Prep: 10 mins

Lamb Couscous Salad

Cooking: 10 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

500g lamb leg steaks
1 tblsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tblsp Moroccan seasoning
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup frozen peas, corn and carrot mix
1 cup couscous
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped soft and juicy apricots
300g can four bean mix, drained
Salt and pepper, to taste
Tomato chutney, to serve
Fresh mint, to garnish

Directions

1. Combine lamb, oil, garlic and half the seasoning in a large bowl.

2. Bring stock and remaining seasoning to boil in a medium saucepan. Add frozen vegetables. Simmer, covered, for about 2 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat. Add couscous. Cover and stand for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork. Add mint, apricots and bean mix. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

3. Meanwhile, cook lamb in a heated, oiled grill pan, on both sides, until browned and cooked to your liking. Remove. Thickly slice.

4. Serve couscous in bowls and top with lamb and tomato chutney. Garnish with mint. Serve with an extra bowl of chutney.

Note:  Add sliced avocado or cherry tomatoes to make it go a little further.

Fruit Terrine

Prep: 10 mins

Cooking: 20 mins

Serves:  6

Ingredients

500ml apple & mango juice
1 vanilla pod
1 tbsp gelatine
1 mango, sliced
200g strawberries, halved
1 peach, peeled and sliced
125g blueberries
¼ rockmelon, sliced

Directions

1. Simmer 100-150ml of the fruit juice in a saucepan with the vanilla pod.
2. Stir in the gelatine until completely dissolved. Remove the vanilla pod.
3. Whisk the remaining juice into the saucepan. Then remove from the heat.
4. Start lining your terrine mould with blueberries in the bottom, strawberries along the outer walls and peaches down the centre. Lay the rockmelon slices along the outer edges of the mould, then fill with mango fillets, more rockmelon and a final layer of mango.
5. Stir the juicy syrup thoroughly, and then pour over the fruit terrine.
6. Lightly press the fruit down, cover with cling film and place a light weight on top. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Chocolate is made from cocoa which has anti-oxidants and it adds a delicious touch of decadence to healthy strawberries. Strawberries are a great source of vitamin C and beneficial phytochemicals.

Prep: 5 mins

Ready In: 25 minutes

Ingredients

20 or so clean, dry strawberries with top intact
120g milk or dark cooking chocolate

Directions

1. Melt chocolate according to packet directions.
2. Line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
3. Dip strawberries, one at a time, into the melted chocolate. These can also be dipped into nuts or sprinkles once they are coated in chocolate. Set on paper lined tray and chill for 20 minutes until set.
4. Note:  Longer than an hour in the refrigerator will cause condensation on the strawberries, so be careful not to overdo it.

Asparagus & Beef Stir-Fry

Prep:  15 mins

Cooking:  25 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

500g lean beef, cut into strips
3 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp peanut oil
3 bunches asparagus, ends snapped off, sliced
200g mushrooms, sliced
6 spring onions, sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp sesame oil
Pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Combine beef, oyster sauce and sweet chilli sauce and marinate 15  mins.  Drain marinade and reserve.
2. Heat peanut oil in wok or frypan over hight heat and stir-fry beef until just cooked, 2-3 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add asparagus, mushrooms and spring onions to pan and stir-fry until tender crisp, 5 mins.
4. Add beef, garlic, reserved marinade, sesame oil and pepper.  Stir-fry until heated through.

Tomato Soup with Basil

Prep: 15 mins

Cooking: 50 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 leeks, finely chopped
1 cup celery & leaves, finely chopped
1 ¼ cups vegetable stock
2 kg tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons pure tomato paste
3 teaspoons fresh basil, finely chopped
Black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a large saucepan add garlic, leeks, celery and ¼ cup vegetable stock.
2. Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and remaining stock.
4. Simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add tomato paste, basil and season with pepper.
6. Simmer for a further 10 minutes and serve.

Serve soup with crusty bread.

Raspberry-Mango Sundae

Total Time: 10 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1/2 cup thawed frozen raspberries
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
2 scoops of low fat vanilla frozen yogurt
1/2 mango, diced
2 tablespoons chopped toasted nuts

Directions

1.  Puree raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a blender.
2.  Serve over scoops of low fat vanilla frozen yogurt and top with mango and nuts.

Per serving: 167 calories; 2 g fat (0 g sat, 2 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 35 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 2 g fiber; 41 mg sodium; 210 mg potassium.

