January 2015 - Heirloom tomato & haloumi salad

Just squeaking in here with my January recipe. Goodness it was a long hard road to get here. 

My cruise around New Zealand was amazing. The food was just incredible. So much variety and so good. I will post some of the photos I have in another post. I was incredibly good on the cruise though and didn't just pig out on the food. I came home without having put on any weight! Even though I tried a lot of food I ate small amounts of it. 

Unfortunately I came home and discovered that food didn't just appear in a buffet in front of me. The well cooked, tasty and mainly healthy food just wasn't appearing. I have actually put on weight since coming home and I have kind of fallen into a can't be bothered hole. A lot of people have said to me that if they lived on their own they wouldn't bother cooking. I have always said that I love to cook and, well, you have to eat decent meals. However, this past month the food hasn't been great. I have been eating breakfast most days. I do try to have a good lunch every day, even if it has involve buying it every week day. It is bloody expensive but it is better than nothing at all or just snacking.

I really need to get my mojo back. I need to get back into a routine. What I am eating is off a bit, I am not exercising as much and my sleep, while I am getting more it still isn't that restful.

Eat, sleep, exercise

They are the three main things that underpin all things in our lives. If there isn't some kind of balance there then a bunch of other things will sprout from it. 

The food has been random. 

My exercise has been less frequent. My main form of exercise is swimming and I got a new tattoo 2 weeks ago so have not been allowed to swim. They said give it two weeks but it isn't completely healed yet so will need another week. There are plenty of other forms of exercise though. So I really need to get off my butt and get out there doing them. 

Sleep is, well, I am not sure how to describe it. I bought myself a vivofit a few weeks ago. My doctor had suggested it as a way of keeping track of my sleep. It is really very interesting. I have been sleeping for a longer time than I had previously thought but I am very restless and don't hit a deep sleep for any length of time. 

When looking for another recipe to make out of this double issue this was one that caught my eye. Easy, quick and fresh. Even though it is a really easy recipe I still took a couple of short cuts but hey it got a good meal on my table. Do whatever you need to so that you can get back into it. I'm just going to write this as I did it.

Heirloom tomato & haloumi salad 

(serves 1)

1 tbsp garlic olive oil

1 tsp butter

1 slice sourdough bread, torn

haloumi slices

Mixed heirloom tomatoes (I got the cherry tomato mix)

1/2 lebanese cucumber, deseeded & sliced

handful salad leaves

your favourite vinaigrette dressing, I used Paul Newman's Classic 

Heat oil & garlic over a medium heat. Toss in bread & cook until golden. Set aside. 

Fry haloumi in the same pan until soft & melty (I cooked mine too long). 

Combine all ingredients. 

February 2014 - Salmon Escalopes with Dill & Avocado Salad

Eeek, I just realised that I haven't posted this month. There has been a distinct lack of cooking in my house for most of the month. It has been a bit of a food disaster actually and, to be honest, I feel pretty lousy for it. I thought that since it is the last day of the month and I cannot sleep I better get this post done. Although please don't expect too much as it is 2 am....

I ended up making this recipe because it was easy, healthy and from all appearance of the recipe tasty and it was all three.

Salmon Escalopes with Dill & Avocado Salad 

1/4 c olive oil

Zest 1 lemon, (I used limes as the cost of lemons is daylight robbery and they are imported)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 garlic clove

4 x 200 g skinless salmon fillets 

1/3 c extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Salad: 

2 Lebanese cucumbers, halved, sliced 

1 avocado, halved, sliced

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked

1/2 bunch dill, fronds picked 

Combine olive oil, zest and garlic, season. Slice salmon on 45 degree angle into 1 cm thick slices. Coat in marinade and leave for 15 min. 

Pre-heat bbq to high, combine evoo, vinegar & lemon juice. Season well & set aside. 

Combine all ingredients for salad. 

Brush bbq with olive oil and cook salmon for 30 sec each side (I did about 1 minute each side as I prefer it cooked through). 

Toss salad with dressing and serve with salmon. 

*Don't use all the dressing, it makes a ridiculous amount. 

January 2014 - Turkey & avocado salad with cranberry dressing

Well not doing so well on the posting more resolution this month am I? Then again I haven't really been doing much creative cooking-wise either. I have been cooking a bit but quite a bit of it has been pre-prepared or pre-marinated stuff. I discovered that the marinated split chickens from Woolworths are very good done on the weber bbq. 

