Tag Archives: easy

Bacon, Lentil and Vegetable Soup

Posted in Dinner, Recipes by

Veggie soup

When it’s cold and rainy, like it is here at the moment, soup is the perfect antidote for the weather. And the last thing you want to do when it’s raining is brave the outdoors, so I’ve come up with a delicious soup that’s hearty and full of goodness, with ingredients you should already have in your pantry. Score. You might see that this one has lentils, but don’t let their hippie connotations dissuade you. It’s time to embrace this luscious lentil, trust me! When they’re mixed with salty, delightful bacon and oodles of veggie goodness they come into their own and make this soup a real winner. I prefer to use dried lentils just because I think they taste a little nicer, but if you are short on time feel free to use tinned lentils, just add them in about 10 minutes before the soup is ready or they will overcook. If you like your soup smooth, feel free to puree it but it like it a bit chunkier like me, just leave it as is. You can make a big batch of this to see you through the week and I promise you’ll be glad you did 🙂

Bacon, Lentil and Vegetable Soup

Adapted from a recipe by Jamie Oliver

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 4 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
  • 100g cubed diced pancetta
  • 2 red onions, peeled and chopped
  • 1 leek, sliced lengthways and chopped
  • 3 carrots, scrubbed and chopped
  • 3 sticks celery, trimmed and chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
  • a few sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ teaspoon celery seed
  • 200 g dried red lentils
  • 1 organic vegetable stock cube, optional
  • 410 g tinned cannellini beans, drained
  • extra virgin olive oil

Method:

  1. Place a large saucepan (with a lid) on a medium heat. Add a large splash of olive oil and the bacon and pancetta. Fry slowly until the meats have started to release they tasty fat and start to go a little crispy. Then add the dried oregano, chilli, bay leaf, celery seed, onion, carrot, leek, celery and garlic.
  2. Cook gently with the lid on for about 15 minutes, until all the vegetables are soft, then add the lentils and 1 litre water or vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until the lentils are soft. (Check the packet instructions as different types of lentils vary in cooking time. If you’re mixing your lentils, cook for the longest amount of time to make sure they are all cooked properly).Add the tin of cannellini beans and, if the soup’s a little thick, some more water. Bring back to the boil and simmer for another 10 minutes, then taste and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.Ladle into bowls and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the chopped parsley. Serve with some warm, crunchy bread rolls.

Acai Bowls

Posted in Breakfast, Recipes by

Acai bowl

Acai bowls are all the rage at the moment. I for one didn’t really get it the hype around them. I mean I love smoothies, but why do you need to make a smoothie that can only be eaten out of a bowl? After making a few myself though, I realized that eating them this way is what makes them special. It makes you really focus on the flavours when you’re having it a spoonful at a time, rather than slurping it up through a straw. Plus, the toppings add so much texture and extra flavour that you just can’t get from a normal smoothie. And so, the skeptic was converted.

Not only do they taste delicious, they are ridiculously aesthetically pleasing thanks to meticulously arranged fruit and seeds on top. I think that is the main attraction of making these bowls to be honest. You can add whatever toppings you like; honey, bee pollen, goji berries – whatever you think is Instagram-worthy really. Plus, they are full of acai, which is a modern day superfood hailing from Brazil. In Brazil, you can buy them fresh in their berry form, but here in Oz we have to use the powder, which is just as delicious. They are a rich source of antioxidants and fibre and help keep you fuller for longer, which is exactly what you want from your breakfast. Deee-licious!

Acai Bowls

Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons acai powder
  • 2 bananas, chopped roughly (use frozen banana slices if you have time)
  • 1 cup frozen raspberries
  • 1 ½ teaspoons nut butter (I used peanut)
  • 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
  • 1 cup almond milk

For topping:

  • Strawberries
  • Bananas
  • Chia seeds
  • Granola
  • Coconut flakes

Place the acai powder, bananas, raspberries, nut butter and honey in a high-powered blender. Blend until creamy, then gradually add the almond milk until you get a smooth but thick consistency. You want it to be a bit thicker than a smoothie. Pour into bowls and arrange with toppings. Serve immediately.

