Elle May's

Banana Bread with buttermilk

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups sugar

100g softened butter

2 eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp Bi-Carb soda (baking soda)

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups plain flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 mashed ripe bananas

Method

Preheat oven to 150ºC

Using a mixer if you have one, cream butter and sugar until you have a light fluffy yellow mixture

Add 1 egg at a time, mix well after each egg

Mix the baking soda and buttermilk together and add to the mixture

Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture

Add the vanilla and mashed bananas

Mix well

Lightly grease a loaf tin and lay baking paper inside

Pour mixture into tin and tap a few times to get the air bubbles out

Bake in the oven for 90 minutes (test with skewer or knife)

Let the cake cool for 20 minutes before removing from the tin

Slice and enjoy!

I usually make this once a week, it’s good to have in the fridge to add into any salads that you make that week. I add it to lunches for work, it goes well with baby spinach, baby tomatoes, red onion, lentils and fetta! My mum taught me how to make it.

Ingredients

1 x head cauliflower

2 x tsp tumeric

2 x tsp cumin

1 x tsp paprika

2 x tbsp coconut oil

Method

Heat oven to 200ºC

Put the coconut oil in a baking tray

Wash cauliflower head and slice in half. From there, pull or slice the florets off into pieces and add to the baking tray

Sprinkle evenly (ish) with all of the spices and mix with a spoon to get everything coated and golden

Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes – I give them a shake after 15 minutes. They are ready when some are starting to blacken and crisp.

Serve as a side dish or in a salad

Slow cooked lamb shoulder

Since I nailed this method, it has never failed me. It is my go to when I need to cook for group lunches or dinners because it is low maintenance and I can completely trust the process. You can season the lamb with whatever you want before you put it in the oven, the recipe below keeps it simple and still delicious. If it is a smaller piece of lamb just keep your eye on it at about 3 hours, if its feeling soft then pull it out then, take the foil off and turn up the oven.

Ingredients

1 lamb shoulder (approx. 2 kgs, bone in)

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Foil

Method

Heat the oven to 150ºC

Drizzle olive oil into a baking tray

Place lamb into tray, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper

Cover tightly with foil

Place into oven

Leave in oven for 4 and 1/2 hours

Take the lamb out of the oven, turn the oven up to 200ºC, take the foil off the lamb and put it back into the oven for 30 minutes more

Remove from oven, cover with foil again and rest for 10 minutes

Shred with tongs or forks..

Salmon Parcels

You can really put anything on top of these, as long as there is a little bit of sauce and the toppings are finely chopped so that they soften.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 x boneless salmon fillets

2 x chilli finely chopped

1 x thumb size of ginger grated

1x shallot finely sliced

2 x tbsp soy sauce

2 x tps sesame oil

Baking Paper

Method

Heat oven to 180ºC

Lay out a rectangle of baking paper

Lay 1 piece of salmon onto it

Sprinkle on half of the toppings – ginger, chilli & shallots

Drizzle on half of the soy sauce and sesame oil

Wrap it up like a parcel

Repeat with other piece of salmon

Put the parcels on a tray and put into the oven for 15 minutes

Pull out, unwrap and serve with steamed veges for a delicious healthy meal!

Quinoa Fritters with Peas & Feta

Tip – make these gluten free by using gluten free baking powder

Makes about 20

200g quinoa
350g frozen peas
200g feta
4 shallots, thinly sliced
2 tsp ground cumin
3 tsp baking powder
2 eggs, lightly whisked
Salt & Pepper
1-2 tbs cornflour if required
Oil for frying – i use grapeseed

Method

Cook quinoa, simmer for 10 mins until cooked and drain well.

In a bowl mix quinoa, feta, shallots, cumin, peas, baking powder and eggs. Season well.

Use a stick blender to blend half of the mixture up, and then mix through with the unblended mixture. Add some cornflour if mixture is too runny.

Heat a couple of centimetres of oil in large frying pan, roll mixture into balls and fry in batches. Once golden, drain on paper towel.

These are great as a snack or served with a salad..I serve with lemon and a dollop of yogurt

Thai Curry Soup

Make your own curry paste or use shop bought. Add rice stick noodles to add some bulk to the soup if you desire. Garnish with sliced red chilli and fresh coriander.

