This week's produce selection includes the addition of Parsnip, Pumpkin and Celery! Did you know, that in addition to beta carotene, pumpkin offer vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, and folate -- all of which strengthen your immune system!
More pumpkin in your diet can help your immune cells work better to ward off germs and speed healing when you get a wound.
The purpose of these recipes is to give you some inspiration for the week ahead. We’ve suggested meal ideas based on our produce selection and they can all be enjoyed on their own, or with any protein that suits your appetite.
Enjoy!
Spicy Parsnip and Sweet Potato Soup
This Spicy Parsnip and Sweet Potato Soup is hearty, healthy and packed with flavour! It’s perfect for those cooler Spring days.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion - diced
- 2 cloves of garlic - minced
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1.5 tbsp of curry powder
- 1 large sweet potato - peeled and chopped into chunks
- 2 large parsnips - peeled and chopped into chunks
- 1 apple - peeled and chopped into chunks
- 4 heaped tbsp red lentils
- 400ml canned coconut milk
- 2 ½ cups chicken/veg stock
- Small bunch of coriander
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 lime - (half of the lime sliced thinly, the other half will be squeezed into the soup)
Toppings (Optional)
- 3 tbsp unsalted peanuts - roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp coconut milk - (or you can replace with double/heavy cream)
- 1 tbsp chilli sauce - (sriracha or sweet chilli sauce)
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
Parsnip chips:
- 2 parsnips - peeled and sliced length-ways into thin slices
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
If you're making the parsnip chips, preheat the oven to 190C and line a baking tray.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.
Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder, stir together, and fry for a minute more, until they release their fragrance.
Add the sweet potato, parsnip and apple, fry whilst stirring for a minute to coat them in the curry mixture.
Add the lentils, coconut milk, stock and the stalks from the coriander - we'll save the leaves for garnish later. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for 20-25 mins.
While the soup is simmering, place the sliced parsnips for the soup topping on the baking tray. Drizzle over the 1 tbsp of oil and the ¼ tsp of salt and pepper. Toss together.
Place the parsnips in the oven for 15-20 minutes (no need to turn) until golden brown. Remove from the oven.
At this point you can also place the unsalted peanuts for your soup topping in a small frying pan (no oil). Fry over a high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until browned (be careful, they burn quickly). Transfer to a bowl when browned.
Take the soup off the heat, add the salt and pepper and the juice of half a lime and carefully blend using a stick blender (or carefully pour into a food processor and blend) until smooth.
Have a taste and add a bit more seasoning if required. You could also add a bit of water if the soup seems a bit too thick.
Ladle into bowls, and top with a drizzle of coconut milk (or double/heavy cream) and a drizzle of chilli sauce. Give the sauces a little swirl.
Place the parsnip crisps on top and sprinkle on the toasted peanuts. Add the coriander leaves, chill flakes and lime slices, then serve.
Pumpkin and Spring Onion Frittata
An easy, healthy meal that's perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
- 4 Gippsland Free Range Eggs
- 2 tbsp unsweetened Greek yoghurt (or non-dairy option)
- 1 cup pumpkin, cut in chunks (up to 1 1/2 cups)
- 2 spring onions
- 1 large handful baby spinach, or other greens
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 pinch chili flakes (optional)
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Steam the pumpkin chunks until just tender, then while they are cooling a little, preheat your oven to 160 C and oil a small oven safe dish with the olive oil.
Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk together with the yoghurt, salt & and pepper. Set aside. Roughly chop the greens so they resemble a roughly shredded texture, and finely chop the spring onion.
Arrange the greens and pumpkin chunks evenly in the baking dish. Gently pour over the beaten egg mixture and then sprinkle over the spring onion and the chilli flakes too, if using.
Bake the frittata for approximately 30-35 minutes, until just set in the centre and browning at the edges. Serve immediately or allow to cool, slice it up and store it in the fridge. Will last for up to 5 days.
Stir Fry Chinese Celery
This quick stir-fry has the perfect balance of salty, sweet, and spicy. It takes just 15 minutes from start to finish and tastes great with rice, noodles, and a variety of other vegetables.
- ½ of a Celery
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or peanut oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 fresh chili, seeds removed and thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chicken broth or water
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Gather the ingredients.
Remove the leaves and roots from the celery stalks.
Rinse the celery and drain.
Place the celery on a cutting board and use your hand to press down on the celery stalks to gently crush them.
