Vegetable soup

Here is a very quick vegetable soup recipe. On Tuesdays, I take my son and his friend to the park after school finishes. I bring lunch and we eat it in the park, before the boys play a game of football.

The weather was cold, and the fridge was looking a bit empty, but I had some sad-looking cauliflower, some carrots, half a zucchini, half a sweet potato and an onion in the pantry. Those five vegetables turned into vegetable soup for the park in about 30 minutes flat. Hot, tasty, quick and healthy. Thumbs up from the boys for this one. Winning all around.

What you'll need

Serves two

1/2 head cauliflower, stalk and leaves removed, broken into florets
1/2 large sweet potato (about 300g), peeled and roughly chopped into chunks
1 large carrot, ends removed and roughly chopped
1/2 large zucchini, stalk removed, roughly chopped.
1/2 large onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1L hot vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to season

Bread to serve

What to do

I didn't even bother frying off the onion for this recipe. Just throw all the ingredients into a large pot, pour over the stock, put on the lid, turn on the heat and bring to a rapid simmer. Now go and do the ironing or have a shower. Come back in 30 minutes and you'll have a lovely soup almost ready to go. 

Remove from the heat, give it a wizz with your stick blender, season to taste with salt and pepper and it's done.

Pour the soup into a thermos and take it to the park. Serve in a cup with some bread or drink it just as it. Delicious.

Sweet potato, cauliflower and red lentil soup

Now that there cooler weather is here, a big bowl of beautiful soup can take away those chills and those pesky belly rumbles too.                                                                               There are so many reasons to make your own soup; I find that making your own batch of soup is lighter on the pocket, because there are less expensive ingredients like meat in a soup that in a non-soup dish; it is an excellent and palatable way to use up 'past-their-prime' vegetables; it's relatively quick to make; it's healthy and you can stretch soup further to feed more people by serving it with bread or cheese.

Here's my recipe for a filling vegetable soup featuring red lentils; the yummy soup is high in protein and fibre and a great way to help kids eat vegetables that they otherwise might not, like cauliflower.

What you will need

Serves four

1 cauliflower, core and leaves removed, broken into small florets

1kg sweet potato (about 3 medium or 2 large), peeled and chopped into large chunks

1 large onion, peeled and roughly diced

250g dried red lentils

1.5L chicken or vegetable stock (hot)

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

1 olive oil

Salt and pepper to season

Bread, chopped basil and natural yoghurt to serve

What to do

Place a large pot on the stove over medium heat. Add the oil, onion and garlic and gently cook until the onion is translucent. Add the lentils, mix well with the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes. Then add the sweet potato, cauliflower and marjoram, Mix well to combine. Pour over the hot stock. Stir gently and increase the heat until the soup comes to a rapid simmer. Reduce the heat to low so that the soup is gently simmering, pop the lid on the pot and let it cook for at least 30 minutes. It is ready once the sweet potato and cauliflower is falling apart and very soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove from the heat. I preferred this as a smooth soup so I blended it with my stick blender until all the lumps were vitamised. But you can leave it as is with chunks if you prefer. If the soup is too thick for you, you can add more stock, water or milk to thin it out.

Serve warm with a dollop of natural yoghurt and some fresh bread. Sprinkle over some chopped fresh basil leaves or some grated cheese if you like.

Baked eggplant with feta, tomatoes and herbs

Yes, I admit it, I have a thing for eggplant. I am seeing someone about it - my green grocer. He's very helpful.

Here is another way to cook this most wonderful fruit (yes, it is a fruit!)

Eggplant schnitzel

These schnitzels are really gorgeous; crunchy, crispy coating and silky, soft eggplant inside. So, so delicious to eat. If there is anyone if your family who doesn't like eggplant, give them these and you might find they are converted. My grandmother used to make these when I was a child, so I have some nice memories of eating these too.

Zucchini ribbons with tuna, olives and tomato

If you are eating Paleo or low-carb then this dish is perfect for you. Fish is a good source of protein but generally has less calories than a similar portion of beef or pork.

Panfried salmon with crunchy Asian-style salad

It's been a while, sorry! We moved apartments, so I've been a little busy getting everything in order at the new place.

