Maple-Soy Chicken Wings and Vietnamese Salad

Maple-Soy Chicken Wings (serves 6)
24 chicken wings (you can do more - I make 4 large chicken wings per person)
1/2 cup of soy
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1 tbsp of grated ginger
1 tsp of chilli flakes
2 tbsp of chinese rice wine

1. Mix up all the above besides the rice wine and allow wings to marinate overnight. Stir a couple of times while marinating if you have a chance.
2. Pre-heat oven to 180C (lower if fan forced).
3. Spread wings in a single layers on some foil covered (this helps later with cleaning!) baking trays. Reserve the marinade.
4. Bake the wings for an hour. I find it helps to increase the temperature a bit for the last ten minutes or turn the fan forced oven on so that they crisp up.
5. While the wings are cooking put the marinade in a small saucepan. Add the chinese rice wine. Bring to the boil and put on a high simmer until reduced. Make sure it is boiling or simmering fast so that you kill any bacteria in it.
6. Serve the wings with the thickened marinade and hoy sin sauce (for those that aren't so keen on chilli).

Vietnamese Salad (serves 10)
2 carrots, julienned
2 cucumbers, julienned
1/2 wombok, hard centre removed and finely sliced
1 bunch coriander, roughly chopped
1 bunch chives, chopped
1 bunch mint, roughly chopped
300g vermicelli rice noodles - cooked according to instructions and chopped a little with scissors

Nuoc Cham (Minus the garlic) made using this recipe as a dressing

1. Toss together the salad ingredients and the Nuoc Cham.
2. Serve with maple-soy wings

Variations -
This salad would be good served with a hot roast chicken from the supermarket if you are in a hurry.
You could also serve it with deep fried tofu for a vegetarian alternative

Cream of Sweet Potato Soup

2 large sweet potatoes, diced
2 litres of stock (I used reconstituted massell chicken stock cubes)
1 carrot, diced
1 stick of celery, diced
1/4 cup of dry sherry
1 small tub of light cream
2 tablespoons of dried chives


1. Sautee the carrot and celery in a pan until soft and a little brown at the edges.
2. Deglaze the pan with sherry being sure to get all the brown bits up.
3. Add the stock and potatoes. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer.
4. Simmer uncovered until potatoes have begun to fall apart.
5. Add the cream and chives. Blend. Season to taste.

Pea and Bacon Soup

2 cups of split peas
2 litres of stock (I use reconstituted massel cubes)
2 potatoes
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1/4 cup of dry sherry
2 bay leaves

2 tablespoons of dried chives

6 rashers of bacon, diced

1. Sautee the carrot and celery in a pan until soft and a little brown at the edges.
2. Deglaze the pan with sherry being sure to get all the brown bits up.
3. Add carrot and celery mix, stock, potatoes, lentils and bay leaves to a slow cooker. Cook on whichever setting you prefer until lentils are soft.
4. Remove the bay leaves. Add the chives. Blend.
5. Fry off bacon until crispy. Add to soup or, for vegetarian option, serve on the side.

Vegetarian Quesadillas

Serves 4

Salsa

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 clove of garlic (leave out if sensitive but this sauce is HOT so there is very little garlic per serve)

1 tablespoon of ginger, grated

1 tablespoon of hot hot hot chilli sauce (I use this one which has a nice a smoky flavour)

2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar

1/2bunch of coriander, chopped

2 tablespoons of dried chives

1 tsp of smoke flavour

Guacamole (people sensitive to polyols may wish to omit this)

2 avocados, mashed

1 lime, juiced

3 teaspoons of tobacco sauce

Quesadillas

10, corn tortillas (look for Woolworth's Brand or Diego's)

1 large capsicum, diced

1 can of corn, drained and rinsed

1/2 bunch of coriander, finely chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 bag of spinach

1 cup tasty cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Salsa

1. Heat a little olive oil in a medium sized pot. Sautee the garlic and ginger. Add the tomatoes, vinegar, smoke flavour and hot sauce. Reduce. When thickened add the chives and coriander. Blend. Cool in the fridge.

