Spring has sprung, so why not take advantage of the warmer weather to whip up some delicious crowd-pleasing meals for the family, using fresh seasonal ingredients like these tasty recipes from My Food Bag?
Italian Lamb Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and Risoni Pasta
Italian Lamb Meatballs
500g Italian lamb sausage mince- 1 carrot, finely grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Tomato Sauce and Risoni
- 1 brown onion, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 cups passata
- Pinch of sugar
- 350g risoni pasta
Garden Salad and Dressing
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 oak lettuce, leaves separated and
- roughly torn
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut in half
To serve: 1 cup grated tasty cheese
Method
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Combine all meatball ingredients (except oil) in a large bowl and mix well. Using clean hands, shape into golf ball-sized balls and flatten slightly (this makes them easier to cook). Heat a drizzle of oil in a large fry-pan (preferably non-stick) on medium heat. Add meatballs, arrange in a single layer in pan and fry for about 2 minutes each side (only turn them once they have formed a firm brown crust- they don’t have to be cooked through). Set meatballs aside on a plate.
- To make tomato sauce, heat a drizzle of oil in same pan used to cook meatballs on medium heat. Cook onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes, until soft. Add passata and sugar and bring to the boil. Return meatballs to pan with sauce, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently, covered, for 8-9 minutes, turning meatballs once half way through cooking, until cooked through.
- While meatballs are cooking, cook risoni pasta in pot of boiling water for about 11 minutes until al dente ( just cooked). Drain.
- Combine olive oil, vinegar and honey in a large bowl. Add lettuce and cherry tomatoes and toss to coat in dressing.
- Divide risoni between bowls, top with meatballs and sauce and serve salad on the side. Sprinkle cheese over meatballs.
Cheesy Vegetable Fritters with Tomato Avocado Salad
Cheesey Vegetable Fritters
1 cup flour- 1 cup finely grated parmesan
- teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 zucchini, grated
- 1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
- 2 corncobs, husk and silk removed
Tomato Avocado Salad
- 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 baby cos lettuce, leaves separated
- 1 avocado, cut into 2–3cm dice
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
To serve: 3–4 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 180 C/160 C (Fan). Line an oven tray with baking paper.
- Sift flour into a large bowl and add parmesan and salt. Stir through eggs, zucchini and peas until well combined.
- Use a sharp knife to cut kernels from corncobs, discard husks. Stir corn kernels into fritter batter until well combined.
- Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large fry pan (preferably non-stick) over medium heat. Add spoonfuls of batter to pan and cook for 2–3 minutes each side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to prepared tray to keep warm in the oven. Repeat with remaining fritters, adding extra oil as required.
- Toss salad ingredients together.
- Divide fritters and salad between plates. Serve with sweet chilli sauce, if using.
Lemon Thyme Roast Chicken with Parsnip and Potato Chips and Salad
Chicken
1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces- 1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon-thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon marjoram leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Potato and parsnip chips
- 4 waxy potatoes
- 4 parsnips
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon marjoram leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
Salad
- 1 Lebanese cucumber
- 1 punnet Italian salad mix
Vinaigrette
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (e.g. balsamic, cider)
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- Pinch of salt and sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 220°C /200°C (Fan). Line two oven trays with baking paper.
- Pat chicken pieces dry with paper towels and toss with lemon thyme, marjoram leaves, olive oil, salt and pepper in the first prepared tray. Roast for 45 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken pieces are pierced with a skewer. Turn once halfway through cooking.
- While the chicken cooks, prepare the chips; Cut potatoes in half lengthways, then into 1cm-thick chips. Peel parsnips, cut in half lengthways, then into 1cm-thick chips. When chicken has 30 minutes of cook time remaining, toss chips with olive oil, marjoram and salt in the second prepared tray and cook until golden and crispy, 30 minutes.
- Prepare the salad and vinaigrette; Roughly dice cucumber and combine with salad mix in a large bowl. Combine vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl. Toss salad and vinaigrette together just prior to serving.
- Divide chicken and chips between plates and serve salad on the side.
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My Food Bag is a premium food delivery service founded on the idea that food should be quick, easy and delicious. They provide the convenience of simple, healthy recipes and the freshest seasonal, Australian produce delivered straight to your door, helping to solve the ”What’s for dinner?” dilemma.
My Food Bag are offering North Shore Mums $45 off your first My Food Bag PLUS 1 FREE Food Bag to gift to a friend! To redeem, go to myfoodbag.com.au, create an account, select a Food Bag and then enter the promo code NSM45 at the checkout.
