Mixed Vegetable Gnocchi

Some of my earliest childhood memories include my grandmother cooking for me the Polish version of gnocchi (kopytka) which we ate with copious amounts of melted butter.  Soooo good!  These days I have developed my own style of cooking and I always like to make my own versions of different dishes.  This includes making gnocchi with a few different veggies - not just potatoes!  The process takes a while from start to finish and can be a bit of a messy job so I suggest probably trying this recipe on a weekend or when you have a spare couple of hours.  Depending on the mix of veggies you use and the type of flour, you may need to adjust the amount of flour you use - this is why I put an approximate amount of flour below - what worked for me might be slightly different for others.  

Ingredients (serves 4-6):
- 1kg mixed, peeled veggies (I used 500g white potato, 300 sweet potato, 200g pumpkin)
- 50g butter, softened
- 1 free range egg
- Sea salt and pepper
- 3.5 cups (approximately) GF flour (I used Macro brand) or other flour

Method:
1.  Boil veggies until tender.  Drain and allow to cool to room temperature.

2.  In a large bowl, mash the veggies with butter, egg and season with salt and pepper.

3.  Add the flour, a half cup at a time and mix it in.  Once you've added about 2 cups of flour, get in there with your hands and begin to knead the dough.  Add more flour until the dough is still soft but not sticky.

4.  Separate the dough into 8 balls and roll each ball out into a log.  With a floured butter knife, cut each log into small pieces.  Put the cut pieces in a single layer onto a sheet of baking paper.

5.  Boil a pot of water and cook the gnocchi in batches.  The gnocchi is ready when it floats to the surface.

* I served the gnocchi with grated cheese and a simple sauce which I made by frying half a chopped onion and a crushed garlic clove in some butter, then I added some chopped, mixed fresh herbs, a tin of chopped BPA-free tomatoes (I used Spiral brand), 200ml water, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp Thermomix veggie stock concentrate and some salt and pepper.  I cooked this for about 10 minutes until the sauce reduced and thickened.


 

Spelt Pizza Base

I really should be studying right now for my last exam for the semester.... but I'm looking for every excuse under the sun not to!  I made this pizza for dinner tonight and as it turned out, my sister and super fussy 3yo nephew dropped by.  My nephew had 3 slices of pizza - you know a food is good when he eats it!  This recipe makes 2 large pizzas.  If you don't want to make 2 pizzas at once - you can freeze half the dough once the proving has finished, roll it into a ball and wrap in cling wrap, then pop into the freezer.  When you're ready to use the dough, you just take it out of the freezer and allow to thaw out on a baking paper lined pizza tray until it's soft enough to flatten and roll out.

Ingredients:
Base:
- 1 cup of water
- 1 sachet (7g) dried yeast
- 4 cups unbleached spelt flour
- 1 tbsp macadamia oil + 1 tbsp extra
- Pinch of sea salt

Toppings:
Whatever you want - but this is what I used tonight:
- 4 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 100g nitrate-free ham, chopped
- 2 cups cheese (please grate it yourself to avoid anti caking agents often added to pre-shredded cheeses) - I used mozzarella and parmesan (grated in my Thermie for 10 seconds on speed 9)

Method:
1.  Heat water until lukewarm and stir the yeast in.  Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes or until yeast is frothy and activated.

(Thermomix - add water and yeast to TM bowl and warm for 2min/37deg/sp1.  Allow to activate for 10 minutes or so)

2.  Tip the yeast mixture into a large bowl.  Add the flour, 1 tbsp of oil and a pinch of salt and combine with your hands.  Tip the dough mixture out onto a floured surface and knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Using the remaining 1tbsp of macadamia oil, grease a large bowl and put your dough in.  Cover and allow to prove on the bench for around 1 hour or until doubled in size.

(Thermomix - add flour, 1tbsp oil and pinch of salt.  Mix 5sec/sp6.  Knead for 30 seconds using the knead function.  Transfer the dough into a bowl greased with remaining macadamia oil, cover and allow to prove on the bench for around 1 hour or until doubled in size)

3.  After the dough has doubled in size, I then put the bowl of dough in the fridge for another 2 hours.  It continues to grow but much more slowly.

4.  Preheat oven to 220 degrees and line 2 pizza trays with baking paper.  Divide the dough in half and roll out onto each tray.  Top with whichever toppings you like and bake for around 15 minutes, until the dough is cooked through.   

