Roasted Red Onion and Sweet Potato Salad

I've been enjoying bulgar for around 4 years now - I was introduced to it through researching Low GI alternatives. It's a great pantry staple to have on hand, Carlos keeps a bag at work with some canned tuna for a quick lunch option. 1 cup of bulgar has fewer calories and more than twice the fibre content of rice and is considered a whole-grain.

I have read of it being added to home-made breads and scones and will have to investigate those uses in the kitchen soon.

I usually buy my bulgar from the local nut and coffee shop, and I have seen it in some supermarkets. It makes a great comfort-food lunch in winter when "cooked" in some broth.

Bulgar is known by many different names across the globe - the other most popular name I've heard is burhgul, but it's also known as "dalla" in Indian cuisine.

Recipe

Makes 2 serves
Cooking time 20 mins

Ingredients

20 green beans, cut into small lengths
half an orange sweet potato, cut into cubes
half a red onion, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or balsamic if preferred)
1/2 cup of roasted cashews
1/2 cup bulgar/burghul
1/2 cup boiling water
feta cheese
Ice cubes for the ice bath

Method

Preheat oven to 200C. Place chopped sweet potato and red onion into an oven-proof dish and drizzle with red wine vinegar and bake until sweet potato is soft but still holding it's shape.

In a small saucepan bring a cup of water to boil and blanch the green beans for a minute or two, depending on personal preference. Remove beans from boiling water and place into an ice-bath to seize the cooking process and to retain the vibrant colour. Once cool remove from ice water and drain.

Place dried bulgar/burghul in a small bowl and cover it with boiling water from your kettle. Cover the bowl with cling film for 5 mins and then stir. If there is still liquid in the bowl, cover it again and leave for a further 4 mins.

In a large bowl place the bulgar/burghul, sweet potato, red onion, green beans, cashews and feta cheese together and mix gently.

Keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Before roasting

An ice water bath keeps the beans crisp

Roast Broccoli and Pumpkin Salad

Recipe

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli, cut into florets

16 brussels sprouts, halved

1 2-inch slice of pumpkin, skin removed, chopped into large chunks

2 tablespoons of ghee (melted if solid)

pinch of salt

1/4 red onion, sliced into thin crescents, seperated

fresh rocket

feta cheese

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C. Place chopped broccoli, brussels sprouts and pumpkin in oven-proof dishes. Pour melted ghee over the vegetables and toss to coat. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and bake in hot oven for 30 mins, or until cooked. Leave vegetables to cool for 30 mins. Once vegetables are cooled, slice the red onion thinly and chop feta into cubes. Toss the vegetables with the rocket and onion and feta.

I didn't use a dressing for this salad as the vegetables had enough ghee from the roasting which covered the rocket nicely. I also found that the roasted pumpkin came apart a little at its edges which also gave the rest of the salad a really creamy texture.

Vegetarian Celery and Lentil Salad Recipe

Pretty enough for a cafe

Carlos' parents grow a lot of things for themselves - lettuce, rocket, bok choi, celery, cabbage, capsicums, tomatoes, broadbeans, artichokes, asparagus; alongside fruit trees that produce apricots, nectarines, plums, cherries - which means we get to share in the bounty. Every meal at their house is amplified with just-out-of-the-ground fresh produce and sometimes we are given things to take home. It's amazing how much a regular-sized backyard in suburban Dandenong is capable of producing.

On Sunday we were given a head of celery. Its freshness and peppery taste is perfect for a Mirepoix when creating a base for a sauce or soup, but it is also so juicy and crunchy that it would be a perfect salad addition. If you're anything like me you like your salad to have a lot of crunch, and this celery certainly delivers on that count.

This is a great take-to-work lunch to make if you want to minimise the amount of animal protein you eat throughout the week - which is something Carlos and I are dedicated to doing. It's satisfying, filling, energy-boosting and doesn't leave you hungry 2 hours after lunch.

Pic of the fresh ingredient prep

Recipe

Makes 4 serves
Cooking time 20 mins
Keeps in fridge up to 3 days
Vegetarian. To convert to vegan, omit feta cheese

Ingredients

2 cups green lentils, cooked and cooled
4 ribs of celery, washed and cut on an angle
1 small red capsicum, chopped
half a small white salad onion, thinly sliced and the cut into half rounds
150 grams baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
50 grams feta cheese, chopped into small chunks
handful of pine nuts
2 teasppons sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch of salt

Method

If cooking the lentils from dry, place in a saucepan and cover them with twice as much water and a spash of olive oil. Bring to boil and cook for about 20 mins, or until soft to the bite. Remove from stove, drain and run under cold water until lentils are cool. Strain well, set aside.

Chop up the fresh ingredients and add them to a bowl. Add the cooled lentils to the bowl and stir through. 

