Kässpätzle - Germany

Kässpätzle means cheese spätzle, spätzle being a type of egg noodle. This dish is known throughout all of Germany and beyond, however, it is said to be a Swabian dish originating in Baden-Württemberg for which Stuttgart stands as capital.

Although nothing alike, these noodles are so much easier to make than Italian pasta and you can't go wrong really... Some people say this is the German version of macaroni cheese, which doesn't do it justice. This dish is a delicious winter warmer. You could serve this with a glass of spicy Glühwein to warm you up on a cold winter's night. I have also made Kässpätzle and added in some fresh chopped spinach or sliverbeet before baking it in the oven.

Of course you can buy the spätzle ready made, but making the noodles is so easy and you can really taste the difference. This is an original Swabian family recipe a friend gave to me. We recently visited him in Baden-Wüttemberg and made it together. It was yum! :)

Serves 6 - 8 
4-5 brown onions sliced
Oil or butter for frying 
500g plain flour
3 eggs
approximately 1/4 -3/8 L water
1-2 teaspoons salt
250grams of grated Gouda, Edam or Emmantaler cheese or a mixture

Heat a pan with some oil or butter and then add the sliced onions. Fry the onions over medium heat until golden and caramelised and set aside.

Place flour in a bowl. Add eggs and salt and some of the water and stir. You can use a whisk if you have a strong one (as the dough becomes quite sticky and thick) or use a wooden spoon, stirring an d mixing until the flour lumps dissolve. Add water until you have a fluid but thick and stick consistency. Keep stirring until you see large bubbles appear as you mix it. NB these are not like the bubbles you see when you make pancakes at the top of the mixture. These are large bubbles that form whilst stirring.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a tablespoon of salt.When the water is boiling place some of the spätzle dough onto a bread board and smooth it out into a a layer a few millimeters thick. While holding the bread board over the boiling water, use a large knife to scrape strips of of the sticky spätzle dough off the bread board directly into the boiling water and repeat until all dough has been made into spätzle noodles.

Once the spätzle is cooked it will float to the top of the pot. Scoop it out as you go and place it in a a large baking dish layering it with spätzle , caramelised onions and cheese.

Repeat until you have used all the onions and spätzle . Top with cheese and place in a preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes or until golden on top.

Tsering's Momos in Ladakh - India

View from our room :)

Leh, the capital of Ladakh in Northern India, sits in a valley at around 3500 metres and is surrounded by an amphitheatre of snow dusted peaks. In spring time it's dotted with the blossoms of apricot trees. Here you feel worlds away from the hustle and bustle of India, not to mention the change in climate, culture, language, and culinary delights!

Given the extreme climatic conditions of this mountain desert, which is only accessible by road from May to September, Ladakhis are very self sufficient. Many of them grow their own vegetables by strategically channeling the water from the mountain streams. In the short peak tourist season from June to August the valley turns from brown to a luminous green.

Tsering and her husband Thukstan are the owners of Tse-Tan Guesthouse which is North of the city centre, and arriving at their guesthouse was like arriving home, with their warmth and hospitality immediately obvious. Like the majority of Ladakhis, Tsering and Thukstan grow their own vegetables and have a little green house for the cooler shoulder seasons.

Tsering and Thukstan

To prepare all the meals Tsering sits on a cloth on her kitchen floor and their guests, whom they treat like family, can be as involved in the process as they would like. Ladakhi food has some similarities to Tibetan cuisine as they eat Tsampa (roasted barley flour), salty butter tea Thukpa (noodle soup) and of course Momos (stuffed dumplings). With barley as their staple grain it is used and manipulated in many different ways for countless dishes.

One evening we sat on Tsering's kitchen floor and made delicious Ladakhi style Momos. Momos are generally stuffed with cooked vegetables or meat and eaten with a chutney or chilli style sambal. They can be made with any kind of flour, but here we made them with barley flour. Making the momos from scratch, dough and all, can be quite a long process so it was nice to do it together as a group. I am sure Tsering appreciated the help! :)

Here I have included a rough recipe guesstimating quantities with enough to serve 5 people. The most important piece of equipment you need to make these is a large mutli-layered steamer as well as a grater. Feel free to be as creative with the filling and chutney as you like. Barley flour is used for the dough as it is grown locally but you could also use wheat flour. You can prepare the filling and chutney ahead of time.

Momo dough
Mix approximately 9 cups of barley flour with a teaspoon of baking powder and 2 teaspoons of salt. Have about a litre of water handy and gradually add this to the flour mixture. Don't add it all at once! Get your hands in there and be sure to mix and knead it well after each addition of water. Knead this and add water until it is a good consistency to roll out using some extra flour to coat the surface, to about 2-3mm thick. Use the end of a glass with a diameter of approximately 6-7 cm to cut circles in the dough.