I made this salad a couple of nights ago. It was easy and tasty. I used some leftover chicken in place of the turkey. It was supposed to have sourdough croutons but I didn't have any bread so I didn't worry about it. I think it was filling enough without them. 

Turkey & avocado salad with cranberry dressing

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp cranberry sauce

2 celery stalks, shaved

120g mixed baby salad leaves (I used cos lettuce and alfalfa spouts)

400 g cooked turkey meat, shredded 

1/4 c slivered almonds, toasted (I didn't have any so used some pepitas) 

1 avocado, sliced

Whisk oil, vinegar and cranberry sauce together. 

Mix all other ingredients together and drizzle dressing over. 

Cooks Club - Spicy Mushroom & Tomato salad

Another entry for the taste.com.au Cooks Club. I really loved this salad. It was perfectly filling with just some scotch fillet steak. 

I had some tomatoes that are in between cherry & regular size and they have such a rich tomato flavour. I put them on the bbq to char them up a bit. It gave such fabulous flavour. I didn't have any fresh chilli but I do have a chilli infused olive oil so I used some of that in the dressing. The other half of the oil I used a garlic infused olive oil mainly because I am not keen on the flavour of raw garlic in things. It gave a lovely garlic flavour with a bit of a kick at the end. I think that it would have also been good if the mushrooms had been grilled but it was still really good with the fresh mushrooms. I would definitely make this again. 

October 2013 - Couscous, watermelon & feta salad with spiced lamb

Nothing to much to say. This was nice but I made a few changes. I didn't have lamb backstrap so I just used some lamb cutlets. There was no vegetables in the meal at all so I added cherry tomatoes, asparagus and snow peas. The dressing was a bit sweet for me. I doubt I would make this again. 

Couscous, watermelon & feta salad with spiced lamb

125 g Pearl couscous

1/4 c evoo

2 x 250 g lamb backstraps 

1/3 c dukkah

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp honey

1/4 seedless watermelon, sliced

150 g marinated feta, crumbled

2 cups picked watercress sprigs

Cook couscous as per packet instructions. 

Season & cook lamb in a medium high heat. Remove from pan & roll in dukkah. 

Combine lemon zest & juice, honey and oil. Add couscous and stir to combine. 

Slice lamb & serve on top of couscous with watercress, watermelon & feta. 

Quinoa, chicken, date & grape salad

I bought my second copy of the New Zealand magazine Dish last month. For the most part it is similar to Delicious but it does also include some tutorials on techniques. I think this is great. Not only do you get some awesome recipes but you also learn new skills. The article/tutorial in this issue is about preparation of sashimi. It includes details on the best fish to use, the best knives to use and how to care for them and then it goes through the techniques. If I liked fish and could get actual fresh fish then it would be really good for me. :-) It is still really interesting though. 

There are a number of things similar to Delicious including the recipe book reviews, new foods, promotions of local goods and produce. One difference that I think is great is that instead of just a letters page they have a "Dish Snaps" sections where readers take photos of the meals they have made from Dish magazines. There is a prize, just like with readers letters (emails) in Delicious however since it is a foodie magazine the photos of people's creations are a terrific way to do it. 

I find that there is a great range of recipes in the magazines. The first issue that I bought was one of the winter issues. The range of winter dishes in it was wonderful. I made a few of them, one didn't work out as planned but still tasted really good. I really couldn't decide what to make from this issue. I, of course, wanted to make heaps of things but then there is heaps of things that I want to make from all over the place. I must have 100 or 200 recipes bookmarked to make. Some of them will never get made but they are there if I want them. There is over 100 issues of Delicious magazine that 99% have recipes to make marked. There are recipes that I have saved over on Taste.com.au that I want to make and there are also a bunch of cook books that have even more recipes. 

The one section I was looking at was Grill Master since I recently bought myself a new barbecue. There is a number of recipes which also include side dishes to go with them. I was looking at making the Italian burger which is made with veal mince patties that have all the usual things in them plus toasted & ground fennel seeds. While cooking a slice of mozzarella on top to melt and then served on a toasted bun with rocket, tomato and pesto. The recipe for the pesto is also given. Along with the burgers a side of a Caramelised carrot, corn and coriander salad. I have said before that I don't like coriander but I will admit that I have "gone to the dark side" and am eating small amounts of it. I wouldn't use the whole amount recommended in the recipe but I would use a small amount. The carrots are also done on the bbq so a test out all round. 

