Spicy tomato and roasted capsicum relish

After a relish to top your steak? Or to dip crackers into? I went on a quest to replicate a delicious store-bought relish earlier this year, and this was the result. A spicy, slightly acidic, slightly sweet, savoury tomato and capsicum relish. Certainly a healthier alternative to drowning your meat in tomato sauce (which I must admit I did as a kid, and well into teenage hood), and a much more natural, chunky, adult-tasting version.

I used some of the same techniques from my arrabbiata sauce recipe, blanching fresh tomatoes and roasting my own red capsicum. You certainly could make a few shortcuts and used canned chopped tomatoes and store-bought roasted capsicum if you were a little time-poor (and let's face it- who isn't?). But I think the real joy of this is being able to make the entire thing from scratch. Who knows, your homemade relish could become a nice little Christmas present for loved ones?

Spicy tomato and roasted capsicum relish

4 medium tomatoes

1 small-medium red capsicum

½ red onion, diced

1 small red chilli, finely chopped (or more if using larger, milder chillies)

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar

1.5 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp mixed herbs

Pinch of salt and pepper

1. Roast capsicum: Place capsicum pieces skin side up on a baking tray lined with foil. Bake at 200°C for ~15 minutes, or until skin starts to darken. Gather up foil to enclose capsicum and steam in oven for a further 10 minutes. Remove capsicum from oven, place into a bowl of ice cold water for a couple of minutes. Remove from water and peel off skin. Discard skin and set aside.
2. Blanch tomatoes: Prick the skin of the tomatoes a couple of times each and place in a medium-sized saucepan of water. Cover and bring to the boil for ~10 minutes or until cracks appear in the skin of the tomatoes. Drain and place in a bowl of ice cold water for a couple of minutes. Remove from water and peel off skin. Discard skin and set aside.
3. Roughly chop capsicum and tomatoes, reserving only half the juices.
4. Saute onion in olive oil in a medium saucepan until translucent. Add garlic and chilli and stir for 2 minutes.
5. Add capsicum, tomatoes and juices, vinegar, brown sugar, herbs, salt and pepper to the saucepan. Simmer for at least 45 minutes, until relish has reduced and thickened.
6. Place in a sterilized glass jar until and store until needed. Refrigerate after opening.

Makes ~300mL (just over 1 cup).

Note: to sterilize a jar, wash in hot soapy water, rinse and dry well. Place in the oven at 120°C for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately fill with sauce.

Vitamin-D deficient? This food might be the answer…

Move over sunlight- just one serve of this vegetable provides you with all of your vitamin D… Can you guess the vegetable? It's mushrooms! That's right, just 100g of sunbaked mushies (equivalent to 3 button mushrooms) provides 100% of the recommended dietary intake (RDI) of vitamin D.

Now, before we get to the sunbaked part, you might be surprised to learn that in a warm, sunny country like ours, surrounded by beautiful beaches,  60% of women and 40% of men are vitamin D deficient. Right now, at the end of winter, our vitamin D levels are at their lowest, and if you're an office worker, older person, have naturally dark skin or just tend not to spend much time outdoors, you could certainly be at risk of deficiency.

Vitamin D is an essential nutrient, most commonly gained through sunlight exposure (though also in small quantities in some foods, like oily fish and eggs), which helps the body better absorb calcium which we know is vital for strong teeth and bones and helping to prevent conditions like osteoporosis. 

Sunbaked mushrooms to the rescue!

Now it might sounds funny that a fungi which grows in dark places could be high in vitamin D, but that's where the sun baking comes into play. Mushrooms naturally contain the precursor to vitamin D (called ergosterol), and when exposed to UV light, this is converted to vitamin D as we know it.

How do you reap the benefits? Simply sit your regular mushrooms out in the sun for an hour and cook as you normally would. For something even easier, many supermarkets (including the large chains) now sell 'vitamin D mushrooms' which have already been exposed to short bursts of UV light. Look for them next time you're stocking up on veg.

