Gorgeous Greens with a Dash of White

I apologise for being slack with the recipes lately. Mark and I have been away, so I have not been cooking as much as usual. And then this week I made two dishes I was going to post (salmon flavoured with lemongrass and ginger, and chicken with a salsa verde type sauce) but I am not sure they turned out exactly as I wanted, so I decided not to post them just yet.

Tonight we were just having a simple meal of steak with steamed potatoes and some greens. But I then decided to saute the beans and spinach with garlic, lemon and feta - and was absolutely delighted! They were the surprise hit of the night (well for me anyway).

This side dish is really just a variation on the 'Lemony Greens' I made recently, but better. I'm a bit vague on the quantities, so just adjust depending on how many people you are feeding, and add as little or as much olive oil as you like. Try it out!

Ingredients (serves 2)

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large cloves garlic

200g green beans trimmed

Juice of half a lemon and zest of whole lemon

150g baby spinach

Salt and pepper

Danish feta to taste

Method

Heat the olive oil in a large fry pan. Add the garlic and beans and saute for 5-7 minutes or until cooked to your liking (I like them to be still crisp). Add the lemon juice and spinach and cook until the spinach is just wilted. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the lemon zest. Serve with feta crumbled on top.

Preserved Lemon Chicken Curry

On one of my numerous trips to Herbies Spices at Rozelle I purchased preserved lemons. When I have used preserved lemons previously I have found them too salty. I wanted to therefore try them from Herbies - my rationale being that if didn't enjoy Herbie's version, I would not like any preserved lemons. And I was not disappointed.

I was originally going to make this meal on Sunday and then re-heat it on Monday night, but since tonight is so cold and rainy, I decided that we would eat it tonight - perfect comfort food.

I did a spice blending class at Herbies a few weeks ago and purchased native pepperberries. I have used them in this dish instead of black pepper as it is stronger and more intense, and I wanted this dish to have a little more heat. If you do not have pepperberries, just use a couple of teaspoons black pepper. I have also used white peppercorns as I like their flavour. Add some chilli if you want more heat, but perhaps taste it first and add extra chilli just before serving.

I loved this dish, and hope you do also.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 native ground pepperberries
1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/2 teaspoon ground green cardamom
Plain flour for dusting
3 chicken breasts skin off, cut into three pieces
Oil for frying
1 brown onion chopped
3 preserved lemon quarters (one left whole, 2 with the pith and flesh removed and slices into thirds)
2 cups chicken stock
200g Greek yoghurt
White rice to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Combine the spices in a small bowl and mix well. Dust the chicken lightly with flour. Heat oil in a fry pan and brown chicken in batches. Add a little extra oil and cook the onion until just soft. Add the spice mix and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Place the chicken, onion and spices, preserved lemon and chicken stock in a casserole dish with lid. Cook in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Stir through yoghurt and serve with white rice.

Cauliflower, Bacon and Caraway Soup with Pesto

I was hesitant to serve soup as an entree as it seemed a bit 80s. But given how cold and rainy it has been, soup seemed so deliciously warming and appropriate.

After the success of the pureed cauliflower I made at Easter I had been wanted to create a soup, so used this opportunity, and it was delicious! It probably doesn't need the butter and cream to be delicious, so omit these if you want a lower fat version.

And also very easy to make - have a go.

Ingredients (serves 4 with a small amount leftover)

1 tablespoon olive oil

25g butter

6 rashes short cut bacon diced

1 brown onion diced

2 cloves garlic crushed

2 cauliflower heads (about 450-500g each) cut into florets

5-6 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

2 slices prosciutto

300ml thickened cream

Salt and pepper

4 tablespoons pesto (see post from 15 March, but add a little less parmesan and pine nuts)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Saute the bacon, onion and garlic in the butter and oil in a large saucepan until the bacon is crisp and the onion is soft. Add the cauliflower florets, stock and caraway seeds. Bring to the boil and simmer until the cauliflower is very soft (15-20 minutes). Meanwhile, cook the prosciutto in the oven until crisp.

Once cooked, blend in batches in a food processor (note that you may not need all the liquid if you want a thick soup). Return to the pan and add the cream and season with salt and pepper.

Serve with prosciutto shards and a dollop of pesto.

Thyme Roasted Vegetables

This meal is really very easy. There is very little preparation and it can just cook away in the oven while you relax or do something else.

With this dish, you can really use whatever vegetables you like. Just make sure they are cut into similar sizes, or that ones that cook faster are bigger than those that cook slower.

Last time I made this, I also served it with peas sauteed in mint and butter, but this time, with the heavy soup entree, I decided to pass on the peas this time. I'll save them for another post.

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 parsnips peeled and cut in half lengthwise

8-10 baby new potatoes halved

600g sweet potato cut into large pieces

2 onions quartered with the skin left on

1 head garlic cloves separated, skin on

4-6 carrots, skin on, cut into 3-4 cm pieces

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 bunch thyme

Salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 220 degrees (or a little less if the meat is not roasting at the same time). Place all the vegetables in a roasting tray (it is much easier to clean if you line it with baking paper). Toss them in the oil, vinegar, thyme and salt and pepper. Roast for 40-50 minutes or until soft.