I used to think cucumber was boring UNTIL I had a bumper crop this Summer. After coming up with creative ways to eat cucumber for weeks, I discovered that this humble veg is actually a textural powerhouse. All it needs is some umami and heat to bring it to life like in this Crispy Chilli Cucumber Bowl.
Mushrooms are one of my favourite veg. I love their earthy meatiness. Especially when combined here with the creamy comfort of butter beans.
When I was little I hated cauliflower but I LOVED when Mum made Cauliflower Cheese. The ooze cheesy bechemel sauce was so worth it. Now cauli is one of my fave veggies I actually prefer this EASY Cauliflower Cheese Recipe.
On so many levels this dish has absolutely nothing to do with Paella – the classic Spanish dish of rice, stock and seafood cooked in a wide shallow paella pan.
Here’s a delicious hack if you ever need to cook for someone who doesn’t eat oil.
Did you know you can buy grated carrot from the supermarket?
Is this going to be the same as an oozy creamy risotto made with real Italian arborio rice? No.
Warm cabbage is my go-to when I’m looking for an alternative to a big bowl of pasta. Especially this Quick Tuna Cabbage & Pesto recipe.
One of the things I love about eating (mostly) Low Carb, is how the constraint actually sparks creativity in my cooking.
This is one of my go-to sides all year round. Reliable. Dependable. It’s a girl’s best friend type of salad.
Just so you know, I don’t use the term ‘best ever’ lightly. But in this case I really feel it’s well deserved. The first time I made this I thought we were going to have loads of leftovers for breakfast / lunch but my Irishman loved it so much he polished off the whole bowl in one sitting… An accolade usually reserved for dishes involving potatoes… The highest praise!
Shaved cabbage salad with parmesan and lemon juice has been on high rotation as a side salad at our place for a while now. It’s a brilliant recipe to have up your sleeve because cabbage lasts in the fridge for weeks (months even), much longer than salad leaves.
This is going to sound like a big call but I’m willing to ‘go there’ anyway. This was my favourite thing on our table this Christmas. Yep better than the deep fried turkey – although only just. Man was that one tasty turkey. But back to the salad, it has such freshness and vibrancy yet the noodles provide the comfort you’d normally expect from a bowl of spaghetti. I’ve been serving it mostly as a side salad this Summer but it would only take a poached egg, some sardines, a generous handful of shaved Parmesan or a little cooked chicken to turn it into a meal.
This is one of those fab little one pot meals that is equally welcome on an ordinary Wednesday night as it is for Sunday bunch.
Rice can be a hassle to cook without it going ‘gluggy’. Finely grated raw veg only take a fraction of the time and end up lovely and fluffy every time. Plus it’s a really easy way to get more veg into your diet.
I’m super excited about these burgers. At last a vegetarian burger that celebrates one of my favourite veggies. The yoghurt sauce is super simple and a great thing to have up your sleeve. It’s amazing what a little salt and pepper can do to a good quality natural yoghurt.
I’ve been really getting into grated raw zucchini as an ingredient. I love the mild ‘greenish’ flavour but the best part is all the moisture in the zucchini keeps your salad or whatever lovely and moist. My Irishman had this salad for lunch at work and he was raving about it so much he took a photo and sent it to me. High praise indeed!
This Winter steamed cabbage has become my favourite favourite go-to when I’m looking for an alternative to a big bowl of pasta. It ticks all the same boxes of deliciousness, ease and comfort. But it’s even quicker to cook than most pastas.
While soft, silky aubergine is a thing of beauty, under-cooked aubergine is one of the worst thing you can put in your mouth. The first time I made this I was a little nervous about getting the aubergine cooked within 10 minutes, but to my surprise it was a cinch.
I love a good chilli con carne but sometimes a veggie chilli is what you need to hit the spot.
There's something really magical about dusting cooked food in a spice mix just before eating. Not only do you get the beautiful spiced flavours, it also coats the chicken to give a slightly crunchy crust. So good and so little effort!
Red bell peppers, or capsicum as we call them here in Australia are such an underrated vegetable. They seem so common place, boring almost but when you roast them quickly like in this dish, they transform into a complex sauce. It's almost a bit of kitchen magic!
I know anything with sun-dried tomatoes sounds so 1990s. But after a dismal tomato season and missing out on lots of home grown oven roasted tomatoes, I was compelled to pick up a jar of sun dried tomatoes in the supermarket.
So my first foray into the world of cauliflower based hummus recipes was this super delicious Roast Cauli Hummus.