                                

Add a few mushrooms to your next meal…

Try:

• Slicing some raw mushrooms into a salad
• Adding some to your next stir fry 
• Making mushroom burgers with the large field or portabella varieties or stuff with ricotta and chives
• Experiment with the earthy flavours of gourmet mushrooms like shiitake in a risotto with white wine
• Replace half the mince in your bolognaise, burger pattie or san choy bow with finely chopped mushrooms (like in the photo above)- you can't even tell!

Credit: Photos photographed by me but styled by Janelle Bloom and Annette Forest at the Power of Mushrooms event in Sydney last weekend. For more info and recipe inspiration check out http://www.powerofmushrooms.com.au.

Banana Muffins

Banana muffins are one of those baked goods I think we all have a recipe for, hidden somewhere amongst the recipe books. They're a great way to use up over-ripe bananas, make a delicious lunch box snack or mid-afternoon treat, and the smell that fills your kitchen while they're baking is like nothing else!

I thought I'd share with you my favourite healthy banana muffin recipe, adapted from the millions that are out there, to form the only one you'll ever need…

Banana Muffins

½ C rolled oats

1 ¾ C wholemeal SR flour

½ tsp bicarb soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 ripe bananas, mashed

½ C plain yoghurt

¼ C macadamia oil

¼ C honey

2 eggs

To top:

12 extra banana slices

1 Tbsp brown sugar (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 180C fan forced.
2. Whisk eggs, oil, yoghurt, honey and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in banana.
3. In a separate bowl combine flour, oats, bicarb soda and cinnamon.
4. Add dry mix to wet mix and stir until just combined.
5. Pour into muffin tin lines with 12 muffin cases. Top each with 1 slice banana and a sprinkle of brown sugar (if using).
6. Bake for ~20 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. 

Makes 12

Chickpea Blondies with White Choc Chips & Macadamias

I recently discovered the wonders of chickpeas in baking. They're an unlikely substitute for flour but somehow they just work! And the benefits? Well they instantly increase the fibre and protein content of any recipe, not to mention adding in some sneaky vegetable serves! This recipe isn't new, you will find variations floating all over the internet, mostly using normal choc chips and nothing else. But I wanted to go more down the traditional route: blondies are meant to contain white chocolate. And macadamias and white chocolate are just a match made in heaven. 

These blondies are crispy and crumbly on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. The recipe is flour less, full of healthy fats (thanks to the nut and seed butter) and can be made gluten free by choosing gluten free baking powder. And they passed my boyfriend's taste test (who is usually anti-healthifying recipes)! Which, trust me, says it all. So go ahead and try these, I will certainly be making them again (and doing some more experimenting with legumes in baking)!

Chickpea blondies with white choc chips and macadamias

400g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry with paper towel

1/2 C nut butter (I used Mayver's Original Super Spread but your favourite nut &/or seed spread will work fine)

1/4 C brown sugar (can be substituted for honey)

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bicarb soda

1/2 C white choc chips

1/3 C macadamias, chopped

Splash of water (~3 Tbsp)

1. Preheat oven to 175°C and line a loaf tin with baking paper.

2. Blend all ingredients, except the white choc chips and macadamias, in a food processor until smooth. It should make a thick hummus-like consistency.

3. Stir in the choc chips and 3/4 of the macadamias and pour into the loaf tin. Smooth top with the back of a spoon and sprinkle with remaining macadamias.

4. Bake for ~50mins or until a skewer comes out clean and the edges begin to brown. Cool in tin for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Ricotta Gnocchi

I've said before on this blog how much I love Italian food and this recipe is no different. I had only ever known of potato gnocchi (which didn't overly excite me), but after some particularly good ricotta gnocchi in a restaurant, I knew I had to recreate this type! Based on a Margaret Fulton recipe, these gnocchi are so easy to make. They take less than 15 minutes to mix and roll and only 5 minutes to cook! Talk about speedy cooking. You can also make up a bigger batch and freeze some for later.

