Spiced mince with hummus (Good eats update)

I once had a wonderful flat mate in Barcelona who was from a Swedish-Kurdish background and she used to make on occasion these delicious spiced meat balls stuffed with Feta. This week I tried to replicate something similar that followed the paleo diet for my family.

This delicious recipe is a bit time consuming so is always best prepared ahead of time - The actual cooking time needed is minimal! I was lucky enough to have my boyfriend help me out in the kitchen so I assigned him all the boring jobs hehe..

There were 3 separate dishes I made to complement each other - Spiced meat balls, Hummus & a beetroot and yogurt salad. This meal feeds approximately 6 people.

My Mexican kitchen hand 

Ready to be cooked!

Spiced meatballs

Ingredients:
1.5 - 2 kg of Prime beef mince
250g Feta cheese
2 tsp Ground cumin
1 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp Ground coriander
1 egg
Almond meal
1 tsp sea salt

Method:
1. In a large bowel mix together well the mince, spices, egg and salt. Mix till even in consistency
2. Take small portions of the mince into your hands and roll into an oval shape
3. Insert a small piece of feta inside the meat ball and close over
4. Roll the meat ball in Almond meal and set aside to complete the rest
5. To cook - For 30 minutes slowly cook the meatballs on a BBQ or optionally pan-fry

Hummus

Ingredients:
2x 300g Canned chickpeas
2 Tbsp Tahini
Juice of a lemon
1 Garlic clove
Salt to taste
1/4 cup - 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil (depending on what consistency you prefer)
Smoked paprika

Method:
1. Drain and wash the chickpeas and place in a food processor - Plus for 30 seconds
2. Add all ingredients and blend till smooth
3. Scoop all hummus into the bowl of your choice and pour a little extra oil and sprinkle some smoked paprika on top.

Beetroot & Yogurt Salad

Ingredients:
4-5 Beetroot
1 Red pepper
15 Cherri tomatoes (home grown preferred - 'tis the season)
1 Bag of baby spinach
Large bunch of free Basil
1/2 cup of natural Greek yogurt
1/2 cup of broken almonds

1. Wash, peel and cut the beetroot into 2cm squared pieces
2. Mix the beetroot in a roasting dish with a little rice bran oil and salt.
3. Put into the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes or until just cooked.
4. Take out of over and let completely cool.
5. Cut the pepper and tomatoes and place in a large salad bowl with the spinach loose underneath.
6. Cut the basil loosely and mix into the salad bowl.
7. Place the cooled beetroot on top of the salad and pour the yogurt on top
8. Finish the salad off by sprinkling the broken almonds on top.

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as my family did!

X

Snow balls - Raw treats!

This is a very simple and delicious recipe for all sweet-lovers.. No processed sugar added and simple raw ingredients to take away the guilt of enjoying this sweet and tasty surprise.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Raw cocoa
1/4 cup Extra virgin coconut oil
1 cup Coconut
1 Vanilla bean pod
A pinch of sea salt


Method:
1. In a big bowl mix all ingredients till it is mixed well and has a sticky consistency
2. take small amounts and roll into balls with the palms of your hands
3. Roll the ball in more coconut and put into a storage container
4. Place in the fridge or freezer for at least an hour

So delicious and easy to make!

Steak salad with dukkah

My night to cook for the whanau and I was pretty excited about this one as we have recently acquired two new recipe books in the house! 

'Simple Pleasures' by Annabel Langbein (you can also catch her on TV, I really like her... She seems so down-to-earth and has a garden to die for!). And the second Revive Cafe cook book! I was so stoked to hear about this release!!!! The first Revive Cafe book literally changed the way I approached cooking and I have never looked back since - If you haven't heard about it.. GET INVOLVED! It is completely vegetarian but FULL of the most amazing recipes!

Anyway.. Tonight I took a recipe from 'Simple Pleasures' and added my own twist on it, purely because I lacked a few ingredients :)

I won't share the recipe here as I do believe that if you really want it you should buy her amazing recipe book - However if you want to cook it and you are broke like me you can email me and I will lend you a few secrets ;)

I first created a Dukkah mix which for me included: cashew nuts, almonds, sesame seeds, coriander seeds,  cumin seeds and fennel seeds. 

Then I made a balsamic glaze and marinated the sirloin steak in this for a few hours - I also added some extra salt&pepper and coriander. To add some depth and volume to the salad I prepared red peppers, eggplants and pumpkin to grill on the BBQ also.

Needless to say this meal was an absolute HIT with all members of the tribe and we ate well :)

Healthy eating everyone !!!!

Blogged by: Megan

Chicken Casserole & Smashed Kumara

It is my cooking night again and I have decided to go with one of my Dad's famous in-house recipes. It is so simple and tastes extremely good so thought it would be a handy one to share with all those who want to impress with their cooking skills without really doing too much work.

I was also asked today to write an entry for another blog on my crazy obsession for the super spice Turmeric so I thought that I could show an easy way to tie in a spoon or two into your diet without cooking a curry which people traditionally think of when using this wonder spice.

Check out link below to see what I wrote at The Mind Body Connect:

https://m.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=376248009126953&__user=611785351

Happy Face :)

As I mentioned in a previous post my boyfriend Juan is from Argentina and his English is better than mine, but there are a few words that pop up now and again which are quite cute and make me smile - And so for the reasoning behind calling mashed kumara 'Smashed Kumara'. He thought all this time I was saying I was going to smash the kumara - LOL anyway I thought it was cute.

Once again I am cooking for my monster family of 6 so adjust proportions as you see fit! AND of course once again this is a dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free meal :)

Ingredients:
1Kg Chicken thigh cutlets
5 rashers of bacon
3 Onions
3 cloves of garlic (crushed or smashed hehe)
Couple of handfuls of mushrooms (these can be as much or as little as you want and of any variety of mushroom)
1 can of coconut cream
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 tsp of Rice flour (to thicken)
1 tsp of Thyme
1 tsp salt
Pepper for seasoning

3-4 large kumara
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
2 tsp whole grain mustard
1/2 cup of Rice milk

Method:
 - Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius
1. Cook diced onions and crushed garlic with a little bit of oil (grapeseed is preferable)  in a large oven proof dish over the element on a medium-high heat.
2. Cut chicken to desired size (however if they are small enough cutlets I just put them in whole) and add with bacon to dish when onion has slightly cooked.
3. Also chuck in the mushrooms and cook everything until the chicken has seared lightly on the surface (you do not need to cook the chicken completely as this will be done slowly in the oven)
4. Add coconut cream and chicken stock so that the chicken and other ingredients are just covered by the liquid.
5. Add Thyme, salt & pepper and stir through all the ingredients.
6. Sprinkle the rice flour over top and mix through thoroughly and you will see the liquid thickens a little bit.
7. Take the dish off the element, place the lid on top and put in pre-heated oven for 2 hours. During the cooking time of 2 hours it is advisable that you take it out of the oven half way through and stir slightly.
8. While the chicken casserole is in the oven peel, cut and boil the kumara until soft.
9. Add all remaining ingredients and SMASH it all together!

I served this also with steamed beans & broccoli - Do NOT forget to eat your GREENS !

Happy Healthy Eating Everyone !

Blogged by: Megan