Baked Fish on Vegetables

Prep: 15 mins

Cooking: 25-30 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 zucchinis
2 red onions, cut into wedges
3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
¼ pitted black olives
¼ cup olive oil
4 x 180g thick skinless white fish fillets (such as ling)
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs Dijon mustard
½ cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200^oC
2. Toss the zucchini, onion, tomato and olives with 1 tablespoon of the oil in a baking dish. Brush another tablespoon of oil over the fish and place on the vegetables.  Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through.
3. Whisk together the garlic, lemon juice, mustard and remaining oil to make a dressing.
4. Divide the cooked vegetables among plates and top each with a piece of fish.
5. Drizzle the fish with the dressing and scatter with chopped parsley.

Pumpkin, Spinach & Feta Salad

This salad is very simple to prepare and is absolutely delicious!

Prep: 10 mins

Cooking:  40 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 butternut pumpkin (cubed)
200g Feta (low-fat or Danish)
1/2 cup Pine nuts
500g baby spinach leaves
2-3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Salt

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees (fan forced)
2.  Place pumpkin in a baking tray with the olive oil and toss to coat the pumpkin
3.  Sprinkle with salt and place in preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Toss the pumpkin every 5 minutes.
4.  After 20 minutes turn the oven to 230 degrees to ensure the pumpkin is browned and slightly crispy. Bake for further 5 – 10 minutes
5.  Meanwhile wash and dry the baby spinach
6.  Place the pinenuts in a non stick fry pan over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until pinenuts are golden (once golden remove to a ceramic dish so the pinenuts do not continue to cook and burn).
7.  Drain and crumble the feta.
8.  Place baby spinach in a large salad bowl. Add feta and pinenuts. Once pumpkin is ready add to salad bowl.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

This salad can be served immediately or left to cool.

Mexican Chicken-Tortilla Soup

A tasty soup sure to warm you up!

Prep: 25 minutes

Cooking: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients
2 medium chicken breasts
4 cups chicken stock
1 ¾ cups water
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon organic olive oil
420g tin diced tomatoes
3/4 cup corn kernels, frozen, fresh, or canned drained
1 medium zucchini, cut in 3/4-in.-thick half-rounds
250g tin red kidney beans, rinsed
120g jalapenos, rinsed, seeded, and cut into thin, bite-sized strips
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander or parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
4x 6-inch corn tortillas
½ cup shredded cheddar or Swiss cheese (60g)

Directions
1.  In a large saucepan combine chicken, chicken stock, and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Remove chicken and shred finely. Set aside. Skim fat from stock and set aside.
2.  Use the original pan to cook onion, garlic, and cumin in 1 tablespoon hot oil until onion is tender. Stir in stock, un-drained tomatoes, corn, kidney beans, jalapenos, coriander, and oregano. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in shredded chicken and zucchini. Cover and simmer for further 3 minutes or until zucchini is crisp tender.
3.  Meanwhile, cut tortillas in half, then crosswise into 1/2-inch strips. Place on a baking sheet. Bake in a 190°C oven until crisp, about 10 minutes.
4.  Ladle soup into soup bowls. Sprinkle each serving with shredded cheese and top with tortilla strips.

Nutrition Facts per serving: 303 calories (1267 kj); 11 g total fat (4 g sat); 28 g protein; 25 g carbo; 5 g dietary fibre; 804 mg sodium; 64 mg chol.

This recipe comes courtesy of our business associate, Maggie Taylor of The Gourmet Saint. For more info visit www.gourmetsaint.com.au or click on The Gourmet Saint logo at the bottom this recipe. Enjoy!

Serves 6

Low Fat Kofta Curry

Prep: 15 mins

Cooking: 30 mins

Ingredients

500g lean beef mince
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp ground chilli
1 tsp garam masala
2 onions, diced
4 Tbs korma curry paste
1 Tbs sunflower oil
200ml beef stock
400g can crushed tomatoes
175ml low-fat evaporated milk
2 Tbs lemon juice
½ cup frozen peas
Steamed rice, to serve
Chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Directions

1. Combine beef, garlic, ginger, chilli, garam masala, half the onion and 1 Tbs curry paste. Season with salt and pepper, then form into walnut sized balls. Heat oil in a non-stick frypan over medium heat, add kofta balls and cook in batches until lightly browned. Transfer to a plate.
2. Add remaining onion to pan and cook over very low heat until soft and lightly golden. Add remaining curry paste, stock and tomatoes and cook over medium heat, stirring, for 5 minutes.
3. Add milk and lemon juice. Return the kofta to the pan and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Add peas and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Serve with rice and garnish with fresh coriander.

The Gourmet Saint