Recipes - Soups & Starters

(Most recently added recipes display first.)

Asian Style Lettuce Wraps with Chicken, Nuts & Prunes

Ingredients

  • 2 tblsps oil
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 1/4 cup red capsicum, diced
  • 500g chicken mince
  • 1/4 cup pitted prunes, diced
  • 3 sticks celery, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 1 tblsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tblsp white Balsamic Vinegar
  • Cos lettuce leaves
  • 4 spring onions, trimmed and diagonally sliced

Serves 4. Preparation Time: 15 mins

Preparation

  • In a large heavy fry pan, heat oil over a medium heat for 2 minutes
  • Stir in garlic and red capsicum and cook for 1-2 minutes
  • Add chicken mince and sauté for 7 minutes stirring constantly
  • Stir in prunes and cook a further 2 minutes
  • Add celery and walnuts, combining evenly
  • Whisk together orange juice, soy sauce and vinegar
  • Pour over the chicken mixture and toss to coat
  • With a slotted spoon fill lettuce leaves, with chicken mixture
  • Garnish with spring onions and serve

Tip
Water Chestnuts may be used in place of walnuts

Sensational Seafood Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs. olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 leek, washed, and finely sliced
  • 1 425g can peeled tomatoes
  • 1 50g sachet tomato paste
  • freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 500 ml pack of fish stock
  • 1 thick slice of fresh fennel
  • 1 thin strip of orange peel
  • 500 g Marinara mix, from the fishmonger
  • ½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley finely chopped

Preparation

  • Place oil in the base of a 2 litre Pyrex Jug and cook on High (100%) for 1 minute.
  • Stir in garlic and leek and cook on High (100%) for 2 minutes, stirring once.
  • Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and season to taste with freshly ground pepper.
  • Cook on High (100%) for 2 – 3 minutes to amalgamate the ingredients.
  • Pour in the fish stock then stir in the fennel and orange peel.
  • Cover the jug and cook on High (100%) for 7 minutes.
  • Stir in the Marinara mix and basil leaves, recover, and cook on High (100%) 5 minute, stirring half way through cooking time to equalize the heat.
  • Stir soup through and then stand 2 minutes.
  • Garnish with parsley and serve with crusty bread.
  • Accompany soup with a bowl of garlic mayonnaise to add to the hot soup.

Tip:
It is important to stir the marinara mix through whilst cooking to ensure the fish cooks evenly.

Cream of Brussel Sprout Soup *

Ingredients

  • 500g brussel sprouts, trimmed
  • 2 leeks, trimmed, finely sliced
  • 1 potato, peeled & cubed
  • 600ml chicken stock,
  • Seasoning, dash lemon juice
  • Yoghurt
  • 100g shredded ham to garnish.


Replace sprouts for trimmed chopped broccoli, broccolini or cauliflower.

Preparation

  • Coarsely chop sprouts
  • In a large saucepan heat butter and sauté leeks to soften
  • Add sprouts, stir, then add potato and stock
  • Season, bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes until soft
  • Puree with a wand, return to pan and check seasoning adding lemon juice to taste
  • Re-warm and serve in individual bowls swirled with yoghurt and garnished with ham

Bacon and Ham Pancake

Ingredients

  • 3 large organic eggs, room temperature
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 150g lean bacon, finely chopped
  • 150g ham finely chopped
  • 1 slice of bread, crumbed
  • 1 tbs parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 tbs chives, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp butter, unsalted

Preparation

  • In a non metallic bowl, beat the eggs and season with pepper to taste.
  • Tip bacon and ham into the beaten eggs
  • Fold in the bread crumbs
  • Stir in parsley and chives
  • Heat a heavy based 15cm fry pan and melt butter until bubbling
  • Pour in the pancake mixture and cook over a low heat, for ten minutes, each side
  • Invert onto a warm serving platter cut and serve with sliced vine ripened tomatoes and crusty bread

Tip
Makes a good cold snack

Gravlax with an Asian Twist

Ingredients

  • 1 cup light soy sauce
  • 1 cup coriander, chopped
  • 2 c.m ginger
  • 1 small green chili – chopped
  • 1 Asian pear, cubed
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 kg fillet of tuna, trimmed and halved lengthwise
  • sliced lime to garnish

serves 8 – 9

Salmon can also be used

Preparation

  • Place marinade ingredients in a blender and smooth
  • Transfer mixture into a non-reactive dish, add tuna, submerge and cover with plastic wrap
  • Refrigerate for 24 hours then remove tuna, rinse and pat dry with paper towel
  • Serve thinly sliced on rocket leaves and topped with sliced Asian pear and sliced lime to garnish