Another really easy recipe and quite good in the end, serving only 2 this time:
1/2 cup risonni, 1/2 cup red lentils, 1 red capsicum, 1 zuchinni thinly sliced lengthways, 2 tomatoes chopped, 1 red onion chopped, 2 tbsp tomatoe puree, 1 vegetable stock cube, juice of half a lemon, 2 tbsp chopped parsley, salt & pepper
1. Pre heat your oven on grill;
2. Line a baking tray, place the chopped onion, sliced zuchinni and whole capsicum and grill for about 15 minutes turning at least once; ( you might need to grill capsicum for a little longer until its charred and soft - remove from oven and let cool)
3. Meanwhile, heat some water in a sauce pan and cook lentils for about 10 minutes. Remove them from pan, drain them and return them to the pan. Add enough water to cover, the pasta and stock cube and simmer covered until pasta is cooked through;
4. In a large bowl place chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and lemon juice. Mix well;
5. Add pasta and lentils, chopped parsley and mix again;
6. When capsicum has cooled down, peel, remove seeds and chop coarsely. Add to the bowl;
7. Finally add onion and zuchinni to the bowl, correct flavours and serve. 
This is one of my favourite dishes in the world as I grew up eating it, weather it was on it's own, with grilled fish or just nice fresh sourdough bread dipped in it...the recipe differs from the spanish 'gazpacho' and it even differs from other recipes in the centre of Portugal, so feel lucky boys and girls, coz this Gaspacho is a 'one of a kind' pearl:
Serves: about 6 people (as main or more as a side)
5 medium tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 lebanese cucumber, 2 garlic cloves, 1 green capsicum, salt, oregano, 2 L water, 4 Tbs Olive oil, 3 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar, ice cubes
1. Chop the garlic finely and add it to a large salad bowl;
2. Chop the onion very finely and the tomato in small cubes. Add to the bowl;
3. Chop the cucumber and the capsicum finely and add to the rest f the ingredients. Stir to combine;
4. Add 2L cold water to the bowl (or enough to cover all the vegetables). Mix the gaspacho and add olive oil, vinegar, salt and a sprinkle of dried oregano. Taste and correct flavours (it really depends on your taste buds now, add olive oil, vinegar, salt, oregano or water until it tastes good);
5. Finally add ice cubes to the bowl and stir. This will make it extra fresh. (perfect if you are throwing a party cause you want to keep it cool- warm gaspacho is a 'no-no')
Serve with grilled sardines (best choice), nice barbecued meat, or enjoy it by itself as a cold summer soup with a nice slice of your favourite bread.
Hummmm, perfect!
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.
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.
...getting late writing my posts, it has been a busy week, feeling like I'm dumb as hell in my new job... guess its like that whenever you start a new job at a new place where you cant speak your mother language...so, getting to business, I was really excited about this dish and was a bit disappointed in the end, I think I used far too much orange in the chicken and not enough salt, so, if you try it on be careful with the seasoning and I am going to give you the recipe with 1 orange, rather than 2, so it should be better. the salad was great though!
Here it goes, for 4:
Skewers previously soaked, 4 chicken thigh pieces chopped, 1 orange (rind, peeled and cut into wedges), 1 tbs ground cumin, 2 tbs olive oil, salt & pepper, 2x 400g cans of lentils rinsed, 2 lebanese cucumbers thinly sliced, 1/2 cup firmly packed chopped parsley, 1 tbs chopped chives, salt & pepper, olive oil & vinegar, natural greek yoghurt
1. Pre-heat the grill at medium heat. Place the cumin, orange ring, olive oil in a bowl, mix and coat the chicken pieces. Rub them with salt and pepper and place about 4 pieces into each skewer. Grill it in your oven for about 10 minutes each side. (It really depends on your oven, so take a look eevry 5 minutes to see how they-re going)
2. Place lentils in a large bowl, add the cucumber, orange wedges, parsley, chives, and mix.
Season with salt, pepper a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar.
3. Place a portion of the salad on a place, top with the chicken skewers, serve it with a dollop of yoghurt topped with a pinch of cumin, ground pepper and a drop of olive oil (or lemon juice).
Done, easy easy...
This recipe is really easy and perfect for hot summer days.
For 4 people:
2 red capsicums, 1 yellow capsicum, 1 lebanese cucumber, 3 tomatoes, 1/4 red onion, 1/2 cup basil leaves, 100 ml olive oil, 1 tbs vinegar, 1 tbs water, salt & pepper
1. Grill the capsicums of bake them in the oven ( I just turn the oven to 180/200C and place the capsicums on foil for a hilw, turning them every 10 minutes). When they are soft, remove them from the oven and let them cool.
2. Toast 5 slices of Italian bread, let them cool and cut them into squares.
3. Meanwhile, chopp the cucumber coarsely and place in a large bowl.
4. Slice the onion and add to the the bowl.
5. Chop the tomatoes and add to the salad.
6. Remove the skin and seeds of the capsicums and cut them in pieces. Add to the bowl.
7. Tear the basil leaves, add them to the salad, toss the bread in and mix everything.
8. Drizzle the salad with the olive oil, vinegar and water and toss to coat. Ready!
Lovely, colorful and fresh!
