Food and Wine
Colourful hassle-free spring meals
It's that time of the year when amazing seasonal fruit and vegetables are on offer, providing the ideal ingredients for some simple, fresh and delicious dishes.
These recipes for Spring, keep things light and hassle free.
Chikpea salad
Ingredients:
400g dry chickpeas
1 avocado, chopped
100g lamb's lettuce
(or any greens)
2 oranges (peeled, membrane removed and sliced into segments) Pinch of chilli flakes
For the yoghurt dressing:
½ cup reduced oil mayonnaise ¼ cup feta
¼ cup Greek yoghurt
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt and fresh cracked pepper
Instructions:
Add five parts water to one part dry chickpeas and soak overnight. Rinse the chickpeas. Cook for an hour and 45 minutes or until tender. Start your salad with a pile of lamb's lettuce or any greens you prefer. Layer on the chickpeas, chopped avocado and orange segments and season with a pinch of chilli flakes. Dress with yoghurt dressing.To make the yoghurt dressing, combine the mayonnaise, feta, yoghurt, oil and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Season with pepper and salt, if needed.
Easy lemon chicken
Ingredients:
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp minced garlic (6-9 cloves) 1/3 cup white wine (optional, or use white grape juice)
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest 1 lemon (sliced)
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
Sea salt and pepper
30 g goji berries.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Prepare the sauce by gently heating the olive oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the minced garlic and heat until tender, but not browned, for about one minute. Add the wine, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper and stir. Remove from heat and pour into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Place the chicken skin side up in the dish. Spoon some of the sauce over top to coat completely. Place the lemon slices and tuck it in, skin side down (otherwise it will scorch) between the chicken pieces. Sprinkle with goji berries.
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken pieces, until browned.
Remove from oven, cover with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the top just before serving.
Lemon and lime mocktail
Ingredients:
Juice of half a lemon
Juice of half a lime
40 ml sugar syrup (made with equal parts sugar and water, heated until sugar is dissolved then cooled)
Cold sparkling or soda water
2 x mint sprigs
Crushed ice
Instructions:
Combine all the ingredients, except the mint, in a shaker and shake well. Sugar the rim of the glasses, pour the mocktail into them and serve garnished with mint.