Greek inspired couscous salad with chorizo and squid rings

It's 8:34pm, I'm snuggled on the couch with Bugsy and finally getting down to putting together my latest recipe. Last few weeks have been a whirlwind and I just noticed I haven't posted a recipe in a while. I visited NY recently and my taste buds were open to new experiences. I just couldn't resist the street hot dogs, the large portions of food as well as some fine dining. Lets just say all the food more than made up for the hours of walking I did every day. The next dish is inspired by my awesome couscous I make and tapas style food that I have combined together to make a meal large enough for 4. Anyone that has tried my couscous always comes back for seconds, but here I have decided to add a little Greek twist to it. I love to challenge myself and push further with food. Even if it doesn’t turn out well you can always start again. This is a very simple recipe that only took 40 minutes to do all together. As I always say, multitasking is the key. I never chop and prepare everything 1^st and then start making the meal. It very unproductive. This meal is a great example of knowing your veggies, meat and how long everything takes to cook. With this dish, I start of with turning my oven on 220 degrees Celsius, putting my pan on high heat, slicing the onion and then placing in the pan. Onion takes a few minutes to soften and while that is getting done you can start on the next step. Get some baking paper and place your squid rings on the tray and into the oven. Follow the oven instructions on the pack. I usually do 10 minutes on each side. The Panko crumb squid rings from Ocean Chef are just perfect for this dish. I found them to be better quality than some other frozen brands. But if you have more time, you can always crumb your own squid rings.

 

 

Now, while that is nicely in the oven, cut up the chorizo and add to the pan. Next step is the couscous. The trick to making couscous is to make it with vegetable stock. It adds another depth of flavour. Let the vegetable stock heat in the microwave. While that is on the go, slice up the capsicum thinly and add to pan.

 

 

 

Check on your squid rings and turn if they are golden brown. Place the couscous in the stock and let sit for 3 minutes. Mix the yoghurt and hot chilli sauce and set aside.

 

 

Mix the olive oil and mint through the couscous and add to pan. Mix everything together. I like to use the Gourmet Garden tubes as unfortunately I kill every plant and herb I try to grow.

 

 

The squid rings should be ready now. Plate everything up, drizzle with lemon and yoghurt and enjoy. As you can see if you manage all the different processes well, you can substantially cut down the dinner making process. Having said that, if you are not in a rush, feel free to take it easy and enjoy a glass of wine while you are at it.                                                                                                                                         

 

Greek inspired couscous salad with chorizo and squid rings

 

PREP TIME: 15 MIN
COOKING TIME: 35 MIN
SERVES: 4


INGREDIENTS:

1 large brown onion, sliced
360g Pablo crumbed squid rings
1 chorizo sausage, sliced
Olive oil
1 red capsicum, sliced and halved
1tbsp honey
3 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cup couscous
1 tsp Gourmet garden mint
Lemon
5 tbsp fat-free Greek yoghurt
1 tsp hot chilli sauce

METHOD:

1. Pre-heat the oven to crumbed squid packet instructions.
2. Put a large pan on high heat and pour in some olive oil
3. Slice up the onion and put in pan. Turn the heat down to medium.
4. Place a sheet of baking paper and the squid rings on a tray and place in over. Bake as per packet instructions.
5. Cut the chorizo and place in pan with the onion.
6. Place the vegetable oil into a microwave proof bowl and heat on high for 3 minutes in the microwave.
7. While the stock is heating slice the capsicum thinly and in half lengthways. Place in the pan.
8. Once the stock is heated place the couscous in and let it sit for 3 minutes.
9. Mix the yoghurt and hot chilli sauce in a cup.
10. Put the mint in the couscous and 3 teaspoons of olive oil. Mix through with a fork and separate the grains.
11. Put the couscous in the pan and mix everything together.
12. Take the squid out of the oven, plate everything up and serve with a drizzle of lemon and yoghurt.

