Potato, Leek & Pancetta Soup!

Winter is getting near and we love a recipe for a hearty soup!

Potato and leek soup is so simple and easy to prepare. The ingredients are very basic, however when testing the recipe I added a spicy Pancetta to add some additional kick to the soup flavour.  If you prefer a vegetarian soup option you can opt to leave the pancetta out and not add it all. I have also had some good feedback from my Instagram followers suggesting to add bacon, that would certainly be delicious too and I will probably try it the next time I make this potato and leek soup.  Enjoy!

Ingredients to make Potato Leek and Pancetta Soup:

- 5 medium to large potatoes peeled and cubed
- 3 leeks sliced
- 1 large garlic clove roughly chopped
- 100 grams spicy pancetta roughly chopped
- 25 grams butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Bundle of thyme or oregano tied together
- 2 litres hot chicken stock, or 1 stock cube diluted in 1.5 litres of boiled water
- Salt & Pepper to season

How to prepare the ingredients:

1. In a deep cooking pot add butter and olive oil. Turn the heat on high.

2. As soon as the butter melts, add the garlic and pancetta and allow to infuse for 1 minute.

3. Add sliced leeks to the pot and mix, coating the olive oil/butter on the leeks. Set the stove to low to medium heat and cover the pot with the lid. Leeks need to sweat and become transparent.

4. When the leeks become transparent add the cubed potatoes and mix. Salt and pepper to season. Cover the pan with the lid again for 3-4 minutes on low heat.

5. Add the bundle of herbs and liquid stock to the pot. Ensure to cover all the ingredients in the pot with liquid.

6. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes then lower the heat and simmer for a further 40 minutes. Only cover the pot with the lid partially.

7. After the ingredients have cooked for 1 hour, take the pot off the stove and remove the bundle of herbs. Use a bamix to mash the mixture until it turns into a smooth soup mixture.

Soup is read to serve!

I generally make enough soup to last more than one meal. We store our soups in individual containers and freeze them, becomes a healthy food option for taking to work or using on nights when you can't be bothered preparing food. Yes that happens to me too, so its good to be prepared with food thats ready to eat.


Enjoy!

Quinoa & Kale Superfood Side!

I guess I can call it a superfood side?  Quinoa and Kale is super super good for you so we try to add it into our meals at least twice a week.

I made this quinoa and kale salad as a side last week and it was so tasty! Very simple to make, so simple that I could post how to make it on my instagram.

We served this a salad side, however it makes for a delicious vegetarian salad also.  

Add 1 cup cooked Quinoa (don't forget to season) + 2 cups blanched kale + 2 tbsp goats cheese + 2 tbsp chopped sundried tomato + 2 tbsp capers + 2 tbsp basil pesto + ground pepper ✔️✔️

Mix together, best served warm...  

Yum!

Enjoy xx

 

 

Quinoa Meatballs in a Spanish Sauce

The Italian meat ball is made using bread crumbs, eggs, salt pepper and the traditional Italian herbs... Spanish meatballs are very similar however the herbs and spices are a little different... my meat balls? Well, I have combined both Spanish and Italian techniques with my own little touch. I wanted to make them gluten free and reduce any saturated fats when frying. Don't get me wrong, I love olive oil and will still use a small amount to make by tomato based sauces, however I do try to avoid using it when frying.

This recipe for Spanish Meat Balls is so easy to prepare and tastes delicious, we compared the flavor on the second day and they were even better. These meat balls can be prepared the day before and kept refrigerated for a couple of days or even frozen in the freezer for future use. 

Meat Ball Ingredients:

1. 500 grams beef mince
2. 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
3. 1 tsp smoked paprika
4. 2 tbsp ricotta
5. 1/2 cup rice flour
6. 1 whole egg
7. 1/3 cup chopped chives
8. Salt Pepper to season

Coat and to cook:
9. 1/2 cup of rice flour
10. 1 tbsp coconut oil

Spanish Sauce Ingredients:

1. 1 red onion
2. 3 cloves garlic
3. 700ml passata or 2 tins of chopped tomato
4. 1 tspn smoked paprika
5. 1/4 cup of sherry vinegar / or concentrated balsamic
6. Salt Pepper to season
7. 2 tbsp olive oil

How to make the Spanish Meat Balls:

1. In a large mixing bowl add the mince meat, cooked quinoa, ricotta, rice flour, chives, whole eggs, paprika, salt and pepper.

