Spicy cold chicken salad

1 double chicken breast (200g)
1/2 lebanese cucumber
2 sprigs spring onion or shallots (depending on preference)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp white pepper
salt (to taste)
dried chilli flakes (to taste)

1. To poach the chicken breast, bring water or stock to a low simmer in a pot. I used a vegetable stock with lemongrass & star anise in it. This isn’t strictly necessary, so feel free to just use water or vegetable stock by itself.

2. Pop the chicken breast in and top the liquid up so that the chicken breast is submerged by at least 2cm. Now heat the pot up until the liquid boils and then reduce back to a simmer. Simmer for five minutes then turn the heat right off, put a lid on and pop the pot to one side for 15 minutes. Pull the chicken out at the 15 minute mark and it should be moist and just done. Plunge the chicken in ice water to stop the cooking process and then shred finely.

3. Remove the cucumber’s seeds and then shred or grate the cucumber up to look like green worms. Chill to keep crisp. Chop the shallots or spring onions up into 5mm pieces.

4. Mix the remaining ingredients together and toss with the chicken, cucumber & shallots. Serve cold.

Cabbage Salad

100 grams peas, podded (about 250gm unpodded)
500 grams Chinese cabbage, shredded finely
1 long red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, julienne
80 grams parmesan, finely shaved (use a sharp knife, or a peeler to get fine slivers of cheese)
1 handful basil leaves, finely shredded

100 ml extra virgin olive oil
50 ml lemon juice

For dressing: Whisk olive oil and lemon juice together, season.

Blanch peas in boiling salted water until bright green (1-2 minutes), drain and refresh, drain again and reserve.

Mix cabbage, peas, capsicum, basil, chilli and half the cheese with the dressing. Mix gently (use your hands!) for a few minutes until the cabbage starts to wilt. Adjust seasoning then serve topped with remaining parmesan.

Autumn Panzanella

1/2 loaf bread (sourdough would be lovely, but I used homemade country white)

1 1/2 Tablespoon Tahini
juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
2 zucchini
1/2 spanish onion
1/2 red chilli
2 cloves garlic
handful of rocket

Cube the bread, spread evenly onto baking tray and dry in a warm oven until crunchy.
Slice the zucchini’s and fry til lightly browned in a little olive oil. Remove from pan and add sliced onion and cook lightly. When onion is almost done, add sliced chilli and garlic. Cook for a minute then mix with cooked zucchini in a bowl.
For Dressing:
Mix tahini with olive oil and lemon juice. This dressing will inevitable emulsify so loosen with some water as we want a runny dressing for the croutons to soak up.

Add croutons to vegetables, pour dressing over and mix well. Add rocket and season with sea salt and pepper, mix lightly to dress the leaves evenly.
Serve and eat immediately.

Almost Nicoise

3 soft boiled eggs (cover room-temperature eggs in cold water in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a gentle simmer and cook for 5 mins. Remove and refresh. Peel. The yolks should still be softish and creamy.)
green beans, blanched
100g tinned tuna
potatoes, boiled until tender
2 tomatoes
1/2 spanish onion, finely sliced
salad leaves
olives

for viniagrette:
1T lemon juice,
3T very good extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper.

Stuffed mushrooms

5 large field mushrooms
1 red capsicum, diced finely
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons crumbly goats cheese, or fetta
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1/2 long red chilli, finely sliced
1/2 bunch coriander,
1 tablespoon olive oil.

Remove the stalks from 4 of the mushrooms and set aside. Arrange the 4 stalk-less mushrooms in small baking pan – it is best if they are nestled together in a just big enough vessel.
Cut the stalks and remaining mushroom in a medium dice, set aside. Wash the coriander and finely slice the stalks. Heat a small pan and fry the mushroom with 1/2 the olive oil. Add the coriander stalks, garlic, chilli and capsicum, season with salt and pepper and cook until the mushroom and capsicum are just tender and the flavours have combined. Set aside and mix in toasted pine nuts and crumbled goats cheese.
Fill the mushrooms with the filling mixture. Don’t worry if a little overflows, it will shrink down a bit during cooking. Drizzle over the remaining oil, and add a few tablespoons of water to the pan, in the gaps between the mushrooms. Cover with foil and bake at 180C for about 20 minutes. The mushrooms should be tender. Remove the foil and continue to cook for another few minutes to brown the top and evaporate some of the juices.
Serve hot, warm or cold, topped with chopped coriander leaves.

Silken tofu with garlic ponzu dressing

Garlic-Ponzu sauce

Prepare the night before, and it will keep, after straining, in the fridge for up to a week. Makes a great salad dressing or even a dipping sauce for steak.

1 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp dashi granules

1 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp water

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 lemon, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced finely

1 tsp szechuan peppers

Dissolve a teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of dashi granules in the water and mirin in a small pan, until bubbling. Add the soysauce and take off the heat.

Pour over the sliced lemons in a sealable, non-reactive container. Add the minced garlic and peppers, stir and mash the lemons a little to release some juice. Refrigerate overnight.

To serve, strain, squeezing as much of the juice from the lemons as possible, so that a nice citrusy tang is added.

Boil and shell some frozen edamame, according to package instructions, and serve over silken tofu, with chopped spring onions and sauce.

Banana toasted muesli

5 cups rolled oats
4 small ripe bananas
1.5 cups water
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup cashews, chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups sultanas

Preheat oven to 180C and line two baking trays with paper.
Blend banana with the honey, cinnamon, salt and water until smooth.
Mix all remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl and pour the liquidised banana mush over the top. Mix it really well then layer onto trays and bake, stirring occasionally, taking care not to let it burn, until brown, dried out and crisp. Cool completely then store in an airtight container in the fridge. Should last about a week (though it will likely disappear before then).