Momo Filling
Oil for frying (here we used mustard seed oil)
1 small head of cabbage grated
3 carrots grated
1 small red onion grated
A few handfuls of spinach or swiss chard (silverbeet) finely chopped
100 grams paneer finely chopped
Handful of coriander and handful parsley finely chopped
Handful of rice vermicelli soaked in boiling water, strained and chopped finely
A few teaspoons of garam masala
Salt and pepper to taste
A few tablespoons of ghee

Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large pot. Add cabbage, carrots, spinach and red onion and sauté with a few teaspoons of garam masala and salt and pepper until fragrant. Mix the chopped paneer with the coriander and parsley. Remove pot from the heat and stir through the herb and paneer mixture along with the chopped vermicelli and a few tablespoons of ghee. Set aside.

Momo Chutney
A few carrots very finely grated
5 tomatoes very finely chopped
3 green chillies very finely chopped
2 garlic cloves very finely chopped or grated
1 inch piece ginger very finely chopped or grated
A handful of parsley and mint finely chopped
Juice of 1- 2 limes
Garam masala and salat and pepper to taste

Mix all the above ingredients in a bowel and set aside.


Assembling the Momos
This is very tricky to explain but I'll do my best. Place a circle of dough in your left hand and put a teaspoon of Momo filling in the centre. It is easier to use less than more filling when practicing. Hold the Momo filling in place using your left thumb. Take your forefinger and thumb of your right hand and pinch together the edge of the dough, repeat by gathering another punch of dough squeezing it together with last working in a circle. Until all the edges are gathered together. Hmmm understand!? Perhaps YouTube will have better explanations for you! :) Have patience as it can take some practice!


















Cooking the Momos
Rub a little oil on the base if each steamer and place all the Momos inside making sure they are not touching each other. Fill the base if the steamer with water, bring it to the boil, and simmer to steam the Momos for about 30 minutes or until the dough is cooked. Remove from steamer and serve with chutney.

Enjoy your Momo party! :)

Vegetarian Larb

I remember trying Larb back in the day when I wasn't vegetarian and I remember the lovely zingy flavour combination of freshly squeezed lime, lemon grass, chilli and coriander mmmm. Traditionally a Laotian dish that is largely recognised as Thai - I guess there aren't many Laotian restaurants around! I have been dreaming up this vegetarian version of Larb for a while now but only just got around to it the other day. It's my first attempt and I am sure I can improve on the texture the next time - nevertheless it was enjoyed by all - meat eaters included!

I got my first share of cauliflower in my veggie box this week, and feeling anything but like cauliflower and cheese sauce I decided to turn this wintery vegetable into a fresh summer delight- the result? I want more now!!!

I haven't attempted a raw version however this was how I originally envisaged it - so you raw babies know how to do it! Lose the wok and just mix it all together! :)


Ingredients

The Wok

• Sesame oil / peanut oil a few tablespoons of each
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 red birds eye chilli finely chopped (adapt this to your spicy tolerance - for less spice remove the seeds, for more simply add the whole thing and maybe more!)
• 2 handfuls of mushrooms (I used button I think but any will do - I think a variety would also be great)
• Tofu crumbled optional (not necessary but I had about 50 grams in the fridge that needed using, it does add a bit of texture)
• 1/2 head of cauliflower

Method

1. Place the cauliflower in a food processor and process until it looks grainy like rice (you can also use a grater) and set aside.

1. Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium to high heat. Ad a few tablespoons of peanut oil and sesame oil and quickly fry the chilli and ginger. 
2. Add the crumbled tofu, mushrooms saute for a few minutes. Add the cauliflower and saute for a further 5 minutes or until golden and lightly cooked. remove from the wok and place into a large bowl and let cool a little for about 15 minutes
   

The Dressing

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce ( you could also substitute this with coconut sugar or agave nectar and add some extra chilli to the mix)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
• 1/2 red onion finely sliced

Method

1. Prepare all ingredients and mix together

The Fresh Stuff

• Bunch of coriander chopped including about 1-2 inches of the stalks
• Handful of mint chopped 
• Head of baby cos lettuce, leaves separated and washed
  
• Bean sprouts
• Two handfuls of raw cashew nuts chopped or smashed (I like to place them in a tea towel and either smash them against a brick wall or place them on the bench and give them a whack with a wooden spoon)

Assemble

1. Poor the dressing over the wok fried veggies and stir through the chopped coriander and mint. Taste for flavour and adjust to taste by adding more lime or chilli or soy sauce depending on personal preference
2. Spoon a few tablespoons into each baby cos leaf and arrange on a platter (they can be tricky to balance!)
3. Top with bean sprouts and cashews and garnish with some more coriander

Mama India Spiced Chickpeas

This is a lovely fragrant dish and the flavours remind me of something you'd find in one of India's back street Dhabas. It is a dryer style curry but not dry. The oil added at the end moistens it a little and the yoghurt brings all the flavours together. You could mix this up by trying different vegetables, however this combination makes the dish vibrant and colourful. It is yummiest when using home cooked chickpeas rather than tinned, but if you are lacking the time to prepare them you could cheat and use tinned. I think this is great served as a main dish, but you could also serve it in combination with another curry for a dinner party or perhaps make a fresh Raita to go with!?

