Parsnip Chips

These crisp fried vegetable treats are an easy and delicious alternative to potato chips. Recipe serves 4 as a side dish.

Ingredients:

6 parsnips
Oil for frying

Method:

1. Peel parsnips or scrub and leave skins on. Cut as for thin chips.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan or deep fryer until very hot, but not smoking.
3. Carefully immerse parsnips in the oil and cook until golden.
4. Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs and drain on absorbent paper. Serve hot.

Macadamia Nut Cookies

These favorite bush nuts add richness and crunch to these easy to make cookies. Recipe makes 30 cookies.

Ingredients:

4 ounces (125 g) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
4 teaspoons coffee and chicory essence
1 1/4 cups self-rising (raising) flour
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Grease 2 large baking trays with melted butter.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until light and creamy in texture.
3. Add the macadamia nuts and coffee and chicory essence and stir to combine. Sift the flour and ginger over the mixture; mix well until evenly combined.
4. Roll the mixture into pieces the size of a walnut with clean cold hands. Place the pieces 2 inches (5 cm) apart on prepared trays. Press each piece down with the tines of a fork to flatten into a neat round.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Stand the baking trays on wire cooling racks for a few minutes until the cookies are firm, then transfer them to the rack with a palette knife, to cool completely.

Tip: Store macadamia nuts in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. Their oil content will turn stale and rancid if the nuts are stored at room temperature.

Pork, Rice and Lentil Salad

This high-protein salad is easy to make, and you cook it in just one pot, so there is hardly any cleaning up. Recipe serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

3 cups water
1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 strips lemon zest, 2 inches (2 cm) long by 1/4 inch (5 mm) wide
1/2 cup long-grain white rice
1 cup frozen green peas
6 radishes, halved and thinly sliced
4 ounces (125 g) cooked pork, cut into thin strips
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, bring the water to the boil. Add the lentils, garlic and lemon zest. Cover and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the rice, cover and simmer for 17 minutes, stirring occasionally with a fork. Add the peas, cover and simmer for a further 3 minutes or until the rice, lentils and peas are tender.
2. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the radishes, pork and lemon juice. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Will keep, refrigerated, for 2 days.