Ingredients

Half a cauliflower, cut into florets

400g can of chickpeas, drained & rinse

2 garlic cloves

200g quinoa

Juice & rind of a lemon

2tbs olive oil

1 cup of coarsely torn Italian parsley

½ cup of coarsely torn mint leaves

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

200g Organic Goat Feta cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220C. In a baking tray combine cauliflower, garlic, half the lemon rind and 1tbsp of oil, sprinkle with a little salt and bake for 15 minutes.

2. On another baking tray or dish spread out the chickpeas and combine them with the remaining lemon rind, 1 tbsp of oil and season to taste. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

3. Meanwhile, rinse the Quinoa and add 380ml of salted water into a saucepan. Simmer for about 10 minutes with the lid on until the water has been absorbed.

4. Now its time to bring all the ingredients together in a lovely, large salad bowl. Combine the parsley, mint, spring onion, lemon juice, cauliflower, chickpeas and quinoa. Season to taste and mix well. With your fingers crumble the feta cheese all through the ingredients.

The salad tastes best when served warm, however it still tastes delicious the next day.

Enjoy!


Additional ideas:

If you don’t like cauliflower you can substitute it with roasted pumpkin or sweet potatoes.

Goats cheese can be substituted with any feta cheese.

1 leek sliced thinly

1 zucchini sliced thinly

½ yellow capsicum sliced in thin strips

1 garlic clove finely chopped/grated

1tsp of oil

1tsp nutmeg

1 tsp. butter

5 large organic eggs

½ cup of cream (optional)

1 large can of red salmon (400g)

200g of Mersey Valley Vintage cheese

2 tbsp. Fresh Dill finely chopped

2 sheets of short crust pastry (or make your own pastry if your extra keen)

Preheat oven to 180C. Heat a heavy based pan and sauté the leek, garlic, zucchini and capsicum with the oil and butter for about 10 minutes or until soft and golden. Set it aside to cool for about 10minutes.

In the meantime blind bake the pastry in a quiche dish at 180 C for about 10 minutes. Don’t forget to grease the dish first to avoid the pastry sticking.

In a large bowl beat the eggs, mix in the cream, nutmeg and dill and crumble the cheese leaving a hand full to sprinkle on the top.

Drain the salmon and with a fork gently break it up and mix it into the egg mixture. Once the leek mixture has cooled add it to the bowl and mix it gently. Fold it into the pastry and sprinkle the cheese that you set aside over the top.

Bake at 180C for 30-40minutes and serve with a salad of your choice.

This recipe is great as a left over as well!

Enjoy!

Additional ideas:

Replace canned salmon with fresh ethically sourced salmon or tuna.

From The Smitten Kitchen recipes.

1 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2/3 cup couscous

4 extra-large or 5 large bell peppers, mixed colors

2 tsp olive oil

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

6 oz zucchini, quartered lengthwise then sliced across thinly

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 can of organic  chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

3 tablespoons tomato paste

Preheat oven to 200°C. Coat a small baking dish with cooking spray.

Bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan, add the couscous, cover the pan and remove it from the heat.

Cut the stems and top half inch off the bell peppers and scoop out the seeds and membranes.

Place peppers upright in a baking dish and roast them for 15 minutes or so, until they soften, then remove them from the oven until the filling is ready.

Heat oil in a nonstick saucepan. Add onion, zucchini, fennel seeds and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened. Remove from heat and stir in the tomatoes, chickpeas and tomato paste.

Using a fork, scrape the couscous into the skillet and toss with the vegetables. Stir in the crumbled feta.

Fill the capsicums with the couscous mixture using a spoon.

Bake 20 minutes. Serve with a fresh salad of your choice.

From the Meat Free Monday Book by Paul, Stella and Mary McCartney

100g flour

100g melted butter

1 teaspoon baking powder

5 tablespoons of cocoa

100g  caster sugar

2 tablespoons organic milk

2 organic eggs

1 teastpoon vanilla extract

100g soft brown sugar

120ml of hot water

50g chopped pecans (optional, you can substitute with other nuts)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease a 1 litre baking dish or if you prefer individual servings, grease 4 individual baking pots.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl.  Then add the 3 tablespoons of cocoa and the caster sugar. Mix it all up and make a well in the centre and set aside.