2. Using your hands, combine all ingredients together until thoroughly mixed, set aside.
3. Prior to rolling the meat balls, on a separate plate add the rice flour.
4. Using your hands. Start rolling the meat mix into small sized balls (approx size of 20cent piece)

5. Place the meatballs aside on a flat plate ready to commence cooking.
6. In a non stick pan, add the coconut oil and apply high heat.  When the coconut oil has melted the pan is ready to start cooking meat balls.
7. Lower the heat to medium and cook the meatballs turning until browned for approximately 4 minutes.

8. Set a flat bowl aside lined with paper towelette for the meat balls after they have been cooked.

Your meatballs are ready for immediate eating or...
*To serve the next day, refrigerate then lightly warm in a non stick frying pan.
**To serve sometime in the near future, place in a freezer bag or container and freeze.

How to make the Spanish Sauce:

1. In a saucepan add olive oil and place on high heat for 1 minute.
2. Dice onions and garlic together and add to the saucepan. Lower the heat to medium and stir until onions become transparent.
3. Add smoked paprika and stir through.
4. Add the sherry vinegar first followed by the tomato passatta.
5. Cook for 30 minutes on medium heat then simmer down to low heat for 15 minutes.
6. Salt and pepper to season.

When serving this Spanish Quinoa Meatballs, place the sauce on the base of the plate and add the meatballs on top. Great served with fresh salad and baked potatoes.

Enjoy xx

Breakfast muffins of the healthy kind!

For those busy days when you are running out the door on an empty stomach, here is a recipe for breakfast muffins that is easy to make (in advance) and can be prepared in under 30 minutes!

It is a very healthy breakfast muffin as I have added ingredients such as avocado, dried fruit and seeds and the flavor profile is not overly sweet. It's a great recipe to hide healthy greens from the little ones that may refuse to eat it.

P.S These breakfast muffins are dairy free and gluten free!

What you will need to make 12 standard sized breakfast muffins:

Olive oil spray
2 cups of oats
1 cup rice flour
1.5 tablespoons of rice syrup / or maple syrup
1 soft banana
1 apple / or pear (whatever you have available)
1 avocado
1 tspn baking powder (or potato starch for gluten free)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup pepitas
1/4 cup linseeds
3/4 cup sultanas
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs

Method:

1. Lightly spray a 12 hole muffin tin with olive oil. Set aside.
2. Mash the banana, apple and avocado using a blender/ or bamix. Add the baking powder to this mix and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl add all of the remaining dry ingredients and mix together using a spoon.
4. Whisk the eggs until light and aerated.
5. Add the mashed fruit mix to the oats and mix.
6. Fold the whisked eggs to the mix using a spoon until completely mixed.
7. Spoon the mixture into each muffin tins and fill each hole to the top
8. Place into a 180 degree preheated oven for 10 - 14 minutes.
9. When the muffins are lightly browned, remove from oven and set aside to cool.

These breakfast muffins can be placed into an airtight container stored at room temperature for a week, or can be stored in a freezer when made in larger batches!

Enjoy xx
 

A Sweet Orange Mash...

A sweet orange mash sounds intriguing... but really its just a combination of sweet potato and carrots, sounds boring but I do promise you it is the tastiest mash goin'round and I had to try a few techniques to get it right...so here it is!

 


What you will need.

1. One large sweet potato (the orange kind)
2. 3 large carrots
3. 3 large cloves of garlic
4. 30 grams butter (I didn't say it was going to be fat free)
5. Dried Oregano (a couple of shakes)
6. Salt & Pepper to season

Extras
- A Non stick deep baking tray
- A bamix or food processor

How to prepare.

