Autumn Colours On Your Plate

Wow what a busy week, starting with a few days down in Wellington, going to The Food Show and then spending some time with my friend Jo.

 The Food Show was fabulous, there were amazing food and drink exhibitors, lots of free giveaways, and wonderful foods made by artisan producers.  A fantastic feast for the senses, and a great line up of free, live cooking shows.

We watched the highly entertaining Annabelle White and the fabulous Nadia Lim.  I loved Nadia's down to earth approach, she was really friendly, and being a Nutritionist, her knowledge of food combined with her cooking skills were great to see.

I then spent a couple of days at Jo's beach house, just chilling! Bliss!!  Came home rested and relaxed.  I had alot of time thinking about my next post. 

I love Autumn, I miss seeing the gorgeous colours of Autumn and the cold, crisp days in England.  I love nothing more than eating hot soups and comfort food.  I started thinking about the amazing vegetables that are in season in Autumn. Tamarillos, yams, aubergines, beetroot to name a few. Fabulous vibrant colours.  So I decided to create Autumn colours on your plate.

Roast Vegetable & Halloumi Salad with a  Coriander & Chilli Dressing
(serves 8-10)
Cooking Time - 1 hr
2 Parsnips
2 Beetroot
2 Kumaras (any colour, I used golden)
3 Carrots
1 Packet ready washed fancy lettuce
200g block Halloumi Cheese  ( You can also use Paneer Cheese)
1. Peel and chop all the vegetables into chunks (approx 1.5 - 2cm).  Place in a large oven tray/dish and drizzle with olive oil, coating the vegetables lightly.
2 . Roast in a pre heated oven at 180-200 c  for about 45 min, or until the vegetables are cooked and golden.
3. as the vegetables are cooking you can prepare the fried halloumi cheese and dressing.  for the Halloumi cheese, cut into small thin  chunks, , heat a non stick frying pan and on a medium heat, cook the halloumi until golden. Leave to cool.

Coriander and Chilli Dressing                         

4-5 Tbls of Olive Oil
1 Tsp Balsamic Vinegar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3 Tbls of chopped Coriander
2 tsp runny honey
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp chilli flakes (more if you like a kick)
Salt and pepper to taste.

Blend all the ingredients with a blender ( I used  a hand held one) taste and season, you can add a dash more salt or lemon juice or chilli depending on your taste.

When the roast vegetables are cooked, cool to room temperature and then assemble.  In a large dish add 1/2 pkt of salad leaves, half the vegetables and then repeat the process. if you think you have too many vegetables you can put some in the fridge to use another day.  Scatter the halloumi cheese and then drizzle the dressing.  Vibrant autumn colours on your plate!

Enjoy.

Till next time.

Ashia