Tag: Vegetarian

Paprika and Parmesan Corn

Paprika and Parmesan Corn Cobs

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Paprika and Parmesan Corn

This corn is bad-ass. It’s spicy, tangy, cheesy and zesty; and dipping it in the spiked yoghurt makes for a refreshing mouthful. For a delicious twist, whack the corn cobs on a hot BBQ or char-grill plate for a minute or two each side, at the end of step 3.

Serves – 8
Prep – 5 minutes
Cook – 15 minutes
Ingredients

  • 1 packet of McCain Super Juicy Corn Cobbettes – approx. 8 cobbettes
  • 50g butter
  • 4 tbs sweet paprika
  • 4 tbs grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4 limes – quartered
  • 1/2 cup Greek Yoghurt
  • 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves + full sprigs to serve
  • Salt and pepper

Method

  1. Cook McCain Super Juicy Corn Cobbettes according to packet instructions.
  2. In a small bowl combine yoghurt and coriander leaves, set aside.
  3. Combine sweet paprika and Parmesan in a bowl, rub each cobbette with butter, and sprinkle with paprika and Parmesan mixture.
  4. Place cobbettes onto a serving plate, season with salt and pepper, and top with any remaining paprika and Parmesan mixture. Scatter plate with lime wedges and remaining coriander sprigs. Serve with coriander yoghurt.

Enjoy!

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Rainbow Noodles

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Vegetarian Rainbow Noodles

This week is Meat Free Week; why go meat free? I hear you ask… Well, it encourages you to think about how much meat you eat, where your meat comes from and the impact eating too much meat has on your health, the environment and animals. Head to www.meatfreeweek.org for more info. 
If you’re a little hesitant to try a week without meat, and I totally understand, meat is delicious; why not try 2-3 dinners sans our fury and scaled friends? Opt instead for a tonne of deliciously nutritious veggies and I guarantee you your body will be feeling great! Try starting with these Rainbow Noodles, filled with so many noms that you won’t even notice you’re missing meat. So, go forth and taste the rainbow!

Ingredients

  • 450g of Hokkien Noodles – cooked as per packet instructions
  • 2 cups of McCain Pea, Corn and Carrot Mix – cooked as per packet instructions
  • 1 red capsicum – cut into long strips
  • ¼ red cabbage – cut into long strips
  • 3 shallots – sliced into 5mm diagonal rounds
  • 1 tbs of peanut oil
  • 2 tbs sweet or hot chilli sauce depending on your tastebuds
  • 3 tbs of oyster sauce
  • 3 tbs of freshly squeezed lime juice
  • Toasted sesame seeds and chopped unsalted peanuts – to serve

Method

  1. Cook Hokkien Noodles according to package instructions.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the whites of the shallots and sauté for 2 minutes, or until fragrant. Add cabbage, and capsicum, cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until cabbage has wilted and capsicum has softended.
  3. Place the McCain Pea, Corn and Carrot Mix, Hokkien Noodles, sweet chilli sauce, lime juice, oyster sauce and vegetable mix to a large mixing bowl and toss well to combine.
  4. Serve topped with the greens of the shallots, toasted sesame seeds and peanuts if desired.

TIP: this is delicious cold and is great for picnics or lunchboxes.

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Rainbow Noodles

Sugar Free Crumble

Berry Crumble

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Sugar Free Berry Crumble

I love making this lush berry crumble; it takes minutes to prepare and can be served warm or cold with custard, thick natural yoghurt, a light drizzle of coconut cream, el naturale or with ice-cream if the whole sugar-free thing isn’t your cup of tea.

The use of frozen berries means it’s super quick to prepare and the crumble topping can be personalised to suit your preferences or what’s in your pantry. Hazelnuts, macadamia’s and pistachios are personal favourites of mine, although this combination with the coconut and almonds is delicious!

