Spring dinners
Six delicious light and tasty meals to enjoy in the lead-up to summer!
Monday: Grilled Honey Lime Coriander Chicken
Tuesday: Korean Beef Bowl
Wednesday: Dukkah baked fish
Thursday: Chicken Fajita Roll
Friday: Street Corn Pasta Salad
Saturday: Lamb burgers with tzatziki
Shopping List:
Pepper & Me:
Wok Sauce, Chipotle and Lime salt, Get Lit, Ding Dong Sauce, Mother Dukkah, Man Grind, Mexellent paste, Aioli Grail, Mother Dukkah crumb, Tzatziki
Pantry staples:
1/2 cup honey, olive oil, Honey, light soy sauce, cornflour, rice, sesame seeds, Japanese Mayo, x1 Egg,
Dry Goods:
1 cup Israeli couscous, 4 bread rolls (i used Turkish rolls), 300g spiral pasta (or any shape),
Brioche buns
Chilled goods:
Butter, Greek yoghurt, 100g grated pizza cheese, 3/4 cup sour cream, 50g crumbled feta,
Meat:
12 skinless/boneless chicken thighs, 500g beef mince, 2 Fish fillets (more if cooking for more than two people), 400g chicken breast, 250g Lamb mince (for two people),
Vegetables:
1/4 cup lime juice, coriander, steamed green veggies, shelled edamame, shredded cabbage, fresh carrot, spring onions, Parsley, x1 Lemon, 3 mixed capsicums, x1 red onion, 1 handful rocket, 3 cups frozen corn, 2 stalks celery, x1 lime, x1 Tomato, Iceberg lettuce,
Monday
Perfectly grilled tender & juicy chicken, marinated in a honey/lime/coriander marinade. Perfect for a summer BBQ!
- 12 skinless/boneless chicken thighs
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 Tbsp Wok Sauce
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup coriander (roughly chopped)
- 1/2 tsp Chipotle Lime Salt
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Prepare all of your ingredients.
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Squeeze the juice of 2 limes (approximately) to get 1/4 cup of lime juice (dependant on how juicy your limes are). I like to zest my limes and save the zest for a couscous salad (or freeze for another time).
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Add the lime juice with the honey, Wok sauce, oil, coriander and Chipotle Lime salt.
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Add chicken to the bowl and marinade for 3 hours (or overnight).
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Preheat your grill/skillet/BBQ to medium-high heat. Grill each side of the chicken for about 3-4 minutes or until cooked throughout and no longer pink.
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Once cooked, serve with your favourite salad. A couscous salad marries well with this dish (couscous and add any vegetables you have e.g., red onion, cucumber, diced tomato, lemon/lime zest, baby spinach, grated carrots etc).
Tuesday
- 500 g beef mince
- 1/3 cup Wok Sauce
- 3 tbsp Get Lit
- 1 tbsp Honey (add more if you want a sweeter sticky beef)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 - 2 tbsp Ding Dong Sauce (optional)
- 1 tsp cornflour (dissolved in a little water)
- drizzle of oil
- cooked rice
- steamed green veggies
- shelled edamame
- shredded cabbage
- fresh carrot
- sesame seeds
- Japanese Mayo or Aioli
- spring onion to garnish
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Brown the mince over a medium high heat in a drizzle of oil.
You need to brown the mince for a good 7 or so minutes, you want to cook off any water and get a little caramelization
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Add the Wok Sauce, Get Lit, honey, soy and water to the pan. Add Ding Dong sauce if you want some spice
Simmer for 2-3 minutes before adding cornflour slurry to thicken sauce slightly
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To assemble the bowl, place a layer of cooked rice on the bottom then arrange the toppings and bulgogi style mince on top of the rice
Garnish with sesame seeds and spring onion and mayo if you like.
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Anything goes with this recipe, use whatever vegetables or salad ingredients you have on hand. A bag of slaw makes it super fast to assemble.
This would also be delicious in warmed wraps or roti with slaw and mayo
Wednesday
- 2 Fish fillets
- 1 Cup Israeli couscous
- 1 Tablespoon Butter
- 2 Tablespoon Parsley Roughly chopped
- 2 Tablespoon Greek yoghurt
- 2 Tablespoon Mother Dukkah
- 1/2 Lemon
- 1 Teaspoon Man grind
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Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
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Bring a pot of water to the boil and add couscous. Cook for 7-8 minutes then drain and pour back into the pot. Add butter, Man Grind, stir then set aside.