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoons cumin seeds
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground tumeric
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 red capsicum
1 small head of broccoli cut into florets
2 cups cooked chickpeas (if using tinned don't forget to strain them!)
punnet of cherry tomatoes chopped
squeeze of fresh lime
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Natural yoghurt to serve

Heat a large fry pan on high heat, add the coconut oil and when hot add in the coriander and cumin seeds. Watch them closely and be careful not to burn them, they should start to pop and release there flavours. Just before they start to burn (!) add in the red onion, turn the heat down to medium and saute until soft and golden. Add in the ground spices and stir for a few minutes until fragrant. Add in the red capsicum, broccoli and chickpeas and a pinch of salt, stir to combine and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes until the veggies are lightly cooked. remove from heat. You can either transfer this dish to another bowel for serving or keep in the pan. Add cherry tomatoes, a good squeeze of fresh lime and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, mix through and serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt.

Enjoy! xx

Panzanella ~ Tomato Salad

Tomatoes are a fruit of summer! This lovely flavour combination is perfect for a light lunch or dinner throughout the hot summer months... I haven't included exact quantities for this recipe, but don't be afraid to try it! Get your hands in there! Mix it up with your fingers and taste it as you go to reach your perfect balance of flavours!

8 large tomatoes, remove the core and roughly chop - try a combo of varieties, roma, field, vine ripened as well as some cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
2 good handfuls of basil roughly chopped or torn
Stale sourdough bread (or fresh!)  chopped into cubes and toasted in the oven until golden - you can also cut the bread into slices, toast them in the toaster and then tear them up (I used olive sourdough).

Combine all the above ingredients in a salad bowl, and the toasted bread, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

I served this with extra slices of toasted olive sourdough and Ela's Dill Dip.

To make Ela's Dill Dip, mix a small container of creme fraiche with 2 heaped tablespoons of Greek style yoghurt, 1 bunch of finely chopped dill, and season liberally with salt and pepper.

For a very yummy and fresh pasta dish, omit the toasted bread, and add handfuls of fresh rocket. Cooks some spaghetti, drain and stir it through the tomato and rocket salad. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

For another entree / lunch / dinner alternative, omit the toasted bread from the salad, toast some sourdough, spread the toast with labne and pile with tomato salad. For extra flavour you could also brush the toast with olive oil and rub it with garlic to make a delicious bruschetta!

tomato & artichoke cannellini beans with roasted pumpkin & roasted eggplant

This is a simple vegan, and gluten free dish you can easily make on a week night.
I roasted extra veg so i could keep it to make another weeknight meal this week to save me time.

ingredients

* roasted pumpkin wedges
* roasted eggplant wedges
* 1 tin cannellini beans
* 2 chopped tomatoes
* 2 tsp dried herbs (such as lemon myrtle ,oregano or dill)
* a handful of marinated artichoke pieces
* 1cup tomato passata
* 1/2 onion chopped fine
* handful chopped parsley
* chopped chives to garnish
* olive oil
* s & p
* 2 cloves garlic
* 1 tbsp red wine vinegar


Method

* pre-heat oven to 200 degrees Celsius
rub a little olive oil and season w salt and pepper & herbs of choice. Roast pumpkin & eggplant until just cooked
* saute onion & garlic in a pot until soft, add chopped tomato and vinegar & stir for another minute, add artichoke, beans & tomato passata and simmer for another 5mins
* add half parsley & simmer for 5mins more

* arrange roast veg on each plate with some bean mix. garnish generously w chives

enjoy!

x ba

Domatokeftedes - Greek Tomato Fritters

I know we have posted a few different fritter recipes already. but i LOVE these things. Great as a snack, starter or Vego main, there are SO many varieties to be had

This recipe is from the December issue of FEAST magazine it is quick and easy to make, and tasty and summery to boot! Even my meat loving vegetable suspicious husband loves it!

This seriously took me only 10 minutes to make

ingredients

* 1kg ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped
* 2 spring onions, chopped
* 2c self raising flour
* 2 tbsp mint, chopped
* 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
* 1 tsp Greek oregano
* s&p to season
* olive oil to shallow fry
* lemon wedges to serve

Method

Combine all except the last 2 ingredients in a large bowl, the mix should be wet and sticky

Heat 2cm of oil in a fry pan (heavy based is best) on medium/high heat
Drop heaped spoons of the batter into the hot oil and fry until nice and golden-brown-crunchy

drain on paper towel

serve with lemon wedges (and salad for a main)


ENJOY!

Baked Pumpkin & Zucchini Frekkeh with Stilton

This is truly a Rustic meal

Inspired by the new Chasseur casserole pot i got for my Birthday from my family. I was dying to use it and luckily for me the weather on Sunday evening was cold and very wet.....perfect for a baked rustic meal.