Spicy Quinoa Salad

 

I love quinoa for its nutritional benefits as well as being a grain-free alternative to grains such rice.  This salad is easy and quick to prepare and it's delish.  I have it as a side dish or on its own.  Perfect meal in the current summer heat!  

Ingredients:
- 200g quinoa
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1/2 red capsicum, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 avocado, cubed
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1/2 cup toasted cashews

Dressing:
- 2 cloves garlic
- Thumb of fresh ginger
- 1 large red chilli, deseeded (or leave the seeds in if you dare!)
- 2tsp rapadura sugar
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1tbsp tamari
- Juice from 1 lime
- Small handful fresh parsley
- Few leaves of fresh mint
- Sprinkle of sea salt

Method:
1.  Rinse the quinoa well and then cook it as per the packet directions.  Alternatively, if you have a Thermomix, put the quinoa into the rice basket and rinse.  Pour 1L of water into the TM bowl and steam the quinoa for 12min/Varoma/sp4.  Tip the cooked quinoa into a large bowl and allow to cool.

2.  Stir through diced vegetables and nuts

3.  Make dressing - blend together all the ingredients until smooth (about 1min/sp9 in Thermomix).  Stir the dressing through the salad.  Serve.

Spaghetti Carbonara

One of the things I really miss since finding out about my food intolerances is dairy... Thankfully it's only mild intolerance so I can tolerate having a small amount of dairy on occasion.  You can make this recipe dairy free by substituting the cream with non-dairy milk but I saw some Barambah organic cream at my local health food store, so decided to make this recipe with dairy cream and have my once in a blue moon dose of dairy!

Ingredients (serves 4):
- 1 onion  
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 rashers nitrate free bacon
- 2 tbsp ghee (or other cooking fat)
- 300g free range chicken thigh fillets, cubed
- 2 tbsp gluten free cornflour
- 100g mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup preservative free white wine (I used Happs brand)
- 1/2 cup water or stock (I used chicken bone broth)
- 1 cup cream or milk of choice
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Sea salt and pepper to taste

To serve: cooked spaghetti (we used wholemeal spelt) and cheese (we used Blue River sheep's milk cheddar)

Method:
1. Melt cooking fat in a pot on medium heat.  Add finely chopped garlic, diced onion and diced bacon.  Cook stirring for a few minutes until starting to brown a little.

(Thermomix: add garlic, onion and bacon to bowl.  Chop 3sec/sp5.  Add cooking fat and cook 2min/100deg/sp1)

2.  Add chicken and cornflour and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.

(Thermomix: add chicken and cornflour and cook 3min/100deg/rev+sp1)

3.  Add mushrooms, wine, stock/water, cream/milk and stir to combine.  Turn down the heat to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then.

(Thermomix: add mushrooms, wine, stock/water, cream/milk and cook 10min/100deg/rev+sp1)

4.  Season with salt and pepper and stir through parsley.  Serve.

Spicy Mince with Veggies and Brown Rice

This is a great weeknight dinner and super nutritious.  It reminds me a bit of chilli con carne.  In fact that's exactly what I tell my kids it is because chilli con carne is their latest obsession and if I say those words, they are sure to eat it!  We especially love it with brown rice - just ensure you've soaked the brown rice for a few hours prior to cooking to aid with digestibility... soaking also lessens the cooking time of the rice! 

Ingredients (serves 4):
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp cooking fat (I used duck fat)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 500g beef mince (grassfed if possible)
- Assorted diced veggies - I used 1 carrot, 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels, 1/2 cup soaked chickpeas, 1/2 cup diced red cabbage
- 100g tomato puree
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water or stock (I used chicken bone broth)
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste

- To serve - brown rice, soaked for a few hours and then cooked as per packet directions (I used about 300g) and also some sliced avocado

Method:
1.  Cook diced onion, garlic and cooking fat on medium heat until softened.  Add spices and cook, stirring until fragrant.

(Thermomix: add halved onion and garlic clove.  Chop 5sec/sp5.  Add cooking fat and cook 2min/100deg/sp1.  Add spices and cook 1min/100deg/sp1)

2.  Add mince and cook, stirring, until browned.

(Thermomix: add mince and cook 3min/100deg/rev+sp1)

3.  Add remaining ingredients except parsley and bring to the boil.  Turn down the heat to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.   Stir through parsley.

(Thermomix: add remaining ingredients except parsley and cook 10min/100deg/rev+sp1.  Stir through parsley)

4.  Meanwhile, cook brown rice as per packet directions.  I cooked mine in the Thermomix - fill the bowl to 1L mark, put soaked and rinsed brown rice into the rice basket and cook 30min/Varoma/sp4.

