Barbecued vegetable salad with chive and garlic yoghurt
Eggplant and the other vegetables in this recipe are heavenly when cooked on the barbecue.
The smoky flavour and charred edges are delicious with the cooling chive and garlic yoghurt.
You’ll find me craving this all summer long.
Serves 4
Gluten free/nut free/vegetarian
1 medium eggplant, sliced into 2cm wide rounds
2 medium courgettes, cut into strips
1 red capsicum, flesh cut into big chunks
handful cherry tomatoes, halved
olive oil for brushing on vegetables
Chive and garlic yoghurt
1 cup Greek style yoghurt
2 Tbsp finely chopped chives
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
zest of 1 lime or lemon
sea salt and cracked black pepper
To garnish
handful fresh basil
Method
Brush the eggplant, courgettes and capsicum generously with olive oil and also sprinkle the eggplant with salt.
Mix together the chive and garlic yoghurt ingredients. Season well. Plenty of cracked black pepper is great in this.
Heat your barbecue to a medium-high temperature. Cook the courgettes and capsicum until just tender (with lovely grill marks) and the eggplant until very soft.
Cut the vegetables into smaller bite-sized pieces.
Spread your large plate or platter with the chive and garlic yoghurt. Layer the barbecued vegetable pieces with the cherry tomatoes and some of the basil leaves. Scatter the remaining basil on top. A sprinkle of flaky salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil is great too.
Broccoli and greens tart with buckwheat and brown rice crust
This gluten-free pastry is forgiving and will come together easily for you.
Serves 4-6
Gluten free/nut free/vegetarian
Tart
½ cup tapioca flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
1 cup brown rice flour
½ tsp sea salt
75g cold butter, cut into cubes
1 free-range egg
1-2 Tbsp cold water, as needed
Filling
olive oil for sauteing
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, finely diced
½ medium head broccoli
2 large leaves silverbeet or chard, roughly chopped
4 free range eggs, lightly whisked
½ cup cream
¾ cup grated cheese
½ tsp dried tarragon
sea salt and cracked black pepper
Method
Pastry
Place the flours and salt into a food processor along with the butter. Pulse until the butter is completely incorporated. Add the egg and pulse until evenly mixed through.
Add 1 tablespoon of water, allowing 5 seconds of mixing before deciding whether to add more. You can press the pastry dough between your fingers to see if it has come together with the consistency of play dough. You may only need 1 tablespoon. Add another if needed. Bring the dough together into a ball, wrap it in cling film or baking paper and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Heat oven to 180°C. Remove pastry from the fridge and roll out on a floured piece of baking paper until slightly less than 1cm thick. Use the paper to help you drape it over a loose-bottomed rectangular tart dish and gently press into the groves. Use a knife to trim the top edge. Patch up any tears in the pastry and prick the bottom a few times with a fork. Place in the fridge or freezer to chill for 10 minutes.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until firm and very slightly golden. Set aside to cool completely.
Cook’s tip: If you’re not a fan of the flavour of buckwheat flour, you can replace it with ¾ cup almond meal.
Filling
Increase oven to 200°C.
Heat a generous glug of oil in a saute pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Use a box grater to grate the broccoli. Add this to the pan, raise the heat to high and cook for 2 minutes before stirring through the silverbeet and removing from the heat.
Whisk together the egg, cream, cheese and tarragon. Season well. Mix through the vegetables.
Spoon this into the crust. Place in the oven and bake for roughly 30 minutes until the filling is lightly firm and golden.
Peanut butter, banana, chocolate and raspberry loaf
This loaf makes a fantastic breakfast, lunch box filler or afternoon snack. The versatile batter can also be used to make muffins or even a cake.
Dairy free/gluten free/vegetarian
2 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
4 free-range eggs
½ cup peanut butter (I prefer smooth)
½ cup sugar (coconut sugar is lovely)
2½ cups almond meal
⅓ cup tapioca flour
2 tsp vanilla essence
¾ tsp baking soda
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
100g dairy-free dark chocolate, roughly chopped
1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries (do not thaw beforehand if using frozen)
Method
Heat oven to 160°C
Place the bananas, eggs, peanut butter, sugar and half the almond meal into a food processor.
Blend until smooth. Add the rest of the almond meal, flour, vanilla essence, baking soda and apple cider vinegar. Combine well.
Remove the blade from the food processor and gently stir through the chocolate with a spoon.
Pour mixture into a 23cm loaf tin that has been well greased or lined.
Gently press the raspberries into the top of the batter.
Bake for about 60 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean when inserted.
Wait until the loaf is completely cool before slicing.
Will last four days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Versatile batter: To make 12 regular-sized muffins: bake for 20-30 minutes.
To make a cake in a 23cm tin: bake for 50-60 minutes.