What I did end up going with for my first recipe was the Quinoa, chicken, date, red grape & hazelnut salad. I didn't have hazelnuts but did toast a few macadamia nuts and used those. It was a very good lunch time dish although I did find that the combination of the dates and grapes made it a bit sweet for me. I think if I was to make it again I would use one or the other but not both and add some extra greens into it. For the dressing, like most other dressings, I didn't use all the oil in the recipe. I also didn't put all of the dressing on. I find that most recipes have too much dressing and it would be swimming if all of it was used.

Quinoa, chicken, date & grape salad

Ingredients   

500 g free range boneless, skinless, trimmed, chicken thighs 

1 c quinoa 

2 c vegetable or chicken stock

300 g green beans, ends trimmed, halved 

1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced 

6 fresh dates, roughly sliced 

big bunch of red seedless grapes, halved 

1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted & skinned

Dressing

1 cloves garlic, crushed 

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 

1 tsp salt  

2 tbsp olive oil

Place in a jar with some freshly ground black pepper & give it a good shake. 

Method 

Season chicken with salt & pepper & cook over a medium heat until golden and cooked through. Set aside until cool, then slice. 

Bring stock to boil and then add quinoa and simmer for around 10 minutes. Cool and drain.  

Blanch beans and then refresh in cold water and drain. 

Combine all the ingredients, refrigerate for an hour or so for it to let flavours combine. 

Nashi, beetroot & feta salad

A quick little post for a quick side salad. It, of course, contains beetroot. You may have noticed how much I love beetroot. I got the idea for this side dish from a Jamie Oliver recipe but added my own twist to it. Jamie's version used regular pears but I decided to try it with nashi instead. I really enjoyed it. It was so refreshing with that slightly earthy beetroot flavour. I will definitely make this one again. 

Nashi, beetroot & feta salad

Serves 2

1/2 nashi, julienne 

1/2 medium beetroot, julienne

olive oil

raspberry vinegar

crumbled feta

Combine all ingredients. Place in the fridge to let flavours combine. 

Smoked Paprika Chicken

I will admit it I love smoked paprika. In particular I love the hot smoked paprika that I have. It has just the perfect amount of heat and smokiness. I use it often in things. I find that it is really good with chicken. I had some chicken thighs in the fridge. I have used smoked paprika with chicken before so I knew it was a good combination. I whipped up this marinade and left them overnight. I cooked them under the grill but I think that they would be terrific done on the bbq. They were perfect cold with salad and on sandwiches. For this meal I made a salad with chickpeas, tomato, cucumber, corn freshly cut from the cobs, snow pea sprouts and pomegranate arils. 

If you don't have hot smoked paprika I suggests adding some chilli powder or cayenne pepper. 

Smoked Paprika Chicken

4 chicken thighs
1 1/2 tsp hot smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
zest & juice of a lemon

Combine everything but chicken and mixed well. Add chicken in and rub in all over. Marinate overnight and then grill until cooked. 

February 2013 - Fried Polenta Panzanella

There are a number of recipes in this issue that I plan to make and this is the second one that I have made so far. The first was a easy little salad that I will post at a later date. 

The recipe on the front cover looks very good, even for a non-seafoodie like me. I doubt that I would make it though. I will, I think, make the quinoa risotto with prawns, oregano and tomatoes. It looks and sounds so good. Plus I am getting a good supply of cherry tomatoes from my plants. I even have everything to make it as a bought a bag of Australian frozen prawns a while ago so it is time to start using them. 

I really also like the sound of the lamb biryani rolls on the next page. Something a little different than the standard sausage rolls. If you serve it with a nice salad they would make a good meal. 

I decided to make the fried polenta panzanella on Thursday night for dinner. It was quick and easy and very, very good. It made a huge amount of polenta so next time I would make a smaller amount. I put some of the leftovers in the freezer before frying. I am not sure if they will be okay once thawed but thought it was worth trying. Next time I would make them thinner as well. I think that they would have been great if they had been half the thickness. I would also love to try baking it, although it wouldn't be the same. I served it with just a drizzle of balsamic rather than making a dressing. It was very good for a light meal. 