If you've read any of my recipes, you will know I have a thing for lots of texture in my food, crunch in particular is my thing. This recipe with salmon and lots of crunchy vegetables ticks the crunch box for me. The freshness of the vegetables, herbs and nuts provides a good contrast to the richness of the salmon.

Tuna, salmon and sweet corn burgers

This was a real 'what is in the cupboard that I can cook quickly for lunch' recipe.

I had hungry children due home in an hour and no time to run to a grocery shop. A search through the pantry cupboard revealed a tin of tuna in brine, one tin of pink salmon and a tin of sweet corn. Put all that together and you get the above - tuna, salmon and sweet corn burgers. The children had theirs as burgers on a bread roll with some lettuce and tomato. I had mine with an avocado and orange salad. Just delightful, and the leftovers went well for lunch the next day.

Salmon and potato cakes

Lunch, snack or dinner idea today. These salmon cakes were baked in the oven, basically because I was a bit pressed for time and didn't want the mess of crumbing. Although oven-baking the cakes doesn't give you the crispy coating that crumbing would, at a guess I'd say there would be much less fat as there is no shallow-frying in oil or butter.

Cherry tomato and goat's cheese tart tatin

Aaawww, look that this little tomato tart. Isn't it so pretty! The colours are so vibrant. I enjoy food that looks good, as well as tastes great. I am definitely a person who eats with my eyes, as well as my mouth. If a meal doesn't look so good, or isn't presented well, then for me, it is not going to taste as good as it could.

Roasted pumpkin, eschalot and tomato tart

Dear someone. I am hungry; please cook this for me now. Love me.

Pumpkin and feta strudel

Living in Austria, of course strudel is on many restaurant menus - the traditional apple, the less common berry and sometimes 'topfen' which is like a local cottage cheese. Even though the strudel originated next door in Hungary, the Austrians have adopted this as the national food. Certainly if you come to Vienna, you must try one, with lots of fresh cream and maybe even a rum hot chocolate in the winter.

I made this vegetable version of a strudel, using in-season pumpkin and feta cheese. This was a tasty side dish for our grilled steaks. The leftovers kept well for lunch the next day.

Zucchini, carrot and pine nut salad with a tangy dressing

I've met quite a few people who have a pathological aversion
to zucchini/courgette - the man of the house being one of these. Usually this is because their mothers or grandmothers served it up as a boiled, over-cooked mush when they were young.

Boiled zucchini is not an appetising dish, no matter how you might flavour it.

If you want your family to eat zucchini, try this recipe out. It is fresh, crunchy and tastes really good. Serve as an accompaniment to grilled meat, fish or as a side dish with pasta.

Eggplant and goat's cheese stack

Yes, I have a thing for eggplant. And yes, I have a real thing for goat's cheese. Combine them and I'm happy as a pig in you-know-what.

Look at this little stack of eggplant and goat's cheese. Isn't it pretty!

I used a variegated eggplant (white and purple stripes) so there was a little bit of extra colour, but the flavour was the same as a 'normal' purple eggplant. I made a tomato chilli jam to go onto the top, which was a little spicy, but really jazzed up the flavours of the other ingredients.

We had this with a grilled chicken breast and some salad. It was tasty and filling.

You could make this for a dinner party entree. I think it could be a real show-stopper when you bring it to the table. You could pre-grill the eggplant and keep it warm and also make the chilli jam beforehand, so this would be easy to quickly assemble.

Haloumi, avocado and lemon salad

Quite a few salads have been made in my kitchen lately.

Perhaps I am trying to encourage the weather to turn more 'summer-like' as we've had a lot of rain, wind and generally depressing 'Autumn-like' conditions for the past month.

This Haloumi salad is packed with lots of texture and strongly-flavoured ingredients. Instead of just squeezing some lemon juice over the top, I peeled the lemon, removed the seeds, sliced finely and then added this as an ingredient to the salad. If you think this may be too strong for you, just juice the lemon instead of using the flesh. And because the lemon flesh is in the salad, I only dressed this salad with olive oil and some salt and pepper. That's it.

Again, there's lots of texture here; the chewy and crunchy Haloumi, the squishy avocado, the tart lemon flesh and the fragrant fresh mint. I really liked this combination. And it is so 'summery' and pretty to look at too.

