It’s Summer and we are in 2017! Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2016 has been good for you, but I hope even more that 2017 will be an amazing year with lots of opportunities for you to strive on, lots of love, happiness and that everyone will be in the best of health!
To start the year on the right note, I decided to change the way we eat, and steer it towards eating as healthy as possible! So when Croud Australia contacted me to send me a Weight Watchers Freshbox that’s completely vegetarian by the Aussie Farmers Direct, I couldn’t say no!
It’s a box filled with fresh vegetables and beautiful produce! What’s great about each box is they come with recipes that you could follow too! How easy is that? I love the convenience!
When I saw what I had in my box ( 3 meals for 2 people, $64) a few ingredients jumped out at me and I really wanted to make a vibrant salad that we would be able to even have it on the go and with a salad “dressing” that would be exciting for the taste buds too.
So I decided to make a kale & basil toasted walnut pesto and it absolutely binds all the ingredients together! The perfect dressing (and healthy too with a superfood in it!) for the salad and if you have people you’re making for that loves and needs meat (like the mr), you could easily grill some meat and pop it on as well! It’s a really versatile recipe, and you can add your favorite ingredients too!
Don’t you just love the colour? It tastes absolutely amazing too!
So here’s the recipe for the perfect Summer salad!
Summer Salad in A Jar (An original Food Made With Love recipe)
For the kale & toasted walnut pesto:
40g toasted walnut
80g kale leaves, stem removed
35g basil leaves
2 large garlic cloves
80g grated parmesan
1 tsp salt
150ml olive oil
Steps:
- Add the kale, basil, garlic cloves and salt in a food processor and pulse for 10 to 12 times, till you get a fine chop.
- With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil into the bowl. Scrap the sides of the bowl.
- Add the walnuts, garlic cloves & parmesan, continue to pulse until the mixture is well combined. Set aside.
Note: I used this as a dressing for my salad, but you could use this in your pastas, or coat it with some grilled chicken!
For the salad:
350g butternut pumpkin, cut into cubes
1 red capsicum, sliced length-wise
1 can of chickpeas, drained
1 large handful of rocket leaves
1 large handful of baby spinach leaves
30g Greek style feta, crumbled
3 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt, and extra for seasoning
ground black pepper
2 tbs olive oil
Steps :
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Line the baking tray with some aluminum foil, drizzle with 1 tbs of olive oil, and place the butternut pumpkin and red capsicum onto the tray. Season the butternut pumpkin with the smoked paprika and season with some salt. Bake for 20 mins or until the pumpkin is tender. Set aside to let it cool down.
- In a small nonstick pan, heat 1 tbs of oil over medium heat. Add ground coriander, cumin & salt, and cook for a minute. Remember to keep stirring, so that it doesn’t burn. Add the drained chickpeas and stir for 5 minutes or until lightly toasted and the chickpeas are well coated with the spices. Set aside.
- To plate : In a large jar, place the rocket and baby spinach leaves into the base. Add the butternut pumpkin and the red capsicum then sprinkle with the crumbled greek feta. Top with the spiced chickpeas and finally the kale & toasted walnut pesto.
- You could shake it gently to coat the contents with the pesto dressing, or if you have access to a plate, pour it out and mix it gently. Enjoy on its own or with some grilled meats!
ENJOY!
Remember to always cook and bake with love!
xx
PS: Thank you Croud and Aussie Farmers Direct for this opportunity to try and love the Freshbox! Will be trying some of the recipes that are on the website too! Stay tuned, more recipes to come!