I served mine with my homemade arrabbiata sauce and a large garden salad, but you can certainly experiment with that. These gnocchi can be served 'as is' after being boiled or they can then be pan-fried in a little olive oil until golden- both ways are delicious.

Ricotta Gnocchi

250g reduced fat fresh ricotta

1/3 C grated parmesan

1 large egg, lightly beaten

½-¾ C plain flour

 

1. Combine the ricotta, parmesan and egg in a medium sized bowl. 
2. Add the flour and mix lightly until just combined. Add only as much flour as you need to make a workable dough.
3. Divide the dough in three and roll each piece into a 2-3cm thick log (depending on how small or large you like your gnocchi). Cut 2-3cm slices and place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Refrigerate if not using immediately.
4. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook gnocchi by dropping them into the saucepan and removing then when they float to the surface (after ~5mins) as this means they’re cooked.
5. Optional: Pat gnocchi dry with paper towel and add to a frypan over medium heat with a little olive oil. Toss until lightly golden on each side. Remove and serve.

          Serves 3.

Profiteroles

Profiteroles. Delicious choux pastry filled with creamy custard and topped with rich chocolate. Yep, I have a recipe for that. It's not that hard either! I promise you'll feel like a Masterchef when you present these babies to your family and friends (and they'll love it too). 

So, yes, these are a treat, but they have been adapted to make them a healthier version than most of the other recipes you'll find. And I challenge you to try them and not like them!

Profiteroles

¼ C margarine or butter

½ C water

½ C plain flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

50g dark chocolate, broken into pieces, melted

Vanilla custard:

1 ¼ C reduced fat milk

½ tsp vanilla bean paste

2 egg yolks

1 heaped Tbsp castor sugar

1 heaped Tbsp cornflour

1. Make custard: Heat milk and vanilla in a small saucepan over high heat and allow to just come to the boil. Remove from heat. In a medium sized bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until well combined. Pour the hot milk over the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously. Once mixed in, return to the saucepan over low heat. Mix cornflour with a small amount of water to form a thin paste. Pour slowly into the saucepan, stirring continuously until thickened. Refrigerate.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
3. Make choux pastry: Place margarine/butter and water in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add flour and stir vigorously for 30 seconds or until mixture comes away from the sides of the pan. Transfer mixture to a medium sized bowl and beat with electric beaters for 1 minute or until mixture resembles large breadcrumbs and has cooled slightly. Slowly add eggs as mixture thickens, beating until well combined. Drop tablespoons of mixture onto baking tray and bake for 25 minutes or until puffed and golden.
4. Pierce a small hole in the side of each profiterole with a skewer and allow to cool in the oven with the oven off and the door slightly ajar (around 45 minutes).
5. Cut each profiterole in half horizontally and fill base with custard (or cut a small slit and pipe in custard with a piping bag). Replace tops and drizzle profiteroles with a teaspoon each of melted chocolate.
6. Allow to set and store in the fridge. 

Makes ~12

Arrabbiata sauce from scratch

I don't know what you did in the recent holiday period, but I got my cook on. Cooking is one of those things that I love filling my spare time with, and lucky for me I actually cook all day long for one of my jobs (paid to do what you love? Winning!).

So here is one of my holiday period trials (don't worry, there will be plenty more filtering through over the coming weeks and months): home-made arrabbiata sauce- you know, the spicy tomato one that goes perfectly with pasta? I actually used mine to top my pan-fried ricotta gnocchi (recipe coming soon). It was a lot of fun! And so delicious. And I can imagine myself making big batches of this with the Italian Nonna I don't have and putting it into jars for all the family to last for months…

Yea ok, so I'm not Italian. But I do love pasta! And together with this sauce, they make the perfect pair. Best of all, you know exactly what's going into it and it's nothing but fresh ingredients.

A note to the cooks: I kept mine chunky, but you could whiz it up with a stick blender if you like a smoother consistency. And alter the amount of chilli depending on your taste for spice. This batch was medium in heat, but you could make it hotter with more chillies, or milder by taking out the seeds and white pith of the chilli (the hottest part).

