Quinoa with miso, sweet potato, and broccoli

This is a delicious recipe with incredibly more-ish sauce: the miso is sweet, savory, and tangy.  Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

1 c cooked quinoa
2 medium sweet potatoes (1.5 pounds)
1 large broccoli head
1-2 T olive oil
2 T toasted sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste
2 green onions, chopped coarsely
a handful of your favorite herb, chopped

For the sauce

1.5 T ginger
1 small clove garlic, minced or pressed
3 T miso
3 T tahini
1.5 T honey
3/8 c rice vinegar
3 T sesame oil
3 T olive oil

Instructions

1) Heat oven to 205C.  Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch cubes, then remove stalk from broccoli and cut into small florets.
2) Spray a tin foil lined tray with olive oil, layer sweet potatoes onto tray, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3)  Cook sweet potatoes for 20 minutes or until browning slightly, then add broccoli chunks and toss to combine, and roast for another 10-15 minutes, until broccoli is lightly browned and sweet potato is fully cooked.
4) While vegetables are cooking, prepare miso dressing by combining ingredients and blending (in a blender or with a hand blender).
5) To serve, put a dollop of quinoa on a plate, add a few spoonfulls of sweet potatoes and broccoli, sprinkle with dressing, then finish with sesame seeds, herbs, and green onions.

Pizza with gorgonzola, caramelized onions, pear, beets, and rocket

Making homemade pizza dough requires a bit of advance prep and effort, but it's absolutely worth the effort.  The dough here was kneaded using a bread maker, but it is just as easy to use a food processor or knead by hand.  Adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

Ingredients

For the dough

1 3/4 c water, divided into 1/2 cup warm, 1 1/4 c tap temperature
1 t dry active yeast
2 T olive oil

4 c strong white bread flour

1.5 t salt 

For the pizza

a jar of your favorite tomato sauce

a hunk of gorgonzola, crumbled

250g fresh mozzarella, cut into small chunks

200 g baby beets (sweetfire is best), cut into small chunks

1 pear, sliced thinly

2 red onions, caramelized (see here for a recipe)

1/2 c parmesian, grated

6 cups fresh rocket

Instructions

For the dough

1) Combine 1/4 c warm water with yeast in a medium bowl, and let stand 5 minutes, until yeast dissolves and swells to produce bubbles.  

2) Add remaining 1/4 c water, 1 1/4 c tap water, and 2 T olive oil.

3) Combine flour with salt.

4a) If using a bread maker, combine all ingredients together and let the machine do the work.

4b) If using a food processor, place flour/salt into the food processor, pulse to combine well, then add the liquid ingredients, pulsing all the while until a ball of dough forms.

5) Process dough in food processor with short pulses for 30 seconds to a minute, until the dough is smooth and satiny.

6) Lightly flour a work surface, turn dough out, and knead by hand for about a minute to form a small ball.  

7) Place dough into a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a cool place for about 4 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.

For the pizza

I like to improvise with quantities for ingredients.  Here, you should have enough toppings for about 3 pizzas - feel free to decrease/increase the quantities of any of the toppings to suit your taste.  You will have some leftover dough, which can be wrapped tightly in cling film and frozen.

1) Preheat the oven to 250C.  Cover a large work surface with flour, take a piece of dough the size of a fist, and roll dough out from the middle outwards, with a rolling pin, until it is to the thickness of your liking.  (See here for tips)

2) Place the dough onto a baking stone or tray, and layer with ingredients: spray with a bit of olive oil, slather base with 2-3 T tomato sauce, and sprinkle with gorgonzola, mozzarella, red onions, pear, and beets.  

3) Sprinkle the top with parmesian, and bake for 8-12 minutes, until the crust is gold brown and the toppings are browning slightly.

4) Serve sprinkled with fresh rocket.

Quinoa salad with egg, zucchini, and avocado-cilantro dressing

This is a delicious and summery quinoa salad, adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

Ingredients

1 large avocado, ripe
juice of 1 lime
1/4 c lightly packed cilantro
1 clove garlic
1/4 c plain yogurt
1/2 c water
1/2 t salt
2 T mayonaisse
4 large eggs
1 large zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch thick coins
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
couple pinches of fine grain sea salt
1 cups quinoa, cooked according to package instructions
handful pine nuts, toasted
1/4 c feta, crumbled
1-2 c fresh spinach, chopped finely
2 T chopped cilantro
1/4 c cooked corn (optional)

Instructions

1) Prepare the avocado-cilantro dressing by blending the avocado, lime juice, cilantro, garlic, yogurt, water, salt, and mayonaise with a hand blender, and set aside.
2) Hard boil three eggs and set aside.  (Try this technique: place eggs in a medium pot and cover with cold water by 1/2 inch.  Bring to a gentle boil, turn off heat and cover.  Let sit for 7 minutes, then dunk eggs in ice water to stop cooking.)
3) Use a grill pan (or a normal pan if you don't have one) to cook zucchini: heat olive oil over medium heat and cook zucchini for ~5 minutes on each side.
4) Crack and peel each egg, then cut into quarters.
5) Toss quinoa with zucchini, spinach, feta, cilantro, and corn (if using).
6) To assemble salad, top quinoa mix with avocado sauce and slices of egg.

