Tag: red onion

Rick Stein’s Pickled Onion and Pineapple Salad

.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 6

This is a really simple, colourful, Rick Stein Indian salad that perfectly cuts through fatty Indian dishes such as pork curries.

Ingredients

1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sugar
300gm pineapple, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
A few fresh coriander leaves

Method

  1. Toss the onions together with the vinegar, sugar and salt and leave to marinate for an hour.
  2. Strain off any excess liquid, then toss the onions with the pineapple chunks, scatter with coriander and serve.

Martha Stewart’s Poached-Chicken-Salad Sandwiches

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

This is a pretty classic, Martha Stewart sandwich and one I’ve done plenty of times.

Just add a well buttered baguette – toasted if you can – butter lettuce and avocado.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
1 small yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp raisins
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
3 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves
Baguette, halved lengthways, toasted and buttered
Butter lettuce pieces
Avocado

Method

  1. In a pot, cover chicken breast and yellow onion with water by 2cm; season generously with salt. Bring to a boil over a high-heat; cover, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes.
  2. Remove the pit from the heat and let stand, covered for 12 – 14 minutes until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the water and let cool completely.
  3. Shred the chicken, then mix with walnuts, raisins, celery, red onion, mayonnaise, yogurt and tarragon.
  4. Assemble the sandwiches with the toasted baguette, chicken mixture, lettuce and avocado.

Martha Stewart’s Pea Salad

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

We had an amazing Bill Granger Pea Salad last week and inspired, I was looking up pea salads we could serve this week along with some spicy lamb meatballs we we’re having for dinner.

This recipe came up a lot.

I used Parmesan rather than Cheddar and I cooked and then refreshed the peas rather then letting them de-thaw in the salad in the fridge for 4 hours… something you are most welcome to do if you wish.

The reason I’ve typed it up of course is that is a fantastic salad.

So much so that the next day, I did a double batch for a BBQ pool party and everyone loved it. Even kids.

Get onto this!

(Note: we cook our greens in the microwave; a dash of water in a microwave dish and you have crunchy, crisp greens without the need to boil or broil… In typing up this recipe, I haven’t prescribed how to cook the peas and however you do it, enjoy.)

Ingredients

1/4 cup (low fat) egg mayonnaise
1/4 cup (low fat) sour cream
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
500gm frozen baby peas
1/4 cup, packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
60gm, Parmesan cheese, shaved or grated
120gm smoked bacon

Method

  1. Cook the bacon in a large frypan over a medium heat until browned and becoming crispy: around 10 minutes. Drain well on paper towel and then julienne.
  2. Cook the peas until warmed through; refresh in cold water.
  3. Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream and vinegar in a large bowl; season generously with salt and pepper. Fold in the peas, onion and parsley.
  4. Refrigerate until needed and gently fold in the Parmesan and bacon just before serving.

Paprika Chicken with Pico de Gallo

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

This Frank Camorra dish is a doozy.

Super simple, super healthy (haloumi aside I guess), super weekday cooking.

It is Monday night in a nutshell when you need a glimmer of hope – and possibly a vino – to know that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are within reach.

Save the calories for Friday night and start the week with a Mexican-style chicken breast.

(We used the leftover Pico de Gallo with some pan-fried tuna the next night, adding olives and chopped preserved lemons… two for one and another weekday win!)

Ingredients

1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 chicken breasts
4 large ripe tomatoes, diced
1 Spanish onion, finely diced
½ bunch coriander, leaf and stalk chopped
1 Jalapeno chilli, finely diced
2 limes, juiced
400gm haloumi cheese
Salt
Salad greens to serve

Method

  1. Mix the paprika and oil in a bowl; add the chicken and mix well until coated. Cover with clingwrap and leave to marinate for an hour.
  2. Add the tomatoes, onion, coriander, chilli and lime juice to a bowl and mix well.
  3. Heat the barbeque or grill. When hot, grill the chicken until well coloured on both sides and cooked through.
  4. Cut the haloumi into 4 eve slices and grill for a few minutes on each side. Cut into smaller pieces.
  5. Slice the chicken breasts in half and place on your plates. Place the cut haloumi around the chicken and then spoon the Pico de Gallo liberally over the chicken.
  6. Serve with the salad greens.

