As the summer break comes to an end, give yourself a break with these three light, summery meals with minimal time, fuss and dishes required.
Vietnamese lettuce wraps with pork, mint and coriander
These are fantatic made small as a starter or pack them out for a full meal.
Ingredients
1. Heat a pan and add the oils, onion, garlic, ginger and sesame seeds. Stir for a few minutes until the onion is soft and the seeds are golden.
2. Add the mince and stir, then add the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar. Cook for 5 minutes, taste for seasoning then let cool. Stir through the mint and coriander.
3. Rinse the lettuce leaves and pat dry then spoon in the mince, add a squeeze of lime then fold over and eat. Offer plenty of napkins to catch all the delicious juices.
Tomato and zucchini tart with pesto
This tart makes delicious lunch dish — serve with cheeses or sliced cold meats and a green salad.
Ingredients
Directions
1. Lightly flour the benchtop and place pastry sheets on top of each other.
2. Roll out the pastry into a round large enough to fit your baking tray (at least 26cm). Use a large sharp knife to trim pastry to make it round in shape if necessary, then lightly cut a 2.5cm border all the way around the rolled pastry. Lightly prick the outside edge with a fork if you don't want the pastry to puff too much.
3. Place the pastry in the refrigerator to rest for at least 30 minutes.
4. Heat the oven to 200C. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and brush with the egg wash.
5. Place the tomatoes in a bowl with the sugar and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange tomatoes over the pastry.
6. Place the tart in the hot oven and turn the heat up to 210C, so the pastry begins to cook quickly.
7. Cook for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is well browned around the edges and base with no sign of any "wet'' looking patches.
8. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Drizzle over the pesto. Meanwhile, thinly slice the zucchini into ribbons, then slice into thin strips.
9. Place in a colander, toss with 2 pinches of salt and leave to stand for 3 minutes. Rinse off salt and pat dry with kitchen paper. Place in a large bowl, add the lemon juice and oil and stand again for 3 minutes.
10. Season with salt & freshly ground black pepper.
11. Mix basil leaves and watercress through the zucchini and fennel (if using), and place on top of the warm tart. Cut into wedges for serving.
- Recipe by Kathy Paterson
Stir-fry chicken with peas and chives
Get your wok on with this stir-fry recipe - good for a midweek meal.
Ingredients
Directions
1. Place chicken pieces in a bowl and mix with oil and garlic, then add half of the ginger and mix again.
2. Heat wok to high heat. Add chicken mixture to wok and cook, turning every 30 seconds until chicken is browned all over.
3. Add peas to wok with a dash of water. Stir-fry for a minute, then add snowpeas and soy sauce and cook for another minute or 2 until chicken is cooked through.
4. Add half of the chives to the wok and toss one last time, then serve in warm bowls. Sprinkle remaining ginger and chives over the top.
- Recipe by Laurie Black
