Silverbeet, Pea and Watercress Soup with croutons

First up, the croutons…

…really added a lot to this soup. They came about because I bought a loaf of DELICIOUS potato & rosemary bread from Central Baking Depot, but forgot about it and it went stale. Not one to waste, I ripped it into chunks (crust and all) and baked it in the oven til crispy.

Now the soup…

Ingredients (are as always not weighed or measured as I make these things for dinner and am usually tired and hungry)

• onion
• few cloves garlic
• silverbeet and water cress in equal amounts
• about 15Og peas
• vege stock
• 1 carrot
• sprinkling dried mixed herbs
• goats cheese or sour cream to serve
• lots chopped parsley to serve

1. 1. Fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil to soften
2. 2. Add the chopped white stalks of the silverbeet and fry a little to soften
3. 3. Add the peas, herbs and stock and bring to the boil
4. 4. Add the green parts of the silverbeet and cook for about 15 minutes.
5. 5. Take off heat and stir in water cress leaves to wilt
6. 6. Blend
7. 7. Re-heat (but don’t boil extensively]
8. 8. Serve over croutons with a dollop of goats cheese or sour cream and a generous helping of chopped parsley

Summer Lentil Salad

Ingredients:
1 can brown lentils (or brown lentils you have soaked and stuff)
half a bulb of fennel, finely sliced
handful or two of sugar snap peas, blanched in boiling water then quickly run under a cold tap
half a red capsicum, roughly chopped
a cucumber, chopped into chunks
a handful or two of tiny cheery tomatoes or grape tomatoes
4 radishes, finely sliced
small handful of parsley, chopped
tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
small handful mint, chopped

half a lemon, squeezed
half a lime, squeezed
a good splash of olive oil
1 small chilli, desseded and chopped
1 small garlic clove, very finely chopped

slices of fried haloumi (optional. is still delicious without it for vegany joy! avocado slices would work too. or a dollop of humous)
or feta

You could also add baby spinach to bulk it up! or chick peas if that's your thing.

Chuck everything in a bowl and mix!
Serve topped with fried haloumi slices or feta or avocado or humous.

...

smashed pea, feta and dill crostini

So this little delight isn't mine (though the dairy-free version is). I got it from my housemate's cookbook which I can't find right now but will find later in order to reference... I couldn't resist a recipe with the word "smashed" in the title!

These are delicious and have been met with much appreciation whenever served. And better yet, they are so easy.

serves 4

Ingredients:
a loaf of bread (good bread like sourdough or rye or at least something fresh and bakery bought!)
2 cups peas (the recipe called for fresh but I have used frozen and it's great)
about 150g danish feta
a tablespoon chooped fresh dill
2 small cloves garlic
1 lemon
olive oil
rock / sea salt and pepper

for dairy-free version:
1 potato
3 dill pickled gherkins
a teaspoon of whole egg mayonnaise


1. In a mortar and pestle, smash the garlic and dill with rock / sea salt and a splash of olive oil.
2. Add the peas, handful at a time, depending on your mortar size. You'll need to scoop out each handful into a bowl as you smash them. Smash them into a paste, but keep some intact for texture. Each batch you smash should get a little splash of olive oil as well.
3. Once you've smashed all the peas, crumble in danish feta and stir through. You don't want big lumps, but a big lumpy, yummy mixture a bit like mashed potato.
4. Toast your bread, rub with a little olive oil and rub with a halved garlic glove (cut side down)
5. Mountain on the pea mush - be generous!
6. Squeeze lemon over the crostini, crack pepper on top, garnish with a sprig of dill (or some finely diced tomato) and serve.

For the dairy-free version:
1. Chop potato into tiny cubes and boil until softened but still firm.
2. Mix with mayo and gherkin when cool.
3. Stir through instead of feta.

Vegan version:
Use vegan mayo or a bit of avocado would be nice too.

tomato, sage and vege pasta

I made this for dinner, based on what was in the fridge and which herbs in the garden were looking most bountiful. It was surprisingly delicious for something thrown together so I thought I'd share.

Ingredients:
- Pasta (I used spinach spaghetti)
- Button Mushrooms
- Peas
- about 4 fresh sage leaves per person, chopped small
- a teaspoon of brown sugar
- half an onion, diced very small
- a cup of oven roasted tomato sauce (posted below) or any simple tomato / garlic pasta sauce
goats cheese to garnish (I stand by Meredith Marinated Goats Cheese as the best goats cheese, indeed the best cheese maybe in Australia)

1. Fry onion mushrooms and sage in olive oil (if you have sensibly purchased Meredith cheese, use a little of the oil in comes marinated in. I never chuck out this oil but use it for salad dressings and sauces. Fry for about 5 minutes

2. Sprinkle brown sugar into the mixture and fry for a further 5 minutes.

3. Add sauce and peas and cook to combine.

4. Cook pasta and then add to sauce and mix to combine.

5. Crumble goats cheese over the top and eat! Yum!