In a small glass mix the sherry vinegar, olive oil and salt together the pour over the salad. Mix well.

Keep covered in the fridge. Will keep for 3 days.

Sherry vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt - the perfect dressing

Yum!

Vegetarian Rocket and Walnut Pesto Pasta Salad

As part of trying to plan and control what I (and Carlos) eat for lunches, I made a pasta salad today. There is enough for about 6 meals, which means I don't need to worry about lunch until Thursday.

In the fridge I had a large amount of rocket wilting in a container. I had bought a 350gram bag at Costco for $4.99. I don't really remember why I bought it. I think I had plans of a frittata and never got around to it.

The rocket needed to be used, so I decided to make a large amount of rocket pesto for a pasta and bean salad. Unfortunately I had forgotten that I had run out of cashews. Fortunately I remembered that I had half a bag of walnuts in the pantry. So into the food processor went about 200 grams of rocket, 150 grams of walnuts and about 3 tablespoons of grated Pecorino Remano cheese. While processing the rocket mix I added about 3/4 cup of olive oil, drizzled in slowly.

I cooked the pasta until it was still a touch firm. I have read that serving pasta still a bit firm actually lowers the glycemic load as it is broken down more slowly in the small intestine. It's also better to choose a wholemeal pasta rather than the regular sort. I used to buy my wholemeal pasta at Aldi stores, it's a certified organic pasta and it has always cooked well and isn't clumpy. It's also possible to find low GI gluten-free pasta at Coles, according to this news feed. It's apparently their own brand called "Coles Simply Gluten Free" range, and it has the GI symbol on the packet.

I know that pasta is not the greatest carb to be eating, but I really need to use up the carbs in my pantry over the next six months so that in six months time there wont be any sign of such food in the house, so I figure if I make a pasta salad for lunch one week out of four it will be a good way to use it up. It's also a good idea if you're going to eat pasta to have it earlier in the day, that way the big processing done by the intestines is at a peak time of activity (post-lunch), and it's a good thing to plan dinners with that carb-hit at midday in mind, making sure dinner is a half protein and half vegetable mix.

* Updated edit - Reading through The Low GI Diet I have a revised attitude towards pasta. It is a good carbohydrate as long as it is eaten in proper portion sizes alongside lots of vegetables.

Recipe

Ingredients

200 grams of rocket
150 grams of walnuts
3 tablespoons of grated Pecorino Romano cheese
3/4 cup of olive oil
250 grams of wholemeal pasta spirals
1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
100 grams feta cheese, sliced into small pieces
half a salad onion, chopped finely
Juice of 3 lemons
50 grams of rocket, extra

Method

Cook pasta until just al dente (still firm but cooked). Drain and rinse under cold water to stop it from cooking any further. When cool, drain and place in a large bowl or container. Add to this the extra 50 grams of rocket.

Place rocket, walnuts, and pecorino cheese in a food processor, processing while adding the olive oil in a thin stream. Blend until it looks like a green, breadcrumby mess. Place pesto mix on top of cooked pasta and gently stir through using a spatula.

Drain and rinse the cannellini beans in a sieve, and squeeze the lemon juice over the beans. This helps neutralise the canned flavour that they can get and will compliment the rocket flavour. Add to the pasta mix.

Chop half a white salad onion into small pieces and add to the pasta, along side the chopped feta cheese. mix gently though.

Store salad in the fridge for 2-3 days, helping yourself to lunch!

Notes

The walnuts complemented the peppery-ness of the rocket so well, it's even better than cashews. I will most definitely be remembering this flavour combination for future salads. The addition of cannellini beans will lower the glycemic load a touch, as will the presence of lemon juice. I hope this salad will last 3 days in the fridge, and will update this post with notes on how it goes. I suspect that the flavours will also have a chance to intensify the longer the salad sits, but I'm not be keen on leaving it in the fridge for more than 2 or 3 days.

PS I have managed to budget for a new digital camera which I will be picking up later this week. Prepare for more detailed photos without lines across them!

Update: Monday Lunch Notes

This did get better as it sat in the fridge, although it was a little drier than yesterday. The flavours aren't too changed from yesterday's tasting, but the onion has crisped up and is more noticeable, giving that fresh pop in the mouth every now and then. The pasta stayed firm but the fresh rocket leaves had wilted a little bit. They still taste good, but as an aesthetic they are a pretty poor show. Also good to note is that the nuts in the pesto did intensify in flavour, and along side the romano cheese and olive oil gave a really lovely mouth-feel to the dish - all those fats, of course! I mention this because I find that foods with a satisfying mouth-feel are more likely to stave off snacking once I've had my fill. Other foods with different mouth-feel can trigger a binge (think pretzels, potato chips, corn chips, bread), so it's good to be aware of those things and focus on foods that satisfy without over-eating.