 

 

Cauliflower and cheese bake with a crunchy crust

This is the best Cauliflower bake you will ever eat. It has a beautiful crunchy crust on top and its nice and cheesy inside. I like to use good quality cheese as it makes all the difference in the dish. I would call it a healthy dish, but I won’t lie to you; there is a fair amount of cheese in here. Gruyere is just perfect for this dish, as it’s known to be one of the finest cheeses for baking. It has a distinctive, yet not overpowering taste. It is creamy and nutty, which will compliment the hazelnuts that are used in the crust.

When making my dinners after work, I try to stick to 1 hour time limit. Everything above that I classify as a weekend dish. Thankfully this recipe took exactly 1 hour, so safe to say it’s a working day dish. The cooking process is fairly easy but it will require some multitasking. As a woman, I will risk saying that that is no problem for us.

I don’t know if you’re like me, but I never look at a recipe and cut all my stuff up 1st and prepare. I start doing 1 or 2 steps and always try and do some other step while something is on the stove or in the oven. It’s not like in a cooking show where they have nice little bowls of everything exactly measure and prepared for them. I’m usually jumping from one thing to another and everything always turns out fine.

With this dish, before you start anything put a big pot of water on the stove with the lid on, on high as it will take a while to come to a boil. While that is heating, cut up your cauliflower. Then place it in the pot. You might need to take some water out when the weight of the cauliflower hits it.

 

 

While the cauliflower is on the stove, start making your cheese sauce. I usually put the butter on low heat and while its melting I prepare the onion, garlic and bay leaf. Add your flour and continue with the rest of the steps. When adding the milk make sure you do it gradually to avoid lumps. 

  

 

 

While the cheese is simmering crush your hazelnuts and toast the bread.

 

Once the sauce is ready pour and mix with cauliflower. Transfer to a baking dish and put the bread, hazelnuts and cheese on. Bake it and dig in.

 

 

For this recipe I like to use a rectangular tin, aprox. 25x15cm

 

Cauliflower and cheese bake with a crunchy crust

 

PREP TIME: 30MIN

COOKING TIME: 30 MIN
SERVES: 3

INGREDIENTS:

1.5kg head of cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets (makes about 1kg when trimmed)

50g hazelnuts, crushed
1 slice of toasted bread, crushed (I use white bread but any is good)

For the cheese sauce:

30g unsalted butter

30g plain flour
500ml skim milk, warmed
¼ onion, skin removed
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
200g Gruyere cheese, grated (If you can’t find gruyere, use parmesan)

METHOD:

1. Put your cauliflower into a large saucepan and fill it with water until it covers the top of the cauliflower. Put it on high heat and once it starts boiling, cook for 10 minutes.

2. Turn your oven on to pre heat on 180C.
3. Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan on medium heat
4. Heat your milk while the butter is melting
5. Once butter is melted, turn down the heat and slowly add the flour and whisk to avoid lumps until you form a smooth paste. Set aside to cool for 2 minutes.
6. Add the milk gradually, while whisking to avoid it getting lumpy.
7. Add bay leaf, garlic and onion and simmer for 10 min. Whisk frequently.
8. Crush the hazelnuts and toast your bread. After its toasted wait until cool and crush into bread crumbs like form.
9. Take the saucepan off the heat and take out the bay leaf, garlic and onion out. Put a pinch of salt and pepper to your taste and a generous pinch of nutmeg.
10. Stir the cheese into the warm sauce. Leave a small handful to sprinkle on top of the gratin.
11. Mix the sauce with the cauliflower and spoon into baking dish.
12. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs, hazelnuts and cheese.
13. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn your grill on to achieve the crusty top until it’s all melted and golden.

 

 

Enjoy :)

Prawn Pajeon

Monday, probably the worst day in the week for most of us. You feel tired, uninspired and just can’t be bothered with anything when you get back home. It’s one of those days that I definitely want just over and done with. Tuesday feels better as you know you’re just that tad bit closer to freedom… I mean weekend! You still have to eat something though, so this recipe is for those Mondays where you need a quick, tasty dinner.

 
Every Sunday I sit down and spread a few of my cookbooks and loose recipes in front of me to choose what I will cook that week. This process usually take half an hour to an hour and then I start my post it ingredient list. I’m a little obsessed with lists. I will even rewrite it couple of times, grouping the ingredients which will make my supermarket shopping experience quicker and more efficient. I’m like a woman possessed when I enter the supermarket. My dollar in hand ready for the trolley and no one better stand in my way.