Fried Polenta Panzanella

3 cups ( 750ml) vegetable stock or water
1½ cups (250g) instant polenta

2⁄3 cup ( 50g) finely grated parmesan 

½ cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil 

1 tbs balsamic vinegar 

600g vine-ripened tomatoes, chopped (I used a punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved)

2 cups basil leaves, torn 

½ cup (60g) Sicilian olives, chopped (I used kalamata as I don't like green)

1 Lebanese cucumber, chopped in chunks

125g ball mozzarella, torn (I used bocconcini)

Rocket (my addition)

Grease a 20cm x 30cm lamington pan or baking tray well. 

Place the stock in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to the boil. Add the polenta in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly for 2 minutes or until very thick. Remove from heat, then stir in parmesan and season. Spread the polenta mixture into the lamington pan, then chill until set.

Cut into rounds with a small cookie cutter. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large non-stick frypan over medium-high heat. Three or four polenta rounds and cook until golden and crisp. Repeat with the rest of the polenta with oil as needed. Drain on paper towel. Set aside. 

Toss tomato, basil, olives, cucumber, mozzarella and polenta in a large bowl, then drizzle with balsamic vinegar. 

Roast pumpkin & pomegranate salad

This is another one that I made a little while ago now. I went through a stage of doing a lot of cooking but not so much into the writing side of things. I have had a rather busy month. It has been pretty busy at work and I have other things going on. I have been trying to do a few things around the house but I haven't had too much success with getting too far on that. I have managed to pack some more stuff away in storage containers. There is so much stuff in my house as I just packed up my old house and moved every thing with me. This house is quite a bit smaller so there has been stuff shoved in nooks and crannies and there isn't a third bedroom as such because it is full of stuff. I did get rid of some stuff last year but there is some that I am not sure what to do with so I am packing it in storage containers and storing in my storage areas under the house. I plan on going through some of the stuff in my kitchen again too. Time for some stuff that hasn't been used in a while to go. 

This was a quick and easy salad to whip up to go with some chicken sausages that I got on special. I am a huge fan on pomegranates and always buy them when then are available. I think they are wonderful in salads as they add a bit of a tangy burst. 

Roast pumpkin & pomegranate salad 

1/2 medium size butternut, peeled & chopped into bite size pieces 

1 tbsp oil 

cracked pepper

1 small lebanese cucumber, peeled, quartered and sliced 

1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

handful of pomegranate arils 

marinated feta

wild rocket to serve

Pre-heat oven to 180 C. 

Place pumpkin on a roasting tray, drizzle wtih oil and grind black pepper over then mix together until each piece is coated in oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until cooked. Remove, set aside to cool. 

Once cool, combine all ingredients and mix well. Drizzle with a vinaigrette if desired, I used just raspberry vinegar. 

Lentil salad with beetroot and haloumi

This is, sort of, similar to a recipe of Bill Granger's that I have made previously. That was so good that I decided to experiment with it a little bit. This turned so well. The flavours mingled very well. The sweetness of the roasted beetroot cut through the saltiness of the haloumi. The lentil salad and peppery rocket rounded out the meal nicely. I had put a lemon myrtle & ginger dressing on the lentil salad but it seemed to get lost in the rest of the flavours. Although I am sure it will come through in the salad that I have leftover. I would probably do a simple vinaigrette next time. 

Lentil salad with beetroot & haloumi

2 beetroot 

1 tbsp oil 

400 g can lentils, drained and rinsed

half cucumber, chopped

250 g cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if they are large

1 stick celery, chopped 

2 green onions, sliced 

1 carrot, julienned

handful dill, chopped

handful parsley, chopped 

any dressing desired

100 g haloumi, sliced into thin batons

1 tbsp flour, seasoned with black pepper

1 - 2 tbsp oil

Rocket to serve

Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Wrap beetroot separately in foil added a small amount of oil to each parcel. Roast for 45 - 60 minutes, until done. Set aside to cool and then peel. Slice into thick slices

Combine lentils, vegetables, herbs and dressing. Refrigerate until required. 

