All posts by Genevieve

Chicken Shawarma Lettuce Wraps

Lunch and Light Meals, , , , , , ,

chicken shawarma lettuce wraps

This is a meal designed to be shared, and constructed at the table. It is messy, it is fun, and it is delicious and nutritious. Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • 1 tsp za’atar
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 large chicken breasts, sliced into strips approximately 4cm by 1cm
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp Lebanese seven spices powder
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp chilli flakes

Parsnip and Red Carrot Hummus

  • 1 large parsnip, boiled until soft
  • 5 purple carrots
  • 2 spring onions
  • 1 Tbsp tahini
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • olive oil

To serve

  • large, firm lettuce leaves (such as romaine lettuce)
  • handful of pomegranate seeds
  • handful of pine nuts (dry toasted)

Directions

  1. For the chicken – Fry onions until soft in a little coconut oil over a moderate temperature. Add za’atar and fry for 1 minute more. Add chicken strips and cook until done. Remove from the oven and put aside. Place into a bowl to serve.
  2. For the hummus – put all of the ingredients into a blender including 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Blend until you have a smooth consistency. You may need to add some more olive oil to get to a thick, but spreadable consistency (about the same consistency as smooth peanut butter). Remove from the blender and place in a bowl to serve. Sprinkle with a little olive oil to serve if you like.
  3. For the pine nuts – heat a clean pan to a moderate / high temperature. Add the pine nuts to the pan (without any oil). Stir continuously for 3-5 minutes until the pine nuts are a golden brown colour. Remove from the pan and add to a bowl.
  4. This is designed as a meal that is assembled by everyone at the table.
  5. Start with romaine or other strong leafed lettuce leaves. Top with hummus, followed by the chicken mixture, and sprinkle with the pine nuts and pomegranate seeds to complete.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: The Woolshed Sessions – The Woolshed Sessions

Passionfruit and Orange Sauce

Condiments and Dips, , , , , ,

Orange and passionfruit sauce

This is a delicious sauce with a lot of flavour. It suits being paired with big flavored meats such as duck or pork, but my son also likes to eat it with his sweet potato fries and dip his broccoli into it.

Ingredients

  • Juice of 1 large orange
  • pulp of 2 large passionfruit (or 3 smaller ones)
  • 1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • few thyme sprigs
  • ghee or coconut oil

Directions

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Elbow – The Take Off and Landing of Everything

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mango Passionfruit Salsa

Condiments and Dips, , , , , ,

mango and passionfruit salsa

This salsa is sweet with a spicy bite. Delicious with sweet potato cakes, or as a topping for chicken, pork or white fish such as barramundi or cod.

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe mango, cut into small pieces
  • pulp of 2 large passionfruit (or 3 small passionfruit)
  • juice of 1 lime
  • pinch of salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
  • handful of fresh coriander, chopped

Directions

  1. Put all of the ingredients except the coriander in a bowl and stir well to mix. Don’t blend it, you want it chunky.
  2. Put in the refridgerator for 30-60 minutes. This allows the flavours to intensify.
  3. Top with the fresh coriander to serve
  4. While this recipe will start to intensify after an hour, leaving it overnight is even better. We often make enough for a second dish and leave it covered in the fridge for up to a week (the vinegar will preserve the fruit).

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Intergalactic lovers – Little Heavy Burdens

 

 

 

Sweet Potato cakes with Mango Passionfruit Salsa

Snacks, , , , , ,

sweet potato cakes with mango passionfruit salsa

These sweet potato rostis (cakes), use easily sourced ingredients to make a delicious snack. Serve topped with Mango Passionfruit Salsa for a delicious mid afternoon snack or pre-dinner canape.