In a bowl lightly beat the eggs, add the melted butter, vanilla and milk and beat well until its all smooth and creamy. Stir in pecans and pour the mixture into the well. Mix well for a few minutes and pour into the baking pots or baking dish.

In another bowl, combine the soft brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of cocoa and hot water. Stir well and pour over the cake batter. Place in oven for 40 minutes. During baking the cake will rise to the top and underneath there will be a delicious chocolate sauce. Serve with cream or vanilla ice cream. Serves 4.

1 tablespoon white chia seeds

¼ cup (60ml) water

½ cup (125ml) maple syrup

¾ cup (70g) rolled oats

¾ cup (70g) toasted protein flakes (Lupin flakes)

1 cup (140g) hazelnuts, finely chopped

½ cup (70g) wholemeal lupin flour

½ cup (40g) desiccated coconut

6 fresh dates (90g), pitted and finely chopped

50g 70% dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 160°C. Place the chia seeds and water in a large bowl and stir to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes. 

Add the maple syrup, oats, flakes, hazelnut, flour, coconut, cacao nibs and date and stir well to combine. Press the mixture firmly into a lightly greased 20cm square tin lined with non-stick baking paper. Cook for 25–30 minutes or until golden. Set aside in the tin to cool completely. 

Using a serrated knife, slice into bars. Place on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper and drizzle with the dark chocolate.

Store in the fridge.

Optional: replace hazelnuts with other nuts or add additional nuts like pecans

Part 1: The Home Made Tomato Sauce

5 lovely large truss tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

1 onion

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 zucchini

salt to taste

1. Finely chop the onions and garlic and add them to a heavy based pot along with the oil.

2. Whilst they are sizzling away at low heat, chop up the tomatoes and zucchini. You can leave the skin on the zucchini if you want additional nutrients.

3. Once they are chopped throw them into the pot with the salt and sugar. For those of you who don’t know, sugar is a clever little trick that balances the acidity levels in tomato dishes.

4. Pop the lid on the pot and leave it simmering for around 40 to 60 minutes. You might want to give it a stir once in a while to ensure its not sticking.

5. Once all the tomato, onions and zucchini are deliciously soft, turn off the heat and wizz them up in the blender. I use a handheld blender, which is really convenient and easy to clean.

6. Allow to cool whilst you get started on part 2 of the recipe.

Part 2: Ricotta & Spinach Cannelloni

2 tbp butter

2 garlic cloves

6 handfuls of spinach

¼ basil

500g Ricotta cheese (the good stuff from the deli not a tub in the supermarket)

1 cup of Parmesan cheese grated

½ packet of cannelloni tubes (approx 12)

200g Mozzarella

¼ tsp Nutmeg

Salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C or 350°F.

1. Make sure you wash the spinach really well. Shake off the excess water and cut finely along with the basil.

2. Melt the butter in a large pot and add the grated garlic, after about a minute add the finely chopped spinach and basil and season with the salt and nutmeg.

3. Keep turning the spinach over so that it all cooks evenly for about 4 minutes on high heat, it will dramatically shrink Once it’s all cooked through set it aside to cool in a stainless steel colander so that all the excess water is drained out.

4. Once it’s cool, mix it well into a large bowl with the Ricotta and Parmesan cheese.

5. Pour half of the tomato sauce into a large glass or ceramic roasting tray, so that you can place the Cannelloni’s into it once each one is filled.

6. Now it’s time for the tricky bit…filling the Cannelloni. I like to get the kids involved so we can chat away whilst we fill the Cannelloni’s. We use a small teaspoon to fill the cannelloni. The back of the spoon also helps to push it in a bit. I’ve seen others use a piping bag. I’ll let you decide how you do it.

7. Once all the little tubes are filled and laying snuggly on the tomato sauce. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the cannelloni so they are completely covered.

8. Sprinkle them all with the grated Mozzarella and pop them in the oven for 40 minutes or until golden.

Serve with a fresh green salad. I love Rocket sprinkled with a little rock salt, half the juice of a freshly squeezed lemon and a dash of extra virgin olive oil.