Mango, cabbage, and cashew cole slaw

This is a delicious alternative to a side vegetable to serve with asian food.  I find it's a particularly good combination for fish.  Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

2 mangos, peeled, pitted, and sliced into tiny slivers (julienned using a mandolin is best)
1 medium (1 pound) napa cabbage, halved and sliced into thin slivers
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
1 red pepper, sliced into tiny slivers
5-6 T lime juice
1/4 c rice vinegar
2 T sesame oil
1/2 t salt
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/4 c fresh cilantro or mint (or both)
1/4 c cashews, toasted and chopped coarsely

Instructions

1) Toss mango, cabbage, pepper. and onion in a large bowl.
2) Combine lime juice, vinegar, oil, salt, and red pepper flakes into a small bowl.
3) Pour sauce over mango mix, and sprinkle with herbs and cashews before serving.

Lemony goat cheese pasta

This is an easy and very tasty dish that smacks of goat cheese.  The lemon zest rounds off the flavor nicely.  I think that other vegetables could easily be substituted for the asparagus.  Adapted from Smitten Kitchen.

Ingredients

1 pound spiral pasta (or whatever pasta you prefer)
1 pound asparagus, stalks trimmed, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/8 to 1/4 c olive oil
1 T grated lemon peel
2 T basil (or your herb of choice)
5 oz soft, fresh goat cheese
1/2 c grated parmesian
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste

Instructions

1) Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente, 3-4 minutes shy of the full cooking time on the package
2) Add asparagus and cook until tender but still firm, about 2-3 minutes.
3) Drain and reserve one cup of pasta water
4) Combine olive oil, lemon peel, basil, and goat cheese in a large bowl, and mix until smooth.
5) Add pasta and asparagus to goat cheese mixture, plus a couple T of pasta water, and toss until well incorporated.  Add more pasta water for a thinner sauce.
6) Add salt, pepper, and lemon to taste.  Sprinkle with parmesian to serve.

Zucchini and goat cheese galette

This recipe is adapted from a very delicious version made by Smitten Kitchen - I've substituted goat cheese for ricotta and used lemon basil to add a bit of extra zing.  In any case, this free form tart is packed full of flavor and tastes great warm or cold.

Ingredients

Pastry

1.25 c flour
1/4 t salt
8 T unsalted butter,
1/4 c sour cream/creme fraiche
2 t lemon juice
1/4 c ice water
1 egg yolk for glaze

Filling

1 large (or 2 small) zucchinis, sliced into 1/4" rounds
1 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 c fresh goat cheese (I mixed some goat cheese with sour creme to get a more spreadable texture)
1/2 c grated parmesian
1/2 c shredded mozzarella (or similarly soft cheese)
1 T slivered basil leaves (use lemon basil if you can find it!)

Instructions

1) Combine salt and flour in a large bowl.  Sprinkle small chunks of butter over mixture, and blend with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles very coarse sand.  (You can also do this in a food processor, using short 1/2 second bursts - just don't overmix!)
2) In a small bowl, combine sour cream, lemon juice, and water.
3) Add liquid to flour mix, and mix gently with fingertips or a spoon, until the dough is in large lumps.  Try not to overmix, as you will bread up the butter globules and the pastry will be tough not flaky.  If your dough is too wet, add a few T of flour.
4) Cover pastry with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 15 minutes, until dough is cold and firm (but definitely not frozen).
5) Combine oil and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.
6) In a medium bowl, mix goat cheese, parmesian, mozzarella, basil, and 1 t of garlicky oil.  Set aside.
7) After the dough is chilled, preheat oven to 200C.  On a flour work surface, roll the dough into a 12 inch round (either with your fingers or a rolling pin).  For extra flaky dough, fold the dough over itself several times.
8) Transfer dough round to a parchment-lined baking tray.  Spread cheese mixture evenly over middle of dough, leaving a 2" border.
9) Arrange zucchini in concentric circles, overlapping slightly, and starting at the outside edge.
10) Drizzle with garlic olive oil, and fold dough over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit.
11) Mix egg yolk with 1 T water, and brush over dough.
12) Bake galette 30-40 minutes, until crust is firm and gold brown, and zucchini is slightly wilted.

Eggplant, pomegranite, and feta salad

This recipe is an adaption of a salad my friend Naomi served to me.  It's very light and full of delicious flavors.  If you have a grill pan or a George Forman Grill, you can also cook the eggplant in that.

Ingredients

2 cups rocket, chopped coarsly
2 medium eggplants, sliced into 1/2cm thick round slices
2 tomatoes, sliced thinly
2/3 c feta
handful of basil, chopped/slivered
large handful of pine nuts, toasted
1/4 c pomegranate seeds (see this technique for removing pomengranite seeds)
1 clove garlic, minced/pressed
zest of one lemon
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 c high quality balsamic vinegar (aged is best)
olive oil spray
salt and pepper

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 200C, line a large baking tray with foil, and spray with olive oil.  Spread eggplant slices flat, and spray generously with olive oil (to prevent burning).
2) Cook eggplant approximately 20 minutes, until they are soft and golden brown (thinner slices will cook faster.)
3) Meanwhile, while the eggplant is cooking, mix together the garlic, lemon zest, olive oil, and balsamic into a dressing.  Salt and pepper to taste.
4) When the eggplant is done cooking, layer the salad on a platter.

• Sprinkle with rocket
• Add a layer of tomatoes (arranging close together or slightly overlapping)
• Arrange eggplant in flat layers, similar to tomatoes.
• Sprinkle with feta, basil, pine nuts, and pomegranite.

5) Pour dressing evenly over salad and let sit for a few minutes.  Serve with couscous.