Ingredients – berries

  • 600g of McCain’s Season’s Choice Four Berry Mix
  • 1/3 cup of honey or rice malt syrup

Ingredients – crumble

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup of desiccated coconut
  • 1/3 cup of slivered almonds
  • ½ tsp of ground cinnamon

Method

  1. Place berries and honey in a saucepan over a medium-low heat and allow to gently simmer for 10-15 minutes or until berries are defrosted and have released their juices.
  2. Meanwhile, combine oats, coconut and almonds in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, stir well to combine and allow to toast for 5 minutes, or until golden stirring regularly. Stir through cinnamon.
  3. Divide berry mixture between teacups, top evenly with crumble mixture and serve.

Enjoy!

French Onion Soup

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Easy French Onion Soup

So simple, so rich, so delicious. There is something incredibly humbling about a French Onion Soup. Originating as a hearty soup for Paris market workers to warm themselves up on cold mornings, French Onion Soup is now considered one of the worlds classic soup dishes and has the ability to turn an ordinary meal into something deeply extravagant and sensual.

My tip is to make sure you caramelise your onions so they’re really rich, sweet, tender and impart that lovely deep brown colour that the dish is known for.

Ingredients

  • 1 packet of Abe’s Bagels – Roasted Garlic Bagel Crisps
  • 1L of beef stock – change to vegetable stock for a vegetarian/vegan option
  • 1kg of brown onions – halved and thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves of garlic – halved, lengthways and finely sliced
  • 1 tbs of butter
  • 1 tbs of olive oil
  • 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 2 large bay leaves
  • 1 tsp of dried rosemary
  • 40g of grated parmesan
  • Fresh thyme leaves, to serve

Method

  1. Heat oil and butter in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes, or until onion is well browned and softened.
  2. Add stock, 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, bay leaves and rosemary. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and allow to cook for 30 minutes. Remove and discard the thyme stalks and bay leaves.
  3. Meanwhile, preheat grill and arrange half a packet of Abe’s Bagels – Roasted Garlic Bagel Crisps on a large baking tray. Sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and Grill for 1 minute or until cheese is golden and melted.
  4. Arrange remaining Abe’s Bagels – Roasted Garlic Bagel Crisps in the bottom of soup bowls, ladle soup into bowls over the crisps. Top with parmesan grilled Abe’s Bagels – Roasted Garlic Bagel Crisps, scatter with fresh thyme leaves and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Easy French Onion Soup

Nachos

Vegetarian Nachos

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Nachos

Nachos are an easy crowd-pleaser that are super tasty and quick to make.  This version is vegetarian, although delicious when served with pan fried spicy chorizo, shredded roast chicken meat or strips of grilled steak. Perfect for a midweek meal, sporting bash or a DIY family dinner that everyone will love!

Ingredients

  • 1 packet of corn chips or tortilla crisps
  • 2 handfuls of grated tasty cheese
  • 1 jar of mild tomato salsa
  • 250g of McCain Corn Kernels – cooked and cooled
  • 3 medium tomatoes – seeds removed and cubed
  • 1 bunch of coriander – roughly chopped with a few full sprigs reserved for serving
  • 1 medium red onion – finely diced
  • 200g tin of red kidney beans – drained and rinsed
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • Sour Cream and Sweet Chilli Sauce to serve
  • Also, you can serve it with guacamole when avocados return to a reasonable price!

Method

  1. Add McCain Corn Kernels, tomatoes, beans, coriander, red onion and lime juice to a medium mixing bowl, stir well to combine and set aside.
  2. Scatter corn chips or tortilla crisps evenly in a large oven proof dish, top with jar of tomato salsa, sprinkle with tasty cheese and place under a hot grill for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is golden and melted.
  3. Remove chips from grill and top with McCain Corn Kernel salsa.
  4. Serve immediately with sour cream, sweet chilli sauce and garnish with coriander sprigs.

Enjoy!

