Ingredient 30 - Pickled Ginger

Pickled ginger or Gari as the Japanese would say is a sweet, thinly sliced young ginger, pickled in a sugar and vinegar solution.

Homemade pickled ginger resembles a pale yellow to slightly pink colour, whereas the commercially bought ginger at the supermarket is often psychedelic pink from artificial coloring.

It is most commonly served with sushi to help enhance the flavours, but can be eaten between different servings of sushi to help cleanse and neutralize the palate before the next flavour injection.

So for the fellow sushi lovers out there – enjoy this delicious salad!

Salmon and Pickled Ginger Sushi Salad

1 salmon fillet – skin off

1 medium sweet potato

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup sushi rice

2 cups cold water

3 spring onions

½ continental cucumber

1 large handful snowpeas

½ avocado

½ red onion

1 handful of baby spinach leaves

¼ cup pickled ginger, drained

Dressing: (optional – can just use soy sauce)

½ lime

4 tbsp rice seasoning

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

• Preheat oven to 180.
• Remove skin of sweet potato and slice across width into 1cm thick pieces, then half again forming semicircles.
• Arrange sweet potato on baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven for 20min or until tender.
• Rinse the sushi rice under tap water at least 3 times until water is clear to remove extra starch. Place in a rice cooker with 2 cups of tap water and cook according to machine. Once finished remove immediately, spread across a tray and sprinkle with 3tbsp rice seasoning. Stir well and place in freezer for 20min or until cool.
• Heat a frypan over medium heat. Sear the salmon steak on each side for a minute until crisp. Place in the oven for a further 10min until cooked. Allow to stand for 10min to cool, before flaking the fillet into small pieces with a fork.
• Slice the shallots thinly in white and thicker in dark green sections. Chop the cucumber thinly into circles. Top and tail the snow peas and half lengthways.  Roughly chop the spinach leaves. Slice the avocado into long thick pieces and drizzle with a little lime juice to prevent browning prior to serving.
• Drain the pickled ginger and roughly chop.
• To make the dressing, which is optional, combine remaining rice seasoning, fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce and lime juice in a jar and shake well.
• To arrange the salad lay the rice on a large serving platter. Mix in the salad ingredients, lay the salmon on top, sprinkle with pickled ginger and drizzle over some dressing.
• Serve with extra soy sauce, lime and chopped chillis.

Ingredient 29 - Puffed Brown Rice

Puffed brown rice is a popular alternative to the usual puffed grains used in cereals for those gluten intolerant.

The process of puffing grains dates back to the 1930s and is created by exposing the product to high pressures with steam that ‘pops and bloats’ the kernel into a much larger size. The three most common puffed grains used are rice, wheat and corn, seen in cereals such as Coco Pops and Rice Krispies.

One of my little obsessive traits in life I will admit is my breakfast routine of muesli, fruit and yoghurt. Hence the inspiration for this recipe.

This cereal I will admit is perfect; it is not overly sweet, contains the perfect ratio of grains to seeds to dried fruit, feels light, is absolutely delicious, and will guarantee you a fabulous start to the day!

The Ultimate Toasted Gluten-Free Muesli

Makes 1 large container

2 cups puffed brown rice

2 cups puffed quinoa

2 cups gluten free cornflakes

¾ cup whole almonds

½ cup pepita seeds

½ cup sunflower seeds

½ cup pure apple juice

¾ cup honey

½ cup finely chopped dried apple

½ cup dried cranberries

• Preheat oven to 150°.
• Place the puffed grains, cornflakes, almonds and seeds in a deep baking dish.
• Heat the honey and apple juice in a microwave for 2min until bubbling. Mix well together.
• Pour the liquid over the muesli ingredients and mix well. Place in the oven and toast for 30minutes, removing the tray every 5min to mix together. It is important to do this to ensure no nuts or flakes are burnt!
• Remove from the oven, stir through the chopped apple and cranberries, and let the muesli cool completely.
• Serve with fresh fruit, greek yoghurt and milk.
• Between breakfast sittings store in a dry well sealed container. If the cereal does get a little soggy, a quick re-toasting in the oven will work like a treat.

Ingredient 28 - Purple Carrots

Purple carrots are the original carrot, stemming back to 5000 years ago in area today known as Afghanistan.  The orange carrot then followed centuries later, bred by the Dutch in the 1500s.

Carrots are an excellent vegetable, containing high amounts of beta-carotene, Vitamin A, potassium, vitamin C and B6. They are cholesterol free, a great fibre source, and also contain phytochemicals with proven antibacterial and anti-inflammatory benefits.

Surprisingly, purple carrots are far more nutritious than their orange counterparts. They contain up to 28 more anthocyanins, which given it their characteristic purple colour, that have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anti-carcinogenic properties. 

Purple carrots are apparently making a comeback, so keep an eye out for these little exotic gems in the supermarket. 

The perfect salad for a Fathers Day/friends picnic!

The Asian Picnic Coleslaw

Serves 8

1 cup raw cashew nuts

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp soy sauce

4 purple carrots

1 cucumber

¼ wombok cabbage

3 spring onions

1 long red chilli

juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp water

• Preheat oven to 180.
• Roughly chop the raw cashew nuts. Lay the nuts and sesame seeds on baking paper.  Roast in oven for 10min in total, stirring the nut concoction half way through.
• Thinly slice the wombok cabbage, spring onions and red chilli.
• Slice the cucumber in half lengthways and remove the soft core, then grate roughly along with the washed purple carrots.
• Place all salad ingredients in large serving bowl.
• To make the dressing combine the lime juice, sauces and water in a small jar. Shake well.
• Prior to serving sprinkle salad with nuts, pour over dressing and toss well.