Vegetarian Corn, Brown Rice and Chia Tacos with Avocado Salsa and Sauerkraut

Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Recipes by

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I was down the coast a few weeks ago and my friend Carmen whipped up these super yummy tacos. She used quinoa instead of brown rice, and they were so delicious, but I had brown rice in the cupboard at home, hence the change. Making vegetarian dishes seem just as appetising in their own right can sometimes be a challenge, but I definitely think these tacos do the trick. I didn’t even think about the lack of meat when I ate them. The addition of egg, which is used to bind the rice and corn, adds a creaminess and really balances out the filling. Once they’re topped with the salsa and sauerkraut it gives you the zingy, freshness that tacos need and makes these a real crowd pleaser. Bonus: they’re super easy and can be made in about 30 minutes!

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Vegetarian Corn, Brown Rice and Chia Tacos with Avocado Salsa and Sauerkraut

Serves 2

Ingredients:

  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1 small brown onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, diced
  • Kernels from 1 cob corn
  • 1 cup cooked brown rice
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 avocado, roughly chopped
  • 1 handful coriander leaves
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2 tablespoons green sauerkraut
  • 4 soft corn tacos
  • Salt and pepper to season

Method:

  1. In a medium sized frypan, melt the coconut oil over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and corn and cook until the onion and garlic are softened. Next, add the rice, chia seeds and chilli flakes and cook until the rice is warmed through. Then add the eggs until they have evenly coated all the other ingredients (about a minute). Remove from heat.
  2. To make the salsa, put the avocado and lime juice in a bowl and mix together, seasoning with salt and pepper.
  3. Warm the corn tacos and place the egg and rice mix on first, followed by the avocado salsa, finishing with the sauerkraut.

The Best Mac and Cheese

Posted in Dinner, Recipes by

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Mac and Cheese is my ultimate comfort food. Like, ULTIMATE. My nana first made this for me when I was little and she would always add bacon to her dish, hence why I have to have it in mine. I have made countless variations of this dish but this version here is seriously the best. It is everything you always hoped mac and cheese would be. It has a creamy, cheesy macaroni filling thanks to not one, not two, but three types of cheese. It’s scattered with little crunchy salty hits of bacon. You also get the subtle hint of the truffle oil, and then you have the topping, with even more bacon, more cheese and the super crunchy and delicious panko crumbs. This is a hangover cure in food form. It’s also the best dish to make when you’re feeling a bit sloth-like, you want to stay in your pyjamas all day and you are definitely not expecting visitors, because while this creamy delight can seemingly serve 4 people it can also serve one person straight from this dish. Let’s be honest, when this is the sort of food you’re craving you don’t care who’s judging you.

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The Best Mac and Cheese

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups macaroni
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 300g rindless bacon, roughly diced
  • ½ cup panko bread crumbs

Cheesy Béchamel Sauce:

  • 3 tsp truffle oil
  • 2 heaped tbs plain flour
  • 80g unsalted butter
  • 3 cups milk
  • ½ cup gruyere cheese
  • ½ cups vintage cheddar
  • ¾ cup good quality parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper to season

Method

Preheat oven grill to 200C.

Bring a medium sized pot of water to the boil. Once boiled, add the macaroni and cook about a minute less than the packet instructions suggest as it will cook further in the oven later.

Heat a medium sized fry pan with the olive oil, and then add the bacon. Cook the bacon until cooked through and well coloured. Set aside.

For the béchamel sauce, place the butter and flour in a medium sized pot over a medium-high heat and cook for about 2 minutes, so that the flour cooks out (this is called a roux). Add a little bit of the milk and using a whisk, beat it quickly and well so that there are no lumps, then add the rest of the milk still beating quickly. Keep stirring the mixture until it starts to thicken, this can take up to ten minutes. Once the mixture has boiled, coats the back of a spoon and is thick, add the gruyere, cheddar, ½ cup of the parmesan, truffle oil and season well, then take off heat.

