Not everybody loves leafy greens … but we do! There are so many delicious ways to spice them up to make sides or use them to add depth to salads, pasta dishes and more. We’ve shared three of our favourites.
Here are three yummy vegetarian recipes that may just tempt you to love greens and veggies more than you thought. Your tastebuds and your waistline will thank you!
Warm Tempeh Salad
Ingredients: olive oil spray; 1 tbs olive oil; 600g tempeh, cut into ½cm slices;
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and halved; 2 baby cucumbers, cut into quarters and halved; 1 red pepper, sliced; ½ cup fresh mint leaves; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar; 3 tbs lemon juice; 2 tsp Dijon mustard; salt and pepper to season
Method: Preheat oven to 200ºC. Spray the tempeh slices with the oil, place on a lined baking tray and bake until crisp and golden. Steam or boil the asparagus until just tender. Gently heat the remaining olive oil with the garlic in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and mustard. Season. Combine the tempeh, vegetables and mint in a bowl, then pour the vinegar mix over vegetables. Serve warm.
Asian-style Mushroom Omelette
Ingredients: Filling: 2 tsp oil; 1cm piece ginger, grated; 1 garlic clove, crushed; 4 spring onions, finely sliced; 300g mixed mushrooms (shiitake, oyster or enoki); 2 tbs chopped coriander; a large handful bean sprouts; salt and pepper to season
Omelette: 2 tsp olive oil; 8 eggs
Sauce: 2 tbs rice vinegar; 1 tbs salt reduced soy sauce; ½ tsp sesame oil
To serve: Coriander leaves and sliced red chilli (optional)
Method: Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl. To prepare the filling, heat the oil in a wok or frying pan and fry the ginger, garlic and spring onions for 30 seconds before adding the mushrooms. Stir fry on high heat until mushrooms are just cooked. Remove mushroom mix from wok and wipe it clean. Beat two of the eggs in a bowl and season. Reheat the wok or frying pan and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the beaten eggs and swirl to spread. When the base is cooked and the top is still slightly soft, place one quarter of the mushroom mix on half of the omelette, top with bean sprouts and fold over. Remove from the wok. Repeat with remaining eggs, making a total of four omelettes. Serve drizzled with the sauce and top with coriander leaves and chilli.
Aubergine Cannelloni with Spinach and Ricotta and Roasted Tomato Sauce
Ingredients: olive oil spray; 1 small onion, sliced; 2 large aubergine, sliced into 8 pieces lengthwise; 10 Roma tomatoes; 4 garlic cloves, peeled; 250g frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry; 600g low-fat ricotta cheese; 2 tbs chopped fresh herbs, i.e. basil, oregano, parsley
Method: Preheat oven to 200ºC. Line 2 oven trays with baking paper. Halve tomatoes lengthwise, remove and discard seeds. Place cut side down on one baking tray with the onion and garlic. Spray with olive oil and season. Place the aubergine slices on the second baking tray, overlapping them slightly to fit. Spray lightly with oil. Place both trays in the oven; roast until aubergine is soft and tomatoes puff and start to brown – about 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a food processor, blend spinach, ricotta and herbs; set aside. Remove the vegetables from the oven. Pull the skin off the tomatoes and discard. Place the tomatoes, onion, garlic and any juices into the food processor and process until a chunky sauce forms. Spoon 1 cup of tomato sauce into a baking dish, place ½ cup spinach-ricotta mixture on one aubergine slice; roll up from small end, and place the seam side down in baking pan. Repeat with remaining slices, using all the filling. Top aubergine rolls with the prepared tomato sauce and bake for about 25 minutes. Serve with a fresh green salad.
RECIPES SUPPLIED BY: Tony Ferguson