This is the first time i have tried Freekeh and it is delicious. this meal would work equally well with Quinoa or Barley or Rice.

ingredients

* 6-8 roast pumpkin wedges (with skin on)
* 1/2 a whole roast onion (simply cut the top off the onion, cut an x in the top, rub a bit of butter (or oil) on and some herbs or garlic if you like and bake until nice and soft
* 2 tsp chopped garlic
* 2 tbsp pesto
* handful chopped parsley, marjoram and thyme
* 2 tbs Avjar
* rind of half a lemon
* 1 lemon cut into wedges
* 1 cup Freekeh
* water
* s & p
* 1/3 cup of blue vein cheese, Stilton or other salty soft cheese.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees and roast veg.
Cook freekah according to packet directions

Put the casserole on the stove on low-medium heat and saute the garlic with a little oil

Add the freekah to the pot and stir to combine, add the Avjar and some of the roast onion (cut into wedges) and stir to warm through and dry out the freekah a little (if yours is a little soggy like mine was), stir through the lemon rind and some of the herbs

Arrange the pumpkin and zucchini and more onion wedges on top of the freekah and crumble the cheese on top.

Bake in the oven until cheese has melted and all is warmed through (approx 15-20mins)
the freekah should develop a delicious slightly crunchy crust on the bottom

Dollop the pesto on before serving and scatter with herbs.
Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze on top (optional)

Pumpkin Fetta & Spinach Fritters

Makes approx 10 fritters

Ingredients

1 ½ cups wholemeal flour - I used biodynamic wholemeal spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 eggs

1 cup chilled soda water

½ tsp salt

2 cups of grated pumpkin (500grams)

2 cups loosely packed baby spinach or english spinach (leaves picked)

Handful of dill chopped

Handful of parsley chopped

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

Tablespoon of fresh lemon

1/2 red onion finely chopped

100 grams crumbled goats fetta

Handful of grated parmesan

Extra virgin coconut oil for frying

Method

Mix flour, baking powder and eggs. Add chilled soda water and salt and beat to smooth batter. Cover and stand while you prepare other ingredients.

In a large bowl mix grated pumpkin, spinach, dill, parsley, grated nutmeg, fresh lemon juice, red onion, goats fetta and parmesan. Add in wet batter and mix well.

Heat a large heavy based frying pan to medium heat. I would recommend cooking one at first to test the batter and make sure the pan is the right temperature. Heat a tablespoon of extra virgin coconut oil and add a large spoon of batter mix to pan, flatten with back of spoon and let cook for 5-10 minutes until the base starts to become firm or until golden. Flip and cook other side. Depending on how big your pan is you can cook a few at a time being careful that they are all separated (this will make it easier when flipping). Between each batch of fritters coat the bottom of the pan with about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. You can keep these warm in the oven on a baking tray at 50 degrees celsius until they are all cooked.

I served this with a very easy and quick Tzatziki and Martin & Ju's Summertime Salad.

Besan pancakes with curry stirfry filling

 

I always try too keep a few things handy at home such as

tinned tomatoes

tinned corn

tinned coconut milk (or coconut powder)

marinated artichoke

olives

a jar of roasted capsicum marinated capsicum

roasted veg - usually sweet pot or pumpkin or eggplant or carrots

a head of roasted garlic (i really hate peeling and chopping garlic this is an easy way to get around it)

a jar of caramelized onion

a jar jar of char grilled marinated zucchini

some sort of salty cheese

and my latest favorite which (I plan on trying to cook soon) a jar of hot Avjar.

With just a handful of these in the house I can always whip something up I'm happy to serve for dinner in a flash.

Here i used some roast white sweet potato i had in the fridge. whenever i make anything with roast veggies, i roast extra, chuck it in a tupperware and put it in the fridge for another dinner creation. it just saves time.

The Besan pancake recipe comes from the sbs food website, I have altered it slightly adding some white pepper and ground cumin.

The filling I made using the delicious ingredients from my weekly organic veggie box which included white sweet potato & and tin of corn I had in the pantry and an array of spices.

I rate this recipe for a mid-week meal. It doesn't take long or create too many dishes . Plus it's delicious

Ingredients

Besan pancake

* 150g Besan flour

* 2 eggs

* 250ml milk (any type)

* pinch salt

* pinch pepper

* pinch cumin

* 2 tbsp butter

Filling

* 2 small sweet potato . Diced and roasted

* 1/2 eggplant . Diced and roasted

* 1/2 bunch kale chopped into large pieces

* 1 bunch asparagus chopped

* 12 snowpeas chopped

* 2 sticks of coriander roots and stalks chopped, leaves picked

* 2 tspn curry powder

* 1 tspn cumin

* 1 pinch fenugreek seeds (these will help to thicken the sauce)

* 1 tspn ground coriander

* 1 pinch ground cardamom seeds

* garlic finely diced 1 tspn (or more if you like)

* ginger finely diced 1 tspn (or more if you like)

* 2 sliced shallots (white part only)

* 1 can coconut milk

* 2 tomatoes diced

Method

omit the steps for the roast veggies if you already have some ready to go :)

* turn on the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

* In a bowl whisk all the pancake ingredients except for the butter. set aside for 20mins

* put the sweet potato and eggplant in the oven coated with a little olive oil

after 15 minutes check and toss if getting a little golden on top.

