lamb stew

Serves 5

Poppy cooks…

1. Heat a drizzle of
   olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven.
   
   
2. Season
   700g lamb shoulder, diced with
   celtic sea salt and brown in batches, then set aside.
   
   
3. Add to the pot
   onion, diced,
   3 carrots, chopped and
   2 cloves garlic, minced and cook until the vegetables soften.
   
   
4. Add
   tin diced tomatoes,
   500ml beef stock,
   2 sprigs thyme,
   1 sprig rosemary and the lamb, bringing to a boil then reducing to a simmer before placing the lid on for 2 hours.
   
   
5. Stir through
   1.5 cups butternut pumpkin, cubed and cook for another 20 minutes or under the pumpkin is cooked.

roast pumpkin risotto

Serves 4

This is somewhat of a cheat's risotto using a rice cooker that doesn't compromise on taste but is a lot easier and quicker than cooking it on the cooktop or in the oven - but if you don't have a rice cooker, feel free to cook this recipe the traditional way by slowly adding 1 cup of hot stock to the risotto at a time until it is absorbed. You will also need twice as much stock if cooking with this method.

Poppy cooks…

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C.
   
   
2. Place
   500g butternut pumpkin, diced on a baking tray. Coat with
   olive oil and
   celtic sea salt and cracked black pepper. Bake for 40 minutes or until slightly caramelised.
   
   
3. Turn on your rice cooker and sauté an
   onion, diced and
   4 cloves garlic, minced.
   
   
4. Add
   1/2 teaspoon curry powder,
   1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg,
   1.5 cups arborio rice and stir to mix.
   
   
5. Stir in
   1 cup white wine and leave for a few minutes.
   
   
6. Then add
   500ml vegetable stock.
   
   
7. When the rice cooker has finished cooking the risotto, and the pumpkin is roasted, add the pumpkin to the rice and stir through.
   
   
8. Serve risotto with
   pepitas,
   parsley, chopped and
   dried cranberries.

sausage + roast pumpkin salad

Serves 4

Poppy cooks…

1. Place
   500g pumpkin, cut into chunks, on a roasting tray with
   olive oil,
   celtic sea salt and
   cracked black pepper and roast in a 180˚C oven until it starts to caramelise
   
   
2. Cook
   1 cup of quinoa in
   2 cups of hot filtered water
   
   
3. Cook
   4 gluten free beef sausages in a fry pan or on the barbecue, then slice diagonally
   
   
4. Combine pumpkin, quinoa, sausages and
   2 cups of baby spinach in a bowl
   
   
5. Garnish with
   basil leaves and a drizzle of
   balsamic vinegar

roast pumpkin + lentil stew

Serves 4

Ingredients

500g pumpkin, cubed

olive oil

celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper

onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes

1/2 cup green lentils

1/2 cup chickpeas

green capsicum, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup hot filtered water

lemon

dried mint, for garnish

sumac, for garnish

Method

1. Place pumpkin on a roasting tray and coat with olive oil and seasoning. Roast for approximately 30 minutes or until starting to caramelise
2. In a medium pot, saute onion in olive oil
3. Stir through tomato paste and chilli flakes
4. Stir through lentils and chickpeas
5. Stir through capsicum and garlic until garlic gains a bit of colour
6. Add water, juice from lemon and season to taste. Cook until lentils are cooked
7. Stir through roast pumpkin and garnish with dried mint and sumac

Notes
To create more of a soup, you can add an extra cup of hot filtered water and serve with gluten free bread.

sausage, vegetable + bean stew

Serves 4

Poppy cooks...

1. Cook
   1 packet of sausages and set aside.
   
   
   
2. In a large pot, saute
   1 onion, diced in
   olive oil.
   
   
   
3. Add
   300g carrots, cut into bite sized pieces,
   300g potatoes, cut into bit sized pieces,
   1 tablespoon garlic, sliced,
   1 teaspoon cumin,
   1 400g tin of cannellini beans,
   500ml chicken stock,
   1 cup water and
   1 bay leaf; and bring to the boil.
   
   
   
4. Reduce to a simmer; then add
   2 cups pumpkin, cut into bite sized pieces,
   2 tablespoons parsley, chopped and sliced sausages.
   
   
   
5. Cook until vegetables are tender and season with
   black pepper.
   
   
   
6. Remove bay leaf before serving and garnish with extra parsley.

Notes
If you have a large dutch oven, you can cook the sausages in it and use it for the remainder of the recipe, which will incorporate the flavours from the cooked sausages into the dish. It also makes this a one-pot-wonder!

roast pumpkin + cranberries with red quinoa

Serves 4

Poppy cooks...

1. Cook
   1 cup red quinoa with
   3 cups of filtered water in a rice cooker or on the cooktop.
   
   
2. Preheat oven to 180°C.
   
   
3. On a baking tray, combine
   2.5 cups pumpkin, diced,
   1/2 red onion, finely diced and
   2 cloves garlic, minced,
   olive oil (enough to coat vegetables),
   2 teaspoons manuka honey,
   generous pinch of celtic sea salt + cracked black pepper,1/8 teaspoon ground ginger and
   1/8 teaspoon curry powder.
   
   

   

   
   Preparing ingredients in the roasting tray
   

   
   

4. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes or until the pumpkin and garlic are golden.
   
   
5. To serve, combine roasted ingredients with the cooked quinoa,
   1/2 cup dried cranberries and
   2 tablespoons parsley, chopped.

pumpkin soup

At Poppy Loves Pear, we are not only about tasty and healthy food, but also easy food. We live in an age where everyone is time poor, so we need to work smart as much as working hard.

I love pumpkin soup, and stumbled across this La Zuppa Roasted Pumpkin soup which has no nasties in it and tastes beautiful. I could make pumpkin soup myself, but this product saves me the time and mess. Simply pour into a saucepan and bring to the boil on the stovetop and it is done!

As the label says, it has no artificial additives, is gluten free and dairy free. The ingredients list is simply: water, 38% pumpkin, potato, onion and salt. It is fast food, but it is healthy and tasty fast food. It is a great pantry staple to draw upon for those stressful days when cooking is the last thing you have the head-space to do.

I find this to be a great lunch time meal when I have no time to cook. It serves 2, and I usually accompany it with 2 slices of toasted gluten-free bread (I will give you my top tips for gluten-free bread in another blog post) and with cracked black pepper and pepitas sprinkled on top.

I buy La Zuppa from Farmer Jacks in Claremont or Subiaco. Here is the La Zuppa website for more information: http://lazuppa.com.au

pumpkin + fish risotto

Serves 5

Poppy cooks...

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC.
   
   
2. Dice
   butternut pumpkin into 1cm squares, place in a baking tray and coat with
   olive oil and bake until the pumpkin starts to get a little colour.
   
   
3. In the meantime, heat
   3 tablespoons coconut oil in a cast iron casserole dish.
   
   
4. Add
   onion, diced and
   2 cups arborio rice, tossing to coat in coconut oil.
   
   
5. Add
   5 cups filtered water and
   2 teaspoons celtic sea salt.
   
   
6. Once half the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, stir through
   6 mushrooms, sliced,
   handful spinach, sliced,
   2 white fish fillets, chopped.
   
   
7. Occasionally stir the risotto, and when all the liquid is absorbed, add
   3 tablespoons parsley, chopped and roasted pumpkin.
   
   
8. Serve risotto into bowls topped with a sprinkle of 
   chia seeds,
   crispy bacon and
   parmesan cheese.