Supergreens with quinoa & pistachio pesto

Mmmm a yummy way to get your greens in . . . I'm always on the lookout for one of those! Greens are so wonderful for your health, in particular the cruciferous greens like kale, cabbage, collards, broccoli and spinach . . . but many of us struggle to get our daily quota especially when boredom or monotony sets in. Don't let this happen to you or you'll be missing out on an amazing assortment of minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients, not to mention their powerful anti-cancer, detoxifying, immune strengthening, anti-inflammatory and heart healthy benefits. A good tip for your health is to include two servings of cruciferous greens per day and to enjoy at least one of those raw. 

There really is no excuse not to enjoy your greens . . . you've just got to dress them up occasionally (or all the time)! I love to mix up the way we eat our greens so that tedium is never an issue at our house, this is because greens always feature on our daily menu in one shape or form. We do all the regular things with greens like making green juice or smoothies, incorporating them into dishes such as quiches, savoury slices, stir-fries and even green eggs! We stir them chopped or blended through sauces, or serve them as a side dish sautéed or lightly steamed . . . but fresh homemade pestos and leafy salads with flavoursome dressings have to be my favourite green distraction at the moment. 

This salad features a gorgeous basil & pistachio pesto made with the zest of a lemon. It is times like these when I wish my small lemon tree on our balcony was a little more mature and forthcoming with the good stuff :( It is difficult to source organic lemons in Hong Kong. When I visit Australia, I am lucky to have a wonderful neighbour, sister and mother-in-law who help to support my organic lemon addiction so I can bring a supply back to HK with me in my suitcase. So, if you are lucky enough to have a productive lemon tree in your garden I am hugely jealous! ;)

I first enjoyed this lush green, fresh & fragrant salad, brimming with superfood goodness at a family dinner prepared by my mother-in-law over our Christmas 2013 break in Australia. I must say that my mother-in-law has a real flair for unearthing quality dishes. She is also very accustomed to me by now making a request for her yummy recipes. Lucky for me, my appeals are always graciously accepted . . and also I hesitate to say . . .  lucky for you! ;)

Looking over the original recipe, I could very quickly see how I could adapt it for the Thermomix. Plus of course I have tweaked the recipe slightly to improve nutritional quality. . . that goes without saying really! 

Supergreens with quinoa and pistachio pesto

ingredients

500g filtered water

1½ tbsp TM vegetable stock paste

80g red quinoa

80g white quinoa

170g broccolini, trimmed

100g frozen baby peas

100g baby spinach leaves

100g rocket leaves (arugula)

1 ripe avocado, stone removed, sliced

150g fetta cheese (omit for DF)

80g pepitas (pumpkin seeds), raw or lightly toasted

pistachio pesto

60g raw pistachio nuts

good handful of basil leaves

1 lemon, juice + zest (preferably organic)

50g extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

method

1. Add 500g of filtered water to the TM bowl with the stock paste.  Place the basket inside the TM bowl. Weigh both types of quinoa into a fine mesh sieve on top of the TM bowl (zero the sieve using the scales first). Rinse the quinoa with water at the sink before tipping out of the sieve into the TM basket. Secure the lid and Varoma dish on top ready for steaming the broccolini. Cook the quinoa for 12 minutes at 100C on speed 4. TIP: Soak the quinoa overnight for increase digestibility. 

2. Add the trimmed broccolini and frozen peas to the Varoma tray and steam for 5-6 minutes at Varoma temperature , speed 4 or until just tender. Immediately remove the green veg from the tray and plunge into icy cold water to prevent further cooking and to retain the vibrant green colour. Remove the cooked quinoa to a large mixing or salad bowl. Rinse out the TM bowl with hot water and dry with paper towel ready to make the fresh pesto. 

3. To make the pesto: peel the zest from the lemon in strips and add to the TM bowl with the pistachio nuts, garlic and basil leaves and finely chop on speed 7 for 5 seconds. Then add the olive oil and lemon juice and combine on speed 3 for a few seconds. 

4. Add the steamed greens to the quinoa, then add the baby spinach & rocket leaves and sliced avocado. Sprinkle with crumbled fetta and pumpkin seeds. Drizzle with pesto and toss. Enjoy!

