Recipe: Grilled Salmon with Braised Borlotti Beans

Mr R. and I made this last night and it kinda rocked. We got some fresh borlotti beans (a rarity in Australia) and I googled my go-to man in italian cooking - Stefano Manfredi - and away we went! The original recipe is for skate - but given my local fishmonger didn't know what cuttlefish was, I wasn't going to even try and source it.
It is completely gluten and lactose free, and something I'm sure my dietician won't get angry at me for eating :P
This recipe can be found in the original here


Grilled Salmon with Braised Borlotti Beans

• 4 salmon portions, small & skinless
• 2 cups fresh borlotti beans, shelled (or 2 x 400g tins)
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 eschalots, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 250 g roma tomatoes, diced
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 4 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon wedges, to serve

1. If using fresh borlotti beans, place in pot with plenty of cold water. Bring to boil, cover with lid and lower heat to simmer 25-30 minutes until tender. Allow to cool in liquid.
2. In a pan, heat 4 tbsp of olive oil. Lightly fry eschalots and garlic until soft. Add chopped tomatoes, thyme and oregano. Add 2-3 pinches of salt, mix well and simmer gently for 15 minutes. 
3. If using canned borlotti beans, drain and wash well. Otherwise, drain cooked beans. Add to simmering tomato mix. Mix well. Add parsley and simmer for 10 minutes. Check for salt. Add freshly ground pepper. 
4. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil on a barbecue plate or large pan When hot, grill salmon for a few minutes each side, depending on thickness. Serve with braised borlotti beans and lemon wedges.

Recipe: Watermelon Salad with Olives, Feta and Cucumber

This recipe was given to me by my dietician Susie Burrell who prefers low carb low maintenance types of cooking. I had it for lunch yesterday (along with tuna and corn thins) and it was great. The dressing doesn't look like much but you don't need extra because of the moisture in the olives and watermelon.
I gave this to Mr R. last night and he even said he could take this to work for lunch - that can't be right I think I'll have to get my hearing checked.
For the lactose freebies - you can get lactose free feta - I got an organic one from Whole Foods but also saw it in Coles.

Serves 4
- 4 cups watermelon, diced
- 12 black olives, pitted
- 100 g feta, crumbled or chopped
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 Lebanese cucumbers, sliced
Dressing
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Toss all ingredients
2. Eat

:)

Recipe: Chargrilled Cuttlefish Salad with Beans, Tomato and Pesto

Sometimes Delicious Magazine publishes recipes that are easy to prepare, with ingredients that are easy to find, and not expensive. This is one - and Superman made it!
It was chosen for tonight's dinner as it is low carb and of course gluten and lactose friendly. I'm getting weighed in later in the week by my dietician Susie and I gotsta be svelte!
We used calamari - our local fishmonger looked at Superman blankly when he asked for cuttlefish. We also used Roma tomatoes that we roasted - fresh from one of my customer's farm : D
To learn how to clean squid, google it or look here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fdPl777Ji0&feature=related

Recipe: Grilled Cuttlefish with Beans, Tomato and Pesto
Serves 4

• 400 g cuttlefish tubes, cleaned
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) EVOO
• 200 g green beans, trimmed
• 400 g can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (65 g) good quality basil pesto
• small basil leaves to serve

1. Cut cuttlefish tubes along one side and open out
2. Using sharp knife, lightly score the inside surface in fine criss-cross pattern
3. Place cuttlefish in a bowl; season and drizzle with 1 tbs of oil
4. Blanch green beans in boiling, salted water for 2 mins or until tender, then drain and refresh
5. Place in a bowl with the cannellini beans, onion and cherry tomatoes and then season
6. Char-grill the cuttlefish for 1 min either side until lightly charred and just cooked through
7. Halve, then place in a bowl and toss with pesto
8. To serve, arrange the bean salad on plates then top with cuttlefish and basil leaves

Recipe: Nigella's Quick Chilli

This Chilli con Carne recipe rocks! I have made this so many times the page in the Nigella Express is badly stained. Nigella suggests serving this with coriander, sour cream and grated cheese. I serve it also with roasted tortilla chips.
NB: If you are making this as/for a gluten freester, the things you need to check the gf status of are the chorizo, pasta sauce and sweet chilli sauce.

http://ironchefshellie.com/2011/05/07/quick-chilli/

Oh, and believe Nigella when she says use a heavy based pan/pot, I winged it last time and ended up scrubbing the pot for about half an hour :S
This photo is from the blogger Iron Chef Shellie :)


Quick Chilli

• 150 g chorizo sausage (not the salami sort), halved lengthways and cut into 5mm half moons
• 500 g beef, minced
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 cardamon pods, bruised
• 1 x 500g jar good quality tomato and chunky vegetable pasta sauce
• 1 x 390 g can mixed beans
• 60 mL sweet chilli sauce
• ¼ - ½ tsp chilli flakes

1. Put the sliced chorizo into a hot, heavy based pan and cook over a medium heat until the sausage crisps and gives up its orange-red oil
2. Add the mince and cook for ~ 5 mins, breaking it up with a wooden spoon to help it brown
3. Stir in the spices and then add the tomato-vegetable pasta sauce, beans, chilli sauce and flakes.
4. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes
5. Eat with rice or just as it is - I add sour cream, coriander, grated cheese and tortilla chips.

 This is what the cake ended up looking like.. thanks Carly :D

Practising cake decorations for Saturday..my friend is going to announce something to our uni gang...shh don't tell them

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Recipe: Cocoa Sponge Cakes

This is a recipe I am going to try out soon, and I'll let you know how it goes.. it's from Rowie Dillon's Indulge which is an awesome gluten free cookbook. I like the look of this recipe because it doesn't just substitute gf flour for normal - which normally gives average results.

Cocoa Sponge Cakes


1 1/2 cups quinoa flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder (gf)
1 tsp baking powder (gf)
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup coffee, chilled
2 tsps vanilla extract (gf)
2 tsp white vinegar

Icing
125g dairy free margarine
1 1/4 cups icing sugar (gf)
1/2 tbs cocoa powder (gf)

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases
2. Mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder and sugar in a large bowl
3. Combine the oil, coffee and vanilla in a separate bowl, then add to the dry ingredients and stir well. add the vinegar and quickly stir to combine. Pour immediately into the paper cases
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until skewer inserted into middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin and turn out onto a wire rack for icing
5. To make the icing, beat the margarine and sugar in a small bowl with beater until well combined. add the cocoa powder and beat until well combined and the icing is smooth and thick. Using a palette knife (or metal spatula), spread the icing generously over the cakes