Serve as a side dish to roast chicken or seafood.

Asian noodle salad

This Asian-flavoured noodle salad is perfect for a bbq or for when friends come over.        

You can make it in advance, even the night before, and it will stay fresh, and then it's just a bit of dressing at the end to finish it.

I like the slippery noodles and the other crunchy ingredients and of course the salty, sweet dressing. Yum!

I served this salad with some oven-baked pork belly pieces. The salad was a nice contrast of fresh flavours to the strongly-flavoured meat.

You could shred some cooked chicken or duck breast into this or even some cooked prawns, which I think would be really good. Or just serve it by itself if you prefer, but definitely with a cold beer.

Moroccan-spiced chickpeas, carrots and apricots

Here is a lovely, spicy dish or chickpeas, carrots and apricots. You could eat this dish by itself with some rice or fresh pita bread. Or serve it as a side dish with pork or chicken. Either way, the sweet, slightly tart apricots break down a little once cooked, and combined with the tomatoes, coat the other ingredients and make a wonderful, tasty sauce. The carrot pieces hold their shape, as do the chickpeas. And the pine nuts provide a nice crunch.  

This dish is spicy. If you don't like spicy food, or you are cooking for children, leave out the chilli.

Eggplant parmigiana bake

For my family, this was a lovely spring meal, even for the non-eggplant liking person among us (no names will be mentioned!). 

Once cooked, the eggplant becomes so soft and squishy. And the juices, combined with the tomato sauce and bechamel sauce is very tasty. For something different, I sprinkled the top with cheese combined with hazelnut meal, instead of breadcrumbs. The taste of the hazelnuts gave a bit of nutty sweetness to the dish, which I really liked. I grilled the top a little to make the cheese/hazelnut mix crunchy.

This dish would freeze very well, either cooked or uncooked. You could make a double batch, and freeze one for later. 

I think this eggplant parmigiana  makes a lovely, tasty meal. Serve it with a fresh garden salad and some crusty bread to mop us the lovely sauce.

Creamy leek pastry

I made up the recipe for this pastry rather quickly. Sometimes, dinner time comes and I stand in front of the fridge in a daze with the door open, thinking 'what am I going to cook?'

I needed something as a side dish for a family meal . I had some pastry in the fridge and a leek - not the most inspiring of ingredients. 

I came up with this creamy, leek-filled pastry square, with a little thyme and tomato on top. It was so yummy and received a 'thumbs-up' from the family.

You could add some sliced ham into the leek mixture for some more flavour. 

Or you could half the size of the pastry and make these smaller for a great finger food recipe for a party.

What you'll need

Made four pastry squares, as a side dish to a main meal.

1 piece of puff pastry (40cm x 40cm), cut into four squares (10cm x 10cm)

1 leek, cleaned and white part finely sliced

1 onion, peeled and finely sliced

2 cups milk

1/4 cup plain flour

1 tablespoon butter

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 roma tomatoes, quartered

What to do

Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Place the pastry squares onto a lined baking tray and into the oven.

Cooked until the squares are puffed up and brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. While the squares are still puffy, using a spoon, hollow out a hole in the middle of the pastry (use the back of the spoon and just push down).

Now make the filling. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the butter. Once melted and bubbling, add the onion and leek. Cook until the leek and onion are soft and translucent. 

Now sprinkle in the flour slowly and stir well until you have a paste. Reduce the heat to low. Slowly add the milk and using a wooden spoon, stir constantly until the sauce starts to thicken. Once the thickening process starts, remove from the heat and keep stirring for a minute or two. Season well. 

Spoon the leek sauce into the middle of the pastry squares until it reaches the top of the pastry. Top with the tomato pieces and sprinkle with a little dried thyme.

Serve immediately. Makes a lovely side dish to grilled meats or lunch with a salad.

Goat's cheese soufflé

Valentine's Day 2013. We don't really celebrate Valentine's Day in our house, although apparently the little people of the house seem to think we should. No flowers, chocolates or pressies here. But I do cook something a little special for our family to share.

This year, I decided on a Mediterranean-style menu with three courses taking inspiration from three different countries.

