vegetarian Archives - Page 3 of 8

Lentil Salad With Golden Beets and Green Peas

15|12|2014

A filling, delicious and healthy warm lentil salad with golden beets, green peas, feta, basil and a orange mustard dressing.

There are a few places in Sydney that make my weekends delightful. I look forward to them all week. One among them are the farmer’s markets. In the few years that I have lived here I have attempted to visit a different one each time and found myself drawn more and more to them. How inspiring is it to cook with fresh local produce directly from the people who grow them and hear their amazing stories! I find it difficult to go on weekdays (though given a choice that is where I would like to do all my fresh produce shopping from) but Saturdays are market days for me. I like to eat breakfast at the markets. My meal planning for the week is kind of sorted out too with all the delicious things I bring back. One such place that I am totally in love with is the Everleigh market located in the city centre on Saturdays. It takes me a little while to get there but it is so worth it. I return with bagfuls of colourful fruits and vegetables, cheese, delicious brownies/slices, micro-herbs, fresh flowers, tea…basically as much as a girl can hold with two hands.

Last Saturday I bought heirloom, tomatoes, golden beetoot, green and purple basil and the juiciest strawberries I have tasted. When the vegetables are themselves so delicious, there isn’t much that needs to be done. With the beetroot, I made this lentil salad which makes a healthy and filling side or even a light lunch. I roasted the beetroot in the oven and used canned lentils and frozen peas to go with it so it came together quickly. The dressing is a orange mustard dressing that really complements the flavours of the sweet beetroot and earthy lentils. Feta is a must-have in my house and so is garlic infused extra-virgin olive oil. I tend to use them a lot in my cooking which you might have guessed by now. You can make this with regular beetroot as well. You can add nuts, substitute feta with ricotta or buffalo mozzarella.

Warm Lentil Salad with Golden Beets and Green Peas
Serves 4

4 nos. golden beetroot, trimmed
1 can (400 g) brown lentils, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen (or fresh) peas, thawed (If using fresh, cook to your liking first)
15 g feta, crumbled
1/2 cup fresh basil, to garnish

For the dressing
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I use garlic infused oil. You could also chop 2 cloves of garlic and add to the dressing if using regular extra-virgin oilve oil)
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. (180 degreec C fan-forced ). Wrap each beetroot in foil. Place on a baking tray. Bake for 1 hour or until tender. Set aside to cool. Remove and discard foil. Peel the skin off. Cut into wedges.
Place the beetroot, lentils and peas in a large bowl.

On low heat, bring the orange juice, mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper to a slight boil. Remove from heat and pour over the bowl of beetroot. Toss to combine. Add the feta and fresh basil and toss gently. Serve warm.

Festive Nougat Lassi

12|12|2014

You might have heard of ‘summer in a glass. For me that glass is Lassi. If you are new to this term, Lassi is a cold yogurt based drink, popular in India. In the scorching hot sun, when my sister and me would come back home from school, our tired backpack laden shoulders and exhausted feet would fall in a slump on the couch. Our eyes would be searching the table where two glasses of freshly made Lassi would have been placed with loving hands. Who would know children better than Mum! Our thirsty lips would make an attempt to drink at a frantic pace. Lassi is of a thicker consistency than a juice or a smoothie. It is difficult to gulp it all down all at once though creamy silky taste is very tempting. Every weekday afternoon Mum would strain the home made yogurt to make Lassi and then place another bowl in a warm corner of the house for the active cultures to work in the process of making yogurt. This was common in a lot of Indian households. The home-made yogurt or Dahi was not as thick or rich as the commercially sold ones but it was an inexpensive and effective way of making something within the comfort of your kitchen.

In our Australian markets we have so many varieties of yogurt. Though I miss the lassi of my childhood, I love what Greek yogurt can do to a Lassi. It makes the whole process a breeze to make. Since, this is the time to bring some nougat into our lives, I thought I would add the flavours of nougat to my Lassi along with a dash of peppermint to turn it into a festive drink perfect for our summer holidays. This drink is certainly healthier than milkshake and would appeal to adults and kids alike.

For a spiced chocolate version of Lassi, you may want to check out this post.

Festive Nougat Lassi
Serves 2-3
1/4 cup pistachios, skinned
1/4 cups whole almonds
zest of one orange
2 candy canes
11/2 cups cold milk
11/2 cups greek yogurt (preferably vanilla flavoured but regular will work just as fine)
2-3 tbsp maple syrup/honey (depending on sweetness preferred)
Place the pistachios, almonds, orange zest and candy canes in the bowl of your food processor and process till finely chopped. Add the milk, yogurt and honey and blend till smooth.

Serve with or without ice-cubes and place a candy cane in the serving glass just before serving.

