Honey and Lime Tilapia

Christmas, a time for indulgence, a time for excessive eating, a time for that to stop. 

I need vegetables, I need salad, I need fresh...

Honey and Lime Tilapia
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 5mins (plus at least 1 hour for marinading) Cook Time: 10mins

Marinade
4 Tilapia Fillets (around 400-500g)
Juice & zest of 1 lime
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked pepper
1 clove of garlic (finely minced)

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, zest, olive oil, honey, salt, pepper and garlic. 
2. Place the tilapia in a zip lock bag and pour the marinade on top of the fish. Remove the air from the bag and seal.

3. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Be sure to shake the marinade around the bag a few times to ensure an even coating.
4. Place fillets into a hot frying pan and pour the marinade over the top, cook for 3-5mins on each side, turning just once.
5. Serve with salad

The original recipe I adapted this from also had a coating on the fish, I decided to cook it both ways just to see which I preferred.

With coating

Coating (optional)
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, zest, olive oil, honey, salt, pepper and garlic. 
2. Place the tilapia in a zip lock bag and pour the marinade on top of the fish. Remove the air from the bag and seal.
3. Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Be sure to shake the marinade around the bag a few times to ensure an even coating.
4. Mix together the ingredients for the coating and place on a plate. 
5. Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in a large frypan. 
6. Dredge each fillet in the flour, coating both sides. Cook the fillets in the oil for 3-5mins on each side, turning only once.

Both were absolutely delicious, the marinade took on a beautiful flavour and gave a slight crispness to the edge of the fish. Given the choice I would probably forget the coating next time, for a fresher lighter tasting fish. Either way was a winner though!

Quinoa and Apple Salad

I am a fan of quinoa, I'm a big fan of popped quinoa, mostly because I can buy it like that and I don't need to cook it. This recipe makes a massive number of servings, which is great when you're going to lunch with 20 people not so great when you're cooking at home for two people... 

So easy and so delicious

Quinoa and Apple Salad
Serves: 20 (as a side dish)
Prep Time: 5-10 mins Cook Time: 0

100g Popped Quinoa
1 cup almonds (roughly chopped)
2 green apples (diced into 1/2 inch cubes)
Lemon/Lime juice
1 cup dried cranberries
Parsley leaves
100g blue cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
2tbsp balsamic vinegar

1.   Core both apples, and cut into ½-inch cubes. Toss them immediately into a medium-sized bowl with the lemon juice and enough water to cover.

2.  In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

3.  Roughly chop the almonds then place them into a medium skillet set over medium heat. Cook, shaking the skillet often, until toasted.

4.   Transfer almonds to a large bowl along with the quinoa and cranberries. Pour the olive oil/balsamic vinegar over the top and give everything a good stir. Drain the apples and add them along with the cheese and parsley. Toss well. 

Feel free to adjust the ingredients according to what you like and obviously how many servings you need. I have reduced the amount of olive oil and balsamic that I used the first time, but still think I could get away with a bit less.

What else do you have at Thanksgiving besides
an apple pie made to look like a turkey

I actually made this for the first time back at Thanksgiving, but I wasn't really thinking straight that day... I blame that on being focussed on my turkappley pie... 

The salad was a big hit which was why I went for a repeat at Christmas, again it was really popular so I figured it was time to share.

Chicken and Asparagus Risotto

OK so I should start by saying thank you for your loyalty in coming back here after a "pause in proceedings" I haven't meant to neglect my blog like this but well... This year has been a little crazy. I've made it out the other side of things which is great so the cooking is back on track. Here is the first of a few posts that should be coming your way in the next little while!

Dinner is served

Ingredients

Chicken and Asparagus Risotto

Serves 4

Prep Time: 10mins Cook Time: 45mins

2 Chicken breasts

1 1/2L of Chicken Stock

2tsps sunflower oil

1 onion

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

2 cups risotto rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 4cm lengths

1 small head of broccoli

1 tsp grated lime rind

juice of a lime

1. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken breasts 8mins per side (or until cooked through). Transfer to a plate, stand and cover for 5mins before slicing.

Food on the go!

2. Meanwhile bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low and then continue simmering until it is needed.

3. Heat the oil in a large, heavy based pan over medium heat. Add the onion, cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Do not allow it to go brown. Add in the garlic and the rice. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. 

Cooking the rice without any liquid seemed a little weird,
but it worked!

4. Add the wine and bring to the boil. Stir and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Reduce heat to low. Add in 1 ladle of stock to the rice. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat with the remaining stock, 1 ladle at a time.

5. When there is approximately 3 ladles of stock left, add in the asparagus and broccoli to the rice. Finish adding in the remaining stock as before, stirring gently. Add in the lime juice and rind. Serve topped with the chicken.

