Honey-Soy Calamari with Oven-Grilled Green Veg and Honey-Charred Lemon Wedges

Calamari or squid has been the bane of my existence! As much as I tried, I just couldn’t get the cooking method right, ending up with chewy, rubbery, boiled calamari pieces every time! Finally, I sought out the advice of a friend of mine who is known for his culinary skills when it comes to serving up the bounty of the ocean. With his advice scribbled on a piece of treasured napkin, I finally managed to pull this together, and it was mouth-wateringly delicious, even if I do say so myself… and I do!

Honey-Soy Calamari with Oven-Grilled Green Veg and Honey-Charred Lemon Wedges

Ingredients

500g frozen Calamari Strips

A handful of Green Beans (15 – 20, depending on how big your hand is)

4 Marrows

 6 large leaves of Spinach, washed… thoroughly.

10 Button Mushrooms, halved.

1 Lemon, cut into 8 wedges

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

2 Tbsp Honey

1 tsp Fish Sauce

2 tsp Crushed Garlic

1 tsp Lemon Juice

Fresh Basil, chopped.

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

First thing in the morning, take the calamari out of the freezer and place the frozen strips in a bowl filled with milk. This will help tenderise them. Leave to defrost.

Place the vegetables (except the spinach) in a glass bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Toss in a teaspoon of garlic and season lightly with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Place the veggies evenly on a baking tray. Put your oven on the grill function with the oven rack low in the oven and grill the veggies for 10 – 15 minutes, keeping an eye on them so that they don’t burn.

Steam the spinach in a pot (or a steamer if you have one) gently until the leaves become softer. This shouldn’t take too long, roughly 5 – 10 minutes. But while your one eye is on the veggies in the oven, try to keep the other on the spinach to ensure that the leaves don’t become too limp.

Once the veggies are done grilling, remove them from the oven and, with the grill still on, lift the oven rack higher in your oven so that it is closer to the element. Place the lemon wedges on  baking tray and drizzle with honey. Place the tray in the oven and allow to grill for 1 -2 minutes, depending on the heat of your oven. You want to keep a close eye on this because the honey and lemon should become only slightly charred but the lemon needs to retain its juice so you want a high heat but very little time in the oven.

And now for the tricky stuff! Remove your calamari from the milk and drain off any excess moisture by allowing them to rest on paper towels. You want the strips to be dry when you fry them. While you are waiting, mix the garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, honey and olive oil together to form a marinade. Place a pan on the stove and turn the heat up to its highest setting. Add some olive oil to the pan and once the oil is really hot but before it starts smoking, toss the calamari strips into the pan. Season with salt and pepper while in the pan. You want to fry it for roughly a minute on each side depending on the thickness of your strips. If you have a small pan, don’t fill it with calamari as this will reduce the heat. Fry it in two batches to ensure that the heat remains high. Finally, about 30 seconds before you are planning to remove the calamari from the pan, pour in some of the marinade and toss the strip in the marinade. This should get you a sticky golden coating.

Place the spinach on your plate with the roasted vegetables on top. Then scoop strips of calamari onto the vegetables. Once all your calamari is out of the pan, place the remainder of the marinade in the pan to allow the garlic to cook slightly and the marinade to thicken (roughly 1 minute) and then drizzle over the calamari strips.

Garnish with chopped fresh basil leaves and the charred honey lemon wedges, which you can squeeze over your calamari. *drool*

Protein-packed Mexican Pots with Chunky Lime Guacamole

My boyfriend is intensely into strength-training, powerlifting and general gymming.  To complement his intense workouts, I try to prepare healthy meals packed with protein that will help him achieve his strength and fitness goals. I end up eating the same meals he does because preparing two different meals each night for supper becomes an arduous quest that keeps me in the kitchen for the same amount of time that it took those poor hobbits to deliver the cursed ring to Mordor . Despite the fact that I have smaller portions, a girl can only eat so many servings of eggs, meat and and beans before you start devising other ways to pack in the protein.

Protein-packed Mexican Pots with Chunky Lime Guacamole

Ingredients

Protein-packed Mexican Pots

6 poppadums

500g lean beef mince

1 tin of kidney beans

½ punnet of button mushrooms, sliced.

