Recipe | Fried Polenta Garden Salad

Ingredients

1 cup cornmeal/polenta

160ml milk

2 cups water

salt

olive oil

mixed salad leaves 

cherry tomatoes, halved

cucumber

kalamata olives

Dressing

1tbsp aioli 

1tbsp natural unsweetened yoghurt

1tsp seeded mustard

juice of 1 lemon

Heat the milk and water over a medium heat in large sauce pan with a generous pinch of salt. Pour the polenta in a constant stream whilst stirring with a whisk. Continue to whisk the polenta for about 10-15 minutes until cooked and is a thick porridge like consistency. 

In a prepared tray, I used a cake tin for lack of anything else, pour in polenta and chill, covered, until set. 

Once set, remove polenta from pan (it should just ease out) and cut into bite-sized cubes. 

Heat olive oil, about a tablespoon, over a medium to high heat in a frypan. Place polenta cubes in the frypan leaving enough space between for your to turn them over. Turn and cook all sides of the cube until crispy like a chip. Once cooked, place km some paper towel to drain some of the oil off them. 

I didn't cook all of mine at once because they're very filling so I left them in the fridge and cooked them later. 

In a jar, shake all of the dressing ingredients together. Pour over tossed salad leaves, tomatoes, cucumber, olives and fried polenta bites. Season with some salt, pepper and more olive oil. 

This is just a super simple use of delicious fried polenta but there are many more. I'm working a nice recipe for cheese based sauce but I'll let you know if I ever get there. 

Enjoy! 

Erin xx

Recipe | Broulee Baked Beanz

Homemade baked beans have been popping up on cafe breakfast menus of late. This is a delicious version my lovely friends, Sam and Rhianna, taught me and I'd like to share it with you. 

This recipe takes over an hour to cook so I like to cook it the night before and heat it up when I'm ready to eat.  

Ingredients 

olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 red onion, finely diced

400g crushed tinned tomatoes 

2tbsp tomato paste

2tbsp red wine vinegar 

1tbsp brown sugar

400g cannelini beans

fresh bread, sliced and toasted

avocado, sliced

lemon wedges

Heat olive oil in a frypan over very low heat. Add garlic and onions to the pan and cook until caramalised; about 20-30 minutes, stirring occaisionally. 

Pour in crushed tomatoes and paste and cook for another 20-30 minutes, continuing to stir. Add in the red wine vinegar, brown sugar and continue to cook for another 20 minutes. Finally add the cannelini beans and cook for 15-20 minutes. 

Serve on toasted fresh bread with sliced avocado, a wedge of lemon and cracked pepper. 

Sorry for the double recipe post but ice just been cooking a lot lately and wanted to share. 

Erin xx

Recipe | Berry Pink Sangria

Ingredients

1cup chopped strawberries 

1tbsp balsamic vinegar 

1tbsp brown sugar 

sparkling rosé

120ml black raspberry liquor (Chambord)

cucumber, chopped and frozen

juice of half a lime

half a lime, quatered

125ml orange juice

350ml mixed berry juice

1/2cup strawberries, frozen

Recipe | Bacon Sprouts and Yam Feta Mash

My mother did not like brussels sprouts and therefore I never had them growing up. I was exposed to their negative image but had no real reason to hate them. Only in the last week have I actually plucked up the courage to try, and cook, the underrated (until recent times) little gems and I am totally converted. They're delicious, nutritious and everything in between. After talking about them for a few days with different people I coined up my own version of a very classic way to serve brussels sprouts. I hope you like it!

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 yam/purple sweet potato, roughly chopped into small pieces

150g short cut bacon, cut into strips and halved

1tsp  ground paprika 

11 approx. brussels sprouts, washed and sliced

1 lemon, juiced

small bunch of baby heirloom carrots 

50g lemon marinated feta 

salt and cracked pepper

olive oil

In  a small saucepan, place chopped yam and cover with water. Place on a medium to high heat, cover and bring to the boil. Remove lid and let it boil until soft to touch with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a non-stick fry pan over a medium to high heat. Coat the bacon with paprika and cook until crispy. 

In a bowl, toss sliced brussels sprouts with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add to the fry pan with the bacon. The bacon grease and any remaining olive oil will replace the traditional butter used when cooking the sprouts.

Add the heirloom carrots to the pan and cook with the sprouts and bacon. 

Drain the boiled yams and transfer to a bowl. With a fork, smash the yams with most of the feta (leaving some for garnish) until they form a mash consistency. 

By now the brussels sprouts and carrots should be ready to serve. Plate up with the mash and garnish with your remaining feta. Season with salt and pepper.

Happy Sunday eating!

Erin xx

Recipe | Mussel Puttanesca

Serves 3 - 4 

Ingredients

440g tin diced tomatoes 

2 cups vegetable stock

1/2 red wine

fettuccini

1/2 cup pitted and halved kalamata olives

1tbsp mussel paste (use other paste made from seafood if unavailable)

1 cup baby spinach, ripped

parmesan cheese, grated for serving

caviar

In a frypan, at a medium heat, place diced tomatoes, vegetable stock and red win. Bring to the boil and reduce heat to low. Let this mixture simmer until it thickens; mine took about an hour, give or take. 

Once your tomato mixture has thickened, place a large pot of water on to boil. Place the pasta in the water once boiling. 

Meanwhile, add chopped olives and mussel paste to the tomato mixture. Combine and heat through. Add the ripped up baby spinach, cook until wilted before removing the pan from the heat. 

When the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the frypan. Toss to combine. Serve out desired portions and top with grated parmesan, fresh baby spinach and caviar. 