* wash and chop all the veg

* heat a fry pan on the stove and add a little butter to prevent sticking, cook the crepes. use a small ladle of batter for each pancake and swirl the batter around to make a nice even coating, once it begins to dry carefully check the bottom by an edge and flip when browned and ready.

* take the roast veg out of the oven once ready and set aside. turn the oven off.

* keep the pancakes in the warm oven (now switched off or on very low) until ready to serve

For the filling

*Heat a fry pan on the medium-hot stove again, this time add a little olive oil the garlic, ginger, coriander root & shallots along with the spices stir fry for 1 minute

' add the other ingredients (except for the coconut milk & the tomato and coriander) and stir fry for 1 minute

* add the coconut milk and stir fry until the kale is wilted and cooked enough and the coconut milk has combined well and thickened

Serve the filling inside the pancake topped with coriander and tomato and serve with chilli sauce or a chutney (i had mine with mango chutney)

or let everyone serve themselves like tacos

enjoy!

BA :)

Mediteranean Quinoa Stuffed Capsicums

Ingredients
4 red capsicums
2 cloves garlic finely diced
a few tablespoons of olive oil
1 brown onion finely diced
1/2 large eggplant, finely chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
1 cup of quinoa  (I used tri-colour quinoa but regular will do fine)
1/2 vegetable stock cube
1 400g tin of diced tomatoes
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons of capers, chopped
1 400g tin of cannelini beans, drained. Mash half the beans with a fork and leave the rest whole
Handful of freshly chopped basil
Handful of fresh ricotta
Handful of grated parmesan

Method 

1) Prepare the capsicums ...
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Cut your six red capsicums in half and discard the seeds - if you like you can leave the green stalk on the end - it does look nice for presentation and it will also keep the capsicums together :)
Brush the insides and edges with a little olive oil and sprinkle with finely diced garlic.
Place on a baking tray and back in the upper shelf of the oven for 30 minutes.


2) Prepare the stuffing...
Heat a medium sized pot on the stove, add a few tablespoons of olive oil and saute the onion with some salt and pepper for a few minutes until soft and transparent. Add the chopped eggplant and oregano and saute for a further five minutes or until the eggplant begins to soften. Add the quinoa, vegetable stock cube, water, diced tomatoes and capers. Turn down to a simmer, put the lid on and cook for approximately 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. When the quinoa is cooked add the cannelini beans and stir through some chopped basil.


3) Stuff the capsicums
Fill the capsicums with stuffing, top with fresh ricotta and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake in a 180 degree Celsius oven for 20 minutes.

I served this with a simple salad of mixed baby spinach and rocket, sunflower sprouts, finely sliced red onion and baked sweet potato with a dressing of dijon mustard, olive oil, red wine vinegar and natural yoghurt. It was really yum!

Biss xx

Pumpkin Dahl with Fresh Green Salsa

This is a very rich strong flavoured dahl and would be great even without the pumpkin. I think the next time I make it I will omit the vegetable stock and just use water. I'm not a big fan of adding vegetable stock to dahl. I often think it isn't necessary with all the other spices and it makes it much richer and saltier. This dahl is very warming, however I always have to serve food with something fresh!!

I didn't serve this with rice, however it would be great with plain basmati rice or coconut rice. 

Pumpkin Dahl
1kg jap pumpkin washed and cut into four wedges
Olive oil to spray pumpkin
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
Salt and pepper
2 medium brown onions finely diced
4 garlic cloves finely diced
3 tablespoons of grated ginger
1 teaspoon fenugreek
1 teaspoon tumeric
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
3 bay leaves
20 curry leaves
200g red lentils
800g whole peeled tinned tomatoes
400 mls vegetable stock
200mls coconut cream

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Place pumpkin on oven, drizzle or spray with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 25 minutes or until golden and cooked. Remove from oven and keep warm. Heat a few tablespoons of oil, saute onion, garlic and ginger with spices, bay leaves and curry leaves for about 15 minutes until fragrant and golden. add lentils tomatoes and stock and simmer until lentils are somft (approx 20 minutes). Stir through coconut cream, check seasoning and serve by pouring the dahl into a bowl over the pumpkin wedges. Top with Salsa and a dollop of yoghurt.

Green Salsa
1 lebanese cucumber finely diced
1 green capsicum finely diced
handful of coriander chopped
handful of mint chopped
juice from one lime
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper
4 shallots finely diced
A few tablespoons of sesame seeds

Add all ingredients together and mix in a bowel. Serve with Pumpkin Dahl and a dollop of yoghurt.

 

Biss xx

Sauté spinach & cannellini beans w cheesy polenta

Saute spinach and beans is nice and easy for a week night meal.

If you can't be bothered with the constant stirring required for the polenta you could serve the spinach on some toast like bruschetta or on a potato or celeriac mash.