Cauliflower Steaks With Chilli, Lemon And Nut Salsa

4|11|2014

We are quite fortunate to be able to cook with cauliflower all year round in Sydney. This was not the case where I grew up. Cauliflower was seasonal and even though one would find them in bigger markets, they would not taste great. My mother would want to buy the ones that were sold on the roadside, straight off the fields and she seemed very pleased if she could get her hands on them. We knew what we would be eating that night. They would be turned into a curry or a stir-fry with plenty of spices. I always loved cauliflower, whatever the dish. It was much later that I discovered that it tasted delicious even when it was cooked in the oven. And a lot healthier.

This dish is as simple as it looks. Take a whole cauliflower head and slice it into steaks. I love that word…steak! Makes dinner sound very exciting. Brown them slightly on a pan and roast them. Then you can go with a salsa, dressing or a sauce of your choice. I chose to make a salsa as I came across a wonderful assortment of roasted nuts that I reviewed recently (that will be published next on the blog). I wanted the cauliflower and nuts to shine in the recipe so I kept the flavours simple. But they really go well together and make the dish a wonderful side to be served to family and friends.

I had a chaotic morning today as my site went down completely. If you were one of those trying to access my posts, I apologise for the inconvenience. Initially I had no clue what went wrong. I was performing a normal update operation when the screen went white. After that neither could I login nor view any of my content. I don’t take pride in the fact that I have very little technical expertise in such matters so like always I called up my husband, my backbone. Hubby is not an expert either but he enjoys a few challenges. It was a busy day for him as well, yet he managed to quickly send me a few trouble shooting links. I did not get much from those but I realised that I had to resolve this. Alone. My blog…my beloved blog had to be up and running again. I was almost terrified at the thought of losing my content. Finally, I googled up help topics,watched a few videos and contacted Bluehost, (where I host my website). After what seemed like a lot of exchange of messages the blog came back to life. Apparently it was an issue with a plug-in. They had to deactivate all my plug-ins to restore the site. It was a huge relief even though I knew I would have to manage all my plug-ins and widgets all over again. The only reason I am sharing this is so it could help someone in a similar situation.

I hope you all are having a fabulous week. Two days hence, we have Orientation Day for our boys in their new school. I am excited but also a little sad.
Motherhood is amazing….it is so much about self-discovery as much as it is about nurturing minds and bodies.

Cauliflower Steaks with Chilli, Lemon and Nut Salsa
Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large cauliflower head , cut cross-ways into four 1.5 cm-thick pieces
salt and pepper. to season
1/2 cup roasted nuts (I used a mix of almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts)
2 cloves garlic
2 red chillies
1/4 cup green olives
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh continental parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a large baking trays with foil. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 cauliflower pieces to the pan. Cook, turning, for 4-5 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a prepared tray. Season. Repeat with the remaining olive oil and cauliflower pieces. Roast cauliflower for 12-15 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, combine the nuts, garlic, chillies, olives, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, oregano in the bowl of your food processor and process till the ingredients are roughly chopped (not a fine paste).

Transfer the cauliflower to a platter. Top with the chilli, lemon and nut salsa..

Creamy Mushroom Soup With A Cheese Crust

31|10|2014

This week has been one filled with many ‘firsts’. The most exciting one among them was that we were called to try out and pick up school uniforms for my soon-to turn schoolgoer boys. It is hard to express what I was feeling at the sight of them in their fresh, slightly over-sized school uniforms. Bittersweet is probably the closest word I can think of. Stepping out during the day, I also realised how warm the weather is gradually turning. So that means it’s time to take a break from soups and move onto sorbets and ice creams. But before I do so I thought I’d share this delicious bowl of what is called the ‘ultimate comfort food’.

The soup is one that I would like to eat over and over again as it is full of textures. I don’t process the soup to a fine consistency..I like to bite into tiny bits and chunks of mushrooms while savoring it’s creamy base. Also, a thicker consistency holds the cheese on top and prevents it from getting mixed into the soup. The cheese takes it to another level. Slightly browned on the top, the cheese forms a nice little crust to break into with your spoon. Fresh thyme makes it aromatic and packs in flavour. Thyme is one of my favourite herbs, so I do add generous quantities for myself.

Since, it is thick and filling, it makes for a quick weeknight meal with warm buttered toast or garlic bread. I also like to add a dash of garlic infused extra virgin olive oil on top.
Mushrooms, cheese, garlic…we can’t go wrong, can we?

Creamy Mushroom Soup With A Cheese Crust
Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium brown onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 medium leek, trimmed, halved, washed, thinly sliced
500 g cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cups chicken/vegetable stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup cheddar/gruyere cheese, coarsely grated
Fresh thyme, to serve
Cracked Pepper, to serve

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and leek. Cook, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes or until softened. Add mushroom. Cook, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes or until mushroom has softened.

Add stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 10 minutes or until mushroom is soft and liquid has reduced slightly. Blend soup, in batches, to your desired consistency.
Return soup to pan. Season with salt and pepper. Add cream. Reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until warmed through. Ladle into bowls. .

Preheat oven to 220 degrees C. Divide cheese between the serving bowls (sprinkle on top). Place bowls in a roasting pan, pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides of bowls and bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and golden. Sprinkle with thyme and cracked pepper. Serve immediately.