Month: November 2016

Swede Fries

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(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Meat Free| Whole30 & Paleo-Friendly) I’ve been getting a lot of swede (or, rutabaga) in my veg box lately. Although I love all vegetables and try not to play favourites (except when it comes to kale!), I really wasn’t sure what to do with all this swede/rutabaga. Luckily, I found this awesome recipe to spruce up my swede! Now I can eat comforting FRIES that are high in vitamin C to boost my immune system for the winter months. How good of a deal is that?!

Ingredients

  • 1 small swede (rutabaga), skin removed
  • ¼ – ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ – ½ tsp cayenne powder (add more if you like things spicy)
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp dried oregano
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • 1-2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions

  1. Slice the swede (rutabaga) in half, and then cut into “fries.” (You can place your “fries” into cold water and allow them to sit in the fridge overnight. This is what is recommended for crispy fries. You can skip if you like –I did).
  2. Preheat oven to 230C (450F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Drain rutabaga fries if you chilled them overnight. Pat dry. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and toss until evenly coated (add more if necessary.) Add the spices and toss again. Transfer to baking sheet and spread out so no fries overlap.
  4. Place into oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and flip. Continue baking for another 10-15 minutes, or until desired consistency is reached.
  5. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

swede-fries

Source | The Cookie Writer

Tip: I needed to do something with my swede (rutabaga) before I was out of town for the weekend so I cut it up into fries, seasoned those and then froze them. Once I was back, I just baked the fries from frozen; it worked great! From articles I’ve seen, it’s better to blanch the fries before you freeze them, but I didn’t know this before I froze my fries so I just went with it; it all worked out.

Slow-Cooked Veggie Curry

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(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Meat Free| Whole30 & Paleo-Friendly) I’ve been getting a lot of swede (or, rutabaga) in my veg box lately. Although I love all vegetables and try not to play favourites (except when it comes to kale!), I really wasn’t sure what to do with all this swede/rutabaga. Luckily, I found this awesome recipe to spruce up my swede! Now I can eat comforting FRIES that are high in vitamin C to boost my immune system for the winter months. How good of a deal is that?!This recipe is adapted from Hemsley Hemsley’s Slow-Cooked ‘No Fry’ Chicken Curry. Because I didn’t have chicken, I just made it vegetarian by substituting meat with carrots and potatoes. Either way, this curry is a fantastically easy and quick meal to throw into the slow cooker (or on the stovetop/oven if you forgot to think about dinner until after you got home from work like me). I’ve also included the Spiced Coconut Cabbage recipe that I served the curry with. Don’t worry –both recipes take no time at all and are super easy to make. Winning! #curryinahurry (Yep, that hashtag just happened).

Ingredients

  • 4 carrots, chopped + 2 large potatoes, chopped (if you want to make the ‘no fry’ chicken version of this recipe use 1.2kg (2.6 lb) chicken thighs (8 small thighs, skin on and bone in)
  • 2 large onions, diced
  • 6 garlic cloves, diced
  • 6 cm (2.5 in) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
  • 2 Tbsp tomato puree
  • 2½ Tbsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
  • ½ tsp chilli powder (to taste)
  • 1 tsp tamari (optional- I skipped)
  • 1 x 400g (15 oz) can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 x 400 ml (14 oz) can of full-fat coconut milk
  • 2 handfuls of fresh coriander (cilantro), stems finely chopped, leaves reserved to serve
  • Sea salt and black pepper (to taste)
  • Juice of 1-2 lemons or limes, to serve

Directions

  1. Put everything except the coriander (cilantro) leaves and lemon juice in a slow cooker (the liquid should just cover everything), season, stir, cover with the lid and set to low to cook for 6 hours or high to cook for 3 hours.
  2. If cooking on the stovetop, place all the ingredients except the coriander (cilantro) leaves and lemon juice, in a heavy-based pan with a tight-fitting lid (so that the liquid doesn’t evaporate) and cook on the lowest heat for 1- 1½ hours, stirring halfway through. If cooking in the oven, preheat the oven to 180C (350F), then place the ingredients in an ovenproof dish with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 2 hours.
  3. If you prefer a thicker sauce, remove the lid from the slow cooker –or pan on the stovetop or dish in the oven- and cook uncovered for the last 20-30 minutes so the liquid reduces down.
  4. At the end of the cooking, squeeze in the lemon juice and taste for seasoning -add more salt or an extra dash of tamari (if you have –for greater depth of flavour). Scatter over the coriander (cilantro) leaves to serve.

