recipe: Lamb & Quinoa Salad

I really liked this salad, I am getting quite addicted to lamb and nuts of all kinds so this was sweet!

Serving 3/4 people: 450g lamb cut into thin strips, 1 cup burghal (or couscous ), 1 handful of baby spinach, 200 g green beans cut into 3 cm pieces, 1 small avocado chopped coarsely, 1 long red chilli finely chopped, salt & pepper, 2 tbs lemon juice, 1 tbs olive oil, 1 tbs honey, 1/4 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts, 1/4 cup roasted sesame seeds

1. Season the lamb with salt, pepper and some olive oil. Place it in an oven tray and turn your oven to the grill. Grill the lamb for a couple of minutes until cooked to your liking;
2. Place the burghal in a heat-proof bowl. Pour enough boiling water to cover it and stir occasionally with a fork to make it fluffy. When cooked, add some salt, drain and place in a large salad bowl;
3. Cook the green beans in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain and add to the bowl;
4. Wash the spinach, drain and add to the salad. Chop the avocado and add to the bowl. Stir to combine burghal mixture;
5. In a small bowl mix lemon juice, olive oil, honey and chopped chilli;
6. Add the lamb to the salad, top with the dressing, roasted hazelnuts and sesame seeds. Correct flavours if needed and serve.

Enjoy!

Minted Grilled Lamb & Quinoa Salad

Some people don't like lamb so much, but I surely love it. Especially here in Australia...it seems to be everywhere and its so easy to buy...so, this was a light dinner and I marinated the lamb the day before. If you don't have quinoa, you can use couscous, but if you do use quinoa, careful with overcooking cause it gets quite sticky.

For 2:

3 small lamb steaks ( or 2 big ones), chopped garlic, olive oil, dried mint, lemon juice, 1 1/2 cup of quinoa, mint leaves, chopped chives, 1 handfull of baby greens for salad, olive oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper, a bunch of asparagus; half an avocado.

1. Cook the quinoa until its fluffy. Drain it and place it in a large bowl;
2. Meanwhile, grill the lamb steaks on a barbecue or your oven grill for about 15 minutes or until they are cooked to your liking;
3. Cut the asparagus in 5 cm pieces and boil them in hot water;
4. Add come mint and chopped chives to the quinoa, the baby greens, some olive oil, juice of a lemon, salt & pepper to taste and your salad should be ready.
5. Place some of the quinoa mix into a plate, round with some asparagus, a quarter of the avocado, top with the steak, drizzle some more olive oil, and top with black pepper and you're done.

Brown Rice & Chicken Salad

So, its getting really hot in Melbourne and my appetite sort of disappears a bit. Furthermore i feel like eating light & fresh meals and after holidays in portugal and Spain we certainly need to curb on our carbs...and fats and everything heavy! And this salad is quite filling, healthy, fresh and full of fiber so...go crazy!

for 4 serves:
3/4 cup brown rice, 2 chicken breasts cooked & shredded, 1 onion, 2 tbs olive oil, 1 lemon: juice & rind, 1 tbs chopped dill, 1/2 cup chopped basil, 2 cups frozen peas

1. Cook the rice, drain and place it in a large bowl;
2. Cook the peas quickly in boiling water, drain and add to the bowl;
3. Finely grate the lemon, juice it and place everything in a small bowl. Add 1 tbs olive oil and the chopped dill;
4. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a fry pan and cook the onion previously cut in half moon slices. Cook it in low heat until its browned;
5. Add the chicken to the bowl, the onion and stir to combine.
6. Add the lemon juice mixture, the basil and some salt.

Risonni & Pea Salad

Again this was a dish that was thrown up in 15 minutes with stuff that was laying around my fridge, really quick and easy.

Serving 3 as a main:

250g Risonni (you can use other type of small pasta, or even pearl couscous), 2 cups of peas, 1 good handful of baby spinach and rocket leaves, some chopped parsley, olive oil, juice of 1 small lemon, salt & pepper.

1. Cook the risonni until its "al dente", add the peas and cook them together for a couple of minutes. 2. Rinse the spinach leaves and place them in a bowl.
3. Add the risonni and the peas, mix them well. 4. Season with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper until the salad is of your liking.

recipe: Warm Brown Rice & Spinach and Lentil Salad

This week was chaos, really. The pasta meal has been discarded and I will post this one which we both really liked and I am hoping I can get on track with our meals next week....no promises though...

for 4 main meals or around 6 serves as a side:

1 cup long grain brown rice, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 2 tbs olive oil, 3 tea spoons Dijon Mustard, 1 tbs balsamic vinegar, 1 good handfull of baby spinach ( or baby spinach & rocket salad mixture like I used), 3 spring onions thinly sliced, 1x 400g can brown lentils rinsed, 1/2 cup mint leaves crushed, salt & pepper

1. Cook the rice in salted water.
2. Mix the garlic cloves, mustard, oil and vinegar in a bowl. 2. Wash the spinach and rinse the lentils. Mix them in a bowl. Add the onions and mint.
3. When the rice is cooked, drain and rinse. Add to the salad mixture.
4. Mix all the ingredients, add the mustard sauce and you are ready to go. Its a really quick, healthy meal that actually makes you feel quite full for a long time and it works well both as a main course or a side.