Ingredients

  • 500g sweet potatoes
  • 1 small (red) onion
  • 2 eggs (separate the yolks and whites)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp sweet potato flour
  • 1 medium red chilli pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp ghee
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • coconut oil for cooking

Directions

  1. Grate the sweet potatoes. Put the grated sweet potatoes into a tea towel and squeeze out as much of the juice as possible. They need to be dry for making the cakes.
  2. Retain the sweet potato liquid in a bowl. Let it sit for a few minutes until the starch and water separate. Retain the starch, but drain the water away.
  3. Put the sweet potato, onion, egg yolks, salt, pepper, starch, spring onions, ghee, chilli and garlic in a bowl and mix well.
  4. Beat the egg whites until peaks form and fold gently into the sweet potato mixture.
  5. Heat some coconut oil in a pan. Spoon in the mixture and press down with a wooden spoon to form cakes that are approximately 10cm round, and 1/2 cm thick.
  6. Fry the little cakes for about 4 minutes on each side or until crispy.
  7. Serve topped with Mango Passionfruit Salsa

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Hospitality – Trouble

 

 

 

Garlic Aioli Mayonnaise

Condiments and Dips, , , ,

Garlic Aioli

Mayonnaise is something I though that we had left behind when we changed our diet, but it does not need to be the case. Mayonnaise (of which Aioli is a variation) is a simple mix of eggs and oil. This Garlic Aioli recipe is delicious with sweet potato fries or used as a spread.

Ingredients

  • 3 garlic cloves (less if you like it less garlicky)
  • 1 large egg (preferably organic)
  • 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 150ml olive oil

Directions

  1. Place the garlic, egg, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper in a blender
  2. Blend all of the ingredients, starting on a slow speed while you add the olive oil to avoid spattering it all around your .kitchen
  3. Add the olive oil while the blender is running in a slow stream. You will need to leave off  the cap of the blender in order to be able to do this while the blender is running.
  4. Put the cap back on the blender and turn up the speed. Blend the aioli until it has formed into thick emulsion.
  5. Serve the sweet potato fries, with the Garlic Aioli.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Jose Gonzalez – Vestiges and Claws

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rice Cakes with Avocado Spread, Parma Ham, and Eggs

Breakfast, Snacks, , , , , , , , , , ,

Rice crackers with guacamole, parma ham and boiled egg

When we stopped eating bread we had a gap to fill – those mid afternoon hunger moments, or a quick lunch or breakfast. This recipe has become one of our fall back ones. The avocado spread will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, so you can use it more than once.

Ingredients

Avocado spread

  • 2 Avocados, peeled and seed removed. Roughly chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • handful fresh coriander
  • 1 large green chilli, stalk and seeds removed
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • a couple of turns of freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
  • sumac

Directions

  1. Put all the “avocado spread” ingredients except the sumac in the blender. Blend until smooth.
  2. Add to a bowl and sprinkle over the sumac.
  3. Cook the eggs in boiling water for 6 minutes until softly boiled, but no longer runny.  (You can choose to cook a little longer or shorter according to your personal preference).
  4. Spread a generous amount of the avocado spread over the rice crackers.
  5. Top with a slice of parma ham.
  6. Peel the eggs and slice into 5mm slices. Place 1 egg on each of the rice crackers.
  7. Serve with some freshly ground pepper, and a little sprinkle of sea salt.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: French for Rabbits – Spirits

 

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Garlic

Dinner, , , , , ,

roast chicken with lemon and garlic

Roast chicken is a classic Sunday favorite. This variation has a delicious summery taste to it as a result of the lemon juice in which it is basted. As a variation, try sprinkling with a little pimenton along with the salt and pepper.

Ingredients

  • 1 whole roast chicken (approximately 1.5kg)
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 tsp ghee
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • fresh oregano and thyme
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lemon halved
  • juice of 1 lemon

Directions

  1. Heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius
  2. Place the chicken in an oven proof baking tray.
  3. Rub the cavity of the chicken gently with one half of the lemon.
  4. Slice the other half of the lemon and place it into the cavity of the chicken.
  5. Add the garlic cloves, thyme and oregano into the cavity as a stuffing
  6. Insert your hand under the skin of the chicken and rub with 1 tsp of the ghee
  7. Rub the top of the skin of the chicken with the other 1 tsp of the ghee.
  8. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the top of the chicken.
  9. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  10. Put into the oven to cook for 20 minutes
  11. Remove from the oven and squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon over the chicken. Return to the oven.
  12. Bake for 40 minutes more or until the juice of the chicken runs clear when you separate the leg of the chicken from the body of the chicken.
  13. Serve with sweet potato fries, and broccoli with fried garlic, or grilled courgettes with pomegranate and pesto.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Oscar and the Wolf – Entity

