Tag Archives: coriander

14 Days of Zespri – Day 4

Today’s lunch is another kiwifruit laced affair, I’m having fun finding different ways to enjoy my stash of kiwis. I’m supposed to be sharing a recipe with you today, but honestly the salsa in my lunchbox today is so simple it’s hardly a recipe at all. I combined equal parts of diced kiwifruit, red onion and yellow pepper, a handful of chopped coriander and squeezed over the juice of half a lemon. That’s it! The kiwifruit adds a lovely sweet tang to the salsa that is a great accompaniment to the smoked chicken in the wraps. I loosely rolled the tortillas around the chicken and salad so that I had enough room to spoon in the salsa when I was ready to eat it. That way the tortillas don’t get all soggy and are easier to eat.

Chicken wrap and kiwi salsa

Today’s lunch:

  • Smoked chicken tortilla wraps with rocket, grated carrot and coriander,
  • celery sticks,
  • a tub of kiwifruit salsa and
  • a few strawberries.

This coming Saturday I’ll be participating in my third annual cookie swap. It’s the third year running in Cape Town and this year there are going to be events in Joburg and Durban too. Seeing as we’re well into our Zespri challenge I thought I’d attempt a cookie with kiwifruit in it and share the recipe with you. Most of the recipes I came across required dried kiwifruit and I don’t own a dehydrator or a very reliable oven so that wasn’t going to happen. I did come across this interesting recipe in an old edition of Lawrence Journal-World from 1987. How retro! The recipe is a variation of a tray bake that you cut into bars once cooled and I think pretty ideal for when you need to bake for a crowd.

Kiwifruit Bar Cookies

#410 – Lentil and Okra Curry Lunch

#410 - Lentil and Okra Curry

I often see okra in my local Checkers but, not knowing how to cook it and having read tales of how slimy it can be, have usually avoided buying it.  After a little internet research I discovered cooking okra with tomatoes reduces the slime factor.  With this knowledge I took the plunge, bought some okra and devised this lentil and okra curry.

Today’s Lunch:

  • Lentil and Okra curry,
  • brown rice with sun dried tomatoes,
  • coriander yoghurt,
  • dried mango and
  • some grapes.

Here is my recipe for Lentil and Okra Curry.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of black lentils
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 2 onions thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 4 tablespoons curry powder
  • 4 tomatoes roughly chopped
  • 2 cups tomato puree
  • 1 cup water
  • 300g okra topped and tailed then cut into 1cm rounds
  • 1 green pepper cut into strips

Method:

  1. Cover lentils with water and leave to soak (overnight is best, but I only soaked them for four hours and this was sufficient).
  2. Fry onions and garlic in olive oil till the onions are translucent.
  3. Add curry powder and stir to coat.
  4. Add lentils, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and water and leave to cook for 15 minutes.
  5. Add okra and green pepper then cook for a further 5 minutes.

Service over rice with coriander yoghurt.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Lentil and Okra Curry

#407 – Thai Butternut Soup Lunch

#406 - Thai Butternut Soup

Have you noticed the seasonal change in the weather recently?  In Cape Town the evenings have a slight chill to them signalling the onset of Autumn and I think that is the perfect excuse to create giant pots of warm and comforting soup.  Like this Thai flavoured butternut soup I made last night.

Today’s Lunch:

  • Thai butternut soup and
  • two slices of muesli loaf from Knead.

Here is my recipe for Thai flavoured butternut soup.

Ingredients:

  • 1Tbsp coconut oil (I used the Kapruka brand that we received in our goodies bags at the SA Food Bloggers Conference)
  • 2 medium sized onions (roughly chopped)
  • 3 large garlic cloves
  • 1.5kg butternut (peeled, seeds removed and cut into large chunks)
  • 1.5ℓ vegetable stock
  • 1 stalk of lemongrass (split in half lengthways)
  • 3 dried limes leaves
  • 200ml coconut milk
  • 1tsp fish sauce
  • a large handful of fresh coriander (chopped)
  • the juice of half a lime

Method:

  1. Sauté the onions and garlic in the coconut oil until the onions are translucent.
  2. Add the butternut and stir-fry for a minute or two to coat with the coconut oil and brown slightly.
  3. Add the vegetable stock, lemongrass and lime leaves and cook for half an hour (or until the butternut is tender)
  4. Remove the lemongrass and lime leaves and then blend to a smooth consistency.
  5. Stir in the coconut milk, fish sauce, coriander and lime juice, bring to the boil and serve.

Makes approximately 9-10 servings