Absorbing the last of the stock

I think next time I would mix the chicken through with the risotto so that it could absorb some more of the flavour, that said, for a first try at risotto I was pretty chuffed with the results. I've never been a fan of risotto before now, in my head I always thought risotto was nothing more than badly cooked rice. The flavour of tonight's dinner though as me rethinking!

Feedback from Rory: "I really didn't expect you to get this right first time, but it's really good." 

Hmmm, thanks for the vote of confidence! 

Potato and Spinach Frittata

It's Sunday, I had no intentions of leaving the house but I did want a decent breakfast. In the spirit of quick and easy meals here's breakfast!

 Potato and Spinach Frittata
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 5mins Cook time: 20mins

4 small potatoes, peeled and cubed
1tbsp olive oil
80g baby spinach leaves, chopped
1 garlic clove
2 small mushrooms finely diced
4 eggs
2 egg whites
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Prepare potatoes and then boil in a saucepan for around 7mins until soft.
2. Drain the water off the potatoes and fry them lightly in the frying pan until slightly golden (around 5 mins)

3. Add in the garlic and mushroom and mix through. Then combine the spinach and cook for 2mins until the spinach is slightly wilted.

4. Whisk together the eggs and egg whites with a little salt and pepper, then pour into the frying pan.

5. Cook for 4mins until the frittata is set around the edge but runny in the middle and then transfer to a preheated grill and cook for a further 3 mins or until set and golden brown.

6. Cut into wedges and serve.


Next time I think I would be sure to add some onion just for a bit more flavour but for a tasty breakfast this is a winner.

Chilli Jam Chicken

It's a pretty busy time of year right now and as a result meals are either slow cooked (thanks to Rory) or they have to be something quick... Recipes that take hours just aren't on my agenda. 

Dinner in 15mins!

Chilli Jam Chicken
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15mins Cook Time: 15mins
400g chicken breasts cut in strips
2 stalks of spring onion diced
1 yellow capsicum (pepper) sliced
1 carrot sliced
50g snow peas
150g broccoli
2 tsp fish sauce
1-2 tbsp chilli jam
50g cashews
1 bunch of vermicelli noodles

1. Heat a small amount of oil in a wok over medium heat. Stir fry the chicken for 3-4 mins until golden brown. Remove from heat and keep covered.
2. Place the wok back on the heat and add a little more oil. Str fry the vegetables until tender.
3. Add the fish sauce and chilli jam and stir-fry for 3-4 mins. Add the chicken back into the wok and add half the cashews. At the same time place the noodles into a pot of boiling water, after 4 mins stir them through the chicken and vegetable mix.

Dinner in 15mins means that I am also not thinking about
taking photos of the process...
Oopps, here it is dinner on the go!

4. Serve and top with remaining cashews.

The flavour in this was absolutely delicious but it did lack some of the kick that we were hoping to get from the chilli jam. Next time I would double the jam or maybe add some additional fresh chilli. It may have just been that the jam we had wasn't particularly strong. Regardless this dish will definitely surface again.

Mustard Pork with Roasted Pears

For the love of pork and pear... When I first found this recipe I was really excited, two of my favourite foods meshed together in one delicious bundle that takes about 30mins to make, it doesn't get any better than this.

Roasted Pear Salad

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 5mins Cook Time: 25mins

4 Beurre Bosc Pears cut into 2cm thick wedges

2 Red onions cut into wedges

Olive Oil Spray

2tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

100g Baby Spinach 

1 avocado thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Line a baking tray with non-stick paper.

2. Place the cut pears and onion onto one of the trays, spray with oil and drizzle with half of the vinegar.

3. Bake for 25mins or until the pears are golden and tender

4.Place the pear, onion, spinach, avocado and remaining vinegar in a bowl and toss to combine.

Mustard and Rosemary Pork

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 5mins Cook Time: 10-11mins

4 Pork Loin steaks

2 tbsp Wholegrain Mustard

2 tsp fresh chopped Rosemary

1 tsp Lime rind

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1. While the pears and onion are baking, combine the mustard, rosemary and lime rind in a bowl. 

2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat. Cook the pork for 2mins on each side.

3. Remove Pork from heat and spread the mustard mixture on one side of the steak.

4. Transfer steaks onto a second baking tray and bake for 6-7mins until cooked through. 

This far exceeded my expectations. I love a meal that can be made in under 30mins!

Sushi

I love sushi and getting hold of sushi here is easy, but it's holidays so I don't need easy. I needed a challenge, so here from my very own kitchen a variety of sushi rolls...