 

Duck with Passionfruit and Orange Sauce

Dinner, , , ,

Duck breast with orange and passionfruit sauce

This recipe pairs a big flavoured sauce with a big flavoured meat – passionfruit and orange sauce with duck breast. Our son also liked dipping the broccoli and turnip fries that we made to go with it in the sauce.

Ingredients

  • 1 or 2 duck breasts (depending on how many you are cooking for)
  • Juice of 1 large orange
  • pulp of 2 large passionfruit (or 3 smaller ones)
  • 1/2 a red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp honey
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • salt and pepper
  • few thyme sprigs
  • ghee or coconut oil

Directions

  1. Fry the duck in a little ghee or coconut oil in a medium hot frying pan around 6 minutes on each side – starting with skin side.
  2. Get rid of most of the duck fat from the pan, but retain 1 Tbsp.
  3. Fry onion for a few minutes in the 1 Tbsp of Duck fat. Add the garlic and from for 1 more minute.
  4. Add orange, passionfruit, honey and balsamic vinegar. Cook until reduced to a thick sauce. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the pan. Add thyme and stir.
  5. Serve the orange and passionfruit sauce on the duck breasts, along with sweet potato fries or turnip fries and a salad or broccoli with fried garlic

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Drive by Truckers – English Oceans

 

 

Lamb Koftas with Thai spices

Lunch and Light Meals, , , , , , , ,

Thai koftas

In its simplest form, koftas consist of balls or sausages of minced or ground meat—usually beef or lamb—mixed with spices and/or onions. They can be found from Greece, all the way across to Pakistan and India. This version uses Thai rather than Middle Eastern spices to make a simple but flavorsome meat dish.

Ingredients

Koftas

  • 2 Tbsp yellow curry paste
  • 60ml coconut milk
  • 500g minced lamb
  • 1 white onion, very finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
  • salt and pepper

Sauce

  • 1 shallot
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp yellow curry
  • 100ml coconut milk
  • cucumber and salad leaves

Directions

  1. First mix the coconut milk with the curry paste in a bowl
  2. Add the minced lamb, onion, garlic, salt and pepper in another bowl. 
  3. Wet your hands and shape the meat into 6 sausage roll shaped koftas
  4. Brush the outside of the koftas with the curry paste mixture.
  5. Put them into the fridge for 30 minutes
  6. Bake in a little coconut oil for about 3 minutes in a hot pan until brown all over. 
  7. After making the koftas, fry the shallots, garlic from the sauce ingredients in a pan. 
  8. Add the curry paste and coconut milk and stir until it thickens. 
  9. Serve over the koftas with some cucumber slices and salad leaves. 

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify:  Hurray for the Riff Raff – Small Town Heroes

Lemon and Mint Juice

Drinks, , , , , , , ,

Lemon and mint juice

This is a very refreshing drink that is perfect for a hot summer day. It is inspired by a drink that we had in Dubai, but uses honey as a sweetener instead of sugar. Makes 2 glasses.

Ingredients

  • 15 mint leaves
  • Half a lemon – unpeeled, cut into quarters
  • 1/2 Tbsp honey
  • 2 Tbsp boiling water
  • 2 glasses water

Directions

  1. Add the honey to the boiling water and let it dissolve.
  2. Put the mint leaves, water, lemon and honey into a blender.
  3. Blend for 1-2 minutes until you can see a green juice in the blender, and the lemon is finely blended
  4. Strain the juice to remove the lemon and mint remnants
  5. Serve over ice.

Music to go with it…
Listen on Spotify: Regan – Wiser