For Mondays I will always find the easiest recipe to do, that requires the least effort, least amount of ingredients but that doesn’t compromise on taste. Prawn Pajeon is one of those recipes. Originating from Korea, it is eaten as a warm snack. It’s basically a thick savoury pancake that is crisp on the outside and doughy on the inside. I have decided to make 3 Prawn Pajeons to share between 2 people for dinner and it is definitely filling enough. Ok, maybe my partner ate 2 and I ate one. But we don’t judge here. This recipe is done quickly so probably best idea to make it just before its eaten, as you really don’t want to eat it cold or re-heat it.

Prawn Pajeon 

Prep: 10 mins

Stand time: 15
Cooking time: 15 mins
Serves: 3 pancakes (shared by 2 people)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups plain flour
4 tbsp corn flour
4 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups water
8 spring onions, trimmed
8 tbsp sesame oil
2 cups raw peeled prawns, roughly chopped (divide into 3 portions)
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Dipping sauce:
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp sugar
A pinch of toasted sesame seeds

METHOD

 

1. To make the batter, simply whisk the plain flour, corn flour, eggs, salt and water together. To avoid lumps I alternate between adding water and flour in little dozes and whisk. Leave in the fridge for 15 minutes.
2. Put your sesame seeds in the oven to toast. Keep an eye on them as they only need a few minutes to get done.
3. Use the green end of the spring onion. Cut to fit into your pan. Half or quarter down the middle depending on the size of your spring onion. I prefer to use medium size pan that is non stick (size of a standard dinner plate).

 

 

4. For the dipping sauce, mix all ingredients together and set aside.
5. Chop up your prawns.
6. Put your pan on medium heat with 1.5 tablespoons of sesame oil
7. So everything is ready to start frying.  Scatter the spring onion in one direction on your pan, followed by 1 portion of prawns. Let the prawns fill in the gaps between the spring onion so everything is nice and even.

 

8. Pour over the batter to cover the onions and prawns. Cook each side for about 3 minutes or until golden and crisp. Repeat for the other 2 pancakes.

 

 

 I like to serve up my pancake by cutting it into pieces and just grab with your hand, dip in and enjoy :)

One Pot Soup Wonder

I love soups! I love soups so much that I could eat them every day, every season. Soups are just so easy to make! You can make large amounts and freeze it, you can use pretty much anything in your pantry and they are fun to make. I’ve made my fair share of soups and let me tell you; it’s always a learning curve. I love to experiment with different ingredients and even if I sometimes put the wrong thing in, I juts balance it out with other ingredients or blend it in the end. It’s my little fix it trick. Everything is always better once blended and it’s a perfect way of trying to hide veggies from children or some grown adults. You can never go wrong with a hot, healthy soup on any given day. Your body will definitely thank you for it.

I’ve just been very sick for a week and after coming home after work I was extremely tired and just craving a soup. I had some left over veggies from another recipe and I pulled out some chicken to give it a bit of substance. I also wanted to use these deep fried noodles for a while now and never got an opportunity to use them. I bought them on instinct because they looked interesting and I haven’t used them before.

 

 

 

Boy, was I surprised how well they suited my soup. This soup sure turned out to be great and with an excellent flavour hit that makes you smile when that spoon hits your lips. I call it my One Pot Wonder soup. Reason why I say that is because everything goes into one pot and Voila, done! And best part of all, it all took only 30minutes to make!

One Pot soup wonder

Prep: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 ltr vegetable stock

1.5 cup water
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 carrot, thinly sliced
100 g green beans, halved, edges trimmed
2 pieces chicken thigh fillet or 270 g, fat trimmed, cut into 2 cm pieces
150 g flat cap mushrooms, sliced
150 g green prawns, peeled and cleaned
2 cakes of deep fried noodles

METHOD

1. Put stock and water on the cooktop on high.
2. Mix together soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, sugar and rice wine vinegar. Pour into the pot.
3. While you wait for the stock to come to boil, cut up your carrot thinly 1st, place in the pot. Then cut up the rest of the vegetables and chicken and place it all in the pot, except the prawn.
4. Turn down the heat to medium and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Add the prawns and 2 noodle cakes and simmer for further 5 minutes.


