Baked Fish with Tomato, Mint + Feta

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tbsp capers
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 white fish fillets
• Handful fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1/3 cup low-fat feta or goats’ cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus
• 1 cup cooked brown rice and red quinoa

Method

Preheat the oven to 175C.

In an ovenproof pan, heat the oil then add the onion and cook for about five minutes. Now add the capers and olives and cook for another minute or so. Add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Gently simmer for a few minutes.

Season the fish with salt and pepper, then add it to the tomato mixture and top with the goat/feta cheese.

Bake until the fish is cooked through; about 25-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the rice/quinoa combo according to the packet instructions.

A few minutes before you take the fish out of the oven, steam the asparagus until cooked but still slightly crunchy. Put on a plate and season with salt and pepper.

Remove the fish from the oven and top with fresh mint.

Serve with a side of asparagus and the brown rice/quinoa.

Lettuce Leaf Burritos

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of stuff wrapped in things. Any chance to eat with my hands I’m going to take.

The awesome thing about this meal is that it’s just so easy to make. It’s also a huge serve so you can take it for lunch the next day, which is one of my favourite things ever. Because I’m all about making life as easy as possible on myself.

If you dine al desko and don’t reckon your boss would appreciate burrito keyboard, you could just throw everything together and turn it into a salad.

Recipe by Lee Holmes

Makes 12

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 3 minced garlic gloves
• 1 kg organic beef mince
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 bunch English spinach, leave chopped
• 2 zucchini, grated
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 12 large whole cos lettuce leaves
• 1 avocado, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 Greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan and saute the onion and garlic over medium heat for five minutes.

Add the mince and cook, stirring occasionally and using a wooden spoon to break up any lumps, for 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, spinach, zucchini, tomatoes and spring onions, and stir for another 15 minutes. Season to taste.

Place a lettuce leaf on each plate. Divide the mince evenly over the top of the lettuce. Top with a spoonful of avocado and yoghurt, sprinle with yeast flakes, wrap and enjoy.

Pumpkin + Tofu Miso Soup

Don’t let the blurry photo put you off. I just couldn’t make the magic happen for this one, but I promise you this soup is mega delish.

It’s supposed to be spring but Sydney hasn’t caught that drift yet, so tonight is all about trackies, socks, reruns of Family Guy and this bowl of dreams.

The recipe serves four, but since I was eating it alone, I just halved it and ate two servings myself. Shut up.

Recipe by Clean & Green Eating app
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium-sized pumpkin, in 3cm cubes
• 3 medium mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup tri-coloured quinoa
• 3 kale leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 200g hard tofu, in 1cm cubes
• 1L vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp miso paste
• 1 tsp coconut oil

Method

Rinse the quinoa in a strainer, then add to a small pot along with one cup of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed.

In a big pot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat and cook the garlic and mushrooms until soft. Now add the pumpkin, quinoa and stock to the pot and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I like my soups quite thick, so I used slightly less stock. I also jumped in the shower and forgot I had this on the stove, so it was cooking for slightly longer than 20 minutes, which made it even thicker.

Add the kale to the pot and mash the pumpkin with a fork. Finally, add the tofu and miso paste, and stir. Cook for a few more minutes, then turn off the heat.

Ladle into bowls and enjoy.

Kumera + Peanut Butter Soup with Warm Quinoa Rolls

Yes, there is a God – someone’s managed to add peanut butter to soup. First it was toast, then it was smoothies and desserts, and now, finally, it’s in dinner.

Slowly but surely, this angel paste is infiltrating its way into everything we eat. Hallelujah.

Unfortunately though, this itsy-bitsy pretty little photo-sized bowl you see here is all I got of it. Why? you ask. Because when I put the rest in a plastic container and told my boyfriend to take some to work for dinner that night what’d he do? He took it all.

Piggy-wiggy Oinky McFace snorted it all down with glee, while I was left with a batch of quinoa rolls and a jar of peanut butter. So what did I do? you ask. Ate the rest of the jar off a butter knife in front of reruns of Criminal Minds.

Quit judging me – as if you wouldn’t do it too.

Seriously though, you need to start eating this soup on the regular. It’s dead easy to make, takes almost no time and tastes pret-ty epic.

The warm quinoa rolls I served with the soup are from here. It’s technically supposed to be a loaf but I made little muffiny roll thingos instead. If you’re going to do that, you probably won’t need to bake them for as long, so just check on them after 40 minutes or so.

