Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Soup

I think everyone knows by now that I love soup, and this is definitely one of my new winter favourites.  I am normally not a huge fan of pumpkin, but when Kate presented my with a beautiful butternut fresh from her garden I could hardly say no! 

Tofu Salad

I'm a big fan of tofu, but rarely find an opportunity to use for anything other than soups and stir-frys. So I was rather pleased when I came across this recipe whilst hunting for something new to accompany my chicken san choy bow. The light, subtle dressing really worked well, and the colours looked amazing on the table!

You can find this recipe and other equally delicious ones in: Tossed: 200 fast, fresh and fabulous salads

250g firm tofu
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
1/2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
100g snowpeas, julienned
2 small carrots, julienned
1/2 small red cabbage, shredded finely
2 tbsp unsalted peanuts, chopped

Place the sweet chilli sauce, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil in a small jar and shake well to form a marinade. Cut the tofu into 2cm pieces, place in a bowl and pour the marinade over, then refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile prepare the vegetables and place in a large serving bowl. Add the tofu and any excess marinade then toss lightly to combine. Top with chopped peanuts.

Serves 4 - 6

Curried Rice Salad with Spiced Yoghurt

I've never made a rice salad before, but when I came across this one in the December issue of Super Food Ideas it just looked too good to miss out on. I have to say that the spiced yoghurt was the star of the show for me, although I did change the recipe slightly. (The magazine called for mango chutney in the yoghurt, feel free to add if you like it!)

You could serve this on its own if you like; it was certainly filling enough to be considered a main meal, or do what I did and serve it with some chermoula spiced chicken skewers and keep the leftover rice salad for a delicious lunch at work the next day!



Rice Salad:

1 cup basmati rice, rinsed
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp ground cumin
3 stalks celery, sliced
1 red capsicum, diced
1/4 cup sultanas
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped
Cracked pepper & sea salt to taste

Yoghurt Dressing:

3/4 cup plain natural yoghurt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 lemon, juice only
Cracked pepper & sea salt to taste

Cook the rice according to packet directions, adding the tumeric and cumin to the water to give flavour and colour as it cooks. Transfer to a large bowl and leave to cool.

Make the spiced yoghurt dressing simply by combining the ingredients in a bowl and stirring together well.

Next add the celery, capsicum, sultanas, almonds and coriander to the rice, season with salt and pepper and toss gently to combine. Serve with a generous dollop of yoghurt dressing on the side.

Serves 4 - 6

Vietnamese Noodle Salad

I suppose I've said this before, but allow me to reiterate. Asian cuisine is not my forte! I am however, decidedly determined to change this. I tested out this noodle salad recipe on two of my favourite guinea pigs and both gave it a big thumbs up. I'm not a fan of cucumber and even I thought it was pretty amazing! The lemongrass dressing was delicious and zingy, and the best part of all was how super easy it was to make.

Salad:

150g rice vermicelli noodles
1 small handful mint leaves, roughly torn
1 small handful coriander leaves, roughly torn
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 small unripe (green) mango, peeled and chopped
1/2 lebanese cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup crushed peanuts

Dressing:

2 limes, juice and grated zest
2 tbsp grated palm sugar
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 stem lemongrass (white part only), finely chopped
1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, shredded

Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and allow to soak until tender. Drain, rinse under cold water and transfer to a serving bowl.

Next add in the cucumber, mint, coriander, onion, mango and half the peanuts and toss well to combine.

Whisk the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad, tossing to combine. Top with the remaining peanuts and some extra coriander and mint.

Serves 4.

Roast Chicken with Potatoes & Cherry Tomatoes

This might actually be a Jamie Oliver recipe, but seeing as it was my friend Ewan who cooked it for me first, i will give him the credit! And what a wonderful dish it is. The best part being that you throw it all in one baking tray and serve it in the same, allowing everyone to help themselves at the table.

6 free range chicken marylands
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
700g chat potatoes, skin on
8 sprigs rosemary
8 sprigs thyme
Olive oil
Sea salt & ground pepper

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees.

In a mortar and pestle, crush half the rosemary and thyme along with some sea salt and pepper, then add a few tablespoons of olive oil to form a marinade. Rub all over the chicken, and leave it to soak up the flavours for a few minutes.

While this is happening, put your potatoes in a large saucepan of cold water, season with sea salt then bring to the boil and cook until tender. Prick the skins of the tomatoes, and drop them into the boiling water with the potatoes for about 30 seconds until the skins begin to peel back, then remove and plunge into cold water to stop them cooking. Drain the potatoes.

Heat a large frypan with a little olive oil, then fry the chicken, skin side down until it begins to colour up. Turn and seal on the other side, then transfer to a large roasting tray.

Remove the skins from the tomatoes, then scatter around the chicken in the baking tray. Add the cooked potatoes, crushing each one slightly with a fork. Season generously with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with the remaining fresh rosemary leaves, and sprigs of thyme.


Roast for approximately 1 hour, until the chicken is tender and golden and the potatoes have crisped. Then simply place on the table and let everyone dig in!

Serves 6.

Asian Style Chicken Noodle Soup

Bearing in mind that Asian cookery is not my area of expertise, I have to say I was pretty happy with the way this soup turned out! Very fresh and light with lots of wonderful flavours going on. And best of all it's incredibly healthy! I make this soup at least once a week now.



1L salt reduced chicken stock
1 cup water
2 tbsp soy sauce3 cloves garlic, roughly sliced
2 inch piece ginger, roughly sliced
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 1 inch pieces
Cracked black pepper1 skinless chicken breast (approx 200g)
1 bunch choy sum, cut into 2-3 inch lengths
1 handful snowpeas, halved
150g udon noodles
1 long red chilli, finely sliced for garnish

Pour the stock, water and soy sauce into a saucepan and add the garlic, ginger and lemongrass pieces. Season with pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the chicken breast and allow poach gently for 20 minutes, or until the breast is cooked through.

Meanwhile, place the noodles in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside until noodles are tender and ready for use.

Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from the stock, allow to cool slightly then shred. Strain the stock to remove the garlic, ginger and lemongrass pieces.

To assemble the soup pile noodles in a large bowl, top with the fresh choy sum, snow peas and shredded chicken, then ladle over the hot stock. Garnish with fresh chilli and coriander.

Serves 2.