Barley Pilaff with Roasted Pumpkin and Leeks

I am aware that it is the start of the pumpkin season in the Northern Hemisphere, so I thought I would do a pumpkin dish for you guys, which is super delicious, but also really healthy. This dish is different to the traditional pilaff as it is made with slightly chewy, nutty-flavoured pearl barley. Sweet leeks and roasted pumpkin are superb with this earthy grain.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pearl barley, rinsed
• 200g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 large leek, cut into diagonal slices
• 1-2 carrots, coarsely grated
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
• ground black pepper

Preparation:

Cover the barley with cold water in a pan, bring to simmer and cook for 35-45 minutes, or until tender. Drain. Preheat the oven to 200C.

Cut the top of the garlic head to expose the cloves. Pour a bit of olive oil into the cloves and wrap the head in foil. Put the garlic head and the pumpkin into a roasting pan with the rosemary sprigs and half of the thyme. Season pumpkin with salt and pepper and drizzle with half of the oil. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring once, until the pumpkin is tender.

Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan. Cook the leeks gently for about 5 minutes or until the leeks are softened.

Stir in the carrots and cook for about 2 minutes, then add the barley and the stock. Season well and cook for a further 5 minutes. Peel the roasted garlic cloves and squash them into the mixture (they don’t have to be perfectly blended in).

Stir in the roasted pumpkin and the chives. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve immediately.

Enjoy.

 

Delicious Italian Soup with Onion Focaccia

We are supposed to be heading towards spring here in New Zealand, but winter is refusing to leave and hit us with another cold wave (hopefully it’s one for the road). So I needed something warm and comforting and what can be warmer and more comforting than a nice bowl of soup with some freshly baked bread? I can’t think of anything else…

 

I decided to make this really easy Italian soup with some focaccia bread. Yum. It’s really healthy and good for you too. It’s filled with sausage (which you can leave out for a delish vegetarian/vegan version), beans and Tuscan kale, which looks like this in case you are wondering:

What’s your favourite soup? Send me your ideas, I love hearing from you guys 🙂

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the soup:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 chorizo sausage (or an Italian sausage of your preference, I like a little bit of a kick, so chorizo was perfect), chopped. Leave the sausage out for vegetarian option.
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 red chile, chopped (seeded if you want less heat)
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 can tomatoes
• 1 cup of beans (use the ones you prefer, or what you have in the pantry, I used black eyed beans; you can also use canned beans, just add them at the end if you do, rather than in the beginning)
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 small bunch Tuscan kale
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh or dry thyme
• 1 large bay leaf
• Salt, pepper to taste

For the focaccia:

• 2 1/2 cups plain flour
• 2 tsp dry yeast
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small red onion, finely sliced
• 2 tsp coarse sea salt flakes
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

First begin with the bread, as it will take couple of hours to rise.

Sift the flour into a large bowl; stir in the yeast, parmesan cheese, salt and thyme. Gradually stir in the warm water and olive oil. Knead well on a floured surface 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Put the dough into a large greased bowl, cover with cling wrap and then wrap the bowl with a towel. Place somewhere warm to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size. Once it’s doubled, pinch the dough, and knead it lightly. Cover and place into warm place again for another 1-1 1/2 hours to let the dough rise again.

Grease a 24cm-round cake tin. Press the dough into the tin.

In another bowl combine the thinly sliced onion, sea salt flakes and olive oil; sprinkle over the bread dough. Cover and set aside for another 10-15 min. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200C.

Bake the bread for 25 min or until cooked when tested with a wooden skewer. Cool on wire rack.

While the bread is baking you can make the soup.

In a frying pan heat up the olive oil. Add the onion and stir until fragrant. Add the grated carrot,garlic and chile. Cook for 2-3 min until soft and golden. Add the chorizo and cook for further 2-3 min until the sausage is browned. Set aside.

Meanwhile bring the stock to boil in a soup pot. Add the beans (if using dried beans, otherwise add canned beans right at the end when soup is almost ready) and cook until they are half cooked (the bean should still be hard, but you should be able to bite through it). Add the potatoes, celery, tomatoes and the chorizo/onion mixture, 1-2 cups of water (if the soup is too thick). Bring to boil. Add the Tuscan kale, thyme and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Reduce the heat and simmer for further 20-30 min or until potatoes and beans are tender.

Serve immediately with fresh focaccia.

Yum!

Healthilicious gingered carrot and beet salad

If you are ever going to make a salad, make this healthilicious (yes, it’s now a word) fresh and zesty salad packed with flavours, nutrients and vitamins. Yum yum yum!

It’s a great lunch idea or you can serve it as a side dish for dinner and it will give you a healthy boost.

What’s your favourite salad? Leave me a comment or send me a message. I look forward to hearing your ideas.

Serves 2 (or 1 greedy person like me)

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots, grated or cut into fine matchsticks
• 1 small beetroot, grated
• Handful of bean sprouts (optional)
• 1 clove of garlic (have to keep those vampires away)
• 1 inch piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp toasted caraway seeds
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Salt, pepper to season

Preparation:

Mix the carrot, beetroot, sprouts, garlic, ginger, oil and lemon juice in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 30 min to let flavours develop.

Grind the caraway seeds in mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.

Sprinkle the salad with poppy seeds and ground caraway seeds just before serving.

Enjoy.

Asian broth with zoodles, bok choy and shiitake mushrooms

This is a super healthy soup packed with heaps of flavour. While I love my noodles, it’s good to take a break from the carbs. I am using zucchini noodles, or zoodles to replicate the traditional noodle soup. This is a vegan, gluten free recipe, but feel free to use shredded chicken and egg noodles, if that’s what you are craving.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2tbsp olive oil
• 1bsp sesame oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated
• 2cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
• 1tsp Five Spice mix
• 4 cups of boiling water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 lime
• 2 large zucchinis, grated into zoodles (you can use a special grater for that)
• 2 bok choy, leaves separated and washed
• 1 handful of shiitake mushrooms (if you are using dry mushrooms, soak them in boiling water for at least 30 minutes first)
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• Handful fresh coriander, finely chopped to serve

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium to high heat. Add the onion and fry until golden. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli, fry for further 2 minutes. Add the five spice mix. Stir.

Once the spices are awake (you’ll be able to smell it), add the boiling water. Now add the soy sauce and the vegetables. This will literally take second to cook. Add the lime (you can grate in the zest if you want more flavour). Taste if it needs more seasoning. Add the spring onions.

Divide into bowls and sprinkle with coriander. Serve immediately.