Family Mess Hall - whole food meals dinners recipes

Garlic mushroom and almond quinoa pilaf This garlic mushroom and almond quinoa pilaf make a delicious quick, vegetarian lunch or fabulous side dish.  It's a great substitute to stuffing and can be served with roast meats during the festive season.  It's extremely versatile and can be served hot or cold.   Ingredients: 1 cup dried quinoa ((prepared as per packet instructions)) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 lemon ((zested and juiced)) 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley ((finely chopped)) 1/4 cup silvered almonds ((toasted in dry pan until golden)) 2 tbsp butter 2 tsp garlic ((finely chopped)) 400 grams mushrooms ((roughly chopped)) 1/4 cup parmesan cheese ((grated)) Method: Prepare quinoa as instructed on the package.  1 cup yields approximately 3 cups of cooked quinoa.  Fluff the quinoa and dress with lemon juice, zest, olive oil and parsley. In a hot frypan, melt and brown butter then add garlic and mushrooms.  Saute until the mushrooms are softened and golde...

Roast pumpkin, romaine and miso salad I love this salad so much.  The combination of sweet roasted pumpkin with lemon and miso is a delight.  This dressing is not for the faint hearted though.  It's deeply sour, salty and umami and perfectly complements the caramelly pumpkin.   Make the lemon miso dressing Ingredients: 1/2 lemon ((juiced and zested)) 1 sachet instant miso soup ((or pure miso paste for vegetarians)) 1-2 tsp sugar 1 tsp sesame oil Method: 1. Mix together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.  If you find it too strong, you can add a teaspoon of hot water. The salad Ingredients: 750 grams pumpkin or butternut squash (cut into thin 1cm (1/2 inch) slices) 1/2 lemon ((juice only)) 2 spring onions ((chopped)) 1/4 head cauliflower (in florets) ((microwaved steamed for 6 minutes)) 1 - 2 baby romaine / cos lettuce 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup roasted almonds ((roughly chopped or flaked)) 1 tsp roasted sesame seeds 1/4...

Blistered cherry tomato and basil farfalle pasta Here's a quick and easy recipe for flavourful stir through cherry tomato and basil farfalle pasta. Get this delicious meal on the table in 30 minutes. Ingredients: 2 small punnets cherry or grape tomatoes 1 packet farfalle pasta (approx 500g) 2 tbsp salt (for pasta water) Basil and garlic oil 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 4 tbsp parmesan cheese 2 tbsp pine nuts 2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp ground black pepper 1 cup basil leaves (loosely packed) 2 tbsp capers Method: Preheat oven grill / broiler to 200C / 390F. Place whole grape tomatoes on a baking tray.   Douse in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place tray of tomatoes in the oven and grill for 25 minutes until sunken and blistered but not blackened. Blend basil and garlic oil ingredients briefly to combine.  Leave ingredients a little chunky. Prepare pasta as directed on the package then drain, leaving a few tablespoons of salty pasta water in ...

Caprese Salad Ingredients: 6 roma tomatoes (sliced) 1 punnet grape tomatoes (halved) 200 grams baby bocconcini cheese (halved) 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (thick and sticky variety) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/2 bunch fresh basil (leave torn) Method: Cover the base of a serving platter in sliced roma tomatoes. Dot with grape tomatoes and halved bocconcini. Drizzle with vinegar and olive oil. Season with salt and cracked black pepper and top with torn basil.   Serve at room temperature.  

  You'll need: 5 hours, lamb shoulder, mixed coleslaw vegetables (eg red cabbage, zucchini, celery, broccoli, carrot), potatoes, dried spices and herbs, cocoa powder, plain yoghurt, lemon, garlic Make the spiced lamb shoulder 1. Preheat your oven to 150 degrees C or 300 degrees F. 2. Prepare the spice rub by mixing together 1 teaspoon each of cumin, ground coriander, paprika, brown sugar, cocoa, dried oregano and 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder in a bowl. 3. Place the lamb shoulder in a lidded casserole dish and massage the spice mix into the meat with a splash of oil. Leave you lamb to marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.  It will reduce the cook time if your meat isn't refrigerator cold. 4. Add one cup of water to the dish and put the lid on.  Place the casserole in the oven and allow the lamb shoulder to cook slowly for 4 hours. Baste the lamb shoulder with juices after two hours. 5. When done, remove the casserole dish from the oven and wait for slaw to...

Chicken, apple and almond salad You'll need: 15 minutes, leftover chicken, whole egg mayonnaise, greek yoghurt, mixed greens (I used silverbeet, rainbow chard, cos lettuce), bean sprouts, celery, apple, fresh herbs (I used chives), nuts (eg almonds), pre-prepared vinaigrette 1. Chop and layer the following vegetables in this order.  1 large silverbeet leaf, 2 small rainbow chard leaves, 3 large cos lettuce leaves, two handfuls of bean sprouts, 1 stalk of chopped celery, 1 large diced apple, a handful of chopped chives, roughly chopped almonds.  Then season with salt and pepper and prepare your favourite vinaigrette. 2.  Next place your shredded chicken in a separate dish and mix through a heaped tablespoon each of yoghurt and mayonnaise.  Season with salt and pepper. As a variation, you might like to add a teaspoon of curry power (for a retro twist) OR chopped basil and lemon zest.  Today we went with this most simple version. 3. It's ready to serve and enjoy!...