1. Peel and chop carrots and sweet potato into large pieces and set aside.
2.  Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius with baking tray heating inside it.
3. After a few minutes safely remove the hot tray from the oven and set onto a safe benchtop space
4. Add the butter to the tray and allow it to melt
5. Place the precut carrots and sweet potato pieces into the tray. Turn the pieces over into the melted butter to coat.
6. Season with oregano, salt and pepper.
7. Reduce oven down to 180 degrees celcius and place tray back into the oven.
8. Bake for 25 minutes.
9. Chop the garlic roughtly and add to the tray after 25 minutes of baking, then bake for a further 15 minutes until the vegetables are easy to pierce with a fork.
10.  Once cooked take the vegetable out of the oven and out of the tray, transferring into a bamix bowl or mixer. Ensure to include the cooked garlic pieces.
11. Whizz (puree & mash) all the ingredients together until smooth.


No steaming required with this recipe, I tried that but found I lost some important flavors which i thought was really sad...
Slow roasting is the way to go with this one, keeps all the flavors in and slightly caramelises the ingredients.... try it, its certainly is delicious.

Enjoy this recipe as a side with steak, tofu or any other protein. It's a great winter warmer using good seasonal ingredients

Make your own Muesli!

 

Create the mix then add to plain oats... serve warmed this winter with warmed coconut or almond milk...

Breakfast ready! Prepping ingredients for muesli in my #tupperware chopper! Mix and crush #nuts (of your choice) ➕ #driedfruit #sultanas #apricots #apples➕ #linseeds ➕ #pepitas ➕ #coconut ➕ #cinnamon then ADD #oats ... Store in a dry place for your next breakfast! #breakfast #muesli #makeypurown ✔️✔️ #healthy #healthyhabits #healthyeating #instafood #tupperwarechopper #cookingforsandro #kitchen

Crispy Sticky Chicken

You are probably thinking, how can you get crispy sticky chicken and make it crispy and sticky at the same time? I say easy.... my recipe is a spin off to Jamie Oliver's Asian sticky chicken recipe, however I have incorporated a good coating of rice flour and sesame seeds cooked in coconut oil for that extra crunch!

I didn't want to promote a recipe where you need to fry in vegetable oil either, that isn't always so healthy for you,  so I have conjured a good alternative if you are trying to steer away from this cooking method and you don't mind the flavor of coconut. It certainly does add to the Asian influence in this recipe since it does contains other ingredients to include Chinese five spice and soy sauce.

One of our favorite and tastiest chicken recipes which is very easy to prepare under 30 minutes.

Here is how we make Crispy Sticky Chicken!

What you will need...
1. 6-8 Thigh Fillets
2. 1 Cup Rice Flour
3. 1 tsp Chinese five spice
4. Salt and Pepper
5. 1/2 Cup sesame seeds
6. 1.5 Cups light soy sauce
7. 1/2 Cup honey
8. 1 tbs coconut oil

Extras...
1. Non stick frying pan
2. Grease proof / baking paper
3. Meat Hammer

How to prepare....

1. Lay out baking paper over a flat surface, ensure there is enough rolled out to fold over the chicken

2. Place the chicken fillets on the baking paper and folder over the paper.

3. Using a meat hammer, bash the chicken and thin out to approx 1.5cm thick.



4. To create your crunchy chicken coating, add the rice flour, Chinese five spice,  sesame seeds and a pinch of salt and pepper in a flat side plate and mix together.

5. Slice your chicken fillets into small strips and set aside.

6. In a small bowl add the honey and soy sauce and mix together until the honey has dissolved slightly.

7. In the non stick pan, add the coconut and melt on high heat.

8. When pan is hot and the coconut oil has melted, one by one, pat each chicken strip into the rice flour mix and and placed into the hot coconut oil. Cook each strip for approximatle 1-2 minutes on each side and until golden brown.

9. When the chicken strips are looking brown and crunchy, ensure to keep the pan hot and pour in the honey soy mixture.

10. Let the chicken sizzle and boil for approximately one minute until the liquid turns sticky.

11. Switch off the heat and let the chicken stand for a couple of minutes....

Crispy Sticky Chicken is now ready to serve!

Best accompanied with brown rice and fresh green crispy salad (add gherkins).
Other sides to serve with tasty proteins such as this crispy sticky chicken are available on this blog and on instagram #cookingforsandro

Enjoy!