Extra Green Cucumber Salad

Serves up to 10 (depends on if a side or a ‘main’), but makes a lot!

Keeps for 2 days if stored in the fridge in an airtight container.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

75ml apple cyder vinegar

Juice of 1 lime (about 1tbsp)

1 tsp soy sauce (or tamari if gluten free)

1 tsp maple syrup

4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp white sugar

Salad:

2 large cucumbers, quartered and sliced

1 head romaine lettuce, julienned

½ bunch coriander, fined chopped

½ tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp Zaatar (optional)

41g pistachios, chopped small

32g toasted sunflower seeds

Method:

1. Make the dressing: in a small bowl combine the vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, maple syrup, olive oil, and white sugar. Whisk until emulsified.

2. In a large bowl, place diced cucumbers, julienned lettuce, & coriander mixing well with a wooden spoon to combine.

3. Sprinkle the sea salt & zaatar on top and mix again. 

4. Whisk and then pour the dressing over top and again mix with a wooden spoon to combine. 

5. Add the pistachios and sunflower seeds and give a final mix so all ingredients are evenly distributed. 

6. Serve with any protein of choice (we went for a lemon roasted chicken! YUM!).

Butternut Squash Falafels

INGREDIENTS:

450g butternut squash (peeled and diced into 1-inch blocks)

½ tsp olive oil

½ tsp coriander seeds

400g can chickpeas, drained

1 clove garlic, grated 

1 ¼ tsp smoked sea salt

1 ½ tsp ground coriander

1 ½ tsp smoked paprika

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Juice of ½ lemon

2 Tbsp plain flour (or a gluten-free flour of choice if you’d prefer)

4-8 Tbsp sesame seeds

METHOD:

1. Roast the Squash: pre-heat oven to 180C. Toss the blocks of squash with ½ tsp olive oil, a pinch of smoked sea salt, & the coriander seeds and lay out evenly across a non-stick baking tray. Roast for about 20 minutes (until the squash is soft all the way through).

2. In a large bowl (or a food processor if you have one), mash together the drained chickpeas, grated garlic, smoked sea salt, ground coriander, smoked paprika, and lemon zest & juice. You should be able to get this pretty smooth with a potato masher, but don’t worry about some lumps. We’ll mash again in a bit. Set aside.

3. Once squash is cooked, pour the squash & cumin seeds into the bowl with the chickpea mixture. Use your masher to evenly mash through. Add flour. You’ll have quite a wet mix, but that’s OK. You just need to be able to roll the mix into balls that hold together.

4. Using your hands, roll the mixture into balls about 1.5 inches diameter. If you find it’s too wet, add another Tbsp of flour at a time until consistency is right. I ended up with 18 balls. Gently lay the balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. 

5. Place into the fridge to firm up- about 2 hours.

6. When ready to bake: Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Pour sesame seeds into a small bowl. Drop each squash ball into the bowl to coat. Place back onto the lined baking tray. Bake for 10minutes, flip the balls over and cook again for 10 minutes.