A lovely Easter holiday at Pearl Beach, one of our favourite Sydney getaways. Lazy beach days as summer turns to autumn here, walks, swims and a book fair to keep us all stocked up for reading. Blissful family time and healthy grazing and feasting as well.
Here are some photos of our some of our lunches so far. Promise to post recipes in weeks to come.
Tired of the usual bocconcini and tomato salad? The addition of quickly pickled red onions in balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt certainly is a pick me up!
I layered it on a bed of baby spinach leaves, sliced tomato, sliced baby bocconcini and then dressed with olive oil before scattering over the quick pickled onions, the remaining balsamic, and a sprinkling of torn baby basil leaves and a grind of black pepper.
Here’s a recipe for pickling red onions Simply delicious pickled red onion
If you prefer a more traditional version, this Bocconcini , tomato, spinach wreath is great all year round and looks very festive.
This zesty finger lime cucumber salad was a delicious accompaniment to our warm beef salad, and would also be lovely with grilled or poached fish or chicken.
A friend of ours had gifted us native Australian finger limes which are becoming a very trendy ingredient on restaurant menus “down-under”, but they are still difficult to find in shops. If you see any, make sure you grab them as you will love their unique “caviar” like texture with tiny balls of lime that pop in your mouth.
You can read more about this intriguing fruit https://tuckerbush.com.au/finger-lime-citrus-australasica/
I really wanted to make a dish that would showcase their flavour n texture ad thought cucumbers would be a good “backdrop” for this purpose.
I found this great recipe on The Devil Wears Salad but didn’t have all the ingredients to hand so improvised with things I had to hand.
The resulting cucumber salad topped with the caviar-like pearls of finger lime was delicious and the perfect zesty accompaniment to our warm beef salad.
(Thanks Helen for gifting us such a wonderful new ingredient!)
Ingredients:
Method:
1. Slice and chop one cucumber into small chunks. I slice then quarter each slice. Then using a large vegetable peeler, “peel” the second cucumber into long ribbons. Mix the 2 styles of cucumber in a bowl and set aside.
2. Chop the chilli finely and crush the ginger.
3. Mix together the soy sauce, sesame oil, crushed ginger , chopped chilli, and vinegar in a small bowl.
3. Cut the finger limes in half, horizontally. Onto a plate, Squeeze the end of each half gently but firmly until “pearls” of lime emerge. Repeat with all lime halves until you have a glistening pile of finger lime “caviar”. (You want to do this as close to serving your salad as possible so the finger lime pearls don’t dry up and clump together in lumps)
5. Gently toss dressing through cucumbers, then place the dressed cucumbers on a serving plate and scatter the finger lime caviar over the salad and serve immediately.
This classic Thai inspired salad is a great weekday summer dinner that is very tasty.
We are currently using herbs from pots in our courtyard that are thriving through the Sydney summer. Mint, coriander, chilies and basil are essential for this recipe and luckily close to hand at the moment.
I serve this with lettuce cups and some jasmine rice making for a quick but satisfying lunch or dinner. Also perfect for leftovers for lunch the next day.
Ingredients:
Method:
1. Slice onions and garlic and set aside
2. Trim lettuce to create cups, place in freezer to crisp up, keep trimmings to add to salad.
3. Chop chillies, coriander and make cucumber sticks. (do not chop basil and mint as these are better torn and scattered into the salad at the last minute)
4. Squeeze lime juice and set aside.
5. Blanch green beans until just tender if using fresh green beans.
5. Heat vegetable oil in a wok, add sesame oil, add garlic and fry till just golden.
6. Add pork mince (and whole chillies if using) fry until browned. (I put the whole chillies in as they are there for extra spice if required for chilli heads without making the whole salad too hot to handle)
6. Add fish sauce, 1/2 the lime juice, pepper, sugar, chillies and stir through, then add green beans and allow to simmer for 1-2 minutes until beans are heated through. Add some water here if required but not too much as you don’t want too much liquid.
7. Add all other ingredients to wok, including rest of lime juice, and tearing in mint and basil leaves. Gently toss. Taste to see if balance is how you like it, as you can always splash in more fish sauce or lime juice….or chop up one of the whole chillies if not spicy enough for you.
8. Serve with lettuce cups and jasmine rice.
The last few days have involved lots of beautiful relaxed eating…the kind of days I spend most of the working year dreaming about.
Christmas leftovers, barbecues and grilled fresh fish all call for good salads and accompaniments … here are some recipes of the types of side dishes we’ve been enjoying alongside our meals.
The fresh ingredients particularly local tomatoes and cucumbers here in the Cook Islands are delicious …so simple green salads and cucumber salads have also been a mainstay with heartier sides like the ones below providing some variety.
Mixed Salad with cucumber raita
Hope this provides some inspiration for the new year!
A beautiful salad for lazy summer days which is an excellent accompaniment to Christmas leftovers like ham, turkey, barbecued meats and roast pork.
The success of this salad lies in getting the best quality tomatoes and a good Burrata. I used a mix of one large heirloom tomato with gold and red grape and cherry tomatoes.
Burrata is a delicious cheese, a mixture of mozzarella, soft cheese curds and cream…when you burst it open the gooey inside and texture of the cheese case are excellent combination with the fresh tomatoes.
Ingredients:
Method:
1. Slice and cut tomatoes
2. Strain and place Burrata in the middle of a platter
3. Arrange tomatoes around the Burrata, season with salt and cracked black pepper, scatter basil leaves, sprinkle generously with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
4. Crack open the Burrata and enjoy with crusty bread.