Category Archives: spicy

Kind-of-Cajun chicken with avocado salsa

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This recipe was borne out of desperation. Bike Boy had defrosted chicken breasts for our dinner, the fridge was down to the last dregs of the fortnightly shopping and we were both tired and out of inspiration. A quick recce of what was available produced this… and it was GOOD.

Please excuse our slightly past-its-best avocado. It tasted fine, I assure you.

Serves 2-3

2 large chicken breasts
1 tbs sweet paprika
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp cayenne or ground chilli
1 tbs olive oil

Slice each chicken breast into 3-4 pieces. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl and add chicken. Toss through until chicken pieces are well coated. Stand for at least 30 minutes. Heat a barbecue or grill plate and cook chicken pieces for a few minutes each side until done. Serve with salsa.

Salsa
1 medium tomato
1 avocado
2 spring onions (scallions)
1 tbs lime juice
1 tbs chopped coriander leaves
Salt

Dice tomato and avocado, slice spring onions thinly. Place into a small bowl and add lime juice, coriander and salt. Mix well.

This is great accompanied with potato or sweet potato wedges and/or a salad.

Chicken meatballs with spicy tomato sauce

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chicken meatballs with spicy tomato sauce

Serves 3-4

400g lean chicken mince (or use beef, kangaroo or turkey)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
½ tsp crushed garlic
20g pine nuts
Chilli flakes to taste
1 tsp dried oregano
A big handful of continental parsley, chopped
1 tbs grated parmesan
A squeeze of lemon juice
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Mix onion and chicken mince in a bowl. Place all other ingredients except egg white into the bowl of a food processor and process until a coarse paste is formed. Add to the chicken mince and mix through, using hands for best results. Add about ½ the egg white, mixing well. You can add more if need be, but don’t make the mixture too sloppy.

Heat a non-stick pan and add two teaspoons of olive oil. Take heaped teaspoons of the mixture and form into balls, then fry in batches, turning frequently until browned on all sides and cooked through. Serve with tomato sauce (over pasta or not, as you prefer) and a salad.

Tomato sauce

2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion
1 tsp crushed garlic
400g can of chopped tomatoes
2 small roasted capsicums, chopped (you can use the kind you buy in jars or from the deli)
½ cup red wine
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried basil
About 4 medium mushrooms, sliced

Heat oil in a non-stick pan, add onion, garlic and chilli and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until onion is soft. Add capsicum and cook for a minute or two more. Add all the remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes, then remove the lid and continue to cook a further 10 minutes uncovered.

Sweet Chilli Prawns

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This is another quick and easy meal – I whipped it up within about 15 minutes of getting home tonight.

Serves 4

500g green prawn cutlets (that’s the peeled ones with the tail still intact)
200g snow peas, trimmed
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into segments
1 red capsicum, sliced into thin strips
1 bunch of baby Bok Choy, sliced into approx 4cm lengths
1 tbs lime juice
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp minced chilli
2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
1 tbs peanut oil

Combine lime juice, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, chilli and garlic in a bowl and add prawns. Mix well and put aside to marinate while you prepare the veggies. Heat half the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Drain the prawns (reserve the liquid) and cook for 2-3 minutes until pink. Remove them from the pan and set aside. Heat the remaining oil in the wok and add onion, cooking for 1 minute. Add the other veggies and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, or until they’re cooked to your liking. Return the prawns to the pan, adding the reserved marinade. Cook 1-2 minutes until simmering.

Serve with steamed rice or extra veggies. I added asparagus to mine (of course), and also some coriander leaves.

Thai-style fish cakes

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Easy, pretty quick and T.A.S.T.Y.


Serves 2 (or 1 if you’re hungry)

300g of firm white fish fillets
About a teaspoon of crushed garlic
Crushed or chopped chilli, to taste
2 tbs chopped coriander leaves
2 finely sliced spring onions
Zest of one lime
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp fish sauce
1-2 tsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tsp peanut oil

Chop the fish roughly and process for a few seconds until it sticks together – you don’t want a really fine paste, or you’ll end up with rubbery fish cakes. Tip into a bowl, add remaining ingredients and mix well. With wet hands, shape into 4 balls and flatten into cakes.

Heat a non-stick pan and add oil. Fry fish cakes until browned on both sides and cooked through. try to turn them only once, as they tend to fall apart if you handle them too much.

Serve with steamed rice and stir-fried veggies or a salad. You could add extra sweet chilli sauce for dipping.

Chicken and yoghurt curry

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One of my favourites….


Serves 4-6

1kg chicken pieces (skin removed)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp chopped ginger
½ cup chopped coriander leaves
1 tbs peanut oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 ½ tsp garam masala
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp chilli powder (optional)
½ cup low fat yoghurt
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
extra chopped coriander to garnish

Blend onion, garlic, ginger and fresh coriander in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan and fry the blended mixture, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add turmeric, garam masala, salt and chilli powder and fry for a further minute. Stir in yoghurt and tomatoes and fry until liquid dries up and the mixture is the consistency of a thick puree. Add chicken pieces, turning them in the mixture to coat, then turn heat low, cover tightly and cook until chicken is tender (about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces). If liquid from the chicken has not evaporated by this time, uncover and raise the heat to dry off excess liquid. Stir gently at base of pan to prevent burning.

Garnish with chopped coriander.