Serves 4

3 cups chicken stock (salt reduced)

1 lemongrass stalk, cut into 4 pieces and smashed

1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed

1 inch piece ginger, peeled and cut into large slices

6 coriander stems + more for garnish

1 boneless skinless chicken breast or 200g firm tofu cut into cubes

150g mushrooms

salt

1 tablespoon coconut oil

3 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon red curry paste

1 large handful green beans, topped, tailed and cut into 2 cm pieces

1 cup coconut milk

juice of 1 lime + 1 lime to serve

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon coconut palm sugar

Put the chicken stock, lemongrass, garlic clove, ginger, coriander, chicken breast (or tofu) and large pinch of salt in medium saucepan. If the liquid doesn’t cover the chicken, switch to a smaller saucepan or add more water. Bring to a boil; turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.
Remove the chicken, shred, and reserve the poaching liquid.
In a separate saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil over medium heat. Add sliced shallots, and sauté until soft and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the curry paste, and sauté for one minute to cook a bit.
Use a sieve to strain the chicken poaching liquid into the shallot/curry paste mixture and allow to simmer gently. Add rice stick noodles here if you are including.
Add coconut milk, shredded chicken, beans, mushrooms, lime juice, soy and palm sugar to the soup.
Taste for seasoning, garnish with coriander and serve with extra lime on the side.

1 serving

Cals 301; total fat 22.1g; total carbs 13.2g; protein 15.2g; sodium 1176mg; cholesteral 32mg; potassium 470mg; dietary fiber 2.9g; sugars 4.7g

Gnocchi & Sausage Bake

This recipe is so perfect for winter, it really is comforting and very tasty. You can manipulate the spiciness to suit your taste. I use a mix of normal pork sausages and Italian sausages, the Italian sausages packed a punch so I probably didn’t need to add extra chilli…but I did. It was a nice heat! I grabbed a mixture of fresh herbs from the garden…it needs that hit of freshness.

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil

1 large onion, finely diced

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

handful of fresh thyme and sage – leaves chopped

4 pork sausages

4 Italian sausages

500g potato gnocchi

200g light cream cheese

200mls vegetable stock

zest of 1 lemon

70g parmesan cheese, grated

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C

In a large frying pan heat oil, add chilli, onion, herbs and cook for a few minutes

Add the garlic

Squeeze the sausage meat out of their cases into the pan, break the meat up into small pieces

Fry until the meat has turned golden – about 10 mins

While the meat is colouring, cook the gnocchi in a saucepan of simmering water – they should only take a few minutes. Once they float to the surface, drain and add to the sausage mixture.

Stir in the cream cheese, stock and zest – coating the mixture well.

Add in half the parmesan cheese

Pour in to a large ovenproof dish, sprinkle the rest of the parmesan cheese on the top

Cook in the oven for 10-15mins until golden on top

Serve and Enjoy!!

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 30mins

Ingredients

1 1/4 Cups warm water

1 Package of active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

3 Cups bread flour (can use plain, bread flour will make the crust crunchier)

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Teaspoons salt

1/2 Teaspoon sugar

Method:

Run your bowl upside down under hot water, until it’s warm

Put warm water in bowl

Sprinkle in the dry yeast

Sprinkle in the sugar

Set mixture aside for 2 minutes

Put in olive oil & salt

Mix gently with a wooden spoon

Slowly stir in your flour (this bit is a good workout…push through the pain)

As you pour in your last cup of flour, use your hands to mix…don’t knead too much, but make sure ingredients are incorporated.

Make your dough into a ball, put a damp cloth over the bowl, and put it to sleep in a warm corner for 30-45mins….until its doubled in size

Once it has doubled in size, punch it down

Once dough has doubled in size…punch it down

Take dough out of bowl and place on flour dusted counter

Knead til smooth and make into two balls

Roll out your dough ball into your preferred size pizza base

Lightly dust your baking sheet or tin, place the pizza base on and pinch the edge up for your crust

Leave the dough for 5-10mins at this stage, it will plump up a little more

Top the pizza as you like and bake at 200°C for 30mins (keep your eye on it as every oven is different)

Serve, eat & enjoy!

Serrano Ham & Figs

Ingredients:

4 Figs

4 Large slices of Serrano Ham

Goats Cheese

Honey

Method:

Preheat oven to 180° C

Slice the figs in half, place a small cube of goats cheese on top

Wrap each half with some Serrano ham, secure with a cocktail stick

Roast on a baking tray for 5 minutes

Drizzle with honey

Enjoy!

The Best Mushroom Sauce

This sauce is great with steak, i would eat it with pasta….or just crunchy bread.

Ingredients

30g Butter

1 Brown Onion, finely chopped

1 Garlic Clove, crushed

200g Button Mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 cup White Wine

300ml Pure Cream

Melt butter in saucepan over a medium heat, add onion and cook for 5 mins until soft

Add garlic and mushrooms, cook for 5 mins until soft

Add wine, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes

Stir in cream, bring to the boil and then simmer until reduced by half – i left to simmer for about 30mins while i cooked the steaks and veges, 10-15 mins would do.