Cumin and Cayenne Kale Chips

Few things are easier, cheaper and tastier. Mess around with the flavours or go natural. Too easy. Works really really well with basil too, just adjust the cooking time down.


3 - 4 kale leaves ripped (size don't matter)
Olive oil
Cumin
Cayenne pepper
Salt

Combine the cumin and cayenne and salt with some olive oil. Bake in a preheated 180C oven for five minutes or so. Remove and allow to stand for a couple of minutes to become crisp. Keep your eye on them while they cook as they suck if burnt. Enjoy.

Cous Cous Quinoa and Lentil Salad with Roast Potato and Minted Yoghurt

This was good, defo doing this again.


2/3 cup quinoa
2/3 cup cous cous
2/3 cup lentils cooked
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup yoghurt
1 handful of mint
1 handful of coriander
Juice from half a lemon
2 cups diced roasted sweet potato
2 handful of quartered cherry tomatoes


Cook the quinoa and cous cous according to the packet instructions, but bung a slice of lemon in there while it cooks. When done, fluff with a fork and fold through a little olive oil, salt and pepper. If you follow the link above to the lentils it will show you how I prepare them, for this dish I was chasing lemon so the dressing I made for it was the same as for the recipe but lemon juice instead of red wine vinegar and honey instead of sugar. Mix the lentils in to the cous cous/quinoa concoction. Combine the yoghurt and lemon juice with some chopped coriander and mint and some salt and pepper. Place the gear onto a serving tray then layer up with roast sweet potato, tomatoes, some coriander and yoghurt sauce. Finish with some salt and a good grind of pepper and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.

Garlic Cannellini Beans with Mushroom and Chilli

Awesome - 5 minutes. Maybe add some herb. I had this with a dirty filthy massive t-bone. Would be brilliant on little toasts or for breakfast.

1 tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
6 mushrooms sliced
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Porcini salt
Pepper
Splash of red wine vinegar
1/2 a fresh chilli sliced


Heat the oil to medium high and when hot toast the garlic. As soon as the garlic starts to take on some colour, add in the mushrooms and fry until they have great colour. Pour in the beans and toss about in the flavoured oil. Season with some porcini salt and some pepper and a little splash of red wine vinegar. Spoon into a serving bowl and top with sliced chilli.

Cumin Roasted Pumpkin Rocket Parmessan Barbecued Broccolini and Almond Salad

This according to my wife was the best salad she has ever eaten. I often find that the 'I need to use that up very soon' approach to making food to be the most rewarding. In this case it was rocket and pumpkin. Again, this was low maintenance, cheap and tasty. The cumin touch came from a pumpkin soup some mates made in South America, really great combo. (Photo soon).

1/2 a pumpkin in bite sized chunks
1/2 tsp cumin
Splash of teriyaki sauce
1 bunch broccolini
5 or 6 garlic cloves, skin on
Pepper
1 bag of rocket
1 handful slivered almonds
Parmesan shavings
Olive oil

Coat the pumpkin in oil, cumin and a splash of teriyaki. Coat the garlic in oil. Place the pumpkin on some grease proof paper and roast for about 20 minutes or until it has great colour. Barbecue the broccolini. Remove the pumpkin and garlic from the oven, when cool enough to handle remove the garlic from its skin. Combine all of the ingredients and tuck in.

Coriander, Almond and Roast Garlic Aioli Slaw

Any crunchy veg would do, meant to use Nashi pears but forgot. Surprisingly, this is the first time I have ever made coleslaw. Happy end result.


1/4 purple cabbage
1 capsicum in thin slice
1 bulb fennel in very thin slice
2 handfuls green beans in small bits
2 handfuls almond sliced thickly
1 big handful roughly chopped coriander
1 head garlic roasted in foil with some oil
3 tbs mayo
Salt and pepper
Juice of half a lemon


Thinly slice the veg, combine the roasted garlic and mayo. Mix well.

Lentils Poached in Chicken Stock

Lentils are new to me but I find them brilliant. Largely lentils appear to be cooked in water and flavours added later but I really wanted them to be bursting with flavour. It should be noted though that it appears the addition of salt or acid (like wine, vinegar or lemon juice) will cause them to become a little tough and should be added at the end. I know that chicken stock has salt in it but hey, its my lentils and I want 'em tasty. Also, from what I also understand, they are awesome in soups etc. Whilst this recipe is nice cold, it is at its best warm.

1 cup puy lentils (French)
2 cups chicken stock (or water or combo)
1/2 an onion in small dice
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbs oven roasted cherry tomatoes
1 tbs minced parsley
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil


In a small saucepan over a medium heat saute the onion and garlic in a little extra virgin olive oil until transparent. Add in the lentils and stock, bring to the boil and, reduce to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Check to see if they are tender, if not keep cooking for a few more minutes. Drain off most of the liquid, stir through the salt and pepper, parsley and tomatoes. Transfer to a serving dish, tuck in.