I sometimes add a big lot of chopped spinach to this at the end of the cooking time for extra veggies.

Spiced potatoes

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Got this one from Table magazine too.

Serves 4

1 tbs olive oil
2 cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 long green chilli, finely chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
750g potatoes, peeled and cut into 1.5cm cubes
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves

Heat oil in a deep frying pan, add ginger, cumin, chilli and turmeric, fry for 30 seconds. Add potato and cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Add a little water, cover and reduce heat. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until potato is tender. You may need to add more water, so keep an eye on it. Stir in coriander, season with salt.

Beef & bean patties

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I was looking for ways to get more beans into my diet, and found this recipe in Table magazine. I modified it just a little.

Serves 4

500g heart-smart beef mince
420g can of 4-bean mix, drained then pureed in a food processor
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped or crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
1 tbs olive oil

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, cook onion for 3 minutes, stirring, until soft. Add the garlic and spices and cook a further 2 minutes, then set aside to cool. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, using wet hands to shape into 8-12 patties.

Rinse and dry pan, spray with cooking spray and heat. Cook patties in batches for 3 minutes each side or until browned and cooked through.

Chicken soft tacos with corn salsa

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Serves 2

400g chicken breast, diced
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1-2 small red chillies, chopped
1/2 a medium onion, finely diced
A good blob of crushed garlic
About 1/2 tsp dried oregano
Wholegrain tortillas
Chunky tomato salsa (hot, medium or however you like it)
Natural yoghurt

Corn salsa:
1 large corn cob, kernels removed
2 spring onions, sliced
1/2 small red capsicum, diced
1/4 cup coriander leaves, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
Mexican-style chilli powder
Lime juice

Using a mortar and pestle, pound coriander seeds with cumin and a little salt until crushed. Heat 2 tsp oil in a non-stick pan and add the spice mix, onion and garlic. Stir for a minute or two, then add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides and cooked through.

Warm tortillas for a few seconds in the microwave and place on plates. Top with cooked chicken mixture, add some tomato salsa, a little corn salsa and a dollop of yoghurt. Roll up and serve with the remaining corn salsa.

To make the corn salsa:

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan, add spring onions and corn kernels. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally until heated through. Place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, add lime juice and salt to taste.

Just for Raechelle:

With one wholegrain tortilla, half each of the chicken and the corn salsa, a tablespoon of tomato salsa and about 25g of yoghurt, it comes to approx:

Calories: 523
Protein: 53.5g
Carbs: 38.7g
Fat: 18g

You could easily modify it with less chicken and no oil, and just cut down the quantity of corn salsa. Lucky for me, I was planning on extra calories today. :p

Quick(ish) chicken enchiladas

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Sorry – no picture today. I was FAR too hungry to stop and take one.

Edit note: Apparently I did take a photo….my extreme hunger must have given me amnesia.

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 small red chilli finely chopped
400g chicken breast, diced
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ cup chopped coriander leaves
Mexican style chilli powder and salt, to taste
4 wholemeal tortillas
½ cup grated reduced fat tasty cheese.

Preheat oven to 170C. Heat oil in a non-stick pan, add onion, garlic and chilli and stir over medium heat until onion is tender. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally until browned and almost cooked through. Add tomatoes, cumin and coriander leaves, mix well. Add the salt and chilli powder, stir well, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and divide chicken evenly between tortillas, reserving most of the tomato sauce. Roll up tortillas and place seam side down in an ovenproof dish. Spoon the sauce over, sprinkle with the cheese.

Bake for about 25 minutes. Serve on a bed of shredded lettuce, diced tomato, finely sliced red onion and chopped coriander leaves.

Chilli con carne

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And the secret ingredient is…….chocolate! A colleague at the office who knows I love tasty food brought me this recipe – it was from an issue of Gourmet Traveller.


Serves 6

180g dried kidney beans, soaked overnight
¼ cup olive oil
1kg minced beef
2 chorizo, cut into 1cm pieces
500g pork shoulder, diced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 fresh green jalapenos, thinly sliced
500ml beef stock
400g canned tomatoes
50g dark chocolate (70% cocoa) coarsely chopped
60ml malt vinegar
2 tbs dried oregano
1 cinnamon quill
1 tbs coriander seeds, toasted and finely ground
3 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely ground
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Ground chilli powder, to taste
½ cup coriander leaves
Soft tortillas, warmed, to serve
Sour cream, guacamole and lime wedges, to serve

Place kidney beans in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and cook mince, breaking up with the back of a spoon, for 5 mins or until brown, transfer to a plate. Add 1 tbs oil to saucepan, add chorizo and cook for 2 minutes or until starting to brown, add pork shoulder and cook for a further 5 minutes or until brown, then add to mince. Add remaining oil to pan, add onions, garlic and jalapenos and cook for 5 mins or until soft. Return meat to pan with stock, tomatoes, chocolate, vinegar, oregano and spices, season to taste with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and ground chilli. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally until pork is tender. Add beans and cook for another 20 minutes or until sauce is thick. Adjust seasoning and chilli to taste.

Serve scattered with coriander leaves, accompanied by guacamole, tortillas, sour cream and lime wedges.

Apologies for the crappy photo, which doesn’t actually look all that appetising…..forgot to take a pic before we ate it, so all I had was the leftovers in the pot. Trust me, this is a Memorable Meal.