Grilled Chicken in Marinade

A favourite of mine at the moment... using a smaller amount of boneless chicken, I slice it up into salad for a tasty and healthy chicken salad. The chicken is so moist and very yummy!

1/4 cup of soy sauce (or tamari)
1tbsp lime juice (or lemon)
3tbsp olive oil
1tsp of thyme or other herbs
salt & pepper to taste
750g skinless chicken pieces (breast, thigh and drumsticks, with or without bone)

Make marinade by whisking first 5 ingredients. Marinate the chicken and place in fridge for 1 hour or more. Grill for 10-12 mins each side (with bone in) and about 6 mins or more for boneless.

warm potato salad with creamy mustard dressing

...not a hug fan of red onion, so I left these out. It's also possible to leave out the asparagus and simply stir the potatoes thru the dressing.


3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1kg small Jersey Bennes or 30 medium waxy salad potatoes, scrubbed
2 tablespoons creamy Dijon mustard (I used Maille Dijonnaise mustard, available in most supermarkets)
zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 large red onions, peeled and cut into thick chunks through the root
750g plump asparagus


Cook the potatoes in gently boiling, salted water until just tender. Drain. Combine the mustard, lemon zest and juice, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of black pepper. Toss the potatoes in the dressing while they are still warm.Place the onions in a frying pan with the remaining tablespoon of oil and cook very gently for about 15 minutes, until they just start to wilt. Cook the asparagus in plenty of gently boiling, salted water for several minutes, ensuring the spears retain their crunch. Drain and refresh with plenty of cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Cut asparagus into chunks and mix gently with the potatoes.To serve (best done while everything is warm, but not necessarily hot), place potatoes and asparagus in a large serving bowl and the red onions on top.

Zaaluk - Smoked Eggplant Salad

Another that Brenda emailed me, way back in 2002!

2x 300g eggplants
100 ml olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
500 ripe tomatoes, roasted peeled, seeded and mashed (I just chopped up ordinary tomatoes)
3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves (I skipped these)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground (the secret ingredient I think)

Roast the eggplants over charcoal or hot coals, otherwise roast in a hot oven until the skins are blistered and the flesh is soft. Peel the eggplants, discard the skins and chop the flesh, Heat the oil in a pan and cook the garlic with the mashed tomatoes for 10 minutes. Add the chopped eggplant and remaining ingredients and gently cook for 10 minutes more, then remove from heat. Allow to cool before serving.

Sunny Salad

I got this recipe from cousin Megan who got it from an issue of Cuisine magazine back in 2002. It tastes of summer and it makes a good wrap filling too.

6 ears sweet corn, husks and silks removed

2 large tomatoes

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Dijon style mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

ground pepper to taste

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

2 tablespoons chopped basil

1 ripe but firm avocado, peeled and stone removed

Cook corn 10-30 minutes (10 minutes if freshly-picked cobs, longer if they have been picked a day or two.)

Drain and cover loosely with kitchen paper (stops wrinkling)

When cool enough to handle, slice of the kernels

Remove cores from tomatoes, cut into quarters and flick out as many seeds as possible (PS: When Megan makes this she just uses entire tomato quartered - hates throwing out good food!) Cut the flesh into dice, put in a sieve and drain 10 minutes

Mix olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, salt, pepper, shallot and basil in a bowl. Stir in corn, top with tomatoes and diced avocado. Stir and serve immediately. (Megan makes hours before party, seems to work ok.)

Serves 6-8 as a salad. Enjoy!

Lamb and kumara salad

Not a family favourite, but one I spotted in the New Zealand Herald. Vic Williams is a food writer and I am always eyeing up the recipes...YUM! I gotta try it, or a variation.

Serves 4

4 lamb steaks, cut from the leg, 2-3cm thick
3-4 medium red kumara (or sweet potato for the overseas people)
1 red capsicum
2 tbsps vegetable oil
2 handfuls mixed salad greens
1 tbsp sesame paste (sometimes called sesame sauce)
3 tbsps peanut oil
2 tsps sesame seeds
2 sprigs coriander

Trim off and discard fat from the lamb steaks. Peel the kumara. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and boil the kumara until just-cooked, but still slightly firm. Put aside to reach room temperature. Meanwhile, remove the stem, white ribs and seeds from the capsicum and discard. Dice the flesh small. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan and cook the lamb steaks for 2-3 minutes per side, or until they are medium-rare, seasoning as they are turned. Put aside to rest.

Wash and dry the salad greens and pull off and discard any leggy stems. Make a dressing by stirring the sesame paste and two tablespoons of the peanut oil together with a little salt and pepper.

To assemble the dish, toss the greens with the remaining peanut oil, add salt and pepper and place on four plates. Holding a sharp, thin-bladed knife on an angle, slice the lamb steaks across the grain and drape over the top. Cut the kumara into 1/2cm discs and distribute evenly among the plates.

Scatter the diced capsicum, sesame seeds and coriander leaves over everything, with a little more salt and cracked black pepper. Drizzle with the sesame dressing and serve.