Grain Free Pizza

As many mums out there would know, sometimes it can be a bit of a struggle to get veggies into your kids!  I have been blessed with 2 beautiful kids.... but only one of them loves veggies!  The other, who is now 6 years old, still hates most veggies (though he is slowly but surely acquiring a taste for a slowly increasing variety of veggies) and often I have to resort to hiding veggies in the meals that I cook.  Here is one example of such a meal - the main ingredient in the pizza base is cauliflower, which Ben would not otherwise eat.  But he does love pizza, and this one was no exception!

Ingredients (makes 1 large pizza):
Base:
- 1/2 a cauliflower (about 400g) cut into florets
- 3 free range eggs
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (or some freshly grated cheese)
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- Squeeze of lemon juice or splash of apple cider vinegar
- Season with sea salt, pepper and Herbamare

Toppings:
Whatever you like but I used organic BBQ sauce, sprinkle of dried organic herbs, diced nitrate free bacon, sliced mushrooms and freshly grated sheep's milk cheddar.  I also served the pizza with a side of baby spinach leaves dressed with some extra virgin olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sea salt and pepper

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a pizza tray with baking paper.

2.  In a food processor or Thermomix, pulse the cauliflower until finely chopped.  Add remaining base ingredients and process together until combined (20sec/sp3 in Thermomix).

3.  Tip out onto the lined pizza tray and spread out the mixture evenly. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

4.  Top the base with toppings and put back into the oven until cooked to your liking.

Beef & Vegetable Pies

Well it's still footy finals time and hubby has once again requested some "dude food".  I went through our deep freeze and found some osso bucco in there which I thought would be a great cut to slow cook some pie filling.  There's something pretty satisfying about making your own pies!  Hope you enjoy this recipe. 

Ingredients (makes 6):
(You will need 6 pie pans or you could use a Texas muffin pan)
- 800g of beef suitable for slow cooking (I used about 1.5kg of grassfed osso bucco and took out the bones after the filling was cooked)
- 1 cup homemade chicken stock OR 1 cup Campbell's liquid veggie stock OR 1 cup water + 1tbsp Thermomix veggie stock concentrate
- 2 cups water
- 400g can diced tomatoes (or fresh)
- 100g sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 carrot, diced
- 1/2 zucchini, diced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- Optional - 1/2 chipotle chilli, sliced (this adds a lovely smokey flavour)
- Sea salt, pepper and Herbamare to taste
- Pampas butter puff pastry sheets (I used 4 sheets, having to do some patchwork to create the lids to 2 of the pies!)

Method:
1.  Combine in a slow cooker (or casserole dish, though if doing this then preheat your oven to 150 degrees) all the ingrediens (except puff pastry of course!) and cook on low setting for 6 hours, stirring every now and then.  Or if using oven, cook for 3 hours, stirring every now and then.

2.  Allow the meat mixture to cool right down.

3.  Preheat oven to 200 degrees and grease your pie pans.

4.  Line the base of each pie pan (to do this, I used 3 pastry sheets, cutting each one diagonally in half and then trimming off any excess pastry).  Fill each pan with the filling, ensuring you don't put in too much liquid.  Seal each pie with a pastry lid (I cut the remaining pastry sheet into 4 squares and then for the remaining 2 lids, I patched together the excess pastry leftover from lining the bases), trim off excess pastry.  I also used a fork to press right around the edges of each pie to seal.  Then I also used the fork to prick a couple of vents in the top of each pie.

5.  Pop the pies into baking trays and bake for around 20 minutes or until the pastry looks nice and golden on top.  We served these pies with organic tomato sauce and salad on the side.

Baked Beans

Well I initially intended to make these baked beans in my Thermomix.  But when I saw how much they had expanded during the soaking process, I decided I would cook them the good old fashioned way - on the stove top!  I strongly recommend starting with dried beans (as opposed to canned).  Although it takes a while longer to prepare them this way, you are making them much more digestible by soaking them.  Another added benefit is that when buying tinned beans, they usually come in a BPA lined tin.  And this recipe makes a really nice big batch, so whatever you don't use, you can freeze for later!

