Satay Burgers

Some nights there are too many comings and goings to allow us to sit down and eat dinner together.

Those nights the boys cook their dinner on the bbq and burgers are a favourite.

I’ve used pork in this recipe but minced chicken is delicious too. As the gluten rolls that we like are long and skinny, I just make the patties to fit the roll.

Makes six burgers.

Ingredients

500g minced Pork

3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

3 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

30g fresh coriander chopped

Salt and pepper

Method

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and form into burgers.

Heat your bbq or pan over a medium flame.

Once hot cook the burgers, as it is pork, you need to cook it all the way through.

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.

Thai Pork Meatballs in Coconut Sauce

Got any leftover Thai red curry paste hiding in the back of the fridge or cupboard? This is the perfect way to use it up!

Not too spicy, full of flavour and hidden veg to boot!

Did I mention gluten, dairy and nut free???

Serves 6. Makes 28 meatballs.

Ingredients

60g gluten free fresh breadcrumbs

330g zucchini/courgette

80g fresh coriander/cilantro

4 spring onions/scallions

2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

1 egg

500g minced pork

2 x 270mls coconut milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Centigrade.

In a food processor, whizz the bread to make crumbs and tip into a large bowl.

Now grate the zucchini in the processor and again, tip into the bowl with the crumbs.

Next, whizz the coriander, spring onions, soy sauce, curry paste and egg, tip into the bowl.

Add the meat to the bowl and using your hands mix very well. Form into 28 balls.

Lay the balls in a non stick roasting tin as you go along with a little space around each one.

Bake the balls in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Remove and gently move the balls around so they have loosened from the base.

Pour the coconut milk into the tin and swirl around, covering the meatballs, scraping any pan juices into the milk.

Return to the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes until the coconut milk is thickened and bubbling.

Garnish with a little leftover coriander.

Black Bean And Beetroot Burgers

Well, what can I say……… my meat eating carnivore sons wolfed these down!

Non coeliacs had them in a brioche bun and us coeliacs had them with sweet potato wedges, absolutely delicious and healthy to boot! 

I have got into the habit of buying dry black beans in bulk, cooking up a big pan of them and freezing portions in boxes for later use, hence the non tin quantity.

Makes six large burgers and 8 regular sized burgers.

Ingredients

30ml olive oil

180g onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

200g carrots, peeled and grated

380g beetroot, peeled and grated

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoons ground coriander

1/4-1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

70g fresh coriander, stalks and leaves

600g cooked black beans

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade, line two baking sheets with baking parchment.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil and cook the onion for 5 minutes over a medium heat.

Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes then add the grated carrot and beetroot, stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the ground cumin, ground coriander and chilli. Tip into a large bowl.

In a food processor, process the beans and fresh coriander until you have a loose crumble. Tip into the bowl with the beetroot mix.

Season with salt and pepper and then use your hands to combine the ingredients.

Once they are thourghly combined, divide the mixture and squeeze into patty shapes with your hands.

Lay each burger on the baking sheet until all of the mixture is used.

Drizzle each patty with a little olive oil and then bake for 20 minutes.

Use a large fish slice to lift the patties carefully as they are a bit on the crumbly side. I topped ours with avocado and Persian feta.

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. 

Kerala Beef Curry

This curry is very popular in our house. It isn’t the prettiest of dishes but the flavour is amazing!

 I love the fact that the meat and veg are all in one pot and the boys love that they get to eat it with bread and poppadoms while using their fingers!

Serves 12, this curry freezes well so I tend to make this quantity and freeze half for a night off another day.

Ingredients

50g ghee

15 whole cloves

15 cardamom pods

20 black peppercorns

4x5cm sticks of cinnamon

2 medium onions, diced

4 garlic cloves, peeled and bruised

30-40 curry leaves

Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated

1.75kgs diced beef, around 3cm

1 litre water

Salt

750g potatoes, kipfler are great, cut into 4cm pieces

1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

500g frozen baby peas

270mls coconut cream

2 tablespoons corn flour mixed with 3 tablespoons water

75g fresh chopped coriander, stalks and leaves

Method

In a large pan with a lid, heat the ghee, once hot, add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon sticks and peppercorns.

As soon as they begin to sizzle, add the onion and cook over a medium to high heat until colouring a little.

Add the garlic, curry leaves and ginger to the pan and cook for two minutes.

Add the beef to the pan and over a high heat, brown the meat, around 4 minutes.

Pour the water into the pan, cover, bring up to simmering and simmer for 90 minutes. Uncover for the last 30 minutes.

Now, add the potatoes, cayenne and salt to the pan, bring back up to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes covered and then ten minutes uncovered.

Carefully pour the cornflour slurry into the curry sauce and stir until thickened.

Now add the peas and coconut cream, bring up to a simmer and sprinkle over the coriander. Serve.