Recipe by Lorna Jane in her cookbook Nourish

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp. cold-pressed extra-virgin coconut oil
• 1 small brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2.5 cm piece fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 small red capsicum, chopped coarsely
• 500g of kumara (sweet potato), chopped coarsely
• 1 medium tomato, chopped coarsely
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 2.5 cups filtered water or coconut milk (I just used water)
• 50g green beans, trimmed, halved lengthways
• 1/2 fresh long red chilli, sliced thinly
• 1/3 cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves
• 2 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts or cashews
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Method

Heat oil in a medium saucepan; cook onion, garlic and ginger, stirring, until onion softens. Add cinnamon and cook, stirring, for about one minute until fragrant.

Add capsicum, kumara, tomato, peanut butter and the water, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or until kumara is tender. Cool soup for 10 minutes.

Now blend the soup, in batches, until smooth

Season to taste and ladle into serving bowls. Serve topped with beans, chilli, coriander, nuts and lime wedges.

Zesty Fish + Black Bean Tortillas

Mexican food is just so now right now. I’m so on board with it that I’ve booked a holiday to Mexico at the end of the year – and all I’m going to do there is eat like an absolute boss.

When ABC Health & Wellbeing Online asked me to create a dish containing black beans, my mind immediately went to tortillas. And because the meals I create for the ABC are approved by Food & Nutrition Australia, you know I ain’t feeding you some sloppy roadside grease-fest (even though that’s exactly what I’ll be mainlining come December).

Feel free to use corn or wholemeal tortillas here and whichever white fish you prefer. These taste really light and fresh; the toasted coconut/sesame seed combo is my fave part – a clever addition I feel pretty smug about, actually.

Serves 4

 Ingredients

• 4 x 100g white-fleshed fish fillets
• 4 tomatoes
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 lime
• Small handful mint
• Small handful coriander
• 1/2 avocado
• 200g black beans (either canned or dried beans that have been soaked overnight and cooked)
• 8 wholemeal/corn tortillas (corn will make the dish gluten-free)
• 2 tbsp coconut (flaked or desiccated)
• 3 tbsp sesame seeds
• 4 tbsp reduced-fat feta
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Dice the tomatoes and red onion then add to a bowl. Now zest the lime and add that to the bowl as well.

Finely chop the mint and coriander and add to the salsa mix, saving some to sprinkle over the top of the tortillas. Slice the lime in wedges and squeeze it over the salsa according to taste. Crack over some salt and pepper, mix well and set aside.

Chop the avocado into chunks and add to a small bowl, then drain and rinse the black beans and add them to another small bowl. Set both aside.

Warm the tortillas according to packet instructions.

Heat a non-stick pan on high and cook the fish fillets. You will probably need to do them in batches, so keep the cooked ones warm in the oven until the others are done. When they’re all cooked, flake with a fork.

In a small dry pan, toast the coconut and sesame seeds until they’re lightly brown and smell delicious. Keep an eye on them because they burn quickly. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Top each tortilla with fish, salsa, avocado, black beans, a tablespoon of crumbled feta and a sprinkling of the coconut/sesame mix. Add a few more fresh herbs, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

For more of my ABC Health & Wellbeing recipes, click here.

Average	Per serving (435g)
Energy	1950kJ
Protein	33g
Fat	19g
Saturated fat	6g
Carbohydrate	38g
Sugars	10g
Dietary fibre	10g
Sodium	505mg

Mediterranean Vegetable Salad

Most of the time it feels like I’m in the minority on this, but I really, really don’t like winter. It’s cold, it’s uncomfortable and it’s unAustralian.

Everyone else seems to love the cold; meanwhile, I wear a cardi when it’s 28 degrees and sunny, so winter for me is the absolute worst.

While I was hibernating one day, avoiding leaving the house at any cost (did I mention I’m currently…between careers?) I thought I may as well make myself useful and channel all my winter aggression into something productive.

If I can’t actually be in a Mediterranean summer, I can at least try to lunch like I am.

Eat this colourful salad with an oversized glass of vino and pretend you’re sitting on a beach in Barcelona, slathered in 30+ and perving on all the hot Spaniards like the seedy tourist you are. You’ll forget all about the crappy weather outside.

Nutritionally, the more colourful your food, the more vitamins, mineral and antioxidants you’ll be eating, which is especially important for keeping healthy during winter.

Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side

Ingredients

• 1 zucchini, cut into chunks
• 1 squash, in thick slices
• 4 mushrooms, halved
• 1 carrot, in chunks
• 1/2 red capsicum, in thick pieces
• 1/2 sweet potato, in 1/2cm slices
• 4 whole baby Roma tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes)
• 10 whole pitted black olives
• 2 handfuls mixed greens (I used silverbeet and watercress)
• 2 tsp capers
• 2 tbsp pepitas
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Few sprigs dill and coriander
• Garlic-infused olive oil
• Salt + pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180C and line two oven trays with baking paper.

