Lentil salad with lemon and herb dressing

I concocted this salad one day when I had a craving for lentils, yes, craving lentils is a thing. As an ex-vegetarian I used to eat a lot of lentils, but these days have forgotten about what a satisfying and delicious meal they can make!

What's fantastic about this meal is it's generally pretty user friendly, so it makes a great dish to take when you're not sure what people can or can't eat. And with daylight savings now with us, I'm anticipating many more impromptu BBQ's where I might need to whip this one up.

It's naturally gluten free and vegetarian, and can easily be made dairy free or vegan by removing the feta, or substituting for a dairy free alternative. More so, it's a hit with carnivores alike and tastes fantastic alongside a hunk of crispy skinned salmon (as I served it today) or a medium-rare fillet of steak.

Best of all, any leftovers keep well till tomorrow and will make a quick and filling lunch.

Ingredients (serves 4 - 6):

• 1 1/2 cups of green puy lentils
• 4 1/2 cups water
• juice of 1 large lemon (about 1/3 cup)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp finely slice fresh mint
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil, extra
• 4 zucchini, halved lengthways and sliced on the diagonal
• 150 grams baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 red capsicum, finely diced
• 150 - 200 grams feta, crumbled (optional)

In a saucepan bring the lentils and water to the boil. Simmer gently, covered for 40 - 45 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the dressing. Combine chopped parsley and mint in a jar* with crushed garlic, lemon juice, and (at least) 4 tbsp of quality extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, screw on the lid and shake well. Leave the dressing to mingle with itself while your lentils cook and you prepare the zucchini.

Heat the extra tbsp of olive oil in a heavy saucepan, add the zucchini and cook turning occasionally for 5-10 minutes, till it is golden on the outside, and soft in the middle (This could also be done on the BBQ, simply half the zucchini, brush with oil and grill cut side down first, turning once. Slice once removed from the BBQ). Place in a large bowl

In the same pan add the washed spinach leaves, leave a little water on them as this will help them to steam as they fry. Once wilted remove to the bowl with the zucchini.

Soon the lentils will also be cooked. Drain well and add to the bowl with the vegetables and the diced capsicum. Give the jar of dressing a good shake and pour half of it over the lentils. Stir well and set aside for at least 10 - 15 minutes. If serving with steak or salmon, this is when you would start cooking the meat.

To serve, stir well before sprinkling over crumbled feta and pouring over the remaining dressing.

This salad is delicious warm or cold, and although it makes a meal on it's own, it is also a fantastic accompaniment to BBQ'd steak, or crispy skinned salmon fillets.

Served with crispy skinned salmon fillet

* I always keep an old jam jar on hand for this very purpose. It also means that if I'm taking a dish somewhere I can easily take the dressing with me, pre-prepared, to pour on just before serving.

Spring Risotto: Spinach Zucchini and Feta

Today is World Vegetarian Day! Hooray! So in honour of this, I thought I would share this tasty spring vegetable risotto, seasoned with oregano and lemon, and mixed with salty feta, it's the perfect meat free meal.


Risotto often gets a bad rep, running with the misconception that it's full of cream and 'unhealthy'. However, traditional risotto, often has little to no cream. The creamy texture however comes from the slow cooking of the starches in the rice, and a dollop of butter added at the end. A little butter never hurt anybody right? 


Each bowl of this risotto is packed with seasonal veggies and flavour. The lemon gives it a real zing, combined with the saltiness of the feta (or toasted almonds if dairy free). Best of all, it can all be whipped up in under 30 minutes, and uses a minimal amount of dishes. 

Ingredients (Serves 4):

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 stalks of celery 
• 2 large zucchini 
• rind and juice of 2 lemon
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 cups of arborio risotto rice
• 4 - 6 cups of baby spinach leaves, washed
• 2 cups of vegetable stock - ensure vegetable stock is gluten free if necessary
• 3 cups of boiling water 
• 30 grams of butter
• 200 grams crumbled feta* - Swap for toasted almonds for a dairy free alternative, and replace butter with oil. 
• olive oil and lemon juice to serve

Combine the hot vegetable stock and 3 cups of hot water in a bowl or pot. 

On a low temperature, heat the oil in a large saucepan with a lid, and gently saute the celery and zucchini for 3-6 minutes till softened. Add the lemon rind and oregano, cook, stirring for another minute. 

Add the rice to the pan with the juice from the lemon, stir over a low heat until the juice is absorbed and rice is translucent. 

Add half a cup of the stock and water mixture, continue stirring, and when most of the liquid is absorbed, add another half a cup full. 

Repeat this process until all of the water is in the pot - However, when you add the last amount, also add the baby spinach leaves. Cover with a lid and let the spinach wilt for a minute or two. Remove the lid and stir all of the spinach in, and continue stirring till most of the liquid is absorbed. 

