I got away quite lightly with odd food cravings whilst I was pregnant, but I did eat A LOT of burritos. So many in fact that I vowed I would never even look at another one. Forever and ever after! However, there is something so deliciously convenient about having some yummy fillings all parceled up in a tortilla or a beautiful fresh green Silverbeet leaf!

This week, my Petite Produce Box is a little green fiesta and even though I said I’d never go ‘there’ again, it’s just too good an opportunity to miss.

Roasted Spring Vegetable Burrito with Quinoa and Dilly Guacamole.

Serves 4 (or 1 hungry pregnant lady)

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Quinoa
• 3 Zucchinis
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• ½ Bag of Dill
• 1 Avocado
• 1 red onion
• 1 lemon or lime
• I pack of your favourite Tortillas/Tacos or the larger Silverbeet leaves

Method

• Cook the Quinoa as per packet instructions. Drain and season when cool.
• Chop the zucchinis. Either into slender lady batons or slice on the diagonal.
• Remove the tough stalk from the asparagus and chop either in half or thirds and add them to the zucchini tray.
• Chop a little of the stalks from the broccolini, but keep them quite long as their stem is super sweet and tender when roasted!
• Arrange on one big tray or two if the veggies seem too crowded and drizzle enough olive oil to coat and sprinkle a good teaspoon of Malden salt before gently mixing with your hands.
• Place in the oven on a high heat for about 8-10 mins or until the veggies look plump and roasty.

For the guac, simply mash the avo, finley chop the dill, add the juice and zest of your chosen citrus, finely chop the red onion, salt and pepper to taste and a dash of olive oil.

I tend to plop the guacamole on the bottom spoon the quinoa on and then top with veggies, but as  long as you have all the good stuff, freestyling is the way to personal perfection.

I may have mentioned once or twice that there’s a fair bit of ‘Greek’ in our house. It’s not all ouzo and plate smashing, but there is certainly always feta and lashings of olive oil. During the winter months we tend to eat a lot of comforting one pot wonders but as soon as the sun starts dancing again, we fall easily back in to our favourite eating habits. Mezze (shared plates). I love this style of eating; as the warmer season opens up to the change in produce it’s a lovely simple way to sample a little of everything.

As always, The Petite Produce Box is brimming with potential, but I’m most looking forward to Chicken Souvlakia, marinated field mushrooms and braised zucchini with spinach.

Chicken Souvlakia

Serves 4 (8 skewers)

• 1kg of Cameron Harris Chicken Breasts
• 1/3 Cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 ½ tbsps of lemon juice
• 2 cloves of crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp of dried oregano
• Salt and pepper

Chop the chicken into bite size chunks and pop into a large glass bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk everything other and pour over the chicken. Massage gently so all the chicken bits get well marinated. Cover the bowl and leave in the fridge overnight. When you are ready to go ‘feed’ onto the skewer, roughly 8 pieces per skewer and cook on a BBQ or a griddle pan in batches for about ten minutes until golden.

Marinated field mushrooms

Serves 4

• 250g of flat mushrooms (wash with a clean damp cloth and gently pull of the stem)
• ¼ of a cup of balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
• A pinch of salt
• A few fresh herbs of your choice (I use basil)

Pop the mushrooms smooth side down in a shallow dish and once you’ve whisked all of the ingredients together, pour the marinade over the mushrooms, cover the dish and leave to marinate over night.

Cook this for about 5 minutes on both sides until tender and when cooked serve with a few torn leaves of Basil and shaved Parmesan. 

Braised Zucchini with wilted spinach

Serves 4

• ¼ of a cup of olive oil
• 1 finely sliced onion
• 1 clove of garlic finely sliced
• 500g of zucchinis (chopped into little logs..about 2 cm)
• Salt and pepper
• 300g of Zoe's Garden field spinach (stems removed)

Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pan over medium heat, and the onions and garlic and cook until translucent. Add the zucchini and toss around to coat in the oil and the salt and pepper and spinach and have one more gentle stir to help things on their way, cover the pot and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes. Serve with some wedges of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.

It goes without saying there will be olives, feta and Leeds Street Rosemary and Polenta Bread at the table to complete the mini feast!

I’ve been living by the sea for as long as I can remember, (with a stint ‘in land’ growing produce) met the man of my dreams in a little Greek fishing village and would often be found ‘hanging out’ with the local fishmonger as a child. So, it should come as no surprise to me that my daughters’ favourite foods so far in her one year of life are fish and greens. For her we still keep it quite simple; roasted or baked en papillote to seal in the flavour; but for us big kids, we like a little bit more texture. A crust or crumb. Left over quinoa mixed with pesto is a quick and delicious way to add some crunch or a polenta and herb crumb.  

Polenta ‘Crumbed’ Fish 

Serves 4 

• 4 Fish Factory Fillets 
• ½ a cup of polenta  
• 2 tbsp of Italian parsley, finely chopped 
• 2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese, finely grated 
• 1 tsp of lemon zest, finely grated 
• Pinch of sea salt flakes 
• Plenty of freshly ground black pepper 
• Extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1tsp of Dijon mustard 

Method 

• Preheat your oven to 200 degrees. 
• Combine the polenta, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest and seasoning and mix well using your fingertips. 
• Smear the olive oil on a baking tray and pop the fish on it, paint a thin layer of Dijon on the fish. 
• Press the crumbs evenly onto the mustard-spread fish and dot with a few drizzles of oil. 
• Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. 
• Rest for a couple of minutes before serving. 

To go with my fish I have so much to consider this week as my Petite Produce Box is singing spring and sunshine!

A lovely Nadine Potato salad with some shaved fennel and avocado or maybe some massaged green kale with a few sprinkles of chilli flakes, little roasted potatoes with a blob of lemon aioli?? All sounding good, but I can’t move past the watercress and asparagus!  