Spread the carrot and sweet potato across one and drizzle with garlic-infused olive oil. Put them in the oven first, as they’ll take 5-10 minutes longer to cook than the other vegies.

Now spread the rest of the vegies (except the greens and olives) on the other tray and drizzle with garlic-infused olive oil. Put this tray in the oven, too.

After 15 minutes, give everything a good stir, then bake for 10 minutes or so until everything is cooked but not mushy.

Remove from the oven and drain on some paper towel if needed.

Meanwhile, toast the pepitas in a small dry pan until they smell toasty and start to pop. This won’t take long so keep an eye on them.

In a big salad bowl, combine the baked veg, mixed greens, olives, chopped fresh herbs, pepitas and capers.

Drizzle over the balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper, and toss well.

Serve and get warm.

Tandoori Salmon + Mixed Rice Salad

How awesome is salmon? It gets next-level awesome in this salad, so get prepared because you’re about to have your mind blown. I think this is the best salad of 2014. In fact, it’s so good we had it for dinner twice last week.

The original recipe called for brown rice, but I had some Rice Plus in the cupboard so used that, instead. It’s basically a gluten-free blend of brown, red and white rice; quinoa; buckwheat; millet; and black sesame seeds.

The original recipe also used hot smoked salmon, but fresh all the way, I say.

Adapted from a recipe by The Kitchen Coquette
Technically probably serves 4, but 2 in our house

Ingredients

200g skinless salmon fillets
2 cups cooked Rice Plus (or regular brown rice)
1 medium Lebanese cucumber, cut into ribbons using a peeler
3/4 cup fresh peas, blanched and refreshed
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 bunch dill, finely chopped
1/2 bunch coriander, coarsely torn

To finish
2 tsp tandoori paste
1/2 cup natural yoghurt
Lemon wedges to serve

Method

Cook the salmon fillets to your liking, either on a grill pan or in the oven. Once they’re done, flake with a fork.

Combine the salmon, rice, cucumber and peas in a large bowl. Toss gently to combine and season generously with salt and pepper. Add the lemon zest, juice and olive oil, stirring to coat. Reserve the herbs until you are ready to eat, then roughly scatter across the top of the salad.

Combine the tandoori paste and yoghurt in a small bowl. Dollop blobs of yoghurt on top of the salad and serve with lemon wedges.

A bottom-of-the-fridge frittata

This happens a lot in our house: end of week, fridge empty, grab keys, head to pub for $10 dinner.

Please tell me you do this, too!

So in a bid to save money and see just how thrifty I can be in the kitchen, I thought I’d throw something together from whatever was left in the fridge and starting to go a bit crusty.

I have to say, the result wasn’t too shabby. In fact, it was quite delicious and we were still eating it the next day. The best thing about frittatas is that you can basically eat them for any meal, and throw whatever veg you want in them.

Here’s what I used . . .

Ingredients

• 8 eggs
• 1/2 sweet potato
• 1 zucchini
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• Handful greens (I used silverbeet)
• Feta cheese
• Few sprigs fresh herbs (I used rosemary and oregano)
• Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C and thinly slice the sweet potato. Lay the slices in the bottom of a square baking dish (I line the dish with baking paper first – less washing up, yo!), then put it in the oven.

While that’s cooking, crack the eggs into a bowl and give them a good whisk. Set aside.

Wilt the greens in a pan over medium heat until they’re soft, then remove from the stove. Now thinly slice the zucchini.

Add the peas, as much crumbled feta as you want, the fresh herbs, and salt and pepper to the egg mix and combine well.

Remove the sweet potato from the oven and spread the sliced zucchini and wilted greens over the top. Now pour over the egg mix. You could crumble a bit more feta over the top now if you’d like.

Put the dish back in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until the egg has set and it’s nice and brown on top.

Allow to cool slightly then cut into thick slices; eat by itself or with a side salad. This tastes great the next day, hot or cold.

Like I said, you can really put whatever veg you want in here – I just used these ingredients because they were all I had.

I’d love to hear your faves so I can give them a go myself.

Beef and cashew lettuce cups

Last week I posted this recipe for a Tender Beef Salad with Mustard Dressing, which was the first in my One Meat, Two Meals series for ABC Health and Wellbeing Online.

And today I give you . . . wait for it . . . the second recipe.

If you’re coming late to this, the idea behind it is to make two cheap and easy (but really tasty) meals from just one slow-cooked beef topside.

I don’t usually play favourites with my babies, but this meal is definitely my favourite of the two. These cups are a flavoursome dinner that won’t send you to bed with a heavy stomach.

