Carrot and almond hummus
1 Carrot and almond hummus
We love this speedy carrot and almond hummus as a dip, but it’s also excellent served with grilled chicken skewers and a herb salad for a more substantial meal. Serves 4-6
400 gm canned chickpeas, drained
(reserve a little of the canning liquid to thin the dip if necessary)
300 gm (about 2) carrots, coarsely grated
40 gm almonds, coarsely chopped
40 gm hulled tahini
1 garlic clove, chopped
Juice of 1½ lemons, or to taste
60 ml ( 1/4 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
Dukkah, to serve
Cucumber batons, blanched asparagus, radishes and baby fennel wedges, to serve
1 Process chickpeas, carrot, almonds, tahini and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add lemon juice and olive oil, season generously to taste and process until smooth. Thin with a little chickpea canning liquid if necessary, scatter with dukkah and serve with vegetables. Carrot and almond hummus will keep refrigerated for up to a week.
2 Poached chicken and millet salad with peas and mint
Millet is cooked pilaf-style for this salad to add extra flavour. It makes the perfect vehicle for a lemon-laden dressing along with shreds of poached chicken and plenty of peas.
Serves 4-6
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
200 gm (1 cup) dried millet
500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock
200 gm frozen peas
200 gm silverbeet, stalks thinly sliced, leaves
finely chopped
120 gm broccolini, finely chopped
1 cup (loosely packed) mint
80 ml ( 1/3 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 2 lemons, or to taste
1-2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, or to taste
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Coarsely chopped pistachio nuts, to serve
1 Place chicken in a saucepan, cover with plenty of cold salted water, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, then take off the heat and stand for 10 minutes to finish cooking.
2 Dry-roast millet in a saucepan over mediumhigh until golden (2-3 minutes). Add stock, season to taste and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook without uncovering for 15 minutes. Spread millet on a tray and refrigerate to cool.
3 Meanwhile, drain chicken and tear it into pieces. Combine in a bowl with peas, silverbeet, broccolini and mint, then add millet and toss to combine.
4 Shake olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar and garlic in a jar to combine, season to taste and drizzle dressing over salad. Toss to coat and serve scattered with pistachio nuts.
3 Seared beef and green papaya salad
Most Thai salads have a fair whack of sugar in the dressing. We’ve pared it back a little here and used coconut sugar instead of refined sugar.
Serves 4-6
3 beef sirloin steaks (about 200gm each), at room temperature
Grapeseed oil or other mild-flavoured oil, for drizzling
1 green papaya, cut into julienne, crisped
in iced water for 10 minutes, drained
100 gm baby beans, trimmed and sliced
diagonally
70 gm bean sprouts, trimmed
1 cup (loosely packed) mint
1 cup (loosely packed) coriander
2 red shallots, thinly sliced
Thinly sliced small red chilli, to serve
Lime-chilli dressing
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp brown rice vinegar
1 tbsp coconut sugar (see note)
Juice of 1 lime
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, thinly sliced, or to taste
1 Heat a char-grill pan or barbecue to high. Drizzle steaks with oil and grill, turning once, until browned and cooked to your liking (2-3 minutes each side for medium rare). Rest for 5 minutes, then thinly slice across the grain.
2 For lime-chilli dressing, combine ingredients in a bowl with 1 tbsp hot water and stir to dissolve sugar.
3 Combine papaya, beans, bean sprouts, herbs and shallot in a bowl with steak, drizzle with dressing to taste, toss to combine and serve scattered with chilli.
Note Coconut sugar, produced from the sap of coconut palm flowers, is sold granulated or in a block. It’s available from Asian grocers and health-food shops.
4 Prawn, cabbage and soba noodle salad
There’s a great range of soba noodles on the market, from gluten-free pure buckwheat noodles to wheat-flour versions. The methods for cooking each vary, so follow the packet instructions.
Serves 4
180 gm soba noodles
16 cooked prawns, peeled, tails intact
180 gm Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into julienne
1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into julienne 3 spring onions, thinly sliced, plus extra to serve
Roasted sesame seeds, to serve
Sesame-miso dressing
2 tbsp shiro miso (see note)
2 tbsp grapeseed or other mild-flavoured oil 1½ tbsp brown rice vinegar
1 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
2 tsp hulled tahini
2 tsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste
1 Cook noodles in a large saucepan of simmering salted water according to packet directions until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold running water to cool and separate noodles. Transfer to a large bowl, add prawns, cabbage, carrot, cucumber and spring onion, and toss to combine.
2 For sesame-miso dressing, whisk ingredients in a bowl and thin with 1-2 tbsp hot water for a drizzling consistency. Drizzle dressing over salad to taste, toss to combine and serve scattered with roasted sesame seeds and extra spring onion.
Note Shiro (white) miso paste is available from Asian grocers.>