Add the cooked macaroni and half the bacon to the béchamel mixture and mix through. Check again to see if it needs more seasoning. Pour the mixture into a 1.5 litre baking dish, then sprinkle over the remaining bacon and parmesan and then top with the panko crumbs. Place under the grill for about 5-7 minutes or until the panko crumbs are nice and golden. Serve straight away.

Chewy Meringues with Mascarpone and Berries

Posted in Dessert, Recipes by

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meringue

There are some foods that are a part of your psyche. They’re foods you’ve grown up with and often dishes that get you feeling a little nostalgic. For me, one of these dishes is meringue. It’s such a simple dish, quite literally as it can be made with just two ingredients. But somehow, the mix of egg whites and sugar creates wondrous little discs with crispy shells and soft, chewy insides. Adding a generous amount of cream, or in this case mascarpone, and lots of fresh fruit serves to create a dish that’s designed to make people want seconds. It also conjures up memories of Christmas day and eating mouthfuls and mouthfuls of these sugary nests till you were left feeling like rather a glutton. But then, if by any chance there were any left over that didn’t stop you eating them again for breakfast on Boxing Day. Although, on second thought that just might be me. That said, you should get yourselves into the kitchen and give these a go.

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Chewy Meringues with Mascarpone and Berries

Meringues:
2 egg whites
1/2 cup castor sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla

To serve:
250g mascarpone
1/2 punnet strawberries, cut into pieces
1/2 punnet blueberries
Edible Flowers

Preheat oven to 150ºC and line a baking tray with baking paper. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, then add sugar, a little at a time, still beating. Beat in vanilla. Divide mixture into four and place four circular mounds of meringue on a baking tray and bake for 45 mins. Turn oven off, leave door slightly ajar and allow meringues to cool completely in oven.
Once meringues have cooled, divide mascarpone between the meringues and dollop on top. Scatter with berries and edible flowers. If you can’t find edible flowers, dried rose petals also look lovely.

Coconut Celebration Cake with Pomegranate Mascarpone Icing

Posted in Dessert, Recipes by

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I was having a look at my blog the other day and realized it had been a year since I started, so I thought I’d make a little celebration cake to mark the occassion! While I would love a bit more time to devote to it, I love the outlet it provides me to share my recipes with other foodies. It keeps me inventing new recipes and forces me to take risks in the kitchen, which is a lot of fun. So, thanks to everyone who comes by and checks it out.

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To celebrate, I decided to make one of my all time favourite cakes, a super moist coconut cake that I’ve loved ever since I was little. It’s a Woman’s Weekly classic that uses sour cream to ensure the cake’s moist texture and make sure it isn’t overly sweet. While I love this cake as is, I decided to take it up a notch and add a delicious pomegranate mascarpone icing to really add that oomph! The icing is tangy and complements the cake perfectly. To top it off, I thought the cake needed a bit of texture, so I added some toasted coconut that I just baked in the oven at 220°C for about 6 minutes. And to add some colour, I finished it with some freeze dried raspberries and pomegranate arils. And I have to say, it was incredible. I don’t like to boast to much but flavours and textures in the cake are so delicious, every plate in the house was licked clean. I hope you like it as much as I did!

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Coconut Celebration Cake with Pomegranate Mascarpone Icing

Coconut Cake

  • 250g butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 2 cup caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 ¼ cup desiccated coconut
  • 3 cups self-raising flour
  • 500g sour cream
  • 2/3 cup milk

Pomegranate Mascarpone Icing

  • 250g cream cheese
  • 125g mascarpone
  • 3/8 cup sugar
  • 1 egg (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • ½ tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tbs pomegranate molasses

Topping

  • ½ cup toasted coconut flakes
  • Arils of ½ a pomegranate
  • ½ cup freeze dried raspberries

 

