Light meal
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Recipe: Quinoa, lentil & beetroot vegan bowls
These quinoa, lentil & beetroot vegan bowls are a tasty meal packed with plant-based protein, iron and fibre. The dressing contains lemon to provide vitamin C, which your body needs to absorb the non-haem iron. You will also get some healthy unsaturated fats from the olive oil and seeds, and calcium mainly from the tahini. These bowls taste great warm but can also be eating straight out of the fridge if you have leftovers. If you’re a vegetarian or omnivore, feel free to add or substitute part of the protein with other foods such as boiled eggs, cheese, tuna, smoked salmon or poached chicken. One final note: I have specified…
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Recipe: Asparagus and feta frittata
This asparagus and feta frittata is a quick breakfast you can make on the weekend and refrigerate to eat during the week. It’s a great way of consuming quality protein, calcium and vegetables in the morning. Of course, you can also pair it with a salad to have it for lunch or dinner. You can use this same basic recipe as a template and substitute your favourite vegetable and cheese. Feel free to add your favourite herbs and spices, too.
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Recipe: Palta rellena
Also known as Palta a la reina, palta rellena is a classic Peruvian entrée. I do not know much about its origin but it’s a fairly popular dish, particularly in restaurants offering set menu weekday lunch deals (aka “menú”). My version is heavier on the filling, which means it makes a decent-sized lunch.
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Recipe: Mixto completo (sort of)
Another sandwich recipe? Really? Yeah, we still got a lot of protein bread in the freezer. Peruvians took the French classics croque monsieur and croque madame and made the poor person’s versions mixto and mixto completo. These generally contain jamón inglés (regular leg ham) and Edam cheese. The completo (equivalent to the croque madame) has a fried egg. These are normally buttered and put in a sandwich press. Another option is to heat it on a flat grill iron (or pan). When using this method, it’s common to cut a whole on the top slice of bread with a small glass or cookie cutter and pour the egg in the…
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Recipe: Pan con aceitunas
Recently I wrote about craving sandwiches from my childhood. Today’s sandwich is even simpler: it involves only three ingredients but tons of memories. I recommend using botija olives (I’ve bought them in Tierras Latinas, Flemington Markets and Loving Earth in the past) but any flavourful black olive would do. Pro-tip: next time someone you know goes to Perú, tell them to bring some olives (and lúcuma and maca), they’re way more expensive over here. Once again, this sandwich features the high-protein low-carb gluten-free protein bread.
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Recipe: Triples in protein bread
I don’t crave bread often but when I do it’s usually in relation to childhood memories. Among other sandwiches, we grew up eating triple, which is very popular back home although there’s nothing typically Peruvian about it. Its name refers to the three different fillings that are separated by four (FOUR!) slices of bread. Yep, Peruvians eat lots of carbs, that’s why we’re all “doughy”, as Robb Wolf would say. I’ve come across a couple of great commercially-available bread options that we use once in a while. One of them is protein bread, that is gluten-free and low carb. The good news is that we haven’t noticed any ill effects…
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Recipe: Two dips with CO YO
As promised, here’s a recipe featuring the wonderful coconut yoghurt CO YO. Serve with cucumber slices, on top of salad greens, or however you prefer.
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Recipe: Crustless smoked trout quiche
This recipe was inspired by a Facebook comment from my great friend Oriana. I used to spend most Sundays in her house. We played, laughed, and dreamed about starting a band. We played outside with her cousin. We went to the shops to buy bread, ham, and milk for afternoon tea. We wrote silly things. Dad picked me up when I was tired, well fed and happy. Oriana left school to move to Tacna (city in the South of Perú) with her family and one day she decided to move to Norway – and became a great writer and cook in the process. “Naturally”, the only way we can keep…
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Recipe: Crustless sausage & spinach quiche
I know, I know… this is getting kinda boring but we’ve been really enjoying the variety of breakfast quiches I’ve been coming up with. This crustless sausage & spinach quiche is easily customised to whatever ingredients you have available. For this one I didn’t even have to go to the market, as the sausages and spinach were already in my freezer. The snags were pork & ginger from Feather and Bone, the best quality you can possibly get: pastured-fed pork, no fillers (and therefore grain- and gluten-free), and amazing flavour. This recipe is gluten-free (depending on the sausages you use) and low-carb. This crustless sausage & spinach quiche is easily…
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Recipe: Crustless bacon & zucchini quiche
Crustless bacon & zucchini quiche is another egg-based breakfast recipe featuring Trunkey’s products. This time it was the turn of everyone’s favourite: bacon. I used a mix of nitrate-free smoked and plain bacon, feel free to use your favourite. This recipe is gluten-free and low-carb. Crustless bacon & zucchini quiche is another egg-based breakfast recipe featuring Trunkey's products.
