Healthy Food

Herby, Peanutty, Noodly Salad

February 20, 2014

Herby, Peanutty, Noodly Salad

Maybe you’ve noticed more vegetables around these parts than before? As I click back through the last half dozen recipes, I see a lot of green. It doesn’t surprise me but maybe you’ve wondered where all the cheese and cake has gone? I haven’t eaten any meat or dairy for going on nine months now so there’s your answer.

Herby, Peanutty, Noodly Salad

Eating a plant-based diet has done absolute wonders for me but I’ve been hesitant to delve into the whys and hows here. Food choices are rarely simple. Health, personal beliefs, ethical principles, tastes, and upbringing all play a part. For this reason I’ve shied away from talking about my own food revolution and from labelling myself in any way, which I think oversimplifies a complex personal choice. There’s so much evangelising about food out there in internet land and I don’t have much interest in throwing my hat in that ring. I’d rather focus on sharing the dishes and foods I’m excited about, like this killer salad.

Herby, Peanutty, Noodly Salad

Having decided not to eat meat or dairy it would be easy to focus on what I am not eating and to feel all womp-womp about missed cheese burgers and the lack of steak. But I decided from the start that I would instead concentrate on all the goodness I am adding and how flipping awesome it’s making me feel. And really, it was not anywhere near as hard as I imagined. The health issues I was dealing with for years have disappeared as a result of eating this way. If anything, I’ve become more creative in the kitchen, and incase these pictures don’t shout OMG DELISH to you, let me tell you that it’s mega satisfying to eat food like this, full of crunchy green vegetables, fragrant herbs, chewy noodles, and zingy dressing.

I’ve made this salad several times now. It hits the spot when you’re hungry for something a bit more substantial than a raw salad but still want to see a rainbow of goodness on your plate. And like all good salads, the dressing really makes it. It has a moreish saltiness and zing that makes it hard not to wolf down the entire thing in one sitting. You have been warned.

Herby, Peanutty, Noodly Salad
adapted from River Cottage Veg

Notes
You might also use vermicelli rice noodles but I personally love the relative chunkiness of soba. Other crunchy green vegetables can replace the snow peas, and if you use Tamari and 100% buckwheat noodles then this dish is gluten-free as well as vegan.

Ingredients

  • 75g (1/2 cup) raw unsalted peanuts
  • 200g (7oz) buckwheat soba noodles
  • 150g (5oz) snow peas
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 6 green onions
  • a small bunch mint, coarsely chopped
  • a small bunch fresh coriander (cilantro), coarsely chopped

For the dressing:

  • 2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
  • Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 lime
  • 1 small fresh red chile, finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 tsp soy sauce or Tamari, plus extra to serve

Directions

  1. Toast the peanuts in a dry pan until a little dark and fragrant. Remove and coarsely chop. Set aside.
  2. Cook noodles per package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again and set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Combine all dressing ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Toss the cooked, cooled noodles with the dressing and leave to sit while you prepare the rest of the salad.
  4. Add the snow peas to rapidly boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop them cooking longer. Drain again and then cut in half on the diagonal.
  5. Thinly slice the green onions on the diagonal. Slice the cucumber in half lengthways and then slice into half moons.
  6. Add the snow peas, cucumber, green onions, and chopped herbs to the bowl with the dressed noodles. Scatter the roasted peanuts on top.
  7. Serve with soy sauce or Tamari at the table for people to add to their bowls. An extra drizzle when serving really makes this salad sing. Enjoy!

Grilled Summer Vegetable and Bean Tacos

August 13, 2013

Grilled Summer Vegetable Tacos

We’ve hit that mid-to-late summer sweet spot when all the things I eagerly await year-round are finally here. Sweetcorn, courgettes, berries, summer squash, and tomatoes. Warm nights, beers on the porch, sunburnt shoulders, coconut soft serve, and sweaty bike rides. As much as I love these days, I also feel a mild anxiety as each one passes, not wanting to let summer go yet.

This blog post is for more of an idea than a recipe, but it’s a delicious one that’s worthy of your time nonetheless, and especially good if you’re a bit tired of simply grilling vegetables for salads or whatnot. Warmed corn tortillas are filled with seasoned pinto beans, zingy grilled corn salsa, slices of creamy avocado, grilled summer vegetables, and a spoonful of hot tomato salsa.

Summer Vegetable and Bean Tacos

If you haven’t made this grilled corn salsa before then you’re in for a treat. It has a gorgeous charred-sweet flavour with a pick-me-up from the fresh cilantro and lime juice, and a little kick of cumin. It’s excellent and so simple.

If you follow the instructions below you’ll have more corn salsa and beans than you need for tacos but that is personally how I prefer to cook and both are so versatile and delicious that you’ll want to use them in many other ways. Add leftover beans to a bowl of rice, topped with a fried egg, avocado, cilantro, and hot sauce for a delicious dinner. Scoop up the corn salsa with tortilla chips or add it to green salads. Or…make more tacos! Your choices at this time of year for grilling vegetables are near endless.

Grilled Summer Vegetable and Bean Tacos

These are a stunning way to show off summer vegetables in a simple and easy way. They’re vegan and gluten-free so an excellent option for feeding a group of hungry friends in your sunny backyard, though if you wanted to add some crumbled queso fresco, I bet that would be delicious too. Just add some ice cold beers, and a bowl of tortilla chips with the rest of that corn salsa and you have yourself a seriously good time in the making.

Summer Vegetable Tacos

Grilled Summer Vegetable and Bean Tacos
Makes enough for two people.