slow-cooked-veg-curry

Spiced Coconut Cabbage

 Ingredients for Cabbage

  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 garlic clove, diced
  • 4cm (1.5in) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 large green or white cabbage, shredded
  • 2 Tbsp desiccated coconut
  • Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon or lime
  • Sea salt and black pepper (to taste)

Ingredients for Spices

  • 1 tsp cumin seeds or ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds (I didn’t have this so I just skipped)

Directions

  1. Toast the spices in a deep, wide frying pan on a medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the coconut oil with the garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute.
  2. Tip in the cabbage and desiccated coconut and cook for 10 minutes, covered, until softened and fragrant (or cook for 3 minute if you want it crunchy- with the lid off).
  3. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir through the lemon or lime zest and juice.

slow-cooked-veggie-curry-close

Source | Hemsley Hemsley, ‘Good + Simple’

 

Roasted Tomato and Butternut Squash Soup

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(Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Meat Free| Whole30 & Paleo-Friendly) I’ve always wanted to be that person who whips out fresh, homemade and healthy soups on the reg(ular). But, I’m not. I rarely make soup because I basically have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to creating delightful soup that fills you up for a meal without bread. The other day, though, I had so much veg to get through before I went away for the weekend that a friend recommended I make soup. Great idea! But how? I turned to my old friends Hemsley and Hemsley who showed me the light to this gorgeous, easy recipe that’s also very filling. My boyfriend described the soup: ‘if it was packaged in M&S, I would have bought it’ –which I see as a real win, since M&S do know what’s up in the world of soup!

Ingredients

  • 3 kg (6.5lb) butternut squash (I didn’t have this so I used a small pumpkin and two sweet large sweet potatoes instead!)
  • 2 kg (4lbs) fresh tomatoes or passata or 3 tins of chopped or plum tomatoes
  • 3 large onions, roughly chopped
  • 1 whole garlic bulb
  • 2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
  • 4 tsp of fresh rosemary or 2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 5 litres vegetable stock (more or less depending how thick you like your soups)
  • Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) or flaxseed oil, to drizzle
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • Parmesan shavings (if you’re not going dairy free) and extra finely chopped rosemary leaves, to garnish (optional- if you’re feeling fancy)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 220C (400F)
  2. Halve the squash (or pumpkin in my case –along with sliced sweet potatoes) and fresh tomatoes, if using, and lay on one or two baking trays, flesh side up. Don’t bother removing seeds of squash (or pumpkin)! Add the chopped onion and whole garlic bulb. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes until the squash (or pumpkin) is tender.
  3. Gently heat the ghee (or coconut oil) in a large saucepan (big enough for all soup ingredients to be in) and fry the rosemary for a few minutes. If you’re using tinned tomatoes or passata, add them now and let the tomato sauce simmer for 20 minutes.
  4. Add the roasted onions, roasted fresh tomatoes, if using, and any juice to the saucepan. Scoop out the squash flesh (and seeds), squeeze 6 cloves of roasted garlic out of their skins (you can use the remaining roasted garlic in sauce or dressings) and add to the pan too.
  5. Cover with broth, starting with just over litre, turn up the heat and bring to a medium simmer. Simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes to let the flavours combine, adding more bone broth if it seems too thick. Blend until smooth with hand mixer and season to taste.
  6. Drizzle each bowl with EVOO or flaxseed old and ad d a few parmesan shavings and some finely chopped rosemary leaves.

Tip: I froze this soup and ate it when I was back from the weekend; it worked great!

roasted-tomato-and-butternut-squash-soup

Source | Hemsley Hemsley, ‘The Art of Eating Well’