Burmese Pork and Noodles

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Burmese Pork and Noodles

Serves: 4

This has to be your next, healthy, mid-week meal.

It is as if you grabbed takeaway on the way home, achieved with so little prep and 30-minutes of simmering: enough to pour that second glass of wine and squint to the weekend.

We minced a lean pork fillet (using a food processor) and it was awesome. Healthy, great consistency, the whole bit.

Add the noodles, the sauces and plenty of condiments and this is as fun as it is tasty.

Should I stop?

Ingredients

2 tbsp peanut oil
500 pork scotch fillet, minced or finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ tsp turmeric
1 star anise
4 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
125ml chicken stock
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
200gm dried rice noodles
50gm snow pea sprouts
Roasted and salted peanuts, chopped
Red chilli flakes

Method

  1. Heat half the oil in a wok over a high heat. Stir-fry the pork for 5 minutes until golden. Set aside, draining the liquid.
  2. Wipe clean the wok and add the remaining oil, over a medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and stir-fry for a few minutes until soft. Add the turmeric and star anise and toss to combine.
  3. Add the pork, tomato and stock. Simmer for 30 minutes until the liquid is largely reduced. Stir through the soy and fish sauces. Season with salt as necessary.
  4. Cook the noodles following the instructions and drain.
  5. Divide the noodles and pork mixture among 4 bowls and top with the sprouts, peanuts and chilli flakes.

Garlic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

.Reading time 1 minute.

Garlic Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Serves: 4 – 6

Haven’t brussel sprouts come into vogue?!

They’re the go to as a side in every second Sydney bistro at the moment, especially the sauteed kind with any number of accompaniments including bacon, pistachios, cranberries and of course, lots of garlic.

See you later rocket, pear and shaved Parmesan salad!

This simple take on them is as good as anything you’ll get dining out.

Indeed, experiment with a few additions and make it lunch. Or as a simpler side to pretty much any chicken/pork/whatever dish and you really do have a winner on your hands.

Just make sure to give them the occasionally stir so they don’t char too much on top whilst cooking.

Ingredients

1 kg fresh Brussels sprouts, cut in half (or quarters if sprouts are large)
6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
1 medium red onion, sliced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 180c.
  2. In a baking dish, carefully combine all the ingredients and shake the dish until the brussel sprouts are even.
  3. Cook for 20 – 25 minutes.

Oliver’s Guacamole

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: Oliver

In a cooking blog that is meant to discover and inspire, it might seem a little odd to put up a guacamole recipe. According to Google, there are 2.380 million of the recipes out there and so it is safe to say that we don’t need another.

Except that it wasn’t until recently when I had a fresh guacamole and then made my own batch at home that  I remembered just how awesome guacamole is. It is so spirited and exciting and fresh. And so healthy that the top result about guacamole in Google describes it as almost ‘superfood’.

I’ll run with that!

Also, this blog being for my boys so that they have a bunch of tested recipes to cook for their friends and family, Oliver (8), the eldest who is really picky and plain about food, demolished this guacamole. By itself, he would never touch avocado, red onion or coriander… or any of the ingredients.

He would just eat the corn chips and be done with it.

But he will eat this guacamole by the bucket and that is a great way to get great foods into him.

It is also why it’s called Oliver’s Guacamole.

Enjoy it like he does and go all in with the flavour!

Ingredients

Avocados
Red onion, minced
Garlic, mashed with salt
Lime Juice
Cumin
Tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
Salt
Coriander leaves
Plain corn chips

Method

  1. Mash the avocados roughly with the lime juice.
  2. Mix through the remaining ingredients except the coriander and correct the seasoning.
  3. Garnish with the coriander.