Watercress, with asparagus, avocado, capers and lemony dressing (eggs optional) 

Serves 4

• I bunch of Asparagus 
• ½ a punnet of Watercress 
• 1 Avocado 
• ¼ of a cup of capers 
• 2 tbsp’s of olive oil 
• 1 lemon zest and juice 
• Salt and Pepper  

Method 

Nothing complicated about this recipe. The ingredients do all the work! Peppery watercress, buttery asparagus and the acidity of the capers make for the ultimate fish salad in my humble opinion. 

• Simply blanch your asparagus for a few minutes until tender and pop them in an ice bath to keep them bright green, drain, pat dry and set aside. 
• Trim the watercress, I actually like to keep mine quite long as they are just so pretty on the plate. 
• Slice or chunk your avocado, whichever you fancy.  
• Place the watercress and avocado on the plate and pop the asparagus on top, dot most of the capers around but keep a few (about ½ a tspoon) for the dressing. Combine the olive oil and lemon juice and zest, give a little whisk and then a quick stir with the capers and drizzle over the salad. If you have any nasturtium in your garden, this makes a wonderful addition. You can even add potatoes for a more substantial version.  

Yum. Spring is in! 

I’d like to think that throughout the year, we eat a little bit of everything in our house; you may have noted, vegetables are up there with my favourite things in life. I pride myself with having a broad appreciation for all. However, there’s always the odd one that slips under my radar. I truly am thankful for my Petite Produce Box for reminding me of the unsung heroes. It’s all too easy for me to cruise by certain veggies if they haven’t already been designated a purpose. Celery is a classic example. Used all too frequently for stocks and sauces, celery rarely gets the rock star treatment it deserves.

It has a distinctive yet delicate flavour that is mildly salty and a wonderful crunchy texture. As I’m writing this I’m wondering why I don’t eat more celery?! Maybe you are too? Here's my favourite warm celery recipe.

Celery with tomato, chilli and Italian parsley

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of Te Manaia organic celery, trimmed and cut into 1-inch diagonal pieces
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves of crushed garlic
• 1 anchovy, rinsed and chopped (optional)
• 1 can of organic chopped tomatoes
• 1 handful of roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
• A pinch of sugar
• A pinch of chilli flakes
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method

Cover and steam the celery for 5 minutes, until just tender. Remove from the heat and drain.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pan and add the garlic. After about 30 seconds, add the anchovy if using,then the tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the sugar, chilli flakes and salt and pepper. Stir together, then stir in the celery. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down and the mixture smells so good, you can’t wait any more.. About 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining parsley just before serving.

This is yummy all on its own, with a good hunk of Leeds Street Polenta and Rosemary bread to mop up the juice or as a veggie dish to go alongside some lamb. The anchovies and chilli work really well with other robust flavours. If you wanted to make more of a veggie feast out of it, stir it through some Bongusto fresh pasta and add a few kalamata olives.

A few other suggestions that deserve a mention..

• Smashed avocado with feta and celery on toast or stuffed inside a fluffy baked potato
• Celery, blue cheese and hazlenut. A winning combo; add some chickpeas, farro and rocket for a wholesome and protein packed salad.
• For all those who love to make brunch on the weekends, celery in  potato rosti is delish. Finely shave a few sticks and add it to your mix.

I think we can all agree that celery doesn't deserve to be stuck at the bottom of the pan!

I promised myself I wouldn’t reference the weather..but how can I not when the sun has been shining so brightly?! Now, I probably shouldn’t go too wild, but…It’s been so long since we’ve had a bbq in our little house, I feel we deserve a little Al Fresco loving! This week, from my magical box of goodies I’m going to make some smoked tofu and vegetable red cabbage rolls.

If tofu isn’t your thing, you could sub in some pre roasted mushrooms or even some meat. (Chicken or Pork works well with this recipe)

I think this is the perfect way to utilise some of the fab ingredients we’ve got going on in the Petite Produce Box this week. Lots of versatile veggies to be quickly flash fried or made into interesting salads! You could eat these cabbage rolls hot along side some Miso Maple glazed chicken or cold at a picnic, if they survive a night in the frigde. They're perfect for a midnight snack :)

Smoked Tofu and Vegetable Red cabbage rolls

Serves 4 (2 Each)

• 8 Large Red Cabbage Leaves and a little light oil for brushing

For the filling

• 100g of roughly grated smoked tofu
• 125g (half the bag) of Te Manaia Mung Beans
• 1 cup of grated carrots (about two carrots)
• 1 teaspoon of finely grated ginger
• ½ cup of finely chopped coriander..leaves and stalks
• 2 tablespoons of tamari
• 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of cornflour

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil add the cabbage leaves and turn the heat off. Set aside for 2 mins. The leaves should be tender but not soggy. Drain well and rinse under cold water until completely cold. Set aside and leave them to dry.

For the filling, pop all the tofu and veggie stuff in a bowl and toss together lightly to combine. In a separate little bowl put the rest of the ingredients, whisk together and then pour the mix over the veggies. Season with a little salt and pepper and stir to coat all the vegetables.

Place about ½ cup of mix at the bottom of the cabbage leaf and try and keep the mix as compact as possible for rolling in a sort of oval shape. As you roll tuck in the sides and do one flip over. (You may have some escapees (you may even have a neater way of doing this than me, I’m a bit of an animal) but don’t worry as you are going to roll them in foil for the bbq anyway).

Repeat with the remaining leaves and the rest of the filling.

Use 8 pieces of foil (big enough to fully wrap the rolls).  Brush each piece of foil with a little oil and roll each cabbage roll in the foil, twist the package firmly at the ends to seal. Preheat the bbq to medium and cook for 10 mins and serve with sunshine.