Nutrition tid bit

Although the leafy greens have the highest overall nutrient density of all vegetables, meaning they contain the most micronutrients per calorie, it is important that you eat the rainbow, that is fruits and vegetables of every hue to benefit from an even wider range of nutrients that work in synergy to boost your health. So keep this in mind when you take this salad to a family gathering and dig into every colour of the rainbow (and I'm not referring to the bowl of m&m's . . . LOL:)

Original recipe here. 

Thai style chicken & coconut salad

It's always lovely to be in my home country of Australia to celebrate Christmas with family, and I count myself very lucky to be part of a family that on both sides are very passionate about preparing good food whether it be at Christmas or anytime of the year :)  Christmas day, is of course an opportunity for everyone to come together to celebrate, and on my husband's side owing to the enormity of the get together . . . which is a tribute to a devoted family with many who travel from afar . .  everyone brings a plate or two of food rather than a gift, and the focus is on family, fun, conversation, and of course fabulous food (and wine).

As the guests arrive on the day, a large, long table is carefully adorned with the most delicious of creations. Some dishes are old family favourites that have a starring role each Christmas, and other dishes make their first appearance, but never disappoint due to the calibre of the cook that has prepared them! They meet the scrutiny of 60 plus people, and if we are lucky will return the following year. 

There is always an amazing spread of cold meats (turkey, ham, rare beef, chicken and even tongue for the more adventurous), with luxurious homemade condiments and simple, yet exquisite sides such as minted peas and glazed carrots among an assortment of gourmet salads from green salad, caprese, watermelon & mint, green bean & pine nuts and my favourites this year . . marinated citrus chicken, roast pumpkin rocket & fetta, pancetta & broad beans, Moroccan pearl couscous & chickpea, and coconut chicken salad . . . needless to say every plate was piled high and you were certainly the odd one out if you didn't come back for seconds or even thirds! 

 

We finished with two large glorious homemade steamed Christmas puds, one recipe handed down through generations . . served up with thick creamy vanilla custard and a lashing of hard sauce. 

The recipe below is my Thermomix version of the lovely Thai-style Coconut chicken salad or Yum Gai - which my gorgeous sister-in-law contributed to the festive feast. She was generous enough to share her recipe and I have made just a couple of tweaks. It is a perfect fresh flavoured Summer salad. I took it along to a friend's BBQ dinner and my girlfriend commented "this is a salad to impress". I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and friends do . . .

Thai-style coconut chicken salad

ingredients
2 chicken breast fillets, skin off, quartered
1 pink lady apple, cored
1 large pink shallot (or sml red onion)
2 handfuls of fresh mint leaves
1 large carrot
1 punnet cherry or baby roma tomatoes
100g baby spinach leaves
100g cashews (raw or roasted - optional)

dressing:
juice of 1-2 lemons (4 tbsp)
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sambal olek (hot chill paste) - or to taste
4 tbsp coconut milk
2 spring onions, cut into 5cm pieces
2-3 fresh kaffir lime leaves
1 handful fresh coriander leaves

method
1. Add 500g boiling water to the TM bowl and chicken pieces into the Varoma dish. Set the Varoma into position and steam the chicken for approximately 15 minutes on speed 1 or 2 or until cooked through. Remove the Varoma tray, set aside and allow the chicken to cool.  Rinse out the TM bowl ready to prepare the salad dressing. 

2. Add all dressing ingredients to the TM bowl and blend for 10 seconds on speed 7 with the MC lid in place - you could also add the shallot here if you prefer to blend it in with the dressing. Decant and set aside.

3. Add the cooked chicken pieces to the TM bowl and shred for about 3 seconds on reverse speed 4. Remove the shredded chicken into a large bowl. Isn't this just so impressive! 

4. Prepare your carrot with the apple etc. in step 5 below, or for a fussier look you could cut julienne-style or use a spiraliser, and then add to the large bowl with the chicken. 

5. Add the apple, shallot (or red onion) and mint leaves to the TM bowl and chop roughly on speed 4 for 5-6 seconds. Decant and add to the large bowl with the other ingredients. 