Ingredients

1 bunch spinach
4 cloves roasted garlic
1tsp cumin
1tsp paprika
1pinch ground lemon Myrtle
1 can cannellini beans
4 tbs Avjar
1/3c roasted capsicum strips
olive oil
2tbs water

chopped herbs of choice


1c polenta
4c water or stock
2c milk
1c grated cheese
(warning !!!!polenta makes a nice mess of your pots..a skin will form on the bottom. soaking with cold water overnight will make the cleaning job much easier)

method

Wash and chop spinach into large pieces
in a pot put the 3 soft cloves of garlic and the olive oil and stir to smoosh the garlic
add the spinach and cover with a lid for a few minutes.
take off lid and stir the spinach until wilted
add spices, stir
add drained tinned cannellini beans,   stir
add Avjar, stir
add capsicum last and stir gently

Put aside, ready to warm gently when polenta is almost ready.
Boil water
Add polenta in a steady stream while whisking
whisk constantly for 3 minutes until the polenta has become thick
stir rapidly constantly with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes until the polenta is thick and smooth
add the milk and  stir for another 5 minutes
add the cheese and stir for another 5 minutes


serve garnished with fresh herbs
enjoy :)


BA

sweet potato carrot and herb rosti w salad

 

A quick dinner I made last night. I suppose they are a hybrid between rosti and a fritter, I find them easy to make great for this time of year when the weather is getting nice and warm and I feel like I am well and truly do e with the heavy comfort food of winter.

I make these often using different veggies and bases and cheeses. Rice flour often and more of a batter to turn them into fritters ... Sometimes for brekkie with eggs and sometimes for dinner. These rosti are one of those meals i rely on again and again.

Here I have used white sweet potato and carrot with lots of herbs & a bit of marscapone



Ingredients

2 small sweet potato grated
1 carrot grated
1/2 onion sliced very thinly
handful of dill chopped
handful of basil chopped
handful of parsley chopped
approx 1/3c marscapone
2tspn chili flakes
1 tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp cumin
1 egg lightly whisked
s & p
a little oil

method

preheat the oven to 190 degrees

squeeze as much of the moisture out of the grated carrot and sweet potato as you can. (if you have time you can sprinkle with salt and leave in a colander for an hour before squeezing to really get rid of the moisture)

put the carrot sweet potato and onion in a bowl
add the spices and a little salt and pepper
add most but not all of the herbs
add the egg
mix it all together with a fork.
add the marscapone last...enough that the mix is wet and sticky but not sloppy like a batter

mix it all together with a fork again

heat a frying pan to medium-hot

add just a little oil to prevent sticking and put 2 or 3 small handfuls of the mix onto the pan  - use your hands to condense and shape them like little hamburger patties

cook until golden and crispy, then flip
once golden place on a tray and into the oven

repeat until all rosti cooked.
leave in oven until cooked through (10mins extra approx)

while the rosti are finishing in the oven make a quick salad to serve with.

Rocket would be nice... but i have on hand a lovely bunch of cos lettuce.
some tomato...i used the rest of the herbs from the rosti, plus some seeds (pumpkin and sunflower) which i toasted lightly. plus a little caramelized onion marmalade & some goats cheese crumbled on top.

i made a quick zingy lemony dressing for the salad.

check out some of Biss' salad recipes here on our blog for some really special salad dressing recipes!

serve with a dollop of marscapone, or with some salsa verde or pesto.

Sweet potato pie

Sweet Potato Pie

This sweet potato pie is delicious and easy to make, especially if you have roast veggies left over from yesterday

You could use frozen shortcrust pastry sheets if you like. But if you have time it's far better making your own pastry.
I like to make Besan Pastry for extra flavour which is also vegan, wheat and gluten free. I have listed both regular pastry and besan pastry recipe below.

I filled this pie with Sweet Potato, Goats Cheese and Asparagus, however feel free to use any combination you like, i have put some suggestions at the end for you.

Besan Pastry

this recipe was given to me by a customer while I was cooking in an organic cafe and learning about the wants and needs of my customers

* 1 1/2 cups besan flour sifted
* 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
*1 generous pinch of salt
* up to 1/2 cup water


preheat oven to 180 degrees

if you have a food processor, process flour and salt leave running and add the oil in a steady stream

add water a little at a time until the dough is just a little bit sticky, be careful not to add too much or it will be too hard to roll.

place the pastry between 2 sheets of cling wrap and roll out approx 4mm thickness...big enough to cover the pie dish (or tart pan)

place the pastry into the dish, prick all over with a fork, cover with foil or baking paper, fill with pastry weights and blind bake for approx 15 minutes
remove from oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes


Shortcrust Pastry
this recipe is from Stephanie Alexanders "the Cooks Companion" the one cookbook i read almost every day! :)

*180g butter chilled
*240g plain flour
*pinch of salt (only if you use unsalted butter)
*1/4 cup water

*sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, grate the cold butter straight from the fridge over the flour.
*rub together to combine partly.
*make a well in the center and pour in water.
*using a spatula, work the water and flour together until you have a rough lump of dough
*put the dough onto the bench and using the heel of your hand smear the dough across the table to combine
*scrape back together, press into a flat cake, cling wrap and place in fridge for 20 -30mins
* remove from fridge, roll out on a floured bench to 4mm thick roll out approx 4mm thickness...big enough to cover the pie dish (or tart pan)
*place the pastry into the dish, prick all over with a fork, cover with foil or baking paper, fill with pastry weights and blind bake for approx 15 minutes
*remove from oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes

Sweet Potato, Caramelized Onion, Goats Cheese and Asparagus Filling

* 1 large sweet potato
* 1/2 cup pure cream
* 3 eggs
* handful of herbs (i used basil)
* handful of crumbled goats cheese
* 1 bunch asparagus
* 2 tables spoons caramelized onion marmalade chopped


cook sweet potato until soft, anyway you like... steam, boil or roast (i wrapped mine in al foil and roasted it like a jacket potato and then peeled it with my hands)

mash until very smooth (use your bamix/processor/blender)
whisk in your cream and eggs
add the onion

pour 2/3 of the mix into the pie crust, sprinkle over most the cheese and herbs, scatter most of the asparagus

pour the rest of the mix in and sprinkle and scatter the remaining ingredients

put back into the oven for 15mins or until the potato mix is set.

serve with some peppery rocket salad, with a zingy lemony dressing


You could also try these combinations

Beetroot for the mix with goats cheese, thyme, walnut

pumpkin mix with cauliflower coriander and cumin

potato mix with leek, peas and beans

sweet pot mix with roast capsicum & zucchini & parsley

carrot mix with capsicum pesto, parsley cumin and fresh Spanish onion

ricotta mix with parsley, marinated artichoke heart, feta & spinach

get creative :)

Ba

Spanakopita

This picture perfect Spanakopita was made by the lovely Sarah Rudner - it was so delicious!!!

This is one of my all time favourite vegetarian meals. The recipe I love is from the Food Safari cookbook. This is my second post paying tribute to this book. I loved Maeve O'Meara's show and the book is just as great... Although not an exclusively vegetarian cookbook, it has some very beautiful and inspiring recipes. I find that as decadent and tedious as it may seem, this recipe works best if you butter each sheet of filo...

Ingredients
1 bunch (about 320g) English spinach or silverbeet
2 sprigs fresh dill, chopped
4 green shallots, chopped
300g feta cheese
100g ricotta cheese
40g (½ cup) finely grated hard cheese like kefalograviera, parmesan or pecorino
5 eggs
2 tbsp dry breadcrumbs
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
60ml olive oil
Melted butter or olive oil for greasing dish
375g packet fresh (not frozen) filo pastry
185ml melted butter, approximately

Method 
Trim the roots from the English spinach, or if using silverbeet, remove leaves from tough stems. Wash leaves and drain well. Coarsely shred the leaves and tender stalks of the spinach and set aside.

Place the feta in a large bowl and coarsely mash with a fork. Add the ricotta, kefalograviera, eggs, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, pepper and oil. Mix with the fork to combine. Add the spinach and set aside while preparing the pastry case.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a 20cm x 30cm x 5cm deep baking dish.

Lay the filo out on a bench. Cover with a dry tea towel then a damp one to keep it from drying out. Line dish with a sheet of filo and butter the filo. Top with another sheet of filo and butter and continue until about half the sheets of filo are used.

Using your hand or a large metal spoon, gently mix the spinach filling until thoroughly combined. Pour into the prepared pastry base and spread evenly. Top with remaining filo, buttering each sheet, ensuring the final sheet is well buttered. Trim any overhanging pastry and tuck in the sides.

Use a sharp knife to mark pastry top into diamonds, allowing the knife to pierce the pastry once or twice to allow air to escape during baking. Sprinkle lightly with water and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until well browned and set. Gently shake the pan and the spanakopita will slide easily when cooked. Cover with foil if over browning. Cool on rack for 15 minutes before cutting to serve.

Note:
The spinach can be prepared a day ahead. It must be as dry as possible to ensure the spanakopita does not become soggy.

Biss xx 

Stir Fried Long Green Eggplant with Tofu & Coconut Rice (& Steamed Okra)

Stir Fried Long Green Eggplant (Serves 2-3)


2 tbs of extra virgin coconut oil
6 cloves of garlic
1 red chilli
1 red onion sliced
175 grams of firm tofu crumbled
3 Thai long green eggplant sliced into 1cm coins
1/2 cup of water
1 large handful of basil chopped
4 tbsps of tamari
1 tbs agave nectar

Place garlic and half the red chilli in a mortar and pestle and pound until a paste is formed. Heat coconut oil in a large heavy based pan or wok. Add garlic, chilli and red onion and saute until fragrant. Add crumbled tofu and stir for a few minutes. Add eggplant, stir to combine and let sit for a minute. Add 3 tablespoons of tamari and 1/2 cup of water, cover with lid and cook/steam/simmer for 3 minutes. Remove lid and stir through 1 table spoon of tamari, 1 tablespoon of agave nectar and the chopped basil. Serve with coconut rice and garnish with a few sprigs of basil, 1/2 the sliced red chilli and some raw cashews.




