Showing posts with label broccoli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label broccoli. Show all posts

Monday, September 22, 2014

Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad

Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad

Remember my roast strawberry salsa? That was good, you should try that. But when it comes down to it, it’s the roasting of the strawberries that really make it. Roast strawberries are good. Really good. It intensifies the flavours and sweetness in a way that suits both sweet and savoury dishes. This is another dish that uses roast strawberries to great effect paired with roast broccoli and garlic to create an amazing warm salad. Just add a protein and it’s a complete meal.

It’s a simple dish, which can come together in the time it takes for the rice to cook. Pop the rice on, chuck the strawberries and broccoli in the oven while you toast the nuts and seeds and by the time that’s done, so is the salad. I used red rice for becuse I like the colour and texture of it here, but your favourite grain would work. Quinoa would be a nice nutty alternative, or buckwheat.

I was feeling particularly decadent, so I grated some dark chocolate over the top. It’s next level stuff that’s not at all necessary but so good! Some goat’s cheese crumbled over the top would be another good add on.
Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad
Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad
Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad
Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad


Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad

1/2 cup red rice
1 cup water
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
250g punnet strawberries, hulled
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup pepitas
½ cup hazelnuts
1 tbsp capers
½ tbsp. mustard seeds
½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 180C

Rinse the red rice and place in a glass bowl. Cover with 1 cup of water and microwave for 22 minutes or cook til al debnte using your preferred method.

In a large casserole dish, combine the broccoli, strawberries, olive oil, salt and garlic. Toss to mix well, then put in the oven and roast for 15 minutes or until strawberries are soft and broccoli starts to colour.

Meanwhile, heat a pan over medium heat and toss in the pepitas and mustard seeds. When both start popping (around 2 minutes), remove from the pan and set aside. Toast the hazelnuts in the same manner, tossing to toast each side. Approximately 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. When cool, chop roughly.

When the broccoli is ready, stir through the nuts, seeds, rice and capers.

Finely grate some dark chocolate over the top

 Serve! I served here with pork steaks seasoned with some of the rub from my lamb ragu recipe
Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad
Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad
Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad
Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad
Coming into Spring - Roast Strawberry and Broccoli Warm Rice Salad

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Tofu, nectarine and broccoli salad with toasted quinoa. And bacon.


I am a carnivore. Well, technically an omnivore, I guess. But I love meat. And I love bacon. When I was younger, I used to tell mum I could be a vegetarian if it weren’t for bacon. This is not even slightly true anymore. I was going to start listing all the meats I couldn’t do without now, but it got too long just thinking about it. And that’s without even adding seafood into the mix. But I think I’ve someone taken that initial theory on in a subconscious way. Now when I see vegetarian recipes, I almost always find myself thinking, ‘that looks so good…but it’d be so much better if it had bacon’.
 
 

This is a common theme in my cooking, so it’ll end up being a common theme in my blog. Much like the more common Meatless Mondays, I present “Vegetarian Dishes Improved by Bacon”. I’ve told a few people now that it’s my dream to write a cookbook with that as the title, and so far have 10 willing buyers. Maybe one day, I’ll get there!
 
 

Anyway, I made this summer salad with beautiful sweet nectarines, salty crispy bacon and crunchy greens for dinner on a hot, humid night and it went down a treat. Unfortunately, this was before my decision to make this blog, and therefore take more photos. Food blogging is going to be a bit of a learning curve for me. I am not hugely comfortable taking food photos - yet. I love taking photos, I love food…but somehow the idea of taking photos of the process and finished result is a bit weird and foreign to me. Despite the fact I adore food porn. That’s pretty much all I am on pinterest for. I will try and improve at this. I’ve been practicing by uploading some photos of my dishes to Instagram (follow me!). In the meantime, and for when I am too lazy to whip the camera out, I will post “Instagrams of Yumness” such as this one.

 






Tofu, nectarine and broccoli salad with toasted quinoa. And bacon.
Serves 2

 
Tofu slices – around 200g I believe??

3 tbps balsamic vinegar

1 tsp olive oil

¼ cup quinoa

One small onion, diced

Two cloves garlic, minced

Zest of one lemon

Finely diced green chilli

3 rashers of bacon, cut into small dice

1 small eggplant,  sliced

Large tomato, finely chopped

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Juice of one lemon

1 tbsp agave nectar

Big handful Italian parsley

Salt/pepper to taste

Half head broccoli

2 nectarines

Half red capsicum

 

Add balsamic to slices of tofu, leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast ¼ cup of quinoa until slightly golden, put in a bowl

Fry the onion,  garlic, chilli and bacon in the olive oil over a medium heat. The bacon should crisp up around the edges. Add the lemon zest

Add to the quinoa, mix well and set aside to cool slightly.

Chop tomato finely, add to quinoa bowl. Then add mustard, lemon juice, agave and parsley. Mix well. Check seasoning and adjust to taste.

Chop broccoli into small florets, cut capsicum to desired size and dice nectarine,. add to quinoa bowl, mix well and put in serving bowl

Grill eggplant slices until soft, a few minutes either side. This can be done in the same pan to save dishes.

Grill tofu until desired level of crispness on the outer layer.

Dice tofu and eggplant, and arrange on top of salad

 

Voila! Lovely summer salad!