BEAN & BEET STEW

Also known as Chard or Swiss Chard, Silverbeet is rich in many vitamins and minerals, like all other green leafy vegetables. Silverbeet contains high levels of magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium and vitamin A and K. It is a very versatile vegetable and one that my mother and grandmother used to cook in abundance when I was growing up. Silverbeet can be paired with all manners of meats, it works wonderfully in soups and stews and is a famous ingredient in the very tasty Greek filo pastries (spanakopita). I often use silverbeet in soups, stews and in frittatas. Play around with the recipe below and add whatever vegetables you need to get rid of, such as pumpkin, potato etc, but don't forget the silverbeet! 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 medium carrots, diced 
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, stems removed 
• ground black pepper
• 1/2 large silverbeet, around 150g, stems removed and finely chopped
• 1 x 400g tin cannellini beans, washed & drained
• Optional -100g reduced-fat ham, diced 
• Optional - 1 tablespoon reduced-fat grated parmesan cheese or grated regular cheese 

COOKING 

1. Heat a large deep saucepan over medium heat and add olive oil, swirling to coat. Add the carrots and zucchini and cook for around 5-6 minutes or until the zucchini and carrot are starting to soften. Stir occasionally to make sure the vegetables do not stick to the pan. Pour in the garlic and leave to cook for 1 minute. 

2. Add the thyme, a generous sprinkle of pepper and the silverbeet to the pan along with one cup of water. Stir to combine then cover the pan until the silverbeet wilts (this should just take a few minutes). Pour in the beans and continue to cook, covered, turning the heat down to a simmer, for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the ham to the pan if using and stir well to combine. 

Serves / 4 
Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 
Total Cooking time / under 20 minutes 

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PAPRIKA CHICKEN with COUSCOUS SALAD

The inspiration for this salad came from a Farro & Quinoa Chicken Salad I had on a Qantas flight a few weeks ago. Whilst farro is delicious and has many health benefits, it is not as easily accessible as couscous, hence the change. I have made many salads with quinoa and wanted to mix things up with couscous, however you could substitute 1 cup couscous for 1 cup quinoa (make sure to thoroughly rinse the quinoa before cooking under cold water using a sieve, then bring the quinoa and 2 cups water to the boil over high heat, covered. Once boiled simmer for around 10 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Turn off the heat and leave the quinoa in the pan, covered, for 5 minutes, before fluffing with a fork). Nigella seeds are hard to come by in supermarkets, so I have used sesame and poppy seeds as an alternate. If you wanted to make this salad vegetarian, omit the chicken and add 400-450g lightly pan fried tofu. 

INGREDIENTS

Salad

• 500g chicken breast, preferably free-range, cut into even strips
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 heaped teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 cup couscous or 1 cup quinoa (then substitute 1 cup water for 2 cups)
• 1 cup water 
• a dash of sea salt
• 250g cherry tomatoes, halved or 1 large tomato, finely chopped 
• 1/2 a continental cucumber, diced 
• 2 generous handfuls of baby spinach, washed
• 2 cups frozen peas, thawed

Dressing

• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• a generous sprinkle of ground black pepper
• the juice of 1 lime
• water 
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds & 1 teaspoon poppy seeds OR 2 teaspoons nigella seeds 

COOKING

1. Combine the chicken strips, 1 tablespoon oil and paprika in a medium bowl. Heat a grill plate or a large fry pan over medium high heat until warm, then add the chicken. Cook for around 5-6 minutes, turning the chicken pieces over after 2-3 minutes so that both sides of each strip are cooked. Turn off the stove and leave the chicken to rest for 5 minutes, then cut the largest strip in half to see if the chicken is cooked. (If the inside of the strip is white and no pink remains the chicken is cooked). 

2. Meanwhile, cook the couscous by combining 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon oil and a dash of sea salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil, covered, over medium-high heat, then remove from heat. Add the 1 cup couscous and stir vigorously until the ingredients are combined. Cover the pan and leave to stand for 2 minutes, then gently separate the grains with a fork. 

3. Place the cooked chicken and couscous in a large serving bowl, then add the tomatoes and baby spinach. 

4. Using the saucepan that the couscous was cooked in, fill it up one quarter of the way with water. Bring the water to the boil over high heat, covered, then add the peas and cook for 1 minute or until peas are tender but not mushy. Drain over cold running water, then add the peas to the salad. 