Serve up and enjoy :)

 

Spinach and green pea Risotto

We all know how difficult it is to make a meal to satisfy everyone’s taste buds and dietary requirements. Saturday night was enclosing fast and I had a gluten free friend coming over for dinner. It’s weird saying gluten free friend, but today there are a lot of allergies going around. I’m sure we all have gluten free, diary free and nut free friends. Or maybe all our friends are just a little bit nuts :) I had a few recipes picked out that I could make, but decided on the good old risotto!!

Risotto has always been one of those comfort meals I go to when I want to make something easy, that doesn’t require a lot of ingredients and taste good. Stirring away from you classic chicken and mushroom risotto I decided to create a healthy, meat free version that is equally as filling. You can also always take the leftovers for lunch the next day. It is definitely easy enough to make on a work night. One just has to keep and eye out on their rice and add stock gradually, letting it absorb and repeating the process until the rice is just right. Don’t let it fall apart. It still requires a bit of firmness.

 

The decision to use green peas and spinach was simple enough; they are in season right now. It’s worth checking what produce is in season and you will always get the best results.

  

Spinach and green pea risotto

 

Prep: aprox. 10 mins
Cooking time: aprox. 40 mins
Serves: 3 (2 for dinner and 1 left over for you)

INGREDIENTS:

1 brown onion, finely diced
1 cup Arborio rice
500 ml (2 cups) vegetable stock
200 ml white wine (any will do)
400 g green peas (blanched)
3 large handfuls baby spinach leaves
Black pepper
Shredded Parmesan to serve

METHOD

1. I like to start this recipe off by chopping up my onion, adding it to a large, hot pan with some olive oil and let it soften over medium heat.

 

 

 

2. While the onion is doing its thing on the pan, grab your blender. Add 2 large handfuls of the baby spinach leaves and all of the peas and blend until smooth. (Remember to leave 1 large handful of the baby spinach leaves to use later in the recipe.) Put the blended vegetables aside.

 

 

3. By now your onion should be soft. Add the rice and stir through for 1 minute.
4. Add the wine and let it simmer until it evaporates. Stir occasionally.
5. Once the wine is evaporated add 1 cup of vegetable stock and stir through. Stir occasionally until the rice has absorbed the stock and thickened.
6. Repeat the last process with the rest of the stock. Stir over medium heat until the rice is tender but not too soft. Don’t let the stock fully evaporate.
7. Add the blended vegetables to rice and stir through thoroughly.
8. Add the rest of the baby spinach leaves and heat through for 3 minutes. The risotto should be thick and creamy. If you feel like you need to add more stock, please do so. No one likes a dry risotto :)
9. Season with pepper and stir through some parmesan

It’s ready to serve up now. Top it with some extra parmesan and enjoy!

 

 

 

Thai green chicken curry with roti bread and side of jasmine rice

I spent minutes, hours and days thinking about which meal to cook first for my exciting new blog. I realised I was over thinking and decided just to make one of my favourite meals. A curry!

Who doesn't love a good curry?! Now, I'm no expert but I do know when I stumble upon a good recipe and this one is a definite keeper. I always like to change things up a bit though and put my own signature on it. Most of you will already have some of these ingredients in your pantry. If you don’t, not to worry once you buy them you will end up using them all the time. My pantry is filled to the brim with all sorts of ingredients and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s great to have staple ingredients in your kitchen because they do make for a great quick dish when you come home and don’t know what to cook. I usually just look in my cupboards at what I have and the magic starts to happen inside my head. It’s almost like you are letting the ingredients speak to you. Always remember, sometimes the simplest meals are the best.

On the menu today we have a Thai green chicken curry. This recipe is great to make after work as it gives you an opportunity to multitask. I usually prepare my curry paste a day in advance and just put it in the fridge. Even if you make it Sunday and use it on Tuesday its still fine. When cooking always see what else you can be doing. For example, while my chicken is sizzling away, I like to use that opportunity to cut my carrot and capsicum. It will save you time. After I do step 5 I like to put the rice on. I use the absorption method and find that it works best for me.