Heat oil over a medium-high heat. Dust haloumi in flour and fry until browned on each side and soft and squidgy.

Place rocket on plate, top with lentils, beetroot and haloumi. 

Noodle salad with wasabi vinaigrette

Noodle salads are one of my favourite things to make in summer. They are quick and easy to make. You can put anything you want in them. Plus you can use different dressings to change the flavours. 

Some time ago I purchased a bottle of Pukara Estate wasabi olive oil which I hadn't used. I have previously made a rice salad that had a wasabi dressing (using wasabi paste) so I decided that the oil would work well in a vinaigrette. It really did too. It had just the right amount of bite to it. I didn't make quite enough dressing for the amount of salad that I made but I could still taste the dressing. 

For the noodle salad I just soften some thin rice noodles and then add whatever finely chopped veg that I have and finally add a dressing. It is best to leave in the fridge for a while for the flavour of the dressing to penetrate.

The dressing was just:

wasabi olive oil 

white wine vinegar 

pinch salt 

Whisk until emulsified and pour over salad and toss to combine.

I served it with a grilled lime & herb chicken. Most of the time I just put shredded chicken in the salad or I cook some steak and serve with some slices of that. 

Chicken & watermelon salad with balsamic chilli dressing

This is another of those throw together on a whim with what is in the fridge meals, well except for the watermelon I bought that tonight. I really wasn't sure how it was going work initially but I was very happy with the end result. It was very refreshing but full of taste and just filling enough for an evening meal. I don't have amounts for any of this as I just threw things in so just go for it and see how it turns out. 

red onion, finely sliced 

roasted capsicum, torn (I used bottled in oil) 

sun-dried tomatoes, sliced (I used vacuum packed dry ones)

watermelon, cubed

blueberries 

bocconncini, torn

basil, chopped

roast/poached/grilled chicken sliced 

rocket

Dressing

chilli paste

black cherry balsamic 

extra virgin olive oil

pinch salt

Combine all ingredients for salad except the chicken & rocket.

Mix ingredients for dressing until emulsified and pour over salad. 

To serve, place rocket on the plate place chicken around the rocket and pile salad on top. 

Marinated Fennel Salad

This is the second salad that I made last night. I had a bulb of fennel in the fridge that had been there for a while and I really wanted to use it in something. Since was a warm evening I decided that a salad was the best way to use it. I had a bit of a search on the internet and found this recipe. I made a couple of changes and would make a few more if I made it again. I would decrease the amount of oil it ended up just too much. I would also reduce the amount of vinegar as it was very tart. I added a tsp of garlic olive oil and a tsp of dried oregano. I think I would add more as it didn't really come through. I had wanted to put dill in but what I had had gone slimy, yuck. Although perhaps even just some parsley would have worked. I think that it needed to be served with some sort of green leaves. Rocket would have been nice but lettuce would have been fine. It did go well with the apple, carrot & celery salad and the rissoles. With just a few more tweaks I think it could be a regular for me.

Apple, carrot & celery salad

If you have been reading for a while you will know that I am keen on finding side dishes that can be the focus of the meal. Those that you can have with a chop or a steak or in this case some rissoles. I did two salads to go with them tonight. The first is this apple, carrot & celery salad. It was very fresh and such great flavour. It was quick to make too. Next time I would put a bit more mint in. My plant is still small and I didn't want to take too much off it. 

Apple, carrot & celery salad

2 celery stalks

1 large carrot

1 red apple, quartered & cored 

1 green onion, finely sliced 

1 tbsp mint, finely chopped (I think I would use 2 next time)

1 tbsp flat parsley, finely chopped

2 tbsp lime juice 

2 tbsp olive oil 

1/2 tsp honey

large pinch salt

Using a v-slicer slice the celery thinly then use julienne blade and do carrot & apple. 

Combine celery, carrot, apple, onion, mint & parsley in a bowl. 

Mix lime juice, oil, honey and salt until emulsified. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (I had mine in the fridge for about 20 minutes) 

Quinoa orange, ginger, carrot & coconut salad

I bought this book a while ago now and have only made this one recipe so far. I plan on making a lot more but so many recipes, so little time. LOL 

I really quite enjoyed this salad. I didn't have an orange but did have some tangelos so used one of those instead. I also used red quinoa as I don't have any black but I will try to get some and give it another try to see what the difference is. I am not usually a fan of sweet things in salad but I really did like this one. I didn't add as much ginger as was in the recipe as I was worried about it overpowering it but I really should have used the whole amount. I made half the recipe but it still made plenty. I served with herbed salmon and steamed asparagus.

