Dinner in a dash...

Things have been pretty hectic lately, and as a result, there isn’t a lot of time to think about my next culinary master piece. When this happens, it’s nice to know there are still delicious, easy meals that can easily fit into your schedule.

I love food from the Mediterranean- the tomato, the pasta, the feta. And I love visiting the Mediterranean Food Company here in Christchurch. It’s so easy to pick up a few staples for the coming weeks. This first recipe incorporates all that I love, without the hassle.

Eggplant, tomato, chilli and feta pasta

Serves 2

Olive oil, for frying

2 small eggplants, sliced (these ones are from the Christchurch Farmers Market)

1 small onion, diced

1 small red chilli, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, diced

Spaghetti, one small fist full (depending on how hungry you are)

Half jar of Passata

100g feta cheese, cut in bite-sized pieces

Parmesan cheese, grated for serving

 

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add eggplant and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes or until eggplant is golden and tender.

Add chilli and tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling water following packet directions or until al dente. Drain well.

Add Passata to eggplant mix. Simmer for 5 minutes then add the drained pasta. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and stir through feta. Add in your favourite herbs, if desired. I added some Italian dried herbs for extra flavour.

This next recipe is one of my favourites. And if you’re making it for two there is usually excess left for lunch the next day. The pearl barley adds a different texture to usual risotto, and is a relatively cheap ingredient.

Pearl barley, mushroom & chorizo risotto

Serves 4ish

Olive oil, for frying

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

3-4 chorizo, thinly sliced

1¾ cups pearl barley

4 cups chicken stock

250g button mushrooms, sliced

Parsley

Parmesan, grated for serving

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion, garlic and chorizo until chorizo are brown.

Stir in barley and stock. Bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove lid and cook for another 10 minutes, until barley is tender and the liquid absorbed.

Sauté mushrooms in olive oil for 5 minutes.

Fold mushrooms, parsley and parmesan through barley and season.

Tupper-tastic

Ok so I just came up with that name, but I thought it was an appropriate title to introduce the story of hosting my first Tupperwear party. What it entailed:

·         Meeting with the demonstrator to plan when and what recipe to demonstrate using the products

·         Inviting friends

·         Buying the ingredients

·         Setting up

My main motivator for hosting was to catch up with friends and, of course, the food! Off I went to the Christchurch Farmers Market to pick up some goodies for all to share. Because let’s be honest- food is a social thing.

On the menu were pre-dinner drinks and nibbles. The recipes used were fast and simple (with the ones that used the products detailed below). 

 

The drinks were:

Elderflower Cordial with some goodies (i.e. mint, strawberries, lemons)

Sparkling Wine Cocktail

The nibbles featured:

Zingy Salsa

Guacomole

Sliced baguette and rice crackers, to serve with dips

A selection of olives and feta

Sparkling Wine Cocktail

Serves 4

4 ripe medium strawberries

4 teaspoons brown sugar

Bitters

750ml sparkling white wine

100ml peach Smirnoff

Shake together sugar, bitters and vodka. Divide between glasses and fill to top with sparkling wine.

This drink was simple, yet effective- great for a late summer’s evening.

Zingy Salsa

Serves 8ish

2 cloves garlic

1 small red onion

1 small red chillies

Handful coriander

Handful mint

1 punnet ripe cherry tomatoes, chopped

2 lemons

425g can unsweetened crushed pineapple, lightly drained

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt & pepper

Blend all ingredients together and serve.

Given I’m not really a fan of raw onions; I felt this taste came through a tad strongly. Although there were comments from some about how the liked the sweet and the tang. That’s a great thing about having people over- they may like what you don’t and consequently you won’t have to worry about throwing away food at the end of the night!

Guacamole

Serves 4ish

1 clove garlic

1 small red onion

1 small red chilli

1 large ripe avocado

1 medium lemon

Salt & pepper

You can’t go wrong with this easy guacamole. Very tasty- it went down quickly. Plus the Tupperware hand powered blender (aka the Quick Chef II) was helpful!

If you haven’t experienced Tupperware before and are looking for an easy entertaining option- why not host a party!

Ginger

ginger (gin¦ger).Pronunciation: /ˈdʒɪndʒə/. Noun [mass noun]. 1a hot, fragrant spice made from the rhizome of a plant, which may be chopped or powdered for cooking, preserved in syrup, or candied.

Ginger- some of us love it, and some of us hate it. I personally think its hotness and tanginess makes it stand out from the rest and is a wonderful addition to any pantry. You can crush it, preserve it and ground it- I dare you to name another food that can produce such a range of tastes and textures. It is even this blog’s name stake. So naturally I thought it appropriate to do a profile on this magnificent spice.

For the first dish I went for a savoury choice to showcase ginger’s versatility. You regularly see Asian recipes with the trio of garlic, chilli and ginger- you really can’t go wrong. This easy dish can be thrown together with some cupboard essentials.

Ginger Prawn Broth

Serves 2

100g noodles (I used Udon)
400ml can light coconut milk
2 garlic cloves, sliced
2 teaspoons grated ginger
Couple of pinches chilli flakes
12 prawn cutlets (or as many as you want)
2 spring onions, finely sliced
Soy sauce, to taste
1 lime, to serve

Cook noodles according to packet instructions.

Place coconut milk, garlic, ginger and chilli flakes in a saucepan and bring just to the boil.

Add prawns and spring onion, then simmer for until prawns are cooked.

Add noodles and stir to combine. Season with soy sauce and serve with lime to squeeze over.

Once eaten, I found the recipe a bit bulky (I lied- actually used a 200g packet of noodles). It’s a fragrant and hearty meal if you’re in a hurry. Maybe a bit more ginger though?

Now for something a bit sweeter. I can never go past a good ginger crunch, the sweet and spicy tastes draw me in every time. But let’s be honest, too much and you feel it shortly after. This recipe appealed because it just sounds healthy... well, healthier. The very easy recipe has been taken from Jo Seagar’s The Cook School Recipes.

Wholemeal Ginger Crunch

Makes 24 pieces

For the base:

150g butter

2 tablespoons golden syrup

¾ cup soft brown sugar

¾ cup long thread coconut

1 ½ cups rolled oats (I used wholegrain oats)

¾ cup wholemeal flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons ground ginger

1 cup chopped crystallised ginger (one packet of Tasti Crystallised Ginger)

For the icing:

100g butter

6 tablespoons golden syrup

2 ¼ cups icing sugar

3 teaspoons ground ginger

Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a baking tin/dish.

For the base, melt the butter, golden syrup and sugar in a large saucepan. Take off the heat; mix in the rest of the ingredients for the base. Add to prepared baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.

To make the icing, melt the butter and gold syrup. Then whisk in the icing sugar and ginger.

Once cooked (will have slightly risen and be brown on top), remove base from the oven and top with icing. Chill before cutting into 24 pieces.

The result was addictive. Although it could do with less butter and I would recommend putting it in the fridge to set. Definitely one that will go down well if you’re making morning tea for the office!