 

 



 

 

It is important to have a good set of knives. I can’t even tell you how much that will help you in your kitchen. I remember I used to cut with just a set of knives I bought from the big chain stores and when I bought my Global knives, it was like cutting through soft butter. It made the cutting process quicker and easier. Everything was more precise. You also have to take care of your knives and sharpen them. Never let them go dull. As you can see, I do have a bit of a knife obsessions.

Next in line is a good food processor. I really can’t live without my Magi Mix! I bought it brand new from Ebay. It was an unwanted wedding present. Like they say, someone else’s trash is someone else’s treasure. It’s the best investment I ever made!!

 

 



 

 

Ok, enough babbling now and let’s get down to cooking!

  

Thai green chicken curry with roti bread and side of jasmine rice

Prep: aprox. 45 mins
Cooking time: aprox. 30 mins
Serves: 4 (if you are very hungry then 3)
 
INGREDIENTS:
 
500g chicken thigh fillet, trimmed of fat, cut into 2cm pieces
400ml coconut milk
1 medium carrot, cut into julienne
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
120g green beans, cut ends off, halved
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable stock
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
Pepper to season
 
For the Roti:
280g pack of roti bread
1tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp vegetable oil
 
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
 
CURRY PASTE
 
2 long green chillies, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 small brown onion
1 stick lemongrass, white part only, chopped
3/4 tsp ground cumin ( if you have seeds, just ground them with mortar and pestle)
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
1 tsp dry coriander leaves (if you have fresh, even better)
 
METHOD
 
1. I usually start off with preparing and chopping everything for the curry paste then chuck it all in the food processor and whizz until you have a fine paste

2. While its whizzing, put a large pan and when it's hot add in the curry paste. Stir it for 2-3 minutes until you can smell the fragrance.
3. Add chicken and cook until brown and coated in paste.
4. Pour in the coconut milk, add the carrot and bring to boil. Summer for 5 mins.
5. Add capsicum, fish sauce, green beans, stock, turmeric, sugar and season with pepper. Simmer for another 10 minutes or until beans are tender.
6. For the roti bread, mix butter and oil, rub each side of roti and cook in a frying until golden and crisp.
 
All you have to do now is serve it up and enjoy :)


 

 

A little piece of me...

Hello there, I’m Natasa, the food loving, pug crazy Interior Designer. My food love affair began 5 years ago when I moved out of home and had to fend for myself and for my partner. I’m a 9-5 working girl and as anyone will tell you it’s a struggle to get inspired to make food every night, when all you want to do is be a couch potato. I started off making food in large quantities that would last me 2, possibly 3 days but soon enough realised I was craving a variety and discovered I actually loved cooking. It was my outlet to unwind every night and put my creativity into food. Cooking process is exhilarating, from finding that perfect recipe, going grocery shopping to cutting the ingredient and making magic happen. There is nothing more fulfilling then when you sit down to share a meal with your loved one and you see a smiling face. That smiling face is my partner Davor, who also serves as my guinea pig and as he likes to call himself the ‘dishwasher’!

 

Food to me opens up all 5 senses, hearing it sizzling in the pan, touching it, smelling it, tasting it and visually appreciating it. The smell always takes me back and reminds me of events from travels or childhood. Food should be appreciated and always be eaten mindfully. Too often do we sit down with a plate of food on our lap and turn the telly on. If your vision and hearing is focused onto something else, you are not enjoying the food fully. It defeats the purpose of eating a meal that helps nourish you in return. Everyone should apply a bit of mindfulness when eating a meal and in return your mind will clear of any distractions and you will enjoy it much more. Give it a go, turn the telly off, put the phone away and see the difference. I dare you!

I wish to start this blog to inspire other people, to share recipes I discovered and to let you know it’s not that hard. A glass of wine along the way always helps the process and don’t forget to put on your favourite music too. Turn cooking into a fun event that you will look forward to doing after work. And with this, let our journey begin.

Natasa. xx