RELATED: SPICY ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 35 min

Ingredients

2 bunches carrots, peeled and tops trimmed
1 red onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


To Garnish:
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Zest of 1 lemon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

In a medium baking dish, toss the carrots with the onions.

In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil with the red-wine vinegar, cumin, salt and pepper to combine. Pour the mixture over the carrots and onions; toss gently to coat.

Roast until the carrots and onions are tender and browning at the edges, 30 to 35 minutes.

Garnish with mint and lemon zest. Serve warm.

Nutrition

177 calories

11g fat

20g carbs

2g protein

9g sugars

INGREDIENTS

Evenly-sized large potatoes
Olive oil
Melted butter
Sea salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees C.

Wash the potatoes, pat them dry and cut them thinly almost all the way through and arrange in a baking dish lined with baking paper.

Alternatively, cut each large potato in half, sliced them in the same way and stack them individually.

Drizzle olive oil followed by the melted butter evenly over the top of the potatoes.

Finish with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper.

Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.

One pack long beans cut into 3” long pieces
1/4 large onion, minced
6-7 garlic, minced
Thumb-sized ginger, minced
3 tbsp chilli paste
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp thick soya sauce
1 tbsp Canola oil

DIRECTIONS

Boil some water and black the cut long beans. It should take no more than 5 minutes. Drain.

Heat the oil in a wok then fry the onions and garlic on medium heat. Add the ginger and lower the heat to let it sweat. When onions are transparent, add the chilli paste and fry a while. Add the water, mix well then add the soya sauce and salt to taste.

Add the blanched beans, mix well then remove from heat. Serve with rice or as a side dish with any meal.

So, this is how it turned out when I made it: It wasn’t perfect, but I’ll keep tweaking until I get it exactly the way I want it.

Serves 8
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 2 1/4 hours

INGREDIENTS

1 kg russet potatoes, peeled
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium-sized onion, sliced in thin wedges lengthwise
Salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
8 sprigs thyme

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. Brush the bottom of a round 9-inch baking dish with some butter mixture. I used my round Pyrex dish and it went to the table from the oven. With a sharp knife or using a mandolin, slice the potatoes very thinly crosswise.

This amount of potatoes fit just nicely into my Pyrex dish. Arrange potato slices vertically in dish then insert the onion wedges evenly throughout. Sprinkle with salt and red-pepper flakes (if using). Brush with the remaining butter mixture.

Roast in the oven for 1 1/4 hours. Remove, add thyme sprigs ( I didn’t have any so I sprinkled dried thyme – but it didn’t have the same effect!

Continue roasting until the potatoes are cooked through with a crisp top, about 35 minutes more.

http://thebittenword.typepad.com/thebittenword/2010/01/crispy-potato-roast.html#more

I finally had a chance to try and make it this week and I served it with my Nando’s Style Roast Chicken and a salad. It looks a bit different from Kim’s because I used organic mixed wild rice. It was nice and I guess I’ll be making it again!

Ingredients

1/2-1 bell pepper, any colour
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 stalk of celery
1 tomato
1.5 cups brown rice
3 cups chicken broth

Directions

Sauté peppers, celery, garlic and onions in a bit of oil until they’re translucent and a bit brown.

Add brown rice and stir to coat with oil. Sauté until it starts to brown a bit and smell nutty.

Add chopped tomato, and fresh black pepper

Add three cups of very hot chicken broth (you can also use veggie broth). Bring to a hard boil, cover  and turn down the heat as low as you can. Allow to cook for about 45 minutes.

If you are not yet ready to eat, turn off the burner and just leave it on the burner covered.

Broccoli or kale or even french beans or long beans can be cooked the same way and they all go great with steaming hot rice! This is an especially great way to cook broccoli which is oh-so-healthy and I personally could eat a plate of broccoli belacan like a salad!

INGREDIENTS

1 medium sized head of broccoli
3 small red chillis
1 tsp belacan granules

2 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Canola oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

Warning!!!! Make sure the extractors are on and kitchen doors closed before cooking this dish!!!

Prepare the broccoli – here’s a good how to video. Scroll to the middle to see the part dealing with the broccoli.

[youtube]RrGoIbXvkaA[/youtube]

Wash the cut broccoli and place in a microwave-proof with a little water and microwave for 2 minutes. It should be a bright green and still crunchy. Rinse in cold water to stop it cooking. Discard all the water.

Peel the garlic and smash with the side of the knife then cut into small pieces.

Wash the chillies and cut into a few small pieces. Place in the plastic jug together with the belacan granules, add 2 tablespoon water and a bit of salt and use the hand blender to blend it into the “sambal”. Set aside.

Heat the oil in the wok, and saute the garlic until fragrant. Add the “sambal” and fry quickly careful not to let it burn. When fragrant add the broccoli and mix well using two non-stick spoons.

When everything is covered with the “sambal” remove from heat and serve with hot steamed rice.

Anyhow, the chicken cooked this way not only smells good, it tastes really good. Now I need to figure out how to keep the chicken from getting dry. There must be a way…

By the way, the best Caesar Salad of all time is at the Terrace Grill in the Marriott Hotel in Kuwait. They make it right in front of you and it is simply sumptuous!

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4 

400 gms Romaine lettuce, cleaned and cut
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
Fresh Parmesan cheese, sliced

Cajun Chicken Marinade:
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Drizzle olive oil
Salt to taste

Combine everything in a bowl and taste for salt. Make some cuts across the chicken breasts so the marinade penetrates. Mix chicken breasts with the marinade and place in an airtight bag overnight for extra spicy flavour. Otherwise at least an hour will be fine.

Grill 15 minutes each side then remove to cool. Slice and put aside.

Caesar Dressing:

4 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp anchovy paste (comes in a tube) or 4 – 5 anchovies without the oil
Salt to taste

To prepare the dressing, mix everything using a fork. Taste for salt. Add 2 – 3 tbsp water and mix well.

To serve the salad:

Mix the salad with dressing and put in individual plates. Arrange Parmesan and chicken slices. And serve!

INGREDIENTS

250 gms fresh button mushrooms

1 whole garlic

5 – 6 guindilla (dried little Spanish peppers)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 capful sherry vinegar

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Wash the mushrooms and cut into quarters. If they are larger, cut into 6 pieces each.  Peel the garlic cloves and chop coarsely.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy non-stick pan and sauté the chopped garlic. Crush the guindilla and add to the garlic. Fry for a short while on medium heat until fragrant.

Add the mushrooms and salt to taste and fry slowly, turning it regularly, until the mushrooms have shrunk and lost part of its liquid. Add the sherry vinegar and continue cooking until all the water has dried.

Serve hot.