Hey presto! You're done. 

I cooked this for my brother a few days ago and, being the seafood and pasta lover that he is, he demolished it and asked for more. I am aware that the mussel paste may be hard to find but if you can get your hands on it, don't be afraid to try it. If you read my last blog post, you'll see I found mine my local delicatessen, Louis & Sons. 

Happy Sunday, food lovers!

Erin xx

Recipe | Sweet Potato Fries

Hi lovelies! So just because I don't think I've mentioned it enough in recent posts I am currently in the midst of university exams. As a result everything I've been cooking has been really quick and simple. These chunky sweet potato fries make a great side dish, or just to share with friends. 

Recipe | Chickpea, Spinach and Tomato Stew

Hi lovelies! Recently I have been loving watching Estee and Aslan's vlogs, especially Aslan's cooking series. This particular recipe was for a chickpea dish with a tomato sauce base. I thought it looked perfect for a drizzly day here in Australia so I decided to give it a shot. You can watch Aslan's video here. 

Recipe | Paella Inspired Cauliflower Rice with Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients
1 bunch of asparagus
1 dozen cherry vine ripened tomatoes
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
1 small brown onion, finely diced
1 mild chorizo sausage, sliced
2tsp cayenne pepper
1tsp cumin
1 head of cauliflower 
1/2 cup fresh oregano, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
fresh rocket, washed
olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 180C. Prepare a baking tray with baking paper. Lay asparagus flat, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the parmesan. Place the cherry tomatoes, still on their vine, onto the baking paper as well. Drizzle with olive oil and give everything a good dose of sea salt and cracked pepper. Place in the oven and bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and becoming golden and the tomato skin starts to split. 

Heat a medium sized fry pan with 2tbsp olive oil. Add onion and cook on a low heat for 5 - 10 minutes. Once onion is beginning to brown add the chorizo. Stir occasionally until the onion begins to caramelise. Add the cayenne pepper and cumin.

Meanwhile, break the cauliflower head into smaller segments. Place about 1/3 of the cauliflower in a food processor at a time and, using the chop button, process until it resembles a grain like texture (see image). Once you have chopped all the cauliflower you can add it to the onion and chorizo in the fry pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring to combine it with the flavours created by the onion caramelising. Add fresh herbs and cook until wilted.  

Remove asparagus and tomatoes from over. On a serving plate make a small bed of rocket and spoon a small quantity of cauliflower paella on top. Place a few roasted tomatoes to the side and lay several pieces of roasted asparagus on top. Drizzle over some olive oil and season dish with cracked pepper. 

Enjoy and happy Sunday!
Erin xx

Recipe | Machi Kabi or Indian Fish Curry

Growing up, my mum introduced spice and curries into our diet gradually. She would make mild curries and increase the heat every now and then. My brother was (and still is) a huge lover of hot curries whereas I took a little longer to warm to extreme warmth. This is a dish that started our love of curries and is still a family favourite. Fairly mild to begin with this dish can be made as hot or mild as you like. I love the freshness of this dish and will be cooking it for many years to come. 

Serves 4
Ingredients

500g firm white fish fillets

2 tbsp rice bran oil or ghee

1 onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 tsp chilli powder

2 tbsp curry powder

3 large tomatoes, diced

2 tbsp coriander or mint

juice of one large lemon

1 tsp salt

chopped chilli to garnish (optional)

In a large fry pan heat oil or ghee. Place garlic and onion is pan and cooking for two minutes or until fragrant. Add chilli powder and curry powder and cook for another minute. Add mint, tomato and fish and cook for another five minutes before adding the lemon juice and salt. 

Bring to the boil and let simmer for fifteen minutes.

Serve with rice, chipati or papadams. Garnish with chilli and any left over herbs. Can also be served with a yoghurt raita. 

I hope you enjoy this classic fish family favourite. It has been a staple curry in my family for as long as I can remember. This is quite a mild dish but feel free to increase the heat as you see fit. 

Happy eating!

Erin xx

Recipe | Freekeh Greek Salad

Recently, I had freekeh pointed out to me in the health food isle (thank you, Adrienne) and couldn't stop pondering what it was like. To be honest it wasn't the most excited food I've ever tried but grain alternatives are always nice to discover. It has a texture very similar that of a brown rice-quinoa hybrid. As usual, my salad recipes are super easy to interchange with your favourite ingredients. I was aiming for a slightly Greek inspired dish but feel free to make this dish vegetarian or vegan if you like by omitting the fish and cheese. 

Ingredients

1 cup freekeh

4 small tomatoes, diced

1/2 cucumber, diced

400g rocket

1 capsicum, diced

2tbsp olives, halves

400g tin tuna in spring water, broken up into chunks

200g feta cheese, broken up into chunks

1 lime, juiced

sea salt and cracked pepper

Cook the freekeh according the instructions on the packet. Mine involved cooking 1 cup of freekeh in 2 cups of water covered for about 25 minutes, until all of the water had been absorbed. 

Meanwhile, place tomatoes, cucumber, rocket and  capsicum in a large bowl and toss together. Follow with olives, tuna and feta cheese. Toss salad again.

Add cooked freekeh, lime and seasoning. Combine ingredients and serve. 

I actually didn't eat any of this at the time of making it and put it into containers for my weeks lunches. It keeps really well in the fridge for 4-5 days after making. 

Happy eating!

Erin xx

Recipe | Bacon, Leek & Feta Frittata

Hi lovelies! I have been all about quick and easy meals of late. I had some eggs that needed using up and so I knocked up a quick frittata which has been making for a super quick lunch or breakfast.