Arrabbiata Sauce

6 medium tomatoes

1 medium red capsicum, deseeded and cut into quarters

½ brown onion, diced

1 small red chilli, finely chopped (or more if using larger, milder chillies)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or minced)

1 tsp oregano

Small pinch salt and pepper

1. Roast capsicum: Place capsicum pieces skin side up on a baking tray lined with foil, along with whole garlic cloves. Bake at 200°C for ~15 minutes, or until skin starts to blacken. Gather up foil to enclose the capsicum (like a little parcel) and steam in the oven for a further 10 minutes. Remove capsicum from oven and place immediately into a bowl of ice cold water for a couple of minutes to blanch. Remove from water and peel off skin. Discard skin and set capsicum aside to cool slightly.
2. Blanch tomatoes: Prick the skin of the tomatoes a couple of times each and place in a medium-sized saucepan of water. Cover and bring to the boil for ~10 minutes or until cracks appear in the skin of the tomatoes. Drain and place tomatoes in a bowl of ice cold water for a couple of minutes to blanch. Remove from water and peel off skin. Discard skin and set aside to cool slightly.
3. Roughly chop capsicum and tomatoes, reserving the juices.
4. Sauté onion in a little olive oil in a medium saucepan until translucent. Add garlic and chilli and stir for 1 minute.
5. Add capsicum, tomatoes and juices, oregano, salt and pepper to the saucepan. Stir and simmer for at least half an hour, until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.
6. If not using within a couple of days, place in a sterilised glass jar until needed.

Makes ~ 400mL or nearly 2 cups. Serves 4.

Note: to sterilise a jar, wash in hot soapy water, rinse and dry well. Place in the oven at 120°C for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately fill with sauce.

Basic Roast Vegetable Frittata

Eggs are such a versatile protein: you can boil, poach, scramble, fry, whisk, beat or bake them. Not to mention the countless dishes that couldn't work without the powers of egg. Here is a basic recipe for a roast vegetable frittata that could be altered in many ways to work as a great easy lunch or dinner with a simple salad on the side. 

You could add:

- fresh herbs e.g. rosemary, thyme, parsley, basil

- garlic (try roasting on the tray with the veg then just mashing)

- a different cheese e.g. fetta, ricotta

- a different mix of veg e.g. asparagus, grated zucchini, carrot, parsnip, etc

- change the size/shape e.g. make them in a muffin tin and these mini frittatas would be great for school or work lunches (in an insulated lunch box of course!)
- Line the base of a round flan tin with a few layers of filo pastry before pouring in the veg and egg filling and make a quiche

Basic Roast Vegetable Frittata

1 medium potato, peeled and diced into small cubes

Equivalent sized piece of pumpkin, peeled and diced into small cubes

½ red capsicum, cut into small wedges

¼ red onion, cut into small wedges

1/3 C cooked, finely chopped spinach (e.g. from 2 frozen cubes)

4 eggs

½ C skim milk

1 tsp mixed herbs

1 heaped Tbsp plain flour

2 Tbsp grated parmesan

Salt to taste

¼ C cherry tomatoes, halved

To serve:

Large garden salad

1.     Preheat oven to 180°C and place potato, pumpkin, capsicum and onion on a lined baking tray and spray with a little extra virgin olive oil. Bake for around 20 minutes or until cooked through. Leave oven on.
2.     Whisk eggs, milk, garlic, herbs, flour, parmesan and salt in a medium sized bowl or jug.
3.     Spread baked vegetables and spinach on the bottom of a 20cm square baking tray, lined with baking paper. Pour over egg mixture and sprinkle with tomatoes (halved side up).
4.     Bake for around 25 minutes or until cooked through and golden. Serve with salad

Serves 4

Toasted Coconut & Date Slice

The other weekend I had it in my mind that I wanted to bake a healthy slice. So I looked through all my recipe books and searched online, with no luck! Eventually I came across a date and coconut slice recipe from One Handed Cooks  but after pressing the mixture into the pan realised I had forgotten a key ingredient- the coconut! As it turns out, the coconut on the top of the slice rather than mixed in it turned out really well as it gave a lovely toasted coconut flavour. You'll notice there's no sugar in this recipe which is because the dates give a lovely natural sweetness without being over-powering. This slice makes a great healthy snack!