Coconut Rice
1 tbs of extra virgin coconut oil
1 cup basmati rice rinsed
1 cup of water
1 cup of coconut milk
pinch of salt


Heat a saucepan, add coconut oil and rice and stir over medium heat until translucent. Add coconut milk and water a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit covered for a further 10 minutes.


Okra
Two handfuls of okra

Place okra in a steamer and steam for 3-8 minutes until bright green and you can pierce them easily with a fork. Remove from steamer, season with salt.

Easy Malaysian Vegetarian Laksa

Vegetarian Laksa inspired and adapted to be vegetarian friendly from a recipe from the Food Safari cookbook.

I have made a beautiful laksa with laksa pasta I made from scratch. It was so delicious. However this is a great alternative, very easy and quick and can become a regular week night meal. I have always found it difficult to find a vegetarian laksa paste. However fairly recently I discovered Charmaine Solomon's Vegetarian Laksa Paste- I was stoked! It can be tricky to get. My local supermarket stocked it and then it disappeared. I have recently found it in Thomas Dux and bought a few of them as I find it is great to have handy for when I feel like a laksa fix.

Ingredients

6-8 schallots roughly chopped

6-8 garlic cloves roughly chopped

Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1 red chilli roughly chopped

125 mls of water

Rice vermicelli noodles

Egg noodles (I sometimes just use rice vermecelli and pad thai noodles or whichever I have!)

4 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

2 heaped tbsp of Charmaine Solomon's Vegetarian Laksa Paste

2 carrots chopped

1/2 small broccoli

1/4 cauliflower chopped

2 handfulls of small mushrooms, halved or left whole

Bunch of asian greens e.g. bok choy, choy sum, gai lan roughly chopped

1 litre vegetable stock

1 can coconut cream

Fried *tofu puffs or chopped firm tofu

1 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

Juice of 1 lime

Bean sprouts

Spring onions, chopped

Red chilli, sliced

Coriander leaves

Deep fried shallots

Fresh lime wedges

* You can get tofu puffs from Asian grocery stores

Method

1) Place schallots, garlic cloves, ginger and chilli in a food processor, add water gradually and blend until it becomes smooth.

2) Prepare rice noodles by blanching them in boiling water. When softened refresh in a colander under cold water.

3) Heat coconut oil in a large pot and add fresh paste and gently fry for a few minutes Add laksa paste and fry for a couple more minutes before adding the carrot, mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower.

4) Saute vegetables for a few more minutes until coated in paste and fragrant.

5) Add vegetable stock, bring to the boil and add coconut cream and tofu. Add sugar and salt to taste and the stalks of the asian greens and simmer for a few minutes to bring out flavours. Squeeze in fresh lime and stir through the leaves of the Asian greens.

6) Divide the noodles amongst bowls.

7) Spoon over some vegetables and broth

8) Top with fresh bean spouts, freshly chopped coriander, chopped red chilli and lime wedges to serve.





Rose Elliot’s Coconut Quinoa Curry

I love this recipe. It is so easy and quick to prepare – a great mid-week, nutritious winter warmer! You can vary the flavours by using different curry pastes and also by using different vegetables. Or if you only have frozen that’s fine too! I usually use whatever I have in the fridge but I really like pumpkin, capsicum, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant... I usually get carried away and use too many and it still tastes delish! Quinoa is a grain like seed, traditionally used by the Incas of South America. It is a gluten-free super food, high in complete protein and has many health giving benefits.

Serves 4
2 heaped tablespoons of your favourite curry paste
1 onion chopped
200g quinoa rinsed (any colour – I use tri-colour quinoa)
700g of mixed frozen or freshly chopped vegetables of your choice
2x 400ml cans of coconut milk
250mls water
Salt
Coriander

Method
Saute onion and curry paste in a large pot to release the flavours. Add quinoa, vegetables, coconut milk and water. Bring to the boil, reduce and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt, and garnish with chopped coriander.

(Recipe from Rose Elliot’s New Complete Vegetarian)

Caramelised Onion, Goats Fetta, Cherry tomato and Basil Puff Pastry Pizza

This recipe was inspired by Ba. This is can be prepared as a last minute light snack, entree or main meal. Mix it up by trying different toppings and your favourite flavour combinations. The most important thing when making these is to keep it simple and not to overcrowd the base with too many ingredients so it remains crispy... This ingredient combo is one of my favourites.

When I made this it was even quicker and easier as I already had a jar of caramelised onion marmalade in the fridge and puff pastry in the freezer!

Ingredients
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry

Handful of basil
Punnet of cherry tomatoes
Goats fetta

A few tablespoons of caramelised onion marmalade


Method
1) Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees celsius
2) Place puff pastry on baking tray to thaw
3) Leaving 2 cm on each side, spread with caramelised onions. Do not completely cover the base leave a few gaps to ensure that the pastry cooks evenly and crisps up.
4) Crumble over a handful of goats fetta
5) Brush edges with extra virgin olive oil
6) Bake in oven for approximately 15 minutes until the edges are golden
7) Remove from oven and sprinkly with chopped cherry tomatoes and freshly torn basil leaves
8) Cut into slices and serve