Guacamole

2. Mix ingredients together. Season to taste

Quesadillas

3. Place corn, capsicum, coriander, spinach and cheese on one tortilla. Top with another like a sandwich.

4. Heat fry pan to hot. Place quesadilla in the pan. Weigh down with something (e.g. a another heavy based pan). When browned underneath, turn over with a spatula. Remove when cheese melted.

5. Serve with guacamole and salsa.

NOTE: If you are sensitive to the guacamole or the sauce you can just leave these out. I find that you use so little (about 1 tablespoon of guacamole and 2 teaspoons of salsa) over the whole meal that it's fine. 

VARIATION: Serve also with some greek yoghurt.

Cauliflower and Broccoli Pasta Bake

1 x 500g packet of gluten free penne

1 head of brocolli, roughly chopped

1 head of cauli flower, roughly chopped

6 anchovies

1 tsp of dried thyme

3 dried chillies, crumbled

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

salt

pepper

1 cup of parmesan cheese

1 tbsp of butter

1 tbsp of flour (Gluten free if sensitive)

500 mls of milk

1/2 tsp of nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 200C 

2. Heat one pot of salted boiling water and a vegetable steamer to boiling.

3. Put vegetables in the vegie steamer. Remove when just soft through. Set aside to cool a little.

4. Put pasta in salted water. Cook until just before al dente (if you over cook it the pasta bake won't have any structure). Drain, set aside.

5. While the pasta and vegies are cooking make up a white sauce using half the cheese - melt butter, add flour, cook for one minute, slowly add milk while whisking. whisk until thickening, add cheese and nutmeg and whisk further. Season to taste. Set aside.

5. Chop up the vegetables into bite sized pieces. In a fry pan, fry up anchovies, thyme and chillies in a little olive oil. Add the vegetables. Coat with olive oil and spice mix. Fry until a little browned.

6. To construct pasta bake. Empty can of tomatos into a baking dish/casserol dish. Add the vinegar to taste. Add the pasta and veggies a little at a time so mixed. Cover with white sauce. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan.

7. Bake until brown on top.

8. Serve with salad

Variations - Add some pinenuts to last minute of frying veggies off. 

Spanakopita Pie

2 x 250g packets of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of water

1 bunch of dill, finely chopped

1/2 bunch of parsley, finely chopped

1 bunch of chives, finely chopped

500g of low fat ricotta

250 g of low fat feta, crumbled

1 tsp of nutmeg

1 tbsp of lemon zest

1 egg

1 tbsp of melted butter

1/2 packet of filo pastry* 

1. Pre heat oven to 180C

2. Mix together the spinach, herbs, cheese, nutmeg, lemon zest and egg. Season with salt and pepper. You should end up with a smooth creamy mix.

3. Brush baking tin or casserol dish with better. Line with two layers of filo leaving a little pastry overhanging around the edges. Brush with butter. 

4. Place spinach mix in the lined tin. Cover the top with two more layers of filo brushed with butter. Fold over the overhanding edges.

5. Bake in oven until golden brown on top (20-30 minutes).

* Filo pastry does contain wheat but because it a very thin pastry and you only use a small amount, each slice of pie includes relatively little wheat (as compared to regular pastry in a pie). I don't find this small amount of wheat to be a problem. People who are very sensitive to wheat could use gluten free puff pastry or they could add 2 extra eggs and do without the pastry altoether. This would make a spinach fritatta rather than a pie.

Deep Fried Tofu

These little lumps of fried goodness are a great treat and a quick and easy entree for any dinner party.

Serves 3-4 people as an entree
- 1 packet of silken tofu
- 2 tbsp of corn flour
- 2 cups of vegetable oil
- chilli flakes
- salt
- dipping sauce*

1. Heat oil in a wok, pot or deep fryer.
2. Cut tofu into large cubes. From 1 packet you can get about 10-12 cubes.
3. When oil is very hot (look for a shimmer on the top but no smoke), lightly dust each tofu cube in corn flour and lower into the oil on an egg flip. The Tofu is very fragile so this should be done with care. Fry until lightly browned all over and drain on paper towel. The tofu should be nice and crunchy on the outside and soft and silky in the middle. .
4. Sprinkle with salt and chilli flakes and serve with dipping sauce(s) of your choice.