Ingredients

  • 8 corn tortillas (I like to double up and use two tortillas for one taco)
  • About half a cup of grilled corn salsa (recipe below)
  • About half a cup of cooked pinto beans (instructions below)
  • Two baby courgettes (zucchini) (or aubergine/eggplant, or summer squash) sliced in half lengthwise
  • Half an avocado, pit removed
  • Fresh tomato salsa, as desired – or – a handful of cherry tomatoes sliced into halves

Directions

  1. Heat the grill to high and make the corn salsa per the instructions below.
  2. Grill your courgettes (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), or summer squash until lightly charred but not too soft. Remove from grill and slice into half moons about 1/4 inch thick.
  3. Place halved avocado flesh down on the grill and warm through until you have grill marks, a minute or two. Remove and slice into strips, lengthwise.
  4. Meanwhile, heat up corn tortillas on the grill until soft and pliable.
  5. Construct tacos by taking two corn tortillas and filling them with a little grilled corn salsa, some beans, courgette/squash, slices of avocado, some cilantro and a little salsa (or tomatoes).

To make the pinto beans:

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dried pinto beans, picked through
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 2 chiles
  • 1-2 tbsp white vinegar
  • Salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Place beans in a large pot and cover with about an inch of water. Bring to the boil and then turn heat down and simmer for thirty minutes. Drain the beans. 
  2. Return beans to the pot and cover with about an inch of water again. Add the onion and chiles and bring water to a boil. Turn heat down and let beans simmer for 1 – 2 hours or until tender, stirring every 10-15 minutes. You don’t want tons of water left at the end but you also don’t want the beans to run out of water so keep an eye on them and make sure they’re just simmering the entire time.
  3. About ten minutes before the beans are done, add the vinegar and salt, to taste.
  4. This will make more beans than you need for the tacos – use the leftovers as you wish! (My favourite is to make a batch of rice and eat them with that, avocado slices, and hot sauce. A runny egg on top is super good.)

To make the grilled corn salsa:

Ingredients

  • 2 ears of sweetcorn
  • 1/4 red onion, diced
  • 1/2 bunch of cilantro, diced
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pinch of cumin

Directions

  1. Remove husks from corn and lightly coat in olive oil. Cook on the bbq right over the flames charring the corn slightly as you turn it.
  2. Place onion and cilantro in a bowl. Combine the lime juice, olive oil, cumin and salt in a small jam jar and shake. Set aside.
  3. Once corn has cooled down use a knife to gently slide down the sides of the corn, removing the kernels. Add the corn to the cilantro and onion, pour over dressing to taste, and toss. Adjust seasoning if needed.
  4. This will make more than you need for the tacos – save the rest to enjoy with corn tortilla chips!

Lentils with Greens, Parsley, and Mustard Dressing

July 29, 2013

Lentils-with-Greens

River Cottage Veg is my new favourite cookbook. I’ve found myself completely taken with it in the last couple of months and feeling very inspired to cook fresh, lovely vegetable dishes. I really like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s philosophy on food and that his writing isn’t fussy or overly stylised. The dishes are simple, not convoluted or too complex, which is right up my alley and very much my own way of cooking.

One of my biggest pet peeves with vegetarian cookbooks is that many seem to focus on meat replacements or finding substitutes that mimic the texture or flavour of meat. I don’t think that does vegetables justice! There’s definitely a place for veggie “meat” balls and vegetarian versions of classic meat-centric dishes, but what I love about this book is that the vegetables sing. As a meat eater perhaps Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall doesn’t feel the need to replace and instead he celebrates vegetables for themselves.

It’s become a bit of a Sunday evening habit for me in the last few weeks to make some socca to snack on (who am I kidding, to attack some socca like a starved person) and then open up River Cottage Veg to make something for supper.

Lentils with Greens, Parsley, and a Mustardy-Lemon Dressing

There are a couple of lovely green lentil recipes in the book and I’ve taken to combining my favourite elements from each to create the dish below. It’s quick, which I obviously like, and has a zingy mustard dressing that I ADORE. I wolf this stuff down and I suspect you will too.

All you have to do is cook the lentils and then swirl in some fresh arugula, parsley, and that mustardy dressing for zing. It makes for a really lovely and quick weeknight dinner when you want something healthy and bright tasting, which for me seems to be most nights during the summer.

Lentils-with-Greens-Parsley-Mustard-Dressing

Lentils with Greens, Parsley, and Mustard Dressing
adapted from River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cups (330 mL) French green lentils
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed
  • A few parsley stems (optional)
  • 3 tbsp (45 ml) olive oil
  • 1 tbsp (15 ml) cider vinegar
  • A small squeeze of fresh lemon juice
  • A little lemon zest
  • 2 tsp (10 ml) Dijon mustard
  • Pinch each salt and sugar
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 to 3 green onions, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
  • Large handful of arugula (rocket)
  • Leaves from a bunch of flat-leaf parsley

Directions

  1. Put the lentils in a saucepan and add plenty of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for a minute only, then drain.
  2. Return the lentils to the pan and pour in just enough water to cover them. Add the bay leaf, garlic and parsley stems, if using. Bring back to a very gentle simmer, and cook slowly for about half an hour, until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Drain the lentils and discard the herbs and garlic.
  3. For the dressing, add the following to a jar with a screw-top lid: olive oil, cider vinegar, lemon juice and zest, mustard, salt, sugar and a few twists of black pepper. Cap and shake vigorously to emulsify.
  4. Toss the warm or cooled lentils with the arugula, parsley leaves, green onions, and the vinaigrette.

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