First course took inspiration from a little bistro in Provence France,  second course was from a tapas bar in Barcelona Spain, and dessert was from a trattoria in Tuscany Italy (or so we pretended!).

I hope your Valentine's day was a lovely one, whether you celebrate it on not. And I hope you enjoy this little tour around the Mediterranean.

These souffles were very light and tasty. Although it takes a little bit of effort, I like souffles. It is not something to eat every day, but something to save for a special occasion. Bonne Saint Valentin!

What you need

Made 6 small soufflés (made in half cup capacity ramekins)

1/2 cup packet breadcrumbs
40g butter
40g plain flour
250ml milk
50g grated cheddar cheese
50g crumbled goat's cheese
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Extra butter for greasing the ramekins

To serve

Fresh rocket
1/2 ripe avocado, sliced
4 small slices goat's cheese

What to do

Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Boil a kettle full of water for later use.

Grease the ramekins well and place in the fridge or freezer to harden the butter.

While the ramekins are in the freezer, melt the 40g butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted and bubbling, add the flour and mix well until combined . Turn the heat to low. Slowly add the milk and stir continuously until the mixtures thickens. Add the cheese and thyme and mix until well combined.

Set aside for 5 minutes to cool. Add the egg yolks and mix well. Season well with salt and pepper.

In a clean bowl, mix the egg whites with electric beaters until stiff peaks form.

Now, add half the egg whites back into the cheese mixture. Fold gently together with a metal spoon. Add the other half of the egg whites to the mixture until just combined.

Remove the ramekins from the freezer. Place a little breadcrumb in each ramekin and 'jiggle' the crumbs around the bottom and sides to ensure a coasting of crumbs all over the inside of the ramekin. Shake out any excess. (This helps to ensure that the egg mixture doesn't stick to the sides of the ramekin when it rises in the oven.)

Place the ramekins into an ovenproof dish, spaced evenly apart. Fill each ramekin to the brim with the egg mixture. Now pour the boiling water into the ovenproof dish, so that it comes half way up the sides of the ramekins.

Carefully put the dish into the oven.

Cook for 25 minutes until golden and very 'puffed'. Serve immediately with a side salad.

Tips for soufflés

• Do not open the oven door while cooking. 
• Be ready to serve these immediately from the oven to the table so that you will get to see the lovely fluffy soufflés at their best. The soufflés will start to deflate as soon as you take them from the oven.
• I prepared the salad onto some large plates while the soufflés were cooking, so I could just place the little ramekins onto the plate and serve immediately.
• It's all about timing to have a successful soufflé.

Lime and lemongrass prawns

We had a birthday dinner for the man-of-the-house yesterday. He designed a menu and I had to cook it as one of my gifts to him. He asked for these prawns, inspiration and partial recipe borrowed from Donna Hay.

Very simple, but these prawns were so very, very good. Firm, sweet prawn flesh with those little crunchy cooked bits on the outside. Then a spicy, sour sauce spooned over the top. The man was extremely happy with these.

I made a very spicy marinade/sauce, but I also kept some plain prawns for the children as they don't cope with too much spice. And a squeeze of lime over the top made these prawns very special.

I used frozen green prawns in the shell, so I had to peel them once defrosted, but it only took 5 minutes. I was very happy with the texture of the prawns, even though they were frozen.

I think if I made a double batch of these they would have been eaten. I made 25 prawns and they were gone within 5 minutes, with lots of 'yums' around the table.

What you'll need

Served four people as an entree

25 large green prawns, peeled with tails intact
25 bamboo or metal skewers

For the marinade/sauce
Juice and zest of 1 lime
Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 small, fresh chillis, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 small stalks of lemongrass, whacked/bruised with the back of a knife and finely chopped
Good pinch of salt

What to do

Thread the prawns onto the skewers. Try to straighten the prawns out as much as possible on the skewer.

Make the marinade. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and whiz until combined. Or if you don't have a food processor, chop all the ingredients very finely and combine in a bowl. Spoon half the marinade over the prawns. Keep the rest in reserve to spoon over afterwards.

Heat a large pan or a bbq hot plate and grill the prawns for a few minutes either side until golden brown.

Once cooked, remove and place onto a serving plate. Drizzle the reserved marinade over the top and serve with extra lime to squeeze over. Simply delicious!