Pea and Avocado Gazpacho

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Pea and Avocado Gazpacho

This is honestly one of the easiest dishes I have ever made – measure, blend and top. It is delicious, in fact I surprised myself with how good it tasted, and it can be ready in a flash. The vibrant green of the gazpacho against the red of the prawns gives this dish instant visual appeal which means it’s a sure thing for summer get together’s, parties or Christmas do’s.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of McCain Frozen Peas – thawed
  • 3 cloves of garlic – crushed
  • 3 cups of vegetable stock
  • 1 ripe avocado – mashed
  • 2 tbs of lemon juice
  • ½ cup of thickened cream
  • 500g cooked peeled prawns
  • 1 red chilli – halved, seeds removed and finely sliced
  • ½ cup of pea shoots
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • ½ cup of McCain Frozen Peas – thawed, to serve
  • Salt and pepper – to taste
  • Oil olive – to serve, if desired.

Pea and Avocado Gazpacho Progress

Method

  1. Place McCain Frozen peas, garlic, vegetable stock, avocado and lemon juice in a large bowl and add in batches to a blender blitzing until smooth.
  2. Stir through the thickened cream and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Place the prawns, chilli, lime and pea shoots in a small bowl and toss to coat.
  4. Divide the gazpacho evenly among bowls, top with prawn mix, scatter with remaining McCain Frozen Peas and drizzle with olive oil, if desired.  Serve.

Pea and Avocado Gazpacho

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Risoni and Pumpkin Salad

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Risoni and Pumpkin Salad

I recently attended a bring-a-dish dinner party to farewell a friend from town who happens to be a vegetarian. I was on salad duties and decided to whip up a Pumpkin and Risoni salad which is a personal favourite of mine. It’s light, fresh and delicious. This dish is perfect for a dinner party, BBQ or to be served with grilled fish or chicken. The lemon sings through and compliments the pepperiness of the rocket and the acidic bite from the tomatoes; while the creamy pumpkin and risoni balance the dish.

Ingredients

  • 500g risoni
  • 700g butternut pumpkin – peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
  • 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes – quartered
  • 200g baby rocket
  • 1 large lemon
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper

Method

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees and a line a large baking tray with baking paper.
  2. Par-cook pumpkin in a lare saucepan of boiling water, drain and place on a lined baking tray.
  3. Coat lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper, place in the middle of the oven and bake 20-30 minutes or until golden.
  4. Meanwhile, cook risoni in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 8 minutes or until cooked through as per packet instructions. Drain and cool.
  5. Using a peeler, peel the rind from the lemon and finely slice. Juice the lemon and reserve.
  6. Add pumpkin, tomato, rocket, lemon rind, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to risoni, toss until well combined and serve.

Enjoy!

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Vegan Broccoli, Mushroom and Tofu Soup

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Okay, so I am sure the word vegan has thrown you off and you probably think this recipe will be tasteless and leave you hungry, but you would be wrong! This soup is a wonderful set and forget meal that is hearty and will fill you and the family to the brim. It’s packed full of goodness and is a great winter warmer.

Ingredients

  • 1 head of broccoli
  • 10 mushrooms
  • 200g silken tofu
  • 1 x 2 person serve of 90 second brown rice
  • 1L of vegetable stock or chicken stock but obviously it won’t be vegan if you use the chicken stock
  • 1 large brown onion – diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic – minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method

  1. Heat 1 tbs of oil in a heavy bottomed casserole dish – I used my La Chasseur cast iron pot.
  2. Add the onion and garlic and fry until fragrant and translucent.
  3. Break the florets from the head of broccoli, chop the stalk, quarter the mushrooms and add to pan.
  4. Cover with stock, bring to the boil, reduce to simmer and cover for 40 minutes.
  5. Cook the brown rice according to packet instructions, add along with the tofu.
  6. Use your spoon to break up the tofu and a stick blender to blend.
  7. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve!

I also cracked black pepper over the top when it was served so it didn’t look as much like a brown/green blob – just a thought.

Enjoy!

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