Something fast/slow.

More often than not, we’re on the hunt for meals that take no time at all.

Many of us avoid, or give every attempt to limit, hours spent in the kitchen or ruminating over our meal ideas; that’s time spent shopping, prepping, cleaning and cooking. We just wanna skip straight to the best part – eating!

There are two key shortcuts to shave time off your weekly cooking program.

Begin by establishing a routine for meal planning and grocery shopping. This may seem somewhat of a difficult habit at first, however, it will save you a lot of time in the future. Throughout the week save meal inspirations from Instagram or cookbooks to make meal planning easier. Pick a consistent day that you order all your groceries online for pick-up or delivery, and stick to that day every week.

...two key shortcuts to shave time of your cooking.

As for the food prep and cooking, like so many things – practice makes perfect! I can bang out a homemade bolognese made from scratch, including the pasta, in 30 minutes. Or there’s whipping up a gluten-free waffle for breakfast, blurry-eyed at 6am, in five minutes. As a chef, I spend about 80 per cent of my time in the kitchen every week. Ample time for my speed and ease in the kitchen to improve. I guarantee that if you can spend a few extra moments preparing food when it suits you, you’ll begin to see that you can achieve more complex meals with less effort. Go go, give yourself the opportunity to excel in the kitchen, we all have an “inner chef ” waiting to shine.

In this edition of Gippslandia, we have a quick spring salad to be served with grilled meat, and a slow-cooked lamb dish to be served with polenta or mashed potatoes for you.

You won’t spend much time in the kitchen for either of these recipes, yet you’ll achieve some delicious big flavours all the same!

Quick Spring Salad
(Serves four people as a side salad)

Ingredients

450g Asparagus, very thinly sliced
1 x Fennel Bulb, very thinly sliced
½ cup Red Onion, very thinly sliced
4 x Radishes, very thinly sliced
⅓ cup Peas
2 x handfuls of Watercress
2 tbsp Dill
2 tbsp Fennel Fronds
2 tbsp Mint
⅓ cup Lemon Juice
½ cup Olive Oil
½ cup shaved
Manchego Cheese
Pepper (to season)

Method

1/. Use a mandoline slicer or a veggie peeler to shave the asparagus into ribbons, stopping short of the tips. Combine asparagus ribbons with finely sliced fennel, red onion and radishes. Add the peas and watercress.

2/. In a glass jar or small bowl, combine chopped dill, fennel fronds and mint with lemon juice, olive oil and freshly ground black pepper. Gently toss the dressing through the salad vegetables, then garnish with shaved cheese.

Slow-cooked Lamb Loin Chops
(Serves two to three people)

Ingredients

500g Lamb Loin Chops
1 x Red Onion, finely diced
3 x Garlic cloves, sliced
2 x sprigs of Rosemary
200ml Red Wine
1 x 285g jar Roasted Red Capsicum
2 tsp dried Oregano
½ tsp ground Cinnamon
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 x Bay Leaf
Olive Oil

Method

1/. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat, then add a splash of olive oil to the base of the pan. Grill each side of the lamb loin chops, then place in an ovenproof dish, preferably large enough to have each lamb loin chop flat on the base of the dish.

2/. Add another splash of olive oil to the base of the frying pan and the finely diced red onion, then sauté for two minutes. Next, add the sliced garlic and finely chopped rosemary to the pan with a pinch of salt; this prevents the garlic from burning.

3/. Add red wine to the pan and simmer for three minutes to reduce. Drain the roasted red capsicum from the brine, then finely dice and add to the pan. Next, add oregano, cinnamon, tomato paste and the bay leaf and mix together.

4/. Pour the sauce over the lamb loin chops, then cover the dish with foil and place in the oven to cook for an hour and a half, or until the lamb is tender.

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Gippslandia - Issue No. 20

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