Tip: It is best to cook the tofu in batches as the oil  temperature drops and the pieces stick together if the pan is too crowded

The dipping sauce you serve really makes or breaks this dish as the tofu itself is quite mild in flavour. You can go with just plain lemon or lime if you want something subtle but I prefer something a little more spicy such as nuoc cham or sweet chilli sauce (most commercial sweet chilli sauces are fructose friendly but you can also make your own if you like).

Bi Bim Bap

Serves 2 - 3

• 1 cup of white rice
• 1 large zuchinni, julienne sliced
• 1 cup bean shoots
• 1 carrot, julienne sliced
• soy sauce
• sesame oil
• egg

Sauce

• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp miso paste
• 2 tbsp sambal oelek

1. Cook the rice.
2. Mix together sauce ingredients to taste (the miso cuts the chilli factor down a lot so adding or reducing the miso alters the heat).
3. Put bean shoots in a pot of water with a little salt. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
4. Stir fry the zucchini in a little sesame oil and soy sauce. Set aside.
5. Stir fry the carrot. Set aside.
6. Place the rice in two bowls. Top with the vegetables in little piles.
7. Fry an egg, sunny side up. Place on top of vegetables. Add sauce.
8. Serve, Stir, Eat.

Alternatives: 

Baked: if you have access to a hot pot that can go in the oven it is worth baking the dish.  Prepare up to step 5. Put rice in a lightly oiled hot pot. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Add the vegetables and top with the cracked egg egg and cook for a further 5 minutes until the egg is just set. Serve in the hotpot if possible.

Cheese: Adding some cheese before putting the vegetables on the rice is a nice addition (not very authentic but nice). A mild cheese is best. This is particularly good if baking the dish as the rice and cheese get nice and crispy.

Meat: you can include meat if you want. Cut finely, marinate in soy sauce. Stir fry and add some sesame seeds at the last minute.

Pumpkin Soup

• 4 cups of pumpkin, peeled and diced
• 1 large potato, peeled and diced 
• 1 carrot finely chopped
• 2 sticks of celery finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic
• 500ml beef stock (check for onion/dehydrated vegetables - massell does a good FF one which is also vegetarian)
• 500ml water
• 1 cup of milk/cream
• 2 tbsp diced chives
• 1 tbsp olive oil

1. Sautee the carrot, celery and garlic in the olive oil. Sweat until soft and going golden.
2. Add pumpkin, stock and water. Bring to boil and let to simmer for 1 hour.
3. Blend with a stick blender and add milk/cream, chives and seasoning to taste.
4. Serve garnished with parsley and, if you like, sour cream/yogurt/cream.

Alternatives: you can use half pumpkin/half sweet potato if you like. Also, I have had a nice version which used some curry powder and coriander.

Grilled Vegetable and Proscuitto Salad

This is a nice variation on this salad I published a few months back which doesn't require an oven.

• 4 cups of rocket, rinsed and dried
• 1 medium eggplant, diced
• 1 medium zucchini, diced
• 1/4 cup of shaved parmesan
• 100g finely sliced proscuitto, shredded
• 1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

1. Salt the eggplant and zucchini and sit in a sieve over a bowl for 30 minutes or more. Once the bitter liquid has come out of them, rinse the salt off and pat them dry with paper towel.
2. Heat up 1/2 tbsp of olive oil in a fry pan. Fry the eggplant and zucchini until cooked through and browned on the edges. Set aside.
3. Toss together, rocket, parmesan and prosciutto. Top with cooked vegetables.
4. Mix together remaining oil, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Pour on salad. Toss and serve.

Alternative: you could leave out the proscuitto to make this vegetarian. If I did this I think I would stir some pesto in to the dressing or add a couple of finely sliced sun dried tomatoes to give it a bit more zing.