5. Whilst the water is boiling in step 4, make the dressing by combining all the ingredients and a splash of water in a cup. Stir well to combine and add more water if you would like a thinner consistency. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. 

Serves  / 4 

Total Preparation time / 10 minutes 

Total Cooking time / max 20 minutes 

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MEXICAN SWEET POTATO POCKETS

This recipe was adapted from one I found in the 'Lookbook Cookbook', a very hip cookbook filled with Vegan & Gluten-free meals. This book was surprisingly given to me by my meat-loving husband for my birthday! I've adapted this recipe to include dairy in the form of feta cheese, however if you wanted to keep it lactose-free and / or vegan, substitute the cheese for 1 medium avocado. Remember that whilst avocados are incredibly amazing, they do contain a lot of fat, so you have a bit of a Sophie's choice decision on hand: either avocado or feta cheese! Or perhaps half half! 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into eight even pieces or 4 medium sweet potato, each cut in half, washed and dried (need around 1.2 kilo of sweet potato)
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
• 1/4 of a large red onion, finely chopped 
• 1 x 400g tin of four or five bean mix, drained & rinsed
• 150g green or red capsicum or a mixture of both, diced
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped, plus extra to serve 
• 100g reduced-fat feta, crumbled or finely diced
• 1/4 - 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 large tomato, diced
• the juice of 1 lime 

COOKING 

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Using a knife poke several holes into each piece of sweet potato (this will speed up the roasting process). Lightly brush the whole of each piece of potato with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the potato pieces are tender. 

2. Meanwhile, make the potato pocket filling. As the potato takes a while to cook, use this time to cut and prepare all the vegetables. Then combine the onion, beans, capsicum, 1 spring onion, feta,  chilli, paprika, tomato, lime juice and a generous sprinkle of ground black pepper. Stir well to combine and place in the fridge to marinate. NB: if you are using avocado do not add to the sweet potato until the last step. 

3. Once the potatoes are tender, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly so that you are able to handle them. Leave the oven on if you want to further roast the potatoes; see step 5. 

4. Once cool, scoop out the potato 'flesh', leaving just the skin of the potato. Take the filling out of the fridge and stir the cooked sweet potato in, chopping up the pieces if they are too big. 

5. You could now serve the sweet potato pockets by filling each potato skin with the filling and topping with extra spring onion and avocado, if using. Or if you would like your potato skin crisper, fill each potato skin with the filling and return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes or until the sweet potato skin is crispy. Remove from the oven and top with spring onion and avocado, if using. I've eaten these pockets both ways and I honestly like them both ways; it often comes down to how hungry you are!

Serves / 8 

Total Preparation time / just a few minutes as most of the prep is done during the cooking time. 

Total Cooking time / 1 hour - 1 hour 20 minutes 

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VEGETABLE BURRITOS

The inspiration for these vegetable burritos comes from a very charming cafe / bar we visited a few times in San Francisco last December. It was called 'Sweet Woodruff' and served delicious food for very reasonable prices. It was a cafe until mid afternoon, when it changed over into a bar until 11 or 12am. These vegetable burritos were a favourite of mine, however they were made quite a bit spicer than how I made mine! For some reason this cafe stayed in my mind after we left San Fran and once I returned home I felt an urge to make my own 'soft veges tacos' as they called them. 

INGREDIENTS

• 400g pumpkin, deseeded, skin removed and chopped into small pieces
• 175g zucchini, chopped into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander 
• Optional- 1/4- 1 teaspoon ground chilli
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 100g red capsicum, finely chopped
• 100g green capsicum, finely chopped
• a large handful of baby spinach 
• 80g reduced-fat feta, crumbled or finely chopped OR 80g reduced-fat grated cheese
• 8 low-carb wraps (around 45g each) or 8 Mountain bread wraps 

COOKING

1. Once you are almost done prepping the vegetables, bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil, covered. Once boiled, remove the lid and add the pumpkin. Cook for five minutes before adding the zucchini to the water for a further two minutes. Remove the pan from the stove and drain the vegetables in a colander over cold running water. Once drained well, pour the vegetables into a medium bowl and gently stir in the taco seasoning, chilli if using and a sprinkle of ground black pepper. Take care stirring or the vegetables may become mushy. 