  1. Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease two deep 22cm-round cake pans; line base with baking paper.
  2. Beat butter, essence and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
  3. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in half the coconut and half the sifted flour, half the sour cream and half the milk, then add remaining coconut, flour, sour cream and milk; stir until smooth.
  4. Divide the mixture into the two pans; bake for about 50 minutes or until cooked when tested. Stand cake in pan for 10 minutes before turning onto wire rack, top-side up, to cool.
  5. Meanwhile, while the cake is baking, start on the icing. In a large bowl beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy.
Add egg, beat well.
Add vanilla, lemon juice, and pomegranate molasses and mix until combined.
  6. To assemble the cake: place one of the cakes on a board or cake stand. Using a large spoon, place half the icing mixture into the middle of the cake. You don’t want to spread it all the way to the edge as once you place the second cake on top the weight will push the icing to the side. Place second cake on top and dollop the rest of the icing on top and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the toasted coconut, pomegranate arils and freeze dried raspberries and serve.

Rhubarb, Rose and Dark Chocolate Tart

Posted in Dessert, Recipes by

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Sometimes the thought of making a dessert that involves pastry seems like rather too much work. I admit, I have resorted to using the store bought variety on occasion, and while it can deliver quite satisfactory results, it never does quite match the homemade kind. In my head I think that making pastry from scratch is a rather laborious task, but every time I do decide to make it I am pleasantly surprised at how simple it actually is. Yes, it does mean you have to wait a little longer while it chills in the fridge, but usually that gives you time to prepare the tart filling or get on with something else. And, you can always make more than you need and freeze it. Then you’ve got perfect homemade pastry just sitting in the freezer waiting for the next time those tart cravings come calling. You will thank yourself later for doing this, I promise.

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With rhubarb still being in season I thought I would have a go at making a rhubarb and dark chocolate tart that I had seen in an old issue of Donna Hay that was lying around the house. As always when I see something in a magazine, I tweaked and played around with the recipe slightly and I think it turned out pretty well. The base is just the right combination of slightly bittery chocolate and sweet. I like to use cacao as opposed to baking cocoa, as I think it gives the recipe a more robust chocolatey flavour as the cacao beans have not been processed unlike cocoa. The rhubarb adds a nice tang, while the rosewater and sugar helps ensure it isn’t too tart and the chocolate ganache brings the richness that helps marry everything together. This dessert is perfect if you are having a dinner party as you can prepare everything the day before and have it ready in the fridge for when your guests arrive, plus it looks so pretty that everyone will be impressed!

 

Rhubarb, Rose and Dark Chocolate Tart 

Serves 8

  • ¼ cup cacao + plus extra, for dusting
  • 1¼ cups self-raising flour
  • 125g chilled butter, cubed
  • ½ cup icing sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 tablespoons iced water
  • 2 teaspoons dried rose petals

baked rhubarb

  • 400g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 10cm lengths
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar
  • 1 tablespoon rosewater

dark chocolate ganache

  • 300g dark chocolate, chopped
  • 1 cup thickened cream

Place the cocoa, flour, butter and icing sugar in the bowl of a food processor and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. While the motor is running, add the egg yolks and process to combine. Add the iced water and process until the dough comes together. Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Roll pastry out between 2 sheets of non-stick baking paper to 3mm-thick. Line a 24cm-round loose-bottomed tart tin with the pastry, trim the edges and prick the base with a fork.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Line the pastry case with non-stick baking paper, fill with baking weights, or uncooked rice if you don’t have baking weights, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and bake for a further 10–15 minutes or until the pastry is light golden. Allow to cool in the tin.

To make the baked rhubarb, place the rhubarb, sugar and rosewater in a bowl and mix to combine. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until tender and just starting to fall apart. Set aside to cool.

To make the dark chocolate ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Place the cream in a saucepan over low heat and stir until it starts to boil. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Using a wooden spoon, mix the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth and shiny. Place the rhubarb in the base of the pastry case and pour over the ganache. Refrigerate for 2–3 hours or until set. Dust with extra cacao and dried rose petals to serve.