Toasted Coconut & Date Slice

1 C pitted dates, roughly chopped

½ C water

1 tsp lemon juice

1 C wholemeal plain flour

1 C rolled oats

¼ C flaked almonds

1.5Tbsp (30g) table spread, melted (or oil)

½ C apple puree

¼ C desiccated coconut (unsweetened)

1.       Preheat oven to 190°C. Line a 20cm square dish with baking paper.
2.       Put dates and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring     until the water is just absorbed and the dates are smooth.
3.       Remove date mixture from heat and add lemon juice and apple puree.
4.       Combine flour, oats, almonds and table spread or oil in a medium     sized bowl. Add dates and stir to combine.
5.       Press mixture in square dish and sprinkle with coconut. Bake for ~25 minutes or until slice is cooked and coconut is golden.

Makes 16 squares

Beef and black bean stir-fry

Beef and black bean is a traditional Chinese dish, but you'd be hard pressed to find its star ingredient in your local supermarket. Sure you'll be able to find prepackaged 'black bean sauce' but I really wanted to make my own using the real thing. I managed to find fermented black beans (also called dried or salted black beans) in my local Asian grocer without much trouble at all. And the result was a lovely, easy, flavoursome dish with all the benefits of gut benefits of fermented beans, iron from beef, fibre from brown rice and a whole host of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals from a load of colourful veggies!

Beef and black bean stir-fry

500g beef eye fillet (or another lean cut), sliced

50g Chinese black beans, rinsed (found in an Asian grocer)

2 long red chillies, thinly sliced (remove seeds for a milder heat)

1.5 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp minced ginger

1 C reduced salt chicken stock

½ brown onion, thinly sliced

1 ¼ C long grain brown or white rice

2 dinner plates full of vegetables (~8 cups) e.g. broccoli, bok choy, carrots, beans, mushrooms, zucchini, cabbage etc

1. Cook rice in boiling water, drain.

2. Meanwhile, cook beef, chilli, ginger, garlic and black beans in a large frypan over medium-high heat until beef is well browned. Remove from frypan and keep warm.

3. Add onion to the pan and sauté over a medium heat until translucent. Add vegetables and cook until just tender. 

4. Lower to a simmer, add stock and return beef mix to pan, stirring until well coated and beef is heated through.

      4. Divide rice and stir-fry among dishes.

Serves 5-6

Recipe Index

I've posted quite a few recipes since I started this blog a year ago (yes I know, it's already been a year!) and sometimes I have clients or friends tell me they can't find a certain recipe. So I've put them all here in one place, divided into sweet and savoury! So browse to your heart's content :)

Sweet Recipes (breakfasts, desserts and snacks)

Homemade muesli bars

• My healthy homemade muesli bars
• Berry yoghurt & coconut balls
• Banana date loaf
• Rum balls
• Wholegrain berry pancakes
• Apple cinnamon crumble muffins
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Porridge from scratch
• Baked raspberry and barley mini puddings
• Strawberry, macadamia and oat muffins with sweet spices
• Lemon souffles
• Makeover: Lemon yoghurt cake
• Makeover: Pumpkin pie
• Makeover: Chocolate souffles 

Savoury Recipes (breakfasts, lunches and dinners)

Lentil 'meatballs'

• Stuffed capsicums
• Chilli-lime chicken with minted quinoa and Asian greens
• Vietnamese chicken pho (chicken noodle soup)
• Homemade basil pesto
• Ricotta and spinach stuffed chicken with white bean smash
• Beef and red wine pearl barley risotto
• Spicy tomato & bean baked eggs
• Homemade dumplings
• Lentil 'meatballs' with pasta, greens and lemon pesto sauce
• Chermoula spiced beer bread
• Makeover: Thai cashew nut beef stir-fry at home

Lemon Soufflés

So I've brought you my recipe for chocolate soufflés before (click here if you missed it), but even more simple are these lemon soufflés. Light as air with a super citrus tang, made from only lemons, egg whites, cornflour and a little bit of sugar. I have adapted these from a Donna Hay recipe and they make for a very impressive dessert! The recipe makes 3 large individual serves, but you could use smaller 3/4 cup ramekins and divide the mix amongst 4.