2. Return the now vacant saucepan to the stove over medium heat and swirl the oil. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring often, for two minutes or until onion has softened slightly. Add the two kinds of capsicum to the pan and stir well, cooking for three to four minutes or until the capsicum has slightly softened. If the vegetables start to stick to the pan, add a splash of water. Add the baby spinach to the pan and cover, reducing the heat to low. Once the spinach has wilted, remove the pan from the stove and gently stir in the feta and the pumpkin mixture. 

3. Have the wraps ready. Divide the vegetable filling into eight, scooping the vegetables into the middle of each wrap. Wrap each burrito by wrapping the bottom of the wrap over and then closing in each side to meet. 

Serves / 4 / 2 wraps each 
Total Preparation time / 20-25 minutes 
Total Cooking time / 25 minutes 

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VEGETARIAN BUDDHA BOWL

I learnt about this amazing bowls from a vego friend. I love the fact that you can combine any type of grain or bean, lentil or legume and as many cooked and raw veges as you want and call it a 'Buddha Bowl'. It is such a perfect way to use up whatever vegetables that are reaching their use-by date in the fridge. I have made this recipe twice in the last week and each time this dish lasted me 4 plus serves and left me feeling full but not stuffed. I encourage to get creative and use whatever you have on hand. Here's a few ideas: 

Protein - can be a grain, seed, bean, lentil, legume or soy product. You can throw 1 or 2 of the following:

Tofu, Tempeh, Chickpeas, any type of Lentil, Cannellini beans, Four Bean Mix, Red Kidney Beans, Any type of Rice (Brown, Wild, Black, Red), Quinoa, Couscous, Farro, Freekeh, Amaranth.  

Cooked Vegetables: roast pumpkin, sweet potato, potato, mushrooms. 

Raw Vegetables: tomato, cucumber, red cabbage, capsicum, baby spinach, kale, any type of lettuce, avocado. 

And a dressing that you have made or 1 medium avocado, cut into small pieces. I often go for the avocado option, as it really rounds out the salad! 

Heres my recipe: 

INGREDIENTS

• 350g sweet potato, cut into even, small pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 heaped teaspoons ground cumin, coriander or smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 1 cup water 
• 1 head of broccoli, stalk and florets evenly chopped
• 1 cup of frozen peas, thawed 
• 225g firm tofu in a block 
• 1/2 a medium red capsicum, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 a medium green capsicum, cut into thin strips
• 2 generous handfuls of baby spinach, baby kale and mixed lettuce
• 1 medium avocado, cut into small pieces 

COOKING

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

2. Place the tofu between two chopping boards or plates with a weight on top (I used a jar of nuts). Raise one end (I placed a small scale underneath one side of the chopping board) and sit for 25 minutes to drain. Once drained, cut into even thin strips. 

3. Whilst the tofu is draining, toss the sweet potato in a medium bowl with one tablespoon oil and one of the spices. Arrange the potato pieces in a single layer on the prepared tray. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender and golden. 

4. Once the sweet potato is in the oven, place the brown rice and water in a medium saucepan, covered, and bring to the boil. Once boiled, reduce heat to a simmer and leave to cook for around 10 minutes or until all water has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove from heat and place rice in a large serving bowl to cook. 

5. Return the same saucepan to the stove, filled halfway with water and bring to the boil, covered. Once boiled add the broccoli and leave to steam for four minutes before pouring in the peas. Leave to steam for one further minute, before draining in a sieve/colander over cold running water. Pour the cooked vegetables into the serving bowl with the cooked rice. 

6. Swirl the remaining one tablespoon of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the tofu pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, covered. Remove from heat and place in the serving bowl. 

7. By now the sweet potato should be cooked. Remove from the oven and place in the serving bowl. Add the raw vegetables; in this case the capsicum, baby spinach, kale and lettuce and avocado pieces or dressing, if using, and toss well to combine. 

Serves / 4 
Total Preparation time / around 10 minutes 
Total Cooking time / 30-40 minutes 

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PUMPKIN, BROCCOLI & TOFU FRITTATA

This frittata was inspired from a quiche recipe I found in a Weight Watchers book a few weeks ago. I am a big fan of tofu and am making a big effort to add it to more dishes for added protein. Even my meat-loving husband loved this frittata! Which sadly meant less for me. A delicious, simple and filling vegetarian meal. 

