Recipes

Lu'au Stew

My first lomi lomi teacher, Kumu Haunani Hopkins made this stew for me on the Big Island of Hawaii during the visit that she gave me blessing to share lomi lomi with clients.  In traditional home-style cooking, ingredients and quantities can be changed but the recipe shared here (with permission) is vegan to honour Kumu Haunani's preference.  

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Sautee with a little oil 1 x chopped onion and 2 x cloves chopped garlic in a pan.  Add a handful of chopped mushrooms and 2 cups of stock (mushroom is good) until simmering.  Add 4 cups chopped leafy greens such as silverbeet, spinach, taro leaf or kale and simmer until the leaves are soft.  Reduce heat to low and add 1 can coconut milk or cream and heat gently.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve with rice, kumara, cassava or taro.  It's delicious and wholesome, a true comfort food.

Zingy Salad Dressing

Zingy but not spicy - who knew carrots could make such a heavenly salad dressing?  I also treat this dressing as a cold sauce, good for dipping wraps, dumplings and Vietnamese rolls. 

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Put into a blender / nutribullet: 2 x carrots coarsely chopped, 1 x grated onion, 1.5 inch fresh ginger peeled & sliced, 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 4 Tbsp vegetable oil, 1-2 tsp sesame oil, 4 x chopped pitted dates, 4 tsp miso paste.  Blend until smooth, add salt & pepper to taste. 

It will easily keep in a jar in the fridge for a month.

Saagwala (spinach curry)

Hands down, this is the tastiest way to eat a mountain of greens.  If like me, you let the spinach/silverbeet in the garden bolt, I'll make this sagwaala sauce and freeze in serving sizes to prevent all that green goodness going to waste. 

In a large pan steam 300g spinach or silverbeet until wilted then set aside in a colander to cool. 

Heat 3-4 Tbsp oil in your pan and sautee 2 x chopped onions.  Add 3x cloves minced garlic, 2 in grated ginger, 1 x fresh green chilli and the following spices: 1Tbsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground turmeric.  Cook for 2 minutes, add 1 x can chopped tomatoes and turn heat off. 

Squeeze excess liquid from the spinach and place into food processor or nutribullet with the contents of the pan, blend until smooth.  You might need to do this in batches.

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If adding meat, lightly brown in the pan before returning the green puree to the pan.  Meat-free or meat-reduced versions can include chickpeas and cauliflower, simmering gently.  Add salt and pepper to taste, stir in 1/4 cup coconut cream and serve with rice and roti or naan bread.

Kawakawa tea

Kawakawa is a truly precious plant, used in various ways for its numerous healing qualities.  Kawakawa tea is a tonic with a distinctive smooth and peppery taste.  I love how uncomplicated this drink is and I'm reminded that tea can be straight from the garden.

Simply find a kawakawa plant, say a little prayer, ask for the plant's permission to have some leaves and if it says "yes", take two leaves. 

Then pop the leaves into your favourite teacup and pour boiled water over the top.  Leave to steep for 5 minutes before drinking. 

Once you're finished with them, return the used leaves to the base of the kawakawa tree.  I like to say a little thank you when I do this.  

Plov (rice pilaf)

Good fortune had me stumble across this Uzbek recipe and after a little research, I learnt that many neighbouring countries cook variations of plov.  I'm sharing this delicious recipe for two reasons: 1) food helps us to connect with people who are different to us 2) it's super tasty, economical and can feed a group of 6 adults including 2 hungry teenagers.

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First pick the right pot to use.  This is a one-pot dish, choose a wide pot that can take a large volume.  I've used a wok which did just fine.  

Heat 2 Tbsp oil, add 1kg meat cut up into chunks and brown.  My partner loves lamb and bones so I use a pack of lamb bones which I get from Pak 'n Save and trim the fat off.   Add 2 x onions finely chopped and cook.  Add 3 x carrots and cook until softened with 1 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin, 3-4 bay leaves.  Add 2 cups hot water and summer with lid on for 45 min.  ​

Rinse 3 cups long grain rice until the water runs clear and add to the pan - just let it sit on top and don't mix it in.  Add 4 cups of hot water and sprinkle with 1.5 tsp salt.  Cook on high with the lid off for 10 min.  Cut the top off 1 whole head of garlic and snuggle it down into the rice "bottom up".  Sprinkle 1 tsp ground coriander on top, add the lid and cook on low for 15 minutes until the rice is cooked.  Mix through and fish out the garlic and bay leaves. 

It wasn't in the original recipe but I like to stir through 2 cups of roughly chopped cabbage, just letting the heat wilt the cabbage.  If you wanted to increase the vege quota, a simple green salad with lemon and oil dressing works great too.