Summer Recipes
In summer my taste buds change and I crave foods that are fresh, seasonal and light. When 2019 ticked over into 2020, I promised myself that I would become more creative in the kitchen and cook meals that are full of flavour and require more than just chicken and veg.
Stay tuned. Over the next month I will be whipping up a mix of healthy and tasty recipes that I will pass on to my fellow rookie chefs who need some cooking inspiration.
Last night I made my first vegetarian pasta. In the new year I am committing to less meat (much to my husbands dismay). I used him as the guinea pig and went to sleep a happy man. The flavours were rich and the time taken to prepare the dish was minimal. I found the original recipe online and modified it slightly.
Give it a go!
Buckwheat Cauliflower & Chickpea Pasta
Ingredients
300 g Buckwheat Pasta
1 tin of organic Chickpeas
Parsley
1/2 Cauliflower head
Olive oil
2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons of currants
1/3 cup of reduced salt vegetable stock
100g baby spinach
2 lemons
2 garlic cloves
Goats Cheese
Pine nuts
Snap peas
Method
Preheat oven to 180 C fan forced.
Line baking tray & place cauliflower florets on tray and spray with olive oil.
Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.
Place currants and balsamic vinegar in a bowl and set aside to soak.
Boil water and cook pasta in large saucepan. Drain once cooked.
While pasta is cooking, heat oil and add finely chopped shallots, crushed garlic and lemon rind of 2 lemons to pan. Stir for 1 minute. Add currant mixture. Cook for 1 minute. Add chickpeas and stock and simmer on low until stock is reduced by half. Add 100g of spinach and stir until spinach wilts.
Heat small fry pan and brown pine nuts. Put aside.
Wash and chop snap peas in half. Add to bowl with water and cover. Microwave for 90 seconds.
Add chickpea mixture, snap peas and pine nuts to pasta in large serving bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over pasta and stir. Top with parsley and goats cheese.
(Recipe: Freer, C. 2020, Taste.com)