Pasta Shells

  My mum brought something similar to this over for a potluck a while back and they were the crowd favourite. So when my best friend  who lives in a gluten free flat came down to stay I thought I'd try and recreate it as a special carby treat.

 This is exceedingly simple to make, just a little bit fiddly to stuff. Exercising self control and waiting to photographing the final result on the other hand is profoundly difficult. 

Recipe. 

1 packet of giant pasta shells 

Filling. 

oil for cooking

2 zucchini chopped

1 cup of chopped mushrooms 

1 shallot minced 

2 cloves of garlic minced 

2 cups chopped silverbeet

zest of a lemon 

tub of creme fraiche 

pinch of nutmeg

1/2 grated parmesan 

S&P 

Tomato Sauce. 

2 tins of chopped tomatoes 

1 tbsp brown sugar 

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 tbsp of pesto

Preheat oven to 165 degrees. 

To make the sauce combine everything in a sauce pan and simmer until a rich dark colour.  Layer 1/4 on the bottom of a baking tray.  

Boil the pasta shells until el dante in a big pot of salted boiling water. Strain and layer on top of the sauce in the pan. 

For the filling sauté shallot, garlic, zucchini and mushrooms until collapsing and soft. Stir through the silver beet with a tbsp of water, cover and steam for five minutes. Scrape the vege mix and all of the remaining ingredients into a blender and give it a quick whizz (you want it to still be  a little lumpy). 

Stuff the pasta shells with the filling by which ever means you find easiest. Fill the tray with remaining sauce, add water until the shells are almost completely covered. 

Throw in the oven for around 20 minutes.

Certainly don't get carried away chatting and leave them in for 40.

Whoops.   

x 

Abbey 

     

Tofu Satay Burg.

I served this as dinner two nights in a row and I plan on recreating it again and again... and again. The peanut sauce in particular is SO good  with the fiery south east asian flavours balanced perfectly by cooling cucumber and sprouts. 

Recipe:

Makes 4

Satay Sauce. 

coconut oil for cooking

1 red shallot finally chopped

3 cloves of garlic minced 

thumb of ginger finely chopped

3 red chillies (medium heat) chopped

2 1/2 tbsp kecap manis 

1 tbsp Braggs All Purpose seasoning 

3/4 cup crunchy organic peanut butter

handful or coriander 

juice of a lime 

water to get the desire consistency 

Burger. 

4 wholegrain mini pita breads 

2 thinly sliced radishes

1 cucumber thinly sliced

Alfalfa, brocoli and radish spouts 

2 spring onions white parts sliced

1 packet of firm tofu sliced into 4 

coconut oil for cooking

For the satay sauce gently sweat shallot, garlic and ginger until translucent, add chilli and cook for another minute. Stir in the peanut butter and enough water to make it runny (about 1/2 a cup). Crank up the heat and mix in all of the remaining ingredients and simmer until reduced down to a thick peanut buttery consistency again. Taste at this point as it may need slightly more All Purpose seasoning according to your taste. 

Marinade the tofu in the marinade for as long as you possibly can. 

When your ready to serve scrape off the marinade and throw the tofu into a well oiled and searing hot pan. Fry each side until golden, toast the pitas,layer it up with all of your fillings and extra satay. 

Best little burg ever.

x 

Abbey  

Pistachio Poussin

 I love feeding friends, sharing a meal always makes for such a pleasant evening. 

Especially perfect per person poussin, where everyone gets there own little bird.

That actually sounds a little grotesque, but they really make for a pretty special meal. Even more so when they have been soaking in a fragrant thyme, orange and balsamic marinade and then battered in a pistachio and sour sumac crumb.

YUM. 

Recipe:

4 Poussin 

Marinade. 

Juice of 4 oranges & zest of 2

2 tbsp dried oregano

4 sprigs of lemon thyme 

6 tbsp balsamic 

4 cloves of garlic crushed

glugg of olive oil 

Black pepper

Combine all of the ingredients and rub all over the Poussin, leave to marinade for at least 3 hours but ideally over night in the tray you plan to bake it in. 

Crumb. 

1/2 cup of chopped Pistachios 

1/4 cup of sesame seeds

1/2 cup bread crumbs

zest of one lemon 

2 tbsp sumac 

1/2 cup of grated parmesan 

s&p

Chuck everything through a food processor until it resembles bread crumbs and then rub all over the outside of the birds. 

Place in a oven preheated to 175 degrees for 35 minutes or until cooked through. 

I served ours with a steamed  zucchini and beans drizzled with a  garlic chilli butter and a simple green tabouli salad. 

x

Abbey   

Lemongrass Beef Noodle Salad.

This is a favourite of my dear cousin Tobias and I've been promising him the recipe for years now. He is a super genius and a lover of food too. Well.. being fed at least. 

Im excited to let him loose on the blog at some stage and work his magic creating a sleeker aesthetic. 

Technology, coding and what not are completely unfathomable to me, 

so hurrah for diverse interests and talents.   

    

This Vietnamese inspired salad is simple to prepare but explosive in flavour. Not to mention super healthy. 

Tick, tick, tick! 

Recipe: 

Beef.

2 scotch fillets

Marinade. 

3 pink shallots 

2 cloves of garlic 

1/2 cup of coriander (roots too) 

3 lemongrass stems

1 tbsp fish sauce 

1 tsp cane sugar 

juice of two limes

1 red chilli

s&p

Salad. 

1/4 cup of roasted peanuts

1 cup of shredded mix greens 

handful of mint 

1/2 cup of cooked rice noodles

Chop and combine all of the marinade ingredients and rub into steak. 

Leave to develop for at least 3 hours or over night.

Heat oil in a wok until smoking hot. 

Scrape marinade of the steak and quickly brown on either side. 

Remove steak from the woke and set aside to rest, meanwhile scrape the marinade ingredients back into the hot wok until everything is piping hot. 

Slice steak and mix everything together.

Depending how you like it you might like to add a little more lime or fish sauce to taste. 

mmm 

x

Abbey 

    

Crispy Pork Pancakes.

These tasty little morsels are so satisfying to eat. 

Crispy on the outside and spicy moist on the inside. 

Serve it up with a dipping bowl of sesame, soy and chilli oil. 

The perfect snack. 

Recipe: 

Dough. 

  1 & 3/4 cup of white spelt flour

1/8 cup vegetable oil 

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp salt 

grind of schzewan pepper

pinch of salt 

Mix everything together and kneed until soft to the touch and elastic. Leave to rise in a warm place in a well oiled bowl for two hours. 

Pork Filling. 

450g pork mince 

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1/2 cup grated cabbage  

thumb of chopped ginger

2 whole spring onions

1 clove of garlic 

1/2 cup of coriander

1 chopped red chilli

grind of schzewan 

pinch of salt

Mush all the filling ingredients together with your hands or throw through blender until evenly combined. 

Separate the dough in to six balls and roll out into 2mm thick rounds. Take 1/6 of the pork filling and roll into a ball, place into the centre of each dough. Folding the excess dough over the top of the pork covering it completely and then gently re-roll with a rolling pin until about an inch thick. 

Oil a heavy based fry pan and warm to a medium heat. 

Gently place one pancake at a time flipping regularly until golden.  

Serve piping hot with soy-chilli-sesame concoction of your choice.

x

Abbey