Split Pea Soup

© Nick Young

Split pea soup is usually made with ham hocks for flavor so I was somewhat wary as to how this vegetarian version would turn out. However, with a little creative flair I ended up with a very tasty soup!

1 lb dried split peas
6 cups of water
1 bunch spring onions
1/2 bunch cilantro
2 cubes telma Vegetable soup & seasoning
Sun dried tomatoes (I prefer the kind in jars with olive oil.)
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Cook the split peas in the water according to the package instructions, usually about 20 minutes.

When ready, pour off some of the water and crumble in the soup cubes. Remove the green part of the spring onions, the stalks of the cilantro and add to the pot. Simmer fairly rapidly until the onion tops and cilantro stalks have softened. Blend everything throughly with a hand blender, I like the soup fairly thick but you can add a little water to correct the consistency if you wish.

Serve the soup garnished with the sun dried tomatoes, chopped spring onions, cilantro springs, a drizzle of the olive oil from the tomatoes and, if you wish, some grated parmesan.

Of course you can garnish with anything you like but I really like the contrast the sun dried have with the split peas.

Enjoy!

Pasta Carbonara

© Nick Young 2011

16 ozs pasta (penne, rotini or your personal favorite).
2 eggs
1 cup shredded parmesan, or pecorino romano cheese
2 large zucchini
2 cloves garlic
2 oz sun dried tomato
A splash of extra virgin olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
Feeds about four people.

Cook the pasta according to the maker's instructions, drain and retain a little of the cooking liquid.

Trim the ends from the zucchini and cut into quarters lengthways, cut out the center core of seeds then cut diagonally into pieces. Cut the sun dried tomatoes smaller pieces.

Slice the garlic and saute with the olive oil in a large pan, add the zucchini and cook a little, the zucchini should remain crunchy, add the sun dried tomatoes and, lastly, toss in the pasta.

Crack the eggs into a large bowl and mix together with the parmesan cheese. Take the hot pasta etc. and throughly toss together with the egg and cheese mixture, also throw in a splash of the hot cooking liquid. The heat from the hot pasta and water should cook the egg and everything will be coated with a delicious cheesy carbonara sauce.

There are many different variations to the carbonara recipe, I encourage experimenting!

Enjoy!

Crunchy Asian Salad

© Nick Young 2011

This is a really refreshing, crunchy, asian influenced salad. As usual, at my daughter's request, it is vegetarian, however the addition of some grilled and diced chicken breast can make it appealing to the carnivore's in your family too!

Crunchy Asian Salad
1 medium Napa cabbage
1 bunch cilantro
1 cucumber
2 bunches spring onions
Crispy Chow Mein noodles

Sesame Ginger Dressing*
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 ½ tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 clove of garlic
2 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
* Sesame oil can be pretty pricey so, unless you want make that investment, consider purchasing a good quality store bought asian dressing.

Salad prep
Cut the Napa cabbage into four pieces lengthways, remove the root from each piece and, with a sharp knife, shred the cabbage as thinly as possible. Slice the cucumber thinly and roughly cut the slices into strips. Chop the entire bunch of cilantro. Remove the root from the spring onions (aka scallions) and any discolored outside leaves, finely chop and throughly mix together with the other ingredients in a large bowl.

As usual with my recipes this makes quite a lot! It will probably make enough for about six people. I like to take what I need for each meal and keep the rest of the undressed salad in ziplock bag so I can pack some for my, and Louisa's lunch.

Dressing prep
Mix all the ingredients together in a dressing bottle and shake! Alternatively I like to use a hand blender to throughly mix, and emulsify the dressing.

Toss the desired amount of salad together with the dressing and serve topped with some of the crispy chow mien noodles.

Enjoy!