Chicken, Pumpkin, Walnut salad

This recipe is a cross breed between a meal I had at the Blue Train restaurant in Melbourne, and the instructions for this Roast Pumpkin, Baby Spinach, Walnut & Fetta Salad. Dressing recipe credit goes to this site.

Ingredients

Serves 4.

Forgot to add the walnuts before I took the photo, and
by the time I'd realised, it was too late.

Salad Ingredients

• 750g of pumpkin
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 100g feta
• 1 zucchini (to make ribbons)
• 400g or 500g of cooked chicken thighs/breast
• handful of sunflower seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic oil, or other frying oil (olive, vegetable etc)
• salt & fresh cracked pepper
• 100g rocket

Dressing Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (about one small lemon worth)
• 1/2 teaspoon Sumac
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Method

Salad Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190C
2. Peel and cut pumpkin into bite-sized pieces
3. Spread pumpkin on lined baking tray, spray with oil, and season with salt and cracked pepper
4. Place pumpkin in oven for 30 minutes
5. Using a peeler, make zucchini ribbons
6. Heat a garlic oil in a pan and cook zucchini ribbons until tender but not golden
   Hint: While waiting for pumpkin to finish roasting, make dressing
7. When pumpkin is finished roasting, split all salad ingredients (rocket, pumpkin, walnuts, zucchini, feta, chicken, and sunflower seeds) evenly onto 4 plates and drizzle with dressing.

Dressing Directions

1. Finely chop the garlic, then mash with the salt in a bowl with the back of a spoon. 
2. Add the lemon juice, Sumac, and olive oil and whisk together. 
3. Store until ready to serve.

Lentil, Pesto and Pasta Salad!

Another quick delicious salad that doesn't take too long to prepare!

For a gluten free version, simply use a gluten free pasta! I'm a fan of Buontempo's gluten free pasta range which is mostly rice with corn. Also, double check ingredients on jars of pre-made pesto.

You can use a jar of pre-made pesto or use your own.
I would totally be impressed if you made your own!

This is my variation on a Taste.com.au recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 tomato
• 250g penne or spiral pasta
• 200g green beans, trimmed, cut into 1 inch lengths (2.5cm)
• 400g can brown lentils, rinsed, drained
• 25g (1/3 cup) shaved parmesan
• 60g (1/4 cup) basil pesto
• 1/3 cup small fresh basil leaves, optional

Step 1 - Roast tomatoes

1. Preheat oven to 170C. 
2. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 
3. Cut tomato into 8ths or 12ths cut side up, on the prepared tray. Spray with olive oil. 
4. Roast for 12-15 minutes or until softened slightly. Set aside to cool.

Step 2 - Meanwhile, cook pasta and beans

1. Cook the pasta until al dente...
2. ... Add the beans in the last 2 minutes of cooking.
3. Transfer to a colander and refresh under cold running water. 
4. Drain well.

Step 3 - Combine

1. Transfer pasta and beans to a large bowl.
2. Add the lentils, tomato, parmesan, basil pesto and basil leaves. 
3. Season with pepper.
4. Toss to combine.

Chicken and the Egg Salad!

This salad is based on the "Man Salad" I sometimes enjoy from Sumo Salad!

It's very simple to throw together, and great to do on a Sunday night so you'll have salads for two people for two lunches! You basically just need to pre-cook the eggs and chicken & chop up a few vegetables.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

Woah, that looks like some awesomely fresh food

...and a very sharp knife.

This is not my kitchen.

• 3 eggs (hard boiled and quartered)
• 400g cooked chicken (eg. shredded or sliced)
• 250g corn kernels
• 2 spring onions (chopped)
• 2 large carrots (grated)
• Two handfuls mixed leaves lettuce, washed
• 1/2 cup shredded tasty cheese 
• Mayonnaise

Combine all the above ingredients except the mayonnaise in a large bowl and mix.

I usually stir through the mayonnaise just before eating.

Low Fodmap Ketjap/Kecap Manis

My Thai stir-fry quinoa recipe calls for Ketjap Manis. It seems to be otherwise known as "Kecap Manis", which is basically the Indonesian way of saying Sweet Soy Sauce.

Now, you can usually buy this from the local supermarket, but I've not found one which doesn't have wheat added, and my girlfriend is allergic to wheat, it's a no-go. 

What's the next move? Check the internet! And success! I found a simple substitute that's easy to make! Not ever having this sauce before, I'm not 100% sure what a good one is meant to taste like, but after having made this one, I don't particularly care, this one tastes great, even in it's most basic form!


Please note, I use garlic in this recipe, but if can't digest garlic well, you could just add a splash of garlic oil or leave it out completely and use other spices listed below to compensate.

This is probably just a picture of soy sauce..
 but hey, I just needed a free image so I could
pin this to Pinterest!

Without further ado...

This recipe makes around a quarter of a cup.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup soy sauce (check for wheat if allergic)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 garlic clove

Optional Ingredients 

I add these ingredients add some zing:

• Chilli flakes (amount depends on your tolerance)
• A few cracks of Black Pepper

Wikipedia says Kecap is sometimes spiced up with these ingredients so you try variations of small amounts of any of these if you desire: 

• star anise
• cinnamon
• coriander (aka cilantro)
• clove

Instructions

1. In small saucepan, mix brown sugar and soy sauce. 
2. Simmer over medium-low heat until it thickens into a syrup. Don't let it boil.
3. As the mixture cools, it will thicken a bit further.

Thai Stir-fry Quinoa

Makes 6 Servings

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups uncooked quinoa
1 red capsicum

1 green capsicum
a handful of green beans

any other vegetables you want to throw in, I added:

• 1 bunch of shredded bok choy and stalk
• 1 head of broccoli with chopped stalk
• some chopped spring onion

500g firm tofu, cubed
1 garlic clove, chopped small/crushed
2 tbsp oil (coconut or olive)

Sauce
1/2 cup ketjap manis

2 tbsp red curry paste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions
2. In a wok, over medium to high heat, add all the ingredients except the cooked quinoa and sauce ingredients.
3. Cook tofu/veggie mixture for 5-8 minutes until tender stirring occasionally. In the meantime:
4. In a small bowl mix the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
5. When the tofu/veggie mixture is almost tender add the quinoa and sauce mixture to the wok.
6. Mix through and cook further for another minute or so stirring constantly.
7. Turn heat off and serve immediately. 

This is a variation on recipe borrowed from eatgood4life.com