Asparagus & Bean Bundles
09 April 2010

Serves: 3-4 as a starter or side dish

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 200g Beans
  • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
  • 5 strips of pancetta, cut into strips and cooked
  • 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
  • 1/4  balsamic dressing

Instructions

Toast pine nuts in a dry pan and set aside.

Fry pancetta until nice and crispy, set aside in a warm place.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook beans and asparagus 'al dente'. Drain and allow to dry.

Toss the beans and asparagus in the dressing and arrange on plates in neat bundles.

Sprinkle with pine nuts and the pancetta.

 

Grilled Eggplant with Dill Garlic and Toasted Almond Sauce
09 April 2010

Serves: 5-6

Preparation time:15 minutes

Ingredients

  • dill - 1 bunch
  • Garlic - 5 cloves (roasted or you will be getting complaints at work!)  more or less depending on your taste
  • lgmon juice - 2 tablespoons
  • olive oil - 1/4 cup (or more depending on what consistency you'd like)
  • salt, pepper
  • eggplant
  • 120g roasted almonds optional- you will need to add double the oil if you do

Instructions


 Put all the ingredients for the sauce into a processor and pulse until the desired consistency.

Add more oil if you'd like the sauce to be thinner.

Cut the eggplants into slices about 1 cm thick. Grill, saute or bake the eggplant slices until they are cooked.

Serve the eggplant slathered in Dill Garlic Sauce.

 

Easy Cherry Tomato & Zucchini Spaghetti
26 March 2010

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 250g dried spaghetti 
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil 
  • 2 garlic clove, crushed
  • 2 small zucchini, grated
  • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese,to serve

Instructions

Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water, following packet directions, until tender.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small, non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add garlic, zucchini and tomatoes. Cook, stirring often, for 3 minutes or until tender.

Drain pasta, reserving 2 tablespoons cooking water. Return pasta and reserved water to saucepan. Add zucchini mixture, salt and pepper to pasta. Toss over low heat until heated through. Spoon into bowl. Top with parmesan and serve.
 

 

Pumpkin Gnocchi with Leek & Basil Butter
26 March 2010

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

  • Ingredients (serves 4)
  • 500g (washed) potatoes
  • 250g butternut pumpkin, deseeded, quartered
  • 115g (3/4 cup) plain flour
    Leek & basil butter
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 leek, pale section only, cut into thin matchsticks
  • Handfull of small fresh basil leaves
  • 1 long fresh red chilli, halved, deseeded, thinly sliced
  • 40g butter, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Place potatoes and pumpkin on the tray and bake in oven for 1 hour or until tender. Set aside for 20 minutes to cool.

Peel the potatoes and pumpkin and place in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Use a potato masher or fork to mash until smooth.

Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
Divide dough into 4 portions.
Roll 1 portion into a 2cm-diameter log.
Use a lightly floured knife to cut into 2cm pieces. Place on the lined tray.
Repeat with remaining dough portions.

Roll each piece of dough into a ball. Roll each ball over the back of a lightly floured fork. Place on the tray.

To make the leek & basil butter, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the leek and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until golden.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. Add the basil and chilli to the pan and cook for 1 minute or until crisp.
Transfer to the plate. Add butter to the pan and stir for 1-2 minutes or until melted and golden. Pour into a small jug and cover to keep warm.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil over high heat. Add one-quarter of the gnocchi and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the gnocchi rises to surface. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to serving plates. Repeat with remaining gnocchi. Drizzle over butter and top with leek, basil and chilli to serve.

Red Wine and Rosemary Mushrooms
19 March 2010

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 10minutes

Ingredients

  • 1  tpsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter - divided
  • 1 clove garlic - peeled, slightly crushed
  • 200g white mushrooms - washed, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary - minced
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup red wine

Instructions

Place oil and 1 tbsp of butter in pan of medium heat.

Add garlic and cook just until it starts to color. (3-5 minutes)

Add mushrooms, rosemary, salt and pepper to pan and sauté until lightly browned 8-10 minutes.

Add wine and cook until approximately 1/4 cup of liquid remains in pan. (5-10 minutes)

Remove from heat and toss with remaining butter.

Stir gently until butter is melted.

Serve hot over steak , freshly toasted bread or as a side dish.