Lemon soufflés

1/3 C lemon juice

1 Tbsp castor sugar

¾ Tbsp cornflour

2 large eggwhites at room temperature

2 Tbsp castor sugar, extra

Icing sugar, to serve

1.      Combine lemon juice, 1 Tbsp castor sugar and cornflour in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for ~8mins or until thickened. Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate until cold.
2.      Pre-heat oven to 180°C and prepare 3 x 1-C capacity ramekins by brushing lightly with margarine (or spraying lightly with oil) and dusting with castor sugar. Place on a baking tray.
3.      Beat eggwhites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Pour in extra castor sugar in a thin stream and beat until thick and glossy. Set aside.
4.      Beat lemon mixture from the fridge until smooth. Gently fold eggwhites into the lemon mixture.
5.      Spoon into prepared ramekins. Smooth the tops with a spatula and run a knife around the edge of each ramekin (to ensure the soufflés aren’t caught on the sugar and rise evenly).
6.      Bake for ~10-12mins or until the soufflés have risen and are just golden on top. Dust with icing sugar and serve immediately (they will start to drop almost straight away once removed from the oven). 

Serves 3.

Chermoula spiced beer bread

There's something very satisfying about making your own bread, especially the smells that come wafting out of your kitchen while it's baking! I wanted to start with a relatively easy recipe that I could flavour with a new chermoula spice mix I'd discovered in a spice appreciation class (see here for more on this). So I cast my mind back to food technology in high school when we'd made beer bread (I know, beer in school? Surely that's not allowed now!). Now, I'm no lover of beer, or any alcohol really, but when it comes to cooking and you're left with just the flavours, it seems to work so well! Not to mention, the yeast in the beer helps this bread to rise beautifully.

I served my bread with chermoula-rubbed lamb and onion
skewers, grilled vegetables (capsicum, eggplant, zucchini,
mushrooms and spinach) and tzatziki and hummus on
the side- delicious!

Chermoula is a North African spice blend made of cumin, paprika, onion, turmeric, cayenne, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and coriander leaves. It goes really well with grilled meats and vegetables and gives a spicy Moroccan flavour. If you don't have access to chermoula, any other herb or spice mix will do, or the bread can be just as good without any other flavour additions (as it lets the beer shine through).

Chermoula spiced beer bread

3 ¼ C plain wholemeal flour

330mL bottle of beer (dark ale recommended), at room temperature

1 tsp dry instant yeast

1-2 tsp salt

Optional: 1.5 Tbsp chermoula or other herb or spice mix

 1. Combine flour, yeast, salt and chermoula (if using) in a large bowl. Run beer bottle under a tap of running hot water for a few minutes to warm. Add to bowl and stir gently to combine.

2. Knead dough on a floured surface and return to bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for at least 1 hour.

3. Punch down mixture (press with your fist a couple of times) to get rid of any large air bubbles. Again, cover and let rise for at least 2 hours or refrigerated overnight.

4. Form dough into a loaf and place on a lined baking tray. Sprinkle the top with plain flour and slash with a knife (forming 1 vertical line or 3 angled lines). Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 230°C.

5. Put 8-10 ice cubes in a tray and place at the bottom of the oven (this will humidify the oven allowing a nice crunchy crust to form on the bread). Put bread tray on the middle rung of the oven and bake for 20-35mins or until the bread has risen and the crust is nicely browned.

6. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

Makes ~15 small slices.