Slice the celery stalks into 3cm long sections.
Add the oil to a wok and heat it over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and chili and stir-fry just a few seconds until fragrant.
Add celery and stir-fry until it turns slightly dark green, about a minute.
Add the broth and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar and mix evenly.
Stir-fry a few minutes until the mixture is nearly dry. Serve.
Potato and Broccoli Curry
Weeknight potato and broccoli curry! Ground almonds are the secret to a creamy sauce without the cream. Prepped and ready to eat in about 40 minutes.
- 3 large potatoes
- 1 broccoli, cut into chunks
- 1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 3/4 cup roasted unsalted whole almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander, for garnish
- 2 to 3 cups cooked rice, to serve
Without peeling, cut the potatoes into cubes. Steam the potatoes over boiling water in a vegetable steamer, tightly covered, for 10 minutes. When done, the potatoes should be firm, but tender and easily pierced with a fork. Drain.
Cut the broccoli stems from the crown. Use a paring knife to peel the tough outer skin from the broccoli stems. Slice the stems into pieces.
In a food processor or blender, combine the ginger, garlic, tomatoes, 1/2 cup of the almonds (set aside the remaining 1/4 cup for garnish), and salt. Pulse the mixture until it is smooth.
In a pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chili powder, coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute until the spices are fragrant.
Add the pureed tomato mixture to the pot with the spices. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the stock and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
Add the potatoes and broccoli to the sauce and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer for 8 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender when pierced with a skewer.
Remove the cinnamon stick. Coarsely chop the remaining 1/4 cup almonds. Ladle the curry into bowls with rice and garnish with almonds and coriander.
Grilled Miso Carrot & Asparagus
Rich, fragrant miso gives a wonderful flavour to these spring vegetables. Serve as a side dish or as a light meal with rice.
- 1 bunch of dutch carrots (scrubbed)
- 1 bunch of asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed
- 2 tablespoons white (shiro) miso paste
- 2 teaspoons caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Trim the carrot stalks neatly, then cook carrots in simmering salted water for 1 minute. Add asparagus and cook for a further minute or until just tender. Drain.
Whisk the miso paste, sugar, soy, mirin and oil in a bowl. Toss the carrots and asparagus in the miso dressing, then place on a chargrill over high heat (reserving remaining dressing). Cook vegetables for 1 minute, turning halfway to mark well.
Serve the chargrilled vegetables topped with the remaining miso dressing.
Roast Pumpkin and Spinach Pasta
This is an easy pasta dish that is sure to please the whole family! You can even pre-roast the pumpkin and put it all together later!
- 500g pumpkin flesh cut into bite-sized cubes
- 6 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 400g pasta
- 4 tablespoons pine nuts
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ teaspoon crushed dried chillies
- 150 g spinach
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200℃ (180℃ fan). Place 500g pumpkin cut into bite-sized pieces on a baking tray and drizzle with 2 tablespoon olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat in the oil and roast for 30 minutes until tender.
About halfway through the roasting time, bring a large pan of water to the boil. Add some salt and cook 400g pasta for 10 minutes or as directed on the packet until al dente.
Meanwhile, wash 150g spinach well and shake off the excess water. Set aside.
Then heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a small frying pan and sauté 4 tablespoons pine nuts until just beginning to turn golden. Stir in 2 chopped cloves of garlic and ½ teaspoon crushed dried chilli, saute for about one minute then remove from the heat.
When the pasta is cooked, drain, retaining a little of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the pine nuts, garlic, chilli and oil and stir in a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid to lightly moisten the pasta.
Add the pumpkin and spinach, toss together over the heat until the spinach has just wilted. Serve immediately sprinkled with a little parmesan cheese.
Cucumber and Red Onion Salad
This Cucumber Salad Recipe comes together quickly and with just a few ingredients. A refreshing and tangy side salad it’s a great accompaniment to your favourite protein.
- 2 cucumbers
- 1 red onion sliced
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Slice each cucumber in slices and add to a large bowl.
Add in the sliced red onion (sliced into half moons and toss to combine.
In a mason jar or small bowl whisk together the apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt, and pepper.
Pour the dressing mixture over the cucumber and onion and toss to fully coat/combine.
Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
If you would like to check out the latest produce selection, click here to visit the Seasonal FarmBOX product page and be sure to secure your Thursday delivery if you haven't already.