Sushi Rice
Makes: 6-9 Rolls
Prep Time: 2 mins Cook Time: 10 mins
3 cups sushi rice
3 & 1/2 cups water

Sushi Seasoning
½ cup of rice vinegar
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt

1. Wash the rice in running water for 1-2 minutes until the water runs clear. After you are done washing, take the rice and place it in a pot, add the water.
2. Cook on high heat at first, stir every minute or two, until the water boils. Then, lower the heat to low and cover the pot. Stop stirring.
3. While the rice is coking prepare the sushi seasoning by placing all ingredients in a small pot on medium heat and stir until the salt and sugar have dissolved.
4. After 6-8 min, check the water level - If there is no more water the rice is ready. If not, check back every minute, making sure not to burn the rice at the bottom.
5. Use a wooden spoon to remove the rice from the pot. Do not scrape the rice out of the bottom of the pot (the rice at the bottom will be dry and won't taste as good). Place the rice into a plastic or wooden bowl to chill. Pour the sushi seasoning over the top and stir through.

The sushi you make is up to you. I did both inside out and regular rolls and created a range of fillings based on what Rory and I like.

Spicy Tuna
Tuna steak
3tsp Sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp Sesame oil
1 sheet of Nori
1/2 cup sushi rice

1. Combine the Sriracha sauce and sesame oil in a bowl.
2. Place the nori shiny side down on the bamboo mat, cover with rice - slightly dampening your hands (1/4 cup water with 2 tsp rice vinegar) will make spreading the rice much easier as it won't stick to your fingers.

3. Lay the cubed strip of tuna across the rice and top with the sauce.

4. From the bottom end, start rolling the nori sheet over the filling tightly and firmly with the bamboo mat until the bottom end reaches the nori sheet. Squeeze tightly. 


5. Gently and carefully unfold the mat, leaving the roll tightly tucked. Reposition your hands on the mat to roll the sushi over further. At this point he bamboo mat will have overhang, be sure to keep this folded up so that it doesn't get trapped inside the roll.

6. Slice the roll into individual pieces.

*I had looked at a few recipes which suggested only using half the nori sheet per roll, but I found this made a very small roll. With the section I cut off I tried again and was able to create a spiral finish which looked much better than the squished up original.

Philadelphia Roll

Salmon Fillet

Cream cheese

Seasame seeds

1 sheet of Nori
1/2 cup sushi rice

This roll was an inside out version. 

1. Lay the nori sheet down and cover with rice. Sprinkle roasted sesame seeds over the rice and then flip the nori sheet over so the rice is in contact with the bamboo mat.(Cover the bamboo mat with cling film for this one so you don't spend hours cleaning squished rice out of the gaps in the mat) 

2. Lay the salmon onto the nori and then spread cream cheese along one side.

3. Roll, cut and enjoy

On my trip to collect supplies for the sushi I found tempura batter mix so as an experiment we fried half of the philadelphia rolls in tempura batter. 

1. Dip prepared roll in tempura batter flour and then dredge through the batter mix. 

2. Shallow fry in oil (170 degrees).

Tropical Roll

Tempura Salmon

Mango slices

Avocado slices

Cucumber slices

Japanese mayonnaise

Toasted coconut

Sushi rice 

Nori

1. Pepare nori and rice as per philadelphia, sprinkling instead with roasted coconut. 

2. Flip the nori sheet over and lay all ingredients down onto the seaweed.

3. Roll, cut and enjoy!

Spicy Salmon

Salmon Fillet
Salmon Roe

Sriracha sauce (as per spicy tuna)

Wasabi

1. Prepare the nori as per the spicy tuna recipe.
2. Lay down the salmon fillet, add the salmon roe, sriracha sauce and spread on some wasabi.

3. Roll, cut and enjoy!

This sushi was amazing (even if I do say so myself). I may never order sushi out again!

Mexican Lasagne

Rainy days + holidays = Bucket List...

This one went on the list because Rory loves both Mexican food and Lasagne. I'm not actually a fan of either so he was a willing subject to taste test along the way.

Mexican Lasagne

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 10mins Cook Time: 65mins

500g Mince

300g Refried Beans

3 Jalapeños (chopped)

3tbsp Taco Seasoning (see recipe below)

1tbsp Hot Salsa

150g Grated Cheese

12 Lasagne Sheets

200g Hot Salsa

1 cup Water

Guacamole (see recipe below)

Tomato (diced)

Capsicum (diced)

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a skillet cook the mince and drain. Stir in the beans, jalapeños, taco seasoning and 1 tbsp of salsa.