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Place the fish onto a lined baking dish and sprinkle over Dukkah. Chuck in the oven for 12-15 minutes. Time may vary depending on the size of the fish.
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Grab a bowl and add the buttery couscous. Top with fish, Greek yoghurt, parsley and lemon juice.
Thursday
Super simple, super quick & super tasty!
- 400 g chicken breast (or tenderloins)
- 200 g mixed capsicums (approx 1.5 capsicums)
- 100 g red onion (approx 1/2 onion)
- 100 g grated pizza cheese
- 4 bread rolls (i used turkish rolls)
- 1-2 tbsp mexellent paste
- 2 tbsp oil
- aioli
- 1 handful rocket
- chipotle salt
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Slice the chicken into small bite-sized pieces and rub in the mexellent paste
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Dice capsicums & onions
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Fry chicken in oil on medium/high heat for approx 3 minutes
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Add capsicums, onions & chipotle salt and cook for a further 3 minutes
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Remove from heat, top with grated cheese and melt the cheese under the grill. Meanwhile, slice bread rolls and toast them (optional).
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Spread some aioli inside the bread roll, top with rocket and using a spatula place some of the chicken fajita mix into the bread roll
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Repeat & DEMOLISH!!!
Essential Tools
- chef knives
- chopping board
- frying pan
- grill pan (if grilling bread rolls)
- mixing bowls
- tongs
- spatula
Tips/Tricks
- I toasted my bread roll to add a nice crunchy texture but this step is optional. Also, you can use whatever type of roll you like!
- Cutting the chicken into bite-sized pieces speeds up the cooking time but you could also butterfly the chicken and serve as larger pieces - adjust cooking time accordingly
Friday
- 300 g spiral pasta (or any shape)
- 3 cups frozen corn
- 1 red capsicum
- 2 stalks celery
- 1 tbsp Chipotle Lime Salt
- 1 Lime or 1.5tbsp Lime Juice
- fresh coriander (optional)
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1.5 tbsp oil eg rice bran or neutral oil
- 50 g crumbled feta
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Cook pasta as per usual instructions in a large pot of salted water. Rinse under cold water to cool the pasta and drain well
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Heat a skillet or a large pan over a medium heat. Add frozen corn and leave to char, it will take about 5minutes to start to char, give a gentle toss and repeat to all side of the corn are lightly charred
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You are looking for mostly charred or golden brown corn. Watch it closely towards the end as it can start to pop out of the pan
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In a large bowl combine sour cream, oil, the juice of two limes or roughly 1.5 tbsp of lime juice. Whisk to form the dressing
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Finely dice capsicum and celery
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Add drained pasta to the bowl of dressing with the corn, capsicum and celery. Mix well
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Crumble in feta and toss through gently
Add fresh chopped coriander if using
For extra zing and a little heat you can garish with a small dusting of chipotle orange rub if you have on hand
Saturday
- 250g Lamb mince
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 Cup Dukkah crumb
- 1 Tomato Sliced
- 1/4 Red onion Finely sliced
- 3/4 Cup Iceberg lettuce Finely sliced
- 3 Tablespoons Greek yoghurt
- 2 Tablespoons Tzatziki
- 2 Brioche buns
- 1 Teaspoon Man Grind
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Grab a large bowl and add lamb mince, egg, man grind and Dukkah crumb. Mix until well combined.
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Split the lamb mince in half then using your palms create 2 patties.
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Place a pan over a medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil and add the lamb patties. Cook until nicely browned.
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Grab a small bowl and add Greek yoghurt and tzatziki. Stir until well combined then set aside.
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Prepare the red onion, lettuce and tomato then set aside.
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Slice the brioche buns in half and spread over a thin layer of butter. Place a pan over a medium heat and add the brioche buns butter side down into the pan. Cook until golden brown.
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To build your burger grab the bottom of the brioche bun and add a dollop of creamy tzatziki.
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Top with the lamb pattie, onion tomato and lettuce.
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Put another dollop of creamy tzatziki on the top bun, chuck on top and enjoy!