1 Tbsp crushed garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced.

2 Tbsp flavourless Whey Protein

½ tsp Barbeque Spice

¼ tsp chilli powder

2 Tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

¼ tsp dried chilli flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

Chunky Lime Guacamole

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters

1 avocado, cut into chunks

1 small lime, juice and zest

1 tsp olive oil

½ tsp whole peppercorns, crushed.

Salt to taste

Dip your fingertips in water and moisten the poppadums to make them pliable. Place in a greased muffin tray to form a cup shape and bake on a low heat for 10 minutes or so to harden.

Put the olive on in a moderately heated pot. Add the garlic and onion and fry slowly until the onions have softened. Increase the heat slightly and add the mince, spices and beans and leave to cook for 10 minutes. Once the meat is cooked, toss in the whey protein. Finally, turn the heat down to the lowest setting and add the mushrooms, stirring them into the rest of the ingredients. Place the lid on the pot and allow to slowly cook while you prepare the guacamole.

For the guacamole, put the tomatoes and avocado into a glass mixing bowl. Mix the juice and zest of the lime long with a drizzle of olive oil, the salt and crushed black peppercorns and pour the mixture over the avocado and tomatoes tossing to coat them in the dressing.

Finally, scoop a few spoons of the Mexican Mince into the poppadum cups and serve with the guacamole and steamed basmati rice.

Who said protein-rich meals need to be boring?

Refreshing Berry and Watermelon Coolers

In case you were wondering about the iced, fruity drink that kept me refreshed while I was preparing my summer soup, I tossed together a few sweet, pink fruits for this delicious cooler. Berries and watermelon have such sweet fresh flavours and watermelon in summer is a must! I have so many childhood memories of carelessly eating huge slices of watermelon the size of my face, while the juices ran down my arms. And then we would wash it off with a splash in the ocean. Ah, the good old days…

Refreshing Berry and Watermelon Coolers

Ingredients

A few slices of chilled or frozen watermelon, slightly thawed.

½  cup of blueberries

½  cup of strawberries

½ cup of cherries, depitted.

1 litre of cranberry or apple juice (or lemonade if you prefer a fizzy version)

Crushed ice

Crushed mint leaves (optional)

Sugar or honey to taste (optional)

Blitz the watermelon and berries in a food processor until smooth. You can remove any large chunks of fruit but I prefer to blitz until I have a smooth consistency because I want all the fruit in the drink. Pour your apple or cranberry juice into a large jug and then add the fruit and mix. If you find that the drink is not sweet enough (this will depend on the sweetness of the fruits) you can add additional sugar or honey at this point. Toss in the crushed ice and add a few sprigs of crushed mint leaves. Serve with a whole fresh cherry and a slice of watermelon as  garnish.

And then toss it back with sweet abandon, without concern about spills here and there. Once you have had your fill, bomb-dive into the pool to wash off any juice that may have found its way onto your face or arms. Refreshed???

Summer Thai Mussel Soup on the fire

Soup in summer? Well, when I have my toes dipped in the swimming pool, an iced fruity drink in my hand, while my potjie pot is billowing fumes of lemongrass, garlic and the salty smell of seafood, I’m a happy chappie. Top it all off with the creaminess of coconut milk and I could fool myself into thinking I am in a tropical seaside paradise. Lazy summer days…

Thai Mussel Soup on the fire

Ingredients

1kg mussels (fresh or frozen)

2 stalks of lemongrass, chopped

Handful of fresh chives

2 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tin of coconut milk

250ml full cream milk (optional depending on your preferred consistency of the soup)

1 lemon (juice of half lemon and lemon zest)

2 Tbsp coconut oil or olive oil

Fish sauce to taste (I use 1 tsp)

Salt & Pepper to taste

The coals shouldn’t be too hot for this. I would say, there should be just enough heat to get the coconut milk to bubble slightly. Once your pot has heated up, add your coconut or olive oil. Add your garlic and allow to brown slightly, but not burn, before adding your ginger, lemon grass and half of the chives. Stir fry slightly, tossing as it cooks to release the flavour for about 30 seconds to a minute, then add your coconut milk. When the milk starts to bubble, add your fish sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper according to taste. Once you have the desired flavour, add your mussels and allow to cook for 3 to 5 minutes. If you do not have enough liquid in the pot, you can now also add the additional milk or more coconut milk.  Remove from the heat and garnish with grated lemon zest and the remainder of the chives for a fresh burst of flavour. Serve with braai-roasted garlic and herb bread.

And that’s it, gorgeous weather, chilled toes and a happy tummy.