Test a spoonful of rice, it should be al dente, still a little firm to the bite, but soft enough to eat. Remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring till melted through. 

Stir through 200 grams of crumbled feta and spoon into four bowls. Serve immediately with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and squeeze of lemon juice.

* For a dairy free alternative swap the butter for coconut or olive oil, and replace the feta with 1/2 a cup of toasted chopped almonds sprinkled over the top. Alternatively if dairy is your thing, you could add 1/2 a cup of grated parmesan just before serving. 

Our household favourite: Tofu Scramble

I usually make this dish every week. I tried something similar in a cafe once, and over the years have tweaked it to make it a household favourite. At first I thought the man of the house would think this was 'hippy food'. But he actually really enjoys it and is genuinely excited when he hears that is what's for dinner. I've cooked this for a lot of people, meat eaters and vegetarians alike and surprisingly it's always a hit. Even people who think they don't like tofu, find this pretty tasty. 

So if you're looking for a healthy, nutritious, quick and easy mid week meal that costs less than $15 to serve 4, this dish is the ticket. I love that this meal is on the table in 20 - 30 minutes, and I can source all the ingredients locally from the shops in my neighbourhood. 

I buy the flatbreads from the turkish shop around the corner (on my way home from work), a five-pack costs only $1.50, it comes in wholemeal or white, and you can get extra large for $2 if you prefer. While I'm there I often pick up a tub of their delicious home-made hummus for $3.50 - the hummus goes quite nicely on the side of the scramble too. 

I buy all my spices from the local indian dairies. Ground Turmeric, Cumin Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Mustard Seeds, Curry Powder, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Cashews, Almonds you name it. They also sell fantastic Samosa's and these other things which are like a toasted sandwich, but not. Imagine: two pieces of bread, but with samosa filling, then battered in a pakora style batter and deep fried. Yes, sounds wrong, but tastes so so good. 

The tofu and vegetables I buy at my local corner vege shop. They sell most supermarket items there so I often can avoid the chain supermarkets so long as I don't need anything fancy. Generally my vegetables are always cheaper from here and I'm less tempted by all the glitzy advertising and tempting treats of the countdown world. The tofu they sell is $3.50 a packet, which is 2 blocks of firm tofu. 

The only problem is, well actually it's kind of a good thing.... I don't actually follow a recipe. Every time I make this, I alternate the vegetables depending on what I have in the fridge, but generally you want something that has a soft texture, you want something earthy (spinach, zucchini, aubergine, coriander, green capsicum). You want something sweet like red or orange capsicum, tomatoes etc. (I added leftover cooked kumara once which was good too). Some acidity: Onion, spring onion, lemon juice. 

In the recipe below I've used what would be my most common variation of this dish, but feel free to play around with it, and remember to use the comments section at the bottom to let me know how you go. 

Ingredients 

• 400g firm tofu
• 1 tbsp cooking oil (any will do) 
• 1 tbsp mustard seeds 
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp turmeric 
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1-2 bunches of fresh coriander 
• 4 spring onions 
• 1/2 green capsicum
• 1/2 red capsicum 
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach 
• Juice of 1 or 2 lemons (depending how juicy they are!)
• 4 - 8 flatbreads (tortillas, pita, toast, even rice would work fine) 

To Serve

• 50g of Cashews, Sunflower or Pumpkin Seeds
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• A condiment or two: Avocado slices, Hummus, Feta, Chilli Sauce or Chutney. 

Method

When you get home, take the tofu from the packet and leave on paper towels to remove excess liquid. 

I prepare the veges first as it doesn't take long to cook. 

Chop the roots from the coriander, chop the roots and stalk as finely as possible, and set aside (reserve the leaves too). Slice the spring onion and capsicum into bite size chunks. 

Heat a frying pan add the oil and the mustard, cumin and coriander seeds. Stir and be mindful that the mustard seeds will start to pop and fly out of the pan. 

As this starts to happen add the slabs of tofu, sprinkle over the turmeric and curry powder. Using a fish slice roughly cut up the tofu slabs, mixing the spices into the tofu, once this is mixed in add the finely chopped coriander root and stalk. 

Keep stirring, add the capsicum and spring onion, cook stirring occasionally for a couple of minutes, if it gets too dry or looks like it is starting to stick, simply squeeze in some of the lemon juice. Finally add the spinach and coriander leaves and any more lemon juice. Stir till the spinach has wilted. 

On plates serve tofu on top of flatbread (or other). Using the same pan, heat remaining oil and add the seeds or cashews. Sometimes I use a combination, but pumpkin seeds is my favourite. Once toasted, sprinkle on top of the scramble and serve with any other condiments (Avocado slices and a sweet tomato chutney are my usuals). 

Enjoy

If you try this recipe, please place feedback below, I would love to know what you thought, and if you tried any variations.