir well.

Allow to sit for 15-30 minutes before serving.

Stir again just before serving.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

This is easy to make, has tonnes of flavour and is a huge hit with my boys.

Uses wise, I have slow cooked pork and beef with it, brushed it onto meat and chicken on the BBQ, stirred it through noodles for a quick after school feed and middle son uses it as pizza sauce!

I triple the recipe to give me four jars of sauce as it keeps well if you sterilise your jars and lids.

Ingredients

15mls oil

1 red onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

50mls balsamic vinegar

75g brown sugar

250mls passata

50mls gluten free soy sauce

50mls gluten free Worcestershire sauce

1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped roughly

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Method

In a medium pan, heat the oil over a medium heat and add the onion, cook for 7-10 minutes and then add the garlic.

Cook for two minutes and add the balsamic vinegar, scrape any caramelised bits off the bottom of the pan and simmer the vinegar until it has reduced by half.

Now add the sugar, passata, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chilli, cumin and oregano.

Bring up to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until thickened and darkened.

Sterilise your jars now if you are making extra.

Use a stick blender to whizz to a lump free sauce.

Pour into sterilised jars if you have made extra.

Taco Coleslaw

I’ve found that the best way to get raw vegetables into the boys is make them an essential component of their tacos!

We have this coleslaw with most of our tacos, fajitas and burritos. Due to the creamy dressing I tend not to have sour cream as well, another incentive to get the boys to eat veg and not just meat and sour cream!

We love dill so there is a fair whack of it in this salad but cut it back if you aren’t a fan. I do deseeded the pickled chillis but if you love spicy food, leave them in.

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

1/4 large white cabbage, very finely sliced

2 large carrots, peeled and julienned

25g fresh chives, snipped

25g dill, fronds picked and roughly chopped

2 pickled jalapeños, deseeded and finely diced

DRESSING

130mls mayonnaise

100mls sour cream

1 lime, juiced

Salt and pepper

Method

Combine the dressing ingredients.

Pour over the slaw ingredients and mix well, I use my hands.

Allow to sit for 30 minutes if you have time and then serve.

Mexican Corn On The Cob

The picture really doesn’t do this corn justice but quite honestly, it doesn’t last long enough for photos to be taken!

With a household of boys if you serve food on a stick or with a bone they will eat their fill of it without complaining, I’m sure it harks back to caveman days!

These are moreish, you can use the whole cob but these half cobs are cute and if you are feeding smaller mouths, a little more manageable.

I have given instructions for cooking indoors but these work well on the bbq. Peel the husk  off, remove the fronds and put the husk back over the corn and bbq. Once cooked, unwrap, dip in the sauce, sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

6 corn cobs,husk and fronds removed, cut in half

150g sour cream

110g mayonnaise

1/2 lime, juiced

15g fresh coriander levels, roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

Salt and pepper

60g Parmesan, grated

Method

Boil the corn for 5-6 minutes in salted water until cooked.

In a bowl, combine the sour cream, mayo, lime juice, coriander, garlic, salt and pepper.

Heat a large dry frying pan over high heat.

Tip the corn into a colander to drain.

Now add the corn to the dry pan and turn regularly until it has coloured.

Stick a small skewer into the end of each cob half.

Using the skewer, pick up the cob and dip it in the sour cream dip, swirling it around to cover it.

Place on a serving plate and repeat with the remaining corn, sprinkle over the cheese and serve. 

Coriander Dressing

This is one of those fab dressings that goes with so many things, we have it poured over roast chicken pieces, salads, barbecued meat and roast vegetables.

I delight in the fact that some of the vibrancy of the sauce comes from a sneaky handful of spinach leaves, what the boys don’t know won’t hurt them!

Ingredients

a large bunch of coriander, around 70g

1 cup firmly packed baby spinach

1 green chilli, deseeded

1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly chopped

juice of 1 lime

60-80mls olive oil

salt and pepper

 Method

In a food processor, whizz the coriander, spinach, chilli and garlic.

Pour in the lime juice and with the motor running pour in enough oil to get it to the consistency that you are after.

Teriyaki Chicken Burgers

Burgers are always very popular with the boys, anything that they can eat with their hands and all that!

This is a bit of a double whammy recipe as any leftover cooked chicken and the cooked down marinade can be combined to become the starting point of teriyaki sushi, another popular meal in my house.

I use gluten free soy sauce, my local Asian shop is a treasure trove and I can buy an enormous bottle of GF soy sauce for the same price as a tiny one in the big chain supermarket, they also have mirin, Japanese cooking sake and the most beautiful fresh herbs, hence the coriander in these burgers.

Serves 6-8 depending on appetites and sides. For the gluten free option, I have my chicken with a side salad and some steamed rice.

Ingredients

4 large chicken breasts, mine were 1.2kg

175mls gluten free soy sauce

75mls mirin

30g caster sugar

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

40mls sesame oil

8 bread rolls

salad leaves

fresh coriander, stems and leaves

mayonnaise mixed with a little wasabi

Method

Take a chicken breast and cut it at an angle downwards to create one thick half and one thinner half.

Line a chopping board with baking parchment, place one of the halves on it, cover with more baking parchment and use the flat side of a meat tenderiser or a rolling pin to whack the chicken down to around 1 cm thickness.

Now, take a fork and pierce it all over.

Set aside and repeat with the other half and then continue with the other chicken breasts.

In a large bowl combine the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, garlic and ginger. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

Place the chicken into the marinade and allow to marinade for 30 minutes.

Let most of the marinade drip off and lay the chicken breasts on a tray.

Drizzle the sesame oil over the chicken breasts and rub in.

Pour the leftover marinade into a shallow pan and reduce over a high heat until thick and syrupy. Take off the heat.

Preheat the barbecue or non stick frying pan over a medium to high heat.

Cook the chicken, turning once and ensure its cooked through.

Remove to a warm plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes while you get the rolls ready.

I spread the base of the roll with a little mayo and wasabi, top with salad leaves.

Spoon a little of the concentrated marinade over the cut side of the top of the roll. It can be quite salty so check for flavour first, less is more with this sauce!

Place the chicken on the salad leaves, top with coriander and then the lid.