2. In a ceramic baking dish layer 1/3 of the lasagne sheets (uncooked) and cover with half of the meat mixture. Sprinkle with 1/3 cheese and repeat. Placing a final layer of lasagne sheets on top.

Half way through the layering

3. Combine the salsa with the water and pour over the top of the sheets, sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover and bake for 1 hour. 

Ready for the oven

4. Top the lasagne with guacamole and the chopped capsicum and tomato. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Allow to stand for 10-15 mins.

It's only fitting that this was baked in my ceramic dish from Mexico

OK so I forgot to cover the lasagne when it went in the oven which meant it wasn't quite as moist as it should have been, but given Rory went back for seconds and I'm pretty sure the leftovers won't be left over for long and it wasn't too much of a disaster.

The recipe I adapted this from called for taco seasoning and while that's fairly easy to come by here I decided to make my own...

Taco Seasoning

1 tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1&1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1.Mix all spices together until well combined. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in your spice cabinet and use as needed. 

This can easily be made in bulk and added to a spice rack.

I also went with my own guacamole.

Guacamole

1 Avocado

1 Lime (juice)

1 small Tomato

2 tsp Taco Seasoning

1/4 onion

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor.

This makes a smoother than normal, more paste like, guacamole which was ideal for the topping of the lasagne.

Beef and Guinness Pie

OK so this one wasn't on my original list, but the original list is in serious need of an update and I'm in the middle of report writing so it's "procrastibaking" time! 

How dinner began!

Beef and Guinness Pie

Prep Time: 10mins Cook Time: 3hrs

1 onion finely diced

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

700g beef (stewing steak is ideal)

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 beef stock cubes

540ml guinness

Pastry (frozen)

1. Soften onion in a deep pot with the butter. Mix in the flour until it has dissolved, then stir in the beef and worcestershire sauce. Mix in the stock cubes and then pour the guinness over the top. Bring the mix to a simmer and then cover and leave on low heat for 2hrs, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 mins, allowing the sauce to thicken.

Perfectly soft meat in a divine sauce

2. Set the oven to 200C. Line a pie dish with pastry and add the filling. Then using remaining pastry create a lid for your pie, decorate as desired. Bake for 20mins or until pastry is nicely golden.

Pre-oven

I thought about making a pastry for this myself but my inclination to labour over a rolling pin just wasn't there. I used frozen pastry from the suprmarket and it tasted just fine. The almost licked clean plates after dinner indicated that it was perfectly acceptable so for the sake of saving myself time and energy, I'll stick with it the next time I make it.

Post-oven

Baked Beans

It's time to be honest, this was one item on my Bucket List that I really wasn't fussed about making, but Rory loves these and until recently it was impossible to get anything here that even vaguely resembled them. Since making my list though, we have found a few special import stores that have them and even a local variety which fills the need. However, by the time we found these they were already on my list so, here goes...

  

* Special Note for my sister Jo who reads my blog and decides everything I make takes too long, this is not one you'll want to even consider.

Baked Beans
Serves: 8
Prep/Cook Time: 3hrs (a lot of the steps can be done while the beans cook so I grouped these for this recipe) However the prep really only takes 30 mins.

500g white beans
1/2tsp bicarb
700g crushed tomatoes (Roma tomatoes are best, I used a mix this time which is why my sauce is quite orange, Roma would keep the red colour better)
2tbsp oil
Handful of mixed herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage)
3 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 cloves
1/4tsp mustard powder
150g bacon
4tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2tsp Tabasco sauce
1/4 cup sugar


1. Soak the beans in cold water overnight, the water level should be about 3 inches above the height of the beans. Place beans and the water from soaking into a large pot with the bicarb and cook for 1 1/2hrs on a medium heat until they are tender. Drain the beans reserving 1 cup of the liquid.

2. While the beans are cooking blanch the tomatoes. Using a knife make a small cross on each tomato, place into boiling water for about 2mins or until you see the skin peeling away. Remove and submerge in ice water for 2 mins, the skin should then just peel back from the flesh. Put all the tomatoes in a blender and mix until a fine liquid sauce is made.

3. Heat the oil in a pan/wok and saute the onion, garlic, herbs, cloves and mustard for 10mins. Add this mix to the blender with the tomatoes and mix on high until smooth. 

4. While the other ingredients are in the blender, quickly fry the bacon then pour the sauce into the pot and add the Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and sugar. Stir and simmer for 30mins.

5. Pour the sauce into the drained beans adding the 1 cup of water reserved after boiling. Mix thoroughly and cook on a low heat for approximately 1hr.

The intent was to have these for breakfast tomorrow morning but Rory is impatient so he had them over baked potatoes for dinner. The verdict: "They is nummy" which I think translates to: I did an OK job.