Healthy Summer Entertaining Recipes

Make mini cakes as a starter or as an addition to your meal. These are nice served with a yoghurt sauce.

 

700g Kumara, peeled and cut into chunks

1 clove garlic, crushed

4 spring onions, sliced thinly

1 cup chopped fresh coriander

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

Plain flour

Spray oil

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup lemon juice

 

Place the Kumara in a pan of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes until tender. Drain the pot and then mash.Fry garlic and spices in a frying pan for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic spice mixture, spring onions and fresh coriander to the mashed kumara and mix well, season and add lemon juice.

 

Allow the mixture to cool and then round into patties using floured hands. Heat spray oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry patties for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown.

This easy, quick salad makes a nice addition to a BBQ or as a light meal in on its own served with some crusty bread rolls.

1 can of baby beetroot, drained

1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced

1 carrot, grated

2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves or mesculin mix

2 tablespoons of pinenuts

4 cooked chicken breasts, finely diced

¼ cup of basil pesto

Juice of half a lemon

 

In a bowl place the two large handfuls of baby spinach or mesculin mix. Then add on top the baby beetroot, sliced red pepper and grated carrot. Mix the diced chicken and pesto together and place on top. Sprinkle over the pine nuts and squeeze over the lemon. 

 

Gelato is an Italian ice cream and this version is surprisingly low in fat. A delicious way to finish a meal. If you wish, leave the crunchie out for plain chocolate gelato

 

375ml trim milk

2 tablespoons cornflour

1/2 cup cocoa

375ml can Carnation lite evaporated milk

3/4 cup castor sugar

80g chocolate

2 fun sized crunchies, cut into little pieces

In a bowl, place 1 cup of the milk in a bowl. Add the cornflour and cocoa and whisk to combine. In a saucepan combine the remaining milk, the can of lite evaporated milk, sugar and chocolate and heat gently, stirring continuously until the sugar is dissolved and chocolate melted.  Add the cocoa mix and stir over a low heat for around 5-10 minutes until the mixture has thickened the consistency of a pouring custard.
 

Pour the mixture through a sieve into a rigid, freezer-safe container then stir in the Crunchie pieces and freeze until half frozen. Then remove from the freezer and beat the mixture, then return it to the freezer to freeze completely. This is required to get the right texture.

 
Nicola Graham
www.eatwellnz.com