LIFE & CULTURE

Delicious Baked Side Dishes

Meat does not always have to be the star of the show
Louise Lister

ROASTED POTATO AND BEETROOT WITH GREEN BEANS

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

3 ½ tablespoons olive oil

800g small waxy or salad potatoes, larger ones halved

1 bunch baby beetroot, trimmed and peeled, larger ones halved

1 teaspoon salt flakes

150g green beans

70g prosciutto

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

¼ cup toasted pine nuts

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil into a baking dish and place in the oven to warm.

Once hot, add potato, beetroot and sea salt flakes and toss to coat. Roast for 40-50 minutes, shaking the baking dish occasionally, until vegetables are roasted and golden.

Meanwhile, bring a sauce pan of salted water to the boil over a high heat and cook beans for about 2 minutes until just cooked, but still with a bit of bite. Drain, rinse under cold water briefly 9to stop the cooking process) and drain again.

Heat ½ tablespoon of oil in a frypan and fry prosciutto for 2-3 minutes or until crispy.

Once the vegetables are cooked, add the beans to the baking dish. Combine remaining tablespoon of oil with the balsamic vinegar, season with extra sea salt and ground black pepper, if needed, pour over vegetables and toss to combine.

Scatter with pine nuts and prosciutto and serve hot or warm.

(Credit: Louise Lister)

ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES WITH FETA AND GARLIC BREADCRUMBS

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 bulb garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 bulbs fennel, top stalks discarded, cut into wedges

1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

2 x 250g packets cherry tomatoes on the vine

½ cup homemade breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs

100g feta

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C. Take the bulb of garlic and break off one clove, keeping the bulb as intact as possible, then peel and crush the clove.

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a baking dish and place in the oven to warm. Once hot, add fennel and sea salt flakes and toss to coat. Add cherry tomatoes and the bulb of garlic. Roast for 30 minutes, shaking the baking dish occasionally.

Increase heat to 200°C and roast for a further 10 minutes or until the vegetables are roasted and golden.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a frypan. Add the crushed garlic and fry for 1 minute, without browning. Add breadcrumbs, season to taste and fry, shaking pan regularly, for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a paper towel to cool.

Once fennel is cooked, scatter breadcrumbs over the tomatoes and fennel, then top with crumbled feta and the brown-up roasted garlic to serve.

As you eat, squeeze the roasted garlic pulp from each clove to enjoy with the vegies.

(Credit: Louise Lister)

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER AND BEETROOT SALAD WITH TAHINI DRESSING

Serves 4

INGERDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

500g beetroot

1 red onion, peeled and cut into 6 wedges

400g cauliflower, broken into small florets

¼ cup currants

Tahini dressing

2 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoon lemon juice

100g Greek-style yoghurt

Pinch of sugar

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine olive oil, oregano, coriander and sea salt flakes. Add half to a baking dish and place in the oven to warm.

Cut stalks and roots off the beetroot and peel. Cut into wedges, about 8 per beetroot.

Once the oil in the dish is hot, add beetroot and onion and roast for 35-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook cauliflower florets in boiling water for about 5 minutes, then drain well. Place cauliflower in a bowl and add remaining flavoured oil; toss to coat.

After beetroot has been cooking for 35-40 minutes, add cauliflower and bake for a further 15 minutes or until a skewer pushes easily into the beetroot.

To make tahini dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, adding 1-2 tablespoons of water to thin slightly. To serve, drizzle the dressing over roasted vegetables and scatter with currants.

(Credit: Louise Lister)

SPICED BUTTERNUT PUMPKIN WITH YOGHURT AND MINT

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

½ large butternut pumpkin

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons harissa

¼ cup pumpkin seeds (or mixed pumpkin and sunflower seeds)

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

150g Greek-style natural yoghurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Small handful mint leaves

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180°C and place a baking dish in the oven to warm.

To prepare the pumpkin, wash skin, but leave it on. Scrape out seeds, then cut lengthways into thin wedges 1-2cm thick.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil, ground cumin and harissa and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Place pumpkin pieces in a shallow dish, add spiced oil mixture and rub all over until coated.

Place pumpkin in the hot baking dish and bake for about 30 minutes, turning once or twice. Increase heat 200°C and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until pumpkin is tender and starting to brown on the edges.

Meanwhile, heat a frypan over a medium heat. Add pumpkin seeds and dry-fry for about 2 minutes or until lightly toasted, shaking frypan regularly. Set aside.

Combine garlic, yoghurt and lemon juice and add a pinch of sea salt.

Once pumpkin is cooked, drizzle with garlic-yoghurt dressing and scatter with toasted pumpkin seeds and mint leaves.

(Credit: Louise Lister)

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