Quinoa orange, ginger, carrot & coconut salad 

3/4 c black quinoa, rinsed and drained 

1 3/4 c water

4 medium carrots, grated 

1/2 sultanas

3/4 c shredded coconut

3 tbsp chives (I would probably use green onions next time) 

juice & zest of 1 orange (zest wasn't in recipe but I added)

1 tbsp grated ginger 

2 tbsp olive oil 

2 - 3 tbsp lime juice

Bring water & quinoa to the boil then cover and simmer until water is absorbed. Let cool. 

Add carrot, sultanas, coconut & chives. Mix juice & zest, ginger, oil & lime juice then pour over quinoa. Toss and refrigerate for at least an hour to let flavours combine. 

Herb-crumbed cutlets and bean & parsley salad

So I performed a little surgery and gave the place a bit of a facelift. I also finally got around to making my own header. I think that it looks pretty good if I do say so myself. I actually had quite a bit of fun playing around with some photo editing software over the weekend. Even better, I have a one day photography course coming up in a couple of weeks. I hope that it will improve my photos. Most of the time getting a good photo is pretty much a matter of luck for me. I suppose if I really sat down with my camera manual I might be able to work it out but I think it will be a lot easier having a professional photographer how to get the best out of your camera. There is also the possibility of a longer course next semester. I am actually quite excited at the prospect. 

I made this recipe quite some time ago now. At the moment I am in a bit of a funk and can't really be bothered cooking or even eating much. I am, of course, still eating and trying to eat well but there is just nothing exciting being made in my household. Chicken & sprout sandwiches really aren't blog worth. 

I plan on making this recipe again. I have more cutlets in the freezer. I only made a few changes to the recipe. I used sourdough in place of the white bread for the crumbs. Instead of flour & egg wash I lightly coated the cutlets in low-fat greek yoghurt. I had some green beans that really needed to be used up so I sliced and blanched them and added to the salad. It was nice and filling and I can't wait to make it again. Perhaps with some different herbs in with the crumbs and next time I might give them a spray with some olive oil and cook under the grill instead of pan frying. 

Spiced chicken wraps with carrot & pomegranate salad

Early last year I made Jamie Oliver's Mechoui Lamb for dinner. I have made it quite a few times over the past year now. Although I have tweaked it quite and bit and it really no longer resembles the original recipe much. I have made it for a number of people and everyone who I have made it for enjoys it immensely. I also love that I usually end up with some great leftovers for sandwiches or wraps during the following week. In fact the last time I made it I ended up freezing some of the left over meat so that I could use it at a later date. 

One night I had a couple of chicken thigh fillets to use up so I decided to use a similar mix that I had been using on the lamb and roast it in the oven. I then chopped it up and served on a wrap with a carrot & pomegranate salad. It was just excellent. So full of flavour.  I wished that I had leftovers so that I could have some for lunch the next day. 

Spiced chicken wraps

Serves 1

2 chicken thighs

pinch salt 

1 tsp thyme leaves

2 tsp butter 

1/2 tsp ground coriander 

1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds 

1 tsp harissa (or to taste)

1 garlic & herb wrap (or whatever kind you like) 

1 tbsp greek-style yoghurt 

1 tsp harissa, extra 

Pre-heat oven to 160 C. 

Place salt and thyme leave in a mortar and bash with pestle until thyme is starting to break down. Add coriander, cumin, butter and harissa and mix until well combined. Rub the butter mixture over the chicken thighs and place in a baking dish. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for a further 15 - 20 minutes or until starting to brown. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 10 - 15 minutes. Slice into bite size pieces. Pile meat on torn wrap and top with combined yoghurt & extra harissa and serve with carrot & pomegranate salad. 

Carrot & pomegranate salad

1 carrot, julienned 

1 spring (green) onion, finely sliced 

Seeds of 1/4 pomegranate 

handful parsley, finely chopped 

rocket, to serve 

1 tsp pomegranate juice 

2 tsp lemon olive oil 

Combine carrot, onion, pomegranate seeds and parsley. 