Fattoush

• 1 cucumber, finely sliced with a mandolin
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 125g greek style fetta, crumbled
• 2 roma tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
• 1/2 cup herbs (mind, coriander, continental parsley)
• 1 colve garlic
• 2 large slices of FF oat bread
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1tsp sumac
• 2 cups, butter lettuce
• 1 tbsp olive oil

1. Sprinkle salt on cucumber slices and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Rinse salt off cucumber in a mesh strainer and squeeze as much water as you can out of it.
3. Add vinegar, stir. Sit for 15 minutes.
4. Add fetta, tomato and sumac to cucumber and set aside.
5. Brush bread with olive oil and grill. Rub with garlic.
6. Mix herbs, lettuce and tomato/cucumber mix with lemon juice.
7. Rib up bread and add to top of salad just before serving so still crunchy.

Pumpkin, Fetta and Pine Nut Salad

• 500g pumpkin, diced
• 1 tbsp, olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 4 handfuls of baby spinach
• 200g fetta cheese, crumbled
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Brush oven tray with olive oil and put on pumpkin and drizzle with a little extra oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until soft.
2. On another tray spread pine nuts. Toast in oven until golden (~5mins).
3. Cool pine nuts and pumpkin. Mix all ingredients together. Serve

Suggestion: Use balsamic vinegar and oil or balsamic glaze as a dressing instead of the lemon and oregano.

Light Potato Salad

Serves 4

• 16 baby potatoes
• Handful dill, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp finely chopped chives
• 2 tbsp Sour cream
• 2 tbsp Egg Mayonnaise
• Lime, juiced
• Salt and pepper

1. Boil potatoes until just tender. Drain.
2. Add mayonnaise, lime, sour cream and salt and pepper while still warm.
3. Refridgerate until cold and add herbs.

Corn Fritters

• 1 can of corn, drained and rinsed
• 6 tbsp of gluten free self raising flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup crumbled greek fetta
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• salt and pepper
• canola oil

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Heat 1.5 cm of oil in a heavy fry pan until very hot
3. Place 1/2 cup size portions into oil to make little corn "pikelets". Cook until brown on bottom and flip.
4. When cooked on both sides, sit on paper towel.
5. Serve hot or cold with raita or tatziki dip.

Vietnamese Style Soup

This is a bit of a hit and miss recipe so be sure to taste as you go along.
Serves 2

• 1 small clove garlic, finely sliced
• 1 inch ginger/galangal, finely sliced
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 red chilli, finely sliced (sambal oelek can be used instead)
• 1 bruised lemongrass stalk
• 1 tbsp of chives, finely sliced
• 1/4 coriander leaves and root, roughly chopped
• 1-2 limes, juiced
• 500ml chicken stock
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• rice noodles (already softened in boiling water), meat, vegetables as available 

1. Sautee garlic and half of the ginger in a little vegetable oil. Add stock, lemongrass, lime leaves, fish sauce (to taste), chilli and vegetables/meat. Bring to boil and simmer until vegetables/meat cooked.
2. Add noodles, lime juice (to taste), herbs and remaining ginger

Suggestions: Smoked chicken

Pumpkin Risotto

Serves 4

• 1/2 butternut pumpkin, diced
• 1tsp olive oil
• 2 cups of arborio rice
• 1L chicken stock, hot
• 1 cup of dry white wine
• 1 tbsp of parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of chives, finely chopped
• 1 cup of parmesan
• 1/2 clove of garlic

1. Preheat oven to 220C. Lightly brush base of a baking tray with olive oil. Spread pumpkin over it and put in oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until soft and a little brown.
2. Heat the rest of the oil and sautee garlic and then rice for 2 minutes. Add the wine. Cook until reduced.
3. Slowly add hot stock 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring and waiting for each bit to reduce until adding more.
4. When rice is soft and stock absorbed. Set aside for five minutes.
5. Add herbs and cheese to taste (you will not need all the parmesan).
6. Serve with remaining parmesan and a green salad.