6. Shred the baby spinach with a knife or keep whole, add to the other ingredients and pour over the salad dressing. Use your spatula or salad servers to toss the salad to combine all ingredients and dish onto a large serving plate to serve. Sprinkle with cashews (optional) and garnish with a sprig of mint. Enjoy!

variation ideas

• add red capsicum instead of cherry tomatoes
• use fresh chilli in place of chilli paste
• try chopping the baby spinach with the apple, onion and mint at step 5.

no thermomix?

• Boil or steam chicken fillets on the stovetop & shred using two forks (oh no!)
• Finely chop the spring onions and lime leaves and combine with the other dressing ingredients for a chunkier style dressing

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laab gai

Fresh back from a recent family break in Phuket, Thailand ... a popular holiday destination for Hong Kongers with it being just a hop, skip and jump away . . I felt inspired to develop a Thai favourite of ours for the Thermomix. I just love Thailand. I have travelled through most of the country on various trips over the years. I love, it's natural beauty as well as the hustle and bustle of it's capital (and the shopping of course), it's people and culture .... but most of all it's food :)

So far I have discovered that the thermie is very well suited to make our favourite Thai curries and to blend Thai-style dressings for salads, but this has been the extent of my Thai cooking using the thermomix so far.  Indeed I plan to do a lot more!

I picked up some dried galangal (pronounced 'kah' in Thai) and dried chillies while in Phuket to make this dish. This dish calls for charring them in a pan, then grinding them into a powder, which really adds to this recipe's authenticity and depth of flavour . . . yum!

Laab Gai

ingredients
2 tbsp white rice
2 sml pieces dried galangal
a handful of dried Thai chillies (or chilli powder)
600g chicken breast or thigh fillet, skinless, chopped roughly
20g coconut oil
6 cloves garlic
1 stalk lemon grass, cut into 2cm lengths
1 shallot
2 spring onions, cut into 2cm lengths 
a good handful fresh mint leaves
3-4 tbsp fish sauce
juice 2-3 limes
1/2 -1 tsp raw caster sugar, to balance flavours

method
1. Dry roast the white rice at varoma temp on speed 1 for 12-15 minutes, or until the rice has a golden tinge to it. Remove TM bowl from it's base and allow to cool. Any white rice will do. I used basmati . . . for authenticity use Thai glutinous rice.  

2. While the rice is cooling, add the dried galangal pieces to a small pan (preferably cast iron) or a wok on medium heat until the pieces are darkened and slightly charred. Allow to cool, then add to the TM bowl with the roasted rice and grind into a fine powder on speed 9 for about 30 seconds. Decant and set aside.

Dried galangal & Thai chillies

3. Now roast a handful of Thai dried chillies in the same pan, turning frequently until they are darkened and slightly charred. Allow to cool, then add to the TM bowl and grind into a fine powder on speed 9 for about 30 seconds. 

4. Add the chicken to the TM bowl and pulse with the turbo button 3-4 times into mince. Add coconut oil and cook for 5-6 minutes at 100°C on reverse + speed soft, or until all of the chicken mince is cooked through. Remove the cooked chicken and set aside. 

5. Add the garlic cloves, lemon grass, shallot, spring onions and mint to the TM bowl and chop on speed 6 for 5 seconds, or until finely chopped. 

6. Return to chicken to the TM bowl and add the fish sauce, lime juice, ground roasted rice and galangal, plus 1/2 - 2 tsp of the ground dried Thai chilli powder (or to taste). Combine on reverse, speed 3 for 10 seconds. 

7. Taste and adjust flavours to desired sourness, hotness and saltiness. Add sugar only as needed to pull the flavours together. Serve at room temperature in a lettuce leaf cup on a plate with assorted vegetables such as lightly steamed green beans, cucumber sticks, a wedge of cabbage and fresh herbs such as Thai basil and mint.

no thermomix?

• Roast the white rice in a hot dry pan (cast iron is best) or wok over low-medium heat until golden brown for about 12 minutes. Stirring constantly so that it doesn't burn.
• Grind the rice, galangal and dried chilli using a coffee grinder. 
• Use chicken mince and cook on the stovetop.

recipe adapted for the Thermomix from Temple of Thai

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