Ingredients

• extra virgin olive oil 
• 450g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into small even pieces
• 1 medium head of broccoli, cut into small florets and stalk chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh shallots, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 6 eggs, preferably free range, whisked 
• 300g firm tofu, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat cows milk (or if dairy intolerant or allergic, substitute for lactose-free, soy or unsweetened almond milk). 
• 1/4 cup grated light / reduced-fat cheese
• ground black pepper 

Cooking 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180 degrees celsius or 200 degrees for a non fan-forced oven. Lightly grease a circular cake mould with olive oil. 

2. Bring a medium saucepan filled halfway with water to the boil, covered. Use this time to cut the pumpkin and broccoli. Once the water has boiled add the pumpkin and cook for seven minutes, then add the broccoli and cook for 1-2 minutes or until bright green. Remove from heat and drain the pumpkin and broccoli in a colander under cold water. 

3. Meanwhile, cut up all the herbs. Combine the whisked eggs, tofu, milk, herbs, cheese and a generous pinch of pepper in a large bowl. Add the cooked vegetables and stir well to combine all ingredients. 

4. Pour the egg mixture into the prepared mould and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until the egg is almost set and the top of the frittata is lightly golden. Remove from heat and leave to cool before cutting into slices. Serve with extra herbs on top, if desired.

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation & Cooking time / 50 minutes 

FREEKEH VEGETARIAN SALAD

Move over quinoa, theres another grain on the block; Freekeh (pronounced free-ka). Freekeh is a wholegrain wheat cereal that has rapidly become popular in the western world, even though it has been considered a staple in the Middle East for over 2000 years. 

Freekeh, which translates ''to rub'' in Arabic, is made by roasting the young grains of durum wheat and threshing them to remove the chaff (the dry, scaly casings of the grain). What remains is a toasted/roasted grain with a nutty and slightly smoky taste. Because Freekeh is made from wheat, it is therefore not gluten or wheat free. 

This ancient grain is very high in nutrients, as the grains are still green when they are harvested. As a result, freekeh contains more protein, vitamins and minerals that other more mature grains. Some of the vital nutrients that this grain contains include calcium, potassium, iron, zinc and magnesium. Freekeh has a low GI rating of 43, which means that a serving of this grain leaves you feeling fuller for longer as it is a slow-release energy food. Freekeh also contains FOUR times the fibre of brown rice! 

You can use this humble grain as a breakfast cereal, as a replacement for rice or pasta or served cold in a salad (see recipe below). The cooking time is similar to that of brown rice, as is the cooking process. 

I used vegetable stock to cook my freekeh, as the added flavour meant that I did not have to prepare a dressing for the salad. You can add any vegetables you have on hand to this salad; such as cooked artichokes, cucumber, capsicum etc. The vegetables in my ingredients list were what was in my fridge. Make sure you add some beans or lentils for added protein. 

INGREDIENTS

• 5 cups (1.25 litres) Massel vegetable stock or water 
• 2 cups (350g) roasted wholegrain freekeh 
• 1/2 bunch of kale, washed & torn into small pieces
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• sea salt
• 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 small roasted beetroot, finely chopped or 1/2 tin of beetroot slices, finely chopped
• 1 x 400g tin of cannellini beans, washed & drained 
• 1 ripe avocado, scooped into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons of parsley, roughly chopped

COOKING 

1. Bring the stock / water and freekeh to the boil over high heat in a small covered saucepan. When boiled, reduce the heat to a simmer and leave to cook with the lid slightly askew. Simmer for around 35 - 45 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed and the freekeh is tender to taste. Remove from heat and leave to cool for a few minutes. 

2. Whilst the freekeh is cooking, use this time to chop the tomatoes, beetroot, avocado, parsley and wash & rinse the beans. 

3. Once you have prepared the ingredients in step 2, heat a fan-force oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Toss the torn kale, garlic, oil and a few sprinkles of salt until combined and lay the kale on the prepared tray. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the kale has shrivelled up slightly but is not burnt. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. 

4. Toss the remaining ingredients in a large bowl with the cooked freekeh, then serve equally into four bowls. Place the kale carefully on top of each serving, so that it stays crispy. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation & Cooking time / 40 - 50 minutes 

x Emily