Warm Potato Salad with Tarragon, Asparagus and Chicken with Soft Egg

Clearly I have some tarragon at the moment. I've not grown it before but plan to now. A mates mum gave me some recently and I have been loving it. This recipe took about 15 minutes, about as long as it took for the potato to come to the boil, cook and then I just combined everything. I was working fairly quickly so maybe give yourself 1/2 an hour. If you don't have tarragon use some sliced basil or maybe some fennel fronds for the aniseed kick. Don't have those either? use something else that you like.

3 medium potatoes in bite size pieces
5 small mushrooms diced

1/3 of a BBQ chicken diced

1 slice bacon diced

2 cloves garlic minced

1 bunch asparagus in small slices

1 tbs sour cream

1 tbs natural yoghurt
1 tbs mayonnaise
2 tsp dijonnaise
2 or 3 tbs roughly chopped tarragon
4 large eggs
1 avocado diced
Salt and pepper
1 lemon
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 chilli sliced

Place the potato pieces in a medium sized saucepan and cover by about 5cm water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes. Increase the temperature to high, boil then add in the eggs and cook for a further 4 1/2 minutes. Remove the eggs to cool, drain the potato and allow to steam out (check they are cooked first).
In the mean time heat the olive oil in a large frying pan to medium high and cook the mushroom, garlic, bacon and chicken over a medium high heat. When soft and fragrant, add in the asparagus and tarragon and toss. When you can smell the asparagus cooking, squeeze in the the juice from half the lemon, toss, check for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary then turn off the heat.
In the mean time, combine the yoghurt, sour cream, mayo, dijonnaise (or some seeded mustard), the juice from half a lemon and some salt and pepper.
Shell the eggs carefully.
In a large bowl combine 3/4 of the chicken mixture, 3/4 of the dressing and all of the avocado. Add in the potato and combine. Check for seasoning and add more of whatever is missing (salt, pepper or lemon). Spoon into a serving dish and top with the remaining chicken mixture. Quarter the eggs and arrange on top, top with the remaining dressing and finish with some chilli slices if desired. Would be nice with some great bread. Kicks bum when cold also.

Sopressa, Bacon, Mushroom, Blue Cheese and Baby Spinach Salad

This was good and dead simple. I boiled some eggs till runny and sauteed some sopressa, bacon and mushrooms, tossed through some blue cheese, white wine and cream. That was it. Sopressa is an Italian smallgood but any decent salami would work. If you don't like blue cheese, use a little brie instead. After I plated this up I added some cracked pepper and chilli flakes which were great. I think also a small squeeze of lemon would cut through the richness. It is rich.

1 packet sopressa (200gms) torn
2 slices bacon diced
2 cloves garlic minced
5 mushrooms in medium dice
3 tbs olive oil
3 or 4 slices of blue cheese
2 tbs cream
Splash white wine
1 packet baby spinach
4 boiled eggs (more if you want)
Cracked pepper
Chilli flakes

Only boil the eggs till runny (place in when boiling, return to the boil for 4 minutes, slightly longer for XL) then place in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Saute the bacon in the olive oil until it has colour, add in 2/3 of the sopressa and all of the garlic and cook for a further 2 or so minutes until quite fragrant. Add in the mushroom and cook until soft and with colour. Add in the blue cheese slices tossing to melt, pour in the white wine and toss, toss through the cream. Remove from the heat. Carefully peel the eggs which allows time for the mushroom mixture to cool slightly. Mix the mushroom mixture through the baby spinach (I used my hands) and divide amongst plates. Top the spinach with some of the uncooked sopressa, an egg or two, some cracked pepper and chilli flakes.

Potato and Egg Salad with Prosciutto, Pomegranate and Avocado

About 45 mins from start to finish. I threw some pomegranate seed in as I had some left over from a my Roasted Lamb Rump with Pomegranate Sauce recipe.

300 gms potato

8 eggs
1 tbs Persian feta and some of its oil

1/4 red onion in fine dice

1 capsicum cheek in fine dice

1 garlic clove minced

1 tbs white balsamic vinegar (more may be necessary)

2 tbs sour cream

2 tbs mayonnaise

3 slices prosciutto grilled and chopped

1 handful rocket leaves roughly chopped

1 avocado chopped

3 tbs pomegranate seeds

2 tbs parsley finely chopped

Salt and Pepper
Crusty toasted bread.

Hard boil the eggs and shell them. Boil the potato until just cooked. Chop the potato and egg into even bite sized pieces. While still warm, combine the potato and feta with some of the feta oil. Make the dressing by combining the sour cream and mayonnaise with the garlic, white balsamic, diced onion, capsicum and parsley. Season well with salt and pepper. To the potato add the dressing, 1 tbs parsley, 2 tbs pomegranate seeds, rocket, avocado, 1/2 of the prosciutto and 1/2 of the chopped egg. Mix to combine and check for seasoning.
Spoon the potato salad into your serving dish, add the rest of the parsley, egg,  prosciutto, and top with the remaining pomegranate seeds. Serve with nice bread.