Vegetarian Stir Fry

Serves: 4

• 1 red capsicum, diced
• 1 zucchini, cut in half and then sliced to 0.5cm
• 1 bunch broccolini, cut into 3cm sticks, set the stalks aside from the heads
• 1 carrot, diced to 1cm cubed and blanched in boiling water for 5mins then drained.
• 2cm of ginger, finely sliced into batons
• 1 small clove of garlic finely diced (you could use garlic flavoured oil when cooking the vegetables instead of fresh garlic)
• 1tsp of fish sauce
• 1 tsp of soy sauce
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 tbsp of lime or lemon juice
• 1 birds-eye chilli, de-seeded and finely diced
• 1 handful of fresh coriander leaves
• 4 eggs very lightly beaten
• vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp of peanut oil

1. Mix fish sauce, soy, sugar, juice and chilli. Set aside.
2. In a wok or large fry pan heat up sufficient vegetable oil to fill to 1cm. When very hot, pour in the egg. Swirl in the pan to make an omelette. Turn when brown on bottom. When cooked, remove from oil onto a paper towel.
3. Empty pan of oil and reheat dry pan. Return omelette to pan to crisp upon both sides. Remove, roll, slice into ribbons and set aside.
4. Heat up peanut oil in pan. When very hot add the carrots and broccolini stalks. Fry for 2 mins. Add 1tbsp of hot water and place lid on pan until it has steamed off and vegetables are just soft.
5. Add remaining vegetables and stir fry until cooked and a little blackened.
6. Add sauce, egg and coriander. Taste and adjust the sauce seasonings (the fish sauce and juice can vary in their flavour so the measurements above are a guide only).

Fried Rice

Serves 6

• 3 cups of cooked brown rice (preferably cooked the night before)
• 1 red capsicum, diced
• 1 green capsicum, diced
• 1 carrot, diced (cooked with a little water in microwave for 3 minutes, drain)
• 1/2 cup of corn kernels (you could use fresh, canned or frozen)
• 4 eggs, very lightly beaten
• 2 birds-eye chilli, de-seeded and finely sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 cm of ginger, finely grated
• 2tbsp of light soy
• 1 bunch of chives, finely chopped
• 1 handful of finely chopped coriander (optional)
• 1/2 tbsp of sesame oil
• 1/2 tbsp of vegetable oil
• vegetable oil

1. In a wok or large fry pan heat up sufficient vegetable oil to fill to 1cm. When very hot, pour in the egg. Swirl in the pan to make an omelette. Turn when brown on bottom. When cooked, remove from oil onto a paper towel.
2. Empty pan of oil and reheat dry pan. Return omelette to pan to crisp upon both sides. Remove, roll, slice into ribbons and set aside.
3. Heat up the sesame and vegetable oil until hot. Add vegetables and toss. When they are cooked and a little brown at the edges add the rice.
4. Toss until a little browned. Add soy, herbs and omelette and toss together. Adjust soy to taste.

Alternatives:  The vegetables here can be varied as you wish (I usually make it from left over odds and sods). Broccolini is a good for example. You could also also add some meat for a non-vegetarian version - lap cheong chinese sausage, bacon and chicken are all good. It is best to fry it separately and add towards the end. Some prawns could also be added towards the end of cooking.

Minestrone Soup

Serves 6-8


Cooking Time: 45 minutes

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 cup pumpkin, diced
• 100g smoked bacon, finely diced (omit for vegetarian version)
• 1 bunch basil, stalks finely chopped, leaves torn
• 1/2 cup red wine 
• 400g can of chopped tomatoes
• 2 small courgettes, diced
• 400g can of borlotti beans
• 1 medium bunch, silverbeet, stalks diced, leaves chopped roughly
• 1 cup of GF pasta (I used Orgran Animal Shapes)
• 750ml FF chicken or vegetable stock
• Parmesan cheese/basil pesto to serve

1. Heat oil in large saucepan. Add celery, carrot, pumpkin, basil stalks and bacon. Reduce heat, cover pan with lid just ajar and sweat vegetables for 10-15 minutes or until just soft.
2. Add courgettes, tomatoes and wine. Simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add silverbeet, beans, stock and pasta. Simmer until pasta is cooked (10 minutes). If at any point the soup is too thick for your liking, add a little water.
4. Serve with fresh basil leaves on top and some grated parmesan or a tablespoon of basil pesto.

(Modified version of recipe in Jamie Oliver, Jamie's Italy, Penguin, 2010)

This recipe is suitable for freezing but beware the gluten free pasta will not hold up well to this. It may be worth omitting it and adding it when reheating. I usually blend the soup for freezing anyway as the veggies loose a bit of their texture in freezing.