Ingredients:
- 3 cups dried navy beans, soaked for 24 hours in water and then drained and rinsed well
- 1 onion, peeled and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 rasher nitrate free bacon, rind removed, diced
- 2 tbsp cooking fat (I used ghee)
- 4 cups water (or you can do what I did and use homemade chicken broth)
- 1 bay leaf
- 400g can diced tomatoes or tomato puree
-  2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp rapadura sugar
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Sea salt, pepper, Herbamare to taste

Method:
1.  In a large saucepan on medium heat, cook the onion, garlic, bacon and cooking fat, stirring for a few minutes until beginning to caramelise.

2.  Add the beans, water/broth and bay leaf.  Cover with a lid and reduce the heat to very low.  Simmer for a couple of hours, stirring every now and then.  If the liquid seems to be evaporating quickly, you can top it up with water if required.

3.  When the beans are tender, add the remaining ingredients, cover and cook for another 30 minutes or so, stirring every so often.

Spicy Pork & Lettuce Cups

So after doing some hardcore blogging for a few months, I decided last month it was time to take a bit of a break and get re-inspired.  I'm feeling much more refreshed now and ready to get back into blogging a bit more again!  Anyway, these pork & lettuce cups are what we had for dinner here tonight.  I'm always reluctant to call things by their traditional names (ie san choy bau for this one) because I never know exactly how authentic my recipes are!  So I just call them something that I feel more comfortable calling them!  Either way, dinner tonight was delish!

Ingredients (serves 4):
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce, leaves washed and separated
- 1 onion, peeled
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 thumb ginger, peeled
- 1 thumb fresh turmeric, peeled
- 1/2 red chilli, deseeded (the rest sliced for garnish)
- 2 anchovies
- 2 tbsp cooking fat
- 500g free range pork mince
- 1/2 red capsicum, diced
- 100g mushrooms, sliced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1/2 cup cabbage, shredded
- 4 tbsp tamari
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I used Lea & Perrins brand)
- 1 tsp honey
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- Juice of half a lime
- Sea salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Garnish: sliced red chilli, toasted peanuts or cashews, sesame seeds, sprouts

Method:
1.  In a saucepan on medium heat, add diced onion, crushed garlic, finely chopped ginger, turmeric root, chilli, anchovies and cooking fat.  Cook, stirring, until softened.

(Thermomix: add halved onion, garlic cloves, ginger, turmeric, chilli and anchovies.  Chop 2 sec/sp7.  Add cooking fat and cook 2min/Varoma/sp1)

2.  Add pork mince and cook, stirring, until browned.  Stir through veggies and cook for a few more minutes.

(Thermomix: add pork mince and cook 2min/100deg/rev+sp1.  Add veggies and cook another 3min/100deg/rev+sp1)

3.  Add sauces and seasonings.  Turn the heat down to simmer for 10 minutes.

(Thermomix: add sauces and seasonings and cook 10min/100deg/rev+sp1)

4.  Serve the mince in lettuce cups, topped with sliced chilli, toasted nuts, sesame seeds and some sprouts.

Creamy Salsa Chicken with Brown Rice

I recently joined a Facebook page for slow-cooker obsessed people!  There are some good recipes on there, but I was pretty surprised that so many of the recipes call for packets or jars of this, that and everything.  One of the more popular recipes seems to be salsa chicken which calls for some chicken fillets, a jar of salsa, a packet of taco seasoning and a tub of sour cream - all mixed together and slow cooked!  As delicious as the flavour combination sounded, I thought I would make up a recipe that is a lot healthier and I can guarantee tastes a lot better too without all the nasties from those packets.  Enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 6):
- 500g chicken thigh fillets, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 4 large diced tomatoes or 400g can of diced tomatoes
- 1/2 red capsicum, diced
- 1 medium red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp raw or rapadura sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 cup water
- Squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice
- Sea salt, pepper and Herbamare to taste
- 200g creme fraiche or sour cream or natural yoghurt
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Brown rice, soaked for at least 6 hours and then drained and rinsed
- Avocado slices to serve

Method:
1.  Into your slow cooker, add all the ingredients except the rice, creme fraiche and parsley.  Stir to combine.  Cook on "low" for around 5 hours, stirring every now and then.  When finished, stir through the parsley and creme fraiche.

If not using a slow cooker, preheat oven to 150 degrees, add the above ingredients to a casserole dish, stir, cover and bake for around 2 hours, stirring every now and then.  When finished, stir through parsley and creme fraiche.

2.  About half an hour before the chicken is ready, cook your brown rice as per the packet instructions (if using Thermomix, I added 1 litre of water into the TM bowl and cooked 300g of soaked/drained/rinsed brown rice for 30min/Varoma/sp4).