Like all my other recipes for the ABC, this meal meets the Australian Healthy Eating Guidelines and has been given Food & Nutrition Australia’s seal of approval.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 baby Cos lettuce (or any lettuce – just make sure the leaves are big enough)
• 1 large red capsicum
• 1 large green capsicum
• Splash olive oil
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 240g shredded topside
• Coriander to garnish

Method

Cook the rice according to packet instructions.

Meanwhile, gently separate eight lettuce leaves. Give them a rinse and allow to dry. You might need to pat them with a paper towel.

Thinly slice the capsicums and add them to a pan over medium heat with a splash of olive oil.

Let them soften, stirring regularly, for 2-3 minutes. Now add the hoi sin sauce and stir well. Cook for another 5-8 minutes, until the capsicums are tender but not really soft. They should still be nice and colourful.

In a dry pan, toast the cashews until they’re brown. Keep an eye on them because they can quickly burn. Remove from the pan and roughly chop.

Once the rice is cooked, drain well.

Put a spoonful or so of rice onto each lettuce leaf, followed by the shredded beef and capsicum mix. Top each one with some roasted cashews and garnish with coriander.

Fold up the sides and eat with your hands.

Average	Per serving (310g)
Energy	2010kJ
Protein	24g
Fat	24g
Saturated fat	5g
Carbohydrate	40g
Sugars	7g
Dietary fibre	6g
Sodium	220mg

 

Tender Beef Salad with Mustard Dressing

How good is it when you didn’t try hard for something but it turns out awesome anyway?

That’s how I feel about cooking on a school night . . . me and about 98 per cent of the population, I’m sure.

Seeing as it’s that time of year again: daylight savings is over, it’s getting cold and we’re all starting to eyeball our slow-cookers, I thought I’d see how much mileage I could get out of one slab of beef without having to put in much effort.

I’m also a student again and didn’t want to spend much money on these meals, either. I actually already had most of the ingredients in the kitchen, which is always a win.

If becoming a tightarse is a dream for you, then you’ve come to the right place. You see, I have spent many years working hard to cultivate the reputation of being a mega-stinge in my family. I’m currently neck-and-neck with my cousin Amy (or Shamey, depending on how heavily she’s been drinking) for the title, so to give myself an advantage I recently wrote this story for news.com.au on how to eat healthily for $5 a day.

With my help you too can rifle through the discount food bins of IGAs so you only have to spend $35 a week to feed yourself.

But this is all just a really long way of introducing part one of my One Meat, Two Meals recipes for ABC Health and Wellbeing Online. Like the other meals I’ve created for the ABC, it meets the Australian Healthy Eating Guidelines and has been given the seal of approval by Food & Nutrition Australia.

I used beef topside here, which is a cheap cut of meat that’s really lean and deliciously tender when slow cooked. You could also use shoulder.

After making this salad, plus the next meal (stay tuned), there should still be enough meat left over for some sandwiches. That’s actually three meals, people, so get on board with this. UPDATE: get the second recipe here.

Like most of the meals on this blog, and in keeping with the whole “no effort” theme, this salad can be eaten for lunch or dinner. Just throw it together, eat some, whack the rest in the fridge and carry on with life until you next feel hungry. Just keep the dressing separate if you’re not eating it all at once, otherwise it might go a bit soggy.

Serves 4

Righto, here’s the first step . . .

Bring the beef

• 1kg topside beef
• Red-wine vinegar
• Beef stock (salt reduced)
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 onion
• Handful mixed fresh herbs (oregano, tarragon and rosemary)

Halve the onion and place in the bottom of your slow-cooker to keep the meat elevated.

Place the meat on top, then add enough red-wine vinegar and liquid beef stock to cover half of it. Throw in the garlic and herbs. Cook on low for eight hours. You can do this overnight or in the morning before leaving the house so it’s ready when you get home.

Once the meat is tender and falls away easily, it’s cooked. Remove it from the slow-cooker and discard the liquid. Shred the meat into bite-sized pieces and store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Salad ingredients

• 1 x 180g bad salad mix with shredded beetroot and carrot
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced
• 1 x 420g can four-bean mix
• 4 medium white potatoes, quartered (skin on)
• 400g shredded topside beef

Mustard dressing

• 1-2 tbsp Dijon mustard (depending on taste)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steam the potatoes until tender but not mushy.

Meanwhile, drain and rinse the can of four-bean mix, then whisk together the dressing ingredients in a cup or shaker.

Throw everything into a big salad bowl, including the potatoes once they’ve cooled slightly.

Pour your desired amount of dressing over the top, then toss everything gently, but really well.

Enjoy!

Average	Per serving (514g)
Energy	1600kJ
Protein	35g
Fat	6g
Saturated fat	2g
Carbohydrate	41g
Sugars	10g
Dietary fibre	12g
Sodium	570mg