Mix pomegranate juice and oil to form dressing. Add dressing to salad and toss well to combine. 

Serve on a bed of rocket. 

Chicken, watermelon & mozzarella salad with mint dressing

No, I promise I haven't abandoned my lovely little blog. I have just been dealing with some personal issues/stresses in my life for the past month and have had a bit of trouble coming up with stuff to post. Also, I haven't really been cooking that much. I have a few things to post but not that much. 

I made this dish quite some time ago now and didn't get around to posting about it then. It was really good. I started out with this recipe over on Taste but made a few changes with regards to what I had and personal taste. I made the mint dressing as per the recipe, using regular mint in place of the spearmint. I set aside a little for drizzling. Then I marinated the chicken in the rest for about an hour. I browned the chicken over a medium high heat for a minute on both sides and then baked in the oven at 180 C for about 15 minutes. I didn't cook the onion. I just sliced some half moons. I added butter lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes and capsicum. I also didn't use the haloumi as I had some buffalo mozzarella that needed to be used up so I just tore it into chunks. It was definitely a very refreshing dinner for a warm day. 

 Chicken, watermelon & mozzarella salad with mint dressing

1 bunch mint, leaves picked

2 tbs capers

1 large clove garlic

1/2 cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing

2 tbs lemon juice

4 chicken breast fillets

1.25kg piece seedless watermelon, rind removed, cut into small wedges

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved

1 red capsicum, sliced 

1/2 red onion, sliced 

2 balls buffalo mozzarella, torn into chunks

1 head butter lettuce, leaves torn 

Method: 

Finely chop mint, capers and garlic, then place in a bowl. Add oil and lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper. Reserve a couple of tablespoons for drizzling and then add chicken breasts and let marinate for 1 hour. 

Pre-heat oven to 180C.

Heat fry pan over medium high heat and brown chicken for 1 - 2 minutes each side then place pan in the oven for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 

Allow chicken to sit for 5 minutes and then slice thickly. 

Combine all ingredients on plates and drizzle with reserved dressing.

February 2012 - Coppa, Peach & Buffalo Mozzarella Salad

I actually made the recipe from the February issue back at the end of January. The magazine comes out a week or so before the start of the month so plenty of time to look through it and decide on what to make. 

I had several things marked in this issue to try out. I am very keen to try out Belinda Jeffrey's crispy potatoes with bacon and rosemary. I think they would be the perfect side dish to a roast dinner, probably lamb I think. I also really like the sound of Belinda's Peperonata & spaghettini frittata with harissa cream. It sounds just wonderful, although it does use 10 eggs and serve 6 - 8. That is a lot of food. I might try cutting the recipe in half but not sure how it will go. The full recipe is cooked in a 30 cm fry pan, I assume that my 24 cm pan would work for half the recipe. 

I was also very interested in Jessica Brook's Mixed pepper crusted steak with mushroom salad. I didn't have the dried green peppercorns though. I hope that I can find some and make it though. As it sounds really good. I also like that the mushroom salad uses char-grilled mushrooms. Jessica's Lamb burgers with buffalo mozzarella and cucumber salad. I love burgers and this sounds like a wonderful combination. I think I might make them some time this week. 

My grandparents had given me some lovely peaches so I decided to make Liz Condon's Bresaola, grilled peach & buffalo mozzarella salad. Unfortunately I couldn't get bresaola so instead I purchased some coppa. I was able to get some buffalo mozzarella, it was so very good. It is a shame that I haven't been able to get it since. I hope that they will get some more in. I also added some halved cherry tomatoes and sliced red onion. It was a simple and easy salad to make and was very good. 

Coppa, Peach & Buffalo Mozzarella Salad

Ingredients: 

• 4 peaches, halved and stones removed 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Juice 1/2 lemon 
• 1 bunch rocket
• 12 slices coppa 
• 2 x 150 g buffalo mozzarella ball, torn
• punnet cherry tomatoes, halved 
• 1/2 red onion, sliced

Method: 

• Heat fry pan over medium-high heat. Brush peaches with oil and then cook until slightly charred. Let cool and peel. 
• Mix together oil & lemon juice and season.
• Arrange all ingredients on serving plate and drizzle with dressing.