Stirfried Rice With Sweetcorn And Chipotle Chilli

Admittedly, this sounds a bit odd but as a way of using up leftovers and giving them a new lease in life this is fantastic recipe.

I like to have this rice with Mexican themed food but it goes well with pretty much anything and I’ve happily eaten the rice on its own or with an egg for breakfast.

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

60mls olive oil

50mls water

1 clove garlic

2 chipotle chillies in adobe sauce, seeds removed

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

600g cooked and cooled rice

400g frozen sweetcorn, defrosted

60g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks roughly chopped

Method

Using a stick blender, whizz the oil, water, garlic, chipotle chillies and adobe sauce to form a thin paste.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, pour the chipotle paste into the pan and cook over the medium heat until all of the water has evaporated.

Turn the heat up to high and add the rice, breaking up any lumps.

Stir the rice well so that it’s completely covered in the chipotle paste.

Add the sweetcorn to the pan and again stir well.

Now, stirring the rice occasionally, cook for 5 minutes, I like to let it form a crust on the base as it cooks as this adds lots of colour to the dish.

Stir through the coriander and serve.

 

 

Pad Thai with Tempeh

I am trying to have a few more vegetarian meals as a family which can be a challenge when the boys are picking through their food looking for meat. They delight in chilli sauce challenges so they all have different sauces that they choose to add to these noodles, Thai sweet chilli sauce is popular and so is Indonesian sambal!

Normally Pad Thai would have chicken, prawns and fish sauce in it so in an effort to alter it to a vegetarian and gluten free dish I have used gluten free rice noodles and soy sauce and swapped the chicken and prawns for tempeh, fermented soy beans.

Once the prep is done this dish is prepared very quickly so I often do the prep before school ends to then throw it together later.

Serves 6-8.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 red chillies, deseeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, sliced finely

20g fresh ginger, diced very finely

300g green beans, trimmed and halved

6 spring onions, trimmed and cut into 4 cm pieces

200g bean sprouts

70g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks

300g tempeh, cut into small chunks

Juice of 2 limes

80mls gluten free soy sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar

600g gluten free rice noodles

2 eggs, beaten with 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Method

Prepare the noodles as per instructions, refresh under cold water.

In a bowl, combine the lime juice, soy sauce and brown sugar, set aside.

Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat.

Add the oil and once hot add the chillies, garlic and ginger, stir constantly.

Once fragrant, add the green beans and spring onions.

Cook for 2 minutes and then add the bean sprouts, coriander and tempeh.

Pour in the lime, soy and sugar mix, stir through and add the noodles. Combine well.

Pour in the egg mix and keep stirring until the egg has set.

Serve with a little more coriander on top.

 

Pumpkin, Coconut and Coriander Soup

 

This is a very smooth soup with only a hint of spice and coconut but it really is delicious!

I use the stock made from the Chicken with Spices and Coconut recipe  bones and pan juices.

If you don’t have this use a tablespoon of rogan josh curry paste. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil, add the paste, cook till fragrant and add the onion, continue as below.

For a vegetarian option just omit the chicken stock and use a good quality vegetable stock and the rogan josh paste.

The fresh coriander does not get cooked, just pop it on top of the bowl of soup and stir it through as you eat, that allows for a real hit of flavour and some crunch.

Serves six and freezes well.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1kg pumpkin, I use butternut, peeled and diced into 3-4cm cubes

1.2litres stock from Chicken With Spices And Coconut bones

350-400mls coconut cream

bunch of fresh coriander, leaves and stalks, roughly chopped

Method

In a large stock pot, heat the oil.

Once hot, add the onion and allow to soften.

Add the pumpkin and stir well.

Add the stock and bring to the boil, allow to simmer until the pumpkin is soft, 20-30mins.

Remove from the heat and liquidize  with a stick blender.

Add the coconut cream.

Reheat genlty.

Serve in bowls and top with a handful of coriander, it’s not a garnish! Stir it through and enjoy!

Super Fast Chicken Noodle Soup

This is amazingly fast to prepare and is so full of goodness, not that the boys care  they are just delighted with the concept of noodles in soup!

The stock has to have great flavour, the stock I used was just a couple of roast chicken carcasses in the pressure cooker for 30mins under pressure with 1.3l of water. The chicken is also leftovers from the roast, a great way to make a little chicken go a lot further!

This is the boys version of the soup so not gluten free, however, to make it gluten free I use rice noodles cooked in a separate pan for me and then continue with the rest of the recipe.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

220g instant noodles

1 litre chicken stock

250g roast chicken, thinly sliced

small bunch of coriander, chopped roughly

1 lime, cut into wedges

Method

Bring a pan of water up to the boil.

Add the noodles and cook until separated, around 1 minute.

Drain in a colander.

Add the stock to the drained pan.

Bring the stock to the boil.

Simmer, add noodles and chicken.

Warm through.

Add coriander and immediately serve with wedges of the lime to squeeze over.