3.  Serve the brown rice topped with creamy salsa chicken and avocado slices on top. Yum!

Potato & Cauliflower Soup

So here's another one of my family's fave soups.  My kids are always asking for it - they think it's just potato soup and don't realise there's (plenty of) cauliflower hiding in there!  Very quick and easy to make, great dinner for busy weeknights.

Ingredients:
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp cooking fat
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
- 250g cauliflower, cut into florets
- 800mL Campbell's veggie stock OR chicken broth OR water with 2 tbsp Thermomix veggie stock concentrate
- Sea salt, pepper, Herbamare and fresh lemon juice to taste

Method:
1.  Into a saucepan on medium heat, add cooking fat, diced onion and crushed garlic cloves.  Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes or until softened.

(Thermomix - add halved onion and garlic cloves.  Chop 2sec/sp7.  Add cooking fat and cook 2min/100deg/sp1)

2.  Add potato and cauliflower, stock and seasoning.  Bring to the boil and then reduce to simmer for around 15 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

(Thermomix - add potato, cauliflower, stock and seasoning.  Ensure the level does not exceed the 2L mark.  Cook 20min/100deg/sp2.  Check that the vegetables are soft at the end of the cooking time)

3.  With a stick blender, puree the soup and check seasonings.

(Thermomix - puree by slowly turning the dial from speed 1 to speed 7 for 30 seconds.  Check seasonings)

Mexican Potato Salad

Back before we went additive free, we used to buy those supermarket packets of taco seasoning, salsa and the tortillas, all full of additives and pretty much completely void of any nutritional value!  Now I couldn't think of anything worse.   Over time I have learned to make different substitutes without the nasties and with a little bit of planning and really not that much more preparation time, it is so easy.  I got the inspiration for this slow-cooked beef from my mother in law.  Somehow my beef still didn't turn out quite as good as hers but it is still pretty awesome! 

Ingredients (serves 6):
- 1/2 sweet potato, cut into chunks
- 3 white potatoes, cut into chunks

Beef:
- 1kg diced beef (I used grassfed chuck steak - you want something that is good for slow cooking)
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 400g tinned tomatoes or equivalent fresh diced tomatoes
- 2 cups water or stock (I used 2 cups of beef bone broth)
- Optional veggies (cos I love putting veggies in everything!) -  I used 1 diced carrot and 100g sliced mushrooms
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- Spices - 2 tsp salt (I used celtic), sprinkle of cracked pepper, 2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp ground coriander, 2 tsp onion powder

Other sides:
- Shredded lettuce
- Guacamole (I just mashed a couple of avocadoes, squeezed lemon juice and seasoned with sea salt and pepper)
- Fresh tomato salsa (I used 3 diced tomatoes, 1 tbsp finely chopped onion, sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley and a splosh of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and seasoned with sea salt and cracked pepper)
- If you are OK with dairy, also grated cheese and sour cream

Method:
1.  If you have a slow cooker, put all your beef ingredients into it, give it a stir and cook on "low" setting for 8 hours, stirring every now and then.

If you don't have a slow cooker, preheat your oven to 150 degrees and add all the beef ingredients to a casserole dish.  Stir, cover and put into the oven for around 3 hours, stirring every now and then.

At the end of the cooking time, the beef should be falling apart and you can easily shred it with 2 forks.

2.  While the beef is cooking, prepare your sides and boil the potatoes until tender.

3.  Serve!

Vegetarian Lasagne

So we in this house aren't vegetarian by any means, but somehow I ended up with so many different packs and types of lentils in my pantry, it's not even funny.  So hubby requested that I find ways to use them up!  This veggie lasagne was perfect.  My kids love lasagne but my son isn't overly fond of some veggies.... however even he didn't have any idea that this lasagne was vegetarian as he ate up multiple serves!  It's pretty important to soak the lentils prior to cooking them in order to make them easier to digest. 

Ingredients (serves 6-8):

Dry lasagne sheets (I used gluten-free ones)

100g sheep's milk pecorino (or parmesan), grated

White sauce:

1L milk of choice (I used Bonsoy)

100g butter, cubed

40g gluten-free cornflour

1 tsp sea salt

Pinch of nutmeg

Filling:

1 cup lentils, soaked for 8 hours, then drained and rinsed well (I used a mix of split red and Beluga lentils)

Optional - handful of dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes

1 onion, peeled

2 cloves garlic, peeled

2 tbsp cooking fat

4 large tomatoes, halved (or 400g can diced tomatoes)

1/2 red capsicum, cut into chunks

1 carrot, peeled, quartered

100g mushrooms

200g pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks

1 bay leaf

4 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup water

Sea salt, pepper and Herbamare to taste

Method:

1. Grate cheese and set aside.  

2. Make white sauce: in a small saucepan on medium heat, melt butter and then whisk in cornflour.  Gradually add the milk, whisking the whole time.  When sauce has thickened slightly, add salt and nutmeg.  Set aside.

(In Thermomix, prepare a double quantity of white sauce by using the EDC recipe)

3. Make the lasagne filling: add diced onion, crushed garlic and cooking fat to a saucepan on medium heat.  Cook until softened.  In the meantime, puree in a food processor the tomatoes, capsicum, carrot, mushrooms, pumpkin and porcini mushrooms with soaking water (if using).  Add puree to the saucepan along with the remaining ingredients, including the drained and rinsed lentils.  Bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer for around 15 minutes or until the lentils are soft, stirring often.  Remove the bay leaf.

(Thermomix - add halved onion and peeled garlic cloves. Chop 2sec/sp7.  Add cooking fat and cook 2min/100deg/sp1.  Add tomatoes, capsicum, carrot, mushrooms, pumpkin and porcini mushrooms with the soaking water, if using.  Process 10sec/sp7 until finely chopped.  Add the remaining ingredients including the drained and rinsed lentils and cook for 20min/100deg/rev+sp2 and ensure that the lentils are soft at the end of that cooking time. Remove the bay leaf)

4.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees while you assemble the lasagne. In the bottom of a large rectangular baking dish, pour in 1/3 of the filling.  Top with lasagne sheets, then spread a thin layer of white sauce over the lasagne sheets.  Repeat this process 2 more times until you have used up all the filling, finishing with lasagne sheets.  Pour the remainder of the white sauce over the top and sprinkle with the grated cheese.  Place into the oven and bake for around 20 minutes or until the top is golden and the lasagne sheets are cooked through.  Serve with a salad.

 

Cottage Pie

So after my recent holiday in southeast Queensland, the kids and I sure got a big chill when we stepped off the plane as we arrived back in Perth last week!  Having lived in Perth for 6 months now, I am still surprised by how cold it can get.  So I think the cold weather is the perfect opportunity to make some really warming winter food such as this cottage pie!

Ingredients (serves 6-8):
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp cooking fat
500g beef mince (preferably organic and grassfed)
1.5 cups diced veggies (I used carrot, capsicum, green beans and some frozen peas)
300g tomato puree
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Sea salt and pepper

Topping:
Boiled veggies (I used white potatoes, sweet potato and pumpkin), drained and mashed with some butter, milk of choice (I used Bonsoy) and seasoned with sea salt and pepper
100g cheese, grated (I crumbled some sheep's milk feta)

Method:
1.  Into a saucepan on medium heat, add diced onion, crushed garlic and cooking fat.  Cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes until softened.

(Thermomix - add halved onion and garlic cloves.  Chop 2sec/sp7, add cooking fat and cook 2min/100deg/sp1)

2.    Add the mince and cook, stirring, until browned.

(Thermomix - add mince and cook 3min/100deg/rev+sp1)

3.  Add remaining ingredients, bring to the boil and then reduce heat to simmer for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.


(Thermomix - add remaining ingredients and cook 15min/100deg/rev+sp1)

4.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees while you assemble the pie.  Pour the meat sauce into the base of a large rectangular baking dish. Top with mashed veggies and then sprinkle with grated/crumbled cheese.


5.  Bake the pie for around 20 minutes or until golden on top.  Serve with a salad on the side.

Spicy Lamb & Lentil Casserole with Herby Dumplings

The biggest problem with cooking this meal was that as it cooked in the slow cooker and I sat there trying to study for next's week biology exam, the amazing smell was very distracting!  I managed to get the study done in the end, as well as cook an amazingly nutritious dinner.  The best bit is that you literally throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker (or into the oven if you don't have a slow cooker) and leave it to cook.... just stirring every couple of hours and adding in the dumplings in the last half hour of cooking!

Ingredients:
Casserole:
1kg free range lamb, diced
1 cup lentils, rinsed (I used a mix of red lentils and Beluga lentils)
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
400g can diced tomatoes
2 cups stock (I used chicken stock made as per Quirky Cooking's recipe)
OR 2 cups Campbell's vegetable stock
OR 2 cups water + 2 tsp TM vegetable stock concentrate
3 cups diced veggies - I used 1/2 a zucchini, 1 carrot, half a green capsicum, jap pumpkin and some mushrooms
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Juice of half a lemon
Sea salt, pepper and Herbamare

Dumplings:
1.5 cups spelt flour
30g butter, cubed
1 tbsp each chopped fresh parsley, dill and basil (or 1 tsp each of dried)
1/4 cup water
Sea salt and pepper

Method:
1. Into a slow cooker, add all the casserole ingredients and give it all a good mix.  Cook on "low" for up to 8 hours, stirring every now and then.  If you don't have a slow cooker, preheat your oven to 150 degrees, add all the ingredients into a casserole dish, mix, cover and cook for around 3 hours, stirring occasionally. 

2. Half an hour before the casserole is ready, make the dumplings.  To a food prcoessor or Thermomix, add all your dry ingredients.  Pulse a few times until they ingredients are all incorporated.  Add the water and process for a few seconds until it all comes together (8sec/sp6 in Thermomix).  Shape the dough into dumplings and pop the dumplings on top of the casserole.  Put the lid back onto the slow cooker (or if cooking in the oven, pop the lid back onto the casserole dish and return to the oven for 30min).

Chicken & Vegetable Pie

What a great wintery dish.  Very warming on a cold winter day!  You can really use whatever veggies you like in this pie.  The more the merrier!

Ingredients:
Pie filling:
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp cooking fat
500g free range chicken fillets, diced
1/2 zucchini, diced
1/2 capsicum, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup chicken broth (OR 1 cup water + 1 tsp TM veggie stock concentrate OR 1 cup Campbell's veggie stock)
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp tamari sauce
1 tsp dried basil (or 1 tbsp fresh)
1 tsp dried parsley (or 1 tbsp fresh)
Sea salt, pepper and Herbamare to taste
2 tbsp gluten-free cornflour in 1/4 cup water

Pastry:
2.5 cups spelt flour
80g butter
1 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup water

Method:
1. Make the pie filling: cook the diced onion, crushed garlic, diced chicken and cooking fat for a few minutes on medium heat.

(TM: add halved onion and garlic cloves.  Chop 5sec/sp7.  Add cooking fat and chicken.  Cook 3min/100deg/rev+sp1)

2.  Add diced veggies, stock/broth, vinegar, tamari, herbs and seasonings.  Turn down the heat and simmer, stirring every now and then, for 10 minutes.

(TM: add diced veggies, stock/broth, vinegar, tamari, herbs and seasonings and cook 10min/100deg/rev+sp1)

3.  Add the cornflour dissolved in water and stir in.  Simmer for a few more minutes until the liquid has thickened.  Cool the pie filling while you make the pastry.

(TM: add cornflour dissolved in water.  Cook 3min/100deg/rev+sp1.  Allow the filling to cool while you make pastry)

4.  To make the pastry, in a food processor, process the flour, butter and salt until breadcrumb consistency.  Add the water and process a few more seconds.  Take the pastry out and knead until smooth.  Split into 2 equal portions and put into the fridge for around 15 minutes.

(TM: into clean and dry bowl, add flour, butter and salt.  Mix 6sec/sp6.  Add water and knead 30 seconds on interval setting.  Take the pastry out and split in half, then refrigerate for 15 minutes)

5.  Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and grease a pie dish with butter.  Take out one portion of pastry and roll out.  Place into greased pie dish and prick with a fork.  Blind bake for around 10 minutes.

6.  Turn down the oven to 180 degrees.  Pour the pie filling into pastry shell.  Roll out the remaining pastry and place on top of the pie, pressing down all along the edge to secure.  Prick the top a few times to allow for air vents.  Bake for around 20 minutes or until the pastry on top is golden.
 
   

Beef & Vegetable Casserole

It is getting really cold in Perth now that winter has officially started!  So we are having lots of soups and casseroles full of seasonal veggies.  This one was made in the slow cooker (my latest obsession) which I cooked for around 8 hours.  If you don't have a slow cooker, you could easily bake this in the oven, but you need to make sure you allow around 3 hours cooking time.

Ingredients (serves 6-8):
1kg gravy beef, diced
400g can diced tomatoes
1 cup beef broth (I made this as per the recipe in Sally Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions")
OR 1 cup Campbell's vegetable stock
OR 1 cup water + 1 tsp TM vegetable stock concentrate
1/2 cup preservative-free red wine (I used Settlers Ridge brand)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
Sea salt, pepper and Herbamare to taste
Assorted diced veggies - I used 1 carrot, 4 small potatoes, 1 onion, 2 garlic cloves, a few green beans, a couple of handfuls of mushrooms and a cup of pumpkin.

Method:
1.  Into the slow cooker or baking dish, add the tomatoes, broth/stock, wine, tomato paste, vinegar, oregano, basil and seasonings.  Stir to combine.

2.  Add remaining ingredients and stir to coat in the sauce.  If baking, cover the dish with a lid or alfoil.

3.  Cook for 8 hours on "low" setting in the slow cooker, or for 3 hours in an oven preheated to 150 degrees.  Stir every now and then.

4.  Serve with some bread (if you can have some!), otherwise this really is a complete meal on its own!

Mini Meatballs

This is a great lunchbox food for the kids or a quick weeknight dinner to have with salad!  These would also make a great party food.

Ingredients:
500g beef mince
1/2 onion
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 carrot
1/2 cup broccoli florets
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp chopped fresh herbs
1 free range egg
1 tsp onion powder 
Sea salt, pepper to taste

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2.  Process onion, garlic, pumpkin, carrot and broccoli in a food processor (or 5sec/sp7 in Thermomix) until finely chopped.  Tip into a large bowl.

3.  Add remaining ingredients to the chopped veggies and mix with your hands until combined.

4.  Shape the mixture into meatballs and bake for around 20 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through.

Spicy Tomato Soup

Well I must admit I'm still getting used to how cold Perth is (and I know it's going to get much colder yet!).  I've been in the mood for soups as a result!  This one is a great winter warmer thanks to all the spices.  And I've also topped it with slices of pan-fried nitrate-free chorizo which was a great addition but it can be a bit difficult to find!

Ingredients (serves 4):
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp cooking fat
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
5 tomatoes, halved or 400g can diced tomatoes
1L chicken broth (or Campbell's veggie stock or 1L water + 1 tbsp TM veggie stock concentrate)
Sea salt, pepper and Herbamare to taste
Optional - nitrate-free chorizo sausage, sliced and pan fried

Method:
1.  Dice onion, mince garlic and add to a saucepan with cooking fat.  Cook on medium heat, stirring, until softened.  Stir in herbs and spices.

(Thermomix - add halved onion and garlic cloves, chop 5sec/sp7, add cooking fat, herbs and spices and cook 2min/Varoma/sp2)

2.  Puree tomatoes (if using fresh ones) and add to the saucepan along with the stock, sea salt, pepper and Herbamare.  Bring to the boil and then reduce to simmer for around 20 minutes.  Serve.

(Thermomix: add tomatoes if using fresh ones and puree for 5sec/sp7.  Add stock, salt, pepper and Herbamare.  Cook 20min/90deg/sp2. Serve).

Slow Cooked Pepper & Red Wine Roast Beef

I recently bought a slow cooker, mainly for the purpose of making bone broths.  Though as I found out, you can also make really lovely "roasts" in it.  The beef just falls apart.  Below is the recipe we used to make dinner last night.  We had this with some roast potato, pumpkin, beetroot and carrot, as well as steamed green beans and broccoli.   

Ingredients:
1-2kg beef roast (I used a 1.3kg grassfed topside roast)
1 cup water
1 cup preservative free red wine (I used Settlers Ridge brand)
1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled
A few whole peppercorns
Sprinkle of Herbamare

Gravy:
Juices from roasting dish/slow cooker
2 tbsp gluten-free cornflour
Splash of tamari sauce

Method:
1.  Into a slow cooker, add the meat, water, wine, onion, garlic, peppercorns and Herbamare.  Cook on "low" setting for around 8 hours, turning the meat over a couple of times if possible.  If you don't have a slow cooker, you can do this in an oven - just preheat the oven to 150 degrees and add your ingredients to a roasting dish, cover with alfoil and cook for 2.5-3 hours.

2.  If having with roast veggies, pop these into the oven at the appropriate time. 

3.  Once the roast is done, set it aside to rest while you make the gravy.  Add the juices from the roasting dish or slow cooker to a small pot.  Whisk on a low heat as you add in the cornflour mixed in with some water, and also add the tamari.  Whisk for a couple of minutes or until thickened.

(To make gravy in Thermomix, add the pan juices with the garlic and onion bits, add